"This is the start of how it all ends, they used to shout my name, now they whisper it. I m speeding up and this is the red, orange, yellow flicker beat sparking up my heart." Yellow Flicker Beat © Lorde Mockingjay Original Soundtrack, 2014
The ABC's of Perfect Mistakes
Chapter Twenty-Five: Y is for Yellow
He tried talking himself out of it for the last couple of days. He knew it was insanity but he couldn't help but want to be by her side -and he was still confused if the need was to kill her or to love her. He let her hair slip between his fingers, falling back onto the pillow that he used to support himself. She sighed and he froze, he really didn't want her catching him playing with her hair -let alone that he let his guard down. Instead, she pulled the blanket over her shoulder and went back to sleeping.
Jak rolled slightly when he heard a knock at the front door, he waited while one of the other rooms opened. Feet padded down the hallway before shouting at the people at the front door, he waited while the people talked before someone banged on their door. He glanced to Parker as she rolled over. He rolled his eyes and got out of the bed, he opened it slightly and looked at the innkeeper. He was unshaven and had bags under his eyes, he didn't look too impressed to be woken at such an early hour.
"There's someone at the door for you."
"Who is it?"
"I don't ask questions." The innkeeper snapped. "I just take the money and kick you and your whore out in the mornings." Jak glared at the man as he went back to his own room and slammed the door behind him. He left the room, leaving the door open slightly. In the 'living room' area stood Olivia, Daxter and Lena.
"Where the hell is Park!" Lena shouted.
"Lena." Olivia hissed.
"If you brought her here, to this whore house, to defile her I swear I'll set Amberly on you!"
"Are you done?" Jak asked leaning against the door frame.
Lena nodded. "I think so. Alright where is she?"
"Back room to the left, she's sleeping. She's been sleeping for a while."
Lena nodded as Daxter ran down the hallway. Olivia stepped inside and picked up a pair of shorts. "So whose idea was it to come to this... place?"
"Parker brought me here."
Olivia dropped the shorts. "We're gonna have to sanitize you two from head to toe... with acid."
Jak glanced back to Lena as she walked in. "So, what happened last night?"
Jak shrugged. "After being chased by a group of radical Haveners we came here to the whore house."
Olivia laughed. "Well we received reports about a dangerous man and equally dangerous female running around. Granted, our security camera's show that Parker's the real dangerous one. That attack on that poor speaker box was unprovoked, I'm going to have to arres-"
A scream came from down the hall, which prompted the three teens to run down the hallway. In their room, Parker swung a pillow at Daxter who ran under the bed.
"What the hell is going on?" Olivia shouted marching into the room.
"He licked me!" Parker screamed. "I can't believe he freaking licked me!"
Lena rolled her eyes. "I have a mission for the three of you."
"Oh Hell no!" Parker shouted. "There's no way I'm going on a mission with him!"
"There's a small group of survivors in the Slums." Olivia started ignoring Parker's comment. "They've been sending messages to the KG since the shield went up. They're trapped, injured and starving. Also," Olivia said walking over to Parker. "We've got word that the Metal Heads have been sneaking in through that weak point in the wall. Turn your head."
"Why?" Parker sat on the bed.
"Because your hearing aid has broke."
"How do you know that?"
"Because your tracker turned off."
"Oh, oka- wait what? You put a tracker in my head!?"
"Of course," Olivia snapped pushing Parker's head and peering into her ear. "How else would we keep a tab on your?"
"That's a 99 on the level of creepiness." Daxter commented climbing out from under the bed. "Are you planning on implanting a chip in Jak and I later?"
"Who says we haven't?" Lena chuckled.
"I hate you." Daxter snarled.
"We haven't." Olivia snapped. "It'll be on in a minute or so." Olivia said to Parker. "I think you blew the first battery, the second must've glitched and didn't turn on right after the first went off." She slapped the back of her head. "Stay away from bombs!"
"Anything else?" Parker asked getting off the bed. Jak watched as she picked up her things from the side of the bed, guns, knives and an empty holster. "How many survivors?"
"Ten," Lena answered. "Maybe fifteen if you're lucky. There's at least three guards in there, they've given us a pick up location for the survivors. Ashelin's set up Hellcats to pick them up."
"C'mon," Parker said to Jak and Daxter before heading to the door.
"Wait," Olivia called out. "I don't think this needs to be said but get everyone out. You three have targets painted on your backs, if any of these survivors die it'll be your fault and they'll be wanting you to dance."
Jak glanced back at the girls. "Why would we dance?"
"The Hangman's Dance." Parker muttered. "Let's go."
Parker couldn't get the image out of her head and she cursed Olivia for putting it there. She didn't want to see Jak or Daxter hanged for doing the right thing. She heard the whispers as they walked down the street but the boys didn't seem bothered by it. Both kept their heads high as they passed the civilians and the few Krimzon Guards that snapped at them. Parker, however, was burning under their hateful glares. She couldn't take the weight of them on her shoulders as she climbed into the Hellcat.
She leaned against the window and watched the city fade away, watched the angry faces disappear in the greys and blacks. She felt a hand slip into hers, she tensed but didn't look to the person.
"Don't show them you're scared," Jak whispered as the Hellcat started to lower.
"I'm not scared." She responded.
"Prove it." Jak hissed as the door opened. Parker glanced to Jak as he jumped out. Parker followed, rolling into a crouch next to Jak on the ground. Adrenaline pumped through her body dulling out the pain in her shoulder and her ankle, instead it pushed her forward. She ran past Jak and the crumbling building that gave them some cover. She ran past the pieces of destroyed zoomers and leaned against a wall. She listened for any signs of life, for the grunting of the Metal Heads or the boom of a gun.
She blinked as Jak and Daxter walked up to her causally. She saw the surprise on their faces clearer then any pond. Parker stepped out from the wall and looked around. Besides the obvious destruction and the absent signs of life, it was silent as if she were living underwater. Around her the buildings still were crumbling and coating the section with a fine coat of silvery dust. Dried blood splatters laid here and there. Parker swallowed her fear and looked Jak, but he was already moving on. Picking his way through the broken concrete and rotting bodies. Parker followed, keeping her eyes on the back of Daxter's head.
Getting from the drop-off to where the survivors were hiding was easy, they only had to stop once when Lena commed them. Parker found the building the survivors were hiding in, another crumbling house that Parker was certain would come down at any moment. Still Jak opened the door and walked in, Parker followed pulling out a knife for when some crazed townie jumped out for her -but she turned the blade so the dull side would hit them. The house was dark and dusty, but there were obvious signs that people lived there. Besides the stink of uncleaned bodies and ravenous infections, Parker saw makeshift beds, burned trash cans and walkie-talkies on the bed.
She touched the bed and cringed. "It's warm." She said to Jak. "They must be aroun-"
"Don't move!" Jak snapped.
She froze. "What?"
"The wood, it's cracking under your feet."
"How?"
"Do you want me to explain the process of how wood rots or do you want me to save you?" Jak snapped again, hurrying about the room looking for something.
Parker straightened herself and felt the wood crack under her feet. It sent a shudder up her spine as her brain sent panicked signs to her heart. She started to waver but she kept her balance, this was not the time or place to have a panic attack. She took a deep breath and turned slightly, the wood buckled under her but didn't break. She put both her arms out to make a t and took a small step forward.
"Parker!" Jak shouted but she didn't wince or start at it. She kept her balance and felt across the ground, testing the wood before she moved forward. "Keep going," Jak whispered. "You're almost there." She stopped when she felt the wood crack again, her breath hitched as Daxter gasped dramatically. For a second, it felt like the roof was about to come crashing down on them but when she felt her heart beat on for another second, another minute, she knew she could keep goi-
The wood snapped behind her heel, she tumbled backwards the wood catching the skin on her arm as the rest of floor gave way. She fell straight down, landing back first on the soft ground below. It still took her breath away, she gasped and coughed on the dust that clouded her vision.
"Oh God!" Daxter cried. "She's dead! Lena's gonna kill us. Wait, no, Amberly's gonna kill us! She's break out of the psycho ward and finds us, skin us alive and then-"
"Daxter." Jak warned. "I can see her and she's alive."
"Yah Dax," Parker said sitting up, she rubbed the back of her head and groaned. "It's just a root cellar. You're acting like I fell through the earth."
"You could've." Daxter commented as Parker stood up. "What did you land on?"
"I don't know." Parker said peering into the darkness. "Can't tell, toss down the flashlight."
"What flashlight?"
"The flashlight in the first room, next to cabinet near the light switch on the right side."
There was a pause before Daxter asked, "How do you know these things?"
"Training. Now hurry up or I'll start developing claustrophobia." She heard them walk away for a second before coming back, she looked up as Jak flicked on the flashlight. She couldn't see him but his silence spoke a thousand words at once. "Jak..."
"Here," Jak said bending down, she reached up and took the light, grazing against his fingers before he let go. She turned the light around her, on the ground were bodies. Parker didn't look at them too long before she shone the light around, in the corner there was a couple of wide-eyed people huddled together. Two KGs stood in front of them, holding a lamp and a table leg as protection.
"Hey," Parker said softly. "Olivia sent us, we're here to rescue you."
The Krimzon Guards looked at each other briefly before nodding, they stepped forward slowly before motioning to the group. "A woman just had a baby, she's been sick ever since."
"Where's the baby?" Parker asked as the people came out; two children, three women (including the sick mother who was carried by her husband), two men and an older man who hobbled on a stick. "Where's the baby?" Parker asked louder. Another woman, sobbed in the corner as the guards forced her to her feet. "What happened to the baby?" Parker asked again grabbing the guard that passed her.
"It's almost been a month." He snapped, his eyes were sunken in and he was starting to show a new beard. "What do you think happened to the baby?"
Before she could react the other guard pushed past Parker, dragging the crying woman with him. "We did what we had to, to survive."
"Parker?" Jak called from above, a hint of impatient anxiety in his voice.
"We're coming," Parker called up. "There should be some people coming." She turned and followed the guards up the stairs, a set of stone steps that took them to the floor Jak was on. They bi-passed the room with the giant hole in it and stepped outside to the overcast skies above, Parker took a deep breath and let it go as Jak took her hand.
"What happened down there?"
"I will be." Parker whispered back. "Let's just get out of here."
"I already called Olivia, she's sending in a transporter for us, the old site has been compromised."
She nodded. The woman was still sobbing uncontrollably near the front door, while several of the survivors took in the fresh air. They waited what felt like hours to Parker but she knew, it her right mind, that it had to be minutes. Everyone scurried onto the transporter, Parker let Jak drag her onto the Hellcat.
She leaned her head on Jak's shoulder as medics walked around the Hellcat attending to the survivors. "They ate a baby." Parker said so quietly she wasn't sure if Jak heard her but both Jak and Daxter tensed. Jak put an arm around her and pulled her closer.
"Let's just get you home." Jak said into her hair. "You can pretend this never happened."
But she couldn't. She could never forget about the woman's hysterical cries or the look on the guard's face when he confessed what he did. But for the sake of Jak -even though she was sure he knew she was lying- she nodded. Parker felt the jolt of landing on the cobblestone ground, Parker kept her face turned away as the survivors exited. The three sat in the dark for a couple of minutes before Ashelin banged on the side, signalizing they needed to leave the transporter. Parker stood, she didn't look back at Jak as she stepped out into the dim grey light of Haven.
A shiver raced through her as she registered that there were eyes on her. Hundreds of hurt, angry and confused eyes that burned into her skin. She turned to take in all of it. She knew it wasn't possible for all of Haven City to surround her but she knew that more then half was there. Their anger increased tenfold in half a second. Their hatred weighed heavily on her, like they were a magnify glass and she was an ant, ready to burst into flames at any second -and they wouldn't care when she burned.
She caught the eye of a guard, she thought it was odd that he was looking at her but not really. It was as if he was looking through her, she turned slight and started when she saw that Jak and Daxter had exited the transporter. Both stood on the step behind her and with wide eyes they took in the sight. Something sparked inside of her. The towns people weren't burning her, demanding her blood or cursing her. They were cursing Jak, they wanted to bathe in his blood and burn him on a stake for crimes he didn't commit.
Jak looked down at her, he knew it too. This was the start of the end.
TBC...