Gray Hills - Chapter 10
Hey everyone, sorry for the delay in the update. I expected to have the break to write, until I discovered Bob Ross. I then binge watched all 31 seasons of his painting show. If you are going to ask why, well he is calming. Probably the most calming thing I have ever heard. (Also I didn't like this chapter so rewrote it at least twenty times.)
I would also like to take this time to say that I really appreciate all of the support I have been receiving throughout the story, and all of the followers, favourites, reviews ect. And damn, I have readers from countries I didn't even know existed. (Sorry Uzbekistan). Your feedback has helped me improve the story so much and you guys are as much a part of this journey as Marco or Star.
Anywho, onto reviews.
Guest Sorta - Yeah, pretty much, but it will pick up right there this chapter.
jminator - Thanks, I'm glad you are enjoying, and also the world has ended in nuclear fire, people have been killing each other left right and center, and the water is now undrinkable. So I will leave it up to you to decide that :). (Also what was B going be?)
Disclaimer - Although I attempted to gain access to copyrights to Star vs The Forces of Evil, all I found were emails from Hillary Clinton.
As the sun started to set, the truck slowing to a stop jolted the sleeping boy in it's bed awake, the sight of buildings causing him to sit silently. Where the two men sat previously, there was now a woman watching over them. Marco could hear voices around them, people. Craning his head to the right, he saw small buildings, some which seemed to be makeshift shop fronts, and others converted to house people. Just down the street, he could make out the faded letters of "Los Banos PD".
The people around the truck were different than the others they had encountered. They looked relaxed, dressed in relatively clean clothes, and only a few had backpacks on. There was no one who appeared to be starving, sick, or injured. In all his time with Star, all of their adventures, nothing was as magical as the sight before him. Had the presence of the woman watching him not been in his peripheral vision, he would have been amazed, but she distracted him from his surroundings.
"Where are we?" Marco asked, just audible above the background noise, careful not to wake the girl beside him.
The woman looked up at him, much less intimidating when her face was visible. "You'll find out soon enough." Marco attempted to read her face, but her stern look prevented him from doing so.
The truck took a turn, and to his right, Marco could see a small patch of land turned into a farm, though it seemed that most of the crops were dead due to a combination of the rain and cold. He could see people dotted around the field, attempting to save the few crops not withard and black, small patches of corn and wheat blowing in the wind. As the wind picked up, so did the dust from the ground blowing from the field towards the area they had just passed through, creating a shield of dust between Marco and the outside world. All he could see was the sleeping girl beside him and he could just make out the woman across from him.
Feeling the truck turn, and stop after a minute, he heard the doors open, and slam shut. The woman stood up and walked over to him, grabbing his arm and pulling him out of the back, leaving Star behind, still asleep. Two of the men from before approach them. "You two, watch her until I come out to get her." With that, she took Marco away from the truck, and towards a large building looming in the distance. At the entrance sat two armed men, who nodded at the woman as she escorted Marco past them, one of them sticking out an arm to open a boarded up door for them. The woman thanked him and stepped inside. Dust and wind flew inside the dim hallway for a second, until the door shut behind the two.
"Come on, we are going up to the second floor." The woman said to him. "You have to talk to Harold."
"Harold?" Marco asked out loud, though no response was given. "Okay then, I guess we're not talking." Progressing down the hall, there numerous doors, some with names chiseled into them, others with guards standing outside. The only sound in the hall was the clicking of heels against the hardwood floor, and the sound was ecstasy to Marco's ears. It was a sound that reminded him of his life before the bombs, when the greatest challenge of every day was nodding at Jackie Lyn Thomas.
Now, months later here is Marco, having done unspeakable things to protect himself and Star. Stolen, Abandoned, Threatened, Starved, Murdered. Whenever the thought popped into his head, he always justified these actions. After all, it was all to help Star, who had to get back to her planet and rule. Without her, there would be no one to rule and chaos would ensue. Millions could die. Star surviving was for the greater good, and he by extensions needed to survive to help Star. This is how Marco justified his actions to himself, though months of things getting worse, and no solution in sight was beginning to take its toll. Marco could no longer sleep soundly at night, or look forward to the next day, because he knew it would end in someone else's suffering.
This train of thought tore Marco back to reality, where they were nearing the end of the hallway, and had almost reached the stairs. Seeing a set of pristine oak steps, leading to the second floor was bringing Marco back to the thoughts of the past, so he did the first things that came to mind to distract him. He started humming to himself. At first it was just random tunes, although eventually it drifted into a familiar tune.
Marco followed the woman up the flights of stairs mindlessly, engrossed in his tune before she spoke without looking at him. "Nice tune, what is it?" Being the first conversation attempt made by the woman, Marco decided to indulge her.
Pausing his tune, Marco responded with "The song that made me realize my place in life. Not at first, but eventually."
The woman sighed as they reached the top of the stairs, and removed her hand from the bannister before turning to face him. "Kid, in this world no one has a place. We're just a bunch of misfits walking the road of destiny, sometimes meeting another wanderer for a brief moment." Marco was left speechless by this woman's speech, who only hours previously had been exchanging bullets rather than words. She pointed to a door with the word 'Harold' chiseled on the front. "Harold is in there, but I have to go get your friend."
As soon as she said this, Marco suddenly blurted out, "Where are you taking her?"
"She's going to get a medical examination, and so are you after Harold is done talking to you." With this the woman passed Marco, and left the way she came in. Turning towards the door, an ominous feeling swept over Marco. He hadn't the faintest idea of what was ahead, and the thought of speaking to a complete stranger, on their terms made Marco nervous, but the sooner he got this over with, the sooner he could see Star.
Before Marco could rethink his situation, he quickly crossed the hall and grabbed the door handle. It was cool to the touch and that helped to ease Marcos troubled mind. Through the door, he could hear a deep voice accompanied by an assortment of instruments. As the handle turned and the door swung open, the atmosphere inside the small office was one with an instant calming effect. Jazz emanated from a set of speakers on each side of the room, controlled by a turntable by the window behind a large mahogany desk. Seated at the desk was a plump man writing on a piece of paper.
Looking up from his work the man smiled at Marco as he entered. Setting down his pen, he stood. "Ah, you must be the new boy, come, sit!" The man enthused. Marco walked towards the desk, noticing the small wooden seat in front of the desk. As Marco approached, the man, Harold extended his hand. Marco cautiously shook it, and they both sat down. "My name is Harold, pleased to meet you."
When Star woke in a dimly lit room with clean white walls, she initially was paralyzed with confusion. The scene before her was almost alien. Cabinets with neat labels stuck onto the front of the doors. A soft rhythmic beeping away to her right. She quickly noticed that someone had changed her into a light gown and bathed her. The stink of sweat and feeling of grime was gone, replaced with the soft scent of lavender. She swung her legs over the side of the bed, pushing the comforter away from her. Her bare feet against the tiled floor sent tingles up her spine, a combination of a sensation not felt in months, and the cool temperature of the tiles. This initially caused her to recoil, "Cold." After a minute of preparing herself, she placed her feet back on the floor and stood. The draft against her exposed back quickly informed her of the bare state of her back, but her curiosity caused her to press onward, ignoring the exposed state of her backside.
When Star attempted to make her first step, a tugging on her chest made her realize that she was still connected to the beeping machine. Star grabbed the cords attached to her chest, and pulled, causing her to be free from their restraint, although the machine to the right of the bed began to make a loud, high-pitched noise. Star immediately made a mad dash for the door, though when she tried the handle it was locked. "Drat." She muttered to herself. With the door being locked, the sound of footsteps running towards her from the hallway on the outside of the room, and no window, Star did the most rational thing she could think of; Prepare to attack.
Grabbing the closest object to her, a small office chair sitting in front of a desk, she stood behind where the door would open, the chair hoisted over her head waiting. The sound of her heart beating in her chest was all Star focused on as she heard rattling on the other side the door, followed by a click and the door handle turning. The smug open and a figure sprinted in. With all of her might, Star made an attempt to throw her weapon at the figure, although due to her malnutrition and exhaustion, the chair landed a few feet away from her target, startling the figure. "I'm going to need you to calm down miss Butterfly."
Star narrowed her eyes at the figure in front of her, she could now clearly make them out. It was a man, slightly shorter than her with jet black hair and a long white coat that draped down to his knees. "How do you know my name?" she asked cautiously, while slowly backing her way into the corner of the room.
"It was on your student card, you're a long way from Home." He started to advance towards her, "You shouldn't be out of bed." When he saw Stars body tense up as he neared her, he stopped, and moved away. The man walked over to the bed, bent over and quickly the noise from the machine stopped. Walking back towards her he stopped, righting the chair on the floor and sitting in it, facing Star. "Since I know your name, I suppose it is only polite for me to tell you mine. I am Dr Daniels, although most people here just call me Dr D."
"Where am I? Where is Marco?" Star asked, not trusting the man sitting in front of her.
"You are in Los Banos. We're a small community, well I suppose we are as big as they get these days, and I assume you mean the boy you came in with?" Star nodded in response. "He is talking to our leader of sorts, Harold."
"When can I see him?" Star asked?
"When he arrives. He will be coming here for a medical examination after he is done talking to Harold, while you're waiting your clothes have been washed and are over by your bed in the cabinet." He pointed to the one he meant, before standing. "I will be outside and down the hall to the left if you need me."
As the doctor left the room, he closed the door behind him, leaving it unlocked this time. Star waited to make sure that no one else was coming before quickly moving across the room, the only sound the pattering of her feet. She opened the cabinet the doctor had indicated, and inside was her backpack and clothes, neatly folded in a pile on the shelf.
She placed her clothes on the bed in front of her, and observed them. Her classic teal dress had numerous stains, holes and tears. The coat she had been wearing for the past two months was faring much worse. When they had taken it from a store it was brand new, a bit dusty. Now the green was faded, stitching ripped out, had multiple repairs sown in, and was crumpled all along the arms.
Her leggings had hardly made it past the first two weeks. In their place was a worn pair of jeans, which were probably faring the best. With only few small rips near the bottom, they had at least kept her warm. Stripping the gown from her body, she turned back to the cabinet to grab her underwear when she noticed a small mirror on the door. Stepping back a bit, she observed herself. Her arms were covered in bruises, cuts, and scars. She could see ribs poking out from below her chest, and her face looked awful, not from anything physical, but from the stress. It was wearing her down, it was evident from the bags under her eyes, the acne dotting her face, and the way her eyes drooped.
Star quickly looked away, deciding to get dressed so she could meet Marco when he arrived. For the first time in months Star put fresh clothes on. No grime, stink, or dirt. It felt like this could be a new start for Marco and her if the people were friendly and let them stay. After dressing, she looked around for her socks and boots. She found them on the bottom shelf of the cabinet, also washed. She picked the two pairs up, and sat on the bed. Laying back to stare at the ceiling, she took in every little detail. The small brown stains, chunks missing, and various spider webs in the corners. She watched a small spider crawl along its empty web. Patrolling the length of its hunting ground. Finding no prey, it crawled along to the wall, before starting its way towards the next web.
With the spider moving on with its life, Star realized that she had to do the same. Pulling her socks on, having to retry after her toe went through a hole, she laced up her boots and stood again. Wiggling her toes, she moved towards the door, now confident enough to confront the doctor. Crossing the floor, Stars boots squeaked against the floor, removing any form of stealth when she made her way out of the room. After turning the door handle, Star slowly swung the door open, peering out into the hall. True to the doctors word, he was sitting at the end of the hall at a small desk filling out paperwork. She walked down the hall, the squeaking slowly disappearing as dust and dirt clung to the bottom of her boots.
"Whatcya filling out there Doc?" Star asked when she was close enough to talk to him.
Without looking up from his work, he responded. "I am completing the paperwork for your medical examination, and then it will be filed away. I just need to ask you a few questions if you don't mind."
"Uh, sure thing, ask away." Star replied, hoping the doctor didn't know about her magic.
"Alright, well first of all I would like to ask about your… wings?" The doctor finished his sentence in a question, as if asking for confirmation on what they were.
As soon as he asked this, Star knew she needed to decide how much to tell the man. While he seemed nice enough, in a world like this, if he found out about her magic he may force her to help his people, or worse, use her as a weapon. "Well, they are wings, and to put it simply I'm not human." Star expected the doctor to immediately fire off more questions, but instead he just made a noise of acknowledgement before writing something down.
"If you're not human, what are you?" The doctor asked, looking up at her.
"Well, we are called the Mewmans."
"I see, and your friend, Marco, what about him?"
"He is human."
"Hmmm, alright just one more question about you then. Does every member of your race have these wings?"
"Only the females." Star responded, glad that the questions about her were over.
The doctor wrote for another moment before setting aside his pen and paper, and taking a small box out of his pocket. "Now, if you don't mind I am curious about how you two survived out there. I'm making a record of sorts about people and their stories."
"Sure thing, well it all started back in echo creek…" Star summarized the past months, leaving out the parts about magic. She explained their journey north and the people the encountered. The doctor only interrupted when she started talking about Wallace.
"Wallace you say. He doesn't happen to play a banjo does he?"
Star paused at this, but confirmed the doctor's suspicions. "Um, I think that's what he called it. It had a drum at the bottom, and one of the strings ended half way up."
"Hm, well if what you're saying is true it would seem that he has changed, but I would keep tight lipped about him. If people find out you were with him, you're going to get into some trouble."
"What, why?" Star asked, confused.
"Well, there is this group-" The doctor was cut off by the sounds of a struggle at the end of the hall. He quickly stood to see what was coming, and down the hall came Marco, being dragged by two large men. He was struggling, and had a bloody nose and bruises across his face. The larger men, however were worse for ware. One seemed to have a broken nose, and the others eye was swollen shut.
"Marco!" Star started to run towards him, but the doctor put his arm in front of her.
"Jason, what is the meaning of this! Why are you dragging our new arrial in with a black eye and bloody nose?" The doctor was suddenly no longer quiet and collected.
The one with the swollen eye spoke up, while pinning both of Marco's arms behind his back. "These two know Wallace, so Harold says we gotta lock 'em up."
"That is ridiculous, just because they know him doesn't mean anything."
"Look, I don't make the rules, just open the cell and keep 'em in there." Jason pointed to a small makeshift cell that Star hadn't noticed before. There were welded metal bars from top to bottom, and a large swinging door in the middle.
The doctor grumbled in protest, but opened the door, and the large men shoved Marco in, before the doctor gestured for Star to walk in. She saw the expression in his eyes, begging her to just go in, so she complied, deciding she would be better off tending to Marco anyways.
She walked into the cell, and the door locked behind her. The doctor turned to the man with the broken nose. "Come on, let's get that nose looked at. Jason, go tell Harold I want to speak with him in an hour or two." The doctor escorted one man to a room down the hall, while the other walked back the way he came.
Star turned to Marco, seeing him staring off into space. "Marco, are you okay?"
Rather than responding to her question he said flatly, "You know, he killed people Star. He's one of those guys who eats people."
Star was confused, she didn't know who Marco was talking about. "Who is?"
Marco turned to Star, looking her in the eyes. "Wallace."
Again, sorry for the long wait guys but I was sick today so I got to stay home and finish rewriting this chapter. It is however, nearly twice the length of the normal chapters.
Remember to review and stuff guys. I love getting your feedback and what you're thinking on the story.