Chiyo hadn't been able to sleep, her brain was all jumbled up. Don's words, the way he had broken down in front of them, collapsed under the weight of his returning memories. It ran through her head over and over, she just wanted to shut it off. But recently it felt like her mind was not her own. She'd get flashes of faces, she say things and use words she didn't know the meanings to. But she must have used them correctly, nobody noticed, nobody made fun of her. She using catch phrases and slang she hadn't before. Sometimes she'd look back on a conversation she had and think that it didn't even sound like her. But no one noticed anything different. It wasn't like she was acting crazy or being rude. Who was she really? She wished she had Danni's Balisong right then. The butterfly blade had seemed so comfortable, so right, her hand ached for it and she could almost feel it in her grasp. She visualized the blade and handles opening and closing, spinning and clicking as they slid over knuckles and across her palms. The handles and blade flying back to connect with the back of her hand with a little thump. Her fingers grasping and twirling making little adjustments. She shook her head and drove the images from her mind. She thought she understood self hypnosis right them, cause she definitely could feel her consciousness going somewhere.

They had given them rooms on the cities top level, very close to the alcove where they has eaten. Even though they all seemed comfortable with the place, supposedly the city was deceptive and it was real easy to get lost. She'd been tossing and turning for hours it seemed and was not any closer to sleep. Finally she got up and went outside. She planned on going up to the meadow and sitting in the grass. Those were the simple luxuries that been lost in their lives under the Combine. As she walked through the alcove where they had eaten she spied a push broom against the wall. She walked over to it and spun the handle out of the broom head. Then bounded up the stairs to the meadow. Chiyo walked about 20 feet crossed her feet and folded her legs down into a lotus position laying the broomstick across her lap. Her closed her eyes and tilted her head back. Then Chiyo took a deep breath and opened them to the stars. Supposedly man had always thought visitors would come from the stars, dropping from the sky like angels. And though they had come from so very far away, they had not dropped from the sky as angels but appeared from the bowels of Black Mesa like parasites.

Chiyo yawned and stretched; laid back, brought her legs up and pointed her toes to the sky; then just continued on over and stood up in one fluid movement. She held the broomstick up vertically at her side and began to spin it. She just stood there spinning it around and around, then she tucked the tip down and brought it around her back grabbed it with her other hand brought it out to her other side and spun it around and around. Chiyo brought the broom stick out in front of her and began spinning it with both hands, faster and faster. Then it was spinning in a figure 8 from side to side passing it between her left and her right. She brought the tip down and tucked it behind her back grabbed it with her other hand brought it back out and up in front of her again once again spinning it with both hands. Soon she was spinning it around her neck and through her legs, adding jumps and flips, she would drive it into the ground and use it to propel herself higher into the air. The world slipped away and nothing existed but Chiyo and the staff; and then she could see herself down in the meadow twirling the staff, flipping end over end down the meadow. "Whoa cowgirl!" and there was Bob. She done flips until she was right at the top of the stairs, which was also the moment Bob reached the top.

"Couldn't sleep" they both said at exactly the same time and then laughed. She couldn't remember the last time she had laughed so much and felt so comfortable. And then started crying, because she couldn't remember anything, and that was the problem. But the thing was… why hadn't been it been a problem before. Her sadness came from all the years past when it hadn't mattered. When she had just existed. Bob put his arms around her, she buried her face in his chest and sobbed. He just held her like that. Eventually it slowed and they sat down on the top stair and gazed out over the tree tops and the city.

They sat there quietly for a long time, then Bob said, "I was being transferred from City 6 to City 13. I have no idea where either of those places are now or how I originally ended up in City 6. But I was on one of the transfer trains when it came off the tracks. You see they are all automated, no one in the engines, or at least nothing close to human. The Ant Lions had burrowed through the area so much that when the train crossed it, the whole thing collapsed.

I'd been thrown clear but hurt my ankle and couldn't stand. Everyone was up running and yelling, the Overwatch had the shockstems out putting everyone down when the Ant Lions stormed out of the ground. It was a massacre; none of them had a chance, not even the Overwatch. I couldn't move; I had to just lay there and watch. And of course because I wasn't moving, I was left alone. After it was over, I started to move myself away. I knew any kind of regular movement would draw their attention to me, I developed this crawl/drag/roll movement that didn't seem to bother them. So I'd been slowly moving away doing my crawl/drag/roll. Heck at this point I don't even know if I could walk, I do know I was too damn scared to try. After about 2 days of that I heard water. I crawl/drag/rolled my way that direction and found a stream. I pushed the largest piece of wood I could find to the edge and climbed on. God must have been with me, cause you see I hadn't escaped their area yet, and I'd been making what was probably a pretty good racket for them fellas under the ground. As I floated away from the shore a half dozen topped the hill. They don't get to close to the water though. Don't know why for sure, could hazard a couple guess's but it really doesn't matter. And I don't waste time on stuff that doesn't matter anymore.

So I floated down that stream. I saw some pretty strange stuff. I got bounced around several times as things in the water pushed my log around and tried to turn it over. I don't know how far I went down that stream, but I was for damn sure not putting my hands or feet in that water to steer. So I just floated until I finally got stuck on a log jam. I was pretty weak at that point, but my ankle had healed and I could walk again. Problem was I didn't know where to walk to. The first night out of the river I thought I saw a glow off in the horizon, so as soon as it was light that's where I headed too. I was weak and hungry and didn't even care if I was headed back to the Combine at that point.

On the third day I topped a rise and there was a gas station. Nothing else, just a gas station at an intersection of 2 roads. The candy machines inside weren't empty yet so I broke into them and cleaned them out. There was no running water but a lot old stale pop in cans, so I drank that. I found a dilapidated old couch in the back, laid down and fell asleep, simple as that. I don't know how many times I woke and slept but it was several. That couch was the most comfortable thing I ever slept on. And I slept like a rock, no dreams just rest. Then one morning I woke up and knew it time to move on. That's when I finally had a look around. Now I know that you aren't old enough to know what this is, but there was a shed behind the gas station, and inside the shed there was an old AMX. That was a sports car built by American Motors. Had a 5.9 V8 in it. In fact Chrysler bought the company just for that motor.

I found enough gas in cans, and was able to siphon enough out of the station tanks to fill her up. Of course the battery was dead, but it was standard shift so I just start pushing it down the highway to get it rolling, then jump in and pop the clutch. I don't know how long I did that either, but it's not like I had anything else to do. and then finally I popped the clutch and it started, and off I went.

Seemed like every time I was about to run out of gas or food or water, I'd come across another intersection and another gas station. I started to see things written on road signs, on pads of paper in abandoned buildings, smudged on dirty windows, and even on the highway itself and they all pointed to here.

One thing about that car, it had a killer 8 track stereo. I found 3 tapes in the glove box, Inagaddadavida by Iron Butterfly, Dog and Butterfly by Heart, and Creedence Clearwater Revival. I was racing down that same road you folks was on, when Danni found me. Of course I was making a hell of a lot more noise than you guys. Mistal Wind was just a blasting on the stereo and I was cutting donuts in the middle of the road. I was almost out of gas, but that didn't worry me, the old AMX hadn't let me down yet. So here I am cutting donuts and I look up and here is this dark skinned angel on a horse. I slam on the brakes pop out the tape and you know what she says?

"Nice Car"

I don't have a story like Don's and probably not like yours either.
I know I was a welder for GM when they had a plant in Anderson IN. One year they just up and closed down the factory. Left us high and dry, sure they gave us some kind of severance and early retirement if you wanted it. But hell I was too young and important. I started drinkin and driftin, working here and there, grocery stores, gas stations, bars, the delicatessen, and then one day I was on a Train being transferred from one City number to another City number.

I wish I could say something or do something to make you feel better.
But I know that nothing ever worked for me, I had to find my own way out of the darkness.
But this is a good place.
I don't think it was always a good place to be in the past, in fact I have a feeling it was downright evil at one point, but not anymore.
Yeah, this is a good place to be.
My name is Bob and it's a damn pleasure to meet you.
Bob hugged her.
Chiyo looked up Bob, "I just love Creedance, could I ride in your car someday."
Bob looked down at her, "Sure, but your gonna have to push."

They both lay back on the grass and fell to sleep.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

end Chapter 5

another one bites the dust

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