Chapter 6 - Hiding

'It's been a chill few days, eh?'

6:00 am, August 24th, 2019

I awoke to the soft chiming of my alarm. Opening my eyes, I saw nothing. There was no light coming in through the window, only the dim blue glow of my alarm. 'Still dark out. Perfect.'

Climbing down my bunk bed, I unplugged the alarm to shut it up and switched on the lights, inadvertently blinding myself. After letting my eyes adjust, I pulled my jacket off the doorknob and put it on as I looked over my desk and searched for anything I could bring to the junkyard. There were a few novels that had been doing nothing but sit there and collecting dust for months. If ever there was an opportunity to spend a lot of time reading. Perhaps, if things got desperate, they'd make good kindling too. I put them into my satchel, which was sitting on the floor, and took it out of the room.

When I quietly opened the door and made my way out of the hall, I expected to have to navigate through a dark house. Instead, I found Katelyn, already awake and working the coffee machine in the kitchen. "Want some?" She asked, holding out the empty mug in her hand. I shook my head, setting down my satchel on the counter. I prepared a few slices of toast as a quick bite to eat, before searching through the pantry for more snacks to grab.

"If you're wondering why I'm awake, I have to cover someone's morning shift, since they're a–" Kate quickly checked her phone. "Liepard now. Were you expecting Mum or Dad?" I gave her a halfhearted nod. "Well, they're busy sleeping. I think they've only gotten a few hours of sleep total since… y'know."

'Since I turned into a Zoroark, yeah I know… Not gonna lie, it's a bit of a downer for Mum and Dad to not be here for me, but I can't exactly blame them. They need their sleep just as much as the next person.'

Dropping a few muesli bars into the satchel, I sat down at the dining table with my toast, not really thinking about much. I wasn't sure why I was waiting to leave, perhaps it was the thought of walking out without turning back stopping me. Seeing me at the table alone, Katelyn sat down next to me, steaming coffee mug in hand. "It was like this on that night, too. Just sitting around doing nothing meaningful. Just waiting."

'What?'

"On the night you got transformed. There was a bit of commotion, for like a minute. I went out to see what happened. Mum was hunched over the counter. I went up to ask what happened and… Then I saw you. Dad was cradling you, and you were holding him back. I swear I heard a whine come out of you, as well. To be honest… it was kinda cute."

'Aw come on.' My slightly disappointed expression was enough for Katelyn to take offence. As per usual. "I'm serious! Whatever it was you were dreaming of, it must've been something."

'I don't remember what it was. If I were to guess, probably reliving that transformation in my head. Goddamn, did it hurt.'

"Oh- oh my, I'm sorry. How unpleasant was it then, if you were still thinking about it in your sleep?"

'Dunno. I hardly remember how it felt, other than that it just hurt. I'd rather not think about it.'

"Probably for the better, huh?"

'Meh, whatevs. Not like I wanna go through that again. So what happened after?'

Katelyn took a sip of her coffee, shaking the sleepiness out of her eyes. "Not much. After Dad moved you to their bed, we all just sat around here. Maybe besides checking in on you every so often to see if you woke up. I got bored and went to bed at, like, two. By that point, it was pretty obvious you weren't getting up until dawn. Although–" She held her hand up to her chin. "I did overhear Mum and Dad talking at some point after."

'What'd they say?'

"Not much that I could hear clearly. The only thing I could really make out was Dad saying, 'He should be allowed to take it easy for now,' or something along those lines."

'And did that actually happen? Am I really taking it easy right now?'

Kate sighed. "Look Jason, if it makes you feel better, they're going to try and make your getaway as quiet as possible. They already left the doors unlocked all night for you, and in the morning they're gonna lie under oath. But that's what they should do, right? Make the stops for you when you need them."

'Right. I'll have to thank them personally for that later. For now, I just need to get to the junkyard, so I at least have a chance to do so.' I double checked everything I wanted was in the satchel. Finally, I turned off my phone, and left it and my stylus on the table as I walked to the door, much to Katelyn's shock. "Wait, you're not bringing that!? Well, that's a first."

'Nope. I'm going off the grid. As much as I'd like to say it's quitting an addiction, it's mostly an issue with charging. Simply put, I won't be able to, so why bother?'

I opened the door, letting out a quick exhale through the cold night air. Or at least I assumed it was cold, I couldn't tell thanks to the layer of fur insulating me. Just before I stepped outside, Katelyn called out to me. "Cya, Jason. Good luck out there."

After a short moment, I gave her a nod. 'Thanks, Kate. Alright, time to get outta here.'

6:23 am, August 24th, 2019

Once outside the streetlight-lit town, the route to the junkyard was in near total darkness, relying on my limited navigation skills to remember the way. Fortunately, it boiled down to 'Follow the bike trail near the highway for about an hour.' It was quite eerie to see an otherwise fairly busy road be all but deserted of cars. However, the few which drove by probably never even noticed me. It's hard to see dark-coloured things at night, and as it turns out, being covered in crimson, grey and black fur qualifies as such.

The sky began to brighten as the industrial park slowly came into view. By the time the sun began rising over the horizon and more cars poured through the highway on their way to the city, I was already in the area and had split off from the trail to avoid getting seen. I found myself walking along the perimeter of the junkyard to the break in the fence, just behind the garages. The place had definitely changed - There was a certain atmosphere that I felt, a sense of homeliness like entering a cosy rural cottage, as I received friendly waves from other Pokémon there. I waved back as I could while I walked across the warehouse.

'Okay, I'm actually here. Best get comfy with this.' I made my way to the control booth in the factory. It seemed like the best place for me to call home, seeing as Kaden and Cody spend the nights there - Provided they would actually let me stay, although that I was sure of.

I would also need word from the third Pokémon who was evidently bunking there. Another tall, bipedal creature, resembling a jackal, sat on a chair near the control panel, head resting in arms as if they were sleeping over a desk. It had blue and black fur on its head and arms, and a pale, yellow, furry body. Somewhere in the back of my mind, a bell was ringing. I had definitely seen this Pokémon before, but I didn't exactly remember where. When they closed their eyes, the four black appendages hanging off the back of their head, almost resembling a weird hairdo, began softly shimmering and levitating slightly. 'That's it- A Lucario. And that's also all I currently remember.' I opened my mouth to speak up, but opted not to distract them from whatever they were doing. They opened their eyes, and the appendages began obeying the laws of physics again.

"Hey. Are you Jason?" The Lucario said.

"Uh huh… How'd you know?"

"Cody," He said nonchalantly, briefly looking at the sleeping Jolteon. "I'm Ollie. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too. What was that… thing you were just doing?"

"Reading your aura."

"I'm sorry?"

"Aura, A-U-R-A. It's like… the spiritual energy that living things emit. Not sure how to describe it really, other than that it changes 'scents' as you think about different things. Yada yada, in short it lets me read your emotions, thoughts, and conscious and subconscious desires as well," He said, giving me a playful wink. "In fact, I can do that with anyone."

"WHAT?"

"Nah, I'm just joshing you. Don't get all relaxed though- Theoretically I can, but I'm not that good… yet. Anyway, do you know where his brother is? Kaden?"

I shook my head, still particularly unnerved at the fact that my thoughts may no longer be just mine.

"Ooh, that's unfortunate. What do you say we 'wake' Codes up and get on with today?"

There was a slight snicker in his voice as he said that. I looked into his eyes, and they were scheming. It was an expression that I was too familiar with, whether it be from coming from me, or from Katelyn about to do something to me. "You want to scare him."

"Bingo." Ollie quietly crouched down in front of the sleeping Jolteon, and I wordlessly followed suit. He gently brushed a paw against Cody's ear. His ear twitched and his eyelids fluttered. "Hey buddy!" Ollie abruptly exclaimed.

"GAAaaaAAHH!" Cody shrieked. "Ollie, you SUCK! Oh my God."

That completely sent us for no reason. Perhaps it's just from hearing a quiet person become not-so-quiet for a moment. In any case, we both lost the ability to do anything other than roll around on the ground in hysterics.

"What on Earth are you guys doing?" I realised my eyes were shut tight. I opened them to see Kaden staring down at us from the doorway. He had walked in on a very surreal scene: Me and Ollie, lying on our backs giggling like idiots, and Cody, who was looking worse for wear with his fur ruffled up.

"Um… We might have jumpscared Codes," Ollie said innocently.

"Oh, for fucks sake, Ollie. Ah-" Kaden muttered under his breath, before promptly cutting himself off. "My bad."

'Bad morning?' He seemed a bit done in for whatever reason. Before I could think of why, he suddenly locked eyes with me in an intense glare. "You there, Jason. You're the only one here who knows who Dart is. Could you find him for me?"

"Yeah, sure. What d'you need him for?" I said, sitting up straight.

"Tell him that I want to see about scouting the area from the sky. Um… this is tomorrow morning. I can't do it right now, I need to help a few folks with their moves," He explained, before disappearing out the door.

"Well, um. That's that." Ollie said, before rolling over to face the still very agitated Jolteon. "You alright, buddy? Sorry about that."

"Yeah, yeah. I- Yeah, I'm fine."

"Um… alrighty then. Jason, you should go find Dart, I guess."

Dart was someone I recognised - barely. Personally, I had encountered him a grand total of once, and some Pokémon who'd been at the junkyard longer than I have, zero times. Hence, I didn't exactly have high hopes of finding him. The sliver of anticipation diminished as I lapped the warehouses, courtyard, depot, and even checked the car lot out front. No luck.

On the third lap of the junkyard, I finally noticed an peculiar group of Pokémon. A band of Eeveelutions who, unlike me, seemed to be a whole friend circle who got transformed. Initially thinking there was nothing unusual, as I walked past, I noticed they were crowded around an unconscious Vaporeon lying on the ground. "What happened?" I asked.

"Dunno. Ruth apparently up and fainted earlier, but she seems to be doing okay now," One of the other Eeveelutions said. On closer inspection, it looked more like the Vaporeon was sleeping, so I left them alone.

By the fifth, and at that point I decided would be the final walk through the junkyard, I was just about ready to find Kaden and tell him this was a lost cause. That was, until I looked to the sky. Dart was standing at the edge of the roof of the factory, staring solemnly into the distance. I internally facepalmed. 'How long have you been there!?' In the few minutes it took to climb up to the roof, he hadn't moved an inch.

"You again," He said slowly, without even turning around. "Why're you here?"

"Kaden wants you tomorrow morning. For some 'aerial scouting,' according to him. Honestly sounds kinda cool, I'd sign. Just… letting you know in advance."

Dart nodded in response. "M'kay. Tomorrow morning. That's settled."

"Great. I'll relay that to him," I said.' I headed off the roof, making my way across and back down, finally opening the access door to the depot. As expected, Kaden was helping another Pokémon, which I could only describe as a large, black, white and blue dragon-bat hybrid. I waved to him from the door.

"One sec, mate," Kaden said to the Pokémon. He came up to meet me at the door. "Any word from Dart?"

"About ten, actually. I think that's a record. Oh and also, he's fine with it. I– really don't see the need to organise anything, considering we have all the time in the world. But to each their own. I'm gonna go now."

I climbed up the staircase in the storage warehouse, all the way to the suspended platform above all the shipping containers. From my vantage point, I could see Kaden and several other Pokémon practising various moves in the range. Beyond that, I could see other buildings in the area past the forest canopy. I pulled a chair up against the window, set my satchel on the ground and began snacking on the muesli bars I brought with me.

"Jason?" I looked up to see Cody peeking over the stairs. I waved to him, telling him he could come up. "What brings you up here, Codes?"

"Nothing really,"

"You're not helping out your brother?"

"Nah," He jumped onto the chair next to me and laid down. "Why aren't you down there either?"

"Ah. As you know, my illusions are a bit more unique. It's not something like that," I said, watching a Pokémon discharge a bolt of lightning at a large paint can and sending it flying. "It's… more of an ability that's not relegated to just fighting. Yes, I can use it in a fight, but it works outside of them, too, like if I needed a convenient fall guy. If I do have attacks, well, I'll have a think about it. Honestly, I would just prefer to avoid fighting altogether."

"Same here. No combat for me."

"You don't wanna at least try and learn something, though?"

"No, it's a bit uh… much for me. It's just that I can't see myself as someone who'll actually use them."

I paused for a moment. "Oh well, it's ultimately your decision. I think, once Kaden's done with those guys, I might head down after. Just… for illusions, again. I don't know how long he's gonna take though, so I reckon I'm just gonna have a little looksee around the back. If you're gonna stay here, do please come and find me when they're done."

"No no no, you're not doing that without me!"

"Okay, come along then!"

I led him out the broken window onto the shipping container stack between the warehouses. We walked toward the space at the back of the junkyard, where it began to look a lot more like a cargo port, with even more shipping containers. Hundreds, very possibly thousands. 'Why on Earth does a junkyard need so many shipping containers, anyway?'

We made our way down via a conveniently placed fire escape on the exterior of the storage warehouse and spent a while silently strolling through the yard. The stacks were tall and overbearing but spaced fairly far apart, like walking down a road in a city except without the detail, not even the facades of the buildings. Quite literally jut the basic shapes. Evidently, there was meant to be enough room for vehicles to drive through. For whatever reason, I felt at ease here. It wasn't just far from the eye of the authorities, but from virtually everyone, even the others in the junkyard. It seemed like a good place to hide if I just needed some alone time for whatever reason.

"This just goes on and on- I really underestimate the size of this place every time," Cody said as we wandered down a 'street.' This one was at the far back of the junkyard, with the stack to our right pretty much touching the back fence. "Erm… what happened here?" We arrived at a lone shipping container that was completely and utterly deformed. One side was dented as if a car had been rammed straight into it, and the entire structure and surrounding area looked like it had been hosed down. Cody stepped forward, gingerly pawing the pool of water. "I think we missed something, Jason. Who, and how…?"

"That would be me, Ruth and Maxi's handiwork," Kaden said from behind. He walked past us and up to the container, feeling the gigantic dent in its side. "We tried seeing if it would be possible for us to collect fresh water. Yes, using Hydro Cannon. Firstly, I'm very glad I'm a grass type. After that, uh… then we tried to see how far we could take it. God, I hope Ruth's alright."

"What happened?"

"She passed out after a bit. Said she had a sore throat and then fainted right there. I carried her out to the courtyard to rest in the shade. Not gonna lie, I feel kinda bad for letting that happen."

I recalled seeing a sleeping Vaporeon in the courtyard. "It looked like she was okay, don't worry. In the meantime, is it alright if I practice my illusions with you again?"

"Sure, I've just finished up with those guys at the range. You have anything in mind or…?"

"Yeah. Disguises." Kaden gave me a nod before directing me towards the range.

"Hey, umm… Is it alright if I tag along?" Cody asked.

"Nah, yeah, go ahead mate. Actually, you could help me distract Jason."

"Really!? Alright, sick."

I practised my illusions under Kaden's guidance through the afternoon, with Cody acting as support. As requested, it was all spent on trying to maintain a disguise which, to my relief, was seeing great improvement. I slowly came to the realisation that our little one-on one was not going to last. He didn't just have his own worries to take care of, but those of nearly everyone else as well. We were interrupted multiple times during our practice. I figured everyone saw him as the go-to guy for anything about life in hiding. I also figured that he was, seeing as he had no hesitation in helping anyone with whatever errand or question they needed.

I was already dead tired from the practice as I climbed onto the roof of the factory to watch the sunset. Maybe it would've been smarter to take a nap, but, as cliche as it sounds sometimes, you never know when you're going to experience something for the last time. The clouds and sky itself were set ablaze as the city slowly came to life. Except it was in a strange limbo: From afar, the city was alive. All the lights were burning, but I knew it would look and feel completely different on the streets. The Melbourne nightlife, whisked away, completely absent. The bars, pubs and venues, left deserted and dead. All to make room for the curfews that would complicit the forced removal of us from the state.

As night fell, I learnt that it truly becomes quite dark when you go off the grid. If it weren't for the moonlight shining through the clouds, I would've been stumbling around in the pitch-black dark in any place that wasn't the courtyard. Power really should be treated as a luxury, otherwise you're left at the mercy of nature. And goddamn, can it be brutal. I imagined what it would've been like for early humans - Exposed to the cold dark, trying to keep a little fire, your very lifeline, alive. Not worrying about tomorrow when today was a fight to survive. And we did try and fight the darkness. We tried stuff like lighting torches from the fire, or setting up another burn barrel, or getting one of the fire types to act as a moving campfire, it never seemed to work well enough. And then the rain started. It wasn't anything big, just some light pitter-patter that dragged for a few hours, but it was enough to drive us all under a roof. Since there was no point in fighting nature itself, I decided to get some sleep early. Perhaps my circadian rhythm could finally start to repair itself, too.

7:47 am, August 25th, 2019

I woke up to the sunlight somehow beaming through the window and directly into my face. Weird, I sleep in a bunk bed and close my blinds every night well before I head up- RIght. There were no bunk, no blinds, no comforts of the life I had. Just the oxidised metal, dulled bricks, and the harsh knowledge that I was forced to leave it all behind for a new life that may thrive and very possibly would not. Oh well, better to focus on the present when the future seems so grim. I stretched out my arms, accidentally smacking Ollie right in the face. "Nngh- Wha-?" He yawned, slowly propping himself up.

"Sorry, I think I hit you. Light sleeper?"

He gave a murmur of assent. Between us was Cody, curled up and still sound asleep. Ollie began gently stroking his fur. I could hear crackling, like electricity, resonate from his body as he shifted into a seemingly more comfortable position. "Hold up- Is that purring?"

"Who? What?" Ollie replied drunkenly. He then immediately forgot he was asked something as he began nodding off. I sighed. 'You're almost as bad as Kate, dude.' Since he was clearly not a morning person, I left him to doze. By the time Cody awoke, Kaden had already left the room and half an hour passed by. Moreover, I had accidentally drifted off. It was gonna be a long day.

"Hi, Ollie. Morning, Jason. I hope you don't mind if I ask for a blackberry or two?" He said, doing his best to point to a small box on the shelves next to me. I stretched an arm up, pulled it off the shelf and opened it. Inside were a few blackberries. I placed the box on the floor in front of Cody, who looked slightly concerned as he peered into it. "Oh shoot, not many left. Do you guys want to help me collect some more? It's in the forest, but it's not that far."

"Far, not far, I'm down for it," Ollie replied, now fully awake. "Jason?"

I nodded. "Wait for me at the fence. I'll go find some containers or stuff first."

The pair left the room as I got up and grabbed my satchel from the corner. I emptied its contents onto the shelves before searching the warehouse for some sturdy containers or boxes. Eventually, in the rundown parking warehouse, I found a few plastic buckets stacked together in the corner. The top bucket, filled with horrible junk and at least three different species of mould, was tossed away. Fortunately, all the other ones were, for the most part, completely fine. After shaking the dirt and dust off the buckets, I carried them over to the hole in the fence, where Ollie and Cody were waiting for me. Finally, we headed off to the blackberry grove.

It was only a short walk through the sparsely dense forest, maybe around ten minutes. For the first few minutes, I watched my footing at every step, trying to avoid stepping on antholes, broken branches and the like. However, my legs quickly became accustomed to the rugged terrain, and before long I stopped caring entirely. We arrived at a large clearing surrounded by the foliage of a huge blackberry bush two metres tall. There were thousands, possibly tens of thousands of berries waiting to be picked. While it was a bit of a bummer to see the invasive plant take over part of the wilderness, for the time being, it provided us with a source of nutrients for the foreseeable future. Working on a small patch of the thicket, I slowly began filling up my satchel with the berries.

"Hey, Jason. I don't think I've seen you eat anything since I met you. If you haven't had anything yet, well, you probably should," Ollie yelled from across the clearing. Somehow, I've never had blackberries in my life. I picked a large berry, delicately rolling it through my claws. "Go on buddy, it's not a suicide bush."

Cautiously, I placed it in my mouth and bit down. The soft skin of the berry burst, its tart yet sweet juices spreading over my tongue. Swallowing it, I could immediately feel there was something more to it. It felt… physically and mentally rejuvenating in a way, as if it was actively suppressing my aches and anxieties - All from a singular berry, no less! I couldn't help but take another one. "Yo, Ollie, have you tried one of these yet?"

"Mhm. Wild is so much better than storebought, isn't it?"

"What? No, I mean the berry itself. Here, have some. Eat it slowly." I walked across the clearing to Ollie and gave him a few blackberries from my satchel. He popped them into his mouth and began chewing them. His expression shifted from slight confusion to complete and utter satisfaction. "Oh yeah, I see where you mean. It's kind of like–" He stopped to eat another one "Like… me and caffeine. You like it?"

"Love 'em. Your buckets are full?"

"Yeah. Hey, Codes!" He exclaimed, jolting him awake from a nap in the middle of the clearing. "Could you lead us back so we don't get lost?"

"You're done? Alright, follow me."

The trek back was made slower by the several kilograms of blackberries weighing me and Ollie down. We finally dropped them off in the courtyard and spent a few minutes to massage each other's shoulders. Once they weren't completely throbbing sore, I headed back to the control booth and spent the next few hours reading one of the novels I brought with me. It was a post-apocalyptic world, where a huge earthquake effectively levelled every building on the planet. My favourite part, in a totally unbiased opinion, was the journal of a Royal Flying Doctors pilot. How she had to adjust from working in the vast, open deserts and rural towns to the ruins of suburbs and cities, with many haunting references to iconic Australian landmarks.

It was a good read evidently, since I became so immersed in the story that I flinched when I heard a drumming sound from outside the room. I backed up, eyes locked on the wall past the door, fully expecting cracks to form on the brick wall, only for Ollie to poke his head through the door. I let out a slightly too audible sigh of relief. "Okay, it's just you. Need something, Ollie?"

"Yeap. I came up to ask you if you know anything about hotwiring a car."

"No… What… what makes you think I know?"

"I dunno, you kinda seem like… A rebellious type. Like you'd do something just to see what it's like, even if it would be frowned upon. No offence. Am I being too nosey? I mean, I got that from when I looked at your aura yesterday. Maybe I misread it or something."

"You probably did. Otherwise, everyone here would give you that feeling. I'm here so I can live my life how I want, not to purposefully be a felon. I ain't that type of guy. And, in my opinion, neither are you, which makes your wanting to hotwire a car all the more weirder."

"Oho, you'd be surprised. There's a whole load of stuff I want… -ed to do. And some of it… yeah, maybe a bit reckless, like going for a late-night speed down the Eyre. If I had written it all down, it would've taken up the entire page. But…" He sighed as he hung his head. "Sadly, I'm gonna have to throw it all away."

"Shame. A lot's been taken, hasn't–"

"Which means that it's time to write a new one! Start from a blank slate! How about that?"

Ollie sounded genuinely excited about having a fresh start in his life. It was like a child showing me his new drawing. Contrast that to me, who was probably overthinking way too much. I couldn't help but let out a slight grin for him. "Good for you, then. What's on it? I mean, you got any ideas already?"

"For starters, I want to help Kaden get this place set up. Make it real nice."

"And that presumably wraps around back to having to hotwire a car. And taking it on a joyride."

"Nonono, none of that this time. I actually want to use it seriously."

"Still though, what about the plates? What about fuel?"

"We can worry about that later. Be resourceful, buddy. We got a whole junkyard of old cars. Surely one of them is still good enough to drive. Do you know how useful having a car working would be?"

"Yeah, I do but- You know what? Ignore what I said, I'll help you find an old car."

I could see Ollie's face light up as I said that. We spent the next few hours out front, combing through at least two hundred cars, utes and more in search of any that seemed to have all the essential bits. There weren't many. Some of the engines looked like they were missing only one or two parts, and maybe we could've found replacements in another car. But neither of us had any mechanical knowledge, so that was off the table.

"That's the last of this row. Looks okay, I think- No, wait, that's a ruptured pipe," He said as he shut the bonnet of the car. It was getting a bit too dark for us to see some of the details on the engine. In the dim remainder of daylight, I etched a small cross onto the bonnet, just above the headlight, marking it as likely unusable.

"Done. I reckon–" I looked up. The skeletons of old lighting pylons and fixtures reaching into the air were scattered throughout the perimeter of the junkyard. And they were not working as light pylons in the slightest. "That's all we can do today. Let's clock out."

8:20 pm, August 25th, 2019

I sat on the edge of the shipping container stack above the courtyard. It had been dark for over an hour and everyone had already headed off for the night, but not me. The burn barrel was lit, creating a soft orange glow on the walls, but that's not where I was looking. I was gazing up at the stars. Giant, incomprehensibly huge balls of gas floating in the middle of empty space, appearing in the sky as mere specks of light, if they were lucky enough to be relatively close by. Despite appearing so insignificant alone, these things served as navigation markers, a point of reference in a great big nothingness, like the Outback. It's fascinating, even if it's way too complex for me to understand. The Southern Cross is just about the only constellation I can recognise in the vast expanse of glittering lights. Either way, the night sky is something to be respected. To some, it is a lifesaver. To others, it gives them existential dread. But for most of us, it's a great big canvas that reminds us of our little home called Earth.

Before I could lose myself in stargazing any further, Kaden joined me, walking into the courtyard with my satchel over his arm. I personally arranged to meet him earlier in the evening. Even though it had barely been a day and a half, I was admittedly getting bored and wanted to know if it was okay for me to exit the junkyard. Okay, it likely wasn't necessary to ask, I'd even complained that it was pointless earlier. But now that I was the one asking, it just felt right to do so, which is why Kaden was climbing up the stack to meet me. As he reached the top of the ladder, I took my satchel back from his hands and helped him up. "Sorry about using your bag, mate. There was nothing better I could find." Inside, there were some blackberries that Ollie and I collected that morning - A very early midnight snack. "You're all good. Anyways. It's been a chill few days, eh? I like what you've got going here."

"So do I, mate."

"That's good," I said, looking over to the Grovyle. "So, I've been thinking. Y'know, the sweeps should be over by tonight- Well, they ended yesterday, but that's besides the point- Do you reckon it's safe to head out?"

"Uh… Where?"

"Like, out out. Not just the blackberry grove, but… well, the city."

"The city?!" Kaden said, taken aback. "Mate, you're crazy. First off, that's a multiple hour walk. Second, you'll be found in ten seconds tops, if you go into the city. Hell, probably before you even reach the inner suburbs. You're better off sticking to the quiet parts of Melbourne."

"No no, it's a hypothetical. I mean I can use disguises, obviously."

"Are you even comfortable with holding one up? In public? If you can't, I'm simply not letting you put yourself in danger like that."

"Hypothetically. But yeah, I reckon I can do it."

"In that case, yes, but I'm… feeling pretty iffy about it."

"Why?"

"Well… To put it simply, I've seen you and Cody. And, I mean this seriously mate, it really makes me happy to see Cody with you."

"Thanks. What does he have to do with this?"

"I do. Y'know, all he's ever really got to know in life is the very boring side of it. He's treating this all as a big break from that, like an escape. I don't argue with that, because I see it the same way."

"So what's wrong then?"

Kaden let out a long sigh. "I've been his brother, closest friend and mentor since he was born. I've taught him how to survive growing up in the household with our folks. Sometimes I snuck him out of the house on nights when our folks were out, so I could show him the do's and don'ts of the world outside. What I haven't taught him is how to survive… well, this. All of our lives are in jeopardy right now, not just his. I hope you're a fast learner mate, since this world will shake you 'till you're dead. They already are. I might've told you this before, but Cody looks up to you. If he thinks it's okay for you to do something and you get away with it, he will. That's why I'm so unsure."

Kaden abruptly stood up and began making his way down the ladder. I followed him down. He stopped in front of the fire, warming himself for a few moments before picking up a metal sheet, ready to smother the flame for the night.

"Dude, wait. Cody isn't that stupid. He's not going to blindly follow someone, let alone me."

"How old are you right now? 17, 18 maybe?"

"Uhh… Yeah, 17."

"Alright. What were you doing when you were at his age? What were you like at 15?"

When I was 15? That would've been Year 9, and that was when there was that school project about mining, and I got grouped up with Jake and Robin, still some of my closest friends. When I discovered a now long-lost photo of a picturesque mountainside that sparked an interest in photography, forming part of my almost obsessive desire to chase sunsets. When I accidentally fell down a rabbit hole online, discovering the many atrocities humanity has committed on themselves - Something that traumatised me and I've wiped from my mind, but has forever changed my outlook on them. I was still becoming me.

"Uh… Still finding a place in life."

"You see? You were still developing yourself. Hell, we all are, at all times. How often, say, in the past month, do you do something that you'll regret later on?"

"Well… sometimes, yeah."

Kaden slowly nodded. "It's funny how you think you can mature in a just few years."

"What d'you mean by that?"

"Your younger self looks up to his older peers, thinking they're the greatest of them all. When the time comes, you realise fitting in with them doesn't make you all that happy. So don't do that with me, and don't let Cody do that with you. Be yourself, not a carbon copy."

"In which case, being myself means I want to see what's happening outside. So yes, can I?"

"Yes," Kaden affirmed. "A very, very reluctant yes, though. For my sake, make sure you come up with a good alibi that I can pass on to Cody."

"It all comes down to him with you, huh."

"Yeah. It really does. I know what it's like in hell, and I don't want anyone else to know."

"Kaden, I'm gonna be real with you here, it's not gonna be a forever solution. You can shield him from everything outside, but he's gonna find out one day. You're going to have to be honest with him when that time comes, no matter how much you hate it."

"I know that, it's… now is not the right time. Once things settle down."

"That's just it," I remarked. "It never will."

And I would be right. Both of us never knew when the world would settle down.

Author's notes:

I had no idea what I was doing as I was writing this chapter and completely winged it, but that's partly because I was so tired I was literally falling asleep writing it each night. Also I've never had a blackberry in my life lol.

There's a few random things I want to discuss regarding some parts of this chapter and I don't know how to flow them together well so I'm just dumping them here in no particular order:

Writing social scenes as a very antisocial person… is hard. Not that it makes me feel terrible about myself or anything, just that it's straight up hard to do sometimes. So I hope they're alright, even if a little awkward at times.

I never meant to go into detail about the night sky and space, but that's probably because I was listening to the Nova album by Lemmino. 10/10 would recommend. Personal favourites are Infinity and Moon. In fact, those songs were part of the reason I was falling asleep while writing lol. Then daylight savings ended, and suddenly 2am became 1am. Gah, it was all a mess.

That novel Jason reads is based on a real book: Zombie Apocalypse! By Stephen Jones. Besides the implied disaster, the plot is told through many different perspectives in different text types. Stuff like transcripts, social media posts, text messages, journals, etc. Sales pitch aside, make you think of something? Different perspectives based on the same event? Need I remind you what his fic is titled? I was initially thinking of leaving it out since it might be a bit too on the nose, but nah. This is funny and that's all that matters.

Welp, that's quote-unquote Act 1 finished. Most of the recurring characters have been established (With some exceptions for… reasons). I also looked at the 3 act story structure, and realise this story will barely follow it. But here's the thing: I don't care lol. There's three main sections to the story, and first is setup. Next chapter and Act 2 releases in May, whaddya say?

Anyways, adieu!

PS: There's a very minor plothole in this chapter (and C3 by extension): Blackberries aren't supposed to be in season until around November here in Australia. Oops. I do try to research this stuff but inevitably I'm gonna forget something and I do apologise for that mistake. I'll see if I can go back and change it to a fruit or berry that's actually in season during August but still… shit…

Actual word count: 6469
Published April 15th, 2024

Index:
'Thoughts/telepathy'
"Speech"
'Typed/written text'