The Boy from the Bunker

Episode Six, Part 3:

Episode Six, Part 3:
Stoic

Wynn sat gazing into a small fire burning in front of him. For a moment, he was lost; the roaring sounds of the camp surrounded him in every direction: the innocent laughter of the camp children, the distant beating of tribal drums, the lively evening chatter of Basilisk's reign. It wasn't the same, but if Wynnlow tried hard enough, he could convince himself that he was waiting for supper to be brought out in the Bunker, laughing at the table as the older ones taunted the younger, and the adults sat at the far ends of the table, hiding behind their annexed fears of the future.

The tighter he closed he eyes, the more he began to see what he had missed. The warning signs. The fate of the Bunker. The proof that there had been other people all along...

Someone touched his shoulder, shaking him awake from his mind.

"Here." Quill offered, handing over to Wynnlow a rusty bowl of something warm. He simply shrugged it away, causing for Quill to set it down by his feet.

"I don't want their food." Wynnlow groaned.

"Boycotter." Bas, from the other side of him, nabbed.

Quill - digging into his own bowl, replied with a mouthful of food.

"No. This is surviving - you can't boycott that. That's just suicide." Quill smirked, amused at himself, at least.

"There's more important things right now."

"Wynn, we will get our fa-"

"I don't want to hear it, Quill. Alright, I've heard it enough times. I just want it to be done."

"What you need is a distraction." Bas interrupted, picking up Wynnlow's bowl and not-so-discreetly tipping it away. He placed his hands on either side of Wynn's shoulders, gearing him up for excitement.

"We have the whole world. So many people, so many girls. Look, my point is, we've been stuck with the same people for 14 years. We finally got a little bit of freedom from them, and we get to do whatever we want. You can't just chose to mope around in this tiny little chance."

"Come on, Bas. We all know that he's not interested in any girls. The whole reason he's 'moping around' is because he only has eyes for your sister."

Bas tensed up, ready to tackle Quill to the ground. Wynnlow held his arm out, blocking Bas' way, his act of warning him not to do anything. Reluctantly, Bas backed away, keeping a cold stare on Quill nonetheless.

He hadn't told them how it had gone down with Lyra, and how being separated from them all didn't feel in the slightest bit like 'freedom'. But Bas was right - they had a chance. A piece of the world now hat couldn't be taken away from them. Surely there was some good in that, even if everything else was tremendously bad.

Wynn shot an unbiased look towards Quill and allowed himself to be pulled upwards by Bas.

"You coming?" The older boy turned to Quill, slinging his arm around Wynnlow.

"No. I'll be fine here." Quill replied, diverting his attention back to his food, and Azha who had now joined him.

"Suit yourself." Bas smirked. He turned on his heel, bringing Wynnlow around with him. He expected to be led towards the large bonfire roaring in the centre of Basilisk, an excited Bas encouraging him to 'loosen up', but he led him away, his head down, his voice sharp.

"Whatever the hell it takes. You hear me? That's what you gotta do. Go crazy, kill a guy, but I need you to get me to them."

Wynnlow pulled away, pushing Bas away from him in shock. The words he said were so foreign, so unfathomable that Wynn could hardly even process his request.

"Bas-"

"You got out of here before, and I know you've been going out with that River chick, so just show me how. You don't even have to come with me, I just need to know how you got out."

"Bas, you're being irrational! You don't know anything about the world outside of these gates."

"And I suppose you do?" Bas stepped closer, his face a mere few inches away from Wynnlow's as some sort of rage took over. Wynn's eyes nervously looked around, aware that anyone could be witness to their argument, reporting their behaviour to those in charge.

Bas seemed to notice, refraining himself a little. "Look, if I die, I die. But I don't wanna live this way - separated, not knowing what happened to them. And I know you've felt the same way too. It's just a risk I'm prepared to take. So please, get us out of here."

s i x  //  p a r t  t h r e e