Pixelated (NaNo 2017)

Chapter Eleven

CHAPTER ELEVEN:

"Oh my god," Ariana said as she bit into the two day-old eggs. "I never appreciated these enough when we were living there."

Grayson, who'd already scarfed his down, couldn't help but nod.

"I guess that's what happens when you're coming down from getting shot with a horse tranquilizer—food tastes a bit better," he said, to which Ariana laughed.

"So how long has it been since we got out?" she asked.

"Two-ish days," Grayson answered. "I don't know what they had in that tranquilizer but it was tough. Once you finally fell asleep, you didn't wake up for almost a full day, and then when you did wake up, you tried to eat, threw up, then fell right back to sleep."

"But we made it," she said.

"But we made it," he echoed.

"God, I can't believe it!" she said, stretching and standing up. Grayson was wearing one of the changes of clothes they'd brought—jeans and a plaid shirt—but he was desperate for something more suited for the warmth, because it was oppressive all throughout the day.

Ariana went to stand at one of the windows, her eyes roving the miles of empty land. "This is nothing like I expected it to be."

Grayson nodded. "It's nothing like anything I read about. It's just miles of... nothing."

"It's beautiful," Ariana said, and Grayson nodded.

"Way more than anything a screen could have shown us."

"So, what's the plan from here?" Ariana asked, turning around but staying in the beams of the sun that filtered through the dusty window.

"I don't know," Grayson said, running a hand through his hair. "This place doesn't have any running water, so I guess we should try to get to some of the other buildings in the distance, but I think we should wait at least another day to make sure you're fully back."

"Yeah, I think I need some time before we walk like that again," Ariana agreed. "But I mean, even beyond that, do you think there is anybody living near here?"

"I don't know... all the books we read for school definitely made it seem that there weren't people living outside the compound—it said that they all died," Grayson said. "But, I don't necessarily think that's true. When we got out of the compound, we had to walk through those rows and rows of aircrafts, and that warehouse we were in was filled with explosives and ammunition. I mean, sure the ammunition could be for the compound, but why would they need anything like helicopters or airplanes? There must be people who survived, and who they're fighting, otherwise what would all that be for?"

Ariana stewed on this a moment, chewing her lip and letting her eyes travel to the ceiling before she said, "I think you're right. It doesn't make sense otherwise. Now I guess the question is how can we find them? And would we actually be able to trust them? Would they want us?"

Grayson nodded. "That is a good question. I mean, they might not want anything to do with us because we lived in the compound for so long; they might not trust us. As for trusting them, I think we'd need to find them first before we even worry about trust."

"Okay, so we set off for one of those buildings in the distance in hopes of running water, and then from there we'll see if we can find any signs of life that might suggest the people who the compound is still fighting—or at least worried about enough to have all of those aircrafts—are near us?" Ariana asked, and Grayson confirmed it.

"But let's take a day. They don't seem to be after us, so I think it's best to let you rest. And besides, I'm so sore I feel like my muscles are going to shred if I try any more exertion," Grayson said.

Ariana smiled, the outline of her hair shimmering in the sunlight, her cheer contagious. She was staring at her shoes, pensive for a moment.

"It's weird, isn't it? It all seems so easy. I mean, yeah, it was dangerous, but we outrun some guards, and then they just leave us alone. We were moving slow through the empty desert, yet they didn't even try to come get us; they could have had a helicopter up in minutes after us, but they didn't. Why?"

Grayson grinned. If there was one thing he'd learned about Ariana in the short time they'd known each other, it was that she had a conspiracy mind; one that immediately jumped to the worst conclusion; one that didn't trust the surface level.

"True," he said. "Or they could have realized we're just two kids and us getting away won't end their covert operation."

She paused. "I wish we could. I'm beginning to feel like we should have stayed."

Grayson cocked his head. The thought hadn't crossed his mind once. Sure, he'd felt brief spouts of fragmentation, as only missing family could, but he had never once felt like they should have stayed. It was suicide to stay there.

At his silence, she continued, "Think about it. We took the coward's way out. We ran when we should have stayed, and spread the truth we'd discovered absolutely everywhere we could. If everyone knew what was happening, people would fight back. It's in our blood."

"You can't spread truth when you're locked in a torture room or dead," Grayson said.

"I suppose." Ariana bit her lip again. "It just feels wrong. Like we did something unjust. Because think about it—what have we done by running? Saved ourselves, but the people in the torture rooms? The people who will be there? What have we done for them?"

"Nothing," Grayson admitted. "I see your point—we took the information we had and ran from it rather than using it. But think about it—they were clearly watching us. Tracking our conversations, figuring out our plans. Say we had stayed. Say we posted about it in the forums, and sent out messages to any avatar we'd come in contact with. We'd no doubt get dragged into the torture rooms, and the people who'd seen all of it would have no reason to believe us; no proof. And they'd think we were just two teens making things up to screw with the system. It wouldn't have changed anything."

Ariana was slowly nodding, but she didn't look convinced.

"Look, not dying isn't cowardice. It's a necessity. And because we didn't die, this isn't the end. Think about what we decided earlier: there are people out here and fighting. So let's fight with them."

Ariana smiled at this.

"Yeah," she said, "let's fight with them."

'''''

Another one I'm not incredibly proud of, but that's the reality of NaNo.

Word Count: 27,070