DMAORG - Code of Conduct

-11-

They walk for a very long time in the tunnels. Tyler has never really had a sense of time in Dema, because every day is the same there. Every hour. Every second. But here, time seems to have a grip on him. He can almost feel it run away, like a shadow before him he has to follow incessantly. And it runs and runs and never stops and Tyler cannot stop walking or else he will be lost. It is tiring, exhausting even, but when Tyler feels like stopping, there is something else he had never had before in Dema. Tyler doesn't know how to describe it yet, but it feels like a force field, pushing him forward and taking the shape of people all dressed in khakis and yellow tape and brown fabric like camouflage. Or maybe not a force field, but something oozing out of that group of people, something warm and light but very strong, something that makes his heart beat steady and his breathing calm, even though he feels like drowning from the fear of the unknown.

Tyler has tried to ask questions ever since he has stepped down the stairs leading to the tunnels, but the man at his sides – Josh, Tyler is pretty sure his name is Josh even though the man has not told him – just shook his head. "Not now", he had whispered, and Tyler understood and kept walking. But now Tyler was feeling tired. His legs hurt, the muscles in his thighs hardened. His throat is as dry as a desert – what's a desert? – and drops of sweat are falling from his forehead and into his eyes. Tyler glances behind him. The banditos seem focused, strong, like nothing can stop them. They walk like they've just started, full of energy and adrenaline. Tyler thinks that if he stops now, they could possibly walk all over him, so he turns his head back, trying to focus on a point very far ahead.

Tyler stops suddenly. The banditos behind him bump into him, but they don't walk over him. They say sorry and they stop too, asking what's wrong and is he okay and does he need something, and Tyler feels very warm, but he cannot focus on them or answer any of their questions. Because he's seeing that point, very far ahead, and the brightness of it makes his eyes burn so much he has to blink blink blink a lot of times.

"It's okay," Josh says with a smile, and he takes his hand then. Contact was forbidden in Dema, and Tyler now knows why: it feels like, through their touching skin, Josh is giving Tyler superpowers. It makes him feel invincible, like nothing can hurt him, even the light coming from... is it the end of the tunnel? As if he's heard, Josh kind of nods. "I know it's scary, Ty, but I promise it's fine. Come on, we can talk when we're outside. It's close, now."

And so Tyler nods in response and they all start walking again. Tyler has lots of questions turning in his head, and the fact that he is actually allowed to think those thoughts now is giving him a headache. It feels new to him, and weird, but good. Like he can actually think his own thoughts, not someone else's. Not the Bishops'. Not what the Neon wants him to think.

For a while, Tyler gets lost in his mind. He tries to make a list of all the questions he wants to ask Josh – why does he know his name even though he hasn't told him? Why does it seem like Josh has known him for a long time? What is outside of Dema? Who are the Banditos and why did they save him and not someone else? – and he's actually come very far, counting more than fifty, but as soon as they reach the Light, the end of the tunnel, the Outside, the questions simply vanish, and Tyler is left with his mouth hanging, a fresh breeze caressing his cheek, a strange warmth on his skin.

If Dema was a prison, Outside is anything but. Plains are stretching as far as the eye can see, and even beyond. There are hills and high cliffs towering over them, and Tyler can hear water flowing somewhere close. Just that is enough to throw Tyler off balance. But there's something else. Colors. Tyler wouldn't have known that word just a few hours ago, but now it jumped at his face like a ferocious lion, wanting to make itself known. Colors. Everywhere. And all kinds of them. Not just one green, but lots of greens. And blues, like the blue from the sky, and the blue from the water, and the blue from that girl's eyes Tyler couldn't notice in the darkness of the tunnels. And yellow, too. Lots of yellow. Warm yellow. Fun yellow. Strong yellow. Brave yellow. All over them, their shoulders, their knees, their arms, even their shoes, and on the bandanas hiding their faces. Hopeful yellow.

There's now something in Tyler's stomach, it makes his insides all jittery and bouncy and it tickles and flies inside of him. All Banditos have stopped now. Tyler can see smiles on those who don't wear the bandanas, and the eyes of those who do wear them are all crinkly and shiny. The boy turns to Josh. Josh's smile is the brightest.

"Welcome to Trench, Ty."

|-/

I know, there's nothing much happening here, it's just a filler chapter. But fear not, I'm just preparing you for what's next.

Sorry if the updates are slower these days: I just got a keyboard and I'm spending a lot of time learning new songs to play. Any of you musicians here? If you know good websites to get sheet music from, hit me up!