WIRED (dan howell au)

chapter one ~ stranger

It's a cold afternoon.
Even though it's summer in London, England.
The weather went out of whack when the gas was released in the air. It also created mutants, it killed people. Everyone turned against each other. Some survived the first few months, most didn't.
The company that released the deadly gas are called the Cyber Operating Industries, most commonly referred to as COI. They were found experiencing on humans, lengthening life spans and using them to create robots. My father worked for them. He never told anyone and no one found out. He was the one who released the gas. He did it in protest of being arrested.
He was such a kind and caring man. But he was actually an awful, despicable monster. I am disgusted by him and his actions, how could he turn against his own family like that. How could he kill people so easily and not care at all?
I may never know.

But I plan to find out.

So, I'm walking. A typical day. Not many people thrive in major cities anymore. Not after they were bombed.
It destroyed most of London. Giving that erie post apocalyptic feeling. But it's not just a feeling, it's reality. Abandon cars are scattered everywhere, most buildings are shards of what they used to be. That was only the beginning of The Fall.

"No, please! No!"

My thoughts are interrupted by a voice. I quickly inch closer to the source and duck down behind an abandoned car.

"Please, stop!" I peek up. The voice was coming from a really tall, attractive guy. He looked to be in his 20s. His face seems a bit familiar. He is dressed in a simple black t-shirt, jeans and... sneakers? Why is he dressed so oddly?
"Please!" He puts his hands up in defence.
And why is he begging for mercy? That is not going to help the fact that another man is holding him at gunpoint.
"What are you doing in a place like this, kid?" The gunman asks.
"I don't know. I don't know where I am," He replies. He is really scared and it is pretty easy to see that.
"How do you not know?"
"I don't remember anything," Does he have amnesia or something?
"That's not a good enough excuse for me," The gunman says as he reloads his gun, and puts it right against t-shirt guy's head.

My instincts take over, I cannot let another innocent person die in front of me.

I race forward, grabbing the gunman's arm and pointing it to the ground. I twist his arm around, making him drop the weapon. I pick it up and point it at him.
"What are you doing?" I ask, trying to be intimidating.
"What I have to do, missy. Now, give me the gun back."
"You said 'the'," I reply.
"What?"
"Instead of 'my gun' you said 'the gun' which leads to a 84% chance that it is stolen, that it is not yours," I am trying my best to confuse him.
"I don't have time for this," His hand is nearing his pocket and I'm afraid there is another weapon.
"I don't think anyone does," I eject the magazine and quickly stuff it in my pocket. But it results to him pulling out a knife.
I whip the useless, empty gun at his head. He crumples to the ground, knocking him out.

"Come on, we don't have much time before he wakes up," I say to t-shirt guy.
"Why did you save me?" His first words to me. Something I didn't pick up before is that he has a British accent.
"Well, anyone in the right mind wouldn't let another innocent person get killed."
"Um, thanks, I guess."
"No problem."
I start walking in the direction I came and wave for him to come along.
"Wait! Are you bringing me with you?"
"Yes. Is there a problem?"
"Yeah, well, I don't know you. You could be exactly like gun guy over there." Well, he's not stupid, that's for sure.
"The name's Hazel."
"I'm Dan," He replies.
"I'm bringing you along because I happened to overhear that you have amnesia or something. You probably have no idea what's going on right know and you certainly do not want to be out after dark. I have a house not far from here. You will be safe there."
"Any further proof you are not like gun guy?" He is extremely cautious.
"I don't have a gun."
"Okay, than." He still doesn't seem sold on it. But I don't have any other proof.
Those ended up being the last words until we reached the suburban area, around half an hour later.

"We are in London, by the way. London, England."
After I say England, he grabs his head and winces in pain.
"Are you okay?" I rush to ask.
After a moment he responds, "I think- I think I'm fine now," he blinks a few times and lowers his hands.
"Do you need anything?"
"No, thank you."
I felt worried, I don't know why, though. I barely know him. He is a complete stranger to me.
I have to ask. "Did you, uh, remember something? I'm sorry, it's just a thought."
"Yeah, I think so. I think I lived here."
"It got bombed around 50 years ago, I don't know how you could have lived here."
"I'm not sure. I just know I lived here."
"It was a beautiful city, my grandfather lived here."
"That's cool." He's quite awkward.

Another minute pasts. "There it is," I announce.
"Oh. It's... Nice." I can't tell if he is horrified or surprised. Or both.

It's an average two-story house, just really run down. I never found out why it's the only house that didn't take much damage. Even though the entire back side took quite a blow, it's suitable enough to live in, while all the other houses got destroyed. It even has solar panels for power. Back in 2021, renewable resources made quite an impact and nearly two thirds of the world got solar panels.

"Sorry if it's not the mansion you were expecting," I apologize.
"No, I'm actually quite surprised."
"And why is that?"
"It's the only house I've seen that hasn't been brutally murdered."
I laugh. "That's one way of putting it."
And that's when I remember he isn't dressed for the weather. "Oh my God, I forgot you're wearing a t-shirt! You must be freezing!"
"I don't really find it that cold."
"How? It's like -5 degrees Celsius."
"I don't know..." He gives me a confused look.
"Well, let's go inside then."
"That's a good idea. I really don't want to find out what comes out after dark." The sun is approximately 20 minutes away from setting.
I walk up to the front door and take the key out of my pocket. I unlock it and walk inside quickly turning on some lights and invite him in.

"Wow, it is pretty nice," He smiles.
"Um thanks, I guess."
I ask, "Are you hungry or anything?"
"No, not really."
"Are you sure?"
"99% sure."
"Okay," I end the conversation and go around the house looking for anything wrong. Dan follows.
"What are you doing?" He asks very many questions.
"Checking for anything dangerous."
"Has anything happened before?"
"Yes," I respond to quickly. Too forcefully. It's definitely something I do not want to talk about.
"Okay then," He says, steering away from my land of painful memories.
"Could you go lock the front door? I think I forgot."
"Yeah, of course." He goes to do as I asked.
I continue to look around and find that one of the windows are opened a little bit. Going to close it, I notice a light out of the corner of my eye, coming out from under an old blanket. I approach it.
"Anything else you need me t-" I quickly gesture for him to get back. I fear it might be a bomb.
I step closer but I realize too late that I stepped on the button that triggers it, hearing a click.
"Shit," I whisper.
"What?" Dan asks.
"Bomb."
"Shit indeed," He agrees.
"That really helps." I don't know what to do. I'm scared. The only idea I have is to run away as fast as possible. But than that means our safety overnight is gone and, depending how big this bomb is, it could destroy the house, with no means of repair.
"I have an safehouse near here. If anything goes wrong, we can go there. Do you have any ideas about what I can do right now?"
"I'm not exactly a bomb expert."
"Any ideas at all."
"Run."
"If I take my foot of the button, I'm pretty sure it's going to blow. And the sun is almost down. We have a slim chance of surviving right now. I suggest for you to try and save yourself."
"You saved my life, I can try my best to repay the debt. I can't just leave you. I'm staying, and you can't talk me out of it."
"Stubborn, are you."
"Yep."
5 seconds of stress and thinking go by.
"The only way I'm getting out of this is to run," I state.
"I would think so too," He agrees.
"Go back to the front room, it's small but sturdy, I will try to run there as fast as possible. But first, go into the kitchen, there should be a bag on the floor. Grab as much food as possible. After it goes off I will run upstairs and get my stuff. We have about 15 minutes until the sun sets. Its about a 15 minute walk from here. We can run. I think we will be okay. Okay?"
"Got it."
"Go." I order, Dan rushes off into the kitchen. After about 30 seconds later he comes back with a backpack full of food.
"Ready?" He asks.
"No, not really."
"I'll be over here. Good luck." He walks to the front room.

3, 2, 1, GO!

I run as fast as I possibly can. As soon as I step in the front room, an explosion goes off behind me. The last thing I feel are arms wrapping around me and a sudden pain in the back of my head.

And then, of course I ruin the plan of escaping by blacking out.