by Line, Al K.
"Stuff? What stuff?" Lash raised an eyebrow sarcastically. "The dead bodies in the streets? The piles of trash? Cars blocking roads? Or maybe it's the buildings falling to the ground? Or the people after you, or Eventuals chasing you? Which of those do you miss Aiden?"
"That's not fair, there's more than that and you know it. I miss seeing things people did. Walking along the side of a canal, looking at buildings. Nice buildings. Even shopping malls, and yes, the streets, even if they are messy. All the rest of the things I used to see, just... Oh, I don't know. Stuff."
Edsel looked at Lash, as if to say to give Aiden a break. They both knew what he meant really, he just missed parts of his old life: familiar houses, signs of life, or at least life that had once been. The mark of man on his surroundings; it was what they had all grown up with, after all.
But it's all gone now, nothing is getting better. It will be a lot worse after five years too. A lot worse.
"Come on, you guys understand, right? I know it's silly but I feel like I'm missing out. I was too young to remember what it was like before The Lethargy, then it was just me and Dad. Then us guys, but we were still close to things, to towns and I was still really young anyway. Now I'm older and I kind of simply want to go see things. We haven't gone anywhere for five years, that's like my whole young adult life. I just want to go and do something."
"You're bored," said Edsel.
"Not really, no. We do loads of stuff, and there is always plenty to keep me busy, but we are in the middle of nowhere. You wouldn't know there was another person alive on the planet, wouldn't know people had built roads and houses, that there are amusement parks, oops, sorry, and that there are boats and skyscrapers and all those things. Libraries full of books, and movies and even a little bit of the Web. I want to go see it all, experience it all. Heck, even if just to get some new TV shows and see if we can get some better solar equipment — our batteries don't hold the charge like they used to. Basically, yeah, I guess I'm bored and I want to do something. Have an adventure."
"Fair enough," said Edsel.
Lash turned to him. "Not you too? You bored as well?"
"No, I am absolutely not bored. I love it here. I haven't felt so at peace in my entire life; I don't miss anything. But I, you too Lash, we lived through more, were older, had music, movies, TV and Internet. We went to school, ate junk food, got on buses and went for trips and all the normal stuff. Aiden didn't have all that, he was too young. So I get it, he wants to go do something."
"But it's not safe," protested Lash. "I don't want anything bad to happen."
"Neither do I," said Aiden. "But isn't that a part of life: taking risks? I'm not saying we should go to a huge city and stand outside an Eventuals church saying 'Come chase me', I'm just saying it would be quite nice to see somewhere different, get some things for here, and travel around a bit. And..." Aiden started blushing, then stopped talking.
Damn, I hadn't really thought about that.
"Sorry buddy, I really am. I hadn't truly thought much about that when it comes to you. I still see you as that young kid clutching Martha under his arms running down the street. Remember?"
"Haha. Yeah, I remember."
"What? What are you two going on about?"
"You know, girls," said Edsel, spelling it out for Lash.
"Oh. Right. Of course. Silly of me. You're a man now, and men..." There was an uncomfortable silence, then Aiden spoke up.
"Look, I don't want to dwell on this as it's kind of embarrassing, but, you know, I'm nearly twenty. I haven't even kissed a girl, let alone... I don't expect to just go traveling for a few days and suddenly meet hundreds of girls or anything, but I have to think about these things, and, well, I kind of can't stop thinking about these things anyway."
"God yeah, when I was your age I couldn't think of anything else. Not that I had any luck either."
"Okay, okay. I get it guys, jeez. So, basically what you're saying is you want to start going out into the world again and find a girl?"
"Stupid, isn't it?"
"No, not at all. It's our duty to try to find somebody for you. Maybe you'll have children, and that is the most important thing in the world if people aren't just to die off entirely. You're right, it's selfish of us to live here, not letting you have any chance at all of finding somebody nice. We've been selfish."
Poor kid, he must be about ready to explode, all those hormones raging.
"Let's not turn this into a hunt for a girlfriend or anything, please," said Aiden uncomfortably. "But let's at least do something. I am a lot more powerful in The Noise now; I should be able to pick up if there are people about a lot easier. Plus, well, you never know. Right?"
"That's the spirit," said Edsel, slapping Aiden across the back, his red and black hand no longer making him wince every time he looked at it.
Edsel kept up the pretense of how much fun it would be to go on a trip as the conversation continued.
This is all going to go horribly wrong, I can guarantee it.
BORED
Edsel and Lash talked about the trip they had promised to go on late into the night in their room. Edsel lay on the bed naked beside a timelessly beautiful Lash, still counting his lucky stars he had somehow managed to attract such a stunning and intelligent woman. He traced the curve of her perfect bum, marveled at her glossy black hair, stroked her back.
Such perfect skin.
Edsel resisted the urge to sink his teeth lovingly into such a perfect behind; it would be the end of the conversation if he did.
Lash was well into her thirties now and had been twenty three when The Lethargy changed everything. So although older than Edsel by five years it meant that both of them had at least been old enough to remember a world full of endless people and countless things to do. It was different for Aiden — he'd had none of it. Just a small child left alone with his father. Now he wanted to do things, and who could blame him?
They went over and over the same conversation: Lash worrying about their safety if they left, Edsel saying he was concerned too, but that Aiden had a right to experience life, to do things, and yes, look for a companion. Edsel shared his fears, telling Lash that he had a bad feeling about it, but that it was probably just him being silly, her too, after the peace they had enjoyed for years now. But what was the alternative? To let Aiden go alone? What if something did happen and they weren't there to at least try to help? That would be a lot worse.
They should have seen the signs, they should have noticed how much he'd grown, turned into a man that had wants and needs and a desire to participate in what was left of the society he'd grown up in, however difficult that was going to be.
They talked on, making plans, thinking about how best to travel, where to travel, and what they could do to satisfy the inquiring mind of a nineteen year old boy who never had a normal childhood and certainly hadn't had anything like a normal adolescence. The bottom line was that they had been negligent by hiding him away for so long — the boy, a man now, needed to meet people, begin to maybe make a life for himself, one that could even be away from them, at which point Lash started to cry.
Edsel talked to cheer her up, saying that maybe if he did find somebody then they could all live together, but that at the very least they should make the effort to go and do something on a semi-regular basis just so Aiden didn't go stir crazy.
They'd had their time in the midst of everything that humanity had to offer, either before The Lethargy or directly afterward when not everything had fallen apart. Aiden hadn't, and he wanted to venture back into whatever it was that remained after another five years had passed.
A lot could have happened since they'd shut themselves away. They talked about what the towns would be like now. Would buildings still be standing? What would the roads be like? How much more popular would The Eventuals be? They even discussed The Commorancy, wondering if people still went there, if it was something Aiden could maybe do. But as he'd not really spoken of it for some time now th
ey both agreed it was best not to bring it up — if the rumors had been true then you went there to Awaken to your full potential, and that could take anything from a few years to who knew how long?
Yet at the same time both of them knew that their partial Awoken selves were not really aging as they would otherwise have. There had been talk right from the term Awoken first being coined, that Awoken could change their internal body chemistry, never age a day. There seemed no end to what the special few could do with the countless possibilities through access to The Noise — some that could enter the minds of both creatures and people, but it was easy to dismiss it all as mere myth. Yet at the same time it felt right, like there really was a lot of hidden potential that one day they might decide to try to unlock, but it would mean a dramatic change to a life they had come to love as much as they loved each other.
They fell asleep wrapped in each other's arms, Edsel reveling in the touch of his soul-mate. His skin sensitive to her warmth, the touch of her fingers, no longer ashamed of his Ink, just grateful that the pain was gone, that he had the ability to enjoy her caresses once more — he'd thought it was gone for good. Now he felt himself the luckiest man alive every time she touched him and he could enjoy it rather than steel himself for the pain, or want to hide himself because his body was less than perfect. Yet here she was, and her skin was perfect, just like their life.
The island was beautiful if somewhat barren, but it wasn't depressing in its ruggedness, it was what made it so inspiring. Edsel marveled at the tiny wild flowers you had to get down on your hands and knees to truly appreciate. He loved the sound of the sea, the smell of the salty air, the call of the birds he wished he knew the names for. He lost himself for full days watching the seals on the stony beaches, the young as needing of their mothers as babies of all species, astounded by the kindness and the brutality all creatures seemed to possess within them when it came to the protection of themselves and their family.
It was a quiet yet wondrous existence, nature at its finest, unblemished and untainted by the urge to change it to fit in with some kind of man-made order. It was just how it should be, and Edsel was blessed to be a part of it all — a caretaker of sorts, there just to document, never to interfere.
It was a shame it was about to change. Wasn't it?
TRIP
The plan was that there shouldn't be too much of a plan, apart from ensuring that they stayed well away from any Eventuals — something Edsel didn't need to insist on, it went without saying. It might have been five years but there was no saying what would happen if they bumped into any that still remembered Edsel, or knew of his story. The best you could hope for is that they would hunt you and kill you, and all three of them knew what the worst could be. It was impossible to know just how rampant the religion had become in the intervening years; all of them knew it was wishful thinking to believe it had just died along with the probably ever-diminishing populace.
Edsel's guts squirmed and tightened just thinking about The Eventuals — forever linked in his mind to Ink, gurneys, searing pain and humiliation.
They would go directly across to England, using the same boat they had arrived on five years ago. They'd had their pick of vessels when Edsel had come up with the idea, and although none of them had any sailing experience it came as a surprise to Edsel how easy it was to get the hang of controlling the rather powerful boat they had finally chosen.
Life on the island north of Wales had been one of pure isolation and a feeling of safety, and they didn't want to risk going back to Wales — there were simply too many bad memories and there wasn't much choice in terms of large towns, which Aiden was keen on exploring. So they would head east from the island and in only a handful of miles they would hit the west coast of England. They could move up or down the coast by boat, staying hidden from the mainland until they decided to go ashore. All they needed was a suitable mooring point, and there were countless towns and cities, large and small, that had marinas or harbors that would allow them to dock the boat, hopefully without any problems.
For two days Aiden was like a small child again, running around manically, chatting non-stop about what he wanted to do, books he wanted to get, TV shows he wanted to look for, ones he had watched trailers for repeatedly on the few DVDs they had taken with them when they had loaded up the boat, still in a daze after what had happened, leaving for a new life away from anything and everything.
But that time was gone; they had been half-asleep, hardly thinking through the things they needed for long term existence away from everything they had always taken for granted even after The Lethargy. But they managed, they thrived, with Edsel making a few tentative trips to the various small islands dotted around the Welsh north coast, never finding another person alive on the few islands that once had tiny communities making their lives away from the society that was.
He'd found great quality solar equipment though, even chickens — which made Aiden enormously happy — and other comforts that made their life better. But the longer they had peace, the less inclined Edsel was to go hunting for more things — the risk seemed so much greater the longer their lives were peaceful and uninterrupted.
Edsel found it strange to think of all the countless items that had seemed like necessities back when he lived in the city, or even when they moved to the country — life on the island had shown them all just how simply people could live and still be happy. At least, he thought they were happy, but all things must come to an end he supposed.
Now it was clear that Aiden had needed more, had just been too reticent to bring it up. He'd never moaned, never insisted he go with Edsel on the trips, always accepted his and Lash's decision.
Probably too scared we would say he could never leave.
Once the big trip was planned though, he was like a shaken can of cola; he really was just about ready to pop. He talked endlessly, exhausting Edsel and Lash, a whirlwind that was doing one chore one minute then off to do something else the next. He made lists, discussed them ad nauseam with Edsel and Lash, redid them, expanded them, crossed some things off, and hardly slept he was so excited.
It was hard to get their home organized with Aiden rushing around, forgetting what he was doing, abandoning a job half finished, actually making everything more difficult rather than helping to secure things for when they returned. Systems needed to be put in place to feed the chickens, vegetable plots needed to be tended, precious seed sown so they would have the food they were accustomed to when they came home. The house needed sorting, tools needed to be cleaned and put away, and on it went — countless small jobs that all added up to a very busy few days for them all, especially Edsel and Lash, who spent half their time clearing away after the whirlwind that was Aiden — more excited than they had ever seen him.
Then the day was upon them, and they awoke to a heavy mist in the valley that cleared by the time they'd eaten breakfast. Edsel closed the front door and locked it, not that it made any difference, but it was symbolic. He had the horrible feeling that he would never be unlocking the door again. It must have rubbed off on the others as there was silence as they walked down the path away from the house, Lash drifting a hand over the tops of her herb garden as she passed, the bees buzzing angrily at the intrusions, a welcome sight, as this was the first year there had been any kind of real insect life — nothing had escaped The Lethargy, not even the insects.
There was no car, it would have been useless even if there was one. The island was deserted, the only building was a remarkably large and comfortable stone cottage restored by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds for the few months of the year when a team descended to take detailed records of the migrating species that Edsel hadn't seen a single sign of in their years as the sole inhabitants. The road was but a dirt track that led to their home, but it was a relatively short walk to the tiny wharf that had been constructed so that boats could easily dock with supplies, or the teams that came and went.
Once the island had been hom
e to a few families, mostly making a living by keeping sheep — that fared very well on the lush grass and abundance of wild herbs, selling for a premium once taken to the mainland. But that had been long before The Lethargy, and the island had been uninhabited for decades before it was given to the RSPB so they could help understand the routes certain birds took when they migrated through Europe to warmer climes.
Aiden bounced down to the boat along the rickety wooden pier, checking that Lash and Edsel were hurrying too, not wanting to miss the opportunity to get going on what was a perfect day for an adventure. A calm sea, a bright clear sky, and a boat full of essentials for an extended trip all conspired to make Aiden practically salivate in anticipation of adventures to be had.
They hadn't discussed how long they were to be away for — it would break the magic of adventure for Aiden, but Edsel and Lash had talked privately and had agreed that they would simply play it by ear but that a month would be the absolute longest. After that they would return home and see how Aiden felt about future trips. For all they knew the reality might be too much for him, dashing his expectations and making him long for their quiet life. Neither of them really believed it though. They knew that once they were back in the middle of what was once civilization then it was going to be hard to convince Aiden to leave it all behind again. But a promise of a return trip would be enough, hopefully, to ensure that at least for the majority of the time the family was safe and happy.
"Come on, come on, we want to get our early start don't we?"
"Yes Aiden, sorry Aiden, I do apologize Aiden." Edsel smiled at Lash as Aiden turned and stood on the tiny jetty, vibing them to hurry up.
He'll leave without us if we don't get a move on. Poor guy, he's still like a kid in some respects.
Aiden had done most of the loading of the boat, a vessel that Edsel found himself growing surprisingly fond of the few times he used it, enjoying traveling alone, at peace out in the sea with nothing but birds for company. Clothes, food and water took up the bulk of their supplies, along with other basic necessities and a number of weapons. But food and water, as always, were the main concerns so they had packed much more than they thought they could use before it turned bad. Lash had become quite the expert at preserving their limited food choices, and although Edsel wasn't overly fond of canned vegetables, dried meats and fish, it was certainly better than wondering where your next meal was coming from.