#world past six

[bunky-writes]

Chapter 4:

“The Rise”

After that incident, Pax and I started hanging out a lot. He was friendly, humorous, and naturally a good guy. He was cute as well but that’s not something I wanted to act on. I already had a difficult time gaining friends, I didn’t need to get a crush on a developing friendship.

“I’m telling you, there’s gotta be some zombies out there, like in Fallout!”

Pax has been debating the existence of zombies and other mutated creatures after ‘The Incident’ and to be honest, I’ve only been half listening. It kind of gets repetitive after the fifth time.

“Pax, my buddy, my pal, my comrade, please quit it already.”

“What, too scared?”

“No! There’s no way there are zombies. If we go outside, it would simply be a wasteland. Dead stuff everywhere.

“You don’t know that! The closest thing we have to a biologist is my mom and she hasn’t disagreed with my statement.”

“Well, she hasn’t agreed either.”

“Hush!”

We were currently in the main room, eating breakfast. It was a miserable one but filling. Glue-like oatmeal has become a ‘delicacy’ in the bunker. In the middle of Pax‘s debate, Harvey had joined with his bowl of oatmeal and a cup of black coffee. He merely raised an eyebrow at Pax’s passionate one-sided discussion though.

“Come on Harv! You have to agree with me, wouldn’t it be cool with zombies?”

Harvey only scoffed and continued eating, he was most likely a coffee-before-talking person. Soon Joseph and Mrs. McCarthy joined as well, Jo didn’t seem that thrilled about the glue-like meal.

“So what are we doing today?” Pax asked.

“Well… the water pump is giving us trouble, but Harvey said he’d look into it. Right?-“ Mrs. McCarthy glanced towards Harvey, who only grunted and nodded “-But we’ve still got some cleaning and sorting to do. We need to figure out how much food we’ve got left, we might have to start finding other means for food, maybe a farm?”

I perked up at the mention of a farm, my mother used to grow vegetables and potatoes in our garden. I remember helping her, so I might be of use.

“Uh, Mrs. McCarthy, I used to plant stuff with my mom. Maybe I can help?”

Mrs. McCarthy smiled and nodded.

“Sounds great, hun! And how many times have I told you, you can just call me Kate.”

“Ah, sorry. I’m used to being polite.”

Harvey scoffed, almost chuckled, at that.

“A real gentleman, polite to the ladies, but not the old man, huh?”

I felt my cheeks grow hot, I was probably the color of a tomato.

“Now now, Harvey, don’t tease the sweet kid.”

“Nah, seeing Six all red and nervous is cute.” Pax chimed in.

I thought it was impossible, but somehow it got even hotter in the room.

‘I’m going to die of embarrassment.’

Jo just laughed.

The day went by rather quickly, Mrs. Mc-, I mean Kate and I found a few seeds and big, long pots for planting. We had found a small room in the kitchen perfect as a ‘farm-room’ The UV lamp in the room was flickering, but somehow working. Kate and I both agreed we’d had a productive day.

“DAMN PUMP!”

Harvey wasn’t as fortunate, the work on the water pump was going slowly. He was very stubborn about accomplishing it himself. The boiler room was on the opposing side of the main room, at the end of the hallway uniting the bunkrooms.

I decided to peek into the boiler room, just to check up on Harvey. I had brought a snack, a sandwich. Pax and Joseph had calculated that we had enough food for at most six months so a small snack was all we could do for lunch.

“Erm, Harvey?”

I apparently spooked him, because as soon as I spoke up, Harvey jumped and hit his head from under the pump’s water container.

“Ow, fuck!” He exclaimed.

I put down the tray with the sandwich on a reasonably clean and mess-free surface and rushed forward to check up on Harvey.

“I’m fine, just fine!” Harvey put out a hand towards me, stopping me in my tracks.

“Sorry” I practically whispered.

He sighed and nodded. “It’s fine kid.”

An uncomfortable and awkward silence surrounded us. But Harvey soon spoke up.

“What’ya want, kid?”

‘This will be an interesting mission; trying to help Harvey without hurting his ego.’

“Erm, I’m done with my chores so I just… I thought maybe y’know, you could teach me how to fix the pump?”

‘Smooth dude.’

Harvey eyed me, looking up and down, with narrowed eyes. He could probably see right through my lie. He grumbled and hummed.

“Okay, kid. Only this once.”

I let out a sigh, not realizing I had held my breath. I kneeled next to Harvey and started listening to his teaching. He might’ve seemed annoyed and frustrated by the fact he ‘HAD’ to teach me but he explained vividly and answered any questions I had, he even seemed to enjoy teaching me. Although I’d never tell him that, I would like to live for my 20th birthday.

Before we knew it, it was dinnertime, and Harvey and I had fixed the pump. I was happy to help, and Harvey was happy to relieve his back and knees.

“You did good, kid.”

Harvey’s comment circulated in my mind. When was the last time my dad praised my work? It gave me an uneasy feeling, but I tried to ignore it and think of Harvey’s statement. It had been full of fondness, he seemed… proud. It warmed my chest, I never thought such a half-assed and simple compliment could make me this happy.

After dinner, it was time for bed, and for the first time in weeks, I didn’t wake up due to a nightmare.

[jeeaark]

A small tribute to Patch 6 among the Patch 0 wreckage I've construed. I am amused that Orpheus is just 100% on board with a squid joining the big fight, no hesitation once offered the idea. Bruh.

Lae'zel: Curious to try a proper Faerunian Garlic Dish. Certainly will not obsess over Garlic Bread for the next six months. For reasons.

[nounaarts]

The hero and the warrior!

[dykedvonte]

Ulysses obsession with the Courier is a special type of sad to me cause the Courier’s part was so important but so unwitting. They had no idea what was in the package they delivered and neither did he. Neither had an idea of what it could’ve done and the Courier was only caring out their job (mind you the Courier could be killed via notes in the express contract if they don’t). To them it was just another regular delivery to the divide and one that they likely thought would help, just like all the ones before.

It’s so tragic for Ulysses to hold so much ire to the Courier when it really was the case of it could’ve been anyone. Anyone could have delivered that package but they did and so he focused the blame on them and it destroys what he is trying to instill in the courier on a fundamental level.

[celestialrealms]

Barbato's ideal world being supporting Diavolo when he becomes Demon King and achieves his dreams and putting a chloroform rag over Lucifer's mouth and replacing his role in the dynamic with MC and having MC by their side family-style is heartwarming to me, actually 🥺🙈

[swiftie-as-a-coursing-river]

Xmen but it’s that cursed bald Freddy picture as Professor X

[quirinah]

to the ones that encouraged me

[spark-circuit]

me at my bookstore job to the 27th young adult straight edgy fantasy romance to come in this month

[lesbian-honey-lemon]

happy PALentine’s day, everyone! Also, Other Worlds Than These has officially hit 40K words!

[purplemninja]

LN2 comic episode 1 with 'Pictures of the Past' from Rain World's soundtrack (footage by 6)

I don't have the comics or a recording program, so I downloaded the footage of this comic episode from 6 (yes, that's their username) and slowed it down slightly to fit the duration of the music. Original video: https://youtu.be/eEavAqWg7so?si=1D5jA5XXx7I4V1bL

The music is called 'Pictures of the past' and is from Rain World's soundtrack, composed by James Primate.

[bunky-writes]

Chapter 5:

“And Fall”

Two and a half months have gone by. That’s roughly 75 days, in hours that would round up to about 1.800 hours. It’s therefore been 1.800 hours since I’ve felt the sun. Its heat, how it spreads across your body, and your eyes automatically close due to the soothing feeling. It’s also been 1.800 hours since I’ve smelled the fresh air, salty winds from the beach, baked goods in the city, and that wet pavement scent after a summer shower.

I never thought I’d long to feel sand between my toes. I hate sand, it gets everywhere. The people who like sand between their toes are insane and should get therapy.

Speaking of therapy, my nightmares have not let up. I’m not sure when they got worse. Most of the time if I have a nightmare, I won’t sleep for the rest of the night. There’s no use trying, god knows I have tried.

The only times they let up are when I fall asleep next to Harvey or Pax. But that doesn’t happen that often. I can’t help but feel like this is too good to be true. Like something bad will happen. I keep hearing these noises at night, like scratching. Harvey thinks it’s just rats, but I’m not so sure.

The days have been long and tiring, mostly working at the farm, eating, hanging with Pax and Jo, and then it repeated. There's not much to do in here.

This morning was spent the same. Kate and I worked on the farm, watering the plants.

Checking the dirt and what else. Pax and Joseph were still working on storage, seems like something had happened because during breakfast it was tense and awkward. Harvey didn’t seem to mind, too busy to complain about “the horrible architecture and maintenance” to read the room.

I don’t know if I should ask them about it, it seemed like a family matter. Something private, hidden from the rest of the world. Nice to know it wasn’t just my family that would pretend to be perfect. That their perfect “son” wasn’t a dropout. A disappointment, a basket case.

“…-me that bag of seeds?”

“Hm?”

I woke up from my daydreaming to Kate looking at me, she had asked me something but I had honestly no clue what.

“I asked if you could hand me that bag of seeds.”

“Oh, yeah, of course!”

I realized the bag was in my hand, completely forgotten. I quickly gave it to Kate, almost stumbling over a filled bag of potatoes.

“You okay, sweetie?”

“Yeah, yeah… Just tired.”

I tried to smile but judging by Kate’s worried expression, it was probably more of a grimace.

“You know if you want to talk… I’m always here, even if it’s something simple and insignificant.”

I was thankful for Kate’s friendly remark, but I didn’t want to talk to anyone, to be honest. I knew I’d probably get therapy for what I’d seen if the world hadn’t gone to shit. And I was more than certain I needed to talk to someone. But I didn’t feel comfortable or ready.

“Yeah, I know.” This time, I did smile.

After that ordeal, we worked until lunch. Pax and Joseph were passive-aggressive. I don’t know what happened before breakfast but they’ve been tense ever since. Pax has never looked as annoyed and frustrated as now.

"Never thought I'd have a quiet lunch in this place." Harvey suddenly chimed in

He's right, there was always some noise during meals. Whether that's Kate's fussing, Pax dumb jokes or Jo complaining over Kate's fussing. But now, during this lunch, it was dead quiet. It was uncomfortably tense and incredibly awkward.

"Yeah, well, blame that on Joseph," Pax spoke up, with a bitter tone. It was dripping with venom.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Jo spoke up, standing up from his seat.

"You know exactly what I mean, why do you always have to take everything so seriously?!" Pax stood up as well.

"Fuck you, dude!"

“HEY! Cut it out!" Kate finally cut in, obviously tired of the fighting.

"This can wait until after dinner, now eat your damn meal."

Both the boys thunked down in their seats, still glaring at each other. The rest of the lunch was spent in an even tenser atmosphere.

“Six, can I speak to you for a second?”

Kate stopped me after lunch, she seemed anxious.

“Uh, yeah sure. No problem.” I replied.

We both walked to the hallway while Harvey and the boys washed the dishes.

“Would you mind taking over inventory with Pax? I don’t know what’s going on in those boys’ minds but it’s probably best to let them cool off right now.”

Kate was tired, annoyed, and frustrated by her sons’ conflict. I’d be too. Her plucked eyebrows were furrowed and she seemed older due to her frown.

“Pax, well I’m not sure how to say this-“ Kate sighed while fiddling on the end of her button-up “-He can be rather private. I know it might surprise you but…”

“No, no I get it,” I quickly answered, and I meant it. I used to be a lot more outgoing. Hiding behind a façade until it got too tiring.

“Oh… Good. Well, thank you, sweetie.”

After washing up, Pax went to the fridge. Probably checking out the last remains of fresh fruit. Kate went back to the kitchen, most likely to continue working in the garden.

Joseph walked past me. But he stopped soon after.

“Uh, Six?” He seemed worried.

“Yeah?”

“I believe you, um, about the noises I mean… I’ve been hearing weird noises from the vents in the boys’ room.”

“What kind of noises?” I was getting worried.

“Like… groans-“ Jo looked down to his feet “- and scratches. Sometimes… Sometimes it sounds like someone’s suffocating.”

The hairs on my neck raised. A shiver, cold and shocking, went down my spine.

“It… It can’t just be rats right?”

I swallowed my spit, My throat suddenly dry.

“Joseph, tell your mom and Harvey about this, okay? Even if they think it’s nonsense. You’ve got to convince them somehow.”

Joseph paled, maybe he finally realized how dire that sounded.

“Y-yeah,” was all he said when he all but sprinted towards the boiler room. Most likely to find Harvey.

I continued towards the fridge room in the kitchen.

“God damn list” I heard mutterings.

Ironically it seemed the fridge had not cooled Pax’s mood. Pax was leaning over one of the crates in the fridge room. He was cursing and grumbling over a list displayed over the crate.

“Uh, Pax?”

Pax whipped his head towards me, evidently surprised. He looked tired and frustrated. But his eyes lit up when he saw me.

“Oh! What’s up, beanstalk?”

Ignoring his dumb nickname. I studied the room, there wasn’t much. Most of the fresh produce was gone. An apple or a pear here and there.

“Your mom thought it was best if I switched with your brother,” I replied.

“Ah, yeah. Probably for the best.”

The air was dry and cold and the atmosphere extremely awkward.

“Look, I’m sorry about that by the way. You shouldn’t have to be in between this… family drama, you know?”

Pax seemed almost ashamed at his outburst earlier. He was looking at anything except me. Absentmindedly clicking an ink pen.

“It’s okay. But… What happened? You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

Pax sighed. His eyes were conflicted and glossy. He was quiet for a couple of seconds.

“It’s… It’s just that Jo… Jo has a tendency to be stuck-up.-“ he grimaced at the lack of a better word “-He constantly does everything by the book and tries to act ‘older’, I guess.”

“Oh. Do you know why?”

“Well, if it isn’t obvious-“ Pax chuckled self-detrimentally “-My dad, our dad, isn’t in the picture. Jo barely remembers him but ever since he left. I’ve had to help mom out with working and stuff, you know? I never got to have that careless childhood and I want Jo to have that but for some reason, he’s obsessed with growing up!”

By the end of Pax’s rant, he was out of breath and red. But he seemed calmer and more relaxed. I sighed and tried to find the best way to word my next sentence.

“I don’t know your brother that well and I can only think from my own experience but… Maybe he wants to carry a part of that burden you’ve been carrying by yourself?”

“Oh… I… I didn’t think about that.”

“You might not realize it, Pax. But you’re, like, Jo’s idol. He’s probably worried that he’s being a burden.”

“But he’s not! He’s my lil bro, he could never,” Pax exclaimed.

I chuckled a bit. I guess this is how it feels to have a sibling. A sort of love-hate relationship where you hate their guts but know they’ll have your back.

“Six… Thank you, truly. You’ve given me a lot to think about.”

I smiled and nodded. The tense air fizzled out and instead, a comfortable, warm, and almost intimate feeling washed over us.

By the end of the workday, we had gone through both the freezer and fridge rooms. Dinner was silent, but both the boys seemed eager to apologize.

“For the love of Jesus H. Christ. One of you boys better say something before I make you!”

Harvey was seemingly tired of the atmosphere. Kate and I chuckled as both Pax and Jo turned bright red.

“Uh, Jo, sorry about calling you a pain in my ass.”

“Mm, thanks, and sorry for saying fuck you.”

“It seems like the two of you got a lot to talk about,” Kate spoke up.

The boys nodded, and albeit a bit ashamed, Pax looked at me. His eyes brimming with gratitude as he mouthed a “thank you”.

The rest of the dinner was spent with the occasional small talk or joke.

After washing up we all decided to turn in for the night.

“Six, I’m sorry. I tried to convince them but they wouldn’t believe me. I guess they still think I’m a baby or something.”

Jo finished his sentence with a mumble. Clearly by the disregard of his warnings.

“I think they just don’t want to scare anyone. Or themselves. There’s nothing wrong with being younger, you know? There’s a lot you will miss when you get older.”

Joseph didn’t seem that convinced.

“I don’t know,” he trailed off.

“Let’s go to bed and we’ll talk about it tomorrow, okay?”

Jo only nodded and headed towards the boys’ bunkroom.

That night I slept terribly. Flashes of “The Incident” plaguing my dreams, The blood rising in the streets until I’m drowning in it.

I had nowhere to hide. To run.

Abruptly I hear a scream. It sounds like Kate. Only I’m no longer dreaming. What followed the scream was chaos.

Harvey ran into my room, grabbed my arm, and practically dragged me out of my room.

“What’s going on?!”

“I hate to admit it kid but you were right. We’re being invaded. Go to the kitchen and help Pax and Jo grab as much conserved food as you can. Don’t forget first aid stuff. Kate and I will hold them off!”

I hear a groan from the boiler room

“Now, Six!”

I stumbled as I sprinted into the kitchen. Pax and Jo were already quickly packing canned food and bandages, amongst other things, into five backpacks.

“What the hell is going on?!”

“Well seems like my theory about zombies wasn’t off, Pax replied.

“Oh fuck.”

“My thoughts exactly.”

Suddenly I hear gunfire. I flinched but grabbed one of the backpacks and started packing.

Kate unexpectedly appeared in the kitchen, her face bloody and a shotgun in her hands.

“Jesus, mom!”

“Shut it, Paxton, we’re outnumbered. Harvey and I have barricaded the boiler room and hallway. Better get ready with the backpacks!”

Harvey soon appeared and grabbed one of the backpacks, in his other hand he had a hunting rifle.

“Alright kiddos, let’s get out of here,” he shouted.

A sudden crash and boom were heard, followed by shuffling and groans.

“Well that was the barricade in the boiler room,” Kate said.

We all rushed to the entrance and I quickly grabbed a fire axe.

“It’s stuck!”

Pax and Jog tugged on the large handle to the entrance. But it wouldn’t budge. Kate and I stood guard as Harvey tried to help out.

The banging and clambering got louder and louder.

“Anytime is fine, boys!”

Kate shouted. She was pale, anxiously gripping her shotgun.

“I think I’ve got something,” Harvey says and starts rooting through his leather jacket. He pulls out some anti-rust oil. He dumped all the contents on the handle and pushed me towards the entrance.

“Stay back, kiddo. Things are about to get ugly.”

Pax had found a bat and Jo a skateboard. Maybe not the best weapon but it would do.

“When should the handle let up?” Jo asked while shaking.

“I don’t know. But keep trying the handle,” Harvey replied.

The bangs were almost deafening now. The panic started to slowly sink in.

I am going to die here. Forgotten.

Harvey suddenly grabbed my hand. He looked into my eyes with a fiery determination.

“You ain’t gon’ die here, kid! You hear me?”

His accent got thicker as the tensions grew.

Then all hell broke loose. Almost literally. The last barricade broke and in swarmed tens of barely human-looking figures. The stench that followed could best be described as burnt flesh, ammonia, and an almost fruity undertone.

I’m not sure I will be able to drink juice ever again.

The next minutes are a blur. Bodies thunking to the ground. Harvey shouts something while shooting and Pax replies. I go on autopilot after that. Hitting, swinging, and kicking against anything that smelled like a public bathroom. While desperately trying to ignore the bile collecting in my throat and my eyes watering.

Before I knew it, I was on the ground. A large rotting figure on top of me. The only thing separating us was the handle of the axe, currently stuck in the monster’s mouth. Harvey and Kate were swamped. Pax is busy keeping Jo safe as Jo desperately tries to open the entrance. That’s when I finally believe that this is where I’m going to die. The strength in my arm’s veining.

But a gunshot is heard, but it sounds different from before. The figure on top of me slumps. I look up and two people stand at the entrance. One was Mexican with long, dark brown hair separated by half buns and ending in one half-bun, half-ponytail. They had an eyebrow piercing in their left eyebrow and a nosering in their right nostril. They had a pretty dahlia flower tattooed on their neck. It certainly didn’t match their smug expression.

The other person was black. They had dark dreadlocks pulled into a ponytail. They had a blue kerchief tied around their head. A large scar, thicker at the right of their chin and thinning out right under their eye. Their expression was the opposite of the Mexican person's. They were rather stoic.

“We heard you guys, figured you had a pest problem!”

The Mexican person laughed.

TAGLIST

@saltofmercury

[carcarrot]

LAURENCE HARVEY a.k.a. LARUSHKA MISCHA / ZVI MOSHEH SKIKNE (born october 1st, 1928 - died november 25th, 1973)

“I always believed in Laurence Harvey, even when nobody else did. Especially when nobody else did.”

“Most people imagined they knew and understood Larry with little trouble. That was a big mistake. They didn't know how deep and complex, how elusive, he remained behind his social mask.” - Paulene Stone, his wife

“I cannot yield to failure, it would make far too many people happy.”

[beheadedcousins]

oh i saw sydney parra in teeth the musical on sunday and she was so good!!

[freshthoughts2020]

[fujii-draws]

hey fujii do you wanna hear about a silly little thing i thought of earlier. so you know how in red/blue rescue team, eevee used to be in the "naive" category, whereas in explorers of sky, it's in the "jolly" category? it made me think about ribbons, specifically because of how the rescue team personality test describes the naive trait.

in rescue team, the naive type is described to be someone whos highly curious, and someone who likes rare things. their cheerful and carefree make everything fun for the people around them, but they also have the flaw of being childish, never sitting still, and always being on the move. (it also says that they might be selfish but i dont see that applying to ribbons tbh..)

it seems so oddly fitting for ribbons because her personality does show those traits in particular. she's a silly little thing and her bright cheery personality, and she is childish to some extent. and of course, can't forget her curiosity. especially with how curious she got when it came to dusknoir. and of course, we can't forget about the *actual* definition of naive. naivety in the sense of choosing to believe that dusknoir, despite how his aura flared with malice, bared no ill intent. to think that someone who is so great, so wise, so kind and caring could ever be capable of shattering her world apart.. that was naive. because she believed he was what she thought he was, and because it was her naivety that nearly got her and aimilios killed. you'd think she'd have learned from the drowzee incident where two kids displaying trust in a spur-of-the-moment stranger who coincidentally showed them kindness in their misfortune was a mistake, but i suppose that's what being a naive little child does to you.

(anyways im sorry if this sounds incoherent and out of the blue. have a good day)

DONT YOU DARE APOLOGIZE FOR THIS. THE JOLLY AND NAIVE NATURES FIT MY GIRL SO WELL. (Unhinged rant in tags)

[ghostoffuturespast]

Finally feels like I'm making some headway in the writing department...