Part 2: Square One

  Chapter 2: The Storm

  “DD where are we going?” Scott yelled so that she could hear him over the howling wind pushing them backwards.

  “My campsite.”

  “I’m not sure we’ll get wherever you are going before the dust storm hits.”

  “Go back without me then.”

  “Just listen to reason! You don’t want to die in a dust storm!” Scott extended his arms.

  “I don’t care if I live or die.”

  “I do. Snap the fuck out of it girl. Come on!”

  “You shouldn’t die just to stop me from doing so.” DD insisted.

  “I’d rather die together knowing I tried to save you from walking into a dust storm alone.” Finally it hit her. She wasn’t willing to drag him down over her anger, her hurt. He would stay until the bitter end, and she was not ready to have another person fall because of her cowardice. Not again.

  “Let’s make a run for it then! We can still make it back to the school!” The two turned into the wind, each step felt like DD was walking uphill. At least the sun was blocked out now. The wind increased, the visibility decreased, and all the while the two pressed on. Their hands found the doors to the school before their eyes, and it took both of their full strength to open the door, but finally they were safe. DD and Scott shared a fist bump as they undid their solar gear.

  “Thank you for, turning back.” Scott was still catching his breath as he spoke.

  “Thank you for… a lot of things honestly.” DD was hunched over trying to breathe herself.

  “You two are absolutely insane!” Aina came down the school stairs. “Why on Earth would you cut it that close with a storm!?” She ran up and hugged Scott.

  “Sorry Aina.” He pat her head a bit.

  “It’s my fault.” DD said sheepishly.

  “DD you need to stop being so self destructive.” Aina snapped. She realized what she had said and collected herself, then continued. “I just got you back. I don’t want to have to see you drink yourself to death, or choke on dust.” Another face joined the trio now, Trent.

  “Scott! I’m so glad you made it back. Also hey… DD.” He put a hand behind his head as he spoke her name.

  “Hi… Trent.” DD looked away.

  “Look I’m not sure what went down, but you three need to talk.” Aina insisted.

  “Aina, I’m not-” DD didn’t get to finish.

  “Trent. Just talk to her. It’s so obvious you need to.” Aina walked over to one of the old classrooms and opened it for them. “Go in, and talk.” Scott looked to his sister and friends and slowly moved to the door. DD gave in and followed, and finally so did Trent.

  Sand pelted the glass windows as the three sat in silence, the old room dimly lit by a few old light-bulbs.

  “Trent, I need to tell you something.” Scott said. “I trusted DD with this on the water run, it’s time I told you too.” He took a deep breath, then began. He talked for a while about the pressure from his mom, and how it affected him; about his cutting habit, and how he’d beaten it. He neglected to pull his pants down for proof, but either way the thought still seemed to reopen her own cuts a little.

  Scott finished, and a hush fell over the room.

  “Thank you for telling me Scott. I’m proud of you. For getting better.”

  “Thank you. Now please do me a favor. Work things out with her.” He gestured expressively towards DD.

  “I’m not sure what to say.” Trent said.

  “Just say something, the silent treatment hurts.” DD noted.

  “You did it to us for eleven years.” Trent shot back.

  “I’m trying to make up for it, okay! I’m here now!” She stood up and thrust her arms against her side, enraged by his comment. “What more do you want!”

  “Okay but that doesn’t make the hurt go away from before.” His voice was soft, but clear. “I thought you and I told each other everything.”

  “I always did, until the day I couldn’t anymore.”

  “DD, I’ll try and treat this more like a second chance. Not as much for you but for our friendship. Please. I am begging you. Do not leave again like you did.” Don’t leave again. She hadn’t thought about that part. She came back to Winchester because it’s all she had. Did she want to stay?

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  “Okay.” DD said quietly. She wasn’t really sure if it was a truthful promise or not, but she wanted things to go back to what they had been, during the water run.

  “Alright. DD can you leave for a minute, I need to talk to Scott.”

  “Okay, I guess.” The girl got up and left, somewhat disgruntled. She opened the door and closed it harshly.

  “What is it you aren’t saying to her?” Scott asked his longtime friend.

  “I don’t trust her. She seems like she’s so fragile now, and different in general. And that’s a lot on us emotionally.”

  “You know I got better, she can too.”

  “And I want her to Scott. It’s not that I don’t like her.”

  “Then what is it?”

  “It’s that... I guess... I’m afraid she’ll leave again, or end it. I grieved for so long last time.”

  “You really care about her.”

  “Yeah. Scott I love her.”

  “Then you shouldn’t push her away. Think about it, you’re afraid of her being gone but she’s here right now, you pushing her away is going to make her leave again.” Trent’s head hurt from all of this. “I love her too you know.”

  “No Scott like; I really love her.” Trent was gesturing to put emphasis on the word love.

  “You don’t mean like, romantically?” Trent blushed at Scott. “Oh that explains a lot. How long?”

  “Since before you two dated.”

  “Dude why did you never say anything to her?”

  “She’s always seemed so different than me, she likes you more.”

  “Just because you two are fire and ice doesn’t mean the connection can’t be there you know. DD flies by the seat of her pants, you live in your head, if anything you could learn to live in the moment more from her, perhaps she could learn to slow down and think from you.”

  “It’s not happening Scott. I can’t tell her.”

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t want to go through the rejection. I’d rather have her here as a friend than not around at all.”

  “Okay. I trust you know what’s best. I want you to know this whole thing blows my mind though.” Internally Scott was trying to deal with how hopeless both of his best friends were.

  “Thank you.”

  “Now can we help ease her mind a little, please?” Scott asked, and Trent nodded. The two walked out of the classroom in time to see Aina run up one of the walls, before bouncing off and landing a flip. They both applauded. She was now expressively speaking to DD, hand motions and all. DD entered a sprint at the wall, took a few steps up it and pushed off, her feet going over her head, before she crashed down face first onto the ground with a thud.

  “Oof.” Scott exclaimed, while Aina was laughing. “Are you okay DD?” Without really moving or leaving the ground, DD moaned a bit, signaling she was alive.

  “Don’t worry DD, Aina fell trying that so many times.” Trent noted.

  “You couldn’t let me stay cool just for a few minutes huh?”

  “If I didn’t say it Scott would’ve.” Trent shrugged.

  “He’s right, I was thinking it, he just thought it faster.” as Scott spoke DD was lifting herself off of the ground.

  “It’s okay Aina I’ve never been cool.” DD groaned as she stood up.

  “That’s not true. What about literally surviving a Trawler attack?” Scott responded.

  “Sam did the work.”

  “How about nailing your first ever shot with a gun?” Trent suggested.

  “It was paintball.”

  “How about that time you bread-boarded a calculator using wires and chips you gathered around town when we were ten?” Scott pressed.

  “What about surviving solo after everything you’ve been through until now?” Trent added.

  “Honestly I don’t know what to do with compliments. They go in one ear, my brain looks at it, gets confused and throws it out the other ear.” DD shrugged. “I think you three are way cooler though. Aina can do those flips, and she’s tough as nails. Trent’s got his music stuff, and Scott has his cars and gun.”

  “As if guns, cars, and music is better than computers.” Aina smirked.

  “Are you saying your flips are actually cooler?” Trent asked.

  “Oh yeah I’m cooler than you three.” Aina said proudly.

  “Alright kid.” DD snorted and began laughing. “Let’s go watch the storm together.” She gestured back to the old classroom. The four sat near the windows in the dated plastic school chairs.

  The windows had already accumulated enough gunk over the years that they were too foggy to see through, but that didn’t really matter when in the middle of the storm. With normal glass it would be the visual equivalent of turning to a radio station that only transmitted static. Which was about 3/4 of the radio stations these days. But with the foggy glass, it was smoothed out from a dry, sharp, crispy mess to something smoother, like watching a small river flow or listening to one of those old white noise machines. It was soothing, something you could space out and-

  “Do you guys think there’s still hope for the world?” Scott suddenly asked.

  “Like, for the people?” Trent responded.

  “No, for everything. For animals.”

  DD shrugged “I doubt it. The weather only gets worse, the seawater only gets higher. The predators are growing out of control, the fish are less edible to people.” DD didn’t want to keep rambling. “Do you guys believe that old legend about the rich people?”

  “The one about how after the flu started and the water rose the rich hoarded all the resources and built a whole underwater society? No. That’s obviously a myth.” Trent justified his thoughts.

  “You think there’d be some kind of signs of an underwater society.” Scott agreed.

  “They’d probably make the same mistakes and destroy their world over greed all over again.” DD said grimly.

  “Hey, we’re not gone yet.” Aina was more optimistic sounding than her older friends.

  “We’re not, but we’re living in hell.” DD said. She looked back into the storm. It had always been something that had grounded her, to the point where she almost looked forward to it. “Living in hell.” she said, but a little less confident this time.

  To Be Continued