“She’s…awake.”535Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrXWgV6f397
The man looked up from his book. “You sense her?” he said, looking intently at Apollo across the small grey cabin. “Where is she?”
Apollo pointed towards the cabin door. “She’s… that way.”535Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy6BdBRvSot
It was an odd feeling. Or maybe feeling wasn’t the right word, it was more of a knowing. A knowledge that she was in that general direction, in fact it was exactly that direction. 535Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdehaEijTyY
“Then it’s time to leave, Apollo.” The man got up from his chair and walked towards the cabin door. “Come,” he said, gesturing for Apollo to follow. “It’s time for you to see the rest of the world.”535Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ37lwXZoVq5
***
Coming out of the grey metal walls that had been Apollo’s home for the last three weeks, was an unsettling experience. Not because it was intimidating or chaotic or even unknown. It was in fact, quite the opposite, as after about three seconds of standing in the dim grey light of the outside world Apollo once more just seemed to know. Or at least he knew about the place and its people.535Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd8FNJny1tV
Individuals and communities, towns and cities, nations, federations he suddenly knew about them all. About people in general. How they were, what they’d done. Language, history, art, philosophy, geography, psychology, literature, music. Humanity was vast. And for some reason that he knew all this was right. In the proceeding ten seconds, after this newfound knowledge had filled his head, it dawned on Apollo that despite everything he knew, he did not know where he was.535Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡptZqGVD5ys
He looked up at the man standing by his side. He felt a bluish, purple colour. If it were a word perhaps Apollo would have said, apprehension or perhaps curiosity. Something like that.535Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlGZ4B9Cl02
“How do you feel?” The man asked.535Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpYfzXtA9ZB
“You mean me? Me, me? Not her?” Up until now, any talk of feeling had been exclusively directed towards the unknown girl.535Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZzWj58TBMY
“I do.” Answered the man, a fleck of red shooting into his otherwise aquatic colouring.535Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡENXkGW29YD
“Where are we?” Apollo answered, or at least it was the closest answer he could give to summing up how he felt.535Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqSL1A7kGQl
“Oil Town”535Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyKFww8Hlxa
“Oil Town?”
“Yes. The first settlement to be established after ‘The Burnout’.”535Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9m7a1Am9XA
“The Burnout? What is that? And why don’t I know about this place?”
“Because you are from before all this. You are from the point of time when humanity was at its best, the point at which we could have achieved greatness, but instead collapsed. And you are the guardian of that knowledge. Or you’re one of them at least.”535Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTTWscwmxD3
***535Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeU07sijRzR
“Hello! I sense someone. I know you are near to me.”535Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBD5Ij5CLb8
A light shined across the girl’s pale face. 535Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2mKG4P6Je4
“Who are you?” she asked. 535Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgPfKb7hcOL
“We could ask you the same,” came a gruff voice. 535Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA02nWYay4Y
“We are friends, that’s who we are.” came another voice, in a smoky tone that clearly disapproved of its partner’s comment.535Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPxJ2krfmzq
The torchlight flickered for a second before cutting out altogether and plunging them all into darkness once more.535Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqg8E46iFNh
“You see. I told you those batteries we dug up a few weeks back would be useful,” came the words from the smoky voice. 535Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm4VkUJHgXH
“Yeah, you’re right. All we need now is to go back up and get them out of pack in the dark.”
ns 18.68.41.146da2
