Eager Anticipation

I watched the sky in eager anticipation. Slowly the black streaks began to take shape. Though they were still far away I could tell they were not falcons.  Their wings looked sharp and menacing. Everything in my bones was telling me that these creatures were not friendly. As if she could read my mind, Olivia grabbed my hand and shouted "run". We ran as fast as we could down the little, abandoned street, but like a bad horror movie, the creatures had already landed. Just like that we found ourselves gazing up at two, enormous pterodactyls.

In the Sky

Olivia and I are in no rush to go home. We walk because that's what we do when we are unsure. We walk. As I said before much of the city is the same. It's a bit depressing, but  I try not to let that get me down. It is a beautiful day after all. I look to the sky. In the distance I see two, long, black streaks. I know I have seen them before, but I'm not quite sure where. "Hey, you see that?" I ask Olivia, pointing to the sky. "See what?" "Those black streaks in the distance." Olivia squints her eyes. "Oh yeah. What about 'em?" "What do you think they are?" I ask. "I don't know. Could be anything." Suddenly it dawns on me. "It's the falcons. They've come back." "It can't be them." Olivia says. "And why not?" "Because they've never been here before. So they wouldn't be able to come back." "Then what do you think it is?" "I have no idea." She admits. "Well, I think it is the falcons. And I will wait right here for them."

Final Product?

After we left Jack we realized we weren't in a rush to get back. So we decided to explore the city some more. Despite the booming business at the fountain shop, much of the city was still in despair. We walked past countless uninhabited,  crumbling buildings. "I don't understand. I thought the city was supposed to remember itself." I say.  "Maybe it takes time." Olivia replies. We walk on for a bit longer. It's the same everywhere. Broken bottles, garbage and potholes everywhere. A depressing thought occurs to me. "What if this is the final product?" "The final product?" Olivia repeats. "Yeah. What if this is it? What if this is how it is supposed to be because the city already remembered itself?" Olivia shakes her head. "No." "No what?" I ask. "I don't want believe that." "Why not?" "Because it's sad." There is a brief pause. "So what do we do then?" I ask. Olivia sighs. "We keep trying. We keep doing our best. It'll change. It may take time, but it'll change."

His Request

Jack finally got what he wanted. Olivia fired a pink heart into his chest. She didn't ask any questions, she didn't think twice. She just did. Like in the past, Jack immediately had a stupid grin on his face. It was followed shortly by a slowed heart rate and him sinking to the dirty ground. Olivia took his pulse, making sure that he was indeed still breathing. After that we climbed the ladder to the above ground. We left Jack alone to his peaceful slumber to dream of who he was. I hope one day his mind may unravel that puzzle.

Shave

With Jack's knife I cut off his grey, greasy, tangled beard. It wasn't exactly easy to do with a dull blade, and I would hardly call the finished product a work of art. It was patchy, but he was satisfied. In the end I guess that's all  that matters. Jack felt his newly shorn, slightly blemished face. "You missed a few spots." He says to me. "I know. It was difficult." "I'm sure it was, but I'm not complaining." "Well, I guess now that you're all settled and your beard is trimmed we'll be leaving." Olivia says. "Wait. There's still one more thing I need you to do for me." "What would that be?" I ask. "The pink hearts." "Why do you want them so badly?" I wonder. "Who cares? If it gets him off our back I'm all for it." Olivia says. She raises her palm.Then without saying another word, she fires a pink heart into Jack's chest.

Fresh Start?

"I'm not giving you the knife. How stupid do you think I am?" "Calm down. I don't want you to hand it over." He says. "Then what do you want?" I ask. "I want you to cut my beard. Give me a little trim." "What?" I say in disbelief. "I don't know if you can tell, but it's gotten a little bit out of control."  "He wants a fresh start." Olivia jumps in. Jack snaps his fingers. "Bingo." "No, no deal." I say, sternly. "And why not?" "Because you just want a disguise so you can go above ground." "I want nothing of the sort." "Really?" I say, unconvinced.  "I want a fresh start. That is all." "Yeah, a fresh start to be someone else." "Symbolically, yes. Physically no." He points out. "Why should I trust you?" I ask. "Because I have no reason to go above ground. Everyone has made it painfully obvious that they don't want me around." I reflect on his words for a moment. "Alright, I'll give your beard a trim, but stay still."

Hide Jack

When I left the sewer and the underground months ago I said to myself "never again." Little did I know that the sewer was not done with me yet. Olivia and I found a manhole in our journey  out of town. We convinced ourselves, and Jack that the best thing we could do was to hide him underground. We realized that it would be nearly impossible to climb down the stairs while he was still in chains, but for some reason our trust levels were unusually high. So, we took off his chains and ventured into the foul underground. It smelled worse than I remembered. I coughed uncontrollably. I almost threw up. Perhaps Jack was taking pity on me, but he informed me I didn't have to stay. "We have to hide you." I say through coughs. "Trust me. I'm well hidden." "No one's gonna want to go down here." Olivia says to me. "She's right." Jack replies. I shake Jack's hand. "I need you to do one more thing for me though." He says. "What's that?" I ask. "The knife."