“She’s…awake.”644Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhuc6PSvK94
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.”644Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQtLXQyNosL
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. 644Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEzd0wXcoMy
“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.”644Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSyPQFuzq6D
***
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.644Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAC2PCZkQ8p
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.644Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfzz3ZzVWqi
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.644Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpeQg01g5Li
“How do you feel?” The man asked.644Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNpquluRcU0
“You mean me? Me, me? Not her?” Up until now, any talk of feeling had been exclusively directed towards the unknown girl.644Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzX5CZY2awb
“I do.” Answered the man, a fleck of red shooting into his otherwise aquatic colouring.644Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdfjbOXt5P3
“Where are we?” Apollo answered, or at least it was the closest answer he could give to summing up how he felt.644Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaqXKJsUpSJ
“Oil Town”644Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI6nVPf9KGS
“Oil Town?”
“Yes. The first settlement to be established after ‘The Burnout’.”644Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh34kISbLQY
“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.”644Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡksRDhZRJI3
***644Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtLqz9hghCu
“Hello! I sense someone. I know you are near to me.”644Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYySPSIuM5F
A light shined across the girl’s pale face. 644Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKFFquoHZx3
“Who are you?” she asked. 644Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ72EgFQKy9z
“We could ask you the same,” came a gruff voice. 644Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPzFdQIb6Xl
“We are friends, that’s who we are.” came another voice, in a smoky tone that clearly disapproved of its partner’s comment.644Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUOJyXNmwz0
The torchlight flickered for a second before cutting out altogether and plunging them all into darkness once more.644Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVNbH9pSzyJ
“You see. I told you those batteries we dug up a few weeks back would be useful,” came the words from the smoky voice. 644Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS20SR1qnid
“Yeah, you’re right. All we need now is to go back up and get them out of pack in the dark.”
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