Fic: An Odd One
Jan. 1st, 2008 06:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
missmara13Originally a Comment Fic I wrote for a Prompt Meme I did. Now with a title and spellchecking! Yay for spellchecking! lol
Ryan heard a noise as he and Summer crept into the abandoned diner, and gestured for his friend to stay near the door as he headed for the kitchen and the source of the noise. As slowly edged the door open and peaked inside, only to freeze when he saw a little boy, baldheaded and dressed in what looked almost like a hospital gown, sitting in the middle of the floor looking up at him warily. "Hey," Ryan began, stepping forward then stopping as the kid got to his feet in a flash and took a defensive pose. "I'm not gonna hurt you," Ryan said slowly. "Me and my friend Summer were just looking for food. It looks like you were, too. Maybe we could share?"
The boy continued to look wary, but relaxed his stance slightly and gave a tiny nod. "Okay," he said.
"Okay," Ryan said. "Hey Sum, there's food back here!" he called over his shoulder, not taking his eyes off the kid. Something told him that he could very well end up dead in a heartbeat if he did.
"Oh, hi there," Summer said as she came back, sliding her pack off her shoulder. "I'm Summer and he's Ryan, what's your name?"
The boy didn't respond, just jerked his head at the boxes of food and tooka couple of steps back before sitting down on the floor again.
"Okay then," Summer said. "Ooh! Ryan! If the stove works will you make me spaghetti? Pretty please?"
Ryan smiled. "If it doesn't we can start a cook fire out back."
"They'll see you if you do," the boy said. "They come to light."
Ryan and Summer exchanged glances, but Ryan nodded. "Okay, so, unless this place has a generator, no spaghetti."
"I saw one in the cellar, but it's not working," the boy said.
"Well, how about we eat light tonight, tomorrow I'll try to get it started and cook all three of us a good meal, okay?" Ryan said, hoping that including the boy would put him more at ease.
~~~
Ryan woke in the middle of the night, a bad feeling washing over him, and when he sat up, he saw that while Summer was still curled beside him, the boy had disappeared. Ryan got to his feet and started to look, finding the boy sitting in a booth, watching out the window. While the boy glanced back at him briefly, he returned his attention to the view almost immediately, and Ryan took that as permission to move closer.
As he did, he spotted some sort of mark on the back of the boy's neck. "What's that?" he asked quietly. "On your neck?"
"My barcode," the boy replied. "I'm X5-494."
"Barcode?" Ryan asked, baffled. "But... your just a kid."
"I'm a soldier," 494 replied. "That's why I'm not suppose to have a name."
"Not suppose to?"
"I met another X5, her name was Max, and she named me. But they killed her."
"What did she name you?"
"Alec."
Ryan smiled. "I like it," he said. "So, Alec, how did you get here?"
"I ran. I only stopped when I met Max, and when she died I ran again. They said we were the only ones immune."
"To the virus?" Ryan asked. "Last reports I heard before the radio went dead, they said about one person in a thousand is immune. I guess that's one in a thousand plus you."
"Where are you going?" Alec asked.
"Wherever we can find somewhere safe," Ryan said, his own gaze going outside, and freezing when he saw movement. "Don't move," he whispered.
Alec didn't, but his gaze slid sideways, clearing seeing the same thing Ryan had. An instant later, they heard a muffled scream from where Summer was still asleep in the back, and both Ryan and Alec got to their feet to hurry back. There was a man on top of Summer, straddling her with one hand over her mouth and the other trying to push under her shirt. Her eyes were wide with terror, and before Ryan could begin to move to attack the man, Alec already had, flying at the man and somehow tearing him off of Summer.
Summer scrambled over to her pack to get her gun, but before she and Ryan could move to help Alec, three man came in from the main part of the diner and the fight was on. While Ryan and Summer used their guns to take out their attackers, they turned to find Alec, still empty handed, standing over the body of his attacker, panting ever so slightly. "Alec?" Ryan asked quietly, stunned.
"Did he hurt you?" Alec asked Summer.
"I'm fine," Summer said. "Thanks to you."
~~~
When Ryan and Summer packed their things up again, they also rolled up the leg's of a pair of Summer's jeans and tied a makeshift belt for them, giving Alec something to wear other than his hospital gown like shift, and on top of it went one of Ryan's sweatshirts, the sleeves rolled up so that Alec's hands weren't totally covered. It would work, but Ryan made it clear he planned on stopping in the next decent sized town and getting Alec some clothes that were the right size.
They made an odd little group, stuffed into the jeep that Ryan kept going with gas he siphoned from abandoned vehicles, but they were all eachother had, so they were a family. An odd one, but a family.
The End
Ryan heard a noise as he and Summer crept into the abandoned diner, and gestured for his friend to stay near the door as he headed for the kitchen and the source of the noise. As slowly edged the door open and peaked inside, only to freeze when he saw a little boy, baldheaded and dressed in what looked almost like a hospital gown, sitting in the middle of the floor looking up at him warily. "Hey," Ryan began, stepping forward then stopping as the kid got to his feet in a flash and took a defensive pose. "I'm not gonna hurt you," Ryan said slowly. "Me and my friend Summer were just looking for food. It looks like you were, too. Maybe we could share?"
The boy continued to look wary, but relaxed his stance slightly and gave a tiny nod. "Okay," he said.
"Okay," Ryan said. "Hey Sum, there's food back here!" he called over his shoulder, not taking his eyes off the kid. Something told him that he could very well end up dead in a heartbeat if he did.
"Oh, hi there," Summer said as she came back, sliding her pack off her shoulder. "I'm Summer and he's Ryan, what's your name?"
The boy didn't respond, just jerked his head at the boxes of food and tooka couple of steps back before sitting down on the floor again.
"Okay then," Summer said. "Ooh! Ryan! If the stove works will you make me spaghetti? Pretty please?"
Ryan smiled. "If it doesn't we can start a cook fire out back."
"They'll see you if you do," the boy said. "They come to light."
Ryan and Summer exchanged glances, but Ryan nodded. "Okay, so, unless this place has a generator, no spaghetti."
"I saw one in the cellar, but it's not working," the boy said.
"Well, how about we eat light tonight, tomorrow I'll try to get it started and cook all three of us a good meal, okay?" Ryan said, hoping that including the boy would put him more at ease.
~~~
Ryan woke in the middle of the night, a bad feeling washing over him, and when he sat up, he saw that while Summer was still curled beside him, the boy had disappeared. Ryan got to his feet and started to look, finding the boy sitting in a booth, watching out the window. While the boy glanced back at him briefly, he returned his attention to the view almost immediately, and Ryan took that as permission to move closer.
As he did, he spotted some sort of mark on the back of the boy's neck. "What's that?" he asked quietly. "On your neck?"
"My barcode," the boy replied. "I'm X5-494."
"Barcode?" Ryan asked, baffled. "But... your just a kid."
"I'm a soldier," 494 replied. "That's why I'm not suppose to have a name."
"Not suppose to?"
"I met another X5, her name was Max, and she named me. But they killed her."
"What did she name you?"
"Alec."
Ryan smiled. "I like it," he said. "So, Alec, how did you get here?"
"I ran. I only stopped when I met Max, and when she died I ran again. They said we were the only ones immune."
"To the virus?" Ryan asked. "Last reports I heard before the radio went dead, they said about one person in a thousand is immune. I guess that's one in a thousand plus you."
"Where are you going?" Alec asked.
"Wherever we can find somewhere safe," Ryan said, his own gaze going outside, and freezing when he saw movement. "Don't move," he whispered.
Alec didn't, but his gaze slid sideways, clearing seeing the same thing Ryan had. An instant later, they heard a muffled scream from where Summer was still asleep in the back, and both Ryan and Alec got to their feet to hurry back. There was a man on top of Summer, straddling her with one hand over her mouth and the other trying to push under her shirt. Her eyes were wide with terror, and before Ryan could begin to move to attack the man, Alec already had, flying at the man and somehow tearing him off of Summer.
Summer scrambled over to her pack to get her gun, but before she and Ryan could move to help Alec, three man came in from the main part of the diner and the fight was on. While Ryan and Summer used their guns to take out their attackers, they turned to find Alec, still empty handed, standing over the body of his attacker, panting ever so slightly. "Alec?" Ryan asked quietly, stunned.
"Did he hurt you?" Alec asked Summer.
"I'm fine," Summer said. "Thanks to you."
~~~
When Ryan and Summer packed their things up again, they also rolled up the leg's of a pair of Summer's jeans and tied a makeshift belt for them, giving Alec something to wear other than his hospital gown like shift, and on top of it went one of Ryan's sweatshirts, the sleeves rolled up so that Alec's hands weren't totally covered. It would work, but Ryan made it clear he planned on stopping in the next decent sized town and getting Alec some clothes that were the right size.
They made an odd little group, stuffed into the jeep that Ryan kept going with gas he siphoned from abandoned vehicles, but they were all eachother had, so they were a family. An odd one, but a family.
The End
