Fear Itself

I quickly grew bored of waiting for Avery, and it didn’t take me long to snoop around a few empty rooms full of unused cots. Unwilling to sleep alone in an unfamiliar place, I pushed a cot from one room into Avery’s, but I kept it on the far side, opposite of his. I also managed to find a blanket, nothing that I would ever take over the warmth of my sheets at home, but it would have to do. Snooping around and moving beds could only occupy me for so long before I began to rummage through the crates placed under Avery’s bed. It was mere minutes before I sat in the middle of the room, surrounded by the crates and their contents. I didn’t find all that much of interest: the makeshift medical kit he had used on feet earlier, some food, a few empty guns (I had checked to make sure they were empty), some shell casings, and some coins, but what was really of interest to me was the phone I found.

It was similar to phones of 2012, at least from what I had read of them. It was touch screen, I found after figuring out how to turn it on. It was black, and I determined upon feeling it that it was made of glass. The back was silver, shiny, but scratched and worn. There was a lens for a camera of sorts, and on the center of the back was a white Apple logo, the same one from decades before. I couldn’t control my curiosity when I grabbed a fork from one of the crates and pried the back of the phone clear off, peering inside of it and examining all the chips and wires within.

Everything looked rather similar to 2012 models of the iPhone 5 as far as the mechanics went, save for a tiny red chip inside that blinked every couple of seconds. “How strange,” I muttered to myself. That wasn’t normal, and it was probably unnecessary. Carefully using one tooth of the fork, I loosened the chip until it popped out, and the room was suddenly filled an awful, high-pitched buzzing sound. It was blinking like crazy, so I leapt up and stepped on it, and the buzzing finally stopped. I sighed with relief and reached down to grab the phone. I put the two parts back together again, hearing them secure, fasten, and click. Now for the ultimate test. I waited for the phone to reboot, and I dialed the last called number.

A rather disgruntled man mumbled a confused greeting, and I simply chuckled, telling him, “Sorry to bother you, sir. Just testing something. Have a lovely evening!” I hung up, feeling pride in my accomplishment just as Avery walked in and stared at the mess on the floor.

“What is this?” he asked, eyebrows furrowed at the clutter all over the floor. Paying it no mind, I waved his phone in the air, grinning and beaming.

“I fixed this for you, Mumbles!” I exclaimed. His face sank in confusion, focused on the phone. “There was some strange, blinking, red thing inside, and it didn’t look like anything I had seen in older models, so I took it out. It made this horrible buzzing sound, so I crushed it with my foot, but that’s not the point. I took it out, and it still works.”

Seemingly in awe (or at least as much awe as he could show on his generally blank face), he approached me and took the phone. “Did you—” He cut himself off, looking at the phone in his hands, eyes wide for a moment. “Never mind,” Avery murmured and shoved the phone in his jacket pocket. “Princess, clean this up and go to bed,” he told me quietly, sounding rather tired. I couldn’t blame him; I was rather tired myself, so I haphazardly arranged the objects back in the crates and shoved them unceremoniously back under his cot, finally settling back in the cot I had dragged in for myself. Avery shut the lights off, and it seemed like eternity passed. Sleep simply didn’t find me before the roaring clap of thunder did.

The rumbling sound sent me shooting up in my bed, squeaking. “Mumbles,” I whispered. “Psst!” Practically pleading, I needed to get his attention. Another clap sounded, and I jumped, squealing again. I could feel myself trembling, but Avery still wasn’t waking up. I whined quietly before sighing and wrapping myself up in my blanket. I hopped off my cot and scurried over to Avery’s crawling up and nestling myself beside him, jittering all the while. Suddenly, I wished my father was here. He always knew what to do when there was thunder.

When I squirmed closer, Avery stirred awake. “Princess,” he mumbled and lifted his head a bit to glance down at me in confusion. “What are you doing?” I didn’t answer him, merely squeaked when another clap of thunder sounded from outside, shaking through the underground. I whimpered and pressed myself closer to Avery. For a moment, I glanced up at him, begging him with my eyes.

“Please?” I asked quietly, pleading for him to let me stay there. I had never slept alone through a thunderstorm, and I didn’t want to start in the metro tunnels. I burrowed underneath his blanket a little, and he gave me a half-awake nod as he moved over a little, probably trying to give me space I didn’t want in the first place. A tiny smile graced my face as I moved closer, resting my face against him. I felt his arm slide around my shoulder and rub my arm. I hummed softly and let the tension out of my body.

“Mumbles—” I said quietly, but he sighed a little.

“Go to sleep, Princess,” he murmured, and I fell silent, deciding to listen to him for once. I curled up a little, and I felt my arm twist around in his jacket. Feeling safe and secure for the first time in two days, I finally managed to get some much needed and well-deserved sleep.