Wanderlust

My legs stretched as I woke, my eyes heavy with sleep. As I surfaced to consciousness, I remembered the injuries I had. I groaned as a deep throb came from my cheek; I felt the scab on my lower lip. I finally opened my eyes and jumped in surprise. I wasn't in the Jeep anymore, I was in a small bed. My arm was dressed and clean, the blood was wiped from my skin. I sat up slowly, letting the blood settle as the dizziness went down. I swung my legs over the bed and saw that their were five other beds in the room, the belongings of everyone set next to a desired bed. I shook my head, terribly confused, I rose up off the bed and walked over to the door to leave.

I opened the door and stepped out into a hallway, seeing doors lining the walls until it hit a dead end. Where was I? What is this place? I turned the opposite direction of the dead end turned the corner, seeing the hallways lead into a vast open space. I looked up in awe, the ceiling stretched up at least sixty feet, it look like a hanger of some sorts, like it had been abandoned and people decided to set up a small colony here. I felt small and like I was going to fall over from staring up at the metal support beams that towered far above me.

“Someone was suppose to stay with you,” I heard Jaden say from behind me, turning around to see his face scrunched up in an almost apologetic way.
“Where are we?” I asked slowly, looking around at all the people walking and chatting. Food stands were set up and beyond was a large wall to my left, another open area was filled with various vehicles and yet, more people.

“You should come with me.” I followed behind him, a headache simmering in my head. I tried to ignore it but it was almost ear splitting, the sharp jabs it took with every pulse.

“How long was I out?” I matched my steps with him, trying to kept the pace.

“A few hours, not long but we wanted someone to watch you in case you woke up. I guess everyone just wanted to explore,” he shrugged, letting me step ahead of him into a hall.

“I felt like I was asleep for days,” I muttered under my breath, looking down at the dusty floor.

It held no tiles or wood supports, it was bare ground. There was a thin carpet in the room I had just left though. The floor transformed into another hallways as I looked up to pay attention to where we were going. It was like the one I had walked through but held fewer doors and had more turns. We didn't walk very far before Jaden stopped in front of a door. He raised his hand to knock but hesitated and turned to me.

“Are you sure you're okay?” His question threw me off guard and I tilted my head to the side slightly, narrowing me eyes at his nervous stance.

“I'm well enough,” I started, trying to think though the pain in my face. “Why are you acting so weird?”

His face flattened and his usual facade picked up. “No reason,” he told me without a tone and knocked on the door quickly.

Within a minute it flew open, a tall, dark haired man stood in the doorway. Something struck me as familiar about him, I couldn't put my finger on it. He gave a friendly shake of the hand to Jaden, who was oddly enough, returning the gesture lightly.

“This is, Dahlia, she's the sixth member of our group.” Jaden gestured toward me, stepping back a little.

The dark haired man held his hand over his mouth in a pondering silence, almost as if he was at a loss for words. “Evanna Monroe, you are a sight for sore eyes.”

I smiled nervously, put off by his tone and the wrong name. “Excuse me?”

“I know you don't remember me, I'm Marcus.” He held his hand out but it shook a little, I apprehensively returned the greeting, letting my hand fall back down to my side.

“I'm sorry, I don't believe I remember you. Did I know you?” I asked curiously, trying desperately to pick out something to remind me of him.

Marcus flicked his eyes towards Jaden, who was standing farther away now that I noticed. Something tells me that he knows who Marcus is to me, that must have been why he was asking if I was alright. Marcus started to speak but held up his finger, disappearing into the room that I assumed he lived in. I saw him shuffle through a draw in my line of sight, shutting it promptly, and walking back over. He held out a picture to me and I took it with a tight brow.

“I'm your cousin, first cousin to be exact. In case you find it hard to believe, I know I would, this is a picture of us a few years ago at one of the many Gala's Kruger held when we lived within his territory.” I looked up at him with wide eyes, he smiled almost sadly, “It's the only picture I have of us.”

I looked down to examine it. It was me, there was no doubt about it. The girl in the picture though, she looked happy. Her eyes were bright, her smile beaming as her arm was slung around this man, Marcus. He held the same happy expression, but his eyes held a sadness to them and I didn't know why. This was me but it wasn't me. I didn't know this girl anymore.

“My cousin,” I spoke, feeling a little lightheaded. “Family.”

“Yes.” Marcus nodded, “we were unbelievably close and there's so much I want to tell you but I don't want to dump it all on you at once. I can understand how confusing this might be for you.”

I couldn't help but smile, something about him made me. “No, please. It's already a mystery to me, I'd rather have to much than to little.”
He looked relived and stepped aside, “Then by all means,” he gestured.

I stepped into his small but roomy quarters, looking behind me to see Jaden still outside in the hallway. “Jaden, aren't you coming?”

He looked like he was expecting something entirely different to come out of my mouth. “I suppose, if you want that.”

“It'd be unfair for me to know everyone's story and no be able to share mine.” There was also the fact that even though I firmly believe that Marcus was harmless, I didn't want to be alone just yet.

“Alright.” Jaden followed in, shutting the door behind him.

Marcus sat across from me at the table opposite to where his bed was, four chairs spread evenly around it. I kept the picture in my hands as I we settled.

“I don't know where to start,” Marcus spoke, looking like a million things were running through his mine. “I never thought I was see you again. The last time I saw you, you were being detained.”

“I don't know a lot, I have a few memories. All of them are hazy and painful,” I blocked the image of being tortured out of my mind. “Please, start from where ever you feel.”

“I will start by saying that you saved me, without a doubt, you saved me.” His eyes reddened slightly and I dropped the picture from my hands, almost reaching across to grab his out of some buried instinct. “Surely, you must know at least that the laws are strict. It's basically every man for himself, except you can't be black, can't be foreign, you can't be gay, and religion is a rare exception. Kruger took everyone back to the medieval times, a time of unlawful and unfair rights being given to the very few people who fit the criteria. You and I both did, our fathers were brothers and both advisers to Kruger himself. We were very wealthy and very powerful. Our mothers were treated like property, only being used to support and satisfy our father's corrupted needs. It wasn't until I was twenty-one that I realized that I was gay, I knew it all my life but was always to afraid to confront it. I did when a friend of ours, Charlie, came out to us.” He stopped, allowing me to process what he was telling me.
I was rich, I had power, or at least my parents did. Women were treated horribly, along with anyone else who wasn't white, educated, or didn't know how to kiss Kruger's ass for acceptance. I found a strange anger churning within me, it seemed as if I had just awoken it from a deep sleep.

“I faced it when Charlie and I fell in love, secretly having a relationship for two years in secret. You were the only one who knew and protected that secret, fiercely, I might add. You shared the same beliefs I did, you support my relationship and wished for nothing more for us to be able to live a normal life together. Just after our two year anniversary, I felt confident enough to come clean to my mother. She was loving and accepting and I surely thought that she would be supportive. It was a foolish thought because she cried on the spot, telling me I needed to stay away from here, she didn't need that filth around her. My father found out and then your parents found out and it became this huge fiasco. Charlie, proud as he was, didn't want to tarnish his reputation and when confronted about our relationship, denied it and said that I was obsessed with him. It broke me, and you were there to be that support I desperately needed. You would rather fight for what you believed in and what you loved, rather than have a life most could only dream of. You payed dearly for it and it took only a day for the events to reach Kruger. Your parents gave you a choice to repent your actions and stand with them or be disowned. You stood by me and I knew I only had a matter of days before Kruger's men would come for me. When they did, they dragged us both out from our houses and through the streets of the city. We had anything you could throw, thrown at us. We dragged from each other and I remember seeing the resistance in your eyes. I didn't know what they were going to do to you but something crazy happened moments after I lost sight of you.”

I was gripping the table, Marcus stopped talking when he saw Jaden giving me a side glance of worry. My fingertips were white as I dropped them to my lap, taking a deep breath. “Please, continue.”

“A protester, actually, many protesters, came in to the streets. They attacked the guards that were dragging me and I was set free. It was a small riot but it was enough for me to run after you to see the same happening to you, but you weren't in a hold anymore and instead of running with me, you fought them off. You screamed for me to run and I didn't at first, I refused to. But you kept fighting them and pushing for me to go and I did. I dived into a stream that was connected to a storm drain and rode the water down into the hole. The last time I saw you, you were being stunned with so much force, I could almost smell the electricity in the air. When I fell into the storm drain, I realized it was a underground network of tunnels for the water system. I ran through them, I could hear them coming for me. I kept low and I had the dark on my side. I spend the night running and swimming through tons of water before I found a manhole to kick out. When I did, I was carried out with the sudden flow of water and I felt into the body of water below. The rest is a long, dragged out story that I surely will tell you some other time. For now though, I think this is enough.”

I realized I wasn't breathing properly when I took a few big breaths to calm myself, letting my head rest in my hands. I had my eyes shut tightly, trying to think through my headache. A flicker of a memory came into my head but it was enough to see an image of myself being held down, a metal stick being jolted into the base of my neck. I remember the feeling, the sudden pain. Most of all, I remember the relief in me that Marcus had gotten away.

“I was electrocuted on the back of my neck,” I mumbled into my hands. “I can't remember any of it after for that, it's difficult.”

Marcus reached over and took my hands in his, he looked like he was riding an emotional tidal wave. “I would rather have a ghost of who you were than not have any of you.”

“Thank you,” I whispered, feeling a small amount of tears burn my eyes before I blinked them away.

Marcus and I got up from our chair, carefully embracing for a second before he held me at arms length in front of him. “If you have any questions about yourself, please come to me. Otherwise, I'm beside myself to see you again.”

“Me too,” I nodded, quickly hugging him. “I'm going to go rest up.”

“Please do,” he waved. “You look like death.”

I laughed, flinching when my cheek protested. “I feel like it.”

I almost forgot that Jaden was with me until I turned to shut the door behind me. He was quiet and I didn't know how to respond after what had just happened. He seemed antsy as we walked down the hall and just before we reached the threshold of the area with all the food stands, he stopped me.

“I owe you a thank you,” he started uneasily. “You saved Millie and after that back there, I should of known better than to misjudge you.”

“Is that an apology too?” I asked, feeling surprised by this kinder side to Jaden.

“If it makes me not have to apologize out loud too, then yes.” He looked down to his feet and I felt an odd upper hand in this situation.

“Good because you sure as hell owe me one.” I turned, walking ahead of him.

“I owe you one?” He asked, catching up to me.

“You can't be serious, you've been nothing but dismissive of me ever since I joined. I understand if your fragile pride prevents you from admitting it though,” I jabbed at him, knowing that him being at least a little nicer wasn't going to last long.

“Fragile pride?” He let out a dry laugh, “Forget it, you're never getting an apology now.”

“I can always relay this to Millie you know, so if you can't just utter the words, 'I'm sorry,' on your own, she can hold your hand and make you.” I smirked, stopping to gauge his reaction. I was more than obvious that he listened to Millie and more than likely would obey what ever she asked.

His held a stony look, heaving a dramatic sigh, “Or you could just take the apology as it is and move on from your weird power trip you think you're having.”

“I'm not asking for much, I just wanted you to say it out loud instead of implying that you're sorry,” I more solemnly explained.

He stayed quiet for a minute, drumming his fingers against his folded arms. “Sorry,” I heard him mutter so quietly, I almost had to lean in to hear it.

“I didn't hear that,” I cupped my ear, waiting.

“I'm sorry.” He parted the words sarcastically, I knew it was the best one I was going to get out of him.

“Thank you,” I nodded. “I can really tell you meant it.”

It was strange, I thought I would get a snide remark but a faint but ever rare smile formed on his lips. I felt a strange heat in my face and I turned, ignoring the banter we had. It wasn't banter that was meant to be mean, if anything, we were just teasing each other in some strange way. It was odd, going outside the boundaries of arguments and had rolled eyes to this so swiftly in fear that ideas would form in my head. I wonder if it would last.