Chapter 8 - The Ridge

Chapter 8 �" The ridge

They all sat atop the rock that sat atop the ridge that overlooked the rudimentary racecourse.  They like the always did there stared at the monstrous wall in the distance.  Even in the night you could still make out the vast shape against the night sky.  It blocked out any stars in that direction.  They had all continued to drink from the bottle since arriving.

‘I wonder if anyone is still inside that thing,’ said Puerco

‘The guns are automated so it’s impossible to say.’ Said Carlos

‘There’s power so there must be someone making that power,’ Said Scott

‘Maybe, I guess, unless it generates its own,’ said Mike

‘They’re must be someone on the other side’ said Scott

‘It’s been fifteen years since the war ended and nothing but the guns since then,’ said Carlos

‘Do you remember anything from back then?’ asked Mike

‘I was two,’ laughed Carlos, ‘I’m not even that much older than you’

‘I’m not sure I will remember this conversation in the morning,’ laughed Mike.

‘No one even talks about it now either, the war, it is like it never happened apart from the huge wall staring at us all,’ said Carlos.

‘I guess we lost,’ said Puerco

‘Yeah, maybe that’s why no one ever talks about it, like why Scott never talks about the race,’ laughed Mike drawing a mean stare from Scott.

‘I don’t remember much from being a kid even, how about you guys? What’s your first memory?’ asked Carlos.

‘hmm, I just remember being in that place but obviously would rather forget that,’ said mike with his smile sinking before sinking another swig of the black drink.

‘Well I maybe remember my mum,’ said Scott, ‘a little anyway.’

‘Really, said Puerco, ‘what did she look like?’

‘I don’t know, dunno if it is even her I guess.  I mean I dream about he a lot but now I’m not sure if it is maybe just the dream that I remember or whether it is a real memory,  I never really remember her face when I wake up, she has blonde hair like mine.’

‘Is she hot?’ asked Carlos and they all started laughing before Scott moved on.

‘It’s a feeling you know,’ he said ‘like that the woman was my mother, like I feel safe or something.’

‘They’re all dead,’ said Mike, ‘what does it matter?’  His smile had sunk so far it had formed a distinct frown.

‘I think all our parents must have died during the war,’ said Puerco.  ‘I wonder if they knew each other… I wonder what they all did before…’

‘Ok, shut up about it then Puerco’ said Mike.  ‘You weren’t even born when the war was happening, so they can’t have died during it.  ‘It doesn’t really matter, they’re all dead, doesn’t matter how they died, just matters that they’re dead and were not.’

They all shared troubled faces whilst sharing their thoughts about their deceased parents.  Scott knew there were no surviving records from that time and they did not even keep the surnames.  They were then and still now lost children with no family.

‘I remember being underwater,’ said Puerco

‘What!?’ said Mike.

‘My first memory,’ said Puerco, ‘it must have been the ocean and I was underwater, everything was blurry but I am sure I was a baby.’

‘Was!?  You are a baby! Puerco,’ said Mike laughing again, ‘Little Piggy.’  They all start oinking at Puerco.  Mike then stood up and started singing and swinging his belly round in his hands, ‘underwater Pig-gy, he’s so round and errrrrrr big-gy, he swims like a Pig-gy and he smells like a… Pig-gy.’  He sat back down giving up on any more drunken rhymes and took another drink.

‘Hey, pass that round,’ said Carlos and grabbed the bottle

‘So what happened with Karla then Romeo’ asked Carlos wincing down a drink.

‘Nothing,’ His face crimsoned and they all broke out in laughter apart from Carlos who was busy coughing up the taste of the black drink.

‘Did you show her your little piggy,’ laughed Mike wiggling his little finger with the others joining in.

‘It’s, it doesn’t… J-just shut up,’ said Scott.

‘Oooh,’ they said in unison before laughing again.

‘She’s cute at least, why be embarrassed, it’s not like she is Nadia’ said Carlos turning his head to look accusingly at Mike, ‘Hey Mike?’

‘Hey were picking on Scott, not me,’ said Mike, ‘besides, I was drunk and can’t remember anyway so it doesn’t count.’

‘She’s like thirty-five,’ said Carlos, ‘and how tall is she… she’s a giant.’

They all continued the laugh and Carlos passed the bottle to Puerco who took a small gut wrenching drink.

‘What about that Betty anyway?’ asked Mike.

‘What about her,’ said Scott.

‘You’re always staring at her like some kinda perv’ said Mike

‘What!?’ said Scott

‘You are,’ said Mike, ‘she’s hot though, apart from having a kid, that’s a real waste.’

Scott looked around for support but only found ‘Perv!’ said accusingly in tandem by Carlos and Puerco.

Scott Sighed.

‘Come on Scott,’ said Carlos, ‘everyone knows it.  Whenever she walks past your head snaps round to look at that a*s.  We all have a sneaky look but you are obvious.’

They all nodded in agreement at him, admitting that they looked and confirming that he was a Pervert.  Scott went quiet considering how many times people must have been watching him and judging him as some kind of pervert.  

‘Pass me that,’ he said and grabbed the bottle from Puerco taking a large gulp before Mike dragged it away to take one himself.  They both coughed and spluttered.

‘Water, water’ said Mike scraping his tongue on his teeth.

‘There’s no water here,’ said Carlos.

‘Look at that cactus,’ said Mike pointing at a cactus a few metres over the yellow kill-line, ‘I bet it’s full of water.’

‘Go fetch it then’ said Carlos

‘No you’re alright,’ said Mike, ‘I will let you get it.’

‘How long do you think you’ve got before it fires?’ asked Puerco, ‘if you ran, maybe you could get it and make it back.’

‘Are you crazy,’ said Carlos

‘I bet they have water,’ said Scott looking at the wall, ‘they’re probably watching us right now.’

‘Why does it still fire,’ said Puerco ‘there’s no war anymore.’

‘Who cares man,’ said Mike ‘you cross the line and your dead, simple as that.’

‘We’re stuck here, that’s it,’ said Carlos

‘I’m gonna get out of here,’ said Scott, ‘I will at least get to the Capitol.’ Had he not drunk so much he would have probably kept quiet but the black stuff had a habit of making him blurt things out.  He turned back round to see three sets of wounded eyes looking back at him.

‘So you wanna leave us then, is what you’re saying,’ said Mike.

‘It’s not that,’ said Scott, ‘I just need more; than this.’

‘What do you want Scott,’ said Mike angrily, ‘it’s like nothing is good enough for you.  You think you’re better than anyone else.’

‘It’s not that,’ said Scott wishing he had not taken that last drink, ‘I… I dunno, this can’t be all can it.  Scraping by, here, what is the point, really, what is the point?’

‘So everything we have is s**t’ said Mike

Yes, he thought

‘No…’ said Scott.  It’s just that I need something more, just get off my case.’

‘There’s nothing more Scott,’ said Mike, ‘this is it, you need to get used to it… and that f*****g bike is piece of s**t, how do you think that’s gonna get you out of here? Really? You need to face reality Scott.’

Scott sighed and fell into an angry silence

‘Say something then,’ said Mike, ‘I f*****g hate when you just go quiet.  Come on tell us again you’re big plan to get out of here?’

Why do you have to put me down like this, I’m not doing anything to hurt anyone.  Just cos you’ve given up doesn’t mean I have to.

‘Just forget it’ said Scott

‘No, no, no,’ slurred Mike.  ‘I wanna hear it, what exactly is your great f*****g plan.’  He choked down the last dregs in the bottle before launching it towards the wall.

‘Come on Mike’ said Carlos, ‘chill out, were meant to be having a nice time here.’

'You’ve lost the deposit on that now,’ said Puerco to the sound of bottle smashing in the distance.  Carlos shushed him.

‘This is why you have nothing,’ said Mike, ‘you’re head is always somewhere else.  All this big talk about going to the capitol, you’re such a f*****g child.  Grow up.  Do you know anyone that has ever left this town let alone gone to the capitol?  What makes you think one of us can get there.  Especially someone who has got nothing.’

‘Ok, give it a f*****g rest, I don’t need you telling me that I’m a loser’

‘Will you two kiss already and get it over with, Jesus’ said Carlos.

‘Kiss, kiss, kiss’ chanted Puerco.

‘Shut up!’ said Mike.

‘Hey, don’t start with us,’ said Carlos, ‘Anyway, I can understand why he wants out of here, it is a s**t-hole.’

‘I’m just sick of hearing his bullshit about leaving,’ said mike, ‘none of us can leave here.’

‘Yeah, sure’ said Scott.

‘Well, we better go anyway,’ said Carlos.

They head back to town and Scott is towed along.  They talk about the bike again and Mike goes off and leaves them.

‘What’s wrong with him?’ asked Scott

‘I dunno, he’s drinking a lot lately,’ said Carlos

‘It’s not just with me, he’s getting really aggressive’

‘He will be fine, I think he’s struggling with the processing job.  All those bodies I mean’

‘He doesn’t have to be such a dick though’

Puerco cuts off as they get back to town

‘Well I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then’ said Carlos

‘Yeah see ya’ said Scott.

He pulled away seemingly unaware of the chain rattling down the street after him.

Scott laughed and turned to open the door.  A staircase lay before him and he winced at the mountain ahead of him.

He had managed to find a room above a local shop well it the size of a cupboard really with just enough room for him to lay flat out. There were six other such rooms in the building all in a row next to each other.

He slumped against the wall to his left and slid his way up the stairs one stumbling step at a time.  Making it to the top he tripped over the last step and crawled back up to his feet laughing.  He grabbed the door handle and pulled himself up to his feet.  He blindly fumbled for his keys in his pocket until they jangled to the floor.  He bended down hitting his head on the door.  ‘S**t!’   Then grabbed them and jerked back upright.  His came out of the corner of his mouth and searched through the bunch for the first.  He found it and his tongue retreated replaced by a dumb smile.  He pushed in the key but it would not open.  ‘What the f**k, f*****g turn.’  He twisted and twisted pulled it out to check it was correct and suddenly the door flung open.

‘Wrong f*****g door A*****e’

The wind of the door slamming brushed his hair back.  He looked right and then his body followed to match.  He shuffled forward and focused on his door and pulled a confused face.  He had been sure the last door was his and now distrusted this door in front of him looking up and down the hall to get his bearings.  He pushed in the key tentatively and pulled the door open.  He walked in to the room and fell forward on to his mattress and fell instantly to sleep.

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Author's Note

quite a lot of changes required here but thanks for any reviews

Reviews

[Cyndy Robinson]

There is some words missing typing stuff, but the story is still all there. I am enjoying reading it. A little confusion in the beginning, it says they are sitting overlooking a racecourse, but then they are talking about generating power or something. It makes me feel like I am missing what they are looking at. Later I gather there is a kill line behind a wall, so it becomes clear. Good story.