Julian

It felt like only a few moments, but Julian's eyes opened and he looked at the watch on his wrist. It read 7:27 am. They had slept for almost eight hours. Pulling himself into a sitting position, Julian rubbed his eyes with both hands and sat like that, his face cupped in his hands, trying to wake up. After a few moments of thought, he realized he really had to pee so he stood up and left the room, making his way up the ladder and into the main warehouse. The bathroom was small and more like a port-a-potty than anything, but that was convenient for him, since there was no running water. Relieving himself, he went back down the ladder and into his makeshift house.

A rumbling from his stomach told him that he was also hungry and he pulled open the hidden room containing his food storage and pulled out a box of pop tarts. Stuff like that never expired, not really. Sure, the taste would be a bit stale, but it was still delicious. Sitting at the table back in the first room, Julian brought the pastry to his mouth. Brown sugar was his favorite flavor and he bit into one, closing his eyes. Memories flooded into his head. Oh Julian, how alone you must feel, Jessie whispered in his ear, sighing. I miss you. Why couldn't you take me along with you?

A tear slipped down Julian's cheek, "I don't know, Jessie, I just don't know." Tilting his head back, he ate the rest of his breakfast and sat there for sometime after, soaking in the silence and depression that followed Jessie's sudden burst of conversation.

 "Morning!" Ashlynn chirped, marching into the room, she sat down in a chair across from him, heaving a sigh and stretching her arms. Her stomach rumbled, betraying the reasoning behind her presence.

Ashlynn's sudden appearance nearly scared half to death and almost knocked him out of his chair. Having company over was not something he was used to. Clearing his throat, trying to calm his rambunctiously beating heart, he gave her a small smile, "Er, good morning, I hope you slept well!"

"Yeah. In fact, that was probably the best sleep I've had in a long time," she told him, glancing at the hidden room, in search of food.

Julian stood up once more and went to grab her a poptart of her own. "I hope you don't mind brown sugar, it's my favorite," he said aimlessly, tossing it to her.

 "I'd take anything, especially brown sugar!" Grinning at him, she tore a large chuck off of the pop tart and stuck it in her mouth. From the look on her face, it must have been the best thing she’d had in awhile.

They both sat there, enjoying a calm morning and then Julian realized that Ashlynn hadn't brought anything with her. When he had found her, all she had was the clothes on her back. "So, er, where is all of your stuff exactly?" The question seemed sort of blunt, so he smoothed it out with another, "And where do you plan on going?"

Ashlynn let out a deep sigh, breaking the silence that followed his question. "I left most of it under a tree just outside the town," she told him, glancing at the entrance of the room, then back over to him, "I was heading west, to maybe make some sort of place for myself in the warmer areas of the country," she paused, biting her bottom lip a bit. "I just stopped by the town to restock on supplies, so I didn't bring anything with me except my backpack, which I also seem to have lost." Standing up, Ashlynn pulled her hair back into a ponytail. "Thanks for saving me and letting me stay here for the night. I wish I could do something in return, but I honestly have nothing to offer," she said to Julian with a grateful smile before heading for the exit. She was up to the main floor before he had a chance to object. Julian sat there stupefied. Just like that, he no longer had someone to share his space with, he was all alone. Everyone leaves in the end, you fool, Jessie whispered cynically, laughing all the while. Don't trust anyone.

"Not even you?" he muttered and threw himself out of his chair, scrambling up the ladder after Ashlynn. After all these years, searching, he had finally found someone that was alive, and he wasn't about to give that up without a fight. "Whoa,whoa, why the rush?"

    Pausing at the exit to his warehouse, he gave Ashlynn his best disarming smile, "Why not... stay here with me?"

Turning around at Julian's words, Ashlynn hesitated for a moment. She let out a small, quiet laugh. "I can't stay here, it's not..." She paused after that, deep in thought. A troubled look played across her face and Julian was afraid she would truly say no. Ashlynn suddenly smiled at Julian and gave him a short nod. "Actually, I don't see any reason why I can't," she said to him. Then, pulling open the warehouse doors, "But I still have to find my stuff. Want to come along?" Her acceptance was wonderful, but he couldn’t help but wonder what was holding her back.

With the warehouse door open, and adventure inevitable, now was Julian's time to shine. Pulling out a key chain from his pocket and smiling devilishly, he walked towards the back of the warehouse where the light didn't reach so you couldn't see what hid in the shadows. Pushing out his motorbike and rolling it into view, he asked,"Now why would we walk anywhere?" The bike didn't have an engine, it had a battery, so it was almost noiseless and wouldn't attract any Scavengers unless they were already out and about, which was unlikely with the sun being up.

The bike was more than big enough to accommodate two people, and Julian had freshly charged the batteries over night, so it was ready to roll. Putting the key in the ignition, it spurred to life, letting off a nearly inaudible purr. "Care to join me?"

Ashlynn ran over to Julian and the bike, excitement bubbling off of her. "Of course!" she exclaimed happily.

Her enthusiasm was just what Julian needed to have his spirits raised. He had never taken another person out on his bike, other than his father, so he was excited to try it out. Throwing one leg over the side and climbing aboard, he patted the seat behind him, "Sit behind me and wrap your arms around my chest."

It was a simple thing to do, but he wasn't sure if she had ever ridden a bike before and the first time can be quite frightening. Taking his helmet off the handle, he handed it to her, he wasn't about to risk her life by keeping himself safe. The helmet was black with purple roses and white skulls painted across its surface, the same design that was displayed on the bike. The only difference between them was the bike had 'Jessie' written in deep green vines, intertwined with the roses and skulls. He had spent months painting it when his sister had disappeared, and it was one of his most prized possessions.

Ashlynn climbed onto his bike with ease, unwavering and unscared. Questions flooded his mind about her past, but he held them in; this was not the time for 21 questions. Only when the bike kicked forward did she really hang on tighter to Julian. “Do you remember where you found me last night?!" she called to him over the wind, "I think I lost my backpack around there.”

The wind blew through his hair, making it a flowing mess; he couldn't even imagine what Ashlynn's hair looked like. Revving the engine quietly, he turned down the street he found her on, the drive taking only a few minutes. On the ground by the rusty car he had pulled her out of lay a mangle corpse of a mutant, devoured by its companions. The second the scent of its blood hit the air, it was a goner, the others couldn't resist. Blood was splattered all over the ground, staining everything it touched.

   Walking past it in disgust, Julian stepped over the body and looked around, searching for anything that resembled a backpack. "So did you drop it on the ground while running, or what?" he asked softly, distracted by the blood that was smeared on everything.

It was then that Ashlynn noticed all of the blood and the mangled corpse of the mutant. She put a hand over her mouth in shock. It could've well been her body lying there, unidentifiable and stinking to high heaven, and that seemed to horrify her. To Julian's question, she just shrugged. "I had it in the car with me, I know, but not when you pulled me out. I took it off to grab my flashlight to distract the Ravagers, but..." Her sentence trailed of and she stared quizzically the ground in front of her. "It should be here! Somewhere... " Ashlynn told him quietly. She started searching for the small black backpack as well, but soon came up with nothing.

    The backpack was nowhere to be found. They searched the entire area, even covering a few blocks in every direction, and they came up empty handed. He knew that she must have come in from the east, it was the closest exit of the city; shaking his head, he trudged over to his bike and started it up. Ashlynn followed, her head held low, I wonder what's so important to her…  He didn't want to pry, so he just started up the bike and sped away, heading for the edge of town.  Ashlynn had said that she had more stuff than just the bag she brought into town, so they may as well go grab that before continuing with their search.

    The ride was sullen and quiet, and her depression was taking a toll on Julian. What did you expect? Jessie asked. She is just using you to get her stuff back.

    "I've had enough of you!" he hissed under his breath, his words carried away in the wind. "Leave me alone."

    Oh, so now that you've got a companion, you're just going to discard me? She scoffed at him, not likely.

    Even in death, his sister was an annoyance to him. "Jessie, why don't you just leave me the f**k alone? You are nothing but trouble," he spoke the words loudly, a little louder than he had anticipated. Ashlynn squeezed his chest tighter. Why, he didn't know.

    A loud giggle rang in his ears; you're going to scare her off!  Jessie's laugh was melodic and sweet, but also full of sadness. You're going to be alone again.

    The desert outside the city came into view and he spotted the tree she claimed to have put her stuff underneath. Pulling up beside it, he took in everything he saw, a large bag and a few smaller ones, all stuffed full of stuff. "How did you carry all of this all on your own?"

    She offered him a shrug and threw a grin at him, bending down to pick up her bags. "I guess I'm just used to it," she replied as she lifted the large one, and then stared at the motorbike. "Uhh, I don't see how this is going to work," she told him, wondering if he had a plan. "I could just carry it all back?" she suggested, looking back the way they came towards the city.

    Carry it all back? he thought, astonished. “Nonsense!” Jumping of the bike he pulled up the seat and looked inside. Since it ran on solar and not on gas, he had taken out the entire engine, leaving a lot of carrying space.  

Well aren’t you just her hero? Jessie sneered quietly in his ear, giggling. She is just so lucky to have you around to help her, isn’t she?

Staggering for a moment, Julian ran a shaking hand through his hair. It had been ages since she had become this talkative, why would she choose now of all times? The answer was simple: jealousy. It concept of her jealousy was ridiculous, since she was just a figment of his imagination; even so, it felt all too real. “Just get out of here, why can’t you leave me alone?” he whispered angrily, covering it with a cough; his insanity was a burden only he needed to bear, and he didn’t want to share it with Ashlynn.

A loud yelp of excitement drew him out of his head, and he turned in the direction of the noise. It had come from just inside the city, close enough to be audible. Hm? Quickly composing himself, he put one finger up to his lips and pointed with the other towards the sound. ‘Let’s go,’ he mouthed to her, trying to stay silent, they didn’t know who, or what, made that sound and it wasn’t a good idea to just go rushing in there unprepared. Ashlynn gave him a curt, understanding nod and they both made their way back into the city, leaving her stuff and his bike beneath the tree.

           They stalked into the city, moving as quietly as possible, not wanting to stir up trouble. Just as they rounded the bend of the first building, Julian caught site of a young girl, no older than twelve, rushing into a small house, a small black backpack hung over her shoulder. Bingo.