FADE AWAY. aaron warner

chapter three, when fear crept into my mind.

The humidity in the air makes it insufferable to breathe on the makeshift landing pad, positioned atop an abandoned building. Iris was informed she couldn't land on base because that would draw too much attention. The weather is strikingly cold compared to the temperatures in the region where she lives most of the time. A gust of wind hits her face and grains of sand tickle her eyes to the point when she has to force her eyelids shut. She does up the buttons of her black coat and puts her freezing hands in its large pockets, then decides to approach the two men standing at a safe distance from the aircraft.

Once the space between Iris and the respective men diminishes, she can distinguish their features more clearly. Based on their rigid attire, they appear to be soldiers serving the Reestablishment. The omnipresent insignia of the new governing power woven on the sleeve of the shirt that is part of their uniform gives their position away even easier.

Their features are sharp, carrying the coldness of lifelessness. The sky painted in shades of grey, the naked tree branches spread into the distance, in clusters of gnarly mazes floating above the dried earth perfectly compliment the heartless looks of the soldiers currently standing in front of her.

"Miss Gibson?" one of them inquires mechanically, his grip tightening on the rifle he's holding in front of his body.

"That would be me, yes," she retorts grimly, staring absentmindedly at the vast forest occupying a significant surface of the unregulated territories.

"The Supreme Commander has asked me to lead you to the location where he intends to meet you," the soldier speaks, walking alongside the girl towards the emergency stairs of the building.

"Very well," she responds, already climbing down the rusty stairs, ahead of the guards.

The guards then lead her to a bulky black tank stationed not too far into the woods. They motion for her to sit in the back, an order that she wouldn't usually comply with. Considering that she has no idea where the so-called rendezvous point is, she accepts to take her seat. One of the two soldiers joins her in the back, holding his rifle pointed in her direction. Iris is immune to such threats, she knows it's hardly a formality. If she wanted to rid herself of them, she could do it. But her thoughts are elsewhere.

And her biggest concern is whether or not she can face Aaron Warner, if he just so happens to show up and stand by his father's side. He is a long lost memory that seemed to be about to form a scar and stop hurting, but it keeps festering instead. It stings and it draws her attention with a magnetic force. Because the only person that's ever seen her for what she was abandoned her too, left her all alone to dance with her demons.

The thought of him suddenly repels her. She shouldn't be mourning a friendship that was never properly welded in the first place. A distancing that she never received an explanation for.

"The Supreme Commander is expecting you in the dwelling over there," the soldier declares, the omnipresent frown still etched onto his young face. "Number 102."

Iris merely nods and acknowledges the piece of information, then gets outside, closely followed by one of the two guards. He keeps his distance, but follows every step of hers intently.

The house where she is supposed to meet Paris Anderson looks wretched from outside, no splashes of colour to make it stand out from the rest of the neighbourhood comprising of similarly abandoned houses. The roof has got a few missing tiles, the flower pots placed all over the dilapidated porch are filled with mossy chunks of earth, having been evidently neglected for many years. The shroud of darkness surrounding the house completely dismantles the young woman. It looks like a miniature of a dream house, its welcoming aura having been washed away by rain. The never-ending rain produced by The Reestablishment to cleanse the civilised world of the filthy remnants of joviality of everything that happened before they took over.