Rogue. (IN REVISION)

7

Chapter 7

Hawk and Venner talked long through the night, Venner had to admit that it was nice talking to someone else. He couldn't remember the last time he had a long conversation like this, it refreshed his soul. All those years in silence, lonely and no one to talk to...it destroyed him inside. Talking to Hawk made him realize how much he needed human contact, how much he missed being around other people.

The radio could be heard from Fallons room again, creating the best background noise, "Its me, your favorite and only radio host. How are you doing my children? Are you hanging in there?"

"Ana Mori is a badass for keeping up with her station during all of this." Hawk spoke up, working on his new device, perfecting it.

"I've never heard of her, I thought radio was extinct." Venner replied. "I didn't even know anyone could get their hands on such old technology."

"After The Divide, the Tompers came in and raided everyone's homes for advanced technology. They didn't want us getting smarter I suppose. Even the music we used to listen to on our Electro-Cortex were wiped. The chip isn't even worth using for the inter-web anymore." Hawk told him.

"Did you get an implant?" Venner asked. Hawk shook his head and explained that he was an orphan. Venner felt a bit confused, "I thought Fallon was your sister."

"Kedosh'e Mi, not blood." Hawk explained as he kept fiddling with a few objects on the table.

"Kedosh'e Mi?" He asked, even further perplexed.

"Yeah, it means Sacred Blood. Some of us choose our families here. It's an old Zionite word they used to describe the people in their close circle, it was the highest praise you could give someone." Hawk explained, glancing up from his work.

"I see." Venner silence for a moment to listen to the background sounds once more.

"Today in Desolate news, Tomper Army cadet 1111 was pushed into exile for his incapability to murder a prisoner. Later that day it was reported that 1111 delivered crucial medication to the daughter of the prisoner he refused to kill. The prisoner named Paul, was accused of theft when he was caught trying to get medication for his daughter. 1111 now wanders Desolate, now a complete stranger to the Tomper army." Mori reported. Hawk laughed, "A bot doing charity work? I think Ana has gone off the deep end finally."

"Yeah, that sounds crazy." Venner laid upon the couch, listening intently.

"Now its time for some music, this one is for you 1111." She turned on the song, filling the room with classical music. Hawk and Venner went back to their original conversation.

"So, you're sure that the meat that they give us is processed human flesh?" Venner asked, still disturbed by their previous conversations.

Hawk shrugged and kept playing with his new device, "It still remains to be seen. As much as I'm on it , even I know you shouldn't believe everything on the inter-web. Just in case, Fallon and I hunt for our own meat, other than that we're practically vegetarian, and we stay away from the Howler Pies."

Howler Pies were a putrid delicacy in Desolate after the food had become scarce and the land dry. It was a small pie filled with questionable meat that was gray and smelled fowl. Even the shipments of food once a month were not enough to feed the starving mouths of Desolate. So the people got desperate and hunted the wolves and other predators that occasionally hunted them, sometimes patches of fur could be found in the food. "Oh God!" Venner shuddered in complete disgust. "Whoever thought that wolf and coyote meat was a nutritious meal must have lost their mind."

"I agree. I don't even know if it's wolf meat anymore. I think they just stuff it with whatever they find..." Hawks little contraption sparked and hit the glass of his green-lensed goggles.