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Post by redhavoc on Oct 4, 2011 0:44:41 GMT -5
*A few turns later and we've reached the start of the dry canal the killjoys call The Strip. I motion for Max to turn into the canal and drive up a little ways, until we reach the remains of the campfire from the killjoy's party. It's still dark out, much to my delight*
*Forgetting everything else, I get out of the car. I've been popping pain pills like crazy on purpose. I can barely feel my side and I slowly walk around, looking. It takes me twenty minutes of searching, but finally I find what I am looking for: one of Sugar's forgotten fireworks. I clumsily get down and angle the firework like she showed me. Then I realize I don't have any matches*
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Post by Max Griffiths on Oct 4, 2011 1:01:41 GMT -5
*Following Red silently, I pull a lighter out of my pocket when I realize what she wants. I vaguely recognize the object she's holding as something I enjoyed before the Wars, but it stirs no particular emotions now and I figure it's harmless if she wants to set it off*
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Post by redhavoc on Oct 4, 2011 1:15:42 GMT -5
*I smile when Max hands me the lighter. I light the fuse and somehow find the energy to pull Max back with me a couple feet. The rocket blasts into the sky and explodes in a rainbow BLI logo that turns into a flower! My heart dances with the explosion and I reach out, pretending I can touch it*
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Post by Max Griffiths on Oct 4, 2011 22:02:23 GMT -5
*The firework doesn't impress me; colors lost their appeal many years ago. Instead, I watch Red, gauging her reaction. I see how much she enjoys the display, and wonder what the officials at Better Living would do if they knew.*
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Post by redhavoc on Oct 5, 2011 0:41:11 GMT -5
*As soon as it's done I search for another one, totally engrossed. I find one shaped like a dragon and plant it in the sand, lighting it before backing up. I lean on Max as Sug's firework forms a sparkling city. I need to rest a little before I find the next one*
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Post by Max Griffiths on Oct 5, 2011 1:04:28 GMT -5
*I stay still when Red leans on me, letting my mind wander as she watches the explosions above us. I'm not one to wish for different times; there's no more for me in the past than there is for me now. But I know this can't last; Orwell's pride won't cloud his judgement for long, and both Red and myself are valuable assets to the company. Sooner or later they'll track us down.*
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Post by redhavoc on Oct 5, 2011 1:19:32 GMT -5
*I'm breathing heavier as I finally bring myself to pull away from Max and look for the next firework. It's harder to find one this time, but I don't want it to end. I find a brightly painted one and drag it into position. As soon as it lights I realize it's actually three fireworks tied together. I back up and trip, a fact I'll regret later, but that my medicated body does not feel at all. I look up at the sky, waiting for the explosion*
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Post by Max Griffiths on Oct 5, 2011 1:24:21 GMT -5
*I step forward quickly when Red falls, crouching next to her and pulling back her jacket to check her bandages. The flashes of multi-colored light from above give everything a strange hue, but I don't see any blood. I don't think Red even noticed.* You have to be more careful.
*She doesn't respond, and I look up to see the last of the sparks fading away. As I straighten up I see the glint of distant headlights moving west towards the city, and suddenly realize how visible we are. The fireworks are beacons to anyone who's watching for them.* We should go.
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Post by redhavoc on Oct 5, 2011 3:25:21 GMT -5
*I watch the last of the sparks fall to the ground and shake my head. I don't want to go. Fireworks and Max and the desert. Bright colors that can only fade into grays, not black and white. Cold, crisp sand beneath my fingers and a fire inside*
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Post by Max Griffiths on Oct 5, 2011 22:17:46 GMT -5
Red. We need to go. *It's not quite an order, but my usual brusqueness returns and I'm slightly irritated that she doesn't seem to grasp the situation. Colored lights in the sky aren't worth our freedom.*
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Post by redhavoc on Oct 5, 2011 23:11:33 GMT -5
*Something shifts in my brain with Max's serious tone and I get up, not without some difficulty. I nod and start heading back toward the car, the feeling gone. I see the headlights and start to move faster, my head feeling light. I feel Max's urgency now and know that neither of us feel like running into anyone right now*
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Post by Max Griffiths on Oct 6, 2011 0:03:32 GMT -5
*When Red's back in the car I start off, staying away from the highway. Out of the corner of my eye I see her turn around to look back at the Strip. I don't understand her fixation with the place, or with the fireworks. Turning my attention back to the road, I follow the two-lane blacktop into the darkness. There aren't any lights visible now except the distant glow of the city; we really are in a dead space.*
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Post by redhavoc on Oct 6, 2011 0:12:59 GMT -5
*I sit back again, trying to imagine fireworks, but they aren't nearly as good as the real ones. I look over to Max and hold out the lighter*
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Post by Max Griffiths on Oct 6, 2011 0:55:13 GMT -5
*I pocket the lighter, glancing at Red. She still seems subdued. After several more minutes of driving, I take a right and follow a dirt road towards the dark outline of a building on the horizon* We might as well find a place to stop for the night.
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Post by redhavoc on Oct 6, 2011 1:11:13 GMT -5
*We pull up to an abondened building. Not much in the way of windows and the top dissappears into the darkness... it kind of looks like a warehouse. I get out slowly, the pain meds wearing off, and go to the trunk. Max seems to be hovering and I realize he probably thinks too hurt to do much. I'm not really aware of the extent of my injuries, but I don't want to inconvenience him. I find what I'm looking for: water and two ration packets. I tear into one as I hold out the other for Max*
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Yes, I'm still running - sort of. But it is lonely out here. Haven't seen anyone else for a while.
//