Bluebird Chapter 5

Bluebird Chapter 5

An Ongoing Story by Selomon

[Bluebird is an ongoing sci-fi fantasy story. Read Chapter 1 HERE]

The door opened and noises that were muffled, became clear and flooded into the small room. Small groups of people were all whispering to each other. Footsteps on metal walkways were mixed in. Dr. Foster motioned for me to follow him and walked out.

I walked into a large warehouse. There were about thirty others occupying various sections of the space. They each had a weapon hung around their shoulder or strapped to their waist. The truth that all of this was more than just a dream began to sink in.

“I’m not going to keep you here like a prisoner, but I must urge you to stay away from those camps,” the Dr. said while motioning to one of the men on a walkway in the far corner.

“Can you tell me why? If I could make it to one, I’m sure there would be food and shelter,” I responded.

“I can’t tell you why. Not yet. But just trust me.”

“You ask me to trust you, when you’re purposefully not telling me something.”

Dr. Foster let out huff in disappointment. He rubbed the back of his head with his hand. The man he motioned to came up to the both of us.

His clothes were similar to the doctors, but more worn and dirty. It was pretty obvious he was one of the ones who rescued me. He didn’t look at me, but instead watched Dr. Foster and waited for him to speak. 

“Jude, you remember Carth?” Dr. Foster asked the guy.

“Yeah, last time I saw you, you were lying face down in a ditch. You’re lucky myself and O’Brien were out there,” Jude said pointing at another man who was sitting and watching us. 

Were you able to find it?” the Dr. asked.

Jude shook his head. I could tell it bothered both of them. They had a look of despair. What could it be?

“Any word or sign from her?”

“No, I’m sorry. We’ll keep looking,” Jude replied.

“Damnit. We need to find her before they do,” the doctor said harshly.

“What do you want us to do?” the security man asked.

“Jane has been busy looking for clues. See if she’s found anything.”

Jude nodded his head and walked away. The doctor looked at the ground worryingly, completely forgetting that I was even there. I gave him a look when he finally noticed me again, but he didn’t say anything. He kept walking toward two big doors at one end of the warehouse. I followed him past groups of people who were working on various things like a vehicle and what appeared to be an alien weapon.

Near the two large doors were people in masks and guns hung around their shoulders. The looks in their eyes said they had seen what I did in the city. I shook the thought from my mind before reaching the doors.

“Like I said, I’m not keeping you prisoner here. You’re free to go if you’d like. Or you can stay with us. The choice is yours,” he said to me.

“Thank you for the rescue. I do appreciate that. But you’re hiding something from me, and I feel like I have somewhere else I need to go,” I replied.

“Like one of those camps?” he asked.

“Maybe. Know of any reasons why I shouldn’t go?” I replied hoping he would finally cave.

He didn’t say anything, but instead gave me a frustrated look. Or it could have been contempt. I turned around giving him my final answer. The two guards unlocked and opened the two large doors on command from the doctor. I took a step to leave before he said, “wait!”

He grabbed a bag that was leaning against a column and threw it at me. It looked like a well-worn bag that was similar to what others inside the warehouse had on. The doctor’s look of frustration turned into compassion.

“There are a few supplies in there. Some water, food, a weapon to help you and a watch. There’s a small button just underneath the right knob. Hit that in the rhythm of jingle bells and it’ll activate a beacon so we can find you,” he said.

“Why are you doing this for me?” I asked him. 

“There’s enough violence and hate in this world. That’s not what’s going to fix it. We need to help each other. I hope you find what you’re looking for.”

“Thanks,” I said.

He nodded his head and turned back around. I moved ahead and was outside after a few steps. They closed the doors behind me. I could hear it being locked. Inside the bag was a map with a few of the bases marked. For some reason I felt myself being called to one of them. I decided I’d find the closest one.

The compass inside the bag helped me to find which direction I had to go. Outside it was quiet. I wasn’t sure how long that was going to last, so I put on the watch and quickly began my second attempt at finding one of the bases.

[Read Chapter 6 HERE]