DATE UNKNOWN
LOCATION UNKNOWN
6 YEARS AFTER FALLOUT
The humming continued ceaselessly in sleep, filling my head with its incessant drone. After what felt like hours, it was more like a few minutes, I felt my body being lifted and carried somewhere. The constant murmur in my head everpresent, fluctuating in volume seeming at random. 'I'm losing my mind.' I thought over and over, as my world consisted of never-ending humming and black. On occasion, I'd see a feather shaped something...sweep across the infinite black, that is until my conscious reminded me that I'm insane.
Then a small light cracked through the darkness, like a beacon of sun. As I focused on the light, the black faded then I realized my eyes were opening, and bright blue filled my vision.
"Oh thank God you're ok," Alysa said, relief prominent in her voice. She wrapped her arms around me in a hug so tight I had to tap her shoulder blade a few times cause I couldn't breathe. She released me her gray eyes damp with unshed tears.
"How did I get here, wherever here is?" I asked my voice hoarse, my throat burned as each syllable passed my lips. Alysa looked towards the door as if someone was going to walk in forcing her to remain silent on the matter.
"Fynn," I hardly heard her over the constant humming, quietly she said the word as if poison on her tongue, the disdain and hatred made her seem callous. She hadn't faced me as she spoke, almost like if she didn't face me it would cease to be the truth.
"How long was I out?" I asked my throat burning as I changed the subject. Normally I'd have tried to defend Fynn, however, recent circumstances have inclined me to hold my tongue in his vindication.
"Three days," Alysa replied turning back to face me.
'Three days!' I thought 'I must've heard her wrong,' it couldn't have been more than 24 hours, right? My rationalization was cut short when the ever-present humming increased exponentially. I futilely raised my hands over my ears, part of me knowing it wouldn't stop what's been plaguing me.
I pulled my knees to my chest burying my head in between them. I was aware but distantly that Alysa was asking what was wrong as the humming drowned everything to the point I thought I'd pass out again.
It was now that all my self suspicions of madness were both simultaneously confirmed and discredited. I felt the door open then close only to open again. The feel was something unexplainable, unfathomable, so utterly laughable that I was certainly insane.
'But...It felt so real,' I thought as my blood ran cold. 'I FELT THE METAL DOOR OPEN!' my mind was racing, the world around me began to fade as I started slipping unconscious. 'No I can't sleep now' I told myself as I fought my weary brain, 'I can't leave Alysa without an explanation,' although what explanation can I give without being sent to the stockade or deem too unstable to pull my weight.
The humming just as suddenly as it had brought me to the precipice of collapse it died out, nowhere near gone but enough to bring rational...ish thought back. The white room began to focus and I moved my hands from my ears and lifted my head to see Alysa fighting with a few older surfacers.
"Alysa," I said, and when she made no move that she heard me I yelled louder, "Alysa I'm alright, damn. Quit harassing them already." with that Alysa turn so quickly all I saw was a blur of blue.
"What do you mean you're 'Alright', she screamed, "because what I just saw was the exact opposite of 'alright' so I suggest you start explaining fast before my foot goes where the sun don't shine."
"Well...I can't really," I said softly after all I didn't even know. "You see after I left got to the bottom of the hill in S4 I started hearing this humming that won't stop, even in sleep," I tried to elaborate as best I could but if I'm being honest I sounded absolutely deranged. So when Alysa took that and said she believed me I laughed.
"What?" She asked, genuinely confused which made me laugh a bit more before realizing she was serious.
"You're kidding, so everything I just said told sound completely normal to you?" I asked.
"Well, you'd never make up so shit like that so, yes in a way" Alysa replied, "But that doesn't mean you can go batshit crazy at any time," She added.
I couldn't help laughing a bit at the comment. It's strange how before we were shipped up to the surface, I didn't even know Alysa existed yet in less than two months we had a subtle grasp of what made each other tick. We're like sisters in a 'forced to survive' kind of way. But there are other things like how we both go from serious to sarcastic at the drop of hat, or how Alysa stays up to almost midnight reading which somehow keeps me awake.
"Ahem," one of the people standing behind Alysa cleared their throat, gaining the collective attention of everyone present in the vicinity of the white room. "Ms. Pearce, you should be cleared to leave in about half an hour, until then we do need to remove the IV," the man nodded to my arm.
I was initially confused and followed his gaze towards my apparently bare arm, which sure enough has a tube trailing from a bag hooked to the wall to the crook of my elbow. After the first wave of confusion passed another hit harder, What was the tube made of? We didn't bring much in the way of medical provisions or any provisions upon the claim that The Hub had none to spare that wasn't already thinly rationed. Since that's the case and, as far as I'm aware, nobody's gone back down what in the seven rings of hell is sticking out of my arm?
My mind dazed with confusion and that god damned humming reached down and before the older man, his cohorts, or Alysa could stop me I gritted my teeth and wrenched the mystery tubing out of my arm. I slowly raised up my arm, tube in hand, and dropping the mentioned object said, "There you go," venom in my tone for what reason I can't say. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a date with a bottle of liquor and a dark room," I stated, slipping past them and out the door.
And as I walked away, a thought came to me, 'Where am I, an 18-year-old gonna get me hands on some alcohol?'