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Andrew Ashford POV
Ugh… my head. It's throbbing.
I keep consistently having that same nightmare over and over again, a relentless loop of the same tormenting visions.
Soft…
My head is lying on something soft. I thought we wouldn't be getting any beds anytime soon.
My eyes slowly flutter open, discerning my surroundings, I meet a pair of bright red eyes that mirror my own, staring down at me.
"Hey, you. You're finally awake. Yo-"
I react instinctively, pivoting my head, and sinking my teeth into her thigh with a viscous chomp.
"OWOWOWOWOWOWOW! Okay! Okay!" Sarah cries out in pain, tapping out, slapping her hand repeatedly against the floor.
Sitting up, I scootch across the floor, closer to her, our shoulders touching as we sit side by side.
In the corner of my eye, I can see her turn her head to face me.
For a moment she just watches me.
…
…
"What do you want?" I ask, already sensing her mischievous intentions.
"Can I?"
"Can you what?"
"Can I?"
"You gonna tell me?"
She puts her finger to her chin, pondering the question.
"Nope! Teehee✩!" Sarah's mischievous grin widens as she clasps her hands together in a mock prayer, tilting her head to one side "So, can I?"
A sigh escapes my lips. I relent. "You can."
An evil grin appears on her face, as she winds up her ultimate move, her planet-crushing, universe-slamming blow. After swinging her fist around in the air like a windmill for long enough, she lands her punch against my arm, delivering devastating results to my entire being. So she probably imagined.
"Ow."
She sports a heavy frown, her eyes squinting at me, as she scrutinizes my reaction. "Did it actually hurt?"
"...Yes."
She punches me in the arm again. A lot harder. This time, it'd actually hurt.
"...Ow."
A proud smile appears on her face. "Now it did, excellent." She quips, her tone laced with arrogance.
Sarah plopped her head against my shoulder but struggled to get comfortable with how messy my hair was. "Drew… your hair."
I should take her advice.
"Sarah… still got that pocket knife on you?" I ask, knowing that she has it on her.
"Yeppers. Want it?" she replied.
With a nod, I accept the knife and proceed to shape my hair into a ponytail. Using the blade, I silently slice through the base of the ponytail, effectively cutting the majority of my hair short.
"So…? What do you want it for? Woah, WOAH! Andrew! The fuck?!" initially curious about my actions, she yells at me for what I just did.
"What? You've been complaining about it this past week." I say, feigning innocence to her annoyance.
"Well yeah! But now it's gonna look like shit! You are going to come with me and we're gonna get you a proper haircut! I made sure to bring along a hairdresser. I am NOT taking no for an answer!" Sarah commands, pulling me to my feet.
"Okay. You brought a hairdresser along here?" I agree, amused by her enthusiasm.
"Yes, bitch! I gotta make sure to look fabulous whenever!" She turns to me shocked, her mouth agape, processing my unusual compliance. "Wait! You're allowing me to do this to you?! You'd usually say no, then just scowl before you fall asleep!"
"I feel like it's long overdue that I clean myself up." I admit.
"Can I dress you up as well? Please tell me I can dress you as well." she eagerly asks me, her eyes wide with anticipation.
"One thing at a time, sis." I answer.
She gasps with excitement before bouncing on the spot like a puppy about to go for a walk. "That wasn't a nooooooooooo~!"
"I want that haircut. You coming?" I ask, already heading outside.
"Mhm! Yep~! You gonna bring your glasses?" She inquires, half expecting me to change my mind.
"Nah, I don't feel like them right now." I reply, stepping out into the fresh air.
"Ah! Okay! Dreeeeeeeeeeeeew~! Wait up!" Sarah calls out, running after me.
It's not like I ever needed them in the first place.
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—14 July 2023—
The sun beat down mercilessly on the excavation site, its scorching rays reflected off the sand, creating a shimmering haze that enveloped the workers toiling under the Ashfield family's employ. For a week straight, they had been tirelessly digging in search of something seemingly entirely elusive, following the directives of the FLDs that pointed them to potential areas of interest. Yet, each dig yielded nothing but more sand and the occasional interesting rock.
But on one, very hot fateful afternoon…
"Uhhhhhhhhhhh, hey! Hugo! Come check this out!" The gruff voice called out to his coworker a few dozen meters away.
Hugo was known for his imposing physique and dedication to physical fitness, he was the 'big' guy on the team. Hugo, accustomed to spending his downtime in the gym perfecting his muscles, and his bodybuilding poses, just barely squeezed into the tight cockpit of the excavator to investigate his colleague's call.
"Yeah? What's up?" His voice, unusually soft for his size, spoke.
"Um, well. My machine just stopped working." the operator confessed, his confusion evident as he gestured to his malfunctioning equipment. "Even the radio's dead."
Hugo checked his own radio, confirming the outage, before stepping out of the excavator and away from it to assess the situation. As he did, a strange realization dawned upon him–the radio crackled back to life the moment he left the immediate vicinity of that excavation site.
'Really odd', he thought. I should probably tell the boss.
Hugo wasted no time in reaching out to Andrew, his fingers dialing the private channel reserved for top management, a privilege granted to him as the Excavation Chief.
"Hey, Andrew. Uhhhh, we got a weird thing going on here. Something's messing with our electronics at a specific spot, turning it off. Once you leave the area, everything works, however." Hugo reported, his voice tinged with the same confusion as the operator before him.
Silence greeted him from the other end of the line before Andrew's voice burst through the static, infused with exuberant resonance. "Hugo you absolute HUNK!"
Caught off guard by Andrew's enthusiastic response, Hugo couldn't help but chuckle nervously. "Uuuuh? Thanks? What shou-?"
"HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGO!" Andrew's voice, no longer confined to the radio, bombed from Hugo's left, causing him to jump. He cast his mind back to where he last saw Andrew–across the vast expanse of the excavation site, engaged in menial administrative tasks. Yet, here he was, seemingly materializing out of thin air beside him.
Andrew, now standing before Hugo, his breath labored from the unexpected sprint, leaned on his knees, a wide grin spreading across his face. "So, my best friend. Where's my little EMP field?" Andrew's inquiry dripped with anticipation, his eyes gleaming with excitement at the prospect of being one step closer to unraveling the mystery.
Hugo, still trying to wrap his head around Andrew's sudden appearance, struggled to find words. "I…I don't know, Andrew. It's just…. It's just over there." He gestured towards the area where the electronic malfunctions occurred, a perplexed expression etched on his face.
Andrew's grin widened, his eyes sparkling with determination. "Well, let's go take a look, shall we? Adventure awaits!" With that, he straightened up, marching forward with a spring in his step. "Ah, also bring some of the boys and some shovels and such." Andrew turned his head to his new favorite employee. "Let's get digging!"
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