“Men only beyond here, Alice,” Roger said when she didn’t immediately put James down and let him walk.
The woman looked at him with an almost confused expression, one eyebrow going up as if to ask what exactly he meant by that. Two long seconds passed and then she looked down at James who made a shrugging motion with his shoulders, then she put him down on the floor. He started to commando crawl using his forearms into the shower area.
“You can’t walk?” In his surprise, Roger’s words leapt out of his mouth.
“No.” James’s reply was of the testy type meant to note the question was far too obvious to truly need an answer. “Alice-- carries me—because-- it’s necessary--.” He continued to crawl as he spoke, making his sentence sound choppy as he seemed to hold his breath for every pull forward.
“Shit, I’m sorry.” Roger scrambled forward and grabbed James under his armpits to pull him up. “Let me help you.” For a skinny emo boy, James was heavy. Roger grunted with the work of pulling him almost upright until Alice reached past him and bodily lifted James by the back of his shirt and then settled him against Roger so that it looked as if Roger were supporting a James who had drunk a bit too much and couldn’t keep his feet. “Thanks Alice.”
Walking forward, the intention was to leave Alice behind, but Roger stopped and turned back. He hadn’t told her where she was going. “Further down the hall is the women’s bathroom. While you and James are in, I’ll see if I can get some clothes for you both.” It meant his own shower was going to get delayed, but that didn’t mean much. Now that the immediate threat appeared to be over, Roger was starting to feel a touch of excitement over the whole thing. No one had been found alive topside for months. The last ones to come had brought a fever with them which cost the overall group nearly 30 lives. James and Alice appeared healthy and maybe, just maybe, they knew something about this whole thing.
He waited until Alice started to walk away before going into the shower area further. There was a chair for the older fellas to sit on while they showered, and he maneuvered it with his feet before settling James on it.
“Do you want help undressing or can you manage?”
“You’ll have to do the bottom half.” For the first time, James blushed, ducking his head as if to hide. “Usually Alice helps me, but yeah…” he trailed off letting the thought go.
“Gonna ask, don’t answer if you don’t want to, is Alice your girlfriend?”
“Maybe. I don’t really know. I just remember waking up with her standing over me and thinking I’d died and gone to heaven finally. I’m not really sure why I thought ‘finally’ but I remember that thought clear as day. She had a chain hanging off her neck, with a wire charm that said ‘Alice’. I’ve been calling her that ever since.”
Roger untied and pulled off each of James’s shoes while he listened. Then he rolled off his socks. Obviously the young man’s clothes hadn’t been changed in days. They were caked with dirt, sweat, and what Roger figured was probably blood.
“How long has she been carrying you?”
“Six months or so, I guess. It takes a lot longer to get from place to place these days. We’ve been walking pretty steadily, but I caught a fever two months ago and we had to stop for a while. I was worried she was going to leave me. We’re going somewhere, but…” James trailed off again, the words dying in the air between them. He pulled his t-shirt over his head and dropped it on the floor.
“But?” Roger finally prompted. It took some effort from the both of them to get James’s pants and underwear off, but once they did, all Roger could do was try not to stare. James was covered in scars as if someone had simply taken a razorblade and started drawing on his skin. Some of the scars made designs; however, most were just criss-crossing single lines. They ran up and down his arms, legs, and torso, but abruptly stopped at his collar bone. It was as if the artist hadn’t wanted to mar him for a bust of his shoulders and head.
“I don’t know.” James finished, looking decidedly uncomfortable under Roger’s eyes. “I just want a shower. I’m tired of smelling like week old death. Could you just leave the soap next to the chair and turn the water on?”
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2010-11-03 04:18 pm (UTC)The woman looked at him with an almost confused expression, one eyebrow going up as if to ask what exactly he meant by that. Two long seconds passed and then she looked down at James who made a shrugging motion with his shoulders, then she put him down on the floor. He started to commando crawl using his forearms into the shower area.
“You can’t walk?” In his surprise, Roger’s words leapt out of his mouth.
“No.” James’s reply was of the testy type meant to note the question was far too obvious to truly need an answer. “Alice-- carries me—because-- it’s necessary--.” He continued to crawl as he spoke, making his sentence sound choppy as he seemed to hold his breath for every pull forward.
“Shit, I’m sorry.” Roger scrambled forward and grabbed James under his armpits to pull him up. “Let me help you.” For a skinny emo boy, James was heavy. Roger grunted with the work of pulling him almost upright until Alice reached past him and bodily lifted James by the back of his shirt and then settled him against Roger so that it looked as if Roger were supporting a James who had drunk a bit too much and couldn’t keep his feet. “Thanks Alice.”
Walking forward, the intention was to leave Alice behind, but Roger stopped and turned back. He hadn’t told her where she was going. “Further down the hall is the women’s bathroom. While you and James are in, I’ll see if I can get some clothes for you both.” It meant his own shower was going to get delayed, but that didn’t mean much. Now that the immediate threat appeared to be over, Roger was starting to feel a touch of excitement over the whole thing. No one had been found alive topside for months. The last ones to come had brought a fever with them which cost the overall group nearly 30 lives. James and Alice appeared healthy and maybe, just maybe, they knew something about this whole thing.
He waited until Alice started to walk away before going into the shower area further. There was a chair for the older fellas to sit on while they showered, and he maneuvered it with his feet before settling James on it.
“Do you want help undressing or can you manage?”
“You’ll have to do the bottom half.” For the first time, James blushed, ducking his head as if to hide. “Usually Alice helps me, but yeah…” he trailed off letting the thought go.
“Gonna ask, don’t answer if you don’t want to, is Alice your girlfriend?”
“Maybe. I don’t really know. I just remember waking up with her standing over me and thinking I’d died and gone to heaven finally. I’m not really sure why I thought ‘finally’ but I remember that thought clear as day. She had a chain hanging off her neck, with a wire charm that said ‘Alice’. I’ve been calling her that ever since.”
Roger untied and pulled off each of James’s shoes while he listened. Then he rolled off his socks. Obviously the young man’s clothes hadn’t been changed in days. They were caked with dirt, sweat, and what Roger figured was probably blood.
“How long has she been carrying you?”
“Six months or so, I guess. It takes a lot longer to get from place to place these days. We’ve been walking pretty steadily, but I caught a fever two months ago and we had to stop for a while. I was worried she was going to leave me. We’re going somewhere, but…” James trailed off again, the words dying in the air between them. He pulled his t-shirt over his head and dropped it on the floor.
“But?” Roger finally prompted. It took some effort from the both of them to get James’s pants and underwear off, but once they did, all Roger could do was try not to stare. James was covered in scars as if someone had simply taken a razorblade and started drawing on his skin. Some of the scars made designs; however, most were just criss-crossing single lines. They ran up and down his arms, legs, and torso, but abruptly stopped at his collar bone. It was as if the artist hadn’t wanted to mar him for a bust of his shoulders and head.
“I don’t know.” James finished, looking decidedly uncomfortable under Roger’s eyes. “I just want a shower. I’m tired of smelling like week old death. Could you just leave the soap next to the chair and turn the water on?”