John James Searle (inneedofrepair) wrote in the_colony, @ 2009-11-22 22:02:00 |
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Entry tags: | ^ week 00, jacklyn baker, john james searle |
jack, searle, rocky - first meeting.
Characters: Jack Baker, John Searle (and Rocky).
Location: Meadows Mall.
Summary: Searle and Jack both happen to be at the mall at the same time, and start talking via Rocky's icebreaker. After a short meeting, they set up another one around Fifth and Park.
Rating: PG.
His destination was California eventually, but Searle wanted to visit the Hoover Dam. As he had learned from reading a map in a gas station once he got there, Las Vegas was very close by. Since he'd never been there before, he decided he had to give the city a look, especially because it was so close.
As it ended up, electricity greeted him when he got there, and he'd been burning lights wherever he could manage to. His sleep schedule followed the sun by then, but there was something about the ability to use lights that drew him; maybe it made him feel more civilized after so long scavenging. Standing near the powerful dam had almost given him hope, same as the lights he flipped on and off as he stood in an abandoned boutique-type store in Meadows Mall, but it was almost hope ... not quite. It was still too quiet.
After finding nothing he wanted in the store, he turned the lights off one last time and exited, throwing his leg over the side of his dirt bike which, yes, he'd driven right into the mall. After pushing back the kickstand, he coasted down the hall with it, searching for the next shop he wanted to go in. All of the food stalls and restaurants made his stomach grumble, remembering the miscellaneous smells the mall used to offer, like coffee and buttery pretzels. Now all of those places were probably hazardous because of the rotten food they contained in the kitchens.
His sneaker squeaked on the floor as he used it to brace himself and his bike around the wide turn of the mall halls, spotting f.y.e. a little further down the floor. If he could find a movie player, he might be able to entertain himself for a while with the contents of that store. Searle parked his dirt bike outside of the entrance and went in, digging through the dusty DVDs.
Jack pushed her foot against the ground, the smooth surface of the mall tile sending her flying along on her skateboard much faster than what she was used to. Rocky was racing along beside her and somewhere back at the other end of the mall, Jed was ransacking a Sears. Bored, she'd gone to play in the wide emptiness of the mall. Staying with Jed didn't mean she needed a baby-sitter, so Jack didn't see why she had to stay where he was. Skateboarding was much more fun.
Rocky seemed to be enjoying it too. Grinning doggy smiles, he galloped ahead of her, barking. Then he darted around the corner into another arm of the sprawling shopping. Using her weight and then a foot for support in changing directions, Jack turned after him. Up ahead was all emptiness. No Rocky. Just mall corridors and - and a motorcycle. Jack brought herself to a stop and if it were possible to come to a screeching on a skateboard, she would have. She kicked her skateboard up into her hands peering into one of those entertainment stores that made her parents complain about high prices.
"Rocky!" Jack called, trying to shout after the dog and keep her voice to a whisper at the same time. She'd get the dog back and then they were going right back to Jed.
The sound of someone else's voice made him jump in fright initially, but directly after his startled reaction Searle felt a surge of combined joy and fear. He had only met one other person since the mass die-off, and she'd turned out to be profoundly disturbed. Considering the situation the survivors of the H1N1 pandemic found themselves in, Searle was sure that it wasn't going to be uncommon to find people who were a little bit crazy. Even though he wouldn't call himself crazy, he was definitely changed ... not the guy he'd been before and definitely less stable. The lack of human company probably got to him the most.
A couple moments passed, and then Searle decided to confront whoever was out there. His bike was in front of the store, and the voice sounded like a girl's voice. He couldn't quite make out what she'd said, but either she was talking to someone or herself, and Searle wasn't exactly sure which he preferred at the moment.
"Hello?" he asked tentatively, stepping out of one of the aisles so he could see the entrance of the store and the little boy who stood there. Searle was surprised again, because he couldn't imagine such a little kid traveling by himself, but then again maybe he'd learned to scavenge all right. "Uhm, hi. Do you live around here?" It was then he noticed how fast his heart was beating.
Jack instinctively took a step back, keeping a tight grip on her skateboard. But her eyes widened and she stared openly. You're my age she wanted to say. It was on the tip of her tongue but she bit it back. But how? There was no one left her age. Only grown-ups. This boy wasn't exactly her age, he looked like he was in high school. Closer than anyone she'd seen before. Everyone else was old like Jed and Alice. Jack was stunned.
"I'm - I'm just getting my dog and then I'm leaving." Rocky came trotting out the store, walking up to the boy and sniffing everywhere he could reach. "Rocky!"
"Wait--" Searle had been ready to tell the boy not to go just yet, but the dog Jack had mentioned came right up to him and began to sniff him. They were friendly sniffs, or at least he assumed they were since the dog wasn't growling and hadn't bared its teeth to him. Still, he wasn't quite prepared for the dog at first and stiffened a little. The dog was huge, probably the biggest one Searle had ever seen in person, and its muzzle was powerful as it nudged him as it sniffed. It became clear the dog didn't mean him any harm very quickly, however, and Searle couldn't help but smile, even chuckling a little. This was probably the last thing he would have expected to happen to him in Las Vegas.
"Sorry, boy, I don't have any food on me." Well, he assumed a dog named Rocky would be a boy.
Carefully, he placed his hands on the dog and pet him, looking up toward Jack again. "I'm Searle. I'm not from around here." He paused, not wanting to sound creepy with his next question, but decided to say it anyway. "Are you alone?"
"I'm with Rocky." She didn't mention Jed, deciding to keep him a surprise if she needed to. It was a tempting threat though, being able to answer that no, she was with a big man with a big gun. "Are you alone?"
"Yeah." Even with the dog sniffing out every scent his clothing had to offer, which was slightly ticklish since he was wearing only a thin shirt, his voice was slightly solemn. Admitting he was alone was admitting all of the people he'd left behind. Meeting someone new brought back the memories of meeting the girl in New York; how great it had been and how badly it'd ended. "I read about the Hoover Dam and I thought maybe there'd be electricity around here."
"There is." She felt bad for him immediately, all by himself and having to travel from somewhere far away. Jack remembered clearly what it was like to be alone before Jed found her. "How old are you? I mean, I've never seen - everyone's always older."
"Fifteen. You've seen other people?" he asked with interest. Las Vegas was a famous city, and other people had probably heard of the Hoover Dam. It hadn't occurred to Searle before, but the possibility of people heading toward the area was likely, if they could make it.
Fifteen was only three years older than she was and having someone so close in age was kind of nice. "I got robbed once," she said with a frown. Jack was torn about explaining. Alice and Jed's existence seemed almost like a secret and she didn't think she could take this boy to Jed and ask to keep him. Things had to be protected so she'd keep Jed a secret for now.
"Oh." His face fell when Jack explained her interaction with another survivor. He would think that everyone would be happy to see another person, and that they'd all want to help each other, not rob each other. Especially such a young person, who would take advantage of a kid? "That sucks," he said at length.
"I'm not like that. I mean, I've been living in a grocery store for the past few days, but I thought it would be fun to check out the mall. Life's kinda boring now ... you know?"
"Yeah." She smiled a little at that. "How come you're living in grocery store? There are lots of good places to crash. There's hotels and furniture stores and lots of places."
"It's convenient right now. I wasn't sure how long I was going to stay." But now he's more optimistic about Las Vegas. "I took lots of blankets over there, but yeah, a furniture store doesn't sound so bad, or a hotel." Considering it's Las Vegas, he could probably find an awesome hotel room to call his own. When he first started out he might have thought about finding the cushiest amenities, but now he's just trying to survive.
This boy didn't know anything, Jack realized. How did he even make it out here? "I know lots of good places to get stuff. Places close together are good cause how do you even carry anything on a motorcycle?" Not that Jack wasn't completely jealous, of course.
Searle smiled after the comment about carrying stuff on a bike. "I just switched out my old ride for the bike. Stuff's so close together around here, like you said, I don't really need to carry much. I thought it'd be fun." He'd gone from feeling truly guilty about swiping people's vehicles at first to being elated when he could match one up with a key and take it for a ride. Searle had come to realize no one needed them anymore, no one owned them; it was okay.
"It looks fun." Jack wanted one. Alice drove a motorcycle; how hard could it be? Maybe she could learn. Later though, Jed would be waiting for her soon. "Look, I gotta take my dog back home now."
"It is." Searle looked toward the bike again, then to Jack when she said she needed to take Rocky home. He tried to ignore the way his heart sunk a little with the knowledge he would be alone again, but he just nodded. "What's your name? Maybe ... we'll see each other around again?" It was a question, him asking permission if they could meet again. Even if Jack was younger than him, and even if they just stood around and talked, it made the time go faster than anything else.
"I'm Jack." She reached out with her free hand for Rocky's collar. "Maybe we'll run into each other. Around Fifth and Park, maybe?" Jack had early decided she was going to keep this boy secret just because it was exciting to have something all hers for once and the intersection of Fifth and Park was close enough to where she and Jed lived that she could get to it easily. It was also close enough that Jack could get back home quick if the boy turned out to be bad. She hoped he wasn't, having another kid around was nice.
Jack was a common name, a lot like his first name John. It made him feel a bit more comfortable, and he was glad Jack was setting up a meeting with him. "When are you usually there?" Because he'd be there, no matter when. It wasn't like he had anything else to do.
Though it did feel somewhat strange to be so interested in hanging out with a kid, Jack probably wasn't a normal one anyway. Surviving was tough, and if she'd been able to do so with Rocky then she deserved a lot of credit.
"Afternoons? It's hard keeping track of time now." No more school bells. She turned to walk away but stopped. "Searle's a weird name." Jack smiled and went to lead Rocky back to where Jed would be waiting.
Searle nodded when Jack set a very general time, but he'd be there, regardless. Then he laughed as Jack said his name was weird, but didn't say anything in response because she was walking away. "Bye," he said, watching until Jack walked out of his view, then stepped back toward the DVDs behind him, turning to head back into the depths of the store. After it all, he felt a little awkward and unsettled, but that was likely because he hadn't so much as spoken to another person for months and was out of practice.