Prompt # 392 - Hinterland - Flotsam - slashluv18 - Original

[slashluv18.livejournal.com]

Title: Flotsam
Fandom: Original
Prompts: #392 – Hinterland
Warnings: None
Pairings: Henry/Lucille (barely there)
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,257
Summary: Lucille and Henry set out on a quest after the event.
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em - not making any money off 'em. Dern it.

It’s one thing to read about it and another thing to experience it. Lucille knows that now. Not that she was an avid reader, not before and definitely not now, but the point remains. She had always thought, with the smug vanity of adolescence, that she knew everything. She wasn’t afraid because there was nothing she didn’t know, and, let’s face it, only the unknown can truly terrify us. Knowledge is power. Her father used to say that.

But they deal in different currencies now and knowledge is nothing. Neither, Lucille can’t help but feel the least bit smug about that, are good grades. If the other girls in her class were here now, Lucille could have the satisfaction to laugh in their faces.

Except they aren’t here. They’re not even alive. And what kind of sick satisfaction could you derive from laughing at the dead? Exactly.

Lucille is standing in an office of some sorts in what used to be a sleek, New York skyscraper. It’s on the fifth floor, although she’s sure the building had more than ten floors only two days ago.

Two days ago. Forty-eight hours. That’s all it takes to change everything. Who would have thought?!

The office is missing its ceiling, and Lucille has only climbed up here to get a good view on her surroundings. Now she wishes she hadn’t. She should have just kept to the ground and kept walking.

The streets she can see are no more than scars—pieces of buildings, abandoned cars, burned bodies. Nothing is alive, not even a cat.

It’s ten o’clock in the morning and Lucille feels like the last human alive.

Two days ago. Forty-eight hours ago she had a family, and friends, and even a wannabe boyfriend. She had hated school and grown-ups in general, loved One Direction, and her favorite toy was her cell phone.

Her family is dead.

Her friends are dead.

The school building is completely destroyed.

And her cell phone is useless.

She still doesn’t know what actually happened. She remembers waking up to what felt like an earthquake. She remembers screams and explosions. She remembers walking into her parents’ bedroom to ask them what was going on, but there was only a gaping hole in the wall where here parents’ bedroom used to be; where her parents used to be.

She hollers, “Hello!” into the eerie silence. New York has never been silent; for the first minutes after the unmentionable thing she remembers thinking she had gone deaf.

Her voice rises and then falls to the ground, unheard. There is no wind to carry her words with it. There must be other people still alive; she can’t be the only one. Yet she is greeted with silence.

She shouts again. And again. She shouts until her voice fails her and the sun begins to set.

“Hello!”

At first, Lucille thinks she is hearing an echo. She has been screaming for so long, she can’t distinguish between her own voice and that of a stranger.

“You! Up there!” The voice calls out.

Lucille squints, not sure if she should believe her ears; but her eyes confirm it: A person is down there. Waving their arms.

Quickly, she makes her way downstairs.

She comes face-to-face with a boy that looks about her age. He's tall with mussed black hair. His once obviously pristine clothes are torn and dirtied.

Lucille blinks. Without thinking, she blurts, "Are you gay?"

The boy rolls his eyes melodramatically. "You wouldn't believe how much I'm asked that. You didn't even know I'm in theatre and music, but you still asked that."

"It's your clothes," Lucille points out.

"What's your name?"

"Lucille. Yours?"

"Henry," he supplies. He hesitates. "Did any of your family survive?"

Lucille shakes her head.

"My mother's dead, but my father is still living." As an afterthought, he mutters, "Unfortunately."

Lucille doesn't ask him to elaborate. His family situation is none of her business, and they have more important things to worry about. "What are we going to do?"

"I'm not sure. All I know is I'd be perfectly happy leaving my father to his own devices if I knew I wasn't going to be alone. I'll go anywhere you want. Let's just stick together."

Lucille bites her bottom lip as she thinks. Henry is a complete stranger and she has been told to not talk to strangers, but she doesn't really have any choice. She'd rather not be alone, and Henry is the first person she has seen. "Okay. I have an uncle. I'm not even sure if he's alive, but I want to make my way to him. You can come."

Henry smiles gratefully. "Do you know your uncle well?"

Lucille shakes her head as they go downstairs the rest of the way. "Haven't seen him since I was five, but he's the only family I have left. I just hope he's alive."

They make their way outside and both see the deserted landscape. It feels like they are the only people left on Earth, but if the two of them are alive, others must be as well.

Henry takes her hand and gives it a small squeeze. Lucille smiles slightly. She's just glad that she's no longer alone.

They start on their trek to the state of Maine where her uncle had once lived. He lived in a hinterland, very remote. She hopes he is still there.

After hours of walking, they are forced to stop as Lucille feels like her legs are about to give out. They have been mostly silently, concentrating on getting as far as possible. They both know they have to find another means of transportation. No way will they make it to Maine alive strictly on foot.

Henry leaves to find some water, but Lucille has no idea where he is going to get it. Like she expects, he returns empty-handed. Lucille sighs deeply as Henry plops down dejectedly. She tries not to not think about how thirsty and hungry she truly is. She knows they have to find water if they're going to survive, but she doesn't know where to look for it.

"You know, I was all set to go to college and learn how to be a famous film director. This is not how I thought my life would turn out," Henry says, aggravation clear in his voice.

"I don't think anyone who's still alive thought this would be their life."

"I guess." He's silent for a moment, before saying something totally off topic. "I always thought the apocalypse turned people into animals – you know, the survival of the fittest – but I haven't seen that."

"Yet," Lucille warns. She might not be the brightest person, but she knows better than to believe they are safe from the other survivors. Desperation can turn even the nicest people into monsters.

They find some rickety bikes. They aren't what Lucille had in mind when she thought about finding transportation, but they're still faster than walking. After looking at the map, Henry points in the direction they need to continue in to get to Maine.

Henry hugs her to his lanky body before getting onto a bike that looks as if one good gust of wind could break it. Lucille swallows as she climbs onto her only slightly more stable bike.

Lucille doesn't know if they will find any more survivors. She doesn't even know if they will live long enough to find her uncle. She's just glad that she has Henry by her side.