The Secret to Flying - An MCYT Cyberpunk/Dystopian AU

20: Grian

The ground speeds closer and closer, hair dragged back behind, face completely bare and incredibly unprotected. Scar's screaming. I'm screaming, unable to eject without a parachute until-

I wake with a scream, stomach lurching, heart racing. I sit up, drenched in sweat. For a few seconds I just sit there, hands over my eyes, trying to breathe normally and struggling to differentiate my heartbeat in my ears from the thuds of Mumbo running to check on me. The door crashes open.

'Grian?'

'Nightmare,' I reply. 'Just another stupid nightmare... I'm sorry.'

'Hey, it's ok.' Mumbo sits next to me, arms wide, offering a hug. I accept, letting him comfort me as images of Scar slumped bleeding, at the front of the plane burn through my mind. I don't know if I should've just killed him there. I don't know if he was still alive. Or if he's alive now. Or what the Listeners did to him. 

'I just... I just can't stop seeing him... everything just... and the Blindfold... I can't get over any of it...'

'Well... do you want to play BlockWorld with me to distract yourself?'

'It's 1AM.' I mumble.

'You're not getting back to sleep. You need something to distract you. Apparently it now works in VR.'

'Really?'

'Yeah. You want to play?'

I sigh, trying to find a reason why I can't. He's right, I'm not getting back to sleep quickly. A distraction is the best I've got to fight the memories.

'Yeah. Come on.'

Me and Mumbo end up playing VR BlockWorld all night. Without sight of a clock, the hours of building stupid things and laughing with Mumbo fly by. Until, halfway through mocking Mumbo's latest monstrosity of a house, my alarm rings on my holoscreen. It's 7AM and I have to remember I'm not a blocky character with endless time, I'm a Hawk Officer who hasn't slept and will probably end up late for the third day in a row.

'S***!' I swear, pulling off my headset to turn it off.

'Grian?' Mumbo pulls off his, clearly concerned. I turn off the alarm with a sigh

'I need to get ready for work. Sorry.' 

'Wait, really? Why? Do you really have to go today?'

'Yep... Oh, can you make me some breakfast while I change?'

'Of course but...'

'No buts. There's some waffles in the cupboard. Don't burn them again!' And, with that, I sprint into my room to get changed, tripping twice as I do. 

It takes half an hour for me to to leave our apartment, hurrying across town. It isn't far to the Hawk Base, slipping into a crowd of Fledglings to sign in. I'm not properly late, but it doesn't look good to be running, especially as an Officer. But, as I hear a yell, I wish I was the other side of the flock. 

'Move! Get out the way- hey, watch it. Lower your guns, you brutes!'

I push back through the Fledglings slowly backing away. Someone shouts my name - Jimmy, appearing next to me.

'Dude- Grian- it's- it's him- I thought you killed him?'

'What?'

'Come on, come...' 

Jimmy drags me to the front of the crowd. I stumble after, but balance myself, looking up to see a pair of red-heads, maybe siblings. Both are dressed in green armour. Listeners. But it's not them I care about. It's the battered Hawk Fledgling they're dragging along.

'Scar!' Jimmy holds me back as I try to run over.

'Grian, they're armed. Don't do anything dangerous.'

'Grian?' He notices me. 'Hey Grian!'

'Silence, Hawk!' The shorter-haired Listener snaps.

'Fwhip, it's alright. We can let him go here. Don't crash in our area again, ok Mr Hawk?' The other says. Scar nods. The pair let him go, walking off again. My attention is only on Scar. I fight free of Jimmy, run over and hug him.

'Oh Scar...' I sob. 'I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry for abandoning you... There- there was nothing else...'

'It's ok! I showed those pesky Listeners who's in charge with the passion of a thousand Scars!' He hugs me back, excitement clearly not gone. 'How are you doing, Grian?'

I can't answer, just crying. Scar's not dead. He's right here in front of me, hugging me. He's not even mad.

'Everyone move.'

Another voice. Elex. I look over from Scar to see him cutting a path through the crowd.

'Everyone to breakfast. Scar, Grian, a word.'

They disperse. I don't speak until only the stragglers are left.

'I didn't know he was alive, I thought he was dead for sure... There was so much blood...'

'Enough.' He raises a hand and I fall silent. 'Scar, what happened?'

'I survived a Listener interrogation without telling them anything!' he proudly declares.  'They were scared of me! I know they were!'

'You were taken prisoner by Listeners?'

'Not for long, surely. And I escaped them and told them absolutely nothing that they could use against us!'

'You crashed a plane within Listener-controlled areas. You should be dead. Grian should've shot you.' Elex's accusing stare turns back to me.

'But why would he do that?'

'To stop you getting caught and giving away stuff they could use against us.'

'But I didn't give anything away, you silly goose! I watched all the films, all those interrogations, and I knew exactly what to do and I did it! And it worked!'

'Scar, just be quiet.' I mutter. 'Seriously.'

'But I've done nothing wrong!' Scar insists.

'Just be quiet!' I repeat. 'It doesn't matter! I'm sorry, Elex.'

'Come with me. Both of you.'

Elex starts walking away. With a glance at Scar, I follow. It doesn't take long to reach Elex's office. 

'Are... are we in trouble, Captain Elex?' Scar finally realises what's going on, eyes wide. 'What did we do? I didn't mean any harm!'

'Silence. How were you caught?'

'So... so... I was running away from the Listener attack... and I got in a plane... I think I lost my memory, because the next thing I know I was in the Listener base, where a Listener person spoke to me, and they didn't even ask anything... they let me go.'

'Why?'

'Well, I threatened that you would come and defend me and kill all of them and then Officer Cub let me go.'

'What?' Elex's expression changes to panic. My sleep-deprived mind struggles to understand what Scar's saying.

'He let me go! I know! Oh, shoot, yeah. I was surprised about Cub too... I thought the Listeners killed him, but they must've forced him to join them... Because Officer Cub would never betray the Hawks! Just like I didn't!'

'Grian, you're dismissed,'

'Elex?'

'I need to talk to Scar in private. You're dismissed. Oh, and your role of Officer has been automatically stripped for your disobedience.'

'But...'

'You disobeyed Hawk laws and got another Hawk kidnapped and interrogated by Listeners. Now get out of my sight.'

I do.