Welcome to Nevertown

The sun's scorching rays baked deep into the desert sand. How long has he been lying here now? His normally pale skin was burned a painful shade of red almost as dark as his hair. His drying eyes, evaporated of its tears, gazed up at the vultures circling above him. Was this it? Was all he was going to amount to in his life being dinner after living such a short life?

He was just a young boy, one year away from his eighteenth birthday. One year away from finally becoming a man. He could be an adult who would marry the girl of his dreams, settle down, and have a family together just like his parents did.

Oh, god. Why did he have to think about them now? Part of the reason why he was looking up was because he didn’t want to look anywhere else. He couldn’t look anywhere else. All he would see is the decimated truck behind him, still in flames, surrounded by what little remained of its passengers. He had only survived because he had jumped out in time to avoid the blast. The sudden, rhythmic beeping of the roadside bomb was their one warning, and even then, if he had been in the front and not the back, there’s no way he would have survived.

The bandits were gone long now, having taken their prize, from everything his family owned in the back to the jewelry on his mother’s mangled corpse. They might have taken his father’s watch as well if it wasn’t melted into his charred wrist. It was all gone. All that he knew and loved was stolen in a blink of an eye. All that remained were the torn clothes on his back, and the trail of blood that followed him from the crime scene.

As his tired eyes began to close, his body slowly beginning to accept the end, his ears picked up the sound of a truck approaching. It was different the sound of the vehicle the bandits had used. Even so, it could still be someone ready to finish him off, and at this point he didn’t see any reason to protest. A shadow then loomed over him, and his eyes could barely make out the shape of a man. The man’s silhouette glowed like a halo in the sunlight. Perhaps it was an angel coming to reunite him with his parents after waiting so patiently.

The angel’s smooth, porcelain-like face eventually focused into view, and he saw the saddened, concerned look on his face.

The angel asked in a deep, comforting voice, “Are you alright, my son?”

He managed to choke out a grunt to confirm he was a living, breathing person before the exhaustion and pain got to him, and his consciousness faded. The last thing he could make out was the angel lifting him up, and his parched lips making contact with water. The fact that his throat was able to swallow it meant his body truly wasn’t ready to give up yet.

---

The first observation he made when his consciousness returned was how the rough, course sand weighing against his back was replaced with a soft, white bed. The second observation was how bland yet secure the cement ceiling and walls were compared to the desert environment. The third observation was hearing the loud gasp of a young girl, signaling that he wasn't alone.

"Oh, thank goodness! You're awake!" she said with as much enthusiasm as her gentle voice would allow. 

The wooden chair she sat in creaked as she leaned in closer, saving him the trouble of forcing his stiff neck to turn to look at her. Just the thought caused his injured skin to tingle, warning him that would be a bad idea. Since his body was slightly propped up, he was at least able to glance down at himself to see the damage. He was quite the mess with the amount of bandages wrapped around his skin, with what wasn't covered swollen, peeling, and blistered.

He wished he was in a better state to meet such a cute girl his age. Granted, nerdy girls with big, square glasses and braided pigtails weren't normally his type, yet a cute girl was a cute girl regardless. Her burnt orange hair and olive green eyes complimented her brown dress and white undershirt, reminding him of autumn.

He parted his dry lips and croaked out a pathetic, "W...Where?"

Seeing him struggle, the girl quickly scrambled to grab a water bottle and a straw to put it up to his face. He managed to get the straw into his mouth to drink, and with a few grunts to clear his revived throat, he was able to speak more clearly.

"Where... am I?" he asked, taking his time to breathe out the question.

The girl put the bottle back down on the table beside them, then answered calmly, "You're in Nevertown. Mr. Santo found you in the desert and brought you here. Like he did with all of us."

He quirked a a curious eyebrow. "Us?"

Rather than elaborate, she placed a comforting hand on his bandaged arm and smiled. "Don't worry. You're safe now. We've been taking care of you for the last two days. It'll be another week before you make a full recovery, but you're free to walk around whenever you like. No need to rush though!"

That would explain the IV drip in his arm and the medical machines placed on the opposite side of the girl. Something didn't add up though. This didn't look like a hospital. It was something more... crude. Put together out of necessity with no regard for professionalism. Ignoring the stinging it would cause, he moved his head to scan the room better and get more information. From what he could tell, this was all one building with a dozen or so beds and machines set up. There was a door that may have been a storage room for supplies, but that was about it.

"So not... Glamor," he concluded, putting the pieces together.

The girl shook her head in response. "No, that's another 50 miles to the west."

Well there wasn't anything he could do about that. It wasn't where he was supposed to end up, but he should be grateful for being alive anywhere at all.

Realizing he hadn't even introduced himself, he looked back at the girl and said, "I'm... Russell by the way. Are you a nurse?"

"Oh, no, no!" she said while flailing her hands to dismiss the claim. She then lowered her hands on to her lap and stared down at them with an embarrassed blush on her face. "I mean... I am studying to be a doctor, so I am in charge of the infirmary, but I'm not really a professional. I simply try to apply what I can from my books." 

Her gaze then shifted to the book also on the table, which he assumed was how she passed the time while watching over him. As cute as it was seeing her so bashful, he was more concerned about what she had said.

"What do you mean by being... 'in charge'?" he asked.

"Oh, well-"

Before he could get a proper answer, the double doors were slammed open in grand fashion, putting their conversation to a halt to focus on the source. It was a little girl with her arms spread out, meaning she had put all of her tiny strength into the stunt. Her two black bunches of hair as she confidently stomped inside, acting as if she was the owner coming in to check the place.

"I heard about the new kid!" the little girl shouted. "Where is he?!"

"Angelica, please," the cute girl responded sternly, trying to settle her down. "He woke up a minute ago. Give him time."

The little girl, Angelica, furrowed her brows as she looked over to Russell. "Huh... wait. He's a big kid?" She turned away with a huff and her hands on her hips. "Nevermind! You can have him. I'll go back to the babies. I bet someone got stuck in the chicken coop again."

And with that, she left as quickly as she arrived. Russell was left with his mouth agape, completely confused and dumbfounded by this.

Seeing his reaction, the cute girl said, "Ah, don't worry about her. She was the first to be saved so she feels she has a responsibility to watch the little ones."

Okay, so there were kids here. That much Russell was able to figure out. But where were the adults? Shouldn't someone be here to watch over everything?

They had another visitor appear before he could figure out how to ask these questions. Another boy his age, maybe younger, popped his head into the still open entrance.

"Yooo, Ang told me we got another big kid," the boy said. 

The boy's black eyes lit up when he spotted Russell, and it was when he stepped in that Russell realized this guy was tall. And that was even if you removed the flattop, or at least what he guessed it was meant to be, but the desert heat wasn't doing his dark, coiled hair any favors.

The cute girl sighed and said, "He's recovering. It's going to be another week."

Unfazed by this news, the boy approached Russell with the biggest grin he'd ever seen. "No worries! I can wait. Anything if it means I got another player for B-ball. As great as The Plow is, he's always so busy!" He then extended a friendly hand to Russell. "Anyway, name's Chaz. You know how to play basketball?"

Deciding to go with the flow at this point, he gathered enough energy to weakly shake his hand. "Russell. And... yeah. I know how to play."

"Okay, perfect! Good to meet ya!"

"You're going to be in charge of showing him around the boys' dorm then," the cute girl stated matter-of-factly, unamused by Chaz's disturbance.

"Sure, fine by me," Chaz said. Again, completely unfazed.

With that agreement arranged, the cute girl shooed away Chaz, who continued to wave at Russell even as she closed the doors on him. Russell had a good feeling about this guy. If anything, he could use a friend like him in this new place. Knowing there were nice people here put him at ease, and his body began to feel heavy once more.

"I'll tell everyone to leave you alone, so you go ahead and rest," the cute girl said.

"Thanks," Russell replied with a small smile. "Appreciate it, miss."

"It's Melinda."

"Got it. Melinda..."

The gentle whisper of her name lulled him back into a peaceful slumber. Wherever he was, he was going to have to learn more about it tomorrow.