The Burn Will Take You, Like Everyone Else

Evelyn sits back in her pilot seat and stares out the window at the bright blue sky. Enjoying the peaceful moment before Adrian enters the cockpit. He gives her a small head nod.

“Sup.”

“Hey, how’s our guest?” She replies back.

“Still screaming in the closet.”

To say that Scoot’s warning was warnted would’ve been an understatement. His brother, Shimmy, had to be dragged out of Scoot’s home kicking and screaming. He was paranoid and shaking like a leaf, rambling about “them” being after him. Now he was in their closet, refusing to come out.

Evelyn lets out a small sigh “Ugh… Fine, take the wheel, I’ll go talk to him.”

She hops out of her seat and Adrian shifts over into it. She rolls into the living space of the airship. It wasn’t as well furnished as Evelyn had liked but it had a couch, a small kitchen with a table, and beds. The furniture was nailed down to prevent any unnecessary damage which made redecorating a challenge. Evelyn shakes away the blueprints in her head and rolls over to the closet.

“Hello? Mr. Shimmy? Are you still… Uh, taking shelter in our closet?”

“Go away! I know what you’re here for! Your good cop routine won’t work on me! My mind is a vault! A vault!” He rambles on,

“Come on man, we’re not going to hurt you.”

“Bah! That’s what they all say! Lure me into a sense of security and the next thing I know my head is rolling on your deck! I saw the Thunder blade you got with you!”

“Trust me, you’re most useful to him alive then dead. So it’s the Thunder blade you’re so scared of?”

“I said leave me alone! I’m already saying too much!”

“Because if it is, Adrian probably hates them just as much as you, he only joined because of me. After I got the burn…”

It’s quiet on the other side of the closet and Evelyn can hear shuffling coming from inside. The door slowly creaked open and Shimmy pokes his head out. He was a lanky man with a disheveled beard and blue eyes that seem to be scanning Evelyn. Silently judging to see if what she said was a bluff.

“Oh? Now you’re interested?” She says with a grin.

“If you’re lying I’ll-” Shimmy starts, but is cut off as Evelyn pulls down her shirt collar to her shoulder. Revealing dried and purple skin across the area.

“It happened a few weeks ago. It hurts sometimes but for the most part I forget it’s even there.” She said,

“Weeks? T-that shouldn’t be possible, the burn destroys the body from the inside out…”

“It’s possible when you’ve already got a tolerance built up.”

“You’re a Breather?”

“How about you get out of that dusty closet and take a seat? We can chat all you want on the way to Yarsh.”

Shimmy slowly stands to his feet, glancing from side to side as he shuffles over to the couch, sitting down on the edge of the seat. “You’ll be dead soon… Even if you can forget it, the burn will take you, like everyone else.”

“Well aren’t you negative… Even if people say it’s incurable there has to be a way, right? I mean you’re a conspiracy theorist. You should have a long list of this kind of stuff.”

“I’m not a conspiracy theorist! I’m a historian!”

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry!”

“But to answer your question, no, there is no known cure. At least not here.”

“Not here? So that means there is one somewhere?” Evelyn gets in Shimmy’s face after saying this, causing him to get more nervous.

“It’s- it’s possible that there is one… On the moon.”

“Wha?” Evelyn blinks after hearing this.

“If you truly are dead set on the impossible, you’d have to go back to the origin… The Overdrive drug, the storm and the collapse of our society… It all started on the moon.”

…

As the airship continues its path to Yarsh, another one trails behind them, staying far enough to barely see them. The airship is painted a bright red, with white racing stripes on the sides, at least twice. On the side an insignia of knives raining from a thunder cloud is painted. The mark of the Thunderblade. The interior’s walls are decorated in golden colored wallpaper. Filled with luxury furniture and lavish meals on the table. Sitting there are three different people. A woman in all white with a katana on her hip. A man in leather with two pistols in their holsters. Then a man that could be mistaken as a giant, towering over the two even sitting down, knuckle dusters on the table next to him. On the nearby couch sits a man with bright teal hair, playing away at a handheld game on his chest, a small smile on his child-like face.

“So, Hanna, you said that ship belonged to the storm chasers?” The giant says with his mouth full.

“It was.” Answers the woman, Hanna, “But I don’t think they are foolish enough to interfere in this matter.”

“‘Course not, the storm chasers are in just as much shit as us if this fails.” Said the man in leather,

“Though, those two that are with him put a wrench in things…” Hanna says, “One of them is a member of our organization.”

“You don’t think he’s operating under a different mission than ours, do you?” The giant asks, causing the table to fall silent, they then all look at the man on the couch. Despite their gaze he doesn’t look up from his game.

“Gale?” Hanna calls to him.

Gale finally looks up from his game. “Hm? You say something?”

“Yes, the mission we’re about to go on.” Hanna responds.

Gale looks at his comrades “Jobe, Casey, Hanna, you all overthink way too much. This mission couldn’t be going better.”

“I don’t follow…” The giant, Jobe, responds.

Gale grins, “The rat’s obviously gotten wind that we’re on to him. So that means he’s on his way to his little rat nest. Probably to warn all his little rat friends. So we’ll just kill them all once we get to Yarsh!”

Gale’s words seem to sooth his comrades' doubts as they go back to their meal. Gale goes back to his game, passing the time until he makes it to Yarsh.