Memories and nightmares

The elderly man was looking at Gregory with great curiosity and a slight smile on his face.
"I... got lost. I don't remember how I ended up here..." Gregory decided that it wouldn't be a wise idea to explain the reality of how he got here.
They might think I'm some sort of lunatic... It's probably best to not tell the truth.
"Well, I don't blame you, everyone gets a little crazy sometimes when they stay out in the sun for too long. Except... her." The old man's smile turned into a neutral expression and he gazed into the window. He looked like he was worried about someone.

"Uhh.. Can I stay here for a while?" He had to ask the hard question eventually.
"Of course sonny! The more hands the merrier! You'll have to earn yer keep though, no lousing around doin' nothing you get me? Everyone here does something, even the kids."
"The sleeping area is upstairs" The old man pointed to the stairs to his right.
"I'd tell you to go to a room and leave your stuff but you ain' got nothing on you, so just come here whenever ya feel like and find an empty spot to sleep at." The elderly man started smiling again as he continued talking. His dark gray hair would be considered long for a man and he had it tied up in a bun. His almond shaped eyes looked tired but they had a joyful expression.
"Thank you sir"
"Ya know, I used to run a hotel before all the politicians started lobbin' rockets at each other. Welcoming guests used to be a pain but I've started to enjoy it now." There was a hint of nostalgia in the old man's voice.
"Well, I'm glad I could bring you joy sir... uhh..."
"What's the matter sonny?"
"Do you have any water around here?"
"Of course, c'mere." He started pouring water from a vintage glass bottle in a roughly shaped ceramic cup.
"Thank you sir." Gregory humbly took the cup and started drinking. The water had an earthly taste to it but that didn't matter right now. He felt revitalized.
"Ya can drop the formalities here boy, everyone's a family in this settlement. What do you go by?"
Gregory gulped the last of the water, being careful not to spill any.
"Excuse me?"
"What's yer name?"
"I'm.. Gregory." No point making up fake names.
"Joshua, pleased to make your acquaintance."

***

At the doctor's building

Creak

"What did you want to see me for?" A monotone mechanical voice overpowered the sound of herbs being grounded up in the doctor's building.
"Good afternoon to you as well, Astrea!" Atra's joyful tone was a perfect contrast to the voice she had just heard.
"..."
Atra gave Astrea a tired look while still looking happy to see her. It was almost like she had had this interaction many times before.
"Did you happen to grab any aloe while you were out by any chance?"
"No, why?"
"I'm running low on aloe, if one more person comes here with a sunburn I won't be able to do anything..." Her energetic expression suddenly went dim. She was concerned about her patients.
"I have already told the kids to wear clothes and not play outside a lot. If we all did that there would be less sunburns." Astrea's logic was perfectly sound, but it was missing the human element.
"Ohh, you don't get it..." Atra sounded defeated.
"Get what?" While Astrea had mastered navigating the wasteland she refused to read the room. A flaw that many geniuses share.
"The kids want to play and have fun out in the open! It's depressing being stuck inside all the time in the dark!"
"But they won't get sunburned inside."
"Aghhhh! Forget it." Atra was mad but she didn't harbour any negative feelings towards Astrea, nor anyone for that matter. It was more of a "Playful" anger. Like how cats try to scratch each other as a form of play.
"..."
"So will you get some aloe for me if you see any outside, pretty please?"
"Sure."
Once Astrea had left the building Atra remembered how things were when they first met; the same as now nothing had changed.
"Does she age...?" Atra muttered to herself. The one thing that changed was the fact that Atra had grown up now. When Astrea first arrived in the settlement she was the same as she is now, while Atra had grown up from the teenage girl she was.
Atra decided that thought was not of importance and continued making medicine.

***

Main building

The sun was still up so it was daytime in the wasteland. That did not stop Gregory however from falling fast asleep in the designated "sleeping area" Joshua had shown him.There were a few different people there of varying ages. Some were reading books while the kids were drawing their fantasies on cheap looking paper with some vintage looking pens. They all had a neutral expression on their faces. The hard wood floor covered by the fur of a peculiar looking animal was not the most comfortable bed in the world. It could not compare to the luxurious bedroom Gregory had back in Nemesia but one thing this place had over his old home was the silence. The capital city of Nemesia, Nike, was always bustling with all sorts of sounds. Most notable was the constant of cars, hovercrafts and helicopters flying by that was accompanied by thousands of people talking. Gregory could not hear what they were saying but he knew someone was talking outside of his apartment in the busy streets of Nemesia. All he could hear in this place though was some kids kicking a ball around outside and a strange chirping sound in the far distance that was definitely not being produced by a bird.

***

Gregory Khoner

After falling asleep in this wretched place I woke up after what felt like mere seconds.
"Uhh.. huh...?"
I was back in my home in Nemesia
"Was that a... nightmare...?"
This home however was not the one I thought it was. On the walls there were childhood drawings of mine and the whole room was decorated childishly. Above me was another bed. The smell of eggs and bacon blessed my nose.

This was my childhood house.

I felt like I could somewhat control my movements but it was mostly like I was watching a video while wearing a VR headset. It was all so realistic and I could smell and touch things. Is this a dream? I am so confused right now...
I felt like just staying in my bed and sleeping again because I felt tired but then the door opened and I saw my mother come in.
"Breakfast is ready kids! Come eat up so we can go to the monument today like we planned!"

My mother had long braided black hair and a warm expression. I felt home.

"Why don't you try and wake up your brother, Greg?" She pointed to the bed on top of me.
My brother was a heavy sleeper.
I instinctively got up and gave my younger brother a nudge.
"Not yet!"
"Oh come on Tobias! Didn't we all agree to go out today? This is the only day of the week where your father isn't working!"
"Fine, fine..." It didn't take much convincing to get him to get out of his bed.

I went to the kitchen, my brother Tobias following me, and I saw my father drinking coffee while reading a newspaper. He liked to keep his face well shaven. He had short black hair and he was wearing glasses. A professional looking man and a good father.
"Morning kids." He spoke calmly but with warmth, like always.

***

After we all ate breakfast and got ready we finally went out. It was Sunday which meant dad wasn't working today. That's why we always went out on Sundays, so we could all be together. It might have been an illusion, but the weather always seemed to be better on Sundays. Despite the fact that it was Autumn, rain clouds were nowhere to be seen. It was a sunny day but not too warm, not too cold, just perfect. Today we had planned to go the the Nike monument, right in the center of the capital city. It was a hot tourist attraction in the summer, but not so much in Autumn so there wouldn't be that many people there.
We got in our family car, a reliable SUV, and started driving to our destination. While driving our family kept quiet. Not so much so that dad could focus on driving and avoid accidents but because we didn't feel like talking. We didn't have a problem with the silence, we just admired the scenery. 

After finally arriving and parking our car we started making our way up the monument. It was a big hill with an ancient Castle-Temple on top, the Tel'Amin. That was our ancestors' last stand. Where they fought against invading barbarians in the ancient times. The building was huge, it almost covered the entire mountain. 

That was the moment I started feeling anxious. Fragments from my memory where slowly coming together to form a scene. I didn't remember what had happened there exactly but I knew it was bad. While the rest of my family was happy I was starting to get worried.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw her.
It was a teenage girl with light blonde hair and a beautiful face. 5 or so years older than me.
She was sitting down and against the stone wall that was along the path up to the Tel'Amin.
Her clothes were dirty and rough and she had her hands reaching out in the shape of a bowl.
"Please, s-spare a change kind sir..?" She said while looking at my father.
My father looked at her with a sad expression, he was about to pull something out of his pocket.
"Come on, let's go." My mother grabbed his arm and pulled him along the path
"Don't bother yourself with that filth."
I felt sad, but continued walking along. Doing nothing.
My father's wallet fell from his pocket. I noticed it but for some reason pretended like I didn't see anything. I don't know why.
The girl's eyes lit up and she made a quick move to grab the wallet.
"Aghh!" A man who was walking behind us stepped on the girl's arm as she was reaching for the wallet.
"Thief!"
He continued to kick her while she was down. I don't know why.
I don't know why.
I don't know why.
"P-plea, aghhh!"
Her once beautiful face was now covered in a terrible mixture of blood, dirt, and tears.
"They should be killing scum like you!"
My mother went back, picked up the wallet and gave it back to my dad.
No passer-by did anything. They acted like they weren't seeing this. And same went for me.

I don't know why I didn't do anything. I don't know why I felt horrible at that moment, like I was about to throw up. Did she deserve this? Did she do something bad? Who decides what's bad and good? 
I started feeling dizzy.
"Lets go, Gregory, come on!" My mother pulled my arm as well and we continued walking forward. I continued to hear the girl's screams for a while longer. And then I continued hearing them even though we were thousands of meters away, in our house. The screams where echoing in my head. Like a ghost haunting me, refusing to let me go.