Difference between revisions of "The Story of Remnant II: Part II"

Revision as of 20:35, 22 October 2020

Chapter 2.3

I heard ruffling from the sheets as Corey woke up. She wiped her eyes and sat up, greeting me.

"Morning..."

I waved my hand. Corey struggled out of the bed and walked to the bathroom.

I went up the steps and knocked on the door to... uh. My room.

"Go away, Sparty!"

I walked down the steps. There was no point trying to reason with Ben. We were both stubborn. It took a catastrophic event to get me out of the room. I found John sitting on the couch and playing with some sticks.

What are you making?

John turned around. "A castle."

Out of sticks?

"Yeah. Look I made a moat."

John began moving the sticks around and making over the top sound effects. Seeing him play with the sticks made me smile under my mask. I knelt next to him.

Where's the King and Queen?

"Oh, I haven't made a place for them. The King is called Ben and the Queen is called Corey."

I choked and began coughing, as John laughed out loud.

Why you little...

"Come on, Ben. I know you like her."

You shouldn't be talking about stuff like this at your age. You wouldn't understand.

"Ben's got a girlfriend! Ben's got a girlfriend!" John playfully sang, dancing around.

You keep chanting that I'm going to blow your castle up.

John quickly zipped it.

I put my hands on his shoulders. John, I want you to listen very carefully. Do not call me Ben when I'm around those two. They can't know who I am.

John frowned. "Why not? Wouldn't it be cool to show your face. I think it would be cool to have a future version of my friend protect me."

Look, kid. You wouldn't understand. Just... keep it a secret, ok? Just call me Sparty for now.

Corey returned changed and freshened up.

"I'm sooooo tired." She grumbled.

I held out Ben's phone. You aren't a morning person?

Corey laughed. "Hell no! I hate waking up early. I did it back in school because I wanted to get my exercise in. I personally don't like waking up so early. I end up sleeping in my classes."

I looked at John. Can you translate for me?

John grinned. "Sure thing, Ben!"

My eyes widened. There was silence, as John suddenly realized what he just did.

Corey stared at the two of us. "Your name... is Ben?"

DAMMIT JOHN!

John whimpered. "I'm sorry, Ben."

I facepalmed.

John held out his hand. "I'm Jonathan Ko. I'm Ben's brother! Nice to meet you!" Corey laughed and knelt down, shaking it.

"I'm Coraline Jensen. But call me Corey. So has Ben here been looking after you this whole time?"

"Yeah. But he got me to steal a bunch of clothes from a nearby Gap."

Corey glanced at me.

John...

"Yes?"

Please stop talking.

"Okay."

Corey stood up. "How do you guys communicate? Do you read his gestures or something?"

"No, we have a telepathic connection." John explained.

I gave John and Corey a rundown on the situation. Well, actually. I kind of just told John, who told Corey.

We're running low on supplies. I want to go and stock up. I'll leave you three here, and if you need anything, hide under this contraption here.

I pointed at the square on the building schematic I had made for John.

Corey raised an eyebrow. "That's a really detailed drawing, Ben! Are you like a drafter or something?"

Ummm, something like that.

"You know, our Ben is something of an artist himself. Your detail kind of reminds me of his."

Yeah. I'm sure it freaking did.

"But you know, you shouldn't have to make it so detailed. It's kind of hard to follow." Corey leaned in closer to me to make a more condensed sketch of the schematic, labelling just the facilities and the compartment. My heart rate went up as she leaned in even closer.

ASTRO lit up on my HUD. "Heart rate increasing to higher than normal levels. Advise caution."

Thanks ASTRO.

Ok, that's good enough. You all know where to go. I'll be back soon.

I went to the bike, and carried a larger satchel to carry supplies. I was hooking it up to the side of the bike when suddenly I found Corey standing there.

"Hey... Ben. I mean Sparty. Mind if I come with you?"

I shook my head. I knelt on the ground and wrote a message.

Too dangerous.

Corey knelt down in front of me. "It would be easier to let me help out. We could carry more stuff. Besides, I'm not entirely helpless. I've done a few running errands back in my day as well."

I knew that. She was a track and field athlete in high school. Probably one of the best. But being able to run fast and being able to prevent being blown up were too different things. Regardless, Corey strapped herself in and grabbed onto my waist. There was no prying her off.

I sighed as I slotted in my ASCENSION magazine into the bike, transforming it into the ASCENSION cycle.

"Initializing system. Precept code: TRANSPORT" ASTRO said, as STARBOARD uploaded into the cycle, interfacing with me. I revved the engine, as a protective windshield casing formed around both me and Corey.

"Wow... that's so cool." Corey exclaimed. I smiled under my mask as we sped off to find places to loot.