The Broken Age

Show, don't tell

I put my hand at the door and peek out. The stars were shining, it was beautiful. But one star shone brighter than the rest.

It was still there.

I pull my head back and look at the others "Anyone know how to start a fire?"

So, fire happens when something dry gets touched by other fire 'correct.' Well, we got lost of old papers, I remember we mostly used wood and sticks from when my si-my... 'say it.' From... someone. All we have is paper, so it'll probably last us the night. But how do you start a fire, when you don't have one? 'Go back and ask the someone.'

I look at the scattered pile of old papers on the floor, and think "can you, go find more of these, or just anything burnable."

Alice looks at the body she had brought, then walks off. My cell mate just stood next to me, breathing down my neck. I take my bag off, crouch and roll one of the papers into a tube, then blow warm air into it.

Maybe if I make it hot it will turn into fire.

It doesn't work, then I try rubbing the papers together.

Still nothing.

My cell mate grunts, I look at him reaching into my bag, he pulls out the key thing I found. "What are you-" he drags the key on the cylinder, and sparks come off.

Then he crouches and does it again on the tube I made, and a bit of smoke comes from the paper, and a red line was on the edge of it. He blows on it and it gets brighter. He makes another spark on it and it turns into a small flame.

I look at him wondering how he knew what to do.

"How did you do that?" He gives another grunt, grabbing the burning paper and putting it near the rest.

I warm my hands on the small fire, my cell mate grabs the can I found and squeezes it, with his hands until the lid tears open and the soup inside bursts out, smearing on his face. He wipes it off and pulls the lid open, placing the can next to the fire.

A little later Alice came back with some more paper and a dismembered arm that had bet bitten into multiple times.

"Where did you find that?" I mumble, tired from having to ask this.

She drops the papers "There were more bodies in the back." She gets ready to take another bite, before I intervene.

"Stop eating it." I scream, my voice echoes making myself jump.

"I'm bored, and hungry. What should I do then?" She throws the arm behind her and looks at me.

I look in my bag and take out a pen from the stack of pens and give it to her. "We have paper, why not draw?"

I look at her draw, smiling happily laying on her stomach and waving her feet back and forth.

 Her drawing was of a guy with his throat bleeding. It was really well drawn. Every line she drew was precise and steady, like she was printing it out from her mind, without even needing to think about it. "Alice." She doesn't answer "Hey!" I snap my fingers and she looks at me "What are you drawing?"

She looks back at her work then at me and shrugs.

"What are you not telling me, Alice?" I ask with worry.

"I don't like that name." She says continuing to draw.

"You've told me that before." I say.

She stops and looks around, focusing on my cell mate drinking from the soup can. "That thing looks weird. What is it?" She asks with curiosity.

"I can't remember. I think he's a boy... We-we were stuck somewhere together." I couldn't remember, it's so foggy. Every time I get close, I can feel my heart pounding in my chest. But it keeps slipping away.

"I think he helped get me out." I look at her pictures again, that man, his clothes. He looked like one of the guys in the bunker we were in.