Jacksy

Ⲧѡѻ

Noah woke to heavy knocking on the door. He knew it was Skully, for the knocks came once, then twice, then repeated. Noah stood, then remembered the robotic arm hitting him in the head, as pain spread through his skull and down his neck. He clenched his fists and tugged on his hood, then opened the door. Beyond Skully, the sky was growing orange. Noah frowned.

"You didn't wake when I knocked earlier," said Skully, entering the room.

Noah realized he still wore his orange apron. He untied it and held it in his hands. "Sorry," he said sheepishly.

Skully glanced at him. "Don't be. Your mother may be mad, so I brought these." He held out a bag of donuts and some water. "It's not much, and she'll probably throw them out, but... It's worth a try."

Noah grabbed them, and Skully took the apron. He then glanced at Noah's head. "How're you feeling?"

"Still a little scared," Noah mumbled. "Tired, in pain, but other than that, I'm great."

Skully sighed. "You'll be alright, Noah. There's no way you could've dodged that arm. I'm sure your mother will see that."

Noah did not reply. He couldn't, for his mouth had gone dry. He nodded another thank-you to Skully and left, tugging at his hood. All the way back to his mother's house, he kept his head down, spotting the familiar cracks and impurities in the sidewalk. The night was lit by many screens slapped to skyscrapers and many holograms, though Noah did not look at them. He couldn't, for it hurt his head to do so. When he reached the vacant alley that emptied out into the farm, his vision was going blurry from all of the pounding in his head.

Noah wondered what Skully would be doing at the moment. Hopefully, he wouldn't be looking for his brother. Noah knew Skully sometimes searched for Ashton at night. Noah had never seen Skully do so, but he simply had a feeling. He couldn't blame Skully. Noah wished more people would believe that there was evil in the city. No one believed in the rumors.

The mayor of the city was an evil man. Seen by many in public events and spoken of badly by none, he was the source of the rumors spread by those who were poor or without a home. Noah's own mother never spoke badly about the mayor. Skully was the one to tell Noah about it all. Noah's mother knew the mayor was evil, but she was afraid speaking of him would get them both killed.

Ashton was fifteen, and Skully eighteen, when he had gone missing. According to Skully, Ashton had gone out to buy dinner and he never returned. Of course, Noah despised Skully's parents for multiple reasons, one being the fact that they made their children buy dinner most nights. To Noah's understanding, Skully's parents were a little... crazy. They modified their kids to look like death's partners. Skully was the skeleton, and Ashton the ashes. Their parents worshipped death. It made Noah sick... Thinking about it, he was grateful for the mother he had.

Finally reaching the house, Noah opened the door and saw his mother in the small living room, sitting with her arms folded. When she saw Noah, she stood and reached him in one quick stride, tearing the water bottle and donuts from his hands. "Where have you been? And what is this?"

"It's from Skully," said Noah quietly, tugging at his hood.

His mother tossed them into the trash, then folded her arms. "Your shift ended an hour ago."

"Sorry," Noah said, heading for his room. "I lost track of time. One of the robots malfunctioned and I had to fix it." He entered his bedroom and closed the door, sitting down on the bed. He reached for his head.

The door opened, and his mother scowled. "What is that on your head?"

"Nothing," Noah said quickly, avoiding looking at his reflection in the mirror. "I just slipped."