Names Long Lost - S
(This mysterious short story is a continuation from the previous chapter of Names Long Lost, which you can find on my profile. Please read that first if you are interested in this story!)
An unknown boy clad in biking gear tries his best to find stable ground in an unknown place.
I feel... Empty...
Scout felt like nothing more than a hollow shell floating in a vast void far above and away from the earth. He thought the ground was far below him, but he wasn't sure. All of his body was covered in protective biking gear, save for his tail. He weakly reached a hand out in front of his face in a vain attempt to stabilize himself, but he only felt more disoriented. The mirror image of countless stars reflected off the tinted visor on his motorcycle helmet.
_I'm alone again... _
At last, he felt something within him. A dull ache deep within his chest. A feeling of loneliness, of being abandoned. Scout hugged his knees closely to himself, sending him slowly adrift, spinning and tumbling deeper into the vast emptiness. Somewhere out there, a memory.
_I came into this world alone. At least, that was what it felt like. Obviously, I had parents who gave birth to me. But nobody seems to know what came after that. If I were to reach back as far as I could into my mind, to the origin point of all my subsequent memories, I would see a gate. A disembodied hand held my own and walked me up to this chain link gate, sliding open a rusty latch and bringing me into this new place. There were other kids there, a lot of them. _
There is something I need to find. _Scout thought to himself, almost automatically. _No, not something. Someone. Him... He can fix this. He always fixes it... Scout looked up as he thought to himself and saw somewhere off into the distance a sweeping nebula of colorful space dust. It was perfectly still, unmoving, save for the subtle twinkles of the stars. There was something else there.
Despite being with so many other kids, I can't say I remember having any friends. There were some that were nicer than others, but in the end, I think I was always the odd one out. We went to school, we did chores, we had some odd activity hosted by a different stranger every time. Kids came, kids left. The days all blended together. I got bigger. Nothing else changed. Eventually, I left too. Alone, just as I came in.
The next period of time was painfully clear in my memory. I was hungry. Cold. Despised. Ashamed. I desperately needed help, but was too afraid to ask for it. I was content to waste away, drift off. I think I almost did, until...
I met him. The one who changed everything.
He helped me up. Together, the both of us finally felt like we had some kind of place in the world.
...
Can he really fix this? Something is different this time. I've never felt like this before. Scout attempted to groan, but no sound came out. He felt tears welling up within him, shaky, anxious tears. If I take off this helmet... Will I die? I guess I won't risk it. Not while I'm here.
...
Have I been breathing? Did I forget to breathe? Let's try it. In-
...
Scout was lying in a grassy clearing in the woods. A thicket of trees surrounded him on either side. He stared upwards silently at the countless stars in the night sky above him; his limbs spread out on the ground. The soft chirping of forest insects echoed out, filling the cool air around him. His motorcycle was lying some few yards away, or at least was left of it. Bits and pieces of it were strewn about in the tall grass.
Scout slowly sat up, his face and body still obscured by his tinted motorcycle helmet and gear. He silently gazed over toward his totaled bike before turning his attention the other way. The radiant glow of tall buildings just on the horizon suggested he was a good way outside the city. The young biker continued to sit quietly, staring at the faint outline of the city, entirely unmoving. Unclear thoughts stirred within his head. He wasn't sure if the thoughts were his or someone else's. If they were memories or just made-up fantasies, he had no way of knowing.
There was only one solid thought he could hold on to. A thought he knew for sure belonged to him. A name. Someone else's name. He spoke it out aloud as if to affirm his possession of it, a quiet utterance of someone else's name in the darkness.
"Darren."
Scout slowly stood up, his short body casting a stark negative against the glow of the urban skyline in the distance. He turned slowly and walked out of the clearing, withdrawing into the darkness of the dense foliage just past the woodline.