Radioactive - Book 1: Birth 🪼

Twenty Nine

For the first time in a while, I have a peaceful sleep that doesn't involves dreams when I feel something like an earthquake shake the car and wake up, gasping. I almost sit up but seeing the top of the car, I remember that we're in the trunk and just stay still, breathing slow so my heart will stop beating so fast. I look over at Nalak and see that he's turned on his side, still asleep. The car shakes again and I look around, trying to figure out what was wrong and hoping that it isn't a tow truck. It would be our luck... I say with a look into the universe but I dare not open the seats.
"Where are they?! Where are you, you little morsels?!" I hear outside of the car.
I realize it's Triffin and automatically try to stiffen but I realize that we have the lavender bracelets on and that he's probably never going to know we are here. I suddenly feel the car lift up and I accidentally grab onto Nalak when I go to grab throw my hand out to brace myself. Nalak makes a noise and turns to look at me.
"Unless there's something I missed, get your hand off my ass." He grumbles.
"Sorry, but Triffin's out there. I was bracing myself... I think he's lifting the car."
Nalak throws his hand back and pushes my hand away where, yes, I had inadvertently grabbed a hold of his ass, when the car seems to spin and Nalak roles over in my direction. He practically lands on top of me and looks down.
"This keeps getting gayer by the minute." He says with a sleepy look.
I turn my head because Nalak, since he's turned into an albino, has usually been quite alert at all times. I think he told me that he couldn't really sleep way back at the house, but his eyes are drooped as if fatigue has slowly taken a hold of him.
"You alright?" I ask.
The car slams down, making Nalak hit the top of the trunk, and he falls back beside me, his eyes seeming to roll.
"Shit, are you okay?" I whisper yell, knowing that that had to hurt.
He moans and touches the back of his head, turning to me.
"Yeah..."
"Je vais trouver ces petits garçons stupides si c'est la derniére chose que je fais! Now I have to give back the bounty and try and explain how in the world I lost them. Je ne peux pas croire que j'ai été battu par un creux!"
I can tell he's really pissed off but I want to know about these bounties that we have on us. Why, first of all, and who were the ones holding the prospect for it? I mean, it's not like we are criminals or something and I'm taking Nalak to the Badlands, so what's the idea? If he wasn't going to eat us, I would have liked to have gotten some more information about that but so far, not going to get anything. I look back over at Nalak and he is awfully quiet. I poke him and he turns to me.
"You don't look so good. Morning sickness?"
"No... it's something else. Do you think it's safe to get out of here now?"
"I think we should wait for about thirty minutes just to give him time to get away from us."
Nalak sighs and I sit up a little on my elbows and reach over to him. His skin is warm but I can't tell if that's from the heat of the trunk or a general warmth from his body.
"I can't tell if you have a fever..."
"Do albinos even get fevers?"
"That's a good question. I don't see why they couldn't. I'll check when we get out. I promise, thirty minutes."
Nalak nods and I lay back on my back.

*********************

Thirty minutes pass and I take the flashlight and look around for the pull to open up the backseats and get out. I finally find it and pull on it, the seats flapping down and I roll out. I sigh, happy to breathe the fresh air, and turn the flashlight to Nalak.
"Nalak, we can go now." He doesn't say anything. "Nalak?" I crawl back in and shake him a little. He wakes up and looks at me. "We can leave now."
He nods and I hold out my hand to him. He takes it and I help him get out of the trunk. Once out, I can see that he doesn't look well at all. I move my mouth to the side.
"You look like you're really sick."
"I feel like shit, if that adds confirmation."
I nod. "Yeah, it does..." I move my hand to where his neck is and pull the sleeve down on his shirt to take a look. I make a face. "I guess that could be the answer."
"What is it?"
"That bite from Triffin is infected."
"How does that happen?" he grumbles.
"Well... scientifically, human mouths are the most nastiest mouths aside from Komodo dragons and if not taken care of properly, a bite that breaks the skin could cause a really bad bacterial infection... it may even be in your blood since his teeth sunk into your vein."
"That just smarts!" he suddenly growls, angry. "We can't seem to make any headway to the Badlands because we keep getting waylaid by medical problems! I turn into an albino, you break your collarbone, my parents got murdered and I went into a slight psychotic breakdown, you had your swell and it fucked you over, the hospital, babies, getting caught by a blood-albino, hiding out in cars, and now this! The Badlands isn't even that friggin far! It's been months since we left your house and we still haven't even gotten to the edge of the city!"
"Hey, don't you think I'm a little pissed off too? Half of that was my fault because I went ahead of the game and screwed up my cure. If I hadn't done that, we could have been there by now. I'm not happy about all this either but we can't just let that fester. We don't know anything about albinos and we definitely don't know anything about albinos bitten by other albinos. We need somewhere to take you."
"Yes, because they have albino clinics all over the place." Nalak says with a glare.
"I meant that we may have to catch a place after closing and hold a doctor up or something... drastic... then again, I did some research on the edges of the city close to the Badlands and there are some clinics who will serve some Altered people. They are sympathizers or something..."
"Yes, we need sympathy."
"Shut up, Nalak... anyway, if we can find one then we'll go to the first one we come across. Besides, they may be able to tell me where Sakina's job is and then we can go from there. Kill two birds with one stone."
A grumble echoes in the car and we both look at Nalak's stomach.
"Speaking of killing... will you let me go eat?"
"What were you going to eat?"
Nalak looks away. "A stray cat or two..."
I make a face but I don't have any meat on me and we need to get going.
"Eat it away from me, make sure it looks healthy, and make sure it doesn't belong to someone. You have another twenty minutes. Will you make it?"
"Yeah." He says, leaving the alley. "I think the next alley over are all ferals. Be back!"
I make a face but lean down and grab the snacks I had gotten for my sad little breakfast, waiting for Nalak.

******************

As soon as Nalak comes back, we start heading down the highway to the edge of the city. The more we head toward the Badlands, the more the buildings begin to start looking rundown and become more close together and loaded up. In the city, most of the buildings are skyscraper-like or are individual houses. They are for the richer Normals who can afford living in lavishness as well as being give fair wages. The edge of the Badlands were reserved for Empties or people who are poor, making them live closer to the supposed 'horrible' Badlands and out of society's way. The buildings begin to look more like apartment complexes that people built their own houses atop of and dirty.
I try not to think about it because I know that if I don't study hard and make sure that I can at least get good enough grades to go to college, I won't be able to get a job in the regular city and will have to be shipped out here... if they don't find out I'm an RH-, where they will send me to Altered Town instead...
I look at Nalak and frown, seeing his head drooped over. I go to reach out to him but he pops his head back up and blinks quickly, as if trying to stay awake. I continue reaching over, touching his arm and he looks over at me.
"You alright?"
"I'm sleepy..." he says quietly.
I grab a hold of his sleeve and pull down a little to look at the wound and frown.
"That's really infected. I don't think we should go any further until we find a place to at least put some antibiotic salve on it or something."
"Yeah, because the stores just sell stuff for albinos here."
"I told you there was a way to be able to tell..." I look around at a couple of store fronts when a see a sign and point. "See, that one sells stuff. Look."
Nalak looks and lifts an eyebrow. "All it says is that they are a convenience store."
"Do you see the musical notes under it though?"
Nalak looks again and nods. "Yeah..."
"It says that they have Altered products as well."
Nalak turns to me swiftly and looks at me with a crooked smile.
"You can read TMT?"
I look away. It isn't something I usually let people know about.
"What's it matter?"
"How do you even know what TMT is?"
"I heard about it in our history books and they actually have a whole chart in there dedicated to it." Nalak keeps looking at me. "What?"
"I'm just surprised you can read TMT. It's not exactly a common thing to see and most city people have no idea about it. I only know it because of the history books as well."
"Let's just say I was a lonely child and before I went in for my first surgery, Matt and I used to use it for a secret code and stuff. I'm honestly surprised I still remember them."
"True, but TMT is a slave language that's used to record family histories and stuff by song."
"Hence the notes. Ever notice when they play some of those back they don't exactly have a good melody to them?"
"Yeah."
"They're not supposed to. By knowing the musical note that goes with each letter, you can hear the message they are trying to send. Besides, there is TMT graffiti all over the place. I read an article once that said that a lot of those who live in Tramistor leave clues on how to escape into Altered Town and then into the city. They chisel them into the sides of buildings so unless they tear the wall it's in down, the police can't do anything about it."
"You mean the Zannis."
"They are still part of the police... Do you think we should find a clinic first or try to at least get something on it?"
Nalak shrugs and leans over on the window.
"Whatever you want to do, Ramey. I'm so tired..." he mumbles.
"Don't go to sleep." I growl.
"Let me be. I can hardly keep my eyes open and talking to you only lulls me to sleep even more."
"Don't go to sleep." I say firmly.
Nalak stiffens and then glares at me. "You're a sick person."
"You're the sick one. I'm trying to keep you alive. If you fall asleep, who knows what will happen. Will you wake up? Will you die? I won't just sit here and watch you suffer."
"Then why would you do that?" he says, crossing his arms.
I ignore him and drive a little slower, trying to find a sign that has TMT on it and that accepts Altered people. Nalak is silent, so I leave him alone. I've already ordered him to stay awake, I can't make him talk to me too.

**********************

It seems like forever but finally, I come across a sign and almost wreck the car from stopping so quickly.

CITY EDGE CLINIC
doctor on site 24/7
VALBITFLE VINOI BEHATRATA

I grin and turn to tell Nalak but I see him and regret telling him not to sleep. His eyes are almost bloodshot and he's staring at nothing, his head drooped so low that it looks like he can barely lift it. I reach over and touch his arm and he turns to me slowly and his head lolls back. I give him a sympathetic look and smile sadly.
"You can sleep now if you want, Nalak. I'm really sorry."
As if a spell had been cast over him, he immediately closes his eyes and passes out, leaning over onto me over the middle console in between the front seats. I sigh and just head for the clinic, hoping I haven't made anything worse and hoping this will be a quick and easy trip.