After The Flash: Fanfiction - R.T. Adams (epub ebook reader TXT) 📗

world, you can’t trust anyone. However, now, both my arm and back hurt. Someone suddenly burst through the door. A CDF soldier. He pulled a gun, but I was already nearly completely out of the window I smashed through. CDF soldiers crowded the entire ship. My hood was off and I was fully recognizable. I began to run towards the bow of the ship. When I got there, CDF soldiers were closing in on all sides, guns aimed, ready to fire at any moment. I looked over the edge and noticed a small metal pole I could jump down onto. I jumped off the ship and grabbed onto the pole. I lifted myself up quickly and got near the wall of the ship. I grabbed onto a nearby indention of the ship, climbing along the wall of the ship. When I found the next pole, it led into a room that was dark. I couldn’t see anything, so I sat down in the room. To think Akina would trick me. It is believable, especially in this world. However, you wouldn’t expect someone to just give free gear and waste money so carelessly to trick someone. I will admit, though, it was very convincing. I suppose I’ll be here for the rest of the ride to Crane Town. I watched the water as the ship sailed across it. It was a pleasant sight, especially for someone who’s never seen the surface world. I’m sure it looked much more beautiful before the war broke out, though. Soon enough, it was getting dark, so I decided to sleep for the night.

By the time I woke up, the ship had already arrived at a place I’d never seen. I looked over the ledge of where I was and saw a dock just below me. I hopped down, making sure no one saw me. I threw the hood over my head and the mask over my mouth. I needed new clothes if I didn’t want to be recognized by Akina and that other guy. I walked through the harbor town, looking at shops around. Finally, I’d come across a clothing shop. I walked over and started looking at the multiple clothing articles. I found some clothes that fit my style a bit more than a trench coat. I grabbed a pair of cargo pants and a black jacket. I looked through the pockets of the trench coat and found a few extra dollars. I ended up buying the jacket and cargo pants, changing into them as soon as I could. I kept the knife and two guns on my upper body, but had to get rid of the other weapons if I didn’t want to look too suspicious. I still kept the knife on my leg, however. I would need a different kind of mask if I didn’t want them to notice me, either. So I went to sell the trench coat, unused weapons, and the current mask I have. I got quite a few dollars off of them all. I went and looked around the town, looking for masks. I saw a few noh masks, but those seemed too strange. I looked around and soon found the perfect mask. A black half mask. It covered the left side of me face, and part of my right. By the time I bought it, put it on, and turned around, I saw Akina and the man walking around town, hoods on. At the same pace, I began to follow them. By now, they probably think I’m dead because of all the CDF commotion on the ship. They both walked into a somewhat narrow space, so I followed, but not too closely. I looked around the corner at a distance. I stood in place, staring at the two of them. They were talking, but I couldn’t hear about what. I wanted to get closer, but I know it’d only raise suspicion. Just standing here is probably raising a bit of suspicion, as well. I looked away and walked over to a bench, sitting. They looked over and saw me, not recognizing it was me. They walked right by me and left the town’s walls. If I followed, I’d seem too out of place. I’m sure they were headed to Crane Town, anyhow. I’ll wait for a few hours until I started on the path to Crane Town. I suppose, for the time being, I should wait in a bar or an area with music. I walked over to a place where people were crowding a bit. When I got closer, I could hear music. I looked over a few people’s shoulders and saw two people, one with a guitar, the other with a bass. They were in the midst of playing, people throwing money. I could see it in their eyes. They didn’t care about the money that was being thrown, but that people were happy to listen. Occasionally, you get people like these, who want to end the war, live a normal life, and revert back to the old days. They play music and sing about old times, or what they believe was before the war. They sang of folk, fairy tales, and stories they heard. I got closer, the music becoming a bit more louder each movement forward. Finally, I got to the front, hearing it at the max I could. I didn’t give any money, but instead, I gave them something else I had bought. I gave them a plain white poster. They could write what they wanted, what they were trying to get through. They could liven up their music. After giving the poster, I continued to listen. They know why I gave the poster, and they seemed happy. After they had finished, I could hear clapping, cheering, and much more. They took a short break and rested.

“Hey you, in the jacket,” one of them said. I looked at the one that called for my attention. “Why give us this? Couldn’t you have gotten something better for yourself?” He seemed somewhat reluctant to accept the poster.

“Life isn’t about yourself, but about the ones around you. It matters on how you affect others, how they react. I don’t need fame, money, nor power. If your dream is to return to the old times, them pursue that dream for as long as you live. A dream is special to someone,” I spoke back to him, giving him an answer he seemed very glad about.

“We do want the old times back, but just singing isn’t going to help,” he said, “so we were planning on quitting our music.” He looked at his bass and smiled. It must have really meant a lot for him to play, even once. It seems the show was going to start again. They both stood up and announced they had two songs left. I stood and listened, not averting my attention elsewhere. When they finished, they began packing up. They didn’t have much, just their instruments. I approached the one who spoke to me previously.

“You want to do something more effective than singing, right?” I asked him. He simply nodded. “You could follow me, but I’m headed to Crane Town. Right now, I’m just exploring, but we can aim to stop this futile war.” He looked at me, shocked for a minute. He thought about it, soon making up his mind.

“Sure, I’ll go,” he said, holding his hand out. I reached mine out, for a handshake. Our hands met, shaking twice. They seemed rather happy to come along. They went off to sell their instruments, being done with their music career. They came back with a few weapons of their own. The bassist had a knife and a pistol while the guitarist had a pistol and an ASR. We set out to Crane Town, walking along the path.

We came across many other people like merchants, soldiers, travellers, and mercenaries. We haven’t come across any thugs or bandits, not just yet. I could see a large crane in my sight. I suppose we were getting close to Crane Town. Soon, I found myself in a coal yard. We looked around, but no one was here. I saw a train still on the tracks. I continued to walk through the coal yard with the bassist and guitarist. We climbed between two cars of the abandoned train and Ended up walking underneath a clock tower. I looked around, looking for the crane I saw. It was nearby, so we continued down the road. Cars loitered the road, useless. Finally, we arrived at the gate of Crane Town. They kept it wide open, a watchman above the gate and two on the ground. Seems like they were CDF soldiers. We continued to walk, minding our own business. We successfully passed by the CDF guards, without them bothering us. I looked around, seeing that the town was a bit small and somewhat crowded. There was a large crane in the middle of a town, a bar to the left of that, an exit towards the far end, a medical home to the right, rooms above the medical home, and much more. People seemed to be trading here quite often. I looked around and saw Akina and the man on a second floor. I turned around, to look outside the walls, and saw a huge cannon-like machine, one that fires shells. A howitzer. How they managed to get it here, I don't know. I suppose it’s used to destroy jeeps and tanks. However, there aren’t really ever tanks. I don’t expect many people to have working tanks anymore. It seems a bit illogical that a group would have so many tanks. When I turned back around to look where Akina was, she was gone. I decided to go into the bar. To my surprise, I found her sitting at one of the tables with the man. There was also a piano in the room. No one was using it. I went to go ask the bartender if I could play a tune on the piano.

“Hey kid,” he said, “If you can play a tune I’ve never heard before, I’ll let you get a beer free.” He made the offer, and I was thinking of accepting it.

“What would you get out of it if I lost?” I offered a fair deal. It wouldn’t be fair if he got nothing and I failed the objective.

“If I’ve heard it before, you have to take off that hood and mask. I’ll give you three tries. So what do you say?” I was caught up on my answer. If I played an unheard tune, I could get a free beer. However, if I fail three times, I’ll have to remove my hood and mask, probably having Akina and the man trying to kill me again.

“Sure, I’ll do it,” I said, “Shouldn’t be too hard, now, should it?” I was starting to grow a bit cocky, underestimating his abilities. I probably should have refused. He’s old and he’s probably been in this bar for a long time, hearing just about every tune known to man. I took a seat and stretched my arms and legs, preparing my fingers for a good tune. Soon, I started to play. Hearing a very soothing tune from each key of the piano, it surprised me. You don’t find a piano in such good condition in these times. It’s pretty rare. It seems that Crane Town has a lot of luxurious things, compared to how the rest of the world is. The tune was soft, and peaceful. It was something you could fall asleep to. If I wouldn’t say so myself, even I wanted to fall asleep. However, I couldn’t just pass up the opportunity of a free beer. Some people had crowded, placing money on the top of the piano, admiring my technique. Others, though, scowled, angry at the sudden quantity of people and the unsettling noise of people talking and clapping. More were happy than they