Lifted Part Five
Aimee shoved her hands in her pockets, nudging the strap of her camera bag as she did so so that it would rest easier against her front and over her shoulder. The wind had turned chilly that day and her cheeks were red enough to match her hair. She let out a sigh, and sank onto a park bench.
As Darwin looked up from his feet, he noticed Aimee sitting across the street. He gave a small wave as he glanced for cars and crossed the street. "Cold, huh?" He muttered.
"Very," Aimee muttered in reply, scooting over so that he could sit beside her. "I haven't seen you around since the fortune-teller incident. What did she say?" Aimee shuddered lightly as a gust of wind ruffled her hair and chilled her bones.
"Oh yeah, that." Darwin couldn't help but laugh. "I don't really remember. Just something about how she knew our names. I think I may have made her angry, did you get that impression?" He continued, sarcastically.
Aimee snorted a chuckle. "Oh no. I think she was just estatic to see you." Tilting her head towards the sky, Aimee took a hand from her pocket to run it through her hair.
Darwin glanced over at her. "So how have you been?" He asked quietly.
"Worn out," Aimee replied truthfully. "It's been hard to deal with work these days... Taking pictures is all right, it's the people that wear me down," she finished with a sigh. "And oddly enough, I'm actually starting to believe all this crap-ola about the world ending. It's all very depressing, actually." She said the last sentence with a slight skip in her voice, and a slight hint of sarcasm. She relieved it with a smile and she glanced over at Darwin.
"I'll bet the newspapers are having a grand old time." Darwin muttered. "I mean, what better way to make money than telling the whole world that they are all about to die." He looked out across the street at the lights of the buildings and cars. He sighed, shrugging his shoulders. "I wonder how much longer this thing will go on. I'm still betting some random scientist started this. You know, one of those guys that no one has ever heard of, figuring he could make a name for himself" He pulled out his camera and, once again, began fiddling with the buttons.
"Ah, I did not know that you were a fellow photographer," Aimee said with a raise of her eyebrows as she glanced at his camera.
"Oh, oh this?" Darwin stammered. "Oh, no. I'm no photographer. I just thought...well actually it's sort of a dumb idea...I just thought, well...if this whole thing keeps going for a while, I just thought...mayb
e I'd get some footage..."
"Heeeeey!! Darwin!!" Elli yelled from across the street, waving like crazy. She waited for the coast to be clear and literally skipped over to the bench. She smiled at Aimee. "Hallo to you as well." she grinned widely.
Darwin waved as Elli crossed the street. He was actually glad she showed up, so he could avoid talking about his idea. He was honestly afraid to hear what Aimee and Elli would think, if they thought he was starting to believe in the poison. "Hello, Elli."
Aimee nodded at Elli, and then looked back to Darwin. "You were saying?"
Elli blinked. "Oooh, if you were in the middle of telling a story, go ahead and finish! I'd hate to interrupt..." she laughed slightly.
"Oh, uh, it's nothing." Darwin blurted out. "Nothing really." He cleared his throat as he put his camera away. "So Elli, what are you doing out this late?"
Elli blinked again, then shrugged. "Meh, just thinking... not really my forte though... so I'm just gonna take pictures instead..."
Darwin smiled and gave a nearly silent laugh. His smile faded almost immediately. He was afraid to draw any attention to the camera. He cleared his throat. "It's cold." He mumbled quietly again. He exaggerated his gestures as he pulled his jacket close to him. Maybe we can talk about the weather, he thought hopefully. Darwin didn't feel in the mood to get into some debate over the crisis. "Save it for the courtroom" he used to tell himself when he would be caught in the middle of a grade school fight. He knew he could say a few things about this "disease" but it was late tonight, and he didn't want to spoil a seemingly pleasant conversation.
***
Lora sat down in her chair yawned fiercely and wiped the sweat from her neck. The air in the greenhouse was hot and humid despite the cold night air outside. She looked at the plastic covered screen, " 4 hours to total plant analysis completion" she read. Lora took out a pair a scissors from a drawer and sniped the dried star shaped leafs from her mutated bonzi tree. "Your going to save the world some day little one", I'm going to save the world she thought. She had spent most of her days in a green house for the past nine years, there for she wasn't effected by the current epidemic. She pulled out her ipod and started watching a star trek episode. "If only man kind was smart enough to make it that far"
***
Brooding was not so much a specialty of his, but he found himself playing towards it as of current. What he had heard from his employer was not something he could listen to and easily dismiss, for what he had heard had involved someone very near and dear to his heart. He had heard that James Slayter, the esteemed U.S. Senator, was ordering Central Park’s demise. He would not care to begin with, but buried within the confines of said Park lie a family member’s remains, and anything that threatened his family, be they dead or alive, was instantly an enemy of his. He would not let his child brother’s remains be desecrated in such a way as bulldozers running over his eternal resting place. Besides.. His babe brother liked Central Park, which is why he had been buried there to begin with.
Pulling coat snuggly against form, Cresig passed few kids seated on a bench, wondering to himself why they were still out at this hour, especially with the threat of a murderer near by. Mentally shrugging, he ran fingers through raven black, snow-tipped hair and passed them, making his way further into the park, heading for his brother’s burial spot. When he had come upon it, only a few tree length’s in from the outer perimeter of the park, he kneeled down and ran his fingers through the over-grown grass. Sure, he had had no money to get a proper burial service or headstone, but seeing as this was a park, he didn’t see it happening legally anyway.
He smiled lightly when he looked up to see his rose bush, wilted as it may be with the threat of winter coming. He had planted it late in the spring, and it had already grown to near maturity. By next summer it would be fully grown with, if the package of seed was accurate, white rises blooming on it. Petting the ground once more, he pivoted in his crouched position and leaned back against the tree that his brother’s grave had been dug under. Ice eyes continued to stare down at the make-shift lot, the rose bush as it’s headstone, and muttered, “I won’t let him destroy your resting place, Brutus.”
***
Darwin happened to glance up from his camera bag to see a looming figure across the street. He nudged Aimee. "Hey, look over there." He whispered, afraid the man might hear. He looked the man up and down as he continued to walk. Darwin's hairs stood slightly on edge at the sight of the patched skin and the overall intimidating ensemble. He watched as the man entered the park. "What'dya think he's doing?"
"Definitely something very shady," Aimee murmured in reply, her eyes now fixated on the man. "Shall we follow?"
Darwin nodded, slowly reaching into his bag to take out the camera once more. He glanced at Aimee and Ellizabeth as they quietly made their way across the street. The man was clearly visible between the iron bars surrounding the park, so Darwin was careful to crouch low to the ground. He put one finger to his lips, warning the girls to be quiet.
He first peeked the camera around the corner and, looking into the screen, watched the man. A puzzled look crossed his face. "He's...kneeling by something." He whispered, looking back at the other two in confusion.
"Let me look," Aimee whispered, her fingers brushing Darwin's as her hands moved to grasp the camera. She adjusted the zoom on the lens, watching the man, her lips pursed.
Ellizabeth crouched down next to Darwin. "Maybe hes doin' weed or something like that..." she speculated quietly.
Darwin laughed quietly at Ellizabeth. He struggled to peek into the camera. He watched the negative image of the man on the screen as he knelt down beside what appeared to be a bush. He twisted his mouth as if pondering a deep thought. "Awfully late to be smelling the flowers. And an awfully creepy way to do it, too." He muttered. Darwin leaned closer to the screen, but lost his balance and his right foot gave way under his shifted weight, scraping across the sidewalk. He immediately took a short breath and froze, glancing in fear from Aimee to Ellizabeth.
Aimee kept her eyes on the man, her mouth forming an o of surprise. "Look!" She whispered.
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