Endless Fields

Chapter 2

It was the middle of the night and the Day-Shift Harvesters were out cold in their beds while the Night-Shift Harvesters picked up where their daytime counterparts left off. Roux was sitting on the roof of the barn, watching the others work. She could feel sleep tugging weakly at the corners of her mind, but she honestly couldn’t remember the last time she had slept. She wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her chin on her knees, staring at the stars. It was a clear night, not a single cloud or Floating City in the sky. Roux found these nights to be the best kind of nights because the only sounds that could be heard were the swish of scythes through the air and the hiss of the plants as they were cut down. She didn’t hear the window open behind her as Axe slipped out, stretching when he fully emerged onto the roof. He froze when he saw Roux then relaxed when he realized that she hadn’t noticed him just yet. He tried to sneak past her to sit a little further down the barn roof but the roof decided to betray him by squeaking like a stepped on mouse, alerting Roux of his presence. She turned, locking him in her gaze. He gave her a weak smile and turned to go back inside, but was stopped by her voice.
“Hey, Axe. You're up late.”
He sighed inwardly and turned back to her, walking to where she was sitting. He lowered himself down and answered her in a tentative voice.
“I couldn’t sleep. I like coming out here late when the sun isn’t cooking us to a crisp. Why are you out here at this time?”
“Same reason as you. Can’t sleep. Haven’t slept in a long time...”
She leaned back on her hands, staring up at the sky. Axe snuck a quick look at her, admiring how the moon reflected off her face. He had liked her ever since he had first laid eyes on her. She had been covered in the blood of the previous Lead Harvester and had a wild look in her eyes that induced fear and respect at the same time. It was traditional for power to be passed down by a fight to the death and even at thirteen, she had been strong. Nobody really liked the old Lead Harvester anyway so they simply accepted the fact that they were now being ruled by a young teenager. Roux lazily looked sideways at him and caught Axe staring at her. He flushed bright red and hastily looked away, gripping the bottom of his shirt.
“Why do you always get real red around me? You got a problem with me or something?”
“...”
“Am I going to get an answer?”
“...”
“Alright. We are at the stage where I don’t get any answers. I could literally get more reaction out of a brick wall.”
He could hear the slightest trace of anger in her words and he mentally smacked himself for making her mad. Roux stood up suddenly, shocking him out of his moping.
“I want you to train with me.”
“W-what?”
“Did I freaking stutter? I said that I want you to train with me.”
He looked up at her, shocked. Roux Meadowlark herself wanted HIM to train with her. “This is my chance to get closer to her! Say something, you bag of bricks!”
“Uh…Okay.”
She looked at him like he was stupid and he gave her what he thought was a convincing smile but probably looked more like a look of pain by the expression on her face. She then gave a snort of laughter and she patted him on the shoulder.
“You're one weird person, Axe, but I like you. You have personality.”
He smiled, a soft blush spreading across his cheeks. He watched her as she walked across the roof to go back inside, sliding the window open and slipping inside. His heart yearned for her but he believed that he didn’t have a chance with her. Roux closed the window behind her and yawned. To her surprise, she felt tired. As she made her way to her room, she passed by a slightly open door and paused when she heard crying coming from the room. “That’s Fawkes’ room! Why is he crying? I don’t think I've ever heard him cry before...” She tapped on the door before opening it slowly, so as not to startle Fawke.
“Hey, buddy, you okay?”
The skinny black boy looked up at her through bloodshot eyes, tears still making their way down his face. The blankets were tangled around his waist, a light sheen of sweat covering his arms and chest, his breathing heavy and panicked. Roux slowly made her way over to his bed and sat on the edge of the mattress. She held her hand out to Fawke and he took it, wiping his eyes with the flat of his free hand.
“Wanna talk about it?”
There was a slight pause before he nodded slowly.
“Just ‘nother nightmare is all. No need to worry ‘bout me, Ma’am. I’m ‘ust a big crybaby who can’t tolerate bad dreams…”
She squeezed his hand gently as he slowly relaxed, comforted by her presence. She stayed with him till Fawkes’ breathing settled down back to normal. She patted his leg gently and stood up.
“It’s alright Fawke. I don’t think anyone can handle a nightmare. I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”
Fawke was already asleep again by the time Roux made it out the door, softly closing it behind her. She smiled at the sound of his soft snores and continued making her way to her room. Well, more like hers and Sparrows room. He had started sleeping in Roux's room ever since the day he watched his brother get killed right in front of him. She frowned sadly at the memory as she opened the door to her room. Sparrow's brother had been the nicest person in the world and the CloudWalkers killed him for no reason except for the fact that they believed that he was planning to team-up with Raiders. She found Sparrow sprawled on her bed, fast asleep, in only a pair of shorts, and smiled at him as she changed into her pajamas. A tank top and sleep shorts were sufficient due to the fact it was still ninety degrees outside and the heat seeped into the barn, making the entire place hot. She grabbed the sheet off the floor and climbed into bed, tucking herself against Sparrow while throwing the sheet over both of them. Sparrow woke up briefly and wrapped himself around his smaller friend.
“Where have you been?”
“Talkin’ with Axe up on the roof.”
He yawned and murmured a response before dropping back to sleep. Roux grinned and looked out the window, staring at the moon while letting Sparrows breathing lull her to sleep.