Lurranus Stories: The Boy’s of ‘68 (Part 5)

As the distance battle continued to be waged, the group danced.
Cheers from the two men at the back had erupted on Jack’s arrival, seeing the brothers happiness. This made the family at the back drastically sadder, leading the others to feel they had been incredibly insensitive, but their spirits were lifted when a young girl entered a few minutes later, and they had a teary embrace themselves. With the general mood now improved, the two men introduced themselves, Hugo in the military garbs and Sean in the stained yet suave purple suit, then went up the the bar, ordered an over abundance of drinks, and convinced the bartender to play their music in an impressively sleek manner. This manner was then turned to the others in the pub, and not sure how it had happened, the brothers found themselves on the creaking wooden floor.
Over the next ten minutes, they danced. To music by David Bowie, Queen, The Proclaimers, Young Fathers, The Seven-Seven-Five, Gyloith... It was a well crafted playlist, and the purple suited Sean seemed to regularly smile proudly at his choices. Craig had unleashed a flurry of retro dances moves, earning him the gently mocking name of “slick” from Ryan, but eventually decided to take a break, sheepish retreating to the sides and taking gentle sips from a Guinness he was desperately trying to enjoy. Jack’s style was that of slowly moving his body from one side to another in the least noteworthy manner possible but Ryan, on the contrary, went for a knowingly over the top, goofy performance that had the rest of the people regularly crying out with laughter. Ryan smiled the whole time, and Craig did too watching the action from a distance. The reunited family joined them on the floor, and the bartender looked on with a moderately amused expression, but the man with the top hat next to the door had slipped away unnoticed at some point since Jack’s arrival.
Looking away from the vacated seat, Craig gently placed the disgusting Guinness down, then pushed it further away so it didn’t look like him who had wasted the likely expensive beverage.
Sean returned from the floor, leaning back against the bar and smiling warmly at the others. Craig looked at the purple suited man. The man smiled at him, and Craig made a feeble attempt to do the same.
“Dear god, songs with actual human voices in them.” Craig began. Sean smiled at the compliment.
“My pride and joy.” He smiled. “Years of work as a businessman compiling my favourite works into one album. Over fifty great pieces, each one significant to me in some way. Some great choices. I’d highly endorse their purchase.”
The term “businessman” seemed unnecessarily vague, and his speech sounded more like a pitch than polite conversation, but Craig simply smiled back at the man.
“You a music man yourself?” Sean inquired.
“I like some David Bowie.” Craig said slowly. “Anything that’s not just loud noises, I guess.”
Sean chuckled. “A classy gentleman. I feel our tastes are somewhat alike.”
Craig nodded politely. Suddenly, Hugo appear behind him.
“Of all the times?” He began. Sean shrugged.
“Business is business. You know how it is.”
“This is war.” He nodded at Craig. “Don’t worry. I’ll take this burden of your hands.” The two promptly turned away.
“This isn’t war.” Sean moaned in the distance. “It’s a minor skirmish over some resources.”
“For now...”
But as the two walked away, Ryan was forced to reflect on a serious issue. Humanities resources where almost entirely depleted. And when the sun set on the current battle, people would have to accept they they would have to make their way in this new world. A small world which now had very little of the things they needed. It was a problem that people of this generation would be tasked with solving.
“Ryan told me about everything that happened to you.” A voice suddenly said. “I’m sorry.”
Craig turned around, facing Jack. He shrugged. “Don’t be. I feel sorry for you. After all, you had the shitty luck of being burdened with me.”
“Life huh?” Jack mumbled. “A word of advice. The world will always try to drag you down, but here’s what you do, from experience. You don’t waste your life thinking about how you’ve been wronged, or what you’ll do to those people. You don’t become like them. Your rise above them. Prove them wrong. You’re a good guy Craig. Don’t waste your life.”
Craig looked down, but Jack stared him fiercely in the eyes. “Tu comprend?”
Craig looked up. “Oui, je comprend.” He answered.
Craig looked at the Guinness glass near Craig, the one he had pushed away only a few moments prior, and then looked at Craig, seeming to sense his guilt. “Yeah, they’re pretty disgusting. Now... time for another jazz routine from Monsieur Slick?”
Craig grinned. “Ah, what the hell.”
The two began walking together. Ryan looked up expectantly, and the other family smiled. Hugo gave a hearty cheer. And feeling strangely happy, Craig did too. He looked at Ryan and Jack. For a moment, saw a vision of himself as part of a group, a family. He knew it couldn’t last, but in that moment, he was happy. The song died down slowly in the background, and the activity in the bar came to a gentle halt. People braced for the next song.
“Ladies and gentlemen, for our next selection...” Sean began.
He never finished.
A bullet was propelled through the destroyed window, sailing straight though the man’s purple suit. He crumpled to the ground. The family started screaming. Hugo rushed to his friends aid, but another bang sounded and he fell that same moment. Craig picked up his bag and ran around a corner. Another few shots rang out, a stinging frequency that echoed over and over in Craig’s ears. He reached the door, but on a sudden instinct looked back. Jack and Ryan stood behind him. They were both charging onwards. He literally grabbed the two and the trio hurtled out a back door, into an ill lit street, as a single mass. The sound of gunfire was all around them again. Buildings were lighting up, a horrifying orange complimented with equally unnerving screaming. Someone screamed behind them, and the sound of a huge explosion sounded.  A burning VR set, made by Empirius, lay in front of them, a deliberate insult to the once respected company that was now slaughtering innocent civilians. The group went around it, running at an urgent pace but this time, they ran as a group. Ryan held onto his brother as if the slightest gust of wind would send him hurtling off. Craig maintained a steady pace to their right, sometimes inching ahead but remaining more or less stationary relative to the two brothers.
Seeing a sign reading “Docks”, Craig gasped and slipped as he tried to suddenly turn right. To his surprise, the brothers stopped and helped him up.
“You good?” One voice said. It was Ryan’s, but Craig didn’t realise in his disoriented yet excited state.
“The boat! It’s here!” He cried giddily.
Ryan gave him a playfully aggressively shoulder rub, before yanking him up again. The trio ran on.
The boat was a tragic display of destruction. The instrument of their salvation, their getaway vehicle, reduced to a party of flames, raging around the deck, gradually fading as the vessel slowly sunk below the surface. A single Empirius hovercraft sailed silently above the ship, launching regular destructive projectiles with the emotional disconnect of a teacher doing their attendance. The aircraft fired a tiny device, which caused a massive explosive. The cries for help, or at this point the sweet release of death, rang out. They was a long pause, and the aircraft fired again. It was a sad sight, watching the ship die a slow, protracted, but inevitable death.
Ryan and Craig both took a moment to smile at each other, thinking of the sad twisted irony, before stopping upon reflecting on the grim human tally that was doubtless rising as the ship sank.
“Bloody education system.” Ryan smiled sadly, after the group sat down grimly. Search lights plagued the city behind them. There wasn’t a single cargo crate, vehicle. Nowhere to hide. The inevitability of their fate was crystal clear. “Oh yeah, you know what’ll help me in life? Latin. I mean sure, no one speaks it, but...”
“Another person to go after in heaven?” Craig replied. Ryan smiled. Jack looked on, somewhat confused.
“I’m gonna have a field day with these wankers.”
“Well... lads.” Craig began awkwardly, the word “lads” sounding particularly unnatural from him. “As someone who never really got people, I just wanna say, it was a pleasure to...”
“Oh shit! Over there!” Jack screamed. Craig and Ryan followed his gaze, looking to the right. Over in a distant corner, floating uneasily quietly was a seemingly transparent boat, and a hunched figure silently beckoning them over.
Ryan briefly registered the dangers of this unknown figure, but with a fiery Empirius embrace seemingly the only alternative, the group quickly assumed their now all too familiar state of motion, and ran towards the boat. It was a tiny thing, seemingly called The Lorraine, a name time was slowly degrading. There were already two other passengers, and the man who seemed to own the vessel, a bald individual with a rough and flat face, narrow and accusatory eyes and a raised dark green hood.
They all slid into the boat, Ryan escorting Jack down and letting Craig take a place before him.
They all lay down next to each other on the starboard side, and after scanning the surface, the man took his place at the wheel, and gently eased the engine into motion. The engine chuckled gently for a minute as the boat moved at a steady pace, and the caption cautiously watched the distant airborne vessel, still surveying the dull lights and few inches of the boat that weren’t yet underwater.
After another minute, he started the engine properly. It was an ugly sound, but knowing the boat was now moving away from Edinburgh was something of a relief. The caption still watched the aircraft, as did all the others, but soon it was out of view, and had flown back over the city. With the benefit of distance, the toll of the night was all too clear. Flames raged everywhere, eating the city up. Thinking about the boat, and the likelihood of it having left had they all arrived a minute later, Craig took a moment to appreciate how lucky they had been.
“Thank you.” He shouted. “For helping us.” He gave the caption a thumbs up.
The man looked at him, momentary unsure, but looked at the hand gesture and nodded curtly.
“That guy saved our life.” Craig breathed. In hindsight, Craig thought it was a pointless observation, but at the moment, he was just relieved to be alive.
“And why’d you save us?” Jack asked, and Ryan looking on. Craig seemed surprised at the random question, and thought for a moment. “Back at your apartment.”
Craig took a deep breath. “Because it was the right thing to do, I guess. I’m not good with people, but... we’re all we’ve got, so we have to look out for each other. People aren’t always great at that...” Craig paused, again surveying the fading destruction. “They prefer violence over discussion... but... we have to try, at least, if... we want to get somewhere in the end...” he trailed of, and ceased to talk. “I figured you’d be two pricks, just like anyone else I knew, and I didn’t want anything to do with you, but... I couldn’t just leave you to die.”
“But you’re glad you saved us two wholesome figures now, right?” Ryan began in a gentle, humorous tone.
“I, um, I guess so.” Craig began.
“That was bloody convincing.” Ryan said, smirking, and Craig returned the gesture.
The boat suddenly stopped moving with a startling deceleration. The silence took over, bar the gentle sound of splashing.
“So,” Jack began weakly, “are we gonna be roommates now, or something? Go on a cultural pilgrimage?”
Ryan shrugged. “I’ve really no bloody clue.” He paused. “About anything. I mean, we no longer have a home, and I don’t even know where this boat’ll take us.”
“Lest we forget we don’t have many resources left.” Jack added.
“Into the unknown.” Craig said sarcastically, waving his hands around dramatically, and slowly clutching them. “Into the vast expanses of space. To Jupiter, Uranus, I dunno.”
“”Vast expanses”. Aren’t they both in our galaxy?” Jack said. Ryan nodded in agreement.
“Well yes, obviously, but I don’t know any other planet names.”
Ryan shrugged. “Maybe there’s one named after the King? Or a reality tv star.”
“Maybe someone named a planet after a porno for a laugh.” Jack suggested
“The latter does seem likely. So long as it’s not Damian bloody Shell.”
Jack began. “Or maybe Uranus, but spelt Y-O-U-R-A-N-U-S.” Jack began slowly laughing at his own joke.
Ryan sighed. “Jesus, Jack. You are a teenage degenerate.”
Craig giggled. “Jack... I thought you were a man of culture.” He paused for humorous effect. “I was absolutely right. And we can have Y-O-U-R-E-A-N-U-S, just to confuse people.” Jack and Craig both laughed. Ryan shook his head with mock disapproval.
“And everything it between,” Jack continued, resting his head and continuing in a drunken-like slur. “You’re anus, you’re-an-us, Lure-an-us, Lorr-anus.”
“What he say?” Craig asked. Ryan shrugged.
“Lurr-ran-us.” Jack mumbled one last time, before he closed his eyes.
Craig looked at Ryan. “So... what do we do now?” He asked both Ryan and himself.
“Well, I think we’re both pretty exceptional dancers, slick, so that’s a viable career option. Or, like you said...” Ryan began dramatically. Craig raised his eyebrow. “Voyage out into the great unknown...”
And so the black boat, in the middle of the seemingly black sea, sailed slowly away from the carnage of Edinburgh city, whilst the three boys waited in their various states of conscience, both apprehensive and hopeful about the future.

Epilogue:

All over the world, similar events occurred, with each country having a high death and injury tally. However none were as bad as the massacre that occurred in Edinburgh. Goodwill towards Empirius vanished over night. Despite promotional efforts to redeem themselves and a campaign to discourage violence, these feelings didn’t subside. Euan Kevil, a man with a considerable role in the violence, was fired, but the companies methods did not change as was promised. It was later guessed he was one of my corrupt individuals at the companies core, and that he was a scapegoat, his firing was little more than another attempt to gain public approval. Law enforcement became increasing violent prior to the Population War, due to the discontent with people who were being systematically silenced should they voice a legitimate issue, aided by the violent methods of Empirius and similar organisations like Keskel (which Kevil joined some time after he was fired).

Over the next few years, the boys worked a variety of jobs in England. Craig applied for university in 2070, and graduated four years later. In 2086, Craig decided to work for Empirius. While Ryan was unsure about Craig’s choice, Craig argued it was both a platform that would allow him to do good, and further his own personal development, working with the people who had wronged him instead of forever bearing animosity against them, something he wished he had the chance to do with his bullies. Craig had many useful inventions, designed to prolong human life and decrease the food they needed, but sensing the impending doom of humanity, due to their violent nature and dwindling resources, and seeing the potential in other worlds, created a ship to take him and 4500 others to a distant world, setting sail in 2119 just as war was declared against the terrorist group Oaktrus. Ryan dutifully joined him, but circumstances prevented Craig from doing the same. However, he was there in spirit, and his hopeful musings about the unknown would forever be remembered in the ships name: The Lurranus.