The Badlands: Kinship

 I hold the box as I stare at it. I feel so dumbfounded. What could this box possibly do? I mean, a cylinder can become a shelter, who's to say this box doesn't set up a campfire area.

It seems as though in the old world they had anything they needed. Yet, they destroyed themselves and most of humanity alongside of them. It is flabber-ghasting. Here in the modern day we scrounge to survive.

I toss the box in front of the metallic tent. The mechanical grinding and noise comes from the dusty air the landing just created. I take a deep breath. we are going to camp out in the dead of night, in the middle of the Badlands.

Fire starts in the site of the box I threw earlier. It seems the inventions of the old world had done everything for the old world residents. I didn't when need a lighter for the fire. It must be built in.

"Alright." Mia says as she sets down her pack into the tent. I can't help but notice her more.

She slips and falls into the tent. I can't help but laugh light heartedly in the moment. I can hear her growling as she fights to get up inside of the tent.

"Need a hand?" I ask her.

"No, I am fine." She audibly sounds frustrated.

I sit by the fire. the night sky greets us with its diamonds above. The sparkling lights make me feel warm inside, even if the outside is blowing winds that chill me. I find myself staring for a while. Mia sits quietly across from me. We each have a fabric and metal poles. They are fold capable, built into the platform that expanded from the rectangular box I threw earlier.

I sigh with exasperation. Mia goes into the tent. I can't help myself but wonder, what we are really going to achieve in New Boston. Where are we going after? I haven't thought of that possibility.

"I'm going to go get ready for bed." Mia says.

"Alright." I reply.

She shuffles her way into the tent. I find myself looking around the darkness we call night. The lack of light makes it so I can't see past the light of the campfire. I sit in the silence for a while. The cool night air begins wish away the dry day air. The moisture comes back into the air after sunset it seems. The coolness sets into my bones fairly quickly.

I can hear Mia shuffling around in the tent, presumably to get comfortable. My mind wanders for a moment. I myself have never shared a bed. This will be my first time. I try to shake the idea of her being interested in me from my mind. It's but a distraction. we have a mission to get done.

I grab a pale that popped from the campfire box. It weighs a lot and sways with waves as I carry it. The splashing of the Golden brown water winds up spilling drops all over the ground. I manage to save most of it and extinguish the fire with a violent hiss from the water.

"You're coming to bed?" I can hear Mia asking from within the tent.

"Yeah, long day ahead tomorrow." I say as I approach the tent.

I can hear springs bouncing with a squeak and somethings ruffling as I grab the door to the tent. I shift my way into the flexible metal door and reseal it. The tent is dimly lit by a lantern powered by batteries. I turn to look about the tent.

I can see there are a couple of amenities, like dressers with clothing inside, air conditioning and heating, a humidifier which all seem to be running from a power supply in the tent. how is it making this electrical power? I haven't an idea but, it works for now.

As I glance from my left to my right I can see it's in fact two lanterns that dimly light the internals of the tent up. There is one on each side of the bed, which has a almost entirely covered Mia, hidingnbehind a comfortor she I holding entirely over here, up to her face.

I walk towards the bed and she lays down with her face red. I haven't any idea why. I sigh. I lift the mustard colored shirt I've been wearing off, along with my pants, as per usual without thinking anything of it and hide myself in the covers in bed, switching my lantern off.

"No funny business Etha." She turns her head to face me.

She is still very red. It is now I realize why, either of us have proper sleepwear or under coverings. in fact, she has at least her lower half covered with self made coverings. I however, never was able to craft them or afford them. now it is I who is turning red.

"I-it's not like that, Mia." I reply.

"Alright, goodnight." She sighsand faces her head back to the way she was prior.

I roll to face the outside of the bed. I stare into the dimly lit room. Mia flicks off her lantern. I can feel her roll over to face me. I can feel her arm pull me closer to her until I can feel her bare chest against my back. I can't help but feel my cheeks go hot. No one has ever been this close to me. I try to keep calm in my mind. my body feels like it wants to burst with energy.

"Who's trying something funny now?" I say.

"W-what?!" Mia exclaims.

"You're all cuddled up, not that I'm complaining." I say with a laugh.

"You ass." She slaps the back of my head.

"Oh come on now, that is ironic and funny." I laugh a bit more. She ends up giggling a bit.

"Fine but, I find the air conditioning cold and you are warm.. so I just..." Her voice drifts.

This feels too familiar but so foreign simultaneously. Why does this feel familiar? I smile to the feeling, even if it's just more confusing to me.

"Do as you will." I reply. I slip an arm under my pillow and yawn.

"I-it's not like that!" She says as her face hits against my back.

"You know hiding against my back doesn't hide you. I can't see you anyways." I laugh lightly.

"I know..." I feel her pull her face away.

"So, you said your from Basha Too?" I ask.

"Well, my name is really Amelia, but most can't pronounce it, so I introduce myself as Mia instead." She says back.

It all makes sense. She has her parents with her when she left Basha. We were friends at one time. I never knew why her parents and her left. Now I remember who she was.

"Wait, your parents owned the salvage shop right?" I ask.

"Yeah. So you do remember something of our old days." She sighs. "Thought maybe ya forgotten me."

"Almost did. Been a long time, Mia." I reply.

"How much do you remember?" She asks.

"Just that right now." I admit.

"I see." She says.

I lay in the darkness. The heat makes our skin stick together. I can hear a mechanical whirring start up as the air regulation unit kicks into function. The air begins to move around and cool our tent down. I sigh as my sweat feels like nice cooled water.

I think about my childhood. most of it lays in a blank memory. I spent a lot of time in my home with my parents. She must've moved away when she and I were young.

The thoughts circulate in my head. It starts to make sense. She forgot something too, I didn't call her Mia, I called her Lia. That explains a lot.

She was my friend from before the first great sandstorm of Basha. It wiped out three quarters of the settlement and the population. Maybe I thought she died with the storms victims.

"Hey, Mia, didn't you live in Basha before the first great sandstorm?"

"Yeah, I did." She replies with a sound full of grogginess.

"That explains it. You were Lia to me back then." I say. "Time really changes things."

She groans in response, probably already drifting into sleep. My mind still is figuring out the details but, I know I had her around as a child. We were close at that, I still am racing through the thoughts and trying to remember more.

There has to be more. I keep on this circle of thought. What am I missing? I know she was important back then but, how?

Her breathing gets heavier as she drifts to sleep behind me. I try my best to not wake her, even if my thoughts race in circles. I know we were friends at the least, but I can't recall anything else. My mind seems to be drawing a blank on too much on her. Perhaps it's due to us being much younger.

The quiet night makes it easy to drift in my thoughts. I can't fight the drowsiness that comes with the silence. I fight it as I try to sort more of my own thoughts out. I think about the coming journey to the day tomorrow. It's not a victorious fight as the sleep wins by making the world turn to black shadows.