Revolution

Emmett had felt strange, being so honest, but he felt that if there were ever a time to be honest and to be sincere, it was now. Did he not preach loving thy neighbor and saying true feelings and being in touch with genuine truth and natural humanly love? He knew that he was brave by standing out with signs and singing. He was a coward because he did not make the attachments he so avidly preached. He was being a coward by refusing to get close.

But this girl was fragile and needed saving, it seemed. If he planned to save all of society from themselves, why not save this girl from whichever spirits haunted her. He could see the shadows flickering behind her eyes and she seemed to be struggling with his words, wither to accept them or accept that somehow he was saying those words to her. He began to smile, thinking maybe, he had done something right.

And suddenly, the guitar was torn from his hands and he felt the already frayed strap rip and fling free as she turned and fled. Emmett opened his mouth and held up a finger before dropping his arm and taking a few steps after her, stopping though and watching her retreating back. He closed his eyes.

Of course.

Inhaling oxygen no longer felt relieving to Nerissa Hatts as she stumbled along a pair of railroad tracks hastily; the air had become sharp and icy – but her hunger for the element overpowered the sharp pain that she experienced with each shallow breath. Perhaps if she had slowed to a jog her heartbeat would have slowed, and thus, reduced the amount of oxygen that she required in order to maintain her ability to continue on – but the child was far too frightened.

Robbing Emmett of his guitar had been a brilliant idea when it had occurred to Nerissa, but as she sped away from him, she could not help but question her actions. He had attempted to read her mind, she was sure of it – but... had he truly? Had her paranoia gotten the better of her once more?

“Hey – kid – look out!” A stranger shouted, throwing her voice in Nerissa’s direction.

In the time span of two split seconds, the train’s rusting skin and its deafeningly loud cry overwhelmed Nerissa’s senses. She was far too small for the train’s conductor to spot – but even if she had matched the metal beast’s size, it would have continued on, and would have plowed straight through her. There was a moment of panic, during which, the child came to a complete halt, cowering at the sight of the advancing monster – but the moment lasted no longer than it took for her to inhale sharply once more.

Instinctively, Nerissa dove to her left.

It had been such a close call that the train had stolen a thin layer of skin from Nerissa’s leg, taking a patch of her grass-stain covered jeans at the same moment.

“What the hell…”
“Get out of the way, freak!”

The crowd, which had surrounded Nerissa much in the way a hungry pack of wolves would, complained. She did not, however, have the breath left in her to stand from the pavement- to which her back was bound, due to the sweat that had formed there. Nerissa’s chest continued to rise and fall rapidly as her heart attempted to rip its way through her body, and very quietly she spoke to herself, “Oh…” It was such a simple word, and yet, she so often used it to express her emotions – which were far too complex to speak aloud in any other fashion.

In a rather awkward manner Nerissa clung to that guitar, as though it could shield her from the people that towered above her.

“Stupid girl…”

Had no one witnessed her near-death? Were their complaints so important that they could not wait until after Nerissa had regained the ability to stand?

With her knees buckling underneath her, Nerissa clawed her way back to the sun- which had been hidden behind many an impatient traveler just moments before. Looking quite similar to a kitten that had been thrown in a dryer, Nerissa took a shaky step forward. The fact that her feet held her up was quite remarkable...

From where she stood, Nerissa could just make out the guitar man’s untidy brown hair, which sat upon his head in a heap. She paused and glanced with a pair of wild eyes in the direction of the guitar that she held tightly against her side; the danger that she had faced just moments prior outweighed her distrust towards Emmett, and so, tripping over her feet as she walked, Nerissa Hatts returned to the stranger’s side.

Looking a mess with her bloodied leg, torn clothing, and ratty hair, Nerissa greeted Emmet once more as she neared him, “Mr. Guitar Man”. She outstretched her arms, and without further ado, presented Emmett with the instrument that she had so rudely ripped from his fingertips.

Emmett watched her run off and he took a few moments to let the striking oddness of the entire circumstance to abate slightly. He adopted his old thoughts on such matters, because it was not the first time he had been stolen from. For a man with so little, he had been very unlucky. But every time it happened, he relaxed with the thought that if they needed it that bad, he would be happy to give it to them.

He tried walking, but without the sound of the guitar, the crowd did not seem to want to part anymore and he was back to being invisible. It took him a good solid minute to move only a few feet and he was mostly just jostled and shuffled towards the sides of the crowd, rather than in a forward direction. He heard an approaching train behind him and an inaudible shout. The crowd moved a little more violently against him.

The racket of the train faded, as it had passes and was now heading on its own path, its own direction, having only intervened in their day for a very brief part of their lives. He glanced behind him, but the result was a man knocking into him, and he spun away, flinching and untangling himself from the incredibly disgruntled man. He sighed and started to walk away when he heard a small, voice.

He turned and there was the girl. It seemed impossible that in such a short amount of time, her appearance had so drastically changed. The only indication Emmett gave, however, was slightly raised eyebrows and the tiniest parting of his lips. He recovered and gently took the guitar back and fastened it back on the shoulder strap, slipping it behind him.

"Emmett works. Could I interest you in finding somewhere to sit down?"