Alfie Seabrooke

Goddammit Alfie. With every wristband taken off, the chances of Andy ever seeing James again were dwindling fast. And whether she liked it or not, that made this all personal. She looked down at the wristband in her hand, the other twirling the ring on her necklace. What was she supposed to do, considering Alfie was one of the culprits? One of the people ensuring they’d never hear from the Ark again? And he was proud of it- wait, what was she thinking, of course he was proud. This was Alfie. He probably got a kick out of his father thinking he was dead.

Maybe some of the delinquents thought they’d all be better suited to make their own society, btu they didn’t understand what that meant. Repopulating with 103 people- scratch that, 102 since the one kid had died- it would never work. And besides that… Andy wasn’t the only ones with loved ones on the Ark. 

An idea struck her, one she really didn’t like, but it was all she really had to go on. Some of the kids had decided how to govern down here- until the picked a leader, all conflicts were resolved by jousting. Fighting until one relented. Andy hated fighting, but as a nurse she’d been trained alongside the guards for emergencies.

Alfie's eyes widened when Andy's challenge came. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as his disbelief spread across his face. Was she really trying to provoke him?

"Listen," he said, trying to match her sincerity against the amusement creeping into his voice. "Most of these people came to me through choice to have their wristbands removed. I just did for them what they couldn't do for themselves. I gave them a chance at real freedom. Some of these kids, Andy... they've never known life outside of the four walls of their cells, and there's no guarantee that if the Council make it down here, they won't all end up right back where they started, caged in and beaten down by the Ark's backward authority. No, better for them to think it's not safe on Earth. They can keep their little shitbox in the sky, and we can keep what's rightfully ours: our freedom."

He had always respected Andy, and he didn't doubt that she had her own reasons for wanting the juveniles to keep their wristbands on. He didn't know much of her personal life, but he could see her concern for the preservation of... something, someone, so clearly written in her determined stare. But no matter her reasoning, ultimately, the desire was selfish. 

"So, who doesn’t have their wristband?” she began. “Do you want to tell me where the rest of these are?” She held up the broken metal, stopping a few paces away.

Still, Alfie grinned and pushed his way out from the crowd. As he caught Andy's eye he waved his bare wrist in the air for her to see. It was still pocked with pink marks, traces of where the sharp needles of the wristband had been wrenched from his skin. But the tracking device had long since gone. "I can only speak for myself, but I tossed mine out into the forest," he said with a shrug and a small proud smile. He had never seen the risk in antagonising Andy and that was not about to change now.

Marlow took a deep breath, and almost like a switch she stood straight back up and marched like a soldier to his side, “Next time you think about compromising our mission to show off — Don’t. Is that understood soldier? The Chancellor is trying to escape his post and Bunnyville is about to be thrown into anarchy. Do you want that? Countless bunny lives lost to a world of fire and chaos? Yeah I didn’t think so,” she said without waiting for his answer. “I say we work together. One of us be the bait, divert the Chancellor’s attention, and then the other goes for the preemptive strike. Then, we restore power and order to the kingdom. How bout’ it, pretty good plan am I right?” Marlow spoke using excessive hand gestures and a mock official tone to her voice. 

"That was you. A fantastic display of failure, Drift, if I have to be honest."

Before he had chance to tease her any more, she was right up in his face barking orders like an army general. He stood to attention and saluted once more. "Orders received loud and clear, sir!" he shot back in the best impersonation of a soldier he could muster. He broke character when he flashed her a mischievous grin. "But you should be the bait. The Chancellor already knows you're the weak link so he'll be gunning for you first."

Leaving the other boy didn’t cross his mind, nothing did really, he was just acting on his first impulses, and he rushed back and yanked the boy roughly up and back to his feet. Alfie might have a few inches on him but he was a lanky thing and honestly not that heavy. “fuck, come on!” he cried out as the cloud of gas continued billowing towards them. His arms tingled as the first tendrils of smoke reached him. Jake started running again though his hand was still grasping Alfie’s arm. “Okay! I get it! find somewhere to hide!”

And then a hand snatched him up from the ground. Jake's hand. No sooner had he stood than he was running again, propelled along by Jake's desperate motion. Each step on his injured leg was a firecracker of pain shooting through his left side. He swore aloud, compartmentalized the pain, and pushed on.

He couldn't have outrun Jake even if he had wanted to now. But the fact of the matter was that he couldn't keep running at any pace. He needed to stop, and soon, before his wound made him stop, and left him lying in a twitching heap in the mist's wake.

But there was nothing, not in any direction - no saving grace to shield them from this silent, suffocating death. The pounding of his heart was lost in the cacophony of his footsteps on the leafy ground. Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, went his feet, pain and all. Was he really going to survive this? Was he really going to make it back to camp, see his friends again? Mel, Danny, Jonah, Andy... Marlow? He screwed up his face to push back the pain. Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, thunk.

He stopped short, mid-stride. "Jake, there's something down here, under the moss!" He fell to his injured knee, his hands grappling beneath the foliage. He shot one more anxious look over his shoulder at the fog that was still hot on their backs. "Help me move this!"

"Thanks, pal. I know I can always count on your for those dazzling compliments." He scoffed slightly, but pink lips pulled into a smile nonetheless. "You’re forgetting the rocks. And the vines. They’re not rooting for me lately at all." He opted to leave out the tree roots too, figuring the causes of his falls were self explanatory.

"But you, on the other hand, look fantastic." Cue a bright grin with a hint of irony, and a slight dash of sarcasm. He raised a hand, holding it out to his side a bit. "I’m getting like a… disheveled badass but secretly wanting cuddles vibe from you. Maybe some of that torn jeans lifestyle? Always a good choice. Maybe you’ve been doing some stupendous deeds. Yeah? I have an eye for these things." Actually, two, that most certainly were not for ‘these things’.

He realised he was gesturing uselessly, more by force of habit than conscious thought. It was just that without the cane in Jonah's hand, it was almost easy to forget his impairment. And despite the plain evidence of missteps that he wore about his skin, Jonah was walking with a renewed confidence that seemed to have accompanied his new surroundings. Even someone as obstinate as Alfie had room to admire that.

The crowds around them were getting boisterous, too zealous in their celebrations of freedom for Alfie to want to stay for much longer. "Come on, walk with me," he invited, touching Jonah's arm lightly to indicate the way he was heading. "I'll show you some of the 'stupendous deeds' I've been working on."

At least he started moving, and once he’d been uprooted from his spot he started actually running. That was the only thought echoing in his mind- run. He couldn’t think of where he was going, only what was behind him, but he stayed with Alfie as best he could. With his heartbeat pounding on his ear drums and his vision narrowing, he just had to keep going even though he didn’t know where could possibly be safe. 

But there was an irritating little voice in the back of his mind - his conscience, he supposed - that kept him stuck there, matching the boy's sluggish tread. No matter how much he disliked Jake, the voice reminded him, how would he feel in days to come knowing that he had single-handedly thrown him into death's hungry jaws?

The fog was at their heels. Alfie shut out Jake's complaining with an angry clench of his fists. "Jacob, listen to me," he yelled back as they fled over the leaf-littered floor. "We're can't outrun this thing. We need to find shelter! Just keep loo-"

With the dropship in sight, Andromeda did her best to speed up a little so as not to cause the kids any alarm. And there was that michievous grin Alfie was known for. He didn’t hate her. That was certainly a start. Maybe Andromeda could use that to begin forgiving herself. “A lowly criminal, huh? You know, technically I  was never actually caught and charged. So I think that counts for something,” she teased.

"Well then, you're already a step above the rest of us," he smiled. "We all got caught."

Other teens were trying to interfere as they entered the inhabited space inside. Alfie shot them a warning look until they backed off, though some were only properly dissuaded by Andy's reassuring words. He finally released her so she could sit, and he rolled his shoulders in relief. Her weight hadn't been over-bearing, but it had been uncomfortable to say the least.

"A month's worth of supplies?" he repeated, raising an eyebrow questioningly. "That doesn't sound like a hell of a lot, considering how many of us are here. Not to mention how often most of these idiots are likely to get themselves injured."

He watched her for a moment, seeing some reluctance in her movements. Her leg was obviously causing her some pain, and no surprise, what with how deep the gash had gone. "I don't suppose you have any painkillers in there? For yourself, I mean."

This afternoon had started like any other, until he started seeing dozens of small creatures running away beneath his feet. The first time the fig had appeared, he’d been a bit out of it. Actually, he’d been tripping hard on those weird nuts, and hadn’t really realized what was going on. One thing he could thank Mel for, at least, was keeping him from dying in the acid like cloud. But now he was fully functioning cognitively, and as he saw a massive cloud of sickly yellow start to roll towards him, he was filled with only one feeling: panic. It couldn’t be good, not with all these other living things running for their lives away from it. 

But he couldn’t run, he was frozen to his spot with fear. Worse than what he’d experienced before, even worse than getting locked in that corridor with Lyra when the O2 levels dropped. 

something snapped him semi-out of it, he heard his name from a familiar voice. When he turned and saw Alfie, his brain didn’t even totally process it. Feeling his breathing speed up and get shallower,  he managed to get out, “What the fuck is that?” as his eyes returned to the incoming fog. 

He didn't have time to deal with Jake's shit right now. They just needed to get away from here. And with miles to go back to camp, Alfie was desperately trying to weigh up their options. If there really were any. With a frustrated growl, he grabbed hold of Jake's arm and tried to spur him towards running.

"Stop your daydreaming and come on!" he shouted, blinded by his panic to the change in Jake's sharp breaths.

Danny kept his eyes on the window, and watched the yellow fog creep over their hiding place. What the hell was that, even? 

"Looks like we just wait it out now," he finally spoke, despite the small grin of victory that simply wouldn’t leave his face. "Anybody know any games?"

He rubbed vigorously at his bruised arm as he watched the yellow gas creep its fingers threateningly over the window above them.

He was sat shoulder to shoulder with Danny, while the girls fussed over one another in the back of the over-turned vehicle. He nudged his friend as he spoke. "You're really fucking pleased with yourself, aren't you?" he said with a tormenting grin. The adrenaline from the dangerous dart through the forest was still rife in his blood, and lifted his mood considerably. "You find us a place to play hide and seek from the fucking weather, and now you're already looking for more games for us to play?"

The girls apparently recovered enough to resume their giggling at that point, and Alfie clenched his jaw to cut off the smile he had been wearing. He shot them a serious look instead. "If you want to start being useful, you can both go out there and find out what that stuff actually is. I'd love to see what would happen if you breathed it in. Think of it as a noble sacrifice for the team, if you like."

Marlow’s perfectly groomed nails were practically splitting in half as she dug them into her palms. She kept her gaze on him without a change of expression. Whoever this Alfie Seabrooke thought he was, Marlow knew he was just another purposeless loser stranded in this dark matter forever. Just like the rest of them. Glutting on privileges; sucking on chocolates, and ostentation, when he already had all the attention of the world.  It took only a matter of eight words and a stare off for her to read his lemonade life…and Marlow wanted everything he had, down to the very mess of hair he disheveled so freely with a single hand. He had no water, no mousse, and surely, no care in the world. 

"Just speak, Driftwood,” someone urged her. Marlow peered over her entire team, all with eyes on her. It seemed this was her fight now, and her fight alone. “Right,” she cleared her throat. “Yes, of course. I will gladly start the topic off for us today,” she said sweetly, but with a slight fear in her eyes.

The blonde patted her long dress and sat on both of her feet. She could see everyone in the class now, and she was going to make it a point to make eye contact with every one of them.

"First and foremost, in regards to the atomic bomb being a poor choice on behalf of Americans, the bomb itself was an option of many. There were multiple alternatives brought to the attention of president Truman, possibly the most significant one being to modify the demands of unconditional surrender. "The biggest obstacle America faced in ending the pro-longed war was the Japanese resolve. Their impeccable commitment to their emperor, and their sacrificial attitude to protect him. If there had been a compromise to let Japan keep their emperor, to not try him as a criminal, or abolish their imperial institute, it is very evident they would be willing to surrender. In fact, they had been searching for an opportunity to do so, as stated by the American Secretary of War, on page 34 of our packets.” Marlow broke for a moment to see if that Seabrooke boy was shuffling through his packet like the others of their class, or if he knew the exact quote she was talking about and where it was on the page.  

"With this compromise," she continued, confident having made it this far. " American lives would be spared from pro-longed war, innocent Japanese civilians would be shown mercy… and America would maintain their moral high ground, and not become an image of fear for outside countries in the proceeding years, keeping them from becoming a target for annihilation, and retaliation….Now, Mr. Seabrooke, you are welcome to take the discussion. You seem like you have something to say,” Marlow said to the boy as she sat down more properly. Everyone in the room bore at the two of them, she doubted anyone else would have the nerve to speak besides them now. 

Regardless, she launched into her case, and with every word that passed those quivering lips, she seemed to get a little braver. Alfie scowled at her as she spoke, watching her gaze become steadier, her tone more unshakeable. As the class started shuffling through their information packets, he saw her glance up to check on him. He knew these facts off by heart, though he had looked at them only once, that very same morning. He wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of seeing him scrabble to find the damn thing anyway.

With each line of her argument, he became all the more irate, impatient for his turn to retaliate. He hadn't realised that his agitation was showing until the conclusion of her argument, where she sat down with an almost cocky remark in his direction. He raised an eyebrow at her in surprise as he took to his feet. Yes, she was a better speaker than he had anticipated, but he still had the win within in his sights.

"I think the point you have failed to address, Miss Driftwood... may I call you 'Drift'?" he interjected with a devilish grin. "Is that the Japanese governments were given countless opportunities to surrender before the idea of the bombs was even set on the table. Amended terms were offered to them in the Potsdam Declaration, which I believe you can see a copy of on page 29." He watched his classmates shuffle through their packs again in a hurried unison. His own remained untouched on the desk in front of him. "In it, they were given assurance that there was no desire for the destruction or enslavement of the Japanese people, that peaceful industries would still be allowed to produce goods, and there would still be a basic right for free thought and speech. Which I'm sure my opponent can agree are very fair terms, considering the barbaric involvement of the Japanese in the war up until that point.

"It can also be said that the very same Japanese resolve that my opponent is so sincerely advocating was also the same boldness that could have led to the loss of many American lives," he gave her a pointed look, followed by a disinterested glance around the room at their bored-looking classmates. He'd probably lost the slower ones long before now. "Without the use of the bomb, Japan would never have surrendered. There would have been retaliation against the Allies right up until the last Japanese citizen drew breath. The loss of life would have been enormous, especially when combined with the further deaths that would have occurred during a typical invasion of the country. I wonder how the opposition defends the threat of one hundred million suicide bombers, promised personally by Prime Minister Hideki Tojo should the land-based invasion have taken place?"

With another wry smile in the girl's direction, he returned to his seat, gesturing with a wide swoop for her continue. He crossed his feet over one another, and slouched low in his chair. He was looking forward to seeing how he had rattled her.