Jeurridam Ch. 08: Area 51

This turned into a very restless night. The only time I managed to get any sleep was when June's strong arms pulled me in close and I felt his warmth. It seemed everyone woke up at the same time, around eight or nine in the morning. All eyes fell upon Zanir, hopeful he'd wake up. No, he was still resting in cybernetic torpor, blissfully aware of all going on around him yet unresponsive. I sat next to him.

"You know," I sighed, "Everything's still the same. Everyone's here for you and we're all rooting for you! Even Zeek... Um, when you wake up, please talk to Zeek... You know he's um... been through a lot after you left. He's lost... It'd be easier to let him explain it to you, just promise me you'll be all ears when it comes time to talk..."

"Where is Zeek?" Heaven asked. We all looked around the terminal trying to locate the boy.

"Please don't tell me this boy has left..." I sighed.

June's eyes homed in on the trays with the keys, seeing they all were still there. He checked everything around the terminal, seeing nothing was stolen or out of place. It left us all perplexed.

"Where the fuck is this boy?" June asked, scratching his head.

"I hope he hasn't ran away..." I sighed, ready to begin searching for him. I walked over to a practitioner, "Have you seen a tallish Olmec looking dude with dark brown hair, light brown eyes, wearing some high cargos, a marriner T and a bucket hat?"

"Yeah..." The practitioner responded, "He said you all would be looking for him. He's outside..."

"Why?" Heaven asked, quite confused.

"Hey, I only see patients... I don't care about personal affairs." The practitioner sighed. Heaven gave the girl one hell of a smoldering gaze before walking off.

We all headed out of the Hangar, looking for Zeek. He was around the side of the Hangar in a secluded section of the base where the ruins of a titan class mech were. He was contorted into some strange position hanging from a pipe, dozens of feet above the ground.

"Wow..." June gasped, surprised.

"ZEEK!!" I screamed out.

"Leave me alone... Don't come out here and harsh my good mood..." He said, quickly shutting me down.

"Let's just leave him..." June said, grabbing me gently in his arms.

"Okay..." I responded, worried about my brother. He and I left, leaving only Heaven and Julio remaining. While Heaven marveled at Zeek's acrobatic abilities, Julio marveled at Heaven's aesthetics. Catching himself, he looked at Zeek which he didn't find as mesmerizing as looking at Heaven. He left Heaven to be alone with his brother, well... remained out of site. He lurked somewhere he could watch without being spotted.

Zeek looked at his little brother from his perch.

"Why are you still here?" He asked.

"...Because, what you're doing is awesome and I want to learn..." Heaven smiled.

"You already know how..." Zeek said, losing patience.

"Not like that." Heaven responded, wanting to learn how to contort like his brother.

"Look Hev..." Zeek said, sliding down the long rail, back to the ground, "I learned all of this stuff to do some very, very bad things! I just don't want to teach you this, man..."

"Well why're you're doing it then?" Heaven asked.

"You really want to know?" Zeek responded.

"I wouldn't have asked..."

"I do it because I like testing the limits of how far I can push my body... It's like a thrill for me..." Zeek shrugged.

"Eeeeew," Heaven frowned, "I wanna try, though..."

"WHY?" Zeek laughed.

"The shit looks awesome and I can't do anything really special so I wanna try it..." Heaven said plainly.

"Boy, you can cook and you're like the best marksman in the family..." Zeek sighed.

"I hate cooking and guns are boring... Teach my how to to do acrobatics and fight and stuff! I wanna kind of be able to fend for myself without the need of a gun..." Heaven persisted.

"You're still an aggravating little gnat, you know that?" Zeek teased.

"I won't be aggravating if you just teach me." Heaven smiled. Zeek stared at his brother for a while before giving in.

The boys didn't know June and I had only relocated to the upper platform of the hangar, watching from several stories. It was about to be quite a show.

"June..." I said.

"Yeah?"

"Look," I responded, pointing to Julio who was watching from behind a pile of rubble, "At your bro..."

"What the fuck is he doing?" June asked, surprised.

"We need to talk about him..." I sighed. June looked at me, not sure what this was going to be about, "Have you noticed anything in particular about him..?"

"No..." June said shaking his head.

"Before I tell you this promise me that you'll accept Julio no matter what..." I demanded.

"Of course!" June said.

"Julio is," I said trying to find the right words, "Is have a major internal conflict with himself... I can feel it, I um... I tried to talk with him about it last night and he shut me down completely. I'm pretty sure the only reason I got as far as I did was because I'm a girl, an unexpected perspective to hear it from..."

"Beth, what are you talking about?" June asked, wanting me to cut to the point.

"Okay, you know how Julio's been having a little side mouth about Heaven and Swish?" I asked.

"Yeah..."

"He hasn't had a single thing to say about Zanir and Galveston's relationship. I'd turn a blind eye to it if it was just a general detest for you know... gay people but it's not that simple. Every time Heaven isn't paying attention, Julio watches him, like he's doing right now! At first I didn't know what to make of it but now, I'm certain."

"You think Julio might be gay?" June asked shocked.

"I know it! Watching him was like watching my brother... It's the kind of frustration in his eyes that I know all too well. He'll just sit and be silent, building... and building... and building. I just think you should know but please don't let him know I told you... Don't even show a sign you know. I just think you should know that your best friend, your brother is going through a struggle that has defeated so many." I said.

"How the hell am I always blind to this type of shit. I had no idea Zanir or Galveston was gay, or your brothers for the matter and now my best friend is gay...? How the hell can I help him if this struggle is so bad." June asked, truly perplexed.

"When shit hits the fan," I sighed, "You just got to be there no matter what happens. He thinks that people will ridicule him over his sexuality and if someone ever does, it'll damage him and that is what we do NOT need. He's definitely gonna need a support system. He thinks this could jeopardize his friendship, brotherhood with you and isn't worth risking."

"He's my goddamn brother, not just a friend! We were raised in the same household, our families, one! I'd never..." June said sternly.

"That's good to hear because Julio scares me..." I said. June looked at me surprised.

"He scares you? Am I hearing this right. The most lethal girl in the Mojave is scared of little ole' Julio?" June asked, almost drawn to laughter.

"One thing you must learn about the queer. When you live in fear of ridicule, you're ten times as cutthroat as anyone who thinks they've been through some shit. How people make a big deal about sexuality can produce some of the most stone cold people and I'm afraid to see Julio get to that point. Look at what they turned Ezekiel into..."

June looked down as he saw Ezekiel and Heaven use their upper bodies to support their lower halves as they were suspended on a rod in the ruins. For June it put a lot into perspective. Everything Ezekiel did was out of what people have made him become. Probably the thing that made June sympathize the most with Ezekiel was just how cold the boy was. He couldn't tell if Zeek was unapologetic about the things his past or haunted by them.

"Yeah he's..." June said trying to find the right words, "Something..."

"What happened between you and Zeek? Where'd the bad blood start?" I asked.

"He, Rion and Galveston were still good friends at the time. Galveston didn't like the way things were headed between them all so he flaked. I had just started running cartels and was building my business with the ties I had around the desert. I was trying to become reputable and I needed help, was juggling a lot on my own. Zeek was the only one to help me build and was there every step of the way. I um, was grateful. We rode across the desert shipping booze and anything of high value to high paying bidders. It was a complete blow when he stole all my money, tapped my sources and hit the road. With no one else to help me, I couldn't manage by myself anymore. I thought it was the ultimate betrayal and I was all... by... my... self!! That was when Galveston and the Merchant Clan stepped in and supported my failing infrastructure. They couldn't get back what Zeek had stolen from me but I was apart of theirs forever... I um, I didn't know Zeek was strung out on drugs and the type of control Rion had over him. I just thought Zeek was a bad guy..." June responded.

"Oh. Where was Julio at the time?" I asked.

"I had ran away... I wanted something of my own so I left the North Mojave for it. When I finally got it, of course I came back for my brother!" June smiled, "I told him I was..."

"Seems everyone runs away these days." I shrugged.

"It's the teenage trend I guess... We're in an entire city filled with runaways." June laughed, pointing at the surroundings.

"I still can't wrap my head around a place like this. And these kids are running this bitch better than any adult. They don't fight, don't fuss... nothing, just order and peace... I'd want to sit and see how Basil manages it all. Zanir likes him quite a lot." I responded.

"I think Zanir likes him because he saw something here he wanted to use to further his research... You know Zanir. He's quite, quite crafty... He'd think of something that can aid us all but steadily getting what he wants. He's good like that." June chuckled.

"Yeah, the way he thinks is just beyond me. I can't wait for him to wake up. He's gonna lose even more weight than the nothingness he already has..." I sighed shaking my head. June laughed.

"Speaking of food, I'm hungry..." He said, leaning back across the platform.

"Me too..." I sighed, "Let's get to cooking and call the boys up when it's finished..."

"Okay..." He smiled.

We headed back down to the terminal where all our camping gear was.

"You think we can cook in here?" June asked.

"I don't really care. I was gonna do it regardless." I sighed. June just looked at me smiling, as I prepared the meal. Together we fried some short ribs in some bourbon June had. In the fat left behind, we sauteed beans, rice and pickled vegetables. The smell was intoxicating.

"Hey!" Someone called out from down the hall. It was a very young guard, the same rude one from yesterday, "You can't cook in the hospital..."

"Sorry... didn't know." June shrugged.

"I'm going to call the boys in..." I said.

"Alright." June responded as I walked past the guard. I headed to the rear of the hangar where Julio was still standing behind a heap of ruined crates.

"Hola..." I said. He turned to me startled.

"Beth... I was just..." He quickly said, trying to think of something to ward me off! I just smiled at the boy, finding this all rather... cute.

"Food's sizzling in the terminal." I said with an eyebrow furled, looking at him without much discretion. He rushed back into the hangar, head bowed in shame. I laughed, heading over to Zeek and Heaven who both still were working out.

"Hey! Food... Come eat! Now!" I yelled, heading back into the hangar.

The boys were close behind. We all sat down, eating the rich tasting food, all very hungry.

"Damn this is good..." Heaven chuckled, scooping up a big chunk of rice and beans with his fingers.

"Yeah ya'll showed out in this little terminal..." Julio laughed. June looked at him, his best friend in a new light. Not wanting to draw any suspicions, he went back staring aimlessly around the terminal.

Suddenly, his eyes fell upon something startling!

"Guys..." He said.

"Yeah?" I asked. He pointed to Zanir whose eyes were open, slumped to the floor, blinking periodically. He moved a bit, startling us all. Everyone looked at each other, not a single person holding back their shock.

"I think the smell of burning bourbon broke my coma..." Zanir murmured.