An Encounter of Change

9:30 A.M.

Greenwood Park

 

       Thane entered Greenwood Park a little later then he had expected to, mostly because of his little encounter with Mizuki and Sebastian.  The park was empty today and that's just how Thane liked it. He usually came here because of how secluded it felt. Before he moved in with his uncle he would have never given a place like this a thought. Now, he couldn't imagine living without it.  Thane walked along the slightly worn pathway and came to the one distinct feature of the park, an overlook that got a perfect view of the Pits.  He leaned on the overlook's railing and gazed at a sight that had struck him as an oddity the first time he had seen it.  The Pit's buildings were all colored black, brown, and gray from decay and neglect while, seemingly right next to them, the white and blue buildings from Haven stood tall and proud.

      The only things that seperated these two different realities was a giant, thick steel wall that surrounded the Pits that people just called "The Wall". It had multiple guard towers with machine guns and doors that were electrified if anyone tried to cross without a passcard.  Thane only went to the Wall once, during a school trip.  Thane still remembered being amazed by how big the Wall was and that there were people on the other side of it.  When he had asked his teacher if they could go on the other side she laughed and said that there were "bad people" on the other side and that he should never go over there.  Thane sighed in frustration.

      "Sad, isn't it?" A voice suddenly said. Thane jumped in surprise and turned around, expecting someone to be standing there.  Instead, Thane just saw trees and an old bench.  "Hey, up here." The voice said.  Thane looked up to see a boy sitting on a branch of the tree that Thane was standing next to.  The boy was looking down at Thane with a grin.  He lept down and landed in front of Thane.  He had on a dirty sweatshirt that Thane thought was probably white when the boy bought it, torn blue jeans, and worn out sneakers.  The most interesting feature about the boy was that his eyes were grey and his hair was completely white with only a streak of red on one of his bangs. Thane guessed the boy had taken part in one of the genetic alteration programs that were popular these days.

      "Who are you?" Thane asked, backing away from the boy.  The boy ignored him and rested an arm on the railing, looking out at the Pits.

      "Who are you?" The boy asked in return.

      "I asked you first!"

      "And now I'm asking you."

      "I'm not going to tell you-" The boy turned his head and gave Thane a glare that reminded him of Mizuki. Thane gulped. "Th-Thane, Thane Silver."

      The boy turned his head back towards the Pits. "Tell me Thane, what do you know about the Pits?" 

      "The Pits?"

      "Yes, I want to hear what you know about them."

      "Well I know that only the poor, homeless, and criminals live there and that only people with a passcard can enter."  The boy nodded and waited for Thane to continue. When he didn't the boy turned to him.

       "Is that it?" He asked Thane with a raised eyebrow. 

       Thane's face turned red. He didn't know why he should feel embarrassed by how little he knew but he did. "Well yeah, nobody teaches us about the Pits and barely anyone talks about it."

       The boy sighed and turned back to the Pits. "I guess things haven't changed after all."

       "Huh?" Thane had no idea what the boy was getting at.  The boy ignored him and continued with his questioning.

       "Did you know that no one outside of Haven even knows that the Pits exist?"

       "Some how I find that hard to believe."

       "It's easy. Media control, restricted airspace, bribery and blackmail. Hell, it doesn't even show up on the map.  People here don't even acknowledge it exists."

       "But people come here all the time for tourism-"

       "They just ignore it or are kept from seeing it at all.  What was the one saying, 'When in Rome do as the Romans do.'"

       "And how exactly do you know all this?"

       "Internet."

       Well that's bullshit. There's no way you find this kind of stuff on the internet. Thane didn't even know if he really believed anything the boy was saying.

       "It actually used to be a beautiful place once, the Pits." The boy said, snapping Thane out of his thoughts. "The original founders of Haven used to live there and it was even where the Garden of Eden was originally supposed to be created."

       "What happened?"

       The boy shrugged. "Nobody really knows.  Some say that the ground was located on a fault line and it became too unstable to live there.  Some say that an experiment with the Garden went awry and the founders destroyed it and created the Pits in order to cover it up.  Others say that the Reapers did it.  Either way, the Pits are as old as Haven."

       "The Reapers?"

       "They're an urban myth. They're supposed to be this secret group that has the power to control Haven and that the destruction of the Pits was a show of their power."

       "Why does Haven let this go on?"

       "Because the people of Haven don't care what happens to the Pits." The boy said this with no emotion, as if it was just a fact of life.

       Thane remained silent, contemplating what the boy had just told him. Finally he spoke. "What do you think caused this?" Thane asked, using his hand to indicate the Pits.

       "It doesn't matter what I think caused it, it's already happened and there's nothing I can do."

       "That's not true!"  Thane shouted, unable to stop himself.  The boy looked at him surprised. He cocked his head to the side to show he was curious.  Thane's face turned red again.

       "Oh, stop acting like a love sick girl and just speak your damn mind." The boy said, clearly annoyed at Thane's behavior.  Thane was taken aback by the boy's outburst but did as he said.

       Thane stuttered a bit before clearing his throat and speaking. "Anything can change and everything we do change affects the lives of those around us.  I dream of making Haven a place where my sister and I can live in peace and nobody with ever bother us or take away our happiness."

      The boy looked at Thane for a few moments before he burst out laughing, nearly falling over the railing as he did.  Thane started to get annoyed and then angry with the boy laughing at him.

      "What's so funny?"

      The boy wiped tears from his eyes as his answered. "Nothing, you just remind me of someone. So what's your motivation?"

      "Huh?"

      "Your motivation. The things that keeps you going. What is it?"

      Thane's face took on a sad look. "My parents. They...they died a few years ago in a car accident. After that my sister and I got taken in by our uncle, mostly because he wanted to improve his public image.  My parents would have wanted me to take care of my sister and that's what I'm going to do."

      "And how to you plan to do it now? How much will you change in order to succeed in you goal?"

      "I'll change all of Haven if I have to."

      "I see." The boy and Thane stared at each other before the boy turned and pointed to the Pits. "Big change is coming to Haven and the Pits are where it will begin." Thane looked at the Pits, trying to understand what the boy just said. He turned to ask what he meant but was surprised to see the boy had disappeared. Thane looked all around and looked up in the tree but couldn't find any trace of the mysterious boy. 

      Shrugging Thane walked away from the overlook and out of the park.  When he reached his house his uncle and aunt were already gone.  He climbed up the tree next to his room and climbed into his open bedroom window.  As he entered his room he saw that his sister left a sandwhich for him on his desk.  He went over to it and took a bite before dropping the sandwhich. "I hate tuna, you know that Nanami." Thane mumbled.  He then plopped down on his bed and fell asleep thinking of his date with Mizuki.

Reviews

[Ace D Portgas]

Uh oh I'm seeing a Lelouch Complex in Thane...Wonder if he'll get the Geass lol

Than seemed like a different person to me this chapter...Well towards the end anyway, I didn't strike him as the type of guy who wanted to change Haven when I read it.

It was nice to finally get some insight on the Pits and how the Reapers suddenly tie into the story. Makes me want to know more about this.

I know I'm jumping around but this reminded me of Code Geass a little bit. The Pits reminded me of the Eleven's area and the white-haired boy reminded me of an eleven.

The boy seems to be quite knowledgeable on the Pits, speaking of which it seems very lethal to try to enter the Pits without a passcard

I thought it was funny when the boy responded to Thane's question him by simply saying Internet and Thanes responses to it XD

Good chapter, gave some nice insight, a new character and ties in the first few chapters. Makes a person want to crave more

The only problem I really seen is that Thane seemed like a different character from the first chapter, although it wasn't really until the end that he gave me this vibe of Lelouch

On to reading the next chapter!