Chapter Text
Only a few were allowed to have cars. It’s why Clancy walked.
He enjoyed it, for the most part. Walking from one side of the city to another gave him a chance to reflect and think. That’s what he was told to do anyway. He couldn’t help but think of the walking as punishment, especially when it rained. It always rained. So he got used to it, carrying a coat, or an umbrella, or just something to cover his head. He wasn’t alone, as far as he knew, everyone walked.
He would lie awake at night staring at the ceiling and hear car engines break the silence, popping and cracking as they drove past his window. How he wished he could be one of them. Just hearing the amount of freedom the others had made him jealous.
He eventually started to go for walks in the evenings instead. To feel as close to those he envied as he could get. It was much quieter in the evenings, with most people staying in their rooms. No one really wanted to be out at night. Night was the only time he could think.
He would wait until all the lights in all the rooms he could see went out, quietly slip his shoes on and sneak out the door. It wasn’t that there was a curfew, or anyone really patrolling the streets, but it made him feel safer to be quiet. As soon as the cool evening air smacked his face, he could finally breathe.
When it rained he wouldn’t go out as long. Just enough that whatever screaming voice was plaguing him at that moment in time quietened down enough. At a minimum, the shouting could go down to a regular talking level and that would be fine. If the voice was alarm level loud, he would be out for hours before it even narrowed down to shouting.
On the nights where it wasn’t raining, he could easily go for hours. Just walking laps of the city, noticing something different each time. Would he make up for it the next day by being tired? Yes. Was his behaviour picked up on? Yes. But nothing nobody could do would stop him from walking.
One evening was particularly cold. Clancy had luckily remembered to grab a beanie before leaving that night, its soft material pulled down as far around his ears as it could go. The warmest coat he had was zipped right up to his chin as he powerwalked around the city. The voices had been particularly bad this day, he needed to shut them up.
He hadn’t really considered road safety to be of any importance to him, mostly because those who did have cars would usually stick to the same areas. They would drive to work and back, occasionally driving round to the gravestones, but never much further out. As a result, he never looked when he was crossing roads. Why waste precious energy looking when he could just cross, keep his head down, and avoid any contact with anyone. He liked being alone so why invite anyone else in?
His feet were pacing along the tarmac as a screech filled the air. He looked towards the source of the noise and saw two pairs of headlights staring at him. Like he was a deer, and he was their prey.
He froze, transfixed on the vehicle in front of him, not even realising that a head was poking out the driver’s side window.
“Hey kid! Get out of the road!”
He looked up, and saw a man around his age behind the steering wheel. The man looked just how Clancy felt, eyes looking like they had lived a thousand lives and a face that wanted to tell the tale but worried to even say a single word. The two of them just stared at each other for a while, not really knowing what to say, but not wanting to say anything. The man in the car got out.
“Hey man, I can’t go anywhere if you’re still on the road. I can help you get to the other side if you want?” He chuckled, because the other side of the road was literally about three steps away.
Clancy looked up, “Yeah, sure. Thanks.”
They walked to the other side of the road, with the man helping Clancy down to the pavement. They sat there in the glow of the headlights in silence once again.
After what felt like an eternity, the man spoke. “Please don’t tell anyone about this. I need my car.” Clancy nodded in agreement. He didn’t ever intend on saying anything anyway. In a weird way it was actually nice to see someone out here for once.
The man got back up again, and headed back over to his car. His demeanor had changed, he seemed less sad, and more confident. More like a leader.
“If you see me around, please say hi.” He yelled back, as the sound of the engine turning on filled the air.
“Of course. My name is Clancy by the way.”
“Nice to meet you, Clancy.” With that, he drove off around the corner, the headlights getting smaller and smaller into the distance.
Clancy remained seated on that pavement until he could see the sun begin to rise. He wasn’t sure how long it was, but when the first fingers of the sun began to make its way across the ground, he stood up and went home.
That mystery man might have stopped him from becoming a goner.
As he got back to his room and unlocked the door, someone else entered the corridor from the other side. He looked up, and saw the man driving the car. He caught his eye and smiled. The man smiled back.
He really hoped he would see his new friend again.