Work Text:
Atlas “ghost” Foster
Day of announcement
The tv flickered to life as atlas sat down, flipping through channels. The sounds of movies, ads, and shows came from the tv, before a loud blaring sound startled him. He sat up, watching as a large red warning flashed on the screen.
“What the…?” his voice came out a whisper as he tried to comprehend what was going on.
“Citizens of Manhattan, we are here to inform you that the government has declared a nationwide emergency. We urge you to evacuate the city, rescue ships will be set up along the coast…” the news reporter's voice rang in his ears as he stared at the screen before he noticed his phone was giving a loud emergency warning signal. The door creaked as Gracie stepped out, holding her phone.
“Atlas..? What's going on, my phone is saying something really weird.”
“Go pack a bag. Now.” he had already jumped up from the couch, trying to find a bag to put his things in.
“What? Why? What's going on!?” her voice rose over the loud warning sounds emanating from every device.
“I said go pack a bag, Now!!!” he practically screamed at her, rushing into his room as he stuffed clothes into a backpack. She picked up that this wasn't just a test alarm or an accident, but that something was truly wrong. She stuffed whatever she found to be valuable into an owl themed duffel bag, along with clothes and shoes. She left her bedroom, running into the hall towards the kitchen but skidded to a halt, staring at the photos on the wall before grabbing a family portrait and stuffing it in there as well. Atlas was tugging on his shoes as he heard his moms phone go to voicemail.
“Damnit! Mom, when you get this, please call me back. Gracie and I are leaving.” He shoved his phone into his pocket as he called out.
“Gracie! Hurry up!!”
“Im ready, im ready!” she grabbed their cat, cinnadust, setting her in the top of the duffel bag. He sighed, pulling her out the front door, met with fretting neighbors dragging their belongings out of their homes.
“Atlas? Where are we going?” her voice was timid as she looked down the crowded hallway, no way to get through.
“Were uh, we're going to the boats…here, we’ll go this way.” he grabbed her arm, dragging her out a fire escape window, running down the black rusty, metal stairs.
“W-wait hold on-” she yelped as she fell forward, foot catching on a step as she banged into the side of the rain, the sharp metal scratching into her skin.
“OW! Ow, ow, shit!!” her voice raised as she looked down at her torn sweatpants, blood dripping onto the dark metal below.
“Oh come on..are you ok?”
“Yeah, i uhm..i think i twisted my ankle.” her voice went quiet as she looked down at the long amount of stairs beneath them. Atlas groaned, shifting his bag, squatting a bit for her to get on his back.
“Get on, it'll be quicker.”
She nodded, climbing on, as Atlas continued to rush down the stairs. People rushed past on the street, cars honking as traffic backed up. They darted through people, confused kids crying, and police yelling as they directed traffic. Atlas stopped, watching as people rushed past him, feet too heavy to move.
“Atlas..?” she squeezed his shoulder as he snapped out of it.
“Sorry..” he replied, shaking his head a bit before a voice caught his attention.
“You two! This way, pedestrians this way!” a police officer waved them over. Atlas nodded, quickly heading the direction they were waved. It didn't take long to get to a security checkpoint. Gracie shifted, trying to stop the squirming cat as cinnadust tried to get out of the duffel bag.
“No, no, stop it..!”
“Stop moving around back there.” Huffing impatiently, he slid Gracie off his back, helping her stand.
“Next!!” a man's voice called out from behind full tactical gear; Atlas kept his arm wrapped around, Gracie helping her walk forward.
“Sir, names and ages please.”
“Uh, Atlas foster, 17; and this is my little sister Gracie. She's 14, and maybe we can get priority? She really needs medical he-”
“We can take your sister but we are at max capacity. You'll have to wait for the next boat.”
“What? No no, I’m not leaving my sister.”
“You two can wait here but she won’t get medical attention.”
He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, walking past the guard to let Gracie sit down, who was holding cinnadust tightly, her duffel bag next to her.
“ I’ll uh- I’ll figure something out, I just don’t want her to be alone.” Atlas whispered to the guard who nodded sympathetically.
“There’s 10 minutes left to get everyone on and ready to go.”
“Thank you. Hey, Gracie? Sit there and just wait, ok? I’ll figure something out.” She nodded, hugging cinnadust tighter. He took a deep breath before heading into the crowd, trying to think of ideas. Something pierced through the air, the sharp cry of a baby, before it quieted down from soft sh’ing. He pushed through the crowd, spotting the source of the noise; a woman was sitting on a curb, two children standing next to her, and a baby in her lap. Both children were young, looking under ten, the baby looking about a few months old. The woman's hair was damp against her face as she gently rocked the baby.
“Ma’am…? I'm sorry to bother you but I have a favor to ask.” His voice was timid, a bit nervous about asking so big of her.
“Yes?” Her voice was soft and quiet, but not scared.
“I uh, I have a little sister, and she got hurt on the way here. They said I couldn't go but she could since she's hurt. Could you please watch over her? I'll give you my number, I'll be on the next boat I just..don't want to leave her alone.”
“What's your name sweetheart?” she stood up, holding the baby close.
“Atlas, and her name is Gracie."
“Well atlas, I can watch her, ok? I'll make sure they take care of her.”
“Really? Thank you so, so much, ill go grab her.” he started to run off as she smiled, turning to talk to her kids. Atlas helped Gracie up, making their way back over to the woman.
“I'll be on one of the next boats so I'll see you soon, ok?” He hugged her tight, her arms wrapped around his neck.
“Promise?” she whispered, holding onto him tighter.
“Promise. And take good care of dusty, ok? I'll see you both soon.” She nodded as the woman helped her walk, disappearing into the crowd. Many people still waited, but soon the boats started to leave..and atlas realized he never gave his number to the woman.
“Shit! Shit, wait!!” he ran to the edge, waving frantically.
“Please stop!” but nothing was going to stop them. His voice was drowned out by the hundreds of people screaming over being left behind. After a while, he finally stops, defeated. No way to contact his sister until he arrives wherever they're going, and he's stuck. All alone.
Hours passed, People dwindled as his anxiety grew. Shouldn't the boats be back by now? Suddenly, a loud noise caught his attention. He whipped around spotting the noise as others began to gather around a military officer who was giving an announcement.
“-boats will not return! The risk has become too high. We will try to gather safe spaces for everyone left here. The boats will not return!” He just continued to say that while Atlas's head started to swim, his feet stuck to the hard concrete. The noise around him faded to a soft ringing as he realized; he just sent his sister on a boat with a stranger, no way to contact her and injured. He was jolted forward as strangers rushed past him, pulling him out of his head. He looked up, dipping into a side alley and waiting for the crowds of people to pass before walking back to their apartment building, climbing through the empty building to their place, walking through the door he had left open. He walked inside, barely making a step before sliding down the wall, pulling his knees to his chest.
“What am I going to do…” he whispered into the stiff air, hugging his knees tighter. He was completely and utterly alone.