Pinnacle -Lock please-

[DRdoctorlady]

lol yes. XD
And hai there new person! And jes, Coon ish mah leetle troublemaker.
I wonder where all these new people have come from?
*maybe they've been hiding under a bridge the entire time? o.O*

[AngelInWaiting]

Quite a large bridge : P So many new people <3

[Cuddlyfoof]

Lol up to page 16 iwas hiding under the bed not bridge. . . . . . . Lol

[Trick;]

or maybe they're all Lucia in disguise trying to trick me... :3

[Cuddlyfoof]

Lol yay finally caught up. . . . . . Wait, NOOOOOOOOOOOim caught up. Means i gotta wait for the next part D: you has another semi-rabid fan lol

[Trick;]

wth? maybe they are hiding under bridges....

[DRdoctorlady]

heyyo peoples, I'm going to thank evarybody agaen for reading and responding to this-you guys make mah day.
SO!
Since I haft neglected Pinnacle for FOUR days, I shall begin Chapter 3.
YAY
///
I know it sucks. But deal with me. I'm not good feeling currently

Edit: *sees Alex's response*
I swear, it seems like it XD

Chapter 3
Home.
I was just pulling Break through the last stretch of fields before our shack. Coon had gotten there first, shouting something about his clocks. Dagger, Grasswhistle and Badger had also gotten in ahead of me. I could see Dagger outside, cursing at the chickens and rinsing off his arms with water bottles, his piano lying on the tree stump by the fireplace. Coon, you could hear crashing around inside, resetting his clocks.
"Hhhhommm," Break murmurs as I pull him closer to the house. He straightens a little, and walks a walks a bit faster.
"Mhmmm, you get to sleep in your bed tonight," I say absently, pushing him in front of me. Stumbling through the line of bracken that covered the front of the house, I stepped onto the 'bald spot'.
The bald spot is simply a patch in the official front of the house (its open on both sides; on one end are the double doors (though one is broken almost completely off) and on the other there's a gaping splintery hole filled with plants). It's a spot where there's almost no grass, where our fire, the tree stump, and most of our miscellanious outdoor crap is situated around. The bald spot reaches all the way up to the front door, where the wood floor starts.
I skirt around Dagger, who's scrubbing his arm and furiously flinging curse words at the chickens, who unconcernedly scratch at the ground.
I guide Break inside, where Coon's still busy jumping around, pulling the chains for his cuckoo clocks and flicking levers on. Grasswhistle's inspecting the schedule, fervently scribbling things down. I leave Break, knowing he'll stay where he is unless someone tells him to go somewhere else.
"What now?" I ask her.
"Laurel's has us blocked in for rest for the rest of the day, cept Dagger. He gets to feed the chickens."
"I'm sure he's going to love that."
"Hmm, yes, and tomorrow, you have some crop duties. I'll be with you. Dagger's going hunting, and Badger's going to take care of Flyby and Break during that time. Then they're going to switch, but Badger's going to feed the chickens again. Coon's going to boil water."
"That all?"
"Mhmmm."
"So I'm free to go?"
"For the rest of the day: yes."
"Wooo!"
I trot happily back and stick Break in bed before climbing in my bunk. First time in my bed for nine days.
* * * * *
I wake up around the right time for once, not too bright out, nor two o'clock in the morning. Perfect.
Feeling extremely satisfied, I swing out of bed.
I can hear Coon up in the rafters and look up, seeing him hanging off the rotting wood. I suppose I should tell him to get down.
Hmm...
"Hey Coon, what day is it today?" I ask, knowing he should know. He always keeps meticulous track of time. It's his obsession.
"September 21st," He responds, carefully sticking his good arm around the wooden rafters.
I feel numb, like someone stuck a cold hand in my chest and crushed my heart. I make a strangled sound.
Today's my birthday.
"What?" I ask, numbly.
"September 21," He says again, slightly irritated. He hooks his other arm around the rafter and pulls himself up heavily. "Oh, I suppose that means I was shot on 9/11," he holds tightly to the wood and inches his way to the end.
I make another surprised noise.
"It's not that cool," Coon frowns. "Okay, it is pretty cool. But you look really sick right now."
I run out of the house.
I'm trying to escape; to get away. The memories are surging again, and grief is catching up with me. Life's getting too fast. I'm trying to escape.
I push past Badger and Flyby and the chickens, feeling an irrational bit of desperation. I don't know why. It makes no sense. I push plants out of my way, brushing past who I think is Dagger. I'm gaining speed. I jump over roots and try to dodge around the trees. I end up jumping up a massive tree and huddling at the divergence point of some of the branches, curling around the wood, avoiding the twigs. I don't cry. I just sit there, like Break.
You don't understand.
I've turned 13. I'm a teenager now.
But I've got no world left.
I can feel the weight. I don't have options. I can't be a doctor or an anthropologist or even a freaking McDonald's clerk. I won't get to choose how I spend the rest of my life. I grow up. I will farm. I will die.
I don't want to get old, either.
Today's a reminder of all that's lost to me.
I curl up tighter, my cheek pressed against the bark. This tree will easily outlive me. When I'm gone, it'll be here. Depressing, yes. But it's real. It's my future.
Grabbing my head, I curl up even tighter, and cry.

[AngelInWaiting]

Wow, that was a really strong section. Tugged at mah heart strings ;_;

On a side note, Jarrah's birthday is one day before mine 8D

[King Abi]

D': JARRRAAAHHHH :'( awwh i love her. Once again, i shell give one of your character's a hug. Liek a bear ^^

oh by the way, sections like this never fail to make me cry. ♥

[DRdoctorlady]

Dawww yesss.
I find that extremely weirdly awesome bout teh birfday thingeh. For a strange reason, I have an affinity for birthdays in late summer/fall.
And Abi, your emotions make me feel filled with satisfaction at making a suitably emotional piece >.< Even if they are sad.
BUT! I shall write some more, and I garuantee teh Dagger lovers shalt enjoy

Chapter 3a
-------->Continuation
Someone crackles through the leaves and stands below my branch. Opening my eyes I look down and see Dagger standing below the tree, looking upwards at me. His hair is all ruffled to one side, leaves and twigs attached to him too. His eyes are trained on me, pissed at first, then serious and brooding as he sees me. I bury my face in my hands.
"You okay? You kinda knocked me over running here," He says quietly.
I don't respond, but I do look at him. After a moment of staring, he sighs and sits down below the tree, between two high-arching roots. For a moment he fiddles with the dagger around his neck, before being still and looking up at me again.
"You run fast," He comments. I shrug, which isn't easy to do when your wrapped around a tree branch. He snorts and crosses his arms, leaning back against the bark. He lets me be miserable for a few minutes, quietly listening to me cry. When I stop, he looks back up.
"What happened?" Dagger asks. I shake my head and grab my head again. He gives me a few more moments.
"I'm sorry," He says softly. Mystified, I look at him.
"What for?" I ask.
"I dunno. That we have to go through this? That I can't help you? I dunno."
I contemplate that for a moment.
"My birthday."
"What?"
"Today is my birthday," I respond in a hushed tone.
"Oh," Dagger looks thoughtful for a moment. He rubs his chin, as if stroking an invisible beard, and falls silent.
Sighing, I unhook my arms from the tree, surprised at how tightly I had been holding the wood. I could see little gouge marks in the bark where my fingers had left marks. I crawl down the tree and plop down next to Dagger.
"Would it be bad if I cracked a joke right now?"
"..."
"I see," He says wisely, then sobers up a bit more. "Do you need me to stay here?"
For a moment, I feel like saying yes. But instead, I shake my head, knowing he needs to get us some food. He needs to get us some food because we don't have much. Because we don't have much, we'll starve if he doesn't kill something. Because if we starve, we'll be dead, all the more quicker. Just. Like. Everyone. Else.
Giving me a skeptical look, he stays with me a few more minutes before getting up and stalking away, not saying another word.
Feeling strangely hollow, I stumble back to the house and sit on the tree stump by the fire, watching the flames jump with a sense of numb detachment. Coon comes from around the corner a moment later, carting some water with him. The moment he sees me though, he abandons the water and gives me a hug, squeezing me with wet hands.
When he stops, I ask him why he just did that.
He shrugs.
"I just thought you looked like you needed a hug," He says cheerfully, "Plus, if you're depressed, it'll spread, and soon we'll all be moping."
Wise words for a seven year old.
* * *
An hour later, and I'm standing by the fruit garden. We have five growing appletrees. Their all about four feet tall. I had asked Laurel's if they would survive the winter. She just shrugged.
We also have strawberries, tomatoes, and potatoes. Technically potatoes aren't fruit, but we put them in the same 12x18 plot. Also, an assortment of berries and other things. I can't really tell the plants from each other though. Laurel's and Rose are the green thumbs.
I've got a bucket of chicken poo and some water. Grasswhistle had pointed me to the fertilized plot of land and told me to spread the fertilizer then water the plants. I normally hate this job but someone's gotta do it.
Before I do, I examine the strawberry plants and see little berries growing all over it, dark red and white against the green. Plucking one, I pop it in my mouth, not bothering to rinse it first. Laurels would've freaked. She seems to think we have no immune system, and every cut we get will get infected, every uncleaned piece going to give us food poisoning.
Feeling like a rule breaker, I eat three more before getting on with the job.