WhiteWashed

So there he was, laying in a rather large pile of drool and bandages. Captain Leo was going to be out for a long time, and there was not one person who thought he didn't deserve the rest.

As Dr. White sat in his chair watching his close friend breath through his sleep, he could not help but shake with the thought that this could end even now. After the glass shards and a rather strange wound on his arm, Leo was in bad shape, and not much was going to make it better.

    “I need to fix this, dammit!” White shouted at the wall. Never had William encountered such deep wounds, or this level of stress.

    As he paced the interior of the room, White thought to himself, “There needs to be something more, his rest is uneasy at best and his body is not accepting my drugs without a fight. I need something to fix this.”

    After several calming steps White had a thought, “What are some of Leo’s favorite things? Blowing ships, people, creatures, or things up, friends, alcohol, and good pain killers. Morphine!”

    Dr. White started jumping up and down with glee, this was going to be an easy fix after all! He rushed out the door and right to the medical cabinet throwing it open. There was nothing in the cabinet at all.

    “WHAT IS THIS!” White screamed as he lost his normally calm disposition.

    “Shut up doc I got a headache.” Came a voice from the floor

    “Octavius what are you doing down there?” White said through clenched teeth.

    “I had a need of theess...ugh...” Octavius muttered before passing out.

    White immediately kicked the drunkard in the side of the head and as his body rolled over. White saw an empty morphine bottle underneath him. As rage filled Dr. White, he ran onto the deck and stormed off into the city of Astam Junction to buy more.

    Staring at the ground White continued to move through the city, thoughts flying through his mind. White walked and walked all the while cursing Octavius and trying to think of other ways to help Leo. The streets slowly became more windy and the buildings looked slightly more ramshackle, but White never looked up from his rage filled stride to notice that he was lost.

    Eventually Dr. White heard a noise that pierced his angry state. He knew it from his childhood, and no matter how hard he tried, he could never forget it. It was the sound of a water pipe with so little water in it that an echo forms down the length of the pipe.

     White walked over to the well and looked down into it trying to forget the words his father told him so many years ago... “Son this is for the best, it is for the people, it is for us. So it would be better if you forgot all that you saw here today”

    “Hey!” White yelled as he was ripped from his memory.

    A street rat had pickpocketed a full syringe from White’s pocket, “Thanks for the water!” the kid yelled back as he dove into the well.

    “Thats not water! It is something from a strange wound! It’s not even clear, it’s off blue in color!”

    This was a problem, that syringe was the remnants from Leo’s strange wound and if the kid drank it there would be more than just a taste problem for the child. Unfortunately White was stuck, diving into strange wells was normally Leo’s department. This was a time for bravery and acts of valor, to save this kids life would not only be the right thing to do but White wanted to study the syringe anyways. Yet, this was a dark well hooked up to the water pipe system that his family, “commandeered”.  

    “It would be better if you forgot all that you saw here today.” The words of his father came back to him telling me to ignore this child’s plight and White’s own past.

    “No father you are wrooooong!” White shouted as he fell into the darkness of the well. White landed with a small splash into the trivial amount of brownish green water at the bottom of the well.

    “Dad, why are your men …” White jumped up trying to ignore the memory, “...building these dams down here?” William remember asking his busy father.

    “Well son...”

    “NO” White screamed.

    As his adrenaline started to pump White did the only thing he had ever known in his life, he ran. The echos of his footsteps on the dried pipe brought even more of the memories back as he ran.

    “...these dams are to redirect the water to places where … more people need the water. This well...” White skidded around a corner, “is not located in a proper place.”

    “But dad, there are still people above us right now...” White’s lungs were bursting to the seams because of his frenzied flight.

    “Don't these people need water too?”

    “Yes son, but these are not the same as you or I. They need more, they need education, a drive and for the majority of them they need to be able to make the decision to stop living in the filth above us and move to our White city.”

    White collapsed as both his legs and lungs failed him.

    “Father, that is murder! Removing people’s water after telling them you would bring it to them! Give them a chance!”

    White’s face was in a small puddle of liquid as he tried to breath.

    “Son this is for the best, it is for the people, it is for us. So it would be better if you forgot all that you saw here today.”

    Dr. White looked up to see a small figure crouched over him. It was the child who stole his syringe.

    “Mister, what do you want with the sewer rats?” The child politely asked.

    “I...It’s... Not...Water,” White choked before he passed out.

    Hours later, White awoke in a cardboard bed, staring at the child. An awkwardness lay over the two of them as they stared at each other. William looked away straight at the wall they were next to. As his focus returned, White studied the wall, then jump a mile off the ground and out of his skin. It was the very same damn his father’s men built! White looked back and forth from the wall to the child.

    “Yea we have to live with this. This damn killed all the water my mother had as a child, and now she is dead. Crazy world down here but we still get something sorta like water, I guess. Oh! Before I forget the manners my mama taught me, my name is Charlie” Charlie held his hand out for White to take it.

    “I am sorry, for all this.” William choked out as he waved toward the dam “I tried to fight it, but … 43371228”

    “...8 digits ... wait here mister!” Charlie said as he ran off.

    Dr. White heard the sound of buttons being pushed then of a crank being turned. Water was running again through the pipe, even if it was barely more than there was before. William thanked the stars his mother fought with his father about the water until he caved in slightly and built the small access port for the dam, even if he turned it off.

    “Mister, what’s your name?” Charlie asked as he bounced back.

    “White, Jr. I am-”

    “No, we can't call you the same thing as your father. I gots an idea, mister we will call you WhiteWash from now on for washing these walls of the grimey stuff. Is there anything I can do for you?”

    “Yea, Charlie, there is. I need some morphine and to get out of here. Can you help?” William asked with a smile

    “You bet Mr. WhiteWash sir! Let’s go!”