DrTrollinski
Don't let the name scare you.
The time finally hit seven o'clock in the morning. Just like the old days. It was a blast from the past for the both of them, for sure - it brought back memories that were equally happy as they were sad. Nathan had only had a couple of hours sleep during the night but he still looked more tired than Norman did - his tired eyes seemed to struggle to stay open, but Norman could tell that despite the fact that he'd stayed up all night, he was a lot happier and relaxed than usual.
"Norman... I've gotta' ask you a question... it ain't nice, but... what was it like growin' up without a dad?" He asked hesitantly, Norman remained silent and took a deep breath of sadness; he looked up at Nathan after a few moments and shrugged.
".. I grew up most my life without him... it was when I was gettin' to be a teenager that I lost him - you know, I was going through... changes. I'm guessin' you know what I'm talking about, and you're startin' to go through the same, right?" He replied, Nathan gulped quiet as his face went slightly red, but then gave a quick nod alongside no words. "Right... but... without a dad there I didn't have anyone to talk to about all of that... I mean, I couldn't talk to mom about it because that just would have felt weird."
"So... it--.. it was like... like being stuck with something?" Nathan questioned, Norman thought to himself and then looked up at him, giving a few soft nods.
"Yeah, I guess you could call it that... It's why I took so much care of you when you were younger--.. I didn't want you growin' up to end up livin' like I did, so there you go." He replied, shrugging to Nathan while a frown slowly formed on his face; Nathan looked at him for a moment and then made an unpredicted move. He crawled over to Norman's sleeping bag and sat beside him, quickly embracing him by coiling both of his arms around his body - there was nothing like a bit of brotherly love to brighten up a time when there were crazies going about and trying to eat you. Norman slowly moved one arm around him in response.
"It's not your fault, Norman..." He said quietly, and at that moment Norman felt his heart crack in two - it may have been the words he'd been waiting to here for so many years, or maybe he just didn't believe them - neither of them knew, but Norman then leaned over and fully hugged him, his head on his shoulder.
"Thanks, Nate..." He choked, he cleared his throat after that and took a deep breath. ".. I'm sorry I'm such a dick to you most the time..." He said before giving a faint chuckle.
"It's cool, bro... it's cool."
Norman looked down at his watch and took sigh before moving a hand to Nathan's head and ruffling his medium-length blond-brown hair; he then pulled away from him and stretched his arms and his back, letting out a yawn while doing so. ".. it's gone seven o'clock - we pulled it off, man. Now get a couple of hours sleep and then I'll wake you to do some stuff."
Nathan thought for a moment, but then nodded. "Yeah, sure..." He muttered as he crawled back to his own sleeping bag and tucked himself into it. "See you in a while, Norman... are you gonna' be staying in here?"
"No... I'll be making some radio calls to see if I can find anyone... just sleep for a while, alright? You'll be fine. We're all locked up - there's plenty of other offices and parts of the building to explore yet, so we'll take another look around when I wake you up." He said, Nathan nodded before lying back fully and closing his eyes; Norman made his way out of the office and went downstairs to not only brew himself up another cup of coffee, but to also also see if the dispatcher room was anywhere on the first floor. When he walked by the main door he caught something in the corner of his eye - his heart stopped as he quickly spun around and glanced outside. The sun was shining, the streets were quiet, and there was no one at the door like he originally thought - must have been a trick of his tiredness. He made himself the cup of coffee and then took another look around - just down the hallway from where Nathan was sleeping he found the dispatcher room. For a small town, the good old fashioned transmission radio served a perfect purpose; there were a few computers on the desk around the radio, but nothing more. It was time to get everything started up to try and contact some people - if he could figure out how to do that first, of course.
"Norman... I've gotta' ask you a question... it ain't nice, but... what was it like growin' up without a dad?" He asked hesitantly, Norman remained silent and took a deep breath of sadness; he looked up at Nathan after a few moments and shrugged.
".. I grew up most my life without him... it was when I was gettin' to be a teenager that I lost him - you know, I was going through... changes. I'm guessin' you know what I'm talking about, and you're startin' to go through the same, right?" He replied, Nathan gulped quiet as his face went slightly red, but then gave a quick nod alongside no words. "Right... but... without a dad there I didn't have anyone to talk to about all of that... I mean, I couldn't talk to mom about it because that just would have felt weird."
"So... it--.. it was like... like being stuck with something?" Nathan questioned, Norman thought to himself and then looked up at him, giving a few soft nods.
"Yeah, I guess you could call it that... It's why I took so much care of you when you were younger--.. I didn't want you growin' up to end up livin' like I did, so there you go." He replied, shrugging to Nathan while a frown slowly formed on his face; Nathan looked at him for a moment and then made an unpredicted move. He crawled over to Norman's sleeping bag and sat beside him, quickly embracing him by coiling both of his arms around his body - there was nothing like a bit of brotherly love to brighten up a time when there were crazies going about and trying to eat you. Norman slowly moved one arm around him in response.
"It's not your fault, Norman..." He said quietly, and at that moment Norman felt his heart crack in two - it may have been the words he'd been waiting to here for so many years, or maybe he just didn't believe them - neither of them knew, but Norman then leaned over and fully hugged him, his head on his shoulder.
"Thanks, Nate..." He choked, he cleared his throat after that and took a deep breath. ".. I'm sorry I'm such a dick to you most the time..." He said before giving a faint chuckle.
"It's cool, bro... it's cool."
Norman looked down at his watch and took sigh before moving a hand to Nathan's head and ruffling his medium-length blond-brown hair; he then pulled away from him and stretched his arms and his back, letting out a yawn while doing so. ".. it's gone seven o'clock - we pulled it off, man. Now get a couple of hours sleep and then I'll wake you to do some stuff."
Nathan thought for a moment, but then nodded. "Yeah, sure..." He muttered as he crawled back to his own sleeping bag and tucked himself into it. "See you in a while, Norman... are you gonna' be staying in here?"
"No... I'll be making some radio calls to see if I can find anyone... just sleep for a while, alright? You'll be fine. We're all locked up - there's plenty of other offices and parts of the building to explore yet, so we'll take another look around when I wake you up." He said, Nathan nodded before lying back fully and closing his eyes; Norman made his way out of the office and went downstairs to not only brew himself up another cup of coffee, but to also also see if the dispatcher room was anywhere on the first floor. When he walked by the main door he caught something in the corner of his eye - his heart stopped as he quickly spun around and glanced outside. The sun was shining, the streets were quiet, and there was no one at the door like he originally thought - must have been a trick of his tiredness. He made himself the cup of coffee and then took another look around - just down the hallway from where Nathan was sleeping he found the dispatcher room. For a small town, the good old fashioned transmission radio served a perfect purpose; there were a few computers on the desk around the radio, but nothing more. It was time to get everything started up to try and contact some people - if he could figure out how to do that first, of course.