by Dusks, Rydre
A female voice screamed from the auditorium entrance. "What in the hell are you all doing?"
After a moment the fight broke up, and I found myself on my front feeling blood trickle from my head and arms. I couldn't get up.
"Who started this?"
There was a moment of dead silence.
"Donothan! I can't believe you! Is that any way to be a civilized gentleman? Your actions make me sick!"
"I-I'm sorry, Miss Blank. I--"
"Don't you dare start any excuses for yourself! You should have learned from last time! What would your mother say if she saw you acting like this?"
"I'm so sorry, Miss Blank."
I was able to open my eyes long enough to spot Blank jabbing a finger into Scarface's chest, and the big man cowering from her glare. I would have given a reaction if I could, but not much was understandable after that. My vision blurred away.
I heard a groan. I wouldn't have been convinced it was my own except that it was answered.
"Hang in there, blackie."
I opened my eyes to the sight of Rook's purple hair and bright eyes. He smiled to me, almost smirking.
"I told you it was a stupid idea."
I rolled my eyes. "Shut up, Rook. You were willing to help. Weiss wasn't supposed to be invited." I felt a hole in the side of my mouth where a tooth used to be. It still tasted like blood.
Rook rested a hot cloth across my ribs, which ached considerably from getting kicked several times in the side. "Well, luckily for you Blank put them all in their places, and had a couple of them carry you to my tent so I could patch you up."
"What makes Blank so scary?" I had to ask, staring at Rook's young face.
He grinned mischievously after hearing my question. "They're not scared of her, blackie. They respect her. Of course, I suppose they all do have a slight look of terror in their eyes when she gets riled. I would too if she were pissed at me."
"I don't think you're scared of anything except Roavo's dogs you've mentioned," I commented before groaning again, trying to sit up. I eventually gave up.
"Yeah, I wouldn't get up yet if I were you. You have some crazy bad bruising on those ribs, and getting up now might make you dizzy. Your head got hit pretty hard," Rook explained.
I rested back down, heeding his advice. "I'll get in deep trouble for this."
"No you won't," he said instantly as if the thought had already been on his mind. "I'll deal with the guards. I've done it plenty of times in the past for other dusters."
I didn't have anything to say in return. Rook seemed serious about taking care of all of it, so I closed my eyes again and felt the drift of dreams work their way back through my consciousness.
My dream was lucid. I stepped across tile on bare feet, my clothing and whereabouts foreign to me. Dressed in a long black robe, I knew only that I needed to continue down the hall... and that I was dreaming. Although I could not control my dream, I was aware of my unconscious, abused body in Roavo, and felt freedom with every step I took further down this hallway. Someone stood some ways ahead, leaning against the right wall with his arms folded. He didn't wear a beanie this time, allowing me to easily spot his shockingly white hair. It wasn't as long as I'd seen it before. He was bare-chested, and at his hips hung black silky cloth woven together with chains, just doing enough to cover his masculinity. He looked up when I came closer, and I recognized those eyes.
"Velzae," I started, my voice sharp with frustration. "Tell me where my son is."
"He's with me," was the answer. The voice was breezy and light like the wind, but it suited the distance in his eyes. "He is safe. He's comfortable. You have nothing to worry about."
"Why have you been avoiding me?" I demanded. "I've spent six months locked up without any knowledge of what is going on in the outside world. Why did you steal Stelliot away?”
“It was the safest thing that I could do at the time. I had been meaning to talk to you, but didn’t think that you would listen. I thought perhaps Sylvain would have told you everything by now.”
“I rarely hear anything from Sylvain."
Velzae straightened from the wall, unfolding his arms and turning to face me. "Don't be trusting him completely. He delights in passing along tainted information."
"And why should I believe you? Sylvain said you're bad news."
Velzae's eyes grew a bit softer. "And would I come to you willingly and tell you how Stelliot was if I intended on hurting you or your child?"
I opened my mouth to quickly defend, but couldn’t think of what to say.
"Kro, in some time, it will be right for you to learn about who you really are in this big situation. Sylvain does not like me because I follow the Fathergod's orders without hesitation. Sylvain... likes to twist the rules somewhat."
"The Fathergod...? Where exactly are we?"
Velzae nodded his head to me and walked further down the hallway, indicating for me to follow him. As we walked, the end of the hallway grew lighter. At first it was only a grey glow, but then it spread to a yellowish light, then a white brilliance. The walls of the hallway broke apart to reveal stunning blue skies I had never seen before. As I looked over the edge of the tiled walkway, Velzae stopped me at the very end where I could see an entire landscape below us. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before. The entire expanse of plains below us was a swirling mass of pastel colors and white, wispy, cloud-like fog. The land, if it could be called land, shimmered and rippled like liquid glass. The breeze was warm, but not uncomfortably so, and it smelled like springtime, but the landscape looked completely alien.
"This, Kro, is Kairenz."
I immediately scoffed, but quieted when I saw his stern look.
"How Kairenz will be, I should say, after the Holy Mirror makes its course around the world."
I pulled my eyebrows into a frown, looking at Velzae's pale eyes. "You mean the Mirror Curse?"
"The world is dying, Kro. It's soon to be reborn. This is what KahRatese is trying to prevent."
"You mean Sylvain? Well I don't blame him!" I exclaimed. "You're all for the Mirror Curse! That thing kills anything in its path. It destroys life completely. How would it ever turn the world into anything great? This," I pointed to the multicolored landscape, "is death."
"This is a new stage of life, Kro. This is a new beginning that is needed. Kairenz needs a cleanse. You need to have faith in the Fathergod. He can make anything happen, especially when teamed with his divine children. The Holy Mirror will remove all taint from Kairenz. The Roavo warden... President Era..."
"Stop talking like you're the real SiyariDendo. You're nothing but a crazed lab experiment."
I turned away in disgust. How could something so frighteningly awful be considered a blessing to the planet? If it had been a cause of something natural, I wouldn’t mind so much that the planet was dying. But there was no abundance, no happiness, no life in this so-called holy plan. Sure, I looked at it as a death and rebirth myself, but the Curse had destroyed all of Cantor, killing millions of innocents. If this was the choice of a supreme god of Kairenz, I wouldn't have it.
"Sol, humanity's own supposed god of all gods, is attempting to kill all of his mortal children to save Kairenz? That's a joke. You're a joke. Give me back Stelliot," I ordered through clenched teeth.
Velzae still stood on the edge of the walkway, his arms folded again, shoulders relaxed. "Then come find me, Kro OrrVieh. Once you get out of Roavo, follow your instincts."
I only grew angrier. "I can't escape Roavo. It's not possible. Sylvain won't even help me."
"Sylvain is trying to stall you for a reason. I will give you my advice, and it will be up to you who to listen to. Make yourself comfortable in the camp first, and when you wake up one day, you will know when it's time."
My eyes opened to the dark ceiling of mine and Rook's tent. From feeling the stagnant chill and silent atmosphere around me, I knew it was night. I sat up slowly, surprised that I could, and even more surprised that I didn't
hurt nearly as badly as I had. It seemed the swelling over my body had gone down considerably, and my ribs ached a little less. I looked around a bit, not spotting Rook, and wondered how long I'd been out.
With curiosity pulling me forward I stood and stepped out with plans to go relieve myself. The bathrooms were located just a short walk away from the westernmost row of tents, where my old tent used to be. I reached the line of restrooms and saw Rook walking back from them. For a moment he seemed surprised to see me, but I was stunned at how pale he looked. I'd never seen so much color drained from a person's face before. Rook looked... haunted.
"Whoa, glad to see you're finally up, Crow," he greeted, but that was it from him. His expression remained dark, and he didn't wait for me to respond.
"Rook... are you okay?" I asked as he walked by, but he ignored my question. Rook never called me by my name unless there was a serious situation at hand. There were bruises on his neck that I hadn't noticed earlier. Once I was back from the restrooms, he refused to talk about what had gone on while I was asleep. I tried bringing it up again, but he averted the inquiry and moved away from the subject entirely.
"You were out for a couple days, you know," he commented, leaning back against his cot and chewing on an energy bar. "We had to do twice the work."
I wasn't surprised by this. Two days ago I'd felt awful.
"Did something happen while I was asleep?" I tried a third time, keeping keen eyes on his face to read for any expression changes.
"Yeah, some dickhead managed to find my treasure trove. I had to bribe him with my last cake to get him to keep it a secret. It sucked." He sighed. "I was saving that."
"Rook... I mean..." I trailed off, unsure if I should keep trying to press him. He clearly didn't want to talk about it. Instead of pushing, I rolled over in my cot and reminisced about my dream.
"Hey, inmate."
I slowly straightened from my position on the floor of an old cafeteria used for execution sessions. It hadn't been used for a little while, but I was placed in charge of getting it ready. I dropped the debris I'd been clearing out and turned toward the entrance. A woman stood there, illuminated by an outline of white sunlight. Her blue hair looked twice as bright.
"Rook is planning another riot for you. I told him it was a dumb thing to do. Keep your crazy ideas to yourself, would you? I can't afford to break up another fight."
I rolled my eyes. "I didn't ask him to plan anything for me. And after what happened last time, I'm not that interested in trying again."
"Whatever. Just keep yourself in check. My father keeps talking about you, and it's really getting on my nerves. I feel like I need to be your damn babysitter."
I dusted off my hands and approached her, my insides uncomfortably hot from her spiny words. I hadn't had the best few days, and I wasn't about to submit to Blank's ill attitude. I stopped inches from her face, staring her down.
"Well, I'd hate to inconvenience you, princess."
A smart slap struck my cheek as Blank threw her hand across my face. Her eyes were bright and guarded, and her cheeks were red with a flush.
"Watch your mouth. I'm not some dumb broad that you can just intimidate, duster, regardless of who you are."
Her slap had been nothing compared to Stone's beatings, but I took one step back on impulse. I wasn't done, though. I was tired of being the criminal, here, and I was through with being everyone's enemy.
"Clearly you have something else you want to say to me. Otherwise you would have taken your leave by now. I've watched how you act around everybody," I pointed.
"You don't know a thing about me. I came here to tell you to stop being a dumbass starting fights. And stop manipulating Rook into following your lead. He's still a kid."
She shouldn't have brought Rook into this. Rook had told me several times now that Blank was friends with him, but I considered myself a friend of Rook's as well. I hadn't employed him to participate in any of my ideas, and most of the time he hadn't. His earnest desire to help with rallying the other prisoners was all him.
"Can I get back to work now, ma'am?" I seethed.
Her scowl shadowed her face even more than the darkness in the cafeteria. She turned on her heel and headed off toward the southern edge of the camp with a guard following her.
10
Inner World
Rook the Lucky managed to band together a good-sized group just a few days later. Donothan was there again, but this time he only looked at me and nodded his head, not saying a word. Rook stood beside me munching on a roll as I addressed the group for the second time. Some of them jeered at me, but I was quick to catch it.
"For those of you who participated in my abuse the other day, I'd like to thank you. Because I now know who I can trust and who I can't. Anybody who has a problem with me taking the lead around here from now on can go talk to Miss Blank."
That managed to shut up the jeering prisoners rather quickly. Though Blank had been reluctant at first, refused outright actually, Rook managed to wheedle her into at least standing outside the theater in case another fight started.
"So what are we planning, blackie?" Rook asked. "Are we going to take over the camp?"
"No, because there are too many guards for that. You forget to count the girls' side. I have a different plan." I smiled a little. "It's going to be a slow process, but it will be effective. As a Strejc, I know the model of robot that most of these guards are, and I'm going to teach you all how to reprogram these big chunks of metal to work with us. We'll have an easier time here."
"So you're not actually planning on getting us out?" a prisoner questioned.
I raised an eyebrow. "I don't trust you all enough to plan an entire mass-escape."
"Fair enough," Donothan spoke up. "So how ya plan on gettin' us educated, shuck?"
Rook turned toward him and chucked his half-eaten roll at the man, who didn't miss getting struck squarely in the face with it.
"It's 'blackie,' you ass, unless you want a 'blackie' around that eye I just pegged."
Donothan snarled, but Blank cleared her throat from outside to hush the two of them up.
"Rook? Would you, please?" I asked, tugging on the thief's arm.
He gave Scar one more icy glower before he turned and rushed to the back of the stage. A moment later he hurried back, pulling out a chalkboard he'd prepared. He’d also managed to find a couple of pieces of chalk and an eraser from the nearby schoolhouse to complete the set. Some inmates rolled their eyes, but Blank’s presence kept any of them from griping. I gave them the quickest cram session any Strejc would ever have had, explaining how to restart a basic model robot and rework its thought process. My lesson took up most of the chalk board, and I had to clarify several things to the more mystified-looking prisoners.
The front doors to the auditorium burst open and a guard stormed in, armed with a gun at his chest and looking angry. What the…? Blank is supposed to be keeping an eye out!
"What is all this?" he demanded. "All you dogs better get back to work before I start shooting!"
Thankfully he was not a human. That notable ring to his voice was a dead giveaway. I met the gazes of some of the more avid prisoners, and they were quick to try their hand at reworking a robot. A small group of them broke from the crowd and scattered through the seats, making their way up to the guard who'd already started to call for backup. He was quickly joined by several others.
This was my chance as well, not to demonstrate how to reprogram a machine, but to go wild again. I leapt off the stage, over a couple of people, and made my way up to one of the guards. He shot, but I'd premeditated his action and managed to reach him before he could try again. I hooked my arm around his neck and swung myself up, slamming my elbow into the back of his head so that he stumbled into a position where I could press hard just below the right ear, hitting his reboot switch. As the guard dropped to his front, I left a couple of fingers there and used my leg to fend off another guard just coming into the theater. I ki
cked him in the jaw until he turned his attention to another prisoner, then went back to work on the first officer. I found a series of buttons by lightly running my thumb down his neck, located just under the skin. After punching in a sequence, the guard lay motionless for a moment in standby, giving the prisoners their chances at performing the same stunt I had.
Eventually every prisoner stood victorious over the rebooted guards. Rook came back from behind the curtains once everything had gone quiet, and the rest of us waited to witness our handiwork.
Gradually the guards awoke. They looked around in a state of confusion at first, then focused on the inmates.
"What are you all doing in here? Every one of you will receive punishment!"
"...It didn't work," one of the prisoners muttered.
"Wait," I urged. I took a step toward the guards. "You don't want to punish us," I replied to the speaker clearly.
"...We don't want to punish you," the guard replied.
"No, you don't. And you also don't want to mention any of this to the warden, or any of the other guards. In fact, all you guys are our friends. You take care of us all."
"...Yes. Yes we do," said the guard. He turned to his comrades. "You heard the inmate. None of this will be mentioned to the warden. We'll be taking care of these inmates from now on."
"Even from other guards who wish to harm us," I added.
"Yes, of course," said the guard. "We'll leave you all alone for now." And with that, they turned and filed out of the theater in an orderly fashion.
One of the prisoners patted my shoulder. "Good work, blackie. Looks like they're on our side now."
I smiled calmly, though internally I was fuming at Blank. "Yeah... And now you know what to do to any of them that try to harass you."
After most of the inmates had trickled out, riding high on their newfound power, I confronted Blank. She’d remained outside the door to the auditorium, fiddling with a strand of her blue hair. Though she’d been slouching as everyone had passed, she straightened when I approached her.