“I’ll take care of you. Just relax,” Alisa said and stepped into the bathroom.
What she found was everything she would need to patch him up. The box contained alcohol, bandages, and even some sutures. She had never been much of a nurse, considering she had no formal training, but Alisa had learned to patch her brother up from a young age when he would bite off more than he could chew with some older boys. Maybe that would be enough experience to help Lee.
“This is going to hurt, but I need you to stay still,” Alisa said as she motioned for Lee to sit on the bed and sat down behind him.
“What are you about to do?” Sarah asked in concern. She knew the blade would have to come out sooner or later, but she was worried that pulling it out could do even more damage.
“Trust me. I’m just going to pull the blade out. We don’t have a choice other than to take it out, and from what I can tell, it’s only buried in the muscle. It shouldn’t do much damage to remove it and close up the wound,” Alisa said.
“You said shouldn’t. What if it . . .” Sarah managed to say before Lee interrupted.
“It’s fine, Mom. I trust Alisa, and it has to come out soon anyway. I’m obviously not going to get any help from a doctor, so this is our only option,” he said, although in truth he wasn’t quite as relaxed about this as he sounded. Lee feared the pain that would come, and a part of him wondered if removing the blade might hurt him worse, but this was all they could do.
Sarah nodded for Alisa to continue, and she reached out, taking the end of the blade in her hand. Lee winced, knowing what was about to come. Just before she pulled it out, Alisa leaned in, kissed his cheek, and whispered something into his ear. “Sorry,” she said and pulled it out as straightly and quickly as she could. Out of instinct, Lee yelled out as his muscles and the edge of his shoulder blade were sliced open all over again. Then, just as quickly as the pain had taken hold of him, it began to fade little by little.
Unfortunately, they weren’t through, however. Alisa disinfected the wound, adding a burning sensation to Lee’s flesh as the infection seemed to boil out rather than fade away. All of this was almost too much for him, but he simply winced as she continued. After all, he liked this girl enough to fight for her staying with them. He didn’t want to seem weak to Alisa. Stitching him up ended his bravery, however, as he jumped and let out little cries of pain with every stick. After ten long minutes, it was finally over, though.
“There, all done, you big baby,” Alisa joked with a grin.
“Big baby? I just had a knife pulled out of my back, and I was sewed up by an amateur all without pain medicine. I would say I’m one of the toughest men on the planet right now,” he said, smiling for the first time in a while.
“Wounds are all too common on the outside. Sooner or later, we outsiders get used to amateurs sewing us up,” Alisa said and motioned to a scar on her thigh. It was old and somewhat faded, but Lee could tell that it was probably quite the wound back when it happened.
“What happened to you?” Lee asked.
“It was a long time ago. I stole bread from a street vendor, and he didn’t like it. I was only ten at the time, but that was his livelihood. He stabbed me with a short knife. I was lucky it didn’t hit an artery, and Henry was never very good at patching people up, so I nearly died, but we got a good laugh out of it later.”
“He just stabbed you? You were only ten,” Lee said, as if that somehow meant something in the outside world.
“That was all he had to exchange for credits. He protected what was his, and I couldn’t blame him. I learned my lesson, too.”
“So you stopped stealing?” Sarah asked.
“Nope. I just got a lot better at taking things. I must have stolen from him a dozen times after that. I can’t say I ever felt good about it, but we do what we have to in order to survive. That’s how I know we’ll all be fine. Lee, despite never being wounded, made it through a rough stitching job by me, and Alex will make it through whatever surgery the doctors have to do to make him right. Then we’ll bide our time.”
“Until what exactly? What are we planning to do?” Travis asked.
While they were talking, Lee had been scanning the room. It was a large luxury bedroom with even more comforts than they had back at home. A television, which was something even he wasn’t accustomed to seeing, sat on a table across from the bed. There were no broadcasts, so what could possibly be watched on it he had no idea. Still, it showed that these people had truly scavenged everywhere to find something like that. Next, he spied a fruit tray with apples, oranges, grapes, and strawberries. They were rich in Raines, but they didn’t have a luxury like that just sitting in every room. Just how rich was New Vegas, and how did they accumulate so much wealth? Finally, he spied the thing that changed it all. In the corner at the top of the room, a camera with a red light blinking on the end of it had been installed. Everything they were saying was probably being monitored.
“I think that’s clear. We’re going to ki . . .” Alisa managed to say before he interrupted her.
“We should talk about anything other than this,” Lee said and motioned toward the camera. The others saw it and grew quiet, knowing that saying anything else could get everyone killed.
“I know something that none of you do,” Travis said and scowled. He had known he was going to have to tell the others about Charles’s plans, but he hated to. They already had so much on them. Could they handle knowing that everyone they loved back at home was probably going to die, too?
“What is it?” Sarah asked, the worry showing on her face. She had read the misery coming from Travis, and she knew that this wasn’t going to be good news.
He told them about how the trade deal had all been an easy way to see how large their supply of goods was in Raines, and then he told them what Charles planned to do. Sarah took a seat beside her son when Travis was done, not knowing what to do or say. Her daughter and Roger were there. For that matter, the people she had once served as leader were in that city. She had grown to love so many of them in her life. How could Sarah live with herself knowing that it was her foolishness that would lead New Vegas’s army to their doorsteps?
“It’s okay, Mom. We’ll fix this,” Lee immediately said.
“No, for the first time I don’t think we can,” Sarah said and shook her head.
No one knew what to say. Travis thought she was right, and how could Alisa realistically have hope that they could save their people? Hers had been dominated by Charles since she was born, and she had seen so many other civilizations taken down by his army, too.
“We still have each other. I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, but I do know this. We’re alive, and right now, that’s the only thing that matters. I love you, Mom. We’ll make this right when we can, but until then, let’s all stick together. Drowning in misery won’t help things,” Lee said, surprisingly being the strongest one in the room.
Sarah laid her head on his shoulder. She had always been everyone’s rock, but for the first time, with her husband in surgery, her city in peril, and her life completely forfeit to a mad man, she didn’t know how not to fall apart. That was okay, though. Lee stayed as strong as he could, and Travis tried his best to stay positive for everyone, too. For then, it was all they could do.
It was during that time when Alisa started to truly respect Lee. She had thought of him as a kind and cute boy, but now she was seeing that he was more than that. He was an insider, and he wasn’t as accustomed to this world as the men she knew, but one thing was for certain. Lee was no mere boy. There was strength in him, which was good, because they would need all the strength they could get in the coming weeks.
Time passed slowly as they waited for news about Alex. They didn’t know what they would find out, but having to wait did at least one good thing. Little by little, each one of them was getting used to the idea of what their new reality would be. It wouldn’t be easy, but they only had two choices. They could play the
role and bide their time, or they could all die. The choice was clear. Besides, even if they couldn’t come up with a way to escape, Roger and Veronica would rescue them, wouldn’t they?
Chapter 16
Waking Up
Alex awoke to an overwhelming pain in his hip and glanced down to see that he was wrapped in bandages from the waist down. A cast probably would have been better, but he doubted if these people wanted to spare too many resources on him. Then again, he had no idea why they were helping him to begin with. Shouldn’t they all be dead now? The last thing Alex remembered was passing out and wondering if he would ever see his family again.
“Good. You’re awake. Mr. Boyd will be pleased,” a woman dressed in a maid’s uniform said.
“I’m confused. How did I end up here?” Alex asked as he took note of the room that he was in. It was grand with a custom-made bed and hard wood floors with art on the walls. He was likely in a bedroom located within the palace.
“It’s complicated, but I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough.”
“Where is my family?” Alex asked as the most important thing suddenly dawned on him. Were they still alive?
“You don’t have to worry. They’re safe. Well, safe might not be the right word, but they’re alive.”
“Thank God!” Alex said and let out a sigh of relief.
“I wouldn’t thank Him just yet. There are worse things than death, you know,” she said cryptically.
“Like what exactly?”
“Like this. My parents rose up against Mr. Boyd a long time ago. As a matter of fact, so did a lot of people. There was a revolution about twenty years ago. Charles was young and reckless back then, so we thought we actually had a chance, but his army crushed our families, and he took all the children into his service as penance. Since then, we’ve served him in whatever way we possibly could because what other choice do we have?” she asked, though it wasn’t really a question. It was more of a conclusion to one that she had come to terms with a long time ago. This woman was a slave, and she would be one until the day she died.
“What’s your name?” Alex asked her.
“Fiona, and if you’re smart, you’ll play along. Your family will live a lot longer if you do.”
“You have it all wrong. How many of you are there in this palace?”
“About half the maids, guards, and cooks are from the revolution.”
“Then you hold all the power you need. You could poison him or even kill him in his sleep, but make no mistake about it. Charles Boyd has absolutely no power when all of you exist right here in his home.”
“We can’t speak of this anymore! He has eyes and ears everywhere,” Fiona said, looking paranoid.
“That might be so, but I’m telling you the truth. Power is an illusion for the rich and ruling to flash around, but power isn’t held by leaders. It’s held by the people who choose to give it to them, because in the blink of an eye, they can just as easily take it away.”
At that moment, a guard walked in and motioned for her to leave. Fiona looked troubled. Was she actually considering what Alex had said, or did she only fear that they could have been overheard? He didn’t know, but Alex did understand one thing. If it was a slave Charles wanted, then he would give it to him for a while, but just when Boyd started to feel like he had all the power in the world, Alex would slit his throat and take back his freedom, along with everyone else’s in that palace.
“It’s my duty to make sure you’re not hiding any weapons before he comes to talk to you,” the guard explained as he checked the bed.
“Who?”
“Mr. Boyd. He wants to brief you on what your duties will be when you’ve healed enough to stand.”
“And what makes him think that I’ll do anything for him?”
“Your family is still alive thanks to mercy that he doesn’t give often. He won’t hesitate to kill them if you don’t play by the rules, so if I were you, I would be very careful what I said in front of him. It’s likely to get someone killed,” the guard warned, though it sounded more like a threat that was going to materialize very soon. Then he walked out of the room.
Alex lay alone for fifteen minutes just thinking about what he should say. He couldn’t show all of his cards right now. If he did, that guard would be correct, and they would all die. He needed to seem grateful but in a realistic way. That would require some level of hate to be shown toward Charles but also an acceptance of the situation and relief for his own safety.
Finally, Charles walked into the room, though he wasn’t alone. The guard from earlier was back, and he was holding Fiona in front of him with a knife to her throat. They had been heard earlier. There was no doubt about it, but why would they hurt her? It had been Alex’s idea to kill Charles.
“What is the meaning of this?” Alex asked in shock.
“There’s plenty of meaning in it. You would seek to kill me after I saved your family. I’m your best friend now, Alex. I’m the reason you get to live, even though you were too weak to earn that right for yourself. I’m the reason your wife and son aren’t dead, too. You’ll even be spared in the coming war, while everyone we don’t take as slaves from Raines will be killed. You’re the lucky ones, so start being grateful, or see what it’s like to watch those you care about die,” Charles said and motioned for the guard to act.
“No!” Alex yelled and leaned forward before a pain shot through his hip and forced him back down to the bed.
Then the guard sliced her throat. Blood spilled onto the floor as she dropped to her knees and attempted to stop the spurting blood with her hands, but it was no use. The seconds felt like minutes as they passed in slow motion for Alex. He wanted to help, to do anything, but here he was, useless. Finally, she turned pale, and Fiona fell face down on the floor, kicking and gurgling as death took hold of her.
“Why would you do that? She had been in your service since she was a child!” Alex yelled.
“To provide a very important lesson for you. You’re new, so you can’t be held accountable before you know the rules. Any servant caught planning or even engaging in talk of a revolution is killed without hesitation.”
“She didn’t even talk. I did! She said it would get her killed.”
“And she was right, as you can see. It was your foolishness that got Fiona killed. It’s a pity, too. I was rather fond of the girl, but she served her purpose, and there will be others like her. Now, have you learned your lesson?” Charles asked with a wide grin.
Alex said nothing. He couldn’t bring himself to even look at Charles. If he did, he knew he would spit in his face, and that might just be a death sentence for someone else.
“When I speak to you, I need you to answer. You can get with the program, or you can watch the next person I choose to kill. Spoiler alert! It’s your wife, and that would truly be a shame. She’s a little seasoned, but even so, she’s quite the beauty.”
“I understand,” Alex said and nodded with little other choice.
“Good boy! You’ll learn yet. That injury you had will set you back a while, by the way. My doctors managed to repair some of the damage in your hip. Ordinarily, it would take four months to make a recovery from something like that, but I don’t think royal plumbers need quite that long. That’ll be your job, Alex. You have six weeks to walk and two months to be moving around well enough to do your duty. After that, if you don’t get with the program, you and every other person you love will die. Do we understand each other?”
“Perfectly,” Alex said.
“Good, then I’ve done everything I came here to do. Oh, but there was one more thing,” he said and turned around with that same smug grin he had all too often. “I never wanted that trade deal we talked about. I just wanted to know if Raines could produce that many goods in a short amount of time. That told me how rich your city was, and it also told me that mine could be that much richer. It’ll take a little while to put together a good plan for war, but they’ll never see it coming. We’
re going to crush the place you worked so hard to build, and in the process, we’ll probably kill your daughter, not that she doesn’t deserve it. We gave that girl three square meals per day and servants. She was the best kept prisoner in the world, and she ran away for a city that will be ashes soon.”
“You son of a bitch!” Alex yelled.
“Careful. I might be a son of a bitch, but you’re a beaten man with no leverage. You don’t have much left, Alex, but you do have your family. I will take them from you if I have to.”
Alex nodded, not knowing what else to do. His mind was racing, however. This man had his family, and Alex couldn’t do a thing about it because he could barely move. Then there was something almost as bad over the horizon. New Vegas would invade Raines eventually, and he doubted if they would ever see it coming. He had worked his whole life with Sarah to provide a better life for the citizens of Raines. Was it all supposed to end this way?
After Charles walked out of the room, his smile immediately vanished. He had been alive for forty-two years and had been ruling New Vegas since he was seventeen when his father died. He found that some theatrics were necessary to get respect back then. Everyone thought of him as little more than a child. Advisers were sent to him that would supposedly help him, but Charles knew the truth. They were supposed to run the country while the young and inexperienced ruler sat back and enjoyed being a figurehead. That wasn’t for him, however, and Charles had all of them beheaded and placed their heads on spikes outside the palace. It was something he had only read about and seen in a few old films his ancestors had scavenged through the years, but it certainly had the desired effect. The people, seeing the severed heads, got the message. Charles Boyd was not a man to be trifled with.
As expected, no advisers dared volunteer to help him again. At the time, they were a weak city full of disarmed citizens who were pacifists. His father had believed to get society back to where it used to be the citizens must be civilized again, so he built this peaceful place that practiced in some of the gambling habits in its roots, but overall, it was filled with weak people who would perish in the first fight that came their way. Charles wasn’t going to let that happen. He knew he would have to desensitize them from violence first. He would even need to make up a few threats to make them paranoid.
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