Alkalians

by Caleb S. Bugai

  “Oh, really? Interesting. Then what happened?”

  “Well, at some point, right after I blasted the gray one, the black one suddenly forgot about me and completely turned on it. They tumbled about, snarling and slashing at each other, and then the black kicked the gray one away, sending its screaming form down into a deep ravine. The beast turned back to me, fixed its eyes upon me with its teeth in a creepy grin, and then lunged at me again, followed by the other raptors, but with a few more strokes and spells, one of them impaling the big one under its side, I sent them all running away.”

  “Huh. Weird, indeed. Did ya go back for them, though? With your dad or others?”

  “Uh, no. Why would I?”

  “To bag one for a trophy, of course! It’s not everyday somebody comes across those wild things, especially the big ones, and lives to tell about it. It would have been something if you hunted them down and made a trophy of one!”

  “Oh, heh, right. Well, I did ask about that, but my dad, oddly enough, was against the idea of hunting down that murder of raptors.”

  “Hmm? Why’s that?”

  “Well, he said something about them, and then when I thought back, I noticed what he meant. He said that raptors aren’t like other animals in the wild, that there was something unnerving about them, something that makes the idea of hunting them dangerous. And, when I thought back, I saw it. I saw it, in the big raptors’ eyes. The black one’s blood-red eyes, the gray one’s evil green eye, there wasn’t just the primal instincts in them, but there was also intelligence behind them. I hadn’t reflected back on it until then, but it was like they had an intelligence similar to ours, that they could think things through, read movements, make decisions. I don’t know for sure if they really can do such things, but I’m going with the hunch that they can, especially since my dad was the one who pointed it out.”

  “Uh huh. I see. So the bloody brutes could also be evil geniuses, that’s what you’re saying?”

  “Uh, yeah, I guess that’s it.”

  Buster laughs, surprising the sobering Matt, and declares, “All the greater the challenge, then! I’ll tell you now, Matt, hell, I’ll even promise ya, that one of these days I’m gonna climb the mountains out in Riaquen and bag me one of those big bad birds. In fact, I’ll blow the whole mountain down and bag a whole murder of them!”

  “Heh, well, good luck with that, then.” They walk along for a moment in silence before Matt smiles and says, “I guess Sean was right.”

  “Hmm? About what?”

  “He said that alcohol helps open people up to others. I’ve never been this open so quickly with a guy I just met. On top of that, I’ve never told anyone else about those raptors. But you know what? It felt good to talk about it.”

  “Well, then the feeling’s mutual, pal!” Flashing him a grin, Buster then points ahead of them to the cabins showing in the distance. “There be the cabins, home sweet home. Guess this is where we go our own ways, then!”

  “Ah, yeah. You have a good night, Buster.”

  “The same to ya, Matt. Good night, man!” With a farewell wave, Buster marches off towards the seniors’ lot of cabins, and Matt still has a content smile when he turns and moves on to the freshmen cabins.

  ***

  Upon returning to his cabin, Matt meets up with Sean and Rose, who have finished dinner and wondered where he had been all evening. Matt simply says he had done some studying with Lyn and her girls, then went to the casino for a few rounds in the pit arena. He thinks better than to mention the boss students joining up with them in front of Sean at that moment. Content with his answers, Sean heads out the door for his daily gambling at the casino, and it isn’t long before Matt and Rose are showering together.

  Under the warm water raining down on them, with his hand guiding a soapy sponge down her bare back, Matt breaks the soothing calm between them when he says, “You know, you didn’t have to wait for me to wash up, Rose.”

  “Oh, no, it’s fine,” Rose admits. “I actually prefer doing this with you, then it’s more relaxing.”

  “Heh, I guess that’s true. The same goes for me.” Matt smiles as he washes down her hips and legs, no longer feeling physical desires for her after his time with Amelia. Once she turns so he can start back up top at her chest, he asks, “How was training today?”

  “Ah, actually, I didn’t have to train with Serpanz today,” she replies. “Although, you could say I still got my workout done.”

  “Oh? Do tell.”

  “Well, you know Buster Harmada, one of the boss students? He found me out in the fields, and after some light conversation we had a duel, and I beat him!”

  Blinking at the coincidence she had met and fought with Buster that day, too, Matt exclaims, “Really? Good job!”

  “Heh, thanks. He also wanted me to let you know that he’s not with Cain anymore, he wants to help us take him down. Is that okay with you?”

  “Ah, yeah, it’s alright. Especially since he told me so, himself.”

  “He did? When?”

  Matt explains as he brings the sponge down across her waist and between her legs, “Well, I was still at the casino, in the pit arena, when he showed up and challenged me to a fight. I was worried when he wound up defeating me, but relieved when he finally told me he wasn’t with Cain anymore.”

  Rose can’t help but chuckle. “Aw, he defeated you, eh? A shame you couldn’t have beat him, like I did!”

  “Hah, yeah. It was close, though, so maybe next time I’ll have my revenge!” They both laugh as he stands and steps back, letting Rose rinse herself off. After he gives her the sponge so she can wash him, he goes on while she starts at his chest, “So, Buster’s not the only boss student who wants to help us. Cynthia Volvaron also wants to switch sides.”

  “Oh, really? How did that go?”

  “I was still in the study hall with Lyn and the others when she showed up, and she told us about her newfound hatred of Cain and her intent to bring him down. She said something else, though, to prove she was willing to help us. She knew about our fight, Rose, and what was going on behind the scene. Cain had Irene Goros watching from far off, ready to shoot you if you demorphed and frame me for it.”

  Sensing the pain in his tone, the effort it takes for him to tell her, Rose grimaces, forcing her gaze downward to not look at the scars still across his neck while she washes down the front of him. “Yeah. I learned about that today, too. Buster blurted it out to me after our fight for his reason of switching sides.”

  “Oh. I see.” Matt looks up after a moment of silence goes between them, asking, “Why are there bad people like them, like Cain and Irene, in the world, Rose?”

  “I don’t know, Matt,” Rose tells him as she stands and moves behind him, dragging the sponge across his shoulders and back. “But they won’t get away with it. We’ll make them regret ever having threatened us, before this is over. You can be sure of that.”

  “…Let’s hope so.” He pauses for a moment. “Rose?”

  “Yes?”

  “I, I’m glad we’re friends. I’m glad that we’re this close.”

  Rose pauses her washing of his hips and legs, then stands up straight, turns Matt around, and embraces him, pressing their warm bodies together. “As am I, Matt.”

  While Rose puts her head against his shoulder, Matt blinks in confusion for a moment, feeling something odd between them, before he returns the embrace gratefully. He understands what the feeling is as they hold each other. While it was Amelia who provided him physical relief, it was Rose who shared mental and spiritual relief with him.

  Chapter 9

  Liberators and Oppressors

  ***

  The night passes into a new day, the last day of school hours before the weekend. Once school is over, Sean is outside the main college building near the main road, continuing his part to undermine Cain’s position among the community by flashing his crafty words for a group of students gathered around him. “You know, you’ve got to won
der what’s wrong with Cain these days,” he tells them, his arm around the shoulders of a pretty brunette girl sitting beside him. “I mean, with most people, he would have come chasing after them like some mad bull. But now, when some freshman with special powers shows up, he’s hiding away in his lonely little closet, hoping the monster he calls Matt won’t get him!”

  The students laugh, and Sean continues, “So, the last time I looked it up, the definition of a tyrant is someone who rules through fear, power, cruel conviction, and with an iron fist. Therefore, that makes the definition of Cain Incarein simple, he’s the complete opposite. He’s so spooked and wimpy now, he’d run away screaming from a box of kittens!”

  Some of the guys roll over in laughter, and the girl slaps his back while chuckling, leaning into his shoulder. He kisses her on the forehead before going on more satirically, “But yeah, truly, the big bad boss we once knew as Cain is no more. To think, he would belittle himself to hiding and sneaking about, spreading silly rumors and lies around, all because of one freshman, who doesn’t want trouble with anyone? If he had any dignity left, Cain ought to come out and apologize, plead for Matt’s forgiveness, clean up his attitude. If not that, at least confront him one more time, and go down in a blaze of glory or something. But, alas, it seems Cain has no such dignity left in him. Oh well, his loss, not ours!”

  The spectators laugh some more. Sean grins at his moment of popular attraction until he hears a cold voice from behind him speak when the students cease their laughter. “If Cain had any dignity left, which I’m sure he does, he wouldn’t go waste it on freshman scum like Matt Calamos, or you.”

  Sean and his audience turn to the source of voice and see it is Irene Goros. Fright awakens within Sean’s inner parts, and it proves contagious as the others gulp or twitch. He puts on an act of being humored by her appearance, and says politely, “Hey, if it isn’t Miss Irene Goros! How ya doing today? Have you come to share cut-downs of the ex-Invincible Warrior?”

  Irene shows a sinister smile and replies, “Actually, I’m here to cut down anyone who dares to insult Cain Incarein, who just so happens to be my boss. He has given me precise instructions that if I find someone mocking him, I am to shut them up in his name.”

  The students, excluding Sean, already have the feeling to scram and leave with haste, the girl beside him flashing an apologetic look as she gets up and follows them. Sean looks after them, waving his hand good-bye and smiling as he truly feels disgusted they had ditched him, to let him be the scapegoat. He turns back to Irene with more pleading in his voice. “Hehe, well, you know how much I love making jokes about people. All I’m doing is making them more colorful! I personally don’t think Cain would want me tarnished for things so silly, I would guess that he laughs at them himself! You know what I mean, right?”

  Irene continues her chilling leer toward him. “Yes, I do, you inferior rodent, scampering about and squeaking. There are some people, in case you haven’t learned, who don’t tolerate annoying vermin running around them, and would rather see them exterminated. Do you get what I mean?”

  Sean gulps again, trying to think up any excuse to keep Irene from fighting him. While he feels confident in his morph’s abilities and potential, he is still intimidated by Irene, whose skill in her battle morph is as merciless as her demeanor. He squeaks out, which doesn’t help his case, “Well, why would you even be working for Cain? Last I heard, you were under Cynthia’s command, and now I find you switched bosses! Say, just how often do you turn coats, anyway?”

  “That’s none of your business,” threateningly purrs Irene, and she walks closer to Sean, who scrambles backwards and onto his feet, slowly backing up to stay out of her reach. “You see, I’d be less worried about who I serve, and more about how I’m going to tear you apart. Should I make this quick and impacting, or should I drag it out, so that it’s slow and painful?”

  Sean is running out of ideas to keep this rogue, battle-hungry Alkalian off his back. “Actually,” he begs one more time, digging up things he had heard going around, “I do worry about your business, as I’ve heard some weird stories about you recently. Getting drunk at the casino, going out with strange-acting characters, and flirting with other women? Is any of that true, because I’m having trouble seeing it myself, and…”

  “It’s all true,” Irene says, knocking down Sean’s last reserves, leaving him gaping. “And I don’t care what you think of my activities. I’ve my own freedom to choose what I do, as I’m a senior and have good enough grades and reputation to not bother anyone important. I will do whatever I want around here, and I’ve not met anyone caring enough to try and stop me.”

  “If you turn around, you finally will,” enters a well-familiar, calm voice. Sean looks past Irene, who spins to the source of the voice. Dante stands a few yards away, hands in his pockets and his eyes glazed with concern. The angle at which the sun’s rays hit him makes it seem his suit is shining amber.

  Irene, at first irritated to see him, smirks at Dante, sweetly saying, “Why, younger brother, whatever do you mean? You, of all people, should know I’m perfectly fine with my choices.”

  Dante explains in ample tones, “Before I did, but I’ve begun to learn things beyond my prior realm of understanding. My loyal partners have been informing me of disturbing details about your ‘harmless’ recreation activities. Bullying lower class students whenever you feel like it. Getting wild and reckless at the gambling tables, and therefore losing all your money. And, as Sean stated, an increasing rate of flirting with other women. I believe you were raised to behave better than that, sister.”

  Irene snuffs at his accusations. “Oh, there’s nothing wrong with all that, can’t you tell I’m just having fun? What’s the matter with some experiments along the edge of standard moral?”

  “Along the edge, indeed. And if you fall over, all that awaits you is regret and despair,” Dante answers while camouflaging a snarl. “You are disgracing our family in these savage practices, and if they ever found out about them, you would be properly punished and reminded of what is expected of you as the first-born heir to Saratu.”

  “What they won’t know won’t hurt them. I assure you, these past time enjoyments won’t become habits, and I shall not bring them into my duties after college.”

  “I can’t take the chance that testimony will remain your state-of-mind. From what I’ve observed, you’re constantly changing your view towards different topics, doing whatever pleases you best and following what others think is cool. If you were to meditate on such a matter, you should see that this kind of attitude is not…”

  “Shut up, Dante,” growls Irene, her temper starting to rise. “I have nothing to worry about. I can take care of myself.”

  “Can you? I have seen that you switch from serving one boss student to another, without any care or logical reason. You’re as unpredictable as the wind in a storm. Instead of following other boss students, you should have at least been a boss student, yourself. You always follow, and point blame for your actions to others. You never lead, or take responsibility for yourself. If you’re supposed to be the heir of the Goros clan, thus the next leader of the state of Saratu, why aren’t you practicing your leadership skills, instead of being a sell-sword for those who won’t be leaders in the real world?”

  “Are you saying that I…” begins Irene’s vicious outburst, but she catches herself and chuckles. She comes over to Dante and pinches his cheek while saying, “I get it. You’re finally trying to take the chief position in our order, and now you’re using my outskirts as an excuse to force me out of being heir. Clever, little brother, very clever. But it won’t be that easy for you.”

  Dante doesn’t flinch from her touching him, and counters by saying, “Yes, if it went that far, these absurd behaviors could jeopardize your first-born right to the monarchy, but that’s not why I’m telling you all this. Believe it or not, I’m deeply worried about your transactions, and don’t want them to lead you down the wrong path
s in the future. You are letting others and your own selfish, unorthodox beliefs blow you around, rather than being guided by the breeze of the Wind Spirit. I wish it that you will become the upright and responsible woman, and leader, you are meant to be. Not just for our family affairs, but for the sake of the entire state we rule. Will you please understand what I’m saying, Irene? I want to help you, not hurt you.”

  For a moment, amazement and remorse warm Irene’s burning eyes at Dante’s words. But the flames rekindle as she stomps pass him, stopping to say, “I will be fine, and so will the state of Saratu. Count on it.” She then leaves Sean and Dante there alone by the main road, heading off in the direction of the casino.

  When Irene becomes a speck in the distance, Sean says to Dante, also watching after her, “Yeah, family drama, it sucks. I’ve had my share of it. But, there’s a bright side to all this. Your little argument made her forget about shooting me up!”

  Dante shows no sign of reaction, and instead pulls out a cigarette and his rune lighter and puffs a few small clouds, his stare still on the horizon. Sean glances to the cigarette and asks, “So, how often do you smoke those things, hmm?”

  This gets Dante attention. With a startled look he admits, “Excuse me, I didn’t even notice it.” He drops the cigarette and stamps it out, then looks back to Sean. “Now that I’ve found you, I can tell you the news.”