“You’ve got a plan?” the wife said enthusiastically.
“You bet, but it means you may never see him again.”
“No! I won’t…I-I can’t!” she protested.
“Honey, we knew this might happen. Lets hear him out,” her husband answered, putting his arm around her and pulling her in.
Tears began to well in both of their eyes, but they held them back. One thing that Aegion could say, these parents loved their kid, he needed to pull this off, or else more than just their lives would be at stake.
She nodded, and he continued, “When I get caught in a situation where I got Malos closin in on me, the best places to hide were right out in front of them, blendin in.
“If I’m in town, I find where the most people are gathered and strike up a conversation with them, if it’s out in the Wilds, I just find a grove of trees and stand as quietly as possible until they pass. The same can be true on a bigger scale. In order to hide yer boy, we need to put him in a place that they would never look because it’s right in front of them.”
The look on the couples face went from sadness to curiosity. He gave them a moment to speak, to protest, or say anything, but they stayed quiet, so he continued.
“The way I figure it, the safest place to be for any of us right now is right there in the walls of Lutetia, or more specifically the most impenetrable place of all, the Nosen District of Lutetia.”
Now their look changed to disbelief, but he didn’t let them protest.
“We’ve all heard the stories of what life is like inside, but one thing is for sure, ain't no way Malos would look for him there. I’m guessin at least one of you knows how to get past the gate, am I right?”
The man looked at his wife and nodded, “Getting past the gate wouldn’t be the problem. It’s getting to the gate. It’s right in the middle of Lutetia, and we’d be killed or captured if we even got close.”
“You can leave that to me, ain’t too known, but there is another gate, it’s used by merchants to get supplies into the Nosen District. It’s hidden and guarded, but neither of those things’ll be an issue.
The room was silent for a few minutes, the couple having an unspoken battle with their eyes.
“No, I won’t allow my son, my only son, to be forced to live like that. The Nosen district is a dirty and primitive place where they don’t even know why they are there. I won’t put him through that.”
“We don’t have any other options. This man is right, he will be safe there and your uncle can take care of him.”
This struck at Aegion. She had family inside the Nosen District? That wasn’t something he’d ever heard before, but now was not the time to ask.
When she continued, it was with a broken resolve and a heavy heart, “you might be right. I don’t know.”
Aegion stood up and took a step away from the table.
“You two have a lot to think about. I can get you to the gate safely, but you’ll be on yer own after that.”
“Thank you. I’m not sure we can give up our son, even if it means he can live a life without fear.”
“Well, I’ll be in town till dawn, but gotta move on after that. If you’re interested in my help, I’ll be waiting behind the train station.”
“Thank you for taking time to try and help us,” the mother said.
“Not a problem. It’s what I do,” he answered her with a bit of a sigh.
Before he could leave the room, they were already locked into a discussion about what he had told them. It must not be easy to let a child go like that. But from what they said, it might be the only choice for both his safety and the future of Gallia itself.
While the thought worried him, he couldn’t help but wonder what he had to live for, anyway? Not much left for him on Gallia or anywhere else, save for Emma. And even then, he wasn’t even sure she was still alive.
But his feelings didn’t matter, he wasn’t doing it for himself. Curse or not, he had to help these people and he knew they would make the right choice.
He just had to wait.
* * * * *
Aegion stopped and checked the train schedule before finding a place to rest his eyes. He knew they’d show up. They always do. There hasn’t been a single time that he offered his help and hasn’t been taken up on it. The curse at work, he always guessed.
It had started long ago, when he was just a kid that went by the name Edwin Fenwick. He grew up in Linmoor with his parents, two brothers, and a sister, to which he was the youngest. His parents were not wealthy, but they both maintained jobs and kept a roof over their heads. They lived on the outskirts of town near the border to the Nosen district. Of course, he had never been inside the Nosen district, no one had, except for the soldiers who passed through every once in a while.
Stories of the Nosen district ran wild in his neighborhood. Some said that it wasn’t people who lived in there, but monsters and that if you got too close, they’d eat you. Others said that they were mutants so grotesque that one look would kill you. Even others said they put sick people in there, some swore that their grandparents were taken away never to be seen again. It was years before he found out the truth, they were people just like him that lived in there, separated from the rest of Gallia. For what, he didn’t know, but Malos kept a close eye on what went on inside.
At the age of 6, a small group of rebels attacked a group of soldiers on their way into the Nosen district and this created tension between Malos and the people. Linmoor was locked down and soldiers were sent to keep the peace in the streets, or so they were told.
Early one morning, Aegion heard his mother crying out. Soldiers had broken into their house and were assaulting his parents. They tied his parents up, locked his siblings in their rooms, and set fire to the house. Aegion barely managed to escape through a window before anyone noticed him, but he was the only survivor.
As he stood in the distance watching his home burn to the ground, knowing that everything he had ever known and everyone he had ever loved was crumbling with it, something broke inside of him. At first, he wanted to break down and cry. He wanted to just lay down and never wake up again, but that soon turned to rage. His parents were not part of the problem, yet these so called peace keepers felt they could do what they wanted without repercussion.
Off in the distance, he saw the soldiers who had been in his home, laughing and joking while they watched the house fall. He grabbed a sharp piece of glass that was laying nearby and charged at them, blinded by his emotions.
The first one was caught unaware and he sunk the glass deep into the mans leg, causing him to fall to the ground in pain. The second one saw it coming and avoided being stabbed, but Aegion still cut him deep enough that he’d probably have a hard time walking for a while, if he ever truly recovered.
The other two had pulled out their sabers, ready for a fight when they realized it was only a child in front of them. They let their guard down and laughed at their fellow soldiers, wondering how they could be so weak as to be surprised by a little runt. Aegion’s rage only burned hotter and he pounced like a lion on it’s prey.
With only a single piece of broken glass in his hands, the two soldiers easily avoided him. One of them used the hilt of their sword to hit him to the ground, almost knocking him unconscious.
As they were about to deliver a killing blow, there was an explosion somewhere in the distance, close enough that it shook the ground. The two soldiers turned to see what it was and Aegion forced himself to get up and run. By the time the soldiers turned back to him, he was out of sight, running for his life, tears falling from his cheeks and blood dripping from his head.
He ran from his home, from his neighborhood, and from his city. He didn’t stop running until he was deep inside the thorny bushes of the Wilds. Even then, he only stopped to catch his breath and then continued to run. He had nowhere to go, but if he stopped, the events that had happened would catch up to him and become a reality.
Even when his heart felt
like it would pop out of his chest and his legs felt like rubber, he tried to continue, but fell to the ground onto a dirt road that looked as if it hadn’t been used in years. His body refused to move and he just knew he would die there.
Sometime later a merchant on his way to the capital city happened by him and saved his life. That’s the day Edwin Fenwick died and Aegion was born. The merchant was an ex-soldier who had seen the corruption in Malos long ago and left the life of fighting for one of trade.
For the next 14 years, he traveled with the man, learning the ways of the sword and pistol. After he passed away, Aegion thought back at how strange it was that he never revealed his real name, only asking Aegion to call him Teacher. Some of the situations his teacher put him into were down right absurd, but he always came out alive.
One time he threw Aegion over a cliff that dropped 100 feet and told him to find his way out. It took him three days and he came out a different person. Strong, more self reliant, and not once did he ever question the methods of his mentor.
By the end of the 14th year, he had learned how to survive in the Wilds, what to eat and what is poisonous, which animals to run from and which ones could be kept for their fur and meat. While he was no novice to the sword at the end of his training, he much preferred the pistol and could hit a coin thrown into the air at 100 yards.
Sadly, the merchant passed away when Aegion was 20 years old, leaving him scared and alone. He sold the merchants cart and supplies for what he could and headed back to Linmoor with the burning of revenge for the cruel death his family suffered, as only a young man would.
The problems of his childhood were long over and peace had come back to Linmoor, but that didn’t satisfy his lust for revenge. He took his time and planned his attack on the man who had ordered the soldiers that night, the man in charge of Malos in Linmoor.
With a single shot, he went from an unknown to an enemy of Malos. His revenge was quenched, but his face was now plastered on every flat surface imaginable, wanted dead or alive, and given the name Scourge of the Wilds.
He didn’t escape without trouble, though, and was beat to the brink of death before he managed to get away. A beautiful young woman named Emma found him, laying in an alley bleeding to death, and took him in. She nursed his wounds and they fell in love. For the first time in his life since the loss of his family, he was happy.
But like everything else in his life, it didn’t last. After a few months of laying low with Emma, someone caught wind that he was still in town and the soldiers were ordered to search every room of every house to find him. This caused another uprise and the people of Linmoor fought back. Many innocent people died and Aegion knew if he stayed, he would put Emma in danger.
Against her protest, and without saying goodbye, he left, fleeing the city for a second time. He never saw the love of his life again, but he knew it was for the better.
After that, he swore he would never get involved with anybody ever again. His actions had condemned him to a life of solitude. It would only be a matter of time before word of what had happened reached the capital and would spread from there to Fairlea and other surrounding settlements, no place would be safe for him.
For three years, he went into seclusion, living in the ruins of a city long forgotten and thought haunted. He rarely saw another person and no one ever saw him, until one day when two children ventured into the ruins in search of a thrill. How they made it that far into the Wilds he will never know, but they had gotten themselves into trouble. Two monstrous creatures looking for their next meal caught the kids scent and crept up on them.
He couldn’t stand the thought of innocent children dying and, without thinking, jumped onto the back of one of the creatures with nothing more than a short blade in his hand. The children took one look at him, unshaven and wearing nothing but a loincloth, and ran. He killed the creatures, but it made him realize that living in isolation may not be what he was put on this planet for. He wasn’t happy, he wasn’t content. Maybe there was a place out there for him, a place he could be both of these things.
So he cleaned himself up and set off in whatever direction felt right.
The next six years were spent wandering from settlement to settlement, never getting too close to any of the main cities. Even after that time had passed, he was dismayed to see that his poster was still at every inn, tavern, and post office he came across. Some even updated to what they thought he’d look like now.
Though he never stayed in any one place for too long, trouble seemed to follow him, even when it didn’t directly involve him. A woman would be attacked by drunken men in an alley, soldiers would assault a merchant for no reason, or someone would be attacked by creatures who got a little too close to home, and he helped them all.
He began to leave a reputation in his wake that was twofold. Many still called him a scourge, that he was cursed with bad luck and danger followed him wherever he went, but others called him a hero.
In fact, his reputation traveled faster than he did and Malos began to take notice, doubling their efforts to find him. At times it even seemed they beat him to his destination even before he knew where that was.
The sound of a man walking past the train station pulled him back from his past and he realized he’d been standing in the same spot for too long. He took one last look at the schedule. The next train will leave this settlement just in time to reach The Wall before the sun rises, giving them enough time to get done with what they need to do and for him to disappear.
He found the darkest corner he could to rest while he waited for the family. He sat against the wall with his eyes open, half asleep and half awake.
Chapter 3
It wasn’t long before Aegion heard approaching footsteps. It only took him a second to shake the sleep-like state from his eyes and clear his mind. He knew before even looking up it was them, walking side by side with the little boy still asleep in his fathers arms. He stood up and waved them over, accidentally startling them as he did.
Aegion nodded, “Everythin is set, we’ll take the train from here. I’ve already arranged a special stop down the line.”
“Thank you so much for helping us,” the woman said, fighting back tears. “We have very little to our name, but I can pay you-”
“No need, ma’am. I have no use for money. You keep it.”
She embraced Aegion in a way that no one had since he was young and it was his turn to fight back tears. When she let go, he looked over towards the man and they nodded to each other, saying more than words could.
Off in the distance, they heard the hiss of a steam engine approaching. In the time it took them to turn and see the single light cutting through the early morning darkness, they could smell the distinct odor of burning water mixed with sundust and oils.
It was almost time.
“What’s gonna happen is you’ll board the train on yer own. Get on the last car. That is very important, now, make sure you are on the last car. I’ll join ya once it gets goin.”
“You’re not getting on with us?”
“If only I could, but there are too many people in these parts that want me dead. Don’t worry, I’ll be there. This isn’t the first time I’ve jumped on a moving train.
“Just whatever you do, keep to yerself. Chances are there won’t be anyone else on the train, but if there is, keep yer head low and don’t make eye contact. This train is used almost exclusively by soldiers and other military traveling back and forth between the main cities, you don’t wanna be recognized this close to Lutetia.”
“Got it,” the man whispered.
Aegion imagined how hard it must be for these two, knowing in the matter of hours they would leave their son with a relative that he probably never met before, not to mention the chances of them ever seeing him again were slim.
“That’s it then. Go wait up on the platform. If you get into trouble, it’s best to get off the train before yer caught and we can try again tomorrow.”
“T
hank you,” the woman said. It looked like she wanted to embrace him again, but didn’t.
“Don’t thank me yet. In fact, if it all goes well, you won’t have a chance to thank me, and that’ll be thanks enough.”
They took one last look at Aegion, the husband giving him another meaningful nod, and walked off in the direction of the platform.
Aegion turned and walked along the track until he came to the arch the train ran through to get out of town. He climbed to the top and perched on the edge, waiting for the train to pass by.
The minutes ticked on. The train had been at the station for longer than it should have been. Too long, he began to worry, and wondered if he should make sure nothing had happened. Just as he was about to jump to the ground, the train let out a loud hiss and started towards him.
It passed by going slower than he expected, but that only made his jump easier. He landed on the roof of the second to last car, the momentum causing him to roll and catch the edge before falling off. He looked into the window of the car he hung from, it was dark and no one inside, luck was with him it seemed.
He swung himself inside and stayed low to the ground, making his way to the last car. With his eyes fully adjusted to the darkness, he could clearly see the family huddled together. Looks like all the worryin’ was for nothin he thought as he entered.
They looked towards him, and let out a sigh of relief.
The trip to The Wall was quiet, not a word spoken between the three of them.
* * * * *
As they neared the spot they were to depart the train, Aegion stood and walked towards the door to the next car. The man he had talked to at the station stood waiting for him.
“We’re almost there, sir.”
“Thank ya, my friend. You have no idea the favor yer doing for us.”
“I-You-I mean you’re the Hero of Linmoor, aren’t you?”
“I’ve been called many things, good sir, but yes, I believe I am the man you think I am.”
“I just want you to know that we’re not all against you. You helped save my brother once from an angry soldier, outside of Fairlea. You probably don’t remember.”
The Planet Without A Sun (Sinesol Universe) Page 2