The entire trip is spent in silence - each of us caged in our own heads with thoughts of the million possibilities that await us.
The closer we get to the hut, a sorrowful sight begins to unfold in front of us. A crowd is gathered in front of the house, huddled close together around the front fireplace. It looks like they’re whispering amongst themselves about something that happened quite recently.
Something bad has happened…something none of us could have foreseen. A tragedy that no one will ever forget.
Micah breaks off from our little group and runs ahead of us. His sudden change in pace brings us all to a faster charge towards Aukai’s hut. The muttering grows louder, not simply because we are bearing down on them. They are gossiping about our arrival as we grow nearer, and the goings on within the hut.
My brother runs ahead, ignoring everyone, and barrels into the main door. It crashes against the inner wall, shaking on its hinges as we crowd inside the front room. Silence and tension are thick in the air. Skylark brings up the rear, closing the door behind us.
Aukai is standing off to the right, leaning over something with three other men covering our view. They look like they’re are hunched over something lying on the ground. None of them even turn around to see who has interrupted their work. Micah moves first and takes two steps forward. I sidestep to Skylark, and she clings to my arm in his absence.
“Aukai,” he acknowledges. “What’s happened?”
The Elder stands, lifting himself barely an inch a second, as if the weight of the world is pushing down on his shoulders. More so than on a regular day. His shoulders raise before the rest of his body, his head doesn’t join until the blades can’t go any higher.
When he turns towards us, Sky gasps and digs her claws into my arm at what the group had been hiding. A boy covered in blood. Too much blood… He looks no older than seven years old and he isn’t moving…
“Who is that?” Sky whispers under her breath.
I’m not sure she meant to speak aloud since I’m the only one who hears her say it. Her eyes are wide, staring at the young boy.
“Come,” Aukai says, gesturing us further into the hut. “Let’s move this to a more private area.”
My brother takes a step back to reach for Skylark, and she immediately releases me for him. Ryder places his left hand at my lower back and keeps it there as we follow Aukai, Micah, and Skylark back to another room.
To be honest, I’m grateful for the touch. It keeps me grounded and focused after seeing my first dead body. The boy is blocked by Ryder as we walk, but I can’t get the boy’s face out of my head. I only saw it for an instant, but his pale skin, blue lips, and peaceful expression is not something I’ll easily forget.
What happened to him?
Aukai leads us down a hallway, past the bedrooms Micah and Ryder lived in when Aukai took them under his wing, past sturdy old stairs, to the end of the hall where a door lies. The Elder opens it and moves to the left for us to venture beyond him into a large room.
There are no windows, but a long table sits in the middle of the room with six chairs on either side and one at the very left end. The standalone chair has a bit more detail carved into it, making it a bit fancier than the rest. It must be Aukai’s.
“Please, take a seat everyone,” the leader asks, a somber tone lowering his voice to almost a whisper.
The four of us take seats closest to the Elder’s chair. Micah takes the seat closest to the left as we enter, his back to the door, and Skylark takes the chair next to him. Ryder sits opposite my brother. With Skylark already next to Micah, I take my place at Ryder’s side.
With a boy lying dead in the front room, I would rather be next to my brother, but I can’t say I’m unhappy where I ended up.
Aukai shuts the door behind us before taking his place at the head of the table. He’s barely lowered himself into the chair before Skylark addresses him.
“What happened to that boy?” she breathes, tears spilling down her cheeks.
Micah leans toward her, placing an arm around her shoulders. A healer within Geha sees death, but only of the elderly. There has not been a child death in six centuries, so this is hitting her hard.
“Where did he come from?” she continues.
“He wasn’t able to say much before he passed,” Aukai informs us, sighing. “The boy died in my arms…”
“I’m sorry, Aukai,” Ryder consoles. “I know that couldn’t have been easy, but we have to know how he died.”
“I know,” the Elder sniffles.
He straightens himself up in his chair, and the rest of us tense waiting to hear his recount of the story. The air thickens with it. It’s stifling.
“He’s from our sister village, Kynol,” he says. “He repeated several times that he promised his Ma. That he kept his promise and could rest now. It was heartbreaking.”
“I can only imagine,” I mumble.
His voice cracks with every other word from his emotional turmoil. It’s difficult not to start crying myself from hearing how broken up he is. Seeing the boy was devastating enough.
Ryder extends his left hand out to me, holding my right and situating both of our hands on my lap. I squeeze his and he does the same, reminding me he’s there for me.
“Loyals,” Aukai continues - it’s as if he didn’t even hear me speak. He pauses to hold in a sob before finishing his statement. “Loyals ambushed Kynol just after dawn and murdered every single man, woman, and child within the village. The boy is the only one who made it out of there without dying.”
“It’s just gone?” Micah asks, astounded. “Loyals destroyed a whole village with only one boy getting out of the massacre?”
“Why on Earth-that-was would Loyals do that?” Skylark sobs.
“Because they were ordered,” I answer, staring into the table. My gaze and thoughts are a million miles away. “Cloudore ordered them to do it. He didn’t get me to go back, plus he lost his daughter to the Unfavorable. This was his counterattack.”
“No,” my brother breathes. “Oh, Geha… I never thought that he would go to such lengths over two people. Nothing like this has ever been done in the history of Leda’s existence. No Arbiter has taken such extreme measures. Do you think the Favorable know about this?”
“I can’t see how,” Sky responds, incredulous. “Everyone is content abandoning children simply because they are inferior, but Geha would never condone killing. Father definitely did not reveal his plans to the people before executing them in cold blood.”
“It doesn’t matter,” the Elder interrupts. All eyes trained on him. “I’m sorry, boys…”
“Why are you sorry, Aukai?” Ryder queries.
“I can’t allow more people to be killed at the hand of Loyals.”
“What are you saying?”
“I have to go back,” I answer, completely numb. “Skylark, too.”
Chapter 23
Alora
There’s a second of quiet. A moment of silence for the life we didn’t even have the chance to begin. Micah stands, screaming at Aukai about how he can’t do that – make these kinds of decisions regarding other people’s lives. How it would make the Unfavorable exactly like the Favorable who throw away children.
I can’t pay attention to any of it. Not my brother’s voice or how Aukai simply stares down at his fingers intertwined on top of the table as tears flow down his cheeks. It’s all coming at me at once and my brain can’t comprehend anything in my furious and devastated state.
I must get out of here. There needs to be less noise buzzing about so that I can create a plan of action. I have to think, and I can’t do that with so many people around.
Standing from my own chair so fast that it’s knocked to the ground, I lay my hands flat on the wooden table. Slivers poke my fingers from the surface of the furniture in front of me, granting me a moment of clarity. I knew what to do before the seat even hits the floor.
The soft thud the chair makes against the
dirt behind me only grabs the attention of Ryder – Skylark is sobbing, and Micah continues to scream obscenities at his replacement father figure from the last six years. Not even my change in position brings pause to anyone else in the room besides the man sitting next to me.
Before the chair even hits the ground, I lift myself up and over the table toward the door and launch myself away from the chaos. Back toward the innocent little boy lying dead because of me. Because I thought that I had a choice in what happened in my life. As if I had control over anything and could decide my own future.
I must get out of here.
When I pass the front room, three men are still hovering over the boy’s body. I can smell it starting to decay as I rush past. None of them look up from the corpse.
Bursting through the door, I run past the growing crowd. Shouts follow me. Their confused about the boy and what’s happening inside their leader’s hut. They’re waiting for answers they might never receive. None of them could ever understand why they’re sister village was destroyed. Why every single person was killed without mercy or hesitation.
Another cry from the crowd sounds, but I don’t look behind me. I know who it is – I know that it’s Ryder. He’s the only one that would follow me. Micah always believed he could solve anything with words. That’s not going to work this time, but he will never see that. It’s time I do the dirty work instead of waiting for someone else to handle things for me.
I’m not going to sit by and watch while injustice remains unchecked. Before my Rite, I was naïve and didn’t know any better. I’ve witnessed what the Favorable are capable of and it will no longer be tolerated.
It’s time to tap into that infinite potential that Arbiter Cloudore wants so badly. First, I have to get to the one spot I know where no one will find me, so I can think of my next move. My final move to bring down the tyrant.
Ryder will know where I am, but he showed me the place. Plus, he’s following me, so there’s no way he wouldn’t find where I’m headed. He’s doing a great job of keeping up, too. If he hadn’t been born Unfavorable, there’s no doubt in my mind that he would have scored proficient in at least one category Geha’s society deems worthy.
He doesn’t even call to me as I run ahead of him. He knows me well enough now to understand that I won’t stop running until I get to where I’m trying to go.
Only a few days we’ve known each other, and he knows me better than my parents. I never thought I would feel a connection with anyone the way I do with Ryder. He’s the piece of me that’s been missing my entire life – it was simply overshadowed by my grief over losing Micah.
I want to see what the future holds for us, but there won’t be one while Cloudore continues to lead Geha.
Following the path through the village, I pass the two hovels most familiar to me without slowing down. Micah’s and Ryder’s, along with all the other huts, are silent. There is no one around to get in my way. They are all preoccupied waiting for Aukai to give them news.
Each hut passes in a blur as I continue to run. My drive to get to a safe, secluded space is keeping my focus straight ahead of me.
The market has booths set up waiting to sell, but no one is around to buy. It would be easy to take something, but everyone is too concerned about the boy. The whole village is so kind and honest that even if someone was left wandering the market, no one would even think to steal something.
They didn’t need a machine like the Main Frame to weed out stealing and unkindness toward others.
Whizzing past every stall, I exit the village in a huff and breathing heavily - more from my upturned life than the exercise. I can still hear Ryder running several feet behind me, keeping his distance. He hasn’t slowed down at all, and it doesn’t seem like he’s going to any time soon.
Although, I can’t be sure. It’s difficult to hear much over the deafening breeze in my ears as it passes around me. I maintain focus on the whooshing as I run, letting it clear my head.
It’s difficult not to notice the trees, though. I’ll never forget the first thing I saw stepping outside the Boiler room. Seeing them now causes my eyes to water.
If I don’t get this right and end this feud between the Favorable and Unfavorable, I’ll never be able to see the beauty that nature has given us. It evolved from thousands of years of waiting. No involvement or intervention from humans trying to make them ‘better’.
Wiping away a tear that escapes down my cheek, I push forward with renewed vigor and determination. Dodging trees, foliage, and shrubbery, my destination nears. Miles are left in the wake of my dust created from my feet pounding against the dirt.
I concentrate on my breathing and it firms my resolve. Picking up the pace, the small cave is just up ahead. There’s no space between the trees to see it, but I know it’s there.
Finally, I break through the wall of trees into the small clearing, and the cave entrance welcomes me. I slow to a walk just outside the entrance when I hear Ryder catch up. He makes it to the clearing and stops right behind me, slumping over and coughing.
He’s having issues catching his breath. I’m shocked he was able to keep up with me all the way here from Landow without stopping. Not many who reside in Geha would have been able to do that. Even I’m breathing heavily after the long run, but not like Ryder.
I don’t wait for him, though. Ducking inside the cave, the cool, humid air helps to calm my demeanor. Almost immediately my head begins to clear a bit.
Pacing from the back of the cave to the front, my head starts spinning with the different possibilities of how I’m going to stop Cloudore and the entire Gehian society. I’m not going to let anyone be thrown away like waste because their intellect doesn’t reach a certain level.
All those people are dead… because of me… Alec…
“Is it alright if I join you?” Ryder calls into the cavern.
He seems to have caught his breath. I don’t hear him coughing anymore or trying desperately to fill his lungs with air. Not once do I stop or slow down my gait, but I make the minimal effort to respond.
“Of course,” I grumble. “It’s your cave.”
“Well, it’s not really mine,” he reminds me, a sideways grin on his face as he inches into the small den. “Leda belongs to no one, I’m just the only person who knows about this place.”
He stays along the wall as he tiptoes toward the remnants of the fire that hasn’t burned in a few days. Ryder kneels in front of the ashes without looking at me while I continue my pacing. He reorganizes the small logs that hadn’t been completely burned previously.
Leaning to his left and closer to the back, he grabs a few twigs and places them at the bottom of the fire. He takes a box of matches out from behind the small pile of wood that I’ve never seen before and uses it to light the wood. Within a minute, I can feel the warmth emanating from it.
“What are you going to do?” he queries, staring at the flames licking the logs hungrily. A hardened expression creases his face, spreading tension throughout his body.
“They killed everyone, Ryder,” I mutter, not fully comprehending what he asked me. I’m practically drowning in my own world of panic and sorrow to understand his request.
“I know. I’m with you - what’s the plan?” he utters in a faint tone. His voiced echoes along the walls but the words aren’t reaching my brain. His eyes never leave the fire.
“Women and children… I can’t just let that go, Ryder.”
“I get it,” he sighs, looking at me now. “I couldn’t imagine trying to forget about it myself. I want to help. I just need you to tell me how--”
“Alec was in that village, Ryder…” I ramble, interrupting him, almost hysterical. “He was innocent in this, too. He had nothing to do with this.”
“Hey, hey, hey,” he soothes as he stands from the fire. Ryder takes a step in front of me, interrupting my pacing.
I’m annoyed at first and try to push him away, but he doesn’t budge. He places his hands on my
biceps, forcing me to look at him but not violently. He’s always so gentle with me.
His gaze is fierce and filled with concern, determination, anger, warmth, and understanding that not once waivers. His tone comforts me in a way that Micah’s never could. With just his touch, I can feel the tension in my limbs begin to abate.
“I’m with you,” he assures me. “Whatever you decide. We’ll do this together. We will bring justice to that man for all the men, women, and children he’s wronged.”
The longer we stand here with his hands on my shoulders, the more crystallized my thoughts. Ryder raises his right hand from my skin and drags his thumb underneath my left eye, wiping away a final tear attempting to escape down my cheek.
With his touch, I know exactly what I have to do. It won’t be easy or pleasant, but it is for the good of Favorable and Unfavorable alike. Arbiter Cloudore must die. It is the only option that will save the lives of people now and in the future.
“Alright,” I say, exhaling. “Let’s go.”
With a nod, Ryder drops his arms to his sides and carefully stomps out the fire. He doesn’t take the time to clean any of it up before taking the lead out of the cave, taking my hand so I’m right behind him.
His long stride causes me to jog along beside him as we walk toward the fresh air I was so excited to breathe for the first time only five days ago. Now I’m scared I may never experience it again. If even one toe goes out of line getting to Cloudore, everyone suffers. There is no margin for error here.
My heart pounds loudly in my chest, but steady. I should be feeling exponentially more anxious the closer we get to Geha, but I’m not. Each step simply furthers my resolve. My nerves are already frayed, but the connection to Ryder – my lifeline – has me more grounded than Terra beneath my feet.
I’m ready.
Ryder leads me around the giant hill and away from the Boilers. Our only option is to try the same entrance into the city that the men used last night. He’s steering me toward the secret tunnel he and Micah used the night before to gain access to Geha. I’m hoping to everything that is good in this world that the Favorable didn’t find the path.
The Unfavorable Page 20