by Nicol Terra
“Make the poor immortal, and the population will skyrocket. The cities would become even more crowded, and food will become scarce. We, the elites and even your family secretly agreed to only use it for ourselves. Ever wondered by Maya and Nisandra haven't been overthrown even though they have lived for nearly two thousand years?”
Erudite said nothing, scoffing at the notion. “Did you ever wonder why I cared? Tina loves her mother, and she is the reason she is as powerful as she is. She was poor, and she survived. She is also a Faerie, one with our flesh and blood!”
“So what, are you going to pay for it yourself? After tomorrow, Tina will get a visit from the Elven Correction Officers.”
“You plan to arrest her?”
“Or kill her, Of course, I can’t have a revolutionary and controversial figure like her continue to exist. Plus, Rose said she is far too critical of the mission. Once Cottonfield heard, he agreed too!”
“You-” Erudite boiled, only for a loud smack to fill the room. Tina gasped, holding her tears back. The silence was almost heartbreaking to her.
“This discussion is over; you do as you're told too. You leave tomorrow morning, and I will not tolerate a late arrival.”
Time restarted, Tina took steps backward, in shock and horror as she grabbed her head. She was lied too. She felt tears rush down her cheeks and her heart continued to race. She wanted to scream, but when she tried, she felt no words come out from her throat, only a loud sob.
She wanted to be anywhere else, anywhere but here. Was her mom dead? She only had three months to live.
It is the third month, Tina slammed her fist in the building, shattering the wall into dust. She wiped away her tears, still sobbing as she covered her eyes.
“I wish I was not here! These people are not ethical! They don‘t have any compassion! They are liars!”
Tina cried, and she felt her body warp, disappearing from her current location as she screamed down darkness that surrounded her. She paused, in confusion.
Then the darkness parted, she was in the middle of the ruins of Southern Agall. She turned around in disbelief, looking northward only to see nothing. She teleported hundreds of miles, and she was away from back home.
She reached and opened her bag as she pulled out her Holosphere, pressing the Phone Icon as she called her one of the few three contacts on her phone, her mom.
She waited and waited and waited until she hung up. She grabbed her legs together and slid her face under them. She was no longer crying, but she was angry. She gripped her hands together and rose.
"No, there was one option." She thought.
The furthest outside of Agall, just in between the besieged city and the wall laid a large river that cut the city in half. The river, constructed centuries ago was a popular shipping lane for any ship willing to pay the fee. The docks just outside of the river led straight from the mouth to the ocean, if one knew to have to navigate it correctly. Further and further away from the city, the river became more complex, having dozens of minor rivers that if one did not know the route too could easily lead to dead ends. It took an expert with a Holosphere to predict the tides to even cross to the ocean, but it was still possible. Just outside, Tina looked through the train window as a male faerie bumped on her. Before Tina could say anything, his sunken eyes and beer tainted breathe shot her a glare.
"Why did you trip me?"
"I didn't," Tina said.
"Oh so you wanna-" The man started, but Tina intensified her gaze as she grabbed the man and pulsated a yellow light with her right palm. The man eyes grew wide as he began to shake.
"Shut up, I am in a bad mood." She admitted.
The man quietly inched away as Tina fell back to her seat. The train cab started to mutter quietly among themselves as she felt the train float down.
"Station 996, have a safe walk." The conductor said. Tina rose up as she quietly left the train, as soon as she left, Tina heard quiet mumblings throughout the cab that she ignored.
Her house was typical for a poorling. Small, a few dozen feet in length and width. One bedroom and no floor, just the ground itself. She had a single table inside and a bed. Her Fusionbubble that kept the whole thing powered have been dead for ten years and without the money to replace it, her mother resorted to a private company. One that milked her for every penny she had.
Tina took a deep breath and carefully knocked the door aside.
"Hi Mom, I am sorry for-" She started.
She saw no one. No one was inside. To her right was an empty kitchen that usually had dozens of ramen packets To her left was a piece of paper that Tina instantly looked away from.
"No! It isn't true." She thought. She flew inside to the only other room, the bathroom.
"Hey if you need help with some nausea, I finally have healthcare and-"
Tina stopped, the same paper that she ignored greeted her once again.
It was a coroner's notice.
“So it's true.” She said. She was gullible enough to trust Jay, trust her government and even trust Erudite. Did she know? She was defending her, yet she didn’t tell her anything, as if she was avoiding her. What kind of friend was she? She shook it off. No, that was the final straw.
The southern city was wrecked, the few lives that remained hidden from Tina, likely due to her Military Outfit. She looked down as if she was ashamed to look back at them in the eyes. She didn’t have her gun, nor did she have a sword. She was an ordinary civilian, except she still had a dozen silver coins. She can probably take a one-way ticket westward with that cash, or maybe she can steal a Chisean Airsail if she was lucky.
Every time she saw a Chisean in the corner, she froze time and adjusted her path. She didn’t Wanna be seen explicitly. This led her from the main road to the dirty alleys of the city, something Tina knew well. The Alleys were where gangsters and dissidents would form secret groups. She joined one of these groups once, a group half of gangsters and political dissenters who retreated from the slums from the central city, avoiding the military as much as they could. She didn’t stay for long though, mostly because she would hate to start a fight in Freeroam territory.
She bumped into three men, dead drunk in the alleyway. One of them snarled.
“This isn‘t a place for purty girls like you.” The drunk male faerie said. She darted her eyes carefully, two male faeries and a male elf. She walked past them.
"I can take care of myself,” Tina said.
She felt a hand grab her shoulder, rolling her eyes.
“Hey gorgeous, you leaving me a cold shoulder like that?” He slurred. She slapped his hand aside.
“I am in a hurry to leave this shit-hole, now leave me alone,” Tina said she turned away, only for the other two to walk in front of her.
“You slut, you think you are better than us.”
Tina clenched her fist. “I don’t think, and I am just not in the mood for bullshit.”
“Oh? How about I rip your little dress for you.” He said, flipping a knife out and slinked it to her throat. Tina grabbed the man's hand and poked her finger, digging it inside his arm, shattering the bone in an instant.
“Argghhh!” The man yelled.
Tina stopped time, smacking the two in front of her away with a strong kick and punching the man behind her. When time started again, the three flew a few hundred feet, knocking aside the three into the buildings near her. The cramped and without moonlit roads were suddenly free of people as they hid in fear of her. She snarled, walking away from the dozens of people in front of her.
“Good. None of you get in my way. I am done with everything.” She said, walking away quietly and snaking around the sides. In a way, her anger blinded her, and she wanted it just to all burn. “I am done with this nation and continent.”
A few minutes later, in an open district no longer without business and people. The circular neighborhood stretched as far as she could see, as her Holosphere floated around her, the docks was only an hour away. She smiled,
just to stop mid-step.
“You sense me, don‘t you?” Erudite said.
Tina continued walking.
"Hey! I am talking to you!" Erudite said. Tina started to tear up.
"Let's go back, I don't know why you are here, but we can talk about it." Erudite squeaked. Tina continued onward.
"Look, Jay was just kidding. I can get us a new commander or we as a squad will keep you safe." She said.
No, it not an issue of being kept safe. Tina was done with it.
"Hey! Are you okay?" Erudite said, reaching out at her and grabbing her shoulder. Tina froze, as her warm hand brought her back to reality.
Tina bit her lip and turned around. She looked at her former friend, afraid and her eyes sunken. Her cheeks were cherry red like hers. Her eyes were exhausted.
“Leave me alone,” Tina said coldly.
Tina turned away from Erudite, walking towards the docks, where dozens of enemy ships stayed motionless. Her back turned to her. Her reply gave her a pause. You want to leave you alone, and you plan on making yourself an enemy of the state? She gulped, her heart was heavy and her mind manic.
“Tina!” She cried.
She continued to walk on the ground, her feet slowly stomping away down the dead dirt road- not now, don’t you dare turn your back on me.
“Don’t ignore me!” She cried, a tear running down her face as she fell to the ground. Not like this, not like this. She thought to herself of all the times she spent together and how the future was uncertain for her. She saw her friend defying the law and fleeing. She shook her head. “Don’t do this!”
Tina stopped one step and turned to her. Her eyes were red and puffy. Her cheeks were crimson. It drooped her wings down to the ground. She shook her head.
“Don’t follow me.” She said coldly. Erudite felt herself fall to the floor. She grabbed the dirt from the road itself, slamming it once. She rose, wiping away a single tear.
“Why!” She yelled. “You know the consequences! You leave now. They will hunt you down!” She shivered, she felt her body cower in fear. She didn’t want to see one of her own- her friend leave behind a life of luxury and safety, for a life of fear and anxiety. Tina sighed and walked to her. Each step felt like it shook the earth as she walked to Erudite, her face cold and callous.
“Who cares? I don‘t want anything to do with this nation.” She said, turning back around and continuing to walk away.
"What kind of logic was thought?" Erudite thought, that question burned inside her mind.
“Aggh, that isn‘t the point! Look, this place may or may not be the best nation on the planet, but deserters pay hefty prices! Bounties, Political Scapegoating, and the Hunts! You know this can’t be in any way a good idea!” Erudite protested. The wind around them parted down the street as their dressed flowed with the gust.
“Don’t do this! I will do anything to make you stay?” She bellowed. Tina raised a brow.
“What will you do to make me stay? What status do you hold?” She said. Erudite felt a stake stabbed her heart as she waved her hand, a small crack in the rock surfaced as they split the ground. “Not like I care. My mom is dead, and Jay wants me dead because I am poor. I am sure for you rich and powerful folk; it is just another day's work.” She said, turning back around. Erudite felt that one sting even harder. Her heart was pumping and her face sweating.
“I am your friend! I don’t care about my status! I care about you!” She yelped. She fell to the ground, her eyes puffy as tears and snot fell down to the floor. She put her hands together, forming a triangle as she shook her head. “I will do anything. We can win this war. I will keep you safe, we will keep you safe! Just stay!"
Tina shook her head, her face as cold as clear-cut diamond. This was Tina's worst fault, her ability to turn off emotions for her own sake. “That is it?” She spat. “I have no love for this country since Jay lied to me to my face and my mother was killed because she can't afford medication."
Erudite felt a sense of fear in her heart. Even she couldn’t do that. She couldn’t disobey, but even if she wanted to protect her, she didn’t have the means too. Tina shook her head “I guess, you aren’t worth my time.”
She turned around, flying away from her. Erudite felt her body was anchored to the earth below as she smacked the ground below. She only felt the pain in her heart.
Erudite remembered the first day she met her. They assigned her a roommate- one she did not want. She flew into her dorm room, infuriated and disgusted by order of being given a roommate. She didn’t want one, she would get the highest grade in this university, and she would succeed.
Erudite slammed the door open and saw a Faerie wearing glasses and planted on a seat. She saw an open book, and her finger running across it carefully. Erudite took one step back as she shook her head. She pointed outside with one finger. The blond winged and brown-haired Faerie took off her glasses.
“I need my privacy. Please leave for.” She said.
The Faerie turned to her, her eyes flaming red, looking at her.
“No, I am studying.” She said, turning back around to the book in front of her. She flew inside, slamming the door. She felt ashamed, and now she was flooded with a sense of disgust. This girl wore a brown dress covered in dirt that covered her body, brown spots of dirt covered her body and even her backpack was torn, sealed by the only tape.
“Doesn’t help you smell like old laundry,” Erudite muttered.
She slammed on her desk; the Faerie was looking up. Erudite swung around to see her, flying above as the two stared at each other for a few moments.
“Only two hours.”
She looked at her, flew from her seat, grabbing her book and left the room. She sighed, hopping in her bed to try to nap.
She couldn’t nap, she tossed and turned for an hour and a half, trying to sleep as she fumed and grew more furious. She flew outside; the night greeted her as the hundreds of rooms were lightless and motionless. She stepped out and into another room, a lobby filled with empty seats, except for one. She gulped, her roommate had an open book as she was on the floor, one Faerie, female, kept kicking her on the floor. She had gold wings, a symbol of class.
“Ew.” She spat. “So disgusting, someone like you made your way here?” She said. She spat on this Faerie. Erudite shrank back to the door.
Tina smiled. “Is that all you can do? Spit on people are beneath you?” She said, shaking her head. “Wow, you spoiled brats think you can do anything!”
The other girl slammed her hand across her cheek. Tina covered her mouth, part of it covered in blood as she shot a glare at her.
“Don’t you dare speak back.” She said, slamming her fist inside her stomach as Tina was sent flying back three meters down the hallway. She flew forward, grabbing Tina by the dress. “You can’t afford clothes, and yet you think you may speak?” She said, her hand raised.
“Do something.” Erudite heard herself spoke as she fell to the ground, her face seething. “I can’t. She is beneath me.”
One slap across the face, Tina spat out some blood.
“She doesn’t deserve it.”
One more punch in the gut, Tina eyes rolled in the back of her head.
“She is just poor.” Erudite rushed her hands to the side of her head. “Come on, fight back! She is just a snob!”
One minute passed, the Faerie flew away. Tina had a cut on her forehead, her mouth dripping with blood. Erudite opened her eyes, Tina grabbing her book. She flew past Erudite, shaking her head.
“Thanks for nothing.” She said.
Erudite burned that memory inside her mind, she punched the ground, this time shaking it as Tina stumbled for a second. Erudite tackled her from behind, turning her around as she grabbed her dress. She looked, it was the same blue dress she gave her.
“You think I will just sit here and let you throw your life away!” She screeched. “I did nothing then, and I decided to do something now.” She said. Erudite dropped a few tears on
Tina’s cold, callous face.
“You think I will just let you throw what little life you have left?” She got up from the ground, lifting Tina into the sky. She rubbed her tears with her free hands, her head shaking and her body breaking.
“I won’t! If you don't turn and come back this instant, I will drag you back!” She said, dropping Tina to the ground. She looked at Tina, her eyes planted at the ground. Erudite had options. Jay both wanted her gone, and he also could hire a hit on her. But she was afraid to...leave. Maplesworn was a Superpower, a state with significant political influence. They will literally hunt Tina down, that is what the state does. She was blank, but her selfishness took over. Tina’s eyes were lifeless, her body was still and stable, making Erudite frown in response to her cutting seriousness. She rose from the ground, her wings fluttering as she dusted off herself.
“Is that all you got?” She said coldly. She turned around as Erudite grabbed her chest. Her eyes filled with rage and anger. Her body was trembling, not with sadness but with rage. She felt her soul breaking in two as her eyes narrowed. She flew forward, circling Tina as she shot a gaze at her eyes.
“If you think this all I got, friend, I have news for you.” She grabbed at Tina. Erudite coated her hand with darkness as she slinked her hand around her neck. “I have more to show you.”
Tina disappeared, reappearing ten feet in front of her as she fell to the ground. She created a sphere of light around both her hands, her eyes solidly dangerous and her body stiff. Tina shot a single blast of fire at Erudite, and in a second, Tina darted the other direction. Erudite too coated her hands with light as she pointed at Tina.
“If you won’t listen to reason, I will break you and make you come back to us.”
“Fine by me, I will fight you and break free from this curse.” She said.
The two circled around each other, their eyes locked at each other. Their bodies stiff, their arms coated with magic and their legs filled with adrenaline.