Glen cut in. "Is that your message? That The Krown is happy Hadder is alive? You're wasting all of our time."
The Riser turned quickly to Glen, so fast that Hadder's hand went to the knife in this belt. "No, plain man. That is not the message; that is a sentiment. The message is this. The Krown invites you, and however many residents you want to a meeting at the Samsara. Early this Haela. He has one last proposition for you. One last chance to save your weak lives."
Glen looked to Hadder. "An obvious trap."
"That's why I don't think it's a trap."
"It's no trap, stupid Setters. My king, although all-powerful, has a weakness for the people of Station. He wants to grant all residents one last chance to join him, to free themselves of these suffocating walls, and show the world the next evolution in mankind. You owe your people one last option. After all, that is what your ethos is based on, is it not? Freedom of choice? Let them hear the offer straight from The Krown's mouth. After that, we can commence with war."
Hadder stepped forward, stopped just in front of the Riser. "Is that all?"
"That is all, Marlin Hadder."
Hadder seized the woman by the throat, squeezing until her dark eyes went wide. "If this is a trick or some other ghastly display, I'm going to put a knife between those fucking shark eyes of yours." He released, and the woman coughed through a bruised windpipe. "Tell The Krown I'll be there, with any others who choose to come. Now get this bitch away from me."
Hadder and Glen watched as the Riser was escorted from the lawn. "This is a mistake, Hadder."
"The Krown is confident he'll win this war. Assassinating Royal and me was one thing. But he won't want to look weak to his followers. And a cheap trick would do just that. No, he wants to gloat. He wants to instill fear in those of us who will face him, weaken our resolves before he drops the ax."
"Then why go?"
"Because I think he might fuck up. Plus, we're dead anyway, Glen. What could it hurt?"
CHAPTER 26
Almost two hundred residents crossed the Bridge Gab'Riel with Hadder and Glen after the onset of Haela. While many wanted to trek with a full arsenal, Hadder talked the anxious group out of this approach. He was confident that The Krown was merely using this meeting as the last opportunity to strike fear into the hearts of those he was soon to conquer, enslave, and destroy. Coming to this gathering armed would merely incite a battle, one the Setters would surely lose.
Hadder heard the grumbling behind him as the group walked. Most were against accepting The Krown's invitation, but something nagged at the base of Hadder's skull, urging him to visit the Risers one last time before the Great War, allowing residents to truly see who it was they were up against.
"I sure hope you know what you're doing," said Glen as they made the final turn into the path that would empty into the Samsara clearing, passing the onyx statue of the man raising his fists to the heavens. In this moment, the figure had added meaning and impact.
"I don't know what I'm doing, Glen. But I know this is what needs to be done."
Hadder had spent the remainder of the Solay rolling the potentials of this meeting over in his mind. From what he could gather, the conference would have a two-pronged effect for The Krown. First, he would terrify the Setting one last time, making sword arms quake and knees wobble at the thought of the Riser invasion. Second, he may gain new converts through scare tactics. Hadder had to continually remind himself that The Krown was playing at a more ambitious game, one that entailed venturing out into the wider world and bringing chaos to that hurtful land. To accomplish that, The Krown would need to minimize losses and take significant numbers into the Before.
What Hadder was unable to calculate was how The Krown could possibly dishearten the residents who accompanied him to the assembly. What could be said that wasn't already said? What could be done that hadn't already been seen or spoken of?
As Hadder and Glen crossed into the Samsara clearing, he quickly had his answer. And it turned his stomach and shot pins into his heart.
Tied to the Samsara's glistening black bark with rough rope stood a wet Lilly Sistine, her arms pinned to her sides. She violently shook her head to break free, liquid shooting from her long hair. A hundred Risers stood behind the Samsara, many holding torches that lit the clearing with an eerie glow. The Krown stood on the white sand just to the right of Lilly, his massive arms crossed over his enormous chest. Although he remained quiet, his jade eyes laughed at Hadder and the pain that was evident on the man's fallen face. Next to The Krown stood the Riser female from earlier; Hadder could imagine the smug smile she wore under her leather mask.
Amidst her struggles, Lilly spotted Hadder as he came to a stop in the clearing. Her red eyes went wide. "Hadder! Please! Help me!"
Without thinking, Hadder moved forward, a knee-jerk reaction to a friend in need, but was stopped by Glen's firm hand on his chest and two other residents holding down each of his arms. Hadder looked to his friend, desperation welling up behind his eyes. Glen shook his head. "She made her choice, brother. Remember Royal. He didn't have that opportunity. Lilly stole it from him."
Hadder stopped fighting his restrainers, and instead shot an angry glare at The Krown. A disconcerting quiet fell over the clearing, only the sounds of hissing torches and a pleading Lilly Sistine preventing total silence. Hadder quickly grew tired of this standoff.
"You called this meeting, Riser," called Hadder. "Say your piece and let us be on our way. We have a war to prepare for."
The Krown smiled. "Always one to cut to the chase, aren't you, Marlin Hadder. Never one to understand the power of theatrics."
"Is that what this is? I thought you had a message. Or was I misinformed by your walking bird-bitch?"
"The theatrics is the message, Setter fool. But since you want to play obtuse, I'll spell it out for you. And when I say you, know that I am speaking to all of you Setters who stand here this Haela. But not you, Hadder. I'll repeat it; you had your chance, and you tossed it back in my face. You're already dead." The Krown took his eyes from Hadder, began to pace on the white sand before the Samsara and the wet girl strapped to its trunk. "My dear Setters, you are all very fortunate. You're fortunate for the fact that I am a magnanimous king and that I don't hate you. I hate these walls. I hate these rules. And I hate the world that chewed us up and spat us out into this sunless prison. Now, on the eve of our escape and the Great Return, I am feeling especially generous."
The Krown paused his pacing. The torchlight flickered off his metal spikes, creating a halo around his bulbous head. "Any Setter who comes to our encampment north of the Samsara before the close of Solay tomorrow will be welcomed with open arms and given opportunities to prove their worth in the coming Great War. We will walk over Station's ruined walls hand in hand, cross that damnable desert arm in arm, and wreak havoc on the Before as we stand shoulder to shoulder!"
The Risers in attendance let out a great howl of support for their leader, moved by his confident words. The Krown waited for their cheers to subside before continuing. "An inevitability is something certain to happen. Since the beginning, the Keys have known that Station was an ephemeral thing, a city that would appear then vanish in a blink of time's eye. They have known, and they have kept this from you. They knew the Fall was on the horizon, and yet they continued on as if nothing was amiss, lording over the other residents. Albany Rott has used all of us. We are but an experiment, pawns in a contest between the gods. Well, I tired of being a pawn, so I made myself a king. And now I welcome you all to huddle in the warmth of my leadership and protection."
"And the girl? What's Lilly Sistine doing there?" The unfamiliar voice cut in from the back of the grouped residents.
The Krown's evil smirk made a triumphant return. "Just as my charity knows no bounds, neither does my savagery for those who oppose or fail me. Those of you who stand against me in the Great War can expect the worst kind of death. We promise not to be quick, Setters. Let this image stay with you as
you make your final decisions."
At those last words, several Risers holding torches moved towards the Samsara. Lilly Sistine began to hyperventilate as panic set in, her words coming out in short bursts. "I'm. So. Sorry. Marlin. Forgive me. Please. Forgive me."
As the torches touched the glistening black bark, fire sprinted across the flammable liquid that covered both tree and woman, filling the courtyard with a demon glow that reflected the devilish scene playing out in its center. Lilly screamed as the flames licked her face and engulfed her beautiful hair, which now danced high above her head on heated updrafts. Her perfectly tanned skin browned then blackened before peeling away to reveal raw flesh and bone beneath the fires. Lilly shook her head in vain to put out the ravenous blaze as her eyeballs exploded under the extreme heat. In seconds, her small form could barely be made out through the hues of red and yellow and blue; only her screams marked that she existed within the inferno.
The whole of the Samsara was now aflame, granting the great tree one last burst of color, a shitty reward for all that it had given Station's residents over uncounted time. Hadder looked over those who had followed him this Haela and found a mixture of fear, disgust, and sadness in their flickering faces. It appeared that The Krown's appalling show was having its desired effect. Could Glen have been correct? Could Hadder have made a grievous error?
Silence abounded as the flames raged and then began to subside, the Samsara's black bark refusing to accept the fire after the combustible solution began to burn off. As the pyre began to die down, the hands that were holding Hadder back slipped away, and what was left of Lilly Sistine came into focus, now just a charred mound, looking like a natural knot that had forever been on the side of the magical black tree. For some strange reason, this image eased the pain in Hadder's heart.
The Krown stepped forward again, having retreated from the heat of the Samsara's fires. "Know that this act brought me no pleasure." His laughing green eyes showed him to be a liar in addition to his title of killer. "But I made dear Lilly Sistine a promise. Kill Marlin Hadder and join me in storming the Before. Fail me and get burned alive. As you can all plainly see, Marlin Hadder stands before me right now, quite alive. Setters! I am a king of my word. Take this last chance and join me. We will surf the waves of conquest together. Stand against me and being burned alive will be the kindest death I have to offer." The Krown looked again at Hadder. "And Marlin Hadder, don't forget my promise to you. You will kiss my crown, dead man."
No longer restrained, Hadder reached behind his back, fingering an object tucked into the back of his belt. "I'm not a king. Sadly, I'm just a man who's tired of people like you. But I, too, am a man of my word." In a flash, Hadder gripped the knife he had hidden away by the blade and flung it overhand in the direction of The Krown. The weapon sped past the giant Riser, missing his shoulder by inches, and buried itself to the hilt in the leather-masked forehead of the Riser woman. She stood dumbly for a moment, even reaching up questioningly to touch the foreign object protruding from her head, before falling straight back like a tipped over sculpture.
The Krown's face twisted in surprise and anger as he looked from the fallen woman to Hadder, who went on. "I promised that Riser that if I didn't like what I saw here, I would put a knife between her eyes. I didn't like what I saw. She now has a knife between her eyes."
The Krown's anger dissipated as quickly as it had arrived. His deep laughter filled the void left by the fire's extinguishment. "Well, look at us, Marlin Hadder. Don't we make an earnest pair? Enjoy that kill. You won't be so successful in the coming war." To the rest of the residents. "Life or death. Subjugation or suffering. The choice is yours, Setters. And it's the last time you'll be presented with options. My word is gospel, as you see here today. Whether that word brings you wine or fire, that is up to you."
With that, The Krown turned and exited the Samsara clearing, heading north back to his newly established stronghold. Slowly, residents also began to withdraw, not waiting for Hadder to lead the way. Hadder and Glen remained behind, staring sadly at the burnt remains of their dear friend who had made a tragic decision.
Glen spoke without looking over, tears streaming down his weathered face to find shelter in his thick beard. "What the hell just happened here, Hadder?"
Hadder blinked tears from his own eyes as he tried to make out the enchanting Lilly Sistine from the charred heap now stuck firmly to the Samsara. Despite his best efforts, he could not see her, did not want to see her. "Glen, I think I fucked up."
New nightmares joined Hadder's old bad dreams. A tiny hand jutting out from the wreckage and a wife's dead eyes were now accompanied by Kamaria's innards cascading down her body, a lover's face as a knife flashed before her, and a friend burning bright in the darkness of Haela.
Hadder sat up, covered in sweat. Despite the restlessness of his sleep, he looked over at the Moon Clock to discover that it was well into the Solay. Hadder dressed quickly into clean clothes laid out by a manikin and made his way through the underbelly of The Royal Jelly. Fleeting nausea came on as he passed the room he once shared with Lilly Sistine. Although Hadder wanted to flee this place that held tragedy alongside beautiful memories, he had few options. Cranesman was now too close to a Riser stronghold, and The Royal Jelly, with its thick walls and ample acreage, was currently the best choice for a Setter home base.
As Hadder made his way through the twisting hallways of the living quarters and up the stairs leading to the Bar's main level, he commented internally about the lack of residents to be seen meandering around. Coming out onto the ground floor, the Bar still rang empty, with only Glen sitting calmly at the counter closest to the entrance, the location where Hadder and Royal had been attacked by the treasonous Lilly Sistine. Carpets had been laid down where the two men's blood had stained the hardwood floor.
Hadder slid in next to his friend, who poured a beer from across the counter and passed it over. Both men stared forward towards the empty stage. "You're not here to kill me, are you, Glen? I don't think I can survive another betrayal." Hadder was only half-kidding.
Glen took a long drink. "Nah, partner, just waiting to talk with you."
"How many?"
Glen looked confused. "Come again?" How many what?"
"How many residents left for The Krown's encampment? I imagine a lot after word of last Haela's show got around."
Glen laughed softly into his beer.
Hadder misinterpreted the reaction, grew angry. "Look, Glen, I know I fucked up. I'm sure The Krown scared most residents into joining him, and those that are left will be shaking too badly to even hold a weapon properly. But at least let me know what we're working with here. How bad is it?"
Glen looked over, a twinkle decorated his eyes. "You don't get it, Hadder. You didn't fuck up. The Krown fucked up. Your original premonition was correct."
Hadder's face screwed up in confusion. "I don't understand."
"Last Haela's show didn't drive anyone to the Riser side. I mean, sure, maybe a few went in the Haela, but no one of consequence and surely no numbers of consequence. In fact, it did quite the opposite. Our people are more determined than ever to fight to the end. Look at what happened to Lilly Sistine. She killed a Setter leader in Royal, almost killed another in you."
"She did kill me."
"Even worse. So Lilly killed two Setter leaders, and what does she get for it? Burned alive like a fucking Salem witch. The Krown thought this display would give further weight to his threats while proving him a man of his word. All it really did was prove that he's a maniac who may kill you even if you do his wretched bidding. Not only does no one want to join him now, but most are also willing to die to see that he fails in reaching the Before. Most of us still have loved ones that we left behind in the world. If we can protect them from here, it's the least we can do for abandoning them."
A smile, full and honest, began to form on Hadder's face. His skin twisted strangely at the long-foreign action. "So, it's just what we needed to
unify us?"
"Fucking A."
Hadder's mind whirled with possibility. "With a unified, motivated, pissed-off front, we can hold out for months, maybe even a year, slowly whittling down Riser numbers."
Glen looked down at his now-empty beer. "Yeah, well, that's the other thing I needed to talk to you about, Hadder." He peered over at Hadder, a look of Zen crossed over his leathery face. "The cluster leaders held a meeting first thing this Solay."
"And?"
"And the consensus was that no one wants to wait around to die. No one wants to hole up in a Bar, waiting for the Risers to get around to them. No one wants to fight like guerrillas, hitting and running, hoping to die rather than get taken alive. Everyone is tired of living in fear, and pretty pissed off. We gave up on our previous lives. Now our new ones are being taken from us. But whether Riser or Setter, we are all part of the same group. Meaning we did this to ourselves. We were given the keys to the kingdom and still managed to fuck it up. We collectively spilled the milk. Now we collectively have to clean it up. The Before doesn't deserve to deal with the monsters we created here in Station."
Hadder turned his stool to fully face his last true friend. "So, what are you saying, Glen? What did everyone decide while I laid in bed, struggling with nightmares?"
"They decided to fight. Head on. No running. No hiding. No digging in. No cowering behind fortifications. You said it yourself, we're all dead, anyway. It's just a matter of if we're willing to fight and how. Well, they're now ready to fight. And they want to play it straight. A Great Battle to decide the Great War and prevent the Great Escape."
"Glen, you have to know, we can't win in a head-to-head fight. The best we can hope for is that both sides lay in ruin at the end."
"That's enough for us." Glen thought for a moment, then continued. "The Krown was right about one thing, you know. Station was never meant to stand forever. It served some purpose for some higher entity, and now it's passed its expiration date. We were all given a great gift - more time. And some of us did great things with that time - loved again, danced again, sang again, lived again. Now it's time to pay it forward, make sure this chapter closes without its unseemlier pages drifting over into the real world."
Station Page 30