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The story so far...
Louie Greenthorpe is a vampire. He is living in the Greenthorpe Mansion,
on the outskirts of the town of Greenthorpe. He is the subject of local ghost stories.
Some children decide to explore the mansion, but run for their lives when they catch
a glimpse of Louie. Majo, a wandering jeweller, meets them and goes to investigate
the mansion. She meets Louie and feels like she trusts him, but is horrified when she
learns that he is a vampire. While trying to escape, she trips and hits her head,
losing consciousness. Outside, one of the children's fathers, Theodore Thatcher,
arrives. He learns of Majo, and enters the mansion to make sure she is okay.
Louie is leaning over Majo's body, and Theodore assumes the worst. In the ensuing struggle,
Louie kills Thatcher, and hides the body before Majo regains consciousness. When she does,
she finds herself unharmed and realises she can trust Louie. Louie decides he must leave
Greenthorpe, and the two depart together.
Kaz is a mercenary, and goes on a mission to steal data from a military base.
He is the bait, and flies his ship above the base, dropping bombs while his comrades
carry out the theft. The base's nuclear reactors explode, sending his ship hurtling to
the ground. When he regains consciousness, he sees his comrades are happy. When they realise
he is alive, one of them offers to kill him for a share in his wages. Kaz kills them.
Kaz goes on a vengeful killing spree against the Carrotus military. On one
morning-after-the-night-before, he wakes up to see a bag of money, indicating that he has been
hired.
Jargon Random is technomancer: he combines engineering with sorcery. He lives on
Diamondus, where a war is raging. One morning John Radin, a friend from his Order,
arrives at his door and tells him they must flee. The city is being invaded. Jargon
grabs his autocaster and some food, and leaves with John.
Tony Waterbeck, renowned racing pilot, is practicing one day when he sets off an old
Shellian defence system. Some Shellian fighters respond, and pursue him around the galaxy.
He decides to head for Carrotus in the hope that they will destroy his assailants.
when he gets there he finds he has to maneuvre through the Carrotus asteroid belt.
With his attention thus diverted, a Shellian shot hits his left wing, sending him
plummeting towards Carrotus. He crashes in an empty field just outside Greenthorpe.
He heads for a building he can see in the distance.
Verity works in a Tavern on Diamondus, for a rabbit named Eddie. Secretly, she is also
working for him as a hacker, supporting one side in the Diamondus War. Her town is a dangerous
place. Nobody knows who is on which side, and food is hard to come by. Every day, she thinks
about the poison in her medicine cabinet. She is on the edge of despair.
Tier is an Arcania Zombie. He is effectively invincible, but it takes a while for
missing body parts to grow back. He must feed on the living to prevent himself from rotting.
He prowls around Carrotus, looking for prey.
Thomas Bradhurst, a Greenthorpe councillor, receives a letter from a company wishing
to establish a factory in Greenthorpe. He finds out the land they want is held in a trust,
and sets off for Orleton to talk to the trustees. He is told that the land can only be sold
once the trust has passed to an heir. He leaves for the Carrotus Central Records Office
to find an heir. The trustees, not wanting to lose the profitable Greenthorpe estate, send
some thugs after him. They ambush Tom in a forest. He escapes, but trips, rolls down
a slope, hits his head, and loses consciousness.
Unfortunately, Theodore Thatcher has become a vampire. A TV crew and a group of marines
arrive at the mansion to investigate the rumours, and are devoured. The video makes it onto
the internet, where it is found by Schism. Schism is an organisation that preserves the
Masquerade, the system by which the general public is kept unaware of the existence of
supernatural creatures. Alexander Garand, a Schism agent, is sent to sort out the problem.
On his way to Greenthorpe, he is attacked by werewolves.
Diallo Kalu, a resident of Muckamok, receives an unsettling call from a telemarketer.
He subsequently gets into a fight in which he shoots his opponent in the leg. He calls an
ambulance. Diallo does not appear in the story again.
An unknown female rabbit is staying at an underground "monastery". There is
unpleasantness in her past, including her sister having developed a poison called Jade Dawn.
In small amounts, it dulls the senses. When aged and mixed with water, it causes severe
bodily damage. It is eventually banned, to be replaced by Cherry Blossom (see ch. 2).
When she first arrived at the monastery, she was disturbed by nightmares, and woke up
screaming. Eventually, she forgets who she is.
One restless night, she goes to the waters from which they all drink. She throws
herself in, and an undercurrent carries her to a seperate cavern, where Jade Dawn is being
poured into the water by three of her siblings. The Jade Dawn is eating away at her,
and they pour a substance over her to neutralise it. She escapes and tries to warn the other
siblings, but they do not believe her. She escapes into a lift to the surface, but a
Jade bomb is thrown after her. She reaches the surface mutilated and blind.
Icarus and Naomi were once lovers. Icarus was accused of killing his family.
Though he was found innocent, Naomi's father forbade her ever to see Icarus again.
Icarus and Naomi meet again on Carrotus. Icarus has been smuggling refugees away
from Diamondus. Naomi agrees to help him with one more trip, before he is to settle down with
her on Carrotus.
Jesse Aimon witnesses his house burning to the ground, his family inside. He refuses
help from his neighbour, Miss Savon, whom he knows to be a spy. Presumably, she started the
fire. Dawn comes, and Jesse leaves.
ShaH-li Felenzo Orbonzen is hired by Andrew Ricarden asa bodyguard. He is attempting
to exploit dreempipes fuel. Neither character appears in the story again.
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Chapter 14: In the beginning...
"..Governor Pneumeth of the To'Adin provence on Diamondus has advised it's citizens to stay indoors during the evening, as the situation on Diamondus grows worse. Many people have lost their lives since the civil war started three months ago, and..."
The newsreader held her hand against her earpiece. "Oh my god." She softly said.
"Turn up the volume Jake." A man in the back of 'The green dragon.' the oldest, and cheapest inn of Peddleburg yelled at Jake Marshall, the old owner, a man with deep eyes, that looked like he had missplaced his razor blade a very long time ago, and did not bother to buy a new one. He reached for the remote control under the bar, and was able to turn up the volume before the newsreader could continue, she took a deep breath, nervously took the papers lying on the table in front of her and placed them a little to the left, for no reason, just to give her hands something to do before looking into the camera. "My apologies for the interuption, we just received the news that the southern army has moved on to the city of Depada. General Necra has started an attack on the north, word has received us that this attack is fully supported by the government of the south, we now go live to our reporter in Nari, several miles to the west of Depada. iCeD, are you there?"
A young, white furred lynx appeared on the screen, the people in the bar were very silent, including Louie and Majo, who were sitting in two small wooden chairs at a table in the back, Louie had ordered a glass of water, not to cause to much suspisioun, Majo had told the barkeeper that they had been walking here all the way from Greenthorpe, which was a 30 mile walk, and the weather was very warm for the time of the year. It would be strange if he was not thirsty, he took advantage of the situation, all of the people in the bar were staring at the screen, so he quickly emptied his glass in the vase the stood on the middle of the table, the flower in it looked like it could use it more then him. Majo whispered "I'm scared."
She wanted to be comforted. Louie just looked at the tv, it seemed that they were having some problems with the audio, which is understandable, this was live broadcasting from only a few miles from the warzone, the young reported stood in front of a big building, he looked into the camera without any sign of fear on his face, the grip on his microphone was firm and steady, he was waiting for the audioproblem to be fixed, while a few headlines were rolling trough the bottem of the screen.
" Situation on Diamondus has escalated, attack on Depada. Gary Parker running candidate for the governership of Peddleburg. Earian Thunder wins the Carrotus Cup. "
An old and grumpy fox came back from the toilet. "Darn it, how long does it take those idiots to fix an audioproblem. Change the channel."
"Easy Ted, have a beer on me." Jake yelled back.
Ted Harrison had a few relatives living in Nari, the old and grumpy man accepted the beer with a little, fake smile and sat down on his seat, taking a small pack holding about 4 cigarettes out of his wife's bag and lit one up. Jake had a strict policy about people not being allowed to smoke in his bar, but when Ted looked at him he nodded in agreement, he decided to make a small exceptation, just for today.
"Thanks Jenny, i'm here." The young man said, the audio problem had been fixed.
"Hello iCeD, has the president of the Northern front given an official reaction yet?" The lovely newsreader asked him.
iCeD shook his head. "No, the president is currently in a meeting with several ministers of his council, but the minister of the media has informed us that he will give a speach to the people of the north tonight.
He has moved out of Depada as soon as the news reach him, word is that he has moved to Nincada, where the spaceport is located, he might leave for Carrotus later today."
"And king Jazz, has he given a reaction yet?"
"He has not, he will give his reaction soon however.We do not have a lot of information yet, it is told that there were a lot of northern troops stationed in Kathmana, which is the closest military base from here, the troops have been mobilized and will arrive here in a matter of hours. We will be leaving for Nincada soon, the station has called us back."
"Thank you iCeD... Are you ok?." Jenny asked worried.
iCeD nodded. "I'll be home tonight. Goodbye Jenny."
The people in the bar started talking, within a breath, the silence was broken, everybody talked to someone.
Majo put her hand on Louie's, she shivered at the touch of the coldness of his skin, he enjoyed the warm flesh covering his hand, he could not hide that he was slightly worried, concerned for the wellbeing of the people on Diamondus. He looked at her, she was close to crying, everyone in the bar but him looked moved, sad and angry.
Their hands were entagled, became one. "Calm down, let me get you another drink." He said calmly, he did an incredible good job at hiding his feelings was the first thing that came to Majo's mind.
Louie got up and walked to the bar, a little kid, not really knowing what went on looked at him and smiled.
He smiled back, which gave the little girl the scare of her life, his fangs were unnaturally large, a sign of his hunger. He quickly walked over to the bar.
"I'd like a glass of the strongest ale you have... and a water please." He looked around, seeing if noone noticed him, the only two people looking at him were the little girl and Majo.
"Here you go buddy, it's on me. I can see that your girlfriend over there is in quiet a shock." The friendly, old bartender said.
"Thanks sir, that is very generous of you." Louie said just as he felt a terrible sharp pain in his stumach. His body shook and his pupils slowly faded.
"Are you ok buddy?" Jake asked him worried.
"Yes, i have to go... to the toilet.
Jake pointed at a small door in the back, decorated with a flower and the word 'men' in fancy letters underneath it.
Louie stumbled to the door, pushed it open with his shoulder and fell into the toilet.
It was a small but clean place, with three Shakelsbee urinoirs and three small fountains shaped like a turtles shell, for washing your paws.
He looked around, he had a highly evolved scent and could smell a prey from miles away, he noticed a very thin rat crawling in trough a hole in the far corner underneath one of the small fountains.
Louie got up and immidatly fell on the floor again, he reached out his hand for the rat and tightly squized his paw around it, he could feel the rat's small rib cage cracking in his hand, put it to his mouth and let his life's juices flow down his troath. His pupils became clear again, and his canine teeth returned to their normal size.
He got up and threw the rats corpse out of the small window above the urinoir in the middle of the room, turned to his left, he washed the disgusting scent of the rats fur off of his hands, looked up, looking into the mirror, seeing nothing but the wall behind him.
He leaned over the fountain for a moment and then decided it was time to return, he would be ok for another three hours now, the meal was only a small one, but sufficient for the time being
King Jazz walked trough the great halls of Simic Palace, followed by ten guards and Yorek Stork, his minister of foreign affairs and Nick Hill, minister of warfare.
Dozens of reporters and cameramen were waiting in the conferece room for the king to arrive and answer the questions they had to ask.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the king." One of the royal guards shouted trough the room as king Jazz walked in.
Everyone in the room stood up, as Jazz Jackrabbit walked over the red carpet and set down in front of them, behind a large oak table, covered by a white cloth and three microphones, one for him, and one for Yorek Stork to his left, and Nick Hill to his right.
"Please, be seated." King Jazz said as he sank back into his chair. "You there, you look important with those glasses, first question."
The small turtle got up, he stared at the king behind his big glasses with sharp eyes. "Gene Berry, Turtle Gazet, are there any plans to send Carrotian forces to Diamondus, sir?"
"We have no intentions of becoming involved in the war mister Berry. You there, next question."
"Nina Bradey. The daily carrot, are there any plans on giving refugee to the citizens of Diamondus, sir?"
"We have offered the citizens of cities in the north refugee on Medieval, our first moon. refugee camps will be set up there, we will also set up a camp in the peddleburg woods, a refugee camp to the north of New Carrotus and to the north of Oakloma. You there..."
Louie took a golden coin out of his bag and gave it to Jake. "This should take care of the costs."
Jake's mouth fell open, he was stunned. A man payed for two drinks with a golden coin. He then walked over to Majo. "We have to leave, i need a proper meal before i go to sleep."
He wrapped his hand around hers and they walked out into the night togheter.
"Where should we go?" Majo asked Louie.
"I have an idea, we should go back to Greenthorpe, my house is big enough to hold at least a hundred refugees." Louie said.
"That is very noble of you Louie, but don't the people over there know you, from what i've heard of those childeren i saw, the people in Greenthorpe are very suspisious.".
Louie reached for his pocket and retrieved the big bag full of coins.
"Here, you take this, when we reach Greenthorpe, i want you to go to the city council and buy my mansion, this should be more then enough." He said confident. "Let's rest here, you must be tired, it has been a long day. Majo lay down next to the river, louie took of his shirt, folded it up and placed it under her head. "There you go, sleep well."
She kissed the cold flesh of his cheek. "You too." She said.
Majo soon fell asleep, the stars filled up the sky, they looked like small white pinpricks in the big blanket that covered the planet.
Louie made sure she slept, he was in need of blood, but he could not leave her here, something might happend. He felt a need to protect her, so he decided to eat some of the smaller creatures he could find around here. A bird chirpped on a branch behind him, he pretended like he did not pay attention to the bird, but in a flash he turned around and jumped for the branch, wrapping his index finger and thumbs around its little neck, snapping it in a quick movement, he gulped down it's life juices, enough for another 3 hours, he stared around, ever so patiently, he stood in the field, just looking for twenty minutes untill he discovered his prey, the ultimate prey, a true feast for a vampire.
A wild boar, slowly moved his fat legs trough the muddy forest trail, carefully Louie waited behind a bush untill it came close enough.
"Just a few more steps, come on." He jumped on the back of the boar, that started squeeling loudly. "Shut up you foolish creation, your life ends here."
Louie had lost it, his eyes hollow and empty, he made a few growling sounds and bit, his fangs sinking into the boards flesh, as a needle sinking into the skin, he started drinking, and he kept on drinking untill he was satisfied, he then walked back to Majo and fall asleep next to her.
Majo woke up the next morning, the rays of sunlight falling on her face, Louie was still sleeping, she looked at him, he had changed a great deal.
His flesh felt warmer, his fur was soft, it was so nice to touch, she let her hand slide over his strong chest, she gave him a soft kiss in the neck. Majo knew she should not be doing this, but he was irresistable as he lay there, she didn't know why, but he seemed more attractive then ever before.
Majo walked over to the creek and took off her clothes, a small, black shirt and her tank top, she lay down in the creek, the feeling of the water flowing over her naked body felt lovely.
"We should leave in a moment, we have a great deal to take care off and i need a newspaper." Louie said.
"What the.." Majo crossed her arms to cover up her breast. "Couldn't you at least give me a warning."
"Your reaction would have been the same wouldn't it?" He said "But i'll avert my eyes now." He said as her turned around.
Majo got out of the water and shook the drops out of her fur, before getting back into her clothes.
They arrived in Greenthorpe a few hours later, Louie bought a newspaper at the stand, he fit in better now, without the scars and the paleness.
He bought a newspaper by a stand, the war had started, fights were going on in and around Depada, the first large transportationships had been send to Diamondus to pick up the refugees, but the news of the war did not shock Louie as much as the other news he read. They were going to tear down his mansion to make room for a factory.
He dropped the newspaper to the floor, for Majo to pick it up and read the article.
"They can't do this." She said shocked. "That isn't fair, what about the refugees, those poor people. And you, it's the place you grew up in, you've spend your life in their."
Louie had mixed feelings about this, it was his house, and he had spend ages in there, that is why he hated it, and he wanted it to be pulled down, but on the other hand, there were people who needed it.
The second reason was more important to him, the refugees needed all the room they could get.
"Let's pay mister Bradhust a visit, shall we?" He said.
"Mister Parker, there are two people over here that are looking for Thomas Bradhurst." Gary Parker's secretary said trough the telephone.
"Yes sir, i will tell him that, yes sir." She put the telephone down. "Mister Parker will be here in a few minutes, please have a seat over there."
Majo thanked her, and she and Louie sat down. The secretary looked up from her paperwork and smiled and Louie, who just looked back at her.
He then looked at the photographs on the wall, who were probably of the people that worked on this floor, the picture of Thomas Bradhurst hang next to Gary Parker's Photograph.
He was a young man, wearing and old and shabbey green tie, and looking as if he wanted to be everywhere as long as he didn't have to be here, at the office.
Majo was reading a magazine, and Louie was still looking at the picture, as if he had a precognition that he was going to need to remember what Thomas looked like later on.
"Hello madam, i am Gary Parker." Gary said as he reached for Majo's hand.
"Hello sir." She said. "I was wondering if you could tell me where i could find mister Bradhurst, i wanted to talk to him about the Greenthorpe mansion."
"Well, well." He said and he gave her a cheezy grin. "That place is quiet populair lately. I am afraid mister Bradhurst has left for Orleton the other day, but perhaps i could be off assistance."
"No." Louie said immidiatly. "Thanks for your time."
Majo was puzzeled. "But why not? He could..." But Louie had entered the elevator. Majo said goodbye to Gary Parker and entered the elevator just in time before the doors closed, her skirt almost got stuck between the sliding doors.
"I know what you want to ask, i sense something about that guy, he's very untrustworthy. Something tells me we'll be better off discussing this with mister Bradhurst."
"Whatever you want dear." She said.
They exited the elevator and were heading for the big rolling doors to exit the building, when two buff looking man in black suits approached them.
The slightly taller one put his hand on Louie's shoulder and slowly but firmly acommpanied him to a door to left side of the hallway.
"Hey, where are you taking me?" Louie looked over his shoulder, he could see that the other man had a gun pointed at Majo, hidden under his coat.
There were several people waiting in the lines in this hall, most of them came here to extend their passport, or their identity card.
Louie became angry when he saw that Majo was in danger. "My dad told me that i shouldn't go with strangers." He told the tall and buff man, before he gave him a headstomp against his nose.
The guy started cursing as blood ran down his nose, over his lips. Louie could not resist and licked up a small trail that ran down his chin, his hand went for the gun, he grasped it firmly and shot the other buff rabbit trough the head. Majo screamed as she saw a part of the man's brains and his right ear burst out of his skull and land a bit further away over the body of the people waiting in line.
The people started screaming in terror and ran out of the city hall, some tripping over eachother in their haste and panic.
"Shut up and come over here Majo." Louie said wrapping one of his strong arms around the living buff guys neck, as he held the gun to his head.
"Now, you tell me what you and your partner wanted of us, or i'll make sure that something happends to you that is far worse then what happend to your partner."
"Please, don't, i have my orders." Louie tightened his grip on the guy's neck, and he moved the gun from the side of the guys head down to his balls.
"Now, wouldn't it be painful and messy if i pulled the trigger?" He whispered in the guys ear.
"Parker, Parker told me i couldn't let you go, he says he recognized you, please don't shoot them off."
Louie got up and put the gun in the back of his pants. "Why should i, you told me everything i needed to know, i guess i'll just go shoot mister Parker instead."
The alarm went off, Louie looked at the back wall and saw that one of the employee's had pushed the alarm button, Louie grabbed Majo by the hand and the quickly ran out of the building.
"There, over there, by the pub." Several horses were standing in front of the pub, tied to the strong, wooden fence.
They both took one to their liking and left for Orleton.
Gary Parker picked up the phone in his office and dialed the number of the Cholmondely & Smith legal team.
"Jack? Gary here, i think we have a problem." Gary said seriously, while he took a bottle of gin out of the little refridgerator under his bureau.
He screwed the cap off with one hand, took a shot glass and poured himself a drink.
"Don't worry Gary, i send three men after mister Bradhurst, he should not be a problem for long."
"It's not him i am worried about Jack, it's Lawrence Greenthorpe's son. He was just here with a young girl."
It was quiet on the other end of the phone, Gary used this silence to take a big gulp from his gin.
"I'm sure that someone will take care of him soon enough my friend." Little did Jack Cholmondely know that he was speaking the truth, the hunters were looking for Louie already.
"...My men for instance, i'll make sure they go after him when they are done with mister Bradhurst.
"Thanks Jack, i knew i could count on you."
"Anytime pal, still up for that golfing match on Sunday? Jack asked him and he laughed.
"Oh absolutly, you are going down pal."
"Haha, goodbye Gary." Jack said and he hang up the phone.
Gary looked out of his window, over the town, with the mansion in the background, he hated that building with a passion, the sooner he got rid of it, the better.
The night was falling as Louie and Majo rode onwards to Orleton, a large forest lay to their right, darkness fell over the tree's, and the full moon made them cast eery shadows on the ground.
"We have to enter the forest here, stay close to me ok?" Louie said. "The forest can be dangerous... especially now that it is full moon." Louie shivered, the thought of meeting a werewolve scared the hell out of him. They rode on for quiet a while, the hoofbeats of their horses in the soft, muddy trail where the only sounds they heard.
"Look over there, fire pixies." Majo said, she was amazed by the beauty mother nature had to offer.
The pixies were flying round the tree's, legend says that they guard the tree's from danger, sad enough, only a few are left, way back when people did not have electricity, they were caught, to bring light in the mines and homes. But they are growing larger in numbers again, it's the first time in ages that pixies are seen in this forest.
Louie rode on, their horses were fast and strong, they rode on untill Louie noticed something in the distance, a badly contstructed, crude fence.
This was a rather strange place to build a fence, the middle of the forest. Louie stopped his horse and Majo quickly followed the example, she knew he had better nightvision then him, or most other living rabbits for that reason. Creatures of the night are known to have highly evolved sight.
"There's a fence over there, stay behind me." They walked closer, and could hear a few rabbits talk.
"Get off him!" One of them shouted. It was clear that there was a fight going on, he could see one of them breaking away from the group, he dove into a small opening that led to a trail, that was a bit easyer to reach from here, two of the rabbits followed the one that got away.
"Come on, we have to help that man." Louie said as he fought his way trough the bushes, he quickly ran after them.
The rabbit that was escaping tripped over a thick root sticking out of the ground, and lost consiousness when his head smacked against the ground.
The two others approached him, one of them pulled his dagger and wanted to plant it in the guys chest, but before he got the oppertunity to do so, Louie had reached him and grabbed him by the wrist.
"Two against one isn't really fair is it?" He said, he squeezed a little harder and the guy dropped it's dagger in front of his feet, just a few inches away from the feet of Thomas Bradhurst.
"Hey Majo, look who we found." He said. The guy that had standing behind the man with the dagger punched Louie in the stumach, he loosened his grip on the rabbits wrist.
Both of them wanted to punch Louie again, but he grabbed one of the rabbits by the neck and threw him against a tree with all his power, he could hear his skull breaking open as he flung against the tree, head first. The other rabbit took a step back. "Holy ... What the hell are you man."
Louie quickly took two steps towards the rabbit and took him by the neck, he uncovered his fangs and spoke gently. "Does this ring a bell?"
"Don't kill me, please, don't." The rabbit cried out.
"I don't think i will, i have a great idea though, we could play a game, how does that sound."
"I want my mother." The rabbit cried.
"I ask you a question, and every time you give me a wrong answer, or if your making me wait, i'll break one of your fingers."
The rabbit tried to get away, but quickly stopped moving when Louie wrapped two fingers around his index finger. "Let's start with this one. Are you ready?"
The rabbit nodded, covering in fear, his eyes were opened wide, he took another quick glance at his partner in crime and figured he would best be honest to this man, because he was the kind of person that ment it. Majo ripped a small piece of cloth off of Louie's shirt and walked over to Thomas Bradhurst, who had an ugly cut on his forehead, where he hit the ground.
She sat down next to him and cleaned it, gently, she didn't like to see Louie like this, but she knew it was necessary, they needed the information.
"And remember, if your honest and you don't make any attempt to harm me, or my friend, you'll be ok. Who send you here?"
The rabbit mumbled "How do you know i?" Louie broke his index finger, the rabbit screamed harder then anyone at the city hall did before, no, he even screamed harder then all of them combined. He grabbed the rabbits middle finger. "Let's try it again, shall we? Who send you here."
"Please, i can't tell you, if i tell you that, they'll k..."
"Bye, bye, middle finger." Louie said as he broke the rabbits middle finger, tears ran down the fur on the rabbits cheeks.
"Please, have mercy." The rabbit said.
"I don't have mercy for people like you, you wanted to kill an innocent man like mister Bradhurst, and for what? A few golden coins?"
"I didn't kill him." he said, followed by a scream, there went his ring finger.
"See, i do not have alot of patience, i just asked you two questions, and you failed to answer them both." He said as he broke his pinky.
He now wrapped two fingers around the rabbits thumb.
"You felt a lot of pain didn't you?" Louie said.
"Yes, yes." The rabbit said, he felt like vomiting, but he was to afraid of dying, the pain was to much, he should vomit, so he could die.
"Who send you here?" Louie asked for the third time, and some made the rabbit realize that he was not going to ask him again.
"I'd rather have you kill me then them, just get it over with." The rabbit cried.
"I didn't want this to happend." Louie said, and with an awful sound and a terrible scream, that made Majo feel like she had to vomit, Louie broke the rabbit's thumb.
The rabbit sank to his knees and fell down on the ground, he died of the pain, it became to much for him.
Louie looked down the trail, the other rabbit had ran off, with one of the horses, just as he expected.
"Let's get going, we could drive on to Prestbury, and find a room over there, it's a wellfaring and peaceful town, i'm sure we could rest there for a while, this guy looks like he needs it." Majo suggested.
Louie nodded. "Good idea, good idea." He said while he picked up Thomas's glasses that he had lost as he rolled down the steep hill, luckily they were not broken during the fall.
They climbed up on their horses and started riding, it would take them at least a day to arrive in Prestbury, and it's been a heck of a day, but sleeping over here seemed to dangerous after that little incident.
They longed for a bed, a warm fireplace, and some peace.
Far away from there, the last normal flight from Nincada to Oakloma had just arrived, iCeD got out of the plane, his cameraman followed him quietly into the limo.
The star reporter of the Carrotus daily news channel, CDNC for short was used to this life of luxury.
His driver offered him a cigar as he got in, he lived his life in luxury but within he had stayed the same man he was before, he talked to his drivers and the rest of his staff about their childeren, their personal lives, football, his limo drove towards New Carrotian, where his lovely wife Jenny was waiting for him.
It had been only hours ago that he was close to the warzone, the suffering, the terror, but here he was, safe and sound, everyone on Carrotus was... for now.
The only traveling that went on between Carrotus and Diamondus from now on were the ships full of refugees, the first of them were already leaving Diamondus, but lots of them would soon follow.
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Chapter 15: I hate cockroaches
This was still for the greater good. This, my journey, was still for the greater good of the universe. Everything would be better off without such minds that stray from what god had intended. They defied death and raped worlds without a second thought. I must help balance the cycle.
Those thoughts ran through my head, a logical step from a stable base into a bloody spiral of vengence. Regrets? I questioned myself, none I responded. It was safe to open this door and see those who got here before me and invited me to take my journey one step ahead.
The door flew inwards without me touching it and a maroon, scaly, and unmeticulous turtle-paw grabbed out at my neck and pulled me in. "What the hell were you waiting for?" he scolded me. The turtle had his other arm 'mummified' and dressed like the invisible man, except without the invisibility. I stared at his right arm which looked like it had been stuck in an oven. Curiousity overcame me and "What happened to yo-" "Why don't you get creative and think of the worst things that could happen?" he immediately turned and started to walk down the corridor.
This was headquarters. I have no clue how long it was occupied, or what it used to be, but it was located somewhere down an alley in the ghetto part of town. The place where the street-lights glowed orange becuase the bulb was cheaper. Of course, the white lights have a history of being stolen and resold to the company that made them.
The inside of headquarters kept the queerness of the outside in the lighting. The same dark tangerine spread throughout the hallways, too far spread out that you only knew where you were going in the darkness because it seemed like a willow wisp was guiding you. The walls were made of wood, so this place was ancient. I could imagine it being a office of some kind, and for a small fracton of a second a party that would be held here. But the lights dimmed the idea of bright colors ever existing here.
I kept walking, only catching a glimpse of the burnt-turtle's coat every five steps. The doors we passed by on the sides were probably locked and I wondered what they'd keep in there, and what they would hide from me when I resided in one of these rooms. We stopped at the end of the dim corridor. This last room, this must have been where they kept their leader, who I would have taken down without thought several years ago. "Come in" muffled from the inside, a raspy voice. Age had taken it's toll on him already and it would have been an easy task... that several years ago.
This room showed more age than anything else I had seen. It even seemed like dust made up the wood, and some of this guy. This guy resembled a rabbit in some aspects, but I wasn't sure. If he was, that would explain the long ears missing that looked like they were cut off and the other one ripped. Maybe he was deaf. The same dust that blanketed the tables and shelves blanketed this guy as well. I wondered how much of his time he spent in here and noticed a box that seemed new marked with a cockroach symbol and a joker's hat. I tried to remember that the joker hat meant when it was on shipping boxes. He noticed my attention on the package and explained "That there is an insanity inducer, I like to think of it as a catalyst of what's to come."
"How do you believe that's what's at the end?" I already asked halfway once he said catalyst.
"I'm deaf in my left ear, you'll have to speak up." I wasn't sure if he ignored me becuase it was a question that was 'obviously beyond my grasp' or he really was deaf. I didn't ask again and waited for him to answer. He reached under his desk and pulled out what looked like an ant-farm, except with cockroaches, and a special breed that had what seemed like large fangs. "These are a special Muckamo breed of venom-scythes. They work like ants would, except they're much more territorial." he pulled out another farm with browner... hah, roaches. "These two colonies are different, though they probably act and work the same." He cracked open the door of the case and slid in long tweezers to grab one. It was about 5 centimeters long. I watched it, it seemed really active now just to break free. Maybe it knew what would happen in a minute. The boss closed the case almost showing a hint of fear. "Are they pois-" "These beasts," he already started lecturing again, "are very poisonus, and would probably have outlived rabbits." He opened the blackers' case. All of them simultaneously stopped, waving their antennae in the air sensing something. Then he dropped the single browner one in. It seemed to fall in slow motion, and then once it hit the ground. It only took three seconds. 1...2...3 and all the blacker ones scurried over to the browner one. It was defeneless and had landed on its back. I watched as the blacker ones rushed, hellbent on eliminating the intruder. "These things..." one bit into the browner one and it stopped squirming, "would outlive us," a second one bit and they started to tear at the shell, "except..." he reached into the box with the joker hat on it and pulled out a black spray can. It didn't have any labels on it. They would have grown resistant already to a pesticide. I thought it over and wondered if he was stupid and deaf. The black ones were almost finished until he cracked open the door on the top again of the glass death-farm. They all paused and stood still again. He sprayed it towards the left of the container. Agh! It smelled, but I couldn't exactly tell of what. So he had an air sanitizer as a roach killer? "They identify eachother by smell, and like people, they prosecute anybody different." I watched as what could be the two colonies paused, like they were still thinking. Maybe they were shocked to find the enemy so close. That was it, one on the left side moved only a centimeter before there on the right side rushed to mutilate it, and then four on the left side to fightg back.
They were even sides, both of them fought and it seemed to be only a mass of black legs and bodies and fangs. I looked closer to see that the majority were already dead, in ten seconds?! Only about five were fighting now. Two versus three, and I don't think they knew which side had started it either. The three ganged up on one and it was gone, simple as that, but two of them seemed to die in the process. The last one, the last one of the three I saw sunk it's fangs deep into the other last survivor's head. At least it looked like a head. I waited to see it remove itself and claim victory as the survivor and the winner of the war. "They're all dead..." I realized and thought outloud. It dawned on me there was no winner, the last one had died of war despite no enemy. "They're all doomed to fight eachother and die, but at least this way, we're stopping them before they consume everything. Haha, we're just accelerating the inevitable." Boss grabbed my attention by chuckling. "This is how they got rid of their pest problem," he put the spray back in the box, "and this is how we will get rid of ours."
Burnt turtle? It turned out he was a hacker of some sort, but was caught one day and... as the famous saying goes "if you play with fire, you're going to get burned." So now he taught other people how to do his bidding. Boss explained to me that there were two gangs after eachother in Diamondus that just needed to sparked against eachother, and the organizations that secretly back them up to do their dirty work, would also have sparked. With those organizations would come the governments, and you'd have a whole civil war. Strike one person in these long hierarchies, and blame it on the other. "Which are these gangs?" I wanted to verify for myself. It was a large jump to go from eliminating cockroaches to populations, but he was right. Stop them now, kill the pests. My faith in him was shaken again when he responded "Speak up, boy! I'm deaf in my right ear." instead of giving me a straight answer.
That one person we needed to strike turned out to be ten, and the blame involved planting jade dawn as the poison used. Burnt already hacked the order logs to falsify a large order of the stuff, but it actually wouldn't be compiled. We needed to physically steal the JD. "Which organization did you put the order into?" I asked. Boss didn't tell me, maybe he knew. "It doesn't matter." he scolded back again. I hated that "screw everybody" tone. It would hit the underground that such a large order of JD went through, even though it didn't, but everybody claimed they knew who it was going to.
I scolded myself for not asking for Burnt's name at the beginning. It felt like he'd be ****ed(pissed?) if I asked him now and I'd never get rid of the reputation of an idiot. Just wait until somebody else says it. I said to myself earlier, too bad it was just the two of us to retrieve the Jade Dawn and then the two of us to dump it into a water supply.
I asked earlier "And that'll provoke the gang against another?"
"No, you're going to dump it into one of the organization's gang members."
"But they're allies."
"They'll bite The Big Guys' necks once you do this, alliances will be broken and new ones will be formed. This will shatter any permanent alliance that have standed so far and could stand afterwards," he responded. Boss must have thought me as naive as I found this rather twisted, but fitting.
"Get up already." Burnt punched me in on my shoulder. We had already landed, oh well, I was glad to get off this piece of ship that was made to fit two. Burnt must have counted at one and a half.
"Shouldn't we be at an airport of some kind?" I looked around. The place was barren, save for the sparse vegetation and sand. Burnt punched my shoulder again for asking a stupid question. Oh right, we'd have to register this flight at that airport, and nonetheless go through a gate-check to see that we weren't criminals. And anyway, we were suppposed to meet a contact.
"See the ba-" Burnt asked and self-censored himself.
"No," I continued eyeing the horizon searching for somebody. Then I saw a small vehicle... it must have been a lift, and at the very least wasn't a patrol officer. We could at least get the info from there. "Over there," I nudged burnt. Then nudged harder when he didn't seem to notice. "Over there," I repeated and pointed towards the rectangular vehicle. We started walking.
Crystallis looks a lot shorter to the eye than it feels to the foot. "Hey!!" Burnt shouted now that we were in distance. I looked closer, it looked like another rabbit, he was all black, maybe dyed that way. "Black?" Burnt boomed out again. It almost sounded like a name. "What's that right next to him?" I asked low enough so 'Black' wouldn't hear me. Two barrels with what was probably a five-pointed flower on it, a bit green. "Looks like a trashbag except with fur," Burnt replied. I squinted and saw it bled. Did you torture the rabbit for that? I wanted to shout at him. Then I realized it probably wasn't him that did it.
We got there finally. "We'll be taking these now." Burnt said, I kept silent as I didn't know what formalities I'd miss.
"Did you bring the goods?" Black asked us once we got up there.
"Yeah," Burnt replied and reached into his pocket for a diskette. I thought of all the dirty things that he would accept as payment. "Where'd you get all of this stuff?" I blurted out as the landscape was barren and there wasn't exactly a shop.
"Somewhere around here there's a monastery," Black replied, and with that last word the trashbag of fur struggled with its burns and writhed.
"$@(# IT'S STILL ALIVE!!" Black jumped away from it. Whatever it was... it was deemed dead soon as Black reached for his gun. As soon as he drew it out of it's sling, Burnt seemed to step towards him and with one swift movement stab below his ribcage to pierce upwards into his heart. I didn't even see him take out his knife... "Do you always go for the heart?" I asked. It would have been nice if he went for the shoulder of the gun, then I could ask if he always went for the shoulder. No response. I was certain that murder would be the most compassionate thing I'd ever see Burnt do. He found pity for the trashbag and somewhere I did too, but didn't act as fast.
"Grab a barrel." Burnt instructed. The merciful one I saw a while ago was gone. "What about the..." I looked closely and made a lucky guess, "girl?" Burnt had already gotten one barrel on his shoulder. "If she lives, she can use the cart to go somewhere," he replied. Not our problem... but something inside of me told me she wouldn't live if we left her out here. I looked closer. She had twisted over in the sands with all those cuts, it must have hurt. I looked even closer at her face and realized what how damaged the eyes were. Whatever caused this bleeding I now saw was soothed by a goo of amber color. "Yeesh.." I looked at them. It's okay, she can't tell I'm staring. and I moved her arm to cover her eyes with the Advil-like glue. She moved back.
"Where the hell do you think we'd take her? Back to headquarters to live out her life alone there?" Burnt had come back and noticed my fascination at this blind one.
She turned to face Burnt and moved her mouth without any words coming out. I wondered how badly she bled and burned. Burnt sighed a bit angrily and asked "Where?"
"Pn um click" she rasped.
"Forget it." I said, it didn't matter and she was taking up time. I think I saw tears, it might have just been the amber.
"I need to go to Pneum Arklik..." she sobbed and coughed. Finally an answer.
"That's out of our way by a longshot." Burnt responded. She seemed to sob even more and faced Burnt. Even without a complete face, she still gave the look of sorrow perfectly.
"We're wasting time," I told them all, "Let's just ride this with the barrels and drop her off somewhere." I indicated the vehicle which still had enough gas and space to carry us all to the ship. It's going to be cramped. Don't tell that to the big guy... She seemed to stop sobbing as much though and clung to me. Why me? Burnt's right next to you, why the heck are you clinging onto me? I dragged her over and sat her in the back. It was still gruesome to look at, but the trash goes in the back, with the jade dawn. "'Key's already here." I projected to Burnt. He was searching the dead guy and found a wallet. "Thanks" he seemed to say with a hand gesture and got into the driver's seat. "What happened to the third guy?" Garbage asked. Neither responded.
It felt like she knew what we were packing into the cargo area of the back of the ship. We were packing her with the cargo, I figured it wouldn't matter and she wouldn't mind as all she could see was darkness anyway. I thought so anyways, it seemed like she saw some things blind people don't see, and she cringed when she felt the barrel of poison. It was safely sealed, Burnt made sure. We'd be screwed too if it leaked.
"She has to get off here." I said, looking at the meters.
"Not here..." there was compassionate Burnt again for a second.
"Yes here, here or else we'll run out of gas and fail boss." Those words, fail and boss, seemed to make him cringe. He had forgotten of how we couldn't bring her home with us like a lost puppy and ask the boss if "Can we keep him?"
"Which planet is this anyway?" I asked.
"Dunno, we'll just drop her off in a rural area, a city will probably rape her."
Stupid sickos...
"Hey... isn't this the base for one of the corporations?" I asked. It probably wasn't, I didn't know how to even recognize ones nonetheless which ones they were.
"Yeah..."
"Boss wasn't specific on.." Burnt already shifted the ship and gravity was felt all throughout. At the very least, this ship had the technology to not burn up in atmosphere as the ship was guided into a freefall.
This planet was small, and looked grey instead of blue from above. #@(*#$ There's the ground already!! I cursed outloud.
"Stop whining." and Burnt seemed to be able to pull up from a dive. "Eesh.." I said. We could have crashed, but didn't... but we could have. "There, a landing pa-" "I already see it," he interrupted. The landing pad was suprising on the ground right next a parkling lot. We had landed somewhere in the city. Hotels, technology, a good neighboorhood with it's bad counterpart and the low-lives that we targetted.
"Unpacking time?" I asked. I wondered how she was doing.
When she came out, she was silent. She must have been thinking to herself a lot. Blindness must have been new to her. "We're here." I greeted her.
"Pne-"
"No, but you can probably ask somebody else to get there." She reached out to cling to me but I reacted and jumped back. Burnt came up behind me and handed her the pilfered wallet, free of ID to trace back to Black.
"Leave and ask somebody where a hotel is." Burnt coldly said to her. He had that sort of commanding voice that says "Go away or I'll shoot you," in the background. She immediately got up and tried to follow the concrete that would lead her to the sidewalk. She'll be fine... somebody will take care of her. I lied to myself.
"Do you know what happens when this mixes with water?" Burnt pointed near the back where the Jade Dawn was. How would he know?
"That." and Burnt indicated over to the bleeding trashbag that had been eaten alive but survived to feel the pain. Her head seemed to sink a bit lower as she kept walking away. She heard him, I knew it.
"Why are we getting in here?" I stared at the door that seemed to be the janitor's.
"Water supply." he replied. It all dawned on me, this was where one of the gangs inhabitated. I noticed the grafitti, and the brand name of a "Prochoice." Oh wait, I remember seeing that name in the order hackings. So they were the subordinates.
"Go ahead and open it," Burnt told me. I looked at it and reached for my ID card. I had cut a slit in it so it could go past the latch and open it. The door slid open as soon as I swiped the knob. "Cheap security" I said and noticed a large water pipe on the side. The one next to it was probably for sewage. The small tank must have been for derbis filterage. I opened it first to see that it was surprisingly clean. "What are you doing?" I asked Burnt, he was staring at a panel on the wall. He pointed at it, one which said 'lockdown test' and another that said 'fire simulation'. I started dumping the heavy barrel into the tank, and the second one right after it, they weren't that heavy afterall. But I still had to lean back and make sure not to splash it.
"Lockdown, sprinklers..." Burnt muttered to himself, "and we should start running." He flickered the switches.
"What?" It started to sprinkle...
"RUN!" and he bolted off as I noticed the tank was becoming active. !@#$ and I rushed to close it. I looked above to check, 2 sprinklers. They'd keep using the water until they came upon the contaminated, and by the time all of that was used, everybody in there would be dead or wish for it.
I bolted in after Burnt, noted that our ship had that logo of "Prochoice" all this time and got in. He already had it marcoed to take off at the press of a button. We left the Janitor door open... this was a sloppy job. Then I heard the blood curdling scream... and then another. I saw a pair of eyes look from behind in the building... two eyes saw us, that was perfect. Those two eyes needed to survive, and our plan would succeed. This would be seen to them as a way to wipe out the dirty tracks of the organization, alliances would be broken...
We flew away back to headquarters, I wondered what she thought of all of this. That bleeding one.
"So it starts..." Boss smiled as he watched web-news-lines start their conspiracies, governments declaring war against the terrorists that had declared war against them in the same exact words with the same exact perspective. "Disgusting pests..." Boss muttered to himself again.
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Chapter 16: Not the most ideal means of escape
Jargon and John raced throught the streets of the city, past panicking bystanders.
Jargon's raccoon tail streaked out from behind him as he dodged around corners and ran across streets. His muddish red coloring would have blended into the bricks of the buildings, had they been made from terrestrial mud. Instead, they were made on Diamondous, and thus were a unnatural shade of blue. His clothes made soft clinking noises as he ran, from their partially metal construct. Looking back at John, his white-on-black eyes noted that the more mentally-stable Technomancer had not fallen behind. John was wearing, instead of Jargon's causual- if unusual- clothes, the traditional robes of a Technomancer- fancy, but still quite functional. However, it would still slow down even a fast rabbit such as John.
Jargon rounded another corner, only a few minutes from the spaceport. Stopping to catch his breath, Jargon chanced to look at a side alley. Two soldiers of the rebellion stepped out from the alley, wearing black masks to hide their identities. They both held up their guns, and started to fire. Jargon and John both jumped in opposite directions, and both took out their autocasters. After a glance at each other, they both started to twiddle them with speed born from urgency. John finished first; with a small bang the gun of one of the soldiers flew apart before the soldier's startled eyes. Jargon then finished his spell; the parts of them gun re-assembled themselves into a bomb. In a blast, that soldier died.
The other soldier ran forward, to John. Jargon glanced towards the dead soldier's corpse, and then darted towards it. John tried to run backwards as he prepared a spell, but dropped his autocaster as the other soldier wacked him in the head with his rifle. The soldier stood over his target, and aimed his rifle at John's head. Then there was a bang, and the soldier relaxed and fell over. John saw, somewhat lightheadedly, Jargon standing behind him, reloading the handgun he found on the corpse of the first soldier. After being helped up, John continued on with Jargon.
Since John was still somewhat dizzy after the fight, they walked the rest of the way. Within minutes, they had found the space port. A twenty-foot tall and rather boxy structure, the space port had the capabilites to hold around 30 shuttles, and that's all. This was not a very rich area of Diamondous, and the space port reflected this.
Rushing inside, they found the place rather empty, with only a few small shuttles occupying the open, girder-crisscrossed building. Lining the walls, deserted stores offered a silent testimony to the optimism of the entrepreneur. John walked past the door to a bathroom with the words 'out of order' written on it in several languages, some of which were even long-dead when they were printed. In the corner, a few dirty boxes were piled up, possibly upside down. However, the floor was full of footprints. It looked like everyone who had the sense to go here had left on the shuttles out hours ago, and had left in a hurry. Going up to the center, Jargon was suprised to find the space port's owner was still there. Jargon, glancing to John, who was currently sitting down on a bench next to one of the few shuttles left, cleared his throat. "When is the next shuttle flight out here?"
The port's owner looked up at him, and replied, "The last one left an hour ago. Been really busy lately, and all the flights are booked."
"WHAT?" Jargon exclaimed, "They've all left?"
The owner, unphased, replied "I am afraid so, sir. Will you please wait a day till one is scheduled to get back?"
"You aren't up to date, are you?" Jargon growled, flustered.
"What do you mean, sir?"
"The city is being invaded! Revolutionary soldiers flood the street! We don't have another day till this place is taken!"
"I am sure if that was the case I would have heard about it."
"But why do you think all the flights are booked?"
Jargon sighed, and said, "I shouldn't waste time with this idiot."
He walked down to the exit, when he noticed that John was motioning to him. He walked over to John, and John pointed to the small private shuttle which was next to his bench, and looked to be deserted. "You have the honors. I still feel a bit too woozy to do it."
Jargon nodded, then waved in the direction of the shuttle. The waving wasn't strictly necessary, but the shuttle's door opened. They walked in, and turned it on. The port master ran up, but he was too late.
The shuttle streaked off, into more trouble then it's two passengers could anticipate...
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Chapter 17
Tony climbed back into the cockpit of his ship to retrieve a few things hed need. He opened a small emergency hold, which would normally be in the floor, but in these circumstances it happened to be in the ceiling. A small pistol, several days rations and a folded tent fell out onto his head. After a few more curses, Tony gathered his equipment and set off towards the building.
As he got closer, Tony began to see that this building was a mansion. Well, there certainly seems like thered be lots of room in there, remarked Tony, I can see its a bit run down, though. Probably nobody lives there anymore. Dang! Indeed, the wood looked slightly unstable, and the iron fence surrounding the place had rusted over. Beggars cant be choosers, however, and Tony stayed on a beeline towards the mansion.
When Tony got to the front of the mansion, he had a chance to survey the surroundings. A sign told Tony in fancy letters that this mansion was the Greenthorpe Mansion. There was a lake next to the mansion, and it looked like a nice place to swim if he had to stay here for a while. A small path led away from the mansion, and Tony could see a small village not far away.
Going to the town would be a good idea, thought Tony. He took a few steps towards the inviting village, but his curiosity got the better of him.
But I want to see what this mansion is like, first. He pushed on the rusted gate, and it fell over with a soft clang. Tony blinked and stood there for a few seconds, before shrugging and walking up the path to the Greenthorpe estate. The door was open when he got there, and Tony could peer in to see a hallway that had maybe once been neat and tidy, but now had broken furniture strewn across it. The pictures on the wall were crooked, with a few that had fallen on the floor, and a vase had smashed, spreading a strange brown ooze across the floor. Tony walked into the mansion, carefully avoiding the splintered chairs and brown goo, and entered a room at random. Almost immediately, he realized why random is not good. A knife was stuck in the blood-covered floor, and a few rabbits lay obviously dead. Tony carefully backed out of the room, shutting the door as he went. He would have bolted, but a strange morbid curiosity made him decide to explore a little more, possibly to see what could have committed such a crime. He ducked through a living room filled with cobwebs and entered a storage room of sorts. He noticed a large wooden case in the corner, whose doors were opened slightly, as if a weight were pushing at them from inside. Tony walked up to the case, and opened the doors. A dead body fell on him with an unceremonious flop. That was all the encouragement Tony needed, and he sprinted out of the mansion, screaming.
A ways away from the mansion, Tony stopped to catch his breath. He knew it would be stupid to go into the forest, and far worse to go back to the mansion. That left only the village as an option of where to go, so he started along the path to the village, eating one of the tasteless but life-giving rations he had brought with him.
Once he arrived at Greenthorpe Village, Tony immediately scoped out a tavern. Hoping hed find someone who could tell him how to get off the planet, or at least room and board, Tony walked under a sign explaining this inn was called The Crooked Carrot and through the door. None of the patrons lifted their eyes from their drinks or card games as Tony walked in and seated himself at the bar. The barkeeper, a young rabbit girl, looked up at Tony and put on a fake smile, saying, What can I get for you?
Just a glass of water, thanks, replied Tony. He had never had the stomach for anything stronger than milk. As the barkeeper was getting his drink, Tony scanned the bar. It seemed respectable; there were few if any stains and the patrons were sipping their drinks in silence. Tony made a mental note to remember this place; it was a nice break from bars like the infamous War Tavern where the patrons would begin a huge brawl at the drop of a hat.
The barkeeper returned and placed Tonys water in front of him. Tony pulled out a small machine and pressed a few buttons, which made the machine pop out 10 small bronze coins. These he gave to the barkeeper. It was important to have an ITCM (Intergalactic Trade Credit Machine) when you traveled as much as Tony. The device had a value of money stored on it, and could replicate just about any currency used within known space.
After drinking half of his water, Tony asked the rabbit behind the counter, Do you know if there are any spaceports near here?
The barkeeper thought about this for a moment, before responding, Well, theres one in Oakloma, but thats a ways away. You could get there by catching a plane in Prestbury.
Ok, wheres Prestbury?
Follow the road out of Greenthorpe towards the mansion, but when the road branches follow the road into the forest instead. There should be a branch a few miles in, take that path and it should take you to Prestbury. I wouldnt suggest leaving tonight, though, the forest can be dangerous at night.
Oh, I can take care of myself, said Tony, standing up. Thank you for your help, heres a tip. Tony pressed a few more buttons on his ITCM, giving the barkeeper 5 more coins. Goodbye.
I can take care of myself... God, what was I thinking?! Tony was walking through the forest, and the sun had completely left the sky. To make matters worse, it was overcast, blocking any light from the moon or stars. Tony fumbled around in the dark, wishing he had had the sense to bring a light source. A while later, Tonys foot collided with something, sending him facedown into the dirt. He got up, muttering, Who the heck puts a flippin wall in a forest?! He carefully checked his location, noting the position of the wall and the broken foliage around him. He began his trek again, only to trip over an inconveniently placed tree root and fall into a burrow-like hole. He tumbled head-over-heels, downward further and further into the hole, until he bowled into a group of rabbits. As he looked up into the faces of the rabbits, he noted that leaving at night definitely wasnt one of his brightest moves.
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Chapter 18: In Which Not Very Much Happens and The Chapter is Very Short.
Eddie shuffled out into the tavern as Verity was locking the door. It was 3 AM, but most rabbits slept during the day now. It seemed safer.
"Verity," he said, easing onto a barstool, "I've been in contact with a team of...shall we say, renegades, for about a month or so. They're a posse of Eddies-of-all-trades, but they need someone who's forte is really computers. I haven't mentioned your name to them, but I thought you might be interested. You're good with a gun, you're unstoppable with machines, and you can mix a damn good drink. Also, your cooking isn't half bad either," he said as an afterthought.
"That's why I work here, Eddie," said Verity wearily. "How deep in are they?"
"You're going to have to get down and dirty, I think, darling."
Verity stared out the grimy window.
"I'll have to close the tavern?" she said.
"Unless you want the commute. They're out of Carrotus."
Verity anxiously brushed a paw over her face, angered and guilty at her emotions. She wanted to leave this war behind. She wanted nothing more than for it to end. But she couldn't leave it. She was fighting it.
"I'll look them up tonight. Leave me a name?"
Eddie nodded and slid off his stool, but the gentle tapping on the tavern door made them both stiffen. Verity's lop ears pricked as much as they could.
"Get behind the bar," she hissed at Eddie. She approached the door, cautiously peering through the peephole.
"Raphael!" She swung the door open, flinging her arms around a tall yellow cat whose bushy tail dripped muddy water. Verity pressed her lips to his, kissing him closely. "Darling, where have you been? I've been so worried. I thought for sure you would come in last night, and then you didn't come in tonight either. I was so afraid--"
Eddie straightened up from behind the counter.
"Good to see you, Raphael," he said courteously. Raphael didn't repsond to him.
"What's the matter?" Verity anxiously brushed his long hair aside to look into his yellow eyes.
Raphael smiled wryly at Verity and returned her kiss for a long moment. He held her hands tightly, then touched her cheek. "Verity, I hope you know that I'm doing this for the best. I love you, sweetheart. I'm only trying to end this war, the same as you are."
Verity stared at him. "What- wait, what are you-" she backed away a step.
From behind the cat's frame stepped three creatures, two of them blue-scaled lizards and the third a rabbit upon whose coat the grime hid any trace of what was once white fur. All three of them held fusion lasers in their claws.
Verity pressed her paws to her mouth, uncomprehending, but the lizards stalked past her and aimed their weapons behind her neat bar. She didn't have time to turn around before the scream of the lasers rammed into Eddie's body. He was dead before he slammed into the rack of glasses behind the bar and fell to the ground in a shower of broken glass. The smell of burning flesh filled Verity's nostrils as Raphael strode by her, needlessly placing his finger on Eddie's melted carotid.
"We've been looking for him for quite a while," said the white rabbit, "but it looks like we won't have to worry about him getting into our things anymore. Nosy varmint, he was." he glanced carelessly at Verity.
"He did a lot of damage. I'd hate to think what any students of his could do. And you know, I don't really want to have to deal with anyone trying to get revenge on him, either, so let's just finish the job now, shall we?" Verity heard the smash of computer monitors in the back room as the white rabbit levelled his weapon with her eyes.
"You won't do any more damage either, will you? Oh no. I think I'm going to damage you now."
"Jonathan! I told you not to touch--" Verity's and the white rabbit's heads both turned to see Raphael leaping toward them. The white rabbit swung his laser into Verity's face. She crashed into a table and slid to the ground, blood trickling from the gash over her broken cheekbone. Slipping in and out of consciousness, the last thing she saw was the white rabbit turning to aim his beam at Raphael's unprotected body. The laser blasted a hole right through his chest.
1 Month Later
Verity folded a red coat on top of her laptop for more padding and zipped the bag closed. The scars on her cheeks were nearly healed now, the white traced through the grey. She pulled her two bags onto her shoulders and tucked her RF blaster into her belt. Her room was empty and the taffeta curtains on the windows hung despondently.
The door clicked shut behind her and she turned and walked down the empty hallway. The key she sealed in an envelope and left in the mailbox- if she ever came back, it would probably still be there.
Verity set her feet for the ports. If she was going to Carrotus, she needed a ship. And to get a ship...
"I can't figure out what's wrong with it," said the black-furred rabbit, rubbing sweat off his forehead. He straightened up from where he had been crouched in front of the ship's central intelligence unit. He squinted at his companion frustratedly.
"I asked the bartender to ask around the cafes, see if anyone's docking or coming in who can check it out. I know nothing about the computer systems in these machines... my father always had it fixed up for me before I headed out."
Icarus took the drink Naomi handed him. "How long do you think that will take?"
"I don't know," she said, "it was fine when I docked. And I hate to think of the price that some local bimbo is going to haggle us into, what with the wars here and all. I don't want to stay here any longer than necessary."
Icarus opened his mouth to speak, but-
"Excuse me."
The two companions looked around for the speaker. Verity's light green eyes stared levelly into Icarus's indigo ones, then Naomi's.
"I hear you're looking for a technician. The bartender was putting up a notice when I came in. He sent me out here." She glanced at the ship, then back at the two rabbits.
Icarus raised an eyebrow at Naomi.
"That was much quicker than I expected."
"See? You're such a man. Can never ask for help!" She smiled at Verity. "You're a lifesaver, if you can help us. The CIU is acting up and we don't have a clue...I'm not one for the mechanical side, but Icarus is, and for the life of us we don't know what's going on. Could you take a look at it and see if you can do anything for us?"
Verity shifted her bag, sizing up the two rabbits. "I can fix the computers. How about we head inside and talk about terms?"
Icarus and Naomi seated themselves opposite Verity, who declined a drink.
"So my situation is this. I'm headed to Carrotus- the sooner, the better, but I don't have a ship and almost less money then that. I'm looking to hitch a ride off this planet as far as I can get- I don't know where you're going, but I'll put in my time on your ship for a lift."
Icarus rested his elbows on the table. "Well, I did taxiing for a long time, but I'm quitting the biz. And since you're trying to barter your way on, I'd say...you're in luck. We're going to Carrotus and I want to be there in a few days, if I can. And since we can't move without a technician, I guess we're in luck too." He smiled warmly at Verity, a face she wanted to trust. Icarus extended his paw across the dirty counter.
"The name's Icarus. This is Naomi." The golden rabbit smiled at Verity as she shook their paws.
"I'm Verity. It's good to do business with you. Now.. I just have a few conditions." She looked levelly at them.
"I don't want to think about my past, much less talk about it. Two, I work alone and I have no friends or family, and if you ever come across someone who's looking for me, I'm much rather that you didn't know me. Okay?"
Icarus nodded. "Well, we only have one. We've got a few...stops to make, on the way there. Should only take us a couple days longer. Is that acceptable?"
Verity nodded. "I'm not in that big of a hurry. I haven't been out in the galaxy much for a few years anyway, what with the war and all."
"Indeed. It's been pretty confining, I know. Well- shall we?" Icarus nodded to the door.
"I'll put your bags in the cabin," said Naomi, sliding out from the bench.
At the ship, Verity switched on the main computers and peered into the screens. Naomi placed Verity's bags on one of the tiny bunks in the main cabin, then as an afterthought, tucked them into the tiny, 1 person room she had been residing in. She joined Icarus outside, jumping neatly down the ladder.
"So what do you think of our new associate?" she said, staring at the dully gleaming hull of the ship.
Icarus glanced at her, his hands in his pocket and shoulders hunched against the drizzling rain that was just starting from the drowsy clouds.
"She seems like she won't be any trouble. Just a war child trying to get out of here too."
"War child?" Naomi peered at Icarus. "She's older than us, you know."
"Well, she's just fixing the ship. I hope we can trust her. Maybe we can find something out about her just to check."
"You can ask around. But be careful. She's our ticket out of here. I don't want to offend her."
In the insulated cockpit, Verity glanced at the two young people standing outside before setting to work on the machines. She hoped that things would go smoothly. The kids seemed nice and innocent.
Verity tried to remember when she was innocent.
The screens flickered dazedly around her, then angrily as she began tapping into the systems, interpreting the garbled coding.
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Chapter 19
He knew they were there, his condition allowed him to sense others without having to see them. They had been skulking around in the trees all morning, watching him. Nevermind, it was a sunny day and he'd deal with them when the need arose.
Tier lay in the sun listening to the sounds of the forest with his eyes closed. He didn't sleep, but this soon after feeding he could just lie back relax and almost forget his life. Almost.
"Okay you sick #$%@, get up!"
Blast. Just when he was enjoying it too. Tier resignedly stood up and looked at his aggressor. What surprised him was her youth; she couldn't be older than sixteen. But he knew the look in her eyes, he was going to be shot, it was just a matter of time.
The rabbit pointed the gun at his head; it was old fashioned, solid projectile, probably loaded with silver.
"Thats right you bloodsucking *******(bastard?), how does it feel to know you're going to die? Did my brother get the chance to feel that way?"
Inwardly Tier groaned, this could get messy. Had the rabbit he'd killed last nigh been with others? Had they been tracking him?" He spoke softly and slowly. "Shooting me won't do you any good; we can sort this out if-"
"SHUT UP!" screamed the rabbit "I don't want to listen to your lies!"
Quickly Tier stepped forward and grabbed the girls arm. Several things happened at once. Tier heard a dull crack as the rabbits foot broke his shell near the waist, then a disorienting buzz as the top of his head was blown off. When he refocused his eyes he saw the rabbit staring at his regenerating head with an expression of disgust and shock. She let the gun fall noiselessly onto the grass.
Again Tier spoke slowly. "Now that we've demonstrated the uselessness of that course of action, could we please try a more peaceful solution?"
The rabbit recovered quickly. "So you're a zombie then, if you try anything, I'm not going down easy."
"Actually, would you mind leaving; I was rather enjoying the morning."
The rabbit backed off and stared at him in silence for a full minute. "That was impressive, can you grow back easily?"
"Regenerate? Sure, after any injury, always grows back a little more dead though."
There was another pause. "So guns, fire, vampires...?"
"No problem, in fact, I've killed a few vampires."
The rabbit looked thoughtful. "Okay then, you're coming with me to Greenthorpe."
"Excuse me, I'm coming with who to where, why?"
"A *******(fucking?) vampire killed my brother in Greenthorpe a few days ago. You, Mr. Immortal are going to help me find them."
Tier thought it over. What was the worst that could happen? He'd get killed? "Sure." he said. "I haven't got anything better to do."
"One last thing" the rabbit said.
"No." said Tier authoritively I'm not going to infect you, and there's no point in arguing the fact."
Tier walked confidently along the track. Years of roaming the forests had allowed him to move easily without even a hint of light. Beside him the rabbit (whose name apparently was Michelle) walked stiffly carrying the tiniest red torch, its light barely bright enough to see. She was gradually getting used to the rigor mortis, and the bite on her wrist was already regenerating. Things had progressed at a somewhat rapid pace that day. Tier was still unnerved about what he'd done. It wasn't that he had infected another, or even that Michelle had wanted to be infected, after all many people would want his regenerating capacity. What unnerved him was that she hadn't been uninformed and ignorant, indeed she'd questioned him thoroughly and still wanted to become infected. And she'd had such strong conviction too, something about her demeanor had made it somehow imminent that he infect her. That was worrying. He'd underestimated her before and got a broken shell and shot head as a result. Whoever this vampire was, he was in trouble.
Their visit to the town had been brief. Michelle had stolen some booze to disguise her odd way of walking and had barely stayed long enough for the funeral before setting out after her brothers killer. That was lucky. The townsfolk seemed suspicious. They'd accepted Michelle's story that he was an offworld assassin, but he could still almost hear them whispering behind his back, pointing out the little oddities, his unblinking eyes, lack of breathing. It had been a relief to get away; he hadn't been in a town for too long. Michelle had an easier time, who could blame a grieving sister if she got tipsy? The fact that her draining body fluids made her weep helped. Apparently she believed in 'the Kennedy constant'; "Don't cry, get even." She even seemed to take the loss of sleep in her stride, using it to gain ground on her target.
Tier broke the silence. "So are we going walk all night like this or are you going to even attempt a conversation?"
"And break my concentration? Its hard enough to track in such a stiff body and whats more its so smegging cold."
"You'll get used to it; at least your nose has stopped running."
Tier sighed, it was like talking to a brick wall, or maybe he'd simply forgotten how to make conversation. Having no one to talk to but yourself wasn't a worry, it was when you answered back that was. Still, he didn't blame her, from what little information he could obtain she'd worked with her brother and father on the remote transmitter stations before her brother moved off to Greenthorpe. That alone explained her silence, servicing the remote stations was a lonely and dangerous job. It also explained her deep affection toward her brother and her quick fighting reflexes. Tier had seen many remoter servicers and they had to survive a lot, bandits, wild animals, isolation, and if they got injured, well, very few broke a leg twice. She'd have to be feeling the first stirrings of The Hunger though. As they continued to track their folly Tier wondered how long such a stubborn mind would hold out.
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Chapter 20
The sun would rise soon. Susan was curled up on the sofa, about half-way through her book. She'd been unable to sleep. She was worrying about Tom, who should have returned by now. She was worrying about the people in Depada, who she'd seen on the news. She was worrying about what had happened that day at the town hall. As hard as she tried, she couldn't concentrate on her book. The lamplight flickered on the aging oak-panelled walls. This had been a beatiful house, back in its day. She looked up at the circular stained-glass window. One of the small panes was missing. She walked over to the desk and removed a small tube of glue from the top drawer. She crossed to the window, and was about to pick a blue pane up off the floor, when there was a knock at the door. She tossed the tube of glue onto the sofa and headed for the hall. She opened the door as far as the chain would allow, and saw that it was the council leader.
"Hello, Mr. Dalton!" she exclaimed. She was about to comment on the pleasentness of his surprise visit, when she saw his expression. She removed the chain and opened the door. "What's wrong?"
"Hello, Mrs. Bradhurst. Is Tom back?"
"No, why?"
"I'm calling an extraordinary meeting of the council. You'll see why. Come as quickly as possible. You'll have to tell Tom about it when he gets back. See you there." With that, he left. Susan closed the door. This was a worrying development.
Tom was a notoriously bad riser. Barely conscious, he was unaware that anything was wrong. Without opening his eyes, he turned over in an attempt to find a comfortable position. Something was wrong. His bed felt different. Blearily, he opened his eyes. Above him were the beams and planks of an uncovered wooden ceiling. The morning sunshine blazed through a modest window to his left. A familiar looking grey buck and an unfamiliar female rabbit were looking down at him. The latter's hand passed his eyes and he could feel her mopping his forehead. It hurt. He tried to call out, but all he could manage was a brief guttural sound.
"Shhh," murmured the girl. Memories of the previous day's events started to return. He cleared his throat, and croakily asked what was going on.
Susan entered the council chamber by the rear door. The wall behind her curved around on either side until the two halves face each other, then a straight wall ran between them, forming a half-moon shape. Two long desks, one on either side, curved around with the wall. Like everything else in the town, they were showing their age. Between them and the wall councillors were standing in small groups, murmuring quietly to one another. In front of her lay the central aisle. Beyond the desks there were two steps down into a lowered area, at the end of which stood leader's desk, three steps up. On the wall behind hung the coat of arms of the town. It was a curious feature. It had been granted to the town in a previous age, by a king whose name nobody could remember. It was in recognition of the arduousness of being a frontier town. Right now, the town was about as far away from the frontier as you could get. Susan had pondered this the first time she had gone to see her husband speak. Now her attention was caught by something quite different. On the leader's desk, facing her and the councillors, was a monitor. The computer it was attached to was turned on, but the screen itself was turned off. Behind it sat Dalton, quietly observing the scene.
Susan walked over to two of her acquantances and asked what was going on. It appeared everyone had a theory about why the meeting had been called. Nobody knew anything conclusive. Finally, the last sleepy colleague entered the chamber. Dalton called for order, and they all took their seats.
"Ladies and gentlemen," began Dalton, "we have two serious problems on our hands. A few hours ago I was watching television. Not at home, but in a Channel Eight news van. I have a recording of what I saw." He stopped, and made sure he had their undivided attention. "I think you should all watch it." He switched on the monitor. The first frame was showing, an eager Channel 8 presenter in front of the Greenthorpe mansion. Dalton pressed play. The councillors watched intently: the rats, the paintings, the marines, the figure in the kitchen... A few of the councillors couldn't stand the sight of blood, and had to leave hurriedly. When they returned, the hall was silent. As they sat down, Dalton continued, "That's not the only problem. Most of you will know about the incident at the town hall yesterday. Some of you were there. A few of you will have recognised the gentleman involved."
"The name's Tony Waterbeck. I'm a pilot. I crash landed near Greenthorpe. I was trying to get back home to Technoir when I came across you lot in that forest." Tom had heard of Tony Waterbeck, of course. A sporting celebrity.
"So, how did you come to be chased by those thugs?" asked the girl, who had introduced herslef as Majo.
"I don't know. One minute I was riding along - " Tom stopped as the door opened and Louie walked in. There was something about him, something familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. "Uh. Hi."
"Good morning, Mr. Bradhurst," replied Louie. He drew a chair up to Tom's bed and sat down. "How's your head?"
"It's been better. But I'll live. Hey, did you ever go to Relwick University? It's just that you remind me of... of..." Tom trailed off.
"No. I never had the chance to go to university. Not that I never studied. I've... spent a lot of time in a library."
"I'm sorry. It doesn't matter. You must be Louie."
"Yes."
"Thanks for coming to my rescue last night."
"Well, I do have a vested interest in your safety."
"What's that, then?"
"You are Thomas Bradhurst. Councillor Thomas Bradhurst. You're in charge of property and planning in Greenthorpe."
"Yes. But you could buy property or get planning permission or whatever without me."
"I don't think many people in Greenthorpe would be willing to sell me anything. Besides which, I may already own the property in question." Louie stopped and looked at Tony. He'd already been told. "Mr. Bradhurst, I wonder if you know more than me about the property rights of the deceased. Or, rather, the undeceased."
"The undeceasad?" It clicked. A textbook from his first year at Relwick. How to Recognise the Undead.
Susan couldn't believe what she was hearing. When she first heard the rumours, she had thought she could believe in vampires. But now that she was actually being told that there was a vampire on the loose, it was too incredible.
"But we can't be sure the vampire in the video was Louie. We should be prepared for the possibity that there are two, maybe more." said Dalton. "Mr. Parker, you'd like to speak?"
"Yes sir, thank you. Our first action should be to demolish the Greenthorpe mansion. The vampire or vampires should have nowhere to hide or set up a base of operations."
Tom was silent. He'd been insisting that vampires didn't exist for years now. On the other hand, he'd also insisted that the tooth fairy existed. He prided himself in taking the unusual in his stride. He looked over at Tony. He probably already knew. It would explain why he had seemed a little distant.
"A vampire. So you want to know if you still own something you owned when you were alive?"
"It's not as simple as that. It's something I should have inherited, had I been alive."
"That's even more complic... You're... Are you Louie Greenthorpe?"
"That's very impressive, considering how old I was when I last had my picture taken."
"I think I have a vested interest in you now. The Greenthorpe mansion..."
"...Is exactly what I'm interested in."
"Oh, right. You'll be wanting it back. You must be pretty attached to it."
"It's not that," Louie started, then hesitated. The mansion had been his home for hundreds of years. He was sick of it, and yet at the same time he felt attached to it. "It's not for me. I want it to be a shelter for refugees."
"From Diamondus?" Majo nodded. Tom fell silent again. The mansion would house plenty of people. But what about the company that wanted the land? That deal meant everything for Greenthorpe. But then again, the shelter would mean everything for the refugees. "I'd have to check the law books. But I think you have a case."
"Mrs. Bradhurst? Will you make the decision in place of your husband?" Susan considered Dalton's request. She was only there as a stand-in, but Tom did need the site cleared.
"I think we can act without an absentee's consent in this case!" exclaimed Parker. "It's an emergency! We're not even changing the land ownership, we're just tearing down a building which we all recognize as dangerous!"
"We have to follow the proper procedure," Dalton replied. Parker scowled.
"It's okay. I'll decide. Yes, we should have it torn down." said Susan. She looked accross at Parker. There was a gleam in his eye. Perhaps it was because she didn't like him, but it looked malicious.
"Excellent," said the leader. "We'll need to call in the armed forces. They haven't been deployed to Diamondus yet, but we'll have to act quickly before they are."
Several hours later, Susan was back home and lying in bed. It had been a gruelling day, organising the demolition, and she hadn't slept since the previous night. Despite this, she'd been lying there for about an hour, wide awake. In the distance, she could hear hoofbeats approaching. Her ears pricked up, but the horse road on by, a few streets away. She turned over and tried to get comfortable for the umpteenth time. Several minutes passed with no sound but the ticking of the alarm clock. Then she heard the back door slam shut and her husband's voice call out. She leapt out of bed, threw on her dressing gown, and ran downstairs.
She stopped abruptly when she saw that they had company.
A while later Tom, Tony, Majo and a properly clothed Susan were sipping tea in the living room. Louie had declined the offer of a drink, but sat with them as Tom recounted the events of the last few days.
"...And it turns out that Louie here is none other than Louie Greenthorpe."
"Greenthorpe, as in the Greenthorpe Greenthorpes? Are you descended from...?" Susan began.
"I'm Louie Greenthorpe the first. Brought to you by the vonderful vorld of vampires," said Louie. Beneath her fur Susan's face went white.
"It's okay. He's more sanguine than sanguinary," said Tom. He laughed feebly.
"That was terrible, dear."
"It's better than the one about the waffles."
"Fine, fine. He's not 'sanguinary'. But someone else from the Greenthorpe mansion is."
"What?" chorused Louie and Tom.
"The night before last a TV crew and a bunch of marines went into the mansion. We saw the tape in the council. There was this dark figure. He - it - killed them. It killed them all."
"Oh no," said Louie, gravely. "I thought he was dead. It was self defence. He was trying to kill me. I left him for dead. That's why I wanted to get away from Greenthorpe." There was a pause.
"Who?" inquired Majo.
"Theodore Thatcher. He came in when you were unconscious." There was silence. After a while, Susan spoke.
"The council asked the Carrotus government for help. They said they'd deal with it, but we didn't think they took it seriously. So Councillor Cobley put the video up on the net."
"Anonymously?" guessed Tom. Susan nodded.
"It should get a response in a few days."
"But what kind of response? A few experts or a full-scale invasion? It would be nice if the town were left standing," said Tom.
The sun had set. Susan entered Tom's study with two mugs of tea.
"There you go. I thought you might like something to drink."
"Thanks," replied Tom.
"So, what are you looking for?"
"I need to find out what Louie's legal status is with regards to property law. We need to find out if he can get the mansion for the Diamondus refugees."
"The mansion? But..."
"What?" asked Tom. Susan told him about the council's decision. Tom sighed. Now he'd also have to go through the building safety laws in order to save it. This was going to be a long night.
Several days had passed since the television broadcast had gone online, and there was still no sign of any kind of special forces. The cold, lonely mansion loomed menacingly over the surrounding grounds. There had been no sign of the new inhabitant, but it had been a tense few days in the Bradhurst household. Tony had decided to stick around and salvage what he could from the wreckage of his ship.Tom had spent most of the time buried in tome upon tome of legal jargon. Susan was continuing to take care of his council duties, with nobody knowing that he had returned.
The vote passed: a town-sponsored symbolic funeral would be held for Theodore Thatcher, who had disappeared into the Greenthorpe mansion and, they thought, hadn't been seen since. Susan knew otherwise, but kept her mouth shut.
"The next item on the agenda," announced Dalton, "is the Peddleburg Forest refugee camp, as decreed by his royal highness King Jazz and passed by the Carrotus Assembly."
Susan's ears would have pricked up, had she not been excercising full self-control.
"I for one think the proposals are on too small a scale," said a short, dark green rabbit two places to the right of Susan. "The proposed camps will not offer enough space for the number of people likely to leave Diamondus, and a larger camp in the area would certainly be sustainable."
"But that is how the powers that be choose to allocate their funds, and it is beyond our power," said Dalton. "The debate should focus on the impact of the camp on our community, and what our actions should be."
"Mr. Chairman," began Susan. "Does the camp or any part of it lie within the boundaries of the Greenthorpe municipality?"
"I regret to say I do not know. They have provided a map of the proposed camp, if you would like to check."
"Where are we going?" asked Tony. He and Susan were strolling along one of the roads out of Greenthorpe.
"The forest. Take a look at these two maps."
"'Greenthorpe Municipal Service Map', and 'Carrotus Immigration Ministry Ordinance 27B/6 Appendix C: Map'. Very official."
"Look at the longitudes and latitudes."
"Ah, so this appendix corresponds to this part of the forest?"
"Yup."
"So we're going to look at it? Why?"
"Look at the Municipal Service map. There's a rectangle approximately where the toilet facilities are on the other map."
"Yeah, I see it. What's it for?"
"That's exactly what we're going to find out." They had passed the last house of the town, and were walking through the narrow strip of fields that lay between the town and the forest. Susan was enjoying the walk. It was nice to escape the daily council duties and get some fresh air. Tom spent most of his time cooped up in the office. It was no wonder he was so eager to go to Orleton. And now they were both stuck at a desk all day. They had to get out of Greenthorpe. When the current situation was wrapped up. But the news from Diamondus was getting worse every day. Would they ever leave?
Eventually the road veered away to the right. Row upon row of carrots lay before them.
"We'll have to cut across this field," said Susan. "Don't break any of the stalks, it'll attract carrot flies."
They made thier way carefully accross the field, and eventually came up to the forest. As they proceeded inwards, they found themsleves wading through the decomposing leaves. After a while, Susan stopped. "This should be it. Do you see anything?" Tony looked around at the trees which grew in every direction.
"Nope."
"There must be something. Come on, let's keep going." They had trudged a bit farther when Tony suddenly fell flat on his face.
"Are you okay?"
Tony got up, spitting out a few leaves. "Yeah. The leaves cushioned the fall, but my foot hurts from whatever I tripped over." Susan scrabbled about in the leaves and unearthed a slightly rotted wooden fence post, attached to thick wires which presumably led to more fence posts. Right enough, as Tony joined her in clearing the leaves, they came up with another fence post, and then another. On the wires between these two hung a metal sign. "Danger - Radioactivity."
"Y'know, I'm thinking..."
"That we should leave? Yeah."
"I should deal with him," exclaimed Louie. His expression was grim. "It's my fault he's there."
He edged round a mound of scrap metal to the sofa, where Tony was watching television. Several more days had passed, and Louie was getting restless.
"Departures from Diamondus are being plagued by delays. One of the biggest such delays is immigration screening. Officials are doing their best to make sure that nobody who views refugees as traitors are allowed aboard the ships to cause havoc. But many people are prepared to risk a dangerous journey if it means getting out of a dangerous city. Violence here has escalated over recent weeks, and people are beginning to question the decision to end commercial flights. Shona Corran, Blue Rock News, Felpana."
"Even with those delays, the refugees will be here before the mansion is safe," said Louie. "There's been no sign of any special government forces. You'd think with the peddleburg camp being set up so close, they'd at least be concerned." He gazed at the television. "Think of the media coverage, after all." He looked away as a picture of Gary Parker came up. If that guy became governor, there'd be hell to pay.
"Don't do anything rash," advised Tony. "Do you know what you're dealing with?"
"I'm dealing with a vampire."
"And that's your specialist subject."
"Yes. Yes, it is." He swept out of the room. In the hall, he met Susan.
"Is Tony still slouched in front of the TV?" she asked. Louie grunted an affirmative.
"Shouldn't you be doing something about this mess?" she asked Tony upon entering the room.
"I'm not moving until I get a geiger counter."
"There's one on this panel here," she replied, gesturing towards a carefully extracted portion of his ship.
"Yeah, that's how I know I'm safe here. And I'm not lugging that thing around."
"Neither of us were even affected. You're probably getting a lot more radiation from the TV."
"Right. What channel do you want to watch?"
"109," said Susan, and she sat down. "By the way, you're my cousin."
"What?"
"Everyone thinks Tom's away, and you've been seen coming and going. So you're my cousin, if anybody asks."
"Ah-hah," said Tony, grinning. A few minutes later, Tom came downstairs and joined them on the couch.
"I've done it," he said.
"What? How?" asked Susan.
"I think I managed to find the most obscure loophole ever. According to our treaty with Muckamo, land on either planet can be held by anyone who has occupation rights on either planet. This means that land on Carrotus can be held by anyone with any kind of Carrotus occupation rights. They can also own anything on the land. Now, under the local burial laws, people who have died are given limited occupation rights to their place of burial. The Muckamo treaty doesn't mention specific occupation rights, so it doesn't matter if they're limited or not. The treaty was signed before Louie died. Now, under the Death Certification Verification Act..."
"Stop, please stop," said Susan, despairingly. "We believe you."
"Right, right. Sorry. So do either of you know where Louie is?"
Gary put the phone down. So Thomas Bradhurst had returned, and there were people staying with him. Why would he be hiding?
Louie walked up to the mansion, cloaked in twilight. Being a vampire, his night vision was excellent, but there were still plenty of pitch-black shadows for an assailant to lurk in. He slid up to the door, raised his hand to the large brass doorknocker, and knocked it twice. He could hear the thumps echoing around the cavernous main hallway. He'd given up the element of surprise, but Theodore will have known he was coming. This way, he overstated his confidence. Not that he wasn't convinced this would be easy. Theodore must have had very little to eat in the last few days. Louie remembered that when he first awoke in his coffin, it had been days before he became reasonably adept at catching prey. And, by this time, the marines would be unpalatable. He clasped the doorhandle and pushed. There was no need to turn it. The lock had given way decades ago and lay in pieces under the cobwebs on the floor. The door swung wide open. Louie entered the hall, passing through the frame in which the inner doors had once stood. He took up position just inside, and called out Theodore's name. The only response was his own echo and the scurrying sound of a fleeing rat. Louie resisted the urge to hunt, and began to proceed slowly down the hallway. Theodore would probably be in the library, as it was the warmest room. Louie had wondered if the books helped to insulate it. He could do with some insulation himself. A light but cold breeze had followed him inside. Louie headed for the drawing room. From there, a spiral staircase led up to a room adjoining the library. It wasn't the most obvious route, and there were no hidden corners for anyone to lurk in. He was about to enter the drawing room when he heard a sound from a room across the hall. Coughing? No... wimpering. He changed course and cautiously entered the morning room. There, huddled in a wicker armchair, sat Theodore. His head was in his hands, and Louie could hear him sobbing. Louie relaxed, and Theodore used his opportunity to strike.
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Chapter 21: Oblivion
It was still with her. Stars, those blazing masses of burning gas, so distant that they were like flecks, distant reflections cast by some miraculous diamond. Even through the rapidly-curling corners of her sight where the stars were being consumed by inwardly-folding explosions of purple and orange, it was beautiful. The haze of her mind was trying to blend it into the cloud of other nearly-forgotten memories, but it was if they were burned into whatever remained of her eyes.
But those stars! She had seen them before, had she not? They didnt move, but when was she able to see them? Common sense would suggest that she had seen them, but she could not remember. Perhaps she was thinking too much, perhaps she should instead try to catch one of the fleeting memories. But they escaped her so easily.
Her brain had been slowed by the Jade Dawn, no doubt. She could think clearer than this once. It hit her that she had been sitting in the place they left her for quite some time. It just had not registered in her brain to get up.
Perhaps this mental haze was how she and her siblings were enslaved. With addled brains from the poisoned water, they were encouraged to bury all thoughts deep within the poison. Once it became habit, then they would only drift deeper and deeper into the haze until their bodies were mindless vegetables. But who wanted vegetables? Who wanted worthless bodies that consumed resources?
Of balance and long-suffering they had been taught; noble goals indeed, but also an underhand way of making slaves. How foolish had she been! Running to them to flee from herself, only to find that her comforter had been using her. She cursed herself for letting herself fall for such a ploy, and tried to rise. Her feet felt like they were smoldering with streaks of pain linking the places where her damp knees had came in contact with the green-powdered ground. Staggering against the wall, the open wounds on her paws grated against the rough surface, causing her eyes to burn with tears, literally. She shrieked and fell, trying to keep her paws from sinking into her sockets. Was there still some Jade Dawn in her eyes?
They had poured a fluid on her. Thats what she needed to find. One arm was forced away from her eyes and she started feeling around her robe in hopes of finding some hidden concentration of it. Panic was breaking through her normally deathly calm mind. She had to find it, somewhere! Somewhere somehow before it burned clear through her head, or before her self-possessed limbs killed her.
The hem of her robes! It seemed that the fluid had traveled down (as fluids often do) and had collected in the worn hem of her robes. She forced her other hand down and breathed a sigh of relief as she heard the rippling snap of fabric tearing. Before it was all completely separated she was already pressing it deep into her eyes. It hurt with a dull pain, but it the fire was gone.
Rising painfully to her feet, she tried to take a few steps but proceeded to walk into a wall. After regaining her bearings, she tied the fabric around her head. Hands were necessary for finding her way. Keeping one paw on the wall, the other stretched out in front of herself, she went straight ahead at a leery pace. It was no easy task trying to maneuver. Maybe if she crawled? No, she couldnt let herself do that. She would be too vulnerable. She tried to concentrate on her feet, namely feeling the ground beneath her as she walked to see when pavement turned to grass or gravel. It was far from fast as she grazed her nails on the ground so less uniform than the crystal floors she once knew.
When the wall ended, she stopped and contemplated. It took quite some time for her brain to realize that she had been just standing there stupidly, just thinking about what to do next. With no other options, she just continued ahead.
Where did she want to go? While she was lying on her back as her vision faded, the clear stars had brought back a memory. They had been that clear ages ago, at the Pneum Arlik. Finally her mind registered a place! She could not remember where she grew up, but that place had been significant. Somehow. She was there once, was she not?
As time ebbed in a fashion she could not sense in the slightest, she made progress into a town of sorts, as far as she could tell. The other creatures were invisible to her, but far from silent as she heard whispers of soft, fading steps away from her. Soon the soft steps became more of a clatter, and there were people talking. It was a language that she knew, but she could not hear more than gasps and someone telling another not to stare. Not that it mattered, not like she would ever catch anyone ever staring at her again.
If she had emotions, she would have cried.
For the most part, the creatures avoided her, running away or holding still, thinking they could hide but she could still hear their breathing. Her aching fingers grazed one of the hiders once, and it inhaled sharply but stayed still. As much as she wanted to cry out about the injustice, she remained silent.
The loyal ground revealed to her that she was in a town, for the surface became more polished and there were fewer clumps of grass. The walls were sandstone though, she could tell from the roughness, especially after she ran into one, bashing her knee and chin into it. Facing defeat and with no logic to help her, she sat with her back to the wall and listlessly felt the wind caressing her lips.
For the love of
what are you? she heard. Who was the speaker? To her left, about a yard away, somewhat feminine yet rougher than a womans wont. I...I am lost. Tell me, how can I get to the Pneum Arlik? she didnt know what else to say. She pulled at the wallet, debating with herself. If she offered this person money, shed never know if she had enough, or if was robbed, and there was no way she could put her fate in the hands of a stranger.
Paws tentatively reached for her arms, trying not to touch the open sores. She recoiled, but the touch was gentle. I am not going to hurt you. Please, I only want to help you. My name is Erditine. She could feel retracted claws on her rescuers paws, and fur rougher than her own, yet not completely ragged. The jerk upwards revealed Erditine was not too strong.
I need to get to the Pneum Arlik, please. I-I will pay you for your trouble if you do no harm to me. She raised the wallet, but kept her fingers clenched about it incase they tried to take it from her. There is nothing to worry about, my friend. My path takes me there, and you will be no burden. We are not far. They linked arms, and started off with a pace so much more confident than she had been in ages.
Thank you. She uttered silently. I would have been alone in the dark if you had not stopped for me.
Think nothing of it. Who would I be, to leave someone wandering alone? It is for this reason that our society has fallen to war and left our souls desolate and searching. Then there was a silence that she hardly noticed. While her reality was still dawning upon her, Erditine broke the silence. What is your name, my friend?
She did not know what to say. Her school had given no one a name, to unify them. They had been encouraged to call the others siblings to show no favoritism. Was there a name for her before her siblings took her in? I do not have a name.
Every being has a name, and every name has a meaning. Even if you do not have one to tell me, there must be one that only you know. Until you reveal it to yourself, I shall call you Neoma, for I know that you have traveled far.
How do you know this?
I am a seer. It was revealed to me the moment I saw you. She, Neoma for now, remembered how amongst her siblings there were supposed seers who divined in the waters. Already she had distrust for Erditine.
This is no ordinary time. There is a new era for this age, and all the beings of Magic are being drawn to this area. Each race has a different reason and a different legend that pulls them, but they are all being called. Even the ones who have forsaken the old ways are feeling the calling on their souls. As Erditine spoke, she felt something radiate heat next to her right shoulder, and a slight ruffle of her fur. A fire pixie! See, they are coming! Ah
I am sorry. I forgot.
Think nothing of it, and do not let my affliction affect your method of speech.
Erditine shifted slightly, then regained her composure and they started walking at a faster pace. But as I was saying, even the creatures who deny the magic inside them are arriving. Even vile creatures in which there is no hope and nothing truly alive about them are regrowing their souls. Something important is happening.
Then silence. Erditine hummed some epic to herself as they crunched though the undergrowth, and she tripped a couple times over some hidden branches. Something pulled at her mind for a moment, asking if this was an uncomfortable silence, but it faded into the haze.
This haze enveloped her as she robotically went forward. Erditine would sometimes hush and stop, then after a minute of silence whisper dramatically about the sight of a dryad or centaur-being. They crossed a stream trying to hop from stone to stone, but she ended up falling into the water after misjudging a direction from Erditine. It was instant panic as she vaulted herself blindly in almost every direction, trying to find the shore, trying to forget the image of her own flesh burning and melting amongst the waters of Chrysalis. Once she reached dry ground she rent her robes from her body, fearing that some of the horrid powder remained on her. Into her mind was projected a hope, there might be some of the healing agent upon her blindfold! Perhaps it had not gotten saturated and diluted in the fall. Aching paws searched the fabric, bringing it down and ripping some fur off as she pulled at the fabric but felt nothing but damp, heavy fibers. She cried some, causing fire to burn her injured tear ducts, which lead to uncontrolled shaking.
Erditine had almost not existed through the whole ordeal, but soon Neoma felt Erditines paws trying to pull her up and her waterlogged garments back onto her body. Her blindfold was tied around her head painfully tight with fur wrapped through every contour of the knot. I will not ask what caused you to do that, but do not do it again. It was a harsh command, but she refused to answer. She was pulled up to her feet and they went at a more grueling pace, Erditine practically dragging her through underbrush and nets of weeds. We are so close. We should make it there by mid-day. Neoma wondered a moment. Had they been traveling at night? Not that it mattered to the eternal night that ruled her eyelids.
Hours passed, supposedly, and the underbrush became thinner with larger patches of vines, causing Erditine to take them through a serpentine path. We are at the beginning of the most solaced place. Erditine said with a certain melodramatic reverence. Im surprised though, I would have pictured the gathering to be more obvious.
She let go of her arm, causing Neoma to suddenly feel alone. She stretched out her arms as far as they could go, but there was nothing. Slight panic seeped in the crevices of her brain as the only sensation gripping her to reality was the ground against her feet. She had gotten too accustomed to someone else guiding her. Cynically she remembered her family. They had been guiding her too, in a sense. Then left her alone in darkness.
Erditine? she called out. Perhaps there was a muffled reply. Figures, shed get lead this far then be abandoned. She tried to walk forward, and managed to get in about twenty paces when her fingers brushed sandstone. It had been carved once, now worn down to nearly smooth. She had known this once. She had felt these very carvings once.
It was a gateway. The touch had dredged up the memory of this place! She had loved it once; she had lived on this planet. This had been the place she considered her haven. Hardly anyone else would follow her here for fear of the magic creatures. But she had been a skeptic, and grown to accept the few creatures that revealed themselves to her.
But the fear from the others, it was unjustified. The Mills of the Giants were deserted and had been for ages. It was given the name from a giant millstone found within one of the zeniths, but all of the machinery to make it work had eroded by the time it was first discovered and documented. All of the steps were twice as high as required for most creatures, and the buildings were majestically massive.
She had climbed to the top of the zenith in the center of the Mills, and looked over all the landscape. The sun had been so intense, the shadows so deep and purple, she felt like she could be eternal in that moment. It had never been that bright to her before, even for the months after that she crawled up to the same spot vainly seeking the same glory. At last! A memory untainted! Her eyes burned again as the tear ducts strained to work as they once did. Keeping a hold of the archway, she slid to the ground and wrung her hands, trying to keep them from her eyes. Erditine? she called out, but there was no reply.
There was a place where the ground had sank in upon herself, and she knew it was about six yards from one of the archways. But her searching fingers could not decipher which archway she was at, so she crawled forward, sending her paws out in hopes of not falling blindly into any chasm. Her left touched a pool, a warm pool. She recoiled, and tried to veer more to the right, but the pool extended there, and was increasing at a jarring pace. She stood up and threw herself backwards, but it was faster than her and soaked through the fur on her feet. All sense of direction lost, she flailed out and went straight through the warm puddle until her arms touched something also warm and damp.
A warm, nearly metallic odor was in the air. It was something familiar, but she could not remember what it was. She had smelled it recently, had she not? But then her paws ran across a patch of fur. It was rough fur. And the fabric that covered most of it was familiar feeling.
She felt as if cold fire had been lit on her spine. The pool made sense. The smell made sense. Her arms started shaking as she pulled at the limb in front of her, trying to ignore the blood that drenched it and now her, pulling at it, trying to feel for a heartbeat or a reaction. Nothing. She stumbled back, trying to get out of the liquid at her feet. It was too much, first her eyes and now this. She fell to her knees, shaking with near epileptic proportion.
The haze of her mind made fractals out of the memories she had of touching Erditines body and killed the common sense that suggested she run. Her brain indeed did shut off until she felt a softly-furred paw touch her jaw with a certain tenderness. She recoiled slightly, for it had been so long ago that she had felt such a contact with another. Please, I cannot see you. Do not hurt me. The other did not step away, but instead put out a hand to steady her. She felt strong limbs pull her forward, and her arm was pulled up. Out of the darkness, she felt something rough and wet on her wounded paws, and tried to wrest her arm away but the other was too strong. Stop. She uttered, confusion being the only emotion her voice betrayed.
The creature let out a laugh. Into Neomas mind was projected the picture of a beautiful rabbit throwing her head back. The laugh was musical, a thousand little bells all chiming in harmony, the sweetest songbirds in harmony, but with a narcotic core reminiscent of Jade Dawn, something that made her brain feel like it was folding in upon itself. Not that her brain really minded, it was almost a relief to sink into the endless depths of the voice. It had all the beauty of spilled blood, so deep, so rich, but such a loss.
Why did you kill Erditine? she said softly through the thickness in her mouth. The creature laughed again. Seers and sorcerers are the way of what is now gone. Did you really want to listen to her endlessly go on about the stars and signs in the water? Neoma was losing herself in the voice again. Signs in the water, yes that was something she could not trust. No one could trust them; she had every right to not want to be with Erditine. But why? Why is she dead?
No response, but the creature pulled her closer. She tried to put up her arms to stop this, but the creature was stronger. The fabric around her eyes was ripped off, and sudden sharp pain sank into the near-numb socket. She could not move, she could not see what was being done to her. But the pain, it was an abyss she was falling all to fast into. The creature pulled away and whispered into her ear, as little flecks of blood carried on her breath and into streamed onto the sensitive skin You will see your friend before you die. You will see what happens to petty prophets. There is a new age coming, one where we will not look to the stars for answer. Her mouth was pulled away from her ear, and once again pain shot through her, through the other eye.
She pulled away, and the creature let her go. She writhed on the ground as her eye felt as if it was surrounded by smoke and being smothered. She rolled on to her stomach and brought her paws up to her face, determined to pull the remnants of her eye out if it came to it. The closer she brought her paws, the clearer her mind seemed to get. In fact, with her paws completely covering her eyes, the pain was nearly gone. But determined and without the neural connections to advise her otherwise, she started to sink her nails into her eyelids, but the creature kicked her so she could not. Her head cracked on the ground, and her eyes burned with tears, but not the acidic pain that she had been used to. She curled up, forearms pressed to her eyes. As she wept for herself and for Erditine, she fell forward and tried to sink her nails into the ground. Lying there, she felt warmth trickle down her face. It went in to her mouth, and although she could taste the rank of blood, it was only in small doses, the rest was salt. Aghast, she opened her eyes. Through alabaster it seemed that she was looking, all the world shapeless like the images behind her eyes. But as she brought her paw to her face, she could tell the hue difference between the blood and the fur. With reflexes she did not know she possessed, she threw her head up to behold the sky but the sun stung her eyes and she was forced to regard the ground again, only now her eyes had blank spots.
But she saw! For a moment, even through a haze, her eyes beheld something more than oblivion!
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Chapter 22: Of Alcohol and Dying
"It's just a hassle, you know?" Icarus's drink careened through the air nearly hitting the various control panels and landing with a gentle thud back on the table. "I mean, such unfathomable distances and such an appallingly uninspiring view the whole time." He sighed loudly and leaned back into the chair without much grace. "Back and forth and to and fro and blah blah. You'd think the technology would improve somewhat and make the whole business less disconcerting."
Naomi smiled as her head nodded. "Travelling and taxiing must have some redeeming quality..", she began, "I mean, you've been doing this for years you said."
Icarus's head tilted and he looked towards the ceiling as if in deeper thought than this question would normally require answering. "Well, the money," he said, "and you meet some of the most interesting people and you see some amazing worlds.." In normal circumstances this introduction would branch into further conversation, but Icarus was having some issues moving his tongue which had otherwise neglected to feel like a part of his body since about ten minutes ago.
A brief moment of silence passed that was neither uncomfortable nor productive. Icarus carefully refilled their glasses. Naomi deemed the pause worthy of a change in subject, took a sip and stated, "It's funny really, I was going to university on Carrotus to become a doctor. I was so caught up in it, but all it took was this random happenstance for me to give it all up on a moment's notice and realize it was never important to me." Icarus wondered if the drinks had loosed her tongue a little more than would be good for them both right now. He promptly forgot he had even had this thought as he watched Naomi's lips move. It was deeply reassuring that after all these years Naomi would still drop everything for him. A sense of peace saturated his numb limbs as Verity popped onto the deck.
"Good ..day," she began, coming into the word slowly.
"Yes, day, night, evening, it's space so whatever sounds good at the moment," chuckled Icarus. "You know we really appreciate you fixing the problems we were having, the ship's on autopilot now and we should be getting to Carrotus sooner or later. I don't really enjoy travelling. These drinks we're having are good and I think I will have another. Me and Naomi here were just catching up and-"
"I'm sorry," interrupted Naomi, laughing, "he doesn't talk much, but when he starts he just goes on about nothing important." Verity smiled politely.
"Yes, I was just about to head to my quarters to get some rest," she said, "and was wondering if everything has been running smoothly."
"Yeah, you did a fantastic job fixing everything," said Icarus enthusiastically, once again sloshing his drink around. A little bit sloshed out right onto a control panel, dripped down onto the circuitry, and caused a delightful display of sparks. The panel's lights flickered off. Icarus could be heard swearing at himself. "Knock on wood," he said lamely.
Naomi sighed, "We'll take care of this one, you can go get some rest. There is a small cabin with food and drinks if you're interested, take whatever you like." They exchanged a few more words and soon Verity was walking and climbing calmly through the ship. She took a bit of food from the cabin and plopped onto a mattress that seemed shoved into the corner. Grabbing a book from her bag, she sat and ate as she read, occassionally looking out the southern window towards war-ravaged Diamondus sinking slowly into visual obscurity. Some time later she slipped into the comforting void of unconsciousness.
Something similar to a few hours later, she was jolted upright and then rolled onto the floor along with other suprise acrobatics. Most people would have taken a moment to regain composure before slowly getting up and saying things like "What?" Verity, however, immediantly jumped back onto her feet after having stopped rolling and circled the room wildly, fully alert, wondering what had just happened. A small speaker in the corner of the room flickered with static before Icarus's voice could be heard. "Holy crap," he stated. Verity paused and took these words into consideration. "It would be most gracious if you could come onto the deck, begging your pardon. Thank you!" The speaker clicked off. Verity shrugged, annoyed but curious, and soon made her way towards the deck.
Just as she entered the ship violently shook again. This time it was accompanied by a loud and startling 'BANG!' Icarus's seat swiveled around. "You're just in time," he said, "we were just getting around to dying and all.."
"Stop saying that!" yelled Naomi. Verity stood with her arms straight and hands open keeping balance. "Look, apparently there's some ship trying to kill us," she explained, motioning Verity to come forward and look at the screens. "See, right there-", she pointed at one and Verity's eyes followed before widening. "We don't know why, and everything we've tried to do to communicate has gotten no response. Just now they opened fire on us! I think they've been trying to take out engines on the left wing.."
Verity knew what was coming next, she just didn't know how to explain it without making everything seem that much worse.
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Chapter 23: My Name Is Jesse
"Hey, wake up. You can't stay here."
Jesse blinked confusedly at the large dark shape stooping over him. The figure played a flashlight over him, making him wince and shield his eyes when the light was turned onto his face.
"Wha...?"
"You're not supposed to be here," the stranger said authoritatively. "Let's go."
Jesse looked around blearily, noting the second figure behind the first, half lost in the darkness. The dim lamp that illuminated the park bench where he had been sleeping faltered, and blinked off briefly before coming back on, even dimmer.
"Come on," the first stranger said, impatient now. Jesse rose to his feet awkwardly. Now that the flashlight wasn't blinding him, he could see that the pair wore uniforms.
Packing some heat too, he noticed the weapons they wore, prominently on their belts. Expecting trouble?
The officers escorted Jesse out of the park. He assumed they were taking him to the local police station or something.
"Where're you from, kid?" the first officer inquired, managing to make the question sound friendly. As of yet, the second guy hadn't said anything, and was looking decidedly hostile.
"I - I don't -" Jesse feigned confusion. He was not going to be sent back.
"You even sober?" the second cop asked caustically. Jesse looked away belligerently.
"I don't drink."
"Give him a chance to wake up, Demyas." Demyas shot a venomous glare at his partner, but he shut up. His partner went on sympathetically.
"Where do you live, kid? What's your name?"
Jesse hesitated, suddenly wary. "My name's ... Jesse," he said, deciding to omit his last name. If one of the cops recognized it and connected Jesse to his father, Jesse's life would likely be forfeit.
"Where're you from?" Demyas demanded, suspicion in every line of his body.
"I ... I can't remember," Jesse improvised.
"We'll see," Demyas said, and then said nothing more.
They left the grass for the road. The pavement was rough and still sun-warmed from the previous day. At the corner Jesse saw a large officious building, ill-lit by flickering street lamps. They headed for it.
There was a security guard outside. The officers herded Jesse by, through the door and past a bored-looking receptionist. Demyas led Jesse into a large room with uncomfortable chairs, while his partner paused for a word with the receptionist before following them.
They were obviously waiting for someone. Jesse studied his captors, trying to judge their characters as his father had taught him.
Demyas was tense and nervous. He was, Jesse thought, loyal but he hated his job and his partner. He was clearly waiting for betrayal.
Officer Syamin - Jesse could read his name on his jacket now - was friendly in an arrogant way, as if he were supremely confident in his popularity. He looked untrustworthy. Jesse judged him a spy, and thought that Demyas was aware of it, and unhappy about it.
The door opened and a sooty black rabbit with flat, cold eyes walked in. Demyas and Syamin straightened and saluted. Jesse tensed. He had a premonition of danger. The black rabbit glared suspiciously at Jesse before he turned his dead eyes to Demyas.
"It doesn't take two experienced officers to bring in a half-dead kid," he said contemptuously. "Return to your patrol, officer."
Demyas looked black, and Syamin smug. He smirked at the black rabbit as Demyas left the room. His superior frowned but said nothing. Syamin's smile slipped.
Jesse must have made some small movement, because the attention of both officers snapped to him. The teenager groaned mentally. Syamin he could handle. The newcomer he wasn't so sure about.
"What's your name?" the black rabbit demanded brusquely.
Jesse told him quietly. The rabbit sneered.
"Jesse what?"
"Just Jesse."
"Where do you live?"
"I don't remember."
"Why are you here?"
"I'm just passing through."
The black rabbit glared at Syamin. "Why did you bring him in?"
"Thought he'd be useful," Syamin said defensively. "Kid, all by himself, no one to come looking for him, passing from town to town. He could pick up a lot of info."
"I see. And have you asked if he was alone? Do you know that no one will come looking for him? He could be a runaway."
"Ah ..." Syamin looked shamefaced. The other rabbit turned back to Jesse, who smirked and sprawled himself in the nearest chair.
"Who are you with?"
"Nobody," Jesse drawled, having made the transition from frightened kid to insolent rebel.
"Who are your parents?"
"Don't have any," Jesse said lazily, watching the black rabbit's reactions closely.
"Everyone has parents," the other snapped.
"I don't." Jesse paused. Then, "exactly why am I here, officer ...?"
"Adrian," the black rabbit said curtly. "You're here because you were trespassing on private property."
Jesse refrained from telling Adrian that the sign posted prominently in front of the park had declared it public. Clearly the southern government was running low on spies.
"That's not a serious offense," he said carefully. "What's the penalty, just a warning?"
"Yeah," Adrian said reluctantly, cold eyes suspicious.
"Great. I'll consider myself warned," Jesse said, rising and heading for the door. Syamin put a restraining hand on the teenager's thin shoulder.
Jesse turned slowly, tensing. His father had shown him how to deal with any violence that came his way, and he was more than ready to use that training.
That's something Miss Savon didn't count on - the great retired General Aimon, passing on all of his vaunted fighting techniques to his son.
"Is there a problem, officer?" he asked coolly.
"We didn't say you could go yet, Jesse," Syamin said, his false friendliness painfully obvious. Jesse jerked away from the officer's touch.
"Did I say I cared?"
"That attitude's going to get you in trouble," Adrian observed. Jesse smirked.
"I thought I was already in trouble?"
Syamin darted a look at Adrian. His superior looked back, stone-faced.
"I told you he was dangerous," Syamin whined. "Demyas could handle him, I'm not sure I can."
"He's just a kid," Adrian snapped.
"Then why can't I leave?" Jesse interjected. Adrian scowled.
"Syamin can't keep his mouth shut, that's why. I can't risk your repeating what you've heard to anyone, Jesse. You're smart enough to figure that out." His tone was patronizing. Jesse sighed.
"I'm expected elsewhere, officer. Goodbye."
Syamin grabbed Jesse's arm. That was all the excuse Jesse needed. Grasping Syamin's wrist, he dug his fingers in, pressing the tendon into the bone. Syamin gasped and released the teenager as his hand went nerveless.
"Don't touch me again," Jesse warned the startled cop. Syamin snarled, all traces of amiability gone.
"You little brat!" He went for his gun with his other hand, ignoring Adrian's sharp command to back down. Jesse knocked it out of his hand before he even had it aimed. The weapon went off, shattering the flourescent lights overhead and sending a shower of sparks onto the carpet. Jesse used the distraction to drive his fist into Syamin's stomach, and finished by striking the winded rabbit on the temple, laying him out unconscious.
Adrian backed away cautiously as Jesse straightened and faced him. The teenager looked at the spymaster with hollow eyes.
"I know you're experienced," he told Adrian distantly. "I'd like to know what possessed you to talk so openly in front of me. Did you think you could just kill me if you couldn't buy me?"
"I miscalculated," Adrian admitted, eyes keen. "Are you planning to kill me yourself?"
"Maybe," Jesse said thoughtfully. Adrian's mask slipped enough to reveal some nervousness.
The sharp scent of smoke and burning carpet distracted the pair for a moment. Jesse realized that Syamin's shot had severed the wires in the light, showering sparks over the carpet and igniting it. The fire was growing rapidly.
I could kill him now and no one would know that it wasn't the fire.
The spymaster had come to the same conclusions apparently, because he took a step towards Jesse and struck.
Jesse was prepared for it. He met Adrian's attack, countering it and dodging back. The black rabbit stalked the white through the smoke, until Jesse tired of the cat-and-mouse game. He sidestepped Adrian's next strike, then closed in behind the spy, catching Adrian in the small of the back with a powerful punch. Adrian stiffened soundlessly, and Jesse danced out of range before his opponent could recover. Adrian straightened, and turned to face Jesse.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Jesse."
The youth darted in, but Adrian was not quite as unprepared as he appeared. He lashed out, catching Jesse in the stomach with a foot at the same time as Jesse delivered a blow to Adrian's head. Off balance and stunned, Adrian dropped to his knees, further disoriented by the smoke, fumes and flickering firelight.
Jesse staggered out of the building, coughing violently. The guard and receptionist were long gone. Demyas was off on patrol, leaving the building deserted save for Jesse and his interrogators.
By the time Jesse could breathe again, the building was consumed in flames. He watched the station burn for a moment, thinking of another fire, wondering if Adrian had survived as he had. Then he turned and walked into the night.
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