|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2013 5:47 pm
Hello!
Romance | Violence | Sci-fi, Space, & Spaceships | Magic
This is a rp-story between me and another gaia member and it's turning out pretty well!
Feel free to read along and let me know what you think.
Quote me in the OOC thread for a quick response.Notes:
- The posts can get pretty long, so they'll be split up and styled accordingly.
- Will be updated with a few posts at a time every week to keep the thread fresh unless interest proves otherwise.Happy reading!
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2013 5:49 pm
Chapter One: Fate Does Funny Things, Like Being a b***h Lu sighed and rolled over in his bed, blinking himself awake from the dream he was still partially having. He knew it was a dream because Hal was in it. He groaned slightly as he got up, stretching the muscles in his back as he did and went to shower. He’d only just recently gotten back from visiting his mother in the Wild. Understandably, he didn’t go there often, as there were too many people that would notice that he was gone and start asking questions. He already stood out enough with his white hair and lightly tanned skin. He simply made up the story that he wasn’t originally from around here, that his parents had come to the civilized city of Asyut to try and start a new life, and that unfortunately, they simply didn’t have the means for it and sufficed for the Shambles, his current city of residence.
Real story, he wasn’t originally from Shambles, but from the Wild along the base of the Kashur mountain range far northeast of here. He’d been a warrior and was a Kasa of air and water. Highly revered by the people around him including the neighboring villages, he was quite special, but also was an explorer and a curious boy by nature. It wasn’t until a soldier attack on a village, that was too close for comfort, did he really want to see the rest of the world. His parents weren’t going to stop him and it was actually pretty easy for him to get into the city of Shambles, passing the border guard and other security checkpoints from outside to inside of the city during a rainstorm. Needless to say, the rest is history. Somewhere in there, he met Hal but he didn’t want to think on that this early in the morning. It was bound to piss him off. “Man of my dreams… feh.” He scratched his head as he went to the bathroom and showered, shaved, and all the other morning like things that people do before dressing and then leaving his apartment. Living in Shambles was… well not easy and not particularly hard either.
It didn’t require a lot of money to get a place but people did kill each other here over things like money. The ghetto is what it was. His mother was abhorred to know the kind of living conditions he was in knowing that even in the Wild it was a safer and possibly cleaner place. Lu didn’t mind though. There was constant change in the city that served as the outskirts for Asyut. He lived and played too near the border to even really see the main city, but out of sight, out of mind. He had to make a living somehow, and so was currently running with one of the largest street gangs in Shambles. He didn’t get into much trouble; he only worked around the gambling arenas as a card dealer. And of course, occasionally he was told to make someone go broke or to find out more information about them. He was great with cards. Some people claimed he used magic. In the city, people knowing that you have magic doesn’t normally lead to good things, if anything, the military likes to get involved and draft people or you get blackmailed or taken control of by other people. He never let it slip that he was a magic user. Occasionally, he could push more energy into an electrical power grid than should be there and cause a black out and some frayed wires, but no one ever saw.
Still, that didn’t keep some people form talking like he did have magic and that tended to cause issues. He had yet to be approached in person by the military, but he got their mail and ignored it, pretended like he didn’t exist. Goddess only knows what might actually happen should the military get a hold of him. He’d only heard about what went on and what happened to them, especially in their special mage division. He decided, should he ever be caught, he was a latent, not a mage, even though as a Kasa he was basically both. Mages cast spells and use magic in varying amounts depending on what their mission is. Latents were the battery packs for mages and generally had a larger natural reserve of magic to give. All latents possessed the ability to tap into other energy signatures and use its power, such as power grids, though Lu learned using lay lines in the Wild, they were the same basic principle. He didn’t know if civilized people knew Latents could draw from things around them to channel to the mage that was drawing power from them (but as I explained, that's a 'no'), but he was not curious enough to find that one out.
Hal and Lu had always been two entirely different people; where Lu was a man of a more modest size and fair looks, Hal was a large and stalwart man whose presence commanded any room he was in. Lu had some sort of mystical power to him, where as far as he knew, Hal only had his massive, muscular arms and not insignificant skill. Lu was from the Shambles, Hal from the ritzy, ever-shining Tower District itself. Lu was outgoing and congenial despite his secretiveness, and Hal was, despite his great size, very taciturn, and at the same time, lacked any real secrets of his own as far as Lu knew. It was irony that Hal should still be forced to watch over the man who could never open up to him completely. He probably wasn't even sure why he was given this assignment; Lu was nobody special, really. Despite the relative rarity of magic, there were many Latents in the world and none of them had to have constant military surveillance unless they did something to deserve it. It wasn't even sure that Lu had any magical ability at all. What did Lu do? Knowing him, nothing -- he had that tendency of just instigating things without ever really meaning to, and sometimes, without realizing it at all. The irony probably did not escape Hal that though Lu was the more secretive one, he was the one who had to hide and watch from the shadows. If Lu decided to scamper off without being seen, Hal would be hard put to find him again. At least he had satellites on his side, this time. When Lu would disappear on him before, he might have gone a week without seeing him, despite living with him. When he finally came home, he acted like nothing special had happened -- "just went for a long walk" he'd say -- and got defensive when Hal pressed him about it.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twiddling the angled glass chess piece between his calloused fingers, a figure leaned back against his functional chair contemplatively, his mouth strung in a taut line as if in thought. His legs were crossed, belaying an exaggerated sense of casualness that seeped into the very manner in which he fiddled with the simplistic Knight in hand. Chestnut eyes flicked across the pristine board where a small army stood in wait for the next move, and in its depths, the board reflected the images of two conflicting faces; one of careful concentration, and the other of apathetic boredom. The navy of her uniform managed to stand out against the rich caramel of her skin, but Hal was too busy dwelling on his potential attack to mull over the mundane details of her usual attire. Finally, he heard a sigh from the woman who appeared to be in her early thirties. Peering up at her with a coy smirk, the mage simply wagged the Knight back and forth mindlessly, and it only drew another irritated sigh from the woman.
”Why must you take so long?” she asked, even though her voice was docile and she seemed to play with the hem of her shirt. She acted humble and considerate, but underneath that timid façade rested a dormant lion, one Hal was not exactly tempted to try on a given day. Her hair was loose for once, a tribute to her momentary relaxation while they waited for Hal to make his decision on a number of topics. He really just wanted confirmation ere he set off on a mission to capture someone, and she was aware of this. Sabra, as she was called, held her breath when the older man finally shifted in his seat as if he was about to do something other than ponder his motives.
Hal continued to smile ambiguously as he lowered his hand to the board, the piece clicking as he placed it against the hard surface in an advantageous position. He watched Sabra frown to herself, her brow furrowing together as she attempted to recover from the strategic loss which would certainly leave her open for a check. ”I believe you cheat,” she accused without heat, as she quickly slid a piece over and waited for the inevitable annihilation of her dusky Queen. As Hal wrapped up the game, the ship trembled ever so faintly, causing him to look over his shoulder questioningly. At least he possessed his own ship, even if the cost was heavy and the toll on both himself and his Latents tended to drain energy rapidly.
Hal merely smirked again and replied, his voice clipped, his cadence uneven in his emphasis, ”Oh no. It is impossible to cheat, Sabra.” Still, his smile faded as he thought about what he was supposed to be doing for the Empire; it was enough to sober anyone, thinking about possibly capturing your ex-lover because apparently there was enough evidence against him to suggest he might possess some magical talent. At this age, it was incredible they’d missed him for this long, but when they were together, Hal could not recall any glimpse of magical ability from their time together. Truthfully, Lu wasn’t exactly the most open of characters, but Hal thought he’d known him a little better than that. All because of a few stupid card games. But Hal was good at cards, at strategy in general. Hence his penchant for chess. So when he’d lost four games in a row, and none of his men could conjure a win against the white haired male, he surmised it wasn’t so farfetched to believe the swindler might be using a bit of magic to fix his games. Luckily for him, Lu hadn’t recognized him. He’d changed since they were together, a testament to age and to wear and tear and magical stress on his body and mind.
He was still tall, of course. Standing at six feet, he generally depicted quite the imposing figure, especially when cool and collected under fire. Some of his calm had faded in recent years with the burden of using the Latents, and in him was fixed a collection of instabilities he tried very hard not to display in front of his men. Only Sabra saw him have his break downs, and they were rarely pretty. But some of his muscle atrophied (and only some, he was still quite defined physically) from the general lack of proper eating he exhibited, and his face was narrower, gaunter. He just looked older with his graying stubble and his ink-black hair sprinkled with silver, his formerly alabaster flesh slightly tanned under the sunlight of the battlefield. He was still quiet, reserved and thoughtful rather than gregarious and outgoing like Lu had been – still was, Hal reminded himself.
”I am going to go out again,” Hal mumbled, standing up from his seat and leaving Sabra to handle picking up the chess board. She watched him seriously, probably trying to see through to his mental state, which had been fluctuating a little more frequently these days. Power and insanity seemed disproportionately correlated, and King Tigers were notorious for having their instances of crippling psychosis.
”Please be careful.”
Nodding once to her, he hummed to himself and went to change clothes. He couldn’t just walk into the Shambles wearing his King Tiger uniform. That would invite suspicion as quickly as a wife hiding important details about going on vacation with her best male friend. Thoughtlessly, Hal undressed, meticulously hanging up his black and violet uniform, and then he threw on some more casual clothes so he could venture out without looking like a military man. Once he was ready, he sighed. He probably should get his Latent to join him just in case he needed to get down and dirty acquiring Lu (assuming he was still to bring him back to his ship and… that was all he knew, at this point). Rubbing the side of his face tiredly, Hal exited his bedroom and went to find his current power source. He didn’t know how much longer she’d last before she overdrew and corrupted herself, in other words, until he killed her by taking too much of her precious energy.
That was always the hardest part. Continually killing his Latents, watching them collapse and it was all his fault. Even thinking about his last one made him pale, and he brought a hand up to his mouth as if he was trying to calm himself as he waited outside of her room. He generally preferred male Latents, but the Empire thought (hoped, rather) that this one would be able to handle his power for a fraction longer than the others.
Hal hoped they were correct in their predictions.
Raising his fist once he’d calmed down, Hal briefly knocked on her door. ”I need you to join me.” A few moments passed before the teenaged girl emerged, her auburn hair long and full. She was any parent’s pride and joy, Faye was. Hal liked her well enough. She was giggly and kindhearted and he definitely felt more like her father than her bed-mate, but the Empire strongly encouraged him to forgo the time required for a friendship determined synchronization and go straight for the faster, lewder route. Wide eyes of turquoise green looked up at him, her smile hopeful and trusting. ”Of course. Good thing I changed!” she giggled, gesturing to the pale yellow sundress she now wore as opposed to the austere gray uniform. The purple, his color, at least looked good on her.
Hal smiled faintly, nodding. ”Yes. Well, let’s go.” He turned around and walked toward the hatch, and opened it up after he spoke with one of the soldiers on board to inform them that he would return in a few hours. With that out of the way, Hal was free to leave the ship. Faye tagged along behind him, sticking close to him, always looking around at the squalor around them. Time to find Lu again. ”If you see him, please let me know,” Hal told Faye quietly, keeping an eye out for the gangs that crept through the streets. ”He will not be happy when he finds out who I am,” he mentioned as well, sounding more and more exhausted by the second. It had been a long time, but a ten year relationship didn’t end painlessly, no matter how nice the circumstances were. And the circumstances had not been nice on Hal’s part – the cageyness of Lu and the habitual hiding of things finally got to him, and now it was odd that he should be the one secretly spying on Lu. Leading Faye into a bar he’d seen Lu in a few times, Hal began to scan the crowd for any signs of the other man.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lunares, or Lu, as everyone (but his own family and tribe), including his past lover, knew him as, had just locked his door and headed out into the city to do what he needed to. In comparison to Hal he was definitely on the shorter side at 5'6", though it never really bothered him. When they were together, he’d sort of get made fun of by their close friends that knew of their relationship, but he never said anything about it. He’d feign being a little hurt about it and they’d stop. They’d never actually gotten into a physical fight, much less a magic ridden one, but Lu was pretty sure that they’d seen each other fight at least once, albeit against other people. Where Lu was graceful and fluid in his movements like flowing water, Hal was like a wall. Lu could run faster and was way more acrobatic than Hal had probably ever been. Of course, after their almost 10 years together, it’s been 8 since he last remembered seeing him. Lu had left, disappeared for close to a year from the city’s radar to stay back in the Wild for a while, to clear his mind and to rejuvenate his spirit. When he returned, he got a slew of questions, and simply answered that he wanted to be alone, and knew how to do so in a city. There were a lot of people that weren’t quite sure about his excuse for being gone for almost a year, but with a friendly smile and a few days, they’d forgiven him.
How could you not notice when a white haired man goes missing? Guess that’s what he gets for being so ‘exotic’ in the first place, right? His boots made soft clicks against the dirty sidewalk to his destination. It was a… slightly classier place he’d be doing work in this time; Which basically meant the place would be decently cleaned and have actual whole furniture and all functioning lights. Before that though, he had a stop to make, to pick up his orders. After walking almost 13 blocks, he turned into an alley way and crossed between buildings to get to the parallel street. Glancing both ways, he crossed the street and into a convenience store. Lu bought himself a bottle of water, since at least this s**t was more filtered than the tap, and paid the cashier. Upon getting his receipt, he glanced at it and read his instructions, then crumbled up the paper and threw it away like anyone would do with a receipt these days. Check the price and the total, ok don’t need the paper anymore. The instructions were only temporary and disappeared within a few moments anyway.
With that, he headed off, walking another 21 blocks in total before reaching his destination. He clearly didn’t have a car, and he’d much rather walk anyway, he was so used to it. Upon entering the club, he was greeted by two large bouncer type men who checked to see if his name was on a list and allowed him in. He was already dressed for ‘work’ wearing a black button down shirt and dark wash jeans, looking formal but casual, and went to take his place behind the table. He was handed 3 decks of cards and he began to shuffle all three in his expert manner. The customers, or gamblers in this case, that were watching him seemed a little wary of the light brown skinned man with white hair tied up with black beads, small shells, what kind of looked like an animal skull or two, hidden gems and precious stones, and some black and white feathers in a thick pony tail that trailed in waves and braids down to almost the middle of his back. This bangs seemed contrastingly neat, but long, as they fell around and framed his oval face and bright parabia blue eyes.
“Shall we begin, gentlemen?”
This got peoples attention and those that were playing gathered around. Gambling wasn’t something that was new, and it was pretty well known that it was a money maker in the Shambles, especially for gangs or other not so legitimate businesses. Lu’s gig here, however, was quite legal, as it was a legal place for gambling to take place.
Meanwhile, there was a bit of static before the commanders voice could be heard on the ear radio Hal had."We've recently been alerted to the whereabouts of the notorious street gang, The Skulls. Where they have not necessarily been a problem, we have a very big lead on someone said to be a Mage. They'll be meeting at [enter name of establishment here] later today and I want the inquiry of whether or not there actually is a Mage to be confirmed. Kill anyone who opposes and burn the building. [A list of names or specific ranks] You will take care of this. [Another list of names or specific ranks, including Hal ] You will go to [name of club Lu happens to be in] and capture their leader. Capture the 4 men gambling, they have also been targeted as the heads of gangs or dangerous organizations. Kill the rest of the witnesses inside." There was a little more static before he said,"Over and Out."
When they would come into the establishment he happened to be in, Lu had been taking a bathroom break and would hear the gunshots. Obviously you don't stay in a place with gunshots going off, especially when they sound like automatics. Lu had managed to get out through a window and hop out into the back ally way. Unfortunately, someone had seen him and started to shoot at him. They missed thanks to Lu’s quick reactions and he ended up knocking the solider out then scaling up the side of a near by building to the rooftop. Now… people in the city just didn’t do things like that. Sure some of the gang members could climb over things, and even the military personal, but not to scale a 4 story brick building like it was nothing. No one saw this, thankfully, but after he was on the roof and managed to jump roof to roof of about four buildings, it was when he was scaling back down that someone happened to see him. It’s not like he was trying to make a scene, but dammit, that’s kind of what ended up happening. The military were suspicious then, especially from the direction that he’d come from.
He cursed to himself and climbed back up. That’s when they started to shoot at him. A few more colorful words left his mouth while he ducked behind objects.
“There’s someone on the roof of a building. We assume he escaped from one of the buildings being raided from the way that he’s running.” This was said over the communication line and there probably weren’t any civilians where that person was to be saying it out loud. “We’re engaging now.”
“Roger that.” Someone else said.
Lu was successfully a bit freeked out. He hadn’t even done anything and now he was being practically hunted down. Was it because he got out of that building? That he wasn’t killed for having even been in the vicinity of something the military was doing? He got down a four story building in two drops before he hit the pavement and started off towards where he came from. A little stupid, but he knew where he was going, if he could only get there. He ended up passing the building he’d originally come out of, the mob bosses handcuffed and on their knees against a military vehicle.
Of course he got shot at again, but thankfully the outer city of Shambles had a lot of obstacles and he was easy for him to hop over this or that, vault over people and things, all in a fluid elegant kind of grace no one in the military could have possibly had, special forces or not, it’s simply not something they were trained for. He needed to get off of the ground, and get away from the bullets flying at him, so he grabbed onto the half ladder on the side of a building and using only his upper strength, climbed it in a record speed. Unfortunately, one of those people down there had a pretty decent shot, and grazed him hard on his right thigh.
He was forced to stop once he reached the roof top and take a breather. It’d take a minute for those weighed down men to get up here. At least… that’s what he though before he heard a helicopter.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me!”
He was soon up and running again, vaulting over gaps between roofs again until he reached a particular two story building. Instead of staying outside, he went into the building via the roof cover. It was only 3 stories, so he sprinted down the stairs and to the basement. He caught his breath and made sure he wasn’t bleeding too badly, at least that he wasn’t leaving a blood trail. Thank the Goddess, he wasn’t leaving a trail. Lu pried open a part of the floor and with some straining effort, was able to pull open a heavy iron door that lead downward. He set the revealing cover up on the latch, so that when he closed it, there was no trace of anything moved on the floor.
Lu dropped down into the sewers. He knew this place like the back of his hand and within fifteen minutes of nearly full out sprinting, had ran to the complete opposite side of town and come up where there were fellow gang members. They helped him hide and cleaned up his wound.
They'd be damn hard pressed to find him for at least a week.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No sign of him. Not that Hal really expected to run into him on his first attempt at a search. Lu was far too sneaky and too quick for him to track him down systematically. Hell, Hal hadn’t even been able to figure out where he’d go when he would vanish eight years ago, and now he was eight years older and eight years slower and so he knew he had a terrible chance at hunting him down. He’d just have to hope Lady Luck was on his side today, and he sighed when he finally decided there wasn’t really any reason to remain in this particular bar any longer. Might as well search through the area and hope Lu was still around here somewhere. Turning to leave, Hal migrated through the crowd, making sure Faye was at his back before he exited the shabby building. Outside, the streets began to bustle as people went about their daily routines, and Hal idly watched the humdrum activity without much outward care. He just looked like a bored man toting around his daughter for some reason. Faye played the unspoken part well as she hovered close by and offered her little smiles at him every once in a while.
After a moment of consideration, Hal walked across the street and leaned against one of the brick walls of the buildings, shielding his eyes against the glare of the sunlight as he continued making his monotonous observations about the people moving past them. For being so tall, he actually could observe people without them noticing rather well. His quiet demeanor certainly helped him out in that department, and there weren’t really any distinguishing features on him. No tattoos, no piercings, no wild colored hair or flamboyant outfits. Only the intensity to his gaze and the imperious presence of his mien gave him away as anything but ordinary.
Some time passed before Hal heard the commander’s voice crackle over the radio he had in his ear. Static made it difficult to hear, but the mage figured out what he was saying quickly. The Skulls had been located, at least for now, and that someone they thought to be a Mage was the person Hal himself was in charge of acquiring. He listed off the location of the meeting place and asked the people on the line (even though Hal knew they were specifically targeting him, since he was the most powerful magic-user aboard his ship) to determine whether or not the suspect was actually gifted with magic. Knowing Lu, that would be a tad more difficult, depending on the situation. Actually capturing him to figure out if he could use magic would be tedious and trying, to say the least. Hal had warned his men of this earlier in the week, but he still thought a greater portion of them assumed it would be a simple, no-hassle deal.
They’d be erroneous in that assumption, and Hal refused to allow their jovial optimism to influence his decision-making. He once prided himself on his ability to think and reason logically, but the continual draining of magic left his mind to be frayed at the edges, like a torn and threadbare rug.
Anyone who was to stand against the raiding party was to be eliminated, and Hal was suddenly very glad he didn’t have to instigate that. The methodical murder of people was what did his sanity in the quickest, so he heaved a sigh of relief to know that he wasn’t in that division. He was given the task (along with some of the other soldiers) to travel to the meeting place of the Skulls and to capture their leader. Well, attempt to capture him. And to gather in the other four men gambling. They were perilous, but not marked by the Empire under the suspicion of being able to use magic.
Kill the remaining witnesses though; Hal paled, the rush of adrenaline making his hands tremble and his stomach feel sick. He didn’t want to participate in fear of losing control, but he still managed to mumble a subdued, ”Very well,” into space, hoping his commander would hear his agreement. He didn’t want to repeat himself. Lowering his hands to rest them in his pockets to hide the quivers, Hal closed his eyes and counted to ten before he opened them once more, turning his head to look down at Faye, who stared up at him with concern bright in her aquamarine orbs. ”Are you alright?” she asked him, and he found it suddenly very horrible how worried she was for him when he was going to (most likely) be the one to kill her. She seemed ignorant of the fate of a Latent under a King Tiger, and for that he was grateful and blessed. ”Yes, I’m fine.” At least his voice was solid, but still soft.
Making sure Faye followed him, Hal went to the designated location and stood against the wall, his head bowed and his expression pensive. He waited, but only saw a glimpse of white hair – he knew it was Lu though. He couldn’t miss the noticeable man with his dark skin and snow-white hair. A few minutes later, the gunshots began, and Hal ensured he and Faye were safely away from the fire. She turned her head to bury it in his chest, because she did not like seeing the people die. Hal escorted her to a hallway where they could loiter in relative peace, but he still kept his eye out for any sign of his mission. No, of course he wouldn’t find any sign of hm. According to one of his men, Lu had already fled to the rooftop and was running away. Fleeing – escaping into some abyss somewhere.
”You will not find him,” he said to no one in particular, even though he felt Faye shift and hug him tightly. He let his hand splay across her upper back, his body shaking. Why did he do this to himself? Hal, being the top-level mage here, forced himself to watch the bloodshed as it unfolded. He witnessed their demises, because he did not want them to be meaningless. Of course, they drove him mad, but he couldn’t look away as heads were blown apart by high powered rifles and innocent, sobbing men and women were ruthlessly annihilated simply for being at the wrong place at the right time.
A helicopter hovered somewhere above, and once his men gave him the signal, he emerged from the alcove and walked with Faye out into the street, looking pallid and barely-controlled as he turned and walked back toward his ship. There was no point in hunting down a man he couldn’t find. A ghost of a man. Someone he’d tried to track before and failed, so Hal simply let him go, let him resurface so he could have another go at seizing him.
Hal would wait a week or so.
When he returned to the ship, he let Faye go – she wanted to shower after seeing something as devastating as a raid, and he let her. He also found her Groomer and instructed him to take care of her, do whatever it was he normally did to soothe her after a hardship.
Stalking back to his own room, Hal barely noticed Sabra hovering by his doorway until she lightly touched his arm. ”You look stressed,” she mentioned, her touch pressing into his forearm as she drew a step closer.
”I am only weary,” he whispered, closing his eyes as if to emphasize his excuse. She, however, could see through him, could peel back his layers and could disarm his magic. ”Sleep then.” Gratefully, he smiled and took her up on her advice, nodding to her before he headed inside his room and closed the door behind him.
Once Sabra could hear no more shuffling sounds from outside the closed door, she walked away. Went to report to the commander about her new annotations about her KT. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lu was lucky he was as familiar with the city as he was, otherwise, he’d still be running and getting shot at. Thankfully, he’d gotten away and been able to give them the slip. He was pretty certain they were highly suspicious of him now. That’s not really something he could help right now, though.
For a week he was fine. They seemed to only be keeping watch for him on one side of town, and when they did happen to venture to the other side of Shambles, he hid. It was almost too easy. He’d even managed to get back into his apartment once to gather clothes and slip back out under their radar. Needless to say, he was good at hiding. And he would have continued to hide, if not for someone that was supposed to be on his side in the first place ratting him out.
They were having a simple get together, nothing big, and Lu was downing some water, since he didn’t want any alcohol. There was something nagging at him and he didn’t know what. For a while he was fine, until things started to seem…not as clear. It wasn’t until he was laid back on the couch that he realized that his drink had been drugged.
It wasn’t long before he could hear the loud stomping of multiple boots. Lu’s stomach trembled in a mix of fear and rage. No. This wasn’t the border guard’s doing. He knew that sound. Everyone born free beyond the reach of this so called civilization knew this sound. Soldiers. His so called buddy Kev had sold him out to the military. Kev was the one that was helping him hide and keeping his profile low, using a few of the guys he knew as feelers to keep the military off their backs. Goddammit. He saw the guy's face come into view with a light smile.
"Sorry Lu, but I gotta do what I gotta do, and they had an awfully large bounty out for someone that tends to be a pain in my a**."
Oh, oh, that's how it was? If Lu could even control his body enough to formulate words, a gracious '******** you' still didn't seem like enough thanks. Not like he'd be heard over the music anyway.
“Shut that s**t off. Secure the perimeter.”
Kev moved back to allow them through to Lu.
“This is him? Are you sure? No mistakes.”
“This is Lu, the one that ran off a week ago. I’m pretty sure he originally came from the Wild. I’ve seen wild men and they wear their hair in a very similar fashion.” Kev was half bullshiting. He’d seen wild men before, but he had no idea if Lu actually was a Wildman. “The deal is the same, right? Just some tests and then you let me go and give me my reward?”
“Nayha, over here. Run a primary scan.” The soldier who seemed to be running the show stood before the lounger. The uniform was that hated green and black mix that made them blend into the woods when they came a-killing back in the Wild. Once in a while, women would be captured and carted off, but the males were always slaughtered.
“Right? You’ll do whatever you gotta do then clear my name and give me the reward.” Kev seemed nervous. His hands were balled up and Lu almost thought he was trying to keep himself from shaking.
“That was the original deal, Kev. We are just going to verify we have the right guy.”
Lu’s head was wrenched sideways stretching out his throat and exposing his neck. Something was jammed hard into his neck and it began to burn.
“He’s registering as a Mark VII no, a Mark VIII. How can a Shambler even be a Mark Level mage?” Mages were ranked from Mark I (1) to Mark X (10). Lu could barely understand what was being said around him, but he did hear those numbers. Despite the situation, thank the Goddess that he hadn't scored any higher or broken the damn instrument.
“Everyone off him. Back away now!”
The burning continued in his blood but seemed to be lessening with each passing breath. A short older man stepped into his line of vision and slapped his hand across Lu’s forehead. His thumb and fingers touched Lu’s temples. Lu wasn’t looking at his face. It wasn’t his face that was causing his heart to beat faster. It was the black uniform with the silver accents at the collar and shoulders and the small chips of color marking successful campaigns on his breast. This was the killer that came and made raids on the villages and encampments out there in the Wild. This was a State Mage.
“Let’s see what you truly are…”
Whatever they did, whether it was the drug Kev ******** him over with or the injection into his neck, whatever barrier of protection that his Mom had secretly ingrained into him were gone. He hadn’t done it in a while. There was no need and Lu wasn’t prepared. This State Mage drew on Lu’s latency hard and fast. It released as if a floodgate was suddenly thrown open. Lu wasn’t prepared for it. Neither was the State Mage. Magic filled the room. One moment there was nothing, the next, the air was oppressive and almost crushing, suffocating with the power he had released. It had to go somewhere.
The Mage threw it to the bar. Lu still couldn’t move but he heard every bottle and glass shatter simultaneously and the side of the building was blown away and threw the building into instability as multiple walls and support beams were demolished in a matter of seconds. The building was only just barely standing at this point. The State Mage was wrenched backwards away from Lu breaking the connection. Lu wilted at the sudden cut off and knew that he definitely wasn't going to be going anywhere. Military latents had no where near that much power stored in them for a simple draw. A normal Latent would have been killed having their energy drawn that fast and releasing that much power at one time. Normal Latents need to have their Mages draw and collect energy over a short time before using it like that. It was at that point, the little voice in the back of his head could only say <******** him. NOW!”
Something cold and heavy landed on Lu’s shoulders and then slipped snug around his throat.
“I want my part of the deal. You said as soon as you finished, you’d do it! Hey!”
A single gunshot rang out and Lu didn’t hear Kev’s voice anymore.
“Your meter’s working fine.” The black uniform came back into Lu’s field of vision. He reached out and caught him by the collar at his neck and dragged him to the floor.
“Then how is that possible? How could someone with that much raw talent get passed the screeners?”
“He’s from the Wilds. That’s how we missed this powerful little gift. Box him up. We have medics on stand-by back at HQ. Leave this mess for the border guard to clean up. We have more important things to do than worry about some petty thug stealing medical supplies and food.”
The whatever had gotten into the already polluted water, the drug, whatever they stuck in Lu, and the sudden drop in power was enough to start him down the dark road. He just wasn’t ready for something like this. Cold metal encased his forearms then they were locked together. A hand wrenched his head back and another strap was attached to the back of the collar to the forearms. His jaw was pried open and a foul tasting piece of rubber was jammed into his teeth. It was buckled around his head at the back tightly, ripping into the corners of his mouth.
The State Mage scratched Lu’s cheek as he wrapped his fingers around the leather strap holding the bit in place.“Don’t think too badly of your snitch, Lu. We never had any intention of allowing an unlicensed and unrestricted magic user to wander freely. He really wasn’t as smart as he thought, and would have been captured and killed in a matter of hours anyway.”
The Mage dragged Lu to his feet easily. “Welcome to the Service, Lu. Hail the Iboni Empire.”
A black bag was draped over Lu’s head and that took the last of his senses. He didn’t remember collapsing but he knew that Kev and probably the rest of the boys there had just gotten more mercy that he was ever going to see.
Lu would be gone for three weeks.
They were trying to drive him insane. The claxon sounded without warning day and night and sometimes rang for ear splitting hours, then again sometimes just for a minute. They kept him chained and bound like a wild beast. Which he guessed he was by their civilization standards. Lu didn’t know how long they held him. Drugs would wear off and then he was poked and prodded like dying road kill by Service Scientists in white lab coats.
He was hung in the exam room with a bar under him armpits and across his back. Lu’s arms were still locked behind him elbow to wrist. It was just more pain that he had to endure. They talked while they raped his individuality from him with samples and testing. Lu was an anomaly – meaning rare and unique. They treated him like a mage. His eyes were blindfolded so he couldn’t lock onto a target. The gag bit was replaced with a ball when it showed that he was allergic to that type of rubber. The corners of his mouth were blistered and stinging. A collar was snug around his neck and the lab assistants took great pleasure in hauling Lu around on a leash because he was so cubically contained. They kept him naked and starving.
He was denied basic rights. Then again, he wasn’t part of this civilization. His people from the Wild met theirs when they came here. They welcomed them to share in all the bounty that the Wild lands offered. ******** stupid idiots. They should have killed them all when they stepped off their ship. If they weren’t studying him, they were trying to break him down into an understandable category.
Lu didn’t want to be understood. Even restrained he fought them. He railed against them. So they beat the living s**t out of him. He wasn’t given much tolerance to begin with and now they would just sooner kick him in his broken ribs than look at him.
That ******** claxon…I’m tired. My head is splitting apart. Shut it off. Tears burned in his eyes but nothing fell. Unless he did what they asked, he didn’t even get water. Lu’s lips were dried and cracked. He was going to die soon…to the sound of that ******** NOISE! Lu lost control. Maybe that’s what they wanted. Maybe that’s what he needed to do. He screamed around the ball gag. He raged and wailed and sent his sanity someplace else because he couldn’t take any more of this.
A mage needed clarity and focus. They do that through incantations and the written word. When done properly, a Mage or a Witch is like a dancer moving through the air causing destruction in its wake with a flick of a finger, the turn of a head, or the glint of a smile. Lu didn’t work that way. Lu never worked that way. His mom would ask him to try something, she would show him the hand motions, the arm motions, the way the voice should resonate. To him, he just faded into the light, the energy that crouched near waiting for his call. He didn’t need physical hands to manipulate the energy. It was like it danced to his will. He was a musician and the energy was his music that moved beyond him and affected others.
Lu wanted silence. He opened his eyes and saw nothing but the backside of the blindfold then his vision shifted. The cell he was in was a network of electricity of varying strengths and lengths. They were ribbons of light. They ran up the walls, across the floors. Even the ceiling was a patchwork grid.
SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHHHHUUUTTTT UUUUPPPP! He blended what personal energy that remained with him into the grid and ripped it wide open, blasting it with more power than the lines were meant to carry.
AAAHHHHHHHHHH! AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHhhhhhh!
His breath was a pant. But all around him was blessed silence. The lights had gone out as well. The cool air that circulated ceased. All was quiet in his padded cell. Lu felt sick. His body slumped forward and he ended up bouncing his chin hard on the floor. He cut his tongue open and he was reduced to sucking his own blood to get liquid into his system. He closed his eyes behind his blindfold and let his face rest on the soft floor. Now that it was quiet, he could finally sleep.
So he did.
His time in snoozeville wasn’t that long. He woke when his toes were being dragged over the threshold of his prison cell. All the restraints were still in place. They had figured out what he had done…so be it. He’d sooner they kill him, show him the mercy that they threatened, than to have to stay in this constant state of agony. He almost wanted to mourn Kev’s death. Almost but not enough, considering he sold him out to this. How many kinsmen did Lu see cut down the from rapid fire of the soldiers when he was growing up? They weren’t true fighters. They stood off at a distance and mowed everyone down, men, women, children and even the infirm. Death was such a personal thing…you should balls up and look it straight in the eye if you’re going to kill someone. Another reason why he used to use blades, not that anyone here knew or cared. He didn’t get off on it, as some members of the Skulls had claimed. If someone had to die, they deserved to see it coming and he felt owed them that much respect.
Lu was feeble and tired yet they rammed another needle of poisonous intention in his neck. He had gotten familiar with the way their drug deadened his world. His body grew limp. They hung him from the rack, as Lu called it, and left him there as they moved off to clean up the mess he made. This time, it wasn’t the pain of hanging from his shoulders that kept him awake – it was the clarity of his thoughts. He’d been wrapped in a furry blanket since he got taken. There were days when Lu could barely remember his name.
Voices grew louder as the discussion got heated. Soon whoever was arguing was in the room with him.
“I’m telling you, Sir, the power level spike had nothing to do with the unrest back in the Shambles. The cause of that spike is right there.”
“He’s drugged. He’s restrained. He hasn’t eaten in three days and until he learns to obey, he’s not getting any fluid. He can’t even hold his head up on his own. Now, you’re telling me that this Shambler is….what?”
“He’s a Latent.”
A hand tangled in the back of Lu’s hair and his head was yanked upright. “Since when can a latent manipulate power? That is absolutely un-heard of.”
“He’s not a Shambler, Sir.”
“Come again.”
“His coloring is wrong for the region. On the General Harker’s orders, we did strontium and oxygen isotope testing on his teeth to see the geographical area where he grew up, well, at least track where he was for the early part of his development. The water source leaves a certain signature and his chemical signature reads the Red Zone: Sector G. I can’t pinpoint exactly where in the Zone because we don’t have the necessary data.”
“Sector G? What the hell is a Wildman doing living in the Shambles? Running with a gang and using magic…”
“I can’t explain it, Sir. I can only tell you what the science has revealed. He’s a Red Zone, Wild man and he’s NOT a Mage.”
“They tested him in the field. A Latent has never scored up in the Mark range. You've seen it.”
“We have run further tests as well and yes, he does score high in the Mark VIII range. I can’t explain it.”
“Who else have you told?”
“General Harker has made it clear that this one is to remain in isolation and that his information is on a need to know basis.”
Lu’s head fell forward heavily as the man let go of his hair. “I agree. We have a goldmine here. Any inroads we’ve made into the Red Zone have been met with limited success. The Wildmen are scattered but them seem to be able to mobilize and unify in the face of attack. Their Mages out there aren’t highly skilled that we know, but we know they are powerful.”
“Maybe he’s the son of one of them…”
“They covet Latents more than we do. There would be no way he would have been allowed to come to the Shambles if they had known the strength of this power source. Report.”
“Sir, the entire power grid in cell blocks E through L have been fried.”
“Is that you’re professional opinion, solider?”
“Sir, no Sir. I meant to say that the eight power grids have been overloaded and all wiring would have to be replaced. There is no salvage.”
“Has the Inspector identified the source of the overload?”
“It appears that the overload came from within the building sir.”
“Location?”
“Cell 31.”
“Oh my God…He burnt out eight of ten network grids?”
“Get a hold of yourself, Lieutenant. This is not a secure area.”
Lu started to laugh. At first it was harsh and biting at the back of his throat. Since he was ball gagged, there was no way he was going to be too loud. Still, it was enough to send whoever the hell was talking into silence. Lu thought he was hysterical, or hungry.
“Should he be able to do that, Sir?”
“I dosed him.”
“It doesn’t look like it…Sir!”
“Dose him again.”
“He’s at his limit. To give him more in present state would more than likely turn him into a zombie, which will affect his abilities, or kill him.”
Lu's head snapped sideways from a punch. The clarity he was hysterical in began to fuzz over. Darkness welcomed Lu to her bosom. At least when he was unconscious, he could rest. The voices around him began to break up.
“…headquarters…familiar…King Tiger…arrival…”
Then there was nothing.
Lu had been locked away in Military Intelligence for three weeks. Three weeks of being starved, getting no water, being drugged, beaten, and tested on.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
