Flame (Fireborn) (20 page)

I'm not sure who "he"
is, but the alarm on every person's face makes me not want to find
out.

As suddenly as he
comes, he leaves, and the people to my left turn. I follow knowing
that my survival depends on my ability to blend in.

We march like soldiers,
each behind the other, heads bowed. The corners of my eyes scan my
new surroundings, taking note of the nightmare I've suddenly found
myself in. We join other rows of people, all dressed in scarlet red.
Even though it's hard to see, I put the pieces together like a
puzzle. Cells line either side of me, and I know there's more than
one level because I can hear the same monotone footsteps echoing
above. It looks exactly like what I'd imagine a prison to look like,
but instead of white walls, gray is the color most used. We pass by
what I assume are guards, though they're dressed casually in shirts
and jeans. They're probably dressed that way to blend in when they
leave the prison. Anything less might cause suspicion.

Glowing eyes watch us.
Each gaze is filled with disgust, and their thoughts are reflected on
their faces: we are inferior. They're the superior.

A few Saguinox hold
weapons like guns and daggers, but the majority don't. They don't
have to. The warning is palpable, even to me: obey or else.

I feel like a lamb,
moving toward her slaughter. We enter into a cafeteria -like space.
The tables are placed in straight rows. They're cafeteria tables, but
metal handcuffs are attached to the center of each. I can smell food,
but instead of making me hungry, it has the opposite affect and I
want to vomit.

We're herded into two
lines. They give us wooden bowls and a spoon, and watching the
others, I kneel to receive the meager portion. The silence is
delicate, and I try desperately to quiet my stomping, but my fear
seems to have made my feet louder. My only consolation is that, like
everywhere else, everyone here ignores me. They don't hear my feet.
Or maybe they do, but they just don't care.

I follow the person
ahead of me to my seat. There are guards around, but no one moves to
handcuff us. Instead, the prisoners do it themselves. I observe the
girl beside me adjusting one handcuff over her left hand. I feel
sick, watching her. What kind of perverted game is this? They're
forcing us to confine our bodies, to do the one thing we're desperate
not
to do.

I slide in next to her,
and repeat her motions. When the cuffs click onto my wrist, I fight
back the urge to take it off. I want to throw the restraint against
the wall, and break it into a million pieces.
I need to blend in,
I remind myself, taking a deep breath.

The anger is boiling
underneath me, but I try to ignore it. I take a bite of the
cream-colored soup, and gag. I clench the table in an effort to force
it down, and it works even though my stomach is heaving. The creature
from before notices me, and she pauses, catching my eye. She
demonstrates taking little sips at a time. No one notices my
outburst, except her and I follow her motions, taking tiny sips. The
herbal taste is more bearable in bits, but she's sipping fast. Maybe
I need to, too.

Soon another bell
rings. No one moves, though. Slowly the guards move between us,
taking their sweet time, showing us how insignificant we truly are. I
watch as one guard unlocks the metal handcuff of the girl beside me.
When it's my turn, I hold my breath in anticipation. When the metal
opens, falling back from my wrist, I bite back a gasp. My hands feel
lighter.

We take our bowls to
the other side of the room, and hand them to other scarlet clad
workers. There is no eye contact, and when my finger accidently
touches the worker's, she shrinks back.

I continue to follow
the person in front of me, but the two rows are closer together. The
creature from before is next to me, and her tail lightly touches my
calf. I pause for a millisecond before moving.

"You blend in very
well," she whispers. Her voice is thick with a European sounding
accent. "It's hard to notice you."

I decide to be honest.
"It's sort of a trick of mine."

"Oh." She
grins. "It's a nice trick to have."

I don't say anything.

"My name is
Chloris."

"I'm Kenna,"
I murmur.

"I'll show you
what to do when we get to the caves," she offers.

"Thanks."

When we step outside,
I'm greeted with a rush of cold air that sweeps the folds of my dress
between my legs. If they notice the cold, no one shows it and we move
as silent as ghosts. In the distance I can see trees and hills. I
hear the wired fence around us, buzzing with electricity, and it's so
cold I want to move closer. Soon I see a cave up ahead, its mouth
stretching high above us. I want to see more, but my head remains
bowed, submissive.

Good girl,
the
thought whispers in my mind, and I almost stumble. I clutch the red
fabric of my dress in my palms so I won't trip. My heart's racing.
Had a guard just talked to me in my head? Head low, I search around.
All I see are scarlet folds and shuffling feet. Anger, desperation,
and terror pulse through me, shooting panic through my body. What
sorts of powers do the Saguinox have? Suddenly, I remember Lenora's
eyes, and the tingling in my head. I wonder if she's done something
to me. Has she opened my brain up to the other Saguinox?

I try to listen again,
but the voice is gone.

We travel further into
the cave until the only light available are torches and candles that
burn dimmer than embers. Even the color from our red dresses has
faded, vanishing as shadowed veils.

As if she senses my
thoughts, Chloris whispers, "You'll get used to it."

I'm afraid I won't
because the further we go in, the less I feel of myself. Darkness is
all around us, and my thoughts are evaporating into air. Soon I think
nothing, feel nothing, see nothing, but black shadows all around.

I don't know we've
stopped until I bump into the person in front of me. She doesn't
acknowledge what I do, so I don't say sorry. We're moving slow, and I
wonder why. Someone is handing out helmets with a light attached.
It's weak, but it's better than nothing. Putting it on, I'm grateful
when the faint beam flashes ahead. We keep walking, and I'm suddenly
glad I ate the disgusting soup from this morning because I have a
suspicion what we'll be doing in this cave is work.

We start going down on
a slope, then we walk down a flight of stairs. It's as dark as before
so I don't know if we're underground. The silence is deafening, and I
want to turn back so bad. I don't, and even though my mind is afraid,
my body isn't, and it keeps moving even when I'm too scared to. We
keep walking and walking and when we finally stop, I'm a little
breathless. I don't doubt we're miles from the cave entrance.

A pair of glowing eyes
light up a feminine face, and she stands on a chair above us. The
light on her helmet is a little brighter, and she aims it over our
heads. "
This
is what we are looking for." She holds
something small between her fingers, but no matter how my eyes strain
I can't see it. "If you are new, raise your hand and I will come
closer so you can see it." She pauses, but no hands rise.

Chloris's tail touches
my ankles, and she shakes her head.

I already know.
I'm
not dumb enough to declare myself a newbie,
I say with my eyes.
I'd be fresh meat for those bastards.

"Crystals,"
Chloris murmurs so softly I almost think I imagine it.

"This cave is
vast. This area is rich with Braxi. It should not be hard to find."
She pauses, staring hard at us. "You only have to
dig
for
it." She throws a shovel to the person in front of her, and she
falls, knocking down the person behind her. The Saguinox female makes
an annoyed sound and jumps down. Her hand lashes out. The slap echoes
around us, followed by desperate weeping and begging.

"Get up," she
snarls. "I have no time to waste on your useless human tears!"
She slaps the girl again, and we jump back, making room for her to
come through. Her hand brushes against mine as she moves by, and I
feel a chill that has nothing to do with the cave temperature.

"The shovels are
up ahead," Chloris informs me when the Saguinox footsteps can no
longer be heard. She shows me the way. The tools are dirty and
smelly, but I know better than to complain. There are a few guards
with us, but they don't seem too alert. There are more than fifty
prisoners down here, and only a handful of Saguinox, yet they are
unafraid. One is dozing off as I walk by.
Why don't we revolt?
I think.
The odds are in our favor.
I turn back to where we
got the shovels. From where I'm at I can see carts and carts full of
shovels, brushes, wedges and sledgehammers. Suddenly, I feel
something inside; it's pounding beneath my skin.

"I want the
sledgehammer," I say to Chloris.

She looks at me like
I'm crazy. "We're looking for
crystals
, Kenna, not
breaking a wall. Trust me, shovels are best."

I don't say more
because I need time to think through what I want to do. I'm so close
behind her I have to be careful not to step on her tail. "Chloris."

"Hmm?" She's
maneuvering around the other prisoners, going in deeper.

I hesitate for just a
moment. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you?"

"Shape shifter."

This time I stumble
behind her, falling onto my knees. Unfortunately, there's also a rock
underneath me, and the edge connects with my bone. I hiss, but don't
make a loud enough sound to catch the guard's attention.

"Kenna! Are you
okay?" She sounds anxious. I rub my knee.

"Just… not
expecting that."

She gives me a smile,
and her eyes are gentle. "There's a lot humans don' t know
about."

I'm reminded of
Lenora's conversation with me earlier.
You're just a baby planet,
she'd said.

"Yeah, I'm
learning that."

She helps me up. Her
hand is like mine, but green and with longer nails.

"Do you come from
a different planet, too?" I ask, wiping my bottom.

"My ancestors a
long time ago, probably. But I'm an earthling like you, born and
raised." She has my shovel in her hands, and she hands it back.
"Come on."

She's moving, but I'm
rooted to the floor, stunned. She'd been
born and raised
here?
How's that possible? How many others are out there?

"Are there more
like you?" I whisper.

"Some like me.
Some not."

My mind's racing with
questions. Her words echo in my brain.
Some like me. Some not.
What does that mean? Is she referring to different species of aliens?
Is she the good guy, and the others are bad? More importantly, can I
trust her? Chloris turns back, waiting for me to catch up.

Do I follow?

I look around at the
other prisoners whose gaze refuse to touch mine. I turn back to
Chloris. Her eyes are curious.

She's the only one
willing to help.

I don't have a choice.
Not really. Not if I want to escape.

Chloris takes me to a
spot more secluded from the others, and shows me how to dig.

"The Braxi
crystals are small and white. Try to dig without cracking them.
They're no use broken or cracked. They need to be perfect." She
demonstrates, shoveling a handful of dirt each time. She's careful to
not push too hard, and wiggles the tool, rather than pushing it in. I
imitate her, but it isn't natural. The shovel is so heavy I want to
use its weight to push down, but I have to resist, and use my arms to
make it light. She has to crouch every few minutes, and use her hands
and the light on her helmet to search for the small crystals. It
takes a long time, but when she finally gets one, she shows me. I
adjust the light, and stare in awe at the perfect white crystal. It's
oval shaped, and glitters. I take it in my hand. It feels warm. I
make a fist around it, and when I feel something, my eyes shoot up to
Chloris.

"It's
vibrating
,"
I breathe.

"They're used to
store energy and magic," she informs. A small smile lights up
her face. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

I'm in shock, but I
agree. Shape shifters? Crystals that store magic? "How has all
of this stayed
hidden
?" I don't just mean the crystals
and she seems to understand that.

"Humans see and
hear what they want to see and hear. Arrogance can make you blind."

Still bewildered, I
shake my head. My fists close around the Braxi again to feel the
pleasant sensation. "What do they need these crystals for?"

"Evil." She
says it quietly, but with such sadness I'm speechless.

The Saguinox don't
mean to join us.

"They mean to
conquer us." My whispered realization is met with silence.

Chloris and I stare at
each other. Her eyes are large and sad. Hopeless.

Discouraged, we don't
talk anymore. For a long time there is only silence as we work. She
demonstrates how to use the shovels to dig the cave walls. My stomach
is rumbling, and I'm thirsty. Chloris takes me to a small water stand
and a worker hands me a little cup.

"Don't drink too
much," she warns me. "There's nowhere to relieve yourself."
I'm angry when I drink. "We're just animals to them." I
watch a guard as he casually leans on a worker, using her head to
lean on.

"Yes,"
Chloris affirms.

I turn angrily to her.
"How can you just accept this?"

Her eyes are wide, and
she sneaks a glance at the worker before shaking her head. I bite my
lip. "Come on." She gestures and we go back to our
stations.

I try to talk, but she
doesn't want to anymore. I rebuke myself for letting my true feelings
come through. I need her to give me information. I find the
sledgehammers and shovels. I dare not stare at them too long, but my
heart is racing with determination again. I can't stop myself from
getting closer.