Flame (Fireborn) (21 page)

"Switching
shovels," I murmur to Chloris, and leave before she can argue.
It doesn't feel right, but I try to soften my loud feet. That doesn't
work, and I'm thankful that like in the real world, no one seems to
notice me much here.
I hope Chloris won't notice how long I'm
gone.

I'm the only one near
the sledgehammers, and I pick one up, feeling the weight of it in my
hands. I admire the rusty metal head, and a certain handsome face
with glowing eyes flitters in my head.
Yes, this will work
just
fine.

I clutch it tightly in
my hand and casually walk forward, away from Chloris and the other
workers. I try to move slowly so as not to arouse suspicion. I move
past more prisoners, their scarlet attire more visible with their
helmet lights. For the first time, I wonder what the red dress means.
Rhys and Lenora had referred to it as "the offering".
Maybe
the Saguinox have some ritual where people are "offered" to
an alien god.
It doesn't sound far-fetched, and feeling a deep
apprehension, I keep walking.

The slope is moving
upward, and there are no workers beyond this point. It's careless to
keep going so I stop. I dig, using the sledgehammer and my hands.
I
should've brought the shovel too,
I think. My heart's dancing
wildly in my chest.
Please stay invisible, please stay invisible.

It takes time, but I
finally get it. The hole is big and deep enough to hide a
sledgehammer. I glance around, careful to look nonchalant. When I'm
sure no one is watching I shove it in, and frantically cover the
sledgehammer with hardened dirt, and any other materials I can find.
I take in air, and it smells like dirt and metal. I'm so busy
breathing I don't notice the body until my head connects with an
elbow. I gasp, turn around, and instantly fall back.

Her glowing eyes are
cold, and scrunched in anger. I can't help but stare back with wide
eye panic.

"Where did
you
come from?" she snarls. Her short hair is spiked up like a
boy's, and she's looking menacingly at me. "Answer me."

"I-I…" For
a second my mind is blank. She looks so threatening and so terrifying
that my mind is frozen. I can't feel the sledgehammer underneath me,
but my heart's beating violently.

"Don't you know
how to talk?" She wrinkles her nose. "You're not one of
those mute humans, are you?"

I shake my head. "No."

Suddenly her hands lash
out, and she has the back of my head. She carries half my body off
the ground, pulling painfully at my hair. "Don't think I didn't
notice you here by yourself. Did you think you would get away with
that?"

I can't talk. I can't
breathe, and she jerks me to my feet. "Lazy scum. You humans are
the worst." She pulls me by my hair, dragging me like a bag so
hard I cry out. I'm pushed against something hard. The metal tub
connects with my shoulder blade, and my skin instantly tears. The
pain burns.

Out of nowhere I see a
flame in my mind. It's exquisite, and it's swaying gently, ready to
go where I need it to go. I know exactly where it needs to shoot, but
before I can, a voice shouts in my head.

No!
The voice
sounds alarmed.
No flames, take it out!

I shriek.

The voice is back in my
head.

Something hard is
shoved into my arms. A shovel.

"Everyone works in
the caves," the Saguinox guard informs me coldly. "You're
no exception. If I catch you slacking off again, you'll be given to
the crystal. Do you understand?" She pushes me back. "Do
you?"

I nod, but I don't look
at her. I'm shaking. My mind feels numb, like something heavy's
inside. I'm so focused inside myself that I can't look at her. She
takes it as a sign of submission. I wait, and even when the sound of
her footsteps has disappeared, I can't move. My insides feel jumpy,
and I'm anxious, and tense and fearful, and all of it twists in my
gut like a cyclone.

I'm trembling so bad I
don't notice the smell of burning metal underneath my fingers until
my eyes sting from the smoke.

I drop the shovel and
jump back.

It's smoldering.

* * *

It's dark when we're
allowed back outside. My back aches, and I'm glad to walk with my
head low, because it hurts to straighten my body. Supper is comprised
of the same disgusting soup. It tastes like what I'd imagine liquid
roots would taste like. Even though I'm starving my hunger isn't
enough to drown out the revolting taste, so I sip at it, each
mouthful worse than the last.

Chloris is ignoring me,
although I catch her shooting me an empathetic look when she hears me
gag on the food. No one talks. No one moves unless told to, and I
actually feel relieved to go back my cell.

When the door closes
blackness envelope me. I try to sleep, but pictures of my parents
churn in my mind like a broken movie. I miss my dad, and if I breathe
deeply enough I can smell past the perfume of alcohol on his clothes,
to the woodsy scent of his skin. I wonder if he's searching for me.
When I think about how lost he must be, I feel a hot rage inside, and
it's all I can do to not pound against the walls, screaming. But I
don’t want to give them the satisfaction of seeing me do that, so I
pull my knees to my chest instead.

My mind wanders back to
what happened in the caves earlier, but I shut my eyes, refusing to
acknowledge it. I'm so cold, and a memory of mom, dad and I sipping
hot chocolate during a wintry night drifts into my mind. I remember
the warmth, and I sigh, pretending that it's here. I hear the
fireplace in my head. I see the dark orange blaze, twirling like
dancers over and under the logs. The flames bend, swinging in a
contained space and I imagine touching it, feeling it through my
body…

I fall asleep with the
flames brushing my face, feeling more alone than ever. As I drift
into unconsciousness, the tender promise whispers inside my head.
I'll always be here.

An alarm rings,
screeching through dreams of glowing eyes and fire. I jerk awake, and
notice that I'm still in the same position from the night before. I
stretch my neck, arms and legs, feeling lighter as I realize my body
is back in working order. The alarm sounds again, and the buzzing
hurts my ears.
There is a loudspeaker in the room somewhere.
I
stand.

Walking, I peer through
the door. I try to look for faces, but the windows are small, and the
lights dim. I see nothing but an empty corridor with gray walls. It
reminds me of a nightmare I had, and goose bumps ripple over my arms.

"All clear."

Someone's walking, and
I press my face against the glass to see. He has dark hair and eyes,
and his lips are turned in a frown. There are two other men with him.
All three look ahead, their glowing eyes a beacon in the dark. He
nods, and the sounds of opening doors rumble in the corridor. I step
back as the door of my own personal prison push out. My hands tighten
on the handle, and with a shaky breath I shove the door forward,
stepping out.

When I'm in the
corridor I see there are about a dozen people standing with me. I
gasp. I'm wrong. There are a dozen people and
other creatures
standing with me.

My eyes are wide. I
can't help but stare at the one closest to me. Her skin is green,
completely and vibrantly green. Her black irises are large and
luminous. Her body is shaped like a human girl, but scales that cover
her chest, belly, and crotch. A tail hangs behind her, and I only
notice it because she swings it, sweeping it to the front. Her feet
have toes, but they're oval shaped, and are like green raindrops.
She's not wearing a dress, but a red shawl covers her. It's the same
color as mine, and she pushes the hood over her face. She turns to
the Saguinox, and I do, too.

"You will be fed
this morning, and then you will return to the caves to harvest.
Tomorrow some of you will offer yourselves to the crystal."
There is a collective sound of horror, and I look around, afraid. He
is unperturbed. "Do as you're told. Escape is an illusion.
Should you try," -a malicious smile appears on his face- "he
will
find you."

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.