Flame (Fireborn) (25 page)

The labor is as intense
as it was yesterday, and though I'm better at feeling for the Braxi,
it takes effort to dig, bend, crouch, and repeat. To keep myself
sane- as sane as any crazy person can be- I play a game in my head.
Any crystals found smaller than the nail on my pinky was worth fifty
points, perfect Braxi were worth one hundred, and broken or smaller
crystals were negative thirty five. By the time my day was done, I
was down to negative eighty five.

My math was fast, but
my digging skills were lacking. I did, however, manage to hide
another sledgehammer. It was a small victory, but it gave me a moment
of happiness that I desperately needed.

Everyday it's the same
routine. I wake up in a red filthy dress, and fall asleep dirtier
than before. I forget what pants feel like, and I can barely recall
the motions of chewing.

Every night I sleep
with the depressing knowledge that every moment spent here is a
moment living in hell.

I get my chance to form
a new alliance the ninth morning. Two more are chosen for the
crystal, and those of us who are lucky -if you would call it that-
enough to remain a day longer are herded back for breakfast. There
have been no new inmates since my arrival, and I'm curious as to why
that is. Once the crystal takes all of us, there would be no workers
left. Shouldn't they be out scouting for more potential slaves? Maybe
their priorities lie elsewhere- like figuring out a way to kill off
all the humans. My pessimistic thoughts both depress and anger me.

My line has become two
shorter today so I'm moved up away from Chloris and closer to
"Mystique" as I've begun calling her in my mind. Her scaly
skin reminds me of the azure X-men character. It makes me think of my
old life before all of this. Everything here is strange, new, and
cruel, and in an odd way, she comforts me.

We sit at the table,
and I go through the motions of cuffing myself with the old chains.
Mystique is eating next to me. I sneak a glance in her direction. I
sip the soup, but I'm too preoccupied on how to approach her that I
barely taste it. What do I say? We don't have much time so it has to
be something short and small, something to grab her attention and
keep it. I frown. I don't want to grab anyone
else's
attention
either so it has to be discreet. Maybe if I--

"Pshh."

… accidently spill
some soup on her then I could help clean her up. That might--

"Pshh! Hey."

I almost dance with joy
when Mystique catches my attention. Almost. I settle for a short
glance instead. "Yes?"

"You have soup all
over your chin."

I use my palm to wipe
it off, but I notice she has a slight smile, and I realize this might
be perfect.

"Thanks," I
murmur. "Can't catch a boyfriend this way, can I?"

She smirks, pointing to
a handsome guard who's in the process of picking his armpit for lice.
"Don't think you want to."

I wince. "You're
right," I say. "All looks. No brains. I think I'd rather be
imprisoned."

She holds back a
chuckle, and I'm relieved inside. I feel bad that two had to go to
the crystal, but I know it was necessary or else I'd never get next
to her.

"I'm Kenna."

"Nymphora,"
she introduces herself.

"So, if you don't
mind me asking, what are you?"

She studies me for a
moment before answering. "Shape shifter."

Ka-ching! Score for
the invisible human.
"It must be nice to have a power,"
I continue with artificial wistfulness. I straighten my guns and aim
for the kill. "To have a chance at getting out."

I let the words linger.
I almost expect her to look down in fright at the mere hint of escape
the way Chloris usually does, but she doesn't, only staring at me
curiously.

"I have as much of
a chance at getting out as you do," she begins slowly. "My
powers are locked here."

"How do they do
that?"

She smiles, and it's
deadly. "I'd like to know that myself."

Something dark emanates
from her, and for a fraction of a second chills cover my body. I wipe
away all doubts, and move forward, refusing to look back. "Have
you ever been anywhere else besides our cell, this room, or the
cave?" I ask. Something occurs to me. "Are we even on Earth
anymore?"

She smirks. "Oh,
we're on Earth all right."

"How can you know
for sure?"

"Other planets
don't look like this and they don't smell like Earth either. Trust
me, the aliens haven't taken us anywhere."

"How did they take
you?"

She hesitates. "A
raid. What about you?"

I'm too embarrassed to
tell her what really happened. "Kidnapped," I say instead.
It's a half truth.

My heart pounds with
what I'm about to ask, but I know the bell will ring soon, and who
knows how much time we each had here. She or I could be taken to the
crystal tomorrow. Things need to happen and they need to happen
now
.

"Nymphora," I
say quietly, "have you ever thought about escaping this place?"

I hold my breath for
her answer, ready for anything, even for her to start screaming for
the guards.

What I don't expect is
for her to look me square in the eye. "Every. Damn. Night."

My sigh of relief is
audible, and she's amused. "I wish everyone felt the same way,"
I mutter before I can stop myself.

"Ah." She
grins, and I wonder if she knows Chloris. "Just like humans,
we're all different. Some of us are… more
cautious
than
others." She smirks. "And then there are some of us who are
destined to rule the stars."

"Most of us are
too
reckless
to rule anything but our own hands, let alone the
stars." Chloris's cold voice surprises me so much I hit her,
turning around. She's carrying her bowl with one hand, and I give her
a puzzled look.

"Guards are
coming," she informs us coolly, nodding in the opposite
direction. "You two might want to save your conspiracy talks for
another time. Next time I might not be so nice to let you know."

I'm surprised by her
behavior, but also a little hurt. Of course, she would warn me,
wouldn't she? There's something furious in her eyes, and I'm reminded
yet again, how much I don't know about her, Nymphora, and this
strange place. Another shiver ripples through my body as I catch
Nymphora's gaze on Chloris's retreating back.

I realize I'm playing a
deadly game.

I get my chance to form
a new alliance the ninth morning. Two more are chosen for the
crystal, and those of us who are lucky -if you would call it that-
enough to remain a day longer are herded back for breakfast. There
have been no new inmates since my arrival, and I'm curious as to why
that is. Once the crystal takes all of us, there would be no workers
left. Shouldn't they be out scouting for more potential slaves? Maybe
their priorities lie elsewhere- like figuring out a way to kill off
all the humans. My pessimistic thoughts both depress and anger me.

My line has become two
shorter today so I'm moved up away from Chloris and closer to
"Mystique" as I've begun calling her in my mind. Her scaly
skin reminds me of the azure X-men character. It makes me think of my
old life before all of this. Everything here is strange, new, and
cruel, and in an odd way, she comforts me.

We sit at the table,
and I go through the motions of cuffing myself with the old chains.
Mystique is eating next to me. I sneak a glance in her direction. I
sip the soup, but I'm too preoccupied on how to approach her that I
barely taste it. What do I say? We don't have much time so it has to
be something short and small, something to grab her attention and
keep it. I frown. I don't want to grab anyone
else's
attention
either so it has to be discreet. Maybe if I--

"Pshh."

… accidently spill
some soup on her then I could help clean her up. That might--

"Pshh! Hey."

I almost dance with joy
when Mystique catches my attention. Almost. I settle for a short
glance instead. "Yes?"

"You have soup all
over your chin."

I use my palm to wipe
it off, but I notice she has a slight smile, and I realize this might
be perfect.

"Thanks," I
murmur. "Can't catch a boyfriend this way, can I?"

She smirks, pointing to
a handsome guard who's in the process of picking his armpit for lice.
"Don't think you want to."

I wince. "You're
right," I say. "All looks. No brains. I think I'd rather be
imprisoned."

She holds back a
chuckle, and I'm relieved inside. I feel bad that two had to go to
the crystal, but I know it was necessary or else I'd never get next
to her.

"I'm Kenna."

"Nymphora,"
she introduces herself.

"So, if you don't
mind me asking, what are you?"

She studies me for a
moment before answering. "Shape shifter."

Ka-ching! Score for
the invisible human.
"It must be nice to have a power,"
I continue with artificial wistfulness. I straighten my guns and aim
for the kill. "To have a chance at getting out."

I let the words linger.
I almost expect her to look down in fright at the mere hint of escape
the way Chloris usually does, but she doesn't, only staring at me
curiously.

"I have as much of
a chance at getting out as you do," she begins slowly. "My
powers are locked here."

"How do they do
that?"

She smiles, and it's
deadly. "I'd like to know that myself."

Something dark emanates
from her, and for a fraction of a second chills cover my body. I wipe
away all doubts, and move forward, refusing to look back. "Have
you ever been anywhere else besides our cell, this room, or the
cave?" I ask. Something occurs to me. "Are we even on Earth
anymore?"

She smirks. "Oh,
we're on Earth all right."

"How can you know
for sure?"

"Other planets
don't look like this and they don't smell like Earth either. Trust
me, the aliens haven't taken us anywhere."

"How did they take
you?"

She hesitates. "A
raid. What about you?"

I'm too embarrassed to
tell her what really happened. "Kidnapped," I say instead.
It's a half truth.

My heart pounds with
what I'm about to ask, but I know the bell will ring soon, and who
knows how much time we each had here. She or I could be taken to the
crystal tomorrow. Things need to happen and they need to happen
now
.

"Nymphora," I
say quietly, "have you ever thought about escaping this place?"

I hold my breath for
her answer, ready for anything, even for her to start screaming for
the guards.

What I don't expect is
for her to look me square in the eye. "Every. Damn. Night."

My sigh of relief is
audible, and she's amused. "I wish everyone felt the same way,"
I mutter before I can stop myself.

"Ah." She
grins, and I wonder if she knows Chloris. "Just like humans,
we're all different. Some of us are… more
cautious
than
others." She smirks. "And then there are some of us who are
destined to rule the stars."

"Most of us are
too
reckless
to rule anything but our own hands, let alone the
stars." Chloris's cold voice surprises me so much I hit her,
turning around. She's carrying her bowl with one hand, and I give her
a puzzled look.

"Guards are
coming," she informs us coolly, nodding in the opposite
direction. "You two might want to save your conspiracy talks for
another time. Next time I might not be so nice to let you know."

I'm surprised by her
behavior, but also a little hurt. Of course, she would warn me,
wouldn't she? There's something furious in her eyes, and I'm reminded
yet again, how much I don't know about her, Nymphora, and this
strange place. Another shiver ripples through my body as I catch
Nymphora's gaze on Chloris's retreating back.

I realize I'm playing a
deadly game.

I haven't been able to
sleep for days so I'm not surprised when, hours after being brought
back to my cell I'm still up staring into darkness. Sometimes I'm
afraid of the stillness, and when that happens I curl myself into a
ball and imagine the person I love most.

For the thousandth time
I think about my father, and how abandoned he must be feeling. Is he
looking for me? Has he stopped? Is he drinking more to fill the void?
I can guess the answer to the last question, and it only fills me
with more sadness.

I want to cry, but I
don't let myself break down entirely because I'm afraid I won't be
able to put myself back together. I allow sniveling sobs to come
through, hating how weak I sound, but craving the release
desperately. I permit myself to think about the idea I might not make
it out of here alive. In the real world I have no one to count on,
but unlike the real world, aliens and supernatural creatures that
aren't supposed to exist surround me. For the first time I find
myself wishing I had stayed invisible and unnoticed. What had made me
stand out to Rhys? Why had he taken me?

I'm exhausted,
physically and mentally.
What if I stop?
What if I simply let
go and surrender? Give myself to whatever they want, even the
crystal, and let myself fade the way I already was before all this
started?

Surrender can be a
form of release,
a dark part of me whispers.
If I submit maybe
I can see my mom again…

The floodgates open,
and I see her as clearly as if she's across from me. When I close my
eyes, she's in my memories, and her laughter trickles, linking one
image to the next. I see her face, pinched in worry, waiting
anxiously after my first day of school. I smell her skin when she
hugs me good night, and I can almost feel her hair brushing against
my forehead. I remember holding her hands as we walk through grass,
the sun creating drops of light that seem to center around the woman
who saved me from death eighteen years ago.