Scars of the Earth (13 page)

“Amanda was cold, calculating and deadly. She showed no mercy to him. The Ancients were right when they ordered death upon her. I only wish that I had seen that sooner. I foolishly thought that we could find another way, but she is too far gone. I can not be silent about the things that I have witnessed. They have affected me too much, they are still affecting me. My friend Carter is still missing.” He announced choking up.

He looked down at the podium for a long moment, apparently fighting back tears. His golden ringlets and round face made him look like a suffering angel, but only to those who didn’t know him.

Sure look down so that no one can see that you aren’t crying. You are probably trying with every fiber of your being, but you need a heart to cry. Nell thought.

“She took him with her in a rage. He was so brave and he is probably dead now. I will never question the Ancients again, it is obvious to me now that they know of things that we can not grasp.” He said firmly.

“So take comfort in them, they have only ever wanted what is best for you. The Ancients love us and we must not forget that in this difficult time. That is why the Guard is here with us. In every room that you tread they will be there, for your protection. Feel their love and your troubled hearts and minds will be calmed.” He finished to some applause. It looked to Nell like the Guard members were making note of who did and did not applaud. And she guessed that she wasn’t the only one who noticed as the applause grew suspiciously louder.

Nell was one of the last to leave the dinning hall, not wanting to take the long trek back to her room. She decided that she had procrastinated long enough when the room was emptied of all but the eerie Guard. She shuffled down one of the many hallways of the Hovel careful to keep her eyes on the floor. She had never seen her home so bare of Healers. The hallways were scarce of familiar faces and filled with ones that she had never seen before. Having the Guard members lined up around every corner, including the girl’s dormitories was so unsettling to her.

I have met Healers that were snobby, self righteous, deluded and sometimes down right rude. But I have never seen Healers full of such darkness. She thought.

She took her eyes off of the floor long enough to sneak a peek at the men lining the hall. Her eyes quickly glanced above her lashes and she stopped dead in her tracks. All of the Guard members were looking at her not even one pair of eyes was otherwise occupied. She looked down the hall in front of her and then behind, she was the only Healer in sight. She was alone. Panic overwhelmed her and she could not explain why. She started off again doubling her pace.

“Where do you think she is off to in such a hurry?” One of the men asked loudly.

“I don’t know, but it seems awfully suspicious. Maybe you should question her Chet.” A fellow Guard member laughed.

Nell kept her face down not wanting to invite anymore unwanted attention, but it didn’t help her. She felt a meaty hand clamp down on her shoulder and having not seen it coming she screamed in surprise.

“Ha-ha, how do ya like that? This one squeals!” Chet said to his comrades. Their deep chorus of laughter echoed strangely down the hall. Nell spun away from his grasp and started walking again hoping that he had had his fun and would leave her alone.

Just don’t look up, just don’t look up. She thought. He grabbed her by the wrist and spun her around, but she didn’t scream again not wanting to show fear.

“You do not turn your back on your superiors. It’s rude. Don’t you agree?” He asked still holding on to her wrist.

“I do agree.” She said quickly, trying to dissolve the situation.

“There you go, pup. That’s how I like it.” He said squeezing her wrist until her bones cried out. He obviously wasn’t done playing. So she tried a different approach. Maybe he will leave me alone if I stand up for myself. That’s what people say about bullies, right? She thought.

“Luckily, there aren’t any superiors around. So I don’t need to worry about turning my back on one.” She said attempting to free her hand. Chet was silenced by her remark, but his friends started laughing at him.

“She told you!” One cried out.

“Wow, smart mouthed by a little girl.” Another said. Chet’s face was red with anger and he pulled her nearer him.

“Aw, she ain’t so little.” He said.

“Stop!” Nell screamed as he pulled her hair tie out. He combed his fingers through her long blonde strands. She struggled against him but he was too strong, she couldn‘t move an inch. He began to run his hands down to her hips when a voice rang out.

“Get your hands off of her!” One of the Guard members shouted while stepping out of his place in line.

Nell looked up; her wide eyes streaming salty tears, and saw that he was one of the younger members of the Guard, although he was taller than most of them. His face was smooth and void of any imperfection, making him look younger than he probably was. The overhead lights shined off of his golden hair and Nell imagined a halo around his head.

“What did you say?” Chet asked letting go of Nell and turning to face him.

“You heard me. Leave her alone she is no business of ours.” He said in a strong authoritative voice. Chet took a step closer to the young man squaring his shoulders.

“Listen blondie, I don’t take orders from anyone. So if you are going to try and start something here you better be able to back it up. Cause I’m not afraid of a fight, especially if that fight is with some little baby-face teenager who’s balls ain’t even dropped yet.” Chet took another step towards him. “You feel me?” Chet asked.

Nell’s hopes deflated as she saw the wind go out of her would-be rescuers sails. His shoulders dropped and his face looked unsure, even frightened.

“Ya, ya. I feel you.” He said quietly. “Sorry man. Damn, I don’t know what I was thinking.” He apologized as a smile spread across Chet’s face. “Here man, no hard feelings okay?” He said offering his hand. Chet shrugged and took it.

As soon as Chet’s meaty hand was in his the stranger spun him around, pulling his hand between his shoulder blades elbow high in the air.

That can’t be comfortable. Nell thought happily.

The young man’s face was tight in anger as he kicked him in the back of the leg bringing him to his knees. He pulled Chet’s arm down further throwing his shoulder out of its socket with a loud pop. Chet cried out in agony.

“How do you like being touched?” The angry stranger yelled. Chet began sobbing and the baby-faced boy threw him to the ground. “I don’t want to see you get up, you stay there!” He ordered. He looked up to Nell, sky-blue eyes full of concern.

“Are you alright?” He asked as he walked over to her. Nell tried to speak, but was still so shaken that she had to clear her throat multiple times before her voice sounded.

“Yes, I’m fine.” She squeaked. He looked at her for a second.

“That didn’t sound very convincing. Here let me walk you to your room. Is that okay?” He asked, making sure that she felt comfortable with him.

“Yes, that would be nice.” She said.

He walked next to her down the hall, apparently oblivious to the angry glares that the other Guard members were giving him. Nell wished that she could ignore their stares so easily, but it was so frightening to be surrounded by so many hateful faces. She looked up at the man walking next to her and felt better. He had a grin on his face that was contagious.

“My name is Armaan by the way. What’s yours?” He asked. She thought it was funny that he could ask such a normal question given what had just happened.

“Um, Nell.” She replied.

“So is Um your first name then or should I call you Nell?” He teased.

“Nell is preferred to Um. But given what you just did for me, you can call me anything and I wouldn’t care.”

“Okay I’ll call you ‘Anything’ if you really want me to. So Anything how long have you been at the Hovel?” He asked. She laughed at the way his mind worked; she had never met anyone like him. Most Healers were so serious.

“I’m coming up on my fifth year. How about you?” She asked through a laugh.

“I’ll tell you what Anything, I’ve been here almost seven years but it feels like one hundred.” He tried to say it with the same lightness that he had said everything else, but she could hear the torment in his voice. His smile was in place but she could see that it wasn’t his real one. Before she could study him further he looked away.

“I’m sorry if what you did back there gets you into some trouble.” She said quietly so the Guard around them couldn’t hear.

“Oh it’s alright.” He said brightening back up. “I’ve wanted to bring Chet some pain for a while. Heck I should even be thanking you.” He turned to her and put a hand delicately on her shoulder. “Thank you.” He said with whole hearted sincerity.

“Um, you’re welcome…” She said unsure of what else to say. She didn’t know how to act around him, she had only known him for ten minutes and already it was hard to keep up. He was like the ocean, constantly changing. His eyes even looked like the ocean. They were a deep bluish grey and seemed to hide a million secrets below their surface.

She had been taking in his every detail as they walked and felt conflicted. He was very kind and attentive to her, making her laugh, and cautiously searching her for signs of shock. But through all of his kindness she could still see darkness within him. She stopped in front of her room and the expression on his face changed.

“Can I tell you something Nell?” He asked, looking at her pleadingly.

“Sure.” She said. Armaan leaned down to her and put his mouth next to her ear.