Ciara didn't have a
nightmare in three years, until this one came along. There were gunshots,
screams, raging fires clashing her village. Her sister screamed at her to run,
but young Ciara was frozen at her feet, horrified by the terror sweeping across
her land. They dashed through the woods, far from the village, until one swift
moment killed her sister. One bullet shot in the leg. A mindless Rein
Guard founded them. Ciara couldn’t stop crying. This was the end. A gun clicked
right between her forehead, and the Rein Guard prepared himself to shoot her.
Ciara counted two seconds to die.
One.
Two.
Bam!
Ciara snapped
herself out from the dream, the trauma of her memory still heaving inside her
chest.
"Finally,
you’re awake” Ciara recognized that familiar voice. Rough, low, and
mischievous. It was none other than Liam Crude. “I was beginning to think
you were dead, you know.” Liam said anxiously, “Are you alright? Here, let me
help you up.”
Liam gently propped
her into a sitting position, a fleecy blanket draped across her lap. Her
fingers soothed the unusual, thick wool. Fox fur. An instinctive message
popped in her sensory cortex. She scanned the ground with her thumb. The floor is made out of hard wood. I must have slept
on the floor, with only a little blanket to support my back…Ciara analyzed.
Where is this place?
A warm hand touched
her cheek. Ciara flinched, “Hmm, no fever….Good…” Liam checked. Then the hand
was gone. “So how are you feeling today, Ciara?”
“I’m okay. I thin—” Ciara
paused, recalling the events that happened yesterday. “The fission bomb,” Ciara’s
eyes widened. “Virgo had accessed my memories and activated the bomb in 10 days.
Liam, we need to get out of this tower.” Virgo's words still haunted her. You are the missing piece to completing my
war plan. All I want your past, your present, and your little village down by
the stream, otherwise known as the Candidate’s memories. Ciara screamed
frantically, “If we’re still in this cell, we need to get out now! Everyone is
going to get killed—this is my fault. I should have fought her. I should have—and
now…”
“Calm down, Ciara.
Don’t panic,” Liam clamped her shoulders, as if he was struggling to keep her
down. “For now, I’ll answer you this. We’re not in that crazy tower, okay? So
try to take deep breaths and pull yourself together.”
"You're
lying," Ciara screamed, tearing Liam’s hands off her shoulders,
"You're supposed to be dead! The Rein Guards beat you up. There's no way
you can't escape them," Ciara shrieked, "Let go of me! She's trying
to kill me. I need to run. I need to get away, and—"
"Shh..."
Ciara paused when Liam leaned his head against her forehead.
"Ciara. We're
safe. I told you we're not in that tower, okay?" Liam whispered, "No
one is trying to hurt you anymore..."
Ciara shoved Liam
forward, still traumatized of the memory. She paused as a repulsive odor struck
her nostrils, the details quickly building up her brain. The smell is humid.
If the room smelled like a barn, then we must be inside a hollow cave.
Ciara analyzed. Despite being inside a cave, there should be an opening for
the wind to enter, right? Ciara whisked her head and scanned the room. Something
isn't right. Ciara thought. Whenever I speak, my voice creates a double
echo across the walls. Then something made her realize that they were…
“—We’re underground, somewhere buried deep in
the caves, right?” Ciara asked, and she heard Liam nodding his head. Underground.
She noticed it right away because of the earthy smell, the vibration inside the
concaved walls, and the wet-moisture filling the room.
Liam clapped his
hands. “Correct.”
“This is not funny.”
Ciara said sternly, thrusting her hands forward to knock him, but Liam wouldn’t
budge. “You brought me here so you can torture me again, just like what Virgo’s
henchmen did to me!” Ciara battered Liam with her fists, and still he wouldn’t
move. “I shouldn’t have trusted you. You traitor. You hideous, loathsome—”
“You got the wrong
idea!” Liam shouted, his fearsome voice made her silently still. “I’m not that
damn woman’s ally!” She could hear Liam's hands tightening into fists. Then
slowly, Liam turned composed, "Do you remember what happened after Virgo had
acquired your memories?"
Ciara nodded
cautiously.
“The explosion was
my plan. I saved you from Virgo.” Liam said calmly. “I saved you when a shard
of glass struck your chest. I was the one who brought you here, and you’re
telling me that I’m Virgo’s henchman?”
“Why should I trust
you?” Ciara said, balling his fists on her side. “Three days ago, you became my
new cellmate. You even criticized me because I’m blind.” Ciara lowered her
head. “Tell me where I am, or else…”
“Or else what?” Liam
taunted. Ciara gave him a murderous glare. “Hey, don’t get mad, you know.” Liam
said hastily. “Aren’t you happy now that you’re free from that prison?”
Ciara startled. Liam
was right, she should be happy. She was free from that miserable place—free
from those tedious observation tests the Specialists kept giving her—and free from
the Empress. And yet, she was still angry. She didn’t understand why. A shroud
of guilt, confuse and fear mixed inside her. If Ciara hadn’t been injured in
the first place, she would have given him another punch.
Then she heard the
door creaking open.
“Realia, have you seen
Lia—” a boy with a naïve voice said.
Liam sighed, “If
you’re looking for me, I suggest you wait outside and let me handle this,
Chase." Liam scolded, "Knock first. It's rude to barge in people's
privacies, you know.”
Ciara’s attention
was on the door. She noticed that it wasn't the steel cell doors in Sore Tower.
Instead, it was a door built with fur. Haystack, because the room smelled
like a barn. Ciara pondered.
“Sorry Liam. It’s
hard to memorize the tunnels, especially when class is starting.” the boy said
enthusiastically, spotting Ciara. “Is she the Blind Candidate!?”
“Yes,” Liam said.
“Now leave. I still have things to tell her, you know.”
“Alright, alright,”
Ciara sensed the boy was staring at her in awe. “Sorry to bother you.” The door
closed with a soft click, leaving them both in silence.
“Geez, he could be
clueless sometimes,” Liam muttered under his breath.
“Why did you save me?” Ciara squeezed her
head. “I’m the one who made this mess and put the lives of the people at stake!
I should just die…”
“Hey, don’t say
that.” Liam said sharply, “It’s not your fault. No one deserves to be the
Candidate, you know.” Ciara could feel Liam’s fingers brushing her tears.
“Crying won’t help you. Well, at least now you’re safe in Sputter Palace.”
“Sputter Palace?” Ciara repeated, wiping her
eyes.
“Yeah, you’ll get
used to the place…eventually. Can you get up?” Liam asked.
“Why? Where is this
place?” Ciara said urgently, “Please tell me. What have I done wrong?”
“I told you, you’re
safe.” Liam repeated, “Kyra will answer all of your questions. Right now, you
need to eat, so I’m taking you to the cafeteria.” Liam said, clasping her wrist
as he took her to where the haystack door was located. “Oh, I forgot to tell
you. Sputter palace is located underground, in the Casts.”
She flinched. The
Casts was the abandoned land of Round, and there were rumors spreading about
the anti-government people hiding in the forest. My rival enemies. Virgo’s words echoed her mind. Could it mean...
“Are you one of the
anti-government spies?” Ciara managed to keep her voice down, as they passed
the hollow corridors that smelled of moist grass.
“Vixens,” Liam corrected. “Of course. As I
said earlier, I’m a thief, and mostly thieves are born within the Casts,"
Liam assured, "But that’s only me. Some people here are excellent
fighters, and some people are survivors from the Part and other regions."
Ciara was
astonished. Survivors. She couldn’t keep her excitement down. There were
people like her who had survived the downfall of her village.
Unexpectedly, Ciara
jerked her hand free from Liam's grip, and ran off to the other direction, her
heart drumming louder in her chest. Liam shouted, chasing her from behind, his
footsteps tapping across the cavern walls. What if her sister was still alive?
What if her sister was here?
She couldn’t see a
thing, that was for sure, but she could sense where the path was sucking her. The
sounds split into two sound waves, Ciara guessed, so there must be a
two-way intersection in front of me. Trusting her instincts, she took the
left intersection that brought her to, what she guessed, was a corridor that
smelled of appetizing meat and stew. Her stomach growled in protest.
Thankfully, she could hear Liam's voice fading away, so Ciara must have lost him
at the back. Ciara kept running, crossing different intersections, when she
lightly bumped into the person in front of her.
“Ouch—sorry.” Ciara
thought she recognized the boy somewhere. After a few shuffling sounds, which
meant he was regaining his balance, the boy cried, “Hey! You’re the Blind
Candidate!”
“Um…yeah,” Ciara
muttered, and the boy chuckled warm-heartedly. She heard a wooden thump on
the pavement. Wooden cane? Ciara thought. No, it's not a wooden cane,
because if it was, the sound shouldn't be this loud and heavy.
“Don't worry, I'm
not going to bite you, you know.” the boy teased. This boy...Ciara
thought. The way he talks...it's so similar to Liam. The boy said
meekly, “I’m the one who—um—accidentally stumbled into your room. My name is
Chase, nice to meet you.”
“Ciar—” Ciara nearly
finished her sentence when a sharp voice cut through their introduction.
“What are you doing
here?" a woman barked. Judging by the sounds of her bare foot scraping
against the pavement, and the rustling of short leaves, Ciara knew the woman
just came from the forest. Why is she barefoot and wearing a coat of leaves?
“Don’t you know that the Rank 3
classes are already starting?”
“I-I’m sorry, Kyra.” Chase stuttered. “I was on my way to class when I
accidentally bumped into Ciara.”
Ciara paused. Kyra will answer your questions. Liam’s voice
echoed her mind.
“Hmm…” Kyra whistled, “So this is famous Blind Candidate.” Ciara could
sense Kyra circling her as if she was a prey. “I never expected you to show up
here, not when I have an important business to attend to, but never mind. Since you are here, I’m going to a few
reasons why I permitted you to stay in my Palace.” Kyra said, her voice giving
a loud vibration inside Ciara’s chest. Who is this woman? Ciara thought, her voice...it
sounds so terrifying as if it’s a growl of a tiger. Kyra continued, “You’re
foolish to let Virgo activate those fission bombs. What’s more important is
that those bombs cannot be deactivated without a specific power. The bombs are
generated with nuclear and thermal energy, which comes from the electrum source
of your memories. Liam told me that the Specialists did something to your
brain, which is why you have flawless instincts. Correct?”
Ciara was
speechless.
Kyra sighed, “Do not
underestimate me, blind. Now that you’re in my compound, you have no choice but
to follow my rules. And it ain’t going to be ea—”
“Ciara!” Liam
yelled. “You shouldn’t have run off like that! What were you thinking, you’re
still injured and yet—” Liam paused, “K-Kyra." Liam blurted, "I’m
sorry, but she got away from me.” Liam apologized. Ciara whisked her head to
her right, where she could hear him panting from the long run.
“I can see that,”
Kyra said darkly, “Blind Candidate. Remember this; if you cannot become a Vixen
member and stop the bomb before it detonates at the 10th day, then the whole
world will be in chaos. This is your responsibility. Do not forget that
everyone’s life is in your hands.”
Kyra turned to the
boys. “And you two! I expect you to maintain a wide search for those bombs out
in the woods. Who knows when those bombs explode; we can’t let those explosives
get into our territory. Is that clear!?”
Liam and Chase
answered. “Yes, ma’am!”
Kyra nodded. “Good,
you are all dismissed.”
They retreated back,
and after Ciara was sure that Kyra was gone, Chase and Liam burst out laughing.
Ciara was puzzled by their spontaneous reaction.
“That was close,
Liam. I thought she was going to punish us for something like this.” Chase
chuckled.
“Not to worry,
little brother.” Liam said proudly. “Once I'm in charge, Kyra wouldn't dare to
lay a punishment on us."
“Brothers!” Ciara
said unexpectedly.
“Yeah, what’s
wrong?” Liam said. “Don’t tell me you haven’t realized it yet. Oh, come on! You
always get to know everything first, so why didn't you know that we're brothers
from the start?"
"I
did," Ciara said sadly, "But I still doubted about it."
Liam and Chase
laughed.
“Anyway, hurry up," Liam said loudly,
"I'm starving!"
“You bet’cha.” Chase
beamed.
z
The three of them
crossed another corridor that led them to a dead end. Ciara could see a blurry
halo closing in. There's light coming from another room, so it’s not a dead
end yet. The divine scent of meat and boiled vegetables grew stronger when
they came closer to, what Ciara imagined, was a door.
“Who was that woman
a while ago?” Ciara said, as they almost reached the door. “And why is she
wearing a coat made out of leaves?”
“That woman you are
talking about is the leader of the Vixens," Liam said, "And her name
is Kyra, which means killer.”
Ciara couldn’t hide
her amazement when they entered the cafeteria. There were people chattering
noisily down at the center of the room, whereas in Sore Tower, there was only
silence to begin with. What’s more terrific was the scent of delicious food
spreading around her.
Liam poked Ciara’s
forehead, shattering her food fantasy into pieces. Ciara yelped. Liam laughed.
“That hurt.”
“Sorry, hungry
girl," Liam teased, "Come on. Let’s picked our plates—oh! As a sign
of respect for the blind, I’ll be the one to get your plate and serve your
food.”
Ciara shook her
head. “No, I’ll get my own food.”
“You can’t be
serious,” Liam gaped.
“Let her be,
brother. She wants to become familiar with the cafeteria.” Chase said,
understanding Ciara’s pride.
“Fine, fine. Do what
you want.” Ciara heard Liam’s footsteps striding to the left side, replaced by
more bodies and footsteps strolling past her. There are so many people in
here, Ciara thought excitedly. The sleeve of Chase's shirt brushed her
skin, so she knew that he was close beside her.
“Sorry about my
brother, he’s acting like a little kid again.” Chase said, clutching her hand.
Ciara could feel his sweaty fingers overlapping her hand. “Can I hold you like
this? Well—just in case you get lost in the crowd.”
Ciara nodded,
allowing him to bring her to the Platter station to get their food.
There's
a variety of food people can choose from. Ciara whisked her head to her right,
where she could hear the sound of plates and forks being placed on the table.
“I’ll get it.” Ciara
reached and grabbed the plate stacked in front of her—when a girl elbowed her
hand, knocking Ciara’s plate that smashed on the ground.
“Watch it!” the girl
barked.
“Fatima,” Chase
said, and untangled Ciara’s fingers to reach the broken plate. “Don't mind her,
I’ll get it.”
“Ooh, is this the Blind
Candidate that we’re supposed to worship? Looks like a piece of thin paper to
me.” Fatima snorted, followed by everyone’s laughter. Ciara’s ears went pink.
“Hey, hey, break it
up, Fatima. She’s just a newbie.” Ciara heard Liam running toward her. He's
coming in here. Ciara guessed, “And don’t treat her like she’s dirt. She’s
one of us now.”
“Yeah, right. She
can’t even handle a plate on her own," the girl—Fatima snorted, "Look
at her! She’s holding hands with your little brother!”
“If you bully my
brother, or Ciara, you are going to get it.” Ciara heard Liam cracking his
knuckles.
“Sure, I’ll bet you
lose this time.” Fatima dared.
Suddenly, there were
plates crashing, blades singing in the air, and chairs smashing on the floor. What
is happening? Ciara squeezed her hands on her ears. What’s with this
noise? It's too much...
Chase took Ciara’s wrist, both of them quickly
diving underneath the table cloth for safety.
“What is going on?” Ciara asked Chase.
“Liam and Fatima are
having a fight," Chase said, "But don’t worry, they always do that
all the time.”
All the
time? Ciara
wondered
“You see, here in
Sputter Palace, our members often challenge their rivals to a troublesome fight
to see who is the strongest," Chase said, "Our tradition mostly
consists of spars, survival skills and instincts.”
“Are they enjoying these fights?” Ciara asked.
“I guessed. To prove who is the strongest shall survive
the catastrophe events. That’s our motto, by the way," Chase blurted.
“Doesn’t Liam get
hurt?” Ciara asked worriedly.
“No, because Fatima
often loses," Chase admitted, "To tell you the truth, my brother is
strong, but..." Chase's voice turned gloomy, "Sometimes I worry about
him…if he can control his anger.”
Ciara wondered why
Chase was worried about Liam’s temper. People often get mad, but she had never
heard such a thing about controlling their anger issues.
Is Liam
that terrifying to everyone? Ciara
pondered.
“What do we do now?
Do we have to sit here and wait until the fight ends?” Ciara asked.
“Yeah, I do this
every time they get into a fight," Chase said, "Fatima hates newcomers,
especially me…because of this leg.” Chase patted an object that sounded like a
stick. Hollow sounds…the grasp of wood, and the sound of an empty shell
connected to a metal gear, Ciara calculated. So I was right. It's not a
cane, but something that is attached to Chase's body...
“I’m sorry. I know
you can’t see it, but this is my artificial leg. I call it my wooden
leg." Chase said, "Six years ago, I lost my right leg in an
accident. So as a replacement, I have to walk with this thing all the
time," Chase giggled, "That’s the reason why I have to hold your
hand. You don’t mind it, right?”
“Not at all.” Ciara
said, slightly stunned that Chase was similar to her situation. She was glad
she wasn’t the only one having a hard time groping her surroundings. “How old
are you?”
“Fourteen,” Chase
said. “Hey, Ciara. How did you become blind anyway?”
Ciara bit her lip.
Images flashed her mind. Sharp blades slashing her eyelids, heat of the metal
pressing against her skin, and the shrilly laughs of the people in white.
“I-I-I don’t know.
I-I don’t remember.” Ciara muttered, feeling nauseous.
Chase could easily
fathom her situation, “Me too. Painful memories, right?”
Ciara nodded.
“Well, I guess we
have to wait for Liam and Fatima to finish their fight," Chase said,
"Don’t tell Liam what I said to you, okay?”
Ciara put on a
placid smile. “Of course, I promise.”
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