Carried on writing stuff this afternoon. Its the first day off work I've had in 12 days. So plenty of time to write and relax. I'm loving writing and constantly thinking about the book, even if I'm just taking baby steps now, and its all so rough and unpolished. Lots of fun.
Maruk
I opened my eyes. A wheezing sound came from my chest when I tried to breathe. It hurt.
‘Are you all right?” said a piping voice. Fighting my throbbing headache, I squinted to see the small pale face of a young woman looking at me. She looked right at me, her brown eyes making direct contact. I held her gaze for three seconds and then looked away. I burst into a cough, blood running down my chin.
‘I think that answers your question’ I said in a strangled voice. This woman in the oversized raincoat would likely turn me in to the Enforcers, or worse, the Royal. My chances weren’t good. The rain was no longer pounding on my back. I lifted my head momentarily to see she’d dragged me under the side awning of the street. The woman herself was standing in an oversized raincoat. She looked silly, her head just barely poking out of the folds. She was quite small for a female, roughly my size, and much younger than me.
The lifeless body of Lydia Savar still lied on the street, eyes locked open in death. Her throat was quite obviously sliced open.
‘So, what happened here exactly boy?” said the woman, bending down and looking at me curiously. She had a disconcerting habit of staring at me without looking away. There was something odd about this one. I quickly threw myself into a lie,
‘Well, I was walking along the street when she jumped me. I tried to defend myself but she beat me up pretty good. I was barely conscious, but I managed to take her blade and slice her in the neck before-,” my words trailed away, as the raincoat woman burst into uncontrollable mirth. “Such a good liar. I can hardly tell!” she giggled, clapping her hands together with delight. “But your story is such a shamble!”
A thin pale hand popped out of the voluminous raincoat, pointing at the corpse.
“There are slice marks from either side, so either you the fastest person ever, or you were using two weapons at once. Not to mention that she’s wearing a red scarf, which means she’s a finance administrator. Savar B-Class, I checked her wrist.” Her finger snapped towards the nearby building, “This is the finance office for the Savar family; so thus” now it rose in the air triumphantly,” she was walking out of the building as part of her usual schedule when you attacked her! How am I doing so far boy?” she said with broad smile full of pearly white teeth.
If I could’ve moved my arms, I would’ve wiped that arrogant smirk off her face and snapped her neck. Then I would’ve run franticly away in the opposite direction. This was bad, very bad. I had been caught murdering a B-Class. I was going straight to the mines. I liked my eyes still in their sockets. I closed them for a moment, shuddering about the horror stories I’d heard. I had failed the Driver. Having my eyes removed and my sanity shattered like an egg in the mines wasn’t an option.
I tried with all my energy to stand up, to get my body working in some way. The result ended me flopping pathetically on the street, barely upright as I slowly got on my knees, gasping in pain. I fingered the trigger mechanism for my wrist-blade, slowly pulling my hand towards my temple. One press and the blade would shoot straight into my skull.
I shut my eyes and pressed the button.
At the last moment, the raincoat woman grabbed my wrist, yanking it away from my head. My blade shot out and cut my cheek, a welt of blood oozing out.
‘I’m not done with you yet!” she shouted. She wasn’t very strong, but she held my arm in place. I was weaker than a child right now. I snarled in frustration, at my powerlessness, at my failure. I wasn’t even able to kill myself.
“Shut up you stupid bitch!” I roared with as much venom as I could muster. The effort made me dizzy. I collapsed back flat onto the ground.
“You not allowed to talk to me like that!” she proclaimed in a shrill voice. I realized, as a fuzziness started to creep into my body, that unless I got serious medical attention, I would doubtless be dead soon anyway. The thought comforted me.
I looked up into those brown eyes of her again, unable to suppress a grin. My last act of defiance; I sucked up all the blood in my mouth and spat out a thick wad, spraying her right in the face. She wailed, her small hands franticly wiping away at the gore. She looked at me with a confused look, I didn’t blame her. You could see she was the rich type. Clueless. At least I had taught her a less-
Two small hands, curled into fists, violently interrupted my thoughts.
Varis
He slumped back to the ground. My hands hurt. I quickly wiped the rest of the gross stuff off my face as best I could. I had never needed to hit anything before, but he just wouldn’t shut up!
I stood for a moment, the roar of the rain all around me. I was alone again, his body breathing only slightly. This was all crazy. A boy killing a B was outrageous. Still, it’s not like anyone cared about the Savar. I rolled my eyes, a second rate family at best. Still, I was intrigued. I had never met anybody like this boy before. He seemed unfathomable, unpredictable.
Definitely, I was going to keep him. This was far too interesting to just walk away from. I needed to know more about all of this. Anyway, he hadn’t told me why he’d tried to kill her yet.
I took out my orb of Gathari, about the size of my fist. Its silvery metal sheen swirled in my hand, ever ready to respond to my thoughts. Mother told me it was the most valuable thing I would ever own, that no matter what, I should always keep it on me and never lose it. It was a beautiful thing. I loved holding it in my hands.
Concentrating for a moment, I stared deep into the orb. Instantly I felt the connection, a million minds merging with mine. Bring him I told the orb. Two thick lines sprang out of my orb, curling around the boy’s shoulders. The rest of the Gathari wrapped itself around my arm and merged into my skin. The liquid shined bright in the dark; glistening with its silver beauty. I started dragging his body along with me, his weight now a feather as slowly, this strange boy in tow; I surged through the rain towards my home, the Spire. All around me, bells started to toll. A new wake cycle had begun.
Implemented some minor edits and stuff.
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