The Secret to Flying - An MCYT Cyberpunk/Dystopian AU

18: Scar

:)

My eyes don't want to open. My head throbs with the worst headache ever.

I'm sat on a hard metal chair, hands tied behind my back. The room I'm in is empty, blank concrete walls around, the light above me buzzing constantly. 

'Hello?' I barely manage to speak. I'm in my pilot outfit. Why? I can't remember what happened. At all. There was a fight... and now I'm here. A prisoner. For... someone.

I hear a door open, looking over to see someone entering. Their long coat covers most of them, the collar raised over their neck, but I still see the shine of a metal arm. Their expression is wary, but not entirely unfriendly.

'How are you feeling?'

I'm immediately taken off-guard. I don't reply, figuring over the unexpected concern by this total stranger I'm a prisoner of. They take a chair from the edge of the room, sitting it in front of me and taking a seat.

'What?'

'You were in a pretty nasty plane crash, and before then it looks like someone tried to beat you up. I'm just wondering if you're doing ok.'

'Plane crash?'

'How much do you remember?'

I don't reply.

'Who are you?'

'How much do you remember?'

'The ceremony. The Listeners... wait you're a Listener, aren't you? You've taken me prisoner to... to...' I pull against the rope around my hands. 'To get all my Hawk information!'

'Correct.' I glare at them.

'Well, I'm not telling you anything, mister Listener!' The Listener continues regardless.

'Why were you in that plane?'

'I don't remember flying a plane.' But the last thing I remember was getting into one. Have I forgotten it?

'It's alright. Most of your injury was to your head, which often leads to loss of memory.' So this guy has some medical history. 'So we can work this out together. That was the first time you've ever flown a plane, correct?'

'How do you know that? Are you spying on me?'

'You're a Fledgling.' The Listener explains, like that's all I need to know. 

'Fledglings fly planes. The- we- we flew in the ceremony!' I try to lie like Elex did. The Listener shakes his head, clearly humoured.

'You just said that was the first time you flew a plane. Besides, Fledglings don't fly actual planes.'

'Who told you that?' Somehow I've ended up on the back-foot already. I've never been taught how to handle interrogations, but I've watched plenty. How is this going so badly?

'I used to be a Hawk.' 

'What?' I run through names of Hawks in my head.

'A long, long time ago now. They removed all evidence of my existence when I left. You won't know who I am.'

'Try me.'

The Listener laughs, remaining infuriatingly calm. 

'I remember Fledglings like you.' I watch as they stand, moving behind their chair as they speak. 'The wild, excited rookie-Hawks who bound around doing exactly what they're told to in their little flocks, obsessed with being Hawks, and getting to fly. They've probably watched the films a billion times, and have little figures of their favourite planes...' They laugh again, leaning on the back of their chair with their mismatched hands. Everything he says is far too true. 'Obedient, to an extent, all of them. An Officer can tell them anything and they'll do it, because they want to impress you and pass training quicker. Or they think they're better than their Officers and disobey. They steal planes and get caught by evil Listeners. Sound familiar?' 

Who are you?'

'Then there's the main bulk of the Hawks. The ones who've just passed training and think they're the best. They're the ones sit in the mess hall every morning telling stories of how amazing their first few weeks of proper missions are, and how important and valued they feel. But that always fades. They get in accidents, or they realise they'll never fly more than in training or ceremonies. Even then, they won't get credited for it. They arrive later and later to training, getting shouted at until one day... they're gone. Only a few manage to push through, trying to prove themselves... They either reach their peak and are happy there, or they continue until they're lucky enough to get promoted to Officers.' I don't expect the bitterness in the Listener's tone. There's years of pent-up frustration and anger, maybe even jealousy. I note his metal parts again. 

'Why are you telling me this?'

'I'm being honest. You don't want to be a Hawk, kid.'

'Well... well at least I'm not a Listener! Attacking innocent people.' The Listener quickly returns to his normal cold calmness.

'We were unarmed. It was supposed to be a peaceful protest.'

'I was beaten up! You... you bombed my plane!' 

'You crashed because you'd never flown a proper plane before. And then your co-pilot ran away.'

'My... co-pilot?' The image in my head of a solo-plane ride fades, replaced by the sound of Grian yelling instructions, screaming as we fell.

'That's what the Listeners who found you said. He abandoned you and let you be captured.'

'Grian wouldn't do that.'

The Listener shakes their head.

'You don't want to be a Hawk.' They repeat. 'They won't even accept you back.'

'How do you know that? I'm- I'm in contact with Xisuma! He'll know if I don't message him that something happened! He'll find me!'

The Listener stops.

'Xisuma?'

'Ex-captain Xisuma let me be a Hawk. He'll kill all of you.' There's fear in the Listener's eyes. I've found an advantage. 'We message each other every day. He's a big brain too, he'll know it was Listeners that caught me, so he'll send an army right here as soon as he can and get me back.'

'Xisuma knows where we are?'

'Of course he does, you silly goose! He's been waiting for an excuse to attack this place. Oh, and I'm friends with the Hawk who got the Blindfold burnt down. They'll find you and stop you if you don't let me go.' The bluff works perfectly. The Listener steps back. I smile. 'Oh, I know what you did to Officer Cub. I know you did. He was the greatest, best, most amoyzing flier of all time, and... and you attacked his home! And you killed him. And I will fight for him with the passion of a thousand Scars!'

The Listener's expression shifts again and, as he walks towards the door, says one last thing.

'Then I'll let you go, Scar. With one final thought.'

He lowers his collar, just enough for me to see the scar on their neck. A number.

135.

'Don't meet your heroes.'

:)