star chasers

vii.

Freedom was a strange and unfamiliar feeling to Lefty, a newcomer; one of repetition, boredom, and keeping busy. He spent his weeks reading and observing the social structure of the star chasers, where to avoid and where to stay. Most of them ignored him. Chu and Andro always seemed busy, in intense conversation about the cause or the future. Weeks flew without Chu passing him a glance. 

If you don’t have to be here, then why are you? 

He thought about leaving, but something in his heart always stopped him. A desire to see Remus fall? It had to be that. A desire to see the stars again? It could be that. The fact that he’d have nowhere to go if he left, besides the streets he didn’t know or back from whence he came? Probably. 

He soon found the training facility along the tracks, full of weights and punching bags made of tattered rags. A man with blonde hair past his shoulders was the only one he saw around.  He stood shirtless and sweaty, searching for weights, boasting the muscle of a trained fighter. Lefty found himself impressed.

“I haven’t seen you around,” the man spoke, testing a weight by lifting a few times, “This is the training area. If you want to run, you can use the tracks.”

Blonde hair reviewed Lefty a few times, puffing his chest. “I’m Apollo. I do a lot of important things for this place. So don’t get in the way.”

At this point, Lefty categorized the chasers into two separate classes: the nice hippies, and the assholes. He’d never seen a middle ground.

 Most days in the Remus camps were repetitive, too, but in suffering; wake up, train, get into a fight (in or out of the ring) and write, once most of the men had fallen asleep. It was suffering more at some points so you'd suffer less at others. Women at the camp seemed to suffer the most. Fights for women were nothing more than a rare treat for the local leader, who enjoyed it in small amounts, bursts of twisted dopamine. And he’d put more petite men, like Lefty and Red, with them, to ensure a fairer fight. He wanted to watch the women squirm.

Danger was a fighter constantly in fights with women, getting kicked from their barracks, coming home at night with a bloody nose. He thought it was funny, his escapades, but most of the men disapproved. Beating him up only fed the beast, the slurs in his words and flush on his skin like a birthmark. Lefty remembered it vividly; piss hitting the ground as he walked outside to be alone with his thoughts. Danger gave a crooked smile, still peeing as his eyes flew from Lefty to his pee trail. 

“You wish you had one of these, huh?” Danger slurred, laughing.

Lefty punched the training bag so hard, torn pieces of rag fell to the floor.

Apollo showed up in the same long hair and borderline hostile demeanor. Lefty made sure to stay out of his way. For someone with a fighter’s mark branded into his skin, he wasn’t one for confrontation.

“I hear you’re from Remus,” Apollo spoke one day, watching Lefty at a punching bag, “You must be an excellent fighter.”

“I was.”

“So you didn’t pulverize that Remus guard?”

“I am.” Lefty gave a frustrated smile. 

“Chu and Andro seem to trust you, even though you messed up. I hope I can do the same. One wrong move, and I might be the one you’re fighting.”

Chu, on the other hand, spent the next few weeks talking to Atlas about what to do with the stolen Remus truck, how to clean it of fear and bowel movements, and what to say to Apollo, who just came back from a mission Chu should have been assigned to. He caught Lefty in his gazes every now and then before meeting with Andeo and Apollo about various missions. 

“What’s up, starchild?” Apollo held his arms out wide, that smile on his face like he was always in on something you didn’t know, “Miss me?”

“No.” Chu replied, deadpan.

“I found some blueprints, did you hear?”

“That’s amazing, Apollo.”

“Wait,” his eyes grew wide in disbelief, “Are you mad that you were left off the mission to jack off a bunch of Remus fighters?”

“What’s your relay on the blueprints?” Andro spoke, breaking the argument before it could begin.

For the most part, Andromeda sat with other chasers to scour for any semblance of past societies. Most chasers were descendants of scientists, intellectuals, or people of great athletic skill. Chu remembered mock meetings like these, back when Andro’s father still lived, where he’d invite them to listen to discussions of missions and policy. Andro could remember the days she spent in that office. Her father taught her, over the years, how to organize things, who to trust with what, to choose your inner circle wisely. He never taught her to form relationships and love the world like Chu did, or to do things in the moment, like Apollo. As for Apollo, he remembered running along the tracks, singing songs with his father and the other men that raised him. The mock meetings were boring.  He, too, found himself wondering if the life of someone like Chu was easier, selling goods, knowing the constellations well enough to navigate back home with nothing more than a can of beans. At least Apollo could climb gates and fight if he had to.

“Most of the materials needed are rare,” Apollo pulled the blueprints from his satchel.

“How long will this take?”

A pause, contemplative.

“Five to seven years. Its progress. We just need to recruit.” Andro adjusted her boots.

“For now, we need to focus on the problem here.”

“So what’s your idea?”

Chu leaned in, “We’ve been going too easy on Remus, with guard allies and raids. We need to infiltrate for the long run - find our way to the top.”

“Pull the weed from the roots,” Apollo murmured. 

Andro smiled. “Let’s discuss.” 

Soon the discussion ended, and Apollo went off to do something else, easily distracted as he was: get a drink, talk to someone, grab some food. Chu would have to revisit the market to grab more supplies, discussing logistics with Andro.  

“Have fun on your mission, but don’t think this is a favor,” she pointed a finger at him, “I’m only assigning you to it because I can trust you.”

“Not because you feel bad for leaving me off the last one?”

“Nope. Not at all.” she hid her smile.

Chu walked towards Lefty’s cot. The fighter, caked with sweat from training, quickly moved his fingers to braid his hair. It had grown long since the last time they’d seen each other. He held a smile on his face, though small and subtle, as he got up and shook Chu’s hand. Chu drew him in for a hug. He tensed in surprise.

“Nice to see you, brother. We’ve got a mission for you, pack some supplies.”

“We’ll be gone long?” he asked, returning to his hair.

“At least a month or two.”

“Remus, huh?” 

Chu paused with a look on his face that Lefty couldn’t pinpoint. It almost looked like concern.

He nodded. “We’re starting the ultimate mission. More details once we get going. Scrap and Apollo are coming, too."

Lefty could feel the hours stretching between the night and morning, the moment of truth, reentering the world he had been caged in for so long, but on the other side. A mirror image. The thoughts of the past and worries of the future began to blend as rest took over his body.