REM

Chapter 13: Back in business

Amaya had fallen asleep in her mother's arms. Small whistles escaped her nose every now and then, drool slowly seeping out of the edge of her mouth. The shoulder of the top her mother was wearing had been damped a while back, Mrs. Grant didn't mind, she just looked at the sleeping girl, rubbing her head in a loving manner.

Amaya didn't deserve any of the things that were happening to her, in the conscious state or otherwise. She seemed really tired, Mrs. Grant eventually took her upstairs and lay her in her bed. "Sweet dreams, precious, I love you."

Turning to leave, she realized that she was starting to hurt again. The things she was supposed to forget about popping back up. It must have been time for another capsule of sweet relief.

Amaya's subconscious seemed to have waited for Mrs. Grant to leave, for when she had left, the room seemed to swirl and fall away until she was standing right where she was during her last dream, in front of opaque.

"Ah, my dahling, I've been itching to talk to you again," she cooed, raking her long, blue nails across her skin to emphasize the point. "So, I have a proposition for you."

Amaya stood, dumbstruck. What in the hell was happening? Millions of questions and thoughts swarmed her brain, she eventually drew herself to respond. "I'm...listening?"

"Good, dahling, I'll answer any three questions you have. Only three, does that sound fair?"

"What? No! W-who are you," she sputtered. The woman couldn't possibly expect her to be comprehending all of this at the pace it was being thrown at her. It was all...too much, she'd been arrested in her own dreams. What was going on?

"Well, dahling, I'm opaque. The ruler of this glorious town, and all its inhabitants!  Everyone, everything, at my disposal, under my command." She reared her head back and let out a thick, syrupy laugh. "It's a grand job indeed. Now, for your other two questions?"

"Wait! That counted as a question?"

"Yes, dahling, it did. Now for your final question?"

Amaya's eyes bulged, there were many obscenities that she wanted to scream, but she had no clue what was happening. She didn't have a firm grasp on who the woman was, or what had happened to her once beautiful dream world.

She could only draw her mouth together to speak one word. "W-why?"

Opaque glanced down at her, her overly glossed lips drawn into a smug smile. "Because it's fun, why else?" She took another sip of her wine, ordering a nearby soldier for a refill, before throwing her head back in a fit of laughter. "Toodles," She waved her hand, the door behind Amaya opening. "Go meet the others at the end of the hall."

"B-" Amaya started, though the atrocious look Opaque's face drew into told her that she should probably keep her mouth shut. Besides, she needed a moment anyway, if no one else was  going to to tell her what was happening, what would happen later, she was going to have to find out by herself.

When she drew neared to the group, she noticed she seemed to be the only one that was upset about this whole ordeal. Jasper and Spade wore these nonchalant grins, as if they knew something everyone else didn't. Kiyon was smiling ear to ear, gripping on to Kane like the man was his savior. Riz still wasn't around, he hadn't been for a little while.

"Good news kid," Kane's low voice spoke up, his breath blowing away a few strands of dyed red hair as he spoke. "Opaque needs the cell your friends were in, so you'll all be together. If there's any funny business were not above..." He glanced over at Kiyon, carefully phrasing the ending if his sentence. "...Separating you from the group for a long time."

Kiyon's smile faltered at that, "it's true... I used to have a friend in my cell, but they had to go in iso- eesol- they had to go to a personal cell! That was a long time ago, but I'm sure they're okay!"

Kane's face fell, he winced slightly, as if someone had stabbed him with a butter knife. It was hard enough to hurt, but not enough to be obvious. "Uh, yeah Kiyon. I'm sure they're fine, I know they miss you. But they aren't in my quadrant, so I don't get to check up on him." As much as he hated lying to the small boy, it came out easily, like it had been done times before. "But anyway, come on. We've been here in the hallway for too long."

He led the group to the cell, letting all of the other children in first, but giving Kiyon a tight bug before he was allowed to go along with them. "I'll be back with dinner shortly, an hour at most. Do you think you can last, Ki?" The boy eagerly nodded. "Good, now you behave." He gave Kiyon's back a little pat before pushing him into the cell, locking the door before walking off. It almost pained him to lock the children in there. Almost.

He walked down the corridor, his combat boots squelching against the damp floor. Toward the kitchen he went, trying to see how much longer it would be before food was ready. Or at least they called it food, Kane called it barely edible. Riz often commented that it was 'recycled chewing gum with salt'.

When he was about to turn into the kitchen, already smelling the vileness that was his next meal, he was snatched to the side by Riz. "Hey what are-"

"Shh," Riz hissed with urgency. "Follow me," his tone low, his face dark and serious.

"Coulda just asked, you kno-" this time it was Riz's hand that silenced him, his gauntlet covered hands grabbing a hold of his lips. Once again, he was shushed.

Riz dragged Kane by the arm all the way to cell four hundred twelve, a cell that no one had used, or even dared to go in, not after the majority of the ceiling caved in. "Now, I've got something thing to tell you. You're going to listen, and you're going to listen good."

What are your opinions on the infamous Kane? Evil, or good?

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