Charlie
"Today we will retrieve—"
"The Septar. Yeah. We're going to get her. Are you sure it's her?" I asked, just stalling for time while I tried to find any hole in her defense. "You said you only heard the scream once. From what, a mile away?"
Her eyebrow rose as she watched me stand up. I winced; my body was aching. I was not looking forward to showering. I glanced at her and saw that her hand was crusted with brownish- red liquid. My stomach turned at the sight of the blood. She'd said that it didn't hurt too badly, but that didn't tame my worry; it could be infected. Her arm was pretty much the same.
"You doubt me?" her small voice came as a surprise, though I couldn't guess why. I was used to stretching out every morning, but it would have to be skipped for once.
"No, Tane, I don't doubt you. It's just that the scream you heard could have come from anyone. It's a mental institution." That was basically my way of saying that I did doubt her, in every sense of the word. I pulled off my socks and began to walk to my bathroom.
I just wanted to put away any and all thoughts of last night. My stomach growled angrily; I hadn't eaten since the cafe yesterday. Speaking of which, I needed coffee. Black. Better to ground me around this angel.
"No."
I stopped in my tracks and sighed. Was she trying to be difficult? Or could she really not even put me at ease with an agree-to-disagree silence? I clenched my jaw and cracked my neck—I hadn't done that for years.
"Charlie," she said, and it sounded like a hum. I regarded her because her voice really gave me no choice.
I shouldn't have been surprised when Tane opened the closet door and a bloodied, dead Feeder flopped out, thumping on my carpet. But I jumped back and shouted anyway, grabbing my old tee-ball bat from behind my bed. I hefted it high over my head.
"WOAH! WOAH! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?" Even though I knew exactly what it was. Tane cocked her head to the side and steadily held out her hand to stop me until I lowered the bat. I didn't let go of it though. In fact, I might've tightened my grip. My knuckles were white, and my palms were sweating. I watched the thing, waiting for it to leap up and attack.
The body was pale and obviously lifeless but my nerves were on fire, sending little nervous thoughts to my brain. Call me a chicken, but my last encounter with the thing had not been a pleasant one.
Tane searched my face for a few moments before tilting her head to the left. Now was not the time for her to be adorable. "Tane, what the hell is that?" I hissed, careful not to yell. Tane looked confused. "There's a mutant in my closet!"
"I inferred you would not want it underneath your sleeping place."
My body weakened at the thought of that thing under my bed. "Tane—"
"You repeat my name as if there were another in the room," she interrupted, looking genuinely frustrated. "Do not condescend. Surely you did not expect me to leave the Feeder out in plain sight."
"Well, I sure as hell didn't expect you to stuff it in my closet!" I exclaimed, forgetting my volume. "Damn it, Tane. I don't know how much more of this I can take. First, you fall from the sky and land on my lawn. Then you go missing only to turn up at a crazy house. And then we get attacked by a monster that has Charlie shish-kabob on its mind. And now that exact same monster is dead on my floor."
Almost immediately, I felt I'd erred. She looked at me like I was a puppy that had shredded up her favorite book and didn't understand the error of my ways. Then she squared her jaw and she looked more like the queen of somewhere important, deciding how to execute a criminal. I didn't like the change.
Tane closed her eyes for a long time before she looked at me again. "I do not understand," she began, walking in an almost righteous way towards me. "I am sent on a mission. I attempt to fulfill it. Your life is in danger. I save you. Now you place blame because you do not favor the placement of the carcass of the being that would have swallowed you in three bites?" She was barely half a foot from me and her eyes were blue fire. "You will see to the body. I will bathe. If you desire to assist then do so, and hold your foolish tongue. Or next time the Feeder will have it."
I felt helpless as I watched the regal stroll of an angel as she strode into the bathroom. Her long pale hair drifted out of sight and then the door was closed. I left alone the fact that she had no idea how to use a shower and stared at the Feeder.
Now that it was dead it seemed much more human. I flinched quickly when I saw its finger lift. Was that a twitch? No, not possible. The thing was dead. I began to circle it as a vulture might only without the same intent. Dead. I kept as much room in between the body and me as possible. It was peaceful. Well, as peaceful as a creature could be with its throat slashed to ribbons. I'd never understood the meaning of the phrase until I saw what Tane had done to it.
The eyes were no less creepy with the skin molded over them, and I struggled to find the misshapen bump of what should have been the nose. Its jaw was bloody and ripped, like the injury had come from the inside. Its hands were curled under like claws; they looked stiff.
Tane was definitely the victor in that fight. She had walked away with a scratch on her arm and a gash in her hand. I would have to remember to ask her to let me clean those for her later. She'd already done a pretty good job of bandaging them from what I could tell. There was no way I was going to let three years of Boy Scouts go to waste the one time I needed them, though.
Quickly, I nudged the Feeder with my foot. I leapt back, not knowing whether or not it still had any fight left in it.
It didn't.
I glanced at my digital alarm clock. Ten-thirty. My mom would be up already. Taking the steps two at a time, I thanked God my mom wouldn't be able to hear Tane in the shower from upstairs.
"Mom!" I called, hustling to the laundry room. No answer. I tried again with the same results. I didn't need my mom just popping up whenever. Not that day.
My hands found a blue sheet that I hadn't used in months. I tucked it under my arm and headed back down the stairs.
Tane
How dare he? The insolence of him. The impertinence. Water beat against my skin in dulled assurance. I was glad that I could still feel so little when other senses were rushing back so vividly, so soon. It had taken me a frustratingly long amount of time to operate the falling water mechanism correctly. Charlie had not taught me the device.
Charlie had offended me. I almost wished to find another accomplice, but considered the difficulty in the time span I was given and the thought was soon discarded. I let out a sigh and thought of Gaius and what had become of him since my departure.
Had they paired him with another? Even temporarily, such a replacement was an insult. And if I had not been replaced with a substitute, what of my Gaius? He could not be expected to be voluntarily placed anywhere else but Edent, with or without a half-sense. I would never allow that. Palleman would take care of him, I was sure.
Perhaps another job then, instead of his training for the time being. A mission might be given for him to accomplish in Fismuth. He might have been sent to heal workers until my timely return. Gaius had always been a spectacular healer. But I could not stand to think him so lowered, so I turned my thoughts instead to more pleasant memories.
My thoughts found their way to my first outside training. Saera had dressed me in new running wear. It was crimson and snug. It seemed my heart was pumping electricity and nerves instead of blood that day.
All Third Stage Prestigious were led out to the contained courtyard. Gaius and I traveled hand in hand, our sashes around our upper arm to signify the athleticism that would be needed to complete our tasks. I was not the fastest; I had seen others sprinting in the field and could not understand how their bodies could allow them to acquire such speeds.
Saera scolded the worry I communicated on her palms as she said, "They are fast because they believe they are. Do not weigh yourself down with troubles. There is only the distance between you and your destination, nothing more." Her sweet voice was kind and true. I nodded and touched her hand once in thanks before I heard her flap her wings and take off for other duties.
Gaius quoted Saera then, as we stood, looking out over the colorless courtyard, splaying reassurance over the back of my hand. I tapped his hand in light acknowledgement. Gaius had nothing to worry about. He had told me of how running made him feel free and happy. He would be fast. I could feel the excitement from him already.
The courtyard was large in a sense of area, but only barely able to contain the few dozen Third Stages that waited for their turn to prove themselves. I turned my eyes upward and was met by brick upon strong brick up as far as I could see. Only the workers would be able to enter from the top. I found it comforting and ominous all at once.
Vines crept up the sides of the walls, mostly in the corners; I imagined they were very green. I heard the breathing of my fellow brothers and sisters. We lined in rank: Watchers, then Listeners, then Flares, then Feelers. Septars did not train for combat. I saw a tall man enter the yard. The training was about to begin.
The man was of frightening height and was most serious. I cocked my head to the right, examining him as closely as my eyes would let me. He was of a deep, dark complexion, his skin shining with sweat from a previous training. His eyes were dark and assessing. I was transfixed by the hands this man wielded. They were heavily scarred and the scars were lighter than the tone of his skin. I was saddened by the marks that marred him. Gaius squeezed my hand and the Watchers in front of us began whispering in their tongue.
His name was Grothos. The name sounded strong, and as I thought this, he spoke. "Strength is a state of mind. Such is weariness. Such is hunger. You will overcome." His voice shook with heavy truth. I was entranced. He eyed every one of us.
"You, Watcher." Grothos extended a hand toward a short Watcher with wiry dark hair. She stepped forward and her half-sense visibly struggled not to follow. The rest of us stepped backward until we were in sections against the farthest wall. "Run."
She did. She ran straight. She ran fast. She did not hesitate or falter, seeming to almost hover over the ground, as if she had invisible wings. In awe, I inched forward. Gaius had told me that all Prestigious learned this in their Second Stage. But I had been dragged entering into my third and had only had basic lessons in First and Second Stage abilities.
She was going to hit the wall! Fearfully, I squeezed Gaius' hand, not able to interfere. As if she had no sense of injury or inhibition, she took a bounding leap. It was almost like she had been walking on the wall because she flipped backwards and landed lightly on the ground.
Grothos nodded. "Return." She obeyed.
There was a long pause before Grothos seemed ready to continue. He scanned the Prestigious before him and began pacing the length of the courtyard. "There is a prophecy. The prophecy of The Last Fall. Of one Prestigious who will be our salvation and our destruction." I did not understand. I had not studied Fismuthian prophecies. That and other studies of the history of Fismuth were reserved for First Stages. I had been briefed by Gaius in our spare time, but nothing so in depth as specific prophecies. "That one will be born for our world, return to Earth, and be corrupted as the humans there have been corrupted." Gaius pulled me slightly behind him. I was confused. I looked up to him but his profile was all that greeted me, stern and unmoving. The Watchers became completely silent save for their breathing. The Flares inhaled deeply and cowered back towards the wall. I could hear the Feelers pulling up their fields of protection. "That she will survive until the prophecy is complete."
Then I heard it. The snarling of a Feeder. It was hauled in inside of a cage and it did not sound happy about its confinement. My eyes flickered to Grothos. Had he said she?
Grothos' hand was a blur of movement, and he was suddenly gripping a shauk. A wooden weapon used against Feeders in combat. I had seen shauks before, but I had never been expected to wield one. There was a sharpened claw at the tip of it, made for shoving into the Feeder's mouth and ripping out the side. The other side was just a point, to double as a stabbing weapon. It was just big enough to be held with one hand.
Grothos flung the shauk at me; it landed point down at my feet. I remained silent as all Listeners in their Third Stages must, but looked to Grothos in horror. He thought I could fulfill his prophecy?
Slowly, I crouched down and retrieved the shauk. Gaius firmly held onto me.
"Tane." I stepped forward, but Gaius refused to let go of my hand. I had never been in combat training before. Much less against a Feeder. I bowed my head to indicate my compliance, however resistant Gaius was being. Grothos signaled to the two workers to release the beast.
I looked up to the sky and saw an audience of winged workers gathering to watch. The Watchers whispered about prophecies and me. I did not know enough of their code to put together a full thought. Gaius was tense next to me.
It was released. The Feeder ripped out of its cage and thundered toward me. I moved to step forward to fight like I'd been ordered. Before I could do anything, Gaius tossed me backwards and sprinted toward it, a foreign-sounding roar erupting from his throat.
The Feeder and Gaius collided in mid-stride, Gaius tackling the thing to the ground. With a deft snapping sound, the Feeder tried to take Gaius' head off. I gasped and found myself frozen. The Feeder was on top of Gaius then, and Gaius kicked it off of him, making it fly over his head.
Gaius stood up and now that the Feeder had a definite target, it thought of nothing else. The two circled each other in a lopsided way, Gaius' back already having been ripped through by the clawed talons the Feeder possessed. Blood trickled down his back in uneven streams.
I looked to Grothos to stop the unfair match; Third Stages never trained with Feeders. Especially not Listeners. Grothos kept eye contact with me but made no move to end the spar.
The Feeder loped forward, unhinging its jaw and tearing up the distance between it and Gaius. My half-sense semi-crouched and then did a high front flip over the Feeder as it ran underneath him. But, as I knew would happen, the shriek came. It sent all of us Listeners to our knees, including Gaius. And then the Feeder was upon him.
Pulling myself out of such memories, I realized that trying to find pleasant ones were few and far between. The falling water had turned cold. I winced and looked down at my hand. The skin was open and bleeding; the falling water had loosened my bandage. My arm was in similar condition.
I struggled to turn off the water, reminding myself that the workers had pulled the Feeder off of Gaius before any permanent damage could be done to him. Later, I had asked him how he knew to fight the Feeder, if he'd ever done it before. As the workers rinsed off his wounds, preparing him for a healing, Gaius gave me a sad smile and stroked 'no, I have not' into my palm.
I tinkered, distracted, with the knobs on the device. The water stopped abruptly; I supposed I'd done something right. My arm throbbed with pain. I was surprised and displeased that I could feel it so keenly. I looked down and pulled the skin apart, making a tiny shard of glass barely visible. It was embedded in the tissue, but not for long. Biting my lip, I used my other hand to extricate the glass piece. A few stabs of pain and bit of blood later, the fragment was gone.
I stepped out of the confining space, shivering and feeling drained. My breathing seemed to hitch every few seconds. I dropped the glass into a bin and felt an odd shiver run through me. I found a cloth and relished in the sound it made as it dried and cushioned my skin.
Dropping the cloth and trading it for my crimson sash, I walked into Charlie's room. Charlie stood, panting next to the Feeder. The Feeder was wrapped in a large, thin-looking cloth. When Charlie's eyes met mine they did not stay locked for long. His gaze dropped to my body and then intently flickered away as he mumbled, "Where's that bag Dethany gave you?"
I retrieved clothes for myself and put them on. I tightened my sash around my hips and the bandage around my hand. When Charlie deemed me appropriately dressed, he looked back to me. He seemed uneasy.
"What ails you?" I asked, making no move to go to him.
"I just...I don't know what to do with the body."
A lie if I'd ever heard one. I waited a few more seconds, testing his faithfulness. Charlie remained silent and baleful. I did not press him for fear of more unwanted conflict. I needed Charlie and would allow him to present falsehoods if it would put his mind at rest.
"Come, Charlie. We will burn the abomination and then retrieve the Septar."