“Happy is the land that has a hero, but unhappy is the land that needs one.”- Bertolt Brecht, “The Life of Galileo” (1939)
May 31, 2019,
02:33 local time,
Larnaca
International Airport,
Larnaca, Cyprus
“What do you mean you
can't get a flight until Monday,” said an exasperated Norah Anam to the
Haligoner flight attendant. “My daughter...she has school on Monday, and I
gotta get back to work...we can't be here all weekend.”
“I'm sorry, ma'am,”
said the attendant, “but none of our pilots work on the weekend and there was a
massive thunderstorm in Halifax so our last run couldn't get off the ground.
You're more than welcome to go to another airline and pay for a flight from them.”
“...but that would cost
me thousands,” said Norah, her frustrations on full display in her thick
Irish accent, “especially at this time of night...and I don't even know if I
can get a connecting flight.”
“I understand your
frustration,” said the attendant. “It's a stupid policy, but in order to keep
costs down, Haligoner doesn't pay overtime, so no one works weekends. It's
really the only way we can keep our prices down as low as we have them.”
Norah gave the
attendant a dirty look.
“Look,” the attendant
said, “if you call them on Monday, I'm sure they'll give you a discount for a
future flight.”
“They can take their
discount and shove it up their arse,” said Norah. “There will be no way
I'll be flying with them again. Just give me the bloody ticket for Monday.”
The flight attendant
muttered to herself as she prepared the new tickets for Norah, 26, and her
accompaniment, her actual daughter Reverie, 12. The two were in Cyprus for the
autumn break from Reverie's school, Marian Federal University, in the eponymous
city of Marian where Norah worked as the Deputy Captain. Norah and Reverie were
Irish expats who fled the island devastated by an endless civil war, a war that
claimed Reverie's father. Reverie, though, arrived in Halifax when she was only
a year old, thus she had no recollection of her time living in Ireland.
While she was waiting
for the new tickets, another woman at a nearby bar ordered a ginger ale. Norah,
though, thought it was the flight attendant, who now had to deal with the full
brunt of Norah's anger.
“Excuse me, miss!”
said Norah, her eyes wide and her glare icy. “Did you just call me a 'ginger
fail'?”
“Woah, woah, woah,”
said the shocked and mortified attendant. “I did not do such a thing!”
“You did,” said Norah,
vociferously pointing at the attendant, “you did, didn't you? Otherwise you'd
woman-up and admit to it!”
“I...I,” said the
visibly uncomfortable attendant, who couldn't stop her stuttering. “I'm...by
Jove, really...I would never use such terminology...my best
friend...she's Irish.”
“Oh,” said Norah,
gesturing wildly, her tone loud and mocking. “You're going to play the 'Irish
friend' card...like I've never heard that one before!” Norah again
pointed vigorously at the attendant, almost thrusting it in her face several
times. “Well, let me tell you something! A friend isn't just someone you
go out drinking with and then steal their money when they get drunk...no, a friend
is someone you leave your baby or your dog with because you're going
somewhere...but you wouldn't know that you filthy whore of a Cauc!”
By this point, the
entire airline lounge had turned to observe the fight between the enraged Norah
and the now traumatized flight attendant. Some had even gotten up and started
to jaw with Norah, who wasn't afraid to stand up to anyone. The unrelenting cacophony
of yelling, angry voices quickly wore on Reverie, who buried her head in her
arms and curled into a ball on her seat out of embarrassment, until she got up
because she had about as much as she could take.
“Norah,” said Reverie,
who didn't speak loud enough to get Norah's attention. She then tried again,
but was unsuccessful. A third time, speaking louder, still didn't work. After
the fifth time, Reverie finally spoke loud enough to get Norah's attention, which
caused everyone to go silent.
“Norah,” said Reverie,
catching her breath and regaining her composure. “Nobody called you a 'ginger
fail'.” She then gestured to the woman at the bar who proudly displayed her
drink. “This woman went to the bar and ordered a ginger ale, which is
why you thought you heard what you did.”
“I even have the
receipt,” said the woman, who then displayed it.
“I don't know what
happened between you and the flight attendant,” said Reverie, “but I'm sure
whatever you're mad at, it's beyond her control. Getting mad at her is
useless.”
Norah let out a heavy
sigh and hung her head in shame. She began nodding slightly and looked at the
flight attendant with remorse.
“This is your ticket,”
said the exhausted attendant. “I even gave you $50 out of my own pocket so you
can rent a hotel room for a few days...there's one across the street, they have
rooms...”
“No,” said Norah,
downtrodden with regret. “I shouldn't accept your money...you don't make enough
of it as it is. I owe you an apology...I shouldn't have put you through that
ringer...you understand what it's like in Halifax...I hear slurs all the time...people
who can't accept a strong Irish woman like me.”
“Ms. Anam-,” started
the attendant.
“Norah,” said Norah
with a smile.
“Norah,” continued the
attendant. “I understand what it's like...I wish it wasn't like that.”
“Thank you,” said
Norah, who flashed a warm smile. “I appreciate everything you've done for me.
Again, I'm really sorry.”
“It's okay,” said the
attendant, who returned the smile and then went back to work.
“So,” said Reverie,
always bubbly and energetic even when she had no real energy. “What's the
scoop?”
“Well,” said Norah, “we
get to spend three more days here in Cyprus. At least two more mornings at the
beach.”
“Yay!” said Reverie
with a wide smile before a thought came to her, “but what about our flight?”
“There was a massive
snowstorm in Halifax that prevented our pilot from taking off,” said Norah,
“and Haligoner doesn't have another flight until early Monday morning. So,
we're stuck here.”
“At least we're stuck
in Cyprus,” said Reverie.
“You're right,” said
Norah with a fond smile, “and I couldn't have asked for a better person to be
stuck with.”
“Thanks, Mom,” said
Reverie as the two of them locked themselves in an embrace before starting the
journey out of the airport.
May 31, 2019,
14:29 local time,
The Office of Dr.
Thompkins,
City of Marian,
Marian Capitol Region, Republic of Marian
“I'm not sure I can go
back,” said Bruce McCrain, lying on the couch of his therapist, Doctor Romina
Thompkins. “I'm too scared.”
“Bruce,” said Romina,
“It's OK to have cold feet...you are starting a new chapter in your life and
it's scary, I completely understand that.”
“This isn't just cold
feet,” said Bruce, who began to quiver as he talked. “This...this is more than
that...it's abject fear...terror...worry. Panic that I may just snap.”
Romina smiled in an
attempt to reassure Bruce.
“I understand,” she
said, softly but firmly. “You have a lot to be angry about, I won't deny any of
that...but also remember that you took it upon yourself to contain it, to find
a way to channel it in the right way. To use that energy to make things better
instead of destroying things. Bruce...you've come so far, don't sell yourself
short.”
Bruce looked Romina in
the eyes as tears began to form in his.
“...but,” he said, “but
what if...what if destroying things makes things better? What if I am too far
gone that I can't be saved, that I should...that I should be destroyed? What if
the world is too far gone and there is nothing left for me to do but destroy
it?”
Romina sighed, doing
her best to keep a positive demeanour in the wake of Bruce's questioning.
“Bruce,” she said
calmly. “You told me yourself that in the days after your interrogation that
since you believed your father was trying to destroy you that you resolved to
not let that happen. That no matter how far you were knocked down and out that
you would always rise above it. Why do you want to give up on that now?”
“Because,” Bruce said
through tears, “what if I can't rise above it? What if I fail and prove myself
unworthy of this life?”
Romina got up from her
chair and leaned down so she could grasp Bruce's hand.
“Bruce,” said Romina,
“I never said this would be easy...there will be challenges that will make you
wonder if you can pull through...but, always remember this. Your father is the
way he is because he decided to let the world defeat him. He gave up, and that
turned him into the bitter man that beat you many times. If nothing else,
remember that you have resolved to be better, to not let yourself get defeated
by the world. For you are living proof that even in your darkest hours, you can
still see the light.”
June 3, 2019
06:21 local time
Marian City Police
Department
City of Marian,
Marian Capitol Region, Republic of Marian
Captain Roy Finnegan
sat at his desk, nursing a mug of bitter coffee that had long since gone cold.
Today marked six months
since he took the job in Marian. No celebration, no cake- just a date circled
in his mind like a bruise that wouldn't fade.
Roy wasn’t new to
command. He’d been Chief in Los Angeles for nearly a decade, turning a battered
city into one of the safest in North America. He had the medals, the press
clippings, the stats…but he also had ghosts.
The worst came from
last year. A brutal case- what seemed at first like a simple overdose in a
quiet downtown apartment. However, it spiraled into something uglier: an
arms-dealer's daughter, a missing confession, and Los Angeles City Councillor
Ellen Troy's fingerprints on the whole affair.
Roy and his longtime
partner, Zeke Coleman, had a suspect. They had enough to charge…and they did.
Case closed…but they both knew the real perpetrator, Troy, walked free. They
had seen her. Spoken to her. Watched her slink through the cracks like smoke…and
then watched City Hall close ranks.
The arrest they made
was clean. The confession airtight. Too airtight.
Roy had objected,
loudly. Zeke had fought too, but they were told- by men with polished shoes and
connections- that it was over. L.A. needed the case buried, and fast.
The fallout wasn’t
public. No headlines. No scandal. Still, Roy left three weeks later, and Zeke
followed not long after.
Now, Marian. A city in
the rise, or so they said. Clean. Ambitious. A new start.
Roy wanted to believe
it.
Needed to believe it.
Because if even Marian
turned out to be a lie... then there was nowhere left.
His phone buzzed. He
checked the screen, groaned, and ran a hand through his graying hair.
Here we go again, Roy thought. Please... let this one be
clean. Just once.
June 3, 2019,
09:00 local time,
Outside of the front
doors of the Marian City Police Department,
City of Marian,
Marian Capitol Region, Republic of Marian
“Greetings, everyone,”
said National Chief Ranger Norman Olson, better known as “Ranger Norm”, to a
large throng of reporters, dignitaries and other members of the public
(including Gordon and Mayor Sofia Falcone) gathered outside of the MCPD for a
press conference. “To all of you who are gathered here today or watching this
from home, thank you for tuning in. You will not be disappointed, I assure
you.”
Norm continued with a long,
rambling speech meant to promote his latest attempt at policing innovation-
many of which often failed, though the few that did work really worked-
which he termed “Heroes of the People”. From what could be construed from a
speech that ran off on too many tangents, the idea behind the “Hero” program
was a belief by Norm that policing had an “image” problem, and the Heroes would
correct this. The Heroes, Norm explained, would do little more than pose for
photos and engage in community outreach programs, all while wearing what Norm
called “stylish, attention-grabbing outfits” that were meant to evoke the
images of legendary comic book heroes, like Superman or the Green Arrow.
Reaction to the Hero
announcement was mixed. Some liked the idea of the Heroes, since they were
contrast to the dull, “faceless” police officers that the law enforcement
usually projected. Others believed the Hero program was a smokescreen for The
Republic of Marian’s deeper problems, like a lack of government support and
funding, that have led to the institutional rot of the Marianite police and are
the real sources for the public distrust of law enforcement.
As some would say- even
to Norm himself, who had no answer for the question- no “Hero” that does little
more than smile and wave will clear up the massive backlog of unsolved cases
that exist nationwide.
None of this was on the
mind of a young woman by the name of Sofia “Angel” McCrain-Embers, a cousin to
Bruce who was the first Hero hired. A slender but athletic woman, Angel had
striking red hair that contrasted nicely with her ivory skin and her light
brown eyes. She stood firm and tall, stoic in her demeanour that portrayed well
her inner confidence while hiding her nerves.
She was dressed in her
ceremonial outfit, a strapless bra with a wing-like design surrounding the cups
and actual small wings affixed to the back. It was complimented by leather
gloves, lace sleeves that reached her upper arm (topped with leather pauldrons
lined with glitter and tiny pieces of fabric that draped down the shoulder), a
metallic collar around her neck, a flowy miniskirt, knee-length laced socks and
high heels, alongside thick eye shadow and prominent red lipstick. Angel
designed the outfit herself, which Norm then created for her, making multiple
copies.
Angel took many
pictures in her outfit, which she would wear when she would make public
appearances and perform other ceremonial tasks. More “practical” battle gear-
using Norm's state-of-the-art technology- was provided for her and others in
the MCPD, which she would wear if she needed to.
Otherwise, she'd just
wear what would make her comfortable, all that would be needed as a MCPD
detective which would be her role when she is not on “official” duty elsewhere.
Angel smiled a lot
today, gracious for the appreciation of the positive attention she received
from everyone today. In the back of her head she wondered, would it last?
June 6, 2019
08:02 local time,
Marian City Police
Department,
City of Marian,
Marian Capitol Region, Republic of Marian
Norah gave her head a
shake and blinked her eyes a few times in a desperate attempt to jolt her
senses. Though she managed to secure a few extra days off to recover from the
jet lag of her trip, she was still groggy as her body still hadn't readjusted
back to Marianite time. She had a few cups of Captain Roy Finnegan's extra
strong coffee, but not even that would be enough to keep her awake. She jostled
the mouse and clicked a few things on her computer monitor in a vain attempt to
get to work, but, after a few moments, she again zonked out at her desk.
Meanwhile, a chipper,
energetic soul with bright red hair and an even brighter smile was making her
rounds introducing herself to everyone at the MCPD, excited to join a group she
hoped would become her new family. Some were more enthusiastic to meet her than
others, but, overall, the reception was positive.
Until it got to Norah.
“Hi,” said Angel, her
eagerness bubbling over the surface as she shook Norah's shoulder to rouse her.
“How are you?”
“What on Gaia's green
Earth do you want, you bloody dope?” said Norah, giving Angel a death stare.
“Oh,” said Angel,
slightly mortified but her boisterousness not abating one bit. “I'm sorry...I
didn't mean to wake you...it's just my first day here and I wanted to get to
know everyone.”
“Well that's just all fine
and dandy, now innit?” said Norah, who then put her head back down on her desk
in an attempt to sleep.
Angel stood there
frozen, wondering what she should do. Norah was someone important she wanted to
get to know but Angel also knew she had to leave the right impression.
Angel then decided to
stop overthinking, so she shook Norah's shoulder again.
“Leave me alone!” Norah
hollered, “I didn't sleep a bloody wink all night!”
Angel smiled nervously
before thrusting her hand in Norah's direction.
“OK, well,” said Angel.
“I'll be brief...my name is Angel...and you are?”
“Not interested,” said
Norah before slamming her head back down on her desk and nodding off.
She didn't have much
time to sleep as she was roused again, only this time it was a more troubling
voice.
“Norah!” said Roy,
yelling all the way from his office. “My office! NOW!”
Norah got up from her
desk, her mood dour and her face even more unpleasant, as Angel looked on,
embarrassed and despondent about the scene she just caused. Norah's look of
anger at Angel as she walked past Angel only further soured Angel's mood.
When Norah got to Roy's
office, she slammed the door shut and was about to start a tirade before Roy
stopped her.
“Don't you start with
me, Deputy,” said Roy. “Angel is the newest member of our team and we're here
to make her feel welcome. I will have no more of your garbage.”
“Oh give me a bloody
break!” said Norah. “She's just some clown in a costume that's going to
prance around town like an idiot so that the government thinks they can fool
the people into believing they have an advocate. Ridiculous...do the
dopes who run this town think the people are that stupid? Besides,
whatever happened to the police earning the people's trust the old fashioned
way...you know, by doing our darn jobs! No PR stunt is ever going
to get the people to trust the police.”
Roy let out a sigh. He
shared many of the same sentiments that Norah did, but he wanted to make the
most of the situation.
“Look,” he said,
calmly. “I understand where you're coming from...there about a million
different things this department needs before Angel should be brought in,
including a million bucks…but, I don’t make those decisions. I just run this
place, or at least I try.”
“You’ve said that to
me,” said Norah, her voice dripping with sarcasm, “what, about a hundred times
already before, just in the past month alone? Do you really think that speech
is going to sway me now?”
“I suppose I could talk
about your job,” said Roy, “and how part of it is to make everyone in the place
feel welcome.”
“She’s a McCrain plant,
Roy,” said Norah pointedly. “She’s just a slight notch above how much I want to
‘welcome’ her uncle.”
Roy then let out a
sigh.
“I’m not interested in
swaying you,” continued Roy. “The presence of Angel sways me very little
that Ranger Norm really cares about us or our jobs…and I share all of your
frustrations about her, the fact she’s a McCrain and your broader frustrations
about the state of the MCPD. However, the truth is…Angel isn’t responsible for
any of those frustrations. She’s just here to do a job and it’s our job to help
her do that as best as she can.
“Look, I’m not asking
you to have tea with her later today…I’m just asking you to welcome her and be
cordial. Make her feel comfortable here. At the very least, don’t take out your
frustrations with the job on her, because it’s not her fault.”
Norah looked on,
letting out a resigned huff and being less guarded in her stance.
“Listen Norah,” he
said, getting up from his desk. “If you’ve got a problem the idea of
Angel, then take it up with Ranger Norm…heck, maybe you’ll have better luck
with him than I do. Regardless, this is the situation we've been handed. We
gotta make the most of it. For now, go back out there and apologize to Angel.”
Norah just nodded
before leaving the office, feeling a sense of obligation.
She zeroed in on Angel
in the break room and walked up to her with a purpose, starling Angel.
“Hey, Angel,” said
Norah. “Listen...I'm sorry for being rude...I guess I'm still a little
jet-lagged from my trip to Cyprus.”
“Oh!” said Angel with
an enthusiastic smile. “That's OK...how was Cyprus? I've heard so many great
things about it.”
“Beautiful,” said
Norah, who actually began feeling a connection with Angel. “The breeze here is
nice and calm, but there's really nothing better than the Mediterranean
breeze...I mean, it was so magical...you gotta go some time.”
Angel smiled and nodded
her head in agreement as Norah offered a hesitant smile.
“So, uh,” said Norah,
“we cool now?”
“Sure,” said Angel with
a wide smile. “We're cool...we're totally cool. I thought maybe you were just
having a bad day or something...anyway, we're friends now.”
Angel offered Norah a
hug before Norah countered with a handshake.
“I think we're a little
too soon for that,” said Norah, as the two shook hands with Angel apologizing.
With that, Norah went
back to her desk to work while Angel poured herself some coffee.
“You actually got an
apology out of her,” said Park Avenue, who observed the exchange between Angel
and Norah.
“Oh,” said Angel,
surprised to hear that. “I guess she's normally, um, a hard one to please?”
“Yeah,” said Park.
“She's...a little rough around the edges...but, you'll get used to her. Gain
her respect and she'll be your strongest ally.”
“Just don't cross her,”
said Angel as she and Park had a chuckle.
“Yeah,” said Park.
“Won't end well.”
Angel and Park had a
bit of a laugh before Angel took one sip of her coffee and immediately threw it
out, giving her head a shake.
“You're new here,
aren't you?” said Park with a chuckle.
“How can you tell?”
said Angel, still grimacing from the coffee.
“Well, you didn't know
about Norah and you were shocked about the coffee,” said Park with a smile.
“Yeah, it's strong
coffee,” said Angel.
“Roy makes it,” said Park.
“It's how he gets through his long hours.”
“He must have some really
long hours if the coffee is that strong,” said Angel.
“I'm not sure he
sleeps,” said Park. “He's always in his office.”
“That's gotta catch up
to him,” said Angel with a tinge of concern. “No amount of coffee can stop
that.”
“To keep this city
safe,” said Park, “we need his dedication. It's inspiring, really.”
Park then extended his
hand towards Angel.
“Park Avenue,” he said.
“I'm on the Strike Force.”
“Sofie McCrain-Embers,
or ‘Angel’,” said Angel, heartily shaking Park's hand. “I'm the Hero for the MCPD.”
“Ah,” said Park,
nodding in appreciation. “You're one of Norm's graduates.”
“Yeah,” said Angel.
“First one.”
“Welcome aboard,” said Park.
“We're glad to have you.”
June 9, 2019,
23:49 local time,
Stately McCrain
Manor,
City of Marian,
Marian Capitol Region, Republic of Marian
Alfred Edwards walked
slowly as he walked towards the cellar. He had his gun out, certain that the
rumblings he heard around the house were that of an intruder so he had to be
prepared for the confrontation.
Fleeting in Alfred's
mind was the manor's lack of an automated security system, which Martha McCrain
kept insisting that he should install but Alfred kept saying that they didn't
need one, that Alfred was “all the security they needed”. He began to second
guess himself there the more times he had to lose sleep since any rustle was
enough to rouse him at night.
He stopped again to
listen to where the rumblings were coming. His eyes darted to and fro as his
ears were fine tuned to the surroundings, his mind waiting for them to detect
where the sounds were coming from. The rumblings resumed, in the place that Alfred
assumed they were coming from, so Alfred continued his descent into the cellar.
He waved his gun around
with one hand while holding on to the railings with the other, walking ever so
gingerly so as not to make noise going down the steps. Once he got down the
steps he again stopped to listen like a hawk looking for its prey to make sure
he knew where the noises were coming from. After hearing the noises again, he
walked with a purpose towards them, unrelenting was his intense focus.
He then came to a door
and heard the noises getting louder and louder. Whatever the intruder was
doing, he thought, they sure were not worried about getting caught...Alfred
couldn't believe just how noisy they were.
The rudeness! The
disrespect! Alfred could not believe it.
He then got to the door
and slowly opened it, leading with his gun as he walked through it.
As soon as he entered
the room, his anxiousness turned into relief then simple dismay and disgust.
“Kyle!” said Alfred,
yelling at his son. “What on Gaia's green Earth are you doing?”
Kyle and his companion,
Ecco, sat on the floor, saying nothing as they were completely overcome with
embarrassment. Both were naked, with used condoms dotting the floor and not
hiding at all what the pair had been doing. Liquor bottles- some broken, many
empty, some leaked on to the floor- were strewn across the room, leaving nasty
stains and an even nastier stench.
Worse, observed Alfred,
were the needle marks that he could see all over the skin of both his son and
his girlfriend, as well as obvious rashes around their noses. The needles and
the bags of powder were not too far away.
Alfred had no words to
describe what he saw. Recreational drug use was legal in Marian and Kyle was of
age to use them, so there was very little he could actually do to his son.
Still, Kyle's attendance at school had been slacking, and he was making too
much of a habit of partying and accompanying some very seedy friends, like
Ecco, who were obviously a bad influence on him.
“Kyle,” said Alfred,
attempting to begin his lecture before Kyle cut him off.
“Dad,” he said. “You
don't have to say it...I know, you're disappointed in me.”
Alfred let out a huff.
“Son,” he said. “You
want to have your fun, then have your fun...I'm not going to stop you...but,
yes, I am disappointed. I hoped I had taught you some responsibility...quite
frankly I'm worried about you.”
“Dad,” said Kyle, “you
shouldn't be...I have everything under control.”
Alfred gave Kyle a
look.
“Do you, Kyle?” he said
dismissively. “You're failing at school, you're staying up to who knows when,
you're ingesting who knows what into your body and look at you! Look at
you! You're a sickly stick who's wasting away your body and soon wasting away
your life. I'm not going to let you stay here at McCrain Manor if all you are
going to do is waste yourself on booze and dope. Get a handle of yourself!”
“I am, I am,” said Kyle
sheepishly.
“...and remember,” said
Alfred, continuing his stern rant, “once the money you got is gone, you're not
getting a dime from me...so you gotta watch it so it doesn't run out.”
“I know,” said Kyle.
Kyle then hung his
head.
“I don't know,” he
said, weakly. “I...I guess I'm just having too much fun partying. School...it's
not doing anything to for me...I feel like it's a waste of time.”
Alfred put away his gun
and walked up to Kyle, placing his hand on his shoulder.
“Kyle,” he said,
softly. “If you don't want to go to school, then you don't have to go to
school...just please, do something other than abusing drugs and alcohol.
It's not going to end well for you.”
“You've got money?”
said Ecco with excitement.
“Yeah,” said Kyle, “I
do, actually. I didn't want to make a big deal about it...didn't want the
Jokers to start asking me for money.”
“Oh,” said Ecco, “we
wouldn't ask you for money...our nightclub is about to get torn down because it
foreclosed last year and we've been looking for someone to buy it.”
Alfred's eyes perked up
when he heard that, point his hand in Ecco's direction.
“See?” he said. “That's
something you could do.”
“My own nightclub,”
said Kyle, who started to get dreamy. “The Jokers' Club...the finest nightclub
in not just Marian but the world...yeah, I like where this is going.”
“See?” said Alfred.
“You can make any situation work as long as you put your mind to it.”
Just then, more
rustling was heard in the distance.
“Hold on,” said Alfred,
again drawing his gun.
He again walked slowly
but purposefully towards the source of the noise, this time with Kyle and Ecco
right behind him. The anxiousness again returned, but Alfred did well to
project a calm demeanour that kept Kyle and Ecco composed.
They turned a corner in
the cellar and found an actual intruder who got herself into the refrigerator
and started to make a sandwich.
This time there was no
relief, only shock and surprise, especially from the poor intruder who was
downright terrified when Alfred hollered at her.
“Oh, by Jove!”
said the intruder, letting out a shriek before collapsing to the ground and
curling herself into a ball.
Alfred, though,
observed that the intruder was more scared than someone who posed an actual
threat, but that didn't stop him from giving pause.
He observed her body-
naked, her skin a pale purple hue. She was malnourished, but even if she was
properly fed she'd still have a skinny frame. She had scars and bruises all
over her body, many from going on what he assumed was a dangerous trek but many
other welts looking as though they came from devices of punishment, like a whip
or a belt. The scars of ropes lined both of her breasts as if they both wrapped
and squeezed many times, along with her nipples showing obvious stretch marks
as if some kind of suction machine had been applied to them at various times.
Her genitals were marked with obvious signs of penetration- some with
instruments that wouldn't have been comfortable for her- and her face was
punctuated by scars, most prominently a Glasgow smile, and two deep black eyes,
bruises which Alfred figured were not her first.
That was not what
Alfred found remarkable about her, as horrifying as her injuries were.
No, Alfred- as well as Kyle
and Ecco- noticed she had rabbit's ears on her head and a mouse's tail on her
back, which were actual, functioning body parts.
Shock was the feeling
that overcame the trio, as they stood there trying in vain to make sense of
what they were seeing.
“Please, please, please,
sir!” wailed the intruder. “The Devil has my sister and I've been on the run
for over a month...I haven't eaten anything in days...please, please, sir! I'm
just hungry...I...I don't want to hurt anyone!”
“OK, OK, OK,” said
Alfred. “Slow down, miss...”
“Sweetie,” said Ecco,
crouching down to the intruder's level so she could be less intimidating, “do
you have a name?”
The intruder barely
looked up to acknowledge Ecco before shaking her head for “no”.
“You don't have a name,
sweetheart?” she said.
“No,” said the
intruder, weakly. “I don't...and if I do, I never learned it.”
“Well, why don't I give
you one?” said Ecco, who put her hand on the intruder's arm and smiled when the
intruder place her own hand on top of Ecco's.
“How about Amethyst?”
said Kyle with a grin as Alfred gave him a confused look.
“Amethyst is a purple
gem,” said Kyle. “Her skin is purple, and I'm sure she's a gem anyway...so,
Amethyst.”
The intruder got up and
walked towards Kyle, wrapping him in the tightest and warmest of hugs. Kyle was
surprised at first, but as soon as he felt the intruder's tail wrapped behind
his own legs he reciprocated.
Meanwhile, the intruder
took to her new name with aplomb, so happy that she had met people who treated
her with real dignity.
“Amethyst,” she said
while still hugging Kyle.
“Amy for short, I
guess,” said Kyle, enjoying the squeeze as Alfred and Ecco looked on with
smiles.
“In any case,” said
Amethyst, “I'm so happy I met you guys...you reminded me that good people still
exist in this world. Thank you...thank you so much from the bottom of my
heart.”
“Listen, Amethyst,”
said Alfred, “we're going to have to take you to the hospital...get you checked
out. Whatever happened to you they did a real number on you.”
Amethyst nodded as her
and Kyle concluded their hug. Amethyst still had tears in her eyes, worried
about how the hospital would receive her, but she got the sense she was in good
hands so she didn't worry too much.
“I'll go get you some
clothes,” said Alfred. “Meanwhile, Kyle and Ecco...you might want to put on
your clothes as well...we've got a long night ahead of us.”
“A city of angels
always has a devil lurking in the shadows.”- Malian proverb
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