Cadence Page 4

  The high commander turned to her with a smirk and said over the speakers, “Well, the people have decided their opinion of you and now they shall decide your fate as well, as is the custom of our ancient and orderly democracy.”

  The crowd broke into a cheer and suddenly merpeople were swarming about Astrid, pulling at her, yanking her down. This isn’t democracy. This is anarchy! Hands snatched at her arms and tail. She couldn’t see anything as she was pinched and pricked everywhere, and merpeople were surrounding her.

  “Stop! Stop!” she screamed.

  An especially strong grip landed on her wrists and pulled. I’m going to die, she realized with a shock. She was being pricked by many small, needled devices. Astrid didn’t know what they were, but she guessed whatever they did probably wasn’t meant to be helpful. Someone still had a strong grip on her wrists. Astrid flung her arms around in an attempt to shake it loose. Suddenly, she was pulled deeper into the crowd.

  She was still being attacked, but less and less. Confusion arose behind her, where she’d been seconds before. It was murky. She caught a whiff of the distinct smell. It has to be mind gas.

  She realized the pair of hands were still gripping her wrists. As one let go and began to pull her through the crowd, she looked up to meet their owner. Astrid couldn’t see his face at first as the fled the mob. She tried to free herself until the realization dawned on her, Someone’s rescuing me.

  Screams filled the water now and people pushed past Astrid, not even giving her a second glance. She saw a particularly crowded section of the city looming. The stranger made several abrupt turns, the final one into a dark, abandoned alley hidden from the view of the market. The brick walls were dotted with algae and dirt, but their cool sturdiness felt protective. She immediately peeled off the mic patch and tore it into a dozen pieces, scattering it over the ocean floor.

  Then her rescuer turned to face her. His eyes cut straight to her immediately and she gasped. It was the same boy she’d seen in the crowd.

  He quickly averted his eyes. His expression was very...unsettled? Confused? He sighed in disbelief as he looked into the watery sky and ran his hand through his hair in potent dismay. Astrid struggled inside herself. Why did this person just rescue me and why is he acting so frustrated? I didn’t ask him to do that. Astrid looked down at her hands and played with them nervously.

  After a few seconds she looked back up and said, “Thanks for saving me. I’m Astrid.”

  He glanced back at her again with a look of near panic...and yet, something more.

  “I know.”

  His answer was short, but there were so many emotions injected into it.

  “How did you know my...Oh yeah, the high commander introduced me to the crowd.” Why was he so upset? She examined him more closely. He wore a shiny dark red shirt with full length sleeves and his tail was a deep shade of blue she couldn’t stop staring at. He looked strikingly like an older Rune. She would have thought it was him, except for the fact that she didn’t want to get her hopes up and look like an idiot in the process. But...his face had Rune written all over it. She knew those features oh so very well. The resemblance felt like a knife through her heart, so she glanced away. I’m imagining things because this person looks like him. I’m just tricking myself now. Am I really that desperate? Or maybe I’m just going crazy, she thought sarcastically.

  Pulling her arms around herself she asked, “How about you? What’s your name?”

  He paused for a moment before answering. “Mist. My name is Mist.”

  “You remind me of someone I used to know.”

  “Sorry, but I’ve never met you.”

  Astrid paused and then sighed, It’s just my imagination running away with me.

  “Listen, Astrid, I believe you and I know these people are...hard to deal with. They were warned, so your job is done. I know a safe place where you can stay. I’ll take you there. You might want to put your head down and hide your face so we can avoid any more outbursts from bloodthirsty Veleens,” he stated kindly before turning and starting to swim away. His calm, controlled voice sent a wave of comfort through her.

  She began to follow, but he stopped abruptly and turned back around. “I forgot. Please sit down for just a second.”

  Astrid looked at him unsurely as she sat down against the wall. She didn’t know what to make of this boy. He came closer and knelt down beside her.

  “They hurt you,” he said quietly.

  She hadn’t noticed until that moment but there were six pricks on her right arm. Thin trickles of thick red Akaytan blood flowed out into the water and drifted down to the floor of the alley without dispersing.

  “It’s no big deal,” she replied.

  Mist didn’t reply, he just took a medical wipe packet out of a pocket and began to wipe her arm down. The little dots began to sting as pressure was applied.

  “What were they pricking me with?”

  Mist didn’t answer. After a few seconds he was done and stood up again.

  “I need to get you to the Complex,” he said under his breath, almost to himself.

  The he turned to her, “We need to get going. Come on.” His tone was urgent.

  Confusion swirled through her mind. She was trying to process the whole situation, but so much didn’t make sense.

  He took her hand and helped her up. She expected him to let go, but he didn’t. He just turned, his rough hand gripping hers.

  “Remember, keep your head down,” Mist said gently as they plunged into the noisy mass of people in the market.

  Astrid’s heart sped up as they swam straight through the crowd that wanted to kill her only minutes ago.

  They neared the edge of town. There were now only a few individuals here and there, which wasn’t necessarily a good thing. She felt exposed. As they passed by the colorful buildings, Astrid’s breathing sped up. Everything began to tilt. What’s happening? She could feel herself starting to fall.

  “Mist!” she called as her body filled with a dull sense of pain.

  He turned, his hand slipping from hers as she fell. The moment felt as though it were in slow motion. Her mind, which was beginning to cloud with delirium, watched her hand slide from his. It sent a wave of pain through her as she felt like it had happened before, when Rune had been pulled from her life.

  “Not yet, Astrid, not yet,” Mist whispered as he scooped her up. She was conscious, but every thought felt clouded and pain flowed through her. She groaned. Astrid examined Mist’s face. He didn’t looked surprised at all as he swam on, but he was intense and had an air of urgency.

  “What’s the matter with me?” she managed to ask.

  “They poisoned you,” he said, pointing to the pricks. “I know a place where you’ll be safe and can get treated.”

  His presence was powerful, and his jaw set with determination bordering on panic. He looked so much like Rune...but this was a perfect stranger. Why would he care about her?

  “Why?” she voiced her thoughts almost without realizing it. She felt herself heating up and things were becoming cloudy. Delirious. I’m becoming...delirious.

  Mist stopped in his tracks and looked down into her face, “What?”

  He resumed swimming as she answered, her eyes fluttering open, then closing again, “Why’re you doing…this? Helping me? In my experience...people are more prone to look down on you because they want to feel good about themselves...they have to have a class of people who they can despise. There’ve only been...two or three people in my entire life who’ve cared about me at all...who thought I...am worth something...but maybe everyone’s right. I’m only one of so many...how important can I be? If I died today only one person would mourn me...then l’d be forgotten forever…The other person is long gone...I hope in my heart that he escaped...but I know that’s just wishful thinking. My hope left with him...” in her delirium, she poured out her heart to him.

  His expression was unchanging as he continued on, though his eyes betrayed the s
torm raging within him. “You must have been very unknowing to go up there and tell the Veleens that the core is going to explode. They are a volatile people. For the most part they despise logic and enjoy bloodshed, and you just accidently gave them a new target. Whatever the case, I decided to save you.”

  Astrid heard the answer, but the ability to process wasn’t available to her. She faded in and out of consciousness.

  “We’re almost there.”

  She heard Mist’s voice, then her face started tingling. Blackness viciously and silently closed in around her.

  Chapter five

  Rune perched across from her on a rock outcropping. He smiled as they sat silently staring at the massive dome of the cave. Rune seemed to have an affinity for caves. They’d been friends for a while, and in that time he’d shown her quite a few. I think they make him feel safe, she thought.

  Rune looked at her with a grin and asked, “What are you smiling about?”

  “I was just thinking what a...unique person you are.”

  “Bad or good?” he asked with a laugh.

  “Let’s see, you’re confident and rather defiant, you don’t see any limits when there are nothing but limits for us, and...you’re friends with me,” she listed out on her fingers. “That last one sounded more like a reason when it was in my head than when I actually said it. I think those are all good things.”

  “Being friends with you counts as something unique...strange?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.

  She looked down. “There is only one other person who wants to be my friend, and she’s my sister.”

  Rune got up from where he’d been sitting across from her and slid down beside her against the cold, calming grey stone.

  “You’re a very special person, and I’m honored to be your friend. People don’t see your value— not because it isn’t there, but because they’ve been raised in a mindset where red-and-blacks are two-dimensional characters who can’t think for themselves and aren’t worth the time of day. You and I both know how untrue it is, even if it still hurts.”

  “I know,” she whispered. They rarely discussed the issue, even though it permeated every thought and action.

  “It frustrates me how everyone believes in the Sirof just to keep us in bondage,” he remarked.

  Astrid stared at him for a moment before quietly asking, “Do you think there’s anything else after we die?”

  “Not the Afterlife. The Sirof were never real, and that wasn’t either. But I can’t help thinking there must be something else.”

  “Like what?”

  He sighed. “I don’t know what to think. I’m lost when it comes to philosophy, so I never look too closely. I’m deathly afraid of it, Astrid. Look at what religion has done in Akayta.

  “Anyway, I just try to do my best to have good character and leave it at that.”

  Astrid paused for a moment. “Someday I hope to find the answer to those questions. It’s mind-boggling how much we don’t know about the universe, how much we don’t know about our own lives,” she replied, pulling her fin up to rest her chin on it.

  Rune leaned his head against the wall and looked up at the ceiling. After a moment he spoke, relieving the tension of the heavy conversation. “Alright, your turn...you’re unique because you’re...smart but don’t always show it. You’re strong, though someone watching on the street might not see it immediately. You love science, it’s an art to you. And you have a way of being there for people when they need you.”

  Astrid laughed. “Now you’re describing yourself.”

  He smiled. “You’re a beautiful person. That’s why I like you.”

  “Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

  He glanced back at her with a twinkle in his eye. “I meant a beautiful personality, but you are stunningly beautiful you know.”

  She just laughed.

  Breath rushed into her lungs and she grasped for it desperately— water had been in absence, it must have been. She needed it so badly, so badly. Her breath wavered as her lungs burned, trying to...needing to...suck in more, but also needing to breathe out. Her body shuddered as cold suddenly rushed over her and her eyes flew open. The dream only echoed for a second in her mind before she woke up fully. She tried to take in everything all at once. A black room filled with white instruments. She was lying in a white, soft bed and the lights were dim. Two merpeople watched her. They were both women.

  One looked young. Her cheeks were full, her heart-shaped face smiling as her wide frame hovered in excitement.

  She leaned over to the other woman, a brunette, and whispered, “She’s awake.”

  Their hair was pinned up in tight buns and they wore black coats. The woman with the heart-shaped face had her sleeves rolled up. And on her arm just below her shoulder was a black and red symbol.

  Astrid gasped. Nine. She’s a nine! Am I back in Akayta? No, they wouldn’t be taking care of me. Red-and-blacks were only allowed to have an hour of hospital time a year for minor injuries like scrapes, unless they were royalty. Besides, Akaytan hospitals weren’t painted black. Where am I?

  Her experience with the Veleens and Mist flashed through her head. She groaned as her memory cleared and she remembered her delirious conversation with him. She’d told him some of her innermost feelings, and that made her vulnerable. He said he was taking me somewhere safe, but where is here? And where is Mist? She tried to focus and ignore the nausea as she slowly sat up. The two women just floated patiently as they watched her. Their gazes were disconcerting. Astrid stared into the women’s eyes as the silence became unbearable. She had to say something to avert the pressure.

  She blurted out the first thing that came to mind, “Where is Mist?”

  They looked at each other in shock.

  “Mist!” one exclaimed.

  She turned back to Astrid, “What do you know about Mist?”

  Why do they seem so surprised? Mist brought me here, so they shouldn’t be surprised that I would mention him. I’d better be careful how I answer. Something is strange about this whole thing.

  Astrid’s voice cracked slightly from disuse as she replied, “I just know he brought me here and I was curious as to where he is.”

  “He brought you here!” gasped the woman with the heart-shaped face, whose blonde hair was just starting to come out of her bun.

  Astrid ignored the exclamation. Panic was starting to build in her stomach. She had to know where she was to regain some control or at least some understanding of her circumstances.

  “Where am I and what happened?” she asked.

  The blonde woman responded, “We found you lying right outside of the complex and quickly found that you’d been poisoned, so we took care of you. It’s been two days now. You are in the Star tribe.”

  Astrid wrinkled her brow, “The Star tribe? But there are only three tribes. Velee, Fillerra, and Akayta. And you, you have the mark of someone born in Akayta.”

  The other woman answered, “We will let the guider decide what he wishes to tell you. I will go alert him of your consciousness and he will come as soon as he can.”

  With that she abruptly exited the room, leaving the blonde woman behind. There was a pleasant air about her.

  She gazed at Astrid steadily and finally held out her hand, “I’m Adamaris. You can call me Ris. What’s your name?”

  Astrid hesitantly shook Ris’s hand, “Astrid. How-how long have you been here?”

  “I’ve lived here for two years. I ran away from Akayta when I was fourteen.” Ris twisted her hands together nervously.

  Unpleasant memories of a lifetime of abuse rushed through Astrid’s mind, and she realized that the girl before her must have experienced the same thing.

  “You’re sixteen years old? So am I. Actually, I’m about to turn seventeen,” said Astrid awkwardly.

  Ris suddenly sat down and took Astrid’s hands in her own, “It’s okay! Don’t worry, it’s great here. Not perfect, but so much better than Akayta. People won’t
despise you anymore You’ll see that you’re worth something. Trust me. I know.”

  Astrid smiled as a tear floated out of her eye. She felt an instant connection with this girl. They understood each other.

  It was only a minute before Astrid heard a whoosh and the other woman entered once again. Someone trailed behind her. Astrid waited for the person to come into the light. When he did, her heart fell into her stomach.

  It was Mist, but it wasn’t...he looked almost exactly like Mist. Only a few, small details seemed different. His nose was slightly more rounded and his hair was a little longer. There was also a different type of air about him...a frighteningly intense air...one that Astrid didn’t know how to read. Who is he? He stared her down. Frozen, his deep green eyes seemed to be analyzing her very soul.

  Astrid was at a loss as to how to start a conversation. Her other questions seemed void in comparison to his striking resemblance to Mist and...Rune for that matter. His face kept flashing through her mind. It couldn’t be coincidence that this man, Mist, and Rune all looked so similar. She also wondered at the shock of Ris and the other woman at hearing the name Mist.

  The man’s hands were clasped behind his back. His attitude was confident and self-assured. He turned his head slightly, but kept his eyes on Astrid.

  The two women went to monitors on the other side of the room, Ris giving Astrid a reassuring glance before she turned away.

  As they stared at each other, it felt like a stalemate, neither wishing to speak first. Finally he broke the silence.

  “I heard that Mist brought you here.”

  “Yes…”

  “I’m sure you have a great deal of curiosity, so I’ll explain.” He sat down opposite her. His focus on her was so sharp, it was almost disconcerting. “I don’t know exactly where to begin. Well, you met Mist.” A long pause followed. Heavy water seemed to pervade the space between every word. “He’s my twin brother. I’ll tell you more about him in a minute, but first I have to tell you who I am. I’m Rune, Astrid. It’s me.” Desperation filled his voice and face.