Chapter Three

The mid-morning sun was hot and humid as it beat down heavily upon the heads of the Chosen guards who were dutifully performing their tasks despite the terrible discomfort caused by the heat. Several of the guards had discarded the hoods to their thick woolen robes and several more had pushed up the sleeves, desperately trying to give themselves some bit of relief from the horrid temperatures, but they dared not do anything else. The Guardian was very strict when it came to the garb of his guards, and Lieutenant Alana would report to him if any of them were caught not wearing the proper apparel.

Alana watched the work of the guards from her shaded vantage point in a watchtower centrally located in the courtyard. From there she had the best view possible of each of the Chosen guards who came into the courtyard carrying, dragging or leading a prisoner and taking them to their designated cell.

She had been observing Simon for quite some time, strutting about the courtyard as if he was someone of high importance. He had been barking orders at several of the guards and up until that point he had actually been helpful, not that Alana was about to admit that to him. She needed to put him in his place but the weather was so draining Alana didn’t know if she had the energy to climb down the narrow flight of stairs to confront him.

Out of the corner of her eye Alana spotted two female guards half-carrying, half-dragging a young woman. The prisoner was barely walking and it looked as if the guards were having a hard time of it. She watched as Simon strode over and started yelling at the two girls, and Alana knew it was time to make her move.

She quickly stood to her feet and smoothed down her crumpled pale blue lieutenant’s uniform. Made of cotton, it was far cooler than the monk-style robes the rest of the guards had to wear, but it still was not shorts and a tank top like weather such as this dictated.

“Simon.” She stated in a loud voice as soon as her feet touched the hot dust of the ground of the yard. “Hold it right there. You two as well.”

All three immediately halted and the two female guards abruptly turned to face Alana, dropping their prisoner into a crumpled heap at their feet in the process. “Yes, Lieutenant?” The guard who’s name Alana knew as Ginny asked, her dark eyes studying her with alert attention.

Alana began to circle about the two girls, her eyes focusing on the prisoner who’s dark-brown, almost black hair now covered her face. She was in pretty bad shape and Alana wondered if they should even be bothered to set her up in a cell. Her hair, cut jaggedly by someone obviously untrained in what they were doing, hung in uneven lengths about her head, the longest pieces falling only a few inches past her jaw line while some of the hair had been cut nearly to the scalp.

“This prisoner,” Alana studied the two guards, at that moment choosing to ignore Simon and deal with him later. “What has been done to her?”

“We don’t know, ma’am.” The blonde guard, Kandy, stated, pushing a lock of her long hair over her shoulders. “She was one of the last prisoners The Guardian brought out to us.”

“The Guardian brought her personally?” Alana arched an eyebrow.

“Yes.” Ginny answered this question.

Alan glanced down at the fallen prisoner with renewed interest. Who was this woman that Jaffa would take such interest in himself? “Is she lucid?” Alana asked Kandy.

“I believe so. She was talking earlier, demanding that we bring her back to the city.” The younger guard replied.

Alana nodded, circling back to the front of the prisoner. She kicked a bit of dust at the girl and cleared her throat loudly. “Do you have a name?” She asked, her tone cold and icy.

The girl slowly raised her head, her hair falling away from her face and Alana had to bit her tongue to keep from gasping aloud. Beyond her arms and legs being covered with scrapes, cuts, and bruises, a long jagged gash ran along the side of her face, starting at her temple and ending just under the apple of her cheek. It had obviously been made from a broken bottle of some sort or a clumsily handled knife. Either way it had been made to leave a nasty scar, and that it would do, even if the girl received proper treatment.

“My name is Danni.” The girl slowly sat herself up, her dark eyes flashing defiantly. “And I demand that you take me back to the city, now.”

Alana’s lips played up in an amused smile. “You demand, huh?” She chuckled, shaking her head. “Honey, you’re in no position to be making demands. You’ll be lucky if I let you stay here.”

Danni shot her a murderous glance, but Alana brushed it off with a wave of her hand. “So what’s your tribe, Danni?” Alana stared at Danni, a mocking light in her soft blue eyes.

Danni clenched her hands into fists and kept her mouth firmly clamped shut.

“Oh, you don’t want to tell me, eh?” Alana’s lips twisted up in an evil smile. “Then I’ll just have to have the Guardian execute one member from each tribe until you tell me yours. Simon…” Simon hurried up to her side as she called his name.

“No, wait!” Danni cried out. “Please don’t kill anyone. I’ll tell you who my tribe is.”

“Well, who are they, Danni?” Alana challenged.

Danni’s gaze dropped and Alana could tell that her young prisoner felt as if she were betraying them with her words. “My tribe is the Mall Rats.”

Alana’s stomach lurched at the mention of the tribe that was so well known throughout the Chosen. The Mall Rats. They were the tribe the Supreme Mother had come from. They were the tribe that had killed Zoot. They were the tribe that Zoot’s brother was leader of. They were the tribe… Alana blinked, shaking her head. She would not allow herself to think like that.

“The Mall Rats, huh?” Alana frowned. “I have heard of you. Aren’t you the tribe that has been manipulating the city kids, getting them to do all the dirty hard work for you while you lounged away in your mall doing nothing all for the antidote that they didn’t need any longer?”

Danni’s eyes flashed defiantly and she shook her head. “If by manipulating, you mean giving away the antidote for free to sick and dying kids, yeah, I guess you could call us guilty of that.”

“You really believe that, do you?” Alana chuckled. “If you needed the antidote, then why did none of the Chosen who were affected by the virus need the antidote?”

“Everyone needs the antidote.” Danni scowled darkly. “It’s the only cure to the virus.”

“Cure?” Alana shook her head, her eyes grave. “I’m afraid you couldn’t be more wrong, Danni. This antidote, it is not a cure. There is no cure for a virus. Only a vaccination that can be taken before a body is infected. Any first grade student knows that.”

“No!” Danni shook her head vehemently. “I can’t believe that! I won’t! We beat this thing! We did. We had to of…”

“But you didn’t.” Alana moved closer to Danni, her face only inches away from the prisoner’s. “And when the virus comes back I want to be there to laugh in yours and all the rest of the pathetic Mall Rats’ faces.”

“You’re sick.” Danni snapped her head up, her eyes flashing with a dangerous light. “You’re sick and twisted as the Guardian.”

Alana chose to ignore Danni’s comments, instead, turning to Kandy and Ginny. “Girls, you are dismissed. I will take this girl to her cell myself. You too Simon.” She glared at the handsome young Chosen guard. “And if I see you loafing about you will wish that I had left you in the city with The Guardian.”

All three guards nodded and hurried on their way, Simon casting a tentative glance back over his shoulder, earning him an extra glare from Alana.

“You’re pathetic, really.” Alana turned her full attention back to Danni who seemed to be steadily growing weaker the longer that she stood. “All of you tribe leaders are. You all get here and think that you can escape somehow. But there is no escape. And even if there was, you wouldn’t really want to.

“Your pathetic city, its not the city you left behind. The Guardian has seen to that. He’s in control now. All your tribe, the Mall Rats, everyone. They’re either dead or in slavery now. You don’t want to leave this place. Believe me.” Alana finished softly, her voice sounding almost sympathetic.

“You’re wrong.” Danni stated firmly, her voice almost in a whisper. “I will escape and when I do Bray and I can work together and heal the city from all your Chosen garbage. We’ve beat the Locos, we can beat the Chosen.”

“The Locos?” Alana gave a sharp laugh. “Honey, you weren’t even a Mall Rat when they defeated the Locos.”

Danni’s eyes narrowed, but she said nothing.

“Come on. I’ll take you to your cell.” Alana wrapped her arm around Danni’s slim waist and began to lead her down the dusty path. “Believe me, you don’t want to give me any trouble because I can make your life hell on earth.”

Danni nodded slowly, the pain she had been experiencing during their entire conversation now beginning to show on her face. Alana watched her carefully out the corner of her eye, seeing the fire still burning brightly behind Danni’s dark eyes. She may be wounded, but Alana knew this one would give them trouble. And for some reason, Alana truly hoped she did.

~*~*~

Silver let out a long heavy sigh as she rolled over onto her back, staring listlessly up at the bottom of the top bunk above her bed. Long ago some prisoner had etched messages in the hardened wood for future prisoners to read. Most of them were rather meaningless, but one struck a cord in Silver’s heart and she whispered it aloud to herself.

“Two men looked from prison bars,” She murmured softly, uncaring if one of her cellmates overheard her talking to herself, “One saw mud, the other stars.”

She knew that the phrase was telling her that her situation would not look so bad if she had a different outlook, but for some reason she just couldn’t rekindle the hope that had once burned steadily in her heart. She was a prisoner. A captive of the Chosen and she saw no means of escape.

Silver closed her eyes, allowing the tears that she had been holding back for so long to slowly track down her pale cheeks. She and Wes had worked so hard to keep The Cheetahs together for so long. Despite all the problems that they had, they had remained a tribe, their strength coming from being together.

But now that was all ruined. All ruined when The Chosen arrived, taking her tribe and splitting it apart. Sending most of the girls to the Southern Province and the guys to work in the mines. Wes was supposed to be sent to this prison as well, but he had fought the Guardian. Fought and failed.

Silver wept bitterly as she thought of how easily the Guardian had ordered Wes’ death. As if he did not care at all that he was about to extinguish another human’s life. A small tremble shook Silver’s body as she realized that she would never again be able to stare into the pure pale blue eyes of her brother’s, so much like their mother’s.

“Hey.” The soft voice of Aya sounded next to Silver’s ear.

Silver quickly wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and turned to face the former leader of the Clarets. They had arrived on the same transport, and since The Cheetahs and The Clarets had done some trading in the past, they had talked, both exchanging promises that they would help the other escape by any means possible. But that had been before Silver had been told of Wes’ death.

“I head what you were saying a moment ago.” Aya whispered, a small smile adorning her face as she tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear. “Something about stars…” She trailed off, waiting for Silver to supply the rest of the mantra to her.

“Yeah.” Silver nodded, pointing to the scrawled message on the bed. “It’s written there.”

Aya followed Silver’s gaze and silently read the words, her smile widening as she did so. “That’s beautiful. I guess it’s really meaningful in our situation, huh?”

“Well, all I can see right now is mud.” Silver admitted bitterly. “The stars have all gone out in my world.”

“Don’t say that.” Aya touched Silver’s arm light, tentatively. No real bond of friendship had been formed between the two and it was obvious Aya was not certain how far she could press the young leader of the Cheetahs.

“Even if I don’t say it,” Silver sat up on her bed, ducking her head so she wouldn’t strike it on the higher bunk. “I’ll feel it in here.” She pointed to her heart. “They killed Wes.”

Aya’s eyes flared open. “No.” She gasped. “When? How?”

“Well,” Silver looked down, studying the pattern in the thin gray blanket that had been supplied for each of the prisoners. “Before I was taken away on the transport I heard The Guardian sentence him to death. They drug him off someplace and wouldn’t tell me where. Then that guard, the one who was hanging about for so long—“

“Simon?” Aya interrupted.

“Yeah, that’s the one.” Silver nodded, twisting one of her long dark brown braids around her finger nervously. “Simon. Anyway, I asked him if he knew anything about the prisoners who were supposed to be e-executed and he said that there was a big ceremony just yesterday where they were all killed.”

“Oh Silver.” Aya gnawed on her lower lip, concern filling her dark brown eyes. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

“No, I’m not okay.” Silver frowned at her, cross with the girl for saying something so insensitive. She quickly checked herself, however, and realized that Aya had meant no harm in her statement. “It’s just, well, it’s hard. Wes was the only family I had left. Apart from my tribe that is. And now I had no one.”

“But you have me.” Aya squeezed her hand gently. “I’ll be here for you. And the other girls,” Aya cast a nervous glance over her shoulder to where the three other girls who shared their cell either stood, sat, or paced about the room.

“The other girls?” Silver let out a sharp, sarcastic laugh. “I don’t know the other two, but if you think Xenia will be ‘there’ for anyone except herself, you’ve got another thing coming.”

“The tall blonde?”

Silver nodded, her gaze going over Aya’s head and settling on the leggy young woman who had been restlessly pacing back and forth beside the window for the past hour. She kept muttering things to herself, running her fingers through her long golden locks. It was quite obvious to all in the room that Xenia did not adjust well to being held in captivity.

“Well, I think I know the other two.” Aya said softly. “That’s Jenis. I think she’s the leader of the Brotherhood.” She pointed to the young brunette who was sound asleep on her bed exactly opposite of Silver’s. She had been in pretty bad shape when she was brought in, only waking up to eat the one meal that had been given to them before falling back asleep.

“The Brotherhood?” Silver frowned. “I haven’t heard of them.”

“They’re a pretty small tribe. Exclusive.” Aya explained, slipping out of her crouched position and into an Indian style stance. “Jenis and her husband were leaders of the tribe but from what I heard the guards saying when they brought her in, he was killed.”

“Oh, the poor girl.” A wave of sympathy washed over Silver as she studied the unconscious girl. The girl stirred slightly, murmuring something in her sleep and for one moment Silver thought she might awaken, but she remained in her dream-like state, rolling over and blocking out the rest of the girls.

“Yeah.” Aya agreed. “They were a really wonderful tribe. I’ve only met Jenis once before, but she’s a real sweetheart. She always tries to help everyone else out before herself.”

“What about the other one?” Silver motioned with her head to the girl who was sitting on the bunk atop the one that Jenis was asleep in.

“Grieco.” Aya frowned, obviously puzzled but the beautiful young woman. “She’s hard to figure out. Her tribe, The Heavens, are odd. She’s an Irish Romany Gypsy and into all sorts of strange things. All I really know about her is that you don’t want to cross her.”

“Interesting. I think I may have heard of The Heavens before. Very ruthless.” Silver mused, pulling her knees up to her chin and resting her hands atop them.

“That’s them alright.” Aya agreed, bobbing her head up and down as she ran her fingers through her hair, separating her burgundy colored highlights from the rest of her inky black mane.

A comfortable silence descended around the two newly found friends as they each entertained their own private thoughts. Silver closed her eyes for a brief moment, ordering her mind to push all thoughts of her brother down so she could remain cool and aloof with these strangers, but she could not shake the vivid image of his hurting blue eyes from her mind.

“It’s sort of creepy.” Aya stated, interrupting Silver’s tormented thoughts. Aya was glancing about the prison cell letting her gaze linger on each of the other three women in the cell with them. “Under normal circumstances I would never come within thirty feet of Xenia or Grieco, but here we are, stuck in a tiny cell with them.”

“Yeah. I just hope they don’t murder us in our sleep.” Silver grumbled.

“I don’t think they’ll do that.” Aya argued. “We’re all in this together. The five of us.”

“You mean six.” Silver frowned.

“Six?”

“There’s an empty bed.” Silver pointed to the top bed on the bunk that Aya had chosen to sleep on. “There’s obviously going to be someone else put with us.”

“I hadn’t even noticed.” Aya murmured absently. “I wonder who it might be.”

“We’re about to find out.” Silver stated, her eyes focusing on the two figures that were walking towards them. The heavy metal of the outside bars clanked open and Alana stepped through, assisting an obviously injured prisoner through the gate.

“Hello ladies.” Alana greeted them, a mocking tone in her voice. “I’d like you to meet your new roommate – Danni.”