1st of Thema

Clack clack clack clack.

I stared at my canvas shoes. Breathe. You can do this. I ground my teeth and tried to steel myself for what was coming.

Clack clack clack clack.

My breath burned the back of my throat, my heartbeat kicking into a gallop.

Clack clack clack...

And that's your cue. Come on, you can do this. You've survived before, just — I ducked my head as the pointed toes of those awful black patent boots came into view, and a small, pathetic little whimper squeezed from my throat.

Clack.

The kreighvalden came to a halt in front of me.

Click. Those black boots swiveled, the heels snapping smartly together.

"Why is that one still here?"

Mousy Assistant flipped through her ledger for a moment, then whispered, "She has been fulfilling her labor quota, Kreighvalden. There have been no complaints."

My breath burned in my lungs. I shut my eyes and hunched my shoulders a tiny bit.

There was an unimpressed grunt. "It has been fulfilling its quota," the kreigvalden repeated slowly. "Well. We shall have to do something about that. I'm growing tired of looking at it."

One of the guards came fast-stepping down the line, planted a hand on my backside, and sent me stumbling forward into the middle of the aisle. I tripped and went down on my knees in the dust and straw.

The slap of leather — the riding whip against the kreighvalden's gloved palm — was all the warning I got. It was all I ever got. The first lash had me hissing in a breath through my teeth as pain curled over my shoulder. Once. Twice. Three times. I made sure to cringe with each blow but somehow held onto the sounds trying to tear out of me. I had to get to at least seven. Come on, you batfaced bottomdwelling slug-eating — Another slash of the whip wrapped around my ribs, sending an arc of fire racing through my lungs. With a gasp, I struggled to keep my arms straight. Three more.

Above me, the kreighvalden heaved a heavy sigh. "So stubborn."

Through a haze of pain, I listed a little sideways. Come on, Hagface, buy what I'm selling! Three more!

Again, the whip sliced through the air, biting into the bare skin at the back of my neck, then across my shoulders, then across the small of my back. And with that, I stopped fighting and let my arms buckle, collapsing into a shaking heap.

After a moment, there was a 'tsk tsk tsk,' of tongue on teeth, and then the kreighvalden turned and walked away. For one long, drawn-out heartbeat, I thought maybe I had failed. Dazed, I tried to summon the will to push myself back up for round two, but then there were quick footsteps, and hands were grabbing my arms, and I was hauled roughly off the ground.

I almost laughed, but the only sound that came out was a wheeze when I discovered it was Rushidi and Meera doing the hauling. Glorious.

For some insane reason, they didn't say anything. They just 'helped' me along. I let my head loll and allowed them to drag me out of the barn and up the track to the gatehouse, but then got my feet under me when we were past the fence. By the time was had started the long trek to the canteen, Rushidi relaxed her grip on my jumpsuit, then let go of me entirely, seeming content to let me do the work of walking up the hill on my own. To my surprise, she didn't leave. She walked along next to me, studying me, then shook her head. "You must be crazy stupid, filla."

Meera let out a dark chuckle and let go of my arm.

I swallowed and kept moving, doggedly hoping this plan wasn't going to go from bad to worse. 

Rushidi was still keeping pace with me, her hands clasped behind her back.

"Crazy stupid, or crazy brilliant. I've never seen anyone deliberately poke the beast." Rushidi remarked, her tone casual. "See, I'm thinking maybe you were using Kreighy to your advantage. Maybe you were manipulating her predictable predilections to get yourself a med pass." It was phrased as an innocent question, but she wasn't really asking one. 

My feet went still.

Rushidi rounded on me, her eyes narrowing when I met her gaze head-on.

"Just say what you mean, Rushidi," I rasped.

She grinned a little. "You and Kar are up to something."

Meera sidled closer and I flinched, backing up to keep them both in front of me.

Rushidi rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to stop you, newblood. I gotta keep Kar happy. She provides a valuable service." She aimed those calculating cat-green eyes at me again. "Just don't... interfere with the way things are. That's all. You do that, and I'll play nice. Understand?"

I blinked. Then nodded.

"Go on with you then," Rushidi smirked. She aimed a nod in the direction of the canteen. "And if anyone asks, we were with you the entire time."

I nodded again. Then edged warily around her and kept going up the hill, leaving the two of them behind.

This was shaping up to be a very interesting day.

~~~

The spring wind was blessedly brisk, at least, offering a tiny amount of relief from the stench of human waste.

Trying not to take deep breaths, I pressed my body low against the berm of earth and angled my head so I could peer through a narrow space in the pile of wood scraps above me. The berm was part of a narrow drainage ditch that led from the back of one of the Agriculture privy houses to the perimeter fence. The wood scraps had been artfully arranged to give just enough extra cover over the drain that a small, scrawny person could inch along the ditch without being seen by the guards stationed in the watchtower a few hundred meters away.

I was small and definitely scrawny. I was also covered in mud and wearing a jumpsuit Kar had dyed brown. With any luck, if the guard did look in my direction, all he would see was a bit of extra filth on its way to the drain on the other side of the fence. That was the hope, anyway. In reality it had been a nerve-wracking, painstaking, disgusting, twenty-minute crawl through the sewage running from the underside of the privy hut to the dip by the fence where I was supposed to wait for Karalli's source to make contact.

All under the nose of a guard armed with an ion rifle and an alarm klaxon.

So far, the guard had spent his time watching the expanse of no-man's land outside the fence and shifting his weight to keep his feet from going numb.

I took another long, slow breath of fetid stink and looked up at the sky. It was almost time. Any minute now —

As if my thoughts had summoned the signal, the loop of string in my hand gave a little jerk, then a more insistent yank.

Slowly, carefully, I began pulling on one side of the loop. Sure enough, a small waxed leather tube slid out of the drainage grate on the other side of the fence, attached to the string with a bit of twine. I drew it toward me, until at last I could open it and slide the cap off. A vial fell into my hand. Quickly, I slid the tightly rolled bit of paper Kar had given me into the tube and re-capped it, then kept pulling the loop of string around, sending the tube back to the drain.

The tube disappeared through the bars of the grate, and there was a faint tug on the string.

With a quick glance through the wood scraps, I scooted as far forward as I dared, and whispered a short, hard, "Wait! Don't go!"

I listened hard. For several seconds, all I could hear was my own heartbeat thundering in my ears. Then, in quiet, heavily accented Altyran, "There is no time!"

I let out a soft breath of relief, an incredulous smile tugging at my lips. The accent was Illyrian. I switched languages accordingly. "I worked with Orrelian. I need to get a message to the Illyrian underground."

Silence. Then, in Illyrian this time, "What is the message?"

"Tell them I'm inside, and I need to know what to look for."

Silence again. This time, it stretched into finality. Whoever had been in the drain, they were gone.

Well then. That's apparently all for now. I pocketed the vial and began the arduous task of creeping back toward the privy. 

~~~

Wincing at the brush of fabric on new lash welts, I shrugged into my red jumpsuit, then padded out of the makeshift shower Kar had rigged up in the trees, taking the steps into the back room of the med hut.

Kar turned from the sink and looked me over. "Feel better?"

I sat down at the small table that occupied the corner of what amounted to Kar's sleep-in kitchen. "Somewhat." At least I didn't reek of gutter anymore. I chewed my lower lip. I wasn't really sure how to ask my next question without giving anything away, but it wasn't as if Kar was on the Coventry's side. I considered my options for another several seconds, but there was no way around it. Kar had leverage I didn't. "Does Rushidi have a way to get into the headquarters building?"

"Perhaps," Kar said slowly. She crossed her arms and tilted her head. "What are you up to, gaini?"

I pulled a wry face, but then sobered. I couldn't risk answering that question. "I need you to convince Rushidi to get me into the headquarters. Consider it a trade for the medicine."

Kar stared at me. Whatever her thoughts were, she hid them well. Finally she nodded. "For the sake of the sick I will do as you ask... But I hope it is worth it."

So do I.

~~~

4th of Thema

Two days passed without word from Karalli, and no indications from Rushidi that anything was in motion.

On the third morning, the sector chief's staff sergeant came striding through the front doors of the canteen, interrupting the kreighvalden's homage to the Illustrious Trio on the wall.

There was a stiffly formal moment during which the kreighvalden and the staff sergeant greeted each other with funny little half-nods. Then the staff sergeant handed the kreighvalden an official looking slip of blue paper.

The kreighvalden read the paper. She frowned ever so slightly, and read the paper again. She gave another little half-nod, folded the paper into her breast pocket, and beckoned to one of the guards, murmuring an order before turning to address the rest of us.

"Sectorist 407-52. You will report to the Sector Chief for your work detail today. Come forward."

407-52. I had been waiting for something, some sort of sign, but it still took a moment to process the fact that she had just called out my number. It was too easy. I straightened, my pulse beginning to escalate as I shuffled out of line.

The staff sergeant doffed another crisp half-nod at the kreighvalden, then turned on his heels and started for the door.

I ducked my head and followed him like a meek little Sectorist. Behind me, there was a rustle of footsteps as the rest of the girls rose to finish saluting the Trio on the wall. Carefully, I glanced over my shoulder. Rushidi met my gaze, her own full of warning.This was not an alliance. She had done what I wanted, but now she would be watching.

Then I stepped through the canteen entryway and out into the packed clay of the yard.

Watch, listen, learn...

It felt more like I was edging out onto a tightrope, with a long, deadly drop beneath me.