Day: 3650

Days Left: 1830

Lives Saved: 19

Even after Sumit, the last person to leave the room, was long gone, Ivette and Corinna remained silent. It was a battle of who would talk first, a sign of weakness to do so, to submit. Funny and strange it was as Corinna was supposed to be one with all the power, the influence, ruling over the city, the guards her obedient puppets; even the democratic process could be manipulated, little incidents swept underneath the rug and out of sight, trials conducted, people who were willing to say a little lie if it meant to protect the city. That was all that Corinna wanted to do, to protect everyone, and yet there were people who meant harm, or who meant well but thought themselves better than her, to know better than her, of what the city, the people needed, who went above and over her, who kept secrets and lies, that could cause everything to tumble down. Rules were there for a reason, and punishments were there for when they broken even if came with good intentions.

And yet, despite what Corinna was capable of, she was facing Ivette, and somehow, that felt like she had nothing. Ivette had no weapons, no armour, no shields. What strategy would you use against such an opponent as Ivette? After being caught, the old woman had such a smirk on her face, as if to say to Corinna, 'go on, do your worst'. But what was that? What could Corinna do to make Ivette regret and understand what she had done?

'How long has this been going on?' Corinna asked.

Ivette raised her head slightly, eyebrows flinching as if not expecting that question, at least not that one first. "A few years," replied Ivette. "The tunnel took quite some time, all the way to the forest it leads."

Corinna swallowed.

That long? That long this had been hidden? She felt like an idiot for not having found it sooner.

"Oh, cheer up, don't look down on yourself," Ivette said. "It wasn't only you who hadn't noticed, everyone else hadn't."

'Who else is involved?' asked Corinna.

Ivette chuckled slightly. "No one else."

Corinna narrowed her eyes, wondering if this was true. Who else was she protecting?

"The only person I can trust these days seems to be myself," continued Ivette. "All of our friends... Whilst more help would have been appreciated, easier, it was difficult to discern whose side they would take nowadays. Asking any of them for help would be going against you, and I can't trust them to not fall under pressure and confess."

Corinna would have to investigate later if Ivette was indeed working alone or had an accomplice that she was trying to cover for. 'Why do this?'

Ivette sighed. "Why? Why help people?"

'Why do this in secret?'

Ivette straightened herself in her wheelchair. "You might not have had time yet to interrogate them, but what do all those people have in common"

'You are giving food away, food that is meant for the city.'

"None of those people I was feeding would ever be chosen by your standards," Ivette said firmly, though taking care to remain calm in spite of everything, like a restrained whisper. "They would never be chosen by you because they can't transform back, and they may never will be because they do not get the help that they need."

'We cannot take that risk.'

"I remember a woman who would take that risk." Ivette paused. "I remember that you never gave up on Harmony."

Corinna stiffened upon hearing that name.

"You remained by her side even though you never knew if she would be human again," continued Ivette. "And it was the same for Calixte. I remember you not giving up on Wendy too, on the imps, on the water nymphs. If you met your friends now instead of before, would you have shunned them away? Not given them a single thought that they had a chance of being saved?"

'You gave food away that the city needs, especially now.'

"And what about yourself? We never lost faith in you either when you lost your mind to your mask."

'We cannot take that risk now, there are too many people that would be at risk should we take on anyone that cannot turn back into a human. Why pick someone like that when we can choose someone who isn't a danger, who we don't to make extra time and effort just for them to be like everyone else.'

Ivette almost burst out laughing, though at the same time her eyes were beginning to water. "Extra time and effort..." Her lips pursed as she glanced down at her hands that were clasped onto the blanket covering her legs. "I think by your own standards, neither of us would have been chosen either." Ivette looked to Corinna's double amputee arms.

'We have chosen plenty of candidates with disabilities,' explained Corinna. 'Only a few prisoners in the Eternal Abyss make it without even a scar.'

"But only chosen if they're of use to you, yes? Either their monster mask or their skills?"

'That is the same for everyone we choose. We have limited space and resources and in order to keep flourishing and expanding, we need to choose the right people in the right order.'

"You were never going to choose them to live here."

'In time,' Corinna mouthed, almost spitting the words out. 'It takes time which we have in the Eternal Abyss.'

"No, we don't," Ivette hushed, shaking her head. "Though death is no longer an opponent of ours, we still battle against time." Her hands relaxed and smoothed her blanket over her lap. "I remember, all those years ago, you and I promised to help the people in the Eternal Abyss, to help everyone. I would ensure no one would go hungry, and you would provide shelter. It seems that only one of us held onto that promise."

'I will provide shelter for everyone. It. Takes. Time.' Corinna adjusted herself and looked down at the naga mask on the table beside her, a complete replica of Ivette's face. 'We cannot help everyone.'

"And here I thought that your ambition was limitless, the woman who would endlessly tinker and fret until everything was perfect and continue even after doing so."

'Not everyone is grateful. They are greedy and impatient, always demanding more when I have given them everything. They cannot do anything themselves.'

"I know you did not do this simply just for praise. Or at least I thought you hadn't," Ivette spoke gently. "You would go out of your way to help someone, even when they did not want you to, their opinion of you was nothing compared to their safety."

'Their opinion matters now. An opinion can grow into something that could destroy this whole city.'

"An uprising?"

'A coup,' Corinna corrected. There was a pause as she stared at Ivette's monster mask before turning back its owner. 'This will be your last offence, for handing out the city's supplies without authorisation, for treason.'

"I did my calculations. I made sure that the city wouldn't starve and had plenty," said Ivette, then added with a small smile, "I fudged the numbers on how much food we were producing to allow it. Trust me, I would never starve the city. I knew that the excess we were making would not go to anyone else."

'We already hand out food to those outside the walls.'

"Not enough."

'You still threatened the city by building that tunnel. We could have been attacked or structural integrity could have caused plenty of damage. Everything you have done, you have done without authorisation and gone behind my back.' Corinna paused. 'This will be your last offense,' she repeated. 'Do not go behind my back again like this.'

"No punishment?" Ivette frowned. "No time in the cells or in the stocks? Publicly flagellated or food thrown at me?"

'Your position as head gardener will be taken over by someone else, someone who will report the correct numbers. You can still work with the plants but watched until you are deemed trustworthy. The tunnel will be boarded up too. Once the group you had been harbouring have been questioned, we will let them go.'

"So just a simple slap on the wrist then? I was half expecting exile."

Corinna smiled sweetly. 'Everyone deserves a second chance and this was just a little mistake. The city would not have gotten this far without you, Ivette. We would be sorry to have you go.'

"That's correct, you would be sorry." Ivette smiled just as sweetly back at Corinna. "I'll decline your offer. I choose exile."

Corinna's smile curdled. She stared at Ivette, dumbfounded.

"You have to set an example, yes? This works in your favour too my dear. Prove to any uprising coup that punishments will be dealt, for... 'Treason'." As if on purpose, Ivette adjusted her hair, brushing her fingers across the nape of her neck as she did. "Do not worry, I shall return your property, after all that time and efforts you put into it." She tapped the arm rest of her wheelchair. "And with me gone, you can have the improvements to the farms that you always wanted to do now that you don't have to worry about it being accessible to little old me. Don't lie, I saw your original blueprints. And I'll even help you save face. We can say that I chose to leave so no word gets out about the tunnel. I imagine it would look bad on you if your toy soldiers threw out a frail old lady in a wheelchair out of the city for all the people to see, not to mention one who is revered as, what do some of them call me? The god of harvest?"

Not looking away from Ivette, Corinna raised her arm and then lowered it and smashed the naga mask with her prosthetic hand. The replica of Ivette's face cracked into multiple pieces, flying and clattering onto the ground.

Ivette was still for a moment, feeling the pain of her connection to her monster mask destroyed before she chuckled. "Not to worry, by dear. I will find one in another sector." She waved her hand dismissively. "Farewell Corinna Warren."

Corinna was about to sign something but Ivette had already turned around and the left the room.

Day: 3651

The multiple garrisons around the city were relatively empty now. Before they were a commune for guards, a place for them to gather and socialise, to do their paperwork, to train or to report in as they were relieved of their posts and handed over to the next group. With so many casualties and those recovering, many guards opted to not bother to return to the garrison after a long day and instead go straight home, doing their reports in the food hall, and handing over directly without a change of location. There was no time for training when most guards were exhausted already from overworking.

Talon returned to the garrison after finishing their shift in order to find supplies, their guard uniform feeling snug what with the small bird wings fused to their body, even flattened down, the clothes were too tight and Talon searched for any spare ones in size up, not wanting having to explain the situation to the requisition office. When you're in the Eternal Abyss, weight gain and loss wasn't really a thing unless you were absolutely starved for food and water. Plus, the requisition office were likely overworked with more important work than Talon just finding their uniform a bit too tight.

When Talon entered the garrison, they were about to light a candle to illuminate the dark room when they saw a silhouette of a person inside. "Who's there!" Talon ordered, reaching for their sword at their hilt. "Identify yourself now before I call for backup!"

"Wait! Wait! It's fine! It's me!" replied the shadow.

Talon let out a sigh. "Why didn't you light the candle?" They sheathed their sword then lit the candle. "I thought you were a thief" Then they paused as they saw Kai with a large backpack that looked quite full. "What are you doing here?" Talon asked slowly.

Kai glanced between Talon and then to the rucksack as if searching for an answer.

"Are you planning on leaving?" Talon saw the expression on Kai's face, the resignation the defeat before even attempting to lie. "Is it because of Ms Ivette?"

Kai sighed, his shoulders relaxing as he dropped the heavy weight of the rucksack. "It's because of a lot of things. Even way before the zombie attack, I was considering doing it. Maybe just temporary. My friends... My old friends are still in the same sector I last saw them in. I wanted to visit them for so long now after leaving things badly, and I guess I just kept on hesitating." Kai winced. "I guess it took Ivette to be exiled to finally give me the courage to do so."

"Ivette wasn't exiled." Talon frowned. "She left of her own accord." Even saying it, Talon's certainty failed. "Didn't she?"

"I don't know exactly what happened, I haven't been able to get a hold of Ivette, but I definitely know that Corinna found out about the tunnel. I suppose it is only a matter of time until I get found out too for being an accomplice."

"Tunnel?"

"Ivette was trying to help people, outside of the walls." Kai glanced at the floor. "She asked me for help but I refused to be involved but promised to keep it a secret. I was... scared of the consequences, of losing this place." He straightened himself and looked at Talon directly. "And now I'm still being scared and running away." He returned to what he had been doing before Talon came in which was to pack a few weapons and clothing and other supplies into the rucksack. "Feel free to arrest me if you want. I'll return everything, but I'll still leave this place."

Talon hesitated, looking back at the door, as if waiting to see if anyone else came in to make the decision for them. "This place you're going to, your old friends, what are they like?"

Kai paused, surprised by the question. "'They're good people, Klei and Wendy. Last time I saw them, they were trying to save as many water nymphs as possible. Dragging them out of the ocean and allowing them to heal finally, to no longer be constantly drowning. Henry said they're still doing that, and taking in any other prisoner who needs help."

"They don't turn people away?"

Kai smirked. "Klei was like some righteous hero in how he acted, about mercy and peace, though it was a bit annoying about how much he would harp on about it, what was right and fair." Then Kai added quietly, "Corinna used to be a lot like him, yet they somehow butted heads because of it."

"So would it be like this place?"

Kai looked at Talon, searching for something in their eyes. "Henry said they were still a village, so not a city like The Warren is."

"Just like the old days?"

Kai smiled. "Just like the old days."

Talon's arms wrapped around their waist hesitantly, finding a spot where they wouldn't feel ne of the wings poking out of their skin.

"Do you... want to come and see it?" Kai asked quietly. "Do you want to come with me?"

Talon raised their head. "The city is in a not so great place right now."

"I know." Kai sighed. "It feels selfish to leave. I feel like I'm going to regret any decision I make."

"The city needs my mask." Talon swallowed. "But I don't want to have to keep using it. I... I keep thinking about destroying it, just to see what would happen. If I would still be viewed the same. How would I be treated if I was no longer as useful."

Talon didn't need to say the name out loud, who would be the person that required them, that valued them as useful. They reached for their raven mask and stared down at it, imagining smashing it against the wall until it was in unrecognisable splinters. They used to love being a bird, the freedom of flying, but now it felt like the cage was getting smaller. "These friends of yours, Klei and Wendy, they're nice people?"

"Klei can be a hard arse, but he's a good guy. And Wendy's sweet."

"What about the others?"

"I don't know who else is still there-"

"Sorry, I meant... are you going alone? Did you not ask anyone else?"

Kai swallowed. "I asked more indirectly. Oscar is already planning on leaving. Sumit is probably going to stick with Henry, and Henry will stick with Corinna, same as Lili. Alfreda and Calixte will stay together and seem to not want to give on this place. And Rin... I think she's the same too." Kai sighed. "It was just going to be me and possibly Ivette if she doesn't plan on staying in the camps. Just me who is being selfish and abandoning everyone."

Talon smiled slightly. "We can be selfish together."

Kai's lips quivered, forming a whisper of a smile. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Talon breathed. "I don't want to be here anymore. I'm done with being used, or feeling like I have to for me to exist."

Talon helped Kai finish packing the rucksack with supplies, and Talon returned to their apartment to get any belongings before meeting Kai at the food hall. It seemed that Oscar had also been involved in helping those outside of the wall and there was another secret tunnel. Oscar saw them off, no one else as much as it pained Talon and Kai, and they left, reaching the end of the tunnel and reaching the forest. They shortly met up with Ivette in the outskirts of the camps, far away enough to not be spotted especially in their cloaked disguises.

Ivette practically burst out laughing as she that Talon had joined Kai in the escape.

"What's funny?" Talon huffed.

"Oh, my dear." Ivette cupped Talon's face with her cold hands. "I apologise, I was just imagining how the queen of the Abyss is going to react when she finds out you have gone missing."

Talon bit their lip. "I can never return here, can I?"

"Best not," said Kai.

"Good," Talon said firmly. "No going back."

 Whilst Kai caught up with Ivette on everything, Talon found Jules amidst the camps, the man startled and wordless at seeing Talon, not only on the wrong side of the walls but also in human form and not wearing a guard uniform.

"You're..." Jules began, his eyes tearing up, relieved to see that Talon was truly not stuck in bird form.

Before Jules could continue, Talon dragged him away, closer to the outskirts and out of view of the guards just in case of being spotted. Talon explained everything to him, that they were planning on leaving to another sector. Talon considered asking Jules to join them, but dared not, wanting Jules to make that decision himself.

"You don't think I'm selfish, leaving like this?" Talon's voice wavered. "When there are people I could be helping?"

"No," Jules breathed, shaking his head. "I... I think back to that time, when I called you a coward for running away, for not staying to fight against Annika."

"I was a coward-"

"No." Jules placed a hand on Talon's shoulder, and something passed in his eyes. Talon wondered if Jules had felt one of the wings, and had realised their deformity. "I don't think it is cowardly to get away from a situation that is making you unhappy, unsafe."

Talon swallowed, their throat closing up. Please, please come with me, they wanted to say.

"This village, I hope it is good for you," continued Jules.

"I'll send word if they're willing to take on more people." Talon glanced around at the camps. "I don't know what their resource situation is." They paused, hesitating. "Are you staying here, still?"

Jules looked at Talon, opening his mouth, before glancing away, then returning with a strained smile. "I am. I can't leave like this. But I do not think any less of you for doing so yourself, I want you to know that." He swallowed, bowing his head. "I never thought less of you for staying in The Warren. I suppose I had so many frustration about the whole thing and unfortunately, you were the only one who actually seemed to listen to me."

"I don't know how long The Warren is going to last," said Talon. "There were so many casualties, and with Ivette gone, I don't think morale is going to recover so quickly."

"And especially with you gone. Perhaps things will change."

Talon frowned. "What do you mean, without me?"

"You don't realise how much those birds matter." Jules smiled. "Don't worry about it. Maybe Corinna will be more likely to negotiate now."

Jules pulled Talon into a hug, seeming not to revolt at the feeling of the wings and Talon hugged him back just as fiercely. Eventually, they let go, their farewell despite awkward and painful ended with both having a smile on their faces. Jules saw them off as Talon left with Kai and Ivette deeper into the forest and away from the emerald city.