Chapter 23 – EVO
***Tirnanog, Northern Mountain Range***
***Astra***
The days passed quickly as Thalia led our diminished group through the mountain range from one shelter to the next. My friend was holding a tight rein over the group’s tasks, replacing Liam in every way possible except for actually being him.Updated from novelb(i)n.c(o)m
I could sense that the loss of comrades and friends weighed heavily on us. Most of all on Charite and Hailey, but they were dealing in their own way. My own way of coping was to march on. It wasn’t like the Aerie weren’t used to death.
This world wasn’t a forgiving one. There was no place for those who couldn’t move on while losing comrades. Though, it didn’t mean that we couldn’t mourn in those silent nights when we locked ourselves inside the shelters all the while afraid of the monsters that were hunting outside.
Magnus and I were more often required to step up as the group’s warriors. Each day, we would inevitably be forced to help out against the predatory fauna.
Filling such a role wouldve been a bad position to be in for a leader. Not even the best fighters could give it their all while calling the shots and keeping the overview of the battlefield.
I thanked God that Thalia had survived to hold the group together, since she was the only other experienced Aerie who already made this trip. Thanks to her supportive abilities she was much better suited to taking a leadership role. It helped that she was also older than me, so the others didn’t even question her taking command.
My friend did a better job than I ever could and she drove us onwards as if a second group of Thich was following our trail.
Our timetable was tight and we couldn’t afford any distractions. Not even our prisoners had much opportunity to complain. Their survival depended on ours. Three people alone would have had a much harder time staying alive out here, not to mention making the trip back to the Old Camp.
Not a day would pass in these mountains without something attacking us.
Magnus tried a few more times to interrogate Ivonne, but he didn’t get far. Even after the teenager was healed, she locked up every time he attempted to get information out of her. My partner thought her to be some fanatic, but I figured that Ivonne had different reasons for being stubborn.
Just let me cut off one finger! Just one! Magnus begged while we climbed a steep trail.
No, I replied sternly. I’ve offered them amnesty in return for their cooperation. Ivonne and the others have conducted themselves well enough so far. Despite Ivonne refusing to speak to you. We can deploy better interrogation techniques than torture back at the clan. And we are making good time. We can’t risk losing people to stupid injuries.
I shook my head. Magnus was a little too eager when it came to cutting off appendages.
The winter was coming and we had lost most of our time buffer due to the attack. I really didnt want to climb these mountains once the snow came down. Two years ago, my travelling group of seventeen had lost four people just because the winter had started early. We had been measly two days away from Aerie when the deaths occurred, making it all the more tragic.
It’s not like a pinky wouldn’t grow back, he grumbled. She has the starfish mutation, judging by the way her face is healing.
That’s not the point, I elaborated. I promise you, we will soften her up. Back at the clan, we will have months to do so. We are really pressed on time, believe me. If the snow comes early, we might not make it and freeze to death. There is no point in risking anything out here. You have frightened Kastor and Dafna enough. If their stories don’t convince Ivonne to talk, then she won’t talk unless you inflict major injuries.
Who? he asked, his tongue slipping before he could think about it.
I stopped walking and turned around to look at him. You are joking, right?
For a moment, his expression remained completely blank. Then he frowned.
I could almost see the gears turning in his head.
Kastor is the male Thich? The statement had this questioning undertone of a student answering a teacher’s question with a guess, not knowing whether the answer was the correct one.
Magnus gained a little more confidence when I didn’t outright deny his assumption. Meaning Dafna is the female Thich! He looked happy at his successful deduction.
I narrowed my eyes at him. You guessed!
No, I didn’t! he replied quickly, sounding completely sincere.
The longer I was with Magnus, the more I became aware of his uncanny ability to switch between moods. It was like he could put on masks for the sake of social interactions. I only became aware of this because he had started to drop his guard in my presence.
He could seethe about one thing or the other, confessing his wish to murder someone in the most gruesome way he could think of. Then a stranger like Fox walked up to him for polite conversation and suddenly Magnus was kindness and understanding impersonate.
Admittedly, it no longer worked with anyone in our group since they had seen him interrogate the Thich.
The man could wear his feelings like a set of clothes if he wished to. It just hadn’t been apparent because I had only seen him with Mark and Gurney up until now. And neither of the two were people he trusted.
I turned back around and hurried to catch up to the four carriers and their watchers. How is it possible for you to not know their names? You interrogated them!
Currently, Magnus and I were playing a ‘close up’, rearguard role. We trailed just ten or twenty metres behind the main group, instead of the hundred metres that would have been normal. It allowed us to assist them faster in the case of an attack, while still giving them a head start when something came at us from behind.
It’s not like their names hold any importance, he moped, switching modes again. When you interrogate someone, you have to make sure they believe you don’t regard them as human beings. The moment you ask for their names, you admit that their existence is of importance. You have to do everything you can to have them know their lives hold no value. Once they realize that, most sane people will try everything in their power to prove you shouldn’t kill them. Which means giving you information.
I looked over my shoulder and bit my inner cheek, surprised at the horrid bit of knowledge he had shared with such utter conviction.
Because of his ability to put on a facade, it was too easy to forget that Magnus only seemed like a bumbling newcomer. A newcomer to this world, he was, but not one to violence.
If he seemed to struggle in some aspects, it was because he had been thrown into an unfamiliar environment with unknown rules.
He had been part of a semi-militaristic organization that wasn’t much better than Earth’s government when it came to ruthlessness.
Maybe that was also where he had learned to hide his true self.
I felt my face heat a little. We hadnt done much since we started the trek. It was kind of impossible to get some privacy, but it hadnt stopped him from getting a feel while we slept together during those cold nights.
Though, I admittedly didnt dislike the hugs and the occasional squeeze.
So that’s what you like? Then I remembered our first night and grinned. Should I make sure to shake my hips?
Yes, please! he said smugly. And make it good. I want a real show before you throw yourself at me.
We kept bantering and I used the time to further his knowledge of the Aerie social structure. Right until we finally reached the next shelter and sealed ourselves in.
The latest shelter was of higher quality than the rest, and it would only get better from here. Clan Aerie had put more effort into the shelters the closer we got to clan grounds.
This shelter no longer gave off the feeling of a mere cave. It was actually a small bunker. The masons cut genuine rooms into the stone, ensuring there would be enough space to give fifty people some privacy. A wide, central hallway doubled as a public area; and to connect the small rooms. Though, each private space was more like an alcove than its own room.
I left it to Magnus to set up our sleeping space and joined Thalia in the public area.
She was instructing Ivonne on how to use the shelter’s fireplace correctly. It was actually a fancy one. An oversized stove was set up in the middle of the corridor. It included its own ventilation system that took care of the smoke with metal pipes which led outside.
You have to check the pipes for corrosion before you start the fire, Thalia explained to a brooding Ivonne. Once you are sure everything is sealed tight, you can proceed. Otherwise, we might die from monoxide poisoning in our sleep.
You two are doing fine? I asked.
Sure! Thalia replied. I just explained to Ivonne what she has to look out for when handling fire within enclosed spaces like these shelters.
Something I already knew, Ivonne mumbled without looking at me.
It doesn’t hurt to repeat if it’s a matter as vital as this, Thalia stated happily, not allowing herself to be dragged down by her pupil’s sour mood.
Ivonne, I know you’ve been through a lot, but you have to let go of the past, I addressed the young woman directly. Once we reach Aerie, your treatment depends on how cooperative you are.
She finally looked at me with a simmering hatred in her eyes. You killed my comrades! Excuse me for being angry. You offering us a life in exile doesn’t make it any better!
And your people killed our people, I replied, doing my best to push down on my own feelings. You came after us. Not the other way around. Now there is only one way forward.
So you are saying I am not allowed to be angry? she screamed. Everything started with you! It’s all your fault! You were the one who messed with the negotiations! If we had just taken the kids, they wouldn’t have come after you!
Her words sent a twinge through my chest, but I didn’t allow myself to falter to her screwed point of view.
It isn’t my fault that they tried to murder us with poison, I hissed through between my teeth. You have to let go and see to the future.
How can I see to the future if I can’t go back home!? Ivonne spread out her hands. Will you people ever allow me to leave and go back to my sister? Or will you keep me as a prisoner until the end of my days?
That remains to be determined, I replied. We still don’t know what the Thich are up to. Why do they want the children so badly?
Why wouldn’t they? Ivonne asked. Haven’t you experienced it yourself? Free to be moulded into the perfect asset. I was surprised the Aerie allowed you to whore around with some stranger who you don’t even know. What will your intended back at the clan have to say?
Of course, she had listened in on us.
I balled my fist. Take that back.
What? Ivonne waved her hands. That you are a who-
My arm moved.
Her head rocked sideways and Ivonne teetered on one foot before she returned to a normal stance. She blinked, then leaned forward and toppled over.
Whoops! Thalia caught her just before she faceplanted into the ground. That didn’t go so well. Hey, Ivonne! Ivonne? Thalia slapped the girl’s cheek. Astra, you really knocked her lights out.
Are you kidding? Magnus’ voice came from behind me. It was perfect! That haymaker hit her exactly where it counts!
I closed my eyes and groaned, then massaged the bridge of my nose. I shouldn’t have hit her.
Probably not, Thalia replied. But at least she managed to vent some steam. How did you even do it?
Do what? I asked.
That strike! Magnus grabbed me by the shoulders and turned me around so that I faced him. You moved exactly like one of those little monsters. One second your hands were down, the next you had your fist in her face! All I could see was a trail of sparks!
I- I don’t know. I looked down at my hands. I just got really angry when she insinuated that I wasn’t serious about you… and then I hit her.
He smiled and pointed down at the unconscious girl. Hit her again! You have to train the ability while the feeling is fresh in your mind. I can hold her up for you if need be.
I looked down at the unconscious woman. No sane person would hit someone who was helpless, even if she was a bitch.
Then I looked at the guy who suggested hitting an unconscious prisoner for training purposes.
Well, at least he could defend himself…