MEMORIAM (9 page)

“You think me strange?” Her voice sounded like the chime of bells.

“No.” It was the first response that came to mind. “So you’re the Head’s secretary?”

“Stella. My name is Stella.” She took another sip. “Have a seat, Violet.”

I didn’t move.

“Violet, did you hear me? I said sit down.”

I crossed the empty space between us and sat down across from her, next to the fire. Her black dress shimmered in the firelight, casting shadows on her bare shoulders and exposed legs. A small white scar crossed her collarbone and snaked down her arm, touching her wrist. It looked similar to the scars on my back. I wanted to ask where they’d come from but I knew better than to do that.

Stella set her cup down and patted her lips dry with a cloth napkin. Her lips left a dark red stain on the cloth. “Hungry?”

I shook my head.

“As you know, the Head is mindful of his hunters.”

I raised an eyebrow. He cared that most hunters were driven insane by guilt, that they were forced to kill against their will and eventually lost all respect for themselves?

“Is he here?”

Stella’s eyes flashed and I saw the reflection of the flames dance in her eyes.

“He is always here, even when he is gone. The Head is impressed with you, though I can’t imagine why.”

A knot formed in my stomach. “Why me? There are countless hunters he could choose from.”

“He claims you are a natural-born fighter. You have completed your training as a hunter and it is time to move on to hunting.”

“I still have two more days of training to complete,” I interrupted.

“And now you do not.”

I wished Sam was here to hold my hand.

“That is all. You may go.”

I stood up and scooted my chair back, crossing the large room and heading back to the entrance.

“Oh, Violet?”

I froze. “Yes?”

“From now on, no more visits with that healer, all right? We can’t have hunters who are distracted by people of lesser status.”

“Lesser status?” I repeated, trying to keep my tone steady.

“It does not bode well for you if this friendship
progresses. I’ll make sure of that.”

My whole body was shaking.

“Thank you. You may go.”

I scanned my tracker then stepped outside.
Report to the weaponry for your first mission with your combination,
a voice played in my head
.
So this was the beginning. I had no time to prepare. I was a hunter now. My stomach squirmed and my legs were mechanical as I made my way down to the weaponry.

I got off the lift and walked further into the cavern like I had with Trent. Through the darkness I spotted Vince, along with the rest of my combination. I noticed the sallow-skinned man, Severin, glaring at me when I joined the half circle. Zanna, the woman with the long black hair, looked like a warrior as she stood hip-width apart, her hands behind her back. Malina was slouched against a pillar biting her nails.

“You heard then?” Vince asked.

“Just now.”

“It will be okay.”

Malina tossed her hair over her shoulder and sighed. “Can we stop wasting time and go already?”

“I’m with Malina,” Severin drawled. Malina smiled at him but Sev did not return it.                        Lights sprung on as we walked deeper into the cavern and revealed magnuses I remembered seeing in the streets of Kinaron, my hometown. They were what the Trux used when they invaded. Next to the magnuses were cops, blades jetting out on every side. I’d seen cops from a distance in Stoclo when they flew overhead, but never up close. Each blade had to have been twenty feet long, at least. The magnuses were big, too. The tires were taller than me.

“Cops and magnuses, the bases’s main transportation,” Vince said to me as we walked.

“I recognize them. They’re what the Trux used to invade.”

“That’s right.” He paused. “Are you scared?”

“It hasn’t really sunk in yet.”

Vince reached over and took my hand. I felt warmth and familiarity through his.    

“I’m right here if you need me.”

Vince held true to his word. Malina and Sev chose to sit at the front of the magnus on a bench that curved around its side, snaking its way to the back where Vince and I sat, next to the weapons wall. There were no windows to see where we were, only a large block of light pouring in from the slotted ceiling that sloped into a pyramid shape. I noticed a square in the flooring and wondered if magnuses had two levels.

“It’s going to be okay,” Vince kept saying.

“I know.” I didn’t believe myself, though. Another image flashed in my mind of lights ablaze...a man wearing a metal badge on his chest...he was hugging me. I heard a groan and looked over at Vince.

“Are you okay?”

“Bad hip, that’s all.” He smiled but it was forced. For some reason his wrinkles seemed to stand out more when he smiled, his age shining light on the fact that he didn’t have much time left in his life. He was too weak to keep up with the strenuous life of a hunter.

“Can I ask you something? Back when I began my training you asked me if I remembered you before I became a hunter. You were referring to knowing me before, weren’t you?”

Vince pressed his hand into his hip, closing his eyes. “Now is not the time or place to discuss such a thing. And even then, would you want to know something that could possibly destroy your future?”

***

I don’t think I processed what happened when I woke from my deep sleep. Vince told me I had been asleep for almost four hours. When we got out of the magnus we were surrounded by trees.

“This way.” He guided me around the magnus and pointed through the trees. I followed behind the others, watching the trees grow thin. Soon I spotted water.

“Where are we?”

“The Head’s mansion,” Malina said.

My throat closed up. “I thought we were going hunting.”

Vince lowered his voice. “The Head likes to meet his new hunters.”

“His?” Anger flooded my body.

We reached the edge of a rocky beach where a large white dock with pods underneath it was waiting for us. I followed Vince over to the white dock and stepped inside its glass walls, choosing one of the small tubes that stood upright and clambering inside.          

The tube began to vibrate. I grabbed the glass walls around me for support, frantically searching for Vince. He was in his own compartment, holding onto the glass. The floor split in two and beneath it I saw a small pod. I let myself drop through the hole and land in the pod with a thump. A glass dome slid across the top of the pod and it whistled as it began to move.

The pod shot through the water, inching higher and higher until it was flying, traveling straight ahead to a small island where a huge building erupted above the trees. The Head’s mansion, I thought to myself. The pod slowed and came to a stop below another white dock.

The glass dome slid back and I climbed out onto a narrow path of stepping stones that led to the shoreline. Zanna and Sev climbed out of their pods and followed me up the path. At the end of the dock were several guards, a large ‘X’ formed with two guns strapped on their chests. I recognized the ‘X’ as the Trux’s symbol: two arms crossed over one another. One hand was closed in a fist as a reminder to always be ready for war, and the other hand open over the heart, a constant reminder to remain honest in all parts of life. The only problem with this Trux symbol was that both fists were closed.

“Hands on your heads!” the guards barked. I drew my hands up and rested them at the crook of my neck, sweat gliding down my back as a guard came over and checked me.

“Clear!” the guard barked. I stepped past him and joined Vince again, heading up the rocky beach to the tree line. The hill sloped up as we climbed. After fifteen minutes of walking, the hill began to fall, leading down to a clearing of trees where a monstrous building sprawled across the land.

My jaw dropped. I lost my footing as I stared in awe. Massive stone pillars lined the front, supporting a giant slab of concrete that was lain across the top of the mansion. A large ‘X’ was carved into the slab. The walls of the mansion jetted out around it, creating a circular shape that was topped off with a dome placed on top, just like the base. A large staircase lay at the foot of the mansion, leading to the entrance.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” Malina said to me.

“That’s not the word I would use.”

I was still in shock from trying to process the size of the mansion when I crossed the field surrounding it. There were more guards at the entrance. My whole body tensed up as the guards checked me again like they had when I exited the pod. Sadness flooded through my body when I glanced up at the cement arch where the Trux symbol was engraved. The open hand that was supposed to be open over the heart was a closed fist. A dull ache spread through the edges of my chest, making its way into my heart. I passed through the entrance with Vince by my side, ignoring the Trux uniforms that had the changed symbol on them as well.

One of the doors opened and a guard let us enter. My eyes widened as I stared ahead at a massive screen projected on the wall opposite us, flashing the Trux symbol repeatedly. Written under the Trux symbol in smaller writing was:

Pax Death Count: 711,939

I suddenly felt sick. The number climbed steadily.

“I can’t do this,” I whispered in Vince’s ear.

“You don’t have a choice.”

A set of doors beneath the large screen slid open and a man stepped out. I blinked furiously, my eyes stinging. My chest hurt like mad. Anger and sadness for my people, the Pax, raged through me as I watched him descend. I wanted to blame everything that I’d lost in my life on the Head.

The man crossed the space between us, greeting everyone with a smile. His small, beady black eyes landed on me and my heart froze. This was the Head.

CHAPTER FOUR

“Welcome,” he said in a rasp voice. The large scar that ran from his right eye to his jaw stretched as he licked his lips. “You must be my new hunter.”

I felt everyone’s eyes on me. My face was hot.

Say something.

I can’t.

“Yes,” I croaked. The Head stepped closer and tilted his head, leaning into me.

“And your name?” His breath was musty and his teeth were yellowed and cracked. The grey hairs on the top of his head were barely visible amongst his pale blonde hair. I swore I saw bits of dried blood in his scalp.

“V-Violet Hansen.”

“You seem nervous. Are you?”

“No.”

The Head smiled, his peeling lips pulling apart and curling at the edges. He was frightening when he smiled.

“Do not lie to me, Violet. Never lie to me.” He stepped back and exhaled slowly. “It is refreshing to see my hunters in good health. I trust your journey went smoothly.”

“Yes, sir,” Malina said.

“As you know, I prefer to acquaint myself with new hunters, such as yourself, Violet. I think an acquaintance over dinner sounds adequate, yes? Your rooms are upstairs. I will see you within the hour. Do not keep me waiting. Especially you.” He pointed at me.

“Come on, let’s go to our rooms,” Zanna said. She steered us away from the Head and led the group across the entrance hall, our footsteps echoing as we walked.

“Someone looks scared.” Malina smirked.

“Wait till dinner. She’ll be squirming like a worm,” Sev said.

We climbed the rest of the stairs and came around the balcony overlooking the entrance hall.

“It’s so- ”

“Medieval?” Vince finished my sentence. “Yes, it is.”

My eyes darted across the hall, where above us was a series of balconies, climbing higher and higher up the walls, the one at the top of the wall so small it was the size of my thumb.

“But why would he choose to replicate buildings from so long ago? That was hundreds of years ago; the history discs from that time period are rare.”

“The Head has reasons for everything,” Malina said.

We turned down a hallway that led off of the balcony and entered a stone entryway lined with wooden doors. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen a wooden door; it was considered  a sign of poverty.

“See you in a minute,” Vince said. He and the others went into their rooms, leaving me out in the entryway. I went over to a large ornate door with carved markings on it and went inside, shutting the door behind me. My heart was still racing. In the room was a four-poster bed with velvet gold curtains that hung limp. Lying on the covers of the bed was a long liquid red dress. It was beautiful. I fingered the fabric, running my hand along the silk bodice and detailed stoneware that covered the shoulders and neck, running down both arms and ending in a point on either wrist. I threw the dress on and buttoned it up, throwing my hair in a loose bun then turned around, letting out a sigh as I looked at my reflection in the mirror. None of my scars were visible. I was mostly covered, but I felt naked.

“Violet?” I saw Vince in the mirror and looked around. He stood in the doorway wearing a geometric suit. “The others have already left. I thought I’d let you know. By the way, you look stunning.”

This is wrong,
I thought to myself.

“You didn’t have to wait.”

“I wanted to.” Vince slipped my arm through his, guiding me back out into the hall.

Deeper into the mansion we went. We passed through closed doors and empty passageways; I swore that I heard faint screams at one point, but Vince didn’t say anything so I kept my mouth shut. He let go of my arm when we came into a smaller chamber with vaulted ceilings and large stone columns that supported the four corners. Sev stood next to the fireplace with his arm resting gracefully on the mantel, his back to us. In the background rain begin to fall, hitting the massive circular windows and filling the room with static noise.

A large walnut table sat in the center of the room. It was filled with every food I could think of: roasted cod, veal, beef-flavored gelatin cubes, coconut juice, cold sea urchin jelly, heated asparagus and cauliflower, and a huge basket of fresh bread. It was a reminder of how decadent the Head was, how he ate like this for every meal while the Pax starved in bases.