Clouds of Tyranny (7 page)

Once back in the dining
room, Terra saw many people conjugating. There were no windows or
skylights here so it was hard to tell the time of day, but it
seemed near dusk because of the heightened aroma seeping from the
kitchen; dinnertime. The dining room was near full; on the side she
was standing on was about twenty people that were probably soldiers
or spies due to the bandanas and weaponry attached to them: swords,
guns, whips, bows and quivers, and the occasional spear. On the
opposing side of the dining room was everyone else, a few mothers
and fathers were getting their children settled, a dozen teenagers
with dust covered clothes looked exhausted from cleaning all day,
and another thirty or so in generic clothing that most likely did
various jobs; maybe watchmen and then there was two nurses; Helena
and Bridget she was guessing. One was a thicker girl but not
overweight with thin black hair and dark makeup around her eyes and
the other was skinny like Ruthie but much taller, maybe six and a
quarter feet tall with long blonde hair and glasses.
Which one was Helena,
Terra thought as she glided her hands over her stomach; Terra
wasn’t a bony gal, but not thick either, she liked to call herself
average seeing as how her ribs didn’t push against her skin. She
looked at the girls for a moment,
I hope
the brunette is Helena
, she
thought,
Then maybe I have a chance. What
am I thinking? It’s Locke; he’s much older and maybe too tough for
me…but mmmm.
She slapped herself on the
left cheek getting back to the now. She looked over to the
soldier-designated table and saw Ruthie looking at her in
confusion. “Bug,” laughed Terra. Ruthie smirked and waved her over
to where she was sitting, she had apparently saved her a spot.
Ruthie seemed like the kind of person that had alot of friends, you
couldn’t help but like this gitty little girl. Terra sat down and
noticed all that were in her general area; Ruthie, Locke, Doc,
Pearl, a man in a trench coat, a big muscle bound man that didn’t
exactly give off an aura of intelligence, and a man wearing the
traditional ‘Old Christian’ garb; Tan robe with a lavender trim
circling the sleeves and running down center of the chest and
crossing at the breast forming the cross of resurrection. Jehovah’s
unnamed son came to mind when Terra saw the lavender
cross.

“What’d he say?” said
Locke taking a glug from a new bottle and sliding it in front and
Terra. She hesitantly wrapped her left hand around the neck and her
right hand under the base of the bottle and brought the mouthpiece
to her nose smelling it and nearly lost her dried meat. She curled
her lip as she put the bottle back down, “Well,” she said,
“Basically, he explained your cause and why the Empire is bad. Told
me some things about my mom I didn’t know.” Ruthie batted the
bottle with her right hand, sliding it into the palm of her left,
“Too slow,” said Ruthie jokingly and took a swig, which
surprised
Terra due to Ruthie’s very young age. Locke sat there looking at
Terra as she spoke just steaming with anger toward Smith with Ray
on his left and Pearl on his right. WHACK! Locke felt the palm of
Pearls hand slam against the back of his head. “Manners!” she said
glaring at Locke. “What?” questioned Locke. “Fine,” sighed Pearl,
“This is Ray. And over there is Clyde,” pointing to each man in
introduction. Terra shook Ray’s hand since he was just across from
her and waved at the enormous Clyde as which he lifted his arm,
that was bigger than her leg and waved over with a smile. Ruthie
leaned into Terra, “My brother. Older brother.” Terra nodded
halfheartedly; her head was still pointed back in the direction the
‘Returners’ door that led to Smith’s room remembering their
conversation. Ruthie’s eyeballs strayed down to Terra’s right hand,
“What’s that?” said Ruthie knowing exactly what it was’ a symbol of
union. At the question, Terra lifted her hand forgetting her tight
grasp was still gripped around it. Locke’s eyes widened at the
sight, Pearl smiled, and the religious man did a silent prayer and
got up to leave at the assumption that another casualty was
imminent. All was quiet at the table. Locke knew what it meant to
wear the small blue cloth; it meant having every member of the
empire foaming at the mouth at the thought of sticking a blade in
your heart or shooting you in the face just to watch you die.
Ironically, Terra was the one that broke the silence, “Who was
that?” Nobody spoke. “The guy with the cross on his clothes, I
mean,” she asked. “The Rev. No one knows his real name, he won’t
tell us,” said Clyde who despite his gargantuan size had a small
Scottish voice. In front of Terra’s eyes landed a steaming bowl of
white and green slop. Then the young man delivering the bowls began
serving the rest of them, except Locke who waved it off and reached
for his bottle as he snubbed out his rolled cigarette. Terra looked
around; Ruthie was shoveling it into her narrow lips as fast as she
could while everyone else just sighed before dipping their spoons
in the gooey mush preparing for the worst experience of their
lives. Pearl brought the filled spoon to her face and closed her
eyes and jammed the vile mush into her throat while she held her
nostrils closed. “Eat,” said Ruthie to Terra. Terra looked over at
Locke,
Locke seems the smartest of the
bunch,
Terra thought. Locke looked at
Terra with squinting eyes; eyes that said
I won’t be conscious in thirty minutes and I’m half blind at
this moment
. “It helps if you hold your
nose closed,” laughed Locke who was obviously drunk. Ruthie waved
off Locke’s insult with her free hand, “Palease, I love this stuff,
“ said Ruthie triumphantly as if Locke was insane. Pearl swallowed
the mess and made a struggled exhaling sound like she had been
trapped under water for several moments, “Yeah, and no one ever
said you were normal.” Terra,” said Clyde, “it tastes horrible, but
very nutritious for you.” Terra gave him a halfhearted nod and
looked down into her bowl as she could now hear Ruthie’s spoon
scrape the bottom of her bowl. “Mmmm,” hummed Ruthie with closed
tranquil eyes. “Here,” said Ray as he slid his bowl in her
direction, “bone a petit.” “Thanks sweetie,” she said with a flirty
smile. Terra looked at the two of them and thought to
herself:
she’s a kid for god’s sake. Are
they…?
Terra snapped out of her deep
thought and emptied her spoon into her mouth with expectations of
gagging or illness. “Wow!” exasperated Terra, “This is really
really really good.” Everyone froze in surprise, “Fuck off!” said
Pearl. “Hmm,” said Ray, “Maybe a chick thing.” Pearl gave him a
cold look, “What about me? I’m a girl and I think it’s horrible.”
He raised an eyebrow at her, “Like I said.” Locke shook his head
and started to stand up and teetered a bit. Ray caught Locke from
falling flat on the table. “Thanks,” said Locke with no emotion in
his monotone voice. Terra could tell he was barely conscious.
“Well,” said Locke, “Bedtime, night ladies and gentlemen…and
Pearl.” Pearl grinned sarcastically as she gave him the middle
finger. “Number 1,” said Ray as he drank the bottle Locke had left
behind. Terra noticed that Locke went through the wooden door
marked “Returners” and not the one leading to the dormitories.
Ruthie finished her two bowls of bile and Terra had her bowl plus
the second half of Pearl’s food. Pearl stood after smoking a
cigarette and went through the door marked “Returners.” “Ruthie,”
whispered Terra, “She doesn’t sleep in the women’s room?” “Hmmm?”
said Ruthie as she turned her head to see Pearl go through the
door, “Oh, high rank soldiers and lieutenants have private rooms to
prepare for their missions and have uninterrupted sleep.” Terra
looked intently at Ruthie, “But, aren’t you?” Ruthie interrupted
with a smile, “I’m not an official soldier. I’m underage, according
to Smith. He deems it immoral to send someone under sixteen on a
mission that could mean death, but I volunteer to go when he allows
me. In five weeks I’ll have my room back there. Hell, maybe we both
will, yes?” Terra just smiled at Ruthie, not knowing if she’d be
here for that long; Terra just wanted to go home.

CHAPTER 6: GIRL
TALK

After dinner, Ruthie retired to
the women’s designated dorm as Terra hung back to explore her new
home. She waited for all to be clear in the dining room before
sneaking on further. She found her way through the door marked
“Returners.” She creaked the door open slowly and peeked her head
in; from beneath the cracks under each door was darkness except for
one. Smith’s light was out and that’s all that mattered. Terra
opened the door further and strafed her way through the half-open
door shutting it quietly behind her. She tiptoed down the hall
stopping at each door to press her ear against them and listen in.
She heard a loud vibrating growl as she approached the second door
on the left, “CRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!” heard Terra as she pressed her ear
to the door.
Whoa! That’s some bad
snoring,
thought Terra as she pulled her
ear away and looked at the door that had a name carved into the
wood. “Pearl?!” she said loudly. She clasped her hands over her
mouth. “What are you doing in here?” whispered a voice from behind
her. She turned to face the voice behind her; it was Locke. “I
was…” mumbled Terra just before Locke grabbed her by the arm and
drug her to his room and shut the door. As he was closing the door
she just stood in the center of the room facing his back while
rubbing her hands, like a child caught red-handed.

He locked the latch on the door and turned to face
Terra; his eyes were blood shot with bags beneath them. Terra just
looked into his eyes and could tell he was either extremely tired
or he was crying earlier (which was highly unlikely.) “Now,” said
Locke, “Answer my question. What are you doing back here? Did they
get to you?” “Who?” asked Terra. Locke lunged toward her and
grabbed her by both arms, “You know damn well!” he yelled.
“N-n-n-no. I was just curious, that’s all. And,” she mumbled
looking down to the ground, “I wanted to see you.” Locke released
his grip and rolled his eyes as he sat on his bed and looked up at
her, “Don’t, okay? Just don’t. Please go.” She sighed and walked to
the door and with her back turned to him she said, “You can’t say
you don’t feel anything and if you don’t let anyone in you’ll die
alone and unhappy.” She unlocked the latch and as she opened the
door a crack she heard Locke, “Alisa. Ask Ruthie cuz I can’t talk
about her anymore. The memories hurt enough.” Terra turned her head
and smiled at Locke as she left his room and shut the door.

When Terra got back to the women’s room she saw it
was very active; girls playing cards on their beds, a couple
writing in notebook, and even a couple young girls in the corner
singing together. She walked past everyone to her bed, which was
next to Ruthie’s; Ruthie was sitting on her bed writing in a tiny
leather bound book in her nightclothes; plaid pajama pants and a
loose fitting white T-shirt. Terra sat on her own bed next to a
pile of folded clothes and looked at them. “Those are for you,”
said Ruthie not looking up from her book, “Thought you might like
some clean duds.” “Thanks Ruthie. Who’s Alisa? Locke said to ask
you.” Ruthie looked up at her with wide eyes as she closed her
notebook, “Alisa? You mean Locke’s ex fiancé?” “He was engaged?
Him?” “Don’t be so surprised, he may seem cold to you but that’s
because you don’t know each other yet. He was cold to me when we
first started traveling together when I was just knee high to him
even though I’ve known him all my life; it doesn’t mean he doesn’t
care. His heart doesn’t extend to his emotions; he hides them very
well.” Ruthie smiled at the thought of back then, “I remember when
I had just turned eleven years old, right before we joined the
Returners, we were in a camp town called Malijo. They welcomed us
with open arms when we arrived. Said they always needed workers and
that they would treat us ‘right’. So, me and Locke did some manual
labor all day long and they fed us and provided shelter. Next thing
I knew my hands and feet were bound and I woke up in a dark cave
with a small fire with four men looking at me with impure thoughts.
They approached me and attempted to sexually attack me and cut off
my clothing; they even told me they were going to do everything
they could think of, and then cut my throat. Out of nowhere Locke
showed from within the darkness and killed them. That part isn’t
surprising, I know, but then he untied me. Locke held me for an
hour; I could feel his tears drop on my shoulder at the thought of
losing his only friend. That’s when I knew that I was family to
him. That’s when my little girl crush ended; that’s right, I had a
hard crush on him once too. But that faded away when I saw him less
like a companion and more like a big brother.” Terra glared at
Ruthie trying to convince her, “I don’t have a crush,” said Terra.
Ruthie scoffed and continued.

“Him and Alisa were engaged about ten years ago in a
little town called Listka,” began Ruthie. “Listka? He mentioned
Listka when we left Sangrohl.” asked Terra. “That’s where I was
born. Locke was actually in the room when I was removed from my
mother’s stomach; she died in the process and my father was killed
a year later, so Locke has been my only family for my entire life.
Anyway, it took me and Locke years to travel up here where we met
the Returners, but that’s a different story.” “Oh. So, you’ve been
through a lot together.” “Yes,” continued Ruthie, “Anyway, Alisa
was the daughter of the town’s blacksmith, Jorgan. They were so in
love, Terra. You ever read a story about true love? That’s what it
was like; they didn’t need anything but each other. Just about
every night you could walk to the ridge at dusk and you would see
them watching the sunset, or each other.” Terra smiled as she heard
Ruthie tell the story, but was also sad for Locke; obviously it
ended. She was also a little jealous.