Vitality

by Marleina Murray

  Chapter Five

  We began to see hints of sunlight waltzing its way through the trees. There was still no sign of a way out of the woods anywhere. We were tired, dirty, hungry, injured, and lost, all at once. Neither of us had spoken really since Victor had killed an Absolute. Just then, Victor tripped over something. It was the commander’s foot! The commander stepped from behind the tree with the gun pointed at Victor. “Have you seen two bratty kids come by here?” The commander asked jokingly, a grin on his face. He had us, so I guess he felt the need to toy with us. We just glared at him. “How rude of me. I’m Commander Abysmal, after which my planet is named” Abysmal said to me, trying to kiss my hand. I yanked my hand away. “You are your mother’s child” Abysmal said, giving me an eerie grin.

  He threw me on the ground next to Victor. I scooted closer to my brother. He shot his gun once in the air, alerting the rest of his men where we were. “Your mother had it coming, you know? All she had to do was hand over the locket before you were born. She took too many risks, let’s just hope you aren’t the same way.” Abysmal explained, coldly. A few minutes passed, and the rest of his posse showed up. A short, stalky one walked up and stuck me in the side of my neck with a needle. I shrieked as it burned running through my body. He then stuck Victor. Victor didn’t make a sound, just curled up and winced in pain. I couldn’t stand seeing him like this, so I looked away. I began to feel dizzy, but I had to stay awake. We had to stay awake. My vision became blurred, and my eyes got heavier with each blink. I tried to stand, but my legs felt like lead. My body had lost that battle, I passed out.

  Chapter Six

  I woke up with blurred vision and focused really hard to see. When my vision came in clear, I took everything in. I was in a white room with no windows and the only way out was the trap door, way out of my reach, on the ceiling. The light was so bright and it hurt my eyes. I shielded my face. I sat up on the heap of a bed. My backpack and my clothes were gone. I had on a long black hospital gown. I felt my neck and the locket was still there, I was hoping that they had taken it. I played over everything in my mind, starting from when my mother had woken me. I pulled my knees to my chest and shuddered. Then, it hit me. Where was my brother? “Victor!!!” I screamed as loud as I could as I panicked, thinking the worst. My head throbbed in pain. I had to know if he was okay. So I called out again. “Victor!!!” my brother’s name bounced off the walls and died off, leaving me alone once more. I sank to the floor, but didn’t shed a tear. I couldn’t. I didn’t have anything left in me. Just the resounding pain of the night before. I didn’t know where I was, or what I was going to do. Worst off, I didn’t know what they did to my brother, or what they were going to do to me. There was only one thing I could do at that moment. I took a deep breath, leaned my head back, and, did my best projecting my voice like a slingshot “Victor!!!!” I drug it out longer this time. I stopped to catch my breath as anger building up inside slowly began to stomp back to the surface. I screamed in frustration. “Hush down there, you’ll upset them.” An old woman’s voice came down through the slot in the door.

  I moved to a corner in the room, getting as far away from the door as I could. I had no idea what would happen next. I froze. I waited. Waited to see what would happen next. Nothing. Her voice didn’t come from a place of malice, but I still didn’t trust her. Maybe she could tell me something, anything. I inched closer to the center of the room, directly underneath the door. “He-hello?” I called out. “Can you tell me where I am?” I asked in a lower voice, remembering that I wasn’t sure who else would hear me. “You’re in a room, dear.” She answered. “Gee, thanks captain obvious.” I thought. “Where’s my brother? Where’s Victor?” I asked. No answer. Not for a long time. Was she watching me? Did she leave? Is she an Absolute? Was she plotting something? Frustrated, I began to pace the room, limping, but it was better than nothing. “He’s fine” the old woman’s voice assured me, disturbing my thoughts. “I don’t believe you! If you hurt him, I’ll kill you!” I yelled, angry that I didn’t have any answers. “Eh” she casually grunted, I could hear the shrug in her reply. Who was this lady?

  “Are you hungry?” she asked. “No! Are you deaf?! Just tell me where Victor is!!” I yelled. I lied. I was starving, and until that point, I hadn’t even thought of food. My stomach growled as I thought of my favorite foods. I stared up at the door, quietly. A wrinkled hand slipped through the slot of the door. She dropped three slices of soft bread, and a bottle with lime green liquid in it. I was starving. I wasn’t sure if I could trust it. “How do I know it isn’t poison, you old hag?!” I yelled up. “Good question.” She answered. I began to examine the bread and drink. Looking at it closely, sniffing it, to see if I could find anything wrong.

  I picked the lesser of two evils. If I was going to die, I sure wasn’t going out hungry. I took a bite of the bread. It was soft and delicious, it actually tasted better than the bread that my mom used to make. I ate all of it. My throat was so dry, but I had never seen any liquid like this before. I didn’t drink it. “Hurry up and drink, you’ll need the strength” the old woman’s voice rushed into the room. “How could it possibly get any worse?” she asked. Stealing the thought straight from my brain. I removed the cap and took a sip. The drink was cold and refreshing. It had to be one of the best things I’d ever tasted. I turned up the bottle and proceeded to drink it, fast. The old woman laughed at my reaction. A joyous hackle filled the room. “Arok loved that drink, too.” She said. I coughed and spit out the drink, surprised. “My dad? You knew him?!” I pleaded. “He’s alive, he’s here.” She said, nonchalantly. “How do I know this isn’t a trick? Why should I believe that my father or Victor is still alive?!” I yelled up. “Eh” she shrugged again. “You don’t know, Adeptia, all that you can do is believe what you believe. All that I can do is offer you the information that I know.” She said, calmly. I began to answer her and paused. How did she know my name? “Yes, I know who you are.” She said, reading my thoughts again. “Not only do I know who you are, I know all there is to know about you” she continued. She began to creep me out. “Relax, I’m not one of those creepy old saps, Serenity was my daughter.” She said with a smile in her voice.

  I screamed, grabbing my head. “Stop with your lies, lady! I can’t take anymore!!” I yelled as I launched the bottle up at the door, hoping it would scare her off. She just laughed. “It’ll take much more than that to get rid of me. Especially since I know that you’re pretty high strung. I never said that you had to believe me, but the truth will always find its way.” She said, dropping down a hand full of candy, and a book. I picked up the candy and the book. The book was the diary that Victor had placed in my backpack. Was this woman really my grandmother?

  Chapter Seven

  I couldn’t help but wonder how that old woman had gotten a hold of my things. Was this all a trick? Only time would tell. I sat down on the lumpy heap that was supposed to be my bed, and studied the diary. It had to be ancient, and I didn’t understand the writing inscribed on the front. I tugged hard to get the diary opened, but it was locked. I sighed, and tossed the diary next to me. Landing on its back, I could see that there was a piece missing from the diary. The locket half was the key! I began to pull the locket out from under my shirt, and stopped. I looked up at the door, suspiciously. I wasn’t going to open it. Not yet. I laughed to myself. “Nice try!” I shouted up to the door. They weren’t getting anything out of me. I shoved the diary under the heap bed.

  I walked underneath the door and yelled up. “Hello!” I called. No answer. “Hello!” I called louder. “What do you want?!” a voice screeched. My heart began to pound as I moved away from the door. I watched from the corner, and waited. The door opened and a green, hunched over creature began to walk down what looked like invisible stairs. He wore a long, dingy brown cloak and had a big ugly mole on his face. Strands of hair tried to make their way across his lumpy head, but there just wasn’t enough to pull it off. He positioned his staff to bal
ance better, and hobbled over to me. “I said what do you want!!” he snarled in my face, saliva dripping from his mouth. I didn’t answer. I looked at his crooked walking stick, I wanted to take it and beat him to death with it. I wanted to unleash all of my fury on this creature, but then what?

  “Where’d your girlfriend go?” I asked, not taking my eyes off of his walking stick. “Who?? How bag did they drug you?!” he yelled, leaning in towards me. He laughed. I knew not to say any more about her. Maybe she was there to help, and I couldn’t afford to mess that up. “What’s a girl supposed to do around here to pass the time?” I asked, to change the subject fast. I circled around him studying him. What was he? “You can sit here and rot you little savage!!!” he yelled, offended. He struck me with the stick. “Ow!!” I cried out. “What are you?” I asked. “A goblin! What are you, you little crumb?!” he snapped. This creature had amused me. “Where is it?” he asked. “Where’s what?” I answered, trying my best to look confused. “Don’t play dumb with me you little vermin! Let me see the locket!!” he snapped. He grabbed me by my neck with one hand, and used the other to examine the locket. I tried to pry his hand away, but he had a really good grip. “Let…go” I managed to say. My eyes were watering, and I began to get lightheaded. “Aahhh, this is it.” He smiled, ignoring me.

  On the verge of passing out, he finally dropped me. Took a deep breath, coughing, and rubbing my neck. My head throbbed as the blood rushed back to my brain. I glared at him as he had begun to walk away. I stood up, grabbed his walking stick, and hit him repeatedly in the face with it. He fell to the ground as green blood splattered everywhere. I didn’t stop until there was nothing left in me. I sank to the ground and caught my breath.

  Keeping the walking stick for protection, I tried to walk up the invisible steps that the goblin had come down. Nothing. I was so busy trying to find the stairs, that I almost didn’t notice that the goblin’s body had begun to repair itself. I looked over as the last tiny pool of green slime returned itself to the goblin’s head. The stick forced itself from my fingers as the goblin opened his eyes.

  He grabbed the stick and stood up. I stared, shocked, waiting for him to try something else. “Calm down, if I were allowed to kill you, you’d already be dead.” He grinned really big, showing his black teeth. He walked over to the wall, held out his stick, and tapped on the wall until it shifted. Then, a doorway appeared. “Let’s go vermin, your brother is waiting.” He said, walking into the doorway. I just stood there, I didn’t trust him. He struck me over the head with the stick. A light flashed in my eyes. He yanked me into the opening and sealed the wall. I took a few steps back and began to fall through the floor.

  I hit the floor, hard, and the wind was knocked out of me. “You’ve got five minutes.” Goblin said as he walked back into the wall. “Dede?” I heard a familiar voice behind me say. I lied on the floor and I didn’t move. The room was spinning. When it stopped, I sat up and looked in the direction of the voice. Victor was sitting on a bench with his hands and feet chained to the wall. I went and threw my arms around my brother and hugged him tight. I tried to talk, but I was at a loss for words. He let out a faint laugh. “Oh, Dede’s hugging people today.” He joked. “I’m sorry, for everything, this is all my fault” I said, fighting back tears. “Stop, it’s not your fault. It’s just the way things are meant to happen” he assured. He kissed my forehead. “I have to go soon, okay?” he said, looking away. “My mission is almost complete” he said. I laughed, thinking he was joking. Please let it be a joke, I thought. Victor didn’t laugh. “An old lady came to me today” I said. “Yeah, that’s grandma” he said, a little light coming back to his face.

  “Do you know what the penalty is for killing an absolute?” he asked. “No, until a few hours ago I didn’t know anything really about them. Why?” I asked. “It’s some form of brutal lethal injection. They make a family member deliver the shot and everyone has to watch.” He explained. I felt all of the color rush from my face. “Don’t be afraid, but I need you to give me the shot.” He said, looking at the floor. I looked at him in disbelief. “Are you crazy?!” I snapped. “I’m not arguing! You have to!” he snapped back.

  “You know me, and you know that everything I say or do is for a reason.” He said, calmly. I didn’t know what to say. “When?” I asked. “Tomorrow morning.” He said, taking a deep breath. Why was this happening to us? What had we done? “Are you scared?” I asked, putting my head on his shoulder. “Nope, just doing my job.” He said back. That infuriated me. “So it’s your mission to die?!” I yelled. “No, it’s my mission to win.” He said like he had everything figured out. I stood up and looked at him. “You’re not a robot, Victor!!” I spat. “I know what I’m doing” he said, not bothered that I was yelling. “Then fight! That’s who you are, a fighter!!” I yelled at him. “Just trust me!!” he yelled at the top of his lungs. I sat back down on the bench next to him. I hated when he got that way.

  We heard a loud thud and Goblin came out of the wall. “Hope you had a nice chat, time to go vermin.” He said, he grabbed my arm and pulled me off of the bench. I still had so many questions, and I wasted most of the time picking a fight. I could have kicked myself. I looked back at Victor once more. He smiled, and held up the gold ring that I had taken from the Absolute the night before. Then, I knew he was up to something. I couldn’t help but smile. Goblin tapped on the wall and a doorway appeared. “See you tomorrow.” I said. “I hope so.” He said, smiling. I silently prayed that whatever he came up would work. Goblin closed the wall behind us.

  Chapter Eight

  Victor had a plan. What was it? There I was, again, trying to think someone else’s thoughts. There was one thing that I understood at that point. Victor had a job to do, and so did I. Goblin shoved me forward, and I fell back into my room. “Lights go out in a few hours Vermin.” He yelled down. Just what I needed to hear. There were some things that I needed to know. I took a piece of candy from under the heap bed and thought of my grandmother. Why didn’t anyone tell me about her? How come I had never seen a picture of her, or heard stories of how she would spoil us when we would visit. Up until then, I thot she had died long before we were born. What was with all of the secrets?

  “The diary?” I said out loud to myself. I reached under the heap bed to pull out the diary. There was a fresh bottle of green stuff, too. I suddenly began to feel bad. I hadn’t trusted her, and I was mean to her, but she still helped me. Then, I thought about the mission. “At any costs” Victor had said. It all made sense. Was I doing my job correctly? Did I even qualify to do it? Goblin ruined my thoughts by bursting in the wall of my room. I shoved the diary back under the heap bed. He then put my hands behind my back and tied them.

  “On your feet, Savage.” He said. I didn’t move. “I’m not a savage” I argued. He kicked me in my knee and pulled me to my feet. “Must I remind you, Vermin, that I hate your guts, so if you try anything you can only imagine what will happen!” he snapped. He pulled me towards the wall. “Where the hell are you taking me, you disgusting pile of slime!” I yelled, trying to tug away. “We will just have to see when we get there, won’t we?” he laughed. Back into the wall we went. This time, we went up. We were on what felt like a pitch black elevator. The ceiling opened up and we went through the opening.

  We now stood in a dim room with a desk and chairs on both sides. I looked around. The room was small, but classy. There were gold relics everywhere. “Sit down Vermin, Abysmal will be here soon” Goblin said. My heart sank. He’s the last one I had wanted to see. “I’d rather stand” I said, and spit in his face. The chair behind me growled, reached up, and grabbed me forcing me to sit down. “Now look, you’ve upset the chair! If I were Commander, I’d have done away with you a long time ago!” Goblin yelled, livid. “But you aren’t the commander, are you??” Abysmal asked, walking through the door. Goblin looked at the floor and didn’t say anything. “Are you?!!” Abysmal asked again, raising his voice. “No, sir” Goblin mumble
d. “Get out of my sight, you disgusting filth!” Abysmal yelled in Goblin’s face, then Goblin hobbled out of the door.

  There we sat, alone, Abysmal and I. I hid all traces of fear, he wouldn’t have gotten the best of me. He poured himself a drink, sat down, and sighed as if we were friends and he was about to tell me about his rough day. “Thirsty?” he asked. I ignored his offer. “Is it true that my father is here? Alive?” I asked. “Yes, and it will stay that way, as long as you cooperate with me” he reasoned, placing his golden gun on the desk staring at me. I looked at it, then back at him. “What about my grandmother?” I asked. He raised his eyebrow at that question. “Hannah escaped two years ago, no one has seen or heard of her since” he answered, looking curious. It took everything in me not to bust out laughing right in his stupid, ugly face. “What about Victor?” I asked, prying for more information. “Death by injection tomorrow, and you have to give him the shot.” He said smiling, proud of killing another one of my loved ones. “The worst pain known on this planet.” He gloated, he got up and came over to where the chair still held me seated.

  He leaned in to talk in my ear. “Blood will spill from his ears, his eyes, his nose, and his mouth, then when his body can’t take it anymore, his organs will explode.” He said, grinning from ear to ear as he went to sit back down. “He killed one of my soldiers, what did he expect? Shame, I liked Victor.” He said, amused at the idea. “Which brings me to why you are here, sunshine.” He said, standing up and pacing the room. “The soldier that was killed last night wore a ring. Where is it?” he asked. “What ring?” I asked. The chair finally let go of me. “I already searched your brother, and both backpacks. I found nothing but the gun, so don’t play games with me!!” he yelled, getting in my face. “I told you, I don’t have it.” I said, calmly. How did Victor get the ring? I thought to myself. I had put it in the backpack with the diary. My grandma. I smiled at first, which turned into a crescendo of laughter. If my hands weren’t tied, I would have been holding my stomach. I laughed, laughed until he slapped the taste out of my mouth. “I’ll put a bullet in your head and think nothing of it, now where is my ring!!!” he yelled and it echoed down the hallway. He then grabbed my face and pointed the gun directly on my forehead.