Untold Deception

by William Staikos

  The crowd went into a panic, and a riot broke out. Felis, Hymers, and Minyades joined in the fight as well. All the bottled-up anger people had suppressed for years, now erupted like a volcano. It was pure anarchy. I saw Seraculus being carried off by her father. She looked at me the entire time as she struggled on her father’s shoulder. People were being cut down from the guards. I decided to smash a few of the cuffs for the Red Skins. One of them was Haiba’s.

  “Get out of here, Salan!” Haiba screamed as he turned his skin color black and punched a guard.

  “I can’t leave you guys here!”

  One of the royal guards tried to cut down Haiba from behind. I shattered his nose with my palm. I stared at the king and our eyes met. Why was he crying? I started to go in his direction, towards the big gate. I could climb up to that balcony. He was the one responsible for my mother’s death. He could have stopped all of this. Suddenly, a flash of angel wings appeared before me. It was Mr. Finch.

  “Get out of here Salan!”

  “The king deserves to die!” I shouted.

  “Your mother would have wanted you to live! Run away now and don’t look back!”

  One royal guard sliced into the side of Mr. Finch’s wing. He didn’t get the whole wing, but it did some damage.

  “Mr. Finch!”

  He kicked the sword and broke it at a 45-degree angle. He used the handle of his sword to knock the guard out. Then, he looked over at me for a second.

  “GO!”

  When I glanced up, I saw my mother’s body hanging.

  ‘I’m so sorry,’ I whispered to myself.

  I turned to start running, but the sight of my mother had broken my focus. Suddenly, General Andrew was towering over me, his longsword already in mid-swipe. In the last fraction of a second, I moved back, blocking with my right arm. The sword went down. Time seemed to slowed as I saw my hand hit the ground. The cut was slightly above the elbow. The adrenaline flowing through me made me insensitive to pain. Andrew’s face was soaked in blood.

  Mr. Finch shoved Andrew back. “Keep moving Salan!”

  I bolted out of the area still spewing blood, dodging punches, and bulldozing people with my aura. I got out of the mosh pit, but additional guards and officers were rushing in. People were trampling over one another to escape. But for every officer and guard there was a Felis, Hymer, or Minyades joining in. It had become a battlefield.

  I kept up my pace to my house. I glanced my arm and put my hand over it, so I didn’t lose any more blood. The black aura covered up the wound to stop the bleeding, but this drained my battery.

  Making my escape, I jumped up onto the building rooftops. I kept hopping from one to the other. The shingles on a lot of the houses were old and worn out. The smoke from several factories blocked a clear view of me.

  ‘Letting my mother die…What if I had been faster? What if I had grabbed her as the trap door opened? I could have saved her!’

  My arm and the pain in my back were of no concern to me anymore.

  ‘I’m sorry mom. I failed you.’

  Eventually, I got to my house. Our rooftop sagged but seemed sturdy, so I jumped onto it. The roof collapsed immediately under my weight. I crashed through the roof into my bedroom. Wood, shingles, and nails following in my wake. A nail flew at my right eye as I was falling. When I hit the floor, the blood from my arm started pouring out again. But why couldn’t I see correctly?

  Again, I covered up my right arm with aura. The adrenaline rush was beginning to fade, and the pain was pounding me in waves. I stood up and noticed that I couldn’t see out of my right eye. My right eye felt wet. At first, I thought it was sweat, but it was blood, and there was plenty of it. I rushed to my washroom to find alcohol and bandages. This was a one-way trip, so I just pulled out the drawers and let their contents spill out on the floor. The guards had me in their sights; I had become a renegade Abundan on the run, and the clock was ticking. I had to grab what I needed and head to the forest, which was practically a second home for me.

  I washed away the blood with alcohol, throwing everything else to the side. I poured it over my eye, screaming in pain the entire time. It felt as if someone lit me on fire. Briefly, I undid the aura on my right arm to disinfect it as well.

  The room was bloody like an animal was slaughtered. I kept putting alcohol on my eye. When I eventually cleared away the blood and looked in the mirror, I saw that the cut was significant. Opening my right eye slowly, I still could see nothing through it. At first, I thought I imagined it, but I was blind in my right eye. My cellular ability to accelerate mitosis will heal the wound, but I don’t know if my vision would ever return.

  I inspected my room. Grabbing only the essentials, I snagged Mr. Finch’s knife, some wooden throwing knives, and my leather pouch. I was about to leave the room but stopped, rummaged around a pile of my stuff, and grabbed my mother's flute. I ran downstairs to get the salted Macrovinae carcasses. I didn’t have much time.

  Suddenly, some royal guardsmen busted down the door. One of them was a Caltron. Although there was an alliance, most Caltrons found fighting with Humans were beneath them. The golden armor of the Caltron shone brightly with light. He spotted me leaving the back door and charged with his sword. I ducked in time, but I had no time to grab the Macrovinae bag. While the Caltron struggled to dislodge his longsword from the wall, I dashed towards the forest behind my house. I heard his flapping wings coming closer and closer. His aura glowed red, revealing that he was an Abundan.

  My pace quickened as I heard the angel of death approaching. An instant before he reached me, I slid under a tree branch. The forest was too thick for him to fly. I was heartened to hear his sword scabbard rattling, stuck in tree branches. I couldn’t hear him anymore. My ears were better than my eyes; they always had been. I kept running for another ten minutes for good measure.

  When I glanced up, the black smoke from the factories was overhead, showing that the wind was in my favor. I’d never been so glad to see pollution in my life!

  A squad of Caltrons could do aerial sweeps and find me fast. With the veil of smoke overhead, I climbed a tall tree. This was a much harder task with one arm. I climbed up until the branches thinned out, and stopped at 30 meters. The royal guard would send a tracking team to find me below.

  Then my mind shot back to the scene at my house, ‘Maybe I should have grabbed that salted meat faster.’

  My vision began to fade as I grew more tired; using that much of my battery had taken a toll. I had to avoid combat at all costs and focus on covering up my arm wound. Suddenly, an idea popped into my head. Slowly, I retracted a little bit of my black aura. Some blood came out, but that would allow tiny pieces of my arm to heal over time. If I let go of all my aura, too much blood would pour out. I had to ration my battery and blood. I opened my right eye: still nothing.

  My brain flashed back to the hanging, causing my entire body to shiver. I could mourn later, but I couldn’t afford to let my heart guide me for a while. I couldn’t stay on the ground because my footprints would be easy to track. I took a piece of the pouch and tore at it with my knife. Then, crafted a hood out of the old leather. Regular people could spot me too quickly out in the open.

  The trial started at nine, so it had to be pushing ten by that point. I did not have the benefit of darkness to stay hidden. I would have to wait until night to hunt with my night vision. My plan was to move during the day and hunt at night. Sleep was not an option, because regular Faslow guards had good trackers for runaway slaves. The royal guard tracking unit would be fantastic. But this was still my territory, and I knew how to navigate the forest. The only thing was that I’d never been farther than three hours from my house.

  I heard a flapping noise behind me. When I turned around and I saw a note sitting on the tree branch. It must have fallen out of my pocket. Picking it up, I saw it was the letter my mom had written to me. It only brought pain. What I’d give to talk to my mom again! Tears streamed down my face, but I couldn�
��t stop them.

  I tucked away the note and kept moving, hopping from branch to branch, but my moves were clumsier than usual. My grunts of pain also made me noisier. Usually, I could stay quiet. I moved a bit lower in case I lost my balance. Besides, I didn’t come this far to die from falling.

  I had an idea to throw them off. I went into a 90-degree turn from where I was planning to go for five minutes, then slid down the tree to purposely make tracks. I walked backwards along my tracks and climbed back up the tree. Then, I traced back to where I had been, moving off in a different direction. Hopefully, that was enough to confuse them.

  I headed to the river where I had killed the two Macrovinae. I approached the river and let myself down from the overhanging branches. As I placed my arms down into the water, I got a cruel reminder. I used my left hand and drank as much water as I could. The water seemed clean, but people sometimes dumped their garbage here with no respect for nature. I washed my right eye and then tried looking through it again.

  “Come on,” I muttered to myself.

  Still nothing. I couldn’t see anything from it, but at least the bleeding had stopped. My battery life was not doing well, having had any recovery period. The fact that I was starving didn’t help.

  Turning back to my arm, I had to push myself even if I was low on blood. I cut my pants and created a makeshift cloth to stop the bleeding. I retracted a bit of the aura again, forming a smaller oval shape for the nub. That was a test for my makeshift bandage.

  The tightly wrapped cloth cut off some of the circulation. Hopefully, this measure would allow my arm to heal soon. I couldn’t keep going on like this. If I fell asleep, the aura would retract, and I’d bleed out. So, I needed to stay awake for the next day until I found another solution.

  Hearing a rustling noise in the leaves, my heart skipped a beat. A squirrel scurried in front of me. I slowly grabbed my wooden throwing knives with my left hand. However, I was used to my right hand for throwing. I threw it at the squirrel, and the knife hit its back feet, it squealed in agony. Moving quickly, I finished the job.

  Glancing down, I noticed that I had made trails by the river. I kicked water onto my tracks and grabbed the squirrel.

  How was I going to cook it without anyone knowing? I didn’t even know if I could eat that meat raw. Better not risk it. I can’t afford another medical issue. I tucked it away and climbed back onto the branch overhanging the water.

  But before I climbed very far, my cat ears detected something. I froze and tried to pick up a faint sound. After a few minutes, very faintly, I heard a man’s voice say, “He went this way!”

  I kicked up my pace in moving through the trees. Good thing the Minyades weren’t allowed in the army; echolocation would be an effortless way to find someone. The royal military didn’t trust the Minyades, even if they had recently granted them more rights.

  I traveled in the same direction for two hours. From the sun's position, I estimated it was about one in the afternoon. Out of breath, I took a rest and inspected my arm nub. The wound seemed to have healed a bit more, slowly but surely. I was thankful my cells regenerated so fast.

  Then, I realized I hadn’t picked up the blue coins back at home. I slapped my forehead:

  ‘Dammit! If only I‘d had more time to search!’

  That kind of money would have been perfect. I stood up and jumped from one branch to another for two hours, and every time I stopped for a quick break. Eventually, I became too fatigued from blood loss to continue. I sat down and leaned against a tree trunk.

  Sunlight filtered through the trees and warmed my face.. The smoke had started to disappear. Scanning the sky, I saw Caltrons in the distance. I held my breath. If I moved to seek cover, they might spot me. They were hovering over the forest, looking for me. I held my breath as I watched them fly past. I let out a sigh of relief.

  Trying to determine my position was difficult because this was the farthest I’d ever gone from my house. I decided to rest for a bit longer, planning a course of action. I licked my finger and stuck it up, seeing if I could detect wind direction in this part of the country. I knew I could not find any sanctuary here in Faslow, but fortunately, Faslow was surrounded by several other countries.

  Sharok was the next nation to the north. I had never been there before, and everything I knew about it came from my mother, who had always dreamed of living there. Sharok was a merchant nation, and all people there enjoyed equal rights. But my mother and I were too poor to travel there, and my birth anchored Mom. Sharok was three days away by horse carriage. That was quite a distance for someone in my condition, but it seemed like my only viable option. First, I needed to find a place to recover.

  It was about two hours from sunset. It took me about an hour to reach the edge of the forest. I saw a city with bright street lights and people walking by. The environmental change shocked me. I stopped, hiding behind tree trunks to avoid being seen. I had always thought the forest went farther. The city might be useful for replenishing resources, but it was also risky to be out in public.

  I climbed a tree and stood at the top of one of the branches. The cobblestone roads were empty now. I shimmied down and dashed from the forest into an alley on the edge of town. Hunger was my biggest problem. When I turned a corner in the alley, I ran into two passed out Felis’. They were homeless, just like me. I nudged one of them awake.

  “Hey! Can you help me?” I asked in an urgent whisper.

  The Felis jumped up, ready for a fight. But when he saw me, he dropped his guard. Pointing at my arm, he said, “What happened to your arm, kid?”

  “Lost it.”

  “What do you want me to do about it?” asked the Felis.

  “Is there any way you can help me?”

  “Sure, let me get my medical equipment,” he replied.

  I was happy at first but soon came to realize he was joking. I could see his rib cage through his shirt. Then, I thought of a good trade.

  “Tell you what: if you help me cook this squirrel, I’ll give you half of the meat plus the skin.”

  The Felis immediately walked over to an old barrel and motioned for me to be quiet. I guess he didn’t want to share his rations with his Felis friend. He got some old newspaper and a rusted metal rod for the skewer. He cut the squirrel open and cooked it. I was nervous that I’d get caught here, but the alleyway was long and dark. He handed me my half, and I practically inhaled the meat. I was so hungry that I even ate the bones.

  I heard footsteps and peered around to see who it was. It was a patrol of the royal guard. My number one need had just become finding a hideout for the night. Patiently, I waited until the guards left and the coast was clear. I walked along the alleys, finding many Felis on the way, so it was easy to blend in. Some seemed like Abominations. Others were Minyades and Hymers. I walked up to one Hymer who had Red Skin. Maybe he knew Haiba? He might be able to give me something I could use as a bandage.

  “Can you help me?” I asked.

  “What are you doing around here kid?”

  One of the Felis nearby said, “Get away from him. That kid is what the royal guards are looking for!”

  The Hymer’s smile was corrupt. I could tell that he was not a friend of Haiba’s, so I moved back slowly.

  “Maybe there’s a reward for capturing him,” said the red-skinned Hymer.

  The alleyways stopped, seeming like a haven. Some of the men stood up, their faces contorted in greed. Their desperation for money outweighed whatever morals they may have retained. I flared my aura and punched the Hymer into the brick wall. I heard several bones break.

  “Leave me alone,” I said.

  The other men moved back. They didn’t run, but they watched me warily. I turned around and bolted in the opposite direction. Behind me, I hear the men shouting, “Guards! Guards! Over here!”

  I went back into the forest. I quickly climbed high up into the trees. There were so many leaves on one of the branches that it was pitch black inside, almost cozy.
It was like a cocoon protecting me from all the hate. It was also far enough away that people couldn’t see me from the city. High enough to be undetectable either by ground patrols or flying Caltrons. This was the best resting site I was likely to find.

  I hid amongst the trees, my new home, where there was no corruption. There was no selfishness. Trees do not whisper about you or isolate you. They were one of the few things I could trust in this world.

  The sun started to set, and the search teams would probably wait until sunrise to continue their pursuit. There was no point surveying in the dark; lantern light wasn’t bright enough. As I caught my breath, I felt my pockets for anything of use. I took out the note my mother gave me, and read:

  ‘Dear Salan,

  Be sure to do the house chores and always stay positive. You are my life, my pride, and my joy. Your mother is crafty, so don't worry about that landlord’s notice. Seraculus is a nice friend. Be sure to send her my best wishes. I’ll try not to poke fun at you too much around her, but no promises. Love you Salan. Have a fun weekend!

  Sincerely, your loving mother.’

  ‘I love you too,’ I thought. ‘Mom, I don’t mind if you embarrass me anymore. It really doesn’t bother me. Why did you have to go?’

  The pain of what happened set in, and I cried for hours. Eventually, I tucked away the note, took off the bag, and started taking away more of the aura. The arm was halfway healed so I knew that it would be OK by morning. I tried to think of what I could do. My mind drew a blank. The only idea was the need to keep moving north. Taking out my mother's flute, I was about to blow on it until I realized it would give away my position. I could never play as good as her anyway.

  Lying down, I examined it. The flute’s engravings made it more precious, and I treasured it as much as Mr. Finch’s knife. Trying to keep myself awake, I looked outside from the forest to where I’d go in the city. I needed money or a mode of faster transportation. Besides, who I could trust to supply them? I didn't know anyone here, and it’s not like I had a lot of friends being an Abomination.