The assassin looks at Ari’s face. She had not heard as much as him, and looks back into his concerned eyes with confusion. He places a forefinger to his lips, and silently gestures for them to leave. Slowly, they rise from their booth, and start to emerge from the silk curtains. Madame Trousseau is standing nearby, flanked by her Elite Guards.
‘Leaving so soon?’ she asks with a sly smile.
‘It is late,’ explains the assassin, pushing Ari slightly behind his larger frame. ‘We must venture back home in the morning.’
‘But you promised to stay for the after-party,’ Madame Trousseau chastises, and as if summoned by her words, two girls emerge with drinks in hand.
One of the girls is Kaley. They each place a fluted glass of the golden liquid into Ari’s and her companion’s hands.
‘Drink,’ Madame Trousseau demands, gesturing to the glasses.
‘It’s late,’ the assassin starts but Madame Trousseau won’t have it.
‘Drink,’ she says forcefully, and in synchrony, the girls place a hand on the bottom of each glass and tip the contents up into the mouths of their guests.
Ari feels the liquid, warm in her throat, coarse throughout her chest and spread to her limbs. Soon her mind feels light, and she sways on her feet. She looks around and the faces before her blur together, the voices are long and high pitch in places. She looks for Kaley, but she has suddenly disappeared. Before she can register her missing friend, she sways once more and then.. blackness.
CHAPTER SEVEN
The sound of a bubbling brook.
Birds chirping nearby.
Grasses moving with the cold breeze.
The scent of bread baking.
◆◆◆
Head pounding, Ari slowly opens her eyes.
Cold-blue electric plasma-like bars come into view.
A dirt floor.
Eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness, Ari finds herself in a cold, damp cell. Closing her eyes again, she looks for the images of a world outside, a world she new before.
‘Are you ok?’ a husky voice from the cell nearby. The assassin.
Ari looks down to her arms and hands. She still wears the green dress but her pink wig is nowhere to be found, ‘Yes.. I think so. What.. what happened?’
‘She knew,’ whispers the assassin, more to himself, ‘She knew who we were.’
‘But how?’
Shaking his head the assassin moves closer to Ari’s cell, ‘We must have been followed. From The Holly-Oaks Centre. Or..,’ he trails off.
‘Or?’ Ari has a feeling somehow getting caught must have been her fault.
‘Or you might be tagged,’ says the assassin, peering through the cell bars, his face half covered in shadow. Ari looks down to her hands and arms. Surely she’d know if that were true.
The sound of jingling metal, the scraping of a door and then a sliver of light enters the dungeon room. Emerging from the shadows appears a tall, gangly man. His face is long and seems to be in a permanent scowl. His eyes, cold and unforgiving, cast over Ari as she sits in the corner of her cell. Behind him, stand two Elite Guards, phasers in hand.
‘You are worth a lot to us, Miss Arielle,’ he says, no hint of emotion on his face, ‘And you,’ he says, turning to the assassin, ‘Made a grave error befriending this one. We have been looking for you for some time. And before long, we will find your companions and bring them to justice as we will do with you.’
The assassin does not respond.
Without another word, the gangly man steps forward and unlocks Ari’s cell with the press of his thumb on a nearby panel - old technology from the world before. The cell bars disappear and the Elite Guards move swiftly towards Ari. Trying to fight them off, Ari yells, ‘Let me go!’ She kicks randomly, hitting one of the Guards to the crotch.
‘You bitch!’ he screams, grabbing her by the throat.
‘Enough!’ the gangly man yells. ‘Our buyer won’t wait for long.’
The guard releases his grasp around her throat and Ari falls to the floor, gasping and clutching at the burning around her neck.
Her voice comes out cracked and hoarse, ‘What do you want with me?’
‘You are being sold to the highest bidder,’ the gangly man offers. ‘Along with your Healer friend.’
Before she could protest, the other Guard places his phaser to her side and discharges the weapon. A bolt of electricity shoots forward, hitting Ari in the ribs, knocking her off her feet. She lays, stunned on the ground, eyes staring at the ceiling above. Her limbs are frozen. She tries to speak but nothing. She is paralysed. The Elite guards lift her into their arms and move ahead of their boss, exiting the dungeons.
‘Do not worry,’ the gangly man says to the assassin, ‘ You shall soon meet your fate.’
Ari is carried over stone stairs and up through a winding passage. She is blindfolded at the top and suddenly she is being bundled into a moving vehicle.
◆◆◆
After what feels like an eternity, the vehicle comes to an abrupt stop and the blindfold is removed. Ari looks around and finds herself outside a small grey domed, windowless building. Without warning, she is forced out of the car, and onto her feet, which, to her surprise, support her weight. She walks slowly forwards, held onto either side by the guards. Behind them walks the gangly man from the dungeon. They enter the building, an old abandoned warehouse from the world before. The air inside is musty and every surface is covered in inches of dust. Small caged lights hang from the domed ceiling, barely lighting up the scene below.
Standing at the far end of the building near a shiny black limousine, is Madame Trousseau. Sitting on an upturned container, hands bound behind her back, is Kaley. As the group holding Ari approaches, she looks up, eyes full of fear. She and Ari’s eyes meet and Ari sees the apology in her bright blue eyes.
‘Arielle,’ Madame Trousseau croons. ‘I knew your companion was not who he said he was.. but you..,’ she claps her hands together in glee. ‘To find out that the second Healer had landed on my doorstep.’
With a clawed hand, she lifts Kaley’s chin and looks into her eyes with reverence. ‘To think that I would be blessed to have both famed Healers come to me in such short succession,’ she smiles, and releases Kaley’s face. ‘And now to sell you both to the highest bidder.’
Ari looks to Kaley who refuses to meet her gaze, and it is then that she understands. She and the assassin were not followed or tracked. They were sold out - by Kaley.
‘Correct,’ Madame Trousseau smiles as she sees the truth dawning on Ari’s face.
‘Your best friend - your sister,’ she gestures towards Kaley. ‘Sold you out for a promise of a better life. But not to Ascension as she thought, no. But to be a Healer in the Founding Family’s army. And you both will earn me a pretty penny, indeed. And I will finally Ascend to Elite status.’
Just as she finishes, a limousine identical to the one in the warehouse drives through the opening. A woman with red hair slicked back into a long ponytail, emerges from the car, dressed in a black pencil skirt and blouse, her face young and not wax-like like the others. She must not be Elite, Ari realises, but a loyal servant to them instead. She must be the buyer sent by the Founding Family.
‘Hume,’ the redhead addresses the gangly man from the dungeon, ‘Madame Trousseau,’ she bows deep. ‘I understand you have the goods.’
Hume steps forwards with Ari, ‘we have what you came for, Maude,’ and he passes Ari to her.
Ari can finally speak again, “Wait, where are you taking me?’
No one responds and instead Kaley is forced up by the Elite Guards and moved forwards to the second limousine, without a word. Together, she and Ari are bundled into the back seat. Again, they are blindfolded. Ari starts to protest, but soon after finds her mouth is gagged and she can no longer speak.
‘The bullion,’ Madame Trousseau demands, curtly.
‘Of course,’ says Maude, exchanging a small metal canister marked with the Founding Family
’s insignia, with Hume.
‘And my status?’ asks Madame Trousseau.
‘You will Ascend to Elite status by end of the week,’ Maude replies, as she turns and enters the limousine, sitting across from her kidnapped prize.
‘Excellent,’ Madame Trousseau says excitedly as she takes the canister from Hume. The limousine drives off and as she turns the lid to look upon her new riches, a fire bolt explodes from within.
◆◆◆
As the limousine drives on, Ari hears an explosion, too close for comfort.
The searing heat suddenly comes through the limousine windows.
Her blind-fold is removed and she is able to glance back to see the warehouse a ball of flames and thick-black smoke. She looks back to her new captor sitting across from her, smiling.
Maude is tall, with long limbs and an athletic build. Her deep red hair reminds Ari of rubies glistening, as the glow of the flames afar reflect off her sleek locks. She stares back at Ari and suddenly Ari feels guilty for staring so long at the woman before her. Maude winks then turns to speak to the driver in a whisper.
Kaley sits motionless next to Ari, blindfold also removed. Tears stream down her face, as she stares out the dark tinted windows. The limousine turns down an empty street and soon into a dimly lit alleyway. Before she can even register that they have stopped, the limousine doors are opened by another man, who seemed to have been waiting in the alleys shadows. He wears a dark hood, reminding Ari of the assassin she left behind in the dungeon, wondering what happened to be his fate.
Ari and Kaley are quickly pulled out of the vehicle, from either side by this newcomer and the driver of the limousine, hands still bound behind their backs, gags still in their mouths. Together, they are pushed into the back of a gunmetal grey windowless van, sitting atop shiny ball bearing wheels. Ari is just able to glimpse a white sign on the van’s side: ‘Republique Morgue Services.’
Before she could attempt to kick the double doors of the van to try and escape, they are locked inside the blackness and all is quiet.
Suddenly, the van lurches forwards, and Ari falls forwards, hitting her head against the metal - unsure which way is up, and then they are on the move.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The van suddenly comes to a halt and soon all is quiet.
Ari strains her eyes and ears in the dark, listening for any clue about where they might be and what might happen next. Her heart beats so fast in her throat, she feels she might soon cough it up. Nearby, she can hear the quickened breathing of Kaley.
‘Why did you do it?’ she wants to ask, but with the gag in her mouth, she sits silent. Without the gag, she does not know if she could ask, anyway, sure she does not want to know the answer.
◆◆◆
As the van drives through the empty streets, Maude, now dressed in full black leather, with a high neck collar, and zip down the middle of her back, sits in the front passenger seat. She turns to the driver, the hooded figure who pulled Ari from the limousine earlier, and nods once as they approach the dark alleyway less than a kilometre from the City Centre. The Limousine follows close behind, headlights off, so as to keep hidden in the low light of the dusk sky. The van is parked and in unison, both Maude and the van driver hop out of the car, Maude with a sniper gun and the driver with double blades strapped to his back. The limousine driver, now also wearing a hooded jacket, with pistols strapped to his hips, follows close behind. As they emerge into the open from the reprieve of the alleyway, they separate without a word, but move in the same direction, towards the sound of the crowd in the distance.
Maude approaches a skyscraper on the edge of the main city square – Raine Square. She agilely climbs the outside of the glass dome and then the towering structure with her hands and feet, gloves and boots electrified so as to allow her to stick to the surface like glue, sniper rifle hanging from her back.
Within minutes, she has made it to the roof, sun just setting beyond, and takes her place across from the commotion occurring in Raine Square. Slowly, she removes the sniper rifle from her back and sets it up on the ledge, looking through the attached scope. Standing atop a stage at the far end of the Square is Chancellor Heston and his advisor, Vice-Chancellor Chvostek. Elite Guards stand closely behind with more stationed around the stage and Square, looking out to the crowd beyond. Three men kneel at the edge of the stage, hands bound behind their backs, heads covered by black hoods. Sniper Guards are stationed around the Square, behind the windows of towers.
‘The New World is changing,’ addresses Chancellor Heston, voice amplified by a small device situated just above his larynx, to the crowd. ‘We are constantly threatened by new problems, including small pockets of Resistance Groups cropping up in the irradiated World beyond our borders.’ With these words, he gestures towards the kneeling figures before him. ‘Other problems we face include resource depletion,’ he gestures to the figures again, ‘And now we come to find our mortality is closer than ever.’
The crowd grows restless with his words, voices escalating until.. ‘Silence!’ Vice-Chancellor Chvostek yells, eyes hard as he looks out to the Elites before him.
‘Thank you,’ Chancellor Heston continues his address, ‘And to make sure we do not have further issues, we will make an example of these three.’
Three Elite guards step forwards, positioned behind each of the kneeling men, long sabres pointing to their backs. In synchrony, they remove the hoods of the three men, revealing their faces to the jeering crowd below. The guards activate their sabres and an electric force of purple light shaped like a curved blade emerges from the far ends of each staff.
Kneeling on the stage is the assassin, right side of his face marred by an old dark scar, extending from forehead to chin. To his right is an elderly man, pulled from one of the nearby towns that supply one of the many resources to The Rebuplique, head bowed but no sign of fear on his face or body. To his left is a younger man – actually just a boy - realises Maude, with straw-coloured hair, and dark brown freckles covering his face and bare arms. His whole body shakes with fear as he kneels in a growing yellow puddle. Maude wonders what his crime must be - perhaps not agreeing to slave labour with The Elites.
Just as Chancellor Heston is about to give the order for the kill, a red-dot starts to grow bright on his forehead.
Then there is a pop, a spray of blood, and he falls backwards, lifeless.
Screaming the crowd disperses in a frenzy, climbing over each other to escape the Square. The Elite Guards move to protect the Vice-Chancellor, swiftly moving him off the stage and into a waiting black Government car. The other guards scan the Square, searching for the sniper. Without waiting to see what happens next, Maude packs up her gun and quickly descends from the skyscraper, before the Elite Snipers on nearby buildings catch her out.
◆◆◆
Down below, the assassin jumps up as the shot is fired, head-butting the Elite Guard behind him, then falling onto his back, he kicks out his legs, tripping up the other Elite Guards, all before the lifeless body of The Chancellor hits the stage floor. The Elite Guards register what has just happened and before he could help them, the old man and young boy are sliced through with the glowing blades of the sabres.
The assassin, flips over a dazed guards back, somersaulting to the ground of Raine Square. Out of the shadows on either side of stage emerge two hooded figures. One removes the double blades strapped to his back as he runs forwards, taking a blade to the ropes bound around the assassin’s wrists. At the same time, the other removes his pistols, takes aim and with a flash of light the Elite Guards fall one by one as they are struck. The hooded figure with the double blades pulls a long dagger sheathed at his waist and throws it to the rescued assassin. They swing their weapons together, felling the guards around them. The Elite crowd has almost fully dispersed into the surrounding streets, screaming with fear as they run for their lives.
◆◆◆
Ari sits quietly as she waits in the cold, dark van. Before l
ong, there is motion outside and the sound of scraping of metal on metal. Suddenly, light streams through the double doors at the same time the van’s engine roars to life and it starts forwards. Three figures throw themselves into the moving van and quickly lock the doors behind them. There is a quick click and suddenly the van is alight, as Ari sees Maude with a hand on a light switch, hanging from the van ceiling. Ari looks to the other faces to find the limousine driver - a darker skinned man with spiky black hair, and green eyes. He has a small pencil-thin moustache extending down from his lips to his small black beard. His nose is pierced with a small silver stud. He meets Ari’s stare with a wide grin. To Ari’s pleasant surprise sits the assassin she met, what feels like an eternity ago, at The Holly-Oaks Centre. For the first time, she sees his face clearly, not hidden in shadow or behind a mask. His hazel-green eyes are warm as they look upon her, his mousey-brown hair sticking up at the back of his head. The scar that marks the right side of his face, which she finds enhances his beauty rather than detracts from it, intrigues her.
‘Good to see you’re still alive,’ he says to Ari. ‘Arielle,’ he adds.
Ari feels a small thrill run through her at the sound of her name on his lips. She tries to answer but realises she is still gagged. Maude quickly removes the gags from her and Kaley’s mouths.
‘What happened to you,’ Ari asks, looking between the three companions in front of her.
‘I see you’re acquainted,’ says Maude, looking from Ari to the assassin.
‘I’m Maude Garnett’ she says to Ari, placing her gun in front of her on her thighs, as she pulls out a rag from her pocket and starts to polish the rifle.
‘Xavier Rodriguez,’ says the limousine driver, still grinning widely.
Elite Nation: Book One Page 4
