Spirits of Falajen

by Ginger Salazar

  “Your Maker?” she hissed and recollected her basic world history classes and their various religions. “You believe in some deity you’ve never seen before yet think that our ‘spirits’ are just anomalies?” She groaned through gritted teeth when the third scientist sliced at her arms, allowing the blood to flow to the new containers below. The scientist repeated the torture on her other forearm while the metal band was placed upon her head. She, too, felt the painful shock of mystic blood binding and screamed into the rolled up rag. The containers below captured the fused, mystical blood.

  “She’s only a suppressor,” one of the scientists stated. “We’ll make more gold selling her back to the Kiarans. We should keep only what we need to keep the other one under control.” Moments later, Sulica’s world went dark.

  -:- -:- -:-

  A distant owl’s hooting that night startled Sulica and Brisethi from their already restless sleep on the cold stone floor. The scientists didn’t have the decency to replace the filthy mattresses causing both women to huddle in a random corner of their cells when they required sleep. Their lack of sleep, combined with the advanced apparatus that “bonded” their mystics to their blood was fuel to their throbbing headaches.

  “Why is that owl so damn loud?” Brisethi asked in the dark of their cells.

  “It isn’t any louder than the owls back home. It’s just incessantly quiet in here,” Sulica retorted. After spending more than five years on ships surrounded by her crew, she wasn’t used to the silence either. She hardly had social interaction since becoming a captive and yearned to talk to anyone. “Do you think anyone’s out there looking for us?”

  Brisethi remained on her sore back staring up at the mildew-infested ceiling as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Her neck, shoulders and hips ached from lying on her side on solid stone for the past hour. “The Dominion is looking for me, yes. I doubt if the crew you treated so terribly is on their way for you, however.”

  Sulica realized now why Brisethi ignored her so often in expedition training. The way Brisethi spoke to her now must have been how Sulica sounded to her back then. “How long do you think they’ll keep us in here?”

  “Until we die if we don’t escape,” Brisethi assumed. “Look at those others, the ones who have lost their minds. How long do you they’ve been here?”

  As if attempting to answer, one of the other females in the cell further down mumbled incoherently. Sulica picked at a thread from her still decently clean gown. Her legs and feet were cold from the stone floor as she brought her knees to her chest under her gown. Neither of them were given shoes or socks. She wondered if they would be allowed to bathe as she stared at the small toilet in the opposite corner of her cell. She was already missing the small necessities of her daily routines such as a toothbrush, a hairbrush, soap and washrags. It was only their second night in the laboratory but the hours seemed to last days. She heard heavy breathing coming from Brisethi’s cell. “Did you already fall back to sleep?”

  “No, my nose is stuffed, I’m about to use my gown to blow into it, gosh I’m already disgusting. Are they ever going to give us more wipes? I used the last of mine earlier to ‘bathe’.”

  Sulica furrowed her brow at Brisethi. “With what water? The toilet?”

  “Yeah,” Brisethi replied with a short laugh. “I’m not trying to impress anyone, I just wanted to wash the dirt off my feet.” She held a foot toward Sulica and wiggled her toes.

  “Are you already going mad?” Sulica asked and reached over to her pile of unused cloth wipes. She wadded a few of them up and started throwing them across the corridor to Brisethi’s cell.

  “Probably,” Brisethi replied as she reached for the pieces of cloth given to her by Sulica. Some of them didn’t quite make it to her cell as she reached her arm through the bars. Her fingers barely reached them to pull them in. “Thanks.”

  Brisethi had already spent over two weeks as a prisoner, combining the two ships and the current laboratory. She felt as though her sanity was already slipping away and found a sort of calm in scrubbing dirt off of her body. For a moment, she almost forgot how much she hated Sulica for putting her through this madness.

  Both girls turned their heads toward the main door at the end of the corridor when they heard the lock release.

  “I hope that’s the cleaning crew,” Sulica chimed, attempting to find any small amount of content in a visitor.

  “Oh, it’s just the guards. They’re here early, even earlier than the scientists,” Brisethi muttered.

  They became silent when Dasni, the smaller Lantheun guard, unlocked Sulica’s cell. He placed a small lantern outside her cell and let himself in.

  Brisethi curiously watched, wondering if he was the one replacing their cloth wipes, perhaps preparing them for a bath.

  “What are you doing?” Sulica asked the guard when he began forcefully removing her gown. She threw fists at the guard but he casually grasped both of her hands and cuffed them. “Get off of me!” she shrieked with cringe and terror when he grabbed at her breasts. He began to unbuckle his belt and remove his trousers.

  “Hey!” Brisethi instinctively called out. The woman was her adversary, but even she didn’t want to be in the presence of what was about to happen to her.

  “Oh, you want to join in, fire girl?” Dasni asked her.

  If it would allow her out of her cell for a chance to escape, she replied in a voice of desire, “Yes, actually.”

  “Ha, I’m not that stupid!” he replied while holding his hand on Sulica’s mouth to quiet her screams. Sulica was already stripped of her underclothes as she kicked at the man. He threw her onto her face and held her legs down, spread apart.

  Brisethi covered her ears and closed her eyes at what happened next. Sulica’s screams of pain echoed through her covered ears. For a moment, she wanted to help her by trying to distract the guard. But deep down inside her vengeful thoughts, Brisethi realized it was Sulica who got them both in this situation. As far as she was concerned, she had it coming. She glanced over one last time, certain it would be her turn if she didn’t strategize a plan of attack.

  Chent, the bigger Lantheun guard startled Brisethi when he arrived at her cell.

  “Why are you both here so early?” Brisethi courageously asked, rising to her feet.

  Chent grinned widely. “The scientists won’t be here for another hour. Guess what we get to do in the meantime?”

  “Sulica! Release your suppression of me!” Brisethi shrieked. She would not be able to overpower such a brawny man.

  But Sulica was already disconnected from herself, retreating mentally to avoid further injury. She went limp, trying to shut out any and all of her senses, squeezing her eyes closed, tuning out Dasni’s grunts and Bresethi’s shouts.

  Weakened from lack of nutrition and minimal water, Brisethi faced her perpetrator. Chent grinned at her, reaching for his belt. Brisethi waited until he was away from the cell door as she sprung into action. She sprinted to the cell door, knowing it was unlocked. She pulled it toward herself, awaiting her freedom.

  The cell had automatically locked.

  Chent laughed. “You’re going to need this key,” he held up the same key to the outside of her cell door.

  Infuriated and disheartened, she lunged at the man. Her fists landed to his face, her kicks found his ribs, but he was careful to guard his most vulnerable area, accustomed to fighting off weakened prisoners.

  Chent continued laughing, enjoying the fight. He was surprised at how skilled she was at dodging all of his attacks. Growing frustrated he finally unsheathed a small knife from his boot. “You’re going to tire me out before I’ve even had you,” he heavily breathed.

  “You would stab me? Property of the laboratory?” Brisethi taunted, knowing her blood was needed by the scientists and shouldn’t be wasted.

  Chent wiped at his bloody nose his prisoner had given him with his sleeve then spit more blood and saliva out onto the floor. He advanced toward her, knife in h
and but she dodged yet again. She was quickly tiring from lack of proper meals for the past two weeks. She couldn’t keep running, dodging and fighting someone stronger than her, weak as she was and without the aide of her mystics. She kicked toward his groin area but wasn’t quick enough to retract in her weary state. Chent was quick to plunge the knife into her foot, causing her to yelp.

  Brisethi couldn’t ignore the tear of a tendon in her foot and fell to the ground. She applied pressure to her open wound but was quickly grasped by Chent.

  He used all of his might to bring her hands behind her back and cuffed them. “Hey Dasni, I don’t think you’ll be able to handle this one, she’s most likely stronger than you,” Chent chuckled.

  Brisethi looked over to Sulica who had finally been left alone as Dasni locked her cell. She was still in a catatonic state, naked and lying on her stomach. She shuddered to think that she too, would be left in that position.

  Panic crept into Brisethi when Chent pulled her legs toward him and pushed up her gown. Her underclothes were ripped from her body. She strained to keep her legs together, crossing them and kicking at him despite her foot injury. Blood from her foot and reopened wounds caused by the scientists seeped onto the ground. Chent, healthy and energetic, overpowered her and began to strangle her.

  Brisethi couldn’t believe this was about to happen to her.

  She had been through the training, multiple times. Her mother lectured her more times than she could remember, to not get raped, as if it were the victim’s fault for not taking every precaution to avoid predators. She had fought off multiple bandits, pirates and sparred with fellow Dominion soldiers. She could defeat almost anyone, even her own best friend who had trained her to become as skilled as him. But she had never fought any of them after two weeks of little to no food, weakened muscles, and without the use of her mystics.

  It could never happen to me, she used to think. I’m stronger than a lot of men, so she thought.

  She inhaled deeply when Chent released his grip on her throat and shrieked when she felt his fingers shoved into her. She shouted once more to wake Sulica but to no avail. Her body was succumbing to defeat as he finally pried her legs open and forcefully let himself in.

  Sulica, with eyes full of tears and unable to process what just happened, looked on with remorse.

  When the Lantheun guard was finally finished with her, Brisethi crawled to the toilet. Her foot was throbbing, her thighs ached, her tender skin burned. She hunched over the toilet and proceeded to vomit. She suddenly regretted her earlier thought that Sulica had this coming to her. No one, woman or man, deserved to be violated like that.

  After spitting out the rest of the bile from her mouth she sat on the toilet. Her body was defiled; ripped and torn in places not meant for such acts. She needed her body to flush out everything the Lantheun had left in her. At feeling completely broken and helpless, she planted her face into her hands and sobbed.

  What kind of monster takes pleasure in destroying another human’s life in such a way?

  -:- -:- -:-

  The air was crisp with the leftovers of night fading away. Dew still clung onto the grass, waiting for the morning sun to warm the field where the horses had been turned out to graze. There were four of them, two strong quarter horses, a prancing paint, and a beautiful, grand Bediaran stallion.

  Sulica and her sister Ganasi stepped up onto the bottom rail of the fence, watching raptly as their mother entered the pasture. Marisil Nin was beautiful - the kind that seemed effortless and captivating, even when cleaning out the stalls. Today, she had tied back her bright golden hair to keep it out of her face as she worked. Her thin frame approached the group of horses, but she kept her face down and hand outstretched.

  The paint and one of the quarters turned on a dime and dashed away. Gasani gasped while Sulica gripped the fence harder, silently. Their mother did not even flinch. She kept moving towards the two who remained, slowing her steps. The other quarter, chocolate brown in color, didn’t move. He’d been through this before, knew that the lady was kind and rewarding. Marisi focused her attention on the white Bediaran, who had looked up and snorted, alternating lifting his forelegs. Marisil slowed more, but still moved forward, never lifting her head.

  The two girls on the fence held their breath as Marisil inched closer to the powerful stallion. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the woman’s fingers felt the soft hair on the horse’s nose. She glanced up, and he was staring intently at her, quivering, but his hooves had stopped. Marisil grinned, continuing to rub the horse and reaching up with the rope she’d concealed, wrapping it around his ears to fashion a halter. Still patting him, she led the horse back to the fence where her daughters were waiting.

  “Be gentle,” she warned the girls quietly, looping the halter around the fence to secure the horse.

  Ganasi moved slowly, imitating her mother, to rub the horse’s nose and sculpted neck. Sulica stepped off the fence, too frightened by the power in the chest and legs to even try. She preferred the demure quarter horse that Marisil had gone to retrieve next for their ride through the woods.

  -:- -:- -:-

  Chief Pyraz had just finished handing out everyone’s mail to the recruits when she handed Captain Vorsen his stack; mostly from Dominion command.

  “Ugh, that’s more than usual,” he sighed. He was in the middle of responding to the letter he received from Brisethi over two weeks ago. Some of the things she’d written in it disturbed him, a dampened mood evident in her words. It almost sounded final, as if they’d never see each other again. He read it over for a third time:

  Etyne!

  I imagine by now that you’re wallowing in your sorrows of how much you miss me. I’m sorry that I took nearly five months to write back to you, although I was surprised you had finally written to me. Two more years to go until we get to spar again, I can’t wait to knock you to the ground once more-if that time ever comes. I will defeat you in a strangle one day!

  To answer your question from your last letter, yes, Etyne, things were different between us – more personal and calming. I only wish I would have given you a proper goodbye, though – had I known. You know, more than just a handshake and a salute. That’s way too formal for how good of friends we are, don’t you think? Anything could happen to us out here in the expedition, and I don’t want my last memory of us to be a handshake. There are things I should have told you, Etyne. Things that I’d rather you heard from my voice instead of read in my horrible handwriting. But I lacked the nerve and now it’s too late. Maybe I’ll get a second chance to find my courage if we meet again.

  Spirits be with you,

  ‘Sethi

  Etyne folded the letter and placed it in his pocket to finish penning the one for her. Her letter had nearly driven him insane for unspoken words of two different subjects; what she was feeling for him, and what she was feeling in general. Her cryptic words alluded to something going on that she either would not or could not speak of. He finished his letter and placed it in an envelope, finalizing it with his Dominion seal on it.

  He hoped he hadn’t been too forward but couldn’t help but recall their last sparring bout on the grassy plains. They had tired one another out from fighting from sunrise until the thunder clouds started appearing that evening on the horizon.

  Lying on his back, she was on top of him and had him in a fairly weak and playful chokehold; but all he could do was stare at her face, holding her hands that were still on his neck. Her burgundy hair had come loose from her bun, scenting the air around them with the blossom oils she used in it. The gray sky enhanced her gray eyes and for a second, he swore he’d seen lightning flashes in them. She gave up on trying to choke him and instead stared almost longingly at his face, at his eyes almost smiling.

  “I never knew I could miss someone as much as I missed you,” Etyne had softly told her. He was feeling his very soul longing to be near Brisethi’s spirit, as if they had somehow bonded without their vessels know
ing.

  She smiled widely at such innocent, meaningful words. “It’s only been two years. And I know how busy you’ve been, I’m going through all of the same bull manure as you are leading an expedition. Time is flying by!”

  “I’m uncertain if I can go three more years without your silly antics, your laughter, this bond we somehow forged with one another,” he courageously stated, lightly caressing one of her hands she had still not removed from his neck.

  Etyne especially remembered the touch of her fingers along the side of his cheek after that statement. He never wanted to forget when she began to lean in just as Master Chief Riquez had called for her attention. Startled and terrified of being caught about to break the Uniform Code of Dominion Regulations, they quickly separated to tend to her division’s needs.

  Korteni finished reading the first letter from command and quickly got to her feet. The sudden movement caused Etyne to look up at his Chief who was staring at him with worry all over her face. “Sir,” she handed him the letter. “’Sethi’s gone.”

  His thoughts scattered at the haunting sound in her voice the way she spoke of Brisethi sending chills up his spine. “What do you mean?” He tore the letter from her hand and read it quickly.

  “She’s gone, Etyne!” Tears began to blur Korteni’s eyes, all thought of military bearing dashed in her grief. “She could be dead for all we know - this happened over a month ago!”

  Etyne’s heart sank lower with each line he read. “No, they’re out there looking for her. She’s probably already been rescued.”

  “Since when has the Dominion ever successfully rescued a Resarian from the Kiarans?” She immediately covered her mouth with her hands, not intending to shout.

  Etyne ignored her outburst. After he finished reading about Brisethi’s father and the suppressor who captured them both he slammed the letter into his desk. “That’s what she fucking meant in her letter.” Angered, he took it back out and brandished it. “She wrote this the day before her capture-she knew she was risking her life for her father. She was so cryptic and I didn’t see it!” Etyne grew frustrated and sat down to rub at his face. “I have to find her.”