by Mark Wandrey
Minu wiggled closer to Aaron who obliged by sleepily offering his arm as a pillow. She gratefully accepted the spot and sighed contentedly. In a few moments she was once again asleep.
When Minu awoke next it was night. A feeling of general numbness pervaded in her shoulders and arm. They’d given her the last of their painkillers while she slept. The breeze wasn't cool anymore, it was downright chilly. The canyon was gone and they were floating slowly among jumbled boulders. She wondered if they were remnants of ancient catastrophic flooding. She shivered at the thought of being in that deep gouge when boulders would come tumbling down like a waterfall. What she could glimpse of the landscape was harsh and barren. They were leaving the lushness of the canyon behind and re-entering the desert. Plans needed to be made.
Minu sat up painfully, cradling her right arm. Blood was soaking through the bandages and any attempt to move her fingers or wrist resulted in instant agony. Worse, she could see the skin emerging from under the bandages was bright red and swollen. Gregg warned that infection was almost certain from a kloth bite, and there were no antibiotics at all. "I'm going to cost us a win," she whispered as she examined the bloody bandages. At least she still had feeling in the limb and Cherise said no tendons were severed.
Something caught her attention. Some rustle in the grass, or a little trickle of sand from a boulder into the water. Romulus was fixed over the lower horizon, partly covered by scattered clouds so there was little light. Minu surveyed the bank with her eyes as wide as possible to gather as much light as they could. What she'd thought was a tree trunk resolved itself into a man standing on a rock a scant few meters ahead. They were drifting quite close to the shore. "Now," she heard someone say and the man leaped at the raft.
"Shit!" Minu yelled and instinctively rolled away. Unfortunately there was nowhere to roll to. Instead she plunked right into the river. The removal of her weight from the raft had an unexpected result of tipping the side she'd fallen from up toward the jumper. The man landed on the edge of the rapidly rising raft, his bulk slamming and instantly reversing the tip that Minu started and catapulting almost everyone into the air and over his head like a seesaw.
The raft continued over with only Pip left lying in the center, his eyes wide with suddenly wakeful terror. The man who'd landed on the raft felt it slide out from under him and dump him feet first in the water. A second later the raft finished its flip and landed square on his head with bone crushing force. Pip, in the fulcrum position, was not launched at all, but just spun in place to find himself under water square in the center of the raft.
The water was shallower than Minu expected and her knees hit the rocky bottom almost immediately. She found purchase against the gradual current and pushed back up to the surface only a meter over her head. As she broke the surface she coughed out water and tried to figure out what was going on.
The raft was drifting away, the man who'd jumped on it limply clinging to the side, barely conscious. On the shore Minu could see people fighting, fist and legs flailing as they rolled on the rocky soil. She struggled vainly to see who it was in the dim light as she began to kick toward shore. No matter who it was, it was safe to assume at least one of them was a friend of hers that might need help. Swimming without one arm, even in the very slight current, was slow going. She managed to reach the shore after about a minute of frantic paddling. As she kicked she passed the same rock that served as an ambush platform. She should have looked up.
"Ouch!" she cried as someone grabbed a handful of her hair and began to bodily drag her from the water. Minu screamed and tried to reach whoever had her. She felt some of her hair tear painfully from her head as she was drug up onto the rock where an arm went around her throat, putting her in a choke hold that also made the broken collarbone grind. She screamed in pain only to have it suddenly cut short as the arm crushed her windpipe.
"Don't kill the little bitch," she heard someone snarl. Minu couldn't move her head to see who it was, though she really didn't have to. She heard that voice enough times to commit it to permanent memory.
"Ivan, you son a bitch," she gurgled through the strong arm.
"Not so tough now, are you?" he laughed at her. The man holding Minu grunted dumbly, never once loosening his grip. She kicked with both legs viscously but couldn't loosen his grip as he pulled her backwards over his hip. Her backpack was still in place and it dug painfully into her kidneys. The sounds of fighting were still clear nearby. "Your friends aren't much help now, are they? You should have been more alert for attack."
The man's grip loosed slightly and she spoke between gasps of air. "We-we're not supposed t-to attach each other, you ass-asshole!"
Ivan laughed and she gasped as the point of his boot found her ribs. "You can't be that stupid, can you? It's survival of the fittest out here. That Concordian don't want weaklings, and they sure don't want girls."
"W-why would they care if we're girls?" Minu asked, trying hard to keep drawing breath. She was seeing sparks behind her eyes. "The Tog don't even have sexes!"
"You think you're so fucking smart? Have you ever even met an alien before?"
"Dozens of times, rich b-brat."
"I almost forgot, you’re the privileged daughter of the First."
"And you're a privileged s-son of a rich asshole."
"Don't you dare speak of my father that way!" The boot tip returned to her ribs, harder this time. Minu felt something pop and cried out.
The fight was winding down nearby. Ivan laughed and Minu felt fear begin to overtake her. What would this group of hooligans do to her? Surely they wouldn't...
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a man screaming in pain and a body hitting the ground. "Come on you Rusk pig," Minu heard Cherise snarl like a mad animal, "I'm warmed up now."
"Do you honestly think you can beat me?"
"I've kicked your two little boys asses, now it’s your turn."
Minu heard Ivan jump down from the rock and tried to turn and see what was happening. The arm around her neck tensed and she saw stars. "Where do you think you're going, girl?" the boy spoke for the first time.
"I c-can't b-breath," Minu wheezed, "p-please?" Minu was scared and desperate, though not quite as desperate as she led on. It made her sick in her stomach to beg to the bastard strangling her.
"Oh, don't worry. I want to make you feel good." She felt another hand come around and grasp her left breast, squeezing the nipple harshly between two fingers. She grit her teeth against the pain and the boy laughed. "Yeah, that's what I mean." The hand squeezed again then began to move down her bare belly.
He means to rape me, Minu realized with a lightning bolt of panic. No, don't lose control and panic, there is always a way out.
He couldn't quite reach past her belt so he needed to bend her forward a bit. Now the backpack was in his way. He quickly yanked it from her and tossed it aside. Now he was fumbling at her belt now.
"Let me have a hand free and I'll help," she said, the words burning like fire on her tongue. "I'll give it to you, if you don't hurt me." Nearby she heard Cherise yell and the renewed sounds of fighting. A low grunt and a curse from Ivan spoke to the fact that Cherise still had plenty of fight left in her.
The man holding her released her left arm and Minu unbuckled her belt with shaking fingers. It wasn't easy one handed. "Hurry up," he grunted in her ear. Finally it came loose and he pulled her to her feet. He spun her around, a hand on her throat, and roughly shoved her pants down. Minu put her left hand over her pubic area but he slapped it aside, the grip on her neck strong and painful.
"W-what do you want?" she whimpered.
"What do you think?" He asked. With his free hand he dropped his own pants, exposing his erect member.
"But," she started to say. Quick as a flash, he let go of her neck, spun her around again and bent her over the rock. "No," she cried out and tried to crawl away. He grabbed her hips with both hands and she felt his searching hardness probe her backside. She cried
and tried to wiggle away, but a moment later he found what he was looking for and plunged deep into her.
"N-no," she cried out from the harsh penetration. He grunted and thrust over and over. She struggled to get away but he grabbed her hair with one hand and shoved down on her back with the other, pinning her against the rock as he rammed his dry hard member over and over inside her. Through the pain and violation she remembered the backpack. Slowly, carefully, she glanced to the left and saw it just a short distance away. With her left hand she reached out and through the flap, finding what she was looking for.
"God you are tight," the man grunted. He pulled out of her vagina and tried to penetrate her anus. Minu screamed and clenched as he tried gamely several times before gasping and splattering hot wetness over her buttocks. Minu cried in shame as he laughed. "Now that wasn't so bad, was it?"
"N-no," she cried through clenched teeth as tears streamed down her face.
"Good, then turn around and lick it all nice and clean, you filthy little Plateau bitch."
With her thumb she released the lock and slid the blade free. The extra knife they’d not needed and which was still in her backpack a moment ago.
"You bastard," she snarled as she rolled and slashed. The blade bit deep into his abdomen, tearing skin and muscle.
For the first time, she saw his face in the dim light, so young and surprised, his eyes as big as dinner plates as the knife cut hit. Not the face of a rapist or a monster. He grunted, more in surprise than pain, as blood gushed from the wound and down over his groin. His hands grabbed for Minu's throat and she stabbed the knife into his chest with all her strength.
"You...you...fu-" he tried to say then fell over limply backwards. The blade slid from his chest with a wet grinding of metal on bone. Minu looked down at the dying boy, blood pumping darkly from the chest and stomach wound in the moonlight. Sickly white curls of intestines were dangling from the gaping stomach wound.
Minu shuddered and felt like she was going to be sick. She bent over and pulled up her pants, trying not to notice the wetness they smeared up her backside. She turned and looked to where Ivan was fighting Cherise just in time to see her get cut badly along one arm.
She didn't have time to wonder where he'd gotten a knife. All she knew was her friend was in trouble. Minu jumped down from the rocks and raced toward the two, her knife held in her left hand, her right held against her side as best as possible to stifle the pain.
Cherise backed away from Ivan, almost losing her knife from the cut on her right arm. It was deep and inky dark blood flowed free in the dim light. She switched the knife to her left hand and feinted at Ivan's stomach as he moved in. Minu approached fast from behind, no thought of mercy in her mind. They attacked her friends with the most vile of intentions. She couldn't take back the violation she'd just suffered but she could stop the bastard from killing her friend.
Ivan and Cherise dodged and struck at each other twice more before Minu reached them. The last blow from Cherise scored a minor cut on Ivan's left hand that made him turn slightly away from the blow. The move was just enough to see Minu coming, her blade aimed at his lower back. In a startling move he slid snake-like to the side and continued his spin. Minu's knife bit flesh, but only grazed along his side instead of impaling his back.
She tried to pull free and spin as Cherise showed her, but Ivan was far too fast. His left hand caught her by the right arm, sending an explosion of pain through the tortured limb, and in instant later his own knife sank into her stomach.
Minu wondered if the strange burst of clarity was what the boy she'd stabbed moments ago felt. There was no pain but an almost warm blanket of light lowered over her perceptions. Suddenly it didn't seem so dark, and there was no more pain. She was only centimeters from his leering face as the blade sank in to the hilt. It still didn't hurt. In fact she thought she heard a high pitched whine somewhere.
"Fine day, daughter of the First," he laughed. Minu brought her left knee up with all the force she could muster right into his balls.
Ivan's eyes bugged, the wind went out of him in a strangled gasp and his legs buckled. He began to pull the knife from Minu's stomach and that was when a few inches of bloody blade appeared through the front of his neck, as if by magic. The other end was held by Cherise who rammed it home with a primal scream of rage and victory.
Hot blood sprayed Minu's face as he fell and Cherise wrenched the blade free. His grip slackened and the blade stayed in her stomach as she began to topple in the opposite direction from him. The last thing she heard was Cherise scream in terror as she fell.
Chapter 14
September 10th, 514 AE
Chosen Headquarters, Steven’s Pass
Minu's existence was fractured for a time. Small bits of images like snapshots, and sound bites of conversations was most of her awareness. Disassociated glimpses as time slipped by. Her lying on one of the Chosen broomsticks rear seats, someone screaming; “We're gonna lose her!” Red clad medical technicians and a sterile white operating room. A woman crying as she felt her privates being examined. She was inside a Concordia manufactured medical scanner, its delicate sensor arms moving along her body. Fleeting moments of agonizing pain from her right arm, then the strange sensation that the arm was drifting off into space and she couldn't catch it. And finally numbness was followed by a long restful sleep.
When she finally fully regained consciousness she was completely confused and depressed. The sleepy place was nice and peaceful, why were they making her wake up. Then she remembered the rape. Following closely on its heels was the realization that she'd failed the Trials, having to be evacuated as a loser. It burned her so badly that hot tears rolled down her cheeks even before she opened her eyes.
"She's conscious," spoke a female voice nearby.
"I can't move," she told them right away, panic tearing at her heart. Was she paralyzed? “I can't open my eyes!”
"We have you over a stunfield," a new voice said. This one was of a strong sounding older man. It spoke with authority and she instantly felt calmer. "Your injuries were severe. My name is Dr. Tasker, chief medical officer of the Chosen."
"What about my people?"
"Your people?"
"The other candidates I was in the Trials with. There were four others with me when we were attacked; I want to know what happened to them."
"I'm afraid I don't know anything about an attack aside from the animal that mauled your arm."
Minu felt her confidence in that voice evaporate into anger. "Listen to me; four other candidates were with me at the end. We worked through the entire Trials together. We were a team, damn it. I want to know what happened to them!"
"Her heart rate and blood pressure are elevated," that first voice announced. That speaker was over a PA system, Minu guessed she was probably at some distant monitoring station.
"Calm yourself, young lady," Dr. Tasker ordered.
"You calm yourself; I want to know what happened to my team."
"Now, now, there's no need to upset-"
"Fuck you!" she yelled at the faceless voice. "Let me look at you, damn it!"
There was silence for a long moment punctuated only by a dim sounding alarm of some sort. Judging by the way Minu felt her blood pounding in her ears it was probably informing a nurse that their patient was about start spurting blood from her eyes. Then the door opened and a new voice spoke. This one was rich sounding and commanded respect. And she'd heard it before. "Compose yourself, candidate." It was Jacob, Second among the Chosen.
"I-I'm sorry, sir."
"You should be, but under the circumstances it will be overlooked. Your team is fine, except one. One of the boys is dead."
"W-what?! Who is it?"
"His name was Alexis Krum. During the incident at the river he seems to have impaled himself on a knife."
"I don't understand."
"Minu Alma, what do you remember?" She thought for a moment, trying to concentrate through the receding fog of w
hatever drugs they gave her. It wasn't easy. "Don't over exert yourself; the good doctor informs me your condition is still delicate. Let me start from the beginning, or almost the beginning.” She heard the sound of a chair being moved.
"After you successfully navigated to the river crossing and trekked to the desert, you realized the bridge was a trap and climbed down. It was intended that most groups would attempt to then scale the other side, and most did, with varying levels of success. You improvised and proceeded down river. A unique and successful approach as it provided continued sources of food and water. The desert was a dead end and most don't realize it until too late.
"The kloth was an unexpected bonus challenge. It fell into the canyon quite close to the mountains and eventually overtook yours and several other parties. All the others ended up trying to swim away, most had to be rescued. You displayed excellent leadership qualities by sending the only member of your team experienced with that sort of threat to evaluate its danger and attempt to neutralize it."
"He made that decision, not me."
"You were smart enough not to try and stop him. Now be quiet while I'm talking." Minu clamped down on her next retort and waited. "At the time of the attack, the Chosen monitoring your progress were momentarily distracted by another group in a life or death situation. We did not get another chance to check on you until you defeated the kloth and drifted down the river some ways. We failed to note the severity of your injuries, an unfortunate error. Had we noted this we could have...well, regardless, the rest is pure conjecture. It appears you picked up another group shortly later to assist them onward and were overcome by a series of rapids. The raft flipped, nearly drowning several members of your party resulting in many minor injuries, and a couple nearly fatal ones. We arrived in the nick of time to save yours and several other lives, but too late for one. Any questions?"
