K: The Awakening (The Shadow Chronicles Book 1)

by K. R. Fajardo

  There in the back of Rigar’s cart, covered in filth and blood, was what appeared to be the emaciated body of a young girl. The frail, half withered corpse had only a tattered cloth covering the skin and bones that remained. Mikel, so engrossed by the sight, didn’t even notice that Janil and Citera had come up behind him until he heard Citera gasp. Beside her, Janil stood silent, taking in every detail of the horrific scene.

  “Where did you find her?” Mikel asked after a few long moments.

  “We found her in the side of the mountain we are tunneling through,” Rigar answered, rubbing his hand down his beard. “We didn’t know what else to do with her.”

  “Why didn’t you dispose of her body properly?” Mikel asked, frowning and gesturing to the frail figure “What I am I going to do with a dead body.”

  A sick look came about Rigar as he turned to Mikel. “She’s not dead.”

  The words echoing in his ears, Mikel studied his friend’s face closely for any signs he was joking. “What do you mean she isn’t dead?” he said, gesturing once again at the emaciated corpse. “Look at her.” Then to prove his point, Mikel reached in the cart and grabbed the girl’s wrist in what he was sure was a futile attempt to check for a pulse. But to his surprise a slow, weak throb pumped under his fingertip. Mikel turned to the two women, wide eyed and mouth gaping. “She is alive.”

  “What? How can that be?” Janil, gasped. Appearing as shocked as he was, she reached into the cart to check for herself. Then together they both turned and stared at Rigar, hoping he could provide some sort of explanation.

  “We don’t know, we found her chained inside a cave,” he answered. Shifting in his seat, he resumed glancing nervously around the alley. “Maybe we should talk about this off the street.”

  Mikel couldn’t agree with him more and instructed the women, “Go get one of the rooms ready, then see what you can do to distract everyone. We need to try to get her inside without being seen if possible.”

  Without a word they headed back inside the clinic and after several very quiet minutes, Citera returned to the door and motioned for them to follow. Rigar reached inside the cart, running his hands slowly under the girl while Mikel held his breath, frightened the thin body might crumble to pieces in his arms. Miraculously she remained intact as Rigar lifted her gently then turned and headed inside; Mikel followed close behind.

  Whatever the girls had done worked. The hallway was completely emptied of people, making it easy for them to slip into an exam room without attracting any unwanted attention. Rigar walked over to the bed and carefully placed the girl onto the mattress, while Citera and Janil went about busily closing the drapes to conceal them from the view of the others who were starting to wander back into the hallway. Once they felt everything was secure from prying eyes, the three of them stood in silence, staring at the sight before them, unsure of what to do next.

  How long had she been in that cave? Who put her there? Why had they put her in there? These, as well as a dozen other questions, churned in their minds. The fact that she was still alive made Mikel at least certain she was a Full-blood, but while that alone could explain why she had been sealed in that cave, it also raised more concerns.

  The practice of entombing Full-bloods that “broke the law” hadn’t been a common practice since Mikel’s parents were children; when the Shadow’s finally put an end to it, fearing the complete annihilation of their work force. But that wasn’t before the Terrian government had already arrested and sentenced hundreds of them to a horrific fate. Locked into caves and pits, they were left to starve and waste away slowly; denied the right of a peaceful death. For all he knew, those mountains could be full of Full-bloods just like this girl; just waiting for someone to accidently stumble upon them.

  “We could get in a lot of trouble for this,” Citera stated, interrupting the silence. “If we get caught with her here they will arrest you.”

  “I know, I know,” Mikel groaned rubbing his head, “but we have to do something. Where else can she go? The next closest place that treats Full-bloods is two towns away, and Rigar already took a huge risk in bringing her this far. According to the laws of the Shadows he has committed treason by not reporting this immediately to the supervisors. If we send him back out and he gets caught with her in his cart, he will be arrested and sentenced to death.”

  “But what if she is dangerous? She hasn’t fed for who knows how long, and she is bound to be starving. Heck, how do we even know she drinks formula?” Citera remarked, continuing to address her concerns to her father.

  “I agree,” Rigar joined in. “Citera makes a good point. Maybe some kind of precautions should be taken to prevent her from harming one of you if she awakens. Especially since we don’t know the circumstances that led to her being imprisoned in that cave.”

  “I understand your concerns, but I’d hate for her to wake up back in restraints,” he argued, staring at the scars encircling both her wrists. He could clearly make out layers of old scaring underneath the fresh ones, and couldn’t help but think this poor girl had been through enough already. “Besides, by the look of her, I don’t think she has any fight left in her. I have never seen a Full-blood drained to this point in all my years of practice.”

  Their attention returned to the girl on the bed. She laid there motionless, emaciated and beaten, and the longer they looked at her and her condition the more questions arose. Her hair was matted and filthy. If one didn’t know any better, they would assume that someone had purposefully rubbed mud through it, but to what purpose, he had no idea. The shirt or gown she was wearing was tattered and torn to the point that there was hardly any material left. And her body was so emaciated, all that remained of what was probably once a beautiful, young woman was a skeleton draped in loose skin.

  “Why would someone do this to a living creature?” Janil asked, stepping beside Mikel and running her hands over the wounds encircling the girl’s wrists.

  “I don’t know,” Mikel answered quietly. “But I can’t imagine any crime she might have committed would have warranted this kind of punishment.”

  Rigar snorted, “Like that matters.”

  Mikel continued check over the girl, and as the damage tally continued to mount, the tighter his heart clenched in his chest. But what was more disturbing to him than her overall condition, was the knowledge of the length of time it would have taken to get her to this point. Couple that with the scarring that covered just about every inch of visible skin, including a large one that ran across her face over her right eye, and it was abundantly clear that whoever had done this to her, had wanted her suffer tremendously.

  Mikel motioned for Citera to come help him, and together they did the best they could to clean and cover some of the still open wounds. Beyond that he had no idea what, if anything, he could do about her overall condition. What she really needed was a healing formula; unfortunately it was impossible to obtain. Like everything else, the Shadows had full control over the treatment, and had developed a rigorous screening process for the Full-bloods requesting it. He had patients apply before, but no matter how dire the circumstances or how real the need, the answer that came back was always the same. Not in all his years of practice had Mikel ever had a patient get approved.

  “I’m going to check on the rest of the clinic,” Janil stated quietly as she walked from the room; leaving them to continue their work. Rigar remained watching silently from the corner. The worried expression still hadn’t left his face. In fact, he actually seemed more nervous and twitchy now that they were inside.

  “Old friend,” he said, addressing Mikel but not taking his eyes off the patient, “I really think you should reconsider restraining her, I don’t have a good feeling about this.” Meeting Mikel’s gaze he continued, “She may be one of my kind, but there is something off about her. I don’t know any Full-blood alive that could have survived being entombed like that. The only way she could have done it is if she is a predator, and I can’t help but feel that
I am putting you and Citera in grave danger.” He paused, shuffling his feet and looking back to the girl. “Please, Mikel, at least consider it. I will never be able to forgive myself if something happens to one of you.”

  Understanding Rigar’s concerns, Mikel’s gaze once again returned to the girl. But before he had a chance to reply, a Terrian boy darted into the room in a panic. “Mikel, there are rumors spreading through the town that the inspectors are heading this way. They already went through Lidas about an hour ago and raided Luke and Margie’s clinic.”

  The boy paused as he bent over, placing his hands on his knees in an effort to catch his breath. Dirik had come to live at the clinic with Mikel and his family a few years ago, after his wife had told him about a young boy she had seen being arrested in the market. He had been caught stealing items from the patrol’s office and was being held there until they decided what to do with him. Mikel’s wife had pleaded with him all day, trying to convince him to help the young boy.

  Not that it took much convincing; Mikel was intrigued by the arrogance and skill of a thief who would dare attempt to steal from the patrols. So he called in a favor from the chief at the time, whose daughter he had once saved from certain death. He convinced him to let the boy come live with them, taking full responsibility for his actions. Since that day he had lived with and worked for Mikel, running errands and messages throughout the town for not only him but many of the other local businesses as well; although Mikel was confident he hadn’t completely given up the thieving.

  However, the news he carried in now was probably the worst he had ever delivered, and at exactly the worst time. Luke and Margie were close friends of Mikel’s and they had run the clinic in Lidas for nearly thirty years, treating both Full-bloods and Terrians. Since Lidas was a much larger city than Vicaris, Luke and Margie often had supplies on hand that Mikel couldn’t get in his small town. Many times Mikel had turned to them for assistance in getting supplies he didn’t have access to, and not once had either of them ever turned him down.

  “Are they okay?” Mikel’s voice trembled, fearing his young messenger’s response. He knew how these raids went; if the inspectors went in with the intention of finding something wrong, they would. They never returned to the Tower empty handed.

  A sadness came over the messenger‘s face as he straightened up. “They arrested them, both of them, claiming they were harboring an undocumented Full-blood in their clinic. They then executed the Full-blood in question on the street in front of everyone.”

  Mikel felt weak in his knees and propped himself against the side of the bed as he glanced over at his daughter. Her face had gone pale and her hands were covering her mouth as she fought back the tears.

  “What of their daughter? Was she there, was she arrested too?”

  Dirik shook his head. “No, she wasn’t there at the time, she had left to run errands when the inspectors arrived. She is safe and staying at a friend’s house. I don’t think they are going to look for her, they got who they wanted.”

  Rigar, having remained silent thus far, bolted across the room toward the bed. “We need to get her back into the cart so I can get her out of here before they arrive.” He reached to pick up the girl, only to be stopped by Mikel.

  “Where do you think you are going to take her?”

  Rigar continued to try to get to the girl, only to have Mikel continue to block his attempts. “I don’t know, but I am not leaving her here for you to get arrested. Her condition alone will raise suspicion, not to mention the fact she hasn’t got a tag. Perhaps I can make it out of town and hide until this all clears over.”

  Rigar wasn’t much taller than Mikel, but he was broader and a lot more muscular, not that it mattered. He was a Full-blood, and that alone meant he was three times stronger than Mikel could ever hope to be. But Mikel couldn’t care less as he stood unwavering against the very frustrated and impatient man.

  “You are not taking her anywhere, Rigar,” Mikel demanded, remaining fixed between his friend and the girl.

  Dirik, watching the two of them with a child-like curiosity, decided to interject at this point, “Rigar, there is no way out. They have already sent the messenger to have the check points set up. I barely made it back inside before they locked everything down.”

  Usually a stoic man, Rigar’s face was wrought with mixed emotions. He knew like the rest of them that if the checkpoints were in place then there was no way out of town. The inspectors always sent a messenger in advance to notify the local patrols of their impending arrival, once notified the entire city was locked down. This was supposedly this prevented any wrong doers from escaping.

  Mikel’s mind was spinning. He couldn’t help but feel their timing was remarkably inconvenient, but no matter. He had dealt with these situations before and come out intact. All he needed was enough time to pull everything together.

  He turned to his Full-blood friend still standing only inches away. “Listen, I need you to do me a favor. Take Citera and the two of you get out of here.”

  Citera opened her mouth to protest, only to be cut off by her father. “Citera, please don’t argue. Go with Rigar to his house and I will send for you when this is over. I will not risk the two of you being here when the inspectors arrive.” Then, turning his attention back to Rigar, he continued, “Rigar, I am entrusting you with the life of my daughter. I can handle this, I promise, all I need is for you to keep her safe.”

  Rigar took a deep breath and ran his hand through his black hair. The thought of leaving Mikel alone to face the inspectors was a difficult request to accept. But Mikel continued to insist, “Please, my friend, do me this favor. Nothing in this world is as important to me as Citera. I need to know she is far away from here and safe. Do this for me.”

  Rigar released a heavy sigh. He knew Mikel was right, his and Citera’s presence would only be a distraction at best. This was the only thing he could do to help Mikel whether he liked it or not. Reluctantly he surrendered, and turning for the door he motioned for Citera, who was now in tears, to follow. Citera wiped her eyes and took a few steps toward the door. She was halfway out of the room when she suddenly stopped, spun around, and ran to her father, locking her arms around him.

  “Dad, let me stay here with you. Please, don’t make me leave.”

  Mikel wrapped his arms around her lovingly, fighting back his own tears. “Citera, you can’t stay here. I promise everything will be all right, but I can’t handle this if I am concerned for your safety.” He paused as he pushed her back to look into her hazel eyes. “Plus, if you are with Rigar and his family you can help them. If the inspectors happen to come to the housing area, you can vouch for them, tell them you are doing a house call.”

  Citera reluctantly glanced back at Rigar waiting in the doorway, then back at her father. “Send me a message as soon as it’s over, promise me.”

  “I promise, now go.” He bent to kiss her on the cheek and watched as she slowly walked through the door, Rigar following close behind.

  With them finally gone, Mikel returned his attention to Dirik. “How much time do you think we have?”

  Dirik shrugged his shoulders watching Rigar and Citera as they disappeared from sight. “Maybe two hours. They left Lidas around three according to my source.”

  Mikel’s rubbed the back of his neck, “I hope that is enough time. Okay, Dirik, I need you to do a job for me. Run down to Jahol’s and ask him to make a tag for a Full-blood girl that appears to have stopped aging at around twenty. Tell him the actual age doesn’t matter as long as it isn’t too old, maybe fifty or so.” Mikel was examining the body, trying to put together the pieces so that his story would make sense. “Tell him she has black hair with—”

  Mikel leaned over the bed and gently pried open one of the girl’s eyes with his finger, stopping midsentence. All the color drained from his face as he stood staring in disbelief at what he was seeing. “Dirik, do you see this, too?” he asked, calling the messenger to the bedside.
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br />   “Is that even possible?” Dirik exclaimed, the panic in his voice confirming Mikel’s fears. “We will never find a tag for someone with blue eyes! There is no way they would even give a tag to a blue-eyed Full-blood.”

  Mikel was at a loss for words as he continued staring into that crystal blue eye, for suddenly his quick solution had taken a terribly wrong turn.

  Jahol was the one Mikel always turned to if he needed a tag. He worked inside the morgue and occasionally helped himself to the tags of those who had been executed or died of other causes. Since there were no names, only descriptions and job titles embedded in their codes, all Jahol had to do was a little reprogramming, and there it was a new tag for a new Full-blood. His main drive of course was profit—it was usually a Full-blood wanting to get off the road crew who sought his services and paid a hefty price for them—but he had never turned Mikel down when he was in need of the occasional tag for a patient without one, and he never charged him for it. Mikel figured it was his way of balancing out the guilt of turning so many who couldn’t afford his services away. No matter what the reason was, when Mikel was in need, he always came through and without question.

  Yet even though Jahol had worked miracles with tags before in the past, there was no way he would have a tag for a blue eyed Full-blood. They simply didn’t exist. It also wouldn’t do any good to reprogram one, because like Dirik had said, there was no way they would have given a tag to a Full-blood with blue eyes. Traits like those get you arrested, if not executed. Browns or grays in various shades, maybe even a few with black eyes, those were the eye colors, not just of the Full-bloods but of the Terrians as well.

  “Mikel, what do you want me to do?” repeated the messenger. But Mikel, still trying to recover from the shock, was unable to answer and leaned against the bed frame dumbfounded.

  “Mikel,” yelled the boy again, this time with a hint of desperation, “what do you want me to tell Jahol?”