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Go to the REFERENCE GUIDE for detailed info on the greater world at large.
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PREVIOUS SCENE (First flashback scene for Chapter Two)
These are the first present day scenes for Chapter 2. The title of this chapter is "An Age of Reason."
An introduction to two possible antagonists who are very antagonistic towards each other. (Either that or one of the two woke up on the wrong side of the bed.) We then go to Michelle, who has a narrow brush with the Earth military police "goons," as she calls them.
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A faint humming could be heard in this dimly lit room. There was a large screen on the wall. The blue light it projected drew shadows upon these pale white walls.
A couch sat in front of the screen. A person was sitting on it. She was a mere silhouette set against the blue light as she stared straight ahead. As if entranced. Her eyes were fierce and intent.
Another person entered the room from the far right. They continued on, over to the right side of the couch. Its seat was vacant.
"Didn't expect to see you come back." said the one on the couch. She spoke in a youthful sounding voice, although her voice sounded sightly cracked. She remained perfectly still.
"I wasn't expecting this either," said the second. "Your new code name. It's Elizabeth Báthory."
"Hm. Fun name. What's been going on with you, Cantesica?"
There was a long pause. "I told you not to keep calling me that."
"Right! Forgot. Janis Joplin? Oh, wait. No. It was just Joplin last time."
"It's Acedia now."
"Acedia! Bummer," Báthory laughed to herself.
The one named Acedia sighed to herself. "Previous name was Iktumi. Right?"
"Yep. Didn't care for the name, but I liked it better than the name of a seventeenth century psycho bitch, bathing in the blood of young virgin girls! Iktumi was from Lakota folklore. Word for spider."
"Who'd remember all those legends?"
"Yeah. World moves on," Báthory uttered. "All it ever does."
Acedia leaned in to get a better look at what she was doing. "What's that black box? What are you writing on it?"
"Not on the box, dumb ass. Used some duct tape. Using a black marker on a black box doesn't make for legible text! Who knew?"
"That didn't answer my question."
Báthory laughed to herself. "Know what? It's a box of candy for some sweet, lovely children! They deserve the best for their festivities, don’t ya know!"
"You're going to do what he did with Knead Garden? Don't think Astoroth wants that. I would agree. We don't need to go to that extreme."
"Astoroth, Astoroth. I'm getting really tied of these stupid names! The moron that we're referring to as 'Astoroth' made a mistake, choosing me to do his dirty work! Dirty work is my profession."
"He said not to kill anyone."
"Do as he says, not as he does. Had that conservation before."
Acedia glared down at Báthory. "Elizabeth, I don't want to babysit you-"
"Woah! Crazy thought! Maybe you don't have to!"
"Please! Don't make this harder than it needs to be. I have a job to do. You have a job! There's no need to go overboard with this."
Báthory placed the black marker down on the table. She stood up and looked over at Acedia.
Before Acedia realized it, she was forced up against the wall. Báthory held her throat. Her hair covered her face in darkness.
"I'm through with this," Elizabeth rasped. "Our sins are our sins. We are what we do. All there is. Last thing I want is a lecture on it! You're still gonna be towing the line for the North Star Nexus freaks well after I up and leave! You'll give more pointless lectures to other asswipes like me 'til you put a bullet in your own head after someone important in your life betrays you!"
"Why do you believe you'll get out of this life that you've made for yourself?" Acedia asked calmly. "There is no escape. You should know that by now."
Elizabeth held a gun to Acedia's head.
Acedia was unmoved. She didn't resist. Her eyes were cold. Indifferent.
But it was as clear as day. That was a ruse. No. She couldn't hide it that well! That fear of hers. It stunk worse than a landfill.
"Nah," Báthory sneered. "It's all a game to them, girl! You're more of a pawn than you realize."
Acedia pushed her away. She broke out into a cold sweat. After a few tense seconds, she scoffed and shook her head. "You're a lost cause. Good thing my loyalty is with North Star!" Acedia smirked as she steadied herself. She turned her back to Báthory and strolled out of the room. "Astoroth is too pathetic for me to care! I'm in agreement with you on that. But if you ever pulled this shit off with them, they'd make you regret it for the rest of your days!"
"Oh, Jesus Christ! Stop wasting my time!" Báthory screamed, chasing her off into the hallway. "You're a technocrat with an ego the size of a blimp! Go spew horseshit out of your ass someplace else! Spew it like a horse manure lawn sprinkler for cornbread retards! That's you, Acedia! That's you all over!"
*
The night air was warm and humid. It was perfect weather. Take away the economic depression, the urban decay, the large concrete walls enclosing the city, separating the prosperous parts of the town from the slums, and this would have been paradise.
A cool breeze swept through the empty docks, over on the northern side of the city's river. The shanty towns were on this side. The city on the other side had it's fancy historic downtown district. The roads on that side were laid down with red bricks and cobblestones. Different era, different time. The difference was staggering.
Despite the calming sounds of the river, Michelle nerves were on edge. She couldn't shake it off.
"Three days, forty-two hours since I arrived back on Earth," she muttered to herself. "Bleedin' lifetime, this shit."
Michelle reached into her jeans pocket, and took out what had been driving her mad lately. Around these parts, it was illegal – particularly for someone her age – to be in possession of a pack of cigarettes.
It didn't matter. Michelle lit one anyway. The smoke calmed her nerves. Trying to quit the old-fashioned way was impossible. Everyone in Nia could turn their addictions on and off like a light switch. Michelle didn't want to go that way, but any other pathway was an unforgiving road.
Over and over, her thoughts fell back on what to do with Christopher. She had to tell him the truth. There wasn't a reason for him to believe her. There had to be something Michelle could use to make her case! Whatever it was had to be approved by her two overseers, Amon and Amoa. Michelle could not say anything specific about the place where she came from until they entered its domain. Instead, she had to allude to a 'happier place.'
In Michelle’s explicit wording on the matter, this was 'chicken shit.' It was red tape – someone in a higher position covering their asses in case things went south! It was standard procedure.
It would be easier to kidnap Chris, and hope he'd develop Stockholm syndrome. This thought forced a smile on Michelle's face.
"Hey! You!"
Michelle was startled. She wheeled around.
There were two police officers coming her way, dressed in military outfits. It wasn't hard to tell the difference between the military and the police. Military had thicker armor, perhaps.
Michelle was caught off guard by their appearance, but her reaction to them wasn't that of terror. It was annoyance.
"Miss, you need to come with us!" one of the officers demanded.
They stopped dead in their tracks.
In the blink of an eye – Michelle was gone! Her car was gone! It was spotted seconds ago by the two of them.
The officers went in opposite directions. They searched the pier. They searched through the open warehouses, including the collapsed warehouse buildings and wherever the homeless were huddled together.
One officer went off in the direction where the car was. He was then taken aback by a strong surge of wind. He was almost knocked over. The strong winds quickly receded.
He ran to the spot and searched the area intensely. All he found were a few cardboard boxes, used by the local homeless.
"Anything?" the second policeman called out. He came sprinting back.
"No."
The second officer spoke into his radio receiver. "Put on a lookout. Young girl, red-orange hair, white t-shirt and jeans. Spotted on the northern docks. May be driving a red sports car, possibly a vintage Ferrari model. License plate number unknown."
The two officers both hurried off back to their car. The moment the police car drove away, the winds picked up again.
Michelle emerged like a ghost out from a dark, narrow alleyway between the warehouses.
"So much for keeping a low profile," she sighed to herself, puffing on her cigarette. "Better keep outta town for a day or so. Earth military goons are gonna be crawling all over the bleedin' place!"
*
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NEXT SCENE (Coming soon)
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