Forest is close, trees are far

8. Vibeke

The crypt smelled of damp, cold, and something else, heavy and thick, a scent she had never smelled before. There was no doubt: in the coffin lay Commander Gaertzoh.

The boys had a habit of hunting down along the Thornbend River delta. Vibeke had a habit of watching the Units. At first it was a child's sneaking and sitting among the trees, or by the bushes of the Compound building itself, if she felt particularly brave that day. She soon knew their daily rhythm, the schedule of exercises and even the plan of the whole complex. She knew when the city patrol would start and when they would find themselves on the fence. She knew which parts of the fence and at what time would be empty, when no one would monitor them. She also learned why such an omission is possible. She learned that sneaking was not a pastime reserved only for a lonely little girl. Everybody wanted more freedom.

Delta's boys accepted her knowledge in exchange for the entrails of every prey they shot. Every Friday, a person from the Capital would come to downtown  pharmacy to pick up herbs for medical preparations and cosmetics. Who would know that guts are an important ingredient in expensive city creams? Vibeka's pocket money began to increase slowly, going to university became more and more likely. Delta boys were hunting, Vibeke was selling entrails, Units were unaware of their joint crime, it was getting easier to pretend life was going its way.

But no one could help but notice the fear that crept into the citizens, the fear of the weapons with which the Units rattled. It towered over Betlovert, roaring with the wind, thundering with the clouds, as if it wanted to talk about things people down on the ground didn't want to.

 It was around that time, when Loybas showed up with a pill. "One of these, and nothing happened. The first 22 hours. And then the nerves die, the myocardium stops pumping. Nothing is felt. Only mild dizziness and drowsiness. Within ten minutes, he falls asleep with a dream from which there is no return. "

He made them on his won. What he put in them, only Loybas knew. He made a total of ten of them. The plan was for each of them to get two pills. They had to do something, they agreed a few months ago. Loybas, who knew all the grass in the area, who recognized the poisons from medicinal herbs, was the cervical spine of the operation. The other four had to make sure that the tablet got into the system of the one for whom it was intended. The agreement was that the first who got opportunity, would put the plan in action.

They had to do something. They could not rely on adults. Adults want a lot. But they don't want to do anything. Because they are afraid and lack the determination to start and finish. We're scared too, Vibeke would tell them. Even more than you. We look at you and every day we are more and more afraid that we will become like you. Bitter, filled with anger towards ourselves and the world around us, anger that we would rather swallow and suffocate on it, than act against the poison that calls us to a duel it. This situation is perfect for fighting. They oppressed us, to see how we resist them. This is the intention with which every bully strikes.

He came for lunch. He had a headache. Her grandfather went to the bathroom. Harold called her out. In the bathroom cabinet, in a medicine bottle, stood the last two pills, equal to the headache ones. When he left she had not yet returned. He left alive. He was still alive when he set out in the morning for his godson's wedding, which was not in the plan. Neither was that she goes after him. At least not in the plan she shared with Delta's boys. In her own, she didn't trust anyone until she saw for herself that he was dead. Especially if she's the one who's going to have to act first.

Eartn made it easier to leave. She had an excuse, even in front of Delta's boys. The quarrel with Harold was not completely staged. The part that Harold took the pill was, in case anyone was eavesdropping on them, it would sound like kids talking about last night's party on which they were experimenting with who knows what that now they are trying to hide from their parents,  but the warning that she shouldn't go to the wedding was Harold's honest opinion. The boys were sure it was over. The pills on the table in Harold's room, were ones for headache, real ones, silent proof, Harold's confession he swore to give her,  that all the rest were destroyed. Vibeke wished for more than once in that room, that she, too, had so much self-confidence. Eartn was supposed to get to Bjerna, Bjerne needed Eartn. Vibeke needs to see the corpse. Opportunity created opportunity.

He brings a chair closer to the coffin from the corner and sits down. 

Take a look at the coffin. 

When the dead are asleep, they look calm because what will happen after them is no longer their concern. 

Sit down. She had to think. 

What's next? Units will undoubtedly be as mad as the supreme power. At least until the Supreme Table appoints a new commander and he or she comes to Betlovert. Until then, the Units will not know whose orders to carry out, so the population may be able to take a break. When word gets out that the hated tyrant is dead, cries will be heard, people will celebrate, she was almost convinced. Everyone will want to know who was the end of him. She was not deceived for a moment by the thought that anyone would believe the story of natural death that the government would surely try to place through the media. But the opponent should not be ignored. Just because they will tell one thing to the people will not mean that they do not know the truth. It is very likely that they will retaliate with terror. Will Betlover people suffer because of Vibeka's actions?

 The fence will no longer be able to be crossed so easily, there will be more Units and their weapons than ever before. With one single move, Vibeke threw Beltrovert into a fire it doesn't even know has been set yet. They won't find a single pill of Loybas's poison. The boys destroyed theirs, as she did the rest, but Loybas did not destroy his recipe. He buried it in the forest, where trees will protect it, and clouds and canopies guard it from the air.

Finally, she let the the thought crystallize. There is no need to hide anymore. It's on. That was the only way. Vibeka's fellow citizens are not even aware of what Vibeka and Delta's boys have gave them. Chance. To achieve this growing mess everything they dreamed of as a children but when they grew up they were disappointed because they did not find the strength they believed awaited them when they became big. Now they have the first step already taken. The hardest part is behind them. All the strength they had kept while Vibeke was losing her mind, it's time to show it. Now it's time to find the freedom they talk about so much. What starts as a harmless game, as a distant murmur, as an unattainable goal, can prove to be exactly the path we have been looking for.

Vibeke finds a smile from somewhere within her tired being, and puts it on.