The Game

The Awakening

The morning hours were always the coldest in the havens. Finn studied the hard metal ceiling as he thought about windows- not that he'd ever seen one. He'd only read about them in Doc Saabs leather bound, hand scribbled books. Doc Saab was a huge man. He had to duck in most havens and although he was of no blood relation to Finn, he was the only father he knew.
The days all jumbled into one in the havens, so , when the alarm that signified that it was morning sounded, Finn was snapped from his silly daydream with a start. He rolled to his side and reached under his mat pulling out a small withered photograph of the man who Doc had promised was Finns father.
"Another day and I'm still here, dad. I just hope you are too." He told the picture. Sighing, he returned it to its resting place and got dressed in his uniform. All black. Finn chuckled to himself imagining the Warriors wearing anything else. The only difference between them and himself were the weapons. His fingers tingled when he thought about holding one. It's slick metal beneath his fingers. It would be a dream to learn a weapon of such extreme caliber. He sighed again and stroked the sleek thin handle of his tomahawk as he picked it up from his dresser. A bright silver that contrasted with the gray metals of everything else.
He couldn't carry this with him. Not with the security here. They didn't even know he owned it and to hold something so dangerous would have him thrown in a cellar in no time. There weren't many jobs in the havens or the tunnels, but the highest job a haven born could get besides taking over for a superior was a guard. Becoming a warrior or even a valor was near impossible for a haven born but that didn't stop Finn from trying.
He left his small haven, the doors sliding noiselessly shut behind him. He held his badge to the center crease and the doors locked so quickly, you'd miss it if you didn't stare without blinking. Everything was like this. You needed a badge to get in or out and you always had to lock the door behind you- with a badge, of course. But this didn't stop them from coming. This didn't put a damper on the numbers of people being taken. And no one knew what was taking the people of the havens, just that you'd wake up, and the doors were disabled and there would be a scream from a haven mate or they wouldn't show up to canteen, and you'd know. You'd know and the announcement of The Lost would come on. Except for now, we didn't bother with announcing all of them. You were announced for a week and after that, you were forgotten.
Finn never forgot though. He swore he wouldn't. Today he was trying out in front of a board of superiors to join the Warriors and find out what was taking his people. He's tried out every year since he was eleven when Doc Saab was taken. A week later, they introduced Xyri, his new haven mate. The superiors said it would keep him from feeling alone and out of trouble.
"Growing boys," Superior Zerena said, "are always looking for trouble. Something they don't understand to get into and cause havoc." But Finn understood. He understood that the Warriors weren't doing enough and their tactics of 'just sitting back' we're old and out dated.
Finn intended to join them and lead them. He didn't know where he would lead them since all he'd ever known were these metal havens, with stone faced haven mates and long metal tunnels with locked doors and plastic badges with serial codes. Serial codes tattooed on the base of your neck and on your badge meant to set you apart but kept you the same. He was tired of letting it go on. Of being the same.
He rounded a corner nearly knocking into a guard. These guards were messy buisness if you touched, spoke or looked at them in the eye. They stood perfectly still. Probably to the point you could think they were marble statues. They had guns but no one knew if they were loaded or not or what they even shot. Wanting to apologize, Finn bit his tongue while scanning his badge into the canteen card reader, the doors opening effortlessly. As he walked through and looked back over his shoulder, the guard was gone. A second set of doors greeted him by beeping, a clearing sound to the superiors that he had no weapons and was human.
The superiors had suspicion that whatever was taking their people may have been not human. And in response to their theory, installed these beeping arches that Finn wasn't even sure worked.
"Hey Finn!" A familiar voice greeted him.
"Hey Xyri, what's going on here?" Finn jutted his chin towards a large group of valors all with their backs to the canteen line as he grabbed a silver tray.
"No clue. A circle jerk maybe? But ya know we can't ask questions without eyes pryin'. Don't tell me ya goin' to go lookin'? Ya know you've been denied warrior stats 10 times since ya been eleven. Twice a year. Ya going to be seventeen, mate. Ya should consider a job to start a family." Xryi was of Irish decent and it kind of bothered Finn. Xyri had this way of pumping you up while tearing you down.
"Why? So it can be taken? I don't think so. You know damn well I'm going up to the valors today."
"How ya going to get them to even look at cha? They know ya name. Not a single haven dweller that don't."
" I know. I have a plan. I thought about it all night. Haven't slept a wink."
Xyri stopped short pointing at Finns tray.
"Maybe ya should get some food on that then, yeah? You've turned down every plate."
Finn looked down and realized he'd been staring at the valors the whole time. He nodded, not wanting to talk about it anymore. He grabbed a green juice and a bun and sat down before Xyri could object.

He ate pondering the metal. Suddenly, he noticed just how metal everything was and it bothered him. The sound of heavy boots on metal, the clinking of metal trays on metal tables, food that he was surprised wasn't metal being cut with metal forks and knives and spoons. Xyri sat down next to him and began talking but Finn cut him off.
"What do you suppose all this metal is for? What kind of metal is it?" He said kicking the table and peering at the underside. It was no different than the top.
"I- what? Are ya feeling alright?"
"And why is all we wear, black? Have you ever read about windows? Why don't we have any? And why is it always freezing? Don't you ever dream of more than itchy wool blankets? That are black?!"
Xyri stopped eating and was studying his friend intensely. Finn stood up and ran both hands through his brown hair.
"I'm not simple. I'm not like them. I can do this." And he approached the valors.

Xyri held his breath. He stood up contemplating on stopping Finn.
"Excuse me, Valor?" Finn said tapping on a tall broad shoulder. He closed his eyes expecting to get hit but kept on speaking.
"My name is Finn, I'm haven born and I'm here to ask you for an opportunity to show you that you need me." There was laughter. And he was surprised to hear the laughter was that of a woman's.
"Finn! Doc Saabs one raised! We know who you are. It seems you don't know who we are!" She said a twinkle In her eye. Finn was embarrassed that he was so much smaller than she was even though he was pretty buff himself.
"I do, Saab taught me well. You're a Valor," he was speaking quickly now. His heart raced with the fear he was about to be turned away.
"And I think I can help you guys. I have a specialty. I'm not like other haven born-" she held up her hand to tell him to stop speaking and he sighed and looked to the ground.
"You're excellent with a tomahawk, right?" She asked.

"How did you know that?"

The woman smiled. She had a grin that could tell lies. It sent shivers up and down Finns spine. Her silver hair just kissed the bottom of her chin. A chin that was rather pointed, complete with an equally pointy nose and eyes of fire. They blazed and Finn felt queasy but held his stare.

"People talk, Finn. We know who raised you, even though it wasn't exactly permitted," Her lips pursed. She was angry.

"But we let things slide sometimes. Your late night visits to Saabs haven haven't gone unnoticed, either." Her back stiffened and Finn couldn't help his eyes giving away his surprise.

Instead, he too stiffened and offered retort. "Things of mine were in there. I've recovered them all and have left behind anything that wasn't mine. You may do what you will with his haven as it's nothing to me now. It's not him."

The woman stared shooting daggers only Finn could see and feel. He inhaled and she spoke.

"Do with it what I will? Unfortunately, you don't make those decisions around here and I've already sent Valors to check your haven. Finn, you are so much more than an outlander. Don't act like one." And with that, she walked away.

The rest of the Valors smirked and reformed their circle of booming laughter and banter. Finn dared not to hang his head, turned on his heel and marched back to his table. He downed his juice and threw out his bun.

"Oy, you're crazy! And that's your last bun for the day! Why've you thrown it out? Are you mad?!" Xyri bashed his knee as he jumped up to follow Finn out of the room. Finn was booking it now. He was turning corners so sharply, Xyri could hardly keep up. Stone steps and many turns in silence later, a rosy cheeked Finn stopped in front of his haven. This was it. The moment he would walk in and fin himself being arrested.

The doors noiselessly swooshed open revealing nothing. No one. Not a thing moved. Not a dust particle out of place. He rushed in, the doors closing behind him. Xyri came in behind him and Finn immediately held up a hand.

"Stop. You're muddy." He said not looking up. Finn dug the knapsack he'd been tying together with tiny fabrics from others' clothing and ripped pieces. It was large enough now to hold a book or two and some other small things. Xryi threw his hands up in frustration without any words and Finn could feel the lurch of feelings in the air.

"It's too late, Xyri. We have to go. We have to get out now. They either didn't come here at all or they came and took nothing because I'm getting taken. I will not be taken. I will get out. I will move on. This isn't all there is." Finn opened a cabinet, dug through some leather bounds and shoved one in Xyri's chest. Looking dumbfounded, he opened the book, leafing through some heavily inked pages before coming across some drawings of what looked like Saab's haven.