Avenging the Astras

3 A Neighbor's Betrayal

    Dorron still hasn't returned home. Being a new mother, I fear taking my defenseless babe out of our apartment, so I stay home with him, hoping. The Goddess Nevi has heard many words from me these past few days. Knowing there is nothing I can do outside of our home, I gather myself and stand up, eager to find something to keep my hands busy while my mind wanders. The house is spotless. Dorron helped me clean it a few days before Storm was born. We are poor, by every definition of the word, but we are happy together. Well, we were before yesterday.
    There is a knock on the door. I make my way over slowly, trying to hear who might be outside. Peeking through the foggy window beside the door, I see Eliana's youngest child, Era. As I open the door, Era rushes inside, whispering, "Close it quickly, please." Closing the door, I turn to observe the small child with knobby knees.
    "What is it, Era? Is my husband alright?" I ask, breathlessly. The little girl looks up at me with tears in her eyes, her dirt streaked face forlorn. She rushes in to hug me, mumbling into the folds of my sweater. I pull back a little, just enough to get her head away from the sore spot in my abdomen. "Baby, I can't understand you," I say, tilting her chin up to me.
    "Ma'am, it's my daddy. My mommy told me to come here for safety. My brother and sister were already at my Oma's place when the scary people came," she says, barely above a whisper. This child is so quiet, I have to really listen to hear her.
    "What happened to your daddy?"
    She looks down to the ground, mumbling again.
    "Era, I can't hear you. Please speak clearly to me," I gently say, rubbing her hair.
    "I said, they took daddy because he started yelling. He told my mommy that my big sissy Briah was dead. Is she really dead?" Era asks quietly, looking back at me. I am astounded that she knows what death is, she is so young. In the world we live in, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. I also wonder what she means when she says they took her daddy, but I know better than to press her for answers.
    "Baby, I wish I had that answer for you. I hope that your sissy Briah is okay." I sigh, taking my place back on the couch. Era has the look of a child that has seen too much for her tender age. Patting the couch beside me, I ask her if she wants to hold baby Storm. Her eyes light up and she smiles. I pull her up beside me, grabbing the throw blanket that was slung across the back of the couch. Carefully I lean down and pick the baby up, placing him in Era's tiny arms. She coos to him, taking his tiny fingers in her own.
    "He's so little. Did the stork just drop him off?" she asked, caressing his tiny cheek.
    "The stork? Oh! Did your mama tell you babies are brought by storks?"
    "My mommy says all babies are brought by the storks. If the baby is a boy he has a blue ribbon and if the baby is a girl she gets a pink ribbon. My ribbon was pink. My mommy still has it," she says proudly. She is such a sweet girl. My heart aches knowing she may never see her sister again. As she holds Storm, she talks to him. I stay close beside her, but again my mind starts to wonder what has happened to Ken, and why Dorron hasn't made it home yet.

    An hour or so later, Storm is sleeping peacefully while Era and I are coloring a chalk drawing on the concrete floor in the living area. Suddenly, Eliana bursts through the door.
    "Ket, Ket, they took Ken. They took him to the Zeta headquarters," she cries, rushing over to where we are sitting on the floor. She grabs Era up, hugging her tightly to her. "I hated sending Era away but those people scare me so much. You need to gather a bag, Ket. I don't know what Ken might have told them, and I am scared he may tell them about your husband. I am grateful to Dorron for telling us what he discovered, but Ken is a weak man. He will do anything to preserve his own self over even me, much less a neighbor he hardly knows," she says with a disgusted look on her face. 
    We have never been on the bad side of the Zeta. We have always been law abiding citizens who keep our heads down and don't cause trouble. Dorron's job requires him to be free of any crimes, drugs, or anything that might affect his performance. He helps install newer equipment in places like factories, science labs, offices, and even sometimes hospitals. Sometimes his supervisors let him bring things home, as long as the client no longer cares what happens to the old gear. Although the job doesn't pay very well and we don't have nice clothes and things, we have never gone hungry. Dorron and Sloane have helped furnish our entire building.

I feel a change coming, and not the good kind.
    Eliana helps me stand up and then picks Era back up. She gives me a quick hug, mumbling another apology into my hair, and then runs out the door. I go to my closet and pull out a duffel bag that I had been saving in case we ever needed to evacuate our apartment. Our side of town is known for flooding. I grab armfuls of mine and Dorron's clothes, hoping that I am just over preparing. I don't know what I will do if we have to abandon our home, as meek as it may be.
    Just as I finish grabbing things, Dorron comes through the door. He looks like a wild man with his hair and clothing disheveled. He runs over to me, hugging me tightly.
    "Dorron, ow," I wince, pulling back only slightly. Now I'm really scared.
    He gasps, releasing me. "I'm so sorry, Ket! I was so upset I rushed home, and when I saw you I just had to have you close to me. We can't leave. If we leave now they will know something is going on, and we will all be gone like Ken. They're watching the warehouse, Ket."
    He's talking about our apartments. They are threadbare, small, and sometimes cold, but we have collected enough technology to make them nearly as modern, but not half as nice, as a regular middle class apartment building on the other side of the retainer wall dividing the city.
    "Ket, we have to lay low. For now, I want you to continue acting like nothing is going on. There's a small chance that we could be caught for going to the lab. They could kill us, baby," he says. "I will not let anything happen to you or to Storm. Please always believe that."
    "Dorron, stop talking like that. Let's just hope we will be okay," I say, picking up Storm as he starts to whine. His little blue eyes are so fierce, it's like they can see straight through your soul. Dorron helps me sit down on the couch and I begin feeding Storm. Just then, a shrill ringing sounds out from the nightstand drawer. It is our emergency phone. We don't use them unless there is no other safe way to contact each other. Dorron has one, Sloane, and Evander.
    Dorron goes over to grab the phone, trying to quickly silence it. "Hello? No. Please tell me you're joking...." he looks over at me, fear in his eyes. He is on the phone another few seconds, then hangs up.
    "It's my tattoo, Ket. My sickle tattoo. They tortured Ken for information, but all they could get from him was 'the man with the sickle tattoo'. I have to burn it off," he says with a determined look in his eyes.
    "Dorron, you can't burn your tattoo off. That would be suspicious, and it would hurt like hell. You can't do that," I say, looking at him like he is crazy.
    He sighs, sitting down on the edge of the bed. He puts his head in his hands. He has always carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. I try my best to ease his pain in every way that I possibly can, but sometimes it is just too much for him. We have to find a solution to this madness. We can't go on living in fear that every breath we take is going to be our last.
    It's time to find out if Storm is marked.