This Reality

6: The Permitters

A/N
Hello, this is that long everything-shall-be-revealed chapter that I promised.
Votes/comments/follows are always appreciated! Feel free to recommend this to anyone, and thank you for reading,
Kori

How much does she remember?
"All I recognise is the silver necklace you're wearing, and the gold gun you have. I'm not even sure where I remember them from. Are you even allowed to carry that gun around?"
"Yes and no," Milla begins. "I wouldn't be allowed to have it usually but the thing is, other people can't see it. Just us."
Great, Astrid thinks. Now it's all magical and stuff.

"Well," continues Jax, "I think it's time we tell you about yourself, since you've clearly forgotten quite a bit."
Milla nods. Astrid is ready to hear about her past.

I begin to fear for her. What she's about to hear will spark something, an anger, that will persuade her to join them. And I don't know if joining them is the best thing to do if she wants to remain alive. I certainly want her to.

"So," Milla speaks first with a lowered voice. "Do you know about the law against any fantasy or fictional works? Like books or films or stories?"
Astrid nods. That is something that she does remember.
"And do you know who made that law?" Jax asks.
"The Leaders," Astrid whispers.
That's all she knows.
"Right," answers Milla.

There is an awkward pause as Milla knows what to say next but doesn't want to say it.
"Your parents, were... they... they wrote stories... and they were... um..." Milla can't finish.
"They were taken away," Jax explains for her.

Astrid doesn't know how to react. Should she be sad? Worried? Should she miss the parents she doesn't even remember?

She wants more information.
"Did... did they know it was against the law?"
"Yes, they knew," Jax answers nervously.
"So why... why did they write if they knew it was illegal?"
Another awkward pause before Milla speaks.
"Do you remember having a brother?"

Astrid thinks for a minute. A brother? No, she doesn't remember having a brother. She doesn't remember much at all.

She shakes her head in answer to Milla's question.
"Well, you had a little brother..."
Had.
It is that little word that haunts Astrid the most.

Jax continues anyway. "He was eleven years younger than you. He would be seven now. Anyway, he was... he was very ill. Not the kind of ill that gets better, not the kind of sick that you can fix. Your parents believed that this world wasn't right for him, and that he was running out of time, so they wrote him stories about other worlds, fantasy fiction and fairy tales. It was all they could give him. They wanted him to experience things, happy things, worry-free things, before his illness caught up with him. He was six when he died."

Astrid feels tears prick in her eyes. Even if she remembers none of these people, she still understands that they are part of her family. She takes a deep breath before speaking.
"What... what was his name?"
"Bloom," Milla says softly.

There is yet another awkward pause as Astrid figures out what to say.
"Why do you need me?" She asks quietly. It's Jax's turn to speak.
"Well, the Leaders took your parents away. They locked them up in the institute that we took you from."
"How come you were standing above the room waiting for me?" Astrid is curious.

"We knew that you were being kept in that room after you and your parents were taken to the institute and we also knew that we couldn't rescue your parents. We know that they're alive but no one knows where they are being kept except the Leaders. We had to sneak into the government building, hide out in the utility room and wait for you to make your own way out. How exactly did you get out?"
"There was this device, I pressed some buttons and stuff and it made screws drop from the ceiling until the trapdoor eventually opened," Astrid says.
"Did you have to enter any information?" Milla asks.
Astrid says that she didn't, completely forgetting what she told the device about the gun, the necklace and the password.

Jax continues explaining, "Milla and I are part of the group that want to shut down the Leaders and allow people to write. We are called the Permitters. We need you specifically because there's something we need to find and only you can help us find it. We want you on our side."

Oh no, they've asked her! She can't say yes, she can't, she won't...
This can't be happening...

"What's in it for me?" Astrid asks. She hates to be selfish but she doesn't want to risk her life with no benefit.
Milla takes a deep breath before speaking. "Well, it's a long shot but when we go and shut down the leaders, we plan on rescuing your parents."

Astrid thinks.
Why should she listen to these people that she's only just met? Would it be worth it if her brother was still alive? Is it worth risking her life for parents she doesn't even remember?

"So are you in?"