Sharpened [ On Hold Indefinitely ]

Chapter Eleven

The next morning, I wake up feeling extremely guilty. My heart feels like it is being crushed into my stomach. And it is pushed even further when Darky tells me that we're going back to the Dub.

"I'm so excited!" She says cheerfully. "Thunder says that we'll explore the Capitol today!"

"Yea!" I say, trying to sound enthusiastic.

But Darky notices my tension.

"What's wrong?" She asks, placing a hand on my cold back. Her sweaty skin almost makes me feel lighter.

"Nothing," I reply sullenly.

She shrugs, then skitters off to join Thunder. I gradually walk over to join them as they gather lunch bags.

"C'mon, Timber!" Maple shouts, waving me over. "Grab a sack." She gestures to the pile of grey sacks that must have been found in the woods somewhere.

I trump over and pick up a smaller one. I open it up to find some fish skewered on pointy sticks that had been sharpened with a knife. Occasionally, we would come across a thimbleberry or raspberry bush, and we'd gather as much as we could. It wasn't the best, but it was suitable.

The food we had been eating was mostly meat. Deer we'd found dead, small rodents we had stabbed when they scurried past, and fish fought in the stream by Lumination's makeshift fishing pole.

As soon as we are all ready, Thunder begins to guide us through the forest, just as we had done the day before. I find myself readying my ears in case they begin to speak about The Float's plans, and my face immediately redens.

Darky clasps my hand daintily. "Are you excited?" She asks lightly.

I nod, avoiding her gaze.

After about fifteen minutes, we reach the barren plain from yesterday, and I spot the buildings in the distance. I can clearly see the extremely tall tower with the pyramid on top, but all the other buildings are the same height. Maybe there was some height restriction back then that kept all the architecture short.

Thunder leads us straight to the Capitol this time, and we follow her through the large bronze doors. Immediately, I notice the scene in the building. There are chair thrown aside, charred walls, and burned papers scattered across the floor.

It all doesn't seem too old, maybe only a decade, for the leaflets aren't yet faded, but the ink has run.

What happened here? I think. It looks as if there had been a massacre.

As if hearing my thoughts, Thunder says to me, "We learned that the Capitol had been ransacked and that all the Countless disappeared. But we don't how, or who did it."

"Do we have any records?" Darky asks, staring up at the decorated ceiling.

Thunder shakes her head. "Follow me."

We trail after her as she leads us down the trashed hall. I peer into the rooms we pass, but they all are the same. Burned and marauded.

Finally, Thunder halts in front of a tall silver door. She thrusts it open, and we walk into a large courtroom, filled with toppled-over tables and chairs.

Thunder grabs a few papers from a table and begins to read them out loud. " 'The House of Representatives have come to a complete decision about the recent voting on tax rights.' "

"This must be a place where they made laws," Lumination suggests.

Thunder hushes him. "Listen - 'we all agree that it is best to...' Then it stops." She looks at us.

"What does that mean?" Maple asks.

"It means that the Countless had some helpers."