A World Without Power ⊹ kotlc

03 - ghost

I stand next to Bronco as he tenderly stitches up Dolos's wound. Her smooth, light brown skin is marred by red blood and her gaping wound makes my skin crawl, despite how much worse I've seen.

Bronco cuts the sterile white string with sharp, shiny scissors. "All done, Dols. Don't do anything stupid." He says this affectionately, and she growls, but I can clearly see the affection underneath. Those two are so cute.

Dolos makes a move to get up off of the bed, but Bronco swings his long arm around and gently pushes her down. She tries to punch him, and I smirk as he grabs her hands.

"Don't dislodge your stitches!"

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do, dumbass..." I silently slip out of the bedroom in our hideout apartment in the human cities. Steph is sprawled out on a couch in the living room, staring emptily at the television. I sit down next to her and fiddle with one of my rings. "You okay?" Steph nods and twirls the wispy ends of her braids, white gloves standing out against the warm brown.

"Just thinking," she says, and I can't help but notice the sheer pain that should never be etched on an eight-year-old's face. I scoot closer and put my arms around her. She stiffens. I guess I don't seem like the hugging type, but she slowly softens and cries into my shoulder.

I rub circles into her back, tracing patterns with my fingertips. This soothes her and she stops crying, sitting up and wiping her eyes.

"You've seen stuff and been through stuff that no one, especially no one your age, should have to ever go through," I tell her. "So, if you need to talk, I'm here."

"Thanks," Steph whispered. She hiccupped. Toothless and Sniper emerged from the other room in the house. Toothless, seeing Stephania's state, immediately ran towards her and engulfed her in his muscly arms. Sniper and I hung back, unsure if we should watch such a scene.

"Are you okay?" he whispers to me. I nod, unsure of how to respond. Most people don't ask if I'm okay or not. They assume the big tough persona I put out into the world is who I am. Once, it was, but not anymore.

Toothless stands up. Steph clutches tightly to his hand. "Let's go," he says. I run into the other room, where Dolos and Bronco are bickering, one of his sturdy hands over her nimble one, almost subconsciously.

"You're the biggest b- oh, hey, Ghost," Dolos diverts when she sees me enter.

"We're leaving for the main base," I tell her. She nods and jumps out of bed, wincing as blood stains her clean white bandage. Dolos wraps an arm around her waist and helps her to the living room.

"Everyone ready?" Sniper asks. We all chorus yes and he spins the dial of our illegal pathfinder impossibly fast. Thousands of crystals glint, each one leading to a false base, but Red Zero is a crystal smaller than the rest. Easier to go unnoticed. Undetected.

The crystal locks into place and Sniper holds it up as we all link hands. We light-leap onto a rock cliff outside of a humongous waterfall, and thousands of gallons of rushing water fill our ears as Sniper uses telekinesis to part the waves for a moment, and we rush into the cave that smells of dampness and mildew.

I scan the rock wall of the cave until I find a small, knobby rock sticking out from the wall. I twist it, and a keypad is revealed underneath. I type in the numbers 10212 and step back, watching the tiny door that opens in the thick rock.

Steph sighs. "No matter how many times I see it, I'll never tire of it," she announces, and seems to speak for all of us. We step through the doorway one by one, and it slides shut one by one.

I breathe in the scent of grass and spices.

Home.

Inside of the massive waterfall, the Red had, with the help of their few remaining dwarven allies, hollowed out a massive space. The ground was soft grass, and many tents - all red canvas, of course - were spread out in grid patterns. Some were living quarters for the few who lived here, some were food tents (which were the sources of the delicious spicy scents) and some were medical tents.

Gisela thought the Red was a group of ragtag rebels who had no resources.

She was wrong.

Themis, one of our main advisors, steps out of one of the red tents and heads towards us. With his confident, straight gaze and smooth walk you would never know that he was blind, except for the sky-blue strip of lacy silk that he clutches in his right hand, which functions as a blindfold.

He smooths his rumpled beige tunic and fluffs his pale blond hair as he approaches. Steph tries to stifle a giggle at is precociousness and fails. He frowns.

"And what brings you six here?" he asks, no doubt finding our bodies in the wind. Creepy Guster powers. "You know Red Zero is only used for emergencies." I roll my eyes.

"Well, we have an emergency," I say, and point towards Dolos, even though he can't see me. "Dolos is seriously injured. We stitched the wound up, but...we were wondering if anyone here could help." Themis raises an eyebrow.

"All of our healers are currently at their own residences," he said.

"Please?" Bronco urges. I notice his grip around Dolos's waist tightens slightly. Themis shakes his head.

"Sorry, Bronco. Dolos. But there's nothing I can do. If the wound is already stitched, it's probably okay."

"The bandage is soaked with blood!"

"Bronco," Dolos murmured, placing a gentle hand on his arm. "Really. It's okay. We should probably get back now, anyways, before we're noticed." Of course, everyone in the Red has another life. We have to earn money, after all. But sometimes it's easy to forget that other life.

Bronco sighs. "I guess you're right, Dols. Thanks, Themis." I dig into my pocket and pull out my home crystal and watch as the others do the same. Simultaneously, we leap away.