Poison of the Wise

Chapter 4

His voice echoes within the silence making my bones rattle and shake. Three other men sit behind him, their gray hairs covering their bald spots in an outdated fashion. Wrinkles decorate their faces while small moles plant themselves far apart like they wish to never speak to one another ever again.

The chair that they have provided is a dark hardwood native to the mountain region south of the main base. Some people traded about 3 years ago for some wood, in exchange we gave them ligature. Books that went from three little pigs to even a horror novel written by a man by the name Steven King. Killer last name if you ask me. Even poetry, the cast of a Montriado many people believed those who lived in the mountains were idiotic. Many times I heard stories of their brutish, plush bodies, rugged teeth and poor hygiene. Their sinful ways of life, ink plunged into their skin in unspeakable ways. A shiver runs down my spine, there has been talk of a war between us and their land. It's prohibited to speak of their name. Maledictio is the word that we use when we speak of them, but their true name is Litatio.

Back when the trade was made I was 14, they wouldn't let me touch the wood until it had been soaked with the rain's water. It wasn't until I was 15 that I could sit upon the chairs or eat from the bowls that were made from this wood. Houses were banned from being built with wood from the south. They are dirty sinners who tricked us into trading our books for cheap wood. Which contradicts, but when the incident is brought up its quickly shunned for there will always be someone who disagrees drastically that ends in a lock down. Best to keep your opinions to yourself.

"You know why we have brought you here, right?"

One of the men on the left shifts in his chair as if he is uncomfortable. His daughter suffered the same as I; except she didn't make it back. Agna was her name. She would have been turning 26 this year.

"Sir, I'm afraid I don't? I came back, didn't i?"

The man in the middle whom asked the question lets air out through his nose almost like he found what I said amusing. His given name is Fastium the second, i haven't heard that name in years unfortunately. It fits him well.

I have a feeling they will ask if I took something that wasn't mine. I had a stealing habit when I was five. But to be fair, Missy is dead. At least I hope she is, otherwise she might have a really confusing night. Pulse i have been into her stories and drama, she has many enemies.

"What did you see my child?"

Fastium cracks my day dream in half by the memories of that night.

I feel as if I should lie.

"Nothing really, plants, decaying wood, more messages." I take a long sip of air to show that I'm done with this topic but he pushes.

"I know you saw something. Lying is sinful, my child."

He begins to get irritated with me, it really doesn't take much to set him off.

"All i remember was a feminine voice, falling, dreaming, and waking up mister. I really wish to not discuss the events three nights ago."

He crosses his legs, right over left connecting at the knee. The three other men look at me, fear is eminent in their eyes i know i fucked up but i couldn't care less anymore. Ajax has 100% left by now so now I don't have to hold my tongue.

"Now," I push the chair in their direction, never really sitting down in it anyways, "if there are no further inquiries I'd like to head back to my section and finally sleep to my heart's content."

I turn my body not waiting for a response, I wish not to look back at their soiled faces. I hear scoffs from the men that are almost as meaningless as a book with no ink.

"You are as messy as a pomegranate, staining anything you touche, but soon you will run out of seeds that can not spread."

My last straw snaps and I walk out in a way that a toddler would be proud of; I wish to not be proud of it. I reach the door in a furry and aggressively yank the knob making the screws rattle in place, making me look down. A screw has fallen and lays complacent.

Fear now washes over me as I begin to feel the crushing weight of what I have just done, guilt wraps its cold dark hands around me once more causing a sudden pain in my chest. I had always feared the day I would pull something like this, I forget who and where I have come from in a fit of rage. I don't believe they deserve this but i can't help but wish that those who have been there could have left as quiet as the fog in the night.

The brass begins to slip as my hands grow sweat and heat, the knob still not fully staying in place. I rattle it around, shaking it, thrashing around. It finally breaks the seal of which holds the stuffy arrogant air and fills the frame with a harsh cold that I have so longed for since that room. I stumble my way out, not glazing around me as my legs take me in a direction i wish that i could decide for myself.

My head turns around and around, i cant seam to find myself in what i have suddenly created. Stumbling hard i find my section. "(9B-0001)" reads above on a sign high dangling loose from the ceiling.

"Finally, where the hell have you been, Ad. I've been looking for ya."

Ajax pops out from the corner of my eye and I feel the warmth that he brings flooding my veins, I wish he didn't have to be here. My breath is caught in my throat, lips dry, cracked and red. He can tell I'm a mess but doesn't comment, he's used to me looking this way when i come back from the Mister. He offers a warm smile, making my heart wrench. I feel awful, like I might be sick.

"Hey, what's a matter. Did they do anything?"

He steps closer but I wish he didn't. I feel a heat flood and then a cold flash my body as I heave all over the floor. Clear liquid comes out again and I feel cold, my fingers numb. I bend over my calves touching my thighs with my hand cupping my mouth, it doesn't do much.

Ajax and i have been through a lot. Back when the facility was prone to flooding he would help me with my tent while i would patch up his. I would cook him food when he was sick and offer medicine. He got me through the times when the Mister would take me into his office. We share the same room but i rarely sleep there now a days. Solitary confinement fills my days with the joys of loneliness. But Ajax was the one who would sneak me extra food on weekends, even go as far as giving me my journal. Although that didn't last long for i could never hide it. I was pretty dumb back then..

The first time we ever got drunk together we were out in the woods. We had cut down a tree and believed we were the most important people to rome the green and blue earth. We could barely raise the axe we used but it was worth it. We sat on the stump for hours, talking. He told me about his mother and sister. He never mentioned his father, i began to believe that there never was one.

He pulled out a silver coated flask with an auburn contents peaking my interest. He told me about how he found some secret stash of wine that was supposed to be used for confirmation but never was deemed worthy. He flicked off the cap and smelled it. He gagged so hard that some of his supper came back for seconds itself. We laughed a lot that night. I revealed many things to him, how I never knew where I came from. How I had no genitalia. At the time he told me he was jealous, I didn't have to worry about hygiene. Later he began to tell me how unfortunate it was but I never cared. We was there and that's all I needed.

He never was an older sibling, he was excused. Lilly was his sister, she had light patterns in her skin making shapes that Ajax told me he would draw in. I never saw her myself, I do speak with her sometimes. With Ajax that is.

"Oh my god bud that oatmeal did not sit with you didn't it."

I shake my head feverishly, tears staining my eyes.

"I feel hot and cold at the same time, and- and I can't feel my chest"

Words get caught within my throat again causing me to hyperventilate.

"I might pass out"

I look up once more before my eyes close and I feel one last flash of heat and cold. Within the darkness I feel Ajax pick me up and carry me. I couldn't tell where but I trusted him, More than he ever knew.