Whisper in the Dark

Chapter 17

Never slowly came to, everything felt hazy and her head was swimming in honey. Eventually when her vision sharpened, she was able to look around and recognise that she was in some kind of medical bay. She was hooked up to a vitals monitor and had a tube sticking into her arm. Producing her with sustenance she presumed. Viarrah sat asleep on a chair beside the bed, her head in her arms, resting on the side of the bed. Never stared at her for a moment, unsure of what to do.

"Do you really love me?" Never asked, her voice was raspy. Viarrah jolted awake and stared at Never in surprise. She nodded. The two stared at one another for a second.

"You have a funny way of showing it you know." Never continued, looking up at the ceiling.

"I'm so-"

"Zip it. I don't want to hear an apology. I'm sick of apologies." Never snapped. She sat up and clenched her forehead with her left hand. Her right hand was still sore.

"How long was I out?" She asked.

"A-a week." Said Viarrah slowly. Never groaned.

"If you insist on being here then at least get me a beer." Never said.

"I-I'm not sure that's a goo-"

"I didn't ask if it was a good idea or not. Just get me a fucking bear or leave." Never said calmly but with force. Viarrah got up and left the room, returning a few minutes later with a beer in hand, she handed it to Never.

"Thank you." Said Never, taking a sip. There was a cruel and persistent silence.

"Is your hand okay?" Viarrah asked. Never stayed silent for a while.

"It's fine." She eventually said. After a long silence the door swung open and the king walked in, no longer wearing his helmet. There was a scar crossing that red eye of his, his tentacles were a dark crimson like dried blood, it was unlike anything Never had ever seen before. He wasn't wearing his usual armour though either, he now wore a white hoodie and black trousers with red and black boots. His hands were in his hoodie pocket and he was flanked on either side by two knights. He motioned for them to stand guard outside the door, he then took a seat and looked at Never.

"How's the hand?" He asked her. Never looked annoyed at being asked the same question twice, she glared at Viarrah. Viarrah squeaked when she realised what was happening.

"She said her hand is fine." Viarrah told the king. He nodded.

"Look, Never, last week I didn't tell you the full story about who you are or why I brought you here. Would you be so kind at to listen to what I have to say?" He asked. Never thought about this.

"Fine, but I want you to answer some questions first." She said. The king considered this before nodding.

"As you wish, but I may be unable to answer some questions, just so that you're aware."

"Alright then... why are there no clocks or windows?" She asked first.

"We have no need for such things. time means little here. We eat, sleep and drink when we need, why waste time on schedules when we have all the time in the world." The king responded. Never stared at him.

"Any more questions?" He asked her.

"Honestly I'm looking at the list here and that's all I have really. So I guess it's your turn to talk." Never stated. Her face was not a kind one. There was a slight aggression in it. Even the king felt slightly uncomfortable when she looked at him.

"Okay then," the king started, "A long time ago, there were 2 cephalopodic factions. The inklings and the octarians. But within the octarian faction was one family who wasn't happy sharing the land with the inklings, and so conflict began. The larger quantity of the octarians disagreed with this family, but a small few followed them relentlessly. The world was at war with itself. Eventually after a long time, the inkling and Octarian armies managed to stop this ambitious group. But when they surrendered and agreed to live peacefully, the octarians and inklings weren't happy with this, so they shunned the tribe and locked them underground, wiped them from the history books and never spoke of them again. The lost tribe of octolings would then stay trapped there, in their underground prison for almost 1000 years. Which leads to now, to you and me... and the family that started the first surface wars those 1000 years ago was known by one name... the Empresson family." he spoke those last words with care. But they struck Never all the same. She'd heard whispers from her parents about the surface wars... but she had assumed they had been talking about the great turf war.

"the tribe of octolings the were locked away are the tribe you see around you. But you might be wondering how you are familiar with the surface given the Empresson family and their followers have been locked away for the last 1000 years? About 100 years ago, maybe slightly more, there was a falling out within the Empresson royal family, while many wanted to get revenge on the ones who locked us away, a few others wanted to make peace, those few managed to find a way to leave, and so they did. They escaped this prison and made their way to the surface. They were your parents, Never. They escaped this prison, left us to rot, and now, we finally found a way to get just small groups of 2 or 3 through the locks and to the surface. So I ordered Viarrah here to find you, the descendant of the traitors. You are the last blood descendant of the original Empresson family. You are the rightful heir to the throne. You are the one who can lead us to victory, the one who will free us and lead us to our domination of the world."

The world went dark around Never. The information she was being given didn't feel real. Suddenly there was a sharp pain in her stomach. She looked down in the darkness to find a knife plunged in her belly. Her throat filled with fear and screamed out in pain. She looked around frantically. She stumbled around in the dark and found a mirror, hanging in the endless void. She peered into the mirror and saw not herself. As she peered into the mirror, it was like looking through a keyhole. She saw Mimi through the mirror, a dark figure approached Mimi from behind. She cried out, trying to warn Mimi, but Mimi couldn't hear her. The figure stabbed Mimi and she crumpled. Never screamed out. The figure then turned to Never, and made a cruel smile before removing the hood that covered their face. Never found herself staring into her own face. She stumbled back and the mirror disappeared. She lost her footing and fell, but she didn't hit the ground, she just kept falling. Then she felt something, a blade against her neck. Suddenly she realised that the ground was beneath her feet. The knife pressed tight but did not cut. The knife was released and she felt a kick in her back as she fell to the ground. Still only she saw darkness around her. She began to cry as she felt the kicks keep coming from all directions. Beating her to a pulp.

"STOP!" She heard a voice say, the voice was familiar and she looked up to see Rumtums standing over her. He smiled a dark and twisted smile, suddenly there was a sharp spear in his hands and he plunged it into her chest. She once again screamed in an agonising pain.

Viarrah watched in horror as Never lay, convulsing and screaming in pain in the bed, tears running down her face.

"W-what did you do to her!?" She asked the king.

"I'm simply teaching her the truth of the world. I slipped a hallucinogen into her feed, her own mind is doing the rest, she is only seeing what she already knows deep down is the truth." He said in a dark, calm voice. He stood up to leave.

"NO!" Viarrah screamed at him as she stood up. "STOP IT! MAKE IT STOP! YOU'RE TORTURING HER! YOU'RE KILLING HER!" The king looked at her for a moment, said nothing and then left. Viarrah could do nothing more, she stood there and watched in horror as Never continued to convulse and scream uncontrollably. Viarrah began to cry. She knew if she tried to unplug Never that she might die from lack of proper procedure. There was nothing she could do. So she just stood and watched.