Shadow

4

"It's crazy that people can attend a draining like this," Seran says to Teval as they leave Iggi's warehouse together. "Even though it has nothing to do with me, it gets me nervous about everything."

"How many have you seen?" Teval asks, buttoning his jacket up tighter against the autumn chill as he turns over what she said in his head. It really is odd to witness something like a draining.

"This will be my second. I saw the one for the man who was arrested trying to smuggle and sell children," Seran tells him. "We've never caught anyone that was drained before."

Teval is pretty sure he hasn't either since drainings are rare nowadays. At school, he came to learn they were more commonly used before and around the time of his birth, but are rarely used nowadays except in very specific circumstances. Only the most egregious of crimes require a draining as of late, especially after there were protests a while back when Teval was just starting at the academy. The effects of draining became too obvious for people to ignore.

As they approach the detention center, Teval sees a crowd gathered outside, holding signs and chanting at the officers guarding the entrance. He stops at the back of the crowd, wondering how they're going to get in, but Seran keeps going right through the people, so he quickly follows. When they're through, one of the guards puts up his hand to stop Seran, but hesitates as he recognizes her.

"They're not letting many people in today," he says as he signals to his partner to open the metal barred door. "They should have known this would happen." He nods toward the crowd.

Seran politely thanks them as they enter under the arch to the grounds, the door shutting with a deep clang. Teval glances back at it, the whole thing sitting uneasy in his empty belly before he turns away to head for the draining yard. He couldn't eat much today.

"What about you?" Seran asks.

"What about me?" He casts her a confused look.

"How many drainings have you seen?"

Right, that. "Same as you," he replies as they get to the entrance to the open yard where a crowd waits on the ground as they look up at the massive machine and the empty spot on the front where Taka will be strapped in soon. They look over the crowd, then Seran touches his arm and points out the rest of her team sitting on the far side of the round, raised seating area.

"Oh, you saw him drained too?" she asks as they head over.

How can he forget? "It was one of the biggest events our teachers had us attend. The guy yelled about some kid killing his brother as if that somehow absolved him of what he did."

"I had always wondered what he meant by that."

"I guess we'll never know, but at least he was caught," Teval replies and follows her over.

"Got what they deserved, both of the brothers," Seran hisses as they sit next to the others, Teval taking up the end next to her.

"Probably the only moment in our lifetimes the awful thing was used properly," he whispers.

"What are you talking about?" Lexton asks.

Seran points at the engine and whispers to him as Teval lets his eyes wander over the machinery. He doesn't fully understand how the engine works, but it's a massive cylindrical piece that houses many other parts inside that all work together, powered by a person with a drain attribute. The subject of the draining is strapped in at the front with metal bars contacting their bodies at different points, all made from drain tagged pieces. The person running it stands at the back and pulls the attribute from the person until they are completely emptied of their power.