DETERRENT - Apply Fic

28

"Help!" Calath shouts, from somewhere near the edge of the cornfield.

Norbu is always the fastest. He bolts without waiting for the others, and follows the echo of their voice. They don't call out for help again. It's too dark and the corn to thick to see them, and so at the last second Norbu has to dart out of the way to avoid slamming into Calath.

Yet, he still trips. He rolls over on himself, slamming into the dirt. His ribs ache, right where they did when he fell while fleeing all those weeks ago.

Norbu turns around and scrambles backward. There is a body on the ground, foaming at the mouth.

"Norbu?" Faris shouts, somewhere far off.

Norbu pulls himself up and grabs Calath. He tightens his hands around his shoulders and looks back at the body then at her, "go find them. Tell them it was a snake and that I'm dealing with it. Go!"

Wide-eyed as always, Calath runs back through the cornfield, chasing the sound of Faris' voice.

It won't hold them off for long, but Norbu doesn't need long. He's used to injuries from fighting in the ring, knows how to bandage bad cuts and how to reset a popped shoulder, but none of that specifically is what has prepared him for this.

Even in the low light, he can tell the foam is blue and sparkling. It bubbles.

This isn't one of the new workers, but the one that trained Norbu his first week here. A man, one who never spoke to Norbu, and he supposed he never looked for the signs, because who would expect a Neo Elysian street drug to wind up in farmworkers out in North Marcanty.

Norbu props the guy up onto his side in case he vomits. It would be easier to see with a flashlight, and Norbu isn't wearing his glasses so he can't make out the pupils.

"Hey!" Norbu snaps his fingers in front of the guy. "Hey!"

The man lets out a groan.

There's no vomit on the ground, and the guy is awake and at least somewhat cognisant. No, this isn't an overdose. The guy's high, probably on liquid bubble rather than a tablet, and Norbu knows very few scum who would sell the drug in its liquid form. It's too dangerous.

"That's not a snake," Faris hisses.

Norbu stands up, turning around to look at him. He peers around.

"Gale's with Cosmia," Faris answers the question before he's even asked it. "I said I'd make sure you buried the snake deep enough."

Norbu stands up. The guy stays upright, but is slowly tipping over. Norbu forms a fist and cracks his knuckles, "farmworker is high on bubble. I thought it was an overdose, but he'll wake up fine."

Faris' eyes flicker down to the guy. Bubble. In a place without an internet connection.

"You're the dealer," Faris says. "How did it get here?"

Norbu shrugs. The engine of a truck grumbles nearby, and they hear it getting closer, turning onto the farm property.

"We talk to Clockwork first," Faris says. "Before Benji."

"You think Benji knows?" Norbu asks, looking at the man as he finally slumps onto the ground.

Faris swallows, "I think there's a reason that all of the farmworkers that work here year-round don't have tongues."

~~~

Norbu, Calath and Faris keep it together for the rest of the weekend. For Faris, it is like it was long ago, before the panopticon, before the silence. Dimming the shine in his eyes that only comes from mischief. In some ways, it is like the panopticon. Someone is always watching. There is no talking, no communicating, no coughing, no allowance for sound.