Factum #TCOTC

Chapter 1

I'm just going to let you know, writing this chapter I had the second Stay Alive song from Hamilton stuck in my head. You know that part where Phillip Alex and Eliza breaks all our hearts? Yeah. That one. Just gonna let you know. ;)

I was running down an ocean path, one of the man-made concrete ones on Europa. I don't know how I got there, but I know what happened. I shot Uriah. I shot him right between the ribs. The light went out of his eyes right there. I don't know why, but I know what I did. I know what I did.

At first I thought I could hear my heartbeat in my head, but it was too slow to be my heart. It was footsteps. I look behind me, and I saw the one person I didn't want right now. It was President Vancenq of Europa. "NO!" I scream, losing my sense of direction. My head spins and I hit the ground hard. My arms go limp. "I CAN'T MOVE!" I scream to nobody in particular. It's not like he could help me.

He finally caught up, losing his breath. I guess that happens when you don't spend fourteen years of your life running from fugitives. I curl up into the fetal position, but he grabs my arms and pins my down by the wrists. "Let me go," I hissed.

"Sarai."

"H-how do you know my name?" I stuttered. "How do you know who I am? How--"

"Sarai. It's a hallucination. Close your eyes."

"I'M NOT DOING WHAT YOU SAY--" He put his hand over my mouth.

"Close your eyes and count to three."

I did that, hoping he would let me go after. But as I opened my eyes, the sharp features of Vancenq melted into the familiar, broken eyes of Uriah. My Uriah. "Oh my god," I whispered. "Oh my god." I pulled him towards me, burying my face in his chest. I kept repeating "Oh my god," until it became a moan.

"Shh, it's okay. It's fine. Don't tell me," he whispered into my hair. His arms protected me from the horrors that are my mind, and his whispers create a peace I have been lacking. My moan turned into a sob, and I cried valuable water, wasting it. I try to stop it, but I can't. "Just cry," he says. "Just cry. I don't care."

"But the water..." I trailed off. I had forgotten that we have running water now. But I still stopped the tears. I couldn't ignore the problem ahead. His gray eyes darted to his left arm, and I panicked. "What happened? What did I do? Did I hurt you? Oh no, please no--"

"Shh. It wasn't you."

"Then what was it?" I ask, my voice cracking.

"It... It was--" he was cut off by a massive wind gust. "Crap," he muttered.

I reach for his hand and he takes it. Our fingers intertwine and we hold so tight it hurts. "Which way to the shelter?"

"South," he says.

"Well which way is south?"

"I have no idea. I can't see my compass."

My heart beats faster and faster every step we take, wondering what we might run into. "U-Uriah?" I could no lonnger feel his hand on mine. "URIAH?!"

No response.

---

The winds subsided, and I could see more than two feet ahead of me. Finally.

"Sarai?"

A weak sound came from beyond a lump of earth. "URIAH?!" I shout, already making my way over to the source of the sound. "D-don't worry, I'm coming."

I climb over the lump, and my feet start to sink into the ground. "Oh my god..." Before I could come up with a way to escape, I was neck deep in mud. "OH MY GOD!"

I closed my eyes and held my breath as the mud went over my head.

Not long after, I felt pressure on my shoulders. I was lifted into clear air, and I gasped. I kept my eyes shut, but I could guess who was lifting me. "Uriah, I know it's you."

"Oh, you do?"

That voice... I knew that voice. It was too cold to be Uriah's, and the only other voice I know is...

"Vancenq."

"Why yes."

I gasped. "Oh my god..."

"You sure do say that a lot, don't you? It's annoying."

I panicked. I held my arms around my knees and whispered to myself, "It's a hallucination. It's not real. None of it is real. IT'S NOT REAL."

"Oh, but it is."

I finally opened my eyes. Everything was a stark white except for Vancenq's dark suit. "Now listen, sweetheart. Do not interfere with the Europan government or else."

I stood straighter. "'Or else' what?"

His face contorted into a twisted smile. "Or else I will torture you and put your broken self on display for all the world to see. And make you live." I opened my mouth to protest but he held up his hand. "And I will do the same to your little boyfriend."

"What?! You can't, you have no right--"

His eyebrows shot up as he cut me off. "Remember his father was a criminal too. We can do as much to him as we can to you."

I stood up. "Well then..." I sigh. Why was I fighting with him anyway? Were we planning to take down the government? "Okay. We won't do anything."

"Good girl."

I suddenly fell backwards, dark spots forming in my vision making a crisp contrast with the whiteness of the hallucination. My head hit the ground under me hard, and I groaned.

"Sarai?"

It really was Uriah this time.

"Sarai, you were hallucinating." His brow furrowed, showing all the stress years as wanderers had given us. "You were screaming, then talking to me, then talking to someone else..."

I lay still on the ground, taking deep breaths. He came up and laid beside me. "You're okay," he whispered in my ear.

We spent the rest of the night looking at the starless sky, not moving from that one spot. Soon enough, the darkness took hold of my mind, and I drifted off into dreams of demons in crisp black suits.

~~~

AAH FIRST CHAPTER! WOOHOOOO! Things are taking off quickly. I'm so ready for you guys to see what happens!!

This chapter is dedicated to sunflowerlauren, LunaPTX, Warrior3600, and LivTheUnicorn1000, who deal with my random chatter and zoning out every weekday. Thank you guys for alway being there for me to bounce ideas off of, and pulling me back into the real world when I need it. YOU DA BEST! :)