The Silentless

Chapter 10

"Run. Run as fast as you can. I will find you again." The friends embraced each other. Both ready for what was to come.

Escape; freedom, was the only goal. To run as far away as possible from the confines of steel and stone. Both of them felt the pressing weight of the unnatural construction constantly. Simon for years. Tatty for mere weeks.

Neither could stand it now. An animal instinct for freedom only suppressed by James, too strong to ignore.

Tatty had decided, stunning both her and Simon, to be a distraction. The yearning for open ground was something she had only lived with for fourteen short days. How her friend had survived this long she didn't know. Or care.

They both needed out and this was the best way. She convinced herself, not wanting to feel selfless.

They had observed the pattern of patrols done by the 'disposable' Erös (a word she was taught by Simon to describe what she had become). The majority of them were skinners, some had useless powers like turning invisible for a minute, one could manipulate pollen; a substance there was a lack of in a city and wouldn't do any good to defend themselves anyway. But none of them were bad enough for them not to be trusted, only regarded as 'common' by the more powerful members.

Tatty was now in that group as well. Pixel had seen her wings and put her in the skinner category even though she couldn't actually turn into an animal then. Even with the beasts she was regarded as useless, a pointless waste of their precious blood.

A pact had been made to keep the tattoos a secret between Simon and Tatty. It was becoming more difficult as she acquired more from being around other people during meals and when she was assigned a pointless task to do in the main halls. A girl with an owl wrapped round her face on her torso; from a skinner who kept glaring at her (Tatty suspected she was secretly checking her out) whilst they disposed of the rubbish left by a hundred teenagers eating from plastic packaging twice a day. Breakfast was never served or an option.

Several bubbles that curled around her ankle; one of the people on washing up duty was able to breathe underwater. Ivy that reached up her calf; one of Simon's only friends had come to visit them both. He had built a den in the woods for the fox and any other skinner who needed a place to stay. It was difficult to discover that she could manipulate plants because of the lack of said substance. Perhaps the most difficult to explain was the one that was on her face from her temple descending down past her eye a clock with visible cogs surrounded by plants and hatch straight lines; it made her quick witted and sharp thinking, she didn't know where that one had come from but she suspected it was someone who strategised and argued surrounded by a drug filled haze. As each one happened the pain became more bearable. The blood a bit less shocking.

Doing everything they practiced, Simon and Tatty split up. The former running toward the exit as the latter made her was to her least favourite room - the crowded main hall.

'How can I distract them?' She asked herself as she entered the room. Then she saw how many people were in there all crowded round a raised platform.

There he was. Aamon. Before she even said it she knew the name would leave a bitter taste in her mouth. It wasn't about Simon anymore it was about him, the one who stared at her with unreserved desire and an unsatisfied hunger. She would wipe that idiotic grin off his handsome face.

"Aamon." Shouting over the crowd to be heard. Every instinct she had was telling her what a bad idea it was.

Heads turned and mouths turned up in smirks at the young girl who was standing there.

Her hair was long and straight, her skin a dark caramel and her eyes were piercing grey. Instead of the customary trousers and loose shirt she was wearing small purple shorts and a backless sports bra. Unblemished and untouched. She looked innocent apart from the ink that snaked and curled and formed the unusual array of tattoos she was sporting.

"Tatty Cassidy." Their leader's voice was a mixture of amusement and curiosity. "What do you want?"

"I want to know," the cool words cut through the tension and the muttering started. "Why me? Everyone else was from the streets but not me. You took me from my family and I want to know. Why?"

He walked up to her through a parting in the crowd, the purple ants scattered like mice as he approached. They were all scared of him. A nineteen year old striking fear into those only a few years younger.

He caresses her cheek his pinky just touching the edge of her tattoo. "Because we wanted you. And we always take what we want."

Suddenly he stumbled back, startled. The steel grey eyes had flashed a dark blue. Each tattoo on the girl's body glowed the same colour.

Wings sprouted, teeth grew to the short points of a foxes' canines. Half her face was shadowed by the glowing of the clockwork on her temple. As quickly as it happened the glowing ceased and Tatty ran out of the room.

A distraction was one thing but that, that was pure idiocy. A voice in her head told her. Giving away valuable information to her one enemy. Part of her had been warning her away from that room and now she new why.

As she left the room it was filled with steadily growing muttering and Aamon lost all attention he had gained.

Then Adi, their only tracking Erös (and his brother) came in followed by two guards they carried a bloody boy in between them. His feet dragging along the floor.

"We found this one trying to escape."

The sadistic grin returned. "Well we all know what that means. Call a meeting!"