Red Rock

Chapter 10: Eyes Open (Part 2)

Sasha lay down on the ground sobbing over Jessica. Her arm had been cut open in all the commotion and her legs were badly bruised, but Jessica was not as fortunate. The kick she had received from the man in the steel toe boots had fractured her skull and killed her. Daire couldn't believe what had just happened. 'What happened to being civilized?' he thought. 'What happened to sticking together?'

When the crowd realized that Jessica was dead, the beating stopped. The cruelty of drawing the line at a death of a group member was eating at Daire from the inside. Though it had not been their intention to kill Jessica, there was no remorse shown by any of Jane's supporters. They all just studied Sasha as she wept over her once beautiful girlfriend.

"Get away from there," Jane told Daire as he went to help Sasha. Daire looked at her uneasily. "They both had it coming."

"But she's hurt," Daire pleaded.

"I see that," Jane responded sounding almost pleased. "I know you have a soft spot for them Daire, but it's time to choose your sides more wisely. It would kill me to see you end up like her." Jane's passive aggressiveness made Daire sick to his stomach; she was a monster, taking advantage of the people around her. Daire nodded, confirming that he understood what she was saying. "Excellent!" she cheered, turning to her nine armed crusaders. "No more interruptions. It's time to show those cannibals the will of God and smite them! He is with you on this journey and will look over you. Don't you forget it either!" she finished, breaking their concentration on Sasha and Jessica, and sending them on their way.

The crowd cheered as the nine volunteers proudly walked into the rolling hills, thinking they were ready for anything that they might encounter. Once they had exited vocal range from the ship, the crowd lost interest and grew silent, resuming their watch over Sasha's despair over Jessica's death. Indifference quickly settled in and the Surveyors dug into the already limited rations again, senselessly gorging themselves for the sake of gluttony.

Dusk settled in hours later and the fact that the brave volunteers had not yet returned from their venture made the crowd nervous. "Don't worry!" Jane eased. "They must have found so many helpful resources that they couldn't carry it back in time before dusk. They will be back tomorrow."

The small speech took the edge off the crowd as each of them slowly returned to the ship for another nights slumber. Sasha limped her way to the door of the ship before being stopped by one of the Surveyors. "Where do you think you're going?" the Surveyor asked, standing guard at the door. Sasha accepted defeat immediately and retreated to the side of the ship sitting down, huddling for warmth.

"Jane!" Daire called before she could disappear into the ship. "Sasha won't last the night out here, it's too cold. Can you please let her in the ship? Jessica dying was more than enough punishment."

Jane looked at Daire disappointedly. "Why do you like her so much, Daire? She's poisoned you with her filth and look what's come of it." She pointed to Jessica's dead body. "That's what happens when you spit in the face of God." Daire fell silent, not sure how to respond to Jane's arrogance. "I'll get someone to give her a blanket as a token of good will to you, Daire. I have a feeling I'm going to need you in the future. But this is the last we speak of Sasha."

"Thank you, Jane," Daire said, knowing that Jane expected him to be gracious.

"You're welcome," she smiled, patting him on the shoulder.

The inside of the ship smelled of body odor, the stench soon becoming part of their breathing air, and it had to be tolerated. Sleep quickly overthrew all of the anxiety and conflicting thoughts circulating in the warm and moist area, stirring silence among the passengers. Daire sat in his chair thinking of his future. Jacob's empty chair next to him made him think that he had been betrayed in a way. Jacob left with no warning and had broken his promise to plan for the future, when in reality he had no plan to bring Daire along in the first place. But Daire was used to getting lied to; he was brought up on lies along with everyone else. Society lied to him, establishing false standards that never seemed to be good enough. Politicians lied to him, dribbling promises that equivocated into something entirely different from its initial prevalence. And now Jacob had done the same thing. 'No wonder worthlessness is a global sickness,' Daire glumly thought. 'How can anyone believe in anything when no one knows what's real?'