Light in Dark Places

Chapter Thirty-Three

The building that they put Agatha and the other helpers in is next to Mathiessen's quarters, and far nicer than anything Agatha has been sleeping in for the past couple of years. They each get separate rooms, unlike what they had in Mathiessen's home (where they all slept together in one large monitored room) and unlike the cell in camp it is a room with a bed and a window and everything.

She's in the desert now, and she should feel relieved, but she doesn't. Sempiternal keeps watching her, ready to pounce, and she knows he's going to do anything he can to make sure he gets his way.

"Are you alright, miss? Can I get you anything?"

Agatha looks up at the soldier standing in her doorway. She knows who he is but they haven't been introduced yet, so she has to make sure she doesn't do anything that might make him nervous. (Her Ash talent is very inconvenient sometimes).

"No, I'm alright. Thank you."

"Are you sure? You look a little sick. I can get you some water, or some food." His name is Patrick Ojukwu, and he's a private in the ASDF; Agatha knows he's from a military family. His parents are both military, he has a younger sister in the military, and a younger brother enrolled in the Academy. He looks very nice in the dark red uniform, his mahogany skin free from any blemish of the typical youthful acne and his dark eyes filled with kindness and concern.

The soldiers, of course, know about Agatha.

"Maybe they'll help us," one of the others had said in whispers, in that room they all slept in, the night before Mathiessen took them here. "They say Arissana is a Free place. They say such amazing things about the Three Kings and their army, maybe they won't—"

"Don't be stupid," another had said harshly. "If they're asking for Mathiessen's help then they're not going to do anything to piss him off. They're not going to help us."

"But, once they see what kind of creature he is—"

"They know. Of course they know. And they're still not going to help us. If Mathiessen wants to drain us dry right in front of them, they're not going to do a single thing to stop it."

Those were the kind of moments that Agatha hated the most. Because normally, she would say, They might help us. I think they will help us, this will be our way out. Because she has always thought that people who try and destroy hope in others are wrong. Even if they are trying to be practical, even if they're right, they're still wrong to do it. And Agatha has always thought that if there were going to be a hundred voices trying to tell someone not to believe in a better outcome, then she would always be the voice that says there will be a happy ending after all.

But she couldn't speak up then. The rumors that she could see the future were stronger than ever, even though she tried to explain that's not what she did. If she said They'll help us, people might think she was speaking prophecy, and eventually that would get back to Mathiessen somehow and he would be suspicious.

It is hard to be positive when faced with one of the soldiers. Because Patrick does want to help, she can see it in his face. But, ultimately, soldiers are who they are because they obey the rules. Even though they know what Mathiessen is doing, they are not going to stop him.

"Some water might be nice, thank you," Agatha says, and then she lays down in bed while he goes to fetch it. He wants to help in some small way, so Agatha thinks she'll let him help in the small ways that he can.

And when she closes her eyes, she prays.

*

It had been a long time since Benedict had sat down with anyone during dinner. And an even longer time since dinner was something worth noting. He'd been living off canned food and ramen for so long he barely remembers what other food is supposed to taste like.