Rebel Heart

Hell Hath No Fury

This mystery woman stood there at the foot of Iseul's bed, challenging him to speak ungratefully again. After a moment of silence, she dropped her crossed arms and sighed, "You may call me Wildrose. I know you have questions, but you ideally should be resting."

"Where...Where am...I?"

"Your commander stumble into one of our safe zones. You've been recovering in my hut ever since." Wildrose spoke over her shoulder, without even looking at him. She was bustling around a separate workspace.

"Safe zone? Are you military too?"

She laughed-a crisp and buoyant sound-and turned her head to look at him. "Do I look military to you, Moon?"

Taking in her long dreads pulled up into a massive bun and her melanin-rich body draped in tattered remains of cloth, he felt a blush creep onto his cheeks. He looked away and cleared his throat. "Sorry...Guess not. But me either. So...what are you, then?"

A knowing smile danced across her face, Wildrose pulled up a stool and sat regally across from him. "My people are known as Exiles. We are the result of those monsters...having their way with their prisoners. But after we serve our purpose on their ship, we were dump here along with the rest of their...game. So a group of us decided to band together and are fighting back..."

"Why not just join the Remembrance? They could always use more soldiers." Iseul asked, ignoring  a sudden throbbing in his head. A loud buzzing, and slightly distorted vision overtook him. He tried to shake it off and focus on Wildrose, who sat even closer now. He audibly gulped, hoping she didn't see his nervousness.

But again, Wildrose laughed. "You're surprisingly...adorable."

She shook her head and he felt heat in his cheeks. "What?"

Wildrose's smile faltered just a little before she stared off into the distance; looking like she was mulling something over in her head and deliberately avoiding eye contact. "We're much too human for those invading monsters...and too alien for the ones that were already here. We're a whole new breed of fucked up..."

Iseul felt a prick in his side--the side that was more him and less alien-tech--and looked down to see a syringe in Wildrose's hand. He looked at her bewildered, as his vision started blurring.  

"And now.." Her attention shifted back onto Iseul with an apologetic look in her dark eyes, "so are you."