The World Flying Force Rebellion in the Shadows

Chapter 21-Aftermath

I woke up to find myself in the worst place imaginable, back in the chair. Frozen in place but without the shocks going through my body. Krit'ts was bending down squinting his eyes, looking at me.

"She's up," he said. Master Guardian was over by the desk.

"If it isn't our little hero, back again, Krit'ts you are excused," Sidarc looked absolutely furious. His new cut was almost pulsating in the dim light. Krit'ts left the room, but not before he shot a sympathetic look my direction. It did nothing to quell my growing anger.

"You son of a bitch, I will end you!" I screamed at him as he walked out. I couldn't believe that he would turn on me after helping the others get away. The whole day was wrong. From the moment Notawa had admitted her guilt I should have run straight from this place and never looked back. Master Guardian wasn't about to let me escape. He was right, he had everyone in the loop and knew everything. How else did he know that we would try to use that drone? Master Guardian hadn't moved since I came in the room.

"Krit'ts told me you came back for your father...the last person you had in your life. Admirable, but stupid. I warned you Ta'law. You didn't want to play by the rules, and I warned you what would happen," The softness in his voice and the lack of punishing electrical current was making me crazy. I closed my eyes not wanting to know what he was going to say, if my arms had been free they would have been covering my ears.

"We live in a delicate society, if they thought I was going around kidnapping and killing people, no one would be happy. Peace and happiness go hand in hand. Now, one drone blowing up, that's explainable. Damn animals chewing a fuel line, or a random unpredictable gust of wind throws it off course, they will think of something creative, they always do. Only a few people died, and all were pilots, so it makes sense, right? But two accidents in the same day? Too many people saw you on the runway with Krit'ts. All the people that responded to the explosion, well they aren't all 'on my payroll' so to say." No light came through my closed eyelids. I wanted to be shaking my head and begging forgiveness. All my bravery was gone. As soon as Master Guardian had mentioned killing people, I was defeated. Notawa was the example; play nice or die.

"So Ta'law, you will live, for now," he walked from his desk over to me very slowly. I knew he was getting closer by the echo of his boots on the hard floor. His steps stopped on my right side; I heard the scratch of his pants as he knelt beside my arm. The arm with my calcumat.

"...just to make sure..." he had said it very quietly with his voice coming just inches away from my ear. A searing pain gripped me in my arm. My eyes popped open to a horrible reality, he was digging out the monitoring chip with a large knife. The shock was too great, even if I could have moved, I think the surprise and pain would have kept me still. The first few minutes of digging, my teeth were pressed firmly together. Until, the pain was too much and my lips parted emitting a scream that I didn't know I was capable of. The chip was ripped out of my arm, blood squirting out of the hole it had left.

"We wouldn't want your friends to know anything," he threw the chip against the wall where it shattered into numerous pieces, but his voice had stayed calm. The shaking came and I knew that the chair was off. My body slumped over, not even trying to stop the bleeding or move.

"Your will continue to study with Krit'ts, he's been a part of my underground police force for years, if you weren't the next Master Guardian, you would already be dead. You will be lucky if I don't kill you out of spite," he walked back over to his desk. Somehow, I knew, he wasn't done with me yet. There was news he had yet to deliver.

"Oh Ta'law, don't be so predictable, you already know the answer," it was like he was reading my mind.

"He died the minute I discovered you had escaped,"

He knew I was destroyed. There was no coming back from that kind of defeat. I had watched my best friend betray me, my father kidnapped, my mother was lost years ago. All of this was because of this man right in front of me, and I was completely powerless to stop him. I couldn't even move from this chair without his permission. Sidarc was standing at the entrance to the curved wall.

"You will return to your normal training schedule tomorrow, is that understood?"

"Yes Master Guardian," "There will be two armed guards outside your room and classes at all times."

"Yes Master Guardian," He walked out of the room and spoke with someone before leaving my sight. The scratch was clearer in the light of the hall. Whatever kind of weapon Arwago had used to make that mark, I wanted it. As soon as he was out of sight, Krit'ts came running in with another guard.

"Damn it, that's a lot of blood, Ta'law? Can you hear me?" He had taken his hat and pressed it to my arm.

"We need to get her to medical," I was in shock. The ability to interact with the world was temporarily lost. My injuries weren't too bad, this was psychological. They patched me up. Healing my arm quickly and another large wound I hadn't even noticed on my leg from the explosion. My two guards escorted me to my room after my visit with the doctors. When I walked through the door, Tomma greeted me. His face seemed to say, "what happened to you?" I just ignored him and went straight to bed. No emotions came out at all. The pillow comforted my head, but nothing could comfort my mind. After several hours, someone came into my room.

"Ta'law?" It was Krit'ts. His voice was very quiet, but it was full of remorse. I didn't speak.

"We had to know for sure Ta'law, if there was any chance we could get him out, we had to try. I know it doesn't seem like it, but this will pass. Just do what you need to do to feel better for now, and...we will figure this out, I will get us out of here," he said.

"How Krit'ts? It's impossible, he is too good!" I said.

"Arwago will come back, they will figure something out," he replied.

"Don't you get it? I am already dead, just like them; my mom, my dad, Notawa..." I said.

"Ta'law, I know it feels like a hammer has been pounding you in the heart, but trust me, when we finish Sidarc off...it will be worth it," he said. His voice knew grief. There was something in it that told me that his heart had, at some point, held the same pain.

"Forget it Krit'ts, you are safe, you don't understand," I told him.

"No one is safe, trust me on that...try to sleep, we have training in the morning,"

He placed his hand on my shoulder and kept it there. He must have brought a chair into my bedroom because he kept the arm there for hours. The exhaustion I felt kept me from making him remove it. My burla crawled into Krit'ts's lap and started making a gentle animal noise. It wasn't a sound I had heard him make before. I was only curious for a fraction of a second before I decided I didn't care at all. The tears eventually came, then turned to sobs. Krit'ts didn't try to talk, but his hand stayed on my shoulder through the long night. It became unclear as to what was awake and what was sleep. I just lay in my bed crying and drifting until the day light came.