Starless Sky

Chapter Seventeen - Arden

Opening his eyes Arden squinted against fluorescent lights, his body ached and burned with every breath. He slowly lifted himself up, eyeing the fresh bandages and bruises that coated his body.

"What the hell," he muttered observing the white walls and floor. He pushed himself off the bed with aid from the wall, gritting his teeth as he put full weight onto his legs. He had never seen a room so white and bare, it was more depressing than a hospital.

A buzzer sounded from the speaker ahead and Arden glared up at it drowsily. Whatever they had drugged him with was taking a while to go away. He jerked his head over towards a circular door that widened to reveal five guards in heavy-duty armor, he raised his fists slowly. As he swayed the guards exchanged an amused look, this just made Arden more pissed. One of the guards stalked over to him, reaching for his arm, but Arden swung his fist slamming it into the guard's helmet. The guard stumbled back, shocked by the power-packed punch. Before Arden could make another move the third guard tasered him with no warning.

Arden convulsed as the electric currents ran through him, causing him to stagger to his knees. The world spiraled and tilted even more around him.

"So this is the guy that killed the mayor? Doesn't seem like much of a threat," one of the guards mused stepping forward to get a better look at Arden. Arden spat a clump of blood towards him and snarled.

"For fuck sake, get him out of here already." The guard raised his hand and wiped the blood from his cheek, shaking it back onto Arden's beaten up body.

Arden was half dragged to a giant room full of people in white clothing like his, a few paused to examine him. He wasn't too thrilled that the guards had taken him down so easily, but he did take a little pleasure in the bruise forming on one of their faces.

The guards left him as he entered the room, sending a few withering glares in his direction. He tilted his head side to side, cracking his neck. He swore he could still feel the electricity vibrating through his bones, that would be the last time he got shocked with one of those.

He stumbled sorely through the crowd of prisoners, glowering at anyone that stared at him for too long. He didn't pretend to notice the prisoners that slowly circled him like fresh meat. As he watched the people around him shift, someone had finally decided to make a move. A man shoved through the crowd, staring right at Arden with deep dark eyes. Arden narrowed in on the man and clenched his fists into tight balls.

In most fights, he would come out without a scratch, but this was a little more complicated. He was warped and bleeding in bandages, not to mention that he was trying to shake off the feeling of being tasered.

Arden could taste the tension in the air, the whispers, and the stares that circled around him. As the man stepped forward a slim pale shape squeezed in its way. The girl had long white hair that was braided, and long deep scars running across her whole body.

"Go pick a fight with someone else beef hands," she snarled at him. Her voice was sharp and strong, Arden tilted his head at this. The man raised his hands in the air and shuffled back into the crowd.

The girl turned to him, and Arden took her in. Her scarred pale face, the swirling light gray eyes, and the curious smirk that played across her face. He may have just exchanged a wolf for a lion.

"I could have taken him," he said, giving the strange albino girl a cold look. He started shoving through the crowd but the girl stuck like a knife in the side.

"Your welcome," she cooed and smirked up to him. He met her swirling eyes and quickly averted her, heading for nowhere in general. He just wanted to find someplace where people weren't crowding around and eating their soggy potatoes.

The girl trailed him to the whole other side of the cafeteria, and once they reached the wall he spun around and glared at her. Another man stood by her side, he was tall and skinny with dirty blond hair and a deep tan. The total opposite of the albino girl. His face was covered in light freckles, and his hand lightly brushing the girl's hands.

"You are clearly new to this entertaining place, but let me assure you, you'll want out." She shrugged and watched his expression closely.

"Thanks for stating the obvious, now either give me a name and reason for your creeping or get the hell away from me."

"Creeping? You really don't do my stalking justice, but I'm Nym. Now, what is your name, or should I just refer to you as newling." She gave him a sharp smile, baring her teeth more than anything.

He crossed his arms, "Arden. Now answer my question or-."

"Go the hell away, I get it. Usually, I like dramatic pauses and shit but I'll make an exception this time. Revolution, plain and easy."

"It's never easy," he snapped back. He didn't want to waste his time with a few raggedy prisoners that think they could escape and beat up a few guards. "How many people have joined your little movement."

"A few hundred, all capable of fighting." She paused and looked past Arden's head towards the back of an asian girl with long black hair and a big guy with dark brown skin sitting right next to her. "Pretty soon we're going to have the shapeshifters on our side too."

Arden turned his head to see what Nym was looking at but the other prisoners blocked his view. He turns back to Nym, giving up.

"Who's running it?"

"Dax and I mostly, though we always will take help." She grinned even more as she answered every question.

Arden rubbed his face and let out an annoyed sigh, "You know what, whatever. I don't really have anything else to do." He waved his hands at the white walls of the prison and let out a deep chuckle.

"Oh the bleak realization that the government is never going to let us out on good terms," she smirked leaning back into the wall more. "You'll fit in just right."

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Published: June 26, 2020, 9:30 PM

Words: 1066

Thanks so much for reading "Starless Sky," we would like to say sorry for taking such a long break. We went on vacation and decided to take some personal time to enjoy and relax. We hope everyone is having a great quarantine! -RiSaWa