UNTITLED: Book One

DAY 121

No longer prisoners of the Warden

We’re trapped by “more than”

So we seek out war then

In the distance, waves crash violently against the rocks as this time of year has the tide rocking them back and forth with such ferocity. The funny part is, that as the water gets closer to the beach the waves become so serene. When this happens, the only battle left is for your attention, between their grey-blue hue and bright shining Sun reflecting off it.

Long legs stride through the shallow waves towards the black sand of the beach:

{

"Waved 'em to my ocean—told ‘em let’s play. Corroded by my tide 'til they all caved. Washed over by a flow that only fools chase. These pawns checked by a shark—it ain't no chess game. Fought ‘til they lost, when dropped on the spot. Living on the edge for too long got ‘em chopped. Woulda saw the top if their minds wasn’t dark, but now floating War Dogs all logged—all 'em bark."

}

Wearing just a bandeau and short tights, she wades her way up the beach towards The Broker and his company. They’re all standing there on the sand while wearing opaque sunglasses and holding thick umbrellas overhead. All except for the towering Aiye who is standing next to Broker without needing the same protections from this particular beaches unrelenting exposure to the elements. Exactly the reason why The Dark State cell chose this island as their base of operations.

“That was nothing like the challenge I was hoping for,” Solara says as she strides up the sand.

While she walks through the sand her braid drags through it, tracking her every move in tandem with the body she drags in one hand. She then tosses the crippled enemy at The Broker’s feet.

As the intense heat of the Sun dries her, her skin begins to steam. Her body still hot even as her adrenaline dies down. Unflinching in the heat, Solara reaches to one of Broker's people to get her battle skin back and she proceeds to get dressed. Behind her, red bleeds across the length of the beach as it spreads throughout the ocean. A body washes up behind her, followed by another, then many more.

Neither she, nor Aiye, bother to look at the dozen other bodies floating in the ocean, but Broker and his company stare at the scene in silence, most of them showing subtle signs of distress—like fists and jaws clenching briefly. Fear-filled eyes and such.

“Sol, I’m just now noticing that your hair’s getting longer. Also, you must’ve read a lot more of my surface literature than I thought because I didn’t know you knew about a shark,” Aiye says as he walks up by her side, seemingly proud.

“Yes, it is quite astonishing how long your hair grows…and how inconsistent your vocabulary is,” The Broker chimes in.

Solara parrots him mockingly, “QuItE aStONishINg!”

The Broker lifts his head to the sky for a moment, likely rolling his eyes behind the lenses of his sunglasses as he silently releases his frustration with her seemingly arbitrary immaturity.

“Must you always be so juvenile when we communicate? One would think that we would at least have established some degree of rapport by now.”

“First, you started it. Second, No. We haven’t. Whatever the fuck that means.”

“Case and point…” Broker mumbles to himself as they all wait for her to finish getting dressed.

Dressed now, Solara begins stretching while she continues to talk. “Plus, I still don’t trust you. Who were those people anyways?”

“First, in my defense, if I did not warn you of their abilities beforehand you could have possibly die-”

Solara and Aiye both, simultaneously, shoot him a look as if to say sarcastically ‘Oh please’.

“-been seriously injured.”

“If someone can only injure me, then they’re still dead.” Solara boasts whiles doing arm stretches.

“Be that as it may, the warning was given nonetheless. Secondly, while it is no longer of any surprise that you would slaughter this many without bothering to ask the who or what they were beforehand, it is no less disturbing. My feelings of regret are significantly greater than I anticipated...” he scans the bloody scene in the ocean—all the bodies washing ashore, before turning his back to it all. “…but I do not know what I expected. I put you both on to this after all. The time for regrets passed long ago.”

“So, they’re the Dark State. Perhaps some colonies too…” Aiye says after some silence.

The Broker looks at him with some surprise. They meet eye-to-eye for just a brief second before Aiye decides to follow up with an explanation.

“Well, the Dark State part was obvious, but don’t the colonies also use those strange techniques? It’s shit we’ve never seen up close before, really. Plus, their weapons.” Aiye points between himself and Solara, “One of us had to pay attention during our lessons since Sol never did, and we definitely learned about the type of weapons they used. Warfare and whatnot.” he shrugs.

“Huh. Yes, I see. You are indeed correct. Very astute of you, young Aiye. I believe-”

“How’d they even get here?” Solara interrupts.

“There were many more before this. Perhaps there are still a few cells lingering here and there, but Thema and her team eradicated the majority of them with terrifying speed. And I believe you just erased the largest one. That does not leave many of them left. They are scattered now without guidance. But, to answer your question, I smuggled them all here.”

“YOU BROUGHT THE ENEMY HERE?” a shocked Solara exclaims while Aiye remains calm.

“Oh child, hush. My strategies should no longer come as a surprise to you. It has been established that we do what we must. For us, in hopes that both sides would destroy each other eventually. I have had enough of all of you.” The Broker waves her off and rolls his eyes before continuing. “And ‘enemy’? Since when did you become so…political?”

“Good question. I didn’t know you felt some type of way about The Dark State? Or even the colonies?” Aiye asks her, brow raised.

Solara looks back and forth between the two of them with an incredulous expression, “Oh I don’t knowwwww. Probably since these motherfuckers started saying they wanted us all dead! Or the war! Orrr, ALL their war crimes and atrocities?? You’re working with our greatest enemy! And Aiye, you’re okay with this!?”

"Well you’re talking as if we can't stop them? And pretty easily too." Aiye defends as he gestures towards the ocean, now a dark red. "So I could honestly care less about it—long as we finish The Warden and move on from all this, at this point. Isn’t that how you roll? Isn’t this what you want?"

"SINCE WHEN?" Solara shouts, snapping at Aiye. "Since when could you care less about the HOW, when it comes to us getting shit done? Please enlighten me Aiye!"

“Damn, chill—what the fuck??”

Aiye, taken aback by her response to all this, gestures for her to calm down:

{

"I don’t know? I'm probably- -I don’t know, just a little eager, maybe? Impatient? Like overtaken, by some itch. Something like, not being able to pinpoint a flavor I've tasted—or, I don’t know… put a name to a song or sound I keep listening to. I just know that while The Dark State descends The Warden rises and we’re riding down the middle, hoping they’ll collide and, looking for a breakthrough *points* right now only this Broker can provide us… All while hoping we don’t collide first with whatever’s out there. *shakes head* And I don’t like it."

}

With that last comment Aiye mildly glares at Broker, out the corner of his eyes for a brief second, before looking back at Solara.

“Also, it’s sounding like our roles have kinda switched? I get I sounded outta character, but since when were you so afraid of anyone? That ain’t like you? Like, what does it honestly matter if the Dark State comes and goes? We can take ‘em all easy, can’t we? Matter of fact, you’re the one who’s been saying that this whole time!"

"I could care less about the stupid Dark State and the stupid colonies. I just don't wanna keep adding shit to do on top of all the shit we already need to do. That’s what I care about. I’ve been playing along with this, but it’s getting really fucking annoying at this point. All these extra… tasks. Like, it's realllly starting to bother me. And I find myself getting increasingly impatient. I told you I NEED to get outta here soon, which means WE needa get out of here.” She says as she gestures back and forth between Aiye and herself before continuing:

{

"Right now I’m feeling like a single cloud on a sunny day. The last drop from a waterfall. The last memory before we sleep. I’m a part of this and I’ve been here for a long time, but it's almost as if I'm not here at all with the way I don't belong. So I really need to get out of here Aiye."

}

"… Where to exactly?" The Broker curiously chimes in, absorbed by her rare display of vulnerability. But it is followed by a long silence and stares from two pairs of eyes looking down at him. The emptiness returned to their gaze. It seems that, to them, he may have overstepped once again. Not that he will back down this time. That has proven more troublesome than simply standing his ground.

Right on cue, Solara finally responds with a simple point to the sky, followed by a one-word answer, "There."

The emptiness in her eyes transforms into a sincerity, with a hint of fear- no, desperation?

"I wanna go there." She quietly repeats to herself while looking somberly, towards the sky, beyond the single cloud on this sunny day. “I need to. I don’t know why, but for whatever reason, I just need to.”

Broker takes in this moment for a little longer before he finally gives a slight nod. “Very well then Sun Child. It is time we seek out Sollar.”

The thunderous drum strikes once…