UNTITLED: Book One

DAY 130

Evolution demands we understand

Every thought is an addiction

Cold sweats, again and again

Tears continue streaming down her face, over the top of her nose and off her cheek, as they’ve been doing for the past few hours that she’s had her head rested in Solara’s lap. Solara just sits there—in a meditation, eyes closed with her hands together.

Neither Solara, nor Aiye have uttered so much as a single word since finding her here. And all she’s done is cry. Thema cringes at that thought as she watches Aiye observe the burns from the sword disappear on his hands and arms, for the hundredth time.

He looks concerned and slightly annoyed. A smirk nearly flashes across her face. It’s nice to know she’s better than them at something at least. But then she remembers her team, and the pain comes rushing back.

Aiye’s frustration is due to his MANY failed attempts—despite his many different approaches—to wield the sword. The final attempt was particularly frustrating for him. It ended up with him falling to his knees. Well, he had decided to take a knee as if he had a delayed reaction to a good hit to his liver. Like he was trying to pretend it didn’t hurt that bad, but it finally caught up to him. His bruised ego saw no difference.

He had gripped the sword firmly and even managed to pull it out of the ground. But by doing so, the rush of pain that typically surges though the arm, filled his entire body. Not only that, his eyes lit up glowing white—with that same white light even emitting from his mouth as he roared in pain. I hope he’s done with all this weapon shit now that he was able to grab it, Solara thought to herself during this all.

When he pulled it out, while roaring in pain, he almost managed to slash with it, but he couldn’t withstand the pain long enough to complete the motion. The pain from the burning feeling, but also the loud shrieking noise that he wasn’t even sure where it was coming from—seemed like it was from inside his head while piercing his eardrums. Eventually, he stabbed the sword back down, and took a knee in exhaustion—gasping for air and sweating profusely as if he had done the most challenging exercise of his life. And that was that. He made no further attempts afterward.

One thing was clear though, his scars were minor compared to Thema’s, so how much more than me did she push herself to wield the sword? He thinks to himself, with a quick glance at Thema. They meet eyes for a moment and then they both quickly look away.

Her hands and half her arms seem permanently blackened. Charred but without the damage one would expect from having such burnt hands. This was all too strange for him.

Other than his occasional attempts on the sword, Aiye has mostly been patiently standing next to them, watching The Broker across the plateau. He is directing his people who managed to finally arrive about 30 minutes ago.

They’re cleaning the scene and collecting anything worth studying—like Sollar’s body and some of the glowing rock. If Aiye and Solara weren’t there, they’d probably take the bodies of No.2 and No.5.

One of Broker’s more curious people, against all warnings, had tried to pick up the sword. They were disintegrated. Which was shocking. It was similar to how a pulse staff can turn a stone into sand.

The Broker himself hadn’t been much for words either, other than just three—“I am sorry”. He only apologized after he felt enough time had passed since her shrieking and sobbing.

Thema looks back out towards the destroyed mountain range. Her eyes land on a particularly large peak, dark-orange. The first slash from Sollar’s sword that she dodged. The first mountain she had witnessed get destroyed in a single cut. From such a far distance. It was the moment she realized this was all wrong. That her and her team were not told the full story—by anyone. Played by both The Broker, and The Warden. She clenches her jaw and grits her teeth. But then she thinks of her team again. What’s left of them.

She stares back out at the sliced mountain peak. She’s unsure who to blame—herself…or, who to hate—still herself. She knows. But… she sighs and leaves the thought unfinished.

Hypnotized by all the destruction she sees while staring at the peak, she begins to re-enter her earlier trance she was in before Solara first grabbed her hand. Her mind begins to go back, recalling the traumatic experience as the mountain’s peak increasingly blurs, with her vision, the deeper she goes into her trance. Her eyes blink, in sync with the beep of one of Broker’s trucks backing up. The count down until she goes under. One. Two. Three. Four. Five.

A large piece of debris falling snaps her out of her trance. Thema then hefts herself up off Solara’s lap and brushes herself off. Standing tall now, she hand brushes her own hair for a moment, pulling her fingers through the long strands while she ponders her next move—her next thoughts.

As she’s ripping some of the tattered clothing off, one of Broker’s people runs up to her with a fresh pair of clothes. A battle skin? She’s shocked to see them giving her one, but not surprised that he has one. It’s not as if it’s useful to him though. None of them are strong enough to handle the physical demand of the energy coursing through this skin-tight uniform. She admires it for a moment. Its cells look like snake skin. The energy surging through it, appearing as a glint of light here and there. Such a thin piece of clothing can block even a couple direct hits from a fully charged pulse staff. This thing has saved my life so many times now. She shakes her head with an almost grin, then proceeds to get dressed.

While dressing, she turns around to watch The Broker’s people hustling around. Her almost-grin fades into a scowl. This surface dweller is full of surprises, she thinks to herself. After this, I’m not so sure if I should kill him now or keep him around a little longer.

She glances back in the direction of Aiye and Solara, then at the sword. I could kill him right now. He deserves it. My team… I brought us into this. That’s on me, but my team deserves this. They deserve this. Right? She looks at The Broker and his people again…

After she finishes getting dressed, she looks down at Solara—refusing to meet her eyes—who is still sitting. It doesn’t matter though as Solara’s eyes remain closed, still.

Thema speaks to her despite that:

{

“You say you got me, but you don’t got me. It’s like you got me, then you don’t got me. And I can tell now by the clench of your jaw that you get me.”

}

Thema taps the side of her head. Then starts pointing at Solara while she walks up to her side. Standing over her. Solara doesn’t move.

{

“See, when I’m lowww, you want me to feel like you got me. And when I try to groww, then you wanna fight me and drop me. When it’s you who sought me. And then I decide not to not speak—it’s my thoughts I keep. Then it’s Thema’s weak. So I speak… and it’s only toxic you speak, toxic you see, toxicity you release.”

}

She growls at the last part through her gritted teeth. Her hands balled into fists. Open, close, open, close. Relax.

She continues calmly now:

{

“Then I’m beat. Then I’m lost and you’ve lost me. And after of all that you acted like you dropped me. Your proudest moment being that you stopped me. Like you’re champion after you fought me, in an unnecessary fight. For the right to be right. For the right for me to be me.”

}

“The next fight you see me in, it won’t be about any of you. It’ll be about the right things.” She finishes.

“And what if you’re wrong?” Aiye asks.

Solara eyes are still closed as she remains silent.

“Stay away from people like her and it won’t last long.” Thema begins to walk across the entire plateau towards the canyon.

Right as she reaches the entrance—or what’s left of it—The Broker stops her in her tracks with a question.

“One person did this all this by themselves... Are you a believer now?”

Thema doesn’t turn around. She stays silent for a moment as a transport, in the distance, comes zooming out of the clouds towards them. She can’t tell if he was genuinely asking, or he felt the need to take a jab at her. But it doesn’t matter. He should have stayed quiet.

Thema balls her hand into fist. A believer, huh? I’ll show you what it means to believe surface dweller. She then reaches her hand out behind her and holds it there for a moment. She looks like she’s struggling. Even her nose begins to bleed. Suddenly, the sword drags itself through the ground before shrieking past Aiye and Solara and flying all the way into her hand.

Solara calmly opens her eyes, but remains in her sitting meditation. Eyes narrowed on Thema, but hands still together. There’s an ominous air about her now. It’s her other, murderous self that’s appeared. Recognizing a strong opponent... When I try to growww. Her eyes watching—stalking, Thema.

Aiye places his hand on Solara’s shoulder to calm her.

The transport arrives, hovering directly over Thema. It begins collecting the two bodies of her fallen teammates. It’s unmanned. Probably being remotely controlled. Thema tries to find solace in the possibility that it could be her remaining team members coming back for her despite her warning them not to do exactly that. But, instead of finding solace, this thought only fills her with rage. First, with herself and her own shortcomings, then…with everyone else.

She finally speaks up. “It wasn’t all Sollar.”

Thema then grips the sword harder. Her tone now murderous and resentment-filled. “An eye for an eye, Broker. Then you can tell me what you believe.” She spits through her gritted teeth.

Everyone’s realization sets in, then it all seems to happens in slow motion:

•• The Broker’s people move to scramble.

•• Thema slightly levitates along with the rubble around her—just slightly above the ground.

•• Then, a piercing sound—like metal scratching metal—fills the air as Thema raises the screeching sword…HER screeching sword.

•• She roars, as she still struggles controlling her weapon. The sword’s pressure, painful, and her roar so loud that it sounds like it’s amplified.

•• Solara launches herself across the entire plateau in just three powerful strides.

•• At the same time, Aiye goes for The Broker.

•• Aiye reaches Broker, but Solara isn’t fast enough to stop Thema—her outstretched hand just barely out of reach of the sword’s downward motion.

All this occurs as Thema slashes down, splitting the mountain vertically. The portion with Aiye, Solara, The Broker, and his people separates cleanly by smoothly sliding off of the portion that Thema is on.

Solara’s reflexes kick in and she launches herself with all her strength, off the falling portion, at Thema. She zooms through the air at Thema to land a punch, but instead of her fist hitting Thema, or even being blocked by the sword, a force field surrounds Thema and blows her back towards the falling debris.

The force of the recoil shoots Solara back down like a bullet, only to be slowed by her crashing through multiple rocks and large chunks of the falling mountain. The very mountain made up of the same hard rock as Isi-Iyi.

Aiye, with Broker in hand, tries to run up the falling mountainside to escape the fall but ends up spotting Solara’s body zooming down past him. He takes one final look at Thema, who is floating mid-air while looking down at them. He jumps after Solara.

Aiye manages to catch Solara who is slowly beginning to regain her consciousness again, when, in a delayed reaction to some unseen force, the falling mountainside is suddenly pulverized into small gravel, sending them all tumbling down in an avalanche of decimated-mountainside-turned-sand.

…The power of this sword. Aiye watches on as he falls with the Broker and Solara in his arms.

Thema, bleeding profusely out of her nose, and slightly out of her eyes and ears, still hovers mid-air. Watching them all fall down with her eyes narrowed in spite. Her bloodshot eyes dart around the terrain below as she scans through the destruction she’s caused.

She finally relaxes by taking a deep breath with her eyes closed now. She sighs and opens her eyes as the look on her anger turns to regret. With the anger that was fueling her now gone, she wavers for a moment. Then, she passes out, but just as she begins to fall from mid-air, she’s caught by the transport which blasts off—with a thundering boom—back into the distance.

The mountain dust settles and reveals a new, large gash in the land below. Out of all the scars in the land from Thema and Sollar’s battle, this was by far the largest. The cut is large enough to split a large metropolis in two. One that spans across the entire mountain range and through the forest.

The thunderous drum strikes once…