Present Day:
Neema
Natalya had a wild look in her eyes. I saw it even before she entered our meeting room yesterday. Now she masked whatever emotion she had. She is always hard to read, but sometimes I can get a glimpse of who she really is. Me and her along with Hana sat perched up in a tree. Well, if you could call it that I suppose.
The tree was artificially grown. We were in one of the cracks deepest points. We heard rumours about a rebel camp nearby. Too close for my liking since the market of the community down here was only a few hundred metres away. Anyone could easily stroll around here; children could play hide and seek. Their exploring could unknowingly lead them to their demise.
Britain sat idly at the top of the crack, half of its buildings and its people residing within the depths of the earth. A very remarkable site. I always feel as if the buildings found today completely disregard gravity itself. The laws of logic insignificant. The trees down here do not resemble the ones on top. Those grow naturally with the correct sunlight, water and soil it requires.
Down here the soil is too hard, the air is dry and the sunlight does not reach the end. Citizens were the size of ants from where we sat. My neck craning to admire the beauty of the crack. Tunnels, caves and cliffs all supporting and housing citizens, shops and much more. Even some of the animals reside down here. More birds than those with four legs. A few Rega's dance along the rocks, two of them fighting for a mate. Their thick and large horns very unproportionable compared to the rest of its plump goat like body.
Their cream coloured fur thick for the coldness sweeping here at night. Their eyes yellow and their noses pink. Adorable creatures actually, just the very definition of intelligence of the rocks they jump around on. Dumb and futile. A smile as one of the two fighting slipped and falls down two or three metres down. A clear win for the other and now the injured one declared dinner for us.
"Babo." Hana said in her native language as she laughs. Idiots indeed.
Natalya had a small smirk on her lips as she too saw the battle of two morons. I smile and shift uncomfortably, the tree not providing much comfort. I see the twins walking towards the injured Rega and putting it out of its misery. They were watching and waiting from down below, they knew one would eventually fall. An easy meal for all of us. Chryse and Alistair decided to stay in the main building of the city. Neither keen on the cold and the waiting for hours on end. Although we all know Chryse already has one or two visitors in her room and Alistair is probably in the meeting room. The only one of them doing her job of keeping an eye on us.
The twins could never be that long indoors. Hana and Natalya either. I am here to ensure no one does anything ridiculous and to keep Natalya at bay. Hana is moral support I suppose. She is also the calmer one of us all. She would be better at compromising if we can prevent a fight.
The trees all avoid the basic science of photosynthesis here. They all use the darkness and air around them for growth. Their roots on top instead of underneath. Their leaves clear and their crevices between their bark each with a different colour. Instead of sap or bugs inside them, they have a kind of luminescence. Their existence merely to provide oxygen this low and to provide light where the sun does not reach. A true beauty really.
A few bugs fly around and the birds who prefer the dark swiftly glide around to catch them. Their entire wing attached to their bodies, a glider of sorts. They had short and sharp black beaks, black feathers with the males sporting a few white ones on their heads. Spots almost if you can call it that. If spread open, their wings were clear. Only skin, bones and veins visible. The tips and sides of the wings were the only part with their feathers. Their feet were white as well and hid well beneath the feathers if they were in the air. They were small birds; their two feet together would be the length of my thumb. Crylphs we call them. An odd name for an odd combination of a bird.
Just as Reyna and Carmen were walking towards us with the meal, we felt it. A sudden swift of air behind us. No wind was down here and only something large like a person would make that. Neither of us moved, all of us uncertain if we felt it right. We could feel the breeze prickling our skin. Just as quick as the sudden breeze and scent entered our nostrils. It was the scent of sweat and dirt. I was about to react and turn to face the people intruding thinking it was the rebels just walking through for supplies.
I was stopped when Natalya's hand whipped behind my head and caught the arrow with its point centimeters away from me. She stared brows furrowed at the arrow and whipped her head in the direction it came from. Me and Hana both frowned too. It was unlikely that the rebels saw us, even more unlikely that they would attack us. We could see clearer than them. It would be suicide.
As I see the arrow that Natalya now broke in half, I realise it is a Flair's arrow. A weapon definitely not used by any of the rebels. Not that we know of.
All three of us jumped down. The twins quickly making their way towards us when they realised there's trouble. We stared ahead, waiting for whoever is out there to emerge. No one came as we stand there. They were smart. They are staying away from the trees and far enough where we could not see them. Hana raised her arm and checked with her Coms how many there are. Also, possibly their location.
"Bil-eo meog-eul gisul." She cursed under breath.
"What's wrong?" I ask as I see her struggle with it. Natalya kept her gaze forward towards the threat.
"It's not working. I don't know why." Hana's face had confusion written all over it and so did mine.
I checked my Coms. Tapping and moving my arm and ear. Nothing. It was dead silent. Just like the darkness that surrounds us. I realised now that no Crylphs were flying around, no Rega's jumping or fighting and no bugs. It was quiet. Too much quietness for the middle of the day, even if it was dark down here.
"Mine's not either. Lya?" Natalya whipped her gaze towards me. "How about yours?" I gesture towards her arm.
She checked and shook her head, her gaze back forward. The twins approach us and they too check to no avail. It was only us, our senses and our gifts. Definitely not a bad thing, just a very strange situation.
Suddenly the arrow that Natalya broke hovered from the floor and a grey colour surrounds it. Strange. I have never seen that colour on a Flair before. The arrow brought its pieces back together and whipped back towards the darkness it came from. I have never seen a broken weapon fixed like that before either. The owner of the weapon was a petite girl with grey eyes to match her gift. Her ears were sharp like an elf, a white painted line coming down from her forehead towards between her brows. It started just under nose again and ran over her lips and stopped just under her chin.
She just stood there, silently staring at us. It was a few seconds of a staring contest when we saw more people emerge from around her. A woman with stark white hair, eyes of that of a snake, red tinted just like her lips. Lips who seem to have lines stretching towards her cheekbones. I assume her smile is much bigger than what it seems then. Her nose is almost completely flat.
On the other side a woman with pitch black hair shaved on the sides. The top long and fastened in a ponytail. Her one arm completely robotic with sharps fingers. A Mars stood next to them as well. His skin dark and his tail whipping behind him. His large black horns protruding from his head and his black hair cascading down his back.
There are a few others as well but they all were regular Mars. Not one other Flair. We all stood dumfounded by the site we see before us. Is this what that Mars male meant when he said we killed our own? Probably not. He was probably speaking about something else I suppose. But that is not relevant right now. What is standing before us is the problem.
The woman with the metal arm shot her it forwards and chains sprung from her. Two thick metal chains each embedded with grey colouring. We dodged them and they both hit the trees behind us, stuck in place. Natalya was getting angry and losing control, I cannot let that happen. Her eyes were pitch black as she glared at the group before us. It seems as though the chains were more in her direction than ours. Now that I realise it, she was sitting next to me. The arrow was near my head but not quite precisely aimed at it.
The small girl probably cannot fully control her arrow and was also most likely aiming for Natalya. Whoever is doing this wants her. She realises that too though. Her veins turning black as she starts hovering from the ground. I need to stop this before this gets out of control. Natalya will not have mercy with them no matter what.
I take my knife and hold its point on the chains. My eyes glow yellow and my hands turn to a golden lava, engulfing my blade. The tip of it starts to melt the metal but I control the heat, making it move down the chains towards the woman. She was struggling to free her chains as they now glow red and yellow from my gift. The woman screamed as the heat reaches her arm. Apparently, the chains are coming from her metal arm of which is now also heated and starting to melt away. The smell of burning flesh surrounds us as it starts to melt the rest of her.
The Mars male with the horns screamed a war cry and threw a spear towards Natalya. She wasn't even the one melting the woman. The message was clear now. They were after her. Hana's eyes turn crimson as she conjures her gift. It surrounds the Mars male and she slowly drags away his life. His screams fading away as his body dies.
Natalya easily caught the spear, broke it apart and threw the sharp point straight at the others who started circling us. The twins were gone, they were inside the heads of the people. It is clear once you see some of them standing still with the look of horror on their faces. Occasionally Reyna or Carmen appears again and slit the throats of their victims. The woman who resembles a snake ran towards Natalya, a futile attempt in trying to kill her.
Natalya saw her coming but I spared her the trouble and aimed my blade towards the woman. She fell to the ground limp as her head melts away. I conjure my blade back ready to throw it again when I realise no one is left. Only the little girl with her arrow still stood where she first emerged. We were all standing next to one another again staring right back at her. The girl's face was blank, no emotion what so ever.
Hana was about to speak but the girl turned and left, but not before stopping again. With her back towards us she turned her head and stared at Natalya. A smile made its way on the girls' face, but it held no humour. It was a cold smile, one that you make when you know your plan has worked. This was a ruse. A taste.
The girl's smile dropped and she kept walking without a word. She disappeared and our Coms suddenly lit up on our arms. Strange. It seems to work just fine right now. We were all confused about the situation. We have to leave. This is a war brewing underground. A silent massacre waiting to happen.