Draven shuffled through the encumbered amount of pill bottles and found a pouch with an injector. One of the many benefits of serving the Madam was to possess medication whose methods they knew as lost. Every injection was a reminder of how indebted he was to the Master, and he recognized their cause.
"I should check in on them." Groaned Draven.
This pain he felt was usually a sign when the Master's in trouble. He checked the phone and saw that the tracker was not on. Draven quickly finished his cup of tea and grabbed some of the petite fours into a small container for a later time.
"This child," he groaned.
He got into a 2030 4x4 Silver Ford, and the engine purred and drove off swiftly through the streets to the edge of the platform. Draven chuckled as the car was descending into the sky. He flipped a cap on.
The dripped old man said, "Dis girl betta stop capping," and pressed the button.
It turned the 4x4 Ford into a submarine with a decent parachute. And then remembered what would happen if his master gets cornered. Draven widened his eyes open and put the vehicle into overdrive. The submarine parted the sea, and the roof raised and it became a speedboat.
He swore, "Oh f*ck."
● ● ● ● ● ●
Ava was awake from a slap to the face. The room barely had light, so she could not see clearly. Groggily, Moth Woman's wings felt like they were burning. Groans and tears of blood stain her face in crimson streaks down her cheeks.
"¿Por que? ¿Que yo haces a ti? ¿Por que estamos aqui? Tengo miedo! Ayudame!! < Why? What did I do to you? Why are we here? I'm scared! Help me! >," cried the desperate prisoner.
Her restraints tightened her wings more. Moth woman screamed, and begged the surroundings, hoping to see someone reply to her cries. The restraints dug in deeper. She can hear sizzling from her back. The person who slapped her, appeared from behind.
They whispered, "How quaint that we meet again, @#&^$".
Moth Woman rolled back her eyes and turned pitch black. Sclera and iris, filled with nothing but faint ripples of brown and red. The wings stayed in their state, but there was something wrong with them. Their shine turned gray and frail. Ash fell from the roof, with no source from where it came.
"Je suis morte, madamoiselle? Monsieur? ," whispered the voice.
They stood up to examine the dark room, wide-eyed in their restraints. The svelte creature strutted across the room seductively, without a care in the world with a wide grin full of jagged teeth. The men, confused but still on the defensive, revealed their weapons and prepared for the command from the man who triggered this Switch. A guard tried to stab the androgynous being in the heart with his huge hunting knife.
"Oof. *Tsk tsk tsk*" they whispered in a raspy voice.
They made rapid movements toward the guard and stared at him. The guard was trembling in fear. The monster revealed the guard's deepest remorse and fears. A tail raised from behind them, full of barbs at the ready, its eye opened at the end of the tail.
The tall, ashy figure whispered, "Merci monsieur, por votre âme.
A giggle was the last thing the man heard when he got penetrated by the barbed tail. He looked down and saw his heart slightly beating out of his chest. The creature smiled at them and devoured the heart, slowly, savoring every morsel.
They painted blood on the creature's frame after they enjoyed their light snack. They spoke in a heavy French accent from their black and red lips.
"Time for the buffet." Hissed the creature.
The flickering of the sole lightbulb suddenly shattered. Bodies start falling, the sound of torn meat, and screams of men who drowned in their blood filled the room. Darkness was the only companion of the creature.
"Merci mon amie," hissed the monster.
● ● ● ● ● ●
Ava woke up in the woods. The air was thick and orange. She could barely breathe from the dense pollutants in the atmosphere. Stumbled to gain back her balance, prosthetics covered in blood and pieces of skin.
"Wh-what happened?" she said in confusion.
Looking around in the woods, she doesn't know whether it was dawn or dusk.
'Ava, what happened to us?' said a panicked Moira Rin.
"Ugh this is so not the time for an explanation," replied Ava.
She heaved and vomited blood. Holding up a watch to distract herself from passing out. With forests, harmed by chemicals that was a reserve for Earth's last wolf population, Yosemite. The volcano erupted in 2034.
The backside of the volcano became a dump site for companies who want to get rid of deposits from one-use plastics. Poisonous elements in the waters caused a series of mutations. The park became The Grave, a home for children who scavenged for food and killed one another for a drop of drinkable water. They would whisper another name in the Grotto. The Crypt Cryypers.
These children made sure the adults were away from the entrance because of the dense atmosphere. Many of the children's parents would use them as bait for the mutations that crawl around mid-day. Shielded themselves and think of themselves as nothing but an object they raise to be of use.
Exposure to the air there would be a death sentence if they weren't careful. Long exposures would strain the respiratory system, boil the blood, and cause organ failure within a week. Ava looked around the trees covered in huge mushroom caps. An old sign reads 'Welcome to Yosemite Park' and the assailable exposed woman cursed under her breath.
"Just when things are getting worse, it got even worse than ever," said Ava.
'Maybe we should be better off finding shelter first, besides we only have a good 2 or 5 days before we bleed to death,' said a child-like voice, full of pep.
'Please, young one, you should not be here,' said Moira Rin.
In the System, Moira was guiding Little back to the Little's House, where they can be safe from the realities of the world. But this one always seemed to sneak around to see what happened in the System.
'But Mama Rin, I wanna be able to write it in my journal today,' complained the Little.
Littles' identities aren't revealed most of the time. They usually were a huge part of the System, and it not only poses a significant risk to have them take control of the System. Their naivete can also determine how many Littles are in the System, some notice its existence, and others would come out to play or ask a turn to have their say.
Ava was the chief Protector of the System, but the other Protectors would manage the System. Some of them watched over the Littles. A strenuous world for each Fractal being its own person. Ava was trying to navigate the forest while using a branch as a walking stick.
Skulls and trash were strewn about at The Grave. Arrows made from rusted scrap metal were jutting out from the surroundings.
"We need to make sure we have shelter, water, and food. And protection." said the exhausted woman.
It would have been great if Ava figured out how to navigate the environment, but the old world is gone. She could only wait at night when the mutants would come out to hunt sleeping prey and devour everything in their path.
Dusk was approaching, so she dug a hole into the ground, and she made a Hunting Spiders' hole. The insects crawled alongside her. Tearing pieces of her shirt were used to stuff her ears so they would not walk in them.
Nights in the Grave would be cold in the negatives with huge snowflakes would topple the trees. Huge, yellow clouds thickened like pea soup. Ava trembled from the frost and slept in the Grave, on her shallow coffin as her bed.
● ● ● ● ● ●
Amora and Andres were being taken into their classrooms, as the first toddlers to attend the Primary School of Ethereal City. The only school to allow sponsored children to go. The twins were enjoying the fresh air and the sun against their faces.
Adults at the school were very adamant about where their children were to go at such an early age. A parent of other students came to drop off their kids. Noticed the twins coming out of the limo that morning and looked down at her kids and knelt.
"Stacy and Jeb it's going to be okay. See those kids over there? They're just as nervous as you are. And maybe you can make some friends like these two poor kids." explained the woman.
The kids nodded in agreement. They didn't like the idea of it. But if it made their mom happy, then they're willing to try. So, they smiled and hugged their mom with a kiss on their cheek. Both Stacy and Jeb ran toward Amora and Andres.
Stacy and Jeb approached the twins and asked them, "Wanna sit with us in class?"
The twins looked at the other kids like they didn't understand them. But the kids shrugged and nodded. It stoked Stacy and Jeb to know they are trying their best to make new friends and left to enter the building.
Andres patted his sister's groomed hair and grinned, "Itwull be okay."
Amora laughed and held her brother's hand. Not knowing what will happen, but they are at a point where they're needed the most. Both had entered the school, a new place, a new home, a new life.