The Rogue Thread: (Book 2 of FERTS) Page 6

  201 watched, hand raised above her head as the bird left the canopy of the forest.

  She stopped, her feet skittering on crumbling stone. Digging her heels into the ground, she watched as pebbles flew over the edge of a cliff, cascading down as her stomach dropped away. She lurched back, gripping a branch from a nearby tree.

  The forest ended, abruptly dropping to nothing over the jagged cliffs. The patterns on the stone radiated out in waves, layers, the textures and shades standing out against the green of the forest.

  The pebbles flew towards the ground, bouncing, changing direction.

  Tink!

  Tink!

  Tink!

  The pebbles landed at the feet of a little one. She wore no insignia, but she could not have been more than 10Y. She wore a simple brown tunic and cloth pants. Her feet were covered in leather, coarse seams dotting the edges of her hand-made shoes.

  She bent down to pick up a pebble, looking up to meet 201’s eyes.

  “Hello,” she said. “What is your name?”

  201 looked down at her. “I am Beth 259201.”

  “Oh.”

  “You can call me 201.”

  “201. That’s a funny name.” The little one giggled, the sound echoing off the cliffs to reach 201’s ears.

  “What is your name? Is this… what is this place?”

  “This is my home.”

  “Home?”

  “Where I live. Don’t you have a home? Where do you live?”

  201 struggled with her answer. It seemed to her to be two different questions.

  “I know where you live, 201.” The little one’s voice changed. She no longer had the voice of a little one. The voice was not one but many. Deeper, croakier, more like…

  “Yes, I know you, 201,” the voices said. “I will know you by your stain, your scar, the remains and the reminders of what you did to me. I will follow you until you are senseless, then I will speak while you sleep, feed you my thoughts until you can think no more. You will never be alone now that you have me.”

  Wilcox.

  “Yes, 201, Wilcox. Pinnacle Officer Wilcox. The one and only Pinnacle Officer, do not be fooled by others. They will never understand my vision.” The voices raised, not merely a few voices, but hundreds. “All I created is lost, all because of a defective! An ineffective Vassal and a failed Fighter!”

  201 stood firm, her left hand beginning to shake. She clenched it, stifling the movement.

  “Why… why do you have many voices?”

  The voice was silent.

  “Answer me!” 201 yelled.

  “Strays. Refuse. They… follow me.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “It matters not, 201.” His voice became that of the Pinnacle Officer once more. The sound was flat, uninflected. ”I am glad you are back where you belong. When you return to FERTS you will be sent to Zeta and I shall personally watch as you burn along with the others. It will be a great triumph.”

  201 felt a prickling on her skin. The forest was alight, sparks flying around her. Her skin burned, flesh igniting from the inside, her hair, eyes, her fingernails, all on fire, the pain so intense that 201 wished she could be expired rather than feel what she could feel now.

  201 clenched her teeth, refusing to scream.

  – 17 –

  201 awoke to the sound of voices. For a moment she forgot where she was but the wooden bars provided an unwelcome reminder. Reno brushed past the cage, loading up some wood in the front of the cart.

  Officer Tor tapped the wooden bars with his double pointed spear, rousing the Epsilon Fighters around her.

  “Fighters of Epsilon. We are gathered to send our gratitude to Pinnacle Officer Cerberus and FERTS, for our provision and protection against those who would strike against our Vassals, our Fighters and our Internees.”

  “We send our gratitude to Pinnacle Officer Cerberus and FERTS,” came the sleepy reply from the Epsilon Fighters around her. 201 kept her mouth shut, refusing to join in the requital.

  “Who is Cerberus?” 201 turned to Beth 259263.

  “Oh, you didn’t know,” said 263, her face tight with tension. She scratched at her blonde hair, still matted from sleep. “Pinnacle Officer Wilcox is… he is expired.”

  “How?” 201 dug her fingernails into her palm.

  “It was natural. A peaceful end for the great Pinnacle Officer. We must venerate him.”

  “I see,” said 201.

  “They say Pinnacle Officer Cerberus was the highest ranking Officer at FERTS. You would know this if you were not found wandering around here… and what was it you were doing out here exactly?”

  “I have told Reno everything. I do not wish to speak of it again.”

  “And you spoke to Reno as to why your jumpsuit is covered in blood?” 263 reached out, pulling at the material.

  201 batted her hand away. “Yes, and I do not wish to speak of it.” Her voice was flat, devoid of emotion.

  263 shrugged, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “Well, what do you think? Do you think we will find the mercenaries?”

  201 glanced over at the hindquarters of the fighting creature as it drank from the lake. Officer Tor stood guard behind the creature, grappling to hold both lead and double pointed spear.

  It found me.

  “With that creature? Yes, it is likely we will find something.” 201 held still, suppressing the chill that ran through her body.

  “You do not seem very excited about the prospect. I look forward to defending the honor of FERTS. We cannot allow mercenaries to strike against our Vassals, our Fighters or our Internees, even if they are from Zeta Circuit.”

  201 stiffened. “What do you mean, even if they are from Zeta Circuit?”

  “Why would you ask such a thing? Everybody is aware that Zeta Circuit is for the lame, the useless, the defective. You know this as well as I do, 201.”

  “You could be sent to Zeta Circuit, just as easily as I could. You know this as well, 263.”

  263 turned to face her. “No, 201. I do not believe that to be true. Nobody is sent to Zeta without good reason, and besides, that is a matter for the Officers to decide in their wisdom. Anyway, you are far more likely to be sent to Zeta Circuit. It seems you are becoming known for your refusal to follow regulation.” She glanced sideways at the figure of Officer Reno approaching the cart.

  Reno made his way over to the lock to open the cage, allowing a couple more of the Epsilon Fighters outside to stand and stretch their legs.

  “I look forward to it! Maybe I will see you there, 263!” 201 yelled through the bars. She leaned back against the back of the cart, laughing, her eyes vacant. She kicked against one of the bars before getting a reproachful look from Officer Reno.

  “Why must they place us in the cart with this Omega Internee?” 263 muttered to herself, shaking her head at 201, now locked alone in the cage.

  Beth 259275 joined her, lowering her voice to a whisper. She flicked her black hair over her shoulder. “Did you know that she tried to fight 299 last night? She is truly lucky that 299 did not take her up on the offer.”

  “Yes, I heard,” said 263.

  “What was she doing out here?” asked 275.

  “I do not know. Officer Reno is aware of her situation. I presume he will deal with 201 according to regulations. It is not our place to question such things.”

  “No, it is not our place,” said 275.

  “I fear she is dangerous,” 263 said.

  275 glanced back at the cage, watching 201 pace the length of the cart, muttering to herself. She flopped down in the corner, giving the bars another kick.

  “She does not look so dangerous to me,” said 275. “Look how frail she is. She has barely any muscle mass to speak of. I could probably fight her without my chosen weapon.”

  263 shook her head. “No, that is not what I meant.” She turned 275 from their spot near the extinguished coals of the fire, pointing her towards 201. “Look at her eyes, 275.”


  263 and 275 stood, observing 201. She sat motionless, propped up against the corner of the cage. Her eyes stared through the bars, past the makeshift camp, fixed on a point far off in the distance. Her eyes were flat, as if something within them had been lost, almost as if a part of her was missing. Her eyes appeared to take in her surroundings, yet her stare fixed on nothingness, the void reflected back in her eyes.

  275 watched 201, eyes widening. “You are right, 263.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “I have not seen anything like this before. Her eyes… she has the eyes of one who is already expired.”

  Reno led the Epsilon Fighters back to their transport, allowing 201 a moment outside the cage. 201 bent double, stretching her back and legs. She dropped to a crouch, taking in her surroundings. The fighting creature growled at her, a challenge in its eyes.

  “You will ride with me, 201,” said Reno.

  “What?” called 299. “You would choose this defective? Oh, and for all my offering Officer Reno, it seems you have no taste.” 299 turned to smile at her fellow Epsilon Fighters, who cheered and whistled, urging her on.

  “That is enough, 299. I have not ‘chosen’ anyone, I wish to question the Internee, that is all. Though why I explain myself to you is beyond me.” Reno led 201 to the front of the cart, pushing her up into the spot between himself and Officer Tor.

  “You wound me, Officer Reno!” called 299, her voice joined by some more whistles from her fellow Epsilon Fighters. “I would like it known that my offer still stands, should your thoughts change on the matter.”

  “Thank you, 299. I will keep that in mind.” Reno shook his head, launching himself on to the helm and clacking the reins.

  201 studied his profile, watching his bald head gleam in the morning sun.

  “You do not choose Internees at all, do you Officer Reno? You do not take them?”

  Reno called out, urging the horses forward along the winding path by the river. The grass was flattened in places, but it would spring up before long. It was clear that this was a path rarely used, and possibly unknown to the Resident Citizens of the townships.

  “At least you don’t now. But once though…”

  “Shut your mouth, 201.”

  “I am correct then,” 201 said under her breath, watching Officer Tor struggle with the fighting creature, hooking the leash under his arm to keep the creature restrained.

  “I said shut up.”

  201 was silent, watching the sun glistening off the water. The vastness of the river surprised her. She had always imagined the deserts, the mountains and rivers to be smaller than the reality of what faced her in her new surroundings, or at least her temporary surroundings until she was returned to FERTS. She could almost reach out of the cart and touch the leaves as they passed. 201 tilted her head to the sun, allowing it to warm her face.

  “I have never taken an Internee,” said Reno. “There was… there was one who chose me as much as I chose her.”

  201 blinked, eyes darting to Reno. She closed them again, seeing blue on the insides of her eyelids. When she opened her eyes, Reno looked fuzzy, surrounded by a golden light. She trained her eyes forward, giving a slight nod, waiting for the haze to clear.

  “She would be over limit now, I suppose,” he said.

  “Where is she now?”

  “I do not know where she is or what has become of her. I don’t know why I am telling you this now.”

  201 nodded again, watching the fighting creature sniff at the earth, lurching the cart along the makeshift path.

  “Alpha Field, yes?”

  “How did you…”

  “It doesn’t matter,” said 201. She watched as they passed abandoned structures, blackened and covered with leaves.

  Reno’s voice was soft, almost a whisper. “Yes, Alpha Field. I never saw her after that.”

  “You have never seen Alpha Field?”

  “No I have not seen Alpha Field!” Reno shouted. “Why do you speak as if you have seen it? Only the Pinnacle Officer and birther Vassals have seen it. It is a forbidden zone for Officers.”

  “Of course. I understand. Why did you wish to speak to me, Reno?”

  “Hmm. That is a difficult question.” He huffed out a breath. “Perhaps I find you intriguing company. You seem to understand things that others do not. Perhaps I wonder how you know the things that you know.”

  “I dream them, most of the time,” she said.

  “Everybody dreams, 201,” said Reno, suppressing a chuckle.

  “Yes, Reno, but my dreams are real.”

  Reno’s eyes widened.

  “I hate to interrupt, Officer Reno, but could you explain to me why I am sharing the helm with an Internee? This Internee belongs in the cart with the others,” said Officer Tor, adjusting his grip on the fighting creature’s leash.

  Officer Reno glanced past 201, catching Officer Tor’s eye.

  “I need to question this Internee, Officer Tor. There is much that does not make sense about the circumstances in which she was found.”

  “Well, if you allow me to speak plainly, Sir, it seems you have not asked the Internee any questions.”

  “Officer Tor, I will not have you undermining my authority on this mission.” Reno raised his voice, clacking the reins. “I will not have you questioning my methods of interrogating this Internee, is that clear?”

  “But Sir…”

  “No! That is enough! I will hear no more on this subject!”

  A jeer rose up from the cart, accompanied by whistles and shouts. “Well now, 201! It seems the Officers are fighting for your attention!” called 299.

  “Maybe these new ungroomed Vassals are in demand,” 263 called out, backed up by a roar from her fellow Epsilon Fighters.

  “That’s enough!” said Reno.

  The jeers died away, leaving an uncomfortable silence. The cart rolled along the path, passing mountains and vast fields of strange plants. 201 listened to the sound of the wheels crunching over earth and grass, the labored breathing of the horses, the scrabble of the fighting creature’s claws on the ground. 201 glanced at Officer Tor’s feet. A small satchel lay between his ankles, the end of a scroll peeking out at her. 201 sucked in a breath. The words rose up in her mind, as clear as when she had first heard them.

  Destroy it. Destroy it all.

  “I never forgot what you told me,” said 201.

  Reno turned to her for a moment before locking his eyes on the path ahead.

  “And what was that?”

  “You told me to use this.” She tapped at her forehead.

  Reno’s mouth twitched in a smirk.

  “Those words, Reno, are the very reason I am not expired.”

  Reno’s smile faded.

  “So, do you care to tell me about it this time? And remember, 201, this is an interrogation. I trust you will leave nothing out this time.”

  “I was taken on horseback.”

  “Wait, how many mercenaries?”

  You have already said too much. Think, 201. You must not allow him to know the truth.

  “I saw five, perhaps. I could not be sure. We were separated from the group shortly after I was taken.”

  “And then?”

  “I was taken past the suspension zone. I cannot say how far. We stopped at the first sign of the river. That is where I expired him.”

  Reno looked at her from the corner of his eye.

  “He had a dagger on his belt. I followed my seduction manual techniques until I got hold of the dagger. Then I stabbed him, many times. He was expired before long. I was lucky to surprise him.”

  “Yes, you were.”

  “I left after he expired, hid on the ridge and watched the others take him away.”

  Reno pulled on the reins, slowing the horses. “The dagger you speak of. Where is it now? We found no weapons on you last night.”

  201 huffed out a breath, giving herself time to think. “I lost it. In the river, with the fighting creature.”

  “I w
ish to understand you, 201. Help me to understand how you are not expired after all this time.”

  “I was lucky. Truly fortunate, you could say.”

  “To survive? Out here? I find it strange that you are not expired. An Internee was not made to withstand this environment, everyone knows that.”

  “That is the only explanation I can give you. I believe I was truly fortunate,” said 201.

  “Hm, I believe you were. But there is still something I don’t understand.”

  “What is that?” asked 201.

  “I don’t know yet, 201. But I will know the question when it comes to mind.”

  Reno clacked the reins, the horses resuming their former speed.

  “Hmm. Well then, 201, it seems you did what you had to do.”

  “That’s right,” said 201, leaning back in her seat.

  The image of a bloodstained silver uniform filled her vision.

  “I did exactly what I had to do.”

  – 18 –

  Reno shoved 201 back in the cart at their next stop. He left with Officer Tor to gather wood for a fire as light ebbed away over the mountains. 201 sat in the corner of the cart, watching through the bars as the sun dimmed behind a craggy ledge. The terrain had changed from wide open fields and forests to a rocky path, framed by mountains that contained more rock than earth.

  “So, 201. Thought you’d ingratiate yourself with the Officers by flaunting your Vassal tricks?”

  201 refused to look at 299. “No, 299. That is not what I was doing.”

  “No? Then why are the Officers fighting for your attention? I must say 201, whatever your secret is, you must share it with the rest of us, because you don’t look like much to me.”

  201 turned to face 299. “No, 299. I did not use ‘Vassal tricks’, as you call them. I barely know any seduction techniques so I doubt that is what holds Reno’s attention.”

  “Oh, now it is Reno’s attention? There is no mystery there, 201. He likes you. He will choose you soon, you can be sure of that.”