Violet Eyes: Chapter 3

Chapter: 3

Relna prayed for the first time in her life.

She’d pray before when Kristen would force her to go to church on Sundays; but until now, she hadn’t done it seriously. 

She sat in a paddywagon and hoped it wasn’t her last trip down town. The soldiers in black and grey had locked her in with hard faces.

They’d held tight lips over her fate and Relna expected the worst.

She imagined herself on a noose, getting the oxygen choked out of her before a throng; like Thomas Osborne had been for the shade-lings found in his basement. Relna winced at the thought and forced an “Amen”.

She opened her eyes to an iron cage. Soldiers monitored her through the punched holes in the bulkhead. Diamond tread plate dressed the floor. The five empty seats made Relna feel lonely, despite the two pairs of eyes that would casually look through the perforated steel.

Relna shifted in her confinements. The PRR had strapped leather and secured her to a padded seat. Handcuffs were clamped to her wrists and fetters hugged her ankles. To add to her discomfort, fiery pangs would shoot up and down her shade arm.

She stared at its new dressings.

Bandages were wrapped around it and button-sized stars were pinned on top. After the new fittings were set, the arm had numbed and pain surged when it pulsated. It was some sort of shade repellant, Relna had thought, grimacing with each throb.

She needed a distraction.

She leaned upward and peered through the acrylic glass above. All she could see were the yellow, green, and orange leaves of deciduous trees outside. They had to be in Murton’s Forest, heading to Fort Mayberry in the South.

“How you making out back there?” A dark-skinned soldier asked from the cab. He looked through perforated steel with a curious brown eye.

Relna didn’t respond.

“Come on now. Don’t be like that,” he said. He inched closer until his scarred cheek pressed against the plating. “I don’t know what they going to do to you. But I know—sure as hell—that you ain’t going to hang.”

A brown-haired soldier elbowed him. “Harvey, enough,” he said. He pulled off his glasses and rubbed the lenses with a white cloth. “We don’t make conversation with prisoners. We follow orders and do our job. So zip your lips and stay on guard. Or you’ll be hearing from Lieutenant Miles.”

The scarred soldier called Harvey shrugged. “Alright, alright. I get you Nate. Just saying she ain’t going to hang,” he moved his M-16 around, examining it.  “It’s only fair. She’s going be one of our saviors if you think about it.”

Relna narrowed her eyes at the myriad of holes, wondering what Harvey was going on about.

Nate returned his glasses to his face and glanced at her. “Look. Now you’ve gotten her curious. Sit back and shut the hell up.”

Harvey shook his head and stared through the window. “Don’t understand it, really. I’d think she’d have the right to know, considering the circumstances and all.”

“Harvey, keep talking…”

Relna opened her mouth but closed it just as fast. She turned away, deciding that she would learn her fate on her own.

She stared at the rear windows of the transport and remembered why she had avoided it before: A grey and white police vehicle flashed its beacons and wailed a few car-lengths behind. A humvee followed; the other one was probably up front and leading the pack.

Relna fought against her restraints but couldn’t see Milly who rode shot gun in the police car. She banged a heel against the tread plate in frustration. She reached for her pendant and rolled it around nervously, hoping Milly was alright.

She had endured Milly’s cries when she was forced into the vehicle, but the black bruise that marred her sister’s cheek was just too much….

Relna doubled-over and her belt straps caught her. Her shade arm jerked twice and her vision faded black for a moment. She stared at the floor, sweating. What just happened? She wondered, gasping from shock. She looked to her bandaged hand and found a black feather reposed on top.

It wasn’t there just a moment ago.

Her heart rate spiked. Her breaths became shallow. She looked forward; the opposite wall and seats undulated like a flag in a strong breeze.

She narrowed her eyes and spat pinkish vomit on the corrugated steel. Harvey and Nate pivoted with their guns primed.

“Girl, you alright?” said Harvey, his rifle trembling in his hands. “The hell is going on back there?”

Relna folded and released more vomit to the floor. It pooled under her boots and fanned out.

She lifted her left hand to comfort a pounding headache. The restraints—leg irons, handcuffs and bandages— melted and joined the vomit on the floor; Relna stared down at the metallic mixture. The black feather twirled and landed on top.

“Shit! Stop the car!” said Nate, banging his fist against the bulkhead to alert the driver. “I said stop the fucking car!”

The breaks squealed and the vehicle swerved and bumped off the road. Relna hobbled and was thrown to the floor. The mottled liquid soaked her overcoat. She squinted and held onto a seat with her shade arm. This had to be a dream.

The vehicle slowed and bounced over rocks.

Relna stumbled to her feet and clutched her forehead. It hurt like hell.

She stared at the wall and seats that were still undulating. Was this real? Or was she just losing her mind? She struggled over to the wall and reached out her claw, wanting to affirm her sanity. Her pronged fingers poked through the steel as if it were paper. Surprised, she raked through it and made an ugly hole in the transport. The curled metal screeched and groaned as it should have, but it felt weak and papery in Relna’s hand. 

As Harvey and Nate unbuckled and opened their doors, Relna jumped outside, wanting some fresh air. The prospect of escape didn’t even occur to her. She just wanted to wake up from this nightmare.

But it didn’t stop there.

Outside, a police car and humvee crossed, blew horns, and screeched several yards from Relna. Armed humans and drins popped their doors open. They circled around Relna and leveled their weapons.

Relna hugged herself and shivered. An orange breasted robin fluttered away with a worm in its beak. The multi-colored branches of the forest danced with the wind. The overcast blushed as the Third Star lurched over the horizon.   

“D-don’t move!” said an obese policeman with a grey hat. A few more PRR soldiers cocked their muzzles and joined him. They encircled Relna and would glance at the paddywagon with the altered metal. “Hands up!” the policeman said with more confidence.

Relna trembled and their guns melted into a black oily liquid before spilling to the earth. The soldiers and policemen jumped backwards and watched their weapons soak into the dusty road.

A jolt of pain shot through Relna. She dropped to her knees and tears rolled down her cheeks. She felt as if she’d just run a marathon. Her body ached and her eyes burned like fire.

She held onto her necklace and stared at the police car, wanting to see Milly who was still handcuffed inside. Relna wanted her comfort. The pain was too much to bear alone.     

She lifted her head when a siren whooped. The men that watched their firearms pool to the ground gaped. 

Relna remembered the sound. Her stomach knotted. The sound whooped between her ears like a close whisper. It was an alarm for when the shadian armies were attacking.

She hadn’t heard it since back in July. Reuben wouldn’t stop blabbing about it. Deformed creatures and traitorous soldiers had raided Murton’s forest that month. It was a hot battle that lasted a fortnight. The garrison at Mayberry held them back though, with twenty-eight wounded and nineteen deaths.

Now that same alarm had sounded again…but with Relna on the battlefield.

The soldiers went into action. They pulled out secondary 9mms and trained them on Relna. Nate and a grey-haired policeman shouted into their radios. 

“Get your hands up! Now!” said a heavyset policeman.

A drin’s droopy ears swayed as he cocked his adjusted handgun. “Why don’t we just shoot her now and get this over with?” he glanced over his shoulder and into the dark forest. “The shade are coming and we’re stuck here babysitting a cross! I say we shoot her and move on.”

The sirens grew louder.

Relna grabbed at dirt. Would it be OK for her to die here? She hadn’t accomplished much. She had no aspirations. She was just a burden to everyone around her.

In school she was always sickly and lacked a right arm. She had gone through life as an outsider.

She’d longed to join her classmates in swim races at the school in-door pool. Everyone else would play outside, laughing and having fun while she was stuck doing nothing.

All she could do was sit around and read books, watching others move ahead. 

She frowned as more tears formed. She didn’t want to suffer like this. It wasn’t fair.

Harvey squinted and his handgun wavered. “No,” he said to the drin. “I ain’t big on following orders, but this girl here is going to end up saving our asses. Atleast for a few more months. Can’t let this opportunity go to waste. We stick to the plan.”

A lanky soldier with a bulbous Adam’s apple stepped forward. A gold signet shined on his hat. He lowered his radio and glared at Relna.

Relna assumed him to be the commanding officer.

“A wise decision, Harvey,” he said, straightening his cuffs. “For now, we bring her to the stockade, join the garrison, and make further preparations from there. Colonel Halverson and Lieutenant Miles will handle the rest. We follow orders as planned.” 

Relna attempted to lift her hands, not wanting to get yelled at again. She failed, not having the strength to move. She collapsed and gave into the pangs within her. Footfalls resounded as she closed her eyes.