SUMMARY: AU in which Eden never died and part of Brockton became permanently Quarantined due to the Simurgh's attack. Young Taylor Hebert and Victoria Dallon are trying to escape and find the truth about the Outside.
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Record 332XD98, witnessed by PRT Id:000002 (Alexandria)
Record given by Oracle, Classification: Precognitive (Does not interact with other precognitive powers.) / Thinker
The High Priest will Fall and the Angel shall weep
As the Third dies underneath a bloodied moon.
The monster in the closet angers, and the Jackal in
Sheep's clothing merrily rejoins the nine.
The High Priest will Fall, when the Jackal arrives.
- The Oracle (Record 332XD98, Precognitive, Classified and redacted as ordered by Rebecca Costa Brown, access limited to WATCHDOG)
This story starts with a whisper heard by everyone. It is silent, but everywhere; it makes people uncomfortable and wary; and then in the middle of the night 'She' appears. Her flight is slow and steady, unheard and unseen as she descends. She is blind to the present, only a singular 'past' and trillions of 'futures' swim in her head. She has spent her entire life calculating this moment, and even now she isn't sure if it will work.
In the following distraction, thousands will die; they are irrelevant. Only one person lives here that is necessary and all the others will only assist in that. Buildings topple and fire consumes everything. Only this man's end goal must be assured. A small pebble is telekinetically thrown, the target will step on it and stumble, this single occurrence will lead to a single event years from now.
Her vision narrows on that single future moment, a moment that hasn't taken place yet but surely will. She can hear his voice, smell his sweat and simulate his thoughts as he walks over his wife's half-eaten corpse, towards his daughter.
"Come here Taylor," he smiles and she smiles back, "I just want to take a small bite, bitebitebite!"
The balisong danced in my fingers, light whooshing and clicking sounds like music to my ears. I'm not sure when this obsession started, but it did. It developed like a nervous tick, always itching in my brain.
Something. Anything. Everything that fits! I had to spin and press it in my hands at all times. Knives, pencils, pens, toothpicks, whatever! Like an annoying itch it wouldn't go away. And so I'd spin, throw, catch.
Spin. Throw. Catch.
And as the blade danced I danced alongside with it, underneath his arm, slice. He yelped but I kicked him in return. His buddies rushed me but I dodged to their left and kicked the one's knee before rolling sideways barely dodging the second's stab. The ugly one – looked like one of Marquis' men – growled, "Marquis will come personally one of these days…" he threatened.
I couldn't help my smirk as I kicked him in the neck, "Marquis can go fuck himself, alongside the Old Folk!"
One of the guys I had ignored tried to punch me in the back, instead he got Victoria-ed right into the wall. I shot her a glare, imbuing my facial expression with a 'What-the-fuck-Vicky?' but it flew right over her head…
"What?" Vicky shot me a look of disbelief and innocence, "He was going to punch you!"
"I knew he was there!"
"Take all the fun, why don't you!" she pouted.
I tried to keep the smile off my face but failed, "You said you had some news?"
"I said," she started floating towards me, idly pushing the downed thugs with the edge of her bare toes, "I have some news from Sophia and her doggies!" she finished with a sing-a-song tune.
"Anything good?"
"Mhm, they found something, near the edge. There were men there, about five minutes into the hole; they just guard a gate or something like it at least." I sat down on the alley's edge to consider her words.
Spin. Throw. Catch.
Why were they guarding a gate? No one would want to go outside, not with the Angel roaming; even then there was nothing living outside. Only Brockton Bay remained. Or so the Old Folk said, at least. Could they be right? I didn't know. The last thing I saw about the Angel was an old newspaper that talked about the Angel's effects. Ten years had passed since that day, since the Simurgh attacked. The Old Folk say that a Tinker named Dragon insulated the city. But that made no sense. Not when I heard it back when I was six, and not now. The Angel attacked Brockton Bay and when Pa, Ma and I got out of the bunkers we were underneath the Dome. There was no time for the Dome to be erected like that. I wish I had more information...
I looked at Vicky as she checked around the alley's corners. I assumed she was just looking for people to beat up, "How many?"
"They say between six and nine; depends on time and day."
"And you trust her?"
"Trust? I wouldn't trust her farther than I could throw her – wait, that make no sense for me; than you can throw her?" She giggled, "...anyway; I do know that she won't lie when stamps are in play."
Vicky started fidgeting and wringing her palms when I narrowed my eyes. I sighed, "You traded all of them didn't you? New supply is next week Vicky and the Old Folk is looking for us..."
"Why are we staying out of it? Those two old codgers can't do shit to us anyway!"
"Because I'm almost sure that they know the truth about the 'Outside'! They know shit that they shouldn't know; they get new people we've never seen – sure, it could be that daughter of theirs, – but I don't think it is. Vicky; they have a way out — and it's definitely not fighting nine (possibly) powered people we know nothing about!"
"That doesn't explain why we aren't working with the Old Folk. If they have a way out, then it's easier to just play along until they tell us."
"And have their daughter fuck with our heads? You have good chances of being immune to that shit, but me?" I asked her.
"Then let me go by myself?"
"No, " I rolled my eyes, "the last thing I need is Amelia somehow turning you gay for her or something."
"Eugh," Vicky pouted and kicked one of the groaning mooks in the ribs, "Fiiiiine! Sorry for thinking I could help." She crossed her arms and slumped comically, I snorted and grabbed her by the arm.
"Cmon, don't worry too much about it. Let's go kick Andreas in the dick!"
We left the alley on foot, it was still bright and we could enjoy the few moments we had on the market on our way to the Wasteland. The market was just a rundown street filled with merchandise that could be exchanged for stamps. We couldn't buy anything, what with Vicky exchanging our stash for information, but I couldn't bring myself to be angry at her. She smiled as she checked some of the hand made rags and sandals while I merrily followed behind her, a crooked smile playing on my lips while she mock-haggled the prices.
If Vicky ever reverted from her seven-year-old body to appear at her true age, she would have been a stunning beauty. Whereas I was tall and gangly, sickly pale and way too skinny; Victoria had pale milky skin with blonde hair and a slender tall — for her physical age – physique. She never griped or complained about her appearance, but even I could see that she wanted more.
She wanted to like boys her age, she wanted to wear clothes her age, and most of all she wanted people to treat her like her age. Instead, people treated her like a prepubescent girl even though she could rip a spine clean off a body in seconds. My very own older-little-sister in everything but blood.
"Do you think we'll manage to get out? One of these days, soon?" she asked me while she eyed some of the knives on display.
I stared at her for a moment, "Soon? I don't know. But I think we'll manage in this year. There are some things we need to check, and some people we need to talk to. Then we can make a plan."
"You think Sophia meant it, when she said that Daniel can build anything?" she asked.
"With the resources in the Dome? I'm not sure, the only one who has access to technology is Marquis and maybe, maybe Allfather. We might have to steal some of it."
Victoria grinned a toothy grin in response, "I'll bust their heads open, just gimme the say-so."
It took us ten minutes of flying to arrive at the Wasteland. It reeked and was filled with all the trash in the Dome. Even better, most of the trash was pre-Angel era old. Victoria let me on the ground and flew at Andreas who promptly dodged her onslaught.
"Stop trying to kick me in the dick!" Andreas was dancing around Vicky's half hearted attempts at mutilation; she was floating around the junkyard giggling.
My attention drifted to his friend. Where Andreas was tall, well-muscled, and confident, Daniel was a quiet shy guy. Scrawny and skittish like a mouse. He was playing around with random junk, trying to cobble some contraption or another, Sophia had told me something really interesting about him, something even the Old Folk didn't know, "I need your help."
He almost jumped in surprise at that, "M-My help? What?"
I smiled cordially, leaving him enough space to feel comfortable. The last thing I needed him to feel was threatened, especially since Andreas would come down on us like an angry mother bear.
"You remember Vicky's and mine goal? We talked about it the other day." He snorted softly.
"Suicide by Angel, huh?" I smiled.
"One man's suicide is another man's something, or another, no?" I smiled, his cheeks got red for some reason and he cringed.
He leaned back into his contraption and started fiddling with wires, "I'm not sure how I can be of help. Even if I was, you'd be unable to pay for it."
I scratched my neck and sat next to him, "I remember Andreas telling me about this thing you loved, 'Video games' it was called?"
Daniel sucked a breath in and his fingers jittered but it was Andreas' silky voice that sounded behind me, "Vicky might be a flying brick Taylor, but make no mistakes. In your place, I would choose my next words very, very carefully."
I could feel Vicky's dissatisfaction at his threat, our two groups had managed to establish something of a tentative friendship over the years and I didn't want to ruin it. Even so he really couldn't do anything if we decided to do something; so the whole macho shit wasn't impressing anyone. Even so, I liked them and they were the closest thing to a friendship Vicky and I had.
"Help us get out. Do that, and I will bring you anything you want from outside. Once we prove that the world hasn't ended, you can go outside too. If we fail? Well, atleast you will know that you were right."
Daniel looked at Andreas for guidance, and Andreas clicked his tongue in irritation, "We can't get you outside; there are no exits and you know that Vicky can't crack that thing. Besides, there's nothing for you outside."
I felt my eyes narrow at his wording. Nothing for us. No clue how Andreas of all people had info on the 'Outside' but I would have to grill him later, Vicky hefted me bridal style into the air and I pointed at Daniel, "he can build anything. Once. So I want anything that can get us outside, or that info goes to the Old Folk. In the first place, you were lucky that bitch Sophia owed me and didn't go straight to Marquis herself."
Vicky took cue of my intimidation tactics and promised Daniel to squeeze his brain out of his asshole like a noodle. He squeaked and hid behind Andreas who just rolled his eyes – huffy jerk.
We flew away.
I hated this place, this town, these people. At the same time I loved them. They were my life; my personal hell and heaven. Underneath the gray ceiling that should have been the sky and dim orange lamps that should have been the stars, I felt safe and yet in danger. We, Vicky and I, were trapped animals. Meant for so much, but restrained. Chained in a huge cage, that should have been enough space for us to gallop and hunt.
We knew not, and couldn't know — Yet we dreamed of the Outside. Or at least I did. Victoria would just drift wherever life took her. Her invulnerability stemmed from the fact that she somehow was frozen in time. She was sixteen now, a year older than me, and yet her body was just the same as when she was seven. A doll frozen in time.
Still, after ten years of living in this cesspool I couldn't deny my attraction to it. While in school — which the Old Folk operated for all kids, they had told us about the 'before'. About such useless things as laws and courts; interesting things such as green paper and metal coins; intriguing things such as numbers and art.
All the books and paintings I could read and see!
Marquis visited once. Delivered a speech about laws — rules he called them. He talked of life and death; of morality. I hadn't known the word back then being barely able to read, but now I would call it cynicism and hypocrisy.
Even then I heard of the whispers. Whispers and echoes amongst the tattered dark streets and alleys, of a man named Marquis who held his own daughter captive and healed only those who obeyed. All others disappeared never to be seen again.
Murmurs of a girl my age who was now nothing but a husk of flesh and bone. But Marquis didn't care about cynicism. Only for the children's glazed eyes as he spoke of duty and heritage; valor and honor.
Useless sweet nothings and bitter everythings.
There was a whole world outside waiting to be explored. The same world that caged us and threw away the keys. Many – maybe everyone – would say that it was the Angel's song that did it. But I had read of its powers. I knew what Quarantine meant now – even if it was a banned word. The outsiders – if there were any – thought we were all insane beasts — and maybe we were. But probably we weren't; my father was an insane beast. In comparison Marquis was a benevolent leader.
I opened my eyes to greet a dark room. Vicky was wrapped around me like an eel soaking up my warmth. She smelled nice; as nice as anything could smell in Brockton. I lightly pushed her arm away and stood up.
The shower was cold as always, and I let the icy water wash away the sweat. My chaotic thoughts were running rampant and I needed the time to push them into order, control them. Marquis wouldn't let up unless I met him. I wasn't strong enough yet, not with this power. There weren't enough people who I could use either. Most of the powered men and women worked either for Marquis or Allfather — the Old Folk.
They policed the streets and laid down the law.
When they heard that I triggered they decided to recruit me. Victoria was always a target, a seven year old that could bench a truck and fly faster than Allfather's mook, Purity.
Her family was out of town when the Angel attacked, so chances were high that they were already dead. I took her in, taught her to read and write. The rest as they say is history.
My feet took me down the stairs, the dust swirled and danced around my aching limbs. On the tattered couch lay a letter. My heart started pumping and I looked around for anything out of place. There was nothing. I picked the paper and read the contents.
Damn. Fucking Sophia. My eyes roamed over the dirty piece of paper once then a couple times more.
"...Marquis knows about the fags, we need to talk."
I guess I had to rush through my plan, after all...
Andreas looked at Daniel frantically putting together his thing. What it was he had no clue, nor cared to know. The Dome's light turned purple signifying evening and the mechanical voice called Mother echoed across the Dome's expanse that two hours remained till nightfall. A sigh escaped his lips as he lit a cigarette.
"Every time you tell me you're ready, and yet every time she comes here you fumble around like a child."
Daniel didn't respond until Andreas poked him in the ribs, "Lay off dude! It's not like… Damn… I'm a pussy, ain't I?"
Andreas sniggered in response and threw the smoke away, "Eh, don't sweat it too much. That chick's scary. Remember what she did to those dudes back in school?"
They both laughed at the memory, "I get jitters every time she looks at me. Like – y'know? I'm the 'almost' adult here, respect my authority! And she's like 'say one thing wrong and I'll smear you on the pavement' and then I remember that she's Taylor and not Vicky. By that time she's onto something else and I can somehow breathe easier. Does that make sense?"
Andreas looked at him with his lips in a tight line, "Nope. No sense at all, you're just a pussy."
"Fuck off." he grouched.
"You're going to help her, aren't you?"
Daniel looked lost, "I – I, yeah. Yeah I will. I don't want to though."
"We'll never see them again if you do."
"We'll never see them again if I don't."
"Touché."
Andreas looked around the junkyard and eased his voice into a silent whisper, "Before I snuck inside, the attack was on the news. The Dome was designed by someone called Sphere, he is a Tinker like you; only his power lets him create ecosystems."
"That's cool an' all," he drawled as he picked up another tool, " but what does it matter?"
"You will need that for your project. Probably. See, if he designed this place to be impenetrable, then there is no physical way out. You'll probably have to teleport them out."
"There must be an entrance somewhere, we keep seeing new people all the time. After all these years, I doubt it's newly triggered normies; besides with what you know, it makes sense that they somehow sent guards. Hell, these cigarettes you smoke are being mass produced somewhere. I doubt that Dragon built a Tobacco industry along the farmlands."
Andreas smiled softly, "Yeah. The drones probably protect it though. There used to be a PRT base outside the Dome, they probably rebuilt it on the entrance or something."
Daniel contemplated that for a minute as they sat in silence, "Say Andy, if I succeed, would you be willing to go outside?"
Andreas sighed, "Most probably, I won't succeed."
"I don't understand… That makes absolutely no sense."
"Daniel, please believe me. If I even start a sentence trying to explain, I will dissapear and you will disappear too. So trust me when I say, I won't make it outside. But – But I won't be angry if you decide to go."
Daniel slapped him in the head, "Idiot, I can build anything once..." and so didn't see Andreas stiffen, "...I'll find a path to victory."