X Chapter 3 X
Warning: Language, Violence, Graphic Depictions of Death, Depressing Themes
Ginge backed away from the bed, hyperventilating. Her mind raced; she wasn't prepared for this. Nothing could have prepared her. The cold had ripped the life from the baby's body. His eyes were open, glazed over. Rigor mortis had set in, stiffening his corpse. No one thought to make a fire in the fireplace, no wood was gathered. There wasn't much wood for miles around.
The young woman was having a panic attack. She tried to suck in air, but just couldn't. This was the first time she had seen death first hand. Ginge leaned against the wall and slid down it. Her chest heaved as she clutched her heart. I can't do this...I can't do this... I can't do this... I can't fucking do this!...
Her internal chant was interrupted by the sounds of shouting and brawling; the boys were at it again. She breathed deep, trying to collect herself. After a few seconds, she stood up, scooping the stiff infant in her arms, and carried him outside. The victim's brother was being pinned down by several other children, while the other boy sat on his bottom, knocked down from a punch. The brother was screaming. "Get off me! I've gotta kill that son of a bitch!"
The racket died down once they spotted Ginge with the baby in her arms. They all stared as she walked up to the big brother and presented his baby brother's corpse to him. With a cold expression and tone, she spoke to him. "No one was murdered. Your brother froze to death in the night."
The boy took his brother in his arms and looked down at him. Tears began welling up in his eyes; they spilled over. He fell to his knees and sobbed over the body, tears dripping onto the lifeless infant. Ginge gazed upon the sad sight with no emotion. Outside, nothing was exposed but inside, she was being ripped apart. She was greatly disturbed by the child's death, yet was filled with contempt for the brother, who had neglected his tiny sibling. A scowl formed on her face, but she held her tongue. The young woman turned to the other children, who were silent and bore solemn faces. "Gather up all babies and younglings under three. They're going to stay with me and Arti from now on."
A few children, who had younger siblings of their own, objected. Ginge was having none of it. She stamped her feet and glared at them with a stern look. "I don't care! Since you're not responsible enough to look after them, I'll do it! Now move it! Bring them to my house!" The saiyan kids shuffled off to do her bidding and collect the fledgelings. Ginge turned and once more looked down at the boy, still crying into his dead brother. "Come on. We need to bury him."
X
Whis, who was sitting on his favorite stump by the lake on his lord's world, had witnessed with his staff, the happenings that unfolded that night. He wore a frown and he sighed. Unfortunate. I was afraid the cold nights on that world might be too much for the younger children. And as it is, my fears were well placed...
X
Ginge and the boy dug a small, shallow hole for the body. They had walked dozens of paces outside the group of dwellings; they stopped at the apex of a small hill. The boy had since stopped sobbing, and had no sign of emotion on his face aside from his puffy eyes. He placed his deceased baby brother into the hole and began covering it with dirt. Ginge stood a few feet off to the side with her hands together, looking at her feet. Once the boy finished the deed, he stood up and wiped a lone tear from his face. The wind blew through his wild, bushy hair.
They stood in silence for a long while. Finally, Ginge spoke. "What was his name?" The boy didn't answer immediately. "Quash... It was Quash." This time, a tear fell down her cheek. She walked up to him, standing a few inches taller, and wrapped her arm around him. The pair stood at the grave for an hour, mourning baby Quash.
They were interrupted by some of the children, who had come looking for Ginge. "We're hungry. What are we supposed to eat?" Ginge had been daydreaming about everything before being marooned on the repugnant world. Their voices pulled her back from fantasy and into reality. This was her life now. There was no way out; nothing. Childhood was over. She had hungry mouths to feed, and no idea how she was going to do it.
She patted the grieving brother on the back, and turned to the children. "Alright. Come with me." Ginge and the children walked back to the others, leaving the brother alone at the grave. When they returned, the others stood in a group outside her house. They had just finished moving everyone under three inside. Ginge stood tall over most of them. "I want a show of hands. Who knows how to fly and use their energy?" Three hands raised. Ginge facepalmed. I knew it. I was just starting training, of course these little shits don't know how. Removing her hand from her face, she looked at the three and spoke in an authoritative tone. "Ok! This is what's going to happen: You three are going to come with me to find food! Everyone else: Shut up and stay here! Look after the pod-lings!"
No one said or did anything. A tense silence filled the air. Finally, the oldest male stepped up to Ginge and got in her face. He had been one of the ones to raise their hand. His hair stood up like a flame, in a similar fashion to Vegeta's, but without the widow's peak. A single bang hung over his face. He was only an inch or so shorter than her. His mouth contorted into a scowl. "Who died and made you queen?! We've been following your orders, and what has it gotten us?! Dead babies and an empty stomach!"
The other children murmured in agreement as Ginge looked on in disbelief. The boy spat on her left breastplate. "I don't see a symbol of Vegeta there! That means it's up to the strongest to lead, and that should be me, Tercres!" The children looked at Ginge with contempt. She was frozen in place, having no idea what to do. Finally, she took one of her gloves off. The young saiyan matriarch wiped the boy's saliva from her armor with the glove, and slapped the boy across the face with it, cutting his lip.
With a grave face and plenty of resolve, she spoke to him. "I didn't ask for this to happen. I didn't ask to be made leader of you pathetic pod-lings. And I certainly didn't ask for my mom and dad to die along with our entire race. All I know is that I'm here now, and I have to take care of 100, needy little pukes because no one else is going to do it. I won't leave it to you because I know you're too much of a self-absorbed shithead that's only in love with the idea of being king, entirely neglecting the responsibilities of one. But if that's the way you want to play it, strongest takes all, fine. Just know that if you act out on your ridiculous trife, you won't have to worry about an empty stomach ever again... because you'll be holding it in your hands."
Ginge made a slashing motion at Tercres' abdomen, making him gulp. Letting her instincts take over, she had established pack dominance over the survivors. Turning to the others, sweetly smiling, she spoke. "Anyone else have issues?" They slowly shook their heads. "Good. Now hop to it!"
Ginge, Tercres, and the two other flight capable saiyans, took off to the south. The hilly plains stretched for miles around. After a short flight, they arrived at the river Whis had mentioned. Shrubs with red leaves, dotted the river bank. The hunting party landed in the tall, teal grass. Tercres and another male child, filled up some hide waterskins that had come with the dwellings. Ginge and a different male, walked up and down the riverbank, searching for signs of creatures.
The boy with Ginge had a hairstyle uncannily similar to Fasha's and was quite muscular, even for a saiyan boy. His pale skin contrasted sharply with the grass and shrubs. The two walked on opposite sides of the river in silence. Eventually, they came upon some tall reeds that blocked line of sight from one another. Unfazed, they kept going. Several minutes went by of no contact with her comrade; she became worried and flew over to look for him. Where the hell is he? He better not have run off!
After a long minute of not finding him, she heard yelling. At sonic speeds, she flew over to the source. Her jaw dropped when she saw what happened. A massive crocodile-like creature had the boy in its mouth, yet that wasn't the shocking thing. The boy was holding its mouth open with his hands! "A little help?!" cried the boy upon spotting Ginge.
Ginge shook off her disbelief and raised her hand at the creature, unleashing a small wave that penetrated the head of the croc. The creature went limp. Looking at his torn gloves, the boy was breathing heavily. His savior landed next to him and looked him over. "Well that was a close one, wasn't it? How the hell did you even end up like that?" The boy, shaking now, turned to her and cracked a sheepish smile. Ginge smirked at him. "It's alright now. You caught dinner for everyone."
It took all four of them to carry the beast back to camp; they flew like a drunken bumblebee all the way there. The other children sat outside Ginge's dwelling. When they saw the silhouette of the beast on top the shoulders of the hunters, their faces lit up. They rushed up to meet the hunters as they landed with their kill. As Tercres and his partner distributed water to the thirsty saiyans, Ginge and her's got to work gutting the beast. Many of the kids, especially the youngest ones, winced at the sight of blood and gore.
With a scowl, Ginge snapped at them. "Oh you poor babies! Stop acting like a bunch of softies or I'll make you drink some!" That stiffened their lips a bit. In her mind, she didn't want or even like to snap at the children. But she knew they were all in for a tough ride. There was no room for squeamishness in this new life of theirs
By the time she had cooked all the meat, the sun had fallen beyond the horizon once more. Tercres had gathered wood from a distant forest, and the remainder that wasn't used for cooking, went into making a huge bonfire in the middle of camp. The older children sat around it, eating their food and conversing. Ginge was absent from them. She was inside with the youngest children, trying to figure out how to feed meat to babies with no teeth. Shit! I completely forgot about these toothless little leeches!
Her mind raced. Babies are supposed to go in pods and be fed nutrients directly from a life support line! I've only ever seen one baby outside a pod and that was Arti! Mom fed him somehow, but... how... A minute went by before realization. No! Absolutely not! I'm not even... old enough! She looked down; her chest was as flat as the boy's she slapped!
She stood up, holding one of the infants in her arms, and paced around the bedroom. There has to be a way, any way. Birds chirped as they flew past the houses, prompting her stressed brain to a breakthrough. She remembered how birds feed their young. The young 'mother bird' began to gag. That's fucking disgusting! It's not fucking happening! She paced some more around the room, glancing at the infants, who started to whimper from hunger. Eventually, it was too much to take, even for her saiyan heart. She swept her hair back behind her shoulder. When these little brats grow up, they better worship the ground I walk on!
She took a piece of croc meat and put it in her mouth, chewing it. She spit the pasty product into an infant's mouth. I want a throne of gold with the softest cushions in the cosmos... She moved on to the next child. ...a butler that waits on me... Next child. ... the finest meals for my pallet... Next child. ... foot massages whenever I damn well ask for them... Once more. ... In fact, forget worshipping the ground I walk on. I had better not have to walk anywhere after this! As she made her way around the room, feeding infants, Ginge felt eyes on her. Her head snapped around to find Arti, spying on her through the doorway. He giggled and ran away. Ginge dashed out of the bedroom, catching him before he could leave the house. She picked him up by his collar and slammed him against the wall. "Where are you off to, you little sneak?!" Arti was laughing now. She wasn't having it; she pressed him harder against the wall. "You saw absolutely nothing and you'll tell everyone absolutely nothing, got it?!" Arti shook his head, still laughing. Ginge really wanted to let him have it, but she had a better idea. She squinted and smiled a sly smile. "You know, Arti... it's pretty cold out tonight. I'd be a shame if we ran out of beds in here. Then you'd have to sleep in the kitchen…" Arti's eyes widened, and he started violently shaking his head. Ginge did the opposite and rapidly nodded her head.
"Alright, alright! I won't tell..." She set him down and patted him on his little head. "Good boy. Now run along outside, and keep in mind our talk!" Arti stuck his tongue out at her before turning and marching out of the house.
Around the bonfire, the children sat. The entirety of the giant crocodile had been consumed, and only a skeleton remained. It lay, picked clean, outside the camp. Silence permeated throughout the air. One of the children, a girl no older than six, belched obscenely loud. Still silence. Soon, the boy who had been caught in the croc's mouth, also belched, matching the girl's volume. This opened up 'Pandora's box' of bad table manners. All of the kids started belching, laughing as they did. The laughter carried on for a few minutes before dying back down into silence.
Eventually, a very small girl no older than four, started to cry. She looked like a mini Gine. "I miss my momma!" Tercres scoffed at her, as did a few males. The oldest females, six and seven, walked to her and sat down, comforting her. "It's alright. I miss mom too." Tercres' mouth twisted into a dark smirk. "What a disgrace. Warriors don't shed tears! Your parents must have been weak; they deserved what they got!" The older girls looked at him with contempt, while mini Gine cried harder than before. Tercres began laughing. He laughed until he was struck on the side of the head by an unseen object. It sent him tumbling several feet away.
He sat up from his tumble and rubbed his head. It was the gator wrangling boy. The muscular lad stood over Tercres. The bonfire cast his shadow over the arrogant boy. "You're going to apologize to her, or else." Tercres stood up. He was nine; gator boy was eight. Naturally, Tercres was taller by a couple inches. Gator boy was undeterred, his 'Fasha cut' casting a huge shadow on Tercres. "Are you sure you want to do this? Ginge isn't here to save you, Pinach." Pinach glared at him coldly.
"I already hit you once. What makes you think I won't do it again, you gigantic pussy?" This drew 'Ooooooh's from the older spectators; the younger ones cowered in fear. Tercres shot a hateful glance at the others, then back to Pinach. "Come on Tercres. You've talked a big game this whole time about how the strong deserve to lead; that the weak deserve to die. But so far, you've been smacked twice and thrown no punches back. You're lookin' pretty weak to me."
The other kids laughed at Tercres. His cheeks got red as his temper boiled over. "Fine! You asked for it!" Tercres threw a hook at Pinach's face. Pinach slipped under it and kneed Tercres in his gut. The arrogant lad spat and doubled over from the pain. Pinach gave him no quarter. He took Tercres' left arm and pulled it behind his back, placing his foot near the socket and pressing on it. Tercres squealed in pain as he was pushed into the dirt. "Now apologize!"
Tercres struggled under Pinach's hold, trying to get free. Pinach just yanked harder on his prisoner's arm. "Let go of me, asshole!" Pinach didn't relent. "Apologize, and I will!" Tercres wouldn't yield either. "Fuck you! Fuck you and your whore mother!" Their shadows danced with the flame. Pinach's eyes glazed over with hatred, his saiyan heart beating faster. The fur on his tail, bristled. With all of his power, his foot pressed down on Tercres' back, while he yanked on his foe's arm. There was a sickening crack, followed by wailing.
Pinach had pulled the arm from its socket. Breathing heavily, he stood over his writhing victim, who was screaming at the top of their lungs in pain. Ginge, who had fallen asleep in her 'nursery', awoke to the sound and rushed outside. She saw Tercres rolling around on the ground in pain, and Pinach standing over him. "What the hell is going on now!? What did you do!?" Pinach looked at her with a pained expression, but said nothing. She looked at the others, who just stared at their feet.
Ginge looked back at Pinach, who's eyes were firmly locked on Tercres, in a death glare. Understanding what happened, she calmly and silently, walked over to Tercres and helped him up. Draping his right arm over her shoulders, she walked him back to her house. When they disappeared into the door, Pinach walked back to the bonfire and sat down. The deathly quiet returned to the children for a time... until screams could be heard from Ginge's house; she had popped Tercres' arm back into place.
For about ten minutes, everyone sat in silence, avoiding eye contact. One by one, kids got up and went inside. Eventually, it was just Pinach, another boy of eight years, and the oldest girl, seven. After another ten minutes of silence, the girl spoke up. "Thank you for sticking up for my sister." She looked at him with a hopeful expression. No response came. Pinach just stared into the flame, his jet black eyes gleaming in the light. The girl sighed, grateful but concerned. "I don't know if you're bothered by what he said... But I'm sure it wasn't true." From an early age, most saiyans became well versed in the vulgar.
Annoyed, Pinach began to swish his tail. "Just get lost. I don't give a damn about you or your sister." The girl fumed and stuck her tongue out at him. "Fine, jerk!" She got up and walked to her house. Now it was just Pinach and the other boy the same age. The boy had a spiraled tuft of hair on his head, much like Nappa's. His head was tall and thin. A moment passed after which, he got up, walked over to Pinach, and sat down with him. "Pinach, she had a point. Are you bothered by that piece of shit's words? I've known you for almost my whole life outside the pod, and well…"
"Well, what? What are you saying, Iseber?" Pinach looked at Iseber, his brow furrowed. "I'm just saying that your mom wasn't the best, and that maybe what he said got to you." Pinach leaned over threateningly to Iseber, cocking his fist back. "Are you saying my mom's a whore?" Iseber leaned away, raising his hands defensively. "No no no. I'm just…" He had no nicer way to put it.
Pinach leaped to his feet and punched Iseber in the mouth, cutting his lip. Iseber sat stunned, wiping away the blood with his hand. Pinach started shouting at him. "Fuck it! Yeah!... It's true! She was!... She!..." He had begun hyperventilating, tears rolling down his cheeks. Years of repressed feelings and bullying forced their way to the surface. He collapsed on the ground, sobbing. Iseber stared at him, frozen in place. He never realized just how bad it bothered his friend. Many saiyan women had a 'loose' attitude when it came to mates, though perhaps Pinach's mother took it to a slightly different level.
"Look, I'm sorry Pinach. I didn't know." Pinach cried into the dirt for a moment before sitting back up. "I didn't even know my dad, Iseber. She waited until I was five to take me out of the pod; a full year after a pod-ling is supposed to get out!" Pinach's teeth gnashed as he cried into his hands. Iseber had tears of his own welling up. "When she took me home, the first thing she did was leave me alone! She came back that night, smelling like alcohol and... cologne." Pinach paused to catch his breath. "Most of the time, she wasn't even there. She spent almost all of her time in space, on missions with four guys, all of whom I'm sure she's been with." He sucked in more air and wiped his eyes. "When I started training, almost all the kids already knew me because of my mom. They heard their moms talking bad about her and me. You already know, you were there; I got picked on relentlessly for it." He paused once more for air. "I'm never going to get away from it, Iseber. I'm always going to be that kid."
Pinach began weeping uncontrollably. Iseber wiped away his own tears and scooched next to him. Putting his arm around Pinach, the two sat side by side in the dark, while the wind howled and the bonfire crackled.