Chapter 13
Java walked down the corridor allowing herself a small smile of triumph. She was finally getting what she wanted, what she deserved, power, complete power. Vic and Her were going to rule over the Techno's and no one could to stop them. Their plan was simple, Vic was to 'dispose' of Ram using the zapper Java had left in her and Ram's room while Java rallied the tribe telling them how Ram had mistreated her and justifying Ram's death. Simple and fool proof. Vic had proposed the plan to her on one of their few illicit meetings in the month since her wedding.
That was why she was walking down the corridor so occupied in her malicious thoughts she did not hear the footsteps behind her. Nor did she have any prior warning when suddenly everything went black. For once Java was caught unawares, and it was the worst possible time for it too happen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Java blinked slightly as she came round. She had a headache and she couldn't bring anything in front of her into focus. She closed her eyes again and then opened them more slowly. This time things blurred into view. The first thing that became apparent to her was that she was lying on the floor in a small room; the second was that she was not alone. She groaned when she saw the two girls standing over her.
"What are you doing here?" she spat at them and then added as an afterthought "And where is here?"
"Hello Java" Opal and Kiki said sweetly, "It's nice to see you again"
Java glared at Opal as she pushed herself upright
"Don't fcck with me Opal" she snapped "Where am I and why are [I]you[/I] here?"
"Where you are is of no consequence, and we are here because we brought you here" Kiki told her in a superior manner
"Well what do you want then?" Java snapped at them
"From you? Nothing" Opal told her loftily, "It's time for us to take back what is rightfully ours"
"What?" said Java unable to fathom her cryptic answer
"You'll see" Kiki told her "You're gonna have a lot of time to think about it" Smiling nastily she stepped backwards away from Java with Opal and closed the door trapping Java in the small room. Java scrambled to her feet ignoring the dizziness her quick ascent brought.
"What do you think you're doing?" she screamed at them through the door. She kicked the door with all the strength she could muster, it didn't budge. "Kiki, Opal" she screamed in challenge "Get back here and fight me like women." No answer came.
She sank back against the door slowly sliding down it until she was sat on the floor again. For the first time she took the time to really look at the room she was trapped in. Trapped. She felt her throat constrict with fear. She was trapped, helpless, lost in her worst nightmare.
Clenching her hands and digging her nails into the palms of her hands she tried to control her breathing telling herself she would be ok, she could get out of anything Kiki and Opal set up for her. It didn't work too well, the walls were still drawing in on her and she could feel the fear in her rising, she bit her lip and beat her fists against the floor in an effort to control herself. Closing her eyes she told herself she had to get it together and get out of there. The faster she pulled herself together the faster she would be out of there.
When she opened her eyes again Java felt slightly more in control though her breathing was still shallow and her face drawn with fear.
She let her eyes scan the room trying not to look at the walls and how small, how restricting, they were. By the looks of it the room used to be some kind of caretaker's closet. There was only one exit, the one she was leaning on. Moving forward she began sorting through the things in the room with a wild abandon, there had to be something to help her in there, there had to be.
Eventually, just as she was beginning to think she was not going to get out, she was going to be trapped forever, she pulled out a crowbar from the assorted junk. Turning quickly she began a frenzied attack on the hinges of the door, chips of the wood flew past her as she fought her panic desperately. As the first hinge flew off she saw the end in sight, she was getting out of there. Soon, but not soon enough for her, the second hinge flew off and she was able to push the door outwards.
She fell out of the doorway gasping for breath, for fresh free air. She leaned against the wall opposite the door allowing herself to calmdown. But she could not rest, after a minute she set off towards the command center to find Kiki and Opal and start a rebellion.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As she approached the command center she heard shouts, loud shouts. She had a bad feeling about what was going on, nothing should have happened yet, it should just e a normal afternoon.
When she peered cautiously around the door she was greeted with a sight that was beyond her worst dreams of the situation. Kiki and Opal were stood at the end of the room, the target of the crowd's aggression.
".Ram and Java were right to throw you out.get lost, we like our leaders.bi!ches."
Kiki and Opal were cowering away from the crowd trying to pacify them
"But - but, you saw what they did to us, can't you see how quickly they could turn on you."
In several seconds Java had assessed the situation and worked out what was going on. She remembered Vic telling her there were other people involved in the rebellion but he had refused to tell her who. Somehow Kiki and Opal must have found out what she was meant to be doing and decided to do it themselves and therefore get their power back. But it had obviously gone horribly wrong and now she was certain the rebellion was doomed. She had to find Vic and tell him, and there was only one place Vic would be, she only hoped it wasn't too late.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When she arrived outside Ram's room she was out of breath after running through the base madly, hoping against hope she could get to Vic before he did anything drastic that would doom them both. Using the code they had decided previously she knocked at the door. After a minute or so the door was opened cautiously and Vic poked his head out. Java didn't give him a chance to ask questions or greet her as she pushed past him into the room closing the door behind her quickly.
"What's going on?" asked Vic mystified as to why Java didn't have half the base behind her
"It's gone wrong, the.." Catching sight of what was lying by the bed she whispered desperately. "No!" It was too late.
"What? What's gone wrong?" Vic asked bruteskly
Java was unable to stop staring at Ram's corpse, her stomach was writhing and twisting in a way that was sending feelings of dread up her spine. That was it, it was over; her and Vic were dead "Opal and Kiki" Java told him in a distracted voice "They tried to do what I was meant to do, I couldn't stop them, the tribe rose up in Rams defense."
"So that's it," he said calmly after a minute "It's over ."
"Yeah" echoed Java realizing it truly was over, they had gambled and lost
Turning she caught Vic's eye, they fell into one last desperate kiss, full of passion and despair. Java was the first to pull away trailing one hand down Vic's face in a last gesture of affection
"That's it" Vic said heavily "I killed R." The last part of his sentence trailed off as they both froze as the door to Ram's room slammed open and a crowd of Techno's poured in, the first line freezing at the sight in front of them before they were pushed forward by those behind them. Shock reigned for a minute as everyone froze and tried to guess what was coming next. Finally someone at the front of the crowd broke the silence
"He did it, he killed Ram, we heard him confess" The shout was like a signal; the crowd surged forward into the room pushing Java and Vic apart. As Java watched in horror, her mind still racing to comprehend the sequence of events that had brought her here in such a small time. She was pushed against the wall by the surging crowd as Vic was manhandled out of the room and into a prison cell to judge by the shouts, she could not understand why no one was taking her away with him.
"Well done Java" a female Techno told her startling her slightly as she felt the girls hand on her arm.
"Wha?" said Java focusing on the girl, seemingly the only still figure in the writhing crowd
"You had Ram's murderer trapped and confessing, you're a heroine" the girl told her as if she was stupid for not realizing that. Suddenly Java made the connections with what the crowd had seen; her hand by Vic's face, the one with her zapper on, and Vic's 'confession' just as the crowd burst into the room. They thought she had captured Vic, not been in cahoots with him.
Suddenly a surprised voice echoed over the crowd
"He's not dead!"
The crowd erupted into voice as Ram's still body was taken out of the room. Java struggled to comprehend yet another twist in the tale; somehow Ram had survived.
Java walked down the corridor allowing herself a small smile of triumph. She was finally getting what she wanted, what she deserved, power, complete power. Vic and Her were going to rule over the Techno's and no one could to stop them. Their plan was simple, Vic was to 'dispose' of Ram using the zapper Java had left in her and Ram's room while Java rallied the tribe telling them how Ram had mistreated her and justifying Ram's death. Simple and fool proof. Vic had proposed the plan to her on one of their few illicit meetings in the month since her wedding.
That was why she was walking down the corridor so occupied in her malicious thoughts she did not hear the footsteps behind her. Nor did she have any prior warning when suddenly everything went black. For once Java was caught unawares, and it was the worst possible time for it too happen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Java blinked slightly as she came round. She had a headache and she couldn't bring anything in front of her into focus. She closed her eyes again and then opened them more slowly. This time things blurred into view. The first thing that became apparent to her was that she was lying on the floor in a small room; the second was that she was not alone. She groaned when she saw the two girls standing over her.
"What are you doing here?" she spat at them and then added as an afterthought "And where is here?"
"Hello Java" Opal and Kiki said sweetly, "It's nice to see you again"
Java glared at Opal as she pushed herself upright
"Don't fcck with me Opal" she snapped "Where am I and why are [I]you[/I] here?"
"Where you are is of no consequence, and we are here because we brought you here" Kiki told her in a superior manner
"Well what do you want then?" Java snapped at them
"From you? Nothing" Opal told her loftily, "It's time for us to take back what is rightfully ours"
"What?" said Java unable to fathom her cryptic answer
"You'll see" Kiki told her "You're gonna have a lot of time to think about it" Smiling nastily she stepped backwards away from Java with Opal and closed the door trapping Java in the small room. Java scrambled to her feet ignoring the dizziness her quick ascent brought.
"What do you think you're doing?" she screamed at them through the door. She kicked the door with all the strength she could muster, it didn't budge. "Kiki, Opal" she screamed in challenge "Get back here and fight me like women." No answer came.
She sank back against the door slowly sliding down it until she was sat on the floor again. For the first time she took the time to really look at the room she was trapped in. Trapped. She felt her throat constrict with fear. She was trapped, helpless, lost in her worst nightmare.
Clenching her hands and digging her nails into the palms of her hands she tried to control her breathing telling herself she would be ok, she could get out of anything Kiki and Opal set up for her. It didn't work too well, the walls were still drawing in on her and she could feel the fear in her rising, she bit her lip and beat her fists against the floor in an effort to control herself. Closing her eyes she told herself she had to get it together and get out of there. The faster she pulled herself together the faster she would be out of there.
When she opened her eyes again Java felt slightly more in control though her breathing was still shallow and her face drawn with fear.
She let her eyes scan the room trying not to look at the walls and how small, how restricting, they were. By the looks of it the room used to be some kind of caretaker's closet. There was only one exit, the one she was leaning on. Moving forward she began sorting through the things in the room with a wild abandon, there had to be something to help her in there, there had to be.
Eventually, just as she was beginning to think she was not going to get out, she was going to be trapped forever, she pulled out a crowbar from the assorted junk. Turning quickly she began a frenzied attack on the hinges of the door, chips of the wood flew past her as she fought her panic desperately. As the first hinge flew off she saw the end in sight, she was getting out of there. Soon, but not soon enough for her, the second hinge flew off and she was able to push the door outwards.
She fell out of the doorway gasping for breath, for fresh free air. She leaned against the wall opposite the door allowing herself to calmdown. But she could not rest, after a minute she set off towards the command center to find Kiki and Opal and start a rebellion.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As she approached the command center she heard shouts, loud shouts. She had a bad feeling about what was going on, nothing should have happened yet, it should just e a normal afternoon.
When she peered cautiously around the door she was greeted with a sight that was beyond her worst dreams of the situation. Kiki and Opal were stood at the end of the room, the target of the crowd's aggression.
".Ram and Java were right to throw you out.get lost, we like our leaders.bi!ches."
Kiki and Opal were cowering away from the crowd trying to pacify them
"But - but, you saw what they did to us, can't you see how quickly they could turn on you."
In several seconds Java had assessed the situation and worked out what was going on. She remembered Vic telling her there were other people involved in the rebellion but he had refused to tell her who. Somehow Kiki and Opal must have found out what she was meant to be doing and decided to do it themselves and therefore get their power back. But it had obviously gone horribly wrong and now she was certain the rebellion was doomed. She had to find Vic and tell him, and there was only one place Vic would be, she only hoped it wasn't too late.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When she arrived outside Ram's room she was out of breath after running through the base madly, hoping against hope she could get to Vic before he did anything drastic that would doom them both. Using the code they had decided previously she knocked at the door. After a minute or so the door was opened cautiously and Vic poked his head out. Java didn't give him a chance to ask questions or greet her as she pushed past him into the room closing the door behind her quickly.
"What's going on?" asked Vic mystified as to why Java didn't have half the base behind her
"It's gone wrong, the.." Catching sight of what was lying by the bed she whispered desperately. "No!" It was too late.
"What? What's gone wrong?" Vic asked bruteskly
Java was unable to stop staring at Ram's corpse, her stomach was writhing and twisting in a way that was sending feelings of dread up her spine. That was it, it was over; her and Vic were dead "Opal and Kiki" Java told him in a distracted voice "They tried to do what I was meant to do, I couldn't stop them, the tribe rose up in Rams defense."
"So that's it," he said calmly after a minute "It's over ."
"Yeah" echoed Java realizing it truly was over, they had gambled and lost
Turning she caught Vic's eye, they fell into one last desperate kiss, full of passion and despair. Java was the first to pull away trailing one hand down Vic's face in a last gesture of affection
"That's it" Vic said heavily "I killed R." The last part of his sentence trailed off as they both froze as the door to Ram's room slammed open and a crowd of Techno's poured in, the first line freezing at the sight in front of them before they were pushed forward by those behind them. Shock reigned for a minute as everyone froze and tried to guess what was coming next. Finally someone at the front of the crowd broke the silence
"He did it, he killed Ram, we heard him confess" The shout was like a signal; the crowd surged forward into the room pushing Java and Vic apart. As Java watched in horror, her mind still racing to comprehend the sequence of events that had brought her here in such a small time. She was pushed against the wall by the surging crowd as Vic was manhandled out of the room and into a prison cell to judge by the shouts, she could not understand why no one was taking her away with him.
"Well done Java" a female Techno told her startling her slightly as she felt the girls hand on her arm.
"Wha?" said Java focusing on the girl, seemingly the only still figure in the writhing crowd
"You had Ram's murderer trapped and confessing, you're a heroine" the girl told her as if she was stupid for not realizing that. Suddenly Java made the connections with what the crowd had seen; her hand by Vic's face, the one with her zapper on, and Vic's 'confession' just as the crowd burst into the room. They thought she had captured Vic, not been in cahoots with him.
Suddenly a surprised voice echoed over the crowd
"He's not dead!"
The crowd erupted into voice as Ram's still body was taken out of the room. Java struggled to comprehend yet another twist in the tale; somehow Ram had survived.