Part 10 – Unlucky For Some
Tai-San was tired after the day. She had been organising things for the Tribal Gathering with Bray and helping Patsy and Cloe make up a dance routine. This time Tai-San would not enter the dance competition, instead, she would simply organise it and hopefully help the girls to win – though she had her doubts. Neither Cloe nor Patsy had been classically trained as she had before the Virus and neither did they have the street moves of the Locust who'd been her match last time, but she still hoped they had a good time practising and completely all the same.
Tai-San sat quietly, crossing her legs Indian style. Candles and incense burned all around her, washing over her, comforting her. Steadying her breathing, clearing her mind, centring her energy, she let herself fall back into that familiar, comfortable place. Everything went blank, she couldn't hear a thing going on in the Mall, though she knew it was alive with noise and energy. She had successfully entered that place of calmness and balance within herself.
But then she suddenly felt a jarring sensation shake her. Deep inside her, she felt an uncertainty and a horrible feeling of indecision that she only associated with one person. Lex. Without even removing herself from her meditation, she knew that he was somewhere nearby, most likely right in the room. Drawing a deep breath, Tai-San pulled herself from her trance, and slowly opened her eyes.
Lex was standing right in front of her.
Leaning against her doorway, he was smiling that usual smile of his – an irritatingly handsome mixture of a smug leer and a genuine smile. He cocked his head to the side as she simply stared at him, waiting for him to speak.
"Deep meditation?"
"Yes. I sensed your presence," Tai-San stated, still not moving from her cross-legged position on the floor. She was hoping that he would leave without a fight.
Lex raised an eyebrow. "You sensed me? I must be pretty special."
"I sense everyone Lex. Everyone evokes a certain feeling in me so that I can tell who it is if I'm meditating."
"Really? And what feeling did you get just then?" he asked softly.
Tai-San pursed her lips. "You don't want to know," she said evenly.
Lex's self-satisfied expression dropped and he shook his head. "Right… I guess I'm still persona non grata?"
"You were never that Lex."
"The other day I was."
"Lex… I'm tired. Please leave me to my meditation."
Lex's expression jumped with irritation and his face sharpened. "No way. Not until a get a straight answer from you once and for all."
"About what?" Tai-San asked nonchalantly.
"About what? About this… this stuff that keeps happening between us and that you conveniently keep forgetting!" he exclaimed.
"I forget nothing. I simply realise when I've made a mistake and I move on," Tai-San stated.
Lex almost looked hurt at that. He quickly recovered. "This is about Alice and you know it. You're too noble to get into something with me because she's got the hots for me. Tai-San, half of this tribe has the hots for me, are you going to wait until they get over me too?"
Tai-San gave him a mocking smile. "Half of this tribe does not have the hots for you Lex."
"One word. May."
Tai-San felt a jolt go through her. May certainly did have designs on him, and Tai-San knew something had already happened between them. So far Lex seemed to be rebuffing her advances – but that was simply what Tai-San worried about. Maybe half the tribe didn't have the hots for him, but a lot of women did, two… well, three if she was honest and counted herself, just in this mall. Lex certainly had gotten himself caught in a tangled web, and she feared that he very much enjoyed it – but Tai-San disliked tangles, and refused to get caught in his.
"Lex, forget May for a moment. Think about Alice. Alice who's been on your side for so long time now. Alice who is always trying to get you to be a better person and may have succeeded much more than I ever could."
Lex threw his hands up. "What is this? A competition between you two to see who can redeem poor little Lex?"
"There's no competition, no."
"Then why does everyone want to change me? Why would you come near me if you saw nothing worthwhile in me from the beginning Tai-San?"
Tai-San was silent, knowing that Lex had for once found a good argument. "Alice is my friend and she loves you. I won't hurt her. This is a complicated situation Lex."
Lex moved from the door and came to kneel in front of her in one swift movement. He put both hands on her shoulders and looked directly into her eyes. "It doesn't have to be. It could be so simple. And so right," he murmured.
Tai-San simply looked at him, refusing to let her emotions come to the surface.
"C'mon babe. Come back to my room with me. Stay tonight," he breathed.
Tai-San felt the straps of her camisole being slipped down. Frustrated, she pushed his hands away. "Lex, stop it. I have to meditate," she said, her patience wearing thin.
"Do it later," Lex insisted, lowering his lips to her shoulder.
"Lex!" Tai-San exclaimed, edging away. "I said no!"
Lex snapped away violently and he sat back on his haunches, his hands on his knees. He looked at her mournfully. "What do I have to do to get you to be with me?"
"Nothing, because I can't be with you Lex."
She could see anger rising in Lex's face. He stood up from her meditation mat abruptly and began to pace the floor before her.
"What is your problem? I haven't done anything! I've been perfect, I haven't hurt you, I haven't hurt Alice either for that matter… and you still act like I can't be trusted!" Lex shouted at her.
Tai-San stared at him defiantly. "I only follow my instincts Lex. My instincts tell me you'll stray. I don't blame you. It's in your nature," she said softly.
Lex glared at her. "It is not in my nature!" he yelled, fists clenched by his sides.
Tai-San just stared up at him.
He shook his head. "You're unbelievable," he whispered. He stalked out of the room without another words.
Tai-San's chest deflated and her shoulders slumped.
She didn't know what to do with Lex. She felt a strong attraction to him. She didn't love him, she hadn't gotten in that deep yet, but there was something about him that drew her to him. There was the possibility of love, and that scared her the most – loving him, and being betrayed. But she would also now betray so loyal a friend as Alice. If Lex and Alice were to be – then that was it. And if they weren't, then fate would deal with the rest.
And if fate led Tai-San back to him, she knew they would still have problems. She would never know if she could trust him. She didn't condemn him for who he was. It didn't mean she liked it though. She wasn't violent or easily angered, but when she saw Lex's eyes rake over Ebony's bronzed and lithe form, or his lips part as he noticed Trudy's rounded curves, or even Ellie's slim and tall body, Tai-San felt unbridled jealousy stir within her. She'd never act on it – it wasn't any of the other girl's faults if Lex was attracted to them, it wasn't even his own fault… but that didn't make her feel any more secure about him.
She knew they would never work out. The lust and the passion would die down and Lex would move onto the next girl that caught his eye. Tai-San could often see the future in dreams, but she didn't need a prophetic dream to see Lex's. It would be difficult, as he would be. His future would be fraught with uncertainty and he would push people away and attract them at the same time. His future would be a difficult and rocky path for him to travel.
And somehow, she felt that she wasn't a part of the journey.
-O-
"Well? Where the hell did she go?"
"I don't know."
Spike rounded on the boy, glaring at him. "What do you mean, you don't know? I sent you after her!"
"And I followed her, but I had to keep a safe distance! Once I had managed to make it out into the country after her – she was gone. Only Jax and Milton were there."
"Where's there?" Spike demanded.
"I don't know – they were just sitting at the bottom of some hill on the outskirts of the City. Out by Sector 13. Ebony was nowhere to be seen. I waited and waited for her to turn up – but it was just those two. They were still there when I left."
Spike stared at the floor of the storeroom, completely baffled. Just what was Ebony doing way off the beaten track like that? And leaving Jax and Milton to wait for her on a hill? What was her game? Did she know he had had her followed? Was she toying with him? Spike kicked at the ground. Once again, whether intentionally or not, Ebony had foiled him. He dismissed the Militia member and gritted his teeth. There was nothing for it now, he'd just have to act like nothing had happened and keep trying to find out what she was up to. Sighing with frustration, he left the storeroom, his helmet in hand.
Lex stalked across his path with a face like thunder.
"Hey! We still have to finalise security plans for the Gathering!" Spike called after him.
"Later."
"No, now. I'm not getting all the flak from Ebony because you're ignoring your duties!" Spike spat.
Lex turned on him, eyes blazing. "Look, I could care less about this pathetic little Gathering. It'll be just another disaster like last time. If you wanna pretend all the tribe are gonna play happy families then you can. Me, I'm thinking that once the Dogs see you Locos, they're gonna get rabid. And the Orphans? Not too fond of the Gulls, or so I hear. And the Outcasts – well they're not going to be too happy to see the tribes that turned them out, are they?"
Spike said nothing. As much as he disliked Lex, obnoxious lady's man that he was, he knew he was right. Bray and his new Amber clone were kidding themselves if they thought this would be a success. Maybe on the surface it looked like the City was calming down and the tribes were too – but underneath, fury was bubbling, and all it would take to spill over would to get them all together at the same time.
Lex shot Spike a wry smile. "I guess you see things my way. Smart, aren't you?" He snorted and with that, stomped off across the Mall.
Spike slowly began to walk down the staircase, contemplating what Lex had said.
-O-
In the dull light of dawn, Sienna stalked across the camp, silent and stealthy as death. Not a twig cracked under her feet as she made her way to the gaping cave that had been serving as Archer's confinement for the night. The opening of the cave forged a path into a massive rock formation and led under ground to a series of other caves. Archer had been forced into the first of these during his rage.
Last night's furious storm had blown itself out, leaving leaves and branches scattered haphazardly all across the camp. Some repairs to homes would have to be done too, as she noticed some damaged as she passed by. She neared the cave and saw the vague outline of someone. Just inside the opening of the cave sat Archer's best friend Viper, his pet grass snake coiled around his wrist. He took in her appearance, her long black hooded cloak hiding her face. He tensed and stood up, startling the snake, whose body went rigid. Sienna pushed back her hood and Viper relaxed.
"Raven…"
Sienna merely shrugged in accordance, barely registering the name he called her. The name she was known by here. The name that wasn't hers. She was leaving Raven behind and rejoining her real self – Sienna.
"I want to see Archer. He's still in here?" she asked promptly.
"Sure, but I really don't think you should try and talk to him now. You're the last person he wants to see," Viper said cautiously, his eyes moving over her face in the meek light of the coming day. She knew he was taking in her features, strange to him without her tribal paint.
"I want to see him, so let me by Viper," Sienna insisted stubbornly, feeling a fresh wave of life wash over her. This was her, she felt her old self coursing back, revitalising her veins.
Viper shrugged. "I can't exactly stop you, but I'll warn you, he was not in a good mood before he went to sleep. Don't expect him to want to see you. And don't blame me if you leave there with a black eye. He's that angry."
Sienna smiled. "He wouldn't hit me."
Viper snorted. "Archer's unpredictable. I'm just saying that's what he could do. Be careful."
"Thanks Viper." Sienna moved past him and ventured down into the cave.
Punctuating the deep, dark cavern were iron cauldrons on the ground filled with candles, giving some flickering light to the underground abyss. She followed the trail the makeshift lamps made and descended into Archer's temporary cell. In the dim light her eyes found him, lying prone on the dusty ground. His chest rose slowly with deep breaths, he was obviously asleep. Sienna noticed that he didn't have his bow and arrows with him. They had most likely been taken from him. This was probably the first time since she had met him that she had seen him without them.
Sienna walked over to him and lowered herself to sit on the ground just by him. He was lying on his side, facing the wall of the cave, so she couldn't really see his face. She reached around tentatively and brushed his collar-length hair behind his ear.
"Archer?" she said softly, placing a hand on his long back.
She shook him slightly and said his name again, louder. He didn't even stir. Sienna sighed heavily. She placed her other hand on his shoulder and leaned over him, so that she could see his face. She took in his long eyelashes resting on his flushed cheeks, his angular jaw - slightly bruised after his tirade, his thin lips set back against his teeth, giving the impression that he was still angry, even in sleep.
Sienna stroked his cheek, her cold hand not even startling him.
"Archer. I am sorry, you know. I'm just not ready to marry you. Don't you understand that? No, I don't suppose you do, or you wouldn't be in here. But just know that in another time I would have accepted your proposal in a heartbeat. I would have married you and had children with you. I think I would have spent the rest of my life with you, but that's because you're my best friend. You're my best friend. If that's not enough for you, then I'm sorry. Maybe… maybe it'll be different after I do what I have to do. Maybe."
Sienna smiled thoughtfully and stared at his face for a long moment. Then she bent over his warm body carefully and pressed her lips to his. It was such a familiar, easy gesture. She fell right into the kiss, taking in his scent, and the touch of his lips, and the warmth of his strong back under her hands. For one fleeting moment, she felt him respond, his lips pressing back against hers, gently and then a little harder. The muscles of his back rippled under her hands as he stirred. Sienna pulled back, watching him in the meagre light. He shifted onto his back, but his eyes did not open.
"I do love you Archer," she murmured in his ear.
Sienna let out a contented sigh and slipped her hands off of him. She stood up slowly and pulled her dark, wide hood back over her head. Reluctantly, she walked out of the cave, her heart a little lighter and a smile on her face as she thought of what was ahead. As her cloak swept around the corner and she went back out into the dawn, she did not see those two mismatched eyes open and focus on her retreating back.
-O-
In the bowels of the sewers underneath the Mall, Salene was doing something aching familiar, something which brought back bad memories from not so long ago. She was on her hands and knees throwing up. This time, it was not because of the bulimia which had once plagued her. This time, she wasn't forcing herself to throw up – she simply couldn't help it. Her morning sickness was getting so bad it was difficult to hide now. Completely drained, she collapsed back against the cold wall, feeling just as hopeless as she had back when she was doing this because of her bulimia. Salene felt like she was completely trapped, everyday she grew more and more claustrophobic, everyday she just wanted to lash out and escape. She was close to breaking point and she knew when she did break, the person she'd hurt the most would be Ryan.
Salene squeezed her eyes shut and tried to believe this would work out right, but it wouldn't. She had to forget Ryan. She had to just focus on her and her baby. But how could she do that? Ryan was desperate for a family. He wouldn't let her out of his sight once he found out. Just as she contemplated this, she felt another bout of nausea wash over her, and she threw up violently.
"Salene?"
Salene gasped and hurriedly wiped her mouth. KC stood in the shadows, his spiky hair casting strange shapes on the sewer floor.
"KC! What are you doing down here?"
"Lex sent me down to do check the sewer entrance."
Salene laughed shakily, hoping to distract him from what he'd seen. "Got you doing his dirty work again? Why isn't he doing his own job?"
"I don't know. He was muttering about Alice and Tai-San or something. He's busy I guess… What were you doing?" KC looked at her suspiciously.
"Nothing, nothing, I'm just… it's— it's quiet down here. I'm—"
"You were throwing up!" KC said, pointing at her.
"KC… I wasn't, I was just…" Salene was at a loss for words - he had seen her! What was she supposed to say?
"Yes you were! Hey, don't you have that… that problem? Like when you stole our food to eat and then threw it all back up again? Bulimia… do you have that again? Are you stealing our food again? I'm telling Lex if you are!"
Salene stood up unsteadily. "No KC! I don't have bulimia anymore, really! That was gone a long time ago! I'm just feeling sick is all! I haven't been at any meals for days! If I wanted to eat, don't you think I'd be at dinner?"
"I guess…"
"You'd guess right. Now really, I'm fine, so no need to tell Lex. He wouldn't be bothered anyway. He'd just tell Ryan and then Ryan would worry about me. Tai-San's going to give me a nice remedy. One of her grassy things." Salene smiled in what she hoped was a convincing manner. "Hadn't you better check the exit? You know how Lex gets!"
"Oh yeah! I'm doing it now!" KC bolted off down to the other end of the sewer. "If you see him tell him I'm on it!"
"Will do!" Salene called weakly after him.
She braced her hand against the wall. That was a close one. If anyone else found her throwing up they would be sure to jump to the same conclusion as KC. She would have to be careful, very careful in future. Slowly, she left the sewer, thinking about just what she was going to do.
-O-
At the Horton Bailey Hotel, Spike woke up with a start.
He sat up and listened carefully. He could hear noise outside. He went to the window and looked out into the night, illuminated only by a few fires burning in barrels around the hotel entrance. Two Locos were talking to the night guards. They were Jax and Milton. Spike immediately raced from his room, not even bothering to put on his Loco uniform. Dressed in casual grey pants and a black t-shirt, he knew his tribesmen would flinch at this reminder of dress from the old world. All those who were Locos were escaping from something that the old world had represented – broken families, past hurts, painful addictions… that was why their style of dress was so aggressive. The angry, violent reds and blacks accentuating their inner fury at how their lives had been and how they were now.
Spike jogged across the majestic foyer of the hotel and out onto the steps. He arrived just as Jax and Milton were coming in.
"Where is she?" he demanded.
"What?" Jax asked irritably.
"Ebony!"
"Look, we don't know. She left us out there and told us not to move on pain of death. But we've waited all damn night and she hasn't come back," Milton snapped.
Spike frowned, immensely confused. What the hell was going on? He nodded at Jax and Milton. "Fine, go. Go and sleep. You can take the day off duty tomorrow," he told them. Jax and Milton just nodded and walked off, muttering about Ebony.
Spike simply stood there in the darkened foyer, his shadow reaching across the floor. He stared out the open doors into the night. He could feel the eyes of the guards on him – he ignored them. The flames of the burning barrels were reflected in his unblinking eyes. At that moment he felt, for the first time since the Virus, safe. Safe and powerful. Ebony was nowhere to be found, out of the sector, out of the City even.
Spike liked the feeling her absence gave him. It was then that he knew what he must do. He had to gain control one way or another. He didn't care if he had to kill Ebony. He didn't care if he had to burn the City to the ground. He didn't care if he had to attack every tribe in every sector. But he would bring power and chaos back, and he would rule in the carnage.
Spike slowly raised his eyes to look at the night guards. "You two, you're coming with me."
"But Ebony has ordered that someone should always guard the door," one of them protested.
"Then go get two replacements," Spike told him.
As he made off to do so, Spike turned to go and put on his uniform.
The other guard called after him. "Where are we going at this time of night?"
Spike turned leisurely and smiled at the guard. "We're going to get Ebony."
"Do you even know where she is?"
"Sector 13," he told him. As he started walking again, Spike laughed to himself. "Thirteen… unlucky for some…"
-O-
