Chapter
VIII
To Whom It May
Concern
He sat on the bench with his head titled back against the wall, eyes closed. Sitting on the bench at his feet was Steele. He gazed down at the floor, rubbing his knuckles, fighting a battle with his thoughts.
Steele crossed his arms and tilted his head to glance at Tai. "Hey… kid… you okay?"
Silence.
"Listen… if any of them… touched you…"
"It's okay, I'm fine."
Sigh. "I know you are."
Grin.
Steele buried his head in his hands. "I want you to know something, okay?"
Tai raised his head and glanced at Steele.
"A lot of shit is gonna happen soon… you probably know what I mean. I'm not really sure how all this is going to play out, and it may come to a point where I won't be able to stand by you. I just want you to know that…" He paused, grappling for the words. "Whatever happens… you're gonna be alright… understand?"
Tai blinked.
Steele shook his head, frustrated. "Oh, what am I saying… I was never good at this... here." Steele reached back and grabbed the back of the cord necklace, pulling it over his head. He held it out.
Reluctantly, Tai held out his hand. The necklace and the pewter pendent sank into his palm. Tai squinted as he studied the pendent he hadn't been able to see before. It was plainly old, and there were scratches all over the surface. The pendent was shaped like the thick outline of a circle. Inside the circle was the shape of a star. Along the outline was a scrawled line of engraved text, long since worn away.
He looked up at Steele, puzzled. Steele gave Tai a weak smile. "I want you to hold onto that. No matter what they do or say to you, there's one thing they can never take from you."
Tai slipped the necklace over his head, hiding it under his shirt. "What, this?"
"No. Hope, kid. It's hope."
He was rudely awoken the next morning to a gripping pain on his shoulder, shaking him violently. Startled, Taylor opened his eyes.
A grotesque alien face greeted his newfound sight. The alien's scarred face was split in a grin that made Tai sink into himself in fear, blood going cold. He sat bolt upright and backed against the wall. It was then his hearing came to him and he noticed the commotion going on.
Steele was yelling and being subdued by Rifien and another, much smaller alien who was looking over his shoulder anxiously. Tai could barely make out what Steele was saying; he appeared to be cursing in several languages. The door of the cell had been deactivated and beyond there was more turmoil as various guards and slaves shuffled pass, accentuated by various screams and yells. His eyes darted back to the alien before him, and it was only then he noticed the alien was clutching a pair of very rusted shackles in his clawed hand. Tai froze.
Steele burst back into common speech. "NO! He's just a kid, you can't do this!" " He gathered all his strength into one massive shove. The smaller alien backed off but Rifien redoubled his efforts, shoving Steele's face against the wall. Steele hissed with pain between clenched teeth.
"STEELE!" Tai yelled, clutching at the wall. "Steele, what's going on?"
The alien guard glanced around, smirking. He grabbed Tai out of the corner and flung him at the floor, catching Tai's arms and wrenching them behind his back as he snapped on the shackles. Tai gritted his teeth against the strain on his arms, eyes watering. "Didn't you know?" The alien hissed in Tai's ear. "The auction was last night."
His eyes widened. "No… NO!" With one strong thrust Tai threw himself forward, breaking from the alien's grip. He ran from the cell, tumbling through the doorway. As he flung himself into the crowded hall he lost balance, and slammed sideways down onto the deck. Panic and a terror were blinding him, filling his head with nothing but screams of despair and confusion. He lay cringing on the floor, not even attempting to pick himself back up and make another flight. It didn't take long for the alien guard to recover; he stormed into the hallway and pulled Tai off the floor, lifting him up by the chain, dragging him as he hung limp. The alien pulled Tai to his feet and shoved him along in front, always keeping a firm grasp on the chain. Tai was bent almost double in effort to keep himself on his feet. They soon came to the great doorway leading out of the compound, and the scene couldn't be any different from how Tai remembered it when he first arrived.
The crowd was massive, a frightening mix of guards, investors, people and aliens of all sorts on various business, slaves, and a mass of aloof bystanders attracted to the chaos. The air was thick with shouting, curses, arguments, screams, laughter, and chatter. The nausea of innumerable life forms crammed in such a small space, all with their assorted colors and noise, flowed over him in waves. Tai and his alien escort were soon lost in the crowd, and Tai constantly found himself being kicked or prodded. The faces were all a blur, there were so many, yet one caught his eye.
It was a boy about his age, facing away from him. He was covered in dust and dirt, and he held himself wearily, as if he hadn't gotten a chance to rest in a week. His short hair was an indescribable color; it looked like a very dirty blonde. The boy was arguing with one of the guards, who eyed the boy with distaste and disinterest.
"Please, you don't understand… I need to check…"
"I'm sorry, Human, but you are not allowed to enter the compound without proper clearance. I don't expect you participated in the auction?"
"No, but…"
"Then scram! Or you'll find yourself inside a cell, if that's what you want!"
The boy turned away, muttering to himself, and that's when Tai caught a glance of his face. Cale?
"CALE!" Tai screamed, throwing himself against the chains. "CALE!" But his screams were lost amongst the babble and noise of the crowd. He struggled against the shackles. No matter how hard he tugged on the chains he got nowhere. The alien pulled him back and clubbed him against the side of his face, and Tai stopped. Breathing hard, he looked up again, and Cale was gone. Blood slowly trickled down his face where the alien had hit him. With despair he let himself be forced away from the crowd. From there the scenery blurred, all attention switched off as he let himself be taken wherever they willed.
Eventually he was thrown into the cold dark of a cargo bay. Who the ship belonged to and where it was destined, he wasn't sure, and didn't care. His knees struck the metal and sent a wave of pain up through his body, jarring him back to reality. Then the light was gone, the door closed. Only dull, metallic blue lights along the top of the walls illuminated the bay. The light shone blue silver off the blood dripping down Tai's face, and on his hands, now free from the shackles but cut and swollen on the wrists where the shackles had been. The bay was silent. He crawled into a corner beside a stack of crates, wiping his cheek with the back of his hand. Light shimmered off the back of hand as he pulled it away. Tears found their way out of his eyes, and he buried his face in his arms, curling up. His shoulders rose and fell in jerking sobs.
It was in this state that the watcher observed, two quick eyes the same blue silver color of the blood trickling down Tai's hand. She observed him from the safe dark of the opposite corner, eyeing him curiously, her soft face tilted to the side. Her long blonde hair hung like strands of spun silver from her head, flawed and imperfect with mats and dust. The watcher crept out of the shadows, cat-like across the floor, inquisitive, naïve. She pawed towards the weeping boy, until finally her presence sparked in the back of his mind and his head lifted up, eyes darting to meet hers.
What he noticed first about her were the eyes staring back into his own. They were not dull and lifeless like his own, nor somber and grey like that of Steele's, and certainly not spiteful and malicious like the taunting eyes of the alien guard. They were soft, reminding him of rain felt as a child back on Earth, cold clear rain that fell from the sky without any concern as to where fate should take them. Though her appearance was torn and filthy, her eyes were untouched by the horrors she had faced, and had yet to face. She looked at him with the genuine curiosity of a child, though nearly his age. Tai sat staring back into those eyes, his tears forgotten.
She hovered there, still crouched cat-like in front of him, watching the tears trickle down. She smiled. She crawled up next to Tai, turning around and nestling up against his side. She rested her head against his shoulder, her silver hair flowing down her chest. She looked up at him and closed her eyes. Slowly he relaxed, blinking down at the girl resting on his arm. One last tear fell down his cheek, splashing onto his knees. Content, the girl smiled. Softly she began to hum a slow tune, a lullaby Tai remembered from Earth.
"Come away, oh human child
To the waters and the wild
With a faerie, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping
Than you can understand..."
