She just kept moving forward, despite not knowing the direction. In all honesty, she didn’t even know where she was going. She simply followed the path and hoped for the best. Surprisingly, she found the metallic structure Severin had forced her into for the coronation ceremony. A little humiliation before the queen took the throne never hurt anyone, right? Fucking wrong. She walked toward it and noticed the cracked glass. Blood was smeared over the small fissures.
“Killian,” she said, turning to catch a glimpse of the endless rows of lit-up computers and data-folders. “What is this place?” she asked.
Suddenly, everything felt heavier. There was so much she still didn’t know, but she was willing to learn.
She walked through the cold and empty space, finding a ladder at the end of the section. She placed her hand on the bars, steadying her breath before climbing up and reaching a hidden compartment. Once she was inside, the sunlight from the outside world pierced the metal barrier. S
he reached up and pushed the lid open. She was in the city, the city they’d all fled from on the night of her capture.
“Freedom. Liberty. Justice. Welcome to the New Republic, the city of the future,” A robotic voice we. She turned, ankle catching the edge of a freshly cemented curb. From the ground, she gazed up at the tall skyscrapers. Across the glass, her face hung, suspended in blue. She darted her eyes toward another set of buildings and saw the same thing. She was everywhere.
The city was so different. It was clean and new, but it also felt fake. As soon as her eyes fell on the people walking by, she could see their emaciated bodies, the hunger in their eyes, and a deep concern enveloped her.
Hyperventilating, she wasn’t sure she could go on. Instead of reaching toward the heavens, she dug her hands deep into the ground, but the earth gave her no solace. It only made her feel like a stupid little girl.
The speakers repeated the catchphrase, snapping her out of the trance. She ran across the street and took cover behind a police vehicle. Thankfully, nobody had seemed to notice her, but as she leaned her back against the hot metal of the car, she gazed at a small crowd gathered around a man giving a fervent speech on a podium. Despite being completely naked, she walked forward and tried to listen. She didn’t give a damn about appearance anymore. She was open to all things, truly open and ready for whatever came her way.
“My people! She has suffered with us, heard our cries, and through her, humility, she has decided to help us by leading! The queen will be giving her speech soon. We must be patient,” the preacher said with a twisted grin to coax the people into further subservience.
He was dressed in a similar manner to Virgil, but the clothes were more ragged. Despite given the right necessities, everyone looked hungry for leadership. This place was almost the opposite of Cassian’s world.
Almost.
A man stepped forward. Tears filled his eyes as he collapsed near the podium. He reached for the preacher, saliva falling from his mouth, and begged for an ounce of truth. “The leaders have been silent! What is their plan for us?”
The preacher kicked his jaw, and the mob wasted no time with their beating. No, there was nothing different about this world except for the flashy new buildings, lights, and propaganda screens Rae’s image floated on, endless through time. These people would never get the real freedom they were practically begging on their knees to receive.
Hardly able to handle what she saw, she rushed forward, pushing through the crowd of zealots. “Stop it!” she screamed, forcing the men off the battered beggar. “Stop this at once!”
The crowd reacted with quick gasps. A man in the front pointed and fell against the rest of the worshippers. “It’s… her! The one.”
Rae pushed onto the podium, sending the preacher man backward. “Do not listen to these lies,” she said. “Your leaders have failed you. They locked my family up, ripping my children from my breasts before I could drain even a drop of milk. To inspire your emotions, they tortured and broke me again until I was willing to become less than worthy of myself. And now, I come into the city I once knew, and I can see that love is dead. You worship the wrong things. Turn back and find the people you love. Hold them close and never let go.”
Hushed whispers circled her. Nearly everyone raised their hands into the air, falling to their knees, begging to touch her supple body. “Is it really her? Oh, it must be.”
“There are still replicas. This one can’t be her!” The preacher pulled her into the fray, nails scratching against her arm. She was thrown down before she could say any more, and a group of towering men lowered around her to take her.
But, as she attempted to kick out of the men’s grasp, three detonations shattered the nearby buildings’ windows. All around her, structures cracked open, exposing the wires and framework once hidden. Frantic cries shaped the city as it fell into a bath of smoke, rubble, fire, and death. People were hurt, but Rae couldn’t make out what direction the screams were coming from.
Rae stumbled as she tried to stand. The warmth of the flames wrapped around her shoulders like a heated cloak, pulling her back. Boots clashed against the concrete around her naked body. She was indecent and crude, but all of the hungry-eyed men ran away as soon as the fires spread. The only one left to burn was Rae.
As the smoke spread, she crawled on the dirty concrete, indifferent to the filthiness of the city. At one time of her life, she had been fearful of this place, even thought she might die in the sewer systems. She’d participated in all of that with her own free will, but it had transformed her.
When the nightclubs were the big industry, she’d sought to burn it all down. Now, as the flames spread, she saw every act as an opportunity. If the citizens worshipped her, she would give them a platform to stand on. Maybe they would set her free. Then again, maybe some would use the opportunity of chaos against her. Whatever the case, she had to be careful.
Sirens spread the cause for alarm, and she felt the shockwaves of more blasts take place underneath the city streets. She turned onto her back, covering her mouth with her palm in an attempt to breathe fresher air. The smoke ran through her lungs, as black and sticky as tar. It clung against the back of her throat, threading throughout her body, infecting her blood.
And just when she thought she might be able to hold her breath and find a way out, she felt something shake her. It wasn’t another bomb. The rumbling came from inside her.
“No, no, no, no,” she panted, cried, and frantically patted down her body. All of a sudden, she felt out of control and weak. She could barely breathe through the smoke. She was consumed with flashbacks of the old Dagon.
Within seconds, she was on her feet, tripping through the opaque streets. She felt as light as a feather, floating upward into a bluer sky. A few steps forward found her a safe corner to fall into. She knelt and wiped the sweat from her forehead, lips puckering.
“Oh God,” she whispered.
She didn’t think she could handle any more uncertainty, especially in a world that had clearly succumbed to its inner desires again. Who set the bombs off, she did not know. However, she didn’t question that they were set off from underneath the ground. As far as she knew, Severin still held Vash and Lucas in captivity, but she prayed they might get the chance to escape.
Through the disastrous smoke came a hand. “Get up!”