*~8~*

The First Meeting

 

"Ms. Tates?" 1 raised a curious brow when Azure's face drained of all natural color.

"I-I'm sorry. Wh-What did you ask?" She knew very well what he asked. But she couldn't risk the suspicion of her knowledge behind her hesitation.

"I asked 'What do you know about the UnderGrounders?'" 1 repeated, his dark brown eyes narrowing.

"The UnderGrounders...? You mean those filthy creatures that live beneath us? I don't know much about them, sirs..." Azure looked like she was pondering. "All I know is what I've heard from the children..."

"What have you heard?" He glared. From the corner of Azure and 1's eye, they both noticed 2 slump down in his seat and look sadly at the table.

"I've heard that the people who live UnderGround aren't people at all. They are just dark shadows that never eat, never sleep, never breathe." She remembered hearing those who ignore her talk about it often. "I heard that if you get sent down there, you become shadows just like them. And that's why you should follow all of the laws and live a good normal life." Azure put on the same innocent act she always put on.

1 nodded. "Good kid." Was all he muttered. His tone returned to it's normal angry sounding pitch. "All right, Ms. Tates, you're excused. Go home." He said bluntly.

2 watched Azure's every move as she put on a fake smile and walked out. The door shut behind her and 2 felt sick. "So that's what the citizens believe the UnderGrounders are?" His sad voice asked, knowing the answer. He felt his heart sink.

1 simply frowned in reply. "That's what they should believe. Remember 2, they all deserve to be shadows. They all deserve to be killed. Or did you forget that, 2?" His eyes burned into the fragile 2.

2's heart couldn't take much more. But he had to fight back those tears. "N-No, Mr. 1..."

 

*~/~*

 

Azure had her back on the door. She clutched her chest as she felt her heart hammer against it. She almost told them everything. She didn't want to be a shadow. She truly didn't. She loved her life. She was grateful she even had a life.

She caught her breath and wandered down the hallways feeling sick. When she got outside, she took in the air. The bus driver opened the door and glared at her. She looked at him and tilted her head. "You don't have to drive me, Mr. Bus Driver Sir."

He growled. He shut his door immediately and drove away. Anger was another common response for a citizen with a unique name. But it wasn't so bad nowadays. It used to be way worse. But since the Adair Incident... Azure shuttered at the thought. She was there the day he attacked someone. After he got sent away, kicking and screaming, everyone looked to her and 1 told everyone to let up just a little on the mistreatment.

Azure sighed and shook off any unhappy memories. Her ride had driven away. She had no choice but to walk home. And she did. Passing people who glared at her, and some who tried to trip her. Azure soon got annoyed and decided to take a "different route" home. She cut through two major apartment buildings and headed into the ally ways. Citizens weren't allowed in there. But no one noticed her go through.

She walked and walked, the tall dark walls of the huge towers hovering over her in a threatening manor, and continued further into the darkness. The buildings were so large, the sun was blocked from the ally. It seemed like night. She was halfway hom when something... odd happened.

"Ow, watch it!"

She yelped hearing a voice in the darkness.

"Get off my foot, girlie!" Snapped the voice.

Azure gasped and shrieked. She saw nothing. She looked around and stepped backwards. She bumped up against something in the middle of the ally pathway.

"Hey!" She heard a more higher pitched voice this time.

Azure yelped once more and her eyes grew to the size of the sun. Voices? In an empty ally way? Not possible! And then she saw a sign of movement. A mere swish of a darker color in this already dark path. It was a hand reaching out for her.

"Shh..." Said the hand on her shoulder. She saw nothing. Just... Then she gasped. Just shadows! She screamed. He covered her mouth. Reaching for her, she stepped out of his grasp and tried to run. UnderGrounders... This was too much. She needed to tell someone!

But the shadow grabbed her. "Stupid, Surface Dweller. I said shh!" He pulled her to him. And then, she saw nothing but pure back. She felt a hand wrap around her arms and one cover her mouth. She couldn't see. The entire world had turned to night instantly.

And everything became silent too. She only heard breathing that wasn't her own. Everything was still. The shock of these... shadows... was too much for Azure.

"I heard voices this way." A deep, rough voice echoed through the ally.

"Move. Don't let those intruders get away." Another one shouted.

"To come to our city is one thing. But to come during the day. That's just stupid." A lighter pitch growled.

Azure wanted to scream. No one had ever taught her to fight. No one ever taught her to be brave. No one ever taught her muchof anything in her life. She couldn't protect herself...

She tried to see anything at all. The hand covering her mouth was warm and felt like the flesh of a human. The arm restraining her arms and body was holding her gently. Not rough or cruel. When she began to analyze her position more Azure didn't know how much trouble she was really in. All she knew was that strangers were roaming the city, and men who sounded pretty strong were after them.

The voices and shouts diminished after a few minutes. And left Azure and them in silence.

The shadow who grabbed her released her mouth only. "That was close, girlie. You gotta learn to be more quiet." His voice was soft and scratchy. She couldn't see the face of the person who held her beneath this dark force covering the both of them.

Not much, but light was forced back into Azure's eyes. She adjusted her eyes and looked around. She only saw a faint figure with slight curves that were a little like Azure's.

"You're okay, right?" A small female voice asked.

The male voice behind her groaned. "I think so. She hurt me when she stepped on my foot. But no permanent damage." He muttered in reply.

"I wasn't asking you, Ea!" She snapped. "I saw the way you grabbed her! You don't need to be so rough with Utopians." Her eyes turned sympathetic to Azure. "You're okay, aren't you? My idiot brother didn't hurt you, did he?" Darkness pooled at her feet and without it surrounding her she looked and sounded human. Azure could just barely make out her facial features. A pair of very dark eyes, a nose in the center of her face, and a mouth in the shape of a frown. Normal human features. Not... monster-like.... at all.

"I-I..." Azure's face flushed and she wasn't sure how to reply.

"You scared the hell out of her, Ea." Aina glared at him and he felt her burn through him as the darkness grew even darker.

"I think that's the least of our problems, Aina. Damn. What the hell was I thinking? She's a Utopian! She'll report us as soon as we leave. Those b******s are looking for any reason to chase after us. This will just give them a chance to." He growled back at her and looked at both of the two girls.

"So what do we do?" Aina said suddenly frightened.

Ea thought for a minute, all of them heard nothing. Then Ea spoke up again. "What's your name, girlie?"

"Uh... A-Azure..." She replied.

"Well, Azure..." He thought and then grinned. "How would you like to keep a secret for us?"

"A-A secret?"

"Yes. You can't tell anyone you saw us. It's against the rules to tell anyone anything about us. It's like a game." He told her, speaking to her as though she were a child.

Azure backed away from him and shook her head. "I-I... I... I..." Then she turned and began to run.

"Crap! Aina, stop her!" Aina nodded and bolted after her.

Azure couldn't run very fast. That was one of her downfalls. She was good at most other things. But when it came to running... That's not a very good thing when you are trying to escape. Aina swiftly tackled her down and forced her arm behind her back. Azure yelped. "Be quiet, Azure. Please... I don't want to hurt you. But we can't have you telling those big mean men about us. We'll all be in trouble." She tried to coax Azure in a gentle voice to make her reconsider speaking out.

"They have to know! They have to know!" Azure yelled.

Ea knelt down beside where Aina had her pinned. "No they don't. Not a single soul besides us three need to know." He spoke so calmly. He was better at coaxing a frightened child than Aina was. Especially one now crying and trying to escape.

"There's nothing you can do to stop me!" She shouted back, salt tasting tears rolling down her cheeks.

His reached into his back pocket and pulled ou a cloth. Then reaching in the bag at his side, he pulled out a little bottle and poured some of the liquid onto the cloth. "This is normally a last resort." He told her. "I'm really sorry, but we have to, Azure. You won't listen to reason."

"Wh-What are you saying?" Her bottom lip quivered.

"I'm afraid I can't let you go home, little miss." She tried to escape. Thrashing herself side to side. Aina's grip just got tighter. The cloth went over her mouth and nose. She gasped and then begun to feel light headed. Her vision became blurry and her body became weak. She wasn't thrashing about anymore and Aina let go of her. She stepped back and stared at the girl who was trying to get up off of the alley's hard, cold surface. She slid back down and watched as those dark shadows moved over her. And then, she felt and saw nothing.

Reviews

[GoodIntentiionz]

Another "filling" chapter, for transition between scenes. Hmm... what will the UnderGrounders do with Azure?

Overall, a mostly well-written chapter, it kept me interested, The mysterious Council is intriguing.

Keep on writing!