Chapter 7

Areilla Wakes up

Chapter Seven

Ariella

AC Planet II

Sigma Colony

Refugee Market Camp

Alpha Centauri System

The rain was coming down hard that morning. The warm droplets pelted the top of Ariella’s head as she surveyed the market place.  Even with the downpour the streets and alleys made by countless shops were filled with people.

The scents of various foods filled the air. Behind her she heard a shout

"Hey! Get away! You touch it you buy it!" A woman’s shrill voice barked. Ariella spun to see her brother’s hand in the grasp of an angry vendor.

"Sorry! So sorry!" Ariella yelled as she lunged toward them and broke free his hand.

"Trizzy, you need to be careful." She said. Tristan, or Trizzy as she called him, was only five and new to the ways of stealing food.

"I’m sorry, Ari.  I’m hungry." He replied. The vendor shouting at them both as they walked away

"I know. Me too. But if you get caught stealing you're done for. You have to be sneaky."

Together they walked towards the main street of the vast market.

Off in the distance, where the food ended and the clothing merchants merged with the jewelers, Ariella noticed a man.  He was dressed far better than most who ventured to the Islamic ghettos.  He had a long and slender woman clinging to arm.  That made sense, then. Another rich "philanthropist" slumming it up to impress a lover with his false compassion.  A perfect mark she thought.

At only eleven years old Ariella had become quite the pickpocket.  She turned to Trizzy.

"You should go back to the tunnels. I’m going to get us set.  Maybe enough for the week. "

Trizzy grumbled.

"Aw, why can’t I watch?  You just said i need to learn. "

He had a point.

"Fine, but stay out of sight." Trizzy did as instructed and disappeared in to the crowd. Ariella had to admit, he may not be good at stealing yet, but he sure was good at disappearing.

Ariella moved in the direction of where she had last seen this man.  She did her best to move with the crowd and stay unseen.

She caught sight of him again at a rare stone merchant a few makeshift blocks away.  He was much taller than she had originally thought. His pale white skin all but illuminated the damp, dark surroundings of the area's inhabitants and weather.

The woman on his arm awed over the brilliant stones and platinum ornaments.

"How much for this one?" She heard the man ask the merchant

"For you, sir? I would go $2300" the merchant's voice sounded nervous. This took Ariella by surprise. The merchants of the Islamic ghetto were infamous for their hardline salesmanship.  Certainly not one to shy away from scamming a rich man like this for all he’s worth.

"That’s not too bad, eh love?" The man said to his pet.

"Oh it’s so beautiful!" she squealed.

"It’s yours" the man said as he tapped his money stick to the merchant’s POS.

"Oh, fantastic sir!" The merchant said. "Would you like it wrapped?  Free of charge, of course. "

"No, let’s let the lady wear it shall we?"

The necklace glistened against the woman’s finger. That was it Ariella thought.  If she could get that ring, she’d be set for at least a week.  Maybe even two.  She analyzed the woman’s hand as she flashed it around. The ring was loose.  Just enough to slip it off, she thought. Perfect.

As the couple began walking away, Ariella felt a strange sensation in her head. A sudden pulse burst through her mind like a tiny explosion. She buckled to the ground in pain, but the muddy street beneath her began to tremor and pulse in sync with the throbbing in her head. She felt a scream escape her lips but there was no sound. Suddenly she was on the ground in front of her mark.

The man looked down at her and began speaking, but his words were muffled and incoherent.

“... your parents girl?” his voice finally becoming clear.

The man reached down, grabbing her arm. Before she could speak, her head began to pulse again and the world around her shifted violently once more.

When she opened her eyes, this time she was standing in a dark room. It was cold and wet. It was familiar to her, although she had not seen it in a long time. Her head was still throbbing this time, and the ground beneath her continued to pulse. Ariella began looking around for something to explain what was happening. She heard a scream echo from a room behind her. The pain in her gut returned as she stepped closer to the rooms entrance.

Another scream pierced the silence. This time, she knew who it was. She could remember clearly now. As she stepped into the room her head was pounding relentlessly and her surroundings were dizzying. But despite of all this, she knew this scene. She knew this room, this place, and she knew the boy soaked in blood at her feet. This was the day Trizzy has been killed. As the memory of her little brothers death grew more clear in her mind, so did the intensity of the pulsing. It felt as though her world was being ripped to pieces inside her own mind. The pain was again too much to bare and Ariella collapsed at Trizzy’s lifeless corpse.

 

*****

Ariella’s head was throbbing violently. She was cold and everything around her was dark and blurry. Her limbs felt numb. She’d tried to focus her eyes. A dim light slowly began to open the shadows around her and began to give shape to a figure. No, there were two figures this time. She’d be damned if that cyborg freak got the better of her again. She struggled to move her fingers, but the tingling sensation was subsiding. Her vision was becoming clearer. It wasn’t the cyborg in front of her. It was some… guy. And a kid? What the hell was going on?

        Her eyes darted around trying to analyze her surroundings. That’s when she saw a bag of tools by the kids feet. She figured now was as good a time as any to make an escape.

        “Hey…you…” The man’s sounded strange. Disconnected from the source. Her senses weren’t working properly, but she didn’t have time to figure things out. That cyborg could be back at any moment and she knew there was no way she could take that thing down. She lunged forward.

She hadn’t realized there were tubes sticking out of her arms and neck, and the pain shot through her body as she stumbled over her half numb legs and they ripped out. She screamed, trying to focus her pain into movement.

She stumbled towards the boy, knocking him over and falling on top of the tool bag. The older man moved towards her and grabbed her shoulder. She tossed herself up, widely swinging her arms at him, and then fell backwards. She used that as a chance to kick him in the groin. The man buckled to the ground. She tried to crawl away, but the man grabbed her ankle.

“Hey… it easy! …not…you!” The man shouted with his incoherent babble.

She kicked him in the face with her free foot. He yelled and cursed but let go. She grinned slightly and crawled across the floor as fast as she could manage, scooping up some kind of pointed tool along the way. She spun around, climbing to her feet and began backing up again the wall of… wherever it was she had been taken. With one hand she held the tool low, ready to strike, the other hand splayed in front of her, warning the men to stay back. The older man was keeping his distance now, but still trying to say something to her. Her ears were ringing, her legs felt weak. She was off balance. Suddenly, a sharp pain stung the back of her neck, and for the third time in as many days, her world went black. This was seriously starting to piss her off.