Dark Wishes [Open]

[Damxge]

DARK WISHES

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Premise

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    World War III officially kicked off as a civil war, the second one in American history. During a high-tension election season, militia formed out of the two extreme political parties in the US: The FAR, Free American Republic, and the GR, Global Resistance. Even from the start of the election cycle the two groups became violent, outright attacking political rallies and attempting to kill candidates they disagreed with. They maintained strict “With us or against us” policies and resulted in brutal attacks on innocent people who disagreed with both parties. Thing escalated further when countries from around the globe began to throw their lots in with one party or the other. States were taken in the name of one group or the other, acting now as independent nations within the US, invading territories and growing in number. Eventually the global community saw each party as their own independent group controlling enough territory to warrant military support. At this point, the US became an all-out battleground. Russian, French, English, Australian, German, and Canadian forces all sending troops to the front lines in support or resistance of one party or the other. The battle spread rapidly, the UN breaking down as counties fought one another on American soil, their battles ramping up and moving to their home counties. Even in their own counties, however, civil unrest fueled individuals to join one side or the other, FAR and GR becoming global organizations not restricted to the USA.

     Society as a whole broke down entirely, electricity became a rarity, fuel production ceased, and the world ground to a halt. This apocalyptic landscape stretched on for almost fifty years. People struggled to live, returning practically to the middle ages. And then rose the Anti-Terrorism Council from the ashes of civilization. They fought back what remained of the FAR and GR, recruited scientists and maintained an educated populous, returning electricity to hundreds of thousands of people, running water and food. They returned the production of fuels and through a total monopoly of modern production controlled more and more people, allowing them to join their workforce in exchange for a safe place to live and a reliable source of food. All was well for a time, people were assigned to careers and educated, given their rations and a small home to live in. Cities were built around refineries and production centers, sporting thriving populations. The influence of the ATC was worldwide, controlling every aspect of life, from jobs, to production, to medicine and science. By the time anyone realized their end goal, it was far too late. They had taken an unshakable stranglehold on the world. Children were forced into labor jobs sooner and sooner, safety and quality of life became lower and lower, people died by the droves in factories and were simply discarded. Cities stretched on for hundreds of miles, growing rapidly as population skyrocketed, natural food became more and more scarce, replaced by synthetics designed by the ATC’s RnD teams. The ATC only hiring people from “Royalty”, or trusted families, perpetuating the stagnant Dirt Class of citizen. There was no way to escape the filth into which you were born. You worked, you suffered, you died.

     All resistance to the ATC was crushed instantly, their technology far outpacing the capabilities of any rebel groups that formed. Even a perceived slight against the ATC would have you blackbagged, never to be heard from again. Their military was global and powerful, kept in place by total surveillance, remote controlled death machines acting as agents, controlled from afar by ATC loyal technicians, used to wipe out any resistance in its infancy. This oppression stretched on for several hundreds of years, nothing changed, nothing evolved, the ATC only growing more and more powerful.

     Somehow, however, a small pocket of rebels managed to form. They were crushed multiple times, only to reform on the other side of the globe to make another attempt at hindering the ATC. After years of struggling to find their feet, the rebels managed to put together a successful assault on a secret government development facility used to develop security technology. They managed, despite heavy losses, to get inside of the facility and steal a hefty amount of experimental technology. As they fled, they used a piece of government technology, an anti-matter bomb, to obliterate the facility and much of the city around it. They took refuge in an underground hospital, long sealed away and seemingly unknown to the totalitarian ATC. Here they experimented with the stolen technology, finding one of their prizes to be particularly useful. It was a CATscan like machine that when entered would allow the user to hear voices. Not just a single voice or a collection of voices, but every voice. Several of the rebel leaders went mad while inside the machine, hearing voices even after exiting it, leading them to gruesome suicides. It was from here that the rebel scientists developed software to aid in sorting and focusing on the voices. The interest in the device became and obsession, the seven leaders of the rebel cause became known as the Dark Watch, their army, the Watchmen. They used their control over the information market to guide their men in strikes against the ATC, destroying key facilities, decimating their mechanized army, and driving them out of huge portions of the globe.

     It was when the ATC were finally on the run that the Dark Watch were dealt a heavy blow. While no one is certain whether it was a freak accident or the ATC finally caught up to the Watch, the Dark Watch disappeared. Their armies were left without command and were easily driven back and defeated without their leadership. All of the ground the Watchmen had gained over the years was overturned in the course of only a month. Because the Dark Watch were so secretive regarding their machine and their other technologies no one knew where they were, how they’d commanded their armies, or how they’d known the things they had known. All hope was crushed and the world returned to its desperate state.
    
     Now, hundreds of years after the defeat of the Watchmen, the ATC rules with absolute supremacy once more, their grip over every aspect of life stronger than ever. The five major cities of the world are in a constant state of decay, buildings crumble and are replaced, smog coats the skies, and death blankets the streets. Gangs of thieves roam the narrow streets, overshadowed by the towering skyscrapers that reach into the heavens on every block. They kill and take what they want, hunted constantly by ATC soldiers and drones who are equally brutal. Killing anyone they even suspect of any sort of treason or crime. It is in this dark time that a new group reached out from the shadows, calling themselves the Coded Blades, or just the Blades. It was now, on the hundredth anniversary of the disappearance of the Dark Watch that they made themselves known, spreading dark tomes to the population of the cities. Once one was in possession of the book, all they had to do was speak the words written on the inside cover to summon to them a Blade who would kill anyone they desired. The words were changed each time the books were relocated to keep anyone from cashing in too many wishes. The few who knew stories of the Dark Watch drew some similarities between the Blades and the old Watch, but no degree of certainty was available.

     The ATC were quick to respond, seizing an opportunity in which one of the Dark Tomes came into their possession. They set up a trap for whomever would respond to the call and summoned them forth. A detachment of fifty soldiers and two dozen drone units awaited the arrival of the Blade, only to be set upon by multiple shadowy figures wielding technology no one had ever seen. Only one soldier was left alive, presumably to spread the details of the failed ambush. Since then the ATC have attempted other attacks, but they have all met similar fates. With the fear of the ATC coupled with this new threat, the people have become restless and skittish. Anyone could be a target of the Blades, and the ceaseless hunt for the order by the ATC has spread new terror to the population. The intentions of the Blades remains unknown, as no payment is ever taken in exchange for the contracts they offer seemingly at random.


Players

Damxge (Kaun Sil)

Spoiler:

CycloneCasey (Hope)

Spoiler:

Blondie (Kyrie)

Spoiler:

Tomyh (Dale Harrison)

Spoiler:

The Skooglie (Louis Tomlinson)

Spoiler:

[cyclonecasey]

"OW!" I hiss in pain and immediately stick my bleeding thumb into my mouth; more to shut myself up than to stop the bleeding. I glance around, panicked to find no one had noticed... or if they had, they were keeping quiet.
I pull out my thumb for inspection and cringe as I saw that the cut was quite deep.
"Dammit" I reach across the table and grab a roll of plain whit material; the cheapest we had, and cut off a long strip.
Quietly and cautiously I wrapped it around and around my thump, as tightly as I could, then I grabbed a needle and thread and carefully stitched up the end.
That should do it! I think, before returning to my work.
"Oh no!" I'd bled on the dress I'd been making!
This'll be another flogging!

[LordTomyh]

"Move it, before the foreman get here" I picked up one of the metal stake and jabbed at the bottom of the smelting pot, a old large wrought iron with several large dents in the bottom; the other guys all grabbed stakes and jabbed the bottom, pushing against the container. The smelting pit started to tip, steam and faint smoke rising from the top; I pushed against the stake with all my might, my muscles straining, I was quickly covered faintly in sweat.
"It's starting to go" one of the guys said, I ignored him, focusing on the smelting pot. We had to pour the molten metal into the cast before the foreman made his regular rounds.
"Come on you lazy bastards, I'm not getting whipped cause you're all too weak" A few of the guys shot me a filthy look and pushed as hard as they could; I ignored their looks as put all my strength and weight into the stake, watching the large pot slowly tip over.
"It's a bout to go!"
I drew the stake back, and like a bettering ram threw it against the pot, scratching the metal with a small screech. The others jumped back as the pot, under the weight of the molten metal inside, tipped over. I heard the red hot liquid pour out, and a shower of sparks rose up above the pot. We all watched the sparks as they slowly faded and died; when someone coughed behind us. We all turned to find a finely dressed man, not a mark or spot on him, holding a pocket watch in his hand.
"46 seconds past schedule" He said, not even looking up as he turned to go. "Again. You boys are slipping; I expect better from machines. Maybe I should use your wages to get some."

[Damxge]

I stepped out of the shadows of the factory floor, watching the men working as I passed, a few throwing glances in my direction, but quickly returned to their jobs. I passed a group of dejected looking men and boys all breathing hard, their hands on their knees. I wasn't familiar with what they did, and I didn't need to know. The giant cast behind them, for some sort of machine part, hissed and sparked as the lid was slowly placed on it from a sliding crane on the ceiling. One of the men stood up and was about to speak to me.

"I suggest you don't associate yourself," I said, doing my best snobby tone, but shooting a death glare at the man. As I looked at each of the men, a bluish square appeared over their heads in turn as I focused, showing their names, addresses, and the like; one of them, Dale, looked rather pissed at the others.
Brushing the look on the man's face from my mind, I continued on into the administrative offices. This was one of the simpler jobs I'd have to do, just a foreman.

I entered a small office off of the hall, stepping through the door without opening it, a small red light flashing in my pocket as I did so. The man stood at the window, completely unaware, watching his work force below. There was a crash, a scream, and a hiss, and the man was gone. The window shattered, a massive vat of some sort of molten metal now two hundred or so pounds heavier.

On my way out, I slipped a small leather bound book into the locker of Dale Harrison. I wondered how long it would take this one to read the five words on the first page, aloud.

[Words are: come my dark brother, come.]

[Damxge]

People were rushing about in a panic, like ants when a bottle of water was dumped on their hill. The man who tried to speak to me on my first passing through ran up to me out of the crowd.
"I can't tell you how much I appreciate this," he said quietly, grabbing my hand and shaking it firmly, his bone-crushing grip almost making my eyes water.

"Its only my job, Alvin," I said, smiling and nodding curtly as I moved past him, toward the doors of the factory. Once again, I was amazed at all of the job related contracts I, and the other blades, had been receiving. Lot of people wanting their cruel bosses, dead. Once again, Dale caught my eye, his expression completely out of place in the panic; he wasn't smiling or laughing, as his companions were, at the sight of their foreman dropping two stories into a vat of molten metal; neither was he rushing to help, but he looked almost, curious. And his eyes were on me.

One hundred and ninety nine contracts, and I hadn't been caught or seen once, but this one, this wasn't good; he knew I had something to do with it. It might be that I gave the book to the wrong person...

[LordTomyh]

"That fat bastard finally got what he deserved!"
"Did you actually see him fall in?"
"Nah, makes me wish I had one of those video recorders my granddaddy told me about"
"I wish i could 'ave seen the look on his face as he fell"
I stood apart from the group, not really taking in anything that was going on around me. I just stared at the man as he walked past, I knew he had something to do with this; I had watched him after he walked past before, heading into the admin offices. Unlike everyone else I did see the foreman fall; I had been leaning against the rail, waiting for the next smelting pot to arrive, watching the fat pig standing, watching us. All of a sudden a shadow appeared behind him and he fell through the glass, straight down into smelting pot, just as it arrived. Everyone else was starring at the pot, wondering what was going on, and who had fallen in; I just watched the window, watching the man turn away from the broken glass and, just as quickly as he appeared, disappear.
"Dale! Dale!" Someone pulled me back, almost knocking me over. Brett, my one and only friend here at the foundry was looking at me like I had lost my mind or something.
"The foreman's dead; the admins gave the team the day off so they can try retrieve the bastards body, not that they would be much left" Day off? I don't think anyone's had a day off, ever. I looked around to where the man had been, not surprisingly finding him gone. I sighed and headed with the others to the locker room, all of them laughing and cheering.
I know he had something to do with it I thought as I headed to my locker; but who was he?.
I reached my locker, rubbing the old brass 017 like I always did. I opened the door and reached inside for my small worn bag. My fingers touched something unfamiliar and I pulled my hand out, just in case it was some government assassination attempt. I flipped a switch on the inside of the door, turning on a flickering old light bulb to illuminate the small area. Resting on top of my bag was a small leather bound book, as if waiting for me. I looked to both sides, seeing if anyone was still around; judging by how quiet it now was everyone must have left. Gingerly i reached for the book and pulled it out, flipping to the first page. Inside were five words: come my dark brother, come.
"What the hell?"

[Damxge]

I leaned back in the soft leather of my chair, the warmth of its heated surface engulfing me in a wave of comfort.

"So, Kaun, how'd the foreman job go this morning?" Asked a tall man, wearing an identical suit to mine, only instead of a red tie, he wore a bright yellow one.

"Fine, but really, I can't wait until I get a real job. All of these people are so absorbed with themselves and their own small issues; I've had one hit on a Government official in the last year, the rest have been small grudges and disputes; I'm ready for a challenge," I replied, pulling a PDA out of my pocket to flip through some notes, "And how about your job, a gang leader, right?"

"Aye, piece of work he was, found out I was coming and almost blew me up. Wish I had some of that Government Tech you've got, would make the job alot easier," He said, a hint of jealousy in his voice.

"Hope the next job's better,"

[cyclonecasey]

[Speaking of Hope! )

"There..." I murmured with a mouth full of pins. I lifted up the dainty white fabric of the dress I'd bled on yesterday.
I'd had to unstitch and replace the ruined piece, luckily it'd just bee the sleeve or I might have had to start from scratch.
I gently place the piece back on the table and spit out the pins, I sat still for several minutes, not wanting to stand up because my bruised body was still too sore.
"Hey Hope... Oh! You fixed it! You're amazing!"
"Keep it down, Alys" I practically growled through clenched teeth.
"What? It's a good thing isn't it?" she asked instantly dropping her voice to a whisper.
Alys was the newest addition to this twisted family, only 6 years old and still dangerously optimistic, something that would soon be beat out of her...
"Aren't you meant to be with Kim?" I ask turning to her "Isn't she meant to be teaching you how to sew?" I turned back to my work, pretending to check it over, even though I knew it was perfect.
Pouting Alys walked off to find Kim.

"Hey Hope!"
I sighed in exasperation "Why am I so popular today?" I asked the ceiling before turning to Gale who, very oddly, was smiling at me.
"Yes...?" I asked when she made no sign of intending on saying anything. I looked passed her and notice a large portion of the shop and moved closer to me and was watching and listening intently.
"What's going on?"
Gale fidgets nervously; playing with her hair and gnawing on her lip. She glance back at the other before turning back "We all wanna get out of here!" she whispers, cautiously glancing at the door... the door the supervisors had, moments ago exited.
I narrow my eyes and wait.
"We wanna escape!"
"ARE YOU MAD?!" I clap my hand over my mouth and curse myself silently, waiting.
After a few moments, when it was clear we weren't caught, I continued "You know it is impossible to escape!"
"You did it..." said Kim, standing up in the corner, little Alys sitting next to her.
"You did it once, I remember!" I narrow my eyes at her, also standing.
"Then you remember that I eventually got caught, and that they did this to me..." I stick out my forked tongue, spreading the halves apart and wriggling each side in turn "...as punishment!"
"They caught you because you went it alone!" Gale countered.
"What do you mean?"
"It's a numbers game, Hope! We all escape, split up... there's no way they'll catch us all!"
"But-" I realize in horror "But that means some will be captured and punished, possibly killed, for others to go free"
"The good of the many outweigh the good of the one"
"Plenty more than one will be caught! The price is too high!"
"But-"
"NO! If you do this... you do it without me! I'll not let those like Alys and Paige suffer while I run free!"

[Damxge]

[Dunno, you sure you hit send?]

I stood up abruptly as two men dressed in white passed by my chair, a stretcher between them. On it was one of the newest members of the Blades, Anothony. He'd only been with us for a few months now and was the youngest of us by far at only seventeen.
"Let me guess," I said as a pompous man walked up, his bright yellow tie matching his teeth.

"Aye, you'll be taking his place," He said grimly. I frowned and turned toward him.

"Did he complete the job?" I asked.

"Yes, blew himself and the target sky high,"

"Then why is his book in circulation again?" I yelled, grabbing the front of the man's shirt.

"He placed it before he went for the target, you've gotta finish the new contract, then we'll take the book out of circulation," He replied, sifting through some papers.

"Fine, target?" I asked.

"Some seamstresses, they're planning some escape from a slave company that makes clothes; the guy wanted all of them dead, and when I told him only one target could be selected, he pulled a gun and started yelling. He's in the hospital right now, so he won't be any trouble. He conceded to only killing the leader of the escape," The man explained.

"Alright, get me some clothes and some papers to put me in that factory; what's the name of the target?"

"Dunno, he just said 'they're planning an escape', he doesn't know any names.

"Been too long since I went undercover," I said, grinning. This job was actually stacking up to be pretty good. I just felt bad I might have to kill some poor slave girl trying to find a better life.

[cyclonecasey]

"Hope..." I looked up to find Alys hesitantly standing next to me; eyes wide and wet, hand twitching at her side grabbing and letting go of her ragged clothing.
"What's wrong?" her lip trembles slightly and she looks down at her feet.
"The others keep saying we're leaving tonight... That you're not coming with us" a cold chill ran through me as I realized what was happening, I looked passed Alys to Gale, who instantly tried to make herself look busy. I shook my head; barely believing that she'd stoop so low as to send a child to guilt trip me into coming.
"Don't you care about us?" I sigh and hold open my arms, inviting her to hug me, as she does so she starts crying and begging me to come.
I see Gale glance up smiling and I mouth 'I hate you!' to her.

[Damxge]

"Dammit," I swore, jabbing my thumb for the tenth time in the last hour. Disgusted, I threw the needle down and put my freshly bleeding digit into my mouth. After a minute, I wrapped a strip of cloth around my thumb and tried to resume what I was doing. Whoever got whatever I made was in for a real shock.

"You're doing it wrong," came a voice from over my shoulder. I glanced back at the table behind me, a girl sat at the table, stitching away, even as she watched me. She looked rough, her clothes torn, bruises peppering the skin I could see, a troublemaker.

"And how am I supposed to do it?" I asked, once again pricking my finger, "ow,"

"Like this," She moved quickly to my table and picked up the two pieces of cloth I was trying to stitch together. Expertly, she sewed the gap, a perfect stitch. From watching it done, I learned nothing that I didn't already know. Theory wasn't my problem, it was the execution of the theory. She moved back to her desk, casting wary glances around at the guards around the room.

"You okay?" I asked as she sat down, groaning in pain as she did so.

"I'm fine, just a little sore," She replied, returning to her work. I nodded and looked back down at my own work, the perfect stitching next to my own. With a jolt, I stood, my left hand firmly on the back of my chair, swinging it around in a wide arc before I released it, sending it flying across the room to crash into a guard. Darting away, I headed for the exit, the room bursting into a panic. I was almost there when a big beefy hand landed on the back of my shirt, halting me immediately. The plan was working perfectly.

I didn't feel so hot a few hours later as I was thrown roughly onto the floor of the sleeping room, the beds simply sewn up bags of straw. Groaning, I tried to get up, lights flashing in my vision as a few people gathered around.
"They were faster than I thought," I coughed, blood coming into my mouth. I had no idea the beatings for attempted escape were so severe, they were bad, but not deadly to a healthy person. At that thought, I glanced around at the sickly faces of the workers.

[cyclonecasey]

[Not sure what just happened... and was that me?]

"What an idiot!"
"Did he really think he'd get away with it?"
"At least it was entertaining"
I push passed the other girls whispering among themselves, glaring at Gale for her comment. I reach behind my head and untie the cloth holding my hair back, I stoop down next to him and wipe some of the blood away.
He looks at me; brow furrowed, seemingly confused by my compassion.
"That was a very stupid this to do!" I whisper as the girls slowly leave the room "...especially since there's an escape going down tonight" I add.
He tilts his head and narrows his eyes.
"You say it like it's a bad thing..."
I exhale and run my run my tongue over my top lip, not missing how the guys eyes bulge at the sight of my split tongue.
"The plan is to get out together, then split up! Some of us will get away, but most will get caught" I scrunch up the bit of cloth, now spotted with blood "I can't stand the thought of what gonna happen to the ones who get captured..."
He grimaces, and I'm not sure if it's from empathy or his own pain.
"I'm Kaunsil" he say's after a moment, clearly unable to think of anything else.
"I'm Hope" I reply, smiling.

[Damxge]

The work resumed as if I hadn't assaulted a guard and made a run for it. It appeared the workers had been thrown into the sleeping room until I was dealt with. As I returned to my table, I glanced back at hope, praying she wasn't the orchestrator of this escape plan. I didn't expect her to give away who was leading it right away though.
"How can I get in on this 'escape'?" I asked softly, glancing back at Hope to make sure she knew I was talking to her. She didn't reply for a minute, and a bell sounded. Guards immediately stormed the room, tossing cloth, hiking up workers by the arms and digging through boxes, "The hell is-"

"Contraband search," Hope interrupted me.

[Damxge]

The contraband search was extremely thorough. Several of the workers were tripped naked, just because the guards felt like it, laughing and poking at their discomfort. Of the group of guards, I recognized two, prior customers. One of them saw me and paled. Speaking hurriedly to his co-workers before returning to his job. One of the guards searching Hope's workspace stopped and looked at the girl, an evil grin spreading over his face.
"Off with the dress, girlie," he said, poking her in the back with a billy club. Setting her jaw, she moved to do as she was told.

"Leave her be, the hell do you think she's hiding?" I said, rather loudly, drawing the attention of all the other guards and workers.

"I don't know, but suddenly I get the distinct urge that you're hiding something," he laughed, sidling over to me, his attention shifted, "I figure it'd be easier to just beat-" he started again, but a man stepped in front of him, the previous client.

"Search is over, Neville, return to post," he said loudly, his voice signalling everyone to return to work. As he walked away, I grabbed his arm, stepping close and whispering into his ear.

"I believe a reward is in order," I said softly, "My brothers will contact you soon," With that, I returned to my desk.

"What was the deal with that?" Hope asked, glancing up at me as I sat down, my bruises making me groan.

"Old friend," I said shortly, picking up my tools.


It wasn't long until we were thrown back into the sleeping room, the door locked, and told to wait until supper.

"When is supper?" I asked, sidling over to Hope and her small group, who were huddled around a candle in a corner.

"In an hour," One of the other girls replied as I eased myself down. I glanced around the room, realizing I was the only male occupant, and judging by my craftsmanship, I wouldn't be in the group for a long time.
"I take it that's when we..." I paused, motioning with my hands, "You know, get out?"

"Just after dinner, in the hall on the way back to the sleeping room," Hope said, interrupting the other girl, the one who'd answered my question about dinner, "We pass right by the main gate to the factory, only two guards guard the group of workers, and two guard the door. If we can take them all out at once, it'll be no problem getting outside,"

"Do you have weapons? " I asked, reaching into the pocket of my ragged clothes.

"Only small stuff, needles, some rope, a rock," a little girl answered me this time, she'd been laying with her head in Hope's lap, I thought she was asleep.

"Here, I got these," I said softly, drawing my hand out of my pocket to reveal five shivs, each made of a half of a pair of scissors.

"How'd you get these?!" One of them asked, taking one to examine it, "They count all of the tools at the workstations before we're dismissed!"

"I have a friend in the guards, he miscounted," I said, handing out the makeshift weapons, I glanced around to make sure no one noticed or heard me.

"I don't know about killing them," One of the girls said softly, holding the blade daintily.

"The only way out is the way you make, and the way to make a way is with force," I said softly, putting a hand on her arm, "And if you don't want to fight, you don't have to, I'll handle it," At that, I looked to Hope, "That is, if I can tag along," Hope didn't reply, instead she looked to one of the other girls, a brunette, who nodded enthusiastically; the leader.

[inSYNC, feel free to get the escape along with]

[cyclonecasey]

He smiled and went to hand me a half-scissor-shiv, but I shake my head and show him that I had my own...
"How the hell--"
"When we start to run low on supplies and equipment they send one guard a one girl, usually me... I take advantage of the time it takes for the guard and supplier to exchange money and goods"
I swirl one half of the substitute dagger in one hand and hold the other up to eye level, it was about more than twice as sharp as the ones we used and and about 10 times stronger.
"These are the best scissors available throughout the entire city..." I hear a noise and quickly slide the weapons back where they were just as the doors open and the guards motion us out.
"Dinner time!"

[Damxge]

We were marched single file out of the room and into the long corridor. We turned left and started walking. About a hundred yards later, we reached a massive iron door, two guards standing in front of it. As we passed, I heard the brunette whisper "This is the spot, after dinner,"
We were herded into a much large, warehouse looking room set with long, old wooden tables. I sat down next to Hope and looked down at the disappointing gruel in front of me. Same thing we had for breakfast, just in a bit larger a portion, but still a pitiful amount.
Over dinner, we discussed out plan in hushed tones. Apparently the guards didn't care that the slave workers talked, but if you got too loud, they'd hit you with a club, and not gently either.
"We need to wait until the back guard and first door guard are lined up, and we jump them at the same time, then someone at the front of the line jumps the front guard and the middle person, the middle guard," The brunette instructed, laying out a simple plan, she was nervous and this was obviously her first attempt at anything like this. She looked to Hope for advice, but she just nodded and the brunette continued.
"After we get outside, we can get to the gate and unlock it with the guard keys, after that, we split up and spread out through the city,"

"Don't you realize how many of you will be caught if you split up?" I asked, the small group turning to me, "Look, I've got a place we can hide after we get out, old warehouse in the dead sector," I'd finally made up my mind on whether or not to kill the girl.

"The dead sector? The abandoned district?" Hope asked, looking over at me, "That place is home to thieves and murderers, do you know how they treat a group of young girls?" She asked, motioning at the others.

"Think about it, I've got powerful friends in that area, and the guard never come in there,"

[cyclonecasey]

[I kinda WANT Gale to get caught so...]

I was getting very mixed feeling about this man, he seemed to have too many connections to be stuck in a place like this, and it definitely felt like he had an ulterior motive behind that thing he'd done so far.
Gale looks to me and instantly see's my hesitation.
"I, uh... I don't think it would be safe to all go to one place... If any one of us slipped up, we'd all be caught" she said, glancing around the group "Of course if anyone want to follow you, that's their choice, once we're outside the gate everyone is responsible for their selves and where they go"

[Damxge]

"Alright, your choice," I said, nodding, just as a bell rang; show time. As before, we were lined up outside, in the hall, and marched along the extremely long corridor, the cold concrete floors cracked and worn from countless years of commerce. The walls were also concrete, but not seamless and poured as the floor was, instead they seemed to be panels fitted together. I was at the back of the line, responsible for the guard at the back, and the right door guard, Hope would handle the other door guard, and Gale, the front line guard.
The signal was given, Gale stepped forward and stabbed the front guard in the back of the neck, his yell alerting the others, but it was too late for them as well. spun to the guard behind me, throwing one of my shivs, a dead accurate shot right into his right eye, dropping him silently before turning and driving another into the side of the other guard's head as he made to draw his gun. Hope had already taken care of the other door guard, and both she and Gale looked a little shaken. As the slaves pushed and crowded their way out the door and into the fenced yard in front of the factory, Gale picked up a guard's key and made for the front of the crowd, to the high iron gates.

A few minutes later, I saw standing on the sidewalk under an overpass in a poorer area of the city. Gale, Hope, the little girl, and a few others had stayed together and I had a feeling we were about to split up. A man in a black suit with a red tie sat at a table in the grungy diner we stood in front of, watching us nonchalantly. A few of the girls broke away, leaving Hope, Gale, the girl, and I.
"I'm sorry," I said, interrupting their hushed conversation.

"What? For what?" Hope asked, her eyes narrowing. Unlike the others, she was intelligent, she'd known there was something up with me from the beginning, I had a feeling. I hated people like that.

"I haven't been completely honest with you," I said, motioning for the man in the red tie to come outside, "My name is Kaunsil, that much is true, but my reasons for being in your assembly plant are a lie," The man handed me a briefcase, which I opened and removed some clothes, slipping my jacked over my tattered T-Shirt and the pants over the shorts, which were far too short for the cold weather.

"Then, who are you?" Gale asked, stepping away from me as I removed a gun from the case before handing it back to the man, who simply walked away.

"I, unfortunately, cannot disclose who I am, but I can tell you that I was sent to kill the leader of the escape that occurred tonight," I explained, pocketing the weapon, "And my only dilemma now, is that I do not have the heart to kill a poor slave only looking for a better life, in cold blood," I straightened my jacket and looked down at a glowing PDA I took from its pocket.

"You, were sent to kill..." Gale started, backing slowly away, her eyes shifting looking for a place to run.

"You, yes,"


[I suggest taking one of two paths. One, the girl runs, screams, whatever, and dies. Or two, you intervene and we try to work something out or something.]

[cyclonecasey]

I frowned, quickly calculating in my head. If Gale ran now, unsure and scared, she'd get reckless and will surely be caught... She was a bitch, but she didn't deserve that.
"Gale... calm down!"
"Calm down? He's here to kill me!"
I sigh in exasperation a take a step towards her "When are you going to learn to listen? He just said he doesn't have the heart to do it! Why can't you jus--"
"OH MY GOD!!!" I gasp as I hear a commotion start up at the work house.
"They've found the bodies..."
"sh*t, that was fast!"
I glace over at him, and when I look back at Gale, she was already running!
"Dammit!" I scoop down and pick up Alys before turning back to Kaun.
"Lead the way!" I half whisper with a shrug.

[Damxge]

"Looks like they'll do my job for me," I said, nodding before dashing away up a side alley, the same direction the man in the tie went. The roar of the highways above us drowned out the sound of our footsteps, and kept us concealed from the guards' ears. I heard a loud pop, followed by screaming and then silence. I glanced back at Hope, who only glanced back for an instant before continuing on.
We made it to a subway station, a rathole of a place where the ground was pitted and cracked, the platform halfway falling onto the tracks. One of the supports were missing and the ceiling in that area was slowly coming down. Thankfully, no one was around and a train pulled up, almost as if on que. I slowed down and stepped aboard, Hope following, breathing hard.

"I'm sorry about Gale," I said, "She didn't let me finish explaining," I said, leaning against a standing rod, removing my jacket. I handed the heavy, expensive suit jacket to the girl, who was wearing a sleeveless dress that only came down to her knees. The jacket came down farther than the dress did, and Hope helped her wrap it tightly around her, "We're going to my headquarters," I said, looking up at Hope.

"You're part of them, the, what're they called?" Hope said, snapping her fingers, trying to remember.

"Coded Blades," I helped her.

"Yeah, the girls at the line used to talk about them constantly, said that if the book ever landed in their hands, they'd see every foreman dead," She said, "Never thought you were real though,"

"We're real enough, which is why there's going to be a problem with me bringing you back to base," I slowly lowered myself into a seat next to her, "Unless we're bringing a saved back to base, we're not allowed visitors, so I'm going to have to ask you to swear something after we leave this train,"

"What's a saved," The little girl asked, looking up at me.

"A saved is someone who we don't want to kill for various reasons, we keep them at our base, feed them, clothe them, and have them work for us, in return, they don't leave, giving the illusion they've died," I explained, "I was about to offer Gale the same deal, but like so many, she panicked and took off,"

"So what's this about swearing something?" Hope asked after I finished.

"Words hold more power in this world than you'll ever know, an oath administrated by a blade holds stronger than steel chains; the reason for this is that I plan on getting you an id, some clothes, and a place to stay, not keeping you as a saved. So I'll have to ask you to give your word that you'll never tell anyone about me, or where my brothers and I reside,"

[The building is an old office building, fifteen stories high.]

[cyclonecasey]

[G-glitch... G-glitch... G-glitch!!! Why didn't this never come up in "View posts since last visit"?]

I raise my raise my right hand as if giving and oath and solemnly state "Cross my tongue and hope to die!" and stick out my tongue and crossing one half on top of the other.
The look I received what that of puzzled amusement, and he chuckled lightly.
A few minutes of silence pass before the train slows to a stop. Kaunsil stands and I set Alys down on the floor, I figured we were in less of a hurry now and my arms felt ready to fall off after carrying her at all. She grabs my hand and the three of us set off, out of the train station.
The streets were empty, but I was confident if someone did see us they would assume us a simple family...
After about 15-20 minutes walking we came to an old, seemingly abandoned building, ivy growing up the wall, reaching up to about 4 of the 15 levels.
"I guess we're here then"

[Damxge]

Taking a deep breath, I walked up to the boarded off doorway and stepped through, the wood simply vanishing as I came in contact. The entire building was as grimy inside, as it was outside.
"So the Blades, they work out of a place like this?" Hope asked, taking it all in.

"Unfortunately, yes. Our old base was discovered by Government Officials and we had to vacate, since then we've been keeping a low profile," I replied, Shoving a larger man in a suit with a grey tie out of the way.

"Watch where yer going ya slack jawed-" He started, rounding on me, but closed his mouth when he saw who I was, "Ahh, sorry Kaunsil," He laughed," Thought you were one of those damn recruits, they keep running through here like rhinos," He said, turning back to the window in the wall, a receptionist window filled with paperwork.

"So you're a big wig here, eh?" Hope laughed as we continued down the corridor and up a flight of stairs.

"Not really, I'm two ranks below the Listeners, and the only ways to get into Listener or Commander positions is if one of them dies and you take their place," I said, waving at someone who poked their head out of a doorway, "There are twenty ranks here, each Blade shows their rank by the color tie they wear," I paused, listening for a moment.

"Or by the color of ribbon they wear," Chimed in a bright and cheery female voice behind us. The little girl jumped and grabbed Hope's hand, almost hanging off of her.

"Or by the color of ribbon they wear," I finished, grimacing as a cheery looking girl walked up, "This is Alice," I said, "Alice, this is Hope and..." I paused, looking at the little girl.

"I'm Alys!" She piped up, smiling at Alice.

"And Alys," I finished again, leaning a shoulder against the wall.

"So! Are you Kaun's new girlfriend?" Alice asked, brushing brown curls out of her face. The rest of her hair was tied back in a ponytail with a red ribbon, the same shade as my tie. She wore a beautiful white sundress with a man's suit jacket over top.

"Uhh, no, she's," I started to reply, scratching the back of my neck as Hope flashed a "What's that supposed to mean" smile at me.

"OH! Let me guess, the leader of that escape at the clothes line in downtown?" Alice interrupted me, "Didn't have the heart to kill her eh?" She glanced at hope, shooting her a wink.

"No, the leader is dead, Hope escaped with her and took me up on my offer of coming back here," I said, before Alice could come up with more to say, "Now! We've got to find you two some fitting clothes, and then I'll go see to getting you an ID," I started, rolling my eyes as Alice began to trail us.

"Really Kaun? You're going to take a girl into the laundry room?" Alice piped up, shoving me to the side to walk between Hope and I, "And would Hope like to hear what happened the last time you took a girl into the laundry room?"

"Oh come on! That was four months ago and we were dating!" I said, rubbing my face in exasperation.

"Okay, how about this, you take Hope to get some clothes, and I'll go see about the ID," I said, turning into a closing elevator.

"Wait! Listener Perry wants to see y-" Alice yelled, the elevator doors closing, cutting her off.

"Dammit, what does Perry want..."

[Damxge]

I stepped out onto the very top floor. It was a single, massive room, the floor was solid marble and the rounded roof made of glass. Many of the panes had been broken and boarded up, the rest were covered when the Blades moved in as to keep people in the upper layers of the city from looking down into the room. At the center of the great round room sat a seven large chairs, all in a circle, facing inward.
Slowly, I approached the circle, the eyes of the seven on me, though I didn't know where they were. I stopped next to the ring of chairs.
"Step inside the circle," came a booming voice from everywhere, and I stepped into the center of the ring. No one saw the listeners, ever.

"My Listeners, how may I be of service?" I asked, straightening to my full height, fixing my tie and jacket.

"Commander Jeffery has passed on, we are promoting one Red, to Black," Came the voice again, more obviously female this time. I scowled, there were only two reds in the Blades, me and Alice.

"And what is it you expect in telling me this?" I asked, closing my eyes.

"We expect you to work your hardest for the next week, we expect you to earn the title," Came the voice again.

"I've got over two hundred logged missions, not one failure," I growled, keeping my eyes shut, "I've been a Blade for my entire life, clawing my way up the ranks, and you want me to compete with a fresh blood like Alice for a position that hasn't been open in ten years?" I opened my eyes, the fire in my heart lighting them, "I can respect the girl, but she's failed five of her one hundred and sixteen missions, missions I finished for her," Taking a deep breath, I turned and began to walk away.

"Do not argue with us, Kaun Sil!" Bellowed seven voices in unison. I stopped, halfway back to the elevator.

"I'm not arguing, I'm done," I said, smiling as I stepped walked to the elevator and watched the doors close. I had been waiting for this for years, I was the best of the best, even the other commanders didn't have as many logged missions as me, and each had at least one failure. I had been stuck at Red for two years and they expect me to compete with Alice, who'd barely been in the order for five years? No, this was enough, I was leaving the order.

[Damxge]

Maybe is was rash, but I wanted to send a message. Plus I had my doubts they would actually voluntarily lose me. It was a power play and I prayed they would take the bait. In all honesty, I had nowhere else to go, the brotherhood was my life, I'd never been outside of it. People bustled down the dingy halls as I made for the printer room, ignoring the looks of my co-workers. News spread fast around here, particularly when it regarded the Listeners; no doubt people had already heard about my little spat.

"I need two I.D.s," I said as I swung the heavy wooden door to the printer room open, the gazes of the people therein flicking to me immediately. Two men and three women made up our forging team, they were responsible for IDs, disguises, and other useful nonsense that could be used to infiltrate target areas.

"For?" Asked Mara, a young woman and the newest addition to the team. She gazed up at me from her desk, obviously annoyed that I'd interrupted whatever important work she was doing.

"The woman and girl I brought in earlier, I don't care about names or info, just something that'll pass," I responded, leaning on my knuckles on the edge of the desk, eyeing the clothes she was sewing. Some sort of worker uniform with metal plates sewn in.

"I thought you quit?" She asked, raising a sarcastic eyebrow.

"Everyone knows no one leaves the Blades," I sighed, "I'm just making a statement and the Listeners know it,"

"Alice won't be happy about what you said," Mara smiled at me, the thought of Alice yelling at me too much for her to contain behind her bored demeanor.

"Can I just have the IDs please?" I asked, exasperated.

"They're over there, Frank whipped them up earlier when he heard you talking about them," She pointed to a table on the far side of the room lined with piles of papers, a pair of fresh IDs hanging out amid the mess, "When are you gonna ask him out?"

"Oh shut up," I rolled my eyes as I walked over and snatched up the cards. The images on them having been taken by security devices on our way in. They were definitely passable.

"He talks about you nonstop, Kaun this, Kaun that, have you seen Kaun's new suit? Did Kaun stop in today? Does he talk about me?" She went on in a fake male voice.

"Tell him I'll bring him some coffee and muffins tomorrow to pay him back," I walked past her, ignoring her as she continued on with her Frank rant. Frank had grown up inside the Blades, like me, and we'd been close friends for most of our lives. We'd both aspired to be Blades, but Frank didn't have the stomach for it and took the forging department position instead.

I marched downstairs to the storerooms where I assumed Alice had taken Hope and Alys to get some clothes. I was almost there when my phone rang, a blocked number showing up.

"Hello?" I answered, stepping out of the busy hall and into a side room where it was slightly more quiet.

"Your book has been activated, respond as soon as possible. Dale Harrison is your client," Came the Listeners' voices, "We will take your resignation as a stunt until you make it official. Please resume your duties as usual,"

"Will do," I responded, my shoulders slumping, I'd hoped they might do a bit more, but then again, they were the Listeners.

"The girl is your responsibility as well, do not disappoint us, Kaun Sil," One voice broke away from the others, "We'll be listening," And the line went dead.

[cyclonecasey]

"Here you go, hun. These look about your size." I look away from the mirror as Alice makes her was over and places a mass of material next to me. She hesitates to look me over and I can't help return my gaze to the mirror. It was the first time in five years that I'd stood in a well lit room with a clean mirror, and I never realized just how dark the circles under my eyes were.
"I hope they have to common sense to airbrush away these... blemishes" she says after a moment. "I'm not sure whether we'll be able to have another one made up in  month or so when everything is healed."
"Does it matter?" I ask, my eyes lingering in a particularly nasty, purple and black bruise on my arm.
She hesitated again "Not really, I suppose. But it will look kind of fishy later on if you're covered in bruises in your ID photo. Stuff like that tends to get noticed."
After a brief silence her smile returns.
"I'll leave you alone to change, I'll be back with some shoes and other accessories for you to play with" she says winking as she leaves.
I turn my attention to the dress next to me. I slip out of my rags, mentally noting to ask about getting new undies. I pick up the dress and step into it, pulling it up, and pulls my arms through the holes.Then I sweep my hair out of the way, reaching behind me to zip up the back as high as I can reach and reaching over my shoulder to zip it up the rest of the way.
It was a simple but elegant black dress with a built  in red satin Bolero, a matching sash wraps around the waist and does up in a bow over the zipper to bring in the tented cut of the dress and enhance my womanly form. So different to the shapeless sack I was use to.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Come in" I call, busy trying to tie the bow behind my back as the door opened.
"Wow..."
I spun towards the voice to find, not Alice, but Kaun standing in the doorway.
"Sorry, didn't mean to surprise you" he grimaces, gingerly stepping forward. I shake my head, feeling silly for being so easily startled.
"I was just expecting Alice"
With a silent 'ahhh' he smiles continuing to approach me.
"Let me guess, shoes..." he motions for me to turn back to the mirror, I do and he unravels by sloppy attempt at a bow and redoes it expertly. I look back at him somewhat surprised.
"I may not be able to stitch in a perfect line like you can but I do know most every way to tie a knot or bow tie" he chuckled glancing at the mirror to tighten his own tie. "Same basic principle" smug smile still in place he looks down at me, seemingly just realizing how close he was to me.
"My my, what am I walking in on?" Alice stood in the open doorway leaning against the frame, arms full of shoes and hats, exactly as I'd imagined.

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