This week I was inspired by a picture! It's been a while, but this one just screamed out at me. I hope you like the update to my Wednesday Briefer's flash story.
Fortitude Part Eleven
Not prisoners didn’t mean Anna was just going to let us go.
Oh no, that would be too damn simple. There were vague comments about returning
our pistols and swords, after a tour of the city. And lunch. And a visit to the
nursery to see they had young thriving.
We found Wildman there.
He was not thriving.
They’d cleaned him up and given him fresh clothes. He looked
sullen. A guard stood next to the small stool in the corner where he was
sulking away from the other kids and teens. A boy was sitting on the floor in
front of Wildman, staring up at him, but Wildman stared straight ahead.
I frowned. “Why is he under guard if everyone is free to
come and go, without any of the smothering restrictions of the cities?”
Our guide hemmed and hawed, fidgeting with a handkerchief he
pulled from his pocket. He waved it, the fabric fluttering. “Oh, just a
precaution,” he said in an offhand tone. I didn’t buy it for a second. “Timmel,
come over here and say hello.”
The youth in front of Wildman got up reluctantly and came
over to us.
“Hello,” Teddy said.
“Hi. What’s your name?” he asked.
“I’m Teddy, and this is Will.”
Timmel looked over his shoulder. “You were with Charlie,
when they brought him in.” He looked up at Teddy. “Are you his friend?”
“Well, I think of him as a friend.” Teddy crouched down. “I
like making lots of new friends.”
He needed to work his magic, away from the too watchful gaze
of our guide. I distracted him by asking questions about the small classroom I
could see set up in an adjacent room. He went on and on about the superiority
of the knowledge they shared—none of it hidden or secret from the citizens like
in the city.
After a while, I’d had all I could stand, and I figured
Teddy had gotten what information he could from young Timmel. I pretended to
yawn indelicately, letting my mouth gape open.
“Ahem. Perhaps you’d like to return to your room for a bit
of a rest? I’m sure you’re still quite exhausted from your travels.”
I nodded. “Yes. This tour was very exciting, and we’re still
tired from everything we went through.” I’d done as much as I could to dim my
powers, acting nearly as biddable as Teddy really was. Anna had said the cities
did away with their betas, to protect their own interests. But if that were so,
they didn’t seem to have flocked to the so-called free territory.
Back in our room, Teddy and I curled up on the bed so we
could whisper to each other. I hadn’t detected any listening devices, but it
paid to be cautious.
“Timmel wants us to take him with us. He knew we’d be
leaving,” Teddy said.
“What?” I said it too loud, and Teddy frowned at me. I
lowered my voice. “He’s just a child. We cannot be responsible for Timmel.
Besides, where would we say he came from when we get home? We cannot afford to
stand out, at all, if we’re going to investigate the nobles on the Council.”
“Not Timmel. Charlie. I mean, Wildman,” Teddy said, probably
in response to my look of confusion. “That’s his real name. Timmel said Charlie
was part of a group of boys, some of the older ones, who lived in the jungle.
They roamed free, totally wild, but one by one they’d been civilized by Anna’s
free territory dwellers. They were absorbed into families.
“But not Charlie. He refuses to stay, no matter how often
they bring him in to clean him up and force him to take medicines. This time,
they have a guard on him constantly. Timmel said Charlie won’t do it—he’d
rather die than live inside four walls again.”
Anyone who’d prefer to live outside with all the threats—the
acid water, the giant birds, not to mention the distinct lack of food—must have
a pretty good reason. It was no
beautiful landscape with rainbows and sunshine driving away the rain clouds out
there. And if he’d escaped that many times, he’d have to know the best way to
get out… and maybe even where they’d keep our weapons and packs. I couldn’t see
him passing up the chance to get supplies on his way out.
“All right. Here’s what we’re going to do. We take naps now.
Tonight, we eat dinner, but stash some food if you can. We’ll sneak out before
dawn, when it’s the quietest. Do you know where they’re keeping Wildman?” He
wasn’t Charlie to me. Wildman was far more suited to his personality.
Sneaking out of the city was child’s play compared to
getting away from the reclaimed building Anna lived in. These people didn’t
follow any sort of regimen or schedule. There were guards, but they didn’t
follow ascribed paths I could decipher. Fortunately Anna had given us new
clothes, even shoes, that were far easier to move about in than our previous
wardrobe.
Finally we got to where Timmel had said they had Wildman
under lock and key. There was a guard outside the door. Just beyond the door
was a light running off a wire tacked to the wall. If I could reach the wire, I
could knock out the light.
Then knock out the guard.
I gestured to Teddy, indicating my plan.
He shook his head.
“We have to. I won’t hurt him,” I whispered.
Teddy licked his lips, and then let out a slow, silent
breath. He nodded.
A surge of energy, from a simple thought, burst the bulb. “What
the hell?” The guard jumped, turning to look up at it. I took advantage of his
back being to me, and darted forward, quickly hitting him hard enough his head
bounced off the wall.
He slumped to the floor, a wicked red bump on his forehead,
but he was breathing normally when I checked.
Hoping there wasn’t another guard inside, I opened Wildman’s
door.
Wildman was curled on the floor beside the bed. He looked up
at me.
“Want to get out of here?” I asked him.
TBC
I hope you enjoyed this week--next week will see the boys back in the thick of things! Now go on and enjoy more flash--cause there are some great updates.
Wednesday Briefers
I saw your comment, on the holiday story, about no one liking this story. I need to disabuse you of that notion right quick. I know I haven't been commenting like I usually do but that's only because I am usually reading while I'm at work, on my phone, and for some reason I can't comment from my phone. But trust me when I say that I would be very sad if you stopped this story. I defiantly want to see how this is going to end up. The concept of a government that doesn't want anyone knowing that there's a better way of life available is so real, and I love it.
ReplyDeleteI'm not so insecure I need constant love from readers, but the comments were so few on this one that I really began to wonder if anyone liked it. Corrupt governments, unfortunately, aren't so hard to picture! I'm glad you're enjoying Fortitude, though, and more will be coming this week!
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