Revitalize - Part One: Despair and Darkness
Quiet. The stillness of the air belied the chaos above. Here in the depths, the very belly of the city, they could be safe. If only for a short while to rest shattered nerves and crumbling spirits. Here in the darkness, the chill gave brief respite for the flames above. Hollow footsteps a mere whisper compared with the raging torrent that carried on somewhere overhead.
�We�re safe here,� came the frantic whispering somewhere behind her. That old bat; Killshandra had heard her mutterings quite frequently during the journey. Thus far little she said was of any use or value.
�We�re not safe anywhere you old twit.� Ah, another familiar voice. Strong, masculine, she had already come to know many of those around her, if only by their voices.
So far, he was the intelligent one that she could find. He was level-headed and occasionally engaging when they got the chance to stop moving, and rest a bit. The murmurings were growing louder. Too loud, and she�d have to silence them again and herd them forward into the dank depths even farther. Was it so hard to understand that their very existence depended on their ability to keep hidden?
No, really, how could it? Up until now, these people had not had to fear for their lives. She often wondered in fact, about the male traveling along with them. Had he seen death before? The likely answer was yes. His gruff demeanor with them, even the elderly, and the way he carried seeming authority was a giveaway to a more military lifestyle. That was good. That�s what they needed now. Though it wasn�t so much crones like the muttering old fool that Killshandra worried for. It was what clung around her legs, and moved about in numbers what she had to assume were double that of those her size.
Children.
What were they going to do with them? What they called the Predicon in her, would say to leave them. That, however, was a load of shit. Predicon, Maximal, they were the same thing. Different only in name, they were simply born through centuries of war and conflict forever deigned to be of separate worlds and cultures, yet always belonging to one. So what then, should she do? Abandoning them was out of the question, just as much as abandoning the one which clung to her legs could never happen. Perhaps the dead were the lucky ones.
�Scytha, if only you knew,� she murmured softly into the darkness, head giving a slow, but even shake. A hand reached down after a moment, gently touching the child that clung to her. �Are you ready to move on?� It was gentle, but formal, the way it came out of her mouth, and Killshandra made a face to herself. It was so difficult to speak to him that way.
He looked up at her then, a pair of green-lit eyes gazing up from the abysmal black. �Yes momma.� The answer came quietly. He was tired. She knew he was tired, but they couldn�t afford to quit moving now. Somewhere, there had to be somewhere that would be safe enough.
Yet for now, they would walk, as she barked out the order to get things moving again. Those that had sat, grudgingly got to their feet again, and Killshandra could hear the grumbling of the old crone. Good. If she had the energy to complain, she had the energy to keep things moving.
Killshandra kept her gaze ahead, focusing on the flares that those in the lead kept with them. The only light in the tunnels, and they sparked a flood of shadow that lurched around each and every wall and curve.
The children were frightened.
It was easy enough to tell, the way they huddled in a group. There was a collective gasp every so often, and the little boy clinging to her clutched ever tighter. They would have to endure their fear. They would have to learn to ignore it, to deal with it, and possibly stop feeling it at all. If they wanted to survive, that is. As harsh as it seemed, Killshandra knew the truth of things. They would die, and die quickly, if they didn�t fight back. They would have to, or be terminated like most of their parents.
A sudden light at her shoulder caused her to jump faintly, throwing a glare at whomever it was that lit up another flare. They didn�t have too many to spare, and the more light, the easier it might be for them to be noticed.
�Yo, Killa.�
Oh. It was him. Killshandra narrowed her eyes faintly in the partial light to get a look. So this was the soldier whose voice she had been hearing. He knew her name, as did she his, from murmured conversation in the darkness.
�Shadow. You�d better have good reason for lighting that up. We have too few as it is,� she hissed, glaring now that he could see her face. The look deepened as the male simply grinned, and leaned down to hand his torch to the youngster by her legs.
�Here ya go, shorty. Hang on to this for me a minute, okay?� He certainly was in high spirits. Shadow just stood back up then, and gave Killshandra a more serious look as he nodded off into the darkness. �There are some tunnels branching off that way. I want to go check it out with a few others.� He could be serious when he wanted to, after all. What purpose would it serve, however, if all it did was frighten all the kids?
Interest sparked briefly, Killshandra gave a small nod of assent as she continued moving, one hand settling behind the shoulders of the child to make sure he walked, even while waving the light before him. �It would be a good idea. I trust you�ll have no problem finding us again?�
Shadow�s head shook quickly. �Nah, I�ll be able to find you no problem.� The light was taken again, giving the little boy an apologetic look. �Sorry kid, don�t wanna get lost or something like that, right?� He stood there a moment longer, however, reaching his free hand to grip Killshandra�s arm gently. �Hey, we�re gonna find it, alright? It was in those plans you found, so it has to be somewhere down here, right?�
Killshandra watched him go, picking out the silhouettes of others as they joined Shadow, heading off in another direction from the main group. They would be alright. She had no doubt of that. There was simply something about that one that let her know he could handle himself.
So they pressed on.
�Momma,� the voice sounded up from below, and Killshandra turned her head to look again at the child practically glued to her side. �What are we looking for?�
It was a question that many were anxious to know the answer to. Killshandra had found some documents, filed away in the gutted buildings at the surface. They were old, almost ancient, even, and in them contained some schematics for the lower levels of Cybertron�s systems. Within it�
�There�s a place to stay down here, Bladerunner. It�s a place where we can be safe.� Although who knew how long it would last? Killshandra explained the best she could, however. She was speaking to a child, after all. All he really needed to know was that they were going somewhere safe.
�Killshandra!� Her named echoed off the walls of the tunnels some time later, causing the children to shriek and even adults to cringe. Though whether it was the noise, or the word being used, would be up for debate.
She turned in a hurry, almost expecting a battle instead of Shadow, as he crashed through the tunnel as fast as he could in an effort to catch up. Out of breath, wide-eyed, he looked at her, before a grin slowly spread across that smug face of his.
�We found it.�