| Phase 30 I woke to someone touching my face; just touching in different places in no real order. I thought I hadn�t given my awakened state away, but I obviously had. � This is what you did when you were younger,� he said in a rough, sleepy voice. � It�s actually the next best thing to a massage.� I opened my eyes as he stopped. � You�re the last, right?� � The last what?� � The last Element. Jesiah, Citan, me . . . and you.� He frowned. � . . . I don�t like to think about that time, but yes.� � Your lap was very comfortable.� He smiled. � You always thought so. If I sat down, you were right there waiting to get in my lap and sleep, if nothing else.� He closed his eyes and the smile widened slightly. � Being an Element was boring until you showed up.� � Jesiah said I was a baby.� � Jesiah�s an idiot.� He looked over to the nightstand. � What time is it?� I�d turned his alarm clock away so he wouldn�t have to worry about that. I looked at it. � Seven.� He sat up hurriedly, but only got half way before groaning and falling back to the bed. I caught him and lowered him gently. � I have to get to the bridge, Kris. I overslept.� � Bart said last night that I wasn�t supposed to let you up until he came and got you himself.� � He�s probably forgotten about that by now!� � Good. Then you have to stay in bed until he remembers.� � Kris . . .!� he whined. � Sig, if you get up, you�re going to have one hell of a hangover and the last thing you need is to have the embarrassment of puking your guts up on the bridge. Does that make sense to your pride?� � I�ll have a hangover if I stay in bed.� � Well at least you have a bathroom nearby!� I shot back. The door opened and Bart entered. � You sound like you�re married.� � Shut up!� Sig and I shouted at the same time. Bart jerked back and held up his hands in submission. � Sheesh! Chill! I was joking. You know, �ha ha�?� � I have a buzzer,� Sig grumbled. � Yeah, well, from the noise I figured it was okay for me to just come on in.� He glanced at me, then looked back at Sig. � You can get up if you want, though I want to caution you against it.� � Why?� � You look sick. It�s not worth carrying around a trashcan all day.� Bart leaned back against the door. � You never take a day off; maybe you should this once and let Kris and I handle everything.� Sig looked between us and I caught an image of Bart ordering the launch of high-powered missles for a simple airship. I was beside him, eargerly giving my agreement to the overkill. I was decidedly annoyed--no, insulted--at Sig for that thought of me being so . . . Bart-like. He sat up, slowly this time, and peered over the side of his bed to look for his coat and boots. � I�ll be okay.� � If you say so. But I warned you.� � And I warned you,� I put in quickly. � Fine. So you both warned me. It�ll serve me right then, won�t it?� He turned to me. � Oh, Kris. On my dresser over there. The headset that�s sitting on top of it�s yours. I keep forgetting to give it to you.� � Oh, well, thank you.� I retrieved it. � Don�t thank me. I never know where you are either. Hopefully, you�ll keep better track of it then absent-minded over there keeps track of his.� � Hey!� Bart protested. � My mind�s like a steel trap!� � Yeah. A rusted one.� I snickered. Bart shot me a warning look, but only said, � The Etone�s in the gunroom. I figured we should talk to him en route.� So I went up to the gunroom with Bart, leaving Sig to get up and get to the bridge on his own time. Billy was in the corner talking to Citan and admiring the large gun that had been placed up on the far wall. He turned as we approached and questioned Bart. � This is a very interesting gun,� he began. � What is it?� � It�s the famous �Machiganater�, passed down in the Fatima family.� Billy shook his head. � What a waste. You shouldn�t have it, since you only brandish a whip.� � Hey!� Bart snapped, deeply offended. � It�s a family heirloom, you little twerp! I know how to use it! I just don�t!� I stepped in, attempting to diffuse the situation. � Most of the Fatima family is drawn toward whips as a battle weapon. Which is understandable, since whips are easy to carry and conceal. Much easier than a gun. Especially one the size of the Machiganater.� Bart nodded once. � Thank you.� � What about the negatives?� Billy pressed. � Whips are thin and easily avoided or countered. What about that?� � True; however, bullets can also be easily avoided and countered as well.� � But you have to be fast.� � When whips are weilded correctly, they�re just as deadly as bullets. Your avoidance speed has nothing to do with it.� Billy saw what I was saying, but wouldn�t let it go. � Prove it!� I gestured for he and Bart to follow me. I had them stop near the door, then backed away toward the banquet table. I searched my pockets, but upon finding nothing, went to Bart and removed his patch. � Hey, what---� � Be quiet. I�ll give it back.� The band was wide and covered my eyes perfectly. I closed my mind off in such a way that they could sense it and know that I wasn�t cheating, then stood and turned my head in Billy�s general direction. � Okay. Go ahead and shoot me.� � What?!� was the chorused shout. � You heard me. Go ahead and shoot. You won�t even give me a bruise.� � Kris, are you sure that is a good idea?� � Yes, Citan, I�m sure.� I heard a quiet rattle of metal. � Don�t be nervous, Billy. You can�t shoot straight without a steady hand. Just aim at a place that you would aim for on an enemy.� � If you kill her I�ll kill you,� Bart whispered maliciously and in a tone he obviously didn�t mean for me to hear. But with my sight gone, my hearing was now my best sense. � Shut up, Bart! Don�t be such a jerk! He won�t kill me!� I heard the click of a hammer being pulled back. So it was the handgun. No problem. He fired and I brought my right hand up, catching the bullet just before it hit my stomach. I lifted my hand and held the bullet so everyone could see it. � See? And this is my weaker hand.� I heard a sharp hiss and lifted my left arm. The whip wrapped around my wrist and forearm and I grabbed it with my hand, giving a hard yank. There was a yelp and a thump as Bart hit the floor. � See again? Bullets are no better than whips, even if they are a little faster.� I removed the �blindfold� to see Billy�s stunned face. � How did you do that? I�ve never seen anyone catch a bullet, especially at such a close proximity!� I shrugged. � It�s a trick of mine. People shot at me a lot when I was younger. I learned to either run and dodge, stand and dodge, stand and catch, or run and catch. The method I used depended on how scared I was.� Bart stood and dusted himself off. � Thank you for sending me into such an undignified sprawl.� � You�re quite welcome. I thought it was decent punishment for antagonizing Billy like you were.� We returned to the corner as Elly entered the gunroom and Billy said, � I suppose I should explain myself as long as we�re working together.� He paused. � I think I was eight or nine at the time. Dad taught me to use a gun and then one day . . . he left. He didn�t come back. Mom had to raise us by herself. I spent a lot of time in Dad�s room, to remember him. � Then once, when I was twelve, Wels attacked. They wanted to know where Dad was, but Mom wouldn�t talk. I remember the sound of a gun firing; I even remember the sound of the shells hitting the floor. Mom went down and then there were more shots and the Wels died. � Bishop Stone had saved us. He was like a godsend. I left with him to become an Etone and placed Prim in the care of the Ethos. Unfortunately, the shock of Mother�s death caused her to lose her voice.� He humphed softly. � Actually, before I went with Bishop Stone, I almost went so far as to sell my body to support Prim and myself.� Bart pulled back in horrified surprise. � Did you just say, �sell my body�?! Kid, there are some things you can get back once you lose them and there are some things that you just can�t!� Billy looked down at the floor and shrugged slightly. � They offered me three thousand G for one night. I didn�t take it, but . . .� I could understand the amount of offered G; Billy was, in a masculine sense, very pretty. If I were that type of person, I might�ve offered him double what they would have given him. Bart couldn�t stand it. � Look, if it ever gets that bad, let me know and you and your sister can stay on my ship. We�re self-sufficient, so you won�t have to work for food and a place to sleep. And I never want to hear you say, �sell my body� in front of me again!� Billy was rather stunned at Bart�s sudden turn. � Maybe you are a �nice guy� after all.� � Why don�t you just come out and say �thank you�?� � . . . Uh . . . Err . . . Well you haven�t taken care of us yet, so I won�t!� Bart spun away and muttered, � Cute, kid, real cute.� Louder, he said, � I�m going to the bridge. We should be at that ship in a few more minutes.� He headed for the door and Elly and Citan followed. Billy tilted his head and blinked at me. � Aren�t you going?� � No. I wanted to talk to you.� � About what?� � I want to know what made you change your mind.� � Oh.� He looked down at the floor. � Well, I�m not really sure. I just decided that I could find another way, I guess. That I didn�t have to go to such extreme measures to take care of myself and Prim.� � Did you ever tell her?� � No. She wouldn�t�ve understood. And if she had, she probably would�ve felt guilty.� � Would you have let her do it?� � No!� � Good. You have a very deep sense of responsibility, Billy, but don�t take it too far. It�s not worth giving yourself up for. Even if you hadn�t gone with the Bishop, you would�ve found a way. And you may regret the decision somewhere inside you at this point in time, but later you�ll be thankful that you didn�t go through with it, trust me.� His eyes were wide. � Did you . . .?� I let out a bitter laugh. � I was only six when I woke up in the desert one day. I don�t even remember how I got there. I wandered around through different towns, looking for someone who I might recognize or would recognize me. I never found them, but I must�ve had two hundred different offers to be a �toy� with a very high pay, despite my age. It was just a little more than you were offered amd it was always men who looked like they had something bad planned for me, so I avoided any who had that look to them. � And then a lot of other times I would be trapped like an animal and caged in a back room somewhere. They tried to break me--they tried very hard--but I wouldn�t be broken. The last time I ever went near a town I was caught and chained to a wall like a dog. The man beat me every day for hours at a time. He gave me nothing to tend my wounds, saying it would only serve to make me more rebellious. My body got so that I didn�t feel the beating he was giving me. Every part of me was numb and unresponsive.� He blinked, his mouth hanging open slightly in amazement. � Were you afraid?� � I was terrified. I had always associated beatings with punishment and I could never understand what I�d done wrong.� � Did you run away?� � No. I figured the man out and pretended to give up. I behaved myself for a few weeks and then one night when he chained me he picked up the pipe he�d always used before and began to beat me, saying that he was only being sure to keep me in line and that he really didn�t enjoy it. But I knew that was a bald-faced lie, so I finally lost it and attacked him.� � Did you kill him?� <--Phase 29 Phase 31--> |