Chapter Text
"Wakey wakey, everyone! You've got ten to get your things and hustle, or twenty if you have a shower token!"
I winced as I cracked my eyes open, the florescent lighting above taking the opportunity to stab into my vision and twist for good measure. I resigned myself to my fate, looking around while I waited for the stinging pain to reside.
The Monte Cruces Central Women's Shelter was apparently one of the better ones out there, if I believed the stories of those who lived a more nomadic lifestyle, like the old vets who stopped by every month or so. They would paint the air and dreams alike with tales of brave pilots that danced through asteroid belts and nefarious villains who sought to conquer the weak and the innocent.
I grabbed my jacket from the cot (which I usually folded into a makeshift pillow) and wrapped it around my waist, knotting the sleeves together in the front. My pack, which I had kept under the jacket, was soon resting in it's spot on my back.
Mornings at MCCWS were always a fucking mess; noone wanted to give the staff a reason to bar them from the grounds, so everyone was in a hurry to exit, and it sure sucked for anyone smaller that got in the way.
I kept to the outer perimeter of the general crowd, letting the flow of the bodies keep me oriented and moving, and bearing any bumps and jostles I got along the way. I ducked around a pair of idiots that had stopped in the middle of the crowd, dodged a stain on the floor that smelled of fermented vomit, and finally squeezed around the door frame to make it outside.
I took my first deep breath in several hours, relishing the taste of air that hadn't just been in ten other peoples' bodies. Better yet, it looked like today was going to be warm and dry, since there wasn't a single starsdamned cloud to see in the sky. On the one hand, it meant I didn't have to worry about trying to find somewhere out of the weather.
On the other…I glanced to my right, letting out a quiet sigh through my nose as I saw the line of people waiting for food was long enough to wrap around the corner and almost block off the door I just exited through. And given that the front of the line was about two blocks away…
I needed to find another way to get food and water.
Easier said than done, though. Begging for change was likely to end with someone caving my head in for being 'in their territory', and the next closest shelter was a damn far walk, far enough that I likely wouldn't make it in time for food anyway.
I was left with only two options: either I try and find some way to make money, or try my luck at the nearby protests, maybe see if someone would help the poor homeless girl. It wasn't like they were going to be doing much anyway, since the xenos had that gigantic wall thing surrounding the area they had claimed thus far.
The wall in question towered over every building in sight, as if a giant had dropped a glass ring over half of Monte Cruces. Every now and then, strange shimmers seemed to glint off the upper portion, as if it was baking in the starlight. I knew it wasn't actually glass, since I had seen folks try to break it with just about every weapon a civilian could get their hands on. Maybe that meant it blocked some of the heat?
Focus.
I set off down the street in the direction of the bubble, already faintly hearing the angry buzzing of a gathered crowd as it seeped down my way. You could tell that about half the buildings were abandoned, since their doors had been completely busted in, and some asshat had clearly spent some time making sure each and every window was shattered. The rest had boarded up their windows, clearly trying to ride the storm out.
Before I saw the protestors, I first saw the barricades; walls of broken furniture bound together with random trash and duct tape and bravado, each spaced about a hundred yards apart. The ones furthest away were the least built up, but they quickly grew more difficult as I got closer. By the third one, I had to squeeze through a crevice formed from a few moldy couches that had been stacked just right. I grimaced as I stood back up, brushing what was hopefully dust from my skin, and got my first good look at the actual protest.
The New Resistance (presumably, the old resistance fucked up and got taken) was out in force, judging by the obnoxious bandanas some of them wore. It was…kind of stupid looking, especially since there didn't appear to be a unifying color, so it was just a couple hundred people wearing bandanas of all shapes and sizes. Still, they made up for the clothes in their anger, loud yells and chants echoing off the glass and back towards me. I watched as someone hucked a half-empty can of beer at the wall, the droplet trail glittering in the air as it arced, impacted, and left not a single mark.
Every single hackle in me raised at once: a large group of pissed-off folks was definitely not a good place to be under normal circumstances. I honestly would have turned right around and taken my chances elsewhere, were it not for the wooden table tucked under an alcove on the left side of the street.
A wooden table stocked with water bottles, and only a single bored-looking guy guarding them. Fuck. Yes.
I tugged my pack off and rummaged through my meager collection of stuff, finding an old rag I used for cleaning things and wiping sweat. It went around my bicep, where I knotted it clumsily, then compared my work to the nearest ones I could see. It definitely wasn't great, but it was hopefully enough.
I kept my head down and my shoulders close as I walked slowly over to the crowd, then slid along the back of it closer to the water table. The heat of the crowd was nauseating, a chaotic pulse of energy and bad ideas that were not improving as the star's warmth continued to bake everything it could touch.
I took a few nervous side-steps closer…then another few. The guard guy was busy scrolling on his little phone-tablet thing, and I could see the sweat on the water bottles. They were still cold. My arm came out on its own, just a random protestor grabbing some refreshing wa-
"Hey!"
I locked up immediately, not even able to blink as the guard's hand came down on my outstretched arm and gripped tight. He was glaring down at me now, and his bark had drawn the attention of the mob.
Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.
"You can't have these. They're, uh, for Amos." I stared straight ahead, frozen in place while he spoke. He looked me up and down, then added quieter, "I'm sorry, but I don't make the rules. Amos is supposed to be taking his break in about fifteen; if there are any left, I'll keep it for you."
Can't move. Can't think. Can't breathe.
He released my arm and stepped back, gave me a curt nod, then immediately ignored me and went back to his phone. I blinked, took a shaky breath, then darted over to the nearest abandoned building, which happened to also be the closest one to the glass on this side of the street.
Stop looking at me, stop hating me, stop hurting me.
The inside had long been picked clean by whoever broke down the door, so I crossed the space and made for the stairs, taking them two at a time. I got to the top and hung a right into the first door I saw, shutting the door behind me and breathing hard.
It's okay. It's okay. I'm fine. It'll pass.
The feeling of his hand on my arm crawled to the front of my memories and dripped across my skin, forcing me to rub at the area over and over and over andovera█doverandoverand████andoverand██ hurt ██ ██ ████ ██ ██ ██████ my fault ██ ██████ ████ ██ █████ ███████ ████ He ████ ██ ███ I couldn't ████ ██ ████████ ███ █ can't fucking ███ ██ ███ █ just want to ███████ ██████ ███ ███ ███ ████ ███ ███████ ████ ███ █ ████ ██ ████ ███ ██ deserves to fucking ███ ██ █████ ██ ███
Slowly, the world around me began to filter back into existence, like a fog was relinquishing its hold over me, scurrying back to the corners of both the room and my mind.
The sounds of the crowd swelled up in waves and flooded through the open window facing out towards the glass and washing over me in a riot of tension and anger.
I crawled over to the only window, curious if I could pick out Amos from my new vantage point. Given that it was in the far corner of this place, my view was almost an entire house away from the crowd. Even so, it was still pretty easy to see a large chunk of the folks closest to the glass wall, since there was a street running crossways before the Affini Compact's territory properly started.
The crowd seemed unwilling to get closer than halfway across that new street, and as I took a second to actually look through the glass, the reason became obvious. Not ten meters from the closest of the protesters, almost a dozen different affini were standing or sitting, keeping a careful eye on the crowd.
I had seen the videos, heard the horrified whispers from the vets when they thought everyone else had already fallen asleep, but…this was really the first time I had a chance to properly look at them, you know? They all looked taller than the ones I had seen in the videos, enough that it made me more than a little uneasy. Were they able to just do that, or was there something on Duri that helped them grow faster?
I didn't really know how they worked, clearly. I could tell that each one of them were more-or-less made of plant stuff, but just about every other detail seemed unique to the individual. Even the way they all seemed to sway in place was different, as if the wind adapted to their wills, their wants.
It was kinda unnerving, but then again everything about them was. The way they all just suddenly appeared, the way they were slowly expanding the walls without anyone ever noticing, even down to the way they seemed far too eager to let anyone who asked come into their half of the city.
Not that they even needed to take over the place; that huge ship floating above was easily way bigger. No wonder so many folks thought they were only here to eat us or whatever. It was a rumor I thought about for a second, then dismissed just as quickly. I mean, I'm pretty sure a fairly fucking large amount of the folks on Duri would make a very shit meal.
I remember watching one talk, on one of those advertisement things they broadcast. The affini was standing next to his floret, some girl that was adorned in gold jewelry and a real wagging tail, telling everyone about how good and happy it all was in the Compact…when the girl suddenly ran off-screen, giggling like mad.
And the affini, just for a moment, forgot to move his mouth in time with the words I heard. He recovered in less than half a second, but I saw it. I know I did.
They're just pretending to be kind.
I shifted until I could sit semi comfortably and crossed my arms, resting them on the inside lip of the windowsill as I watched the watchers. None of them ever seemed to carry weapons, which was kind of weird.
Most of them appeared to be content to keep their eyes on the protesters, though every now and again one of them would tilt their head and say something to another. Damn shame I didn't know how to read lips, because there was no way I was able to pick up what they were saying through however thick the glass was and an angry mob.
One of them, a more feminine one covered in light purple flowers and wearing one of those large brimmed hats that old folks wear, suddenly turned and seemed to glide over to two others that were resting in the shade of the building directly opposite mine. Her hat wobbled and bobbed as they talked, she nodded a few times, then unraveled herself and slipped into the house itself. After a few seconds, one of the other two walked over to take her original place in the watchers, and that was that.
tap.
It was kind of a shame, too; she (if the affini was a 'she', anyway) looked kind of…pretty, I guess. The other ones were also nice, but that one was just…she looked almost ethereal.
tap tap.
I frowned, then leaned out of the window slightly, taking care not to catch myself on the broken glass. There was a weird…noise. Quiet, too. And it wasn't coming from the crowd- at least, I don't think it was. It sounded like it was coming from right in front of me, but there was just empty street below, and nothing on this side of the building was loose.
tap tap tap.
My eyes, which had remained fixed below me, widened in dawning realization.
tap tap tap tap.
They dragged themselves slowly across the empty street to the pristine glass-
tap tap taptaptap.
-Up the wall of the building across from me-
tap tap.
-and came to rest on a window that happened to be only a foot to the left of my own.
And from inside, that same affini gave me a cheery wiggle of her fingers.