WARBRINGERS: Revenge and Revolution

SCREAMS OF A MOTHER

SULIANA

PRESENT DAY:

THE SILENCE of the night was broken by the screams of a mother. It was loud, phlegmy, and haunting. The stray dogs lurking in the dark alleys looked up at the full yellowish moon and howled as soon as they heard.

Gon, on the other hand, yelled, “Hide!” to Suliana.

Gon pulled her in a dark alleyway between an abandoned building and a big shoe shop. It wasn’t a long alley so they can’t walk further, but it was good that the shadows hid them from sight. Suliana’s chest was heaving with alarm, her sweaty hands clutching the basket full of papers.

“Gon…”

“Shhh,” Gon said. The alleyway was so narrow that it seemed as if he was pining her on the wall. His hands to both of her sides, his handsome face a few inches away from hers. She stared at Gon and saw how beautiful he was, his face bathed by the glow of the moon.

Then, Suliana heard the footsteps. And she could no longer think of how gorgeous Gon was.

Suliana almost jumped when she saw a man tripped while running on the street. He was a krill, for he was wearing a smock caked in dirt. He was sweaty and bloody. An arrow pierced through that meat under his arm.

“Don’t kill him, please! Don’t kill my akiro! Don’t kill him, he’s not a naseri… he doesn’t sell lamend!” an unseen woman wailed. “Please, have mercy…”

They heard a couple of footsteps again and soon; they saw soldiers approached the krill. Jaider was one of those soldiers. She knew Jaider because he’s a famous soldier, mostly because of his good looks. He kicked the beaten krill on the head, making sure his head will smack on the ground. The krill groaned.

Suliana winced. She looked at Gon and she saw he’s staring at the krill, tears welling in his eyes.

“You bitchy boy? Thought you could run, eh?” said Jaider.

“Please, sir, please. He is not a naseri, please,” said the woman. Her voice louder now. She was nearer. “He is just a young man, please. Please don’t kill him, sir, please…”

Jaider spat on the krill, looked in the direction to which they came from. He was probably staring at the woman, who was the krill’s amir. “Make that noisy b***h shut up.”

One of the soldiers walked back towards that direction and soon they heard a slap, followed immediately by a cry. Suliana closed her eyes for a while, her heart so heavy.

“Don’t hurt my amir!” said the krill with fury. “You f*****g cowards! Don’t you f*****g lay a hand on her!”

“Oh, yeah?” said Jaider, pulled the hair of the krill. Jaider grinned maniacally. “She is guilty of obstruction of justice, that whiny b***h of a mom of yours. Kobold, slap the b***h one more time! Make her face bleed!”

Another slap was heard. The cries of the woman went on. Suliana could feel Gon shaking. She looked at him and she saw that his face was red in anger, his teeth slightly clashing.

“You f*****g heartless monsters!” The krill yelled. He was crying now. He was about to get up to go to his mother when Jaider kicked him again. He went to the ground once more.

“We are not monsters, you scum. You are the monster. King Doroteo wants you all dead,” said Jaider. He raised the ax that he was holding.

“Nooooo!” the unseen mother screamed. “Please, noooo! He is not a naseri! Please, please, put him in jail first, he needs a trial, please… please…”

Jaider looked in the direction of the mother, licked his lips, and grinned. “Jail your t**s, you f*****g bitch.”

“Look away,” Gon whispered to her. And Suliana did.

“No, no, no, sir noooo!”

She heard a juicy thunk as Jaider finally lowered his ax. Then a few seconds of haunting silence…

After then the mother of the krill screamed. She screamed so loud and long it sounded as if she was going insane. Suliana was still not looking, tears streaming heavily on her cheeks. She could feel Gon’s tears dripping on her shoulders, too. She knew they were both shaking now.

“Help me drag the body, Kobold,” she heard Jaider said. “Let’s put it where everybody can see it so it can be a warning to all naseris.”

They heard the soldiers grunt as they dragged the corpse of the krill.

“Hey we left a part of his scalp,” one soldier said.

“Leave it,” Jaider said with glee.

A few moments more and the night was deceptively peaceful once again. Suliana looked at the street and she saw the trail of blood. She looked at Gon and held his face with one hand, holding the basket of papers with the other.

“Do you know him?”

Gon nodded. “I know him,” he said, his voice almost a squeak. “He’s Mastaro’s brother. He’s not my friend but…” Gon kept on crying. “But I know him and it tears me apart.”

“The soldiers are monsters,” Suliana said. “They’re… they’re not human.” She rested her head on Gon’s shoulders. “But they’re like that…”

“Because of the king,” said Gon.

Suliana pulled away and looked at Gon. His face was still awashed with tears. But there was an unmistakable glimmer of hatred in his sore eyes.

“They do that because of the king. They told me, whatever they do, the king will defend them,” said Gon. “King Doroteo is the real monster.”

Suliana nodded, she took out a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped Gon’s face. He let her. “We’re going to bring him down, Gon. We’re going to bring him down.”

Gon nodded. “Let’s go home. We shouldn’t do our initial plan tonight. We didn’t know there’d be a hunting. It’s too dangerous.”

A “hunting” is a night where soldiers would wander the streets of Cantata to arrest the drug traders (naseris)--or to be more accurate, slaughter them.

“Okay,” said Suliana.

In the papers she was carrying, she’d written the truth about Camia’s death. She wrote there that the soldiers killed and raped Camia, not the Millos. Their plan was to post the papers to the walls of the houses of Cantata at midnight when everyone was sleeping. Obviously, with the hunt ongoing, the plan would be impossible to execute.

“I am going to look if it is already safe,” Gon said. “Then, we’re going to run to your house as fast as we can.”

Suliana nodded. “Okay.”

Gon peered outside the alley, looked from left to right before turning to her. “There’s no more soldiers. There is a lot of blood in the ground though. Just look ahead and don’t look down, okay? Don’t look down.”

Suliana nodded. “Okay.”

Gon outstretched his hand. “Take my hand.”

She took it. And she felt a little bit better. The biting cold was warmer.

“On my count, we’ll run. One, two, three, run!”

And they did, ran as fast and as quiet as they can while holding each other’s hands. The air blowing through her hair and skirt, his hand, warm and sweaty with tension against her skin. They ran without stopping with the fear that the soldiers would see them. Not that they would hurt them--they’re not suspected naseris--but if they see the papers, they might or they will.

When they reached her house, both of their hands were on their knees as they were catching their breath. They stared at each other while doing so and how she wished Gon would kiss her. How she wished he’d take some of the pain away.

“Go now,” said Gon. “Before your akir wakes up.”

There was a rope tied on the foot of her bed that was pushed near the window. It was the rope she used to climb down the house since the door was locked and the keys were in his father’s room. It was a blue rope, so it would look as if it will dissolve with the colors of the night.

“We’ll have another plan, Gon,” Suliana said. “We will think of a way to make everything right in Cantata.”

Gon nodded. “We will.”

“Please be careful,” Suliana said.

“I will. Please climb now. I can’t leave unless I know you’re safe in your room.”

Suliana almost smiled at that but she stopped herself. She looked at the rope and effortlessly used it to climb back to the window, using the knots on the rope to push herself up. When she managed to get back inside her room, she pulled the swinging rope up. Gon was still looking up at her, his face and his gray hair pale under the moonlight. He waved at her and soon walked away. She stood there and watched.

Take care Gon. Because I just realized this could be a bloody battle… and I can’t do this without you.