1.2
Around a thick, polished wooden table, six people were seated: Sasha, Yumi, Corvus, Skye, Odin, and a short, frail-looking girl with silver-blue hair and round glasses who Skye had radioed in on their way over.
Skye had taken the visitors inside a massive building at the center of the city and led them down several halls before entering the room with the table and closing the door. The table was massive, capable of seating at least 20, so the six members gathered tightly at one end.
There were no windows in the room, and the table was lit by a light directly above its center that emitted a warm orange glow. Several lights also lined the walls, but the room wasn't bright–it had a cozy, secluded atmosphere.
"Ok," Skye announced. "Let's begin."
She directed her attention to the three strangers. "The city you're in is called Bone Creek. It was established soon after the other cities by a group of people who disagreed with the direction humanity was taking. Here, we use elemental power to its full potential in an effort to create strong warriors who will lead humanity forward."
"I'm the city's head," she continued, "which means that I'm in charge. Why don't you all introduce yourselves, and then I'll ask you three a few questions."
In the brief silence that followed, Odin was the first one to speak.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Odin. It's a pleasure to meet you."
The newcomers turned to the girl, expecting her to follow her Bone Creek comrades, but the young woman had her elbow on the table with her cheek resting on the upturned palm of her hand, and her gaze was fixed lazily on the table's shining surface, seemingly unable to see anything else.
Sasha gulped.
"I-I'm Sasha. Thank you for meeting with us."
"I'm Yumi!"
"My name is Corvus."
The travelers' introductions were successful, apart from the slight dampening in the mood that Corvus's voice had brought on, but the unnamed girl had yet to say anything.
She licked her lips and absentmindedly tapped the finger of her free hand on the table, looking so bored that it was as if she was asleep with her eyes open.
"Introduce yourself, Faye," Skye commanded calmly, as if this kind of behavior was a regular occurrence.
"Hm?" The girl angled her eyes in Skye's direction and mumbled, "faye."
"Alright," Skye said with an air of authority, placing her gaze on Sasha, who had unwillingly taken the role of the group's spokesperson. "First, I'd like to hear a short version of your story and why you believe that a war is going to happen."
He cleared his throat.
Should I really be the one talking? he fretted.
When they'd reached the gate outside, Yumi had suggested that Sasha do all the talking as he would give the least threatening impression. Sasha had agreed, but now that they'd been admitted into the city, he didn't see any reason for him to be explaining things.
"Uhh, we… Uh, well, we made a group with some other people and split up to look for this city. We didn't really know if it existed or not but–"
"I want to know why," Skye interrupted. "Why were you looking for us?"
"O-oh, sorry." Sasha bowed his head. "We… well, this is hard to explain quickly…"
"Did you come here unprepared to say anything?"
Under the scrutiny of Skye's solid brown eyes, Sasha could feel the sweat on his palms and the heat rising in his cheeks.
His throat tightened, and not only was he unable to explain things properly–he became unable to speak altogether. A throbbing red light clogged the corners of his vision, and his heart rate rose as if he was being chased by a wild animal.
He was meeting with the person in charge of an entire city to discuss something so important, and he was doing a worse job of speaking than even a toddler could do.
"There's a man named Silas Black, and we think he'll attack Hoodsdale."
Sasha twisted his head in Yumi's direction at the sound of her voice, and she briefly met his terrified eyes with a smile.
"Hmm…" she added, putting a finger to her lips. "Maybe he already did?"
Everyone was silent.
Even Skye was silent as she stared at Yumi with an indecipherable expression across her face.
Was it suspicion? Doubt? Fear? Amusement?
She snorted.
"Hah. That's the one answer I didn't want to hear."
Odin's expression was grim. Faye looked as bored as ever.
Yumi raised her eyebrows and cocked her head. "Even you guys know about Silas Black?"
Skye closed her eyes and sighed deeply. "Of course we do," she said. "But I know him as Blake, my stupid little brother."
Yumi's mouth opened in a little round O shape, and Sasha crashed onto the floor.
"Wuh–hu–?" he spluttered from his sprawled position on the ground.
Skye chuckled at him. "Yeah, I know him better than anyone, and you'll be glad to hear that I believe your claims of an impending war now."
"You're blood relatives?" Yumi asked, thinking there must be some sort of catch.
"Yes," Skye replied, "but that isn't what's important. We still have things to discuss, so get back in your chair, Sasha."
When Sasha was upright and stable again, she resumed.
"Sasha mentioned that you three were in a larger group–could you tell me about them? Also, why exactly do you think Blake is making a move now?" She was speaking to Yumi now, having realized that Sasha wasn't cut out for the task.
"Mmmm…" Yumi contemplated, "there were seven of us. We separated, but we were going to use radios to meet up again. And I guess Blake said he was going to do something. Plus, there were some strong people he met with before leaving."
"Did you know Blake personally?" Skye immediately asked. "Did he tell you that directly?"
"Not me. But some people in our group did."
Skye chewed on the inside of her cheek. "People that aren't here, I take it?"
"Weellll…" Yumi side-eyed Corvus. "He knows."
Skye looked straight into the spidery man's eyes.
"Can you talk?"
"A little," he slowly rasped.
Skye touched a hand to her forehead and sighed.
This is a lost cause...
"What were those 'strong people' Blake met with like?" she asked.
Corvus tilted his eyes downward. Those people hadn't left any impression on him. Inside that crater in the earth, Blake and his betrayal were the only things that had mattered.
"I can't remember."
Skye clicked her tongue. "Will the other people in your group be able to explain things properly?"
Corvus lowered his head in what she took as a nod.
"Ok. You said they have radios, right? We'll broadcast something to them."
"Do you have a station?" Sasha sputtered, his emotions all too easy to read across his face.
"Yes, we do," Skye replied.
"Then you must know, right? If anything's happened?"
Skye looked a little surprised. "Oh. I guess you are kind of smart. Yeah, nothing's happened. We'll hear something if it does."
Sasha breathed a shaky sigh of relief.
They'd made it with time to spare.
Skye stood up. "What channels were you guys going to use? We'll try to contact them now."