Firedown Sun

Being in the dark gets old really fast. Sitting gets old even faster. So I got to my feet and started wandering around wherever I was. It was probably Asrid's basement, hence all the dust and mold. After a while, though- like three or four hours- I got so used to the smell that I couldn't even figure out if it had ever been there at all. Maybe I'd just imagined it.

Baine became my little flashlight, which I thanked him for, and the first thing we discovered was the "sack" of cookies. I remembered the warning, to only eat them when I was hungry. I'd never had my after-school snack, and it was probably hours past dinner...

In other words, I WAS STARVING. I ripped open the sack and wolfed three down in a matter of seconds. I tried to control myself, but I guess being in a dark, unfamiliar basement just makes you a little crazy. Baine bobbed in the air by my head, clicking disapprovingly as I ate half the amount of cookies in my sack.

"I'll save the rest for later," I told him, ignoring the complaints my stomach was still giving me. "Come on, Baine. Let's find a light-switch or something."

*

The light streamed painfully into my eyes as I opened them. I groaned and rolled over, hearing Baine jump up and down on the concrete floor with a metallic clang.

"What is it, huh?"

He pushed something toward me. My cookie sack.

"Yes, I know, Baine. It's all gone. All gone... gosh, how did I eat them all already?" I sighed and crumpled up the towel and threw it into one of the corners. Well, I tried, anyway. I was weak with lack of food and the sudden interruption to my nap, thanks to Baine. But the food problem wasn't his fault. I'd eaten them all. He'd tried to stop me.

That plan had failed miserably. Because I was stuck with an empty stomach again.

I moved over to the wall and picked up the permanent marker I'd found when I stumbled upon the light-switch. I'd gathered a pile of useful things for my solitude. Who knew how much longer it would last? I had a blanket- it had gotten really cold earlier, but now it had warmed up again, probably because it was morning by now- and a fluffy pillow with mold growing on one side. I kept that side facing the floor. I also had a few books with yellowed pages that I knew could keep my company if I got bored. At this point, I was too bored to BE bored. Then there was the marker. It was my only way of keeping track of time.

I made a tally next to the last one I'd made, counting them all up and trying to calculate in my head what that would make the time. Eighteen slashes, eighteen hours. Alright. I hadn't been trapped a whole day, then. That was comforting. It had been about three thirty in the afternoon when I fell down here. So... it was...

Nine thirty in the morning.

I let out another exhausted sigh, falling onto my back and staring up at the light-bulb. It hurt my eyes, but at that point, it was nothing compared to the monster tearing me apart from the inside.

"Hunger the Dreaded Monster," I laughed. "Hunger's coming to get me, Baine. What am I going to do?"

"Sheee... reeemee, tooo...."

"Do you think anyone will find me?"

Baine flipped in the air and struggled to say something. I sat up, nearly blacking out when my head pounded with the quick movement. I'd have to remember not to do anything too fast, or else I'd be laying down face first, unconscious for real this time. I'd fallen asleep many times already, but only to be woken up every forty five minutes or so.

I focused on Baine's humming. He came close to me, clucking slowly, "Loo, loo.... nee.... loo, loo, nuh. Loooooonn."

"Lune?" I shook my head sadly. "No, Lune won't rescue me. He doesn't know I'm here. Maybe he doesn't even care if I'm gone. He might be glad I'm not there to trouble him or either of his stupid parents. No, he won't come. That I know."

Baine made a disagreeing noise and settled in my lap, humming, "Ess........ hee, ess, yoooo, eeen.... Loooon?"

"Yes, Lune. What about him?"

"Yirreee... moooo, shree?"

I sighed. "I don't know what you're saying, Baine."

His lights flickered on and off madly, and he kept nudging me, kept keeping me from falling asleep. "Mooo, shree!" he said over and over. "Mooo, shree, moo... shree! Loooon!"

"Well, if you want me to believe Lune's going to come rescue me so badly, why don't you prove it? Huh? Can you prove he actually cares about me enough to come find me? I don't think so!"

But Baine was a robby, and he followed orders. So he was determined to prove it.

A little Telo screen popped up among his flashing green and red lights, making me jump. At first, all I could hear was static, and nothing visible showed. But within seconds, Lune's voice came through, and soon, I was watching a scene happening what seemed to be in the middle of the city, not too far from where I sat crouched underneath Asrid's house.

*

"Lune, behind you!"

Lune twisted around, using his momentum to knock down the police officer with his Groo. He was sweating, and the morning sun didn't exactly help. Almost all of the snow was gone, like Leirre had promised.

But had he mentioned there would be an ugly battle for Kitten's life today?

No, Lune figured no one had counted on that.

"Hexa, follow me! She's got to be around here somewhere, or there wouldn't be so many police around!"

Hexa crouched low to the ground as an officer reached out to grab her, whipping her Groo around and behind to knock his feet out from under him.

The girl's good, Lune thought. VERY good.

Hexa stood but caught sight of something she didn't like over Lune's shoulder. Breathing hard from all this running and attacking, she warned, "Incoming."

The moment Lune spun around, he was met with two armed Peacemakers. It was an unfair fight of course, being two against one, and these men had had more time to practice than just a day and a half like Lune. But he was smaller and faster than they were. As he fended them off, more marched over to take Hexa. "Can you take them, or do you need my help?" he asked.

Hexa scoffed, darting out of the way of a Peacemaker's Groo. "You've got your own friends to worry about. Let me fight off mine."

"Just try not to kill anyone."

"Aw, Lune, did you really think I would be killing them with this wooden stick? If I wanted them to die, I would have brought all my gear."

Lune smiled, but then he realized, Hey, that's not a bad idea...

"Hexa!" he called, grunting as a Peacemaker tried to jerk his Groo out of his hands. "Real weapons would actually be helpful right now. Go get them."

Kicking a Peacemaker in the stomach, she paused to catch her breath and squinted her eyes at him. "Really?"

"Yes, and HURRY. I can take care of these guys, but there's probably backup. Go find Resh while you're at it. She should be out here helping."

"Already here," Resh announced, appearing out of nowhere to whip out her Groo into the face of the Peacemaker still up and fighting Lune. The other was unconscious on the ground.

Lune, his hands free of an enemy to fight off, grinned at her, murmuring, "Thanks."

"No problem. Hexa, go! We've got it covered!"

Hexa gave one last blow to her opponent, knocking him out cold, then sprinted off to retrieve real weapons. Lune watched her, hoping his plan would work.

He heard heavy footsteps, and a lot of them, rushing toward them, so he bared his teeth and twisted himself around. Resh did the same, and he motioned for her to get behind him and fight back-to-back. She obeyed silently, and they waited, prepared, for the new Peacemakers running to meet them.

*

I curled up in my blanket, watching my friends fight in a battle of two against what seemed a thousand. More and more Peacemakers and police officers appeared, either wielding Groos or just using their own two hands and feet to make a difference.

All of what I was watching was completely and utterly insane! How could they be fighting? Lune never broke rules, and this HAD to be against the Order. Where in the Doctrine did it say to beat an adult senseless just to find your lost friend? Nowhere, I was sure.

But maybe, just because he was usually such a good citizen, he would get away with it. Or, maybe he wouldn't get a second chance at all. And Hexa? It was unthinkable. They wouldn't let her go free after she showed her hoard of weapons disguised as every-day objects. What was Lune thinking? That she could get away with bringing her swords and knives and all those forbidden items and the police would just let them go, no questions asked? Sure, they didn't have actual weapons themselves, except for their wooden beating sticks, but I supposed, in a battle between the two, the sword would beat the Groo hands down.

"I hope you know what you're doing," I whispered to Lune as his face flashed across Baine's screen. "You may be trying to save me, but if you lose this, there won't be any saving YOU."

Baine gave me a sympathetic "moo, shree", then fell silent so I could hear what was happening on the little Telo.

*

Hexa had grabbed only what she could carry while running, and it suited Lune's plan, she thought. Whatever it was. But she'd seen that look in his eyes before, when he actually DID feel defiance and anger towards the city, the Order, and the leaders on the sun. So three of everything: three knives, three swords, and three protective shields. All disguised individually, so everyone could have their own now. She could make plenty more, but these she could give away.

"Lune, catch!" she yelled in warning. He seemed to be in trouble, surrounded on all sides with Resh behind him, fending off her own body of armed men.

As Lune's head snapped up to spot her, she hurled the shield- disguised as a jewelry box, of course- in his direction. He had to jump a little to catch it, and when he did, his eyes darkened with confusion.

Laughing madly, Hexa called, "Unfold it, you nitwit. Incoming with the weapons!" She jogged into the heart of the battle, handing off the swords and knives. "Here's yours," she smiled, giving Resh her shield. It was disguised as a metal hat. "You can fight with it AND wear it."

"Nice. It'll be my new trademark, how about that?"

Pulling out her harmonica knife, Hexa asked Lune, "So, how is this going to work?" But she could see it already was. The men were backing away, like just the sight of weapons was making them nervous.

"Just show them we're not innocent little kids. We're dangerous. If they're thinking straight, they'll back down and let us go."

"Um, Lune?" Resh muttered. "I don't think it's the weapons that's scaring them away..."

Hexa spun and gasped, twisting her knife back into harmonica form. "Disguise them, you two! Hurry, she's coming!"

The two tried to fold their weapons up in time, but they weren't as experienced with disguising as Hexa was. So, when their guests arrived, it was far too late to do anything but stand still and wait.

"Good morning, Lune," Dasumne crooned, grinning wickedly. "I thought I'd see you today, but fighting off our dear friends? How unkind of you."

Without another word, Dasumne ordered two men to take her son down, setting her eyes on Hexa and Resh with another cruel smile.

"Leave him alone!" Resh shouted, trying to defend Lune, but he told her to stop. "Why, they'll hurt you! Get OFF of him!" She tried to push the Ordermen away, but they were much stronger and immune to the pain of others. One back-handed her in the face, which made Hexa boiling mad.

"Hey!" she screamed in protest. But she knew fighting the Orderman for hitting Resh would only result in an even harsher punishment for them all. So she turned her glare toward Dasumne. "You've got us already, why don't you just take us to the leaders and LEAVE?"

Dasumne's grin grew only more hateful, her eyes amused. "Because this is more fun," she hissed, then motioned for the Ordermen to do their job.

The man Hexa knew was Lune's own father reached out one hand and hit Lune. Hexa wasn't sure how, but it knocked him completely out cold, and then they began dragging him away, not even bothering to pick up his feet.

"NO! Where are you taking him?! Hey, answer me! WHERE ARE YOU TAKING HIM?!"

Dasumne lay both hands on Hexa's shoulders. "Don't you worry, my dear, you'll be joining him soon."

The last thing Hexa could see was Resh's scared expression as everything went black with just one single lash of pain. Then she felt her body slipping, and she knew she'd been knocked out.

Resh, run! she wanted to scream. But there was no escape for her friend now. They would all be carried off and tortured, no doubt.

Great plan, Lune, she thought. It went perfectly, didn't it? Thanks for being so thoughtful.

*

"No!" I found myself yelling. "Lune, Hexa!" I didn't even know what was going to happen to Resh, because at that moment, the screen flickered and went dark. I gasped out a frightened breath and shook my head stubbornly, shouting, "No! Nooo! What's going to happen to my friends?! BAINE!"

Baine's lights started to die and he murmured weakly, "Keeee.... keeHEE... keeteennn."

Oh my gosh. He was trying to say my name!

"Don't die, Baine," I pleaded, my throat burning with all my yelling. But he was running out of solar energy, and there was nothing I could do to charge him.

There was nothing I could do in general about anything.

I reached out to catch him as he fell, his clicking growing fainter. "Keeteennn... yireee, moo... shree."

I wished I could speak robot language, because his little chirping made no sense to me. I cried invisible tears as my little Baine became nothing but a sleeping hunk of metal for the second time since Lune gave him to me.

*

I was slipping away. I was sleeping for longer periods of time now, so my tallies were probably off. I counted thirty two. Fourteen hours since Baine made me watch that ridiculous scene on the Telo. So, that would make it... I sighed as I tried to calculate, my head pounding as I did anything more than lay face-first in my pillow and groan with hunger.

Ten thirty at night? No, wait. Eleven thirty. Awesome. But then again, if my marks were off, it could be midnight for all I knew.

I fell asleep again, but it was a restless nap. I twisted this way and that as the basement grew colder and colder. I held onto the blanket for dear life, shivering enough that I finally woke up again and marked another slash on the wall, because I knew I'd fall asleep and miss the next hour mark.

If I was calculating right, it was just about past midnight when I dozed off.

*

After three more slashes, I decided to quit sleeping and find something to do to keep myself from thinking about food or my fear of freezing to death. I began rummaging through the books I'd collected and skimmed through a few of them. One was about ancient animals. It was interesting enough, but I pretty much lost the desire to read it when I got to the part of giant beasts called wolves that traveled in packs out in the wild and ate meat.

I figured humans weren't exactly in the vegetable category.

I slammed the book shut and moved onto another one with a torn cover. Two pages in, I realized it was a song book. I glanced at the cover again and tried to decipher the faded title.

Hymns. Hm. That must have been a fancy word in ancient times for "songs". Gosh, people those days had the STRANGEST ways of talking. I flipped through the dusty pages again and stopped when I reached one called "How Firm a Foundation". It was a long one, with seven verses, all five lines long.

I wasn't really reading through the lyrics until I hit the fifth verse. I sat up, forgetting my hunger or shivering body and pounding head. Opening my mouth and clearing my throat, I attempted to sight read, my voice cracking from lack of water. I missed probably more than half the notes, but the words I sang made more sense to me than any of the city-approved songs we sang at the Fire Pit.

"When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace all-sufficient shall be thy supply
The flames shall not hurt thee; I only design,
Thy dross to consume, thy dross to consume
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine."

My eyes fluttered shut, my brain whirring almost loud enough for me to hear.

The flames shall not hurt thee.

It was in the old tongue, but it still meant the same thing as "fire won't hurt you".

HOW could fire not hurt you? Couldn't it tell me that? I leaned over the song, skimming over the entire thing for an answer. I saw a name, "Jesus", who was one of the heroes Asrid used to talk about.

The thought of Asrid made me swallow. Had she meant what she said, about me being her granddaughter? It was the last thing she'd said, and why would she waste her last breath on a lie?

Too many things to think about. An ancient song spoke of flames being harmless, which was something I'd been searching for for years. Had the olden people actually come up with a way for flames not to burn? Or was this just one of those useless songs that never meant anything? And WAS Asrid really my grandmother? Or... HAD she been, anyway?

Frustrated, I wrapped myself in my blanket cocoon again and sighed. It wasn't worth worrying about. It was just a hymn, something some creative person came up with. Actually, who had it been? Someone I'd heard of? I glanced at the page, searching for a composer.

The only thing that seemed helpful was the name by the word "Text". Robert Keen. That had to be him. There was no other name.

Well, thank you, Robert Keen, for making my world all that more mind-boggling.

*

The burning in my stomach became a comfort. I sat up, so hungry I LIKED the feeling. It was like I was being devoured by some meat-eating beast from the inside. And I smiled.

I must really be tasty.

*

I had fallen asleep again when I woke up to the lights blinking off and on. I sat up, terrified of the room going dark again.

"No!" I screamed in absolute terror. "No, stay on, stay on, stay ON!!!"

They flickered for several minutes, sending my mind down the nightmarish alley of insanity. I rocked back and forth, clutching my ragged old blanket like it was going to save my life. I stared at the opposite wall without the single movement of my lashes. After a while, my eyes stung, but I still didn't blink. Burning seemed like such a good thing lately. The ravenous monster in my abdomen had turned into a delightful friend, so why not burning eyes, too?

I stuffed the blanket into my mouth as the flickers of darkness lasted three seconds each before a new glimmer of light filled the room. I refused to scream, but I felt like I would go literally mad if I was in darkness again.

I didn't want to go crazy. If they knew I wasn't one hundred percent okay upstairs, they wouldn' t hesitate to stick a needle in me, too. I didn't want to end up dead like Asrid. Like my grandmother.

"I'm not going to go crazy!" I told the empty room. "I won't!"

Fear grasped me as I thought about that. What if I DID go crazy, and they came storming down here and tried to kill me for it?

I began sobbing. "Stay on, stay on, stay on," I ordered the lights. "Don't you DARE turn off..."

And they listened to me.

For now.

My breathing became less erratic. I hadn't even noticed it had picked up speed, but now it was hard NOT to notice. My chest was heaving with each breath, and I felt like I was going to pass out. I was shivering one second and then on fire the next. Sweat ran down my neck and back, and I felt tremors course through me as I tried to settle down. The lights were okay for now. Nothing bad was going to happen to me.

"Panic attack," I gasped, nearly choking as I spat out the words. I'd never had one before. But this was a good example of one.

And for what? For flickering lights?

No. It was more than that. It was the fear of going crazy. The fear of being killed. The fear of being left alone here for the rest of my life and never EVER seeing my friends again.

Even if I did get out, I still might not see them again. Who knew what their punishment would be for fighting all those adults like that? Hexa would get the worst because she had all those weapons. Or would Lune be punished horribly because his parents were Ordermen?

Trembling and listening to my lightning-quick heartbeat, I curled up in my blanket and calculated the time now, adding tallies to the wall because I'd forgotten to do so earlier.

"Five thirty in the morning. Awesome. Good morning, basement."

I closed my eyes and thought of what they would do to Asrid's body. Would they just leave it in the wilderness for any wild beasts to finish off? Would they toss her off the edge of the world? That rumor had never made sense to me, but... at this point, their options were down to a minimum. They couldn't burn her, could they? They had to do something with the body so no one else would know. Dying in Monten was always done in secret.

Well, don't let them hear you say that. Because according to "them", no one EVER dies in Monten. You just stop existing.

Simple as that.

But after spending thirty eight hours in my dead grandmother's basement with hardly any food and no water and soon to be no light, I knew better than to trust whatever "they" told us.