Firedown Sun

Proxy Bellop brushed into the room, her black eyes sweeping the room madly. I squirmed uncomfortably in my seat as her gaze flicked over me. They hadn't changed Farrens, as obnoxious and cheerful as he was, and yet here was happily obedient and well-mannered Proxy, angry-eyed and cautious as she looked over the class.

"We're heading to the Cyrinthion building. Put on your jackets, it's a bit chilly out with the breeze. Take all your things, we might be late coming back."

She held my gaze for a few moments, her teeth slightly bared beneath her full, pink lips. Then she twirled out the door, waiting out in the hallway for us.

We sort of sat there, confused, but then some genius decided to grab his bag and follow the Teacher. He was halfway out the door before I realized it was Lune. That got me shuffling after him, and many kids followed suit. We hurried out into the corridor, trying to figure out why we were going to the Cyrinthion, one of the oldest buildings in Monten. What did this have to do with Training?

We found out by the time we got there. We walked the whole half mile, oh my, to it, pausing in front of it for Proxy to explain. She did some strange sort of whistle and a tall, limping man headed toward us with an odd device. It was sort of squarish in shape with rounded edges, and it was the most disgusting shade of yellow, like it had been buried deep in the ground several times without a washing. He moved it by holding it up to his hips by two wooden handles and pushing it; it rolled forward on a single, black rubber wheel that looked half deflated.

"A wheelbarrow," Proxy murmured, then smiled gratefully at the man, who also shone his evil, black eyes at us in mock kindness. "Now, inside this wheelbarrow are tools. Leon here will inform you on their names, many uses, and how they work. Won't you, Leon?"

Leon grinned, and I noticed most of his teeth were missing. Since when did doctors let things like that slide by?

Oh, right. When they started getting distracted by murdering the citizens of Monten rather than keeping them all in good health.

"That's exactly right. Thank you, Proxy." He turned to us and set down the wheelbarrow. What an odd name for it. I got the "wheel" part, but what the heck was a "barrow"?

"I'll show you inside what we'll do with all these. Why don't you follow me, then, huh, kids?" He pushed the wheelbarrow back up toward the building.

We moved after him quicker than we'd gone after Proxy for this strange field trip of sorts. I let my eyes wander the old building and nearly had to crane my neck all the way back to get the entire form of it within sight. It had to be at least seven stories, the tallest of all buildings, unless you counted the one on the Sun. I'd heard rumors that it was twelve times the size. I hadn't thought to ask my friends about it, even though they'd seen the inside of it themselves. And I was sure they'd seen the outside of it, too, when they escaped. Unless something weird had happened I didn't know about it.

The Cyrinthion was a faded white color, the front doors made of pure gold and silver, the only part of the whole place that wasn't crumbling apart. As Leon pushed the doors open, and I caught a glimpse of the inside- no one, not even the older kids, I figured, had ever seen this except when passing it on the way to the Retiring Circle- I couldn't help but gasp in amazement.

It was so OPEN. The ceiling extended far above my head, maybe three or four stories. I remembered being told this place was divided into sections. I didn't even know if anyone was allowed to go past the fourth floor. It was sort of beautiful, too, the lights shimmering a dull purple and cascading shadows into strange places along the reddish walls. The floor was all wooden, and there were two spiral staircases on each side leading up to the next level. There was a minty scent to the place, along with the stale taste of dust.

Lune caught my eye for a second, and we both smiled. I knew he was thinking the same thing I was.

This place would be GREAT for a rebel hide-out. Much better than the hospital ruins, or the forest close by it. After all, with seven stories of wood and plaster to face, who would come up after us if I had the matches and the others had the weapons? We could send this whole building tumbling on top of them if they so much as DARED open the front door.

I blinked and looked away, hoping Leon or any of the other kids hadn't read my expression. I felt a warmth on the back of my head, like I WAS being watched, but I didn't want to turn and see who it was. Whoever was staring might take that movement as a challenge.

"The Cyrinthion," Leon started to say from my left, "was used once for the leaders to stay in, long before the sky was even considered as a place for housing. And now it is falling apart. So... let's see, how old are you guys? Fifteen, sixteen?"

So we were training to be Janitors today, huh? Leon seemed to think that was a great idea, but I sure didn't.

I guessed that limping, black-eyed Leon was a Janitor, and that was why he was explaining all this to us. Hm. It seemed like all he wanted to do was scare the living daylights out of kids and hate rebels all day long, not clean things and shovel snow. I wondered for a moment why he walked with a limp, but crossed that out of the list of things to think about. It wasn't like it mattered. He could still probably chase a rebel down if he really wanted to, not to mention drag them to the Ordermen for questioning...

"We're fifteen," a girl piped up, sounding bored out of her mind. I didn't blame her. This wasn't the type of field trip I'd recommend to my friends, either.

"Yes, I thought so," Leon muttered. "What's your name, darling?" He emphasized "darling", and it made my stomach feel funny, like someone had punched me there. Oh, wait. I'd been kicked by Tummel earlier. Had I moved around too fast? No, I was practically a statue as I gazed around the place, calculating how many matches it would take to burn it all down or how many blades we'd need to cut through all the main supporting beams. Math wasn't really my strong point, though, it was Hexa's. I'd have to ask her...

So what, then, made me feel sick so suddenly?

I turned very slowly to see who he was speaking to. I assumed it was the girl who had stated the age of our group. But when I flicked my eyes over to her- it was Perisnow- I was shocked to see he wasn't facing her anymore.

He limped toward me until he was maybe two or three feet away, and his gaze was directly pointed at me, glowing in the darkest shade of wickedness ever possible.

I flinched away, but Leon held his ground. I knew I had to answer.

"Um.... I'm Kitten Zigbol?" I said it like a question, and I saw a small smile flicker on his lips for a moment, and then he just leaned away, tangibly satisfied.

"Alright, Kitten. May I call you Kit for short?"

I shrugged. "I... I guess so?"

He smiled again, then finally turned from me. It was just to grab a tool from the wheelbarrow, but I felt a bit calmer as I was released from his happy, death glare for a while.

"Here, use this to get rid of all the Spyders."

Swallowing, I let him place the fluffy feather duster in my hand. "Spyders?" What did I need a duster for if I was up against a kreature, not dust? Unless, of course, he wanted me to get rid of the dust TO chase away the Spyders.

"Hey, boy," Leon called, waving toward Pharis. "You're the Kreature Keeper's son, aren't you?"

"Yes, sir, I am." Pharis came to stand next to me, and I felt better with him by my side.

"Well, help Kit, then. She obviously doesn't know her kreatures."

I was about to say something in my own defense, but Pharis wheeled me toward a wall, away from Leon. I bit my lips, remembering that I was supposed to be holding my tongue from now on. I needed to be really careful about what I said, especially around Leon. He seemed just about ready to run back to Proxy if one of us acted even the little bit off.

"Come on, KIT," Pharis murmured, laughing slightly under his breath at the way my new nickname rolled off his tongue. "I'll show you where to look for them."

"Thanks," I said, but he knew better than to think I just meant thanks for helping me find the Spyders. He glanced at me quickly, smiled, then walked a bit faster toward our destination.

The stairs.

As we hurried up them, I saw Lune advancing the steps on the opposite side of the room, wielding an old, tangled-up mop and a clanking bucket. I laughed at the sight, glad that he was going to the second floor, too.

Pharis peered at me curiously at the sound of my laughter, spotting Lune from the corner of his eye. He sighed quietly, pulling me further up the staircase. "Come on, we've got things to do, Kitty, and I doubt we'll have much time to do it. Leon looks like he's in a hurry to get things done."

I didn't want to look back toward Leon. There was something about his voice, something about the way he'd sighed when he saw I'd cheered up at the sight of Lune that made my stomach twist just as painfully as when Leon called me "darling".

"Yes..." I mumbled. "There's not a lot of time..."

He cleared his throat, and I noticed his hands were shaking with every step. But he held his composition well, speaking in a clear, brave voice.

"So, you really don't know what Spyders are?" He laughed a bit, but the sound of it was also off-key.

I couldn't help but feel stupid. "No, not really. Some sort of bug, right?"

"Arachnid. Or at least that's what any ancient fellow would tell you. But those were different. These ones are smarter, and they don't bite humans like they used to. They're poisonous, though, so you don't want to get them angry, or they WILL bite you. And trust me, my dad's told me stories of what Spyder venom does to you."

I felt a tremor go up my spine. "What does it do?"

"Messes up your nerves. Gives you muscle spasms, makes you think weird things, or can just really mess with your head. You wouldn't die, but..." He cleared his throat again. "Nobody dies here, right?"

I blinked, sudden pain filling my mind. I flinched, and I was suddenly falling backward. I reached out toward Pharis, but everything darkened and I went blind...

"Kitty!"

His voice brought me back, and I was able to catch myself on the railing before I fell down the stairs. My hands were sweaty, but I grabbed it well enough, and then I was inhaling a sharp breath, back to normal sooner than I'd thought possible. It had really only been a few seconds, and I was glad I didn't completely blackout. How embarrassing would that have been?

"Kitty, are you alright?" Pharis descended the few stairs I had tripped down, dragging me back up all the way to the second floor, where he let me sit down and rest. I thought I heard a metal thud of something being set down, and then Lune was rushing toward us. Oh, he must have dropped the bucket...

"What happened?" Lune asked, sounding really upset. I tried to focus on his face, but my vision was still just a little bit blurry. All I could see were his perfect hazel eyes. My heart fluttered as I thought of the Spyder venom, as I thought of the pills, and realized how stupid we all were for not figuring it out.

They had so many resources, didn't they?

"I don't know, she just... passed out. I would have caught her, honestly-"

"I know that, Pharis. I trust you."

I could see Pharis swallow, and then he flickered his worried gaze back at me, and I could see how incredibly tense he was that Lune was here for me, too....

Oh. I was an idiot. Of COURSE that's why he wasn't happy I'd been excited to see Lune coming up to the second floor. And I closed my eyes, groaning as my mind grasped this new piece of information, too. It was almost too much for my mind to handle, all these new things I was discovering. I wanted to scream, wanted to light a match and escape to a different world, or maybe just cover my eyes and ears so I wouldn't have to be a part of all this any longer.

Boy, crushes weren't a dying species after all. First me and Lune, then Resh and Tyeson, then Jaz and Havva, and now PHARIS and me. Lovely.

"What?" Lune leaned closer to me, and I didn't want Pharis to see the heat on my skin when he did that, didn't want him to be right within hearing range of my thrumming, excited heart...

"I think... um..."

"Was it about the Spyders, Kitty? Maybe I shouldn't have told her about the venom."

"Maybe you shouldn't have." Lune's expression almost turned angry, but it couldn't with him so worried about me.

"Don't fight," I choked out, and I was surprised when my vision cleared and I was able to sit up. I felt so strong all of a sudden, like I was full of energy.

Hm. Maybe I should black out more often.

"Guys, I think I figured something out," I told them, and I watched curiosity, not worry, flash in their eyes. It made it easier to explain. But then I remembered where we were, and I knew this wasn't the time or the place. There were too many people around, and Leon might hear me if I said it now.

"Later," I promised them. And then I stood, grabbing the feather duster and heading down the second story corridor. "Let's go find some Spyders."

*

We cleaned and reorganized the old, battered building for a half hour, when it was literally sparkling and gleaming with tidiness. And I'd been right. No one was allowed up to the fifth, sixth or seventh level.

Not that any of us challenged that. We were good, obedient school students on a crappy field trip to practice being a Janitor. That was all.

Well, we weren't exactly just free to do whatever. Leon followed us around, his black gaze burning our backs as we worked harder than Training had ever asked of us before. I was sweating a bit by the time Proxy came back to announce we were leaving. Chasing off the shriveled, black-bodied arachnids wasn't as easy as Pharis had made it out to be. Then again, after a few minutes, he left me, because Leon wanted him to go help Lune, who needed a mopping partner.

With those two as companions, it was hard to focus on my own job and not be terrified of facing the Spyders alone for two reasons.

One: the two of them were as compatible as a rock falling off a cliff was to a person walking below its path. They were so awkward next to each other, but they got the job done well enough. Pharis carried the bucket and Lune mopped the floor. Leon didn't say anything about their tense silence, and I could do nothing more than glance over at them every few minutes. And then they moved on to the third floor, leaving me behind. That ended my "accidental" spying pretty quickly.

And the second reason? Well... the Spyders didn't exactly look all cute and cuddly. I was almost positive they were going to leap at my face and sink their sharp fangs into my skin. They hissed as I beat them away with the duster and swept away their webs.

I hissed back.

The air outside was nice and cool, giving my lungs a refreshing iciness and my throat tingled as the frosty oxygen slid into my mouth. Pharis and Lune disappeared into the mob ahead of me, since I was walking a bit slower than the rest. Proxy didn't pause to ask anyone to slow down and wait for me. They all continued at the same pace, and I brought up the caboose happily.

I had to clear my mind, gather up my thoughts and organize them into separate categories. Things to think about now and things to save for later- MUCH later- like when I was alone and my reaction wouldn't be judged or noticed. I didn't exactly know what my full reaction would be to either one of them, so I wasn't chancing anything. I would be alone when I thought about them. No questions asked.

The Spyder discovery and the thing about Pharis were at the top of the last list. It was difficult to stomach them; I was sure that my head would explode if I pondered them while other people were around. The pills rattling in my bag, an annoying reminder of our situation, went into the first group, along with the way Sorin's behavior had left a strange impression of maybe-he-doesn't-hate-me-or-maybe-he's-just-being-unreasonably-nice on me. Then there was Margolo. Her entire existence was something I couldn't figure out. Same with Xentri. His actions went onto the top of the first list. I had no clue as to why he was doing anything to help or hinder me. I'd never done anything to hurt him, but I'd never done anything to help him, either. He could have pretty much any reaction toward me: he could hate me like the rest of the school or he could try and befriend me. Him doing neither sent me into a whorl of confusion that I was pretty sure I wouldn't get out of soon.

I was exhausted just by thinking of all these things. So the first list became a "think about later but not as late as the others", and the second was almost labeled "never think about EVER". But I knew pondering them would come in handy. Because I needed to understand them. Not just the gist of them, but really comprehend everything about them. About the Spyder venom. About what the pills were. About Pharis and Lune and the horrendous bond we shared by complete accident.

Sighing, I jabbed my fingers into the sleeve of my music jacket.

"Please make a selection."

"Play a song by Coldplay. I like their songs."

A few clicks, and then a beeping hum. "I'm sorry, but that group is not on file."

I sighed. "Yes, it is. Don't fool around. I think I know what I have on file and what I don't. Now play something by Coldplay. I need something to calm me down."

"I'm really sorry," it said, almost before I'd finished talking. I thought that was sort of rude. But the next statement was even more annoying. "There are only recent songs on file. If you want to make a selection, pick something from Blue Obedience or maybe Sun of Love. Those are good-"

"I'm telling you, I have Coldplay on file." I kept my voice no louder than an angry hiss, and no one turned around to see who I was talking to. I kept my mind on the bubble of sound-proof music no one else could hear, but if I really didn't have any ancient songs on file, then...

Oh. They must have toyed with our technology, too. Not just our minds.

Groaning, I whispered, "Never mind. You're right. Just play Story of Our City, please. That one's not so bad."

"Setting in..."

The melody hit me from the invisible speakers in my hood, and I exhaled softly as the first lyrics echoed around me.

"In the dark shades of midnight
Across the sea of grass
There's a sound softly coming
See through window glass..."

Only modern songs now, huh? But that also meant I wouldn't be tortured with any of the ancient singers I hadn't liked. So this wouldn't be all a nightmare.

I laughed. "Sorry, Justin Bieber. Sorry, Jonas Brothers. I just won't be listening to you anymore, I guess."

Perisnow heard my giggle and whipped around, her eyes finding mine and locking me in her angry gaze. I lost the smile on my face and turned away.

If these pills didn't kill us, could it destroy all our friendships? Our families? Could it tear us all apart, split and divide us? Was that the plan? To rip all our connections with those around us and force us to be all alone?

No. It wasn't allowed to be alone. We would always have someone.

"Hey, Kitty, look at this!" Pharis rushed toward me, the hugest grin on his face. "It's an Orradon Exemplis! Do you know what that is? It's like a worm, but it's got almost half the intelligence of a human, and they're amazing! Just you wait, Kitty. You'll see how incredible they are, you really will! Aren't they cute?" He shoved the inch long worm at me, still beaming and expecting my approval.

I glanced at its greenish blue, slimy, scaled body. "It's great," I lied, swallowing at the sight of its beady, silver eyes. It seemed to grin with many sharpened fangs up at me, its little green feet shivering up Pharis' palm so it could move toward me.

"Oh, it likes you! Do you want to hold it?"

The Orradon Exemplis kept smiling somehow at me, and I knew if I held the evil thing it would bite my hand off. I shook my head and inched away from it, wondering how Pharis could touch it or even get all excited over the sight of it. He kept going on and on about the beauty of the wormish kreatures and different things they ate. I didn't hear him mention human flesh, but I was sure, if given the chance to devour me, the worm wouldn't hesitate.

Breathing out patiently as he babbled on about the Orradon Exemplis, I glanced over the crowd ahead of us and spotted Lune right away.

I could tell he was laughing.

That would ordinarly make me blush, but then I saw Perisnow was still facing me.

Or at least she was until she turned back around with a disgusted snarl I could hear, despite the distance between us. I couldn't help but swallow and stare at the ground. If someone had been paying close enough attention to me, they might have seen how I paled as life drained from my face and how my fists clenched tightly at my sides.

What they wouldn't have known was that I was exploding from the inside out and gut-wrenching pain filled me when I realized, with half the gang gone overnight, it might not be long before the leaders took the rest of them away.