Prompt Submission for Ironage Media: The Downpour M.C. Deltat
How many raindrops make a storm? Eveline pondered the question as she watched the latest UFD newscast on the massive projection over the central city plaza. The display was as dull and muted as the near perpetual downpour always plaguing Lira City. Once upon a time, she supposed the tech was maintained, but that time was clearly long passed. Instead, it only served to be a depressing reminder that nothing in this city seemed to last long, least of all good news.
“This is your United Federal Directorate News Update.” The projection screeched, and did so annoyingly loud. It was as if rather than fix the failing audio, the volume was just raised instead. What resulted was a blight upon one’s ears. At the very least, it definitely was attention grabbing. Perhaps that was the point.
The newscast continued nonetheless. “Horrible Suicide Bombing in Lira City Financial District. Radicals infiltrated the Central City Bank, for what reason we do not know, and ignited a smuggled I.E.D.. At this moment, we don’t know how such devices were sneaked in, nor do we know the reasoning behind such a monstrous act. One can only imagine that this will lengthen the city’s austerity measures, however..” The announcer paused for a moment before continuing. “Hold on… yes, I have just received an update. Central Anti-Sedition have identified the terrorist organization behind the attack: a group known as ‘RedLine’. Their goals are still unknown, but we can be sure that this was clearly an attack on our way of life and our democracy. Please, if you witness someone sharing seditious beliefs, do not hesitate to contact your local Federal Service Agent.” The camera zoomed out as the newcast pivoted into open panel. “Ms. PeCain, Do you think this terrible attack had something to do with the recent critiques on our school systems?”
Eveline rolled her eyes. The attack had been a week ago, yet only today had the UFD said something about it. She had been hoping for something more, but in retrospect, that was never going to happen. Bringing her head back under the safety of her umbrella, she began walking out of the plaza. As she listened to her footsteps echoing against the many puddles hiding among the potholes, she found herself thinking. Her brother had died in that Redline terrorist attack. At first, when she initially grieved, she had considered it an accident; a horrible case of wrong time, wrong place. But then, as she slowly fought past her despondency, there were certain connections which she couldn’t help but make. Her brother Vallen, had grown increasingly cagey when her parents had been taken on that UFD sponsored trip. He had only grown more erratic when they had received news of their parent’s horrible accident on said trip. At several moments, it felt as if he was explicitly trying to avoid her. He had been alive though, and that was enough. That wasn’t the case anymore.
She hadn’t even been allowed to see his body. ‘Although,’ Eveline couldn’t suppress the thought, ‘Maybe I can’t get my brother back, because he actually was working for Redline.’ The thought hurt as much now as it did when she first considered it. And despite everything, she just couldn’t banish the doubt away.
Her stomach growled, ripping her away from introspection. Almost sheepishly, she finally noticed that she had walked herself to the Sunday foods stalls. Even with the rain doing its best to drown away everything, the food smelled heavenly. She stopped herself before getting to close to a stall however. Eveline had already almost hit her food allotment for the day. If she ate now, in midday, she would have to go to sleep hungry; Intolerable. Instead, she mumbled a curse against the city’s rationing, and kept walking to her destination: Relic Park.
It was the only lead she had. Originally, dark thoughts had hounded her for days before investigating her brother's death. Eventually however, she found the grit to act. She went into what had always been off-limits, her brother’s room, to look for clues. The guilt had almost caused her heart to beat out her chest, but she persevered; She had to know. It took a while, but eventually she found a small tablet-like device, with a glowing green button and monitor. Out of sheer curiosity, she clicked it. At first nothing happened, but a few heartbeats later, text began to appear.
“Happy to hear you are alive. Need update on what went wrong. Meet me at Relic Park, Sunday at noon. Thanks, Godot.”
Eveline had been hesitant to follow up on such a suspicious message, she even considered reporting it. That tune changed when no other lead presented itself. So, here she was at Relic Park. Even with the rain, there was a long line outside the passport booth; one moving frighteningly slow. Eveline gritted her teeth, got on line, and did her best to suppress dark thoughts and growing hunger.
Regarding the former, she failed. The status on the latter remained in doubt.
‘Who is Godot?’ She eventually found herself asking for the hundredth time. “How does he know my brother and what update did he want?’ Eveline was a smart girl, but even if she wasn’t, the lines were easy to connect. Godot thought Vallen had died, until she hit that green button. Then, Godot asked for an update on what went wrong? So, close to the explosion? The puzzle formed by the available pieces was not kind. Luckily, a distraction soon came.
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE LINE IS TOO SLOW!” A harsh female voice shouted.
Eveline raised her umbrella a tad, and did her best to eavesdrop, without explicitly looking like she was eavesdropping. It was a skill many in Lira City developed; the ones that make it past adolescence anyway. Beyond a wall of people and raindrops, Eveline saw a fierce uniformed officer aggressively pull an extremely red-faced man out of the line. It was utterly apparent that all thought had evacuated his mind the moment he was singled out.
What filled the vacuum was fear.
The guard wasn’t distracted by that though. In a barely restrained tone, she spoke through gritted teeth. “I asked you, what did you mean the line was moving too slowly?” She leaned right into his face. Taller as she was, her nose was almost touching his oily forehead. “I wont ask a third time”.
The man stammered for a few seconds; more to fill the air than do for anything else. However, eventually, he found his voice. “I apologize officer.” he squeaked. The discovered voice seemed a few octaves higher than normal. “I met no offense. My lunch break…”
“Always about you is it?” The officer interrupted. “Austerity already caused staff shortages. But after Redline’s attack, the city has all officers working double time...” She paused to bring her finger up against his shaking chest, “To protect people like you. This park has been identified as a potential target, but if we are interrupting your good time, I suppose we should all just fuck right off. Is that it?” Her tone and posture made it very clear that the question was a rhetorical one. Unfortunately, the trembling victim's panic-stricken brain failed to make the connection.
“Not at all.” he babbled. “Its just… I have an important meeting after lunch, and I…”
“Shhhhhh,” the officer interrupted again. “If you have a meeting, then alright. Just one more thing.” She rubbed his shoulders in a faux-placating manner. “One small thing.” The rubbing promptly morphed into a rough, painful grip. “Your meeting is now being held at Public Corrections, length to be determined.” She turned her head to call for backup. Moments later, as a couple burly associates grabbed the man, the officer commented, “Don’t worry, your employers will be updated.”
The man’s legs just buckled. Even with two officers at his sides, he collapsed onto the wet stone. The officers dragged him away all the same though. No one else made a peep after that. Public Corrections was clearly in a bad mood. Eveline did her best to be small and easily ignorable after that; just quietly stepping in line as the minutes passed by.
“Next, please.” Eveline was eventually called out. “Name, passport, reason for visit,” a rather average looking officer asked.
“Eveline Breyer, and just here to enjoy the park.” She said as she handed over her passport. Once the cop took it,, Eveline took a look at the man. He definitely had a kinder aura than that lady cop, but frankly speaking, the only notable thing about him were his rather striking green eyes; their almost piercing gaze seemed to glow through the rain.
“Alright…” The office trailed off as he opened the passport. “Everything looks…” he hesitated. “Oh wait.”
Eveline’s heart skipped. Had the authorities already learned about her? Should she just try running now? Would she even be able to get away?
Before her thoughts could spiral deeper, the officer continued speaking. “I am really sorry, but your passport only allows for Saturday park visits.
“What?” Eveline was blindsided. “That’s impossible” She affirmed, already forgetting what happened to the last person that annoyed a cop. “I’ve been coming to the park on Sundays for years.” Even with the passport in the cop’s hands, she could see records of countless other visits.
To the man’s credit, he did seem apologetic. “Sorry, it's a recent code change. Due to increased terrorist activity, and the demand for police presence, registration has been shifted. If your ID number ends in 06, which yours does” he pointed the number out to Eveline, “Then only Saturdays visits.”
Tears were starting to form; This was Eveline’s only lead. Would this mysterious Godot just leave, never to contact again? Would she be left with no path forward? What could she do?
“Hold on.” The man said placatingly. When he saw that he had Eveline’s attention, he leaned in and whispered. “I could never resist a nice girl crying, and I don’t intend to start.” He pretended to stamp the passport before handing it back. “If anyone asks, lets just say that you had the correct date.” He smiled.
Eveline sniffled. “Th..thank you.” She carefully grabbed her passport back. At least he had a kind smile.
“Just don’t stay to long.” He advised. “Everyone is kinda anxious at the moment, and I am pretty sure cops inside the park are doing spot checks. Try your best to not get caught.” He pretended to look serious, before allowing the grin to return. “I would appreciate not being fired on my week into the job.”
“They will never even see me… uh...” Eveline tried to look for a name tag, but clutter blocked the view.
“Flynn,” he volunteered, already waving over the next person in line.
“Flynn,” Eveline nodded as she finally walked into the park. After crossing the threshold, she immediately went to a bench and sat. That whole interaction had raised her heartbeat to unhealthy levels. With some deep breathes, she carefully considered her next move. She was in the park, now she just had to find Godot. Then she would finally get some answers and silence the many doubts that had been plaguing her.
“Well, no time but the present.” Eveline got up, and began walking to… “Wait… wait wait.” She spoke to herself. She frantically looked, across the many walking paths and the many people, before coming to a realization. ‘I don’t even know what Godot looks like. Worse, he isn't expecting me, but Vallen. I could be waiting for Godot all day, and never see him, let alone talk to him. He doesn’t have a single reason to even spit in my direction.’ she thought.
With a dour mood, Eveline walked forward. ‘Might as well do something. Sunday park days are basically over.’ She found the least populated path and moved.
Relic Park was beautiful once. It had been joyfully maintained by the locals, many of whom were volunteers. It was a festive location full of verdant flowers, curious wildlife, and the joyful cheers of children. Eveline barely remembered, but was pretty sure that she celebrated a few birthdays here. Such events had been common enough sights back then; as were weddings, funerals, reunions, and all sorts of various ceremonies. Sometime around her early pre-teens however, the city declared the park a historical site. As a historical site, volunteers were no longer allowed to maintain it; something about violating safety protocols. For a little while, the city tasked workers to maintain everything, but then came budget cuts. Austerity meant that non-critical expenditures had to be cut, and park maintenance first. Worse still, due to the historical site classification, locals were still prohibited from cleaning it themselves. The result was the nightmare that Eveline found herself walking through. Erosion from the rain had eaten away much of the natural soil, all the footpaths were either cracked or missing, and no animals had been seen grazing for years.
Eveline sighed. “Super Depressing.” She mumbled. ‘Maybe I should go home and sleep.’ She thought as a man walked by. As he passed by, she watched him unknowingly drop a small green thing. As she bent down, she saw that it was a necklace with a rectangular prism attached; an oddly familiar object. A few seconds later, she noticed herself staring. “Sir!” she shouted. “You dropped something.” She reached out to pick it up. When she got up, the man was before her, warmly smiling. He had a rugged look, with wild eyes and a sloppy beard over a defined jaw; Savage but in an attractive manner.
“Thanks,” He grabbed the crystal, before continuing on his way.
For what felt the dozenth time, Eveline sighed. “I guess there is no recovering this day.” She turned around, intent on at least doing something enjoyable. “I should go see a waterfall or something,” She grumbled. Before taking a single step however, Eveline felt something hard jab against the base of her spine, near the small of her back. She froze.
“If you want to stay alive, I recommend not making any loud noises.” The voice clearly belinged to the man she had just helped.
She almost laughed. ‘This day can’t get worse.’ She thought, as she slowly raised her hands into the air. “I don’t have any money. Let me go, and I won’t report you. Officially, I am not even in the park.” Wait. ‘Shit. Why had she just admitted that. Now nothing is off-limits, and no one would look for her. Well, maybe…’ She thought about the kind guard at the security booth.
“Hands down, and keep the umbrella up. Walk forward. That’s all I need.” The man said in an amused tone. “I don’t care about your money. I care about your blood.”
“What?” A confused Eveline mindlessly obeyed.
“I should have known.” The man continued. “There was no way that Vallen could have survived. Yet when the beacon activated, I couldn’t resist.” he explained. “Even if it meant finding a spy...”
“You knew my brother?” Eveline incredulously asked. Her blood pressure spiked, as she built the courage to ask. “Are you Godot.” she asked.
“Dont say that name.” He hissed, jamming harder into her back.
Eveline nodded. She had no idea what that weapon could have been. It certainly didn’t feel like anything she had fired before.
“Look, I apologize.” the man sighed. “It’s in my nature to be careful” He paused deep in thought. After a few heartbeats though, he continued to talk. “...But yes, I knew Vallen. Better than most, but not as well as I wished, especially after all that happened.”
Eveline bit her lip. She couldn’t lose focus just yet, even in this precarious situation. While she could, she had to get as much info as possible. “Prove it,” Eveline requested. “Anyone can say that they knew a man. Tell me something that proves you knew my brother.”
“Well,” Godot replied in mirth. “He had a sister. Vallen would often complain about missing her; long separations you see He also told me that she loved her brother. In fact, he told us that when his parents were taken away, she would frequently ask if he could sleep with her; a comforting presence against horrible thoughts. Once, Vallen even told me about how some of his old shirts had disappeared, stolen by his sister he suspected.”
Eveline said nothing. With her flushed face, she didn’t trust her voice hold firm. For the first time, she was happy that that her back was to Godot.
“I also know,” Godot added in a far softer tone. “That he shared that deep love. Everything he did, everything he accomplished, was in service of his precious sister Eveline.”
He knew her name. “Do you…” Eveline hesitated a moment before steeling herself. “Do you know how he died?” She had ask.
Godot hesistated. “That is a difficult question. My answer depends on how deeply you want to bury yourself. I warn you, it is very hard to get out of a grave after accidentally tripping yourself in.” He exhaled deeply before continuing. “If you still want to be able to go home, and continue living a normal life, I would recommend accepting the official story; Whatever version suits you the best.”
Eveline stopped walking; tightly balling up her hands into fists. With controlled breathes, she carefully replied. “My life has been horrible since my brother died. Not just due to the loneliness, but because that the government is convinced that he was a spy and I am somehow involved. I was popular once, but no longer. No one wants to talk to me. No one wants to help me. No one wants to be with me. All I have are eyes in the walls endlessly watching me. My food rations have been cut; my utilities crash all the time, and no one is ever in a rush to fix them.” She unclenched her hands and rubbed the sweat against her coat. She looked at the staining: it was red. “Regardless of what you tell me, my life won’t get any better. So forget the grave, I would jump feet first into hell for some answers.”
There was silence once Eveline finished. It couldn’t have been more than several seconds, but the moments in-between heartbeats felt as eternity. Eventually, Godot spoke in as close to a neutral tone as he could. “The UFD is evil. Redline, which your brother was a member of, is one off several chapters seeking to overthrow the UFD.”
“And you wanted to do that by blowing up a building and killing everyone in it?” Eveline asked.
“No!” Godot screamed before collecting himself. “That wasn’t the plan. Vallen was supposed quietly infiltrate the archives, and extract monetary ledgers: Tax records, donations, write-offs, that type of stuff.” Godot grimaced. “I only know a little” he admitted, “but best I can tell, Vallen was able to infiltrate and get the data. The issue came during exfiltration. Apparently, the UFD learned about the breach, but couldn’t figure out who did it. And rather than let Vallen out, they opted for a final solution.”
Eveline gasped. “You think the UFD blew up their own Central Bank just to stop tax records from getting out.” Eveline was incredulous. “Thousands must have died!”
Godot roared. “Look around us!” he snarled. “The average citizen is taxed 70%, yet the UFD have the gall to declare austerity? Where is this money being cut? Where is it being saved? The roads are moments from completely disintegration, the schools do nothing more than indoctrinate children, and if you go to a hospital, you either die waiting for care never to come, or die because someone decided you weren’t worth saving.” Godot learned his head close to Eveline’s ear. “With the UFD, it is better to look like everything is going according to plan, like the system works, rather than admitting that ever single thing is broken. The first step to fixing a problem, after all, is admitting that one exists.” He leaned his head back away. “Might as well ask the UFD to destroy the sun.” He growled. “Now, keep walking. We have stayed still to long.”
Slowly, Eveline took a few steps forward. From between gritted teeth she following up. “This is a fancy story, but you are working for Redline. You admitted as much. Even if I hate the UFD, these claims extremely bold. Honestly, I don’t know how much I can trust you.”
Eveline was met with laughter. “Good!” He exclaimed. “Don’t trust anyone, not in this world.” His tone pivoted back. “There is no way to make you trust me, nor do I really care to try. You have nothing implicating me. And that is ignoring that you are already suspect to the government. You go to the UFD, and you never see sunlight again. Although…” Godot hesitated. He signaled her to stop walking by touching his free hand to Eveline’s shoulder.
“What are you doing?” She asked.
He didn’t answer. With dexterous skill, he looped a finger around her necklace and pulled up. From between Eveline’s breasts, a crystal rose. It was circular in shape and radiated bright red. Before Eveline could say anything, another crystal dropped out from Godot’s palm; It was the same crystal that Eveline had seen Godot drop earlier. With the two crystals next to each other, it was clear to see that they were made of the same material. “Vallen gave you a Nodestone.”
Eveline was firm in her response. “It was a gift.”
Godot leaned in to whisper. “Where do you think he got it?”
Eveline didn’t know how to respond. She stood there for a solid 30 seconds, with only the rain hitting her umbrella to comfort her. Eventually, she found the strength to ask a question that had been on her mind. “Earlier, you mentioned that my parents were taken away. Was it because of Vallen?” She whimpered out.
“No.”
“Were they spies?”
“No.”
“Why were they taken then?” Eveline cried out. “They followed all the rules, paid all their dues.” Tears might have been rolling down her face, but she couldn’t be sure, not in the rain. “Everything went wrong when they were taken.”
Godot had the decency to sound apologetic as he spoke. “Unfortunately, that is just the nature of the beast. If you want to be promoted in the UFD, you have a quota on crime prevented. The amount of crime present doesn’t factor in; the quota must be met. If a cop fails to ‘find crime’, they get punished.” Godot paused to give Eveline time to process his explanation. “Your parents were unlucky. They caught the eye of a UFD officer who still hadn’t met his monthly quota. Wrong place, wrong time.” Godot hesitated before adding, “Vallen joined to find them, to bring them back to you.”
Sniffling away the tears, Eveline found the strength to ask, “Did he?”
There was a great weight in Godot’s voice as he answered. “Unfortunately, yes.” The tone commanded there be no follow up questions. For once, Eveline listened.
“So…” She sputtered; She was so tired. “What are you going to do with me?”
“Don’t know.” Godot shrugged. “I suppose you have equal input; what do you want?”
Eveline’s answer came quickly. “I would like to see my brother again. To give his body the respect it deserves; a nice burial maybe.”
Godot exhaled sharply. “I’ve heard that line before. Be very careful before signing your life away. Your brother made the same choice when confronted with the truth. He…”
Eveline interrupted with scream. Her ability to be polite was over. “I know!” She panted. “Trust me, I don’t need the reminder. But I can’t go home and do nothing. Not while I still remember his smile, his laugh. I can’t let his memory fade to dust as I do nothing but survive. It would be a hollow existence.” She threw the umbrella at the ground in a rage. Rain began to wash over her, cooling down her burning face. “I can keep his dream going.” She firmly declared.
Godot let go of her necklace, taking his hand away from her shoulder. “I think his dream was to see you happy.” He commented.
“And mine was to have him. My dream was to have my brother at my side forever. He promised that he would protect me, that he would dance with me at my wedding, that he would be an uncle to my children. But the UFD ripped that dream away.” She roared defiantly, posture going rock solid. “I think my decision was made the moment my brother made his.”
“Your brother was just as childish.” Godot sighed. “To do this, to do what you are thinking, would require complete and total sacrifice; of every positive thing in your life that you once valued: peace, friendship, trust. Your everything would be dedicated to Redline, with nothing else for anything else.” He explained.
“I already have nothing left to give.” She replied unflinchingly.
“I don’t think you are getting this.” Godot tried harder. “There will be no out. You must understand. If you walk away, you can continue whatever life you have left to live. But if you join, you are with us till we stand victorious, or till we are lined up against a wall and shot.” Godot’s tone was edging on fury. “Do you get it?”
Eveline refused to relent. “If I left, I wouldn't be living at all. I would be an unfeeling void.” she explained. “And that short of apathetic existence, one without my loved ones, is worse than death. At least dead, my body could still find purpose in sustaining whatever comes next.”
“Oh for the love off…” Godot exclaimed. “Are you sure about that?” The object poking into her back disappeared for a moment before reappearing right against the base of her neck. “How about now? You still feel brave?” He asked. Strangely enough, the thing against her neck was warm and soft. “The simplest argument to refute a moral nihilist is to kill them.” Godot explained. “Redline doesn’t need suicide bombers. What happened at the bank was a shame and Vallen was an exemplar of a man, but that isnt how we operate. What we need are infiltrators, sappers, fabricators.” Godot claimed. “Can you do any of that?”
Fairly sure of what the object against the back of her neck was, Eveline turned around. The motion was surprising enough that Godot didn’t have the time to properly react. First, she saw that same rugged face that had captivated her earlier. But when she tore her gaze away from that, she saw what he had been holding. Nothing. He had been holding nothing, and had been poking his fingers into her back this entire time. Resolute, she proudly answered Godot’s question. “I can learn.” She claimed. “My brother always said that I could do anything I put my mind too.”
“That he did,” Godot began, “Well, if you are sure…” he began before being interrupted.
“Miss? Are you alright?” a voice in the distance asked. Eveline looked to the source of the question. Those bright green eyes! It was Flynn, the guard that had let her into the park. “Eveline right? Are you okay? That man has been behind you for a while now. Is he threatening you?”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Godot’s entire demeanor changed. “Oh sorry,” he began. “This pretty lady was just kind enough to share her umbrella with me after she heard that I forgot mine at home.” He made a show of slowly bending down to pick up the abandoned tool. “But out of nowhere, a gust of wind appeared, and knocked it straight out of her hand.” With measured movements, he stood back up, handing the tool over to Eveline. It was like he was a completely different man.
“Right.” The cop said, clearly not being convinced. “Are you sure Eveline? You can trust me, I am an officer of the law.” A confused look appeared on his face. “Should I call E-Med? You seem really tense.”
“No.” Eveline answered, doing her best to act even fractionally as well as Godot. “Everything is perfect. As he said, he was just helping me with my umbrella.” Eveline turned over to Godot, and nodded. “Thank you very much sir.”
“Ma’am, it was my pleasure” He tipped a non-existent hat as he replied. “I think its time that I head home.” He nodded to the cop before he walked away.
Flynn was clearly extremely suspicious of Godot, but apparently felt that he couldn’t do anything if Eveline didn’t voice any complaints. Eventually, after several seconds of inner turmoil, he shrugged. Turning away from Godot’s quickly fading body, he continued speaking to Eveline. “Well, in any case, you should probably be making your way home too. Don’t know if you heard or not, but a new curfew is in effect starting tonight.” He thought about it for a second, before explaining further. “Edict only just passed. UFD is issuing partial martial law to help combat Redline.” He puffed up his chest, trying to make himself seem impressive. “I wouldn’t want to arrest a pretty lady like you… Although, I wouldn’t mind personally supervising your house arrest.”
Eveline smiled. It was full and bright and cheerful… and absolutely fake. Luckily, Flynn was too naive to notice. “Thank you very much. I appreciate the good work that you and yours do.”
Flynn tipped his cap in a clear imitation of Godot, albeit with a real cap.
Eveline walked away, leaving Flynn alone in the rain. As she walked, she found herself once again pondering a very familiar question. How many raindrops are needed to make a storm? She grinned. “One less than you would think.”
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Raindrops in a Storm
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Raindrops in a Storm
Prompt Submission for Ironage Media: The Downpour
M.C. Deltat
How many raindrops make a storm? Eveline pondered the question as she watched the latest UFD newscast on the massive projection over the central city plaza. The display was as dull and muted as the near perpetual downpour always plaguing Lira City. Once upon a time, she supposed the tech was maintained, but that time was clearly long passed. Instead, it only served to be a depressing reminder that nothing in this city seemed to last long, least of all good news.
“This is your United Federal Directorate News Update.” The projection screeched, and did so annoyingly loud. It was as if rather than fix the failing audio, the volume was just raised instead. What resulted was a blight upon one’s ears. At the very least, it definitely was attention grabbing. Perhaps that was the point.
The newscast continued nonetheless. “Horrible Suicide Bombing in Lira City Financial District. Radicals infiltrated the Central City Bank, for what reason we do not know, and ignited a smuggled I.E.D.. At this moment, we don’t know how such devices were sneaked in, nor do we know the reasoning behind such a monstrous act. One can only imagine that this will lengthen the city’s austerity measures, however..” The announcer paused for a moment before continuing. “Hold on… yes, I have just received an update. Central Anti-Sedition have identified the terrorist organization behind the attack: a group known as ‘RedLine’. Their goals are still unknown, but we can be sure that this was clearly an attack on our way of life and our democracy. Please, if you witness someone sharing seditious beliefs, do not hesitate to contact your local Federal Service Agent.” The camera zoomed out as the newcast pivoted into open panel. “Ms. PeCain, Do you think this terrible attack had something to do with the recent critiques on our school systems?”
Eveline rolled her eyes. The attack had been a week ago, yet only today had the UFD said something about it. She had been hoping for something more, but in retrospect, that was never going to happen. Bringing her head back under the safety of her umbrella, she began walking out of the plaza. As she listened to her footsteps echoing against the many puddles hiding among the potholes, she found herself thinking. Her brother had died in that Redline terrorist attack. At first, when she initially grieved, she had considered it an accident; a horrible case of wrong time, wrong place. But then, as she slowly fought past her despondency, there were certain connections which she couldn’t help but make. Her brother Vallen, had grown increasingly cagey when her parents had been taken on that UFD sponsored trip. He had only grown more erratic when they had received news of their parent’s horrible accident on said trip. At several moments, it felt as if he was explicitly trying to avoid her. He had been alive though, and that was enough. That wasn’t the case anymore.
She hadn’t even been allowed to see his body. ‘Although,’ Eveline couldn’t suppress the thought, ‘Maybe I can’t get my brother back, because he actually was working for Redline.’ The thought hurt as much now as it did when she first considered it. And despite everything, she just couldn’t banish the doubt away.
Her stomach growled, ripping her away from introspection. Almost sheepishly, she finally noticed that she had walked herself to the Sunday foods stalls. Even with the rain doing its best to drown away everything, the food smelled heavenly. She stopped herself before getting to close to a stall however. Eveline had already almost hit her food allotment for the day. If she ate now, in midday, she would have to go to sleep hungry; Intolerable. Instead, she mumbled a curse against the city’s rationing, and kept walking to her destination: Relic Park.
It was the only lead she had. Originally, dark thoughts had hounded her for days before investigating her brother's death. Eventually however, she found the grit to act. She went into what had always been off-limits, her brother’s room, to look for clues. The guilt had almost caused her heart to beat out her chest, but she persevered; She had to know. It took a while, but eventually she found a small tablet-like device, with a glowing green button and monitor. Out of sheer curiosity, she clicked it. At first nothing happened, but a few heartbeats later, text began to appear.
“Happy to hear you are alive. Need update on what went wrong. Meet me at Relic Park, Sunday at noon. Thanks, Godot.”
Eveline had been hesitant to follow up on such a suspicious message, she even considered reporting it. That tune changed when no other lead presented itself. So, here she was at Relic Park. Even with the rain, there was a long line outside the passport booth; one moving frighteningly slow. Eveline gritted her teeth, got on line, and did her best to suppress dark thoughts and growing hunger.
Regarding the former, she failed. The status on the latter remained in doubt.
‘Who is Godot?’ She eventually found herself asking for the hundredth time. “How does he know my brother and what update did he want?’ Eveline was a smart girl, but even if she wasn’t, the lines were easy to connect. Godot thought Vallen had died, until she hit that green button. Then, Godot asked for an update on what went wrong? So, close to the explosion? The puzzle formed by the available pieces was not kind. Luckily, a distraction soon came.
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE LINE IS TOO SLOW!” A harsh female voice shouted.
Eveline raised her umbrella a tad, and did her best to eavesdrop, without explicitly looking like she was eavesdropping. It was a skill many in Lira City developed; the ones that make it past adolescence anyway. Beyond a wall of people and raindrops, Eveline saw a fierce uniformed officer aggressively pull an extremely red-faced man out of the line. It was utterly apparent that all thought had evacuated his mind the moment he was singled out.
What filled the vacuum was fear.
The guard wasn’t distracted by that though. In a barely restrained tone, she spoke through gritted teeth. “I asked you, what did you mean the line was moving too slowly?” She leaned right into his face. Taller as she was, her nose was almost touching his oily forehead. “I wont ask a third time”.
The man stammered for a few seconds; more to fill the air than do for anything else. However, eventually, he found his voice. “I apologize officer.” he squeaked. The discovered voice seemed a few octaves higher than normal. “I met no offense. My lunch break…”
“Always about you is it?” The officer interrupted. “Austerity already caused staff shortages. But after Redline’s attack, the city has all officers working double time...” She paused to bring her finger up against his shaking chest, “To protect people like you. This park has been identified as a potential target, but if we are interrupting your good time, I suppose we should all just fuck right off. Is that it?” Her tone and posture made it very clear that the question was a rhetorical one. Unfortunately, the trembling victim's panic-stricken brain failed to make the connection.
“Not at all.” he babbled. “Its just… I have an important meeting after lunch, and I…”
“Shhhhhh,” the officer interrupted again. “If you have a meeting, then alright. Just one more thing.” She rubbed his shoulders in a faux-placating manner. “One small thing.” The rubbing promptly morphed into a rough, painful grip. “Your meeting is now being held at Public Corrections, length to be determined.” She turned her head to call for backup. Moments later, as a couple burly associates grabbed the man, the officer commented, “Don’t worry, your employers will be updated.”
The man’s legs just buckled. Even with two officers at his sides, he collapsed onto the wet stone. The officers dragged him away all the same though. No one else made a peep after that. Public Corrections was clearly in a bad mood. Eveline did her best to be small and easily ignorable after that; just quietly stepping in line as the minutes passed by.
“Next, please.” Eveline was eventually called out. “Name, passport, reason for visit,” a rather average looking officer asked.
“Eveline Breyer, and just here to enjoy the park.” She said as she handed over her passport. Once the cop took it,, Eveline took a look at the man. He definitely had a kinder aura than that lady cop, but frankly speaking, the only notable thing about him were his rather striking green eyes; their almost piercing gaze seemed to glow through the rain.
“Alright…” The office trailed off as he opened the passport. “Everything looks…” he hesitated. “Oh wait.”
Eveline’s heart skipped. Had the authorities already learned about her? Should she just try running now? Would she even be able to get away?
Before her thoughts could spiral deeper, the officer continued speaking. “I am really sorry, but your passport only allows for Saturday park visits.
“What?” Eveline was blindsided. “That’s impossible” She affirmed, already forgetting what happened to the last person that annoyed a cop. “I’ve been coming to the park on Sundays for years.” Even with the passport in the cop’s hands, she could see records of countless other visits.
To the man’s credit, he did seem apologetic. “Sorry, it's a recent code change. Due to increased terrorist activity, and the demand for police presence, registration has been shifted. If your ID number ends in 06, which yours does” he pointed the number out to Eveline, “Then only Saturdays visits.”
Tears were starting to form; This was Eveline’s only lead. Would this mysterious Godot just leave, never to contact again? Would she be left with no path forward? What could she do?
“Hold on.” The man said placatingly. When he saw that he had Eveline’s attention, he leaned in and whispered. “I could never resist a nice girl crying, and I don’t intend to start.” He pretended to stamp the passport before handing it back. “If anyone asks, lets just say that you had the correct date.” He smiled.
Eveline sniffled. “Th..thank you.” She carefully grabbed her passport back. At least he had a kind smile.
“Just don’t stay to long.” He advised. “Everyone is kinda anxious at the moment, and I am pretty sure cops inside the park are doing spot checks. Try your best to not get caught.” He pretended to look serious, before allowing the grin to return. “I would appreciate not being fired on my week into the job.”
“They will never even see me… uh...” Eveline tried to look for a name tag, but clutter blocked the view.
“Flynn,” he volunteered, already waving over the next person in line.
“Flynn,” Eveline nodded as she finally walked into the park. After crossing the threshold, she immediately went to a bench and sat. That whole interaction had raised her heartbeat to unhealthy levels. With some deep breathes, she carefully considered her next move. She was in the park, now she just had to find Godot. Then she would finally get some answers and silence the many doubts that had been plaguing her.
“Well, no time but the present.” Eveline got up, and began walking to… “Wait… wait wait.” She spoke to herself. She frantically looked, across the many walking paths and the many people, before coming to a realization. ‘I don’t even know what Godot looks like. Worse, he isn't expecting me, but Vallen. I could be waiting for Godot all day, and never see him, let alone talk to him. He doesn’t have a single reason to even spit in my direction.’ she thought.
With a dour mood, Eveline walked forward. ‘Might as well do something. Sunday park days are basically over.’ She found the least populated path and moved.
Relic Park was beautiful once. It had been joyfully maintained by the locals, many of whom were volunteers. It was a festive location full of verdant flowers, curious wildlife, and the joyful cheers of children. Eveline barely remembered, but was pretty sure that she celebrated a few birthdays here. Such events had been common enough sights back then; as were weddings, funerals, reunions, and all sorts of various ceremonies. Sometime around her early pre-teens however, the city declared the park a historical site. As a historical site, volunteers were no longer allowed to maintain it; something about violating safety protocols. For a little while, the city tasked workers to maintain everything, but then came budget cuts. Austerity meant that non-critical expenditures had to be cut, and park maintenance first. Worse still, due to the historical site classification, locals were still prohibited from cleaning it themselves. The result was the nightmare that Eveline found herself walking through. Erosion from the rain had eaten away much of the natural soil, all the footpaths were either cracked or missing, and no animals had been seen grazing for years.
Eveline sighed. “Super Depressing.” She mumbled. ‘Maybe I should go home and sleep.’ She thought as a man walked by. As he passed by, she watched him unknowingly drop a small green thing. As she bent down, she saw that it was a necklace with a rectangular prism attached; an oddly familiar object. A few seconds later, she noticed herself staring. “Sir!” she shouted. “You dropped something.” She reached out to pick it up. When she got up, the man was before her, warmly smiling. He had a rugged look, with wild eyes and a sloppy beard over a defined jaw; Savage but in an attractive manner.
“Thanks,” He grabbed the crystal, before continuing on his way.
For what felt the dozenth time, Eveline sighed. “I guess there is no recovering this day.” She turned around, intent on at least doing something enjoyable. “I should go see a waterfall or something,” She grumbled. Before taking a single step however, Eveline felt something hard jab against the base of her spine, near the small of her back. She froze.
“If you want to stay alive, I recommend not making any loud noises.” The voice clearly belinged to the man she had just helped.
She almost laughed. ‘This day can’t get worse.’ She thought, as she slowly raised her hands into the air. “I don’t have any money. Let me go, and I won’t report you. Officially, I am not even in the park.” Wait. ‘Shit. Why had she just admitted that. Now nothing is off-limits, and no one would look for her. Well, maybe…’ She thought about the kind guard at the security booth.
“Hands down, and keep the umbrella up. Walk forward. That’s all I need.” The man said in an amused tone. “I don’t care about your money. I care about your blood.”
“What?” A confused Eveline mindlessly obeyed.
“I should have known.” The man continued. “There was no way that Vallen could have survived. Yet when the beacon activated, I couldn’t resist.” he explained. “Even if it meant finding a spy...”
“You knew my brother?” Eveline incredulously asked. Her blood pressure spiked, as she built the courage to ask. “Are you Godot.” she asked.
“Dont say that name.” He hissed, jamming harder into her back.
Eveline nodded. She had no idea what that weapon could have been. It certainly didn’t feel like anything she had fired before.
“Look, I apologize.” the man sighed. “It’s in my nature to be careful” He paused deep in thought. After a few heartbeats though, he continued to talk. “...But yes, I knew Vallen. Better than most, but not as well as I wished, especially after all that happened.”
Eveline bit her lip. She couldn’t lose focus just yet, even in this precarious situation. While she could, she had to get as much info as possible. “Prove it,” Eveline requested. “Anyone can say that they knew a man. Tell me something that proves you knew my brother.”
“Well,” Godot replied in mirth. “He had a sister. Vallen would often complain about missing her; long separations you see He also told me that she loved her brother. In fact, he told us that when his parents were taken away, she would frequently ask if he could sleep with her; a comforting presence against horrible thoughts. Once, Vallen even told me about how some of his old shirts had disappeared, stolen by his sister he suspected.”
Eveline said nothing. With her flushed face, she didn’t trust her voice hold firm. For the first time, she was happy that that her back was to Godot.
“I also know,” Godot added in a far softer tone. “That he shared that deep love. Everything he did, everything he accomplished, was in service of his precious sister Eveline.”
He knew her name. “Do you…” Eveline hesitated a moment before steeling herself. “Do you know how he died?” She had ask.
Godot hesistated. “That is a difficult question. My answer depends on how deeply you want to bury yourself. I warn you, it is very hard to get out of a grave after accidentally tripping yourself in.” He exhaled deeply before continuing. “If you still want to be able to go home, and continue living a normal life, I would recommend accepting the official story; Whatever version suits you the best.”
Eveline stopped walking; tightly balling up her hands into fists. With controlled breathes, she carefully replied. “My life has been horrible since my brother died. Not just due to the loneliness, but because that the government is convinced that he was a spy and I am somehow involved. I was popular once, but no longer. No one wants to talk to me. No one wants to help me. No one wants to be with me. All I have are eyes in the walls endlessly watching me. My food rations have been cut; my utilities crash all the time, and no one is ever in a rush to fix them.” She unclenched her hands and rubbed the sweat against her coat. She looked at the staining: it was red. “Regardless of what you tell me, my life won’t get any better. So forget the grave, I would jump feet first into hell for some answers.”
There was silence once Eveline finished. It couldn’t have been more than several seconds, but the moments in-between heartbeats felt as eternity. Eventually, Godot spoke in as close to a neutral tone as he could. “The UFD is evil. Redline, which your brother was a member of, is one off several chapters seeking to overthrow the UFD.”
“And you wanted to do that by blowing up a building and killing everyone in it?” Eveline asked.
“No!” Godot screamed before collecting himself. “That wasn’t the plan. Vallen was supposed quietly infiltrate the archives, and extract monetary ledgers: Tax records, donations, write-offs, that type of stuff.” Godot grimaced. “I only know a little” he admitted, “but best I can tell, Vallen was able to infiltrate and get the data. The issue came during exfiltration. Apparently, the UFD learned about the breach, but couldn’t figure out who did it. And rather than let Vallen out, they opted for a final solution.”
Eveline gasped. “You think the UFD blew up their own Central Bank just to stop tax records from getting out.” Eveline was incredulous. “Thousands must have died!”
Godot roared. “Look around us!” he snarled. “The average citizen is taxed 70%, yet the UFD have the gall to declare austerity? Where is this money being cut? Where is it being saved? The roads are moments from completely disintegration, the schools do nothing more than indoctrinate children, and if you go to a hospital, you either die waiting for care never to come, or die because someone decided you weren’t worth saving.” Godot learned his head close to Eveline’s ear. “With the UFD, it is better to look like everything is going according to plan, like the system works, rather than admitting that ever single thing is broken. The first step to fixing a problem, after all, is admitting that one exists.” He leaned his head back away. “Might as well ask the UFD to destroy the sun.” He growled. “Now, keep walking. We have stayed still to long.”
Slowly, Eveline took a few steps forward. From between gritted teeth she following up. “This is a fancy story, but you are working for Redline. You admitted as much. Even if I hate the UFD, these claims extremely bold. Honestly, I don’t know how much I can trust you.”
Eveline was met with laughter. “Good!” He exclaimed. “Don’t trust anyone, not in this world.” His tone pivoted back. “There is no way to make you trust me, nor do I really care to try. You have nothing implicating me. And that is ignoring that you are already suspect to the government. You go to the UFD, and you never see sunlight again. Although…” Godot hesitated. He signaled her to stop walking by touching his free hand to Eveline’s shoulder.
“What are you doing?” She asked.
He didn’t answer. With dexterous skill, he looped a finger around her necklace and pulled up. From between Eveline’s breasts, a crystal rose. It was circular in shape and radiated bright red. Before Eveline could say anything, another crystal dropped out from Godot’s palm; It was the same crystal that Eveline had seen Godot drop earlier. With the two crystals next to each other, it was clear to see that they were made of the same material. “Vallen gave you a Nodestone.”
Eveline was firm in her response. “It was a gift.”
Godot leaned in to whisper. “Where do you think he got it?”
Eveline didn’t know how to respond. She stood there for a solid 30 seconds, with only the rain hitting her umbrella to comfort her. Eventually, she found the strength to ask a question that had been on her mind. “Earlier, you mentioned that my parents were taken away. Was it because of Vallen?” She whimpered out.
“No.”
“Were they spies?”
“No.”
“Why were they taken then?” Eveline cried out. “They followed all the rules, paid all their dues.” Tears might have been rolling down her face, but she couldn’t be sure, not in the rain. “Everything went wrong when they were taken.”
Godot had the decency to sound apologetic as he spoke. “Unfortunately, that is just the nature of the beast. If you want to be promoted in the UFD, you have a quota on crime prevented. The amount of crime present doesn’t factor in; the quota must be met. If a cop fails to ‘find crime’, they get punished.” Godot paused to give Eveline time to process his explanation. “Your parents were unlucky. They caught the eye of a UFD officer who still hadn’t met his monthly quota. Wrong place, wrong time.” Godot hesitated before adding, “Vallen joined to find them, to bring them back to you.”
Sniffling away the tears, Eveline found the strength to ask, “Did he?”
There was a great weight in Godot’s voice as he answered. “Unfortunately, yes.” The tone commanded there be no follow up questions. For once, Eveline listened.
“So…” She sputtered; She was so tired. “What are you going to do with me?”
“Don’t know.” Godot shrugged. “I suppose you have equal input; what do you want?”
Eveline’s answer came quickly. “I would like to see my brother again. To give his body the respect it deserves; a nice burial maybe.”
Godot exhaled sharply. “I’ve heard that line before. Be very careful before signing your life away. Your brother made the same choice when confronted with the truth. He…”
Eveline interrupted with scream. Her ability to be polite was over. “I know!” She panted. “Trust me, I don’t need the reminder. But I can’t go home and do nothing. Not while I still remember his smile, his laugh. I can’t let his memory fade to dust as I do nothing but survive. It would be a hollow existence.” She threw the umbrella at the ground in a rage. Rain began to wash over her, cooling down her burning face. “I can keep his dream going.” She firmly declared.
Godot let go of her necklace, taking his hand away from her shoulder. “I think his dream was to see you happy.” He commented.
“And mine was to have him. My dream was to have my brother at my side forever. He promised that he would protect me, that he would dance with me at my wedding, that he would be an uncle to my children. But the UFD ripped that dream away.” She roared defiantly, posture going rock solid. “I think my decision was made the moment my brother made his.”
“Your brother was just as childish.” Godot sighed. “To do this, to do what you are thinking, would require complete and total sacrifice; of every positive thing in your life that you once valued: peace, friendship, trust. Your everything would be dedicated to Redline, with nothing else for anything else.” He explained.
“I already have nothing left to give.” She replied unflinchingly.
“I don’t think you are getting this.” Godot tried harder. “There will be no out. You must understand. If you walk away, you can continue whatever life you have left to live. But if you join, you are with us till we stand victorious, or till we are lined up against a wall and shot.” Godot’s tone was edging on fury. “Do you get it?”
Eveline refused to relent. “If I left, I wouldn't be living at all. I would be an unfeeling void.” she explained. “And that short of apathetic existence, one without my loved ones, is worse than death. At least dead, my body could still find purpose in sustaining whatever comes next.”
“Oh for the love off…” Godot exclaimed. “Are you sure about that?” The object poking into her back disappeared for a moment before reappearing right against the base of her neck. “How about now? You still feel brave?” He asked. Strangely enough, the thing against her neck was warm and soft. “The simplest argument to refute a moral nihilist is to kill them.” Godot explained. “Redline doesn’t need suicide bombers. What happened at the bank was a shame and Vallen was an exemplar of a man, but that isnt how we operate. What we need are infiltrators, sappers, fabricators.” Godot claimed. “Can you do any of that?”
Fairly sure of what the object against the back of her neck was, Eveline turned around. The motion was surprising enough that Godot didn’t have the time to properly react. First, she saw that same rugged face that had captivated her earlier. But when she tore her gaze away from that, she saw what he had been holding. Nothing. He had been holding nothing, and had been poking his fingers into her back this entire time. Resolute, she proudly answered Godot’s question. “I can learn.” She claimed. “My brother always said that I could do anything I put my mind too.”
“That he did,” Godot began, “Well, if you are sure…” he began before being interrupted.
“Miss? Are you alright?” a voice in the distance asked. Eveline looked to the source of the question. Those bright green eyes! It was Flynn, the guard that had let her into the park. “Eveline right? Are you okay? That man has been behind you for a while now. Is he threatening you?”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Godot’s entire demeanor changed. “Oh sorry,” he began. “This pretty lady was just kind enough to share her umbrella with me after she heard that I forgot mine at home.” He made a show of slowly bending down to pick up the abandoned tool. “But out of nowhere, a gust of wind appeared, and knocked it straight out of her hand.” With measured movements, he stood back up, handing the tool over to Eveline. It was like he was a completely different man.
“Right.” The cop said, clearly not being convinced. “Are you sure Eveline? You can trust me, I am an officer of the law.” A confused look appeared on his face. “Should I call E-Med? You seem really tense.”
“No.” Eveline answered, doing her best to act even fractionally as well as Godot. “Everything is perfect. As he said, he was just helping me with my umbrella.” Eveline turned over to Godot, and nodded. “Thank you very much sir.”
“Ma’am, it was my pleasure” He tipped a non-existent hat as he replied. “I think its time that I head home.” He nodded to the cop before he walked away.
Flynn was clearly extremely suspicious of Godot, but apparently felt that he couldn’t do anything if Eveline didn’t voice any complaints. Eventually, after several seconds of inner turmoil, he shrugged. Turning away from Godot’s quickly fading body, he continued speaking to Eveline. “Well, in any case, you should probably be making your way home too. Don’t know if you heard or not, but a new curfew is in effect starting tonight.” He thought about it for a second, before explaining further. “Edict only just passed. UFD is issuing partial martial law to help combat Redline.” He puffed up his chest, trying to make himself seem impressive. “I wouldn’t want to arrest a pretty lady like you… Although, I wouldn’t mind personally supervising your house arrest.”
Eveline smiled. It was full and bright and cheerful… and absolutely fake. Luckily, Flynn was too naive to notice. “Thank you very much. I appreciate the good work that you and yours do.”
Flynn tipped his cap in a clear imitation of Godot, albeit with a real cap.
Eveline walked away, leaving Flynn alone in the rain. As she walked, she found herself once again pondering a very familiar question. How many raindrops are needed to make a storm? She grinned. “One less than you would think.”