Cogheart

Chapter Eight: A Plea And A Promise

She pulls the intricately drawn map out of her satchel and unfurls it for us both to see. It's scrawled in black ink, and I can see clear outlines of districts and names of compounds and areas within each. There are vital points drawn with bright red ink and scribbled with an unfamiliar language in the footnotes.

She takes a deep breath. "Larker had this... big dream. And it's going to sound ridiculous, because it did to me back then. But she wanted us to escape the districts and go to the green district. To live there, together, forever. She showed me a map. This map."

The Green District? Ambrose, Arthur and I exchange stares of confusion. There isn't such a thing. Clock, Gear, Steam, Metal and Cog are the only districts that exist, and I've never heard anyone mention a 'Green' District before. 

"Green?" Ambrose laughs in disbelief. "That doesn't exist. Everyone knows there's only five districts. You sure your friend was alright in the head?" 

"Shut up, Ambrose," Arthur says crossly. "Don't interrupt the girl." 

"I know, I know, okay? It sounds ridiculous. But please hear me out," she pleads. 

I nod at her to continue.

Iris traces a line along the side of the map with her index finger. "These are supposed to be directions for the Green District, and how to get there. She talked about it like a safe haven for Coghearts, somewhere hidden from the government where we could be free and stop hiding. She talked about it all the time." She pauses to sigh wistfully. "At first I was skeptical, but over time, I learned to dream about it with her. I wanted it for both of us. So we started charting a course. Saving up to get there."

Her tone turns sad, wilted. "And then we got discovered. Three days before we were supposed to leave. Someone saw us entering the apartment in Clock and tipped off the government police. We tried fighting them, but we were outnumbered. So Larker tossed me this map and told me to run away as fast as I could, and I did. I just left her to be killed." her royal blue eye fills with tears, such kind of sad, hopeless tears that I want to go over and hug her, and I can tell Arthur feels the same.

Damnit. I choke up a little, feeling a lump forming in my throat. Why am I mourning for a girl I barely know? Maybe it's not even her. Maybe it's the sadness, of their dream, and how unattainable it was. And yet how they tried so hard to reach it.

Iris smiles weakly, eye still full of tears. "So I started searching on my own. But I couldn't decipher the code, nor could I find anyone who was able to. It was written in a kind of secret language that scientists supposedly used to send secret messages back in the day, but I needed a translator to decipher it. I heard that there were good ones in Cog, so I travelled for a week to get here and have been searching ever since."

The dinner table, lively and teasing mere seconds ago is now quiet and somber. Even Ambrose looks sorrowful for the girl- though upon catching me looking, she twists it back into casual indifference. 

"That is the most awful story I've heard in a long time," Arthur sighs. "I am sorry." 

Iris appears touched at his words. "Thank you. But please don't let me drag you down. I didn't mean to get lost in memories." 

It's always difficult to avoid being trapped by memories. They act like great bubbles, catching you in their midst and forcing their walls tighter and tighter around you. Some get lighter and release you over time- and others will suffocate you, if you're not careful enough. 

Ambrose looks deeply uncomfortable, like she doesn't know what to say. "That's all well and good, only none of us know what the fuck you're talking about."