The Starling Vigilante [Watty's 2015 Award Winner]

Chapter 54

'Lead the way,' Ivo smirked as one of the crew pushed a gun to my back.

Walking through the forest, I decided to take a long route and see where we ended up. My plan was rubbish, and Sara and I hadn't had been able to finish it before I was made to go out onto the island. And, Sara wasn't allowed to come, either.

After an hour of walking, I found a deep crevice in the land, one which looked like it could house a journal.

'It's in there,' I pointed hopefully.

'You go and get in then, Aria,' Ivo smiled, the look on his face telling me he didn't believe me.

'I think it'll be better if you go and get i-' I started, trembling.

'I told you to get it,' Ivo said loudly in an assertive tone.

As I slowly travelled to the crevice, I heard an arrow fly behind me. The man who had been holding me a gunpoint was dead. Instinctively, I ran from the scene much to Ivo's discontent, and then saw another arrow fly past me, hitting Ivo in the leg.

Trying not to turn back, I carried in running.

'Don't just stand there!' I heard Ivo shout. 'Run after her!'

Hiding behind a tree as the men ran past my spot, I found my archer. His face was hidden under a green hood, and he held what looked like his hunt for the day.

'Thankyou!' I said, astounded. 'Why did you help me?'

Without saying anything, he just ran off into the forest, leaving me behind.

Not knowing where to go, I decided to return to the cavern. But the only problem was, I didn't know where I was.

After twenty minutes of strenuous walking, I sat down, the wounds in my body still aching as I took every move. They were still healing up, my clothes rubbing against cuts probably making the pain feel ten times worse than it actually was.

Standing back up, as I put my foot down on the ground to take another step, I felt myself being caught in some sort of contraption. As I got my bearings back, I found myself in some sort of suspended net. I had gotten caught in a trap.

I wasn't doing very well that day.

'Aria, what a surprise,' Ivo came up to the trap, limping. 'You can't escape my ship. I know you know one or two things about... deals.'

'How?' I asked. Ivo literally knew everything. 'I didn't tell anyone on the island!'

'But you did on my ship,' Ivo said. 'That was a mistake. You see, when you're under my... care, you can't keep anything to yourself. You have to share everything. With everyone. Like a good, happy crew.'

Cutting me down from the trap, Ivo caught my fall.

'You see, Aria, I care about you,' Ivo declared. 'Like Sara. You remind me of Sara, actually. How she resisted torturing people when she just joined us. But soon, she learnt that the work she was doing was good. That it was helping me. And you'll learn that too. In time.'

'I'll never follow your wishes!' I squinted, slowly standing in order to not irritate my wounds any more. 'I'm not part of your plans!'

'But, Aria,' Ivo said. 'I need you. You're an important asset to our team.'

'Team?' I laughed. 'More like prison.'

'Oh, Aria, you're not like those prisoners,' Ivo announced. 'You're special.'

'Special?' I repeated sarcastically.

'Yes,' Ivo nodded, placing his hand on the only unaffected part of my shoulder. 'You were... made for great things. You have incredible instincts, your fighting ability is remarkable, and you are intelligent too. And with the Mirakuru, you could be the strongest Super Soldier that I can find. Aria, you can save the human race, on the front line.'

I couldn't tell Ivo where the Mirakuru was. I didn't want to become some drone he wanted me to be. And he was trying to use flattery to make me help him. But I was much stronger than that.

He seriously underestimated me.

'Now, Aria, where is the journal?' Ivo asked softly.

'I- I don't know,' I said slowly.

I was being honest; I didn't know where the cavern was from here, and I needed some sort of tactic. So, I decided to get sympathy off Ivo.

'I really don't know!' I cried, sobbing. 'I just wanted to escape. That's why I brought you out here. Peter didn't tell me where he put it.'

'Its alright, Aria,' Ivo said, patting my shoulder. 'We'll find another way.'

I was just relieved he fell for my lies.

---

'Aria?' Sara exclaimed as I returned to our chambers. 'I thought you wanted to escape!'

'Well, I had a change of heart,' I lied, knowing that there were cameras and speakers throughout the room. 'I felt that I wanted to spend my days with you. And to help Ivo 'save the human race'!'

I felt bad for lying to Sara, but it was the only way I could make Ivo think I was on his side.

'So, did you find the journal?' Sara asked as I sat down next to her.

'No,' I shook my head. 'I couldn't remember where it was.'

Lies. And more lies.

'Oh,' Sara realised. 'Well I'm glad you stayed!'

'Me too!' I said, faking my enthusiasm.

I was going to have to cope with lying a lot more if I wanted to survive.

---

The next morning, Ivo called me to his chambers.

'Good morning, Aria,' Ivo smiled, gesturing me forward.

'Morning,' I said, trying to smile as I sat on the thatched chair, my body still aching.

'Are your wounds still bad?' Ivo asked, concerned, as he saw me grimace when I tried to get comfortable.

'Yeah,' I breathed, trying to forget about the pain.

'Well, I've been working on a special... gel that speeds up the cells around the wounds, to make them heal quicker,' Ivo told me, grabbing what appeared to be a tube of some sort of gel-like substance. 'I only have one tube, but you can use it if you like.'

Taking the tube, I tended to my deepest wound, and felt a sharp, cold sensation around the area.

'It'll sting a little,' Ivo commented. 'But, in about an hour it should be healed.'

Putting the gel across all my wounds, I thanked Ivo.

'No problem,' he smiled. 'I want the most important person in my crew to be well so that she can reach her true potential.'

From then on, Ivo talked about his wishes for me, while I just nodded along, not knowing what to say or do. He told me that he wanted me to carry out tests on other prisoners, and then do tests myself to see how far I could push myself. And then he wanted Sara to teach me how to torture people, the thing I dreaded the most. But to be a Super Soldier, apparently I needed to be able to torture people 'to get information'.

Leaving his chambers, my first task was to carry out one of the prisoners tests. I had been given a key to 'Cell 307', and so I journeyed to the cell, worried about what I was going to have to do to them. The route seemed strangely familiar, like I had been there before. And then I realised why.

It was Peter's cell.