Kuro: A Land in Eternal Night

Chapter 19.1: Treaty 7745

Drake

Drake was having same dream again, though he seemed to be more aware of himself than before. There, again, was the odd sense of desolation, sadness and despair. It was a cold darkness, the kind that made chills run up and down his spine. He broke into a cold sweat.

"Calm down," he thought. He knew he was dreaming this time. It was odd how perfectly lucid he was, noticing every detail, at once dreamlike, but tangible nonetheless. He could almost have called the next part, the part when he again started running. He felt his legs carry him forward, pushing him into motion. He heard his labored breathing, began to feel his muscles tense up and the adrenaline build, causing his heart to beat loudly with exhilaration and fear at the same time.

It wasn't fear for his own safety that drove him. It was concern for the safety of another. Another who was important to him.

Fala.

He heard himself saying her name over and over again.

Fala. Fala. Fala.

Like a sing-song melody of a long-forgotten child's song, it was welcoming, nostalgic; it brought him back again to his childhood. But this was no good dream. This was the nightmare again. There would be no comfort here.

Why was she so far away? He pushed himself to go faster, but even then she was distant as she always was. He pressed on, anticipating the shadows that began appear as he knew they would. Their cackling was torture – incessant, painful, making his ears bleed. He did not fear them. He feared for Fala's safety. He closed his eyes at the world around him. He would stop at nothing. He would run as fast as he had ever run in his life, and this time he would catch her.

His speed increased, surprising even himself. He didn't know he'd had this much left in him. He didn't want to open his eyes. For a moment, he was gripped with the fear that he would realize that he was running in place, and that she would be so much farther away. He pushed on.

"I have to know!"

He opened his eyes. As he did, he glimpsed something, he hadn't seen in the dream before. Ahead of him, only by a few steps, she was there. The spry frame of his big sister, her short, boy-cut hair – he knew that hair instantly. He called out to her at the top of his lungs.

"Fala, wait!" He was gaining on her. He reached out his hands as far as he could without losing his balance, but it was too late. He pitched forward unsteadily, clumsily losing control of his body as the laws of physics took over. He would not let this deter him. He used his last bit of strength to dive instead, hoping to connect; he reached out even further, and he felt his hand touch her. He touched Fala!

So elated was he by his achievement that he did not realize that the darkness had engulfed him once more. The touch was brief, and she was gone again, whisked away by an unseen force. And then the darkness.

Drake opened his eyes. His head hurt. His vision was blurred and out of focus. In his disorientation, he thought he was waking up in his own bed, but he soon realized his surroundings were different. He was in a dimly lit room. Moreover, he wasn't lying down. He was standing up.

'Hanging' was more appropriate. He realized that he was strung up by his hands, which were bound. The rope used was tight, and it cut into his skin. He had lost the feeling in his hands, and they were numb from the loss of circulation. He wondered how long he'd been hanging in this manner. He heard the din of voices.

"I see you are coming to," a voice said.

A foul, acrid smell filled his nostrils. His eyes came into focus now, and his consciousness as well. Then he remembered where he was. "Ava!" he cried out in alarm, suddenly realizing what he had been doing before he lost consciousness.

"Ava? I could have sworn that the young lady's name was most certainly Wilhelmina." The sound of mocking laughter filled Drake's ears. His vision was coming back, and the blur of colors before him solidified. There was a small, round object, coming now into focus. He found himself staring at the barrel of a light blaster, the cold steel reflecting the dim light of the room.

Drake knew whose voice it was he had heard. The man named Okira, the one who was supposed to decipher the riddle for him. They were now at his mercy. Drake cursed himself silently for being so stupid as to fall into this trap. His thoughts were racing now, trying to find a way for him and Ava out of this mess.

His eyes fully focused now. He and Ava were still in the same rectangular room they were in before they lost consciousness. The hackers were seated at the wooden table, pounding away at their computer keyboards. A few would occasionally glance their way to take in what was going on, but for the most part the hackers remained apathetic about what was going on, absorbed completely in what they were doing.

The dim light of the room was aided by the glowing light from several computer screens. Drake did not have much time to take it all in. He took furtive glances sideways. He saw Ava beside him, hanging from her arms as well, her mouth gagged. She had come to and was looking at him in alarm.