To Be Free (LadydeSade & darkangel76)

[darkangel76]

Slowly what little could be seen of sun was beginning to sink below the horizon line. The muddled light the made its way through the ominous hues of grays, dotting the murky browns and blacks of the ground below. The night was strangely warm given the time of year, but everyone knew the weather wouldn't last. All too soon the bitterness of cold would creep in and seep its way into everyone's bones, causing both happiness and morale to plummet further into the depths of despair.

As if things weren't depressing enough.

Persephone Maddox shielded her dark eyes as she looked up at the scorched sky, thunder suddenly rumbling in the distance. Her lips quirked upward just then, twisting into a sort of grin. Brushing her dark tresses out of her eyes, she wiped the sweat from her brow and mumbled to herself.

"Rumble tumble, I hear you," her voice was almost like a song as she let the words roll over her lips. "Now, where's your friend?" She paused a moment, her eyes fixed on the inky gray in the distance.

Crack! Flash!

A squeal of delight erupted from Persephone the moment the lightning streaked across the sky. Tilting her head, she bit down on her head as if waiting for it to happen once again. When it did, she clapped her hands just once and immediately, her eyes shifted down to the tiny whittling knife she carried in her boot. It was amazing that she was allowed to carry the thing. Blades typically weren't permitted, but her little blade was considered non-threatening and since she had to carry it in a location where it was viewable, she was allowed. Plus, it was on her 'profile'.

As Persephone bent over and reached for the tiny knife, her arm extended, a barcode quite visible along her forearm as her fingers curled about the handle. She let out a tiny sigh as she stood back up, the knife in hand and at waist level. Her eyes almost glittered as she stared at the thing, mesmerized as her thoughts strayed, swirling as she suddenly heard screams in the back of her mind.

"No," Persephone whispered, mostly to herself. "Not right now. Not tonight." She could feel her eyes pricking with tears as memories tried to push their way through her mind. Memories she didn't want to remember, didn't want to face.

Just then, Persephone took the tiny knife and pressed the sharp edge against her forearm. The blade made an imprint against her flesh—so beautiful—as she pushed harder, harder... harder still. All too soon, she let out a hiss, a tiny rivulet of crimson trailing the blade as she slowly slid the edge against her alabaster skin. When she removed it, she brought it up as if to inspect it. Again, she smiled. Suddenly, the tip of her tongue darted out and she licked the blade's edge clean, sighing heavily as she did so. Almost instantly, her eyes clamped shut and the thunder cracked. Once the lightning flashed, she opened her eyes once again, the knife's edge was clean now having served its purpose.

Happy, content, Persephone put the knife away and looked back out toward the horizon. As the thunderheads began to approach and the little she could see of the sun fall, the sky just became darker and darker.

 

[LadydeSade]

If the skies were good, they would get plenty of rain. Strange, he knew, but Alexander loved the rain. He liked the gray skies and the rattle of thunder; he liked the dark and dreary days where one could smell the Earth. Perhaps because it kept people distracted, somber even. Or perhaps it was because it linked him to himself, a fraction of his brain that seemed untouched by the world around him. It was the one thing he had and always would, until he died. He had his dreams and his curiosities, wonder about life outside of the walls and fences. Of course, he was above the experiments, he was above the starved and ravaged beings who were trapped there.

But he was still far from free. Alexander Raton was a guard for the city, if you could call it that. He had the eye of a bird, always watching for a violation of code. He slept in quarters with other men, men who held their tongues and kept their eyes where they were meant to be. They had little discussion save for small talk of rain, of the conditions of hovels or of the days chow. A rumble in Alexander’s stomach reminded him that he had neglected his second meal that day, instead he had snuck off as he often liked to do. The third meal would soon be ready, but Alexander had other business to attend to.

Skipping the meal would not get him punishment, but his lack of real duty would. The fair-haired man often found himself winding through narrow walkways between homes, where people went about their daily work, their chores of readied themselves for the evening. It stunk of pestilence there, of body filth and rot, but it didn’t deter Alexander. Instead he took it all in. It was different, and that was what drew him in. It didn’t smell of cleanser, of chemicals that burned his emerald eyes and forced his nose to rear back. No, it was different.

From one of the shacks he could smell some sort of meat cooking, likely pigeon. Rations were given to the citizens, but more often than not, they wanted more. And that was when they took to capturing food. It was frowned on, as it was assumed that they were given enough food to sustain a livable weight and to complete daily work. But Alexander would continue on by the door, not paying mind to the squab nor the chef. No, he was on a mission.

Often he watched her. It began so simply, that she had just passed him while he was on duty and caught his eye. Blue orbs had soaked her in, her motions, the way she took so- intensely instilled in her own thoughts. What was she thinking? He would never approach her, not in a friendly manner. That wasn’t his place, and he knew the price he would pay if suspected of relations with the citizens. They were his duty, not his playthings. Still, he would about, on the hunt for his mysterious piece of work.

 

[darkangel76]

It was getting darker and the rumbles louder. Persephone wondered if it might actually rain. From the look of the angry clouds swirl and rolling toward them all, she was almost certain they were in for some sort of theatrical treat from the skies. The lightning seemed to dance as it streaked across the ever-darkening sky. Just then, a breeze caressed her skin causing her to shudder.

Persephone looked down at her arm, tiny bumps forming all over her flesh as the wind kissed it delicately, tenderly. An odd smile tugged at her lips as she caught sight of the mark she'd left—a perfect line adjacent to the barcode that marred her all but perfect skin. Suddenly, she shivered. Her hands came up and began to rub at her arms and soft giggles escaped her as she mused at how delightful the chilled sensation felt as it washed over her body.

"Still alive," Persephone whispered mostly to herself.

As the breezes blew, Perspehone could smell the rain waft in on the air. It mixed with the pungent smells of the encampment, her... prison. Oh how she longed to get out, to leave. But that was a dream, a fanciful story she told herself everyday though she knew it was never to be realized. Though she didn't like facing that fact. It meant giving up, letting go of innocence.

In that moment, Persephone felt her body freeze, her hands dropping to her sides. She was a slave to the city and those who ran it, governed it... she was theirs to do with as they willed and wanted. Her mind, body and soul belonging to them. Again, her eyes found that damnable barcode and she felt the tears welling up and finally falling.

"Damn it," she cursed at herself, angrily wiping them away. As she brought her hands away from her face, her dark eyes damp with tears, she could feel her thoughts turning as dark as the sky.

Crack! More thunder... and soon again, the lightning streaked across the sky.

Persephone heaved a heavy sigh and shifted her gaze back down toward the knife she kept in her boot. Just then, she felt a chill run along her spine. Someone was watching. Who? Immediately, she turned her head and tilted it, her expression confused, almost blank. As she looked at the man watching her, she wondered just how long he'd been staring, just how much he'd seen.

As the storm seemed to grow stronger, closer, the lightning bursts did odd things as it lit up everything in the nearby vicinity. Biting down on her lip, Persephone locked eyes with the man looking her way. Unsure of what to do and feeling awkward, she gave him a nod.

"I haven't done anything wrong, if that is what you're trying to decide. My record is quite clean." Nervous, yet determined, Persephone held out her arm with the barcode—and mark—for the man to scan.

 

[LadydeSade]

Oft Alexander found himself trapped in his own head, lost to the world around him. That was dangerous ground to tread in his profession, in his life. But there he was, wandering about the gray streets with his head swimming. There he was, imagining that she was dreaming the same things he was. Was she thinking about the trees outside of the fence? Was she thinking about listening to the sound of rain? His head turned up to scan the sky when thunder boomed and lightening spread throughout the dim glow of atmosphere.

That was when his eyes moved back to her, when he realized she had drug a blade across her skin. He was perplexed. Why would any creature damage itself? Alexander was frozen there, long enough to not realize that the young woman was then looking at him. Speaking. Her lips moved, her body presented itself toward him, showing the tattoo on her arm. She was speaking, but what was she saying? Everything seemed slow, groggy. He could only hear the thunder. Finally it came to him all at once.

My record is quite clean. He nearly stumbled back and words were lost to him. Where was he? Oddly, Alexander ignored her and turned his head toward the sky. When he did so a drop of water came flying toward his face, running down to his chin. Pull yourself together. “Uh.” He began, already dreadfully unprofessional. And then he was there, his back straight and eyes hardened. He pulled a scanner from his pocket and ran the infrared light along her arm. “What are you doing out here?” He questioned, trying his hardest to keep his tone hard.

She had been crying. He tried to think of the last time he seen tears. Was it one of the children? Alexander recalled a late night where he sat on the edge of his cot and tried to force tears from himself. Nothing. No emotion. Alexander felt a bit of envy for the red hue on the rim of her lashes but kept his face blank, void of feeling. “You should be home.”

 

[darkangel76]

Persephone stood there, her arm extended for the man to scan. No doubt he was eagerly anticipating being able to use that infernal device he and every other man like him carried on his hip, she figured. Oh how she loathed the things—so invasive—since they called up any and all information ever recorded about a person. She wondered what hers had to say, though she was certain it couldn't be anything of value. After all, her record was clean.

Wasn't it?

It was as far as she knew and could remember. However, that was... the problem—but, more than likely, a minor one. One thing was for certain though, Persephone knew that since showing up were she was, she hadn't done anything that could even remotely be considered... wrong. At least not visibly so. She couldn't be responsible for her thoughts, but those were her own and so far she hadn't acted on any of those.

So far...

"Home?" Persephone stated more than asked. She wondered how anyone could call such a place home. Everyone knew it was a holding place, a mere stepping-stone for their true purpose in life. Just then she could feel her eye twitch slightly as a strange voice tried to gnash its teeth against the inside of her skull. Tilting her head as if trying to ignore the sounds, she added. "I have no home to speak of. Not any more."

Persephone let out a sigh followed by a sniff as she turned her head and focused her dampened eyes on the thunderheads. Already the first few raindrops were beginning to fall, the coolness almost sizzling as it struck against her warm flesh, heated by hot, moist air of the day. It was a wonderful sensation and she relished it. For a few moments as it fell, it would wash everything away and make everything appear clean and new. Pity that wasn't the case.

After it appeared that the man had finished scanning her arm, Persephone looked back over at the man. As if she'd been bitten or stung, she quickly brought it back and cradled it close to her body.

"Well?" Persephone then prodded, her dark eyes looking at the man almost quizzically as if he might hold answers to a forgotten past. Again, that voice screamed at her, claws scraping inside her head.

Persephone brought a hand up and raked it through her hair, her skin beginning to break out into a cold sweat as pieces of broken memory tried to battle their way to the surface.

No. No. Not now.

Swallowing hard, Persephone twisted her fingers through her hair, her other hand gripping her thigh. "Clean... right?"