“Are you serious?”

“Yes Sir.”

“Is Telia leading the parley effort?”

“Yes, she is.”

“Fuck, where is she?”

“She’s in the middle of a discussion right now with the leaders of the Doasians.”

“How long have they been in discussion?”

“I’m not sure, fifteen minutes I believe.”

What the hell is she thinking? I thought, confused. “Just started, take me to whose in charge!”

“We’re no on—“

“TAKE ME TO WHO’S IN CHARGE KID!”

Fright appeared in the lad’s eyes, scared from the reverberating sound of my voice. I grabbed Arson by the collar and continued pulling him towards them. “I need to speak with her.”

“I don’t know if that’s possible sir!”

“Then lead me to someone I can speak to!”

“…this way,” The one on the left said.

The lads darted to the left and scampered an abandoned vehicle that was stapled onto one of the buildings close to the wall.

They make a hard right which made me almost lose them as they turned left and headed up a short flight of stairs.

As I followed behind, the young men eventually slowed their pace as they realised I wasn’t able to keep up, especially when I was handling my prisoner.

They didn’t ask me anything, but their eyes spoke for them. They glanced at my unusual clothes, which looked foreign to them no doubt. The drenched clothes that Arson wore, probably didn’t help either.

I watched their hands go towards their assault rifles as their suspicions grew by the second. “Shit!”

I yanked my pistol free, aiming at both of them, right before their raised their assault rifles. “Easy…I’m not a Doasian,”

“Who are you?”

“I’m with Telia and Stin, haven’t gotten word of my arrival?” I growled.

“There was no word of someone else with you!”

“That’s true, but there’s no need to worry. He’s here to help.”

“Help Yo-?!” Arson protested.

I elbowed the bastard in the gut, keeping my pistol trained on the lads. The suspicion they held, was still there, but I could see them waver by the second. “Fine, you don’t have to trust me. Take me to Gean, he’ll vouch for me.”

The young men turned to each other at the same time, wondering if it was a good idea. “I’ll start,” I said, raising raised both my hands and making myself look as vulnerable as possible.

The lads raised their assault rifles and began to encircle Arson and me. Shit, I should’ve folded them, I thought sourly.

“Keep straight ahead, make a left by a small building with white paint smeared on the left wall. Once you make that left, there should be a short flight of stairs, take those, then run a few meters to another set of spiralling stairs that should take you onto the wall.”

“Where’s Gean? I need to talk to him.”

“Gean’s with Telia, they’re both talking with the Doasians.”

“Fuck…who’s in charge then?”

“Jasina.”

“Jasina?

“Yes, she’s going to be wearing a brown top and blue fatigues.”

“Gotcha.”

The lads dropped their aim, turned around, and headed in the opposite direction which was west. I rolled my neck, grabbed Arson Fellis by the arm and wrestled him through the mini-maze the lads had sent me through.

As I climbed the spiral staircase, my heart began to thump, thinking how screwed I was, because nothing seemed to be going right on this mission. “From skirmishes to wall climbing,” I muttered to myself.

Arson Fellis looked at me as though I was going mad, but I ignored the man, ensuring he hit his shoulder against the staircase I turned right.

Once we reached the top of Sceleratus’s walls, a cold gust of wind sprayed across the night sky stealing warmth from my neck. I hadn’t realised how damp my here was till I felt a jolt of electricity shoot down my spine, reminding me how cold it was outside.

My eyes traced the wall, watching as the villagers looked intently in the distance. I tried to walk over to see what they were looking at but I couldn’t, I needed to find Jasina and fast.

As much as I tried to bite my lip to ignore it, I shivered within my Furtiven Suit and tried to mentally warm my body up with my mind.

“Who are you?!” Someone growled to my left. I turned to them, eyes laced in anger. “You don’t know me, but I’m looking for Jasina,” I said firmly.

“Jasin—“ He tried to say.

“I don’t care about what bullshit you’re going to tell me. Either you direct me to Jasina or fuck off. I’m trying to save your lives!” I snapped.

The man’s eyes gaped in surprise. He tried to calm himself by raising his pistol at me, but another man grabbed him by the shoulder. “That’s Telia’s guest, he’s here to help.” A grey beard man said. “You’re looking for Telia I assume.” He said, turning to me.

“I was, but I heard she’s trying to negotiate with the Doasians.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Is Jasina here?”

“She is,”

“Take me here, I’ve got something that could help,” I said firmly if the Doasians are willing to partake.

“Follow me.”

The man turned right, bypassing one of the machine guns stapled to the wall. We then passed a woman who had her hair covered with a shawl but looked down with hope in her eyes. I could tell she didn’t want to die, and neither did I in all honesty.

The broody atmosphere of the wall made me feel as though I was about to drown in it. The wary eyes and frightfulness that were painted onto their faces truly made me feel as though my gamble to bring Arson here, could save them, but it could also make guarantee their deaths. I need to speak with Eltessa, I thought, she needs to know I have the answers to her problems.

In the short distance, a group of six people men and women standing on either side were huddled together. The man pushed his way to the centre of the group.

A woman about 5’4 feet tall appeared, wearing a white top with blue fatigue jeans. Her hair was brown, locks but she had her styled in a bun.

The bags around the woman’s eyes seemed heavy, especially with her cheeks looking pulpy. The man that led us here whispered something in her eyes and life returned to her. She turned to him, he nodded then pointed to me which was followed by her eyes scanning me as though she was told to expect me.

I stalked myself up to her, dragging Arson behind me. The few whispers that made it over the howling wind sounded like glass scrapping against the surface, with a hint of indignation. ‘Who’s that man he’s carrying’ ‘I’ve never seen him before.’

“I need to get in contact with Telia,” I said firmly, not allowing Jasina to speak. The woman’s lips curled into a wrinkled smile. “I’m not sure if that’s possible.”

“What do you mean you’re not sure if it’s possible.” I huffed.

“The Doasians requested no outside interference, or they’ll storm us.”

“that’s fucking insane, what makes you think they won’t kill both of them.”

“Because it was them that requested the parley.”

“What?”

“They requested the parley stranger, not us.”

“Why the fuck would they request it?” I growled flustered.

“We don’t know, nor do we care...but if it’s a chance that’ll allow us to live in peace, then anything could happen,” Jasina said calmly.

They have a plan, I thought, but what in the Imbibe could they muster up when all stacks are against them?

“Jasina, there’s movement from the camp!” Someone shouted,

I turned right and saw two headlights snaking through the desert, heading towards the middle of the battered village. At the centre of the village between two pillar-like boulders was a white flag flapping in the wind.

I zoomed in with my cybernetic eye, hoping to catch some form of movement, but all I saw was a white flag flapping.

Two skeletal figures appeared in the foreground, one shorter whilst the other was bigger. That’s Gean and Eltessa, I mused. “This is crazy,” I whispered.

“Crazy? Unlikely…” Jasina said confidently.

“You sound confident.”

“Gean has a way of getting things done. He’s allowed us to survive for this long.”

This means, he has no problem with getting his hands dirty.

I strained my eyes, trying to see if Eltessa wasn’t a hostage, because that was the only logical reason for this woman’s arrogance.

As I tugged Arson in front of me the bastard didn’t resist, which made me feel satisfied. The moment we set foot on the wall, he’d become meeker as if he knew what I wanted to do with him. “You appreciate the view?” I asked him.

Arson turned to me, lips drawn to the line. I curled my lips into a bitter smile and stared back at him. “I guess you aren’t appreciative of the view. You should be it’s your show.”

“Yo—“ He said, but stopped himself, feeling the gazes of everyone turn to him.

“I never asked you your friend’s name,” Jasina said, walking to me.

I turned right, watching as the group began murmuring to themselves.

“Never said he was a friend either.” I laughed. “Speaking of friends, where’s Stin?”

“Stin?” Jasina asked confused stopping in front of me.

“Yes, the lap dog that’s always with Telia.”

“Ah, He went looking for a way out of here, I sent some men with him to help.”

That’s not good, “thank you, he’s a bit anal at times.”

“A bit?” Jasina laughed. “I’d say he’s moodier than my daughter.”

“That sounds about right,” I said.

I scanned the wall, feeling goosebumps rise beneath my Furtiven Suit. Something’s not right, I can feel it in my bones. I mused.

The villagers who were living outside of Sceleratus eyed me, sceptical, but mostly guarded. It made me feel uneasy, but I couldn’t put my tongue on it. “Did something happen whilst I was gone?”

“Nothing of the sort. The only thing that’s changed is the Parley taking place. So right now, we sit and wait to see what demands the Doasians have.”

“Demands?”

“They’re here for a reason, a reason that has nothing to do with us.”

“But you know that reinforcements are coming here.”

“Not our problem once we can leave. The Doasians and you Antilleans can fight it out all you want. It’s not our business. We just want to live in peace.” She hissed.

“So do we.”

“So do we? When the Doasians, Latronians and Antilleans fight where does it take place? Doasa? Latron? Antillea? No. It happens where we live. The Carib Plains…the place where you call ingrates to call the Waste!”

I turned around, looking at everyone. The men and women that eyed both Arson and my faces were filled with anger and disgust.

It was as if they were fighting everything within themselves not to hurt me.

In truth, I understood that gaze, because I too had that gaze when I lived on the streets of the Gallows.

Seeing people having food, transportation and family, filled me with frustration and anger, something I carried to this very day.

The lives of Antilleans were a walk in the park compared to those who lived in the Waste.

In the waste, having a farm and water was a luxury, along with decent shelter.

In the Waste, the majority of the people didn’t know where their next meal came from and it didn’t help when the Federation would send ‘Humanitarian’ efforts into the waste, which usually was met with disgust and distrust.

I couldn’t blame them in all honesty. If someone left their shiny ivory tower to ‘help’ me to swell their ego, I would be sceptical of anything they offered.

“You’re right,” I finally said. “We fight in your land.”

Nothing. Absolutely nothing came to mind after hearing Jasina’s words. I couldn’t talk my way out of this, I could only hope that Eltessa would come back from their negotiation safely.

“I know a battlefield when I see one. I also know where I’m not welcome. When Telia returns, tell her I’m where she left me.”

Jasina harrumphed, turning her nose up and walking towards the wall.

I grabbed Arson by the shoulder and began pulling him towards the staircase with vicious eyes peering down my neck as though I was an eyesore.

“You’re gonna let these savages chase you away? You’re more soft-hearted than I thought assassin.”

I punched Arson in the gut. He heaved a loud windless groan. He then tried heaving in heavily trying to replace with less wind. “You don’t know your place do you Arson? Don’t worry you will soon.”

The geneticist snared at me like a caged wolf. I bared my teeth in return and headed butted him in the nose.

“FUCK!” He growled, “You broke my nose…AGAIN!”

“Keep talking and I’ll break it a-fucking-gain!”