5 comments/ 11358 views/ 2 favorites Iskara Ch. 01-02 By: Sintillating Foreword: The year is 2136; it has been one hundred years since World War 3 decimated the planet. The few people who have survived the nuclear fallout have banned together and formed a new society, but the lingering effects continue. Only half a percent of the world's people survived the War and the lingering radiation is having an effect on the newborn population. Few are born completely normal, and the government is determined that these few be the only ones to continue on. With this goal in mind the government, lead by a ruthless dictator, sent out decrees that every baby be registered at birth and scanned for any DNA anomalies. Many people, knowing themselves to have mutated genes, escaped to the barren wilderness and the fringes of society, hoping to elude capture. Many of the mutations were almost impossible to spot, so everyone passing from one settlement to another was genetically scanned to be sure that no anomalies entered into a "clean" society. Every "normal" human who had been cleared had a pass tag with their picture, a run down of their skills and genealogy, and a scan pass that contained every bit of information about them on record. Anyone found with mutated genes was "relocated" to a separate settlement. Upon arriving at the "settlement" these people were sterilized, put into cells, and fed the smallest rations possible to keep them alive. People became afraid to be associated with "Annom's" as they were dubbed and became very isolated even within their societies. Everyone was viewed with suspicion, even those with pass tags, as anyone might end up having a genetically abnormal baby, and there was always those who slipped through the cracks and got their tags even with a mild mutation, though these were few and far between. Babies found to have a mutation were killed soon after birth, and pregnant mothers lived in fear that the life they carried would be destroyed before their first day was up. Many women decided it was not worth getting pregnant when that would be the result. With the population so low, birth control was outlawed so there was only one way to avoid pregnancy, which made the male population very unhappy. This combined with the limited resources and desperate situation of living day to day caused a major rise in crime. Under the convenient excuse of having to control the crime rate, Madar, the leader of the New World Order, assembled a "Police Force", presumably to help eliminate crime, but really to help exterminate all the Annoms living outside of government control. This force, called Peace Makers, became one of the highest causes of crime in the settlements, taking full advantage of the authority bestowed upon them to terrorize and demoralize the population. If you dared stand up to them you were branded an Annom and shipped out to the relocation site. Despite all these hardships, the settlements continued to grow slowly, with the Annoms out breeding the Norms and trying to find new ways of concealment. The land was still trying to recover from the war itself and survival was hard at best. Though some technology still existed from before the war, it was restricted to the government officials and P.M.s only. The few animal species that survived were also under attack from the radiation and some of the mutations made them useless to people. Trying to make the best of an impossible situation, the people continued to revert to skills mostly lost pre-War and managed to scratch out an existence in their harsh environment. Living mostly in the ruins of previous structures, the majority of what they managed to grow or raise went to the government, supposedly to form a reserve for "lean times", though everyone knew the government had their own ways of growing food. Many tried to move further from the settlements so as to expand on their farms, but were pulled back by the P.M.s "for their own protection" making them dependant on the government for almost everything. It was into this precarious life that Iskara was born. * Chapter One: The End Of Childhood PW 2136 She was only 6 and already on her own. She kept low to the ground as she crept around the corner and away from the P.M.s that were walking down the broken street. Only a month ago her mother had been taken by others dressed in those black uniforms, and the others she knew told her that her mother would never come back. She watched as they walked up the street, black boots shining in the harsh light of the sun, dust swirling about their ankles as they went. No one else had boots like that, not even the Norms. She started off in the opposite direction of the P.M.s, knowing she needed to stay well away from them. She crept to the edge of the fields of crops trying feebly to maintain a grip on life in this harsh land. She nipped a few peas off the stalk and grabbed a carrot or two, then carefully covered her tracks and headed back toward the hillside in back of the village. The sparse line of trees betrayed the bank of a river, sluggishly moving through the land. It wasn't enough water to keep the settlement supplied, so no one ventured here, no Norms anyway, so it was almost safe. She dropped below the bank of the waterway and walked slowly toward the trickle of muddy water running down its center. She acted more like a deer than a little girl, pausing frequently, her eyes half closed, as though feeling for the presence of any other creature. This was in fact what she was doing. She was able to feel the presence of others before they ever got close enough to her to detect her, and was able to conceal herself better than most would believe. She didn't know this was unusual, she just knew that if she didn't she would get caught, and she didn't want to disappear and never see anyone again. Finally she reached the edge of the water and bent to scoop some up in her hands. Muddy though it was, she had never known water any other way, and so didn't hesitate to drink deeply. She froze suddenly, not moving a muscle, as she heard a movement behind her. She had no hope of concealment silhouetted as she was against the stream, but every nerve in her body cried out for her to hide. "Growing careless, Iska! If I had been a P.M. I would have had you by now!" She breathed a sigh of relief, suddenly coming down from full alert. It was only Dask. Dask walked quietly up to her and gave her a once over. Unlike most kids her age, Norm or Annom, she had a well fed air about her, even if she was unkempt and dirty. Her hair was greasy, but not sparse as most were, and she had a slight roundness to her cheeks not seen in any settlement save Capital, where the politician's kids ate off plates and had meat three times a week. "How do you manage to keep yourself fed, Iska? Everyone thought you would have been wasting away now without your mother giving you every scrap of food she could find." "I find food for myself; I don't need anyone's help! Mom was not giving me everything; I found most of my food myself!" she retorted, feeling defensive and guilty. She knew she ate better than anyone, but she just couldn't explain how it was that she got her food. She just "knew" where it was and got it. She could tell the difference between edible and non-edible foods just by looking at them and she didn't succumb to the normal stomach problems that other Annoms and even a few Norms seemed to be plagued with. As far as meat went she seemed to have an easier time hunting the small lizards and rodents that were found here than others. Then there was the settlement itself. Though she didn't do it often, when even she couldn't keep her belly full on foraging she would slip quietly into the settlement and steal a few eggs from the chickens or maybe some vegetables from the gardens, never enough to arouse suspicion, but enough to keep hunger at bay. She knew that the others would not approve of this so she was careful to make sure they didn't know. They got blamed for enough stuff around here, with the P.M.s telling everyone that it was the Annoms committing all the crimes in the settlement when everyone knew it wasn't. The P.M.s would love to be able to prove it, but they couldn't catch an Annom to make them "confess". Dask looked deep into her eyes, as if trying to read her mind, but couldn't seem to get anything out of her and gave up, looking away. He could never look into her eyes for long, they seemed to glow as he tried to pry the information he wanted from her mind, and that glow blocked all chances he had of reading her. He had no problem reading most people, but always made sure they knew what he was trying to do for privacies sake, letting them retreat if they wished. This was the reason he was made leader of the Annoms in this area. Everyone respected him and trusted him to give them sound advice and help keep them out of Resettlement. Iskara was his worst headache and biggest pride. He watched over her like she was his own since her mother, who was a Norm, appeared with her and had no clue how to live in this environment. She seemed to be from Capital, though she never told anyone about her former life. It was only a matter of time before she was caught, but she had made Iskara as secure as any Annom could be. Iskara had lived with them for all but 6 months of her life and was always astounding people with the range of her talents. Iskara's mother, Nihar, had been travel worn when she arrived and spoke with a learned air, yet had trouble with some of the simplest tasks. He had never seen a Norm so poorly adapted to settlement living. They were on the outskirts of the far flung settlements, not many chose to live here voluntarily, yet Nihar seemed determined to get as far from Capital as she could. Poor thing, Dask thought, she was probably raped by every P.M. from here to Capital, pretty as she was. He knew how most of the Norm girls got pregnant and was repulsed by it. The P.M.s did as they pleased and didn't give a lick about who they hurt along the way. Madar and the politicians didn't care as long as the Norm population kept rising and the taxes kept coming in. He often thought that the Annoms had it better than the Norms, even with the living in exile and fear. At least they didn't have to worry about the P.M.s raping all their daughters, stealing all their goods and taking anything they wanted from any table in the settlement. He could only hope that Nihar had found a way to get herself back to her family, and that she knew that Iskara was as safe as he could make her. She returned to the Annoms camp with Dask as dusk was settling. She and the other orphaned children were given a tent of their own. Most weren't allowed to roam as freely as she was, but no one even tried to stop her now. She was impossible to keep track of, and people had given up trying to keep tabs on her. At 6 years old she had a better knowledge of the land around Settlement 8 than anyone else, even the Elders. She was adept at avoiding detection and frequently was able to glean much needed knowledge from the settlements inhabitants. This had allowed them to move their camp to avoid the patrol routs of the P.M.s and keep away from the Norms scavenging and hunting in the Barrens. It was mostly a game to Iskara, a spy game that she loved to play. She could make herself almost invisible against a building just by thinking of herself not being there. It was fun to see people looking directly at her and not seeing her. She would have loved to play with some of the Norm kids but knew that was not permitted, so she learned a few of their games and brought them back to camp with her. The other Annom kids enjoyed learning new games and the adults appreciated the opportunity to work on projects and gather food. As night came on in full, the Annom camp went into stealth mode, keeping any fires down to coals and hidden by broken walls or buildings. Iskara felt a change in the wind and found herself a partially intact shelter that used to be a building, and piled up grass to make her bed. The orphan tent was very crowded right now due to the large number of Annoms caught recently by the P.M.s, and she didn't want a bunch of cry babies keeping her wake all night, it would only remind her of her own loss. As she settled into her improvised nest with a rag of cloth covering her, she let her mind go blank in preparation for sleep. Tonight, however, sleep would not be what it normally was. With her mind open there was a flood of information pressing in on her from all sides. She had learned to filter out the background mental noise long ago, but tonight one bit of information would not be ignored. Through all the normal bee like hum of thoughts came an extremely clear picture of a place she had never seen. She heard with ears that were not hers and heard voices she did not know. She saw faces unfamiliar to her, and had no idea what she was seeing. She walked quickly down a long corridor toward a portal that opened at her approach. The walls were unlike anything she had ever seen and though she wanted to stop and examine them, she was unable to, not having control of the body she was inhabiting. She passed a reflective surface and caught a glimpse of an unfamiliar face that she felt she should recognize. A man with piercing blue eyes and high cheek bones stared back at her from under a well trimmed and clean shock of strawberry blonde hair. His jaw had clean and well formed lines, and had she been older she would have called him handsome, except for those eyes. Those eyes in that brief glimpse seemed to bore straight through her like no one else could. She heard herself speak in a voice that was not hers..... "And what is the status of the problem with the Runaway?" "My Lord, She has been found, but the child was not with her. We tried all the normal means to discover if it still lived but she refused to say. Unfortunately, she died before we were able to make her talk, but we have sent reinforcements to the Peace Makers in Settlement 8 to help round up all the Annoms. We should be able to find the child without a problem," replied a cool voice from behind her. She could hear a trace of fear and contempt in his voice, but was unable to figure out the cause. "Like you have found it in the past, Brosk? Like how you found it when she escaped 6 years ago? I need that child eliminated! The DNA results were off the charts! The havoc that thing could do to our society is monumental! I want it found now!" said the voice that was not her own. She had turned to face the other man, and saw him as a tall black man with no hair and piercing black eyes. He was wearing the same uniforms the P.M.s wore, but a better quality than any she had ever seen. He had a very muscular body that was obviously well nourished. His eyes were the only thing that showed even a glimpse of what he was feeling, and what they showed was fear. "I don't want to hear of another failure, General, or you might not keep your rank, or your head." She turned back down the passage and moved through a portal on her left, pausing only to press a hand much larger than her own against a pad beside it. As she moved inside she caught a glimpse of the rooms contents and sat upright, sweating in fear, a scream tearing at her throat. Dask was worried, more worried than he had ever been. After hearing Iskara's scream he and half the camp had rushed to her side to find her unconscious. Iskara knew as well as anyone that the noise level must be kept to a minimum to avoid detection, so nothing but mortal terror would have made her scream like that. He had shaken her to try and wake her, but it was no use, he would have to wait till she came to on her own. Meanwhile he had ordered all fires put out and absolute silence on the camp. The others had scattered to carry out his orders. Now he was alone in the dark, pacing beside Iskara and waiting for her to wake up. What could have caused her so much terror? He had never heard her scream like that before, even when she was in trouble. In fact, she was the quietest child he had ever known and not given to screaming at all. She had always been a child that kept to herself, not letting many things bother her. She stirred and he immediately was beside her. She opened her eyes to see his worried ones looking back at her and squealed, pulling away from him. When she realized who it was she calmed down, seeing warmth and concern in the blue eyes staring back at her, and no trace of the iciness that had inhabited the eyes in her dream. "What happened Iska? Why did you scream?" Dask asked gently but with much concern. "I had a bad dream." Iskara replied sheepishly. She knew you weren't supposed to make noise after dark, and she didn't think a bad dream was good enough reason to break that rule. Dask knew better than to think it had only been a dream, nothing was normal with this child, so he crouched down next to her and carefully took her hand. "Iska," he said in his gentlest voice, "let me see your dream, let me in so I can see what you saw." Iskara almost panicked. "But Dask, It was only a dream!" she cried, trying to keep the tears from running down her face and the fear out of her voice. "Iska, you must let me see." Dask said firmly. He got a hold of Iskara's head and made her look into his eyes, not trying to read her yet, just showing her the concern he felt for her. Finally he felt her resistance drain away and the glow that had always defeated him slowly faded from her brilliantly green eyes. She was more vulnerable now than at any other moment in all the time he had known her. He almost felt sorry for her, looking so fragile with the light gone from her eyes, it made him want to hold her and protect her so no one would ever hurt her. He took a deep breath and dove in. At first he met with some mild resistance to his intrusion into her mind, but sent a thought to her that reassured her he would not harm her. He found the dream that had woken her so violently. He watched and listened to the strange voices with her and entered the room with the two strangers. He could see why she had screamed. The sight made him want to vomit. There was a shining platform in the center of the room with a person lying on it. The person was still alive, yet its skin was peeled back to expose all its organs and muscles. The muscles seemed unusually large, and from the little he knew of the human body he thought that some of the glands were larger than normal, but he couldn't be certain. The vision ended abruptly due to the awakening of the recipient, and so he slowly and carefully withdrew his mind. Although the vision of the room was disturbing, it was the conversation the two men had had prior to that that made him nervous. He heard them say they were sending more P.M.s to Settlement 8 to find the child that had been lost 6 years ago. That could only be Iskara, and they had said something about the tests being off the charts.... He couldn't think about that now, he knew he had to move the group now! No wonder the P.M.s were more aggressive than normal lately, they had found Nihar here in Settlement 8 and knew her child would be nearby. "Thank you, Iskara. You have helped save many lives!" Dask went and rounded up all of his "lieutenants", the men and women that helped him keep his group together and safe. They talked all night and finally came up with a plan to escape. They would split up into small groups and move off in different directions. They would all end up in the same spot about a month from now and start up their community there. It was a place that had been scouted out and was likely to be a good hiding place. It consisted of a little oasis off to the west that was likely unknown to any save the Annoms due to the fact that few Norms wandered outside the boundaries of the Settlements, and the few that did were seldom seen again. There wasn't enough water to attract the new settlement scouts so no worries there. The only problem would be finding water along the way, but the Annoms had "talents" that varied in strength and direction. The same genetic anomalies that caused them to be outcast from the Norms allowed them to survive better in the hostile environment that was post World War 3 earth. Some of them could find water, others could move objects with their minds, others could detect food or lure animals in with just their thoughts. Together the group of Annoms was well suited to live in their hostile world, and many survived better than the Norms in the settlements. That isn't to say they lived well by todays standards, but they at least had one meal a day, even if it didn't fill them. Iskara Ch. 01-02 So they broke off into groups and set out for the oasis. There was at least one water finder with each group, and everyone would work together to keep themselves safe. Dask decided to take Iskara with him and go in a different direction. He wanted to know his group was safe and the safest they could be was away from her, but he didn't want to leave her by herself either, so he took her in the opposite direction of the oasis and didn't tell anyone else that they would probably never see them again. As Iskara walked away with Dask she felt a separation of body and spirit, and saw from eyes outside her body that her road was leading her forever away from her friends. She saw as clear as day that she and Dask would never return to this part of the world. She knew that she was starting toward her future, and that her childhood and her past would soon be far behind her. Chapter 2 Re-Entering The World PW 2148 Iskara moved slowly toward the settlement out of the Barrens. She knew that if she were going to fulfill this need driving her she had to be able to pass through these settlements without being stopped by any P.M.s. Over the last twelve years she had been tutored by Dask on how to recognize and use her talents. Her visions of the strange man had continued, and she had learned a lot from them, like what had happened to her mother, what happened to the Annoms who were "Relocated" and whose life it was that she was glimpsing. Madar. Just the thought of him made her blood boil and her vision go red. He had ordered her mother hunted down after Nihar had run off with her new baby clutched in her arms. He had ordered the death sentence that lay on Iskara's head and the head of every other Annom in the world. And most of all, he was the one torturing innocent Annoms every night in her dreams. It had become an agony to go to sleep at night, knowing she would probably see more visions of inhumanity. Dask had tried to teach her how to shut out the visions but they persisted none the less. Every night she saw countless Annoms, emaciated from long internment in Resettlement, placed on that cold metal platform and dissected to the sounds of their own screams. It was obvious that to Madar Annoms were animals, less than human, and he enjoyed causing them pain. She walked more quickly as the edge of the settlement approached. She did not want to look out of place so she found a hiding spot and waited for a group of Norms to walk past. She didn't have to wait long. Since the search for her started in force twelve years ago, Madar had doubled "security" in the settlements. All those P.M.s had to keep themselves occupied doing something, so when they got bored of patrol, they would harass the settlements occupants. In an attempt to defend themselves the Norms decided to only move in groups. Iskara quietly slipped into the back of one such group passing her and no one noticed a thing. She passed up the street without being noticed, then she joined the line to get on the underground train that would take her to Capital. She kept herself calm and projected an aura of belonging and confidence she didn't feel. Ahead of her the P.M. s checked pass tags as people boarded and questioned their reason for going to capital. Nervousness crept in as she got closer. She had stolen another woman's pass tag and was counting on her ability to make people see what she wanted them to see to get her through this check point. Now it was her turn. Keeping her hair hidden under the shawl she turned her glowing green eyes on the man in front of her. She willed him to see her face as the face on the pass tag. He looked from her to the tag he was holding in his hand, nodded and said in a cold voice, "And your reason for going to Capital, Najari?" "I am going to register and confirm my pregnancy as mandated by the Prime Council," Iskara said in a slightly shaky voice. "Pass on," he said with a sneer. Breathing a sigh of relief she boarded the train. Still she couldn't let her guard down; the P.M.s were all over the train and kept an eye out for anything unusual, or pretty. He felt a tingle in the back of his mind as he patrolled the corridors. There was someone on here that shouldn't be. He needed to find out who and what they were doing so he could protect them if necessary. The other P.M.s smirked as he passed. They thought he was weak and worthless because he didn't rape every girl that got on the train or rob anyone of their hard grown food. Tulane was one of the few exceptions to the Annom Rule. He was the son of a high standing Senator in the Council. His father, Vash, openly opposed the policies set forth by Madar and fought to change the laws and to destroy Resettlement, arguing that more people meant more hands and more getting accomplished. That is, that was how he was voting, until his wife gave birth to a mildly mutated baby. When Tulane was born, faced with the fact that he would be put to death, Vash did something he had never thought he would ever do; he begged a pardon from his enemy, Madar. Madar's terms had been steep. Vash would no longer speak out against the laws and reforms backed by Madar, would stop lobbying for the termination of Resettlement, and would back Madar on everything he decided to do, whether he agreed or not. If a word of this was breathed to any other Council member, his son would be exposed as the Annom he was and would be put in Resettlement himself. To make sure his abilities would not be used against the current government; his son was to be pledged into service with the Peace Makers, where others could keep an eye on him. Ironically, his abilities were limited to Empathy and detection of other Annoms. Having been raised by his father, he had a great sympathy for his fellow Annoms. Unlike most in his position, he used the power granted him by the Council to help those around him. Many times he had helped a fellow Annom when they were in trouble and hid them from other P.M.s. Realizing his sympathies toward Annoms, but not the reason, his Lieutenant had moved him on to security on the train. This way everyone was prescreened and he had no access to Annoms, until now. He was drawn farther back into the train, his eyes scanning the crowd as he went, searching for the source of the presence he felt. He almost didn't see her. He only realized that he had missed her when he felt the presence behind him instead of in front. He turned back and scanned the crowd. When his eyes fell on the corner they seemed to instantly slide away to the next person. He shook his head and tried to look back, but again his eyes slid off to the side. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then forced his eyes to look straight at the corner. He saw a blurred form that made his head hurt and knew he had found the Annom. He was startled by a voice in his mind. He almost fell over as he heard the voice ask "Who are you?" with out speaking. Again he closed his eyes and let his name drift to the front of his mind, hoping she could read as well as speak. "Tulane" was all he said. "Why do you seek me and how can you see?" was the next question that floated into his mind. "I felt you and had to find you and offer my help." A note of disbelief and disdain crept into the mind voice "You are a P.M., why would any of you want to help me, an Annom?" it asked. "I, too, am an Annom. My talents are slight, but enough to sentence me to death upon my birth. My father is a councilor and begged that I be allowed to live. Madar allowed it; but at a steep price to my fathers pride." "And why should I believe that? You could be a spy for Him" He could feel the hatred in the mind voice and the anger behind it. He felt it was too much emotion for an Annom who had probably never come in contact with Madar. He had come across other Annoms that were mad, but under lay a thick fear of being caught. He could feel no fear coming from the person in front of him, only anger and hatred at even the mention of the Leaders name. Just then another P.M. appeared at the head of the car, moving toward them with a sneer on his face. "Something wrong TuTu?" he asked, sarcasm dripping from his tone. "No Pax, just making sure all the people are settled in." Tulane responded, an edge to his voice. "Don't dawdle, I haven't checked out all the trollops down here yet, and I want to make sure I get the pick of the train!" he said with an evil grin. Suddenly the blurry figure came into focus as the person fixated their mind on Pax. His eyes suddenly went blank and his face went slack. When he finally shook himself out of it, he turned to Tulane. "Good work Tulane! I'll see that your name is put in for a commendation for this!" Pax said, clapping his fellow P.M. on the arm. He then turned and walked back down the train toward the front, never looking back. Tulane didn't even notice his colleague's unusual behavior or his lack of condemnation as he left, as he stared, transfixed, at the person before him. Apon seeing her Tulane had lost all ability to think. He saw bright red curly hair surrounding a golden face obviously tanned from a life exposed to the elements. Her eyes were so green they seemed to glow, a cold glow that he dared not challenge. High cheek bones and a stern mouth rounded out her features and left her breathtakingly beautiful to Tulane's eyes. His colleague's slap to his shoulder broke him out of his trance and he almost fell over as he grunted his reply to Pax. For a long moment more he could only stare at her face. Finally he shook himself and started to breath again, although rather raggedly. Her face turned to his upon the abrupt retreat of Pax. Her look was hardly as friendly as Pax's had been, and might even be called hostile to any that didn't know her. His blank mind was suddenly filled with her mind voice again, anger radiating from the words. "Leave me now or I will do much worse to you!" she said. "I can help you though, just trust me!" he thought back. Her eyes glowed brighter as her anger rose and the people around her shifted uneasily away from her. Tulane held up his hands in surrender and backed away. He knew when to give in. He turned and walked toward the last car so he could finish his patrol. She watched as he walked away, her emotions conflicting. He was a P.M., she couldn't trust him! On the other hand he had seemed so sincere, so honest. The way the other P.M. had reacted to him made it clear he was not well liked. What was she thinking? She couldn't be seen around a P.M.! It would only cause more trouble! As her mind whirled her anger diffused and left her exhausted and drained. She had been using her Talents all day and it had caught up to her. As her mind whirled on about Tulane her eyes slowly closed and she drifted to sleep. Tulane's mind was not on his job. He stumbled over many people and nearly ran into a door at the end of the train. Her face was stuck in his head; her eyes blazing green, her lips pressed together, everything about her radiating fury. She was magnificent! She was also a puzzle. Why was she going to Capital? Every Annom he had ever met were running from Capital, not to it. Why would she be going there? And why did the thought of Madar send her into such a rage? She was an enigma that he couldn't resist. He tripped over a set of legs as a foreign voice screamed in his head. He didn't even mumble an apology as he stood and headed toward the front of the train at a run. He heard the commotion before he could see it, a woman screaming and a man's voice cussing. He opened the door into the next compartment and saw them. Pax had the Annom pinned beneath him, her cloths ripped and spread open, as he tried to get her to sit still long enough for him to pull himself out of his pants. She was screaming and twisting, trying to buck him off of her. Everyone in the car had backed away and was staring at the couple, afraid to draw the attention of the P.M. to themselves. Tulane didn't even think; he just swung. His fist connected with the side of Pax's head, knocking him unconscious and throwing him off of the pretty Annom under him. She scrambled backwards in a swift crab walk and huddled in the corner pulling the rags of her cloths around her in attempt to regain her modesty. She was breathing heavily with a wide eyed look of fear across her face. Her hair was mussed, tumbling over her face, yet her eyes blazed brighter with each passing moment as fear was replaced with anger. The others in the car flinched back further as her rage filled the car. Tulane stood and addressed the other passengers. "Everyone out of this car, there is some room in the back of the train for you to go." Everyone promptly got to their feet and scrambled out the door Tulane had just come through. Tulane stared down at the Annom. She had bruises starting to show on her arms where Pax had held her down. "Are you alright?" he asked, crouching down beside her, yet a distance away, not wanting to provoke her. He tried valiantly to keep his eyes on her face. Her eyes fell on him and it was if a bucket of cold water had fallen on him. He had never seen anything glow so bright yet seem so cold. He felt the urge to retreat, but fought it, knowing if he did, he would never win her trust. She turned her face from him abruptly, looking for all the world like a stuck up heiress. "I am fine. Thank you for helping me, but I don't need any more help. You can go back to your work now." Her voice was low and strained, and a little harsh as if she didn't use it often. That just added to the enigma of her. He offered her his hand. "Here, come with me and we will find you some new cloths to wear." A slightly wary and suspicious look crossed her face. "What about him?" She asked toeing the still unconscious Pax with her sandal. "Don't worry about him, it wouldn't be the first time he's been knocked out, and he won't say anything because he will be ashamed to admit I knocked him out, if he even remembers." She tentatively took his hand and followed him down the train.