Estranged

Choice

Gringe watched the sunrise from the balcony attached to his quarters. Just as he had predicted to Jebba, sleep had been scarce overnight. Plotting, however, there had been an abundance of—most of which had been with Selik.

The District Head would have been stewing in a sea of guilt and regret if he had not deemed his dealings with the dirty prince absolutely necessary. And this was only the start. He would have time to yet make good of it.

For now, though, there was Aliyah to worry about.

A bell dinged from the room’s speakers. His MiraLink lit up with a view of his guests waiting in the hall outside the room. “Let them in, Mira.” Soon after, the door slid open and he heard approaching footsteps. Gringe turned around to receive his four guests.

From left to right, they stood: first Germaine, then—expectedly—Jebba, Praetor, and coming up last was young Delayne. The last two people invited to this meeting were with them remotely—with a holo display of Scott and Whylan hovering over Praet’s MiraLink. They all looked tired, but next to, and perhaps surpassing, their weariness was a verve that would not be easily quenched. They were ready for whatever he was going to throw at them.

Gringe went straight to it. “Before we begin, I have to mention: we can only succeed today if I have complete trust from you guys. Do you all understand?”

Germaine, Jebba, and Delayne nodded. Scott, Whylan, and Praet scoffed like it was a given.

“Alright then. First—Jebba, Whylan, Scott—the instant this meeting ends, you must begin evacuating all personnel from your respective sectors as quickly as you can manage. Jebba, I expect you to actually leave RoseField with everyone. Scott and Whylan however, you are to circle back and rendezvous with Praet at a location that will be shared with you. She’ll brief you on the mission once you arrive there. Germaine, the two of us are headed to Damij Sector for Aliyah, but only after he has managed to sneak in.”

All eyes turned to a squirming Delayne. Gringe was careful to notice Jebba’s reaction. He had not mentioned to her that he would be requiring her adolescent nephew to join them on this mission. And expectedly, Jebba only looked at Delayne with pride. Delayne himself shied from the attention but managed to lock his eyes with Gringe’s, giving the District Head a resolute nod. Everyone present here would lay their lives down for Aliyah. If Gringe had anything to do with it, however, it would not come close to that.

***

It was impossible to be sure, but if she had to guess, Aliyah would say that night had passed. She had slept easily, to her own surprise, and now lay awake, staring at the ceiling for the umpteenth time. It was all she had done in the past hours: stared and thought. Haylen had not visited since the last time. The tray and bowl and bottle from then still lay on the stool at the foot of her bed, all empty.

The door hissed open and Aliyah almost leapt straight out of bed from the sheer excitement it brought her. Considering her situation, however, excitement should not have been near her mind.

Haylen walked in, stopping just by the door. Her face gave away nothing. None of the leniency she had showed Aliyah was on display today.

“Morning,” Aliyah half greeted, half asked.

Haylen responded with her usual brusqueness, “Morning. You are to come with me.”

It was not that she had forgotten, but all of a sudden, the enormity of what was to come slammed into Aliyah. Her heart thudded loudly in her ears. Her vision swam. She could very possibly die today. And it might be about to begin.

Haylen showed no reaction to Aliyah’s panic. She only waited. In a minute, the girl walked up to the guard, her bound wrists hanging in front of her. Haylen waited for Aliyah to step ahead of her before ordering her to step into the hallway and turn left. She led Aliyah through a series of corridors and stairwells. They did not run into one soul or pass by a single window. It was a long silent walk, and many times through it the thought of livestock being gently herded to the slaughterhouse came to her mind.

Eventually, they arrived at a door. “Can you at least tell me what’s going on,” She whispered over her shoulder to Haylen as the door slid open. She waited for a reply, only to be shoved in the back across the threshold and into the room.

The room was large and empty. Tall, wide floor-to-ceiling windows took up the entire left side of the room, admitting in the morning sunlight. A chair sat alone in the middle of the room. It had straps and buckles all across it. Aliyah could not summon an ounce of rebellion as Haylen led her to sit in the chair. Not that it would have helped. Even if she were not bound, there was no way she was going to escape from Haylen. And so she conceded, offering not even the slightest resistance as Haylen began to restrain her in the chair's buckles—clasping them around her forehead, neck, waist, wrists, and ankles.

When Haylen was done she did not leave. She simply waited quietly behind.

Tears rolled down Aliyah’s cheeks, yet she made no sound. Sunlight crept across the room’s tiled floor, receding from her right the higher the sun rose. When the boundary of the light crossed across her to her left, she began to hear some commotion from beyond the door behind her.

Right on cue, the door hissed open. The sounds of footsteps, low grunts, and the scraping of what seemed like wood against the floor started drawing closer, louder. Aliyah was totally confused as to what was happening. She did not have to wait long before her confusion was dispelled.