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.