Endosymbiosis

19. Scars

Third circle of the Empire
Destruction District

After the agreements were decided, me, Kadi, and Korrok returned to the clearing where the ship was. Kadi reached out to Korrok, who handed him a bag of starstones almost bigger than his hand.

"That was fun..." Korrok hissed.

"Go to hell." Kadi muttered words I didn't know as he counted the stones.

"What is this, Phaga? I thought we were friends."

"Friends? You told the columbas that we were with you!" I growled and Korrok bared his teeth to contain them. "Where I come from, captains fight for their ships; and don't drag them to the bottom."

"Where I come from, the seas are made of the blood of those who have sunk... So that ships can float." He growled, filling me with flames. But before I could retort, Kadi put his hand on my back and led me to the ship. This was not a battle worth fighting. But then Korrok jumped between us and Hasta, smiling. "Going so fast? Don't look at me like that, so stressed... I know a great place where you can relax."

"We have something to do, Korrok." Kadi replied. Good thing he knew.

"And how do you hope to do whatever you plan well so stressed?" The vorrampe provoked. "Accept this as a thank you for your help..." And then, looking at me, "And as an apology for drowning you."

Kadi took a deep breath and I immediately knew he had surrendered. He sent me a sidelong look and muttered:

"The core is not going anywhere..."

And then I was the one sighing.

• • • ֍ • • •

We landed in the Destruction District, in front of gates as colossal as the entrances to the amusement parks my mother took me to when I was a kid – maybe back then they just looked so gigantic because I was so much smaller... But now they really deserved that one adjective.

Kadi parked his ship in one of the last parking spaces, and before we entered, Korrok grabbed transparent glasses from a pile in front of the gate and handed them to us. They weren't made for humans – mine had 3 eyes, Kadi's had 3 pairs of them – but we could see through.

"The lenses will account for everything, but don't worry. It's on my tab." Korrok explained, leaving me more confused than before. "And don't forget about the party afterwards."

"Won't you come?" Kadi questioned him.

"I'm not stressed."

Then the vorrampe turned and left.

On the other side of those gates, hundreds of houses and vehicles with the most diverse shapes and colors stretched to the horizon, in a kind of alien suburb; and I couldn't think of any reason why we were there. Kadi, who seemed to know what he was doing, picked up two torture tools that were hanging near the entrance and placed one of them in my confused hands. Were those houses empty?! I could only wish.

When he saw the fear on my face, Kadi broke into a dangerous smile that didn't comfort me one bit and approached one of the houses. He tested the firmness of his feet on the ground, lifted his tool, which was a huge 4-blade axe, and, with a precise and swift movement, slammed it into the wall. The entire house shuddered on its foundations for an instant like a jelly tower and, in the blink of an eye, exploded in a shower of glistening sand that took the night.

Kadi turned to me with a grin from ear to ear.

"This whole world is for that." He said, pointing to the similar tool that was in my hands. "Enjoy. Just try not to hit me."