of blood and lies ; dystopian

32

Present

Few weeks.

I repeated the two words in my head during our walk to the room. Even after the door shut, I continued to repeat it, afraid I would forget it.

"Did she--" I started. I stopped, sitting on the edge of my cot. I rubbed at my eyes, forcing myself to stay open. It was too cold to stay awake.

"Yes." Karro stared at the wall beside his bed, his back to me. The tallies resembled claw marks in the cushion. "That is the first time she's ever said when the door would open."

I hated that it was working as much as I loved him for being so clever.

"It's The Blood," Karrro snapped, jerking his head toward me. His eyes narrowed. For a moment, I believed he was so idiot to think I was still behind this. If I were behind this, I would not have allowed him to flirt with a woman like he'd been doing.

"She dipped her head. She bowed to me. Properly, too. You were too busy moping to see it," Karro continued, taking a step toward me. Moping? I would never.

"I was not moping," I replied, with a snap. I recalled the nurse when she'd been in front of Karro. Indeed, her head had dipped as one would do at The Blood.

Could so much have changed over the years that I could no longer recognize it? My stomach sank; Karro could be right.

"It can't be," I started, looking down at my lap. It felt wrong saying it. It did make sense. The Blood I'd known was falling apart before I'd been sentenced to the timeless place. Something could have changed; it could be different.

"You were in that place for a very long time," Karro said. It felt like he knew what I was thinking. "The same amount of time I've been in this place. Shit probably happened. The Murthaa most likely got promoted to Committee, or something, and someone new took over. It makes sense. A new Murthaa, a new order."

The Murthaa was not promoted to the Committee.

I burned her corpse.

"Maybe," I began.

A new Murthaa made sense. If a new Murthaa had come into place, things could have changed. But, this much? So much that I no longer recognized it?

If this was the work of a new Murthaa, her order was pathetic.

"Or this could be a different sector. One we do not know. The Murthaa could have sent us here--"

"I killed the Murthaa," I blurted. It came out faster than a breath.

Karro blinked, staring down at me. I pressed my lips together and a weak smile came across my face.

"Shit, it feels good to get that off my chest," I huffed. "The first one would make more sense. There definitely is a new Murthaa."

"You killed the Murthaa. Like, the really old one?"

I nodded, pressing my lips into a thin line. I refrained from telling him why I had killed her. I'd never forgive myself if I admitted that to him. The Murthaa had been the one, and only time, I'd let myself succumb to my emotions.

Karro smiled. "Good girl."

I looked down at my lap. My face grew hot. "So, yes, I do believe you. It could be a new Murthaa. It'd explain why everything is so different. I also agree that the soldiers are not real. I should have gutted that cunt when I had the chance."

"No. I needed the confirmation first. If I was wrong, and you had, we'd both be dead."

I didn't understand why he couldn't grasp that I was okay with dying.

I frowned and looked at my lap. Everything I had was gone. My Anaka were gone. Karro was gone. The Blood was gone.

"Well," I started, clapping my hands together. I forced my lips into a deep smile. "Here is your confirmation. Let's kill her now."

Karro shook his head and backed up against his bed. He sat on the edge, his back curved as he leaned over. He did not look away from me. It terrified me that he wouldn't look away from me.

"And, what if there is no way out of here? A way only she knows. Then what?"

I stayed silent. He had a point. There was a chance she could help us leave.

"There is no consistency to the door opening," Karro continued. "If what she said was true, and it opens in a few weeks, then we can trust her. Find a way out with her. Then, I will help you do whatever you wish to do with her."

Karro may be as insane as I was.

He acted like we were speaking of something as simple as the weather.

I crawled under the covers, shivering under the thin blanket. It hurt to look at him, but I couldn't look away.

"I'm going to ask you a question," I said. I pulled the covers further up my body. "And I want you to be truthful. You can lie about anything you wish from this question on. But, I swear to Blood, do not lie to me about this."

Karro did not respond. He leaned backward in his bed, his eyes lowering.

I knew I had no right to be speaking of truth and lies.

But, my Anaka was beyond deceitful; what happened to them was the work of a monster.

"Did you kill them?"

I watched Karro, very, very closely. I watched his breath and waited for any hitch, or any sign of a lie. I memorized his muscles and waited for him to tighten. Anything. I needed closure. I needed to know. And, if he hadn't, I did not have the slightest clue who had.

"No," Karro replied. His voice was steady. His eyes stayed with me. His breath had not faltered or been held.

He was telling the truth.

"Okay," I said.

Karro had not killed my Anaka.

I did not know who killed them, but I knew it was not Karro. 

WOMP

so what we thinkin????

theories? questions? concerns? 

hehehe what we think of karro now?