Chapter XLVI

Saechi

Corven stepped onto a netcore he had never been before, feeling like an ant next to an enormous flower. Large brown roots sprawled in many directions within the space covered by green leafs and purple petals. It was proof there were many places left to visit in Negativus, assuming he survived to the next few days. His chance to escape had left with the gevurah so, there wasn’t much to do than to give in an settle in the Second Country.

With a scrutinizing eye, he studied the map on the floor, with the street codes written on leaves and roots, emulating the insides of the undercity.

From studying Kevary and Adria, Corven had learned not to get overwhelmed by the data on display and instead to find simple solutions in a labyrinth of multiple possibilities. With calm, the riddle became a path, finding the patterns between the sections.

He could help Markus and Bostan take Negativus from the umbras and erase his bounty. Completing his task this way could be Corven's contribution to their cause, ideal to gain their good favor. Saechi and her roommate Glyn were the answer.

He debated whether to get a morning's sleep or search for them. It was wiser to do everything in Dictaduria during the day. Corven’s block was PK37L1-13, closer to the nineteenth underlevel and far from the city center. It was a bad neighborhood, not the worst, but close. The idea of going to bed vanished soon after it was further away and he did not feel tired. The combination of the enhancer Adria had given him, along with the Fire Tornado, took care of that.

Saechi and Glyn seemed like a pair that could fare well against umbras. He remembered the code printed on their overalls: LS21B/99b. LS district, 21st building, B floor, block 99b.

Determined to find a route, he figured out a path through the eight underlevel. It took Corven less than fifteen minutes to get there. After a couple of steep staircases and a few tunnels, his pores were dripping with sweat. Those caves got warmer the higher he climbed.

He emerged through a ladder under a bush, next to an artificial pond, in a neighborhood better than his own, middle class. It was also his first time seeing artificial trees away from the principal streets. His nose inhaled the sulfur in the air, reminding him to wear his face mask. At least half of the dictadurians on that side went about their lives without masks, poisoning themselves with the fumes, behaving as if they were invincible. Lung intoxication was the leading cause of death in Dictaduria.

For the rest of the people of Dictaduria, nothing had changed. It could be weeks before they noticed what had happened with Gorbat. Corven couldn't believe he was part of such a narrative. It would be worth telling his grandchildren, if he ever had any.

Saechi and Glyn's block was part of a double building complex of piled blocks, a typical structure in that area of the city.

Corven walked towards the building, painted with a colorful abstract graffiti mural that was washing off. It was better than the inexpressive gray sea of blocks on the city's outskirts. Being there made him more interested in the surface life.

His mind repeated, 'Building 21, B floor, block 99b.'

It was easy to find a set of metallic stairs. Corven got to the second floor on the left side of the building, where blocks 67b-99b were located. Saechi lived in the last one.

An old lady and her young companion crossed paths with him. They knew he didn't belong there.

"Are you lost, kitty?" the eldest one addressed him.

Nervous, Corven went straight to the point. "I'm looking for Saechi," his stomach shrinking.

"End of the hallway. Dear, be smart and erase that smirk before it gets you killed. You're lucky there are no sentinels around here at this hour," she analyzed him up and down, disappointed.

"Thanks, ma'am," Corven replied, uninterested in conversing with strangers.

"Don't call me that. I'm young and still single. D floor, block 45a if you're curious," the neighbor said and winked at him before continuing her way to the lower level, leaning on the youngest one's arm, who was embarrassed by her comment and remained silent.

Corven ignored the judgment and reached the last block. He was about to knock on a door when someone stopped him, coming from the left side.

"Psst! What's your problem? You don't know how to keep a low profile?" Saechi called from behind in a hush.

He was speechless by her beauty, hypnotized by her deep blue eyes, taken off guard, his stomach turning around. When natural light fell on that woman’s pale skin, the contrast with her deep red hair made her look out of place, popping out over their surroundings, grim and grey, except for the walls in that hallway.

"Good answer. Keep quiet," she said, approaching him.

The man moved closer to her nervous, awkward.

"I remember your face. Coven, right? Let's go in."

"Yes... No, sorry" he responded. "It’s Corven."

"Ah... It's with an R," Saechi corrected as she walked over to him.

He stepped back as the redhead activated the digital lock with her right hand. The tainted yellow metallic door slid open. A refreshing scent wafted through his mask as he followed her inside. Glyn and Saechi's block was unlike any other he had seen, including his own. It stood out with wooden furniture, the rooms were divided by concrete walls painted with a soft tan color, and they even had plants, homey and comfortable.

Saechi when straight to a console table to the left. She took a case from a drawer and opened it.

“I wasn’t trying to keep a low profile,” the man said, defending himself, continuing the argument."

"What?" The woman, responded, searching for something in the living room.

"From your your question, earlier. Sorry, my brain is sort of numbed."

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“Ahhh! Even if you weren’t. You did not notice I was following you.” She stated as took a green case and opened it.

With her glasses on, her serious face turned back at Corven.

He was embarrassed at his own thoughts.

"What happened to your face? You’re drawing attention to yourself, Glynn, and to me.”

As a reaction, she touched it and remembered. It didn't hurt cause the pills were still in effect.

“I got into some trouble. Sorry, I wasn’t even sure this was the right place. It was crucial for me to find you.”

“You’re green, you need to be on top of your game in Dictaduria, or it could tourn real nasty, real quick.” it was clear she thought of him as no more than a kid.

Saechi took off her dark orange jacket and smiled at him. Her yellow long sleeve contrasted with her living room.

“What are you doing here, Corven?” That was the kindness he remembered. “Did you memorize our block code?”

“I did,” he felt guilty.

Saechi let out a whistle, triumphant with her theory. “That’s some good retention, I forget it every week, at the beginning I would get lost all the time and find myself chased by sentinels in E section.”

He wanted to be honest, it was the least Corven could do after she had invited him into her home.

“Let’s say I do have good retention, although not as good as it is in Malkuth, it was diluted by the xtracter.” He decided to get back on track. “Saechi, this will sound crazy, but please try to believe in what I’m about to say. Last night, I was kidnapped by Gorbat’s Umbras, and a friend of mine saved me. She decimated their forces, found me, and right before Gorbat himself was about to kill her, a Gevurah showed up and fought with him. We almost died, but that member of the Fifth arrested him...”

She did not expect that revelation. Her shock was proof as she kept listening.

“Adria’s friends say they can overthrow the remaining umbras and take back control of Negativus for the families. I know you just met me, but I believe you and Glynn might be interested in being a part of it. We need a lot of help.”

Her face was too expressive to hide how she processed that information.

“I thought you were going to ask me to lend you some gatvits. Ha!”

“Why would I ask you for gatvits?” They were not on the same wavelength.

“What?” Saechi stopped, annoyed by the intrusion on her thoughts.

“To ask you for gatvits!” He spoke as if it was an obvious thing.

“You didn’t get it. I was being sarcastic. Who are these guys you’re talking about, Adria’s friends?...” Her change of subject was agile, but her disdain towards that conversation was noticeable.

“Markus and Bostan. They’re the managers of Lux the Noctis...”

Her face changed right away, lighting up with the unexpected name drop.

“The nightclub at the eleventh,” she got thrilled. “I know them.”

“Is that a yes?”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. I don’t trust you yet,” Saechi was blunt

“Let’s figure a way for you to find a way to trust me. We’re meeting tonight, and I want you and Glynn to go, if possible.” The former binah laid all his cards on the table.

Saechi remained quiet and paced while he wondered where her blockmate was.

“I have another proposal,” she stopped, making him nervous. “As tempting as yours, but it goes on a different path.”

“What is it?”

“I don’t know if I want to share it yet,” Saechi was conflicted.

“The three weeks I’ve been here have been chaotic. There’s a shift coming to Dictaduria, and if everything goes as planned, our lives here can change.”

After thinking about it for a few more moments, she was ready to talk.

“This matter comes from the deepest levels of Negativus, the inner circles within the Families. There’s a woman, Lizanne. She communicates with a limited group of rogue dictadurians, including us. She has shared her plans for the entirety of Sectum and guarantees that if people join her cause, a new form of liberty in exile will arrive.”

“What plan did she share with you?” Corven was baffled by such concept.

“I can’t share it. I can only try to predict what will happen.”

Something differed from the day before. The gears had shifted.

That whole situation was changing his perspective.

“We have to do the right thing.”

“I told you to wait; It’s neither one nor the other. Don’t be narrow-minded. Let's wait for Glynn to return. He’s working till 3:00 p.m. Have you eaten yet? I’m cooking sweet potatoes in my air fryer.”

He did not expect such a riddle after everything that had happened. Things kept unfolding, and somehow, he was close to their core.

“I think Adria should hear about this.”

“What? Corven! Don’t you get what I said? You can’t go around telling strangers what I share and expect me to trust you at the same time!” Saechi became angrier and raised her voice more than what was prudent.

“Shhh! Do you want someone to call the sentinels?”

“Don’t shush me in my house!” Saechi took care that each word was understood. “If it eases your mind, they don’t come around my neighborhood as much as yours; they worry about dictadurians with lower incomes. Not a middle-class block complex.

“If you don’t trust me, wait until you meet Adria. She decimaed the umbras by herself, just by kicking ass. There is a reason I’m still alive, and it’s her.”

“Let’s say I believe you, and you go get your friend. What happens next?”

“We deal with this together. Instead of apart. All fronts covered.”

“It took you a minute. But yeah, that’s the truth of it, we can do both things. I’ll take you to Lizanne, and you can take me you Lux” Saechi was a few steps ahead of him.

“I’m sharp, even if I don’t seem like it.”

“So funny!” Her tone was sarcastic.

“Yeah. I’ve been called a clown a few times before,” he remembered what it was to feel joy.

“I’m sure it was for the best of reasons.”

“Not really. Many people don’t get my humor.”

“Stop whining. Some people might like it,” she had an idea. “Are you staying for lunch or leaving to get your friend?”

Corven meditated about those fried sweet potatoes and how relaxed Saechi seemed. It felt good to take a break like an average person.

“Yeah! Why not? I’ll stay for a bit, I’m sure Adria is slowing down too. Thank you for inviting me, some dictadurians don’t tend to be this nice with me!”

“I sure wouldn’t if we hadn’t met earlier. You are a Dictadurian. Maybe that’s why they were mean, because you think of yourself different than the rest while truth is you aren’t going nowhere outside this concrete dump in years.”

He stood in silence reflecting on those words.

“Do you want some soda or water? Food will take a couple more minutes to be ready.”

****

That's it for Chapter XLVI!

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