[CHAPTER 11] — Katerina
I made my way to the room I was to share with Greg, led by Marcia’s assistant who had come out of nowhere without a sound. There was no introduction, just a quick beckoning and he walked away leaving the two of us to catch up after him. As we walked the corridors, I kept a mental note of every staircase and turn we took in an effort to make sure I could find my way out easily. My time in captivity had left an everlasting effect on my psyche that no amount of therapy had yet fully healed, leaving me with the need to know every possible escape route whenever I was in a new place. My therapist had told me the last time I saw her that there was something preventing me from allowing her to help me; Well, my child is still missing, so maybe that? I had said sarcastically. This was just before the last mission to bring Bruce to justice, and there had been no motivation for me to even bother continuing until I knew what happened to Everlea if that was the case; and frankly, it kind of pissed me off that she didn’t put that together based on the multiple times I told her I felt frozen without knowing what happened.
Before I knew it, we had reached the room; the assistant opened it up and gestured us in unceremoniously, waiting for us to enter before closing the door behind us quickly. We each threw our stuff down beside a bed and sat down. The journey had taken all day, and we were both exhausted and ravenous. We had not been given directions to any kind of cafeteria to eat, so I grabbed my booklet that Marcia had given me and started scanning through it. At the back, I found a map of the grounds and the dorm; I stood up, ready to go get something for dinner.
“Hey, you want to go get some food? There’s a cafeteria.” I said to Greg, waving my booklet open to the page with the map.
“Yeah, that sounds great. I’m starving.” Greg said.
We made our way through the dorm to the exit, and followed the map to the cafeteria. There was a separate building about five hundred yards from the dorm that held the cafeteria and laundry services, so that is where we directed ourselves. It wasn’t a long walk, but it gave us a good idea of how the campus was laid out; the dorms were the center, with the auxiliary buildings fanned out in a semi-circle around it, concrete paths connected each building and encircled the dorm. As we drew nearer the cafeteria, we could hear the sounds of people inside eating, talking and laughing.
As we opened the door and entered, the sound became almost deafening. The sounds of people sitting at tables eating, dishes and utensils clattering, people standing around chatting, rambunctious young men tossing food, or trying to get a young lady’s attention bombarded them as they made their way to the line to get food. Much like a hospital cafeteria, the sitting area was one area and the line went through a set of doors into the kitchen, where a long row of warmers held the various food available to them at no cost; a Menu hung above the line outlining the various dishes and a la carte items you could order at a moderate cost.
We chose our food from a mix of the free and a la carte foods and made our way through the cafeteria until we found a table tucked in a dirty corner away from everyone else a bit. We brushed the debris onto the floor and set our plates down, both of us taking positions with our backs to the wall looking out at the fray. I didn’t get more than a few bites in before I felt it- someone staring at us. I looked around the room and finally, I saw him leaning against a pillar near the center of the room; a thin, wiry man with features that were uncomfortably flat, skin that looked almost blue, small black beady eyes, and incisors that were disturbingly long and thin. The moment he saw that I noticed him, he stood upright and began walking over.
“Do you see him, Kat?” Greg said under his breath as he cut what we could only assume was Salisbury steak and took a bite.
“Yeah, I see him.” That was the only thing I could get out before he was at the table, his dirty hand placed in a position to hold him in what I could only guess was supposed to be a threatening position as he leaned in closer to me.
“Filthy drage, I thought the last of you were killed in the Great War! How did you survive?” he hissed at me. As he did, I noticed that his tongue was split down the center, just like a snake’s would be. This had caught me off-guard; I had no idea what a drage was, or what Great War he was referring to unless it was the World War on Earth but something told me that was not what he was talking about. My silence must have gone on for too long, because again he hissed at me, “Filthy drage! I will see your race wiped from existence!” He slapped the table as he said this, causing Greg to jump up from his seat and stare the man down. The funny man jumped a mile, the fear evident even on his unusual features. He looked back at me as he backed away and hissed, “The Leviathan will rise again!” before he turned around and ran out of the cafeteria.
Greg had remained standing until the guy had left the cafeteria before he moved; when he did, he noticed that the exchange with the snake-like man had caught the attention of a few nearby. He stood still, looking at them one by one until they returned to what they were doing before sitting down. Sometimes he was a little excessive, but he meant well; he was a tall six foot one and very muscular- like, bodybuilder muscles. He was a bit older, closer to fifty than forty, so his muscles weren’t quite as defined as they once were, but he still very much had a body builder’s physique. I knew that it had been difficult on Earth for members of the LGBTQ+ community, with the added difficulty of being an African American man growing up in small town Alabama.
“I wonder what the hell that was about.” I said as he sat back down on his chair. The words he used had sparked a tiny ember in my mind; a feeble little ember, trying desperately to ignite a memory that I just couldn’t quite call to the surface. I brushed it off and returned to eating, knowing that the harder I tried to think of the memory the further it would bury itself into my subconscious.
“Yeah, that was weird. I haven’t heard of drage and leviathans since I was a kid.” Greg responded quietly, almost absently.
We ate in silence after that, the two of us in seemingly deep thought as we ate quickly; both of us eager to get out of the cafeteria with all of its intrusive noise. My mind kept trying to grasp onto that memory, but every time I thought I was getting somewhere, someone would shout or something would get tossed close by and I would get distracted from it again. As we made our way back to the dorm, my mind finally started to begin to clear and I was able to hear myself think. The word drage had stirred something deep within me that I couldn’t explain other than as a dull warmth deep in my chest.
When we reached the room, I gathered my things and went in for a shower. I tried not to take too long, but I kept getting distracted by the fractured memory that kept trying to surface every time the word ‘drage’ entered my mind. I know it was from when I was very young, maybe four or five, and my father; beyond that, though, I couldn’t put the pieces together. I didn’t realize that I had used up almost all the hot water until Greg knocked on the bathroom door and shouted for me to get out. I finished with all my hygiene steps as quickly as I could and jumped out a few minutes later.
I apologized to Greg as I left the bathroom, knowing that he was not going to get much hot water, if he got any at all. He mumbled something about needing a cold shower anyways after reading the letter his husband had sneaked into his pack, and closed himself in the bathroom. I went over to my bed and dressed for bed, then lay down and stared at the ceiling for a while. The embers that had sparked from hearing the words ‘drage’ and ‘leviathan’ still desperately clinging to the foreground of my mind, preventing me from falling asleep. I finally heard the shower turn off again, and a few moments later Greg came out wrapped in a towel.
“Greg, you said you’d heard of drages and leviathans, right?” I asked him as he took his night clothes out of his pack.
“Yeah, well, not a ton really. My grandfather used to tell me bedtime stories of the drages and their supernatural powers; their greatest enemy were the leviathans, a snake-like sea creature to the drages’ fire. They had been locked in a battle for centuries, neither side able to truly get the upper hand over the other. That is, until a new race was created from the fires of the drages, the waters of the leviathan, and something nobody knew or understood; something that was completely different than either race, yet contained elements of both. This new race had a whole new set of abilities that were used to bring the war to a peaceful end. Some that had not been a part of the battles, or that had too much to profit from the war continuing had broken away from the two clans and formed their own; consistently trying to drive another wedge between the two races in any way possible. That’s about all I remember, though. He used to tell me stories of battles and heroes, villains and conquest; but that was so long ago I can’t remember any details.”
“Yeah, my dad used to tell me stories just like that, I think.” I said, before rolling over and closing my eyes. A moment later, sleep overtook me and I found myself in a waking dream. My father was sitting at my bedside, I was tucked into bed; I must have been no more than five years old, and he was telling me that I could have only one bedtime story tonight, as the one he was going to tell me was very important for me to remember because it was a true story. I remember being disappointment that I was only to have one story that night, but once my father had started telling me, I lay there entranced. Everything felt exactly as it did then, and I almost felt like I could reach out and touch my father’s hand.
Out in the Galaxy is a race of people called the Drage. They are a noble people, full of wisdom and knowledge; but they were also a wealthy people. This, combined with their secretiveness made other races jealous, He had begun, they had spent so many millennia cut off from other races in the universe, they had not realized how envied they had become. When the Leviathans came, they wanted nothing more than to destroy everything the Drage had built, all the knowledge they had gathered, all the wisdom they had to provide the world.
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The Drage considered themselves the Keepers of the knowledge and wisdom that had come into their power, and refused to allow the Leviathans near it; they offered up every ounce of gold they had among them, every gemstone, and anything else that could have been of value. They hoped that this would be enough to satisfy the Leviathans into leaving the priceless tomes and scrolls they’d had hidden in the deepest depths of the planet. Had the Leviathans asked for copies of anything, the Drage would have happily provided; after all, knowledge is for all and should be accessible to all. However, that is not what the Leviathans wanted to do; they wanted to destroy every artifact, every ounce of wisdom, every historical document and records of lost cultures.
Obviously, the Drage could not let that happen, so the two races got into and epic battle that lasted for centuries. Every time the Drages thought they were gaining the advantage, the Leviathans would find where the artifacts were hidden and the Drage would be forced to move its location again; each time it was found and move, a little bit more of it was lost. This is why there are so many questions left unanswered today. Little bits and pieces of history, culture, and science were lost along the way.
Now, there was still quite a bit of knowledge left and the Drage intended to use it to protect what was left; the cost would be high, but they were only concerned with protecting the knowledge and wisdom their race had gathered from across the Universe for centuries. Their last defensive effort was to create a race of being that was both Drage and Leviathan, yet it was neither; a race that would judge each individual on both sides of the war and bring what they had hoped would be a peaceful end to the war.
They created a Phoenix, a mythical creature whose tears could heal wounds, that had one green eye and one blue, and when it died its body would burst into flames and it would be reborn from its ashes. It had the ability to influence people’s thoughts and actions, the wisdom of the universe, and the bravery and strength of the Leviathan. The Drage would recognize the Phoenix as a Leviathan, and the Leviathan would recognize them as Drage, ensuring that neither side could ever claim one as their own. There was one male, and one female Phoenix, and together they defended the most precious of treasure from destruction. Those who the Phoenix judged to be honest, courageous, and loyal were spared; they were rewarded by the Phoenix and were healed- body, mind and soul. Those who were not of those qualities, however, the phoenix banished to a faraway planet in the Milky Way Galaxy called Earth.
That’s why Earth is so full of dishonesty and deceit; some family members who were deemed virtuous followed their banished family members and did their best to make a life on Earth so they could remain with their loved ones; it was difficult but they managed. The Phoenix came to Earth to watch over their exiles, fading into the background of history until they became a myth.
A loud piercing beeping woke me up, and I reached into my bag; feeling for the travel alarm clock I kept with me at all times, I found pretty much everything I owned except the clock. Groaning, I got up out of bed and tore through my pack, getting increasingly more annoyed as I pulled out everything that I owned until the pack was empty. I stared at the empty pack, blinking numbly while I processed what I was seeing, and then I realized that I had put it into the front pouch so it was easy to access. Nice one, Hammond. I thought to myself, thoroughly annoyed that I was already beginning my day fumbling. The shower turned off and I realized that Greg hadn’t been in his bed this whole time. He came out and saw that I was awake, wearing a towel around his waist with a smaller one in his hand drying his head and torso.
“Well good morning, sleeping beauty. I was not about to let you hoard all the hot water this time, so I showered first. I hope I left enough for you.” He said with a mischievous grin that told me he definitely had not left me with enough hot water.
Fair is fair, I suppose, I thought to myself as I gathered my things to shower.
When I finished my shower- as quickly as I could, since the water was only lukewarm to begin with but quickly turned cold- I dressed and got ready for the day.
Our first task was to meet the supply officer and be issued our uniforms and safety equipment. The company provided them with three sets of charcoal grey coveralls with the company logo on the right breast; an empty Velcro spot on the left breast was to hold the identification tag of the employee. Many companies had moved away from plastic ID cards and moved to these embroidered patches that employees wore on their uniforms. It was more difficult for these patches to be stolen, as only one patch was issued to each employee and they remained on their uniforms; eliminating the possibility that it could be swiped off a lanyard.
We consulted our pamphlets to find our way down to the supply room, and a nice older gentleman named Nemus issued our uniforms. Each ID patch needed to be made once new employees were issued their coveralls, so he directed us to eat breakfast and come back after thirty minutes and he should have them done. We then went to the cafeteria to eat while we waited, and found it every bit as busy and bustling as dinner had been the evening before. Once again, we found ourselves going through the line for food, choosing the combination of what was available for free and what we could pay for ourselves. For breakfast they had a spread of eggs cooked in different styles, bacon, sausage, chorizo, fruits, pancakes and waffles.
It seemed much nicer than the dinner selections, and I chose most of my foods from there; however, the one thing that they did not have much of a variety available for free were berries, and I really loved blackberries and raspberries on my waffle. I walked away with a Belgian Waffle topped with my blackberries and raspberries- which were expensive as they are hard to come by, but worth every penny to me- with maple syrup, bacon, sausage, and poached eggs. Greg came out shortly behind his plate piled high with scrambled eggs, sausage, home fries, and bacon. As we searched for a table and noticed that the table we sat at last night was free, so we made our way over to that table.
I sat down in the same seat as last night, and watched the people as I dug into my breakfast hungrily. It didn’t take long for me to spot the weird guy from last night, either; he was sitting at a table across the room with three other men who had very similar features to his. They were talking to each other in low tones, looking our way and seemingly arguing about something very quietly. The more intense the conversation got, the closer they all huddled together. Finally, the one from last night pounded his fist on the table and stood up to make his way out of the cafeteria. A second, much older- looking one made his way over to us.
“Honored Drage, greetings to you.” He said, placing his right hand over the left side of his chest; he dipped his head down in what seemed like a slight bow. “My name is Silas Valor; I wanted to apologize for my son’s treatment of you yesterday, and say that the Valor clan of the Leviathans wish you no harm and bear you no ill will. I hope that we can start again.”
I was so caught off-guard I sat there with my fork halfway to my mouth. After a moment, I lowered my fork, but still could not find the words to say in response. I ended up staring at him dumbly until he spoke again.
“I see you have not yet completed your rites, so this must seem very strange. Tell me, have you lost your birth parents?” His demeanor had become soft, almost fatherly. I did not want to answer him, not wanting to give up my cover or identity. He must have sensed my distrust because he continued on even without my response, “A young drage is no different from any other human child. The difference is once they come to child-bearing age, a drage performs their Rites of Maturity and is given their power and knowledge. When a young drage has lost their birth parents, they are unable to perform these Rites as their culture is lost to their death. Mature Leviathan and Drage can sense each other; which is why we are able to sense you, but you are unable to sense us. You needn’t be afraid, I will not harm you, but I can see I’ve overwhelmed you so for now I will leave you to finish your breakfast. Just know, you can always seek me out when you are ready to know more.” With that, he turned and walked back towards his family.
“That was incredibly weird.” Greg said, “But it also makes a lot of sense. Not total sense, because of your eyes, but it makes sense. Some Drage have the ability to manipulate people’s perceptions, but the most powerful have the ability to alter people’s opinions and actions. It doesn’t all quite fit according to the myths and legends, but the bits and pieces alone make sense.”
“So, these guys think I’m some alien race? Oh, please.” I said, laughing it off with a wave of my hand. I returned to my breakfast and finished it quickly, ready to get out of here and get to work.
As soon as we had both finished our meal, we cleaned up the table and headed back to the supply room to pick up our ID patches. When we picked them up, the old man didn’t hand mine to me and instead “showed” me how to put it on; which was really just an excuse to touch my voluptuous chest as putting a patch on a piece of Velcro was anything but difficult. He had also thrown Greg’s at him and told him to “put it on straight” rather than touching all over him to get it on, so that just confirmed to me that he just wanted a cheap thrill. I rolled my eyes while he fixed it on but when he went to take a real good squeeze, I grabbed his wrist and squeezed hard. I looked him dead in the eye and whispered with intensity,
“If you ever take another liberty like that, I will kill you where you stand. Do you understand crypt keeper?” He could only nod, so I let him go and gathered up my things.
The old man stumbled away and as I slung my pack over my shoulder he muttered, “Psycho bitch.”
To which I responded with, “You have no idea, and you better hope you don’t find out.”
I left him staring at me incredulously as we turned and walked away; once again I discreetly consulted my pamphlet to tell me where to report next. Straight to work, I thought as I saw the next place to go was the mine entrance. We made our way to the transport stop where the trucks would pick up the employees and drive them to the mines and waited as the truck pulled up to the stop. The workers queued up to board the truck, and as we moved to join the line, I felt a hand on my back and a foot swipe my ankle, trying to get me to the ground; I turned around to punch the person only to find it was Silas’s son, and I stopped my swing. He just gave me a dirty look and cut in front of us in the queue. Greg went to intervene, but I stopped him;
“Don’t, Grant. He’s not even worth the effort.” I said haughtily, loud enough for him to hear every word. He turned around and began to say something when his father walked up to the stop.
“Morpheus, that’s enough. Don’t make me have to tell you again!” He said to his son with authority. Morpheus turned around and waited to get on the bus, crossing his arms and huffing like a small child who had just been reprimanded by its father and not like the grown man who stood in front of me.
I shot a look to Silas, who was watching his son closely now. He looked tired, torn, but not weak; no, he still looked like he could hold his own. Something about him piqued my interest, but I couldn’t put my finger on what it was. His other family members weren’t as interesting, but Silas seemed like someone worth getting to know; someone who might have something of value to add to the mission.
I got onto the transport truck and sat as far away from Morpheus as I could manage. I’m about to start my day off any worse than it already was I thought to myself as the truck pulled away.