Chapter 7 | Ethan | Party

Below the table of groups, there is a list that ranks the “Best performing candidates of phase two (as of now)”. Eric and Zelmira top the list, in that order. Then he takes a look at the ranking of his group. Iris is 3rd, Charlotte is 5th, Ethan is 11th, Umida is 15th, and Verve is dead last at 20th. By the time other groups finish their phase, Ethan assumes that he will be somewhere in the middle of the pack. “Not good,” he thinks, his fists clenched. “Not good at all.”

Only when he hears a laugh coming from the other side of the hall does he relax his fists. He turns to look at the source of the laughter and finds Zelmira standing and clutching her stomach, and to Ethan, it looks like a bad sham. She’s the middle-aged woman from the half rebellious twenty-third district, Ethan remembers. “I’m serious!” Lola is saying, screaming, standing against Zelmira.

“Yes, that is very evident,” Zelmira says, smiling. “Likewise, I am quite serious too."

“What’s happening?” Ethan asks no one around in particular. He takes a glance at the screen and notices that both Zelmira and Lola are in the same group, but Zelmira ranks 2nd and Lola ranks 19th.

“Woah. This, uh, looks bad,” Charlotte says, but she’s smiling.

Lola runs towards Zelmira and starts attacking her with her hands in any way she can—slapping, punching, clawing. Ethan and Iris rush to separate Lola from Zelmira, who grabs both of Lola’s hands with her own hands, stopping her assault. They stand, standstill, their arms stuck in a deadlock. “You keep substantiating my point, you cretin,” Zelmira says, laughing.

“Stop!” Ethan says, butting in and trying to separate them.

“Get this beast to behave like a human being and I will let go,” Zelmira says. “I knew I needed to keep my hopes modest when I laid my sights on you, but you still continue to underwhelm. Is that a novel talent of yours, Lola?”

Lola’s hands are bound so she kicks Zelmira in her stomach. “Lola! Let go,” Iris says, and when she doesn’t, Iris grabs her stomach and drags her back away as she curses at Zelmira, shaking her arms wildly and hitting Iris a few times in the process.

“Stop provoking her,” Ethan glares at Zelmira.

“What’s happening?” Eric’s voice echoes and Ethan he notices his breathing returning to normal. He turns around to see Eric and Umida approaching them. “Did she go away to fetch him?” He wonders. It should all work out now.

Eric looks at Zelmira clutching her stomach. “You got what you deserved.”

“And I will guarantee that she gets what she deserves,” she says, pointing at Lola. “I'm going to curb this nuisance from here—I'm going to consult Bhilzal.”

“Stop,” Eric says, moving to stand in front of Zelmira. “This isn’t about you. This is the first time we’ve been allowed to participate in the Numen—we shouldn’t cause unnecessary trouble for the sake of future generations. Revealing our internal conflicts might make them think that humans are unsuitable.”

Eric and Zelmira glare at each other, and Umida jumps in between them, spinning around with both of her arms extended. “So, so! I don’t know what happened, but things look a bit tense here, so why don’t we have a party celebrating passing phase two and leave things at that? I’m sure everybody wants to celebrate getting out of that tiring simulation. Besides, most of us don’t even know each other!”

“Ooh, me likey,” Charlotte says. Ethan notices her shoelaces are untied. She follows his gaze, looks down, smiles and ignores them instead.

“Yes...I would like to celebrate getting out of that nightmare,” Verve says, and everyone else also chimes in, and although there are some that don’t seem to be in a favor of a party, most of them do not mind at all.

And so the preparations begin. Umida spends her time inviting everyone instead of just the people who have passed the second phase, and the party’s agenda is changed to just introductions. Eric visits Bhilzal to get its permission, and returns, his chest even more puffed than usual. “I got its permission. Sad to say that there are no drinks onboard, but we’ll have plenty of food and juice.”

Ethan helps with the preparations, coordinating with other helpers like Bambaata, Gu Lei and Zhong Zhong to move their beds and chairs in the centre of the boys' dormitory, creating a large circle for sitting on both beds and chairs. Gu Lei helps the most, screaming in excitement every time he shifts the beds. He also refuses to accept any help from Ethan or anyone while he does so. “Everyone has to clean up after themselves,” Ethan says, terrified of the aftermath of the party.

“Anyone here sings?” Verve asks, entering the room with two trashcans in his hands. He puts them near the door.

"I, uh, think I’ve heard Kalyani sing in showers,” Charlotte says, then chuckles, looking at the Gu Lei’s bed’s pink flowery bedsheet. “I think that they, like, mixed up the boys’ and the girls’ bedsheets. Mine has, uh, a football on it.”

“No, that’s a basketball,” Umida says, entering the dormitory. She makes a V sign with her fingers, saying, “I’ve finished inviting everyone!”

Royce comes back with ten steel glasses of water, one glass in each finger. He spins and avoids Charlotte as he puts them down on the large table formed by combining 20 desks. “Okay, that makes...thirty. One of you girls go get the glasses of your dorms. We’re lacking here.”

“We should’ve held a party on the first night itself,” Iris says, entering, “Everything looks so lively.”

“What happened with Zelmira and Lola?” Ethan asks, turning around.

“Eric and I talked to both of them, and…well, it’s complicated but also foolish. They have good points to make, but they argue, fight and call each other names like little kids. Lola thinks that Zelmira deliberately sent her away from the battlefield in order to scout during the simulation, and so she had no contribution to her team’s success and ended up second last on the rankings.”

“Ooh,” Charlotte says, clapping. “Drama! I love it! So, uh, did she really screw Lola over on purpose?”

Iris shrugs. “Their group finished the simulation on the first try, so I don’t think Zelmira knew what place she had to send Lola to avoid her getting any points, but it’s still strange that she didn’t call Lola over to help to deliver the cargo.”

“So? Are they coming?”

“Eric is trying to sort things between them, but regardless of the result, he’ll bring them to the party. It’s better for them to be under our supervision when they fight,” Iris says, and sits down on a bed close to the entrance. “They’re so childish, really. They remind me of my son, and he’s only five.”

Eventually, Eric, Zelmira and Lola arrive. Everyone sits, introduces themselves with a few lines, eats and talks. Ethan remembers what Eric has said to Zelmira in the evening—“We shouldn’t cause unnecessary trouble for the sake of future generations”. And he is right, of course, Ethan thinks. He looks over all of them and for the first time thinks of them not as enemies to contest in the Numen, but rather comrades that represent humanity. “You were right, Iris,” he says, smiling, “We should have had this party earlier.”

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Chapter 7 | Della | Haunt

When Coraline returns, Della and Gandharva are still talking, discussing how they would manage Black Diamonds. “Coraline,” Gandharva says, turning towards her, “do you remember what I told you?” She nods and keeps her backpack on the ground, approaching them. “When is it, Your Majesty?” she asks.

He strokes his beard, saying, “you have until tomorrow morning,” and Della looks at the window. There’s not much sunlight entering the room, but Gandharva has lit a lantern by her side. She looks up at Coraline’s face but finds no trace of shock on it.

“Get out,” Della says, looking at Gandharva. “I need to speak with her.” Coraline covers her mouth, letting out a small gasp.

Gandharva sighs, “The lesser you know, the easier it is.”

Della glares at him. “I said, get out,” and he gets off the chair, leaving the room. She waits for the door to finish closing before she points at the chair that he was just occupying. Coraline sits on it, taking triple the time he had taken for getting off it. Her thin knees touch as she sits, leaving empty space to the sides of the chair. Three of her could squeeze into the chair.

“I want you to speak freely,” Della squeezes her forehead with her uninjured right hand. She’s had a headache for an hour now, but she needs to decide. “Is Gand—Gandh—is the king threatening you by any means?”

Coraline shakes her head but does not explain herself.

“I said that I want you to speak freely,” Della says.

“But...Your Holiness...”

“I wish to speak freely with you as well...so call me Della,” she says, then looks down at herself. “I am no holy figure. I don’t know much about these so-called angels, but do you think an agent of God would look like me? Most of my body must be covered with some kind of bruise or burn. No, if you choose to die for me, I want you to know that I am not someone grand. I am just a troublemaker...and it seems that I have caused a great deal of trouble for everyone here as well.”

“No! You have caused no trouble!” Coraline shouts then covers her face with her hands. “I...I am a big fan of you.” At first, Della thinks that Coraline is ashamed under the cover, but when she removes her hands off her face and Della gets a clear view of her face in dim sunlight, she notices Coraline grinning and blushing. “You killed them! That’s so amazing!”

Della’s vision begins to grow blurry as soon as Coraline says that. “That’s how I used to think before coming here,” she thinks. She resists the urge to slam her hand against her head, her headache worse. Is this because of her painkillers?

“You will kill them all, right?” Coraline asks, leaning forward. There is no trace of the shy girl left. “Right, Your Holiness? You are our saviour! I will help humanity by sacrificing myself!”

“What even is wrong with her?” Della wonders. She seems...almost excited to die. Della gulps. She has been prepared for dying in case Coraline wants to live...but this outcome feels worse. “I...don’t know how to say this,” Della says, looking straight into Coraline’s brown eyes, “But this doesn’t feel right, you have much more of a life to live than me.” She then glares at the door. “I know you must be listening, king, so come in. I have made my decision.”

The door opens and Gandharva enters the room, smiling as “No!” Coraline screams, “I am proud to die for you! This is my destiny! I will proudly help humanity by sacrificing myself!”

“Don’t be so stubborn,” Gandharva says. “The Black Diamonds need people like you, Della. I can’t let someone of your calibre die.”

Della closes her eyes and nods. This is not like her, changing her decision. Even though it doesn’t feel right...dying feels worse. A coward, she thinks. That’s what she has called her mother over and over for shielding Ethan from everyone and sucking up to the Kix...and now she’s willing to let someone else die in her stead. She laughs, clutching her forehead. Laughter is supposed to be the best medicine, but her headache only seems to worsen. “So pathetic,” she says, her laughter getting louder.

Gandharva narrows his eyes at Della but doesn’t comment. Instead, he touches Coraline’s shoulder with his finger. “Come,” he says. “We need to make preparations for tomorrow morning. I will send Markus—the doctor—with your dinner.”

“I want to see when it happens,” Della says, looking at the window.

“...It’s too risky. I will have to shift the meeting place,” Gandharva says. “And you must be famous within their circles, being the escapee and all that. If you’re spotted…”

“I don’t care—I want to see all of it,” Della says, glaring at the back of Gandharva who nods and exits the room with Coraline.

***

The next morning, Della wakes up when Gandharva shakes her hand. “Did you have a good sleep?”

She wipes her eyes with her hand. “My headache is gone, I think.”

It’s quiet out here. It must be early. She waits for her eyes to adjust to see Gandharva. He’s changed his clothes, wearing a casual green t-shirt. He helps her sit against the bed’s headstand. “It’ll start in about fifteen minutes.”

“You should be going, then,” Della says, and Gandharva carries the chair next to the bed to the window. He offers to help her, but Della gets off the bed and limps her way to the chair on her uninjured left leg, looking down the window. She is pretty high up, but she can still see people standing on the ground. She can see two other buildings, but they are far away. The buildings remind her of her district, but there is less greenery and more things scattered around in the fifth district. She sees multiple huts just below, but cannot tell what they are for.

Three people stand in the middle of the ground that lays between the building she’s in and the next building in the chain. A girl in rags stands in the middle of them, but...something is wrong. Her clothes are full of bloodstains, and even from her height, Della can see that she’s bruised all over. Her skin doesn’t look like skin at all and is full of bruises and blood. Her blonde hair is all brittle and all over the place. “What did you do to her?” she asks, turning around to look at Gandharva.

“We needed to make it clear to the Gorons that we don’t support what happened. That we don’t like their Krots being killed. With her being tortured like that in our care, nobody can claim that we support that kind of thing. But don’t worry,” he says, approaching her, “she agreed to it, and it looks much worse than it is. Besides, she was and still is on painkillers this whole time.”

“If she agreed to it...okay. Don’t you have to go down there as the district head?”

He points his index finger at a plump man standing next to Coraline. “No, he’s the district head.”

“But you said—”

“You’re not the only one with scapegoats, you know,” Gandharva says. “I do lead the district, but only a select few like Coraline know about it. Instead, I have that person do all my work as the district leader so when the time comes, he gets taken away or killed instead of me.”

Della can hear the sound of air wheezing in the distance. They are descending, she thinks, looking outside the window. “I will not be someone like him,” she says.

“Yes,” he says, and she can hear his footsteps approaching him. “You’re too valuable to just be a scapegoat.”

She sees a cloth in front of her face. A white dress, perhaps? And then it’s thrust around her mouth, gagging her. “Relax,” Gandharva says as she kicks his leg and tries to remove the gag. “I just don’t want you to do anything like try to save her by claiming you’re the real killer. You seem to be on the fence, but... I like to be sure.” She relaxes, stopping her struggle both physically and mentally as he ties the cloth behind her mouth. It seems easier to accept Coraline’s death now that Gandharva has given her no choice.

In a few minutes, a Kix exits the airship with six Krots guarding it. One of the Krots is massive, its legs as tall as Della’s. There are some words exchanged that she cannot hear, and the scapegoat district leader pushes Coraline in Kix’s direction. She falls against the ground, and Della can see blood dripping down to her feet, no doubt the aftermath of her torture. Two Krots approach her, and when they do, Coraline gets up and crashes into them.

The large Krot moves quickly and tramples Coraline with its paw, crushing her. She screams and bites its paw, and it lifts the paw for a second, which is enough for her to roll away from underneath its paw and run towards the Kix. She charges straight at it, and it screams, walking back, as some of the faster Krots run to it to cover it. “I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!” she screams, and the smaller Krots start shooting her legs.

“She’s not feeling any pain,” Gandharva says as Coraline continues to charge forward despite being shot by laser beams thrice in her legs and once in her chest. When she is a couple of meters away from the Kix, the large Krot catches up to her and holds her in its right front paw... but it’s too late. The smaller Krots have already shot her multiple times in an attempt to save the Kix. It lets go when she stops resisting, and she falls flat against the ground, looking up at the sky. Her mouth opens and closes as blood oozes out and forms a circle around her body, and Della stares, knowing that this imagery will haunt her for the rest of her life.