Wren was above ground again. Alone, again. She'd gone with Anvon, and a couple of his higher up friends. Wren didn't go to the surface very often, and it was even rarer she went with Anvon. He usually had things to do. So when he'd offered, she'd of course come along.

They took a bus to get a little farther than they usually would. Wren sat with her face very close to the glass, watching the scenery pass as Anvon talked to the others.

He did spend some time with just her. The first stop for the two of them was an indoor pond, where Anvon told her how to identify different types of ducks.

But then, he rejoined the others at a bar. They did offer Wren a pretty yellow glowing drink that didn't have any alcohol, and she did sip at it. But they were talking about adult things, and having adult drinks, and there weren't really food options. (Beyond say, pretzels) And the room was noisy, at least to her ears.

Anvon noticed. He slid some money to her and patted her head. "Why don't you go explore this area of the city? I'm sure it's new for you, and you can find something interesting. Just be back here in about an hour, and I promise we'll do something before we get back. Just the two of us."

So Wren checked the time, and headed back onto the street.

She started down the hall, but something felt off. She didn't recognize the downward sloping hall she was in, even though she surely must've at least glanced it when they went inside? She kept seeing people watching her out of the corner of her eyes, but they were always looking away if she turned to them. Not a friendly sort. And they sort of looked. . .different if she saw them out of the corner of her eyes versus full on.

It also felt like it was literally getting darker in here. There were fewer lights in the hall. The shops seemed to be open, but without the bright glowing lights or signs that usually advertised shops.

Someone grabbed her arm. Wren gasped, and tried to turn, though the way she was being held limited her movement.

She hadn't even heard someone come up to her, and she had good ears.

"Where do you think you're going?" the figure leered. "You shouldn't be down here on your own."

"Let me go," Wren protested, tugging.

"No. I don't think I will."

He wasn't loosening his grip. There were people around, but they clearly weren't helping. But Wren had been warned about this kind of situation. She'd practically already lived it once, with the boys a the park. She wasn't going to sit here and take it again.

She pulled a gun out using her free hand. She had been trained on how to use them. Anvon had suggested carrying at least one around when she was outside of their base. She was about the age where she was supposed to prove herself to the cult anyway. She fired at the man's head. His eyes had just enough time to be surprised before the bang went off, and blood started coming out of his head.

She knew there were people around, even if she was having trouble focusing on them. Someone had probably seen that. Which meant she should get out.

She dashed away, deeper into the hall.

People and their words were only a blur and murmur around her. She heard the sound of a weapon other than her own go off. Were they attacking her?

Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see a staircase going back up. She made a swift turn for it, but only made it the first step before bashing into someone on the stairs.

The voice of the person sounded startled, but also tried to grab Wren's arms. Both arms. Wren quickly jerked back, and fired the gun again. She hadn't had much time to aim, but from this close, it would be hard to miss. The body slumped, rolling down the steps.

Wren stood for a moment, aware of the life draining from the corpse. She'd have to go around it to go up the stairs.

Then, the veil over her lifted. She was still in a dark hallway that was probably underground, but the blurs and muted sounds came back into focus. The staircase had a railing it hadn't before, at least not that she'd noticed, and she recognized the person she'd shot. She recognized her so well, she should've noticed before firing.

Wren's gun clattered out of her hand.

~~~

Wren sat in a small ship. It was dark and rattling in here, designed for decent rather than space flight.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

She had killed her mom. She had shot Harmoni. It wasn't even all that recent anymore, but the simple fact still sat there in her brain, refusing to sink. Anvon said all people were awful. It seemed she was her own proof of concept all along.

Eddie was fidgeting as they went down, occasionally glancing at people, but never for long.

Wren just stared ahead, seeing nothing but what the faint shafts of light showed her inside the ship, as they got closer to Xentron.

They landed on Xentron and split up, Eddie going in a different group. From what Anvon had said, Xentron was a big planet that lived in isolated groups compared to most. It would be easy to do what they came here for, and duck back out. They'd brought enough people for two groups, and still no one would notice.

Eddie glanced back towards her, but Wren didn't look her way, and pretty soon she turned around to keep pace with her own group.

The town Wren's group was targeting came into sight. She went first. Despite moving like a zombie, all stiff movements and blank expression, Wren didn't attract much attention.

She knocked on a door. A woman answered. Wren shot her.

That attracted attention. Someone ran towards Wren. Pauth slipped out of the shadows and intercepted him. Wren was free to shoot the panicking kid inside. She did so. She'd killed her own mother. Nothing else mattered.

She walked outside, through the back door. Someone grabbed her shoulder. She panicked, and felt something rise out of her. Whoever was holding her exploded. She hadn't even see who they were.

So that was her dark magic ability.

This would be over soon. They hadn't brought that many people. The town technically outnumbered them. But Wren had met no resistance whatsoever. She couldn't speak to the other cultists, who'd moved further on, but she'd catch up to them in a moment.

She took a step forward, only to see a thin shine of metal heading toward her face. She stepped back to avoid getting her nose sliced off.

Wren turned. A short fat woman in all back, with red hair, and a familiar clasp on her cloak had attacked her.

"A cleric," Wren deduced. Basically no one else wore that symbol, after all.

"Concerned yet?" the cleric bit out, glaring.

"Should I be?" Wren's head lolled to one side, keeping it straight was an effort. "You can't kill anyone, and you can't heal the dead."

"There are other ways to stop you." The cleric clasped her symbol, completely covering it.

That probably meant she was going to use some sort of ability. Wren fired her gun. The bullet didn't hit the cleric, instead doing the impossible and clipping Wren's shoulder.

Wren dropped the gun and grabbed her shoulder, stumbling to the side. She glanced up. The cleric was still grasping her symbol, and her eyes were going red around the rim. In fact, the unnatural red glow seemed to be spreading.

Wren launched forward. She felt herself lose momentum halfway through, and unlike the rest of the day, she was actually trying. It was just like trying to escape a spider's web.

"Goodbye, young cultist," the cleric said. "You won't remember this. Or anything else, for that matter."

~~~

The ground below buckled, tiles cracking to reveal earth. A flaming beam dropped from the ceiling in front of her. Wren stumbled back, but that wasn't why.

Smoke filled the hall. She dropped to a crouch, gripping her hair.

Anvon said all people were selfish, that the galaxy was inherently violent and cruel. That time he'd told her while talking about Preventative Measures wasn't the first or last mention. It was sort of an important part of the cult really. If it was inevitable, might as well get something out of it, rather than pretend. She wasn't sure if that was the way all the cult members felt, but it was certainly an advertised way. And was it true? (She'd certainly proved she herself was violent and cruel.)

She thought of Edinar's headmaster, who never did the things he said he would. Of the potions teacher, who was only kind so he could steal organs. Of the generally mean and distant students. She thought about Hathanier and Cyep's awful plan on Xentron. Or how about the fact there was slavery on Xentron? Or how long had she wandered the streets on that planet without any help what so ever? Not even when she volunteered to work. A lot of the galaxy certainly seemed the way Anvon said. (Fleck didn't count. They were soul bonded.) Maybe she should just burn here.

"Wren! Wren? Are you here?!" a familiar voice called out.

Wren slowly lifted her head.

"Fleck says you're near!" Cooper continued, in an awfully clear voice, considering the smoke around.

Cooper. Cooper wasn't awful. He wasn't cruel or selfish. In fact, when she thought of slavery, she'd felt bad for him being forced to endure it. Yet he wasn't awful or violent. He was kind. He tried to make people happy, and seemed pretty happy himself. His inventions were helpful. He was disappointed that he couldn't use magic, but never seemed to hold it against magic users. The only selfish thing he did was invent things he wanted to use himself, and Wren wouldn't call him an awful person for that. Not in the way Anvon painted people to be, or in the way her younger self had thought of people, from personal experience.

And now that she remembered him, she remembered others as well. Of Udo and Aqua, who had opened their home to a stranger, clearly caring more about helping her than anything she could do for them. Of Wesles, who was nice to everyone without needing a reason. Of Ryo, who'd offered to help the first time they met. Of anyone who disproved Anvon's statement not just towards her, but in general.

She hadn't been separated from the cult that long. About three months. And only two of those had been on Xentron, a place that gave her fonder memories than Iva. But it had been enough.

She couldn't believe Anvon. Her own life was incongruous with that. And if her examples were small, well, maybe she just didn't want to believe Anvon.

She stood up. "I'm over here!" she called out.

Something shifted on the other side of the flames. Cooper and Fleck were standing there, when they hadn't been a moment before.

Right. The sheet.

"Wren! Come on!" Cooper extended a hand.

Wren took two steps back, and charged forward, jumping over the flaming ground.

She wasn't sure she was going to make it. She was going down too soon, getting close to the flames. And if she hit the floor in entirely, that was burnt up, heated from the flames. That would sting a bit.

Fleck moved to the edge of the burnt area, scales protecting him against the heat, and flapped. It wouldn't work for the entire underground, but in this small area, he could do enough. The flames in the immediate area went down, struggling against the gusts of wind.

Cooper's hand went around hers, clasping at her wrist, and he pulled.