The lift ride back towards her apartment felt longer than normal, as it stopped to pick up weary partiers in their crazy outfits. Most were still happy, but in a tired sort of way that made them keep to themselves.

Apollonia rode past her stop, going back down. She was strangely enjoying the ride. Or at least, it was better than being back at her quiet apartment.

She keenly missed Angel's presence. The little dog had become a comforting companion just by her mere presence.

What a gift for them all the dog was, she thought.

The doors opened, and the lift emptied, but only one man entered.

Oh, shit, she realized. It was Dav Gannin.

The man was another expatriate of New Vitriol. He had, she had heard, approached Dr. Arn Logus, wanting to escape the place.

His son had died on New Vitriol; a common fate for the young there, given the high levels of radiation, bad air, and lack of necessities. She'd only avoided it by having moved there after she was nearly grown.

But she had limited ability to feel sympathy for him. The man hated her.

While part of it might be due to the fact that she was alive when her son wasn't, the open reason was the same one that everyone else there had hated her; she was, in their eyes, a witch.

It was just another term for Seer or CR or whatever else someone wanted to say. He'd yelled it into her face in Logus's office when she'd gone by some time back.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

The man was avoiding her eyes, looking down and away. She awaited the explosion.

Unlike people in the SU, she knew very well that people from Vitriol were capable of startling violence.

She wished she wasn't in this stupid flower costume anymore. Not that she would have blended more in normal clothes, but the brightness and happiness of it seemed almost mocking.

Gannin was just in normal clothes himself. He still wore his faded brown jacket from Vitriol over his newer Union outfit.

Finally, his eyes rose, met hers. She braced herself.

"I'm sorry," he said softly.

She froze, waiting for the follow-up burst of violence. But nothing came.

The silence lingered, and the man looked down and away again, almost chastened.

"What?" she asked. Even to her ears her voice sounded dumbfounded.

"I'm sorry," the man repeated. There was no annoyance in it, nothing but sadness.

He looked up. "I called you a witch. I always hated you. Back there . . . on Hellrock."

She blinked. "I call it Hellrock."

"Yeah," he said. "I know. Most of us started calling it that after we heard. Name fits."

"Thanks," she said suddenly. When he looked startled, she added; "For the apology. I . . . uh . . . I appreciate it."

"You never did anything to deserve it," Dav said, shrugging. "I just hated you because you were an outcast. Touched by the Dark, we all said."

"Yeah," she replied. She knew the stories.

"And maybe you're different, but you never did anything bad. At least nothing nearly as bad as the rest of us."

She didn't know about that; her mind went back to a dozen, a hundred times she'd exacted her own petty revenge or stole or otherwise hurt someone else. But she did not say it.

"Dr. Logus was always trying to tell me that," Dav continued. "I blamed you a lot. For my son's death. Along with the Governor and security and, fuck - everyone. You were just the last remaining reminder of all that, so you became the target."

Apollonia felt a trickle of sweat go down the back of her neck. Had he planned to attack her?

"Logus stopped me," Gannin said. "He kept telling me that you were just another victim. I didn't listen to him then. But, you know, when the ship went and fought the Hev . . ."

"Logus almost died," she said. "Because he went to help me."

"You were out there being a Responder," Dav said quickly. "I was just cowering in a bunker. Not even trying. But I saw Logus go out - he wasn't even afraid. At least he didn't show it. He went out and risked his life. Nearly lost it . . . just to help you."

Apollonia still felt guilt over that. If anything, this seemed more reason for the man to hate her, but . . .

"And after that I realized he meant everything he said," Dav continued. "He did want to help me. He . . . risked everything to help people. And not just me, but even you. Someone I thought ought to have been spaced years ago."

He shook his head. "I'm ashamed of who I was. So I'm sorry. It's not your fault - none of it was. I was a terrible person. I can't change that, but I can try to be a better one. I . . . It's the only point in going on, at this point, isn't it?"

Apollonia felt a burning behind her eyes. She nodded to the man emphatically. "Yeah," she said. "I know what you mean."