"Sorry to scare you like that." Mom groaned in embarrassment as two people in green bodysuits with visors for faces worked on her lower body.
Ratcatcher, her brother, and Mom were in a thing Eugenia named an ambulance. Soon after the commotion, new and new circles—Eugenia named them portals—started opening around the village. People and mechanical beasts came out of them, separating two crowds of people. One of these beasts took Nadya and her parents in, and the terrified Ratcatcher followed people into another who were carrying Mom on a stretcher.
It turns out Eugenia was not with outsiders. Well, she was, but she wasn’t one of them, and neither was she a goddess. If Ratcatcher understood right, Eugenia was from a group who were outsiders to the outsiders, making her an outsider-outsider. And this second group planned to unite with the first group, and then the first group thought she was stealing Nadya when she had saved her from the spider, and this is why they shot her and…
And my head hurts from all of this. She decided to concentrate on the important things and leave the adults to their strange things. A black earpiece was now in her ear, allowing her to understand everyone's words. Eugenia called it an automatic translator.
Now she sat here and watched as strange needles pierced Mom's skin and people who called themselves doctors, a word outsiders used for healers, undressed Mom and cursed several times before and during their work.
Two doctors waved a strange device over Mom's abdomen and nodded to each other after locating a torn iliac artery. Ratcatcher had no idea what an iliac artery was, but she knew a little about arteries. If a spider cut one, there was a very good chance that you would bleed to death. She clenched her fists as she watched the doctors use an array of steel instruments, something called gravity forceps, and a low-power laser to stop the bleeding.
Try as she might, Ratcatcher had little idea what was going on. Somehow, everything that happened to Mom's insides was transmitted through strange glasses on the wall, and the doctors looked at her and injected the damaged organ, muscle, or artery with an injection similar to the one the girl had experienced.
And it worked! She, too, watched the situation on the wall and witnessed the damaged uterus stop swelling and leaking blood, and the two ends of the damaged artery merge together, allowing blood flow to resume. The doctors didn't stop there; their miraculous instruments continued to work, scanning, as they called it, Mom's body in search of other damage. Meanwhile, the woman's breathing calmed, and the embers of her former flame returned to her beady eyes. She clenched her fists, surprised at the rapidly returning strength, and only stopped when the doctors implored Mom not to exert herself for the next few hours.
“I’ve had enough of this,” the man cursed. “Once we are done, I am writing a report. Redeemer or not, Eugenia showed an utter lack of care. Let professionals handle such delicate situations, not a PR's glory-hungry muppet."
“Everything worked out in the end,” another doctor said cheerfully, earning herself a strict look from the first doctor.
"Fine? You call carving out over fifty kilometers of someone’s home fine? We came here for the records stored in these damn spaceships, and now they are lying with their bellies up, like a bunch of dead fish. Redeemer knew that one group of people hated and despised another group of people, and she brought both groups together,” the man snapped angrily, looking at the ever-changing images on a strange screen located on a wall. " What did she think would happen? I don't care how fast her reaction times are, she's not the Lightbringer! A laser pistol would have turned this meeting into a tragedy. She injected an abnormal with healing nanomachines without fully knowing if it was safe! What if that girl was a regenerator? You know how nanomachines and regenerators interact! And to top it off, our vehicles can't pick up the wireless link all the way out here, forcing us to rely on the energy cells to fix the mess she created. I am sick and tired of her acting like…"
“Mom’s going to be okay, right?” Ratcatcher dared to ask.
“Yeah, don’t worry, kiddo,” the man replied, his anger fading in an instant, leaving only a warm smile. “The primary concern is internal bleeding, and that is nothing to make a fuss about. In addition, we have poorly healed bones, broken teeth, calcium deficiency, postural problems, muscle spasms, an immune system that is hardly in pristine condition... A host of minor things, in short. Nothing we can't fix. But bed rest is necessary, as the patient's body is only partially responding to the regenerative solutions." He tapped the screen, drawing Ratcatcher's attention to the previously torn artery. "See how it bends under the blood pressure, girl? It's a little thinner than it should be. Theoretically, at least, our VI is running on pure predictions of your bodies at the moment. Give us a week to do all the tests and work, and your mother will be walking around just peachy."
Her village didn't have an elder. Most families lived on their own, helping others in times of need. With such rapid changes upon them, Dad took on the role of a leader, so to speak, and now spoke with Eugenia and a leader of outsiders, a man known as the Mayor, and someone who called himself an Ambassador. Ratcatcher had no idea what they were talking about, but Dad told her not to worry.
She was inclined to believe him. For the first time in her life, outsiders were being polite around her! No yelling, no barking, no shooting, and not even beatings! If anything, the outsiders were just as shocked by the presence of the outsiders-outsiders.
Hm. I need a better name for them. The girl decided. Blue-clad ones! Yeah, that seems fitting.
The Others disappeared just as quickly as they had appeared, leaving even the blue-clad ones surprised. Only one of the Others, the one with the scar, remained standing next to Dad. His mouth moved, but no matter how hard the girl strained her ears, she could not hear even the faintest whisper. Eugenia and this Ambassador person, meanwhile, nodded and occasionally responded to the Other.
"I'll be fine, Ratty." Mama stroked Ratcatcher's head gently and took her brother to feed him. "Sorry about... everything."
"What are you sorry for, Mom?"
"I wanted to raise you in a real home. To protect you from." She gestured around. "All of this. Away from the fighting, to give you a family, everything I never had. And look how it turned out." She leaned back against the pillows. "I hate being weak. I hate not being in control and being thrown back into the flow of change, not knowing if I can at least provide for my children again, let alone give you a real home."
"Miss, Miss, Miss Bloodsworn," Ratcatcher could have sworn the doctor rolled her eyes at the name. The man snapped his fingers in front of her muzzle. "Snap out of it. You and your family are in the care of Iterna, and there is no safer place in the world. Everything will be all right; I swear it on my life. You have a beautiful daughter and a beautiful son, so focus on happy thoughts, okay? Girl, your mother needs to sleep and rest. Could you rest in another vehicle?" the doctor asked Ratcatcher. "I'll be back later to take some blood samples. We need to figure out what you can and can't eat, and what, aside from your obvious posture problems, we need to heal. Oh, and if Redeemer... Eugenia tries to act weird or bothers you in any way, scream and we'll shoo her away."
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“The man’s right. Sorry for piling up my frustrations on you, Ratty,” Mom breathed out. “You stay safe and don’t worry over a thing, got it? Mommy will take care of everything.”
Ratcatcher obeyed the order and left, still feeling her heart pounding like crazy. The blue-clad ones had given her and the rest of the children new sets of pants and shirts, all blue and pleasantly warm and soft, but lacking the tree that adorned the clothes of the other humans.
A guard outside met her. The man was dressed in a strange metal skin, his face completely invisible behind a metal plate. Twin lenses burning with a soft blue light focused on her as he led her by the hand through the village to another metal beast. Curious, the girl asked what this thing was, and the guard explained that these beasts weren't living things, but vehicles for transporting people.
This confused her a bit. She saw the blue-clad ones placing some strange canisters of yellowish substances inside these vehicles. Why would you feed something if it was not alive?
As they got closer to one of the "vehicles", its rear end opened, creating a ramp for her to enter. The spacious compartment inside had comfortable seats along the walls. Vengeanceater lay on three of them, staring blankly at the ceiling.
“Hi there, squeaker,” he greeted her, quickly shifting to sitting. “How’s your mom?”
“She will be fine in no time,” she responded with a bit of a challenge in the voice. Ratcatcher sat against Vengy and sighed. “How is your dad?”
"The invaders said he would walk and talk again." Vengy leaned back in his seat and clasped his hands over his chest.
"That's great!"
“Oh, yeah, super!” A very rare smile came upon his lips. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s awesome! Da is going to be ok! But… what am I supposed to do? All I ever did was take care of him. What good am I now? Da will probably find himself a wife or something and leave me.”
“Parents don’t do that.” Ratcatcher slammed a palm against her seat. “Everything will work out, you’ll see! And… Uh… Vengy.”
“Yeah?”
“I lost your spear. Sorry.” She looked down.
“Don’t care, wasn’t mine. Guess I’ll make you another one now that I have some free time."
“How are you, kids?” Eugenia asked, stepping inside with a box in her hand. The tall woman had to lean forward to keep her head from scratching the ceiling. “I’ll keep an eye on the little rascals,” she told the guard.
“Haven’t you caused enough problems already, Redeemer?” The guard asked. They looked at each other, and the man shrugged. “I’ll stay outside. The children are to stay here, got it? Not in some amusement park, and most certainly not in your house. If anything like the last time happens or if you endanger them in any way, not even Command will be able to save your ass from trial, glory hound.”
Eugenia dropped to her knees and beamed at the two kids.
“Hey there. How are you doing? Mind if I check something? It won’t hurt, honest.” She asked them.
"I'm wondering what to do with my life now," Vengy complained. "Go ahead, intruder, not like there's any point in worrying anymore."
Ratcatcher just nodded, and Eugenia came closer, picking up the box with both hands. A thin green ray of light shone out of it, illuminating first Vengy from head to toe and then Ratcatcher. As the woman said, there was no pain, not even a tingling, except for the annoyance of the bright light. Eugenia landed next to her with a loud thud, causing the vehicle to shake a little.
"No idea about your future life, huh? Aren't you just dying to know what the future has in store for you? Think about it, kiddo. You can become a mechanic and make machines not unlike this one," Eugenia said, tapping on the iron wall. "Or maybe it doesn't swing your way? No problem, become an engineer and build buildings? Sounds boring? How about a cook or a courier? The world is a big place, don’t you worry your little cute head. There is always something fun for you to do.” Her expression changed. “Okay, kiddos, I have some news. You, little missy, have a power.” She pointed at Ratcatcher.
"Power?" Ratcatcher asked, not sure what she meant. "I... I guess. I can hit things hard, but Vengy is both stronger and faster than me."
"But she heals faster," he added.
"All true." Eugenia nodded. "That's because you are both abnormals."
"A what?" Ratcatcher raised her brow.
"Abnormals. The teachers at school will explain this to you in detail later, but the short story is..." A dark cloud crossed Eugenia's face. "Once our world was a much more populated place. Humans reached out into space and landed on distant planets in our system. Machines filled the skies, ferrying people in and out. Disease and hunger were conquered, wounds, disease, and even death itself began to recede in fear of humanity's achievements...
"And then the event known as the extinction hit us." Eugenia sighed. "To say it was terrible is to say nothing. We, humanity, almost died. Only Iterna, my and now your home, had survived relatively unscathed. And the people who were left outside of Iterna changed in this new world. That is why you and I look so different." Eugenia shrugged. "And that's okay. Deep down, we, the Others, as you call them—but they name themselves otherwise—and you are all human to the core. Who cares out of which parts we were made and how we came into this world, right?”
“I guess…” Ratcatcher stretched the word, trying to comprehend what she heard. “Wait! The Others can talk!?”
Eugenia smiled and pointed to the girl's ear. Her fingers tapped together and Ratcatcher tilted her head, unsure of what the woman was doing. Eugenia continued tapping, making no sound, before placing a new black earpiece in the girl's ear. When she tapped again, Ratcatcher heard a faint sound.
“Yep. They speak at a very low frequency, almost inaudible to the ear of a normal person. Even a standard translator has trouble picking their speech. Believe it or not, they always thought you were screaming at the top of your lungs at every meeting, so they kept to themselves." Eugenia clapped her hands. "But back to the point. Powers come in different categories and are something that can elevate a normal person even above an abnormal one. Some can think faster thanks to their power, others can bend the laws of physics, and others can do a variety of other things.
"For example, I can lift a lot, as you've seen. In truth, I am actually not a natural-born abnormal like you two, but rather some of the best genetic engineers have worked on my body, grafting muscles on top of muscles, rerouting my brain to make me comprehend and react to stuff faster, along with enhancing my other senses and toughening my skin. Such things are known as physical abnormalities. But my power allows me to create spatial anomalies… er, let’s call them what they are, ok? I create portals between various spaces. In short, in theory, I can slice myself in two with it. But why use your gift for something so scary?” she quickly said at Ratcatcher’s worried expression. “When it is way more practical to do something like this!”
Eugenia neither moved a finger nor lifted a brow. There was no thunderous sound or cracking noise. A simple round circle appeared between Eugenia and Ratcatcher, showing the insides of something white and bright. Looking in, she felt her heart beating harder. Food! There was so much food inside!
Strange bottles, some of which had been opened, stood open, emitting strange and sweet smells. A large piece of meat was placed on a plate, next to smaller green vegetables. Her mouth watered at the divine smell, but she leaned back when cold air came out of the hole in space.
Still smiling, Eugenia drew her hand in, took out two buckets with bright inscriptions, and handed these cold things to both Vengy and Ratcatcher. Next came a plastic bottle filled with some black liquid, and the image inside the circle changed to show some kind of metal table with a cupboard above it filled with spoons, forks, glasses, and other things.
Each kid received a spoon, then Eugenia placed two glasses on the seat, opened the bottle, and poured hissing liquids into the glasses. She handed the glasses to Vengy and Ratcatcher and placed the bottle next to her.
“What are you waiting for?” She asked them, drinking from her own glass to show that everything was ok. Then she opened the strange buckets, filling Ratcatcher's nose with some of the most wondrously sweet smells. "An ice cream isn't going to eat itself. The lesson is over; we'll find out what kind of power you have later. For now, cheers! Let's enjoy the reunion!"
Suspiciously, the girl buried her spoon in the strange substance. It was a bit chunky, but Ratcatcher easily pried out a tiny bit of brown mixed with a white lump of... something. Carefully she licked it, and a flare shot through her tongue. It was... it was... tasty! It was certainly not a spider, it tasted even better than the warm insides of a rat! A bit cold, true, but as it warmed on her tongue, an almost divine sweetness filled her mouth and flowed down her throat. And judging by Vengy's drooling expression and wide eyes, the boy felt the same way. Their bellies rumbled, demanding more, and they both obliged, hungrily filling their stomachs under Eugenia's gentle smile.
That day, Ratcatcher tasted soda and chocolate ice cream for the first time, and found both treats worthy of a god. As her eyes flashed with joy, the fears of today and yesterday were washed away for a time.