Meno had waited for Mr. Dimitri to return, he did as he was told and did not look out of the window, he did not stand outside to ensure that the old man was okay, he didn't do anything at all. He sat at the kitchen table and waited. It was excruciating.
He thought of the nights before when Mr. Dimitri had gone out to go and see the guard and had come back despondent, disappointed. Meno would try and cheer him up. Hellen had always been good at cheering them up. Maybe he would try Dot’s approach, the old hag had always seemed to be able to pull a laugh from the worst situations. She would have them laughing at their little funerals. Usually by saying something completely inappropriate. Perhaps Mr. Dimitri would not appreciate that coming from him.
Or perhaps, tonight, it would be different, perhaps the guard, Lawrence would have been there, and there would have been a plan. Meno’s stomach lurched. If that was the case then he would need to leave Mr. Dimitri. He shifted in his chair and rubbed his eyes. He had always dreamed of seeing the galaxy, and experiencing all of the wonders that the townspeople had told him about, he had imagined himself flying through the stars on grand ships, stepping onto new worlds, studying the different cultures. It had always been comfortable to imagine and dream these things. Now that this was a possibility, he felt terrified. He had used those dreams as a comfort, something to take his mind off everything that was happening, everything that was so stagnant. He had never actually prepared himself for it. He had never truly believed that it could happen, not to him, not from this cursed place. The people of Gol lived and died on Gol.
The door opened and Mr. Dimtri walked in, his head hanging,
“She wasn't there?” Meno asked interpreting his mood. The old man sighed, placed his walking stick next to the door scuffled over to the table and took a seat.
“She was,” he said slumping. He looked up at Meno, “It doesn't sound like the message got through. It is just us” Meno had never seen the man so defeated. Meno had not anticipated this and felt foolish for only allowing himself to ponder on two eventualities. What would Swan have said if he had known? Of course, there was a possibility that even with her help, and her presence, there was nothing that could be done. They were up against an army, after all. Of course, one lonely guard was not going to change their fate.
“Then it’s just us” Meno said trying to lift his spirits. “The Pillar hasn't done anything to raise suspicions, all we have seen is some supply ships come in. Maybe it’s just getting repaired, for re…” he stopped at the look of the old man. Once again feeling foolish. It was a weak attempt.
“You can steal one of those supply ships, but you will need to…”
“I dont know how to fly a ship, old man” Meno scoffed.
“Sneak aboard and hide, or steal the ship and I will tell you how to fly it,” he said with some desperation now. “We need to do something” he said shaking his head, facing the table. “There is nothing else on this moon, no towns, no villages, it’s just us, and that Pillar. The guards didn't even have a way off this planet. I was hoping to sneak you aboard one of their resupply ships at some point, but I thought we had more time. We need to use one of those freighters, and we need to do it soon”
“I don't need to go, I can stay here with…” Meno stopped as something outside of the window caught his attention. It was a man’s face. It was a man who wasn't wearing a mask. It was a man, peering through their window. Mr. Dimitri turned but the man had gone, and then there was a knock on the door. Meno sat frozen. He was in complete disbelief. Did a man wander into the village, not knowing, not understanding? There was another knock. Mr. Dimitri’s face hardened, and he got up from his chair, grabbed his walking stick and readied himself.
“Hello, I know you saw me. I got your message” said the almost cheerful voice. Mr. Dimtri hesitated and then opened the door. It revealed a tall man, he had a smile on his face and seemed to smile broader at the reaction he was getting from the inhabitants of the home.
“You…got my…”
“Yep,” he said quickly, “Can I come in, it’s a bit chilly”
Meno sat in disbelief as the man walked into the room, smiling and looking around eagerly. It seemed that he didn't know about the disease. Nobody, in the entire time that Meno had been alive, had come into the camp without a full exo-suit on. This was the first new face that Meno had ever seen. He had never seen clothing like that before, he was wearing a thin jacket, a clean white shirt with a round collar. He had shoes that only covered half of his foot. The dusty blonde-haired man didn't look like anyone from the village at all. He looked strong, his skin was tanned, something that he had only ever heard of. He had tattoos that reached up the left side of his neck and down to his chest. A mess of straight lines that crisscrossed with the occasional twirl and bend, like a written language that had been written over itself a number of times.
“Town’s a bit shit isn't it?” he said looking around the room, his eyes widened as he looked at the kettle which he picked up, “Tea?” he said swinging the kettle in the air, “Tea will get us started”
“Who are you?” Meno felt the words tumble from his mouth. Mr. Dimtri had slumped back into his chair, just staring at the man.
“My name is Worrec,” he said, though he seemed unsure of it for a moment. “Tea?”
“You’ve killed yourself,” Meno said, still in a haze, “You’ve been exposed”
“Yeah, don’t worry about that” he said holding the kettle up again, and then realising that nobody was paying attention to it, threw it over his shoulder with a clang. He took a seat and looked at both of them up and down. “Okay” he started seeming to realise that he needed to provide some answers, “I’m here to get you out of here little man. We received a message some time ago from Captain Lawrence, a distress call really. We didn't want to respond as that would be a bit risky. We were waiting for the right time to come and get you, but some shit happened and we need to get you out of here tonight” he said casually, as though replaying a day's events. Meno seemed to blink himself back into reality.
“That…that doesn't explain anything, why did you come in here without an exo-suit? Don’t you know about the…Who in the hell are you? Mr. Dimitri” Meno said trying to get some input from the old man who was dumbstruck by the man. The man looked at Meno up and down as though scanning him, as though he was trying to understand him.
“Listen to him, Meno,” Mr. Dimitri said after seeming to pull himself together. “Thank you for coming” he said bowing his head down. The man just smiled at him. “You can get him out tonight?”
“We need to, the Dorlec are wrapping things up here, they have already killed all of the guards at the barracks, and they are going to be coming into town in the next few hours to come and get him and burn this place to the ground,” he said, once again too casually.
“Lawrence is dead?”
“Oh no, she has been arrested. They think that she is part of a conspiracy to get the boy out and that she is assisting the Hulfean forces and blah, blah, blah. They don’t know how right they are, but it will also be a bit of a surprise to her, I would imagine” Meno shook his head trying to wrap his mind around all of this, it was all too much, all too fast. He still didn't know exactly who this man was, he didn't know why he was so calm about being in the fog, why he was so casual about everything that was happening right now. Meno was not prepared for what he was saying. They wanted to move him. tonight.
“How are you getting him out?”
“I have an exo-suit outside which I took from one of the guards that died at the barracks. It has some holes in it but it’s fine, it won’t need to pressurize and he’s immune to the disease which is an absolute bonus”
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“Okay, and then he is going on one of the ships?”
“Our original plan had a pilot placed on the moon that was going to allow him to sneak on board. With everything happening we needed to alter that plan a bit, I managed to move some things around, your pilot will be flying the prison transport that Captain Lawrence will be taking shortly, so all working out pretty nicely if you ask me” neither of them were speaking to Meno at all now.
“So, Lawrence will be okay?”
“It’s the luckiest day of her life, the ship that was meant to be taking her to the Dorlec home world, is now going to be commandeered, she will be safe” Mr. Dimitri looked happier than Meno had ever seen him, the old soldier beamed at Meno from across the table,
“Did you hear that Meno? You are going to be safe”
“How do you know all of this?” Meno said, feeling that this was all too good to be true. “You changed the flight manifests? How did you know that the Captain has been arrested? How do you know that they are coming in the morning?” Meno fired off the most pressing questions that he had, they were not all of the questions he wished that he could ask, but he needed some answers. Worrec looked at him for a moment, leaned forward and then with an expression of utter pride said,
“I’m pretty fucking amazing, right?”
“We can’t trust this guy, Mr. Dimitri. None of what he is saying makes sense, how is he in this village without a mask, how did he even get on moon? He’s been sent by them to separate us! For all we know, he killed the guards in the barracks and the Captain”
“We can trust him, Meno. You must do this” said Mr. Dimintri calmly. Worrec started nodding.
“Who is he?” Meno asked the old soldier. Mr. Dimitri looked as though he was deciding what to say to this when Worrec interjected.
“I’m the one that’s getting you out of this shit hole - no offence” he added, “And we need to start moving” he stood up and walked to the door. “I’ll be back in shortly” he said to Mr. Dimitri, “Say your goodbyes” and he opened the door. He pulled the exo-suit that he had mentioned into the room, flashed his eyes at Meno and then left to stand in the street. Meno just stared at his old mentor, whose eyes were welling up in the slightest way. It was the most emotion he had ever seen from the old man.
“I don’t want to go”
“You have to,” he said softly. “You have a chance here, you must take it”
“What about you?”
“I’m going to be waiting for them when they arrive. I will show them that Lor Dimitri is a man that should not be taken lightly” he croaked. There was a knock on the door telling them to hurry.
“He’s such an asshole”
“Language,” the old man said reflexibly with a small chuckle. “Don’t take anything, just go with him. Do not feel sad leaving this place, remember what Hellen always taught you, you celebrate the past. Do not regret leaving this place, and do not for a moment feel guilty for you have no reason to be. You have given us all you have, and you deserve this” he started to stand up, and Meno feeling his limbs once more stood and joined him, “Go out there and be the man that I know you are, a good man” he said taking Meno by each shoulder. The lump in Meno’s throat grew. He had always been tough when it came to his emotions, never wanting the others to see him cry, or be down when they lost one of their own. This was different.
“Listen to what he tells you to do and take care of yourself, Meno” he said trying his hardest not to cry.
“I love you, Mr. Dimitri” The old man pulled him into a hug, and he felt him shudder. Meno was glad that he didn't see him cry.
“I love you too, my boy”
Mr. Dimtri released him from the embrace and quickly turned away, Meno knew that the old man didn't want to show his tears. He picked up the exo-suit and held it up for him to put on. It was remarkable, as he put on the suit, it tightened and adjusted to his body, only the armoured plates unable to shift in size, but rather moved into the correct positions on his shoulders, chest and back. The old soldier was watchful of Meno putting it on, telling him to ‘make sure it was tight’ and that ‘you should feel pressure on the back of your head from the helmet’. He was a seasoned hand at it, and standing he looked at Meno with a strange expression, it was a mix of pride and sadness. Now fully suited, he removed the helmet just as Worrec said “Time to go”, who was standing in the doorway, Meno hadn't even heard him enter.
Meno looked at Mr Dimtri once more, as he reached out to him for the last time. Meno held him tight, knowing that he would miss him. There were no more tears from the old soldier when they released. He gave Meno a stern nod, which he returned in kind.
“Tell Angie I say hi,” he said as a last passing quip. Meno didn't say anything, afraid that a word may open a gate that he would not be able to close.
“I’ll take him up and then we can have that last stand” Worrec said with a nod to Mr. Dimitri, who smiled wistfully.
“Thank you, Mr. Dimitri” Meno whispered as he left the room, knowing that he would regret it if he didn't. This time it was the old man holding the gate.
They made their way into the street, “I never know what to say in those situations, you know?” Worrec said fiddling with something in his jacket. Meno was glad that there was darkness around him now. He felt that if he were under bright light he would feel so exposed, so seen. He suspected Worrec knew this. He handed something to Meno, on a string but made sure that he didn't look at Meno when he looked up at him, in fact looking away. He was rather awkward in this situation too
“What is this?” Meno said inspecting the small coin. It was a brown coin with some indistinct writing on it. It had a hole punched in the top and the chain ran through that.
“Access. Now, about where you are going” he started, “The pilot has the access codes to get on planet, but she does not know which planet yet, because I’m very clever. That’s where you come in, don't hand it over too soon or she may dump you before taking off. She is a bit intense but I think she’s okay. Very clever” he said in almost a distracted way, fiddling with something in his fingers. They were reaching the forest now. “Look that way,” he said pointing Meno away from himself, he complied and felt a pinch behind his ear,
“What, why would you do that?” Meno said grabbing the spot.
“That’s comms tech. It has some other cool features, it’s the latest model I think. While on the ship run through how to work it, I’m not good with that kind of stuff. It should kick in in a few moments” Meno kept rubbing the spot where the tech had clearly just been inserted into his skin. He looked at Worrec who was still being far too casual about this entire thing. He was walking as though they were on a small stroll.
“Why me?” Worrec looked at him again in that strange way as though trying to understand him, scanning his face, every feature.
“Why not you?” he said clearly trying to deflect.
“This is clearly a very risky thing to do, why would I be worth that risk? Even if it is a favour to Mr. Dimitri”
“That’s the first time that I ever met Mr. Dimitri” he said, “Anyways, shouldn't you just be grateful that it is happening. Don’t worry about the why or how, or who the dashing, clearly talented man in front of you is” he said with a wink. Meno looked at him incredulously. Then his vision changed completely, he saw symbols start to float around in his vision, the trees came into view far more clearly. He could see his heart rate and temperature and other stats and figures in his periphery, nothing blocking his vision at all. He stopped and rubbed his eyes. “Kick in, did it? Yeah, it takes some getting used to. Stop fussing” he said seeing Meno still rubbing his eyes, “It’s the tech, it’s going to help you, I’ve plotted the path that you need to take to the freighter on there.”
“It’s strange,” Meno said blinking furiously. It felt wrong, foreign.
“Here we are” he said stopping in the forest, “Now, you are going to go ahead now, and I’ll head back to the house. Now, it’s important that you remember this”
“You are staying?” Meno interjected.
“Yeah, I’ve been exposed to the disease kid,” he said as though this should have been well understood by now.
“You said it would be fine?”
“Yeah, because I’m not leaving. I don’t get it why is this so complicated?” this man really irritated Meno, but he couldn't understand why this man would give up his life, just to get him out. He was a nobody, a kid, on a dead moon.
“Why are you helping me? You are effectively dying for me. This doesn't make any sense” Meno said looking at him sternly. Worrec seemed to give up.
“Firstly, I’m a bit more complicated than that. Secondly, you dont think it’s strange that a disease that kills everyone and everything it touches doesn't affect you at all? That in a place where even the air is toxic, you are in perfect health. Yeah, it’s weird man” he said, for the first time, Meno thought that he may actually be speaking the truth, “Also it’s not all going to be sunshine and rainbows, you have piqued our interest. We have plans for you kid, you’re not going to like all of them. Now,” he said returning to what he was originally saying, “This is important, when you get to the transport, hang out in the trees for a bit. The scanners won’t pick you up, the tech is helping with that, when you see them bringing the Captain to the ship, make your move. You are going to need to take the soldiers out, so wait until they are in the ship, the pilot should help, but don’t count on it, she’s a bit prickly like I said. When you meet the pilot, tell her that you need to go to Yeley, Yeley” he said mouthing the word out again, “Don’t tell her this until you get into orbit, the whole she may kick you off the ship. She’s also on the run, so tensions are pretty high. Don’t let the soldier hurt her” he said in such fast succession that Meno was trying to keep up, Worrec had made sure to emphasise the last point though which Meno found interesting.
“Okay, and this?” he said holding the coin up,
“There is a man on Yeley…Yeley” he said emphasising the word again, Meno was really struggling with this guy, “Named Harold, he will see your entry codes when you make planetfall and will meet you at the port, give him the coin. You can trust him”
“Coming from a man that I dont trust”
“Ouch” he said holding his heart and feigning hurt. “Wait on Yeley until we reach out to you again. Harold will have some work for you, but your first test is getting off of this rock. Don’t cock it up” he said pointing at Meno, “That’s the last ship out of here that doesn't include a body bag”, straightening up and looking down at Meno, “You good?” Meno nodded and then looked up at the taller man. He knew that he needed to ask this of him.
“Let him fight,” he asked as a final request. He knew that Mr. Dimitri would like nothing more than to go out with a fight, it would be the glorious end to a soldier's life that he never thought he would have had a chance at. Worrec smiled.
“Oh, we’re going to do some damage” he said with a smile, “Now, skedaddle” Meno started to walk off and then looked at Worrec,
“Thank you, for this” the man just smiled at him, then turned and walked into the forest back to the small town of Gol. Meno had never had so many questions floating around his head as he did right then. He had no answers, he knew that the answers he had received had been lies, he didn't know who this man was, but what he did know, is that for some inexplicable reason, he knew he could trust him. He felt so confused as to why. This man was going to die for him, and he didn't know if anything that he said or was doing was in Meno’s best interest. It didn't sound like it was. All he knew, is that he owed this man his life.