“Damn me!”

“Stop fighting me, Atjani. You are wasting all your precious energy,” whispers a familiar voice.

My lack of control was staggering to me. I feel myself becoming nothing more than a voice in my own head. I watch as Alana refocuses me on the Lam Lathi uniforms in front of me. I see the tusked helms of higher ranking solders and the symbol every resistance fighter has learned to hate. A tearing set of eyes above the hand signs for “hate” and “love.” It had its variations, but Lam Lathi was all the same to me.

“He is under my influence now,” I say. It was Alana speaking.

Alana lets the soldiers know she has possessed me again. She likes speaking with my own mouth and humiliating me. I'm just trying to enjoy the ride. I won't go to hell when I die. I'm already living it.

The Lam Lathi soldiers quickly leave. I see blurry figures leave the musty room as Alana forces heavy energy upon my glistening brown eyes. She leaves my body, turning them green again. A door opens in front of me. I watch as Alana comes into the room in person. She had a smirk.

“How does it feel to be the puppet?” Alana mocks once again. It was like her favorite phrase. I have a few of my own. I like to give it back to her when I can.

“Feels better every day,” I mutter.

I hear Alana's boots tap the ground, as her gentle body sways. She stops closer to me and looks into my face with a smirk. I could smell the mint and spices of her bandanna. She was wearing it again. It was just a tool in her arsenal.

“Do you know why, I've tied you to this chair?”

I look at Alana.

“So my legs don't get tired,” I mutter. “You'll regret it, when I give your ass a few kicks.”

Alana smiles, quite amused with me. She stands above me and looks at me through the bottoms of her eyes. They glow like tiger's eye in front of an open fire. Her eyes start to fill with silver tears.

“No,” Alana whispers. “Let me show you.”

Alana straddles me and fixes my shirt. She becomes a tempest once more. Moments later, she forces her way into my memories.

“I watch myself as a child. It was little Atjani, my old self. I've seen it all before...”

“We can reach it with this chair,” says a boy named Atjani.

Atjani tries to pull a chair out from under some heavy rubble. It doesn't work. He runs around a building and looks for help. Ruins surround him and faint gunshots could be heard. The battle had been quick and there were still people in shock. Many natives had fled and populated the nearby tribes. The city of Mercyan had fallen to Lam Lathi a few days ago. With it, the destruction of many tribes was coming to pass.

A young Melinal runs up to Atjani. She had left and come back to get his help.

“I found a window for us. It's higher, come see.” Melinal points upward. She smiles with excitement at her discovery. She dances the word “delighted” like her dead mother had taught her and smiles. Melinal leads her friend to her recent discovery – an open window to the structure's interior.

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Atjani follows her delighted to see what the big deal was. He follows his new friend to the side of the abandoned structure and watches as Melinal jumps up-and-down while pointing.

“It's there, Atjani.”

“Here, I can help you up, Melinal.” Atjani reaches for the bottom of the window, and cuts his hand. He winces and pulls it back.

“Oww!”

“Your hand is hurting, Atjani.” Melinal covers her mouth. She looks at his hand and touches it.

“That's ok. My dad was bleeding when they killed him,” Atjani says with sorrow.

Melinal takes the bandanna from her hair and wraps Atjani's hand. She gives it a pat, proud of how clever she was.

“Mom said the love will help it heal faster,” smiles Melinal.

“Yah! The love will help it heal faster!,” agrees Atjani, excitedly.

Atjani wipes his hand over the window, clearing it carefully of shards with his clothed hand. He props Melinal up on his back and she tumbles inside. A short time later, some food is thrown through the window at him.

“Help. I can't get back out,” yells Melinal

“Stay there. I'll go find someone,” shouts Atjani.

A long time passes, until a resistance fighter comes running up with Atjani. He looks around him for threats before helping the two children. The memory ends.

“So you did plan on going back for her,” says Alana softly.

“Go back for Melinal? Why does that even matter!?” I yell inside me.

I struggle against Alana. I slowly release her control of me, but she re-positions herself and overcomes my will from a different angle. I could feel her sifting through my memories like an open book. She struggles slightly, before leaving my body.

I gasp. I wipe my eyes. I look up at Alana who had remained sitting on me the whole time. Without warning the door busts open. I watch as several Lam Lathi soldiers drag a familiar face into the room. They had capture Melinal! There was a gag in her mouth and she was blindfolded and bound. The gag is taken out and I watch as my childhood friend is thrown to the floorboards.

“Melinal?”

“Atjani?”

Two gunshots go off and I shout. A pool of blood forms as Melinal is rolled over. Silence. I couldn't believe what I just saw. I yank at my chair, but it was no use. It was weighted to the ground and there was nothing I could do. I stare up at Alana. My eyes were filled with hate.

Alana gets off of me and paces around the room. She glances over at me, before waving the Lam Lathi soldiers off. They leave the room in a collage of boots, rifles, and shields. The door shuts.

“They say....” starts Alana.

“I don't care!” I shout.

“You will, if you want to save your friend.”

There's a silence, as I stare at Alana. I look back at Melinal and mourn. I try to touch her with my foot, but I was bound tightly to my chair. Alana continues.

“As I was saying, they say there are beautiful bodies within The Far Away Dream. Creations that can redraw reality and bring dead friends back back to life. Perhaps, her wounds could be erased, or her very being drawn anew....even from your memories.”

Alana lets me absorb the look in her eyes. She lets me play with the thought. I could tell she wasn't enjoy the moment, but she was being too direct with the matter at hand. This moment was tender for me. I hated it and I hated her.

“You murderer,” I seethe.

Alana smiles briefly, then holds the annoyance on her face as her smile fades.

“I'm sure you thought the same, when you killed our messenger girls.”

I listen to Alana's boots tap the ground as she paces once around the room. She walks closer to me and straddles me once more. This time, she forces me to look into her eyes with a gentle nudge from below my chin. She holds the side of my face and smiles. I could feel her gentle and cool fingers.

“Don't play innocent with me, Atjani. I wouldn't have done this, if I didn't believe you would bring her back.”

Alana pauses. She wraps her arms around my head, resting her elbows on my shoulders. The soft material of her arm sleeves, tickles my neck. Alana leans close to me and whispers in my ear.

“Never underestimate intimacy. Never give up on true love.”

I wait until Alana is finished. It made me want to puke. It was the most Ryoken thing she could have said and she didn't deserve to live among the tribes! I look up at Alana and she gives me a smirk. She enjoyed having the upper hand. A strange lust grows in me, as she toys with my energy.

“Just wait until it's my turn....” I think, vengefully.

We stare at each other for a while, until she slowly gets off me. She paces herself across the room. As Alana gets up to leave, she pauses looking down at Melinal. She looks back at me through the corner of her eyes very aware I was observing her. She wipes her fingers on her tongue, then puts out the candles with a pinch, leaving me in the dark. The door locks and I'm left all alone.