Flashback The Broken boy [Zane Underhill]

[Billie]

8th day of Winter 204AV

I hate her! Awful woman! the 14 year old grumbled inside her head on her way back from the markets. All her mother ever did was tell her she wasn’t good enough. Not once, even when she did well, did she hear any sort of recognition of the success. No ‘well-done Billie!’ or ‘You did well child. Keep it up!’ In her mind, Billie was convince that Sadie didn’t even care about her, and was throwing a silent strop. Silent because when she acted up she’d get a slap, and it still stung now. The chilly winter air didn’t help her sour mood much.

Still, she knew enough not to let her thoughts distract her. She needed all of her focus to be on her own safety now. She could feel the knife under her clothes and her eyes dated around all the time for possible threats, suspicious of everyone. It would be silly to think anyone in this city were above stealing gold from children, so she kept her little bag close to her and out of sight in one of the many pockets she’s sewn on the inside of her jacket.

She clutched the bag of food she’d bought from the markets for their dinner, which she would have to cook even though she’d been training all day long and was tired, to her chest. Her short wavy brown hair bounced lightly around her neck and face, and she was constantly blowing it out of her blue eyes. She needed a haircut again, this much was clear.

Billie had gotten a good price for the food today. She used to be cheated by the merchants out of more money than it was worth, and then scolded by Sadie when she got home. She was scolded a lot, and it only got worse when she talked back or got all teary-eyed. She didn’t want to be a weakling, but how was she supposed to get Sadies respect when she’d never show her what she felt? Maybe she was being unfair.

In the middle of her thoughts, Billie almost tripped over the broken body of a teenage boy on the streets. It wasn’t uncommon in the Anarchy city of Sunberth to see looted bodies at the side of the streets. And it was the beginning of another freezing winter, which meant he would have probably died of the cold before he succumbed to his wounds which, from the look of it, were many. Billie would have just kept walking, but that was before she heard the shakey, but obvious sound of breathing. He’s alive She thought, eyes like saucepans.

She kneeled next to him. He mind was screaming at her to leave before he woke up. That this wasn’t worth the risk. He’d obviously been in some kind of fight, which he’d lost. What if those who did this came back? She stood up and was about to leave, but stupid compassion made her stop. She couldn’t do it. Billie felt like she should at least try to do something. But what could she do? There was no way she’d be able to carry him to her home unaided, he was too heavy for her. And even if she could, she’d probably end up dragging him, which would hurt him a great deal. There was nothing she could do but try to wake him up or get Sadie.

Hah, fat chance of that happening. she thought bitterly. Sadie probably wouldn’t come help him. “Uh, mister!?” She said poking his face lightly. She bit her lip and grabbed his shoulders, trying to sit him up against the alleyway wall. “Hey, you’ll die if you don’t wake the petch up!” Billie said a bit louder. The boy was carrying nothing of worth, and his clothing was in tatters. There were many open wounds that could easily have gotten infected by now. If there was no response she’d have to run and get Sadie. Beg her, if she had too. She’d feel awful just leaving this boy to die when she might have been able to prevent the death. She tried one more time “Hey, guy! Helloooo!” She called tapping him on the shoulder desperately.

[Zanne]

The boy's eyes suddenly darted open. The tapping on his shoulder triggered a fearful response. His eye winced in pain, as the girls attempt to awaken him, was misprocessed by his mind. From his perspective, time had ceased to have passed. He was trapped in the moment from whence he was beaten. Each tap was translated into more pain throughout his body. His memories were slowly returning to him in the form of mini-flashes. All of which, seemed to indicate that he had been beaten. But why was he beaten? Did he offend someone? Was there a hit on his life? No, it was much worse than that. He was trying to defend his sister. That was when he had fully came to.

Zane grasped his shoulder where the girl had penetrated with her fingers. His shoulder was relatively unharmed, but his mind had played a trick on him that made it seem like it was wounded. It was nothing compared to the rest of his body. Considering the extent of the bruises, it didn't seem likely that his aggressors had stopped when he passed out. Though for all Zane knew, he might have been abandoned and Sunberth natives may have contributed to the defiling to his body simply due to boredom or perhaps with the intention of looting. In any case, this beating was not unlike one that he suffered at the hands of his father so he had the mental fortitude to resist crying.

The boy's breathing increased incrementally, for he was swelling with anger. Angry at his failure to protect his sister. That was after all, the reason why he had took self-defense courses back in Zeltiva. Zane had believed that he could place his trust into his family and his own fists. The event that had transpired had tainted that belief. His parents had failed him. His fists had failed him. And he had failed his sister. Zane squeezed his right hand together and began pummeling into the ground. Large deep yet controlled breaths followed with each punch, though it did nothing but draw blood from his knuckles.

Then it hit him. Blood. Sure enough, the area where he had seen Shiress last, had a blood trail leading away from the area. A knot had formed into his stomach. He didn't fully know how old the blood trail had been there, though it was clearly dry which suggested that it had been there for at least half a day. Maybe even longer. But any hope, was as good as any. Zane's attention turned to the girl. Why was she there? Did she intend to inflict more harm on him? Was she supposed to deal with the disposal of his body? Or, if he was lucky, did she want to help him? He took note of her face, coming to the conclusion that she was around his sisters age.

Zane wanted to pursue the blood trail, and find out where it led to, but his antics had caused him more harm than good. Even though he wasn't losing a lot of blood through his knuckles; it had enough of an effect for it to stack on his other injuries and cause him to feel disoriented. The trail would have to wait until he were in a more stable condition. The boy struggled to stand, and wobbled towards the girl.

"Would you...by any chance...know of anyone that would be able to take care of these scratches? Just enough so that I could find my sister?"

[Billie]

It startled her when the boys eyes opened abruptly in response to her touch, even though that was what she’d been hoping for. He grasped his shoulder like she’s punched him there, and his eyes seemed to look right through her with the eyes of a cornered rabbit. His breathing became uneven and ragged as he struggled to come to terms with his surroundings, obviously trying to figure out what had happened to him. Billie stumbled back when he started beating the ground furiously. “H-hey…” Billie stuttered, unsure what do with this violent response. He hadn’t really taken her in properly yet, and didn’t seem to respond other than to keep beating the freezing ground with his bloodied fists.

She stood back, waiting for him to calm down enough to talk to her. His eyes darted to a trail of dried blood that led off somewhere. Billie had just assumed it was his blood, but it seemed important to him. Finally his attention shifted to Billie. He studied her fearfully, probably trying to assess weather she was here to hurt him or help him. Billie found herself lost for words, worried he might be loopy enough to use those bloodied knuckles to hit her instead. When he wobbled to his feet and stumbled towards her drunkenly, Billie put on a brave face on. His words told her why the blood trail might be important to him. “Hah, scratches?” She repeated indication that what he called ‘scratches’ was almost amusing. She changed tact and nodded “My, uh, mother could help you” She said standing there watching him with concern “I can take you to her. Do you want to lean on me?” She asked taking a tentative step forward.

The only reason she was brave enough to be near him was because, if he attacked her, there was no way he’d win. If he was smart he’d know that. She offered him her shoulder to lean on if he chose to. She didn’t ask him his business. Most people here wouldn’t tell her their business anyway. There was always the possibility that dangerous people were after him, but this didn’t look like that. It looked more like he’d pissed the wrong people off, he’d suffered for it, and then they’d left with his sister. At any rate, she had to ask “Who attacked you?” She said looking at him “Will they come after you?” She wasn’t hiding someone like that in her house. If that was the case she’d make sure he lived and then left. She couldn’t risk his problems leaking onto her and Sadie.

Weather her leant on her or not, she led him back to her house, making sure to pick up her bag again. “My mothers not the most friendly person to strangers.” Billie thought to warn him “Just watch your tongue, and you’ll be okay.” It wasn’t far, and within minutes she arrived at her door. Seeing them through the window, Sadie opened it before she had the chance to “What the petch is this, child?” She said in nari looking rather irritated and bewildered. “I though he was dead, but he was breathing. I had to help him!” Sadie shook her head “What if people are following him! Billie, you may want to help him but I can’t.” Billie balled her fist “You helped ME when I was dying” Sadie shook her head “That’s completely different and you know it.”

Billie wasn’t going to take no for an answer. She looked up at the boy “She says come in! She’ll help you!” Billie lied, pushing past Sadie and gesturing for the boy to come inside. Sadie had that look on her face that meant she was in for it later, but for now she caved in. In common tongue, she addressed the boy “Go and sit on the table and take off your shirt.” Sadie ordered him “Let me have a look at your injuries and see if any of them need stitching.” She turned to Billie “Go and get a wet rag and some Krolar Poultice from the washroom, Billie.” She said. Billie nodded and scampered off to get what was needed. Billie went off to do as she was told, quickly returning soon after with the items. Sadie wasn’t exactly a doctor, but she used to be married to one, once upon a time before Sunberth. Billie would watch so she could replicate what Sadie did if she ever needed too. Which she probably would.

[Zanne]

A smile grew upon his face upon hearing that the girl knew someone that could help him. Her mother. That made him feel a lot better about the situation. His own mother worked at an infirmary. He had grew to associate the term mother with medical assistance. Even though he had other ways to describe his own mother, he was convinced that knowing how to heal physical wounds was universal to all mothers. The girl took a step towards him, and offered her assistance. A friendly hand. It had been a while since he had seen one apart from that of his sister. He allowed himself to lean on her shoulder, though he tried to concentrate the majority of his weight onto the ground rather than on the girl. It was an attempt to maintain as much of his masculinity as he could. He had the intentions of impressing her, and to maintain confidence within himself.

Zane struggled to find an answer to the girl's question. This was the first time since the incident that he could fully think clearly. He didn't know it at the time, but right now it seemed pretty straightforward. It wasn't just a random isolated event. It was an ingenious plan. By having it occur in Sunberth, the incident could be attributed to local thugs that were looking for an easy target. For Shiress sake, Zane didn't want to believe it, but his mind could only come up with one possibility.

"I don't know who the men were, I didn't get to see any of their faces. We, my sister and I, we were just doing what we were told by our parents when they showed up. Funny, how they knew when and where to show up. I don't think they'll be coming back for me. I mean, they took Shiress and left me for dead. I guess I wasn't good enough for them."

Zane smirked when the girl told him of her mother. It reminded him even more of his own mother. Especially when she mentioned that he should be careful with his words. But when they reached her home, it was more of a surprise than he had expected. They hadn't even made it to the door, when suddenly whistles began to pierce his ears. If that weren't enough, the girl that was aiding him actually began to whistle back! It was startling at first, but there was nothing that he could do about the situation. He needed them.

Once they were inside, Zane followed the woman's instructions. As he was pulling himself on the table, his arms were constantly shaking, making the task more of difficult struggle than it needed to be. His chest had tightened, but it began to relieve itself when he finally sat down on the table. He was able to take his shirt off with relative ease. There were various bruises on his chest and arms, most of which signified that he was either punched or kicked. It wouldn't have been surprising if he had several broken bones. But on the boy's back was a different injury altogether.

It was bruised as a result of being slammed onto the wall, but the bruise itself had a mark on it. Several lines or scribbles, some of which intersected with one another, were burned into his skin. Which if not attended to, would blister over. It had to have been applied while he was unconscious, as if one had left a signature upon him. It was more than likely to be permanent. The only reason the boy wasn't feeling pain from that area, was probably because his mind was not aware that it had even occurred. But once it was drawn to his attention, his nerve endings would surely kick in.

[Billie]

After his explanation Billie was sure these men were slave traders who’d taken his sister. In that case, they were safe. Billie would have thrown him out herself had it been one of sunberth’s gangs that he’d pissed off. She watched Sadie look over his wounds, her expression emotionless and professional as she did so. Billie’s eyes widened when she saw the burn on his back. She daren’t call his attention to it, but it looked awful. Like he’d been branded with some sort of signature, as if these people were proud of the damage they’d inflicted on this boy. Sadie shook her head as she looked at it. She turned to Billie “I need the burn Salve,” She said, although this was a pretty bad burn, it was the strongest thing they had.

The cream smelt disgusting, and it felt even worse when it was applied, but afterwards the relief is quick and refreshing. Billie handed it to Sadie, who warned him “This is going to hurt, try not to move around too much. The pain will lessen soon.” She said as she quickly applied the foul cream to the burnt flesh. Bliile screwed up her face, but she continued to watch her work. Once the burn had been dealt with, the rest was quick work. There was an open wound on the back of his head which he probably didn’t realize had been bleeding. Sadie cleaned and then numbed the would with the Krolar Poultice and then gave him a few neat stitches to hold the skin together.

Sadie moved on to his ribs, softly poking them to see if they were broken. A few seemed fractured, so walking would be painful for him for a good while, but eventually they would heal without aid. So long as the boy did what he should, which was to rest up for a few days, possibly longer, that is. “You’re going to have to stay here and rest if you want to heal. All I can do is speed up the natural process a little.” Sadie said, assuming there was nowhere else he could go simply because Billie had found him rather than a parent. And because he had no money to his name “What’s your name, boy?” Sadie asked him, voice slightly gentler, for his sake.

Billie frowned. She remembered the boy had said he wanted to go after his sister again now. ‘Shiress’, as he’d called her, would be alive at least with the Slave Traders. No one wanted a slave that was injured or could not work, so she would most likely be in good condition. That wasn’t much to hold onto, but at least she’d be alive. Hopefully he knew what a pointless venture trying to find her in his state would be. She bit her tongue and let Sadie finish up putting cream on the last few scratches before smiling weakly at him “You can rest in my bed if you want. You really do need it.” Sadie nodded “Yes, you must rest for a while, child. Billie will bring you food later.”

[Zanne]

Zane was completely puzzled by the woman's words. Burn salve? What in petch does she need that for? He wasn't trapped in confusion for much longer, for when the woman touched his back with the cream, the pain immediately set in. It was intense, more than any injury that he had ever succumbed from a beating of his father. In fact, this pain made all of his other wounds feel like child's play. The woman gave Zane one task. To not move. It sounded easy enough.

Though it still stung, the woman seemed to be done with his back. She spent a chime or two doing something to the back of his head. While she was tending to it, he began to feel more woozy than he did before. Likely the result of losing so much blood. Then, she examined his front. The silence and determination in her face while she worked on him was deserving of admiration. But when she spoke, it was as if his world was turned upside down.

The woman had recommended that he stay there and rest. How could he sit idly by, knowing that his sister was somewhere out there? This task seemed next to impossible. Zane rushed to get himself off of the table and in doing so, disobeyed the woman's first plea. He didn't mean to be disrespectful to these kind folks, but it just wouldn't be right for him to abandon his sister just because he wasn't strong enough to protect her.

"I thank you for your help but I can't just rest without knowing whether or not she's even alive. My name is Zane Underhill. I promised to always look after my sister, and I don't want to be the type of man to go back on his promise."

Zane took a step towards the door, and was overridden with fatigue. At this point, the girl, Billie, had offered her bed. She too, seemed to think that he needed the rest. That was what made him decide to go against his instinct. Her extremely kind gesture and sincere words, prevented him from turning his back on her even though he truly desired to find his sister. Who was this girl, that caused him to feel this way? She had been able to reach him just as his sister had.

Even though it probably should have, regret did not fill the boy's heart. He made his way onto Billie's bed, and despite his body feeling heavy, he wouldn't allow himself to fall asleep. Zane was intentionally fighting it. The image of the two women had flooded his mind. Their concern for him was touching. It was more for his sake than theirs, but it felt like his presence was wanted. And that was a stark contrast to feeling needed.

[Billie]

Zane was about to leave, and there wouldn’t have been anything Billie could have done. But when she offered him her bed, he seemed to stop. For a second, Billie though he might keep going out the door, but he didn’t. He seemed to give in to his fatigue, wordlessly turning towards her bedroom. Billie looked on with relief and concern. Relief because she knew, if he had left he might have gotten himself killed. Concern because he was most likely worrying desperately about his sister, maybe beating himself up for letting her be taken.

Sadie called her away, and she closed the door. She expected a lecture, but it didn’t come. Instead, Sadie began making dinner, even though Billie was the one meant to prepare it. She didn’t say a word as to why until about half way through when Billie couldn’t take the silence anymore and spoke up. “Sadie?” She asked in a small voice “Are you angry with me?” Sadie stopped what she was doing to look at her. To Billies shock, she shook her head and smiled “Child, I think I’d forgotten what it was to be kind. I wouldn’t have stopped if I saw that boy on the streets like that.” She said softly “Never lose that compassion.” Billie couldn’t shake the dumbfounded look off her face. She felt instantly bad for the way she’d been talking about Sadie before she found Zane. “O-Okay” She agreed, feeling a warmness in her chest. It was vary rare that Sadie praised her, after all.

After the food was ready, Billie was given a bowl to put down next to Zane when he was ready for it. Somehow nervous, Billie tentatively opened the door. Zane was still awake, he looked tires, but his eyes were definitely open. “I uh… here you go” Billie said, placing the bowl on the small wooden bedside table. “It’s hot so blow on it first.” She said, clutching her own bowl of soup. “Um. I can, stay, if you want to talk. I don’t know how much help I can be but, um…” She wasn’t sure why she had suggested it. He probably just wanted to be left alone. And anyway, he was still a stranger. Maybe Sadie’s words had disarmed her usual guardedness.

Billie shook her head, surely he didn’t want her there. “Sorry, I’ll leave you in peace if you want that.” She quickly amended awkwardly stumbling back a few steps back towards the door.

[Zanne]

A freshly brewed aroma entered the boy's nostrils. Even from the bedroom, he was aware of what the women were cooking. Soup was a dish that he had eaten a few times in his life. It was mostly used as a soothing remedy in his experience. The girl entered the room with a bowl in each hand. But she quickly sat one on the table and began to leave.

"Wait. Don't go...Thank you for...everything." Although the bed was small enough with just him on it, Zane moved to the side and gestured for Billie to sit next to him. Her company was much more preferable than being alone with his thoughts.

"Billie? Do you think she's still out there? Do you think I'll ever see her again?" He bombarded her with his questions, though he wasn't sure if they were meant for her or himself. Zane didn't have an answer for himself, so it was likely that she wouldn't either. "I let her down y'know? She always looked up to her big brother, the fighter. I couldn't fight my way out of this one." he chuckled at the irony.

Zane stared at the ceiling as tears trailed down his eyes. He quickly wiped them away with his hand, hopefully Billie didn't notice so that he could retain his masculinity. It had been seasons since he last cried, vowing to never be the young boy that he once was. It was a promise that he made for his sister's sake, but without her was there really a point?

"Billie...how could I ever repay you?"

[Billie]

Billie stopped when he asked her to, and sat down on the bed next to him, looking at him sadly. He began to share his miseries with her, asking her difficult questions she couldn’t answer before totally breaking down. He swatted at his tears as soon as they fell, but Billie caught them.

Billie looked at him seriously “If she was taken by slavers, which is likely, she’s definitely alive.” Billie said, trying to reassure him that there was still some hope “Alive, and kept healthy enough to do hard work.” She paused, and then looked up at him again “I’ve never had family. Even Sadie isn’t really my mother. I’d love to have a brother who would risk his life to save me.” She smiled a little, looking down at her feet

Billie couldn’t think of anything else to do but reach for him, and speak about the things she’d learnt in her short life, in hopes they would help, even a little. She touched his shoulder softly, shuffling closer to him so she could put her smaller hand on his, and squeeze it lightly “We can’t win every battle.” She said softly “All we can do is try.” His tears made her want to cry with him, but she didn’t, because she had to support him. “You mustn’t give up. Not until you know for sure that she’s gone.” Billie trailed off, wondering if her words were helping anything, or weather they were just empty.

His last comment made her smile a little and shake her head “You don’t have to repay me. Just don’t get killed. Be smart. And never give up on what’s important to you. I’ll help in any way that I can.”

Billie tapped his bowl wit her spoon “Eat up, you’ll need your strength, and it’s warm.” She ordered, diving into her own food. She lifted a spoonful blew on it, and then sipped it. It was welcome warmth in this freezing season. The taste was wonderful, probably cause she wasn’t the one who had made it. “You know, you can stay here as long as you need to” Billie mentioned, kindly “Sadie can help you become stronger.” Billie made a face “It wont be fun though.” She said, remembering what a pain (Literally) it was to train with that Inarten brute.

[Zanne]

oocThe blue font is Zane's nightmare. There is an underlined part of dialogue, which can be interpreted as something that occurred both in the dream and in reality. If either Billie or Sadie were in the room, they could interpret this as sleep-talking. The point is to emphasize Zane's memory as a form of post traumatic stress. The end of the post is also meant to illustrate this, with Zane speaking repetitively in a seemingly catatonic state.

Her words were a soothing melody to his ears. Billie had struck all the right notes and calmed the boy's nerves. But it was unexpected when she revealed a secret of her own. Sadie, was not her mother. The meaning of these words were wasted on Zane. After all, Sadie had proved herself worthy of being a mother when she healed him. As far as Zane was concerned, that was the only prerequisite skill. Whether they were tied together by blood or not was inconsequential.

Zane obeyed her command, and recklessly devoured the soup. Instead of using the spoon and adhering to the caution of the heat, he just lifted the bowl to his mouth and proceeded to down it in as few gulps as possible. He was hungrier than he would have liked to admit, only-gods-know-how-long it was since he had last eaten. It burned his tongue a bit, but it was bearable in comparison to the burn on his back. From what he was able to recall, this soup was the best that he had ever eaten. If only it had been under better circumstances.

Before he knew it, his lids had closed and he was drifting off to sleep. The presence of the girl nearby, reminded him of when his own sister would be by his side after he claimed to have been in yet another fight with one of the neighborhood children. Sometimes they were true, and others were just excuses for the more explicit bruises that he was unable to explain. They were put there by his father, but he knew that he could never share that information with his sister lest he risk victimizing her as well.

"Come this way. Your parents asked us to make sure that you get back to them safely." the man said. Without hesitation Zane and Shiress had obeyed him and his friends. They had no reason to be mistrustful, but when they stopped prematurely that should have been a sign. Still, they were oblivious to what was happening until one of the men had singled out Shiress. Of all the possible techniques that Zane could have used, he chose to dive at him without a course of action. "SHIRESS!!!!" And it was stupid of him to do so. With one swift kick, he was thrown into submission. But this time was different. The force of the kick was so powerful; that it woke him up from his nightmare.

His body suddenly sprang upright in the bed. At least three bells had passed since he had fallen asleep. The memory of the dream was still fresh in his mind. Zane's body had made a slight recovery, though it wasn't no where near the results that Sadie had meant. But how could he sleep if he was to be the prisoner of his own mind? Even then it continued to plague him. The blood trail was gnawing at his brain. If Zane had left now, then all of Sadie and Billie's efforts to heal him would have been for nothing. A waste of their medicinal supplies.

The longer he sat there, the more it seemed like he was wasting away. His mind was still stuck in the alley where he was attacked, while his body was rendered immobile in the bed. Zane was being drawn further and further into despair until his lips decided to move of their own accord.

"Shiress...Shiress...Shiress...Shiress...Shiress..."