Episode 10

Looking up into the flashing street light, she could feel the breeze blowing steadily around her, tickling her skin, catching her crimson hair, and trying to carry it away. Looking down, she examined the darkened street before her. She knew instantly where she was but she was not scared by her surroundings. It was so soundless; the only thing she could hear was the wind blowing past her ears. It was cold and haunting.

She turned and began to walk down an ally, pulled by some unseen tether. Placing her hand on the cold handle of a familiar door, she turned the knob, opening the door with a squeak. She knew where she was heading; she was going to the place where she had first awoken after she had died. Walking into the sparsely lit room, she could see all the bodies laying on tables, and among them was hers, cut open and lifeless. Suddenly, her body on the table sat up and looked straight at her.

"Changes are coming, and you can't stop them."

Her brow crinkled as she stood there looking at her dead self, trying to puzzle out what she meant by that.

"Just remember," her dead self then said.

"Remember what?"

"Remember who we are."

---

"Scarlet." She felt herself being shaken awake. "Time to go," came Moshu Shi's voice.

She sat up, rubbing her face.

"You were sleeping hard."

"I guess that's what happens when you have a conversation with your dead self," she muttered.

The black-haired man gave her a vexing look.

"Was just a dream," she stated.

She quickly got up and put her blanket away. It wasn't until she was fully awake that she realized just how cold she was.

'The faster I get to climbing these stairs, the sooner I'll be warmer if only a little.'

But she wouldn't be climbing those stairs fast at all. Her whole body ached from the previous day's exploits and she wondered if she would be able to keep up with the others.

The wind continued to howl around the column, causing the metal stairs bolted to it to quiver. She couldn't wait to be done with this part of their journey. But then, she wasn't so sure she'd like the next part any better if rumors were to be believed.

'Just one day at a time… doesn't do me any good to worry about the next place when I ain't even made it out of this one.'

Taking a moment to catch her breath, she looked out to the horizon. For a moment, she forgot about how high up she was. Out past Junker's Brim and the Scavenger Lands, beyond the edge of the decaying city, she finally got her first glance at the desert beyond. It shown brightly as the sun beat down on it, unhindered by any clouds. It shimmered a pale yellow. She thought she'd never seen anything so bright. She couldn't help but wonder if someplace so bright could really be completely void of all life.

There were so many things she was taught in Lygredd when she was growing up. As an adult, she had learned to be wary of those things she was first taught. How much of it all were lies? How much of it was used to control the people? But it was this kind of thinking that had gotten her into her current situation. If she hadn't gotten involved with a rebel sect, she wouldn't have been hired to steal whatever it was she stole, and she wouldn't have gotten shot…

It was like a line of dominoes falling down, and she didn't know if there was a way to break the chain or if she simply had to follow the falling blocks to their destination.

It would be close to sundown when they would finally make it to the top, and at journey's end, she was out of breath and ready to collapse. She found some consolation in that the black-headed man wasn't much different than her in this regard. Andriw made quick work of the door that barred further passage. It seemed to open into a void of pure darkness. Taking in a deep breath, she stepped over the threshold and disappeared into it.