Glass Floor

--Dani's Perspective--

"We're leaving right now! Griff, Jeff, you let Tavian and Sky know where we're going and when to expect us. If we're not back… don't come looking. Build up your forces and come in for the big fight. Do you understand?" Charlie told the two men with us. They both nodded and returned back up to the base in the elevator.

"We'll dispose of the bodies somewhere, are you sure there's nothing else you might need?" Charlie originally asked Griff and Jeff but redirected his request toward Lia and I. We both shook our heads at the same time.

To my understanding, there were seven people from our side who would be inside Orion's base at once. Carl, Ellie, Lia, Charlie, Mandi, Ullr, and myself. With this small group, we'd be able to sneak around, but not all together. We'd have to split up eventually... unless I'm overthinking it.

We jogged through the Redwood Forest. The sound of clattering gear in a big backpack on Ullr's shoulders and footsteps were the only things occupying my mind. I had a goal to retrieve Carl and return home to Sky. There was something he said that changed the way I saw him, even having me decide what to get him as a present for an upcoming holiday.

I vowed to work my hardest ever since Domin died, but when Red died it was a lapse in my character. I froze, my knees locking in place. I want to improve and become more reliable to Sky.

"There she is, Ellie's right there!" Lia yelled out. She approached her from behind and put her hand on her shoulder.

"Good to see you back on the right side, Kid. So, you ready to return to hell?" Ellie asked her. Lia nodded, but something upset me about everything happening.

"Why are you two so willing to throw your lives on the line to help rescue our friend?" I asked, watching their body language stay stiff while looking at the glacier sitting in front of us.

"I will prove to you that I'm a good person. I caused Domin's death, but I will save Carl." Lia admitted.

"There's something I've been told to do here. I'll be splitting off from the main group, but Lia will lead you to the jail cells, where Carl is destined to be." Ellie explained. I nodded, satisfied with her hidden answer.

"Thank you both, it means the world to us, well, at least it does for Sky and I." I wiped incoming tears from my eyes and looked back toward the enormous glacier in front of us.

"So, this is it, isn't it? Let's go." I told everybody. The six of us started to walk towards the staircase located near the glacier's edge.

"Just to go over it again. The civilians are going to look happy and want to help you. Ignore them, they'll rat you out if they hear your names. Orion's forces already have a good guess of what names to mainly look out for, especially if you interfered with Raven's attack. Meaning Dani, Ullr, and Charlie are all names they know to look out for. They know Lia's look, so she'll be wearing a covering over her head. As for me… I'll be leaving once we make it up this glacier." Ellie said.

"Hey, I want to go with you. That way it'll be easier for the four of them to sneak around. Plus, I can be a second set of eyes for you." Ellie thought about Mandi's request for a second, then nodded.

"I don't see why you couldn't. Then, I'll be taking Mandi. You four will be on your own." She said.

We finally reached the top and the view was extravagant. I could see the entire forest from here, but still not the top. Those trees scraped the sky. To the left of my position, I could see a distant desert, and a little bit of a murky, swampy area that was hidden in the fog. If I remember correctly, that was the swamp Lia said she was from.

"Hey, Lia, when you told us about the swamp, was that a trap for us, or was that really a safe location?" I asked her.

"It was safe, but Orion has patrols in it now. I was born there thirteen years ago, but my life there ended six years ago. Ellen, Ellie's sister, killed my parents and I was orphaned in a village under Orion's nose, right down there." Lia said while pointing down beneath the glacier, to our righthand side.

"There, I was torn away from my best friend just because I had the 'body' to be a slave, but that's impossible to determine for a ten-year-old, they just wanted more slaves under their belts because I hid a razor in my mouth to put a scar on Raven's forehead. They thought that resembled strength." She explained. To my surprise, Lia stuck out her tongue to reveal the scars littering the surface of the front side.

"This man can't seriously live after the horrible things he's done, can he?" Ullr asked. Even he knew that was too brutal.

"That's the thing. He hasn't done anything. Nothing past what the normal survivor on this Isle would've done. Orion can't kill with his own hands, just like Sky couldn't. I don't know what he did to change that, but if Orion found out, this Isle would be as good as dead." Lia suggested.

I stood silent, looking at Lia. The scar across her face over her nose ridge, the scars on her tongue, it was almost inconceivable that she was still marching on this strong. It gave me the inspiration to be a better person. Lia wrapped her head in a blanket, hiding her head from the distant civilians.

"Follow a good distance behind me. Do not stick directly behind me." Lia told us. She got up and started to walk towards a door located inside a glacier. The glacier had a clear, blue color covering it underneath the coat of snow piling on top of it. The metal door was a strong contrast, as it was grey slapped onto the blue.

"What's that door?" Charlie asked, looking around him for any suspicious citizens.

"It's a room directly above Orion's throne room. I just want to see what's going on there. We'll all gather in here to further our plan." Lia explained. Slowly but surely, Lia entered and closed it behind her, while Ullr followed, then me, then Charlie. He closed the door and Lia took off the facemask, looking at the floor made of glass below us.

"Why the hell is that there? What if there's an intruder or the glass randomly collapses?" Lia pointed over to the wall, where I could see bloodied chains and stained walls…

"It's sadistic torture. This glass can only be seen through from this angle down onto the throne room. It would take a ton of force to break it, and nobody can just come up here with a large boulder, so it's pretty safe down below." She said.

"That doesn't answer why the glass is on the floor. If they could make one-sided glass, why put it down on the ground?" Charlie asked. Lia pointed to the opposite side of the room.

"Because the dead people would stink up the throne room if they were that close." She explained.

I kept my eyes away from the piles of rotten bodies. Flies were constantly swarming around them, which explained the loud buzzing I heard when I entered the room.

"Why do you know about this room?" Charlie asked Lia.

"My job as the slave was to disembowel all of the dead, sometimes even the living. I was the one who killed in Orion's stead, and sometimes, I was even the one to inflict torture upon them. Your reasons for killing Orion are very different than mine. I plan to follow you into battle for my own reasons as well: You guys will get me closer to Orion. And when the time is right, I'll cut his throat and gut him in front of his family." Lia said. Her look turned grim and she was focused on the ground more than anything. I've seen that look before...