By David C. Daoust
Its that little path of anger that had taken root in her mind, like a highway to just about every horrible thought she could imagine. Sadie Blue was sick of it. It was not always like this- it used to be her mind could wander- meander through whatever whimsical series of thoughts she happened to fancy in any given moment. A wide-open field of whimsy. She missed that. It was like she was made into a new person, and she did not like that person.
What’s more- she used to become different people at will. It was what she had loved to do; come up with characters, figure out why they did what they did. Maybe it was not always told- but she knew why they did it, and she felt like it shown through in her performances. She could not get there anymore, to that open field to just meander through, every time she tried, she found the path of anger- every time she would walk that path and before she knew it, she was charging down the highway, with her anger in the passenger seat… waiting for its turn at the wheel.
The world around her was reborn, risen from the ashes of destruction. Grady was stronger than ever. The theatre house, which she just exited, was at her back. The newly cleared roads before her, structure after squat structure stretched before her, the giant dark spires of the new cathedral, that seemed to claw across the ever-looming orange orb, Neo Vir’ees, were chilling.
The commonwealth, that rebuilt the town, was mostly from the Chantry’s coffers; everyone knew. No one expected the Cathedral though. There was meant to be a state building erected there… some sort of statement against the changing of hands of the moon. A building, firmly planted on the ground…
It was like Twin Crown was made into a whole new moon; she was not sure if she liked it.
As a last uncaring thought, she turned and took in the theatre. It was unscathed. Unchanged. The moon had gone through an upheaval- everything was different– except this one place. She supposed she should find comfort there, but really, her new mind just made the whole thing look so small; If she hadn’t just left it, she’d think she couldn’t fit within the building, let alone on the stage.
Sadie Blue, was tired of it all. Her mother wanted justice. Sadie did not know where her mother got the energy. Sadie did not want to deal with it. Her mind was exhausting- she just wanted to forget about it, let it go. Who the hell wants to deal with this shit anyway? They beat her black and blue; stole so much. She supposed she should stay angry. Given the path she kept finding herself on- she was. How long did she have to keep this up? How long could she…?
Jessop, poor Jessop. He’d never know. No one would ever know; she swore. She did not want her loss used as some ploy. She did not want to add more conflict. Retaliation led to retaliation. Her loss was hers alone, why should he suffer. She told him they were done. They were, whatever it was that was between them, was gone; Swallowed by the slow to wake wolf, that missed its moment. Off cue, it gobbled up the very next thing, which, apparently, were her feelings for Jessop.
But now, the family ‘Crawler was gone. Her sisters, missing- all her sisters were missing. Her mother, Sadie was sure, was raising hell to find out what was going on, as she had been since their return to the port town. Her mother was in the thick of the new government; pushing buttons, pulling levers, trying to get things working. As was Raymond Haul, or, she should say- ‘Judge’ Haul. Nothing solidified the First Waves’ support like the idea of one of their own sitting at the bench. It was not hard, for even Sadie, to see, how quickly the power had askewed them all from their previous mentality.
Sadie and her mother were staying in the Haul’s Crawler since their jaunt out to the desert to meet with the other First Wave. Sadie had borrowed the Haul’s land speeder, reclaimed from the debris, to come and check on the theatre house, which had stood abandoned until their return. Everything appeared to be in order.
Sadie hopped back into the vehicle, and slid it into gear. She was gliding over air, through the newly reformed port town… she returned to the Starport just in time to spot the boxy brown Sheriff vehicle as it pulled up in front of the Starport.
Jessop’s dad, the Sheriff of Grady, would be at the wheel, the shock of red hair told her Charles Haul was in the passenger seat, and the bald pate ringed with gray, told of Grandpa Haul in the back.
Sadie was eager to question the Sheriff- who was the last to see the massive vehicle her sisters were in, when it suddenly ripped out of town and then headed deep into the desert. Sheriff Dunn had done his duty and followed it best he could, the last they heard- Drones appeared in the desert. Considering the Sheriff had radioed back the information rather briefly, no one really got the full tale. What they received was incomplete at best; just a secondhand account from a deputy that Sheriff Dunn did not really care to fill in fully. Of course, if he’d known the pressure that deputy would be under by one Farrah Blue, he probably would have gone into greater detail.
Finally, the Sheriff had returned!
Sadie had to quickly find a spot to park before she could actually pursue her line of questioning. The sheriff apparently had prime parking privileges. She was just pulling into a parking spot around the Starport, when she watched the trio exit the boxy vehicle. She could tell Charles was angry about something, the sheriff was trying to calm him as the teenaged Haul was gesturing back out into the dessert. The sheriff’s attention was pulled away from Charles as Grandpa Haul exited the vehicle lugging a massive plasma cutter with him. The sheriff stripped the old man of the massive industrial tool, while still arguing with Charles, and placed the plasma cutter back within the vehicle. She could tell the Sheriff was exasperated with the whole ordeal, even from her place in the distance. As soon as the sheriff turned away, to lead them into the Starport, Grandpa Haul could be seen collecting the cutter from the vehicle once again.
Sadie, who had been staring at them the whole time she parked her land speeder, all in the hopes she may catch one of their eyes, suddenly knew, she was going to have to hurry to catch up…
What’s this interesting Comment box for? I wonder.
Har Har har!