Innocence Lost
Luna had waited a little long to go to the party, but no one had particularly noticed her absence from the celebrations. Given that she had still only recently come back, it wasn’t that surprising. Her subjects had displayed trepidation at approaching her, for risk of angering her. Some of those present had been present for her display of frustration at her nightly court. She had spoken to her niece and her new husband, wishing them well in their coming years. Naturally, she had to make embarrassing comments, but given that it was their special night, she left it to a minimum. There was also the issue of the young colt being taken by the strangers earlier.
After spending about an hour and a half at the party, Luna made her way back to her room. She was fidgety the whole way there. The only way to put how she felt was excited. “I wonder what is going to happen?” she thought aloud. Trotting into her chambers and down the secret staircase, she found herself in front of the pool again. Looking in, she could see the young colt sitting among more unfortunate souls of his kind.
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Ryan sat against the wall with his head in his legs. The people around him did the same; some sat quietly, some sobbed, others looked around nervously. Everyone was terrified of whatever fate awaited them. It could not possibly be good.
Ryan looked to his left, where Harris and Catherine were bunched up next to him. “Harris...” he whispered. No response. “Harris!” he whispered louder.
Harris turned and shushed him. “Do you want them to hear us?” he asked. Ryan ignored this response.
“How is she?” Ryan asked, referring to Catherine.
Harris shook his head. “No idea. She won’t answer to anything. I think she’s catatonic.” he said. Ryan leaned forward and looked. Catherine was just staring at nothing. Her eyes looked to the ground, but nothing could be discerned from her expression. It was devoid of all emotions but fear.
“What’ll we do if she can’t respond by the time those guys want her to do something?” Harris shook his head and looked Ryan dead in the eyes. There was sorrow.
“I don’t know. It looks like she’s gone.” With that, Ryan ceased his efforts to get communication with anyone. He may not have known her for long, but it was still sad to see a person in such a state. Trying not to think about their fates, Ryan closed his eyes and went to sleep. It had been a tiring day.
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The colt she had been observing went to sleep. Seeing no more observational opportunity, Luna thought about her next move. “I could go into his dreams...” she thought. “But unless I have some way to help him, I will be dismissed as a dream. Unless I give him something to work with, I will go ignored.” She thought for a moment. “That’s it!” she announced. “I will spy on his captors and tell the colt what they say!” Deciding on that, the pool switched its focus to the men who had captured the group on the boat.
The leader of the men was sitting in a nice chair in the navigations room of the boat. He sat there with one of those strange devices of death that Luna had observed earlier. Next to him were several men of similar appearance. Some had different instruments, which she assumed had the same purpose, given their appearance. The pool focused on the leader of the group. Luna listened intently.
“Kami akan menyerahkannya kepada rekan-rekan kita ketika kita sampai ke Kamboja.” he said. Not having any idea what this language was, Luna used a quick translation spell so that she would understand everything else that would be said. “There, we will hand them off to our associates.” he said. Luna did not know who these “associates” were. They must be just as bad as these guys, though.
“Who will get them, sir? If I may ask,” the driver asked.
“The highest bidder.” Luna was astonished.
“These horrible beings would kill and sell their own kind?” she asked aloud. Even in the greatest of groups, there were always the few bad apples spoiling the batch. “I do hope that there are some who will come save these innocents...” Forgetting her disgust, she continued to listen.
“We will hit land in Flores in approximately four hours. There, we can refuel and get ready to continue.” Bingo. That was what she was looking for.
Turning the pool back to the colt of her interest, she prepared to use her spell. The image in the pool was of the colt, sound asleep in his spot. Taking a deep breath, Luna laid down pointing her horn at the water. With a sigh, she sent an apparition of herself through the wall of reality.
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Ryan was in a boxing ring. Here, there were no rules. The referee decided what was legal or not on the fly. Being controlled by people who were against him, the ring was not in his favor. Leaning on the ropes, he considered his options. He could turn and accept a defeat, which would mean death, or he could keep fighting until he died from exhaustion.
He chose the latter. Turning, he walked forward toward his opponent. He was a big guy; six foot four, at least two hundred ten lb. Rushing forward, Ryan went for the guy’s knee. Moving with inhuman speed, the guy moved out of the way and brought his forearm into Ryan’s face. Ryan went to the ground with a resounding thud.
The room was spinning. All sounds had been muffled. He could hardly get up. Looking forward, off the ring, he saw Harris and Catherine, being held by a group of armed men. They stared back at him. As he looked at them, he began to cry. He couldn’t possibly win.
“Get up.” Harris mouthed. Catherine stood there doing nothing. “Get up.” he mouthed again. Their eyes met. Harris’ eyes told him, “It’s all on you. We’re counting on you.” Ryan felt a surge of power run through him. Pushing himself back up, he turned to face his opponent.
He put up his guard. “Come on,” he said. “let’s go.” his opponent came at him with a savage roar, rushing forward like a freight train. Right before he made contact, Ryan ducked low to the left. His opponent hadn’t expected this and went right into the ropes. Thinking he could use this to gain an upper hand, he spun around, his speed being multiplied by the release of tension from the rope. He got no such advantage; Ryan’s foot met with his face, twisting his head and breaking his neck.
Ryan didn’t look at the body before him. He closed his eyes and stooped his head down. The crowd ceased any and all noise. He was expecting to take a bullet to the brain. Instead, he got something very different.
“Hello.”
He turned around, flinching at the sudden voice. It was feminine; like a mother, comforting a child. He thought that he would see his mother; instead, he saw something he never thought could have existed. It was a horse. It had a dark, navy coat, a unicorn horn, wings, jewelry, and a big brand on its flank. The brand was in the shape of a crescent moon.
“You did not expect this, did you?”
Ryan was so stunned, he could only stare. He didn’t reply, even with a simple nod. Not knowing what to think, he turned to face Harris. He was gone. Everyone in the arena had disappeared. “What...” he started. Alarmed, he turned back to the thing before him. “What?” he asked. Apparently, that was enough for the creature to know what he wanted to know.
“My name is Luna. I come from another world.” she said. He still stared. Ignoring this, she continued. “Right now, you are in a dream. As you noticed,” she said. “I removed all distractions from the dream.” Shaking himself out of his daze, Ryan felt vast confusion.
“So then... what?” he asked. Luna sighed.
“I am here to help you. You are currently still on a boat, going who knows where. Wherever the place you are going is, you will arrive at about 5:00. Your captors intend to take you to the land of Flores, where they refuel their boat. Later, in an unknown location, they will sell you to their associates.” she said. Ryan looked at her frustratedly.
“I already know this.” Then he thought for a moment. “If this is a dream, and you’re a figment of my imagination, then you have no new information for me.” Luna felt sudden alarm. If she was dismissed in such a fashion, she would be unable to help him. “How could you have known where they would refuel?” she asked. To her relief, Ryan thought for a moment.
“I suppose that’s true... I never have heard of Flores before.” Luna stepped forward and placed a hoof on Ryan’s shoulder.
“Young colt, difficult trials lay ahead. I will help in any way I can.” Ryan sat back and fell onto a chair. Not expecting it, he floundered in it for a moment. This won a giggle from Luna.
“Now, how about you tell me about some things?” she said.
“Okay,” Ryan replied.
“I have been watching you for quite some time.” she told him. He looked shocked.
“How long?” he asked.
“Weeks.” came her reply.
“So you saw..?” he asked.
“Yes.” He sank into his chair.
“And..?” She nodded her confirmation.
“I used what I saw to harass my personal guard. So, some good came of it?” She gave him a sheepish smile.
“That’s still embarrassing. Those were highly private... moments.” he said. Luna’s face seemed to darken a bit, almost turning somewhat purple. “That’s intensely creepy.” She stood up.
“Okay, I’m sorry! Can I please get to my questions?” she asked, flustered. Ryan sat back up.
“Shoot.”
“I have heard you say that you want to be a seal. Why? If you speak of the animal, you have no way to do this.” she said. Ryan laughed at her question.
“Not a seal. I want to be a SEAL; a United States Naval Special Warfare soldier.” he responded. Luna cocked her head.
“They are soldiers?” she asked.
“Yeah. They’re the toughest soldiers of the United States military; their training is considered the hardest in the world. Only about 20% of applicants, if that, complete the training.” Luna’s eyes widened. “They do special operations of many different sorts. Naval sabotage, hostage rescue, counter-terrorism, and a whole bunch of other stuff.” Ryan continued on with his explanation of the Navy SEALs, and then went on to explain other aspects of the military to his alien mind-visitor.
“Is that why you do Karate?” she asked.
“No,” he replied. “I do that because I enjoy it. It has provided me with discipline that will help me in military training, though.”
They continued to talk about Ryan and his life. He told her about SCUBA diving, school, various businesses, and technology. By the end, she was most impressed. “You’re world, while unpleasant at times, certainly is impressive.” she commented. Ryan beamed at this comment. Then, he frowned.
“Just who are you? And where are you from?” he asked. Luna stood tall.
“I am Princess Luna!” she announced. Ryan looked around. No one else was there, so why was she shouting? “I come to aid you with my magic and wisdom in these dark times!” Ryan looked at her with a neutral expression. Then he smiled.
“So, you’re a princess, huh?” he asked.
She replied, “Indeed. I am also a most powerful magic user.” Ryan giggled. Luna looked at him, cocking her head to the side. Why was he giggling so?
“So, do you service your subjects with your powerful magic?” he asked.
“Of course!” she replied. Ryan laughed. Luna looked at him, confused, then, like a snail, understood why he was in such hysterics. “Not like that!” she shouted. Ryan tried to stifle his laughs, but to little avail.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I couldn’t help myself.”
He got serious. “But, you can help me?” he asked. She nodded. “I still don’t know if this is ‘real’. I still doubt that it is.” Luna’s head dropped, displaying sadness at Ryan’s statement. “But,” he began. “I suppose I can still think about this.” Luna’s head shot back up. The world around them began to shimmer.
“I must go!” Luna said. She unfurled her wings and flapped. “I shall assist you however I can!” she yelled as she flew away. Ryan couldn’t keep his footing, and fell to the floor. It shattered, and he fell right through it. As he fell, he saw a familiar boat below him on the water. As he came closer, everything got really bright, until he was blinded by a white light.
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Luna breathed in slowly as she returned to her own body. Cracking her eyes open, it took time for them to adjust to the light and refocus. Standing, each of her joints cracked loudly, making her sound like a sheet of glass having pressure applied to it slowly. Once all the way up, she blinked several times to get accumulated dust off her eyelashes, and shook herself to get the dust off her coat. She wanted to stay and watch the colt, but she needed to sleep, Thankfully, she only needed a few hours of sleep, being the princess of the night. Reluctantly, she turned to walk up the steps to her chambers.
What she saw at the base of the stairs caused her to stumble. Her guard stood at the base of the stairs, waiting for her. “Up to some secret experiments, your highness?” he asked. She only looked up at him, unable to hide her secret. “You hadn’t played any pranks on me tonight,” he said with a hint of longing. “So I came to check up on you. You had disappeared; I looked around, and came across this staircase. Coming down, I saw you, with closed eyes, in front of that pool. I looked in, and saw some pretty weird stuff.” he explained.
Luna leapt up. “You cannot tell anyone of this!” she told him.
“My loyalty is to you, Princess. I merely wanted to make sure you were alright.” Luna sighed a sigh of relief. She began to explain her activities. “No! I don’t think I should know.” her guard interjected. “It’s your secret to keep, not mine. I must respect your privacy.” Luna smiled.
“Thank you Starstep.” she said. He smiled back at her.
“Think nothing of it.” He turned to walk away. “But, if you ever need help, or just someone to talk to,” he said. “I will gladly do either.” With that, he walked up the stairs and out of view. Luna waited for him to leave.
“Thank you.” Luna walked up her stairs, remembering to hide the staircase once she reached the top.
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Ryan awoke with a start. Sitting up, he whipped his head back and forth looking around. The big blue horse was gone. Around him was, once again, a group of downtrodden looking captives with no hope. He sighed. “It was just a dream.” he thought. Looking back up, he thought about what his dream had told him. “So, I guess that means that it was all just wishful thinking.” he thought with a rock in his stomach. Looking outside, it was still really dark.
Unable to determine the time, he looked at his watch. It read 4:45. A thought broke through his mind. “If that was true,then we should hit land in about fifteen minutes.” His thought was confirmed when one of their captors came into their general vicinity.
“Listen!” he yelled. Most of the people turned to look at him. Only a few had actually gone to sleep. Catherine was one of them. “We will hit land in fifteen minutes! If anyone tries to escape, you will be shot. If you do anything we don’t tell you, we will grant you another fate.” With that, he left their presence.
Ryan could hardly believe his ears. Had that man just told them they would make landfall at 5:00? That was what it sounded like. “So... the blue horse in my imagination was right...” He shrugged it off as coincidence. But the thought seemed to nag at him. “Was that my mind? I can’t even tell... this situation is barely registering as real overall...” He shook his head, ignoring it, and turned to Harris. “You awake?” he asked.
Harris turned. “I am now.” he said.
“Can I tell you something?” Ryan asked. He was about to tell Harris about the dream. Then he reconsidered.
“Yeah, shoot.” Harris replied. Ryan was silent a moment.
“Does he really need to know this? I don’t want to give him false hope...” he thought. He replied, “I’m not so sure that Catherine can handle this... she might not make it.” He had to make something up on the fly. He decided to make it about Catherine. Harris’ eyes shot wide open.
“Don’t say that.” he said. Ryan leaned away. “She will make it. We are all going to make it.” he said. Ryan didn’t particularly care. He just needed to say something. “We’re gonna be okay...” Harris continued. Everything after that was incoherent mumbling.
The boat began to slow down. “We must be approaching the Marina, or whatever they’re called here.” Ryan commented. Catherine’s head came up slowly.
“Marina?” she asked. Ryan nodded.
“They’re refueling.” he explained. Catherine’s eyes opened more. The, she got a wild expression.
“We can escape!” she announced. At this, several heads turned in alarm.
“NO!” Harris said. “You cannot do that! They’ll shoot you! You cannot try to escape!” he told her.
“What? Like I would rather be sold like a slave!?” she asked. Ryan had to interject.
“Catherine, you won’t make it past the docks alive.” he warned. “Live today, fight tomorrow.” he told her. With a defiant expression, Catherine dropped back onto her hind. Ryan looked at her, concern plastered across his face. “This can’t end well.” he thought.
The boat stopped suddenly. All of its unwilling passengers were jerked in whatever which way the boat was going. Ryan braced himself with his feet, Harris did the same. Catherine flew forward.
Harris and Ryan went to pick her up, but she bolted forward toward the door instead.
“Catherine! No!” Harris and Ryan yelled at the same time.
They rushed forward to catch up to her. She leapt out the door, bounding to the left. Harris and Ryan followed close behind, using the door hinges and rails to swing themselves around. Almost immediately after leaving the room, Harris tackled Catherine, Ryan following close. Ryan picked up his two friends, and he and Harris put their arms around Catherine’s elbows.
“Let go of me!” she yelled. Harris put his hand over her mouth, but Ryan punched her in the gut.
“Shut up!” he whispered. Harris looked startled.
“We have to-” He stopped. Before them was a man with an FN FAL Battle Rifle pointing at the three kids.
“Di mana Anda akan pergi?” he asked. Ryan and Harris raised their arms in surrender, Catherine fell to the floor. “Where… do... you... think... you... are going?” the man asked. Ryan took a knee, Harris following close behind in the surrender.
“To, get, our, friend, back, in-side.” he replied slowly. Taking a moment to understand, the man finally lowered his weapon, looking pleased. Saying something in another language, he pointed the barrel of his rifle into the room. “He wants us back in.” Harris said. Ryan walked forward with his hands on his head and went back into the room. Harris was next, then Catherine. The door shut behind them.
The three kids took their seats. Ryan was now in the middle. “What the HELL were you thinking?!” he yelled.
“I don’t want to be a slave to anyone! I’d rather die!” she replied angrily. Harris was the next to be angry.
“What about the rest of us, huh!? Did you even think about what might happen to us?” he asked. Catherine was taken aback by his anger. She shrunk. “You have to think about more than yourself.” he continued.
There was no more conversation for quite some time. The boat refueled, and left the harbor. Everyone sat in silence, many looking at the three kids, often angrily at Catherine. She was sitting low a mouse being hunted. The people around her were all starving cats.
Eventually, about three hours later at around 8:15, the door to their room creaked open. Everyone looked at it, expecting to have someone come in to tell them that they would be hitting land soon. A man walked in with two guards, one with an AKM assault rifle, the other with an FN FAL battle rifle. They took up positions on either side of him.
“Hello. You must be wondering why I am addressing you right now.” he stated. No one moved an inch. He looked pleased with this. “It had come to my attention,” he said. “That one of you tried to escape, and that two of you ran out after her and brought her back. I thank the two of you who got her.” The guard with the FN FAL pointed at the kids with his index finger. “Ah, so it was you.” he said, walking over to them. “Stand.” he ordered. They did as they were told. “Come with me.” he ordered. He walked outside, the kids following close behind, but not so close as to arouse dangerous suspicion from the man’s guards.
The man led them to the front of the boat. Once there, he had Ryan and Harris stand together in the center of the small area. “You.” he said, pointing at Catherine. “Here.” She did as he said. He grabbed her hair and pulled it, forcing her into her new spot. “We said we would shoot anyone who tried to escape. You were lucky. If they,” he said, pointing at Ryan and Harris. “hadn’t stopped you, you would be dead.” Catherine looked at him, terror spilling out from, her eyes. Harris could barely keep himself from rushing at the man. The man made a clicking sound. “Such a shame. So pretty.” He pulled out a gun. Harris tried to go forward, but a rifle butt hit the back of his knee. “Don’t try anything, now.” the man warned. He pointed the gun at the boys. “Eeny meeny miney...” he started. He ended on Ryan. “...mo.” Ryan froze.
“So, I guess this is it...” he thought. Then, the man did something unexpected.
He released the mag, letting it drop to the deck. It bounced about. Throwing Catherine to the floor, he walked over to Ryan. “This, my friend, is a Guncrafter Industries Model No. 1. Essentially the famous M1911, only fifty caliber.” He brought Ryan’s arm up toward Catherine. He put the gun in Ryan’s hand. “Shoot her.” he ordered. Ryan turned and looked at the man.
“What?” he asked.
“Do it.” he ordered.
Ryan snarled. “No.” The man made a motion to one of his men.
“Hey!” Harris yelled. Ryan turned his head, still holding the very large firearm, and looked to Harris. One of the guards was standing on him, the barrel of his rifle pointed at the back of Harris’ head.
“No!” Ryan yelled.
The man next to him leaned in very close. “Make your choice. Kill her.” he said. “Or let him live.” He was pointing at Harris.
“Ryan... please...” Catherine begged. Harris was silent. He looked up at Ryan with an expression of defeat.
“I... I...” Ryan said. “What can I do?” he thought. He remembered the horse from his dreams. “If you are real, I need you now.” he thought. No one was coming for him. Accepting this, he closed his eyes.
And he made his decision.
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Luna awoke feeling refreshed and ready to tackle anything. She had made first contact with the colt last night, and she had gotten to know him. “He’s just like us.” she had concluded. Getting up, she got herself ready to face the day. Looking outside, she realized that she had missed the moon lowering. “Darn.” she said. There was a knock at her door. “You may enter.” she said. Her guard and her regal sister came in.
“How are you, little sister?” she asked in a concerned tone.
“I am fine.” Luna replied. “Just stayed up late last night reading. I am sorry that I missed the sun raising.” she said. She was very sincere in her apology, lowering her head.
“It is okay.” Celestia replied. “As long as you are alright.” Then she leaned in close. “Just please try not to miss it in the future.” she asked.
“I will not.” Luna replied. Celestia’s usual soft smile came back.
“Good. I am glad that that was all straightened out.” She went to leave.
“Oh, sister,” Luna said. Celestia turned around. “If you want to have fun with your guards,” she began. “you can always have them give you a... ‘special dance’.” she said mischievously. Celestia’s smile broadened.
“I think I might.” she said. With that, she left. Her guard closed his eyes, sighed, and said,
“I’ll never understand.” he said. Luna laughed.
“You don’t have to, Starstep.” she said. “You just have to do it all.” With that last statement, her guard left.
Taking that as her cue, Luna walked to her secret staircase and descended. The whole way down, she was thinking, “I wonder if he is okay? I do hope so.” She thought about all the things that he had told her about his world. “It certainly is impressive.” she said to herself. “It is just unfortunate that resources are so much more scarce. If they weren’t, maybe they could live in peace.” Isn’t that the truth? Money makes the world go round, after all.
When she reached the bottom, she trotted over to the pool. Sitting, she decided to wait and see how everything was before entering.
What she was seeing was terrible. A man was pointing a death instrument at the colt and his friend.
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A shot rang out through the air. It was loud. The sound echoed over the open waters around them, bouncing off the water like radiation off a block of lead. Ryan’s eyes were closed; he didn’t want to see how his decision had resulted in the death of his friend.
The man next to him walked away from him to look at the body. “An interesting choice. I didn’t think you would let THIS one go.” he said. He kicked the body onto its back. Someone close by threw up. “Right in the head. Half of it is gone.” He walked back to Ryan and grabbed his hair. With a massive pull, he yanked him forward. “Look at this.” he said. Ryan slowly opened his eyes, tears streaming out like the salto ángel waterfall.
Only half of Catherine’s face was still even present. Most of it was torn off by the fifty caliber bullet that slammed its way through her skull. “I want this image burned into your mind.” the man said. The top right half of her skull was in bits all over the deck, her brain spilling out onto the deck. Blood was coming out of every orifice on her head; her nose, her remaining eye, her mouth, even her ears. large veins, still pumping blood, hung loosely from the destroyed bones in her face. Her skin, at least what hadn’t been ripped off like tissue paper, was stretched back by the kinetic force of the bullet, revealing the white of her skull. The image was burned into Ryan’s eyes.
He was thrown back onto the deck, where he promptly threw up. He still held the gun; he threw it away, unable to believe what he just did. Off to the side, he could hear Harris crying. Harris was then thrown back onto the deck with Ryan. The man walked to his subordinates.
“Melemparkan dia atas.” he said. Following this, the two armed men took Catherine’s body and tossed it overboard. There was a loud splash as it came into contact with the water.
The man walked over to Ryan and Harris. He stood tall over them. “Remember this day.” he told them. “Remember this day, how Agni Narendra showed you and the resistant one who had all the power.” He turned to his men. “Menempatkan mereka kembali ke dalam.” he said. His men took Ryan and Harris in their arms and brought them back to the room in which all the others were contained. They threw the boys in and shut the door.
The other prisoners all looked at the boys, who weren’t moving on the ground before them. Some turned to face each other; others actually talked. Eventually, one came forward. Then another. Then, a third and a fourth. They picked the boys up and carried them over to their original spots. Once the boys were up against the wall, the people who carried them stepped back. All but one, who stayed with them.
“What happened? We heard a shot...” he said. “Where’s the girl?” he asked with worry. Ryan looked up at him and broke down.
Harris looked at him with a neutral expression. “She’s gone.” he said. It was in a monotone voice, as if he was the computerized voice from google translate. The man who helped them swallowed. Ryan continued to sob into his legs.
“He shot her.” Harris said.
“I’m sorry... I’m sorry...” Ryan said. He continued on with this. The man who helped them didn’t know what to do for the poor boys, so he went back to his seat.
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Luna held herself back through the whole ordeal. She had just watched the colt use a death instrument on a filly he considered his friend. “Why?” she asked herself. She was stunned by what he did; for what reason could he convince himself to have done such a thing?
She took a deep breath. Having seen what happened to the one called Jackson earlier, she felt it better not to watch when she figured out that one of the kids was going to die. She could hardly handle such grotesque violence, as it had been a LONG time since she was exposed to such brutality. Releasing her breath, she opened her eyes again. Laying down, she focused her energy on the spell to project herself into the colt’s realm. She felt her mind slowly drift into the pool.
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She found herself in the realm of the colt. She was in the middle of the room in which all the people were being held prisoner. Looking around, she searched for Ryan.
Her eyes landed on him, a sobbing, thrashed looking, sad little colt. His friend Harris was offering no condolences. The two simply sat in silence. Walking over Luna thought about what she would say. She could not understand why he had done what he did, only know that he seemed to have a choice between that and something else.
“Ryan.” she said. He didn’t look up. “Ryan!” she said. Still no response. She looked around. It looked like her spell had worked; no one else could see her. Whether or not Ryan knew she was there couldn’t be determined.
Charging her horn, she shot a magic bolt at Ryan’s head. Upon contact, a small blue ray connected their heads. “Ryan!” she thought at him. His reaction was one of alarm, and in his mind, he gave an explicit response. “Ryan, I am here.” she told him. He still sat there, unmoving, but she could now hear his thoughts.
“I’m sorry... I... I... didn’t want to... no choice... Harris...” His thoughts were barely recognizable as coherent thought, and Luna could not get him to respond.
“Ryan, I am here. What has transpired?” she asked. She felt anger rise in his mind.
“What happened?! I’ll tell you what happened! You weren’t there, you liar!” he shouted in his mind. “You aren’t real! You can’t be! You would have helped me! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!” he shouted again in his mind. Luna flinched.
“Calm yourself! I have seen all that has transpired.” she told him. He mildly calmed. “I want to know why you killed her, though. Why?” she asked. Ryan sobbed a bit harder.
“It was her,” he began. He looked to his right at Harris. “Or him.” Luna continued to listen attentively. “She tried to get away. She would just end up dead later... so, I had to keep Harris alive. I’m sorry...” Rather than let him lose himself in his ‘I’m sorry’ tirade again, she kept talking to him.
“Hush, now, little one. What you have done is not wrong.” she said. Ryan’s sobbing slowed down a bit. “You are a victim of circumstance.” she said to him. She had no idea how to console someone who was forced to murder their friend, so she gave him condolences for someone who’s down on their luck. “You will be fine. Eventually, your life will return to what it once was.” she said.
“No... it’ll never be the same...” came Ryan’s response. Luna looked down on him with immense pity.
“I promise you. I will guide you through this trial to the best of my extensive ability.” She had to make him believe in her. He finally moved, moving his head to look for his guardian.
“Can you help me?” he asked. She nodded. “Please do.” She went out the door and to the navigation room of the boat.
She went into the room, where she laid eyes on the man who had forced Ryan to kill his friend, Catherine. The evil one, Agni Narenda, sat in a leather chair that swiveled about with a painful screech. It clearly needed to be oiled.
“Heartless monster.” She approached and began to listen to what the monster was saying to his subordinate. Her translation spell was still active.
“Ketika kita mendarat di Jakarta?” he asked. His driver looked at a watch on his wrist.
“We should land in Jakarta in about two hours. If I may ask, sir...” he started. Agni waited.
“You may ask.” he said impatiently. His driver fumbled with his words.
“Why land in Jakarta?” he asked. Agni stood and paced, his shoed clicking on the floor while he stroked his small beard.
“Because, we must not arouse suspicion by using one boat the whole way. We will store the prisoners in our Jakarta compound for a time, only sending out a few at a time. This will minimize risk of losing our product, and if we do lose some, we will still have more.” Luna gasped at the monster’s heinous lack of care for others of his kind. “Then, each moves to the compound in Sumatra, then to Cambodia, where we will sell them.” His driver had a fearful curiosity in his expression. "Come on, out with it.” Agni ordered.
“Where are the compounds?” he asked with a hint of awe for his superior. Agni smiled and chuckled.
“I suppose there is no harm in telling you...” he said. He got in close. “Our Sumatra compound is directly west of Singapore, along one of the more inland rivers. Our Cambodia compound is Northeast of Kompong Chhnang, along another river.” He paused. “And my personal residence is in Vietnam, North of Buon Me Thuot. That is where I keep my favorite captives.” he finished. His driver sat with wide eyes.
“I am honored that you would trust me with so much information, sir!” he exclaimed. Agni smiled.
“It is because I believe that you can go far.” he replied. Luna huffed and left. How any being could be so terrible was beyond her.
She returned to the troom, Ryan still sitting still, but not sobbing. He was looking at the door, waiting for Luna’s return. When he spotted her, he tightened up a little. She noticed this as she approached, and so approached slowly.
“I have information for you.” she told him. He nodded, indicating for her to tell him. “You are being brought to a compound in a place called Jakarta. From there, you and your fellow prisoners will be sent to a compound somewhere west of Singapore, along an inland river. After that, you will be transported to a land called Cambodia, to a compound somewhere to the Northeast of Kompong Chhnang. I do not know where these places are, unfortunately.” Ryan nodded. Luna couldn’t help but wonder if she should tell him the last bit of information. Figuring it would do him no harm, she did. “Their leader, Agni Narendra, has a home in the land of Vietnam, north of a place called Buon Me Thuot.” Ryan’s expression was of confusion.
“Alright.” he thought. “So, now I know where we’ll be going. His home... that is useless information, it is.” At least, it seemed that way now. Suddenly, Catherine appeared in his mind. “She deserves justice.” he thought.
Ryan looked up at Luna and tapped his head. It took a moment, but Luna figured out that he wanted her to come into his mind. She did. “How long?” he asked.
“Two hours.” she said. Ryan looked between his legs at the floor with a stern expression. Luna stepped back. “I must leave for a small time.” she said. Ryan’s head shot back up like it was pulled by a car magnet. “I will be back soon.” With that, she left, and the colt she was trying to help looked back down, knowing that she couldn’t help him any more right now.
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She took a breath in and exhaled quickly after. Opening her eyes, she looked back into the pool at the colt. He looked serious, contemplative. Luna felt sorry for him. He was in a situation totally unheard of in her world, and likely not common in his. As pleasant as these beings could be, they certainly had their terrible moments.
She remembered that in their first conversation, Ryan had called them ‘humans’. These humans had a most impressive society. Naturally, however, all societies have their outcasts, their bad sides, their living garbage. These evil men were just that. They would be rejected by society if they confessed their crimes, so they continue to commit them. And the colt, Ryan, was a victim of their crimes.
And in two hours, they would begin doing horrible things to him. In two hours, all innocence would be lost.