Aftermath

I hate his name. I tried to tell him his name was Kev and he told me very stoutly that that was not his name and who did I think I was telling him who to be.

Darn. Lippy characters.

Yes, I know it's been almost a week. After finishing a story I sometimes lose my mind for a bit. and as it was two stories ended on the same night... well my brain melted out my nose and such on.

I wrote this the other day at work and for the moment it seems Aftermath is about two pages per update. Short, simple, sweet. I don't really think it will stay that long, it will likely lengthen as my mind comes back to me.

Read, Review and Enjoy.





After the meeting had dispersed, he hung around at the speaker’s asking. Once the other ‘recruits’ had left, the other man motioned him closer. He edged closer and sat at the man’s feet, looking up like a child listening to grandfather, even though the years between the man and himself were no more than ten.

“Tell me, boy, what is your name?”

“Durth.” he said quietly.

“Durth? My name is Tushin,” a cough racked the body and Tushin pulled out a handkerchief, coughing it in and wiping his lips with it one handed as he motioned his female helper away, “The Aniege are looking for recruits and members. Recruits, we send them back out into the world exactly how they came to us, spreading the word, a network of worker bees, do you understand this?”

“Yes.”

“But a hive also needs drones, men … or women… of worth, to train to do the jobs that the worker bees cannot do. They need be intelligent, they need common sense in their heads and they need to be fuelled to achieve their desires. Is not an easy path, that of a member of the Aniege, but if you work hard, if you try your best, one day you may see that which you truly want.”

“The DeAniege scum dead.”

Tushin chuckled, only to start coughing again. When the coughing subsided the man spat to the side and heaved several breaths, “would you be willing to risk life and limb to obtain such a goal?”

“I risk life and limb now.”

“Smart boy. But will you risk it to see a change in the world?”

“Yes.”

“Good, Neece, bring the boy something for his pain. I watched you favour that arm all night, is it broke?”

“No, the arm is fine, the pain is,” Durth touched the side of his chest gently and winced at the shooting pains that spread suddenly from the area, “here.”

“Can you breath? Does it hurt to do so?”

“Not particularly.”

Neece, the female who had stood by Tushin’s side throughout the meeting, handed Durth a badly formed pottery cup with a murky looking liquid inside of it. Durth swallowed a sip of the bitter stuff, cringing as the burn of alcohol spread through his throat and into his nose. He tried not to cough.

“Drink it all down, trust me, it helps,” Tushin wheezed, “I would be dead already, had it not been for that very drink. Something only the Aniege can provide.”

Alcohol was expensive, but was among the first things re-invented by the people. Or discovered, there were cases of entire brewing factories surviving because the families who owned them had been ‘old fashioned.’ Those same families were now lords under the ministers of the lands.

Durth put the cup to his lips once more and swallowed down every last drop, ignoring the burning all the way down his throat and spreading through his chest. When he finished, he set the cup onto the hard packed ground and hiccupped, jarring the sore spots in his chest but at the same time… it didn’t hurt as much as it had before.

“Now. Go home. We will extract you in a few days, the Aniege have a place of work near here and it is to there that we shall go. We will find you a Cousin to work with. Train you up and when you are ready, we shall send you out.”

“How do I know when your people have come to me?”

“Oh, you will know,” Tushin nodded slowly, “go now.”

Off in the distance a dog barked and all in the grass and woods around them went silent. Durth stood, wobbling as he did so. Neece had to lead him to the side of the little shelter, had to point him in the right direction. Durth stumbled through the woods and back to the servant huts.

Just as he stepped on the hard packed ground of the servant’s area, Past came around the corner with his boys, torch held high. Durth swayed from side to side as if drunken, the world swam before his eyes. His stomach did a little… twirl.

He was going to be sick.

“You there!” Past snapped, approaching him.

The defence minister was completely gray. His eldest son, a whole sixteen years old, was also completely gray. The other boys were red headed, taking after their mother. Lines had marked the minister’s face, showing his hard life for all around. Past’s lip pulled up in a snarl when Durth didn’t respond right away.

Durth hit the side of a servant hut and muttered a curse at the thing a moment before the pain returned. He had hit his bad side against the hut. Cringing, Durth pushed off and tried to stand straight.

“Who are you?”

“It’s the lessons servant, father,” the eldest said.

Durth swayed on his feet.

“Looks like he’s been in a fight.”

“You know how servants are, father, always fighting amongst themselves, all ungratefuls, unhappy with the life we have provided them.”

Past peered closer at Durth, stepping close to the young man, bringing the torch uncomfortably closer as eyes clouding from age squinted. Up and down, Past looked Durth over.

“He has a fever.”

“No,” Durth mumbled out, “it is simply hot out.”

And it was. Early spring, but the hottest night of his life, it seemed. Durth swallowed hard and winced as his stomach twisted again, threatening to expel its contents on his master’s feet. He struggled to keep it down and won. Barely.

“Call the healers.” Past snapped at the youngest boy.

“For a servant?”

“I said call the healers,” Past snapped again in a tone that made the boys all jump in their skins and rush off.

The defence minister took Durth by his arm and tugged, “come on boyo, where do you live.”

“Front, six by seven.”

The ground came up to meet him and everything went black. Blood boiling in his veins, head spinning. As Durth slid into unconsciousness, he wondered if it had really been such a good idea to drink something given to him by strangers.


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