RE:volt! Chapter 41: To You, The Future.

  Cid slapped the collar on Ark’s neck, the man leaning in and whispering, “Remember what I said boy.” before walking off as Ninety-Nine undid the shackles binding Ark to the cell.

  “What was that all about?” Ninety-Nine asked as he walked Ark back to his camp.

  “Nothing, he was just being chatty.” Ark replied before shutting up quickly as another red-sashed trustee walked by with a teen.

  “That wasn’t nothin boy. Cid don’t talk much. In fact, he seldom talks at all on account of him being a ripe old bastard.” Ninety-Nine said.

  “What is he in here for?” Ark asked, the pair walking passed the plantations where Ark recognized no one. No familiar faces among the crowd of slaves he used to live among before his transfer to the battle thrall camp.

  “Gambling mostly. Sick thing is he ain’t even a slave.” Ninety-Nine answered, his tone laced with disgust that caught Ark off guard.

  “What? He’s not-”

  “Why you think he has a name instead of a number? Cid ain’t a slave. Sure he was an indentured servant long ago, but after landing in here and paying off his debt workin for the master he never left.” Ninety-Nine said, stopping for a moment to stretch his back. “He just wears that collar for show.”

  “So… he’s a free man?” Ark asked, confused.

  “Yes and no.” Ninety-Nine sighed. “Not in the way you and I think of freedom anyway. Cid’s a man who had it all but pissed it away. Ain’t got nothing and no one cept that anvil and the job assigned to him now.”

  “Is he…” Ark narrowed his eyes, processing the events that had transpired earlier. “Trustworthy?”

  Ninety-Nine paused, staring at Ark for a moment before sighing.

  “Kid, I don’t know what you got planned, or what you’re thinking of doing, but the only thing you should be concerned about is yourself. Bad winds on the horizon, shitty weather all around.” Ninety-Nine said. “You remember what I told you about the north and the river?”

  “I do.” Ark said, remembering the instructions Ninety-Nine had given him on how to flee.

  “You should take it. At the end of the day, the only one that matters is you and yourself.” Ninety-Nine said, furrowing his brow as he gazed out at the field hands.

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  Ark’s face twisted before his voice dropped to a whisper. “Are you… are you telling me to abandon these people?”

  “Look around you boy. Look.” Ninety-nine said, pointing at the people who were akin to lifeless automatons, each going about their daily duties with rhythmic movements and dull eyes set on their tanned and sunbleached skins. “For most of these people, they don’t know what freedom is. They’ve never experienced the world. And some folks like Cid, don’t even want to be saved.”

  “But don’t you think that’s wrong? That they don’t have a choice? How can we know they don’t want to be saved if they aren’t given the option of freedom?” Ark countered, causing Ninety-Nine to inhale.

  “Kid. You’re special. Real special. I knew it from the day we first met. You… you can escape and succeed. I truly believe that.” Ninety-Nine said before gesturing to the field hands. “But these people… they aren’t people anymore. Look around, do you see anyone you recognize? Anyone older than me? For these people, this life is all they know, all they will ever know. They don’t have a chance, at anything. If something were to happen they would be hounded, hunted, strung up on poles, and hanged from nooses. Every one of them is marked, me included, YOU, included. But you’re different. You have the will and strength to succeed while they would all fail..”

  The two stood there for a moment, neither saying a word as Ark’s hands balled up.

  “You’re wrong.” Ark said.

  “What?”

  “I said, you’re wrong!” Ark spat, his eyes flaring golden for a split second that was picked up by Ninety-Nine, leaving the man stunned. “Freedom belongs to everyone. No man, woman or CHILD should live in chains. It’s wrong, and you know it's wrong”

  Ninety-Nine’s eyes widened, the realization dawning on him that Ark had displayed a flicker of magical affinity.

  “You… Cid..” The old trustee quickly connected the dots. Cid was a magecraft rune maker, of course he would be able to sniff out Ark!

  Ark’s brow furrowed, a sudden anger taking hold as he stared at the red-sashed man.

  “These people deserve freedom. At least given an option to make their own choices before they’re shackled like cattle before they ever uttered their first word.” Ark said, glaring off into the distance as Ninety-Nine finally recovered. “Nothing about this world is right.”

  “I don’t… I don’t disagree kid. But these are the cards that were dealt to these people. This… is their reality. A shit hand but it has to be played.” Ninety-Nine paused, his jaw clenching as he looked Ark in the eye and held his gaze. “But it doesn’t have to be yours, Loyd.”

  Ark frowned, that was his new incarnation’s birth name, the name given to him by a woman who used to hold him and sing him to sleep so she could cry in solitude, a woman he hadn’t thought about in… years. His mother.

  Ninety-Nine placed his palms on Ark’s shoulders.

  “A war is coming kid. Marquies Ostia is drafting troops for a fight. A fight that will see these lands burn and every single person on this plantation dead. Get out while you can.” Ninety-Nine said, revealing to Ark information the teen was already aware of.

  But Ninety-Nine didn’t know that.

  “Please.”

  Ark clenched his jaw, his expression one of a glare toward the man who was begging him to leave.

  “I’ll think about it.” Ark said, placating the man who closed his eyes with a sigh and chuckled.

  “Well shit, better than nothing kid.”