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I hit him hard enough I feel his jaw bone break. He stumbles back into the crowd which was already pressing in too close. Everyone reacts and chaos ensues. My rage was a spark, one that ignites a fire.
Some try to run away but most break into violence too. Our city, once peaceful when directly under the rule of our queen, is a powder keg and I just lit the fuse. I duck under a fist and step to one side but as I do the crowd is too tight and Niyah is pulled from my grip.
I see her on the other side of several people. The fear on her face cuts through the rage in my head and drives straight into my heart. I push my way towards her but the crowd shifts between us and then she is gone.
“Niyah!”
Her name tears its way from my heart to my mouth and out, ripping my throat as it does. My world narrows to this one simplicity. I must find her.
I move. Bodies appear, blocking my path, I punch, fight, even pick up and throw. Whatever I must to get through. To remove the barriers.
The street has devolved into a riot. Shouting, screams, and violence is everywhere. Niyah is so small and frail that if I do not find her soon she will very likely be harmed. Or killed.
No. She is under my protection. I will not fail.
Duck. Dodge. Sidestep.
There. I catch a glimpse of her pale face. She is on the ground crawling but too far away. There are too many people between us. One thought pounds in my head. I must reach her.
A fist appears in my peripheral but I catch it in my palm and twist. The owner of the fist screams as he drops to his knees. I step around him but someone else punches me in the gut. I double over and once again I lose sight of her.
“Niyah!” I scream.
Something hits me in the back of the head. I drop to my knees and my breath is knocked out. I gasp until my lungs fill at last but someone kicks my ribs. The crowd is pressing in. I’m suffocating.
She is alone. Lost.
Something builds in my chest. Anger, no it’s rage, but also something more. I do not understand it nor can I control it. It explodes and when it does, so do I.
“Back!” I roar as I burst from the ground.
People are thrown up and back leaving me standing in an empty circle. I quickly look around, using the open space to find her. There, I spot her as she darts into an alley.
I am sure she is looking for safety. To escape the crowds, but the alleys are anything but safe. I must reach her. I run but only make a few steps before a wall of people surges in, blocking my path once more.
8
NIYAH
Memories of the riot in the bunkers clog my thinking. The terror I felt then returns in full force. When it happened it was as if all a sudden everyone lost their damn minds. This feels the same.
People shouting. Fighting. Pushing. Shoving. The sounds of flesh striking flesh. And the screams. Please dear god make the screams stop.
I run blindly, my only direction is towards escape. To some semblance of safety. Being so much smaller than the Urr’ki I am able to slip through breaks in the crowd. Ducking between people beating one another then around a group shoving against each other. I don’t have a goal, but that doesn't matter. All that matters is I get away. Somewhere, anywhere, I can hide until this is over.
My vision has narrowed to a dark tunnel but I spot what looks like a haven. It’s an alley, dark and unoccupied. Having a goal I set my sights and go. Someone hits me from the side and I fall to the ground. Rather than try to get back up I crawl through several sets of legs. When space opens around me again I leap up and run. The alley comes closer but then there are more people blocking my way again.
I dodge left then right. Always I keep my sights set on that alley. That beacon of safety and hope. Escape. It’s all that matters.
I should never have come.Fool. Idiot. What was I thinking?
Terror has taken over all higher functions of my brain. I think, once or twice, I hear my name. Probably not and even if I do, it doesn’t matter. Bhoja is the one who started this. He’s not safe either. I thought he was but that was wrong. A lie.
Someone hits me from the side. I stumble and fall into another person who pushes me off. I bounce between people like a pinball pushed and shoved. I stumble and again I fall landing painfully on my knees.
I don’t bother trying to get up. I’m almost there. The alley is right there. So close so I crawl instead. The alley is still empty, still dark, still safe.
A pair of legs stomp down in front of me. I look up into the grinning tusks of an unknown Urr’ki. His massive hand reaches for me. I’m frozen with fear. I watch it coming closer knowing that there is nothing I can do.
