She perched herself on the ledge with the others where a high glass partition kept one from falling into the void. Across the way was another scraper, silent, dilapidated, and covered in glasslike panels, out of which about half were smashed. Though the ledge was beneath an overhang, the sun bore down on the opposite scraper, and the flash was near to blinding at times.
A few sparrows flitted about. A spider had industriously made a web that fluttered in the breeze, reaching out over the void. The slit of sky she could see was blue and cloudless, and it was midday, for the sun was almost overhead.
Vargr had been called away and was discussing something with Boaz and the other one, the dog-rider, Orm. Discussing herfate? Fuck them. She had a pretty day in front of her. Carpe diem.
The beasters had four of their kind watching the above for snipers. Wearing wraparound sunglasses, they crouched on the very edge with their rifles ready. They reminded her of predatory birds. She shuddered to think of them toppling and falling, though they seemed at ease, even the two who were wingless.
She spent some time thinking.
The beasters did care. Five years of this, and they still tried to keep these few humans alive and well. If some apathy and dislike had set in, it was natural. How easy it would be to decide humans were not worth the effort. Which the Worshippers had done.
The humans were all attempting to climb the glass and were clawing at it as if they could find a handhold. Sad to see the woman next to her do this. Her white hair was trimmed to shoulder level. She would be someone’s mother or grandmother? Statistically speaking, it was likely.
A terrible thought struck that burrowed into her gut and made her nauseous. This could be her mother and she would not know it. The Lure had her, and she, Cyn of no surname, had forgotten what her mother looked like.
“Fuck.” She cradled her head. “Fuck.”Remember, I am better off than her, than any of them.
The nausea refused to go away, and slowly she recognized that it had a direction. This woman next to her was swathed in the power of the Lure. To be able to sense the Lure so easily was new, to feel the sickness it lent to humans was also new. Tentatively, she followed the translucent threads of pinkish Lure from where they touched the air near her to their focus inside this woman, and slowly, painstakingly, she detached one thread, then two.I can do this.
She kept going. Knitting in reverse, she reminded herself when the effort tired her. Time must be passing but thinkingaway from this task might make her fail, and she was winning. She was definitely winning. She was pushing the Lure away from her, from…Maura.
Her name was Maura. She knew this.
The revelation gave her fresh energy, and she plucked away at the last particles of the Lure, then Cyn sat back, placed her palms to the hard-tiled floor, and she watched to see what she had achieved.
Had she done anything or was it her imagination?
Achingly slow, the woman turned her face upward to the sky, and for a moment Cyn only saw the cravings of a Lure-afflicted human.
Until…
She spoke. “I can see the sky! I feel again. I feel warmth.” Awestruck, she turned to Cyn. “I’m me. Did you do this? You must have.” On unsteady legs, with a hand sliding down the glass for support, she kneeled and reached out to hug Cyn.
Hesitant at first, Cyn leaned forward and let the woman wrap her arms about her then squeeze her. It was such a warm and wonderful feeling to hug this stranger. The anxiety of today eased, and her heart lightened more than it had for a long time.
“Maura?” She patted her on her back. “It worked?”
Of course it had.
“Yes, that’s me. You know my name? I’ve been away, haven’t I? Was it the Lure? We all thought we were safe.” Her quiet voice trailed off.
“It’s been five years since the Ghoul Lords invaded.” Though she didn’t know when the Lure had affected this woman. Reassuringly, she patted Maura’s back some more.
“Oh. That’s long. How did you do this?”
How? A very good question.
“I don’t know.” Past Maura she could see that the ruckus they’d made had drawn attention to them. The guards, Vargr,and Boaz were staring. Orm was nowhere in sight. “Hey. We seem to have made everyone look at us.”
Maura pulled away. There was still confusion in her eyes, but surely she herself had behaved the same after freeing herself from the Lure? It should disappear. Or then again, the Lure might return.
She gnawed at her lip. Maura was not the same as her.
“I don’t know if this will last, Maura.”
“I understand.” Trembling, she sat on the floor beside Cyn and looked about. “Five years.” Her voice cracked. “Five years. My oh my. I only wish I could still help. Did Dr Nietz fail? And his Beast Horde?”
“They failed, yes. If they get too close to the Ghoul Lords, the Lure affects them too.”
