Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

As you pull off your shoes, you look out to the city in front of you.

 You can see everything from up here. Each individual light flickers in each tall building, each symbolizing a stranger and their daily life. They stand out more with the contrast of the late-night sky above, which is surprisingly clear tonight. The twinkles resemble what stars probably look like; living in the city, you never really get a chance to see them. A cool gust of wind blows past you, moving the front pieces of your hair along with it, partially obstructing your view of the city below. 

It really is beautiful. 

The wind sends a shiver down your spine, eliciting small goosebumps on your arm which you pay little mind to. Honks and beeps of cars below take up your hearing, but it isn’t necessarily annoying. It isn’t that loud considering how far away from them you are. 

Having now slipped off your shoes, you take small steps towards the edge. The concrete is cold underneath your toes. As you step closer, you feel your heart speed up. You don’t understand why. Eventually, you reach your destination. Your toes dangle off the edge, daring.

 You look down yet again from your apartment and notice all the places you frequent during your life. 

You recognize the convenience store which you visit every day when you come home. The store owner recognizes you and greets you with a smile every time. You recognize the street signs, which you always seem to stare at from outside your apartment’s window. Something about them is so mesmerizing. You recognize the bright, LED billboards always displaying some new, trending promotional item. This time, it advertises a new movie for an anime you somewhat keep up with. They always make it hard to sleep. 

You take off the hair tie holding the rest of your hair in place. It flies out of your hand and into the stream of air, going across the city, probably eventually turning into another piece of litter that plagues your city. Your hair comes loose, pulling behind your neck to expose your face to the moon above. 

Time slows. You begin to pick your foot up—your right foot. Slowly, daring to continue. The gusts mock you and your seemingly afraid state. What is there to fear? Your knee slowly contorts, its bent state straightening so that your foot is dangling off the building. 

It’s time.

You close your eyes. Slowly, your weight shifts from the back of your left heel to the front. Slowly, it pries free from the cold concrete, until it is no longer touching it at all.

Then, the wind. It howls past you. 

You wonder how much longer this is going to take. 

Your question is then answered.

It’s so cold. 

----

At first, darkness. Empty void. Nothing. No thoughts, no feelings, no senses. 

Then, a light. Slowly growing.

Is this heaven? You didn’t expect to make it there. 

The light grows brighter, taking on a more yellowish hue. 

It’s so bright.

You keep your eyes closed.

Sound, next.

Something unfamiliar to what you were used to in the city. Silence. All you knew your whole life was beeping, honking, yelling, and crashing. 

Not just silence. Wind, less aggressive than you last heard. The sound of metal against metal. Not as loud as a car crash. Almost like two tin cans dropped against each other. Not loud enough to bother you, it seemed to be a bit further away.

Then, the smell. 

Putrid.

You thought the smells in the city were bad. You thought you were used to them. But this… the smell of mold, rotten food and clothes, and dead animals all at once. As if every sketchy alleyway in the city got combined into a single perfume.

If this is what heaven smells like, you’d much rather be in hell. Maybe you really are in hell after all.

The physical feeling. Wherever you are, it must be an interesting place. You can’t really tell what you feel under your palms. Is it dirt? Sand? Or a mix? 
The afterlife isn’t like what you expected it to be at all. 

“Yo, Zanka, check this out.”

A man’s voice. He sounds like a young adult, maybe in his 20s. 

“Dude, I think there’s someone over here.”

The man’s voice gets louder. You can now hear his footsteps. Whatever shoes he’s wearing, they must be heavy-duty. You can hear him crushing things with each step. Some plastic, then some metal… it’s hard to keep track. There’s actually two different sets of footsteps, now that you concentrate. The more distant one seems more refined compared to the somewhat scruffy manner of the closer one. 

“Are they alive?” The other one, who you assume is the “Zanka” guy, responds. His voice sounds a bit younger, but not by much. He speaks in an accent, but sounds a bit calmer than the other. 

“Come check it out. These clothes…”

By now, the first voice is much closer, you assume probably right next to you. 

Is this heaven? Or the afterlife, or something?

A million questions race through your head, despite you typically being a lightheaded person. Moreover, you want to open your eyes. But, it’s so bright…

Reluctantly, you force your eyelids to peel apart. Your corneas are bombarded by a harsh glare. It takes you a second to adjust. Above you, leaning over, is a tall, blonde man. He has big earrings and funny shaped eyebrows that curve like some supervillain. 

You try to find your voice, words, or anything, but nothing comes out. You stare dumbfounded at the man, utterly hopeless. Who knew heaven would be such a hassle? 
You slowly drift out of consciousness again. Your vision clouds and your body grows limp until everything returns to black again.

----

Light. Again. 

Damn, how many times is this going to happen?

This time, it’s a little bit less harsh. The light is less yellow than before and more blue. The smell seems to have disappeared and been replaced by a more calming aroma of jasmine and lavender. Instead of dirt, you feel a soft, plush cushion.

Opening your eyes hurts less this time. Above you is a lightbulb attached to a ceiling. Luckily (or not, depending on how you look at it) there is no man looming over your defenseless form. 

You’re able to crane your neck and head around this time to get a better observation of your surroundings. You seem to be laying on a bed, in a room filled with more similar beds. All are vacant excluding yours. You are alone in this room as far as you know. 

As your consciousness restores, you feel more physically capable. You sit up, your weight shifting onto each of your hips. For some reason, you’re still wearing the same clothes that you wore when you died. They aren’t the most comfortable, but they function. 

You’re starting to suspect this isn’t heaven.

If that’s true…

Where the hell am I?

Chapter Text

You soon find your voice.

“Um, hello?”  You question to nobody. As of right now, you’re completely alone and confused in so many ways. All you need right now is answers.

After a few seconds, a girl nervously pops her head in the door. She looks like a teenager, with chin length blonde hair, reddish purple eyes, and a comically large hat. She is dressed in what looks like a nurse’s outfit, but nothing like you’ve seen before. Now that you recall, the blonde guy from before was also dressed weirdly. Are they cosplaying or something?

The girl steps fully in the room and begins to approach you. As she reaches the bed you’re sitting in, she glances sympathetically at you. Her big eyes glisten in the light from the bulb above you.

“O-oh, hello,” the girl timidly says. Her voice reminds you of a mouse.

She’s so cute!!

“How are you feeling, miss?”

She glances away, anxiously, waiting for a response. You take a second to process her words.

Honestly, you don’t know.

So much has happened, you don’t know where you are, you’re supposed to be dead… but you assume she means physically. Honestly, you don’t feel bad, surprisingly.

“Um, I feel good… are you a nurse here?” You reply. She nods and closes her eyes.

“Y-yes, I’m a healer… I’m glad to hear that you’re doing alright…”

A healer? You’ve never heard someone say that unironically outside of video games and manga. That only adds to your list of questions. You still urgently feel the need to release your most important one.

“So, um… where am I? What is this place?”

Her eyes wide at your question.

“O-oh… this is the cleaner HQ. U-um, Enjin and Zanka found you lying unconscious nearby…” She pauses and then perks up yet again. “O-oh yeah, they’re two of our cleaners here.”

What???

You stare up at her, dumbfounded. Clearly, this isn’t anything like where you are from. What is a cleaner? Cleaner HQ?

She notices your confused look and reassures you.

“I’ll go get the ones that found you… I think they’re more equipped to answer questions than I am.” With that, the girl timidly walks out. Didn’t even catch her name… But, it’s not the time for that right now. There’s much more important things at hand.

The blonde guy who you saw earlier enters the room first. Compared to that girl from earlier, he walks with much more confidence. Following behind him is an ash blonde male with a dark underlayer. He has bangs going down the middle of his face, but what catches your eyes is his eyebrows. Instead of, well, normal eyebrows, this guy has weird ones for sure. They go almost parallel or diagonally down his face in a few thin lines.

Does everyone in this place have weird eyebrows?

You grow a bit self-conscious of your own.

The blonde guy approaches you first.

“Hey there. I’m Enjin, this is my friend Zanka. We found you laying out nearby.”

“Um, hi. So, like… I’m confused. Is this the afterlife?” At your question, the two men raise an eyebrow. They then burst out in laughter, which annoys you. Is this really the time to laugh? The Enjin guy regains his composure to respond.

“What kind of question is that, lady? No, not that I’m aware of.” He then gets mildly more serious. “Why do you ask?”

You briefly explain your situation to him. You thought you had died, just to wake up in the middle of nowhere.

If they weren’t already thinking you were crazy, they definitely are now.

“Okay, woah. That explains your weird clothes at least. Are you a sphereite? But I’ve never seen a sphereite dressed like this before…” He mumbles the last bit to himself. He points to your attire, your jeans and tee shirt. Ouch, what does he mean, “Weird”?? Look at your own clothes! But what catches your attention is that word he used, sphereite.

“What is a sphereite?” You question them.

The Zanka guy responds this time.

“Enjin, we might’ve got something bigger than we can handle on our plate…”

Enjin nods towards the other. He reaches out his hand to you. It’s big and callous.

“Can you walk? We should probably take you to the boss.” You grab his hand and lift yourself up. Surprisingly, you can walk fine. You assume that the “healer” girl probably made you feel better, combined with your rest. Once you start walking with them, Enjin releases your hand. You blush a bit, realizing that you kind of sort of might have just held hands with a guy… that’s more than you ever did in your life before. The two “cleaners” lead you down a dark hallway. You realize that you’re still barefoot, and the dark tiles across the ground chill you. Zanka notices your discomfort and reassures you.

“Oh, yeah, we can getcha some clothes. People might stare if you walk around dressed like that, anyway.”

Eventually, you make it to the door of what you assume is the room of the boss. The doors are big and intimidating. The men open them for you. You are greeted by a large room, filled with mostly empty space besides a large desk at the back. Sitting behind the desk is a large, muscular man. He has dark skin and locks tied back into a ponytail. Something about him gives off a big, booming aura, which seems to encompass the whole room. He smiles when he sees you, which relieves some of your anxiety. He looks to be around 30 or late 20s.

“Come on in. Enjin and Zanka gave me the run down on how they found you, but I want to hear from you.” His voice is deep but somewhat soothing. The three of you cross to his desk where the boss directs you to chairs to sit in.

“I’m Arkha Corvus, the boss of the cleaners. What is your name?”
Wow, he’s actually the first one who’s asked you that now that you think about it. You tell him your name and then relay your situation again. His facial expression doesn’t change much, but you can tell he feels sympathetic.

“Mm, interesting,” he hums. “Well, I can answer as many questions as you need. Here, we essentially are bothered constantly by large monsters made of trash. Some people are gifted with the ability to give life to a certain object, also known as their vital instrument. These people are called Givers. Here at Cleaner HQ, we have Givers help dispose of trash beasts among other things, hence the name ‘Cleaner’.”

You take a minute to process. This is a lot of new information. Luckily, the boss, Corvus, seems understanding of your situation.

“I’ve never heard of anything like this before… but, I don’t think I’m from your world. I think... I might have been, like, transported here after I died. I know, I sound crazy, but I don’t know what else could have happened. Thank you all for accommodating for me.”

Corvus nods.

“I’m nearly as confused as you are. Nothing of this sort has happened for us, either. But, considering both your clothing and your genuine confusion, I choose to believe you. You must be quite overwhelmed. I will figure out a place for you to stay and get you some clothing.”

You smile, relieved. You appreciate this guy, and his overwhelming charisma.

“Enjin, Zanka. Can you take her to Semiu? I’m intrigued.”

----

Sitting behind a desk is a woman. She has dark skin and short, white hair and eyebrows. You think the contrast looks pretty on her. She has circular glasses attached with a chain-like thing with small metal balls. From what you can tell, she wears a tank top-like outfit, but still unique. What stands out is her collar. Now that you recall, each person you’ve seen was wearing one too. On this woman, it’s more recognizable due to her comparative lack of flamboyant clothing. Everyone else wore a lot of obstructing attire. It raises more curiosity.

“Semiu’s vital instrument allows her to basically look into you and see stuff about you,” Enjin explains. This makes no sense to you, but you choose to believe him.

“You don’t need to explain that for me, Enjin. I’m capable myself,” The woman, Semiu, replies. Suddenly, a light yellow glow starts to surround her glasses. Her eyes light up with the same color. This is definitely not something you’ve seen before. This must be how “vital instruments” work. Semiu stares at you which makes you shudder. Much like what Enjin said, it feels like she’s looking into you.

After a few seconds, the yellow glow retreats. Semiu takes a deep breath and her eyes widen.

“It’s unusual. Something about her…” She trails off. It makes you worry. The other two seem to have their interest piqued.

“Is it like Rudo’s?” Zanka questions. Wait, who is Rudo??

“Not really. It’s just… Well, she’s kindhearted. I can say that. She isn’t a threat to us unless y’all go and fuck something up like you usually do.” Zanka rolls his eyes at that. “I think she has potential to be a giver. Be kind to her.”

You smile at that. It’s nice to feel cared for and defended. You weren’t very intimidated by these two anyway, but you still appreciate it.

Wait, what does she mean? You have potential to be a giver? Really?

“I’m getting a call, one second,” Semiu says. Do they have phones here?

She touches her collar. You assume that means they don’t.
“They have somewhere you can stay now. They said they put clothes for you in there, too.”

----

You don’t realize how tired you are until you flop down onto the bed. The soft plush of the mattress contorts around your figure. You feel more mentally exhausted than physically. The clothes they gave you aren’t something you normally would have worn, like, ever.

Knock knock

You roll your eyes. Why is someone bothering you right now when you just want to rest? Nonetheless, you yell for them to come in.

Surprisingly, it’s Enjin that walks in. It almost startles you. You didn’t know who you were expecting.

“Hey, sorry to interrupt. Just checking in on you. Mind if I sit?” He gestures to a chair near your bed. You nod and sit up.

“What brings you here, Enjin?” You ask, out of genuine curiosity.

“You know, I’m just interested about yer story. You’re not a Sphereite, which is good. Not many people here are too fond of people from the Sphere. They’re the reason we have all this trash. But, I wanna about what it was like in your world.”

You look down at the ground. Your life wasn’t really the greatest.

“Well, um… Look, I don’t really know man. It isn’t like your world at all. Where I’m from, we had giant skyscrapers with 50+ floors, all filled with people. My apartment was like that. But I lived alone. Nobody really took me in like you all did, which I appreciate.”

Enjin notices your uncomfortable look. He grins at you and stands up to pat you on the shoulder. “Hey, well, you do got us now!” He pauses before sitting back down. His sudden action makes you a bit flustered which you try to hide.

“Do you remember what Semiu said earlier? She said you have potential to be a giver.”

“Do ya wanna come along with us cleaners sometime?”

Chapter Text

Never, in your many years of life, did you ever expect to be in this situation.

Enjin gave you a gas mask which you obliged and put on. It relieved you from the horrid stench that you smelt earlier. Here you are, looking out at the vast, deserted stretch of the Ground, covered in piles upon piles of trash. The sun gleams a bright orange hue which you shield your eyes at.

You stand outside Cleaner HQ with 4 others. You briefly introduced yourself to them, and they did the same. You knew Enjin and Zanka already.

One of the unfamiliar faces was a girl with red hair. She has striking green eyes that almost unsettle you. Her eyelashes are thick and luscious which you kind of envy. You wonder if they help her block out some of the dust and dirt. What stands out the most about her is her hairstyle; it is completely unlike anything you’ve seen before. On the left side of the back of her head, her hair is tied into a bun with a few loose hairs sticking out. On the right, she has a ponytail-like thing sticking out that almost defies gravity. She looks like a talented cosplayer. However, after looking at her further, you almost worry for her. She’s very… skinny. Her hip bones stick out on her hips which is easily noticeable due to the crop-top style uniform she wears. She looks malnourished. However, has a sort of confident aura about her. Her name is Riyo.

The other unknown figure seems much younger. He’s a few inches taller than Riyo, but he looks and speaks with a younger tone. Both of them seem to be teenagers. This boy has short-ish white hair with black tips. Similarly to Riyo, he has big, striking eyes, although his are red. Despite his young(er) age, he has a certain presence that intimidates you. It’s almost like he has a dark aura surrounding him, one that radiates of vengeance and determination. He wears large gloves that stand out against his small frame. His name is Rudo.

Both of these teenagers, although they give off intimidating energy, seem like kind and welcoming people. Riyo greeted you with a smile, and Rudo peeped up to say hello as well. He doesn’t seem as confident as Riyo.

After the introductions, Enjin gave everyone the rundown.

“So, a trash beast was spotted not far from here. It won’t be too much of a threat, but I wanted to give our new recruit here a reference to what us cleaners do. So, be sure to set a good example, kid,” he says to Rudo as he pats him on the back. Rudo rolls his eyes at this and looks away, which makes you giggle to yourself a bit. You think their older/younger brother relationship is cute. Riyo gives Enjin a thumbs up and smiles, although you can’t really tell under her gas mask.

Earlier, Enjin explained to you why they wear gas masks. The air outside of the HQ is toxic to inhale for extended time. It also smells like shit, which you can vouch for. In some places, which they call “No Man’s Land”, they have to wear full face gas mass attached to an Oxygen tank. It makes you sympathize with them and understand their hatred for the Sphere. You haven’t seen any full face masks yet, but you bet they look cool. You feel thankful that you didn’t wake up too far from HQ.

Soon enough, the group begins their pilgrimage off across the country, which you follow behind. You don’t really know what to expect. You were lucky to not have ran into any of the “trash beasts” yet, but by the description some cleaners have given you, they sound scary.

Aside from just the four Givers you’ve met, there are three other people coming along. Apparently, they’re called Supporters. They are cleaners who are not givers, but they come along to provide support to the givers, hence the name. The three that are with you are named Gris, Follo, and Tomme. Gris appears to be the oldest and most mature of the bunch. He is tall and has chin-length blonde hair, along with a long scar that goes from his forehead down to his cheek, passing across his right eye. Much like the other people you’ve met, he’s a generally very welcoming person. When you explained your situation to him, he comforted you and promised to help do his job of helping to support you. The next supporter, Follo, is a younger man. Appearance wise, he’s a young adult. He has dark brown hair and lighter brown eyes. You think they suit him well. He has bangs that go down the middle of his face. The top of his head is covered by a hat, which all Supporters share. Actually, all supporters wear the same uniform. Follo wears goggles on top of his hat, though, which is kind of cute. The last one is a girl, named Tomme. She has long, black hair. She gives off a motherly presence. She also smells good. She has big, brown eyes.

The journey through the wasteland comes to an end soon. It relieves you that it won’t be too far off to run back to HQ in case something happens to go wrong. You shake your head to brush off the thought. Through a cloud of dust, you finally discover what a “trash beast” is.

Surrounded by lumps of trash, a giant blob of waste stands. It is topped off with a large animal skull-looking hat, which you assume to be its head. It is very, very tall. You remember the size of your apartment back in the city. It was tall, maybe about 70 floors. This trash beast… might be about 50 stories tall.

First, Riyo’s eyes light up. They grow bright green, in the same way that Semiu’s eyes glowed yellow. Riyo pulls out a pair of scissors. Suddenly, they began to grow.

This must be the true potential of vital instruments.

“Leave it to me. Watch my example, girl! I got you.” Riyo says. She grins at you before hopping over to the trash beast.

The method using her scissors is certainly… unique. She jumps high, over the leg of the trash beat, and swings her comically large scissors at it with her feet?? She pries the two sides of them apart and swings them around like a deadly fan, and it chops up a large chunk, sending scrap flying.

Gris notices your shocked expression and chuckles. “Unique, isn’t it? Even though she has an unconventional way of using her scissors, her Reaper, don’t doubt her skills. She’s one of our best cleaners.” Gris looks out to Riyo with a proud expression. It makes you smile, seeing him like this.

Riyo makes quick work of the beast. She swings her scissors methodically against the beast. They cut through the air and slash it against the heart of the beast. It cries out with a loud, deep screech, lunging towards the girl attacking her. However, she swiftly dodges, faster than your eyes can register. Her speed is incredible, faster than anything you’d seen before. For her final attack, she jumps high above the beast. Her hair comes loose from her ponytail and flows against the wind. She closes her scissors below her feet below she plunges them down into the beast’s skull, finishing it off.

I wonder, if Semiu said I have potential to be a Giver…

Could I reach the same level as her?

Riyo skips on back to you and the others, grinning cheekily. She stares at you, analyzing your expression to see just how impressed you are.

“How was that for your first display?”

“It was amazing. You’re so talented, Riyo!” She smiles at your compliment. She brushes her long, red hair behind her back and pulls it into a low ponytail, probably to keep it out of the dust. It begins to clear out now that the trash beast is down, making it easier for you to see further across the barren land.

“Hey, you still haven’t gotten a chance to see the skills of me and the others!” Enjin adds. He’s right; you are still curious to see what they’re capable of. Apparently, Enjin is the leader of their team, Akuta. If Riyo is supposed to be less powerful than him…

Just how powerful is this guy?

“Well, nothing we can do about it now. Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll get an opportunity to see them soon. Next time,” Follo reassures. He adjusts the goggles on top of his hat. His golden eyes twinkle with inspiration which soothes you. It’s like he’s made of magic even though he isn’t even a giver.

“Well, it’s time to head back, right?” You ask.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Says Rudo. He’s been quiet this whole time. However, something about him doesn’t suggest he’s weak.

The walk back is interesting. You get to experience how the cleaners talk and act around each other outside of danger.

As you all walk through a particularly littered area, you hear the sound of metal crushed. You whip your head around and see Rudo falling in slow motion face first into Zanka’s back. They topple over onto the dirt like dominos, Zanka ending up with a mouth full of filth. Once they process their situation, Rudo jumps up first. His eyes widen and his pupils shrink, clearlty terrified. Zanka has yet to say anything. He slowly sits up, face covered in grime. The first thing you see is his darked expression. His face is now clouded by pure wrath. Then, he snaps. He sprints over to Rudo at lightning speed and grabs his collar, picking him up like nothing. Rudo squirms in his grip, but it’s useless.

“W-wait, Zanka!! It wasn’t my fault!”

Zanka chuckles before he starts yelling.

“Are you an idiot?! How are you a part of the cleaners when ya can’t even do the most basic stuff! You’ve got no sense of decency at all!”

Rudo’s expression shifts from apologetic to enraged.

“You think I meant to do that?? You can’t understand that people make mistakes sometimes! You’re the idiot, you’re such a hypocrite it’s insane! It’s okay for you to mess up but when anyone else does it you get all pissy!” Rudo screams. By now, their faces are inches apart, with Zanka still holding Rudo’s collar.

“Guys, stop it-“ Someone interjects, but it’s useless. Zanka drops Rudo. He stares dumbfounded up at blue eyed male. Zanka raises his hand and slaps him, hard. The smack echoes across the country.

“Don’t you dare talk about me like you know me. You don’t know the slightest thing about what I think,” Zanka says in a deep, emotionless voice. Gris and Enjin run over and grab each boy to restrain them.

“Asshole,” Rudo mumbles under his breath.

You’re walking next to Follo, trying not to stare at the situation but concerned at the same time. You whisper to him,

“Are they always like this?”

“They used to be worse when Rudo first came here. They don’t argue as much anymore, but it still happens from time to time.”

You hum in understanding.
“When did Rudo become a cleaner?”

Follo looks up, thinking.

“It wasn’t too long ago. He came down from the sphere. We were all shocked that he survived the fall, but Enjin saw him awaken as a giver so we took him in.”

Rudo is a sphereite?

“Oh, really? Don’t people hate sphereites, though?”

“They usually do, but with Rudo, they’ve been more openminded.” Follo pauses. “He’s a good kid, you know. He’s been through a lot. So has Zanka. I try to cut them some slack.” Follo smiles. You admire how accepting he is, both of you and apparently Rudo.

Rudo and Zanka stop arguing. Rudo actually seems to have a compassionate look on his face.

He looks up at Zanka.

“Zanka… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that. It was unfair for you to get mad at me, but it was even more unfair of me to bring up something sensitive like that, that I knew would hurt you.”

Zanka stays silent for a second, before responding.

“Thank you, Rudo. I’m sorry for lashing out at you and slapping you.” At the reminder, Rudo touches the red outline on his cheek and winces. But, he nods up at Zanka.

“They seem to have come to an agreement,” you mumble to Follo.

“They always do. It’s just how they are.”

Enjin notices the lighter atmosphere and breaks the ice.

“Hey, what do y’all say we go out to eat after this! The bill’s on Zanka.” The group chuckles, excluding Zanka.

“Hey!” He shouts, which makes everyone laugh more.

“Nah, I’m kidding. I wanna have our new friend here get an opportunity to taste the delicious goods at our favorite place to eat!”

“Sounds like a plan,” you reply, amused.

For some reason, the walk back feels longer than the walk there. You aren’t necessarily bored, just anticipating your arrival back. A warm bath sounds nice…

“Hey, Enjin, how much longer ‘till we’re back?” You ask.

“Eh, I dunno. Probably around 10 minutes.”

Gris nods.

“Yeah, I recognize this area. Don’t worry, we’ll be home soon.”

Okay, maybe you are bored.

You watch your shoes make footprints in the dust. You kick up a bit which covers the bottom of your pants in a warm orangey brown. You hear the idle chit-chat of the cleaners around you.

For some reason, you can’t stop thinking about what Semiu said. You don’t even know, if you did become a giver, what your vital instrument might be.

As you stare at your feet, you notice something on the ground. You bend down to get a closer look at it, stopping your movement.

A… hairtie?

It looks… familiar.

Sharp.

The first and last thing in the 10 seconds that followed.

Where is it? Your back?

Shooting. Fleeting. Coming in waves.

Throbbing. Radiating across your veins.

A prick, and then a puncture.

A breath against your ear.

A whisper.

“Soorrryy…. Boss’s orders…”

A chuckle.

Screams.

Falling onto the ground.  

Vision going black.

Huh…?                               

“Cthoni, put her on the couch.”

A deep, male voice.

You pry your dry, heavy eyes open. Above you, a dark roof looms down on you. The room is illuminated by a few dim lanterns glowing a faint yellow. Your gas mask is no longer on, exposing your nose to more aromas. Deep, brooding musk every inhale.

“Oo, oo, oo! Boss, she’s awake!” A jumpy, excited sounding voice calls. You turn your head and notice a tall man dressed in purple staring at you, wide-eyed, grinning. He has waist-length locs with golden accessories in them. His eyes are a bright, intimidating purple. It kind of scares you. He notices that you see him and skips over to you. He bends down to be at eye level, since you realize you’re lying on a couch. You also realize that your body hurts. You try to turn your head back, but you struggle and wince.

“Hello there… does it hurt?”

He moves his face to be inches away from yours, so that your noses are nearly touching. Noticing your discomfort, he smiles, exposing all teeth and curling his eyes.

“What’s your name, pretty?”

He pushes his face closer to yours, so that your noses are touching. He stares with his probing, frightening purple eyes as if he’s staring into you.

“Not much of a talker, huuuh? Well, I’ll tell you mine. Jabber Wonger.”

He keeps his proximity. It’s starting to make you shudder. His pungent, earthy smell overwhelms your senses. You try to sit up or move your face out of the way, but you… can’t. Your body seems to be frozen. You feel sore, sick, and tired, similar to how you felt when you first arrived here.

“Oh, yeah… that pain is from my poisons. Sorryyy…. Haha… I knew you wouldn’t willingly come with us, I had no choice.”

This jerk!!

“See, my boss wants to have a chit-chat with ya. Don’t worry, it’ll wear off in 20 minutes…”
He smiles, almost as if he’s proud of poisoning you.

This guy…

Is completely insane!

“Jabber, that’s enough.”

You recognize the deep voice from when you were regaining consciousness.

The crazy guy finally goes away and gives you personal space, but not before he gives you one more, cruel, disheartening grin.

Another man comes over to take his place, this one being much larger, both physically and in their presence. This man has black and grey hair, with small pieces falling in front of his forehead. His eyes are a dark, lifeless grey, likely from weather and wear over many, many years. Thankfully, this one lets you keep your own personal space bubble.

“I am sorry about him. My name is Zodyl Typhon, and I am the boss of the raiders. I brought you here to talk about something important.”