The Perplexion
By Fedra and Daniel
Skar:
I was young when my mom rushed into my room early in the morning, too early. She grabbed me by the wrist and opened the window. We barely escaped before the entire house went into flames. My sister and father were nowhere to be found. We both ran until our feet hurt; my violet bee wings embedded in my lower back were vibrant in the moonlight.
My skin was glittering more than my mother’s in the night. That's when I noticed she had small burns on her skin, making it dimmer. My feet, without shoes, were bloody and rough. But I could feel the sting of dust in the wounds and the stones that dug into my feet. Small pebbles were embedding in my feet, and it felt like an infection, the pain spreading up my calf and up to my hip.
We finally made it to the first wall, where a couple of soldiers escorted us to the safety inside, with a few other survivors of our village. I have some tears in my eyes, but that's also when I noticed shapes in the sky, small because of the distance, but obviously the shape of Ictimals. I want to kill them for what they’ve done to me, the pain they put me through.
Icarus
I was only 25 when insect-like creatures I’ve never seen before started coming into the savannah my family called home. I saw them on one of my evening flights to keep my mind off things.
As I flew lower, closer to the group, I noticed their skin shimmers, some brighter than others. The wind whistled past my ears and wings as I flew back to our family's tree-cave, where my parents were discussing what was happening. My sister was in the corner, watching them, looking as clueless as I was. My fur bristles and my scales shifted in the breeze as the gooey feeling of unknowing hit me.
They explained what's going on, and the name of these… creatures... Vitarians. They said that there was news that a Vitarian village burned, and had intentions to help them out, before anyone else got hurt. Without another word, my parents were gone. I didn’t even say goodbye. I didn’t know that was the last time I would see them.
A couple days later, they hadn’t come back. Of course, I was worried. But I couldn’t let my sister see that. I flew to the village that day, only to find my parents’ slightly burned bodies laying in the middle of the village. The ground was painted red with their dried blood. The Vitarians looked smaller than they were compared to the bodies of 700 year old Ictimals. The Vitarians were circling my parents, and wrapping ropes around them. I assumed for lifting them into carts and bringing them away.
There were large arrows and kitchen knives in their bodies and wings, but one arrow was embedded in my father and another in my mother’s heart, making the final blow. I knew it was their work, those Vitarians killed them, and my parents were just trying to help. That's the day I decided to take revenge on Vitarians. Actually, no, on those monsters that call themselves civilized and modern.
_____________________________________________________________________________
My sister and I are sitting next to a nice acacia tree, wondering what to do. The wind starts whispering through the leaves causing a feeling of uneasiness to wash over me. “We need to plan this out perfectly if we want a shot and killing them,” I said. I tried to sound confident for my sister but my mind was plagued with worry. A deep cold fear that things could go terribly wrong. We had only one chance before they were gone forever, never to be seen again. We started flying over to the town of Norfolk, when I sensed something was off. I brushed it off as we approached the town.
We landed and immediately tried to hide and look as inconspicuous as possible. We could see their sentries outside of the inn. I saw Skar, the leader of the Vitarians. And the leader of the things that killed my parents. As we made quick work of the guards, we slid into the taproom, only to find the elevator door opening right in front of us. We dove to hide behind the couch. My sister screams in horror, as her wing twisted awkwardly under our weight.
Skar:
I am sitting on the railing of the third story, looking over the landscape I had spent years conquering, when suddenly I see a massive bird-like creature flying towards us, and at that same moment, I felt a cold chill settle into my body, and I felt fear slide into my stomach that I had not felt in 230 years. I quickly told my commanding general to bring everyone in and compile them into a force, because we are going to need it.
I dashed down the stairs with a rush of anxiety as they may have already entered. As I opened the door, I caught a glimpse of a wing diving behind the couch before I heard a blood curdling shriek. I immediately ran over and flipped the couch, and found the two bird-like figures primed and ready to fight.
Icarus:
We dive behind the couch and Celia screams as she lands on her already injured wing, causing it to snap. I can hear footsteps towards the couch, and the couch flips. Celia and I are primed but as we see 15 soldiers and Skar, I contemplate all that I have gone through with her, and I realize how far we have truly come. With this new found confidence I fly at them to save my sister.
I flip and kill the first two, smashing them to bits, and then 3 dive onto me. I grab one and throw him down at another. But the third one jumps and cuts me deeply on my back. Three red slashes each a meter long, oozing deep red blood. Celia and I perform our greatest work ever. We perfectly time the swings, spins, punches and kicks, and we annihilate our enemies. There we stand, eyeing down Skar and her commanding generals. Skar rushes me with such speed and power I have no time to react, she punches me and sends me flying into the wall, shattering every bone in my body, I black out.
Skar:
Icarus and his sister display some breathtaking teamwork and power in fighting. The way that they fight together is like a dreamy dance, one they have practiced for decades. As they disintegrate our last soldiers, we line up in a stare down. I rush Icarus and punch him once, sending him flying into the wall shattering everything in him. Celia shrieks in horror and flies at me. I turn to face her but my wings get caught and she hits me like a truck. My soldiers quickly suppress and detain her. Right as we are about to leave, I turn around and look at Icarus’s seemingly lifeless body, and decide that we should give a proper burial to such a majestic and powerful race.
His body flutters to life. He flies straight at his sister, scooping her up, however something was very wrong. His blood was sunset orange with a glinting tint, and his eyes were rolled back to display another horrifying pair of sarcoline colored eyes. He bursts through the window flying into the stratosphere, disappearing in seconds.
Icarus:
The next thing I remember was waking up in a cave. The cave felt eerily familiar but I couldn’t place my finger on it. I hear my sister’s voice speaking in a light soothing tone, “Icarus? Oh my god you're alive!? How?”
“What happened?” I asked right before it all came rushing back to me in a flurry of memories and emotions. It hit me like a brick, sweeping me off my feet. I sat and stared at the ground like a child who had just lost their toy. As I got up to figure out what we had lost on our escapade. I couldn’t shake one thing from my mind when I looked in Scar's eyes one last time, I saw many things. Confusion, sadness, pride, all flashed across her expression. I realized something was off and I began to formulate an idea in my head. I had to ask my sister about it. It was crazy but so was I.
“Are you insane!? Don’t you remember what happened last time? No, I am not going back. She killed our parents!” she yelled.
“I am not so sure about that anymore. I was cataloging what we lost when I stumbled on a book, this book was apparently written by Mom and it said at the end. “Everything is not always as it seems, the wrong people are being held by the wrong actions.”
“What does that even mean?” Celia said.
“I don’t know, but I have an idea. That's why I need to go talk to Skar.” I told her
“Ok, fine. But we have to come prepared. Just in case you are wrong, we need to get out of there fast.” She stated.
We started prepping for our trip over to Skar’s hideout, when I got a flash of understanding, even if it was a fantasy. Maybe Skar hadn’t killed our parents because in the book mom talked about Skar and how they were best friends. She had also said that even your best friends and allies can abandon you, but I tried not to think about that part.
Skar:
I go to my hideout and try to catch some rest with everything going on. But then there was a knock at the door. Great. I walk over the door, and peek through the hole to see Icarus whispering and nudging his sister. I sigh. “What are you doing here?” I say, with a bit, the smallest bit of annoyance. They quickly move their heads to the door and look it up and down, confused. “Right,” I say quietly, and open the door. Icarus bows his head, and Celia just… stands there.
“We came here to discuss. We want to know your perspective of the story, and what happened that day,” Icarus says, and lifts his head. “Do you think I’ll let you in for… discussion after what you did?” I say, with mock surprise in my voice. “Really, you guys don’t understand anything…” Though I say this to myself. “Your parents burned my village! The fact you’re oblivious to this is angering!” I say, unable to contain the frustration. “You just come along blaming us for nothing, when your race killed hundreds of innocent lives!” Icarus is obviously shook by this. His mask shifts. I assume he’s furrowing his brow. “You think we burned your village? No, no, your people did this, our parents went there to help. We aren’t violent! We don't kill! We aren’t monsters!” Icarus half-yells.
That last word made me speechless. Of course they aren’t but that's what people see in them. But the worst part is, I assumed they were, but I didn’t realize I meant that specific word. “I’m…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. I really didn’t.” I tilt my head a little down. His words dug into me like swords. I assumed they killed my people, when they were trying to help… that was so stupid of me. We talked for a while longer, clearing up the confusion.
Icarus looks down. “I’m sorry, too. I assumed you killed them out of spite, but…” He stops, but I know what he wants to say. It was out of self-defense. “Can we… start over?” I offer. “Our lives ever since that day have been a misunderstanding, and I feel we both owe each other apologies.” We did. We apologized, and started over as much as we could, like… childhood friends? The thing feels so far away, childhood, but now I’m grasping onto it. We reintroduced ourselves, and I ended up telling them about my mother, the only other surviving member of our family.
Icarus:
Skar, Celia, and I go to the place Skar’s mom lives. We make our way through narrowing streets, and plants become more of a rarity the deeper we go into this part of town. I look at the houses, some newly painted, while others are falling apart. Some Vitarian children are playing, but their clothes are thinner, easier to rip, and slightly dirtied pants. They look skinnier than they should be.
“I come here with new clothes and fresh food in my spare time,” Skar explains. “They always decline at first but they accept it eventually but they always refuse any form of cash handout. I sometimes bring new toys for the kids, but they're always hesitant.” She shakes her head with some form of emotion I can’t comprehend.
At some point we stop at a newly built house with plants and trees all over the land; marking it clearly as being owned by a well-paid family. Skar openes the gate and we all step inside. Skar explains how her mother refused to move out of the neighborhood, so she built a house for her instead. She also explains that her mom doesn’t come out very much. Skar claims it’s because she’s still mourning.
We reach the front door, and open it. I find a tired woman, about 850 years old, in a sort of… chair. It’s a woven, intricate pattern of silk, with a few stems and vines for support and decoration. “Who are these people?” She asks (Skar introduced her as Lilia in our conversation before), “And why are they here? They killed our family, Skar.” Her voice filled with annoyance, but not anger. Nothing is directed at us.
“They are my friends. This is Celia,” she says, waving towards Celia’s general direction, “And this is Icarus.” She waves at me in turn. And as polite as I am, I stare at this woman. I stare, as if I can see her soul through her. She should try to kill us, or be mad at us, at least. I find her reaction suspicious but I don’t say anything. She held out her hand. To shake it. Now I’m confused. First, we don’t have arms, but the fact that she wants to touch us? After what she thinks happens? She knows something.
Skar:
My mother is calm. Calm. She was always threatening me with Ictimals, what they would do to me. And she’s calm? I see Icarus stare too. Celia is just confused. Standing still, looking at me like my mother was a statue, and I was delusional. I look at my mom again and furrow my brows. I step closer to her, right next to Icarus. “She knows something. She has to.” He whispers in my ear, and I give him a slight nod.
“So, are you going to shake my hand? How rude to keep me waiting,” Mother says. Her skin was still dull from the burns that night. But as I stare, I see a few scales as shiny as mine. Impossible. I stare more, and see her skin glimmering. “What do you know?” It slips my mouth. I didn’t know I said it until Icarus’s mask looks at me in surprise.
My mom just smiled. Her wings shift back and she shakes off something. Her wings glimmer, just as they used to. I snarl. I never really thought about it. All her actions involved her staying at home, never stepping out. I lift a flashlight from my belt, and shine it at her skin. All the dullness disappears, replaced with shining skin. And I realized I was the only one with bloody feet. She had shoes, and realization hits me like a high-speed train. It makes sense, and I was stupid enough to fall for it. Icarus steps back, spreading a wing to cover Celia. Instinct, I guess.
I shake my head in disbelief. “Explain it to me. What happened that day? When Father and Sis died? I want to know.” I try to keep my voice calm on the last word, but it's hard. “Well, dear. I’ll make it a short story.” She smiles wider, “I set a bomb in one of our supposed friends' house the day before. It was set to explode the next day. As planned. I would hide in the basement with an excuse, but of course, you survived.” Her smile becomes a frown of disappointment.
“You always were a pain. Your sister, dad, you, and most of the village were supposed to burn. Your dad was a horrible man, I should have killed him sooner. All the villagers were rude, and honestly, I just needed a little fun. I would live a nice life without someone bothering me, but there was a possibility that you would have survived and seen me run away, and there would be suspicion. So I saved you.” She leans back in her chair, “But I regret it. In the end it went well, but you found… them.” She looks at Icarus and Celia in disgust, “You should never have known. I killed their parents! And I killed people that mattered to you. And I had some fun looking at your faces of surprise. But now I guess I have a death sentence.”
Icarus:
I can’t explain my emotions right now. I can barely understand them myself. Some rage, confusion and hurt. So many emotions, but I can’t think of what Skar is going through. Her family was killed by her singular surviving parent. I don’t think she’ll ever recover from that.
That aside, though, I give a small nod to Celia, my head still spinning in disbelief. She quickly gets out of the door, to get the departments of defense involved. I shift my weight, uncomfortable in the following silence. I feel like I’m disturbing an important moment, but at the same time, I feel it would be worse to leave.
A few minutes pass by, and a knock on the door indicates that Celia returned with reinforcements. Skar opens the door, and Vitarians enter with chain cuffs for Lilia. They take her out, and close the door. And that's when Skar falls to her knees.
She has a mix of emotions on her face. Sadness, anger, betrayal, confusion, and more. All mixed. All those emotions subsided in her until now. Celia puts a wing around her, and a singular tear falls from her right eye, hitting the floor. Skar just stares at the chair her mom was sitting in just a few moments ago. The pain it must bring her to sentence her mom to a life in prison or straight up death.
I don’t know what to do, I just stand there as Celia comforts her. All this misunderstanding, all this we went through, and the criminal was right in front of us the entire time. But I have to get over my own emotions, because this isn’t about me, it’s about Skar and what she has to go through. I was lucky I still have my sister, while she has nothing. And I’m worried for her.
Skar:
It’s been a week since my mother- no, that creature that claims to be my mother- was captured, and three days since her trial. She has been sentenced to labor for a year, then death. My emotions calmed down a little since that day, but they are still strong, and nudging me.
I lean back into my chair and process. It’s something I’ve been doing every day, really often, to help me understand. The only people that I’ve seen are Icarus and Celia, and they come here to check on me, and my secretary and cook. I haven’t come out of my room except for the trial. I’ve been sulking here without thinking of how others feel.
I feel selfish and that doesn’t sit well with me. I get up, and get dressed. I wear the most cozy shirt I have. I slid on an oversized white, collared shirt, with a white bow tie, and baggy jean shorts, they looked a little run-down, but the nicer clothes I have are all uncomfortable, and I love how this looks.
I put on my mask that I wear when going in public, a gas mask from way back in time. I put on my running shoes and head out through the long hallways. I finally make it out, and go to the familiar back alleys I go through. It makes me feel like I’m a kid again, and I love that. I see other Ictimals flying above me.
We opened up the city and now many different races live together here. And to think I’m leading all this. They soar above me, all their different masks sometimes glancing down at the streets below. I feel a sense of freedom myself now, all my goals accomplished. I climb up an abandoned building in the middle of town and look down.
All of the progress our civilization made within years, and now we added a major part, peace, to make everything better. And it only took a week.
