7

Lapu cringes away from you, his face clouded and angry. "We've always been slaves, BLjGIT BG. How can you not know that by now? We've been imprisoned since we were born. We work for no pay. And once we hit the age of majority, we'll be experimented on just like the adults. There's no way out. There never has been. And the sooner you accept that, the better. We should get going though. I won't participate, but we should at least watch the protest so we know what's going on. We'll need to be rested just in case things go bad." He opens the door.

You put a hand on Lapu's shoulder, stopping him before he can exit the building. "Have you heard from Tiva lately?" you ask. "That was a hard thing that you did, blocking her shot."

Lapu whimpers. "She's still speaking to me, if you can call it that. We haven't been the same since. We'll fix it up. We have to. She's all I have, BLjGIT BG. I don't know what I'd do without her."

You leave the meeting hall behind Lapu, and you eventually go your separate ways. The night has grown chill, and the wind from earlier has picked up, howling like a ghastly specter through the streets and alleyways as if in warning: "Beware these long-dead passages. Only ruin will find you here." It's going to be a long night; you hope sleep will find you quickly.

Dawn Comes All Too Soon