Jazmee27 
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======
The next day, Anastasia pulled me aside. “We’ve been excused from class,” she explained. “Maria says we can’t possibly be expected to concentrate on lessons with what happened.”
“What are we to do then,” I asked, my voice rising hysterically.
“Distract ourselves with more fun activities, just the two of us,” she replied promptly.
I admit to being touched. I’d never have thought it possible to be surrounded by such compassion and understanding.
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Reply #1481. Jul 01 12, 2:41 PM
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Jazmee27
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DRAFT FOUR
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The blow was delivered in such a way that the young man’s skull hit the floor twice before lying still. A tortured breath escaped his lips, then all was silence as the demon surveyed his two prisoners. “You are here,” he said softly, “because Xynoran Law doesn’t require us to validate our torturing you.” Another glancing blow landed squarely on the prisoner before him, and the demon smiled as a sickening crunch reverberated through the cell. Warm, sticky blood spurted in all directions, and the young man coughed weakly.
Beside him, the other prisoner was slowly getting to his feet. He wasn’t about to allow his brother to be beaten while he did nothing!
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Reply #1482. Jul 01 12, 2:43 PM
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Jazmee27
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======
Without looking up, the demon’s arm shot out, and the second prisoner crashed to the cold, hard floor. Stifling a moan, he picked himself back up and approached the monster terrorizing his brother. It turned, locking eyes with him, and the young man found himself thrown to earth once more as his knees refused to support him. Stars danced before his eyes, but he stubbornly refused the pull of unconsciousness. His brother needed him.
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Reply #1483. Jul 01 12, 2:43 PM
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Jazmee27
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DRAFT FIVE
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It was the crime of the century. It was also yet another indication that the factions of Dark Hunters don’t work well together.
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Reply #1484. Jul 01 12, 2:44 PM
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Jazmee27
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======
They couldn’t have been older than ten, with crystal blue eyes and completely open expressions. The day I first saw them, each boy was covered head to foot in weeping sores which, I was told, were mostly the result of Xynoran methods of inflicting torture. At the time, I remember thinking I’d never seen anything that could make such abrasions. Turns out, this is because I’m Scenorian—and we have an intense aversion to such implements.
Of course, I later learned, had the prisoners been Xynoran citizens we’d have been powerless to do anything. “They can execute their people, and don’t even need a reason; we Scenorians—and our Qiryntian relatives—must, in one way or other, justify our actions.”
Even so, I watched with growing horror as the twins were split up: one to be executed “immediately, if not sooner” by the Scenorian Assembly; the other to await his fate in a Qiryntian dungeon—their equivalent of a jail cell. Seeking to understand, I asked one of my superiors why the prisoners were being taken to separate locations. “It’s because one’s never set foot on Qiryntian soil while the other has more than once." This only heightened my confusion; what form of justice uses a mere technicality to justify its actions? How could Scenoria reject Orseviyto for having set foot on Qiryntian soil, while that kingdom could reject Orelio—identical to his brother in any way—for only having in Scenorian territory?
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Reply #1485. Jul 01 12, 2:47 PM
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Jazmee27
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======
It didn’t make sense; then again, I reflected, what in life ever did.
I went to bed that night with a heavy heart, and in the morning found a blaring headline that read: “SCENORIAN JUSTICE IS CARRIED OUT AS NINE-YEAR-OLD IMPOSTOR IS TORTURED AND BEHEADED IN FRONT OF THOUSANDS.” The photo underneath the caption showed the prisoner, tears streaming down his face, suffering all manner of tortures I thought had been banned in my homeland centuries before. “This isn’t an execution,” I remember thinking, “this is the vilest form of butchery.” There were pages and pages of snapshots, each one showing the prisoner in different phases of his “execution.” By the time it was over, all that remained was a tiny pile of bone fragments and tiny bits of skin. “And they call this ‘justice?”’ I wondered aloud, wondering if anything could be more barbaric than the scene I’d just witnessed in the pages of our daily newspaper.
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Reply #1486. Jul 01 12, 2:48 PM
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Jazmee27
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======
The Tribunal (or, should I say, the local assembly) met later that afternoon to congratulate those “who upheld the esteemed virtue of justice and rid the Universe of another filthy, lying demon who…” Once again, I was in the room with the others, but only because my absentce would have been conspicuous; probably, they’d arrest *me for being an Impersonator of the Light.
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Reply #1487. Jul 01 12, 2:49 PM
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Jazmee27
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======
Later that day, I packed my bags for the planet Qirynse. Before I left, Iwrote up a paper with the headline, “If this be justice, I want no part of it.” Underneath, I pasted the photo of Orelio I’d taken the day before: young, confused, terrified. Next to it was one of the images of the execution—this photo was one of the ones that was so graphic, it was deemed “off limits.” The caption read, “a Scenorian Heir being slaughtered for being one of us.” I ended the article with these words: “Are we all in danger of being killed off, then, just because we happen to be ‘half breeds,’ or is it because we stand for what’s right in a time when ‘right’ is synonymous with ‘taboo.”’ I then signed my name to the article, and left my hut as quickly as I could. I had no doubt the Assembly would be after me in the next few hours. Hopefully, though, my Qiryntian blood could help.
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Reply #1488. Jul 01 12, 2:51 PM
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Jazmee27
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=====
It wasn’t difficult for me to track down where Ontario was being held. He was thinner than the last time I’d seen him, and I didn’t care one bit for the haunted look in his eyes. “It’s over, you know,” he said at one point, and when I just looked at him quizzically, he explained, “there’s a fever, inside me. At one time, I had it before. I was younger, and it’s a long story. Anyway, I survived because my twin still lived. With him gone, It’s back, and worse than last time. I can’t keep anything down; guards don’t even try to feed me anymore. It’s not that I’m being uncooperative or anything; I don’t have a death wish, as some would think. It’s like I’m not there, if you know what I mean, as if I died alongside Alonso.” At another questioning glance from me, he smiled ever so slightly. “Oh, yes, I know he’s dead. I knew the exact time, and how long it took, and how he died. We're twins, after all. Nobody who’s not a twin can possibly understand what I’m telling you. There just aren’t words to describe the depth of bond.”
I left, feeling profoundly saddened. This boy was only nine years old, yet he spoke as one decades older. He was young, but had become old. Everything had been stripped away, including his own life. It was only a matter of time.
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Reply #1489. Jul 01 12, 2:55 PM
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Jazmee27
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DRAFT SIX
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The young boy’s shoulders shook with silent grief, a grief that could not, would not, leave him. Somehow, he forced the tears back and stood shakily. There was much to do before bed.
The boy was tall for a seven-year-old, with dark hair and darker eyes. He was built like his cousins, the same cousins who’d been condemned to death by the tribunal.
The boy had been afraid to make the journey, afraid that setting foot on Qiryntian soil would bring the memories rushing back, and of that he wasn’t wrong. Surprisingly, though, he found they didn’t matter. The only thing that did was seeing his cousins one last time, letting them know how much they meant to him, how life seemed meaningless with them gone.
Still, a part of him was afraid. “Why not,” a voice whispered, “you are still young!” Ignoring the voice, the boy picked his way carefully toard the forbidding building these people called a jail.
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Reply #1490. Jul 01 12, 2:56 PM
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Jazmee27
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MODIFYING
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Halfway to his destination, the child stopped walking. It was as if his feet had suddenly decided to disobey him. A surge of irritation washed through him, followed by the familiar fear. “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” he muttered, not for the first time.
One of the wardens extricated himself from the wall upon which he’d been leaning and walked toard the boy. “What are you doing here,” he called. The boy said nothing, eyes darting anywhere but at the guard. He’d been a fool to come. Seeing his cousins could only make matters worse. They were condemned, after all, and his association with them could only hurt him.
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Reply #1491. Jul 01 12, 2:59 PM
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Jazmee27
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======
His thoughts were interrupted by a gentle hand on his shoulder. He glanced up, and was surprised to find a face he knew staring back at him. “It’s good to see you, Aivahri,” the guard said kindly.
The boy stiffened slightly and pulled away from the other’s touch. “No one calls me that anymore,” he muttered silently. No one save the Dark, but he didn’t consider that needed to be said.
“Sincere apologies,” replied the other, “it’s just I don’t know you by any name other than the Scenorian.”
The boy nodded ever so slightly to acknowledge the remark. “I was born here in Qirynse,” he stated flatly, “just like Qodi and Qori. My birth certificate has me as Qahsanori. The Scenorian one came later.”
“Ah,” the guard said knowingly. The two lapsed into an uncomfortable silence, each eyeing the other. Finally, the warden whispered, “I can get you in to see them, for I’ve become Head Jailer.”
“That must have been quite a feat,” the boy replied, astonished.
“It was difficult,” admitted the other, “but I knew for the twins’ sake I had to try.”
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Reply #1492. Jul 01 12, 3:01 PM
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Jazmee27
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======
“Do they know they’ve got a friend here,” the seven-year-old blurted suddenly.
“I’ve visited them,” replied the other sadly, “but I’m not sure how much they grasp apart from the suspicion and fear.”
“They won’t talk to you,” the boy stated matter-of-factly, his expression grave.
“Something I can certainly understand,” returned the other.
“Even so,” Qahsanori answered, “I wish—“ He broke off, unwilling or unable to finish the sentiment.
The guard placed a hand once more upon his shoulder. “So do I,” he said wistfully. He paused, then whispered, “if you follow me, I’ll take you to them.”
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Reply #1493. Jul 01 12, 3:02 PM
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Jazmee27
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======
“Before you do,” the boy demanded urgently, “how are they really? Did the Xynorans—“
The other stopped walking, his eyes hard. In a cold voice that clearly showed his barely-suppressed anger, he confirmed the boy’s fears:”The Intervention came not a moment too soon. In fact, it should have come much sooner than it did, for we very nearly lost them!”
Qahsanori raised a hand to stop the torrent of words. “No more,” he whispered, “just let me see—“ Again he fell silent, a lump clogging his lungs with guilt. If only he’d done something, anything, to help before this. Why had he allowed the overwhelming fear to dictate his actions?
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Reply #1494. Jul 01 12, 3:03 PM
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Jazmee27
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======
Qodi Qivrantis inhaled sharply and leaned his head against the floor, closing his eyes tight. Would it always be like this? He couldn’t remember a time vefore the incessant agony. Every day, he survived by holding onto the belief that it HAD to get better. So far, it hadn’t. If anything, the agony was all the worse for the constant nightmares. The slightest noise, even the sound of his own or his brother’s breathing, made him want to hide.
As for his brother, he wasn’t doing well at all. One or more of the injuries he’d sustained in Xynor must have become infected, for he’d come down with a ferocious fever not long after they’d arrived here. Now, he lapsed in and out of consciousness, the few sounds he made making no sense whatever.
Qodi’s eyes opened and he stared, unseeing, at the ceiling. It wasn’t fair. Two young people, their lives forever altered because the Dark had named them Their enemies.
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Reply #1495. Jul 01 12, 3:05 PM
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Jazmee27
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DRAFT SEVEN
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I struggled to sit up, gasped in spite of myself, and lay back. After a minute or so, I put a hand shakily to my head, and was horrified when my fingers encountered a sticky clump of hair. “No, not again,” I whispered brokenly.
Somewhere to my right, my identical twin groaned a few times, then managed to slide himself closer to me. “Don’t move,” he advised, as if I’d been entertaining the notion for even a second. Any movement sent spasms of sheer agony through my entire body, and I had always despised pain of any kind.
“What happened,” I croaked, hating how weak I sounded.
“You don’t remember,” Qodi asked softly, and his voice sounded sad. “You don’t remember being Summoned by the Xynorans, or the tortures we suffered while at the Surgical Center?” I didn’t answer, but I’m sure he interpreted my silence correctly, for he continued, describing in a voice that trembled ever so slightly how the Dark had ordered us to come, how we’d been gagged and taken to the Surgical Center. My gut twisted as he outlined the various operations the demon named Aleksandr Ardeko, nicknamed Surgeon, had performed on him. “You were in a different room, being cut open by his assistant, Silvia.” Curious, I thought, and as if reading my mind my brother agreed. “I think she wanted to do me, but he talked her out of it, and in the interests of time she was told to—“ He broke off, and I could tell he was close to tears.
“The important thing,” I told him, “is we’re together.” The future may be uncertain, I added silently, but so long as we have each other we can face anything.
“But what,” he muttered softly, “will become of us?”
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Reply #1496. Jul 01 12, 3:08 PM
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Jazmee27
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======
Wincing with the effort, I twisted around so I could grasp his shoulder. “Let’s not think of it,” I whispered, my voice seeming to gain a bit of strength. “Let’s just lie here, enjoying what time we have.”
He sighed,and shifted his body even closer. “Moment by moment,” he breathed, “I wait with my twin for what must surely follow.” I shivered, recognizing a passage from Prophecy. When Qodi falls silent, I supply the beginning of the next line: “I return to the place of my birth—“
Our hushed conversation is interrupted by a sharp rap at the door, and a fierce-looking guard enters the cell. I hear my brother whimper, and reach out to give him comfort. I must be brave, if not for my own sake, then for Qodi.
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Reply #1497. Jul 01 12, 3:10 PM
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Jazmee27
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DRAFT EIGHT
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Ontario Gonzales lay spread-eagled on the filthy floor, both hands to his temples as if they were the only things holding his brains in place. He couldn’t be sure how much time had elapsed since the guards had thrown him and his twin in the confined cell. All he was aware of was the immense agony pulsating through his veins with every breath he took.
At long last, he gingerly lowered his hands and, even more slowly, sat up. “Alonso,” he croaked.
“Still here,” came the reply.
The two nine-year-olds looked wordlessly at each other, attempting to comprehend how they’d come to be here—and wondering how they could possibly get out. They drifted into an uneasy sleep none the wiser, and were roused the next morning by upraised voices and boots in their sides.
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Reply #1498. Jul 01 12, 3:12 PM
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Jazmee27
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======
Sometime later, they were surrounded by accusatory faces, awash in a sea of cold hostility. The twins’ one comfort was that, in stark contrast to the Xynoran Prison which had been their home for a number of days, their captors couldn’t condemn them to death without reading some sort of trumped-up charges. This didn’t prevent the, however, from subjecting one or both of their prisoners to the most excruciating of tortures.
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Reply #1499. Jul 01 12, 3:13 PM
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Jazmee27
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======
“The Assembly gathered here today,” intones the leader in a loud, disinterested voice, “finds twins Orseviyto and Orelio Ordevahran guilty of Impersonating one of the Light, those individuals who call themselves Protectors.” Ignoring the indrawn gasps of the two prisoners and a few in the back of the room, he rushed on with his prepared speech: “As members of the Scenorian Judiciary, we would not even publicly charge them but that our law says that we must.” He then proceeded to list what “The Judiciary” would do if it could, which can basically be summed up in two words: instant execution.
The spokesdemon ended his speech by concluding that “now we have abided by the law, let these imposters be executed as soon as possible.” Then he sat down, and another demon—even larger than the first—rose to tower above the Tribunal. |
Reply #1500. Jul 01 12, 3:14 PM
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