[FN] Burned Marks

Frayze thought she remembered. Something hot. Something burning. She opened her eyes. Her Forgetfulness was running out. She quickly reached over to her bedside table. Thankfully, Lrakuh had remembered to restock her; she knew she’d run out at some point. 

Frayze plucked the BloodStone mark off her nightstand and pressed it into her wrist. It sank in, the skin enveloping it. Memories of that night faded. She Ejected her old mark out of her wrist, the skin peeling away to reveal the BloodStone. She would have to give it back to Lrakuh to Fuel it. Forgetfulness was his specialty. 

Frayze was starving, cold, tired, and depressed. She didn’t worry, though, she’d done this a thousand times. Plus, Toleration was what she was best at. She could Fuel Toleration perpetually, and at the same time Manifest it.

Frayze stood up and strode across her room. In front of her mirror, she retrieved her Set Marks. After Fueling, Marks had to be Set for a day before one could Manifest them. Frayze Ejected the marks she had been Fueling from her arm: Awareness, Satiation, Happiness, Warmth, Confidence, and Charisma. She had to go without the qualities they provided in order to Fuel them, while still storing them in her wrist. After a day of Setting, she could Manifest them and use their stored Properties.

Frayze pressed her Set Marks into her wrist. She immediately felt exuberant. She was cheerful, no longer cold, and she wasn't tired. But most importantly, she wasn’t hungry.

Frayze checked her watch. School would start in thirty minutes. 

“Frayze! Wake up!” Lrakuh called from the Underground corridor outside.

“Coming!” Frayze replied. Ever since the incident, Lrakuh had cared for her. They always had more than enough, especially since her parents had given Frayze a sum of one million SkinStone marks. Frayze spent most of them on BloodStone from the Underground to Craft into Propertized Marks. Lrakuh made a living in the Underground by Crafting Forgetfulness Marks, but always made time to Fuel Marks for Frayze.

Frayze stepped out of her room, through the hallway, and into the Underground crossroads. It was littered with the old cardboard boxes of BloodStone shipments. Someone ought to clean those up, Frayze thought, they could cause a fire with just one stray match. 

Frayze tossed a SkinStone Mark to a beggar. He must have previously sampled a BoneStone Mark, a Mark that harbored physical qualities. They often caused chronic health problems when used, due to the impurities found in the BoneStone in the city.

"Frayze?" Lrakuh yelled from the Underground corridor Frayze had just exited. He sounded worried. 

"Yes?" Frayze prompted. Lrakuh had always kept her close, worried she might get in trouble. The Underground was dangerous, after all. 

The last thing she saw was Lrakuh swinging his fist towards her 

Frayze was hot. She smelled smoke. 

She breathed in, and almost gagged on the thick aroma. She jumped out of bed, running for the stairs. She skipped all the steps and rushed out the front door. 

Where were her parents? "Mother? Father?" No response. Then she saw him. But wait, that wasn't her father. It was Lrakuh. He held a torch, and at his feet stood the bodies of her dead parents.

Frayze woke with a start. She was in an abandoned tunnel, cold and hungry. 

Frayze frantically checked for her Marks, and found none. Her Forgetfulness was gone, and she had no Tolerance to help her. Life was hopeless and pointless. She was nothing without her Marks.

The truth became a stunning reality. Her parents were extremely wealthy. Lrakuh had Fueled Marks for her with both Forgetfulness and Loyalty. He had also taken most of her marks by force, but tricked her into thinking she gave them willingly.

Lrakuh taught Frayze about the Underground and the art of Crafting, which had slipped the gaze of the government. Frayze grew to understand the Underground. They treated her harshly, but she gained the ability to resist with the use of her Tolerance.

Frayze heard a splash in the distance, bringing her back to her senses. She was in an abandoned corridor in the Underground. Her instincts told her to run. Fear welled up in her. She felt her heart beating rapidly and her breath becoming ragged. Where was Confidence when she needed it.

Frayze stopped abruptly when she found a ladder out of the corridor, causing her to slip on the wet surface. She quickly picked herself up, boosted by the sound of more splashing.

Frayze surfaced in an alley with dark walls reaching towards the sky. After following the alley for some time, she emerged on a street. Across the street was a police office. Perfect! Frayze thought. She crossed the street to report what happened. 

When Frayze entered, she met a tall and stern officer. "Are you lost, young lady?" he asked. 

"Um…" Frayze trailed off. How did she explain? "My acquaintance," Frayze began, choosing her words carefully, "burned down my house, killed my parents, and stole my Marks. " 

"How long ago was this?" he followed. 

"About two years ago." Frayze answered. 

The officer looked shocked. "Why didn't you come here immediately?" 

"I forgot…" Frayze realized she was about to give away the Underground. The public mustn't come to know about the other kinds of Marks. 

Then Frayze realized. She wasn't part of the Underground. They had stolen from her, killed her parents, and ruined her life. They deserved no loyalty. Frayze put on her most confident voice she could manage without a Mark, "I have something I need to tell you… in private. 

"You're telling me," the officer clarified, "that there are different stones, other than SkinStone, and that the government hasn't figured it out?"

"Yup," Frayze replied, taking a bite of her apple, "it's utterly intractable."

"Understood. We'll, I'm going to give you a living space here while I contact the orphanage. Just relax in the meantime." The officer led Frayze to a comfy little room then left and locked the door.

Frayze finished her apple and spit out a seed. The orphanage, Frayze thought. She didn't need an orphanage. She was perfectly independent. She had to get away.

Frayze searched the room, hoping to find an escape. The room carried nothing more than a small bed and a lamp. Frayze checked every nook and cranny until she was sure there was no way out.

As Frayze sat on her bed, she noticed something she hadn't before. A small pebble, right next to the door. Frayze walked over and picked it up. It was too dense to be either SkinStone or BloodStone. BoneStone, Frayze thought.

A plan began to form in her head as she Crafted a small thumb-sized Mark out of it with her nail, and pressed it into the bone of her wrist. She began to fuel it.

Over the next two days, she was given food regularly, but she didn't try to escape. Not yet, she told herself. 

After day one, her BoneStone was brimming with Strength. It was easy to fill; Strength was a lot like Tolerance, after all.

On day three the Mark was Set. Just as she pressed it back into her wrist, the door unlocked and opened. An officer entered. "We will escort you to the orphanage now." The officer said. 

As Frayze and the officer exited the room, Frayze saw Lrakuh. He was being brought in to the police station. This was Frayze's chance. 

She ran forward, Strength ready, and punched Lrakuh straight on the jaw. The punch served as both revenge and distraction. As the police scrambled to restrain her, Frayze ran out the door and headed across the street.

She ran fast, but she felt sick. It didn't matter though. This was part of the plan. Frayze traveled through damp alleys until she found a box of matches. She retrieved them and headed for one of the entrances to the Underground. 

Frayze descended the ladder, then she headed for the crossroads. As she ran in, people turned their heads towards her. She looked them in the eyes, and struck a match. As the fire moved down the match she lowered it to a stray cardboard box while the Underground stared in stunned silence. 

When the box caught fire, Frayze stepped back. Her life had been a lie, fabricated by the Underground because of their greed. The flames grew. People screamed, but Frayze didn't hear them. Ashes circled about her. She felt her bones corroding from the BoneStone mark. She Ejected it and let it drop to the floor; enveloped by the ashes.

When the flames reached their peak, Frayze started forward. The heat didn't bother her; Tolerance was her greatest attribute, after all.

As she neared the flames, Frayze felt no regret. The crime had to end, yet she had fueled it. She couldn't live with the guilt.

Frayze walked through the ash, and returned to the fire.

Submitted October 10, 2019 at 07:45PM by SilverNature https://ift.tt/33oSHal