Somerin Port

**– “*It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.*”**

~⑉⑉⑉~

“Marly, this way.” A boy beckoned her in his direction.

“How did you find this place?” Marly responded, her sight glancing over the dimly lit hallway of an abandoned academy.

“My roommate Kelvin at Asten told me about this. Said that his brother used to come here before he went to work.”

Dirk was a curious boy. Ever since the mining production had halted, the time in the town of Somerin had frozen. Dirk and Marly were only a few years old when the Outsiders took over the mines, thus they don’t know about life before it. With that, most adults who worked in the mines have abandoned Somerin in the last decade, leaving the town mostly filled with children, who are supposed to leave Somerin after finishing their education at Asten Academy.

They stepped into a room, which bore similarities to their classrooms, albeit being left to dust. While Marly was still overlooking the room, Dirk went to a desk and started opening drawers.

“What are you doing?” Marly asked, as she too approached the desk.

“There must be something interesting in here.” He responded as he quickly was peeking through the drawers. “A note book… or a class book.”

While Dirk was going through all the drawers, Marly wandered off to the back of the room towards a window. While the room looked similar, the entirety of the rest of the building was different from their Academy. As she glanced outside, her eyes fell on the sheer amount of other facilities around the building. This academy was much bigger than theirs, which made her wonder why this one was closed.

“Damn…” Dirk murmured curtly. Marly turned around, seeing him carry a large and heavy book. “…Jackpot.”

The book was laid down on the desk and Dirk started scanning the pages.

“Look at this, an instruction manual of self-defence and close combat.” Dirk said excited.

“Bit weird for it to be at the beginning of the book.” Marly chuckled. “I mean, doesn’t seem that important for everyone to begin with.”

“Would be cool if we got it though.” Dirk responded, as he continued folding pages. “Look at this, survival practice. How to seal a wound. These people had some awesome classes.”

A short “uhuh” was all that Marly got out, as she started wondering why there seemed to only be militaristic exercises in the book. While continuing down the book, a picture of a gun attracted their attention.

“Oh wow, a blueprint of a gun. It teaches you how to assemble one… And there are usage instructions!”

While Dirk was thrilled by the finding, Marly recoiled back. Guns were only carried by Outsiders. People weren’t allowed to carry one or else they would be arrested by Outsiders.

“Give me that.” Marly said, as she snatched the book away from Dirk, who was mildly overwhelmed by Marly’s fierceness.

She closed and looked at the cover. ‘Farendonck Academy: Basic Proficiency - First Year’ spread over the cover, indicating that the book was meant for first year students at that Academy.

“Why would first years learn this?” Marly asked, but Dirk raised his shoulders.

She opened the book again on the register, trying to find a subject that corresponded with their study, but only finding militaristic subjects.

“They trained soldiers here…” She muttered, slowly closing the book. “That’s why it is closed. That’s why there is nobody left that went here…”

“You mean…” Dirk continued. “They were deported?” Marly didn’t respond, but from her expression Dirk could notice she was shocked. “Oh my god…”

“They can’t know we know this.” Marly suddenly said calmly.

“Who do you mean?”

“Anyone.” She threw the book back on the desk and quickly swept out of the room.

~⑉⑉⑉~

The next day, Marly hobbled through the hallway of the Asten Academy. She couldn’t help herself but be distracted by thinking about their visit to Farendonck.

A whistle catches her attention, as she sees Dirk lurking in an empty classroom.

“You’ve got to see this.” He says, looking whether someone is coming for the room.

Reluctant, Marly follows him into the room.

“What is the matter?” She asks him, but Dirk ignores her as he swings his backpack onto a table. He opens and pulls out the class book from Farendonck. “Are you for real?!” Marly shouts before lowering her tone.

“Nobody knows, it’s fine.”

“No it’s not.” Marly tries to have Dirk put it back in his bag, but Dirk shrugs off her efforts.

“You and me are the only ones who know I have this.” He tries to calm Marly down. As Marly takes a step back and sighs, he opens the book at the backside, causing a photograph to fall out. “Look at this.”

“It’s a photo.”

“Of a class.”

“So what.”

“Look at him.” He says as he points at a face in the group. It is of what seems to be a student, probably nearing graduation. Marly bends over the photo. “Recognize him?” She takes a few seconds to stare at the face, but doesn’t get any closer to recognizing him.

“No, I don’t know him.”

“You sure?” Dirk asks. “He is a bit older now.”

Marly realizes that the photo is from when Farendonck was still an Academy, which is from before they can remember.

“Wait, is that mister Groots?” Marly wonders as Dirk nods.

Franc Groots is the current director of Asten Academy. He was a kind director, most of the students considered him to be a pacifist, since he was never harsh on them. Everything he was seemed to be at odds of him being a soldier.

“So what?” Marly asks out of the blue.

“Ehm, I don’t know.” Dirk scratches his head. “I was thinking…” He pauses and doesn’t finish the rest of the sentence.

“You were NOT thinking about asking him about Farendonck?” Marly asks suspiciously.

“Wat, no… Maybe.”

“What about the part of ‘nobody can know’ didn’t you understand?” Marly shouts in his face. “Get rid of that book.” She demanded, but Dirk didn’t faze.

"He already knows about it right." Dirk argues. "Maybe he could explain it to us."

"What if he doesn't want us to have it?" Marly responds. "Maybe we will be in big trouble. Say goodbye to the easy life."

“Why don’t you see that the life we have right now isn’t what it is supposed to be?” Dirk responded. Marly was perplexed for a second, as she never looked at it that way. “What the hell is our purpose right now? Go to Academy, then go to work. But I’m starting to doubt whether going to work isn’t a nice way of saying getting deported!”

“Ssst.” Marly sussed. “Calm down, somebody might hear us.”

“And they should.” Dirk countered.

“Think about it, Dirk. If you start making a scene right now, the Outsiders will come and deport YOU.” Marly tried to reason. Dirk sighed, as he put the book back in his bag.

“I’ll consider throwing it away.” He swoops quickly past Marly to exit the classroom. She, however, sits down on the table, resting her head in her hands.

~⑉⑉⑉~

Marly opens the door of her room. Her roommate Kim is laying on her bed.

“Hey, you look like you have had a tough day.”

“You honestly don’t want to know.” Marly responded as she fell face first onto her bed. “To be honest, I don’t even want to know.”

“What do you mean?” Kim asks, visibly puzzled by Marly’s response.

“Nothing…” She responds, talking with her head into her blanket.

“Well then, I might have a fun story to cheer you up.” Kim starts as she is chipping off rough edges of her nails.

“Go ahead.” Marly responds indifferent.

“Okay so you know Jørn, right?” Kim asks, as Marly wobbles her head up and down. “So a friend of his, Thomas, at my Environmental class told me that Jørn had found some Bluerock that ‘Fell of an Outsider’.”

Marly looks up, straight at a grinning Kim.

“You got to be kidding.” Marly’s mood enlightens. “He jacked that from an Outsider?”

“You know, the details are hazy.” Kim responds, raising her hands as to say she isn't sure. “Rumour is, he apparently got like a piece of Bluerock the size of an ice cube.”

Bluerock was an elemental resource found in the mines near Somerin. Bluerock itself hadn’t been in the hands of the folks of Somerin in forever. Because of that, nobody really knows what it provides, and many rumours go around because of it.

“So, what will he do with it?” Marly asks.

“I’m not sure.” Kim responds. “His friend said he will see if it really is a psychedelic.”

“When?”

“Tonight.”

~⑉⑉⑉~

Curfew normally starts when sun goes down. The barracks of the girls and of the boys are closed off, preventing them from mixing during the night. However, nobody really took the effort to enforce it.

The boys managed to cut out a piece of the fence behind both barracks, at the opposite side of the main gate to the Academy. There hasn’t been a faculty member that has checked whether everyone is in the right barrack, let alone having checked the back fence for a secret passage.

Kim and Marly crawl through the fence, trying not the shove their shins over the ground to keep their pants clean. On the other side, Thomas is waiting on them.

“Aight, once inside, please keep it down a notch.” Thomas tells the girls as they struggle up.

“Why so?” Kim asks him as she checks her pants for dirt spots.

“Jørn is big talk and all, but he is very much scared himself.” Thomas chuckles. “But yeah, he already said he would do it so no backing out now.”

They follow him inside, but once inside, Marly starts scanning the corridor.

“What room was it again?” She asks as she stops in her tracks.

“0362, why?” Thomas asks.

“I’ll meet you there in a sec.” Marly explains as she starts straying away.

She crosses the corner, walking through an empty hallway. She is looking for a deliberate room. *Was it 0340? 41? Or did it end with 4? Am I even on the right floor?*

Completely lost, Marly collapses on the floor. Her hands clasped around her knees, her head resting against the wall. A deep breath is followed by a loud sigh. She raises her hand and knocks on the door right next to her, waiting on the ground for it to open. A random boy opens, missing for a second that Marly is sitting on the floor next to the door.

“What’s up?” He asks, slightly confused.

“Dirk Wines room please.”

0354. At the end of the hallway. Marly stumbles into Dirk’s room, who is surprised by Marly’s visit.

“Didn’t know you got company, Dirky.” Kelvin mocks.

“Yeah, didn’t know either.” Dirk mutters. “Can you, like, fuck off for a minute.” The Kelvin leaves the room, as Marly sits down on his bed. “What are you doing here?”

“Jørn is doing something stupid.” Marly sighs. “Thought of it as an excuse to come here.”

“Why?” Dirk asks immediately.

"My heads a mess right now." Marly sighs. "I even forgot what room you were in, that's how well it goes." She remarks sarcastically.

"I see..." Dirk says, feeling compassionate. “I got rid of the – book – if you wondered.”

Marly is surprised by that, as Dirk is normally too stubborn to give in.

“You did? Oh…” She gets out. “I mean… That’s good news.”

“You don’t sound too relieved.” Dirk notes.

“I don’t know.” Marly complains. “I just can’t get it out of my head.” It remains quiet for a few seconds. “Like… You were right. What are we going to do? Where are we going?”

Dirk sits down next to her, flinging his arm over her shoulder. The silence between them is the only answer they have to that question.

After a couple of minutes, a knock on the door breaks the silence.

“Yo, can I come back in?” Dirk stands up, letting Kelvin back into the room. “I’m not interrupting something, right?”

“Nah.” Dirk responds, as he turns back to Marly. “Want to see Jørn do stupid stuff?”

“Would love to.” Marly responds as she jumps back on her feet.

~⑉⑉⑉~

They arrive at Jørn’s room and knock on the door. A faint hang on is heard from inside and the door opens a chink, with Thomas looking through it.

“I thought I said to not raise attention?” He says upon inspecting Dirk.

“You said to keep it down, I haven’t been loud so far.” Marly responds as she pushes the door open further.

Inside the room, Jørn is sitting on his bed, accompanied by 2 other guys and Kim on the other bed. His posture is of focus, holding a cup steady in his hand, while bowing over the table. A little dice of Bluerock lays in the middle. The others are sitting back bored.

“Dude, I don’t think it is working.” One of the guys growls. “Maybe you should use more.”

“No, I don’t want to waste anything.” Jørn growls back.

“Maybe it is because you put it in water.” The other guy says. “It might not work because of that.”

“What? No, this way it gets the fastest into my blood.” Jørn responds agitated.

“If you want it into your blood fast, you should put it in your nose.” Kim murmurs, as her chin is resting on her hand.

“You think that will work?” Jørn asks.

“Well this certainly doesn’t work, you can at least try.” Kim responds as monotonous as before.

After Marly has settled down besides Kim on the edge of one bed and Dirk has dropped down into a chair in the corner of the room, Jørn tries peel off some little more grains of the Bluerock. He handles as if it is solid gold, only scrapping a few grains of it.

“Jørn, you idiot. If you want to feel anything at all it has got to be more than that.” Kim moans, still extremely bored.

“You sure?” Jørn asks nervously, but he gets no response. He then immediately smashes a large part of the rock and grinds it on the table into little pieces. “All right, this enough then?”

“Just snort already, I want to see accidents happen.” Dirk shouts from across the room.

“All right, man. Calm down.” Jørn responds agitated as he sweeps some dust onto his index finger. As he brings it closer to his face, his hand moves slower. “Okay, here it goes.” He pushes his nose against the finger, making a quick nod from right to left and snorting the dust of his finger, spilling a part of it onto his face and into the air.

His head bows down and he freezes for a second, after which he shakes his head and roars.

“Fuck me, that kicks.” He shouts as he wipes leftovers from his face.

“That means it’s working, I think.” One guy says.

As the crowd looks in awe at Jørn, who falls into a trance of tranquillity. Not an epic finale, at least, not yet.

“I think he is feeling it.” Kim says. “Jørn, you wouldn’t mind if I also take some of it, right?” Jørn makes a faint “yeah”, so Kim bows over to the table to break a piece of Bluerock. “You want some too?” She asks as she faces Marly while looking behind.

“I’m good, thanks.” She responds, sinking away into thoughts.

A little piece of rock. It was what made Somerin relevant. Now, Somerin is a ghost town, haunted by people like Marly. What were they still doing there? Since the Outsiders control the mines, what are they doing with Bluerock? Are they all using it like Jørn? Is it taken away from them to protect them from its use? But then why would Farendonck be abandoned? And where did the adults go? Will she and the other also go there? For who will they work then? Is there even work?

Her thought process was interrupted by bang on the table. Marly looks down at the source, seeing Jørn’s hand tremble on the table, his veins exposed. The others are all leaning back in shock.

“Dude, you’re all right?” Thomas asks as he jumps up to help him. However, Jørn quickly grabs Thomas’ hand and holds it in deadlock, squeezing tightly to the point that Thomas starts grunting of pain.

Jørn starts making weird, grunting noises, as the guys try to free Thomas’ arm from his grasp. Dirk jumps up, trying to get the attention of Jørn.

“Mate, you hear me? You’re going bad.” He shouts at Jørn, but to no avail.

Marly backs further onto the bed, pushing herself against the wall as far away from Jørn as possible, who finally lets loose of Thomas’ arm and instead pushes his hands against his own head, squeezing tightly. Already forgotten what happened before, Thomas tries to comfort Jørn again, who jumps up and pushes Thomas against the wall with massive force, pushing his hand onto Thomas’ chest.

As Thomas grunts in agony, little spots of dark red blood appear on his shirt as Jørn is forcefully pushing his hand into his chest. Dirk doesn’t wait any longer, grabs the chair and smashes it against Jørn’s head, who collapses and is knocked out on the bed.

Immediately, everyone is looking at Thomas, who lifts his shirt to reveal 5 small bloody spots of where Jørn’s fingers were.

“I’m okay…” He says while breathing deeply. He raises his finger and points at Jørn, visibly shaking out of shock. “But he isn’t.”

They then turn to Jørn, who is bleeding from the nose. While the blood is red at the nose, a little bit of the blood that had flown out first is bright blue.

“Must be left over from the rock.” Dirk reckons. “We all need to shut our mouths about what happened here.” He reaches for the Bluerock on the table and quickly puts it in his pocket. He then turns to everyone, pointing his finger at each’s general direction. “One word gets out, we’re in big trouble.”

Marly only hears it faintly. Her sight is focused on the knocked out Jørn and his blue blood.

~⑉⑉⑉~

The next day, Marly dashes through the hallway. She is looking for people present the day before, but so far, she hasn’t seen anyone. Kim stayed in her bed that morning, still sleeping when Marly left, while she reckoned that Thomas and Jørn would keep their heads down, considering they had visible marks of the affair.

She also hadn’t seen other guys, but it was also possible she had missed them as they were unfamiliar faces to her. No, what stung her was that she couldn't find Dirk. She had swung by his room a few hours ago, only to find out he was gone.

Among the crowd, she noticed Kelvin and quickly squeezed through the crowd to reach him.

“Hey, it’s me.” She started, slightly wheezy. “Have you seen Dirk?”

“You again, huh.” He smirked. “Nah, haven’t seen him since this morning.”

“Any idea where he went?”

“To Asten, I’m pretty sure. He hasn’t been in class though.”

Then it clicked. Marly thanked him quickly and dashed off again.

Farendonck. The bastard got curious again, of course, so he went snooping again. As she also reached Farendonck, she suddenly got chills. Returning here now that she knows that she is on forbidden terrain, made her second guess of stepping inside. However, she went through with it, climbing through a window into the abandoned Academy.

She tip-toed through the hallways. The thought of shouting Dirk’s name made scenarios of getting caught play in her head, so she trotted the hallway extra carefully. She returned to the room where they found the book, but Dirk wasn’t there.

She continued through all hallways, scanning every room, but finding nobody. Eventually, at the brink of giving up, she came across a larger than average door. Spanning the size of 4 doors, it was a majestic door with an art piece carved into it, depicting humanoid figures.

It had caught her attention and as she had approached it before she knew it, she saw a plaquette inscribed with ‘Library’. She opens the door, finding an enormous room filled with bookcases.

She walked past them, scanning some of them to see what they are about. She arrives at section B and immediately goes book by book. She finds the ‘Basic Proficiency – First year’ book, realizing it’s all study or student material inside the library.

She continued down the B aisle, in hope of finding something about Bluerock. However, there was nothing on it, the only piece close to it was a thesis of a Gerard Blue. While pessimistic, she decides to continue down the library out of sheer curiosity.

Once she arrives at section G, she gets her hopes up. She went down the aisle, scanning for G, then r, then o. There it was, theses of Franc Groots. She grabbed the first one, instantly recognizing the cover as the artwork of the door. She glanced to the content, finding descriptions of mythical beings, referred to as Lieri’s.

While intrigued, she puts it back and continues down the line of theses. While most of them are about myths and archaeology, she eventually finds what she is looking for.

‘The Blue Element’ adorns the cover. She opens the thesis and starts at the introductory.

“ – Element 115, referred to as Moonscale by the native society of Trost, Bluerock by the native society of Somerin and Nightglare by the native society of Zuole, is the main trade product of the eponymous Code One District: 115. An element as mysterious and as precious, that this district can serve as an independent organ within the Government’s organization, marks the importance of the product and the importance of the mines.”

Heavily invested into the piece, Marly is startled by the sudden sound of a voice.

“Thought you were here.”

Marly quickly turns around, only to recognize Dirk having appeared from behind the bookcase.

“Dirk, where have you been?” Marly stutters as she fumbles the thesis in her hands.

“I needed some time to think, so I skipped academy.” He says. “Then, I returned to Asten, only to find out you were looking for me.”

“Wait, you weren’t here?” Marly still slightly shaken from the surprise.

“I started looking for you, but you weren’t at Asten, so I swept by your room, but you weren’t there as well.” He grinned. “I figured you figured I was here, so…”

“Oh my…” Marly stroked her face. “I’m sorry I didn’t… you know, trust you.”

“It’s fine, now we’re both here, so we’re even.” He stepped towards Marly. “What you got there?”

Marly looked down at the thesis.

“It’s from mister Groots. It’s about Bluerock.”

~⑉⑉⑉~

Later that night, Marly stops by Dirk’s room. As Dirk opens and lets her in, he waves at Kelvin.

“Mate, there is a lonely lady waiting for company. Go give her that, please.”

Slightly confused, but not much aversion, he jumps up and nods to Marly and Dirk.

“Enjoy the evening.” He says.

“Room 0109.” Marly shouts at him as he closes the door behind him. From under her coat, she reveals the thesis and throws it on Dirk’s bed. “There is some scary stuff in it.” Dirk opens the thesis at a marker left by Marly and starts reading it in silence.

“- Effects of the element on the central nervous are immediately detectable. Once the substance has crossed into the bloodstream of the patient, during which it reacts with Haemoglobins, brain activity in primary areas of the human instinctive behaviour start to overflow and suppress a majority of control areas.” Dirk quotes in astonishment.

“A few pages before it was mentioned that the patient was another student.” Marly notes curtly.

“We’re talking about the same person as our director, right?” Dirk wonders conflicted.

“Yes.” Marly responds rhetorically. “Do you still want to talk to him now?”

“I don’t want to read this, I think.” Dirk closes the thesis again, avoiding Marly’s question. “We’re diving into things I don't want to

“Me neither.” Marly responds. “But…” They look each other in the eyes. “I need to know now. I can’t live a life without believing there is something to strive for.” Dirk looks away, shaking his head. “You said it yourself.” Marly cries is response. “Growing up will mean we will get deported! Maybe we will end up as patients!”

“Stop it.” Dirk tries to interrupt, but Marly continues her tantrum.

“Every step we take now is a step forward to something I’m scared off! I don’t want to live in uncertainty. I wish I didn’t know any of this, that I’d live in ignorance!”

“Then stop!” Dirk grabs her chin to shut her mouth. His eyes piercing through her eyes, who slowly had started to water. “We’re in this now, cannot turn back from this.” He slowly releases her face. Marly bites her lip to regain control of her emotions.

“He is the only one who could help us.” Dirk continues after a moment of silence.

“You sure?” Marly softly asks, as her voice cracks slightly.

“No, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

~⑉⑉⑉~

A knock on the door and voice telling them to come in. Dirk and Marly step into the director’s office, heads tilted to the floor.

“What can I do for you two?” Groots asks the pair, who still face the floor.

“Thank you for having us, sir.” Dirk says, after which they both remain quiet for a second. Marly’s trembling from top to bottom, her heart pounding in her throat.

“Of course, I heard you two had a problem.” Groots continues. “Mind telling me what it is?”

Dirk shrugs the nerves off him and grabs the thesis from his backpack and puts it on the desk, immediately taking 2 steps back. Groots turns the thesis to him and inspects it, becoming awfully quiet.

“Who knows of this?” He asks sternly. As Dirk and Marly both hesitate to answer, Groots holds up the thesis in the air. “Who knows of this?” He asks even more rigorously.

“Just us.” Dirk responds. “I can assure you, there- “

“How did you get this?” Groots interrupts him. As Dirk hesitates again, Marly steps in to prevent Groots from possibly getting furious.

“Farendonck…”

Groots lays down the thesis and exhales calmly.

“What did you think of it?” He asks calmly, changing his mood from angry to what seems to be honestly curious.

“It scares us.” Dirk responds.

“That’s okay.” Groots responds. “Let me tell you, what you know, is something people of your age should never know. It even breaks adults.” Marly nods in agreement, still staring at the floor. “However, it might also open your eyes. The world is a scary place, you’re just being kept away from it.” He stands up and walks towards the window, staring into the distance. “I can explain a lot of it. Right here, right now.” He turns to face the 2. “If you are ready for it, of course.”

“I’ll never be ready.” Marly faces up. “But I need to know.”

“Years before the Outsiders came in.” Groots starts. “We thrived in the shadow of the main district. Outside of having to mine the Bluerock, we were a free folk. The District kept us healthy, happy, as long as we provided. I was a student at Farendonck. It was clan, we were trained as protectors of Somerin and its mines. I wasn’t interested in fighting, I wanted to understand what we were protecting.”

He sits down into his chair, leaning with his elbow on the desk and his hands closed.

“I got the opportunity to leave the district to study Element 115 and its history. What it meant for humanity. But when I returned, Somerin wasn’t the same. We never heard anything from the main district anymore, they didn’t even come for our Bluerock. That’s when the Outsiders came and took over the mines. They feared Farendonck to retaliate, so they took away everyone they considered a threat.”

“That’s what we thought as well.” Dirk says. “Is that why once we get old enough, we are also taken away.”

“No, there is work to be done for the Outsiders. They are working on something, I don’t know what.”

“Why weren’t you deported” Marly asks.

“They thought I was just a researcher. They believed I could be an asset to educate the younger generation like you before you go to the Outsider capital, so they put me in charge of Asten. On the condition, that- “

“- You don’t teach us how to resist.” Marly finishes the sentence.

“You both understand more than I expected you to.” Groots reacts. “I admire that, but realize having knowledge is dangerous. They will not let any loose ends hang around, you understand?”

Marly and Dirk both swallow their fear. Dirk then stepped forward, dropping the Bluerock from Jørn on the desk in front of Groots.

“What about this?” Dirk asks modestly. “What does it do to people?” Groots strokes his bald head as a long pause follows.

“They… they aren’t humans anymore.” He says. “People become monsters.” He inhales and exhales loudly. “115 is the reason of everything. It’s the reason we are where we are. However, understanding it, what it does and can do, is the only way to rebuild.” He stands up and turns his back to Marly and Dirk. “In my research, I did what nobody else would’ve done. And I regret it only so much. Sacrifices have to be made, if the ones alive can tell the legacy…”

The room becomes silent. Neither Groots, nor the children know what to say. Marly looks at Dirk, who stares at Groots, visibly in conflict. She reaches for his hand, feeling him twitch as she grabs it. They look at each other and Marly nods at him as if to ask if he is going okay.

Dirk nods back to show he is all right, but immediately pulls back his hand and leaves the room, leaving Marly behind. She stares at him walking away, turns around one more time to see that Groots is still facing the wall.

Dirk was right, there was no turning back, as they fell only deeper into the rabbit hole.

~⑉⑉⑉~

Marly had taken the thesis back to her room, but only stared at the cover the entire night. Groots words haunted her mind. He answered some doubts, yet also raised more questions. She was hesitant to look for answers on them, as she didn’t know how far the rabbit hole would go.

At Asten, Marly can’t focus during class. The thought of being trained to work for the Outsiders distracted her so much, that all words that entered her mind where immediately forced to be forgotten.

After class, she was crossing the hallway, once she started noticing there were odd people patrolling the hallways. Outsiders were in town again.

Marly tried to act natural, but she was checking her surroundings every second, twitching her eyes from the front to the back and left and right. Why were they here?

Suddenly, Dirk bumps into her as he was dashing through the hallway.

“Oh shit, there you are.” He says grasping for air.

“What is going on?” Marly asks, but Dirk is looking everywhere but at her.

“They’re searching rooms. I still have the book hidden in my room.”

‘I thought you had gotten rid of it?!” Marly says furiously.

“I sort of did, but I had picked it up again yesterday.” He responds. “Don’t worry, I’ll get rid of it for good now.” He says as he dashes away.

Marly fears for Dirk, but before she can even respond, he had already crossed the corner of the hallway. What would happen if they’d find the book?

Then as a lightning strike, she realizes she still has the thesis in her room.

*I got to find it before they do.* She thought, as she too dashes through Asten.

However, she notices Outsiders peeking at her. Fearing that she raises too much suspicion, she slows down a little and tries to discreetly exit the building. Her heart skipping a few beats, as she has no idea how far they are with checking the rooms.

As she walks towards her room, she must moderate her pace to not start running. However, she feels as if time is running out.

She crosses the corner of her hallway. Her hopes shatter as she sees Outsiders inside the hallway. She tries to pretend as if she isn’t aware of their ominous presence and calmly steps past them. There is her room, and it is being checked on right now.

Should she run away? Maybe confess right now? Or can she pretend she doesn’t know what it is doing there?

Before she made up her mind, she is already standing in front of her doorway, being stared at by an Outsider.

“What is your problem, miss?” He asks sternly. Marly looks up into his eyes.

“I- eh, I’m sorry.” She stems. “I was going to pick something up for class. Can I quickly grab it?” She tries to walk past him, but the entrance is blocked.

“You can grab it, once we’re done.” He responds pushing her back.

Marly’s legs start trembling. Her heart starts pounding rapidly, which is the only sound she can hear as the rest of the world fazes out. Her thoughts fly rapidly through her head. She sealed her own fate when she went to Farendonck. This is it, it’s over now.

It was over, the search that is.

“All clear.” An Outsider from inside the room says. “Next room.”

The Outsiders leave the room, walking past Marly and opening the room next to her. Bewildered, Marly remains frozen in place. They didn’t find the thesis.

~⑉⑉⑉~

Still in disbelief, she returned to Asten. Upon arrival, she noticed that a crowd had assembled in front of the building. As she looked for a reason why, she noticed armed Outsiders blocking the entrances.

Marly pierces through the crowd, until she notices Dirk’s roommate.

“What’s going on?” She asks.

“They are forcing everyone to go outside.” He replies. “They are questioning the director.”

“What about?”

“I don’t know. I can’t hear it. Must be about the room search.”

“Did they check your room?” Marly asks, as she immediately thinks of the book.

“Yeah, we were clear they said.” He responded calmly.

“Where’s Dirk now?” Marly asks, slightly relieved. “You’ve seen him, right?”

“He had to take care of something, he said. I don’t know where he is now.”

Marly figured he was getting rid of the book. Luckily, the Outsiders hadn’t found what could criminalize Marly or Dirk. She continued pushing through the crowd, wondering what else they were here for. Was Jørn caught?

“This is utter nonsense!” She hears Groots shout as she finally gains sight of what the crowd is surrounding. Groots and a few teachers are accompanied by an armed and an unarmed Outsider.

“The seal of the door was broken.” The unarmed Outsider says. He appears like a superior, wearing an accolade on his uniform. “Somebody has been on forbidden territory.”

“Might’ve been a stray Cabal from yours.” Groots responds agitated, but before the officer, who looks angry, can react, another group of Outsiders arrive at Asten.

“There we go.” The officer laughs cynical. “I think the stray one is from your group.”

Marly doesn’t have sight of the group, only able to spot a few glimpses of the armed Outsiders. She pushes herself forward to try and reach the front. Upon stepping forward, she finally sees the group.

3 armed Outsiders, pushing forward Dirk.

*It can’t be.*

“This one has been to places he shouldn’t have been.” The officer says, as he pushes Dirk forward into the middle of the space.

“I won’t stand for this!” Groots responds, stepping forward, but being immediately hold back by an Outsider.

“Then kneel…” The officer responds coldly. A stare down between Groots and the officer starts. Meanwhile, another group of Outsiders arrive. This time, it’s a large group of 6 heavily armed Outsiders, surrounding an unarmed figure. “…for the Commander.”

Marly stares at the commander, the unarmed figure. He is small man, seeming around the same age as Marly. However, he looks hostile out of his eyes. A scar crosses through his face. His hair is made of dark and untamed manes and he also has mild stubbles across his chin, amplifying his bitter expression.

“Commander.” The officer bows. “We have found the perpetrator.”

The commander doesn’t react, as he stops a few meters away from Dirk, staying out of the direct confrontation.

“What is your proof?” Groots asks disturbed.

“It is a peculiar case.” The officer responds. “We found him running around with this on him. It has your name on it.” He raises the thesis into the air.

Marly immediately realizes what has happened. Dirk had taken the thesis from her room. He had saved her, but at the cost of himself.

“He might have found it!” Marly shouts from the crowd, raising the attention to her. “It doesn’t prove he was the one who took it!”

The officer turns to face Marly.

“Do you know more about this, young lady?” The officer asks.

“Leave her out of it.” Groots intervenes. “You’re pointing a weapon at her friend, she is terrified.” The officer looks to the commander, who doesn’t move at all.

“Fine, I’ll consider her unreasonable.” He says, as he turns back to Dirk. “However, young man, you tell me. Does she know more about this?” He hisses as he raises the thesis into Dirk’s face.

“She doesn’t know what she is talking about. It was all me.” Dirk immediately subverts Marly’s efforts.

“And where did you get it?” Dirk remains quiet, looking away from the officer, to the commander, who remains in an unflinching posture.

“He got it from me.” Groots stepped forward, revealing that he possesses the Bluerock of Jørn. “He had found something you left here, I figured he had the right to know what it is.”

“Give me that!” The officer snatches the Bluerock from Groots hands. “What are you getting at?”

“I retrieved MY work, and gave it to him.” Groots said convincingly. “If anyone deserves to be punished for it, it is me.”

The crowd becomes ominously silent. Everyone’s holding their breath, as most don’t even understand what the exchange is about. Suddenly, the commander beckons the officer to him.

As the officer turns his ear to him, the commander starts whispering. The setting is tense, as all that is heard is faint whistling. As the commander finishes, the officer nods slowly and turns back to Groots and Dirk.

“The commander is a fan of your work, mister Groots.” He starts calmly. “He will spare you; however, he wants you to work for him in the capital.” Groots makes a slight head nod to signal gratitude, but his expression on his face remains that of a furious man. “While we collect the rest of your work, you’ll get the chance to pack your inventory. We will leave tomorrow.”

“What about the kid?” Groots asks. The officer looks at Dirk and back to the commander, who remains as idle as a statue.

“…He knows too much.” The officer says as he wafts an Outsider to come to him, while he turns his back on Dirk.

With a kick to the back of his knee, Dirk collapses onto his knees. The barrel of the rifle is pushed against his head.

Marly is stunned. Her eyes locked onto Dirk, who turns his head in her direction. Their eyes lock, but while Marly remains staggered, Dirk faintly shows a smile.

A bang, followed by screaming students. Both only faintly echo through Marly’s head, who still hasn’t moved a muscle. Her eyes, staring down on Dirk’s bleeding head, slowly fill with tears.

~⑉⑉⑉~

The day after, a mourning mood reigns over Asten. The place of execution was marked with a single pool of blood, dried up onto the stone square. The Outsiders had taken the body with them, the spot was a memento of the exemplar that Dirk had become.

Marly stood there, overlooking. She had been there all day and all night. She hadn’t slept, her thoughts were going too wild for that. Bystanders had asked her how she was keeping up, but she remained silent every time.

The day they found Farendonck was the turning point of their lives. Dirk’s had found its end, Marly was left behind. For what reason?

Then, an Outsider stepped next to her, also looking at the spot. He put a hand on Marly’s shoulder. While Marly initially thought about pushing it away, she instead allowed it to happen for the moment, as she still was frozen.

“Everyone tries to hold on to their lives…” he starts. “But there will be a day that no one survives.” The sentence sounds as it is poetry recited. “Some of us don’t agree with this, but we have no choice.” He lifts his hand and walks away. Marly’s eyes follow him as he regroups with other Outsiders, as they are loading supplies into crates, figuring those are Groots’ stuff.

She realizes time is running out. She jumps up and goes straight to the director’s office. Without knocking, she steps inside, right into a meeting between Groots and the officer. They look interrupted at her, causing Marly to freeze.

“You again? What are you doing?” The officer asks mildly annoyed.

“I need something from you, sir.” She pointed at Groots.

“What is it?” Groots wondered.

Marly is looking for her words. She has so much to say, but can’t, or it might mean she will reveal herself to the Outsider.

“What is it?” The officer repeats, albeit annoyed. Marly stays quiet, she doesn’t know what to say. “Well then, so be it. Get out- “

“I’ll tell his legacy.” Marly threw out convinced as the officer was trying to direct her out. “That’s what I’ll do.”

Both adults are startled by the weird statement. The officer shrugs it of and turns away, while Groots keeps looking puzzled at Marly. Slightly embarrassed, she dashes out of the office.

She runs back home, holding back her tears. She failed to say what she wanted to say. She wanted to get out of Somerin and see how the world really is. She no longer could live as cattle, she had to find her own way.

But the only person who could help her now is going away. The only one who knows her secret, which now has to be taken into the grave with her. What she feared, now became a reality. Living a lie forever.

She laid down on her bed, bursting out into tears, crying herself to sleep.

Another bang, she scared up out her sleep immediately. More bangs followed. She then realized someone was knocking on her door. She flung up and, with mild aversion, stumbled to the door.

In the door opening, Groots was standing, accompanied by 2 Outsiders.

“You left this in my office.” He says, as he gives a book to Marly. “Good bye, Marly. Be strong.” He is then escorted away by the Outsiders, leaving Marly behind confused.

The book is an edition of their academy book. However, it wasn’t Marly’s who still had hers.

She opens the book, folding the pages quickly after one another. It seemed to be a normal edition. However, when she opened the chapter where they were at in class, she realized the picture on the page seemed odd.

She went through her own stuff, looking for her own book. She opened the same page and saw that in her book, the picture was of different tree line than in Groots’ book. She started comparing the pages, finding out Groots had manipulated more information, but why and what for wasn’t clear. It seemed to be just random nonsense.

Then she folded the last page. Immediately her eyes teared up again. There was a picture of their year inside of the back cover. She caressed the picture and as her finger crossed over the corner, it let loose a little bit.

Unlike the other images, this one was pasted on the page.

Carefully, she peeled the image off the page, until she could pull it off. When she held it up, black spots could be seen through it. She turned the picture around, revealing a letter written on it.

~⑉⑉⑉~

Stepping through the gras, Marly looked behind one more time. Asten was only a dot on the horizon, disappearing between the treetops. She adjusted her backpack to a firm position on her back and sighed one more time.

She turned around, facing away from the entirety of Somerin. She opened to book, holding a page in front of her and staring at the image on the page; that of treetops. As she lowered the book, the treetops on the image are revealed in front of her.

Content, Marly grabs a folded paper from her pocket and unfolds it, showing the picture of their class. She turns it around and looks at the letter again:

**“Dear Marly,**
**Without me to protect you, Somerin is not safe for you anymore. That’s why I gave you this book. It tells you the way to Forum, a place where people can find refuge in dangerous times. They will take you in, so you can tell your story. The loss of a friend will change you forever. I admire your courage, that you’ve decided to go on and not let his death be in vain. His legacy lives on through you. Go and never turn back.**
**May you find what you are looking for.**
**– Franc”**