Chapter 24: Persephone's Repose - Part III
Dying Star Arc
10th May
After I had finished my work as Governor for the day, I met up with Zayd. To go on a date. Despite the relationship that we've had for months, this is going to be our first date. The first time that we're going to publicly show our relationship. It makes me extremely, extremely happy.
The central floor of the settlement, where the settlement meets the tunnels, is where me and Zayd end up. I mean, it isn't like there's anywhere else to go for food outside of cooking in our own apartments, on Ceres. The market here is the only one on the planet, and as such, the only place for food. Even though it's within the settlement, there's quite a large number of Palestinians eating and shopping here too. There are many who give us looks as me and Zayd walk through the market, hand in hand, though I couldn't say if that's because of our obvious relationship, or because of who I am.
In any case, I enjoyed being able to go out with Zayd for the first time. To be able to enjoy spending time in public with him. It feels good. I'm happy that we're able to do this now. I was happy with our secret rendezvous, but there's something about this that is a different kind of special. The special feeling that I'm getting of going on a date with my boyfriend. Of getting to show him off like this. It makes me happy that we were able to experience this.
We had dinner at a restaurant near the boarded up Ingprad offices. It's the same one that I ate at on my first day here. The owner smiles at us as he takes our order, and serves us food. Last time, I remember he couldn't stop looking at my alien body, staring. I wonder if the change is just that he's more used to me, or because it is now known across the colony that I'm the new Governor. Some passers-by give us strange looks, but nothing more than that. Nothing bad. Nothing that either of us can't handle.
After eating, the two of us decided to walk around the market a bit more. It isn't like there's anything in particular that either of us are looking for, but we just feel like lazily having a look around. As it turns out, there isn't too much to look at. I haven't really looked around properly any other time that I've been through here, so I hadn't noticed. There's a few other restaurants or cafés, a bar, a laundromat, corner store, the Medano offices and, the former Ingprad offices.
"Have you eaten at any of the other places?" I ask Zayd.
I haven't myself. I haven't eaten here until now, since that first day I arrived here on Ceres.
"No," he replies, "I haven't. Maybe we should try a different place next time."
Next time.
Hearing him say that fills me with joy. I'm glad that we get to be together in public now as well. It makes me happy. It changes things. Somehow it makes our relationship feel a lot more serious all of a sudden. But that certainly isn't a bad thing. No, it's definitely a good thing. I'm glad that it's like this now. That it's becoming serious. Because, I think I'm starting to fall in love with him.
"Yeah, next time. We should definitely-"
Just then, Zayd pulls me towards him, or rather behind him. Given my frail bones, the force of it hurts quite a bit, my wrists especially are in pain now. I'm about to ask him what he's doing, but then I hear someone in the crowd scream. I see Zayd keel over, falling to his knees, and only then I understand what's going on.
Standing over Zayd is an armed man with a knife, blood falls down off the tip of the blade. Zayd's blood. He's dressed completely in black, with his head covered by a scarf. I can only see his eyes. A pair of brown eyes, with a glint of bloodlust in them. From the way he stands, and how he holds the knife, he appears well trained.
I take a step away, but I can feel myself shaking. It's impossible to get away. I can't make myself take another step. It isn't possible. I'm dead. I'm dead. There's nothing that I can do to stop this. That is the only thing that I can think. Perhaps it would've been a better idea to listen to Commander Gallagher, and keep soldiers with me at all times. I didn't want to appear threatening to the Palestinians, however. In the end, it seems it might not have meant anything after all. That I was still seen as a threat by them, despite my efforts to appear as a friend. For a moment I think to myself, did my father know how dangerous it would be when he sent me here?
Then to my right, I hear another scuffle, and the scared shouts of the crowd that accompany it. I can't look, however. I can't keep my eyes off of the one approaching me. Is this random? Or is this a killer? Sent by the same person who sent Sayyad? Either way it doesn't matter. I need to think of a way to save myself. But I don't know how. I feel like we learnt basic self-defence at school, but I don't remember that. I doubt anyone does. It's not the kind of thing you ever imagine you'll need. Perhaps I should've remembered it. After all, I'm probably more at risk of something like this than most people are. That should've been obvious to me, even without something like this occurring.
The attacker takes one step and then another, but I find myself unable to move. I can't take my eyes off him. I can't take another step. It's over. I'm going to die. I'm going to die here, out in the middle of nowhere, without carrying out my duty. To the people of the Freehold, to the people of Ceres. To myself. To my father.
He's so close. Close enough that I can see the fabric of the scarf around his mouth moving up and down as he speaks. One more step. Just one more step, and he'll be in range to stab the blade he's holding, still wet with Zayd's blood, into my torso. The man goes to take the step, but then I notice him stagger. He doesn't move forward. He looks down towards his foot, and I follow the line of his vision.
A hand. There's a hand grabbing onto his foot. It's Zayd. He holds on to the man's foot, not letting him take the last step that will let him get in range to strike me. The man tries to shake himself loose, but Zayd's grip remains firm. Whatever's left, Zayd puts into holding the assailant in place. Into making sure that he doesn't take even a single step closer to me. I can't let myself die here. Zayd is trying so much to make sure that this isn't the end for me. I can't just give up. I need to move, to get away from our attacker, using this chance that Zayd has given.
I take a step away, and I'm about to turn around when I see the assailant tackled to the ground. Wh-
Centurion Ella Maynard is the one who sends the assailant, and herself, tumbling to the ground. She's dressed in civilian clothes. I guess she must've been off duty. Her and my assailant grapple with each other, wrestling on the ground. She's trying to get the knife out of his hand. The other scuffle I heard, it must've been her, I realise. Was there a second assailant? Looking in the direction she came from, I see another man being held to the ground, also dressed entirely in black with his face covered. There are about four civilians holding him down. Two of them are Palestinian. One of them I recognise as Mohammed bin Sayyaf, the leader of the ICMU.
I hear a cry to my left, in the direction of where Centurion Maynard is fighting with the first assailant. A Palestinian girl called Hana, that I recognise as being onboard the Proserpina with me, pulls away holding her hand. I see a line of red running the length of her arm. Her hand must've been cut by the assailant's knife. A man who, by the looks of him, could be the father she told me so much about during our journey here, jumps in. He tackles the assailant, pushing him off the Centurion, and throwing him to the ground. Others from the crowd rush forward to hold him down, and remove the blade from his grasp.
All of these people… all of them stepped forward to help stop the assailants. Everyone here in this crowd, every last one of them, could've chosen not to interfere. That would've been the safe choice. I'm sure not all of them like me, or care much for me… and yet. All of them helped save me. Centurion Maynard, Mohammed bin Sayyaf, Hana, her father, all those others… and Zayd.
Finally finding my feet again, I rush to Zayd's side. He hasn't moved since grabbing the assailant's foot.
"Zayd! Zayd!"
He doesn't react at all. There's nothing. I shake him. I grab his shoulder, his chest, his hand. Nothing. With a lot of effort, I manage to roll him over onto his back, but I regret doing so. Because his face. The look on his face… it terrifies me. What he's seeing… what he saw in his last moments alive. It's like he's saying to me that it's unfair that he died here. And it is. Because there's nothing I wouldn't do to have him back. That's how I feel at this very moment. If I could trade places with Zayd now, I would. It's unfair that he's dead, and I lived, even though the one they were trying to kill was me. I don't care about my duty or any responsibility I have to my father, the Freehold, or this settlement, none of it matters. I would trade my life for his. Because its' unfair for him to die, whilst I survive.
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