Nyx

“Nyx.”

“An apt name for our world,” she thought.

It’s an old word; the name of a primordial goddess of the night.

The Nyxian Resistance fights a blood-soaked regime whose call to action is “Aggression First and Violence Decides.” Oppression lives boldly in a Capitalist World where “Money” reigns supreme. When the founders of The Crescent Blade took control, their last act of brutality was executing God’s true prophet. Before they burned him alive, he spoke of one last prophecy: “The Prophecy of the Eclipsed Child.”

“From Darkness; WE Rise!”

Many believe that the current leader of The Resistance is the prophesied child of Ashyre. Those who whisper about him call him Echo; only his followers know his true name. Her parents say that Love is a reflection worthy of remembrance, which is why they named her Reminiscence; everyone calls her Remi for short.

Reminiscence stood in front of her bathroom mirror, her straight dark hair still damp from the shower; at 5’10”, she was more imposing than most girls her age. “Today is my 18th birthday,” she thought boldly. Her crystal blue eyes radiated back at her determinately.

Her father’s voice cut the silence of her mind, “Strength comes from within; do not blindly follow anyone or anything other than your own gut instincts. Your Heart knows its path, Remi.”

“Strength isn’t found in the fight,” she muttered mockingly.

“Weak, confusing, hypocrite; use his own words against him, and he won’t be able to tell you no,” she thought, staring deep into her own eyes.

“Besides, you are 18 now,” she thought as a small mischievous smile crept across her lips.

“Dinners done,” yelled her mother from the bottom of the stairs.

“No excuses, you little bitch,” she smiled to herself in jest.

Walking down the steps gave her the first wisp of dinner. “Taco Salad,” thought Remi as her stomach danced happily and her taste buds forced saliva in anticipation.

The last step found her mother plating the food at the table as her father finished the last of dinner’s dishes. Remi sat at the small table just as her father turned off the sink and started the dishwasher.

“You made my favorite,” she smiled.

“It is your birthday,” her mother said as she sat down.

Dinner was the usual conversation: everyone covered the who, what, when, why, and how of the day. When the moment felt right, Remi popped the tension bubble that hung over the whole conversation.

So…”

“Today is my 18th birthday, and I don’t know if I want to join the resistance; but I’m old enough to hear the whole conversation.”

“We know that there is nothing we can do to stop you. We just want you to be safe; WAR wasn’t the future we hoped for you. We live quietly to keep you safe,” said her mother.

“We want you to follow your heart, sweetie,” said her father. “Just don’t get caught up in someone else’s fight, and don’t follow anyone blindly.”

“I’ve heard this Echo is a charmer; but how he’s gotten almost half of the population to stand against The Crescent Blade, I’ll never understand,” her mother softly chuckled.

“Keep your eyes open; that’s all we’re saying, okay?” her mother asked.

“Ok,” she agreed, “but I remember where my strength comes from and the path it will lead me towards.” She marveled at her luck; some parents turned in their children for joining. Hers just told her to think for herself.

“Crystal heard about a meeting tonight,” said Remi.

“Where did she hear about it?” asked her dad. “The Crescent Blade has set up decoy meetings to arrest and track Echo’s supporters.”

“She overheard her brother talking about it; she thinks he is in the resistance,” replied Remi.

“Do you remember your emergency protocols?” asked her father.

“Yes, sir; I do.”

“Good girl,” he said pridefully.

The doorbell rang with the arrival of her best friend. They all rose from the table and kneaded into a hug. Remi peeled away and went to the door. She opened it to her extremely excited childhood friend.

“Ready?” Crystal asked.

Remi said with one more look back, “Have a nice, quiet night, you two.”

“Yes, ma’am,” said her father with a smile.

Closing the door, Remi turned to her friend and said, “Where to?”

“It’s inside an old laundromat on the dark side of town.”

“Wasn’t there some Bluff you and your dad used to go to to watch the sunrise on that side of town?” asked Crystal as they both closed the doors to her car and disappeared into the night.

“Yes,” said Remi.

“Crescent Cliff,” so named by the Crescent Blade itself after its destructive seizure of the planet 2000 years ago. It’s meant to shine as a beacon of The Light they will bring. But, the only thing each sunrise brings is an end to their oppressive control of The Night and all the violent things that like to lurk there, she thought silently.

“Turn the radio off,” said Crystal abruptly. “We are coming up to the checkpoint out of zone B. Do you have your Birthday pass for tonight?”

“I do; did you get one?” asked Remi.

“Wouldn’t be driving if I hadn’t,” she winked.

“True,” said Remi as the car came to a stop.

Two large men started walking towards their car in line. They were wearing security services uniforms with a Red Cross embossed on their chests, and the man on Remi’s side was being pulled by an aggressive dog.

“Give me your pass and ID,” said Crystal as she rolled her window down.

“Passes,” demanded the man at her window as the dog started sniffing around the car.

“Here you go, sir,” said Crystal as she handed everything to him.

“What is the purpose of your travel tonight?” he asked as he eyed the documents and the girls.

“It’s her 18th birthday,” said Crystal. “I’m just her party pal.”

The man seemed to eye Remi for a long time as he looked at her ID. Then he suddenly handed back the IDs and smacked the roof of her car. “Pass,” he said as they moved on to the next vehicle.

“That was terrifying,” said Remi as Crystal started to pull away from the zone gate.

“Oh, good; I thought it was just me that almost pissed themselves.”

“Nope, diapers for two,” Remi said as they laughed.

Driving through the city center, opulence was the only word Remi could think of.

“It’s ridiculous they control the power grid and cut people off at night,” said Remi as she was quietly stewing.

“Agreed,” said Crystal as she pulled into a parking space at the hyper-loop.

“We have a couple of stops before ours,” continued Crystal as she turned off the car and opened her door.

“Let’s do it,” said Remi, opening her door as well.

The girls clung to each other while they waited on the platform for the next Etherjet, and security loomed over the thin crowd.

“We need to get off at the Ninth Street exit. The entrance is hidden inside a laundromat called ‘The Three Quarters;’ it’s down some alley,” whispered Crystal.

With a gust of wind, the Etherjet flew into a stop as quickly as it had sailed past the platform, and the doors opened to more security.

“Passes,” came a cold voice as the girls again had to show their credentials.

The girls both held out their documentation, and the guard looked at Remi in a very uncomfortable way.

“Eighteen today; well, happy birthday,” said the man as he lingered on each word and drooled them out.

“I’m off soon; if I catch up to you,” he chuckled creepily, “you’ll have to let me buy you a drink,” his eyes peering a bit as unease oozed out of him.

“No thanks,” cut Crystal. “Dinner and back home,” she said, shooing Remi down the aisle and into the next car.

“That dude was creepy,” Remi gagged as vomit formed.

“Everyone who works the night shift is,” said Crystal as she looked to ensure he hadn’t followed.

After a few minutes, Crystal said, “Hit the button; this is us.”

“Ok,” Remi said as she pushed the call button beside their seats.

The Etherjet stopped. Crystal tugged her grip tighter and said, “As soon as we step off and the doors close behind us, walk 20 paces straight ahead.”

“Ok,” said Remi.

After a few minutes, Remi could start to gain some depth perception of her surroundings.

There were people walking past just a few feet ahead. Everyone walked as if by some invisible current where sight played no part in life. The potent aroma of spice and laughter helped to warm a space meant to be cold. Oppression only works if we let it change who we are and the people here defy the darkness with their very existence.

“Can you see enough to walk?” asked Crystal.

“Yeah, but let’s take the first few steps slowly,” she said with a small laugh.

“Sink or swim bitch,” said Crystal as she joyously pulled Remi into the blind fray.

Society thrived in this “Riddick” world and life continued in the streets while the dim light of cooking and camaraderie found pockets in the void.

“It’s not far,” said Crystal running her other hand along the rough wall as she turned Remi right at the corner of a brick building.

“I think this alley just up ahead is the one we need,” Crystal said as they stalked deeper into the darkness.

The faint aroma of music came from a darkened doorway. Crystal pushed through the door into a sudden blinding light which dimmed enough to find a man sitting in a room filled with candles.

“Welcome to Shine Time cleaners. Are you here for pick up or drop off?” the man cheerfully said.

“If your Shine is as bright as a lamp, why hide it under the basket of darkness?” said Crystal abruptly.

“Our light existed before the darkness was placed on us against our will,” replied the man.

“Our will; will exist beyond darkness, as will our light,” said Crystal.

“Welcome to the light of a new day,” said the man as he pushed a button, and the wall behind him opened to a staircase.

As they entered the dug out staircase, the wall read, “Descend to RISE.”

They descended 300 feet through makeshift lighting and the coffee rich scent of earth all around them. The steps of the stairwell were the only thing reinforced with concrete and the skips and scraps of their feet echoed in the small space.

Reaching the bottom they walked through the double doors into an ancient, long-buried mall from thousands of years ago.

Second hand militia style lighting pervaded the cavern with a low hum of illumination.

People were everywhere and the smell of old world cooking flowed from every direction as the walls hummed and vibrated with the stampede of thousands of echoed footfalls.

The space was huge and had stairs going down another four floors, with an open area at the bottom and a fountain that the rebellion had converted.

The stone fountain had been filled and flattened with a transparent acrylic platform. At the center was a stone statue standing on a pillar.

The statue was of a military man standing at attention. The bottom legs of his colorless frame were painted red, his left arm extended horizontally, and then vertically, his thumb held down his pinky while the other three pointed in unison to the sky, his right arm at his side, and his hand closed in a fist.

“There must be thousands of people here,” Crystal said in amazement.

“Charlie!!!”

Crystal’s brother came storming towards the girls.

“I told you no,” he barked.

“And I have listened to you for the last year,” Crystal smirked. “But today is Remi’s birthday, and it would be rude to deny a birthday girl her wishes, wouldn’t it?”

“Well,” he said, softening his posture. “Togetherness is what we are all about, and at least you two have each other. On behalf of Echo, please be welcome to the house of the CHOSIN,” her brother said as he touched his heart with both hands and bowed his head.

“Head down the stairs; I assume you heard me talking about escalators as well,” Crystal’s brother sarcastically said.

“Yes, I did,” she proclaimed proudly.

“Fucking sisters,” he groaned playfully.

“Okay, well, you can explain them; make your way down; newcomers are always in front, and we will talk back at home later tonight,” her brother said, pointing a finger at Crystal.

Crystal stuck out her tongue and wrinkled her nose, and thus started a mini-war until he turned and walked away, smiling.

“Your family is weird,” said Remi.

“We prefer quirky but weird works; Love is weird sometimes,” she said.

“True, but I meant all the weird nicknames you have,” said Remi as the girls laughed.

“What’s an escalator?” asked Remi as they navigated the dense crowd.

“This is an escalator,” Crystal said as she ran down a set of weird-looking stairs. “They are just stairs, but they used to move so people didn’t have to do anything.”

“Move?” asked Remi, disbelievingly when they came to the first landing.

“Yeah, apparently, you could stand still and still move around,” Crystal said.

“You mean walking,” said Remi as the girls pushed down another set of stairs.

When they arrived at the last set, they found that the stairs had fallen away, and only the handrail and frame remained.

“How do we get down from here?” asked Remi, looking for another way.

“Sometimes,” Crystal said as Remi turned towards her, “all you can do is have a little faith,” as she sat on the railing and slid down to the first floor, where others had gathered around the fountain.

Remi ran over to the escalator and saw Crystal standing at the bottom, waving for her to join. She sat and slid down to her friend; the pair jogged over to take their place with the others as Castor stepped up to the platform. He was one of Echo’s war chiefs; the other generals were among the newbies.

“Speak Truth; Stand for Freedom and Justice,” shouted Castor, each word echoing to the top as everyone gathered around the edges of each floor.

“We are his Heralds,” echoed and shook the ancient structure as everyone spoke.

For the first time since she walked out the door, Remi felt calm and at peace as she looked around and took in her environment. Every level looked down, but also on each level was a holographic image projected in the empty space above the fountain and the speaker. Each ancient alcove had been transformed into different things. Some were just storage for hard times, “like times could get any harder;” some served food and drinks, and some others looked like living quarters for those with nowhere and nothing. There was a hole in one of the walls behind the fountain; it was large and very dark.

“Maybe that’s how we get out,” Remi thought.

Scanning back to the statue, the man seemed more imposing from below. An engraving at the statue’s base read: “Dissent spreads like any virus, but dissent doesn’t require violence, only dissent, a.k.a. disagreement.”

“Let us remember our ancestors and their song,” said Castor walking off the platform; the lights dimmed, and a holographic projection came alive to the sound of deep drum beats.

“Fear’s got me living with the lights out. Chained down like a prisoner in my own house.” Everyone started dancing and singing along to the holographic concert of “Take It All Back” by Tauren Wells.

“This is awesome,” Crystal yelled to Remi as she sang along with everyone else.

Remi smiled in agreement and basked in the feeling of belonging she had always heard existed here.

When the song ended, the lights went out, the beating drum resumed even deeper. Then, a light came from deep in the hole behind the fountain. The closer it got, the brighter it became—brighter and brighter until it was blinding, and Remi had to look away in pain from its shine.

A roar of celebration and applause beckoned Remi as she tried to see through the pain but recoiled.

“No way,” Crystal shouted in disbelief and astonishment.

“What?” asked Remi as she could barely see the shock on Crystal’s face.

“It’s your dad,” said Crystal in befuddlement.

“What?!?”

Remi rubbed her eyes, seeing her father, waving to everyone. She rubbed her eyes again and looked up to see a legion of people cheering for her dad.

“What The Fuck…” thought Remi as questions overtook her ability to process anything but her eyes and the muffled sound of her father’s voice.

“Wa, wa; wa, wa…”

“He sounds like Miss Othmar right now. Stupid bitch didn’t know what she was talking about either.”

“How is HE Echo?”

“I mean, it just doesn’t make any fucking sense…”

“Am I angry, am I proud? Or am I just a jumble of everything, excited and pissed and terrified all at once?”

The sound in her father’s wobble cleared, and she could hear the familiar voice she had heard her entire life.

“Please, everyone be welcome,” her father said as he clasped his hands together, trying to settle the clamor.

“Thank you for that welcome. Let’s settle down; as you all know, I’m impatient to hear the sound of my own voice,” he said with a laugh as the room filled with the same.

“A Rebel’s call and a Warrior’s cry are sounds which beat inside us all,” said her dad.

“We call it?” he asked, tipping his ear up and listening.

“Hope” came in unison and echoed throughout the chamber.

“Hope,” her father echoed as he smiled at Remi.