Nightsea Outlaw

Abed walked over to Sayed the second he was alone. The strangers had gone off on their own, inspecting the maze around the camp in the dim light of the camp's torch, and Sayed was digging through his belongings, pulling out clothes, and examining them in the pale orange light.

"Saint, we must speak," Abed said in a hushed voice as he approached Sayed.

"About what, my brother?" Sayed's voice, as ever, was far too loud for the situation.

"These outsiders you brought with you." Abed looked back at the two, but neither appeared to be listening in. "First, you bring in Jack, and that is understandable. He is just a boy. Then you bring in Gramps. Don't you think this is too much? Every added person is an extra risk."

"Hah." Sayed laughed, shaking his head and placing a hand on Abed's shoulder. "What would you have me do, brother? This maze is inhospitable, so we must be the source of hospitality. God would demand nothing less of us."

Abed clenched his teeth. Since they came to the new world, Sayed had grown almost insufferable with his devotion. Abed said his daily prayers, as Sayed did. The priests called Abed to fight in the war, and he fought hard, the same as Sayed. Abed had done everything the same way Sayed had.

Yet, he remained unblessed in this new world. He was still a man and nothing more. It wasn't fair.

"You don't understand, Saint," Abed said.

"What is there to understand?" Sayed pulled up a large, tattered white cloth and examined it before setting it aside. "There are people who need help. It is my duty to help them. If they stab us in the back, I will take care of them. Trust must be given before it can be returned. The Word says as much."

"I know that." Abed sighed. "But that must give way to the situation. We should not bind ourselves to dogma."

Silence passed between them on those words, and Abed knew he had been mistaken to say them. He should not contradict the words of a Saint. That would be unbecoming.

"Be careful, my brother." Sayed reached out and patted his shoulder again. "Those words are the beginning of a dark path. One can question God's word, but kindness is not something to give up on. People were created to help one another. Those who forget that are the cause of evil."

Abed bit his lip. This was not a new argument. They had the argument many times before. Yet, it always seemed to end the same. Sayed's will was unbending. If he wanted to help people, he would, regardless of how it ended.

"Saint, I am saying that is precisely why we ended up stuck in this maze," Abed said. "Because we rushed to help, we were put into a position that trapped us. We could have helped the people of this island better by being more cautious."

"And we would have had to let an innocent man be trapped here," Sayed said, crossing his arms as he towered over Abed. "Do you think he would have survived these trials? The old man on the street? Would he have lived through the first round of fights? God placed us here to act, and we acted. Gloriously, we took down two of those mechanical servants before they could take us here. We did as we should do. When the time comes, we will both escape from here, you will see."

Every time, it was an admonishment. Abed sighed. Sayed was like an older brother. He always knew best and Abed was always wrong. He respected Sayed. He respected that Sayed would always do the right thing, even when it hurt him. He respected that Sayed always appeared to be so strong. However, Abed had never been that strong.

"I am weaker than you, Saint." Abed shook his head as he turned away.

"No, you are wrong there as well," Sayed said, and Abed looked back at him. "You are anything but weak. Your worries are not a weakness. I have those same worries every day. I merely trust in God that I will find my way through those worries. There are times we will be tested, but we will come through it stronger than before. We were put here to do good, Abed. Do not forget that."

Abed smiled to hide the frown that rested on his heart. He wished he had some sign. Sayed had been given his blessing, but Abed had not. They had crossed over to this new world together, but nothing had come of it. Sayed had been blessed with the power of fire, but Abed had just come through the same man. He still was weak, no matter what Sayed said.

However, he would at least try to appear to be strong, for Sayed's sake.

"Perhaps I should be more like you," Abed said and felt tears running down his face. "By pretending to be strong, I would become strong. Maybe that is my path forward."

"I think you do not need to pretend," Sayed said, reaching out and embracing Abed in a hug. "But you will find your way in this. If that is what you need to realize what you already are, then do what you need. You will always be my brother, Abed."

The hug was warm, and Abed appreciated the sentiment. After everything that had happened in the last few years, Abed truly felt that the month in this maze was the worst part. It had eaten at him slowly, being in the dark every day with only Gramps and Sayed with him. The darkness always seemed to whisper to him during those times, and it took every prayer he could muster to drive those whispers away.

Abed returned the hug for a time before they both let go. Tears streamed down Sayed's face, but he smiled nonetheless. Abed shook his head and couldn't help but smile as well.

Jack darted through the shadows, stalking the newcomers through the darkness as they explored. He didn't see newcomers often, even in his short few weeks in the maze. The few who came to the camp didn't usually stay for long. Most went up into the light and never came back. Those were the ones that always had the grandest stories. Sayed told the best stories Jack ever heard.

He knew the two newcomers' names now, Alex and Erin. They weren't like Gramps. He was old. They weren't like Abed or Sayed. Both Abed and Sayed seemed like heroes, but these two weren't. Alex looked like a ruffian. He was the kind of man who would try to corner Jack in an alley and demand the money Jack had just pickpocketed. Erin was a girl. As all little boys believe, girls couldn't be heroes.

Jack shuffled behind a pile of clothes as he watched them searching through the few piles of discarded clothes and belongings piled up in the camp. Sometimes, they were left by people who went into the light. Sometimes, Sayed brought them back with him.

"How do people live here?" Erin turned to Alex.

"Any way they can." Alex looked over and shrugged.

Neither of them seemed to notice him, and Jack smiled. He had always been the best at hiding. When his father was angry, or the merchants chased him, he could always find the best hiding place.

"You said you were looking for this guy, Roald?"

"Yeah, but that lead is gone. I need to get out of here if I can't find him."

"I take it you're not going to tell me more?"

"None of your business."

A strong, wiry hand reached down and grabbed Jack's shoulder. Jack gasped as Gramps picked him up. He was tucked away beneath the old man's arms in moments as Gramps walked him back to camp.

"Can't be doing that, kid," Gramps said as he walked. "People need their privacy, and people don't take kindly to being listened in on."

"I wasn't doing nothing wrong," Jack said as he wiggled to escape.

"Yeah, and doing nothing wrong is a good way to get killed," Gramps said. "I was asked to look after you, and I'm going to do that. You can cooperate, or I'll be making you cooperate."

"You're no fun." Jack sighed but stopped struggling.

"I'm old. I'm not supposed to be fun."

Gramps got him to the fire and set him down on his own ragged and tattered cloth. Jack knew why Gramps had come for him. The food would come soon, and Gramps always ensured that Jack ate first, even if it meant he had to eat less. Jack never understood why he did that, but who was he to argue?

"Who do you think they are, Gramps?"

"Those two?" Gramps looked back at where Alex and Erin were. "Look pretty rough, both of them. They aren't any good, but they won't be our problem for long. They look like the type that wants to go up to fight."

"Is fighting bad?"

"It isn't fun. Smart people don't want to die, Jack. Every time you fight, you risk dying. You risk not coming back and living another day."

"Sayed fights."

"Sayed is crazy, but he is a good kind of crazy." Gramps smiled. "He's the kind of crazy that can make a dumb decision and get away with it. That's why he keeps coming back. Scions must have blessed him."

"Sayed says God is the one that helps him."

"And Sayed's wrong about that." Gramps reached out his bony hands to the fire. "Ain't no gods in this world but the Scions. If you forget that, they'll curse us."

Jack didn't know if he would mind being cursed. He had seen a few cursed people before he was taken to the maze. One man could spit fire from his mouth, and another could form blades and swords from his body. Jack wouldn't mind those kinds of curses.

Slap.

"None of that."

Jack reached up and rubbed at the bump on the back of his head. Gramps never walloped him, but whenever he thought Jack was thinking something dangerous, he reminded Jack that he shouldn't be thinking that thing. Jack had no idea how Gramps knew what he was thinking.

He thought maybe Gramps could read minds, but Gramps did nothing in response. That clearly couldn't be the case.

"Should be any minute now," Gramps said.

Click.

A column of light sprang into existence in front of them near the camp, and in that light, the food appeared. This time, there were a few dried meats with fruits and bread, but what was given always seemed to vary and never seemed to be enough. The light disappeared just as quickly as it had come.

"Go on," Gramps said, pushing Jack forward. "Get what you want, and then the adults will figure out what we need."

Jack scuttled forward across the ground, picking up a piece of bread, an apple, and a piece of jerky. He quickly scuttled away again to eat in pieces near the wall and away from the fire. It didn't matter how long he had been with the others in the camp or how nice everyone was to him. Jack couldn't trust them to eat around them.

After that, the adults came over to the food. They spoke softly as Jack munched through his bread. He could have listened in, but he already knew they were talking about boring adult stuff. He wouldn't be interested in those things until he was older. Instead, he thought about Sayed's story.

Jack imagined himself standing up against a mighty dragon, long sword in hand and clad in gleaming metal armor. The dragon would come for him, but he would push the dragon back. Jack would be able to beat that dragon and carry its head back as a trophy of his victory. He wouldn't die like the man who came to camp.

With those thoughts inside him, Jack ate his food to survive another night.