Machine Story

Evacuate the Slums

The amount of people in the slums was insurmountable but Samiya was determined to get everyone out safely. Anaya was at the exit, making sure everyone funneled through there. Paco was in charge of roaming through the slums to make sure no one was left behind. Viraaj and Shaan were guarding the entrance of the slums. That left Mya and Niall making sure everyone stayed in line so they could escape as efficiently as possible.

After some time had passed, the numbers in the slum were still high. Niall and Mya were sensing the people were getting impatient and that a riot could possibly happen. They both saw Samiya not too far away and approached her with their concerns.

“There are way too many people here, there is no way we can protect them even if we get out of the city.” Niall brought up. “I know, what I ask is a heavy burden but we must do our best. Please.” She asked kindly.

“Samiya, I understand that as the queen you have a responsibility to save the city of Corrinth but do you really have to save all these people too?” Mya questioned. Before Samiya could reply, there was the sound of a girl screaming that caught their attention. They immediately made their way to where the voice came from.

Samiya, Niall, and Mya arrived in the middle of the line. A gang from the slums had forced their way through the line, thinking they deserve special treatment. In doing so, they pushed aside two girls who got separated from their families.

However, one of the gang members decided that wasn’t enough. While the rest of his members continued on, he turned to bully the two girls on the ground. He kicked the girls in the lower abdomen and laughed at their misery. He even told his buddy to join in with him.

Niall and Mya had seen enough and were eager to step in but Samiya stopped them. Instead, she went ahead to converse with the gang members.

As one of the gang members was about to kick the girls again, Samiya appeared between them. “Eh? Who are you supposed to be? Someone trying to play the heroine?”

No one could recognize Samiya as she wasn’t in her royal clothing. “I apologize if these two have done something wrong. If they have taken something from you, name your price, I will pay.”

The man looked at Samiya with anger. “Are you naive or something? They don’t owe me anything. I’m doing this because they are weak. In this world the strong survive and get to do whatever they please!”

“You are wrong!” Samiya roared back. “The strong have a responsibility to protect the weak, because they once needed help. One day these two will become some of the strongest people ever. In fact, I’m willing to bet they are already far tougher than you.”

Her comments aggravated the man immensely. Unable to hold back his anger, he raised his fist to hit Samiya. However, his fist never reached the queen as someone held his wrist, preventing it from moving. He turned to see a guard smaller than him and with a kind looking face, Paco.

The gang member demanded to know who he was. Paco completely ignored his question and looked to Samiya. “Queen Samiya okay?” he asked. Samiya nodded, “Yes Paco I am fine. Please don’t be too harsh on this man.”

“Hey you little runt, I’m talking to you, stop ignoring me!” He continued to yell. He lost his patience and raised his other fist aiming it at Paco. Without batting an eye, Paco retaliate with his fist and punched the man in the face, knocking him out.

The other members saw what happened and were in complete shock. They couldn’t believe their eyes so they all ran recklessly towards Paco. Paco remained calm and smiled, then one by one he took out each of the gang members and threw them into a human pile.

With all the gang members all tangled up with one another, they couldn’t escape and Paco slowly approached them with that smile on his face. All the men were crying and begging for mercy and before Paco could lay another hand on them, Samiya held out her hand to stop Paco.

“You did well Paco, I can take it from here. Get some rest!” Paco looked back at the queen and again with that same smile he gave a simple, “OKAY!” and went back to his original duty to make sure no one was left behind in the slums.

Finally, the gang members realized that they were speaking with the Queen. They immediately begged for forgiveness, saying that they couldn’t recognize her. She wasn’t happy with their excuse, she told them that regardless of who they encountered, they should be kind to everyone.

The gang member continued to apologize and Samiya had seen enough of their grovelling. She let them go without any punishment and hoped that they saw the error of their ways.

After they left, Samiya turned her attention to the two girls who were attacked. “Summer, Anahat, are you both okay?” They both replied by nodding their heads. They had gotten separated from their families with all the chaos and commotion. Samiya asked for Niall and Mya’s help in finding their family and they happily complied.

About an hour later, they both managed to find their families. The two girls thanked the queen along with Niall and Mya for helping locate their family. As they ran back to their families, Samiya began speaking to Niall and Mya.

“The two girls you both helped are named Summer and Anahat. As you can see, they have families that they care for and care for them. Summer has a younger sister and Anahat has an older brother. They are both extremely quiet and seem to fight along with their siblings but deep down they care for one another.”

Mya stood in awe, “Wow, how do you know so much about them?” Samiya replied, “I snuck out of the palace a few times. I need to better understand the struggles of the people.” Niall was surprised, “Guess I was wrong. Not all rich people are heartless.” Mya elbowed Niall in the gut after hearing that comment.

Samiya laughed, “Haha, it's alright Mya. But now I hope you can both see why I can’t turn my back on these people. Everyone has someone they care about or people that care for them.” Mya and Niall finally understood, and they continued in their efforts to clear the slums.

Meanwhile, as they stood on guard from a vantage point, Shaan decided to speak with Viraaj. “So other than protecting the queen, what else do you do?” Viraaj raised his eyebrow, “I train to become stronger. Royal guard of the queen must constantly become stronger everyday!”

“Oh come on. You can’t get better just by staying in the same place. You got to go out beyond the city, on an adventure where you meet fighters and creatures you never dreamed of!” Shaan said in excitement. “But here in Corrinth is where all the finest warriors are gathered, there can’t be stronger soldiers out there!” Viraaj exclaimed.

“Oh buddy, you are missing out. You really need to get out more. Come join me.” Shaan offered. “But that would mean leaving the queen. Who would protect her?” Viraaj questioned.

“You can’t protect her forever, you have to live your life eventually. Plus, Paco seems pretty capable, she will be in great hands!” Viraaj gave it some thought, “I swore an oath to protect the queen. Until my duty is complete I am bound by my word.”

Shaan had a feeling that Viraaj could be stubborn but he wasn’t ready to give up. As he was about to convince him again, they heard a horrible screech coming from just outside the slums. Shaan held his weapon up and looked through his scope. He reported to Viraaj that there was a soldier heading in their direction. Viraaj asked for an approximation of the enemy’s location and once Shaan told him, Viraaj rushed towards the soldier.

The soldier was running at full speed but suddenly Viraaj appeared from the rooftops and landed in front of his path. With his mind racing and heart still rushing, he wasn’t thinking clearly and charged at Viraaj with his spear. Viraaj easily read his movements, so he dodged the initial strike and then quickly disarmed the soldier before grabbing both his wrist and tying them behind his back. He then pinned the man to the ground, neutralizing the threat.

As Samiya continued to help the people and maintain peace, Viraaj called for her attention. She could see him and Shaan moving with purpose so she quickly met up with them halfway. She greeted them and asked them why they needed to see her so urgently.

Viraaj threw his captive on the ground, “Queen Samiya, we found this traitor just outside the perimeter. He was yelling like a maniac so I apprehended him. What are your orders?”

Samiya bent down to the captive’s level to make sure he was okay. Viraaj told her that he might be dangerous but she signaled to Viraaj that she would be fine. Instead of doing anything rash, she allowed the man to speak.

The man revealed what had happened to Councilor Shen, but more importantly, he told them that the Metadross had broken into the city. They would have the entire palace claimed in a day and they were headed to slums next.

Viraaj grabbed the man by the collar, “You better be telling the truth or else.” Samiya immediately told Viraaj to put the man down. She realized that he had no incentive to lie.But the major concern was that they were running out of time. There was no way they could evacuate the entire city within the time constraints.

Niall and Mya overheard their conversation and came over to join them. “Queen Samiya, what are your orders? Should we continue helping these people escape?” Asked Mya. The queen gave it a long thought before formulating a plan in such a dire situation.

Samiya went up to the restrained man to ask him, “How many soldiers are left that can still fight?” The man was still in shock but replied, “Umm, there is a small group of us that escaped from the initial attack, 30 maybe, 40 at most.” Samiya pulled out her sword and cut off the man’s restraints.

“I know they have been through alot but could you ask them to help us evacuate these people?” The man was stunned by the queen’s kindness. He thanked her for not taking his life and agreed to run back to get reinforcements.

As the man left, Samiya turned to Viraaj, Shaan and Mya. “The three of you, please go and ask if any of the civilians would be willing to help us fight against the Metadross. The three of them bowed and accepted the task before dispersing to carry out the order.

That left Niall by himself. “So, is there something you want me to do?” He wondered. “Yes, I wanted to ask, is there anyone you know who could possibly lend us a hand in this situation? I know it's asking a lot given Corrinth was not able to help your people in the past.”

Niall gave it some thought, “Well you said it yourself, it's highly unlikely anyone will come to aid this city. On top of that, even your quickest messenger hawks wouldn’t be able to send a letter to these locations for help in time.”

Samiya knew it was a long shot, but still she felt a bit disappointed. “But, I think there is one person I can message who can help us out.” Suddenly she had her hope restored. “I just need you to write for me and you will need your best messenger hawk for this job!” Samiya smiled enthusiastically, “Yes, I will do that! Thank you so much!”