Poison City

 

“You really like this story, son?” Marcus’ father asked as he gently stroked Marcus’ hair: “We’re on a cruise, son, enjoy the view of the tranquil lake. Look how beautiful it is under clear weather. It’s not everyday you can see something like this.”

 

“Just let him be, Elvin.” Marcus’ mother chuckled: “He likes reading, that’s very good. You wanted him to be a lawyer, no?”

 

“It’s Legends of the Burnt Queen and the One-armed Knight, a storybook.” Marcus’ father shrugged: “And - this cruise is expensive normally. It’d be a waste if we don’t get to enjoy the view of the lake and the beautiful weather.”

 

“Your father has a point, my dear.” Marcus’ mother pinched Marcus’ cheeks: “How about we go read on the deck, Marcus? There will be better lighting there, it’ll be good for your eyes. And you can enjoy the view when you’re tired!”

 

“Okay.” Marcus finally agreed to leave the room.

 

…

 

“Thank you everyone for coming to our ship! What a wonderful day it is to be on a cruise through our beautiful Lake Aqiu!” The cruise guide, standing on the higher deck and talking down to the guests on the general deck area, announced with an excited voice: “Now, let me ask this of all our beautiful, handsome guests, what’s the old name of Lake Aqiu?”

 

“The Green Emerald!” “The Lake of Great Eye!” “Lake Ayi!” All sorts of different answers were thrown at the cruise guide.

 

“Did I just hear ‘Lake Ayi’?” The cruise guide pointed at the audience with one hand behind his ear, then moved his arm and finger around: “If that’s your answer, then you’ll be correct! Now, raise your hand if you know who Ayi is!”

 

There are around a quarter to one third of the audience that raised their hands. Marcus was one of them, while even his parents had no idea on the name.

 

“Good! And, looks like there are enough of you who know about this beautiful, touching and all the while tragic story of the past.” The cruise guid laughed: “Now, let me give you a quick and loving retelling of the story:

 

“Long, long ago, during the ages of the kings, queens and old churches, before the rule of THE Burnt Queen, this lake was once a land of plains, deserts and hills, with several small streams flowing through. And Ayi, was a famous songstress of the Kingdom of Golden Flames. Her husband, the love of her life, was a royal knight of the king.

 

“One day, the devastating news hit the Kingdom - the king lost his battle against a disease that had been troubling him and the entire kingdom, leaving the throne unattended, and uninherited. Though the King and the Queen were much in love, and had been dutiful rulers all their lives, fate did not bless them with a son.

 

“That’s right, the story sounds familiar, isn’t it? If you had the suspicion that it is somehow connected to a legend that we all know and love, theeeeeen you’d be right! Yes! This story is connected to the story of the Burnt Queen and the One-armed Knight! And our beautiful songstress Ayi, with the voice that’s said to have made even the angels cry, had to bid her beloved and honorable husband farewell, as he embarked on a journey to the church to be anointed, so that the only daughter of the King and Queen shall be the one inheriting the crown.

 

“And, just like we all know, the whole entourage of the queen lost their lives to the cursed flames of the foul desert dragon Shyurak - all, but one. The one-armed knight, who was still a squire then lost his arm in the fight, and wielding a shield that was melded with a broken sword from dragon flames, he and the Burnt Queen finally slew the dragon in the depth of the desert.

 

“But our beautiful songstress Ayi, she waited day and night, only to receive the terrible news that her husband fell to the dragon flame. So, with great sorrow, she sang her last song in the center of our lake, professing her love and loss, then drowned herself in the streams. It is said that her undying love had touched the heavens, and it rained for a whole month. The tears of heavens created this very lake. And the Burnt Queen, in remembrance of her lost royal knight and the songstress and their love, named this lake Lake Ayi.

 

“Legend has it, that if you come to the center of the lake, and you pay attention, you can still hear her sing. It may sound terrifying, but it’s actually quite tranquil and touching.”

 

…

 

The sound of metal creaking, wires breaking and flames burning filled the air. People were in a state of terrible panic, because the ship was breaking and sinking. And the body of the ship, made of alloy, rivets and bolts, had cracked into several parts. The moon was half covered by the dark clouds, the stars were hiding, and the night wind were mocking and sneering at the people struggling to find a way out.

 

But there seemed to be no way out, as they were literally at the center of a vast lake, with no other ships or boats in sight.

 

“Marcus! Marcus! Hold on tight, son!” Marcus’ father pulled Marcus by the collar and shoved him toward a piece of floating wooden debris, which seemed to be half of a broken chair. The cheap and unsturdy build of the chair now made it a perfect floating device, enough for both Marcus and his father.

 

“Where’s Mom?” Marcus coughed as he tried to keep his head above the cold, slightly salty and bitter water: “Where’s Mom?”

 

“Keep your hands on this. Don’t let go. I’ll look for her, alright?” Marcus’ father patted his hand and said: “I’ll find her.”

 

…

 

“Get off my son! Get off!” They had already made it quite a distance from the original position of the sunken cruise ship, many of the floating passengers were still around them. Some of them, upon seeing that Marcus was floating alone on a large piece of broken wooden chair, immediately rushed over to his position and tried to take it from the young child. And just when two men and a woman whose hair and clothes had been a mess from being in the water for so long almost managed to push Marcus away, screaming and cursing, his father came floating on a plastic box with a piece of broken metal pipe in hand: “Get away from my son! You fuckers get away! I’ll fucking bash your heads in! I’ll open a bloody hole in you!”

 

One man still tried to throw young Marcus’ hand away from the chair, which earned him a few swings against his right shoulder and right forehead. Several other swings missed and led to only a few splashes of water, but his bleeding forehead and painful cry from the strikes already served as a deterrence against any others who had similar thoughts in mind.

 

“Where’s Mom, Dad?” Water dripped down from Marcus’ face, some of it was his tears and some of it was water from the lake: “Where is she?”

 

“She’ll meet us when we make it to the shore.” Marcus’ father held onto him tight and started paddling with his arms and feet: “Let’s make it to the shore and meet her there, alright?”

 

…

 

There was no part of him that didn’t hurt when Marcus opened his eyes. He raised his head slightly from the pillow, and he saw that he was not wearing a shirt and had a few adhesive bandages on his chest and forearms. His waist was bandaged up by gauze. His bloody shirt was put on a small table, and his jacket was on the back of a small chair.

 

There was a cup of water on the small table by his bed, and he took it and chugged it down with his sore and trembling arms and fingers. Though he could not be more welcoming to anything that could quench his burning thirst right now, he still realized a distinctive and familiar taste lingering on his tongue.

 

“You’re awake.” A female voice came just when Marcus was looking at the water: “Oh, and don’t mind the water - it’s only filtered once. We couldn’t afford better things here.”

 

Marcus looked up at the young woman with a tone and an attitude - it was none other than Gloria Lee, the one that stole some case files on the emergency reparation group from the precinct.

 

“It’s fine, better, even. Thank you very much, for saving me.” Marcus struggled to sit up on the bed: “Where - where am I?”

 

“A temporary place I have for a hideout.” Gloria shook her head and threw Marcus a paper bag: “Consider yourself lucky, the Blood Rainbow yesterday wiped out quite some dirt from the community. They’re still cleaning up the bodies.”

 

“How’s - how’s the man with me? Sitch?” Marcus caught the bag, though almost dropping it, and asked.

 

“He’s dead.” Gloria shrugged: “They found his body on the docks. Why was he with you?”

 

“We had a deal.” Marcus grunted and tried to get up from the bed: “Thank you, again. But I must get going. I’ll think of a way to repay you some other way.”

 

“You were on that ship, weren’t you?” Just this moment, Gloria asked.