The Rise Of The Consortium

Rio took a heavy breath now and then while scraping away the dust. Sometimes her hand would bruise against the rough edges. She would look at those and then at the blinking palm-reader thinking, she doesn't have time to look after the bruise, she better should finish the work. Till the afternoon, she had earned only about five hundred COH. The amount looked small against the 80000 COH she has to pay in a week. She wondered how much she should earn in a day to be able to pay for the registration.

"His mistress is disgusting. Doesn't she have her own life?" a high tempered voice was heard behind the backdoor of a small clothing shop. She guessed it to be the voice of an elderly man.

"She has got a fashion empire in Moritzeim. I wonder where does she get enough time to care for this small city." another elderly male voice could be heard.

"It's a makeup industry." a third person said." It does well without her. Where do you think she's supposed to go? "

" Do you not think the boy is purposely hiding? " the second man asked.

" Hiding? He must be at Lonphour's elder." said the first old man." Must be selling young girls to that…" Rio almost chuckled hearing whatever the old man said, but caught herself not to make it obvious. It was rare to hear angry words from seniors.

So he's at Zolzeim secretly doing some trade while leaving behind his mom to bicker about her. Rio scoffed at such thought. What good is he doing there? Having the peace of his mind while putting the 'Access denied' alarm? Not good.

"This girl must be lucky to be alive. No one lived this long under his clutch" said the third old man. Rio's hand paused while testing the mechanism of the power generator. She carefully listened to what the elder had to say.

I'm lucky to be alive? What did he do to others but not to me? Are his ways always life-threatening? She couldn't avoid these thoughts trying to keep an ear to the other side.

"I still remember my daughter who went out but never came back." the first old man said.

"But it was after the severance, right?" the second old man asked. There was a long pause after that.

"We can't blame it on the boy always. It could be the swirl." said the third old man.

"Whose side are you on? Go away if you think the Manings are right! " yelled the first old man.

"Don't worry. No matter what, we won't vote any Manings this time." it was the second old man, trying to console the first old man's feelings.

She checked the mechanism again to see if it worked alright. As soon as the switch was turned on, the rotor blade threw dust stuck to it. It continued to rotate seamlessly. After feeling it worked alright, she cleaned all the dust with her hands and got out of the door, towards the cashier's desk. She walked away without letting the older generation feel that she heard their conversation. A few words that she was able to catch while heading there slowed down her steps.

"I'm afraid her mother would have heartbreak when she comes across this." she was sure those words were directed at her.

Yes. That's the last thing that could happen. It was only a few days ago she witnessed her mother pass out and then run towards the scary swirl. Maybe the things she saw in her dreams is something that happens inside the swirl. But she couldn't understand yet why did that happen. Maybe she should go to the hospital herself to find out.