Station, стр. 93
"I had no idea he could sing," said a woman next toHadder as the crowd quieted to better hear Glen.
"Me neither," replied Hadder as he looked over tothe owner of the voice. The young woman he found there wasstunning, with porcelain skin and a full head of wavy red hair thatfell down her back. Although her arms and legs were covered withtastefully done tattoos, one, in particular, drew Hadder'sattention. The middle of her forehead was decorated with the imageof an elaborate key. Beneath the art, Hadder was able to make outthe faint lines of a scar. A memory tickled his brain beforeclicking into place. "What's your name?"
"I'm called Coral. You're Marlin Hadder."
"I am. Nice to meet you. By the way, Shirley sayshello."
The young woman's face contorted in confusion beforerealization hit her like a Caesar’s hammer. She instinctivelyreached up to touch the scar on her head. Hadder gently caught herwrist. "Long journey we took just to end up at the same Baragain."
Coral smiled coyly. "Must be fate."
"And who are we to fight fate?"
"We're nobody."
"Exactly."
Coral and Hadder went on to dance throughout thenight, joined by Glen and another young woman once his setconcluded. They danced, they hugged, they kissed, and they laughed.At the party's apex, Hadder was forced to take the stage, addressthose in attendance. With a headful of drugs and a swollen heart,he had no choice but to speak the truth.
"My fellow residents of Station. I want to thankeach and every one of you. Not just for coming out this Haela, butfor sharing your lives with me. Like many of you, I was a husk of aman when I came to this strange city. While it's never easy to findthe broken pieces of yourself, much less to put them back together,this city and many of you helped me do just that. I would be lyingif I said this place was without pain, for what life is worthliving without pain. But we all forged on past the pain that wecarried here with us, made new homes in our reset realities. I'mproud of what we did here. I'm proud of the improvements some of usmade and the lives we created. Tomorrow, we'll prove our love forthis city, prove that we are passionate about our second chances.Prove that everyone can change for the better. I love you all andwill gladly end my second life among you. Now find someone you careabout and show them how much you appreciate their place, howeversmall, in your life. Long live the Setting and long liveStation!"
Applause began slowly, with many residents wipingmoisture from their eyes, but built to a crescendo of ovation. AsHadder stepped away from the microphone, music returned in full asthe Great Goodbye continued. Walking down the porch stairs, Hadderlooked past the back of the lawn, where deep in one of the darkpathways, two red embers took in the festivities. Hadder met thoseembers with his own eyes, watched as they faded away into theshadows.
As the Great Goodbye began to wind down, pairs,trios, quartets, and more slunk off to find more private quarters.Coral and Hadder followed suit, discovered their own intimate spacedeep inside The Royal Jelly. There, they shared each otherwithout reservation, allowing fear to be replaced with lips andskin, fingers and tongues. Even if for only a single night, the tworesidents found real comfort in each other's naked embraces, felttruly at home.
CHAPTER 28
Marlin Hadder basked in the rays of theSolay as he anxiously fingered the handle of the ornate samuraisword that hung from its equally decorated scabbard at his hip. Agentle breeze drifted through the Grasslands, caressing thethousands of faces that dotted the open field. The Rage slowlymoved forward within Hadder, readying itself to take full control.Hadder took a deep breath and smiled.
It was a good day to die. Again.
To his right, Glen nervously shifted hismuseum-quality flanged mace from one hand to the other. To hisleft, Jonny VV's knuckles went white as he tightly gripped abone-handled rapier, looking more at home in a fashion show than ona battlefield. Both men shook with fear, although Glen was doing amuch better job of covering it. Hadder couldn't blame eitherman.
The Riser army was more impressive than even Hadderhad anticipated, gathered all together for the first time on theeastern side of the Grasslands, their numbers now exceeding theSetters by two to one. The Risers shined like diamonds, the largeIdol Moon reflecting loudly off countless sharp metal edges. TheSetters also glittered, light bouncing off of the various self-madeand Lester Midnight-provided blades. But while the Setters carriedweapons, the Risers were weapons. Spiked knuckles, bladedelbows and knees, and encased heads screamed under the brightSolay, begging for the opportunity to darken under a coat of Setterblood.
Above the ocean of Risers, four figures towered overthe others. In addition to Dom and Tiberius, the twin albinos Vespaand Vitellius had forsaken their duties as Caesars to join theRiser revolution. With six Caesars to the Risers' four, the Stationloyalists still held the advantage in that regard, but it was muchmore slight than initially hoped.
Standing front and center, shouldering a broadswordthe size of a child, was The Krown. The beast stared directly atHadder, his jade eyes blazing with the promise of pain and sorrow.While most Setters trembled, The Krown quietly chuckled, basking inthe moment, his greatest so far as a king.
Hadder tore his gaze from The Krown to look up anddown his makeshift group of defenders. Their six Caesars stoodemotionless, equally spaced down the frontlines. The only Caesarthat Hadder could remotely consider a friend, Cal, stood closest,only six Setters to his left. Cal looked down at Hadder and nodded,slapping his two swords together. Hadder continued to look back andacross the Grasslands, praying for any signs of Albany Rott. Therewere none.
A familiar and welcome voice came at the perfecttime, preventing resignation from taking hold. "Sorry, we're late,darling." Cutting through the Setter lines, Lester Midnightappeared behind Hadder with Gondo in tow. "I'm afraid I'm guilty oflongwinded farewells, and my Biomass was hard