From Darkness to Light

Chapter 4: The Twilight

Lucca awoke with the sunset. Already his Hologlass was buzzing on his bedside table. The automatic curtains revealed a night with no moon. He despised nights like these, the only light was from the city and it made his eyes ache. He much preferred the moon light and on full moons the lights of the city were dimmed to allow the beauty of the moon to truly shine.

He declined the urge to put on his Hologlass to see the endless invitations to the endless parties and events that nightlife held. Lucca wanted a quiet life, one with his wife and his child in a small home on the forest edge, living a life of contentment and wholeness. The thought made him think of River and her little odd homestead. It had been a few nights and he had wondered if the strange woman in the forest had thought of him. The thought of her made him want to go wandering again just to see if could catch a glimpse of her peaceful adobe. But a sharp knock on his door cut his sweet, simple thoughts short

A small hooded figure was at his doorstep. “Are you going to let me in?” A familiar voice whispered. He analyzed the small figure, the voice purely a woman’s. She quivered in fear and looked as if she would run at the slightest noise.

“River?” Lucca asked the anonymous person standing on his door. First off, he never told River where he lived. On top of that she was a Day Walker roaming around the Night. She could be sent to prison for a lifetime if she were caught. Secondly, how had she not been caught? She shouldn’t have known how to slink through the Night to find him without being caught.

“Yes, now let me in. Your neighbors might get suspicious of a hooded figure standing here as you gawk.” River was agitated and her voice betrayed her irritation. Lucca stood to the side allowing River into his home. The elevator dinged indicating someone was coming up. He quickly closed the door and locked it behind him. Immediately he watched the screen on the wall, surveying the hallways with his security systems. Only 3 others lived on this floor with him and they would not be coming up at this hour.

A Night Warden floated off the elevator, its scanners highlighting the hallways with green laser precision. Analyzing every square inch of the hallway. The robotic police officer floated down the hall, knocking on the door of his first neighbor. River must have been followed.

“Did you notice the Night Warden on your trail?” He raised an eyebrow at her. She had dropped her hood and was analyzing the living room, looking at the picture hanging above his gas fireplace. It was him and his wife, a few years before she passed.

“Yes, I did. Hence why I wanted to be inside.” A wry smile graced her lips. “I’ll go into one of the bedrooms when he shows up. By the looks of it, I have many to choose from.” River cocked an eyebrow at me.

A heavy metal clank hit the door and he looked at his security screen. The Night Warden floated effortlessly at his door, waiting. He wouldn’t move on until someone answered. “Go, door the hall 3 doors down, on the left. It’s my room.” Lucca instructed quickly.

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River knew who stood at the door as her eyes fixated on the screen. She watched as the heavy arm of the Night Warden lifted again and knocked 2 times. The screen was conveniently placed next to the door and Lucca stepped in front of it. “River, now. You know he won’t move on until he gets his answers.”

She shook her head to clear the fear out. The dread of being caught made her heart skip beats and her mind fog. “River, now!” Lucca urged her. Her clouded brain barely made the connection to get her legs moving as two heavy thuds echoed with metal hit the door. She ran down the long corridor, heart pumping loudly in her chest. River could feel the waves of blood rushing behind her ears as her anxiety heightened.

Once she found the third door, she practically threw herself inside and kicked the door closed. Her hands were beneath her and River pushed from the carpeted floor and swiveled her head looking for a closet or something she could hide herself in. To her left was a door leading into a darkened room, she wasn’t sure what it was but she jumped and ran into it. It had been a few years since she had to live in darkness, but her late husband’s voice could be heard in her memory.

“Relax River. Take deep breaths and close your eyes.” She could hear Alex’s smooth voice surrounding her. “Relax into the darkness behind your eyes. Don’t strain. Just allow yourself to adjust to the darkness.” His breath washed over her neck, goosebumps raising on her arms and chest. “Now, open your eyes. Look and see.”

River opened her eyes and could see that she was in the bathroom. A large, glass shower stood to her left, and a long silhouette of a double vanity sink to her right. In front of her stood a large cabinet, she darted toward it quickly needing to hide in case the Night Warden did not believe Lucca and demanded to see into his home. She opened the double doors and found a hamper that could be removed. She placed it in the bathroom where it would be seen as normal, and shoved her body into the small space. Praying the Night Warden did not look too intensely at the shapes he scanned.

She could hear Lucca’s voice pleading with the Night Warden. “Look sir, I demand you explain to me why you need to go into my bedroom. That is my personal space, no one is home with me.” So Lucca was unable to stop further investigation, the Night Warden may have heard them talking behind closed doors. Those damn robots could see and hear anything.

The Night Warden did not respond but River’s knees ached being cramped in such a tiny spot. She held her breath as she tried to remain as still as she could. Only a few seconds later thin green lasers pierced through the tiny cracks of the cabinet door. It was the Night Warden as he scanned the cabinet and other spaces of the bathroom she hid in. She closed her eyes and heard her husband’s voice once again.

“Slow, easy breaths. Allow your heart rate to slow down.” Night Wardens can detect the slightest movements. The easiest way to be detected was moving too quickly and breathing hard out of fear. “Even if you feel like they have moved on, stay still. They will wait if they feel like they can detect you, but their evaluation wasn’t conclusive.” Alex instructed her. His big brown eyes searched deep as she stood perfectly still, relaxing her heart rate. He was teaching her to move in the shadows and avoid detection.

His lessons proved to work time and time again, remembering those times with Alex made her heart constrict in sadness. But she reminded herself to stay calm and relax, not allowing the Night Warden to detect her presence. The whirring of the Night Warden could be heard as Lucca’s footsteps fell away. His voice was still ringing “Sir, sir, I demand you leave my home. I am not hiding anyone in my home!”

The deep, robotic voice of the Night Warden was close, but not too close. They must be in the hallway. “Thank you sir. The analysis of your home is completed. Have a nice night.” The whirring began again, then a door slamming as the Night Warden continued his search. The whole ordeal maybe lasted 5 minutes, but to River it felt like hours. A bead of sweat trickled down her forehead, her body fully aching as she sat squished in the small space.

“River?” She heard Lucca call quietly. “I’m not sure where you are, but stay for a few minutes. The Night Warden has left but is only next door. I will let you know when he leaves and gets on the elevator.” Her spirits rose as she felt relief that the Night Warden was gone, for now.

Another 10 minutes had passed and she heard a quiet “River?”

“Yes?” She whispered back. She hoped this time his voice only carried good news. That she could be released from this torture.

“You can come out now.” Lucca said a little louder this time. River exploded out of the cabinet, relief tingling down her legs and into her feet. Lucca jumped back as he was a little close, unsure of where the woman was hiding. River began to laugh at his face, half stricken in panic from the sudden movement, but also in relief as the woman had hid well in his cabinet.

“I thought I was going to be caught.” River sighed in relief. She stretched her back and arms, wiggling as feeling came back to extremities.

“Me too.” Lucca replied, and then he started laughing. River enjoyed the sound of his laughter and soon joined in. “How did you know to hide so well and how did you even see in here? It’s pitch black in the bathroom.” A smile was still on his face from the round of laughing, but she could also see curiosity.

“My late-husband, Alex. Remember? He was a Night Walker like you. Alex taught me how to see better in the dark, how to navigate through shadows, and how to hide from a Night Warden if needed.” She smiled remembering the nights of training she endured.

“Oh. That makes sense. I didn’t realize he had taught you how to survive in the Night.” River noticed his smile falter a little, but she didn’t understand why. A look of concern crossed his face but he was also warring with himself. River watched as these emotions continued to flicker across his face.

“Of course he did. There were times he needed to be seen at Night. But I could never pass as a Night Walker. Instead of leaving me behind, he taught me how to get through it.” Alex had always been so proud of how quickly she had learned the ways of Night.

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This woman confused him more and more every time he came across her. And with this only being their second meeting, he wasn’t sure what else she could be capable of. He watched as she stretched and tapped her feet on the ground. He was sure her legs and arms had fallen asleep being so tightly compacted for so long.

He felt bad that he had made her wait so long. But was relieved when he did because the Night Warden had left and gone in the elevator. Just as Lucca was about to turn away from his security camera and grab River from wherever she hid, the elevator doors popped open and the Night Warden’s laser beams scanned his door again. Lucca dropped quickly and rolled to get him away from the door. He could see the green stripes under his front door as it scanned his front entryway and living room once again. The Night Warden knew something was going on but was obviously unable to collect enough data to confirm. His programing was made that if no evidence could be collected he must move on to find more.

“What are you doing here?” Lucca asked. He wasn’t at all mad that she was here, but was genuinely curious as to why she thought to seek him out.

“Well, aren’t you blunt.” River snorted back. She was rubbing her jeans trying to bring blood flow back to her calves but Lucca’s hands itched, wanting to be the one bringing the blood flow back. “I came to find you because I need you to sign a NDA.” River’s hands stopped their flow and she reached into her back pocket. A folded sheet of paper appeared in her hands and she unfolded it with delicate fingers.

The top of the document read "Non-Disclosure Agreement" across the top. The rest of the font was small and tight as it listed what he could and could not disclose about her. "Why do I need to sign that? I am not going to revel you or your secrets." Lucca was offended that she felt like he couldn't be trusted. If she didn't trust him, then why come here?

"My life could be destroyed if you even say one small thing about me. If someone looks just a little too close at my life, my late husband, or my homestead- I am as good as dead. They do not take the mixing of Day and Night people well, they don't take those who are determined not to live like the rest of society well, and they can take all of my money because they have every right to according to our current laws." Lucca saw tears brim her eyes. "I will be left with nothing. My life will be forfeit."

Lucca took in what she was saying and tried to form a response that negated what she said. But there was nothing, River was right. If anything about her life was revealed, her life would be taken, she would be sentenced to either life in prison or sentenced to death. The rules of the world were stricter now, the laws were not guidelines but rules to be followed and if not, those who broke them were given dire consequences.

He grabbed the paper from her hand and began reading the tiny typed letters. He nodded as each item became clearer and clearer that he was not allowed to even repeat her name to another person. She had locked down everything. While this NDA did not make him feel good about how life was so messed up, he understood she was protecting herself.

"Come with me. It's dark in here. We can go to the kitchen where I can sign this. Then we can have some tea and talk." Lucca grabbed River's hand and guided her through the darkness. But even if he hadn't guided her, she was not in need of help as she weaved through the unfamiliar room with ease.