Page 1 of Us Dark Few

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If life was measured by the lessons I’ve learned, I would be immortal.

– Khalani Kanes

Whoever first said “there is nowhere to go but up,” lied. Things can always get worse. Always. You can plummet further between those cracks and crevices, because no true rock-bottom exists to halt the descent of misfortune.

Khalani Kanes knew that lesson better than most.

Heavy shackles chafed against her wrists and ankles. Every movement invited a stinging pain where cold metal met skin, but it was the towering dais in the center of the room that drew her attention.

JUSTICE PREVAILS

The Apollo Anthem, carved deep into the stone dais, stared back, mocking her with its falsehoods. Justice didn’t exist in the surreal hellscape of Apollo. Not for those who needed it most. Its definition had been warped into a weapon long before Khalani was born.

A colossal guard with deep scars carved into his mangled face yanked her to a rough halt in the sentencing hall. Torches formed a broad circle along the walls. The flickering shadows against the rocks made the space ominous and disturbing, which was probably the point.

Dread manifested inside her, so profound that it nearly took a physical presence. She could smell the bitter fragrance, taste it against her dry lips. Her lungs expanded to grasp more oxygen, but even the air was tainted, a thick layer of regret composed of the sins and screams of those who died where her trembling feet were held anchored to the ground.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

The echo of polished shoes drew her gaze.

An overweight man adorned in a black robe approached the stone dais. His bald head managed to reflect light, even in the dim cavern. The guards stiffened and stood straighter at his presence.

The Master Judge was here.

He assessed the room with a demented scowl, and his gaze descended on her. Khalani’s body shrunk, trying to make herself as small a target as possible. Her limbs would’ve been chopped to pieces and discarded in a fire pit if looks could kill.

The Master Judge patiently sat, perched high above her. “Do you know what this is, Miss Kanes?” he asked, a permanent X embedded in the pale skin between his brows, while he held a familiar black book.

Khalani rubbed her fingers together as the handcuffs shifted against her wrists. Words failed to escape her mouth, as if her tongue had already been twisted and cleaved out.

“This is betrayal,” the Master Judge continued. “Betrayal of the highest regard against Apollo. Who did you share this information with?”

Her gaze lifted in disbelief. They didn’t know…

The feeble muscles in her back shook and bowed at the weight of her choice. But there wasn’t a choice. Khalani already knew what she had to do.

“No one.” She swallowed tightly.

“Do you know what Apollo used to do with liars, Miss Kanes?”

Her body visibly trembled, heart jackhammering against her chest, and he smirked.

“We’d leave them on the surface,” the Master Judge whispered in a disturbing tone, leaning forward. “Their bodies burned from the immense radiation as they banged on the doors, begging to be let in as they gradually melted away. You have no family to speak of. There’s no one alive that loves you. No one would think twice if we left you outside Genesis to burn and rot. So, I will ask one more time. Did you tell anyone about this book?”

There’s no one alive that loves you.

The words reverberated off the stone walls and sank into Khalani like jagged, cruel knives. Her hands balled into fists, but nothing would claw back the raw truth of his statement.

She used to believe that love was like the sun. Unseen in the underground. Unwavering. A bright spot within a bleak universe. But love wasn’t like the sun.

Love was like gravity. Pulling and tugging you down to the deepest depths, exposing your core vulnerabilities, ripping barriers apart, and leaving you with nothing but space.

Love was what made her open the door that fateful night.

One month ago, when Douglas rushed into her house past curfew as if a pack of rabid rats were chasing him, she didn’t turn him away like any sane person would’ve.

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