Recollections, Pt. I

     The sky glared upon Liberty with black spite. Followed up by this deranged rage, the wind growled in anger, making the torrents of vicious rain even more forceful.
     In the back alleys of this city, the darkness was impassable, yet still subject to the fury of nature. Water flooded down from the rooftops of the tall irken buildings, drenching the alleyway to a near flood. Outside this alleyway, irkens scurried along to leave the rain and enter the safety of a synthetic environment.
     A small irken, barely larger than a smeet, hid within the darkness. He pulled at some objects he couldn’t even see in an attempt to find something to protect him from the violent rain, but to no avail.
     Chad had ran for what felt to him like hours. His little legs carried him from alleyway to alleyway in search of shelter. He had run out of stamina, and his breaths were heavy, but hardly relieved the burning pressure he felt in his chest. The rain masked the tears that streamed down his face. His sobbing had not eased his pains, nor would it ever help.
     He couldn’t go back to the Smeets Academy. Not after what had happened to him; what he did. He could never show his face. That irken…. He’s dead now. But he deserved it for what he had done, and was going to do.
     Chad pulled on a metal sheet that was sticking out of a pile of discarded trash. He needed to find some sort of shelter. The pile gave way, and the trash fell on the young irken with the stained racket of metal and plastic hitting the ground. He yelled as a collective of odd-shaped objects poked and grilled him. But a greater sense of pain rushed through him, originating from his arm. Chad wearily looked to his right arm, even though he couldn’t see the limb.
     He knew, both by sound and weight, that the metal sheet had sliced a gash in his arm. He could feel the rainwater washing away the blood, and stinging the wound. Even more pain. Why did he have to suffer so much?
     An irken of incredible stature, at least five feet in height, leisurely strolled down the sidewalk, passing by the alley. He would have skipped right past it like any other alley, as did everyone else, but he had heard a faint crying. As he stopped, others behind him grunted in protest and walked by him. The tall irken perked up one of his antennas to better hear the one faint sound that had caught his attention. It was close…real close.
     The tall irken pinpointed the origin of the cry to the alley he was next to. Pushing politely by the passerby, he came upon the alleyway that was engulfed by darkness. He squinted his eyes in an attempt to break the darkness and see the mysteries it held.
     He gingerly nodded to himself, as he was indeed sure the cry came from this alley.

     Chad had stopped his sobbing, attracted by the attention of the tall irken. The tall irken easily stood out from the others that passed by behind him. Unlike the others, this one was wearing a large, almost oversized purple robe with black trim, made from a silk-like material. A personal shield kept the water from drenching the irken.
     The tall one leaned in slightly, and spoke to the small being in the shadows. “Hello?” he said, a sign of age lingering in his voice, yet it didn’t displace his subtle curiosity.
     Chad whimpered and kicked his body away from the irken that stood so tall.
     “Don’t be scared,” the irken said reassuringly as he knelt to the ground.
     The young smeet had stopped crawling away, but still stared with distrust.
     “Please, come out into the light, little one,” the tall irken said
     Chad found the older irken’s serene voice calming and trusting. But still, he could be like the other irken; the short one.
     “At least come into the light.”
     The smeet choked up a slight sob and sat there, divided in what to do.
     “Let me help you, little one.”
     Chad managed to weakly push his fear aside and crawled forward, slowly entering the light, and stood up.

     Instantly, the man’s eyes widened in shock, and he gasped in surprise. The foot and a half tall smeet’s light green skin was stained by the remnants of blood that was quickly washed off by the rain. The scant clothing that remained on the near-naked smeet, a piece of fabric that was once a shirt, suggested he was in the Smeet Academy.
     But what shocked the taller irken the most was the great amount of cuts, scrapes, and choke markings that dotted the young smeet’s skin.
     “Oh…my….” The irken mumbled sympathetically.
     Although sorry for the smeet before him, he was also proud of him. The smeet’s eyes was a rare golden yellow; a sign of individuality in the conforming universe.
     “We’ll have to look after those cuts, especially that one.” He nodded towards the gash on the smeet’s arm. “Do you have a family?” Slowly, the smeet shook his head. “A home?” Again, the smeet shook his head.

     Of course the smeet knew he had a family and a home, but he could never go back. He’d get in so much trouble. He didn’t need more strife in his young life.
     The tall irken held out his hand to the smeet, who drew back in terror. Even so, he held his hand open. “Come on. I’ll take you to a safe place.”
     Chad did fear the tall irken, but the rain had turned cold, and nothing around him would offer any warmth. Nothing around him would help. If this tall irken was truly going to kill him, then he hoped he’d make it quick.

     The smeet walked forward, his limbs shivering from both fear and the cold. The tall one nodded to him. Chad grabbed the tall irken’s hand and walked closer to him. Upon which, the taller irken gingerly picked up the smeet, and held him close in a cradle.
     His personal shield instantly wrapped around the smeet, protecting him from the freezing rain. However, it no longer cleaned off the fresh blood that came out of his wounds.
     With the exertion he had faced throughout the entire day and the blood loss, the little irken was hard pressed to stay awake. His Pak was doing its best, but to ensure the smeet’s survival, it knew it had to keep him from using any more energy than it needed, and to do that, it had to knock him out.
     Slowly, Chad lost consciousness. The tall irken kept track of this, and smiled. “Just go to sleep. You’ll need your energy, little one.” He delicately petted the smeet on the head. “Rest up, free spirit. I’ll protect you from the Empire.”
     Two figures ran up behind the older irken. These two were much younger and smaller. Each bore marks of combat. They wore long coats, buttoned up to protect them from the elements. However, they were still drenched from the torrents of rain. Their blood red eyes closed, and bowed in respect.
     “Master,” the one of the left announced, raising his head. The tall irken wrapped the naked smeet within his robes and turned around to stare at the two before him. “The Knights are coming!”
     “We have to get you back to the base,” the one on the right stated.
     “Then we should hurry,” the older irken replied.
     It was at that moment that the two noticed the head of a smeet sticking out of the older irken’s robes. The one on the left was first to comment.
     “Master, forgive my asking, but who is that?” He pointed to the smeet.
     “He’s our newest freedom fighter,” the older irken answered. “You’ll pay him your respects when we get back. Now we must leave before the Knights come.” The two drenched irkens nodded, and walked onto the sidewalk, followed by the older irken.