It has been officially licensed in English with two volumes. You can find both the physical print and e-book at the publisher’s website: Peach Flower House.
Note(s):
(Very) long post ahead
Contains spoiler
This is my personal review and does not represent the entire audience
Summary:
Xie Lanshan was an officer from a special drug enforcement team who was sent to infiltrate the Golden Triangle, a notorious armed drug syndicate led by a ruthless man named Mu Kun. Having spent six years on this undercover mission, even climbing his way to become the drug lord’s right-hand man, he successfully allowed his comrades to tear down the syndicate; the only flaw being that Mu Kun still managed to escape despite suffering severe injuries.
And yet upon his return to the force, Xie Lanshan found something different in himself. All his friends and comrades said he came back an entirely different person. He began to suffer from splitting headache and experience bloody nightmares where he saw himself murdering a stranger. Despite his massive contribution to cracking down the Golden Triangle, he received no considerable promotion and even got temporary suspension after an unintentional misconduct when handling a local case. Rumors were also spread among the police force that he was secretly a traitor who let the dangerous Mu Kun escaped at the last minute, costing the lives of many of his comrades.
When a murder case costing the lives of an entire household took place in the city, a mysterious man arrived to join their team—Shen Liufei, a forensic sketch artist who came from the States. For an unknown reason, Xie Lanshan found himself drawn towards this man, but at the same time the two shared a complicated relationship tilting between the balance of like-minded individuals and mortal enemies.
Then there was also a strange feeling frequently haunting Xie Lanshan, as if someone was secretly watching him somewhere in the dark.
STORY: 7/10
“In the Dark” is a captivating mystery-crime detective/police drama where a lot of points from the start are actually connected to one another, only being revealed gradually towards the end. The author is especially skilled at foreshadowing where a seemingly unimportant and forgettable scene or character that appeared in the beginning could turn out to be a significant point at a later part of the story.
To put it into words, reading this story from start to finish is like standing surrounded by black clouds, then having those dark clouds being parted little by little, only to reveal a storm hiding behind it. But after braving through the storm, we’ll find that the sky is bright and the world is full of light. Conflicts and conspiracies plagued every part of the plot. The further we go, the more complicated the problem becomes and the situation around the main character only become increasingly difficult. However, when we finally reach the end, the conclusion of the story was both relieving and satisfying, that all the hardships experienced by the main character from the start was all for this moment of peace that he so very deserved.
I feel that the author is also good at playing with emotions. Regardless of the story, character, and/or technical flaws that I’m about to mention below, it was hard not to feel emotionally disturbed by the treatment received by the main character. It was hard not to cheer for him and wish that he could find happiness as soon as possible.
All that aside, I feel that all the plot twists could’ve had a much bigger impact if only the delivery had been better written. The narratives often took an easy way out to introduce and describe the emerging issues, finishing it “right then and there” when the explanation could’ve been better spread out in dialogues and in latter chapters.
Description of characters reactions to certain issues were also sometimes unnatural, a bit too much, even borderline cringe, even if this gets better in the latter half of the story. Though, for this one I’m not sure if the original is really like this or if the translation wasn’t able to convey the original context. Nevertheless, while the overall story itself isn’t bombastic or mind-blowing, it was still a well-written crime/mystery-solving story that could keep us gripping the edge of our seat throughout the journey.
CHARACTER: 7/10
Every character has a solid portrayal that makes them memorable, including the minor/side characters. Personally. I don’t find it hard to recall if a character was mentioned again during a latter part of the story when they have only appeared in the earlier parts.
There was no character redundancy, meaning that there weren’t many use of mob characters. All characters that appeared in the story, no matter how minor, each have their own role to play.
I also like Xie Lanshan and Shen Liufei’s “Alpha x Alpha” vibe. The chemistry between them was strong from the start and remains so until the end, both in the passionate and emotional aspect.
Kind of spoiler-ish here, but I love how the whole story revolves around how Xie Lanshan, who was originally considered as a good and kind person by everyone, had that very goodness and kindness of his being questioned over and over again throughout the story, to the point that even he began to question himself. The novel was not only about an enemy lurking in the dark, but also how Xie Lanshan kept wandering further and further into the darkness since he returned from his undercover mission, until he finally got lost in it completely. And then in this darkness, Shen Liufei was the one single light that could pull him out of that darkness, giving him warmth and comfort.
And while it could be annoying to read, the other characters who doubted, and even trapped Xie Lanshan to make him fall, played their role so well. Everything they did to him serve to emphasize the significant bond between Xie Lanshan and Shen Liufei.
I also mentioned this earlier in the “Story” section, but characters reactions sometimes feel unnatural, even if I couldn’t be sure if it was originally like this or if it’s because a translation issue. The thing I find most irking is that some characters’ reactions contradict their initial character introduction and impression. For example, said character was introduced to the readers as someone tough, but then they would act emotional when faced with unexpected things, which feels inconsistent with how they were portrayed in the beginning.
TECHNICAL ASPECT: 7/10
Visualization of setting and scenes are great. It was easy to imagine how a scene was taking place and unfolding, what expression the characters are wearing. Action scenes are captivating to follow and while some emotional scenes might feel a bit over the top due to the issue with character reactions I mentioned above, overall the narrative could capture the emotions well. It was even quite heart-wrenching to follow Xie Lanshan’s story near the end, which was why the resolution really allowed us to let out a sigh of relief.
The pacing was enjoyable to follow. Scene transition was also pretty smooth and didn’t leave us confused as to what scene was taking place at the moment. There were some issues I found with the translations, mainly typos and punctuation errors. I wish it could’ve received better proof-reading prior to the publication. There was even one section of a plot in Vol. 1 that got repeated twice, as if someone accidentally copy-paste the text twice.
Also, I’m not sure where to put this particular comment, but I just find it unnatural to have like 80% of the casts to be described as extremely handsome/beautiful. It wasn’t exactly a flaw per se, but it’s hard to believe that there will be a situation where the majority of the people involved are all distinguishably good-looking.
OVERALL SCORE: 7/10
I wouldn’t say it’s the best danmei I’ve read so far, but it’s a great crime-mystery police/detective drama. If you’re fond of this genre, I believe you will enjoy reading “In the Dark”. ^^
Concept: Peter’s eyes have eyeshine (they glow in low light like a cat’s) after the spider bite… Imagine Tony (at the compound) or May (at their apartment) going to the kitchen for a midnight snack and he’s doing homework on the counter and his eyes are just glowing green like the fucking mothman
You hold your breath, waiting for the tale-tale hiss and freezing of the lungs that comes from carbonite emission. His words echo through your mind. “ You’re not broken, stubborn girl.”
A beat goes by, and nothing. You open your eyes. Mando’s hand rests over the ignition, until he takes a step backward, his hand falling down at his side. You release the breath you were holding and stare back. I’m not going into the dark-this time.
“When?” he asks- his voice sounding firmer than before. You had agreed to meet Halo at the boardwalk before sunset, but the prospect of having to kill the remaining hours of daylight, trapped on the ship with Mando seems daunting. I may lose my resolve. It’s better to get this over with as quickly as possible. Like a bandaid. But saying the words out loud is harder than you expect.
Mando continues staring at you, finding the answer to his question written in your eyes. He lifts his vambrace up to his chin, holds down his communicator, and waits. Halo’s staticky voice answers. “That you Mando?” He sounds a bit surprised that Mando has somehow cloned his frequency.
“She’s yours now.” he says, his voice void of any emotion. There’s static on the other end until Halo’s voice comes back over the speaker. “On my way.” is all he says before the call goes dead.
You pray to the maker that Halo arrives quickly. There’s little for you to do in the way of packing, since you don’t have any worldly possessions to call your own. You look for any reasonable way to occupy the yawning minutes that seem to stretch on forever- anything to avoid the awkward silence while you wait. Mando finally retreats to the cockpit to stir the tanks and fire up the engines. He has no desire to remain on Hunter’s World a second longer than he has to either.
You spend a few moments cleaning up the makeshift bed you had made on the floor and return his cot and his blanket to the bunk. You leave the soaps and the hair brush he bought for you, knowing that he could still find use with both of them for himself. You fold up his cloak and leave it on the end of the mattress. The only thing you have left is the pendant that hangs around your neck. You immediately find yourself rubbing the pad of your thumb over it.
Before long, Mando’s heavy boots are stamping down the ladder. He forgoes the last few rungs and lands with a hard thudwhen his boots meet the floor.
“Your ride’s here.” he says, moving past you to hit the door and ramp release. You step forward to look out the doorway. Halo is just pulling up to a stop on a speeder bike near the loading zone. He pulls down a black bandana revealing his face and those wicked neck tattoos. He turns off the engine and waits, his foot moving up to rest on a higher peg in a casual way. He leans his arm on his knee and waits. Mando holds out his arm, stopping you from crossing the threshold. “Give me two minutes.” He heads down the ramp before you have a chance to respond and heads straight for Halo. Halo leans back a little, crossing his arms while he and Mando exchange words. At one point Mando even points his gloved finger at Halo, though he remains unfettered by whatever words accompanied the accusing digit - words too quiet for you to hear. After a moment, Halo gives Mando one solid nod and then Mando is walking back up the ramp. When he reaches the top he stands in front of you.
“Looks like this is the end of the line.” he says.
The words are crushing, but you refuse to let them in, refuse to get all teary-eyed and choked up. This was always going to be the way it ended.
“Looks like it.” you smile up at his visor, though you know it doesn’t make it the distance to your eyes.
“I’m not really good at goodbyes.” he says, his voice a bit more gravelly than it was before.
“That’s ok,” you say with a touch of lightness. “Compared to your first one, you’re doing an ace now.”
He inhales deeply, his chest expanding, his beskar weighted shoulders rising and falling with his breath. “You’re….sure about this?” he asks.
You chose to ignore the question. The time for changing your mind has come and gone. You want to hug him- desperately so. But the idea of being pressed up against his icy and rigid beskar feels cold-discomforting. You want to feel Din, notMando. It’s better this way. If you were to hug him- if he held you back in return, you’d probably be lost forever. Instead, you hold out your hand. He stares down at it for a second, before extending his own gloved one. Your hands entwine as you bring your other one down on the top of them. He gives a gentle squeeze in return. A friendly goodbye.
“Thank you… for coming back for me, on Nevarro.”
He grips your hand a little tighter and you give a slight rub with your thumb.
“Thank you, for giving me a reason to.”
You smile up at him, and this time the light reaches your eyes. You release his hand, feeling the loss immediately. You tilt your head forward and start to lift the leather strap holding the pendant up and over your head. He places his hand against the top of your chest, pressing against the small beskar symbol of his people.
“I want you to keep it. It’s yours now.” You raise your chin and drop the leather thong, leaving it to hang where it has since he placed it on you back in Sorgan and nod in acceptance.
“Goodbye Din. I hope you find whatever it is you’re looking for.”
You turn and retreat down the ramp before your glossy eyes can give you away. Halo offers you a hand up and you take it as you climb onto the back of the speeder. He fires up the engine, giving it a quick rev before hitting the gas. You pull your hood up over the top of your head and make the mistake of chancing a look back at Mando before the speeder takes off. Mando stands at the top of the ramp. His right thumb is hitched up on his belt while the left hand is clenched into a fist. You turn away and bury your face into Halo’s back as the bike takes off, racing through the stirrings of snow flurries and into your future.
The ride across town takes some time. You welcome the blustery cool air, hoping it will numb the ache in your chest as quickly as it is your fingertips. Your cheek is pressed up against Halo’s back, thankful that he is broad enough to act as a windscreen. You make your way through the streets. Every building looks much the same- painted with layers upon layers of graffiti, ads for sex and entertainment that are plastered over by as many missing and wanted posters- if not more. You head deeper into what seems like an abandoned industrial district. The ambiance is stark and creepy, putting your instincts on alert. Though it is technically daytime, the rays of the sun aren’t strong enough to break through the wall of storm clouds and industrial smoke that blanket the sky.
Halo finally pulls up to a stop in front of a small building and jumps off the speeder. You hop off, trailing after him and look back at the bike.
“You’re not worried somebody will take it?”
“Nah, it’s coded…needs my thumbprint.”
You continue following close behind and Halo bypasses the front entrance and heads down a side ally around the back.
“Where are we exactly?”
“Just gotta stop and pick something up. Shouldn’t be but a minute.”
When you’re about halfway down the alley, Halo holds out an arm stopping you in place.
“Wait right here.”
You do as he asks and watch as he heads down to a back entrance at the end. When he reaches the door he gives it three hard pounds with the side of his fist. A security drone sticks its orb-like eye out from the wall and scans Halo. A few seconds later, the door opens. The figure on the other side of the doorway remains unseen from your vantage point, but he and Halo begin discussing something too quiet for you to hear. As you wait quietly, trying to pick up on any hint of their conversation, your senses pick up on something else entirely. Your intuition tells you there is something else watching you and you turn to scan the alleyway. The walls and rooftop remain free from any sign of prying eyes that you can make out, but you swear you can hear the faint buzz of machinery nearby. You walk back the way you came, scanning all your surroundings for a clue as to its source. You round the corner, back where the speeder is parked. The low, faint hum grows louder. When your eyes scan the front of the building across the street, your eyes find a single red light penetrating the darkness. Suddenly, a tiny spheroid floats out from the dark and hovers above the rooftop. You stare back and hear the vague sound of lenses retracting and scanning.
A spy drone?
You don’t have a blaster anymore, and even if you did, you doubted your aim would be good enough to hit a small moving target, but the idea that somebody was watching you was creepy AF.Your gaze is transfixed, like maybe if you stare back long enough, whoever is watching on the other end would somehow reveal themselves. The little mechanical ball hovers in place, staring right back. You step forward, nearly off the sidewalk, when the aboveground public speed rail suddenly plows into the tiny droid, obliterating it into a thousand pieces. You jump back, startled. The train cars stir up wind tunnels as it rushes past, causing your hood to blow back. You turn to head back around the corner, to tell Halo what you have just seen, when you slam face first into a solid chest.
A large human male stands before you. He’s wearing a jacket with no discernible shirt underneath and smells like he probably hasn’t bathed in weeks. His hair is greasy, his breath reeks of liquor and one of his pupils is completely blown out and misshapen- likely he permanently injured it somehow.
You take a step back but he follows your retreat, sounding a low whistle of appreciation in his wake. When your back meets the wall, he cages you in with both hands-one gripping a knife you hadn’t seen before.
“Well, well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.”
No shit, sore eyes! The guy had been seriously maimed and by the looks of it, it had happened recently.
Your heart begins to pound, your synapses fires wildly as you try to formulate a plan. Your knife is tucked in at the waist of your back and under your coat, but with your back pressed into the wall, it would be impossible to retrieve without stepping forward and literally pressing yourself against the man. You could make for the bike, but it was locked and without Halo’s thumbprint, the engine wouldn’t fire. Your only hope is to use your influence on him. He certainly looked like a big enough simpleton, so your chances seemed fair enough. The idea is squashed though when two companions reveal themselves a few feet away. You’d never been able to use your influence over multiple people at the same time.
“I don’t have anything of value.” You state matter of factly.
“Oh, I think you have plenty to offer.” He says, trailing that dead gaze of his down the length of your body.
He removes his hand from the wall and brings his fingers down to your collarbone.
“You don’t want to do that.” You say, trying to infuse your influence behind the words. Your energy feels shaky though, and you know you haven’t pushed hard enough.
“Oh, I think I do.” He tugs up on the leather string, pulling Mando’s pendant up and out from the cover of your top.
“Well, looky at this. What’ve we got here?” He stares at the pendant, tilting it this way and that in the light.
“What is this made of?” he asks.
That’s it. You’re about to draw on your influence, infusing every bit of power you can muster into words of persuasion. You’ll have him turn his knife on his own friends. That ought to keep them busy long enough for you to get back to Halo.
Just as you’re about to speak the words that will turn this guy and his friends into a pack of brawling massiffs , Halo rounds the corner. His hands are casually resting in the pockets of his trench and a toothpick rests between his lips. His brow furrows as he relaxedly approaches, taking note of the men.
He points his finger toward the streets. “Ah, ahh mate. You don’t want to be doing that. Why don’t you just head back where you came from and take your little friends with you.”
Little?Crazy Eyes and his friends were about the same height as Halo, stretching well over six feet. The third was around the same, but hefty, toting at least fifty pounds more than he was.
Crazy Eyes takes two steps back from you and adjusts the tip of his blade so that he’s now pointing the knife directly at Halo.
“You just made a trade back there, didn’t you? Why don’t you hand over the credits and then maybe I’ll hit the road.” he says, unable to control the bit of spittle that flies out of his maw as he’s talking.
Halo reaches his hand to the inside pocket of his coat causing Crazy Eyes’s hand to twitch in response. Instead of a weapon, Halo pulls out a small electric torch and cigarra. He spits out his toothpick onto the sidewalk and replaces it with the rolled brown paper . He shields the cigarra from the wind flurry with the palm of his hand as he brings the small blue light up to the end. The cigarra blazes a red glow at the tip as he puffs out a small cloud of smoke- a chandrilan ciggara by the notes of conifer lacing the white cloud. The casualness with which Halo stands- the cigarra between his lips, a thumb hooked on a belt loop, a slight bend to his knee- a silent and eerie warning. These men- men that turned your stomach and sent a chill running down your spine- were of no consequence to him. Soon to be forgotten. At that moment, you realize Crazy Eyes is in a shitload of trouble. He thinks he’s in control of the situation and he is gravely mistaken.
“Ah, look at you, with your pretty coat and your bitch. Hand over the credits or I’ll carve them out of you piece by piece.”
Halo blows out another puff of smoke, his head tilted back slightly as if he’s weighing the weight of the man’s words.
“Look mate, I can’t fault a rabid dog for trying to take a bite.. But if you can’t mind the length of your chain, you must know… that you’re going to be put down.”
Crazy Eyes looks back at his two friends, a look of confusion on his face.
“What the fuck are you talking abo—”
Before his words are out, Halo steps forward and coldcocks him in the cheek just below his good eye. Crazy Eyes hits the asphalt with a dreadful thud, his arms fanned out, body unmoving. His two friends stumble backwards wearing looks of disbelief. They quickly head off in the opposite direction. You hear one mutter "lets get the fuck outta here.”
Halo watches their retreat intently, satisfied only once they’re out of sight. He turns to look at you and puts a hand on his hip like he’s about to scold a child. You realize that he’s wearing a set of brass knuckles- blood splattered all over his hand. When he had the time to slip his fingers into them unknowingly was beyond you. Meanwhile, the cigarra is still perfectly planted between his lips, even though he just delivered a hell of a knockout punch.
“What!?” you say innocently.
“I thought I asked you to stay put, Bunny.”
“First of all…..you’re not the boss of me,” you say- resorting to words you must have used on him a thousand times growing up. Halo instantly smiles, all signs of irritation replaced with a slight grin. “Secondly, I was about to kick their asses- you just interrupted me.” Halo’s brow piques in interest- he nods in agreement but his face is pure disbelief. “And thirdly, I was following a spy drone, and lastly- stop calling me Bunny.”
“What?”
“I’m not a youngling anymore, stop calling me Bunny.”
“Not that Bunny, go back to the third thing.”
You tilt your head and narrow your eyes. “Really?” you inhale. “A spy drone. I think it was watching us, but it was hit when the train passed.”
“Where?”
You point across the street where a few remnants are scattered. You follow behind Halo as he squats down to scoop up a piece. It must have been under manual control if it was hit by a train.
“Mmm.” Is all he says as he stands and puts a chip in his pocket.
He turns to head back toward the speeder.
“That’s it?”
“Yep.”
“Now what?” you ask as he climbs back on the speeder, igniting the engine to life with a press of his thumb to the pad. You balance a hand on his shoulder as you climb onto the back behind him. You tuck your pendant back down under the cover of your top and put your hands on Halo’s waist to hold on.
“I’m taking you somewhere safe, to lay low for a few hours while I finish up some business. We’ll leave tonight.”
The bike roars to life. Halo does a u-turn, rounding the outside of Crazy Eyes’ unmoving body. As you zoom past, your only regret is that you didn’t deliver him a swift kick while he was down.
The speeder travels around the outlining streets of the industrial district and heads back towards the black ocean, where the old shipping yards are. Halo finally pulls up to a small building. It rests at the edge of the foundation where the city meets the ocean. It’s nondescript, probably used for maintenance or such. He stores the speeder in a nearby outbuilding and leads you to a backdoor.
“Where are we?”
“My place.” He dabs out his cigarra on the bottom of his boot heel before unlocking the door.
“Really? This place? I figured you’d have some sort of luxury penthouse, like all the other crime lords.”
“I do,” he chuckles. “But it’s just for appearances. I don’t spend much time there.”
When you step over the threshold, the overhead lights blink themselves on, illuminating the previously dim room. You’re not sure what exactly you were expecting, but this was not it. Row after row, lush walls of green foliage cover the entire space. Hundreds of plants line the walls, shelves, and tables. Other’s hang from the ceiling, their leggy vines draping down like emerald curtains. The ceiling is made mostly of glass, a thin layer of sea mist and condensation covering it, preventing you from seeing out- or others from seeing in. The blast of green color surrounding you is a jolt to the system after riding around the city- a dull landscape of concrete and metal grays.
“Wow.” you say, slowly spinning in a circle and taking it in. “This is your place?”
“It is.” he laughs at your awed tone.
“This is where I come to escape. You’ve seen it out there- it’s depressing.”
“Yeah, I mean, I guess I’m just a little surprised. You take care of all these plants?”
“Yes. Well, yes and no. I’ve grown them all, from clippings or seedlings; but they require a regular watering and feeding schedule- something that doesn’t come easy in my line of work, so I’ve programmed a bio-droid to look after them when I can’t.” He picks up a small potted plant and dips his finger into the soil. When he pulls it away, there are remnants of dirt that he rubs between two fingers, examining it closely. “But I’d prefer to do it myself.”
“C2-6, get over here.”
A small hovering biodroid appears. He has a tear shaped body and a retractable saucer shaped head on the top, complete with four varying limbs. One is a hand, another an injector of sorts, the third a duster, and the last a nozzle- presumably for watering.
“This one’s ready for water, Two-six, I told you she was getting ready to bloom, that she’d require more than her usual amount of water.”
The droid beeps a sort of curious “oopsy” sound, as a small magnifying lens springs down over his left lens.
“Don’t overdo it, either.” Halo says.
Two-six pushes out its small nozzle, and lightly waters the surface of the soil after Halo sets it back down on a small draining saucer, causing you to laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
“This. You! I’m just imagining the big bad crime boss bringing girls back here and impressing them with your… green thumb.”
“It’s not my thumb that impresses them.”
“Ewww.” you say, covering your ears and repeating “ la la la la la.”
Halo laughed and then you laughed too. This was nice. Talking with him- joking around like old times. Your brother had never been a slouch with the girls back on Bestine- something that you had always teased him over- and you highly doubted that charm didn’t follow him into adulthood.
“You started it.”
“And now I’m ending it- because thatis something I do not want to think about.”
He laughed again. “What makes you think I’m a crime boss?”
“I can’t say for sure what exactly you are, but I don’t see people like the ones you seem to associate with, following the orders of a professional horticulturist.”
He smiles brightly. “Well, in any case, I don’t bring girls here. You’re the first person I’ve ever brought here.”
“Really?”
“Mmm hmm.”
“Not even your partner, Sin?”
“Sin and I are partners, yes. But nothing more- if that’s what you’re angling at.”
“Not even friends?”
He stares ahead as you examine some of the different leaves. Clearly he isn’t entirely sure how to label the female.
“I trust her with business decisions.”
Did that make it a friendship? Fuck if you knew.
“Well, I love it here. I’ve always wanted to grow plants- tried to back on Sorgan. Most of them lived.” Until they didn’t.
“I can teach you.”
“I’d like that,” you smile. “Do you know all of their names?”
“Mmm, test me.” he challenges with a grin.
“Ok, what about that one?” you say, pointing to a feathery, soft green one- some type of fern maybe?
“Crysticus Durus, or more commonly known as a Crystal fern.”
"Ok. How about that one?” you say, pointing out a red leafed, red trunked plant that looked like it was rooted in sand.
“Ohmunus Dunsus, also known as the Hydenock.”
“Ok, I admit, you know your stuff. Or at least I think so- because I wouldn’t know if you were lying or not.”
Something flashed across his eyes, but it was here and gone before you could decipher it.
“Which one is your favorite?”
“Hmm,” his eyes light up. Taking your hand he tows you over to a wall of greenery. The leaves are sort of heart shaped, but other than that it looks like any common houseplant.
“This one? Really? You have all these beautiful exotic plants and this one’s your favorite?”
“Yep.”
“It looks kind of.. ordinary.”
“That’s because it is. It’s resilient- can grow in almost any environment. You’ve probably seen them everywhere and never noticed because they are thatcommon.”
“Why is it your favorite?”
He breathed deeply, taking one down from the shelf for you to look at.
“Because you can’t kill it. No matter what you do to her, she’ll always come back to life.” His voice was a little distant, and yeah you got it. How nice would that be?
“What is it called?”
“Felucanus Eternalus.” He grinned. “Undying heart,” he added.
“Are you sure you’re willing to walk away from this? It looks like you’ve been growing these for years.” you ask, feeling a little guilty that he’d have to leave behind such a beautiful collection.
“That’s the beauty of plants. All you need is a few seeds, a few clippings, and you can start again.”
You take his hand in yours and give it a gentle squeeze.
“We can start anew…together.”
“Yes,” he said, “Which reminds me, I’ve got to tie up a few more loose ends before we can leave.”
You follow him as he winds his way through the curated jungle until you reach a small spiral staircase in the back corner. You follow him down the steps, which open into a small room underground. It can only be described as an office/library. Two walls are lined with shelves full of books and the third is made of thick glass. Ocean waves splash up against the wall- a wild sight to behold for sure. Next to the window, a hammock swings low- an amazing place for reading or napping.
“Holy shit!” you say nervously, staring at the glass. “Uhh, is that really safe?” The wild black waves lap against the glass, chrome colored foam and bubbles sticking to the surface.
“Yes it’s safe, I assure you. The glass is thick…rarely ever cracks.”
“Oh, ha-ha.” you say, staring in amazement. You turn, taking in the rest of the room. “Where’s your escape door?”
Halo’s eyes glitter a little, a smile playing over his face. He always did have the best smile- able to draw you in, making him instantly likeable. He slowly backs up, keeping his eyes on you while his hand reaches for the edge of the bookshelf. His finger hooks around, finding a button invisible to the eye and presses it. The entire shelf from top to bottom pushes out from the wall. Halo grabs the edge and slides the entire unit over, revealing a metal door and security panel.
“How’d you know?” he asks.
“You always used to say, ‘The only problem with a foxhole is, there’s only one way in and one way out.’ You hated it! Hated being backed into a corner.”
“You remember a lot.”
You shrug. “It’s strange- what things you forget, and what things stay with you.”
“You know me well.” he smiles back. “But let’s see how well. Can you figure out the password?”
Up for the challenge, you head over to the keypad. Halo watches with an amused grin, a new toothpick wiggling in his mouth, side to side.
Your hand hovers over the keypad while your brain rifles through the possibilities. You start with the obvious- his birthdate- hoping to the maker that you still remember that correctly. You punch in the numbers.
“[Password Failure ] Attempt 1 of 3.”
You breathe out slowly. Did you misremember his birthday, or is the birthdate not the password? You don’t bother asking him because you know this is a test. He wouldn’t have goaded you if he didn’t think there was a chance you could get it.
You didn’t think he’d use your mother’s name, and you didn’t have any pets growing up. Maybe he’d use one of his crushes’ names, but you’d have no idea which one of them had been his favorite. He didn’t have a ‘best friend’ growing up- well, besides you- or at least that was what he always told you. Whether it was true or just something an older brother tells his younger sister in the moment to appease her, you weren’t entirely sure. He had always said you were his favorite person. Could it be me? You enter in the keys for your name.
“[Password Failure] Attempt 2 of 3. WARNING: A third failed attempt in 12 hours will lock the system.”
“Dank Farrick!”
Halo chuckles. You step back, arms crossed in annoyance.
“Only got one shot left, better make it count.”
“I’ll get it, I just need to think about it. I don’t want to waste my last try.”
“Well, while you’re doing that, I’ve got to tidy up some loose ends.”
“What sort of loose ends are we talking about and whycan’t I come?”
“I’ve got credits, more than enough to see us through, but it will be highly suspicious if I cash out all at once.”
Halo heads over to a desk and pulls out what looks like a ledger. He flips through the pages until his finger lands on the one he’s seeking and he rips out the page, stuffing it inside his coat pocket.
“I don’t want anyone following us, so I’m going to collect on a few debts and that will get us on our way. I’ve also got to talk to Sin, get her set up to take over. I’ll arrange it so she can send the rest once we’ve settled.”
“But why do I have to stay here? Why can’t I come along with you?”
“It’s safer this way, Bunny. After this morning’s little incident, I can’t risk any more unwanted attention- and me chauffeuring you around town won’t go unnoticed.”
You let out a long breath. “How long do you think it’ll be?”
“A few hours at least. I’ve got to collect on these and send word to prepare the ship.”
“What’ll I do? I’ll go crazy just sitting here waiting.” You might literally lose your mind if you’ve got nothing but time alone with your thoughts- thoughts that will divert straight back to a certain tall, broad, shiny, beskar covered man you’ll probably spend the rest of your life pining for.
“I don’t know. Read a book. Take a nap. Just stay inside and out of sight.”
You let a small groan of annoyance slip out- not something you’d normally do, but for some reason, sharing gripes with your older sibling just feels natural.
Halo chuckled again. “Hey, cool your blasters there, Bunny. I thought I’d have all day to get this done, figured you’d want to spend your last hours curled up with that tin can. ”
A pang of guilt echoes through your chest, sadness seeps into your eyes. You plop down on Halo’s hammock, squeezing a small pillow to your chest, not bothering to deny it.
“Awe Bunny, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by that.”
“How did you know?” you wonder aloud. Personally you thought you had done an amazing job playing it aloof. Hell, you almost had yourself convinced with that handshake goodbye.
“Anybody with eyes can see there’s something between you two….especially if they happen to be walking down the street… in the middle of the night.”
Oh shit. Shit Shit Shit. A flood of embarrassment heats your skin from the inside out. Your eyes go wide and you try to hide it by burying your face in the pillow. Kill. Me. Now.
Your words come out forced and muffled by the pillow. “Maker, please do NOTsay another word.”
Halo laughs- like really belly laughs, out loud.
“S’okay, sis. I accepted the fact that you grew up and became an adult with your own life a long time ago.”
You peek your head out from the pillow, avoiding direct eye contact.
“Good, because you’re one to talk- I can’t tell you how many times I saw you sneaking off into the woods, toting some nerf-herder’s daughter behind you…course I didn’t know at the time what exactly you were doing out there.”
“Fair enough.” he chuckles. “The only thing I can’t accept… is your blatant disrespect for genuine, happabore leather.” he says, flicking up the collar of his trench coat. You immediately send the pillow hurtling through the air, smacking him directly in the face. Bullseye.
“I’m serious. This is my favorite jacket.”
“Get out of here, already!”
“On my way.” he says, before gently tossing the pillow back to you. You swiftly catch it while offering a not-so-menacing glare.
He heads back toward the staircase, his palm gripping the railing.
“If you get hungry, Two-six knows where I keep the food.”
“Halo?”
“Yeah?” he says, pausing at the third step.
“What did he say to you? ..Before we left?”
His tone suddenly serious, he plucks the toothpick from his lips. “Don’t. Don’t do that. Don’t torture yourself.”
Yeah, I’m seriously lacking in self preservation here.
“Tell me.”
“That’s between him and I.”
“Tell me.” you say with more resolve. “Please.”
He stares back at you, clearly debating himself on whether or not he should.
You bait him the best way you know how- by placing your closed fist on top of your open palm. He stares at it, unable to resist its call.
“Fine.” He does the same. It’s weird how well you feel like you know him and at the same time, have no idea who he is now.
“Rock, paper, scissors- shoot!” you say in unison.
You give him a big shit-eating-grin while holding up your two fingers in a scissoring motion.
“Dank farrick!” He pushes up his trench sleeve to reveal a small holopad cuffed around his forearm. He messes around with it for a second and then pushes a button and a tiny audio transmitter pops out. He tosses it over to you and you catch it in waiting hands. He heads up the stairs and you can hear him mutter under his breath, “Every. Fucking. Time.”
You stare at the little transmitter in your palm. On it, you know you’ll hear Din’s voice. Forever wondering what his last words to Halo were, is liable to send you into a downward spiral. On the other hand, hearing his voice again may do worse. Halo is right- you’re just torturing yourself. You decide to play a little game to pass the time. You’ll wait and see just how long you can stand not listening to the audio recording before inevitably giving in to self inflicted torment. You tuck the transmitter into your coat pocket and start the mental timer with a glance at the clock. After staring at the ocean waves crashing against the glass wall for a long while, you check the time. Six minutes?Fuck me.
You head upstairs and explore the green room a little more. You try counting the number of plants, but give up somewhere in the three hundreds when you realize you haven’t gotten a quarter of the way through them yet. You try talking to Two-six hoping to maybe learn some more about the plants- but he only speaks in a binary code that you’re less than proficient in.
Looking around at the plants, it dawns on you that Halo has carved out his own personal version of Bestine, in the middle of this urban ecumenopolis. He’s surrounded himself with a veritable forest, bordered by an ocean. Home.
It breaks your heart that he’ll have to leave all of the plants behind- there’s no possible way to take them with. But then you alight on an idea.
“Two-six, where does Halo - I mean- Where does Vale keep the plant seeds?”
He sounds off with a little beep boop beep and leads you over to an old apothecary cabinet filled with jars. There’s no way to carry them along with you, so you borrow a piece of paper from Halo’s office, folding it into a tiny envelope. You go through each row of jars, remove the lids and carefully pour small increments into the envelope. Sadly, they are all going to have to be mixed together and you have no way of identifying them later-but hopefully Halo would be able to sort it out. Once the miniature envelope is full, you carefully fold it up and tuck it into your pocket alongside the transmitter. Damn, the transmitter. You check the clock again. One hundred and two minutes have passed. You’re doing better than you thought. You figure the longer you can hold out, the better chance you have of resisting.
It’s well past lunch- if the grumblings in your stomach are any indication. You figure stopping to eat something will help more time to pass, so you have Two-six show you where the snacks are stashed. After filling up on dried meat and crackers, you make your way back down to Halo’s office. You run your hand down the spines of books, perusing the titles as you go. Halo has a healthy collection of both fiction and non-fiction reading from what you can see. You get nosy and rifle through the ledger he left out on his desk. There’s pages of names, each categorized by debts owed and little symbols that you have no idea what the meaning of them are. Types of debt? Gambling? Smuggling? Trade work? Underworld? You hadn’t a clue how a potential underboss in Keyorin’s crime world might categorize his finances, but judging by the amounts next to the names, your brother had done well for himself over the years.
Time to check the clock. Your nosiness and rifling through things that don’t belong to you ate up more time than you thought. Two-hundred-forty-eight minutes have passed.
Din is lightyears away by now.
Eventually you give up on deciphering the ledger and select a book from the shelf. The Beginner’s Guide to Plants Throughout the Galaxy, Volume I, wasn’t much of a page turner. You find yourself skipping through the pages, reading the general descriptions of plants, selecting the ones that had the most vibrant and interesting pictures. You seek out the Undying Heart, having quickly forgotten its scientific name. And there in the description, much as Halo had said, the book speaks of the plant’s miraculous ability to recover from most any situation. At the bottom of the page, a twelve-hundred-year-old poem references its tenacity:
Resilient in the face of death,
she’ll weather every storm.
Cut off her limb, she’ll rise again,
merciful and reborn.
Cut out her heart- She won’t forget.
But do not fret.
With soil wet and light present,
She’ll return to love you,
now and evermore.
Eventually, you drift off to sleep, coaxed by the gentle sway of the hammock and the sounds of black ocean water lapping at the glass. It’s not until hours later, that a crashing sound overhead startles you awake.
You struggle out of the hammock, none too gracefully and come to your feet- the plant book falling from your lap to the floor. You stare at the ceiling overhead, listening intently for any clue as to what could have caused the sound. Perhaps Two-sixknocked over a plant? You listen and wait until the distinct sound of heavy footsteps begin to cross the floorboards overhead. Could Halo have returned? The steps continue, slowly circling the room above. Not Halo. He would have headed directly downstairs. Whoever was upstairs was searching for something, unfamiliar with the plant jungle above. They were also large, judging by the creaking of the floor boards.
Your mind begins to race, prioritizing your next move. There are only two possible exits, the entry door you first came through and the escape door in the office. You weigh your options- your indecisiveness eating up precious seconds. You could try to sneak up the spiral staircase and escape through the plants without being seen, but it was improbable at best. Plus, you didn’t know exactly who or even how many people were upstairs. The only other option was the escape door, but you only had one more attempt at cracking the password and if you got it wrong, the door would be locked for several hours before allowing another entry. Dammit Halo, what’s the fucking password?!
You run to the keypad, your fingers freezing in place over the buttons. Not his birthday, not my name….what could it be? He was sure I could figure it out. Could it be Bestine? Did Halo look back on those times so fondly that thatmight be the password? He had, after all, created his own version here on Keyorin. Your fingers begin to move, B-E-S-T-I-N-E.Your index finger hesitates over the entry button, some small voice inside, tickling at your senses, saying wrong.
“Ahh, there you are, little one .”
Fuck. You knew that voice. You had wasted so much time debating the possible code that you had failed to hear Vandaal- the devaronian make his way down the stairs. You step away from the control panel, choosing to draw his attention away from it as well. You circle around, putting Halo’s desk between the two of you as he comes to stand at the landing.
“Did you miss me?”
“Hm, like a Tuskan misses sand.”
“Well I missed you, quite a lot actually. Couldn’t stop thinking about our last goodbye.” He steps forward, closer towards the desk.
It may be posturing, but you hold tight for your resolve and maintain your footing. Your instinct is to step back, to put as much distance between the two of you as possible, but you know there is nowhere to go, so you’d rather hold on to what pride you have and stand your ground. Even with the expanse of the desk between you, the nearer he draws, the further you have to tilt your chin upward to maintain eye contact.
“Let’s not play games, Vandaal. Why don’t you just us the trouble and tell me what it is you want.”
“You.” He flashes you a surprisingly bright smile despite the fact that his teeth are all razor sharp, each tooth coming to a point. He licks his upper lip, revealing a likewise, pointed tongue. Your blood runs cold, though you knew what his answer would be the second you asked.
“Well no shit, dick-head. I figured as much. Tell me… exactly how many years have devaronians been sentient? Or is stupidity just a trait found in your males?”
The taunting grin he wears quickly transforms into an intimidating clench of his jaw. Clearly, you had struck a soft spot. Perhaps I oughtn’t poke the beast just yet.
“I’ve come to take you back to Vale. He’s been detained…by business. Sent me to retrieve you.”
You weigh the words, determining their value, and find none. Slowly shaking your head, you respond with indignance.
“He wouldn’t have sent you. He knows I’d never go with you.”
“You’re so sure about that? Think you know him?” He steps forward again, until the front of his thighs meet the edge of the desk. Two feet of Keyorin hardwood- all that stands between you.
“Know that he’s not the kind of man that would sell you to the highest bidder, and send me in to do the dirty work?” You remain silent, not giving in to his provocation, though much to your disappointment, his words cause a pang of doubt to echo over your mind.
“He wouldn’t.” you say. But the slight tremble in your voice betrays you.
He leans forward, balancing the knuckles of his fist on the desktop. He tilts his head slightly to the side, his yellow eyes searching your face for a reaction.
“You’re not sure are you? Truth is, you don’t know who he is at all. Oh, I could tell you some stories. That man….as ruthless as they come. And now that your metal guard dog is out of the way..”- he runs his gaze up and down, momentarily lost in whatever images he was conjuring in his head- “well, there’s nothing to stop us from collecting on that bounty, is there?”
Your heart sinks. Vandaal was a problem when he was just a crude lech, but now- he knows about your bounty, making him ten times the obstacle. Using your moment of incapacitating doubt as an advantage, Vandaal reaches over the expanse of the desk and seizes you by the waist, faster than you thought someone of his bulky size possibly could. Your hands instinctively fly to his wrists in a wasted effort to dislodge his grip. You are quickly tossed over a shoulder as he spins to head back towards the stairs. You flail and kick, but are not more than a swamp mouse caught in the paw of a rancor.
He stops to adjust your weight over his shoulder. “I’d mind the horns if I were you.” The hard bulging tips of them, rubbing up against the side of your hip as you dangle ass over head. You suddenly remember the knife you have stowed in the waistband and reach behind you to tug it free. He has no idea you’ve just armed yourself as he nearly reaches the landing at the bottom of the stairs. At his great size and dangling over his back, you’re not sure you’ll be able to hit anything vital, but you’d have to take the chance. Using your left hand to push against his back for leverage, you raise your knife hand up and send it arcing downward and into his lower back. You feel the disgusting sensation of flesh giving way to blade and the distinct vibration as the edge scores alongside bone. His back arches, and he unleashes a gruesome roar that leaves your ears ringing. You lose your grip on the handle- the knife still lodged in his back- as you are thrown off his shoulder. You crash into the desk, skittering across the top like a rock over a lake, and clear into the shelf-a number of books falling in a heap around you. You gasp for air as the pain of temporarily being unable to breathe seizes your lungs. Your arms fly to your stomach protectively, trying to will your body to do its job and breathe again. You begin to sputter and choke as the air too slowly begins to return to your lungs. Your eyes water. You need to move. Vandaal is still roaring, trying and failing to reach behind his back and remove the blade. He still blocks your escape route though. There’s no way to get past him and to the stairs.
Stupid! I should have waited until I was upstairs. You have all but trapped yourself with a much angrier Vandaal. Unless I can use the escape door. You edge your way back to the keypad along the bookshelf. Vandaal stops struggling to pull a small vile from his pocket. He turns back to face you, leaving the dagger to rest in his back much the way it had in his horn the day before.
“Bitch…” he slurs. “Got me right in the liver! Lucky then, that I’ve got two.”
He pops the cap off of the vile and tilts his head back to the ceiling, inhaling an amber colored powder into each nostril. Breathing deeply, his back stiffens, spine going straight. The distinct smell of sulfur tinges your own nostrils, spurring you back to your task.
When you look at the keypad, B-E-S-T-I-N-E is still poised, ready for entry. All you have to do is hit enter. You hesitate again, thinking of Halo. Did he really sell you out? One way to find out. You quickly clear the screen and input B-U-N-N-Y instead.
“You know, All they said was ‘alive’. No other terms as to the condition that you were to be delivered. You know what that means Little One ? You and I are going to have some fun.” He tilts his head to the side, releasing a large CRACKin his neck. With the sulfur seemingly given him a rush of strength, he reaches behind his back and pulls the knife free.
You punch the “enter” button. A green light flashes across the screen and the door panel slides out of place to reveal an opening with a ladder in the floor.
