Chapter 5
Under the Dome
Crono
and Lucca trudged down the cold highway, looking for anything that would
indicate they were on the right path. An hour into their journey they spotted a
faint structure off in the distance. The closer they got the clearer it became,
resolving into a massive dome. It looked similar to the one they had found
after arriving through the gate but it was surrounded by several squat
buildings, most of which were broken beyond repair. The dome itself rose into
the air far higher than the previous one and appeared to be in much better
shape, having only a few cracks in the surface rather than the huge rent that
marred the other one. Drawing nearer Lucca could see why they weren’t able to
see if from the ruins; the light that topped the structure had been torn off
and lay in a crumpled heap on the ground.
Just
before they got to the place Marle groaned and started to come to. They set her
down gently and checked to see what kind of damage the mutant had done to her.
Surprisingly the prince seemed to be much more lucid and in far less need of
relief. Crono checked the blonde’s balls, finding that there was no longer any
strange movement under the skin. Marle’s prick remained flaccid as well, making
Lucca opine that the mutant must have sucked the seeds out of Marle. With a bit
of trepidation they released the prince from her bonds and allowed her to get
proper feeling back into her arms and legs. Crono tried to apologize for what
they had done but Marle wouldn’t hear it. She knew what they had done was
necessary, especially after giving Lucca the burden she still carried in her
womb.
Lucca
smiled wryly at the mention, placing a hand on her stomach. She became a bit
concerned at what she felt, asking her friends if she looked any bigger. While
Marle was unable to tell the difference, Crono noticed that she did appear
bigger than she had before, showing obvious signs of pregnancy now. The genius
was starting to look like panic was overtaking her. Lucca grabbed her belly
with both hands, looking at her exposed midriff and muttering to herself: “Get out;
we have to get them out.” She looked up at Crono with fear in her eyes. The
redhead pulled her into a hug to try and calm her down, allowing the
purple-haired girl to cry into Crono’s shoulder. Marle hung back from the pair,
feeling guilty that she was the one who had attacked Lucca. The prince busied
herself with packing up the litter, shouldering the weight while Crono helped
Lucca into the relative shelter of the dome.
Unlike
the previous refuge the entrance to this structure was empty of people. It gave
Crono the chance to wrap Marle’s coat around Lucca so her swollen stomach could
be hidden from view. With what had happened at the last settlement she wasn’t
going to take chances that the natives would be hostile to her friend’s
predicament. The trio had to wander around a bit, down vacant hallways and over
exposed catwalks before they came to a large open space full of people. When
one person raised a head at the group Crono placed a hand on the hilt of her
sword in case it was needed. The drawn and tired figure that regarded them made
a face that resembled something between curiosity and confusion. “Hey, where
did you come from?” The gravelly voice cracked as the words came, sounding like
the woman hadn’t spoken in a long time. Marle offered a response. “Uh, we came
from the west, through the ruins.”
The
woman’s eyes opened wide. “What?” She scrambled to her feet with an agility
that belied her willowy frame and called out to the crowd of people behind her.
“Hey, these people came through the ruins!” The group watched with dread as a
mass of unwashed bodies stirred, rising to their feet to crowd around the new
arrivals. Their faces were a mix of fatigue, excitement and disbelief. Someone
called out from the throng: “No way, you made it through the ruins?” Before any
of them could answer more voices called out from random locations: “So you beat
up those freaks?” “What’s it like on the other side?” “Do you have any food?”
and so on. The bodies began to press in on the trio prompting Crono to grab her
sword hilt, ready to pull the weapon, but she was stopped by a loud tapping.
“Alright everyone, give them a bit of space.” The voice cut through the roiling
murmur and suddenly everyone seemed to calm down and back away from Crono and
her friends.
As
the redhead breathed a sigh of relief she saw a path through the mob open up
and an old woman leaning on a cane stepped through. Her slack grey hair hung
down in greasy strands to the dirty white dress that hid her aging body. She
ambled over to Crono, smiling up at the young woman due to the bend in her back
that kept her a good head shorter than the swordswoman. “Well this is a treat;
it’s not every day we get visitors, let alone three.” She took her time looking
at each of them before walked back to the crowd and waving her hand. “Back up.
You don’t want to make our guests feel unwanted do you?” The mob started to
break up, each person returning to a spot in the stuffy room but their eyes
remained fixed on the strangers.
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