“Zandrea-” he says.
“I told you to never come back!” my mother shouts at him.
Sensing the situation, I try to fight fire with ice. “Mother,” I say soothingly. “It’s me, Zandrea. Your daughter. I’ve been gone for a while, and I’m really sorry, but I’m back now and-”
She steps over the threshold as my father tries climbing the stairs. She pushes him backward and he falls down the steps. I immediately rush over and shove my mother out of the way. She stumbles a little in her clunky heels but regains enough composure to push me too. I stumble a little. I ditch my fighting fire with ice method.
“Don’t you dare touch my father,” I say fiercely. “And don’t you ever touch me again either. You’re a monster. And despite him being gone for so long, he was more of a parent figure than you ever were!” I motion for my father to leave, but he doesn’t move.
“I’m not leaving you alone with her,” he says.
“Don’t worry,” a voice says from behind us. “She won’t be alone.”
I turn around to see Damien and Kyle coming toward us. I smile immediately. Kyle begins helping my father and Damien stands next to me. My mother begins retreating inside the house, and I figure I’ll probably never see her again, so I run up the steps and push the door back open.
“I’m taking Father back to the house,” Kyle says. “He’s really hurt.”
I nod over my shoulder and begin working on my mother. She’s stronger than I remember, but then again, so am I. But before I can shove her out of the way, she freezes. Her eyes become glossy and lifeless. She doesn’t move, not even flinch.
“Well, well,” a voice says from inside the house, one that is way too familiar. “Did you forget about me?”
A shadow appears in the doorway, and at first I can’t tell who it is, but then I see him and every muscle in my body tenses. Chris.
“How have you been?” he asks like we’re old friends. “Must think you’re pretty tough for escaping my compound, don’t you?”
“You didn’t exactly stop me,” I say.
“Oh Zandrea,” he says. “I could have stopped you if I wanted, but that would give you the impression that I was winning. I wanted you to feel like you had some control.”
He uses the same sickly sweet tone he used before tinkering with my brain. It makes me want to hurl.
“And who do we have here?” he asks, gesturing to Damien. “Have you already replaced that pathetic little boyfriend of yours? You know Kelton never liked him. I could tell he had an eye for you though.”
“Kelton’s dead,” I inform him almost a little too triumphantly.
“Yes, he died a tragic death,” he says nonchalantly. “If he had listened to his father, he would still be alive now. But he thought he could take control of the entire organization. Ha! Serves him right.”
I roll my eyes. As annoying and evil as he is, he’s also a bit amusing. He is very dramatic, which gives him flair. I despise him for it.
“Now,” he says with a little jump in his step. “I wanted to show you this.” He points to my mother like she’s a new showcase that I haven’t seen before.
“I’ve seen her before,” I say with slight disgust. “She raised me.”
“Ah, but she is new and enhanced,” he says like a dramatic salesperson trying to get someone to buy a product. “Just watch.”
He pulls out a small remote and presses a few buttons. She comes to life again, her eyes full of life, but they still have a glossy coat. He presses a different button and her head turns to me, her eyes locking with mine.
“Fancy, isn’t she?” Chris asks. “Now, I know what you’re thinking and no, she isn’t a robot or machine. I simply attached an earpiece behind her ear that alters her brain chemistry to an electromagnetic wavelength that I can thus control her by. And all this is possible because of the experiments we did to you in the lab.”
“So the remote controls her,” Damien says.
“Precisely,” Chris replies. “He’s a smart little cookie, isn’t he?”
I slap him. “How could you?” I yell. “You completely brainwashed her!”
“Fierce little one, isn’t she?” he says, mostly to himself. “And I didn’t brainwash her, I merely altered her brain chemistry.”
“That’s basically the same thing,” I say.
“On the contrary,” he says. “If I were to have brainwashed her, there would be no going back. She would be under my control for the rest of her life. By changing her brain chemistry, I allowed for her to be controlled by this remote and an earpiece, which is completely reversible.”
“How do you reverse it?” I ask.
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” he taunts.
“Yes, that’s why I asked,” I say. “And why would you make it a reversible procedure?”
He thinks the question over for a second before sighing dramatically and saying, “My dear, do you really think I’m just going to tell you everything?”
“I was hoping you would,” I say.
He sighs another dramatic sigh and out of nowhere punches Damien in the stomach. He doubles over, clutching his stomach. The blow didn’t seem that hard, just unexpected.
“Well, as you’re tending to his needs,” Chris says. “I’m going to take my masterpiece back inside. Have fun, and get off my property.”
I stand up and lunge toward him, but he’s already inside the house, my mother being pulled behind him like she’s nothing but a machine. I pound my fists on the patio floor and let out a scream I didn’t know I was holding in.
“We should go back to your father’s house,” Damien says, sitting on the patio floor. “We can reassemble there.”
I get up and walk over to him and offer him a hand. He accepts it and I pull him to a standing position. He doesn’t let go of my hand, and I don’t let go of his. We hold each other’s gaze for a few seconds before a cold breeze blows by and brings us back to reality. The familiarity in his eyes mixed with the breeze sends a shiver down my spine. He releases my hand and descends down the patio stairs.
My hand feels cold now, and I miss his touch. It’s weird for me to think that I’ve known him for a short while, and yet there seems to be a connection you only get after being with someone for a while. I try to shake the thought but I can’t. My mind keeps wandering back to the patio.
The walk to my father’s house isn’t very long. Neither of us say anything, we just enjoy the quietness and springtime beauty of Coreno. Spring in Coreno was always my favorite time of the year. After a harsh winter, Coreno seemed to spring back to life—the warmth of the air, the slight breezes, the smell of plants blossoming to life; I never found that anywhere else.
I walk up the stairs to my father’s house once again and knock on the door. This time isn’t as nerve-wrecking. I hear the little pitter-patter of feet, too light to be Kyle’s footsteps. Cody opens the door and gives me a huge smile.
“You guys are back!” he says excitedly. “Come on in.”
Damien allows me to step across the threshold first. When I do, I see my father lying on the couch, a cloth wrapped across his forehead, and Kyle sitting next to him.
“Is he okay?” I ask Kyle.
“He’ll be fine,” he says. “He just needs some rest. He seemed a little warm and he might have cracked a rib or two.”
“Can I take a look?” Damien asks. “I know a thing or two about stuff like this. Back on Juema, I took a few medical classes as an extracurricular.”
“Thanks,” Kyle says. “I have no idea what I’m doing.”
We leave Damien to his work and go sit on the staircase that leads upstairs. “So,” I say to Kyle. “What’s up?”
“I don’t know,” he says. “I’ve been really worried about Father lately. After he found out about Mother, he sort of went into a depression. I think it’s good you came back when you did, otherwise I don’t know what would have happened to him.”
“And what about you?” I ask.
; “I’m just glad you’re back,” he says with a smile. He leans over and embraces me. Then he whispers in my ear, “I was beginning to lose hope.”
I pull away and hold him at arm’s length. “I will always come back to you,” I say. “I made that promise to myself a long time ago and I don’t see any reason for breaking it now.”
He laughs and I pull him into another embrace. We sit there for a while before I finally feel the need to ask him something that’s been on my mind the last couple of days.
“Explain to me what happened after you guys left the headquarters,” I say.
“Well,” he says, thinking back. “We had just taken off the runway and before we even got above some of the buildings, something hit us. Father thinks it was a missile or something. The back of the ship was smoking and we were losing altitude. Thankfully, there were some parachutes in the front near the pilot’s seat, so we all grabbed one and strapped it to ourselves. Daniel helped me with mine.”
I wince at his name. The memories are still too painful to think about.
“We all jumped out of the ship and barely had enough time to open our parachutes,” he says. “The landing hurt more than it should have. We were all fine though. We started running in the direction of the ship port, but some guards from the Corps were chasing us, so we had to take cover.”
He pauses, letting the information sink in. I’m still wondering how Daniel died when he starts up with the story again.
“We hid behind a building, and we thought for sure they would find us,” he says. “But I guess the Corps aren’t that smart because they ran right past us. That was when Daniel revealed his master plan to us.”
“A master plan?” I ask.
“Yes,” Kyle says. “He thought it would be too dangerous for all of us to stay together, so he told Father and me to go back to Coreno. That way, when you escaped or they let you go, you would be able to go back and find us. He said he couldn’t go back to Coreno because it would be too easy for them to find him. He was hated by the Corps and knew they would kill him if they found him. So he went to a place where he thought they would never look: Juema.”
“He went to Juema?” I ask astonished.
“Yes,” Kyle says. “Since most people go there to retire and lay back, he figured it would be a good spot to blend in and not be noticed.”
“Did he die on his way there or something?” I ask, the question eating away at me.
“What do you mean?” Kyle asks.
“I was given his code number and when I checked one of the Codereaders, it said he was dead,” I explain. “So did he die on his way there or before he even left or what?”
“Zandrea,” Kyle says softly. “Daniel isn’t dead. And he’s closer than you think.”
I can’t breathe. I can’t move. I stare at Kyle in disbelief. He’s dead, the Codereader said so. The Codereader is never wrong.
“He’s dead Kyle,” is all I can think to say. “You need to accept it.”
“No,” he says. “He isn’t dead. I know for a fact he’s alive.”
He stands up and leaves me alone on the staircase. A million thoughts run through my head. How is he still alive? And what does Kyle mean by he’s closer than I think? I remember the conversation I had with Cody about how someone could be emotionally or mentally close to someone without being physically close. Maybe that’s what Kyle means.
Every part of me wants Kyle to be right, but I’ve let myself hope before and it never ends well. For once, I want to be proven wrong. I want Daniel to walk around the corner and reveal himself and tell me it was all a lie. Instead, Damien walks around the corner.
“Hey,” he says.
“Hi,” I say back absentmindedly.
“Can I talk to you for a second?” he asks.
I nod although I don’t really feel like talking right now. He grabs my hand and leads me through the house. I’m too distracted to know where he’s taking me, but eventually we stop in a small room I assume to be in the back of the house.
It’s a nice room. Bookcases filled with books line every wall, floor to ceiling. A potted plant sits opposite the door, near a small window that fills the room with natural light. A large desk rests to the side of the entrance. A lamp and spherical map of Coreno sit on the left side of the desk and a small pile of books and notepad sit on the right. The floorboards creak when I step into the room.
Damien closes the door behind me and takes a step inside so he’s facing me. He pulls a remote out of his pocket and I jump.
“Don’t worry,” he says. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
He brings the remote closer to his face and presses a button. His face turns pixelated and begins to disappear, revealing a different face behind it, almost like a mask but more form-fitting. He slowly transforms into someone very familiar. Daniel.
“Wha-?” I’m too confused to understand what is going on until a thought hits me. He used a Face Transformation Unit, or FTU. Created on Techario a few decades ago, FTU’s help conceal one’s identity if they need to go into hiding or something of the sort. They aren’t hard to find and are available almost anywhere.
“Hey,” he says.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
“It’s me,” he says. “Daniel. I’m back, although technically I’ve been back for a while.”
I don’t trust what I’m seeing. But I have to. He’s right in front of me. But he can’t be.
“What’s happening?” I ask. “How did you just transform from Damien to Daniel?”
“Damien isn’t real,” he says. “That’s just a name I used to conceal my identity. It’s me, Daniel Thomas. You’ve known me for six years. I taught you how to fly a ship. I-”
Ignoring every instinct that’s telling me not to trust him, I run across the room to where he’s standing and wrap my arms around him. He wraps his arms around me and holds me close. I still smell his signature scent of oil and clove and know it’s him. All my doubt has been erased.
“How is this possible?” I ask, half breaking away, half still holding him close.
“Well,” he says. “I used a Face Transforming Unit and-”
“I assumed that part,” I say.
“Then what are you confused about?” he asks.
“I looked up your code number and it said you were dead,” I say. “The Codereaders have never been wrong. Why are they wrong this time? How is any of this possible?”
“I have friends,” he says simply.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask.
“I have a friend who works at the Corps’ headquarters,” he says. “He works in the Codes department. They track people and when their codes stop sending information, they update the person’s info. I asked him if he could change my Existence Status to deceased so I could go into hiding easier and no one would think to look for me.”
“I just can’t believe you’ve been with me this whole time,” I say. Then a new thought hits me. “Why didn’t you say something? Like when I first saw you or after I found out you were ‘dead’ or on the ship or-”
“I was trying to protect you,” he says. “The less you knew, the better.”
“Why is that always the case with you?” I ask. “You don’t tell me anything because you think it would be better if I didn’t know.”
“Look, I’m sorry,” he says. “You don’t understand how hard it was for me to not say anything-”
“You think it was hard for you?” I ask, almost upset. “I’m the one who’s had to go through these last few days thinking you were dead! And in the weeks before that, I thought I might never see you again! It’s been the hardest for me.”
“And I’m the one who thought I’d never see you again,” he says. “I knew you were strong but I’ve seen the things Chris can do firsthand, and I was so worried. When I saw you, it took every ounce of strength I had to stay in character.”
“Why didn’t you just say something?” I ask quietly, the thought of him keeping Kelton’s
identity a secret from me for my own good starts hitting me like a stack of bricks. “Anything at all.”
“Because if somehow they got you again, I didn’t want them to torture you trying to get information out of you,” he says softly. “I could never live with myself if that happened.” He kisses my forehead and I melt into his arms.
“Just don’t leave me again,” I say.
“I don’t think you would let me,” he says with a smile.
We stand in silence for a while, his arms wrapped around me. A new thought hits me, and it makes me smile.
“Remember that story you told me back on Juema,” I say. “It was about a girl that you knew and would do anything for. Was that-”
“Yes,” he says. “The story was about you. And every word I said was true. Although the story itself wasn’t in complete detail.”
“Yeah,” I say. “I realize that now.”
He laughs.
“So you knew I loved you?” I ask. “Without me saying anything?”
“Of course,” he says. “Like I said, actions speak louder than words.”
We’re quiet again for a little bit before Kyle rushes into the room. “I’m glad to see you guys are acquainted again, but there’s someone at our door.”
We follow Kyle out of the room and down the hall to the front entryway. Someone knocks on the door hard enough that it’s a wonder the door didn’t break down.
“Who is it?” I hiss, hoping whoever it is won’t hear me.
“I don’t know,” he says. “But Father can’t help us. He’s resting upstairs. Cody and Lila are with him. Should we open it?”
“If you don’t, they will,” Daniel says. “And I’d rather not find out what would happen next.”
Kyle and I move around the corner for protection. Daniel moves carefully toward the door, resting his hand on the doorknob. He pulls it open, revealing two Corps’ guards standing on the porch, with Chris right in between them.
“Maybe next time you should open the door faster,” Chris snarls.
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