"Gah...Okay..." Leo grunted as Alice snapped her head back to him.
"Please... D-don't... Let... Her... D-die..." he pleaded. Then, he opened his charred hands, and Alice saw what he was holding.
It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. It was the beacon of darklight she had seen during her journey through that bizarre Arcturan realm, but now it was right next to her.
She reached toward it as awe flooded through her. She could feel its heat, even as her hand neared it, but she didn't shy away. It seared her skin as she made contact with its darkness. The pain from it sung through Alice's mind, but she grasped it anyways, carefully folding her fingers around it and squeezing its incinerating mass to her palm.
Alice clutched the darkness in her hand and withstood its torment, but then, a different pain registered in her mind. It was in her neck, but it was just a blip of discomfort in comparison to the agony of the darkness.
"C'mon!" Leo screamed next to her. "Somewhere! ANYWHERE!"
Alice looked to her right. Exony was standing above her, a slight frown on her face as she thrust her tendril deeper into Alice's neck.
"I have learned so much, but I still have so much to learn," Exony whispered. "There is so much more for me to consider now..."
But then, Exony rapidly receded away from Alice, and the silver tendril was cruelly ripped from her neck.
She was flying now, she realized with amazement, through the white blankness, and away from Exony. There was no wind and no sound, but she knew she was flying as the sensation of rapid motion washed over her. She had no idea where Leo was taking her, but it didn't matter. If it was away from Exony, then it was a good place.
Her relief at leaving Exony behind was cut through almost immediately as the burning pain in her hands began to intensify, and the dark mass that she held grew heavier. It had become cumbersome, Alice realized, as its rapidly increasing mass began to test the strength of her arms.
With a growl of effort, she tensed her arms and tightened her grip on the dark beacon. As she did so, however, the burning pain intensified further.
"I'm not letting you go..." Alice gasped as she flew through the white, blank world and struggled to hold on.
But it was so heavy, Alice thought with dismay. The farther she flew, the heavier it became. If it continued to gain mass, she knew her strength would soon fail.
Then, the dark beacon began to pull away from her. It pushed against her hands and forced them away from her body. Slowly, her body was pulled around by its weight, and she found herself flying backward.
The darkness strained against her grip, and still, like a white-hot ball of magma, it burnt her. No, she realized, it was even hotter. Like a little star, and with the seeming mass of one, it was an inferno against her skin, melting its way through her hand as it struggled to escape her grasp.
"No!" Alice screamed as she redoubled her grip with her other hand and, with a massive surge of strength, pulled the dark mass to her chest.
"Let me go, Alice..." Annabelle begged as a whisper within Alice's mind.
"I can't! I made a promise!" Alice growled as she gritted her teeth and struggled to hold on.
"I can't go where you're going..." Annabelle pleaded.
"No!" Alice roared as the searing pain cut through her hands and spread into her chest. The darkness clouded Alice's mind in a sea of agony as it began to sear the skin above her heart.
"I told him I loved him..." Annabelle whispered.
Alice wanted to let her go. She wanted the pain, which had already charred her hands to a crisp and roasted her chest, to go away. But, she had made a promise to Leo. She had promised to hold onto Annabelle for him so that he could save them, and she was not going to break that promise.
She was not going to see the hope leave Leo's eyes when she told him that she had let Annabelle go. She would not see the look on Leo's face that she had seen on her own so many times when she had looked into a mirror. She would not be responsible for yet another lost love.
"NO! I'M BRINGING YOU WITH ME!" Alice screamed. Then, with every fiber of strength she still possessed, she pulled the dark mass tighter to her chest and held it close.
The mass grew even hotter and darker, and Alice felt its unrelenting touch as it burned through her chest and melted into her. Then, it burned through her skin, through her sternum, and entered her chest cavity. There, it found her heart, and with a pain that was as much ecstasy as it was agony to Alice, it melted into her.
Alice knew she was about to die as the darkness intensified and radiated the searing pain into every part of her body. It burned with such intensity that its radiance blinded Alice, and all she could see was the immense darklight.
Euphoria slowly overcame Alice. Her thoughts gradually became more rudimentary, then finally left her. All that she was began to melt away.
Alice's last abstract thoughts were of the way Shonn had looked at her... Once upon a time, on Ganymede...
Then, the darkness completely encompassed her being, and she was burned out of existence.
Chapter 64
With a burst of his thoughts, Leo took hold of Alice and thrust himself through the Infinite. He held Alice close with his mind as they flew through the world of infinite light.
Fear of Annabelle's fate clouded his thoughts, and a memory of her flashed through his mind. It was a memory of the first time he had seen her in that little bar on Osiris. She had looked at him sternly when he had tried to scan her, and she had slowly shaken her head...
In an instant, the infinite light opened up to a familiar world, and Leo was no longer flying. He blinked his eyes, and his memories were brought to life as his feet landed on solid ground.
The dim yellow light, the dirty titanium floor, the long dirty bar, and the old hull fragments that lined the walls were exactly as he had just recalled them. He was now standing in O'Hearns.
It was different, though, Leo thought. Instead of being filled with patrons, the bar was empty. There was no one behind the bar, and no one sitting alone over a brightly colored drink. It was silent and empty, but oddly, there was a shabby looking mattress thrown in the corner...
Suddenly, Leo realized he was alone, and a burst of panic flashed through him. Where was Alice? Where was Annabelle?
"Alice?" Leo called out, but the only answer he received was the echo of his voice.
He looked down to see if he had somehow missed her and took in a disturbing sight. His hands were black and grotesquely contorted. Terrible burns extended up to his wrists and forearms. Even the skin of his upper arms was seared, though to a lesser degree than his hands.
It didn't matter, he thought with a grimace. If that was the price he had to pay to save Annabelle, then so be it.
"C'mon! Where are you?" Leo roared as he instinctually closed his eyes and began to search for her.
He did his best to center himself, and rather than it being a struggle, he was able to find peace within himself quickly and easily. The Infinite was there, and so was the Void. They were all around him, everywhere...
"ALICE! ANNABELLE!" Leo screamed into the Infinite, but before he had even finished, he felt her.
Annabelle was there. She was burning dark and hot as she flew away from him. With a flash of his thoughts, he went to her and took hold of her. She was fighting with all her might to remain within the Infinite, Leo realized, as he felt her burn within his mind. She was an inferno within him...
"Annabelle!" Leo pleaded as the pain in his mind intensified. "Please... I can save you..."
She didn't respond but to burn even hotter, sending waves of agony over him and pulling tears from his eyes.
"Please..." he begged as he feebly tried to tug at her with his mind.
A mountain of agony and joy cascaded down upon him as she burned even hotter. Leo felt his mind being burned away, and he could feel the very fiber of his being begin to turn to ashen dust as the firestorm of Annabelle consumed him.
It was then that
Leo knew he had made a grave mistake trying to bring Annabelle back into the world. She had passed into the Void, and she was not meant to return to the realm of the living. Those were the last thoughts that occupied Leo's mind before an enormous shockwave of energy blasted through his mind.
He fled from the shockwave and opened his eyes as he felt himself flying through the air. Then, just as he took in his surroundings, he collided brutally with the back wall of O'Hearns. His right shoulder took the brunt of the blow, but as he rebounded off the wall and fell to the ground, his temple smashed into the corner of one of the bar's tables.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhrrrrrgggggggghhhhhhhh!" someone near him screamed as he shook away the cobwebs from his collision.
Leo shook his head and climbed to his feet as he struggled against the dizziness of his concussion.
Then, he saw her.
Alice was now standing before him. She was naked, her hands were black and deformed, and a charred section of flesh spread across her naked chest. Leo immediately moved towards her as she fell to her knees and slumped her head to her chest, then stared at her blackened hands.
"Alice!" Leo shouted as he dashed over to her.
"I killed her!" Alice suddenly cried. Her voice filled was filled with guilt, and tears ran freely down her cheeks.
"What are you talking about?" Leo demanded, though he softened his tone as he understood the abject sorrow that had come over her. "Is it Annabelle? She didn't make it through, did she?"
"I killed her..." Alice sobbed again as her voice broke. "I killed Alice... And, now I can fucking see... What the hell is happening?"
"What?" Leo asked quizzically, dumbfounded by her nonsensical statement. Perhaps she was delusional because of her journey through the Infinite, or her contact with Annabelle. "You're Alice, and you didn't kill yourself. You're here, right here in front of me!"
She turned and looked into Leo's eyes, then began to sob hysterically. "I killed Alice! I wanted her to let me go, but she wouldn't. She was too strong! She pulled me too close, and now... She's gone!
Leo shied away as she spoke to him. Alice was different. Her voice was lighter, mellower, and her eyes were softer. They didn't look like Alice's eyes. They didn't hold the most profound knowledge of guilt and regret within them.
"What happened, Alice?" he asked, confused and frightened by the changes he saw within her.
"Are you stupid, Leo? Did the Void fry your brain?" she asked, her anguish giving way to irritation. "I'm Annabelle, obviously... And, I killed Alice... She wouldn't let me go!"
Leo stood up and took a step away from her. He was confused and afraid, but even more terrible than that, he could see the truth of her claim with his own eyes. Her voice was Alice's, but her inflections were Annabelle's. Her eyes were Alice's, but the substance of character within them was Annabelle's.
"How..." Leo gasped as he stared down at her.
Annabelle growled at him in frustration. "I told you! She wouldn't let me go! I begged her to let me go, but she didn't listen. She just pulled me closer... When we left that place, there was nowhere for me to go... Nowhere but her..."
"How?" Leo asked again. He felt he was losing his grip on reality. Had Annabelle's being somehow entered into Alice's body, and pushed Alice's out? Had Alice sacrificed her own life so that Annabelle could have it instead?
"I don't know..." Annabelle moaned as she stood up and inspected her charred hands. "I was supposed to stay there, but she was stronger. She wanted this. I don't know why, but she did. She wouldn't let me go..."
Leo took a few deep breaths as the reality of what had happened began to sink in.
"Alice... She was filled with regret... With guilt... She wanted to make amends," Leo gasped. "She wanted to do something good, no matter the toll it took on her. She didn't care about herself..."
Annabelle grimaced. "Well, if she was going to give me her body, the least she could have done was leave me with some hands that work. This shit hurts..."
Then, she shot a quick smirk at Leo, and he knew that it was truly her. The slight, crooked upturn of her lips, and subtle narrowing of her eyes flashed with humor that he knew she reserved for only him. It was Annabelle. Alice had saved her, just as she had promised, and had given her own body, and own life in the process.
"I'm aware..." Leo replied as he held his hands up for her to see. "All in all, I'd rather have Thrall's stump jammed up my ass then have melted hands..."
Annabelle snorted, then chuckled at his joke, and Leo felt a small semblance of happiness grow within him.
Then, they stepped forward at the same moment, and though their hands were charred, they wrapped their arms around one another and held each other in a tight embrace.
"I'm glad you're alive..." Leo whispered into Annabelle's ear as he pulled her tightly to him, ignoring the throbbing pain coming from his hands. "An, I'm sorry that Alice isn't..."
"I'm glad I'm with you..." Annabelle whispered back. She was trying to hide the sorrow in her voice, but it was there nonetheless. "But, I wish I had stayed... This isn't right..."
Leo held her tighter as tears streamed down his cheeks. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry for Alice! I'm sorry for everything! It's my fault. I wouldn't let you go..."
Then, a smooth sliding sound put a prompt end to their conversation.
Leo looked over Annabelle's shoulder towards the sound and saw the main entrance to the bar open. A large man quickly strode through the door. He was dressed in black, and he was leading a teenaged girl by the hand.
When they entered the room, Leo quickly broke his embrace with Annabelle and stepped around her to face them. The man was distracted, though, and didn't take notice of them.
Leo focused on the girl. She was pale, and her eyes darted around wildly as she entered the room. In their wild, frenzied fluttering, they flashed across him, but if she noticed his presence, she didn't make any sound or gesture in response. She just continued looking around wildly, her mouth agape as she panted and gasped.
"C'mon, Maddy..." the man gently encouraged as he looked back at the girl.
"Mister Aaron... I'm s-so h-hungry..." the girl named Maddy replied.
"I know what will make you feel better. You need to eat. C'mon..." the man named Aaron grunted back.
They walked behind the bar, past Leo and Annabelle, towards the door to the storage room behind the bar.
Leo had no idea what was going on between the man and girl, but he did know that Thrall had taken Osiris Station. That fact alone meant they needed to get to Leo's ship and leave the station. How exactly they would be able to do that, Leo had no idea. They had no use of their hands, no clothes, and no identifying implants to allow them access through the hangar doors.
Leo quickly weighed a myriad of options in his mind and decided the best path would be to subdue the Aaron and Maddy. Then, they could find clothes, weapons, and whatever other useful supplies might be present within the bar.
He stole a glance back at Annabelle, who was watching the odd pair with trepidation. Her eyes snapped to his when he turned, and one look was all he needed to communicate his intent. She then frowned back at him, but nodded in assent.
Slowly, Leo turned and began to stealthily creep toward them.
"I know you're hungry..." Aaron said as he tapped on the control panel next to the storage room door. "I know the feeling, trust me. It's normal. You need to eat, and eat you will, as soon as I get this goddamned door open."
Leo crept silently toward the bar, his eyes locked on Aaron's back, hoping that he wouldn't turn around. Sadly, Leo's hopes were dashed when Aaron abruptly turned around and slammed his fist down on the bar.
"Never have been good with numbers!" he shouted. "Where's the goddamned code? I know I wrote it here somewhere..."
Then, his eyes flashed upwards on locked on to Leo. He looked surprised for a second, but his mouth quickly curled into a malicious smile.
"Never mind! It looks like I have food out here..." Aaron said with glee
as his eyes narrowed and looked down to Leo's charred, useless hands. "And, they've even been nice enough to barbecue themselves. I think they had the heat set a little too high, though. They're a little crispy around the edges..."
Leo kept creeping forth in the hopes that Aaron would be lulled into a false sense of security. Then, Leo saw the muscles around Aaron's neck tighten, and knew he had to strike. Aaron reached behind his back just as Leo leaped forward and covered half the distance between them in one bound.
Leo knew what was coming, and feinted an exaggerated head movement to his right as Aaron drew a small pistol. Then, as Aaron fired, Leo ducked and somersaulted to his left.
Leo heard the zip of the bullet fly over him, followed by the clink of metal meeting metal. At the end of his roll, he planted his feet, and with a massive surge of his legs, launched himself over the bar.
As Leo flew through the air, he saw a moment of indecision on Aaron's face. The indecision lasted only a moment, however. He quickly fired another shot that whizzed past Leo's right shoulder and began to step backwards.
Unfortunately for Aaron, neither move was enough to stop Leo's majestic leap, or prevent his head from slamming into Aaron's sternum with the full force of his body weight. Aaron gasped as Leo's forehead smashed his chest, and they both fell roughly to the floor next to one another.
"Gah, you crazy fuck!" Aaron coughed as he grabbed at Leo's neck.
Instinctually, Leo tried wrestle for an advantageous position, but his hands wouldn't work. Anger burned in Leo as he felt himself being easily manhandled and tossed to the ground.
As Aaron tried to elbow Leo's head, Leo shoved his feet against the bar and spun himself around, barely managing to avoid the strike.
Aaron had overextended himself, though, and Leo was quick to capitalize. With a powerful burst of motion, he pulled his right leg to his chest and blasted it towards Aaron's face. The blow landed, but only just as Aaron was pulling away to avoid its full force.
The Ganymede Legacy Page 51