The Dead Prince

by Alejandro Betancourt

  Weakened by this exertion, Zack staggers to Amy and eyes the smaller beam piercing her shoulder. The injury is barely bleeding, and as far as he can tell from his study of Earthling anatomy, it missed her subclavian artery. He cautiously pulls the other beam out of her left shoulder, and sighs in relief when there's no rush of blood. But then he checks her neck for a pulse — and there isn't one. His eyes awash in tears, he presses his hand against her horrible wound, looks around, and contemplates his next move, trying to maintain his composure.

  Focusing intently, Zack draws a jolt of energy from the deepest corners of his being — and beyond, though he doesn't know it at the time — which unbeknownst to him turns his eyes lambent white. Four blue dots appear on the back of his right shoulder blade, shining through his clothing like lasers, while his hands light up with a bluish glow that pulses into Amy's chest.

  Then he crumples.

  A moment later, the dead girl gasps for air. She turns her head to her side and sees Zack lying beside her, unconscious. Before she can react, she's startled by a familiar yet spectral voice. Zack? Zack, are you okay?

  "Olivia, where are you?" Amy shouts. She starts when she feels the presence of a hand on her shoulder. She turns and sees a ghostly silhouette of Olivia. You have to get out of there, Olivia tells her. There's a window behind you. Take Zack and jump through it!

  Without thinking, just reacting, Amy loops Zack's arm over her shoulders and drags him to the window. She looks down and wonders how badly they'll be injured by the three-story fall.

  Just jump! I'll catch you, I promise!

  But just as Amy is about to push herself and Zack through the window, a backdraft from the fire blasts them out of the building. Olivia, exhausted by the enormous amount of energy she's spent aiding Zack and Amy, glances up at the sky, looking for drones. She senses none. Blowing up her brother's car has distracted them. She gathers her remaining energy and pushes out a force field in the shape of a mat. It cushions Amy and Zack's fall, then disintegrates, and they tumble a few inches to the ground.

  Olivia sits on the pavement and pants from the exertion. Zack is still unconscious, and Amy cradles his head in her lap. She looks around, trying to make sense of what just happened.

  Paramedics run toward her and Zack. Mike is yelling for people to move out of the way as paramedics strap Zack to a gurney and lift his motionless body into the ambulance. After making sure that Olivia is all right, Amy insists that the paramedics let her ride in the ambulance with Zack. With tears in her eyes, she watches the back doors of the ambulance close, and she and her silent hero head to the hospital.

  Chapter 3

  At the hospital, Zack's battered body is whisked away to the Intensive Care Unit. Amy is briefly examined by an Emergency Room doctor, who determines that she's well and in good health. There's not even a scar on her chest where the beam pierced her. The doctor tells Amy it's a miracle that she made it out of the community center alive, much less uninjured.

  Amy stands in front of the ICU, grieving and overwhelmed with guilt, waiting to hear about Zack's condition. Zack wouldn't have been at the dance if he hadn't foolishly agreed to his sister's plea at the diner. Then again, she knows that if he hadn't... she would be dead.

  She becomes even more upset when she overhears one of the nurses’ remark that two students died in the fire, and several others were badly hurt. She would have died too if it hadn't been for Olivia and Zack, but she can't tell anyone about what happened, or they'll think she's gone crazy. Do Olivia and Zack have superpowers? Are they... Azhalians?

  Amy staggers to the nearest chair and sits down. Her mind is full of questions that cry out for answers. Exhausted, she closes her eyes and immediately dozes off.

  ❖❖❖

  Feeling revitalized, Amy finds herself standing at the edge of a cliff, overlooking a sea of green trees that create a massive web of life below. The two marble-sized moons in the indigo sky, just above the horizon, gaze back at her like a pair of mismatched eyes: one gray, one pale blue.

  Amy gasps. Where am I, and how did I get here?

  She hears a girl's voice behind her, and turns to see massive trees that seem to touch the skies. Are these the great redwood trees from her history books, the ones from lost California?

  The girl she heard speaking steps out from behind one of the vast tree trunks. "I think this is a very bad idea, Zec," she says.

  Why is this girl calling me Zec?

  "You keep saying that, Odilia," Amy hears herself replying. "But don't you want to know if the rumors are true?"

  In that instant, Amy comes to the terrifying realization that there's someone else inside her body! Evidently, this Zec is the one in control. I must be dreaming! she concludes.

  Odilia replies, "Of course, but not at the expense of Dad's wrath."

  She walks up to the cliff edge beside Zec, and they look over 100 feet down at a green metal door in a concrete wall that seals off a cave. Two armed soldiers stand in front of the door. "Worst-case scenario, you can say it was all my idea," Zec offers.

  Odilia smiles. "You know what? I will. Remember, you'll only have a few seconds to get inside the building once the guards leave their post and the door starts closing."

  She slips back into the forest, and Zec waits at the top of the cliff for her sign. A couple of minutes later, he sees a distant cloud of smoke rising to the sky, deep in the forest beyond the green door. He looks down and sees the two guards at the entrance talking urgently to each other; then one reports to someone over a radio. After conferring briefly, they start trotting toward the smoke.

  "Come on, open!" Zec whispers to himself. Something exciting is going to happen, Amy surmises. A moment later, Zec closes his eyes and whispers to himself again: "Odilia, it didn't work. The other guards didn't come out."

  Suddenly, a loud explosion shakes the forest. The cloud of smoke grows exponentially, darkening the indigo sky.

  We are in so much trouble, Zec thinks. Then he sees what he's been waiting for — the metal door slides up, and a half-dozen soldiers march out of the building and toward the apparent danger. Zec jumps straight down from the cliff. He lands with so much force that the ground cracks in all directions around him. He takes a deep breath, draws power from within, and sprints to the door at a speed that strikes Amy as superhuman.

  The door is just a foot from closing when Zec slides through the gap. Once inside, he jumps up and starts walking at a fast pace down a corridor. Amy tries to absorb everything she sees — portraits of royalty she doesn't recognize, paintings of strange battles, and life-sized sculptures that remind her of the Roman exhibits she's seen at the MOMA. As her host walks, Amy can hear the voices of several men in the background, but can't pinpoint where the voices are coming from. She's startled by an eerily familiar spectral voice:

  We are so grounded.

  Zec glances at a ghostly figure walking next to them. It's Odilia! Where did she come from?

  Great job, Zec says without speaking, half-smiling.

  You doubted that I could pull it off? Odilia asks.

  Nope.

  The end of the corridor splits into three identical hallways. There's a directory on the wall written in a foreign alphabet that Amy doesn't recognize. All she can distinguish are three arrows that she assumes correspond to the three hallways.

  Are you picking up anything? Odilia asks.

  Amy hears nearby voices again. She still can't tell where they're coming from.

  Dad is to the left, Zec says confidently.

  They start walking in that direction, and arrive at a metal door. Zec quietly opens the door and conceals himself behind a tall metal cabinet. From there, he can hear and see the conversation between a group of imposing men. They're all wearing helmets and long black-and-red robes. A muscular, handsome man in the center of the room towers above the others. This must be their leader.

  "Greatness is within our grasp, my dear friends," the man says. He takes off his helmet, and his long
black hair falls past his shoulders. "We are on the verge of perfecting what once was thought impossible: the fusion of our DNA and Essence with that of Earthling human fetuses. Soon, we will be able to live two lives!"

  "So close we are indeed, my king," one of the other men says. "And we couldn't have gotten this far if it weren't for you."

  Zec! There's someone headed toward you! Odilia cries.

  Zec scans the cloud of thoughts in his vicinity, and quickly realizes that he's in very deep trouble indeed. Someone is focused on him! He turns around and is immediately lifted into the air by his collar by a man with fierce blue eyes. Amy is terrified.

  "You are not permitted here, Zec," the blue-eyed man growls.

  Amy is blinded by a bright white light. She has the distinct sensation that something is pulling her from Zec's body.

  "Amy. Wake up, Amy!"

  Amy opens her eyes and looks into Olivia's deep brown ones. It's her! It's Odilia!

  "Amy, what's the matter?" Olivia asks. "Why are you looking at me like that? You look like you've seen a ghost."

  Before Amy can reply, Mike walks into the waiting room. "Oh, there you are. Your parents are looking for you," he says tiredly to Olivia. Olivia nods, glances at Amy, and leaves the room. "Babe, are you okay?" Mike asks, sitting down next to her and putting a comforting arm around her shoulder.

  "I'm okay," Amy says. "How long was I out? Any news about Zack's condition?"

  "No news yet. You were asleep for less than an hour. Are you sure you're okay?"

  Just then, Amy's father rushes into the room. "Thank God you're all right!" She stands, and he hugs his daughter tightly. "What happened out there?"

  Amy doesn't know what to say. Before she can gather her thoughts, Jim and Isabelle Parker enter. "Jim!" Amy's dad exclaims. "I'm so grateful for what your son did to save my girl. He's a hero." He embraces first Jim, then Isabelle. "Any news on Zack's condition?"

  "We just finished talking to the doctor," Isabelle responds. "Zack suffered some minor fractures, but they're hopeful he'll make a full recovery."

  Zack's parents look at Amy with worried eyes. "Amy? Is it okay if we ask you what happened?" Isabella asks. "You think we can talk about it?"

  Amy hesitates, then explains how she woke up next to Zack's unconscious body, how he must have been overcome by the smoke, and how they were blown out of the building by the backdraft. She leaves out Olivia's apparition, her pierced shoulder, and anything else that might make her sound crazy. When she's done, the Parkers both let out a long sigh of relief.

  They were afraid she'd seen something more, Amy surmises. Something not quite human.

  In the ensuing hours, Dr. Buchanan keeps everyone up-to-date on Zack's status. Eventually, overwhelmed by her emotions, Amy excuses herself and heads to the bathroom. She stares at her reflection in the mirror and starts crying.

  Before long, Olivia gently knocks on the bathroom door, then opens it. "Amy, are you okay?"

  Wiping away her tears, Amy says quickly, "Yes, I'm fine." She turns to Olivia and hugs her impulsively. "Thank you so much for saving me! I don't even know where to begin."

  Olivia smiles gently. "Amy, honey, I know you have questions that Zack and I need to answer. But please, stop worrying! My brother is a lot stronger than he looks."

  Amy grins. "That seems to be true for both of you."

  The two girls chuckle and embrace again.

  Chapter 4

  Mike arrives with a bouquet of lilies and rings Amy's doorbell. When she opens the door, he's pleased to finally see her smile. Amy looks at the flowers, grabs a lily, and holds to her nose. "They're beautiful! Thank you, teddy." She calls him that sometimes, because she's accused him of being a big, soft, cuddly teddy bear more than once, despite his tough appearance.

  Mike grins. "Did you get any sleep? I've been worried."

  Amy looks into his light-brown eyes. "I'm okay. Waiting to hear news about Zack."

  Privately, Mike is starting to get a little annoyed about all this interest in Zack. Of course, he's glad that Zack saved his girlfriend, but he fears that Amy is beginning to feel something more than simple gratitude. Nevertheless, he realizes that this isn't a good time to voice his concerns. He reassures her that Zack will be fine.

  Amy invites Mike in for breakfast, and Mike shouts hello to George, Amy's dad. George Harper is in the kitchen preparing breakfast on their 3-D food printer, and is a bit aggravated when the doorbell rings again. He really wants to have some family time and get breakfast printed. He glances at his smartwatch and sees a live feed of Emma, Amy's friend, standing at the front door. "Amy!" Emma shouts, in her cheerfully assertive way. "Come on, girl, open up!"

  As soon as Amy opens the door, Emma jumps into her arms and embraces her. "I've been trying to call you since I heard the news, but I kept getting your voicemail," Emma says. "I even stopped by yesterday, but nobody was home. Why didn't you call me?"

  "Sorry, everything has been so hectic, but I'm alive," Amy says. "Mike's here. Join us for breakfast?"

  She does, and so much for the family time George wanted. But that's okay, Mike and Emma are practically family anyway.

  By the time they finish eating, it's become apparent to Mike and Emma that something is troubling Amy. Their usually talkative friend has hardly said a word during the meal. "Amy, you want to go chill by the river and talk?" Emma asks as she mops up the last of her egg-yolk with a pretty good slice of faux-toast.

  "Not really," Amy replies. "I just want to go upstairs and take a nap. I'm still feeling pretty wrung out."

  Emma and Mike look at each other. "Well, I guess we can give you one more day," Emma says. "But please cheer up, okay? Everything will be fine. Right, Mike?"

  Mike nods eagerly.

  "But two people died in that fire, and Zack is in a coma because of me," Amy says in an agitated tone. "I wouldn't say that everything will be fine!" Tears start to form in her eyes.

  "I'm so sorry, Amy! I didn't mean it that way." Emma gets up from her chair and embraces her friend.

  George looks at his daughter at a distance from the living room, feeling hopeless and angry. He' s convinced, like most in the news, that the terrorist group EIRF is responsible for the fire. The press has been speculating that the Euperian Interplanetary Resistance Front was retaliating against Head Minister Bannon's agreement to recognize the Ucte Empire's ambassador and government as the legitimate leaders of Azha.

  His watch vibrates. He looks down and sees a calendar reminder for today's rally. George has always been a quiet supporter of stronger immigration laws and the removal of aliens from Earth, and had supported the controversial Bannon's candidacy from the start. Assuming that the aliens almost killed his daughter has convinced him to openly support the movement to expel all those scum from Earth.

  "Amy, I'm heading out for a get-together, but I'll be back before ten," George says as he kisses her on the forehead. "Thank you for coming over and checking in on her," he says to Mike and Emma.

  "Are you sure you want to be alone this morning, babe?" Mike asks. "I can stay with you until your dad gets back, if you want to talk or something."

  "It's okay," Amy says. smirking, knowing one of the reasons he wants to stay over. "But I'm so tired I'll probably sleep through the night. Stop by tomorrow and you can take me out for lunch. How 'bout that?"

  Minutes later, Mike and Emma leave the house together, obviously sensing that Amy is hiding something. Amy closes the door, heads upstairs to her room. and falls into bed, lying on top of the covers and staring at the ceiling. What's going on with me? she wonders as she stares at the ceiling.

  She closes her eyes, and hopes she won't dream about Zec and his sister Odilia again. Whoever they are.

  ❖❖❖

  "Any news from the hospital?" Olivia hollers as she comes down the stairs the next morning.

  "No, honey. Breakfast is on the stove," Isabella replies from the couch, where she's watching the news on TV. Olivia hears a note of anxiet
y in her voice, but politely ignores it.

  Sighing, worried about her hero brother, Olivia makes herself a plate of synthetic eggs and rice and sits next to her mom to watch the news. The news station is broadcasting images of the community center fire, she notes with a pang. The reporter mentions the mysterious explosions of several cars at the scene, and says that the fire department's forensics team has been unable to determine their cause. Isabella glances at her daughter speculatively.

  "I'm sorry, Mom," Olivia says, blushing. "I needed to draw their attention away from Zack, and I didn't know what else to do."

  They watch crowds of protesters behind the reporters with signs that read make earth human again. God, how she hates those stupid red MEHA ball caps they're all wearing. The aliens they're talking about are almost as human as they are, despite their different planetary origins... and for some, a few additional abilities. Not better, not worse, just a little different.

  Of course, humans everywhere have always been intolerant about anything they perceive as foreign. Here on Earth, they're still fighting over differences in religion, of all things.

  After a pregnant pause, Isabella says into the silence. "You did what you felt you had to, and it worked. We'll just have to be extra careful for a while. Now, why don't you watch something else? I'll make us some iced tea."

  Olivia starts flipping channels with her phone, not finding anything to spark her interest. After a few moments, she gives up and tells their AI house-assistant, Jarvis, to turn off the TV. Then she walks to the window, and spots a few news vans still parked outside. "Mom, the stupid reporters are still outside," she yells.