Project Terra

by S. J Woods

  “I swear,” Dane choked back the tears that were threatening to overwhelm him. “If anything happens to him…”

  “He’ll kick their butts.” Teonie squeezed his hand, shooting him a loaded look.

  He knew what she was telling him. Don’t break down. Not here. They could deal with the emotional damage when they were safe, but for now, they must keep going. He thought of how she had bravely handled, and was still handling, the loss of Gia. He took a shaky breath. He could do this.

  “He’s a good guy.” Teonie said, after giving Dane a moment to digest her silent plea. “I only really got to know him before we went away. That night, when you left, he was telling me about all the scrapes you guys got into in your first year.”

  Dane looked up at her and smiled gratefully.

  “They were mostly his ideas!” He grinned despite his fear for Joaquin. All his memories of his friend, no matter how ordinary, were shot through with strands of happiness. It was impossible to recollect anything without his emotional memory recalling the happy, weightless feeling of Joaquin and he felt his soul lighten a little.

  “He had a bit of a thing for you.” Dane remembered, picturing the day he had met Teonie and Joaquin’s mild annoyance when Dane had all but shooed her away.

  Teonie grinned in response to Dane’s smile. She just wanted to lift him from his sadness, even temporarily.

  “No, he didn’t.” She protested, but Dane could tell she was flattered and wanted to ask more.

  “He did!” Teonie turned to look at the controls, suddenly self-conscious and Dane pulled her back to him laughing at her uncharacteristic shyness. “And I thought you were an Artificial!”

  She whipped around to look at him, forgetting her self-consciousness.

  “No! You did not!”

  “I did.” Dane was laughing now, clinging on to the memories of happier times and he wanted Teonie to do the same. “I didn’t know about the Perez gene then, did I?”

  “The Perez gene?” She tilted her head on the side, half-frowning, half-laughing still.

  “The flawless looks and the brains!” Dane insisted, enjoying the way her cheeks flushed at his words. “I one-hundred-percent thought nobody could be that flawless!”

  “I’m not!” She pushed him teasingly.

  “Well, I know that now!” He grinned. “I know you’re a regular mess like the rest of us.”

  “You guys are totally unnaturally hot though.” Rose chipped in, giving Rico a familiar nudge that had Teonie and Dane exchanging bemused looks at each other over the blossoming romance between their siblings.

  “You didn’t actually think I was a robot?” She scoffed, looking at him carefully for his reaction.

  “I honestly did.” He nodded. “I thought they’d done a really good job. I was impressed!”

  “Joking aside,” She said. “That’s not far off what they were aiming to do.”

  “Maybe that’s why I thought it.” Dane mused, but the laughter died on his lips.

  “What was she like?” Teonie asked gently, knowing that his mind had gone to Arielle.

  He felt the familiar wrench in his gut, but he shook his head slightly at Teonie, conscious of his mother and his sister listening.

  “No.” Rose surprised him, speaking up clearly. “I want to know. We should talk about her.”

  Dane’s eyes moved from his sister to his mother, watching for her reaction. Alyssa was sat at the end of the bench, gazing forward at the wall of life jackets. Norah had drifted into a light slumber against Tommy’s shoulder and his eyes were drooping shut. It had been a long day, but Alyssa was turned away from them both. Her eyes were glazed and unseeing. His concern flickered back to the mild irritation he always felt at her reluctance to be part of the real world. Tuning out when it didn’t suit her. He’d forgiven her when he thought that it was the medication making her this way, but it should have been out of her system by now. On their journey, she’d shown glimpses of the person she was inside. She’d been animated, caring at times, but the minute the going had got tough, she’d fallen back into herself.

  “I was so young.” Dane said levelly. “I don’t remember a lot.”

  “How old were you?” Rose asked, and Dane looked at her surprised by the directness of her question.

  He paused for a moment, torn between bringing the painful subject out into the open and hurting his mother, but wanting, more than anything, to talk about it.

  “I was two-and-a-half when they brought Arielle to us.” He said finally. “I loved being a big brother.”

  He gave Rose a wide grin. “I still do.”

  “How long?” Rose’s voice came out shaky and nervous. “How old was she? When she went?”

  “She was almost two.”

  Alyssa’s voice echoed hollowly in the small space. Everyone remained silent.

  “She was beautiful,” Arielle continued into the quiet. “Like you, Rose.”

  She paused and turned to her daughter, a trembling smile fighting through the tears shining in her eyes.

  “They said she wasn’t ours. They said she wasn’t fully human, because of the changes the lab had made to her DNA.” Alyssa’s voice cracked, but it was with anger now. “They tricked me into handing her over. A routine medical check. The Medical Attendant took her into the next room, cooing and fussing over her as if they were coming back. If they had told me first, I would never have handed her over. Never!”

  Dane felt the pain in her voice and it ripped through his heart.

  “I knew she was different,” She continued, more gently this time, suddenly conscious of the slumbering Coles children next to her. “She didn’t really cry, and she never babbled like a baby. It worried me, but one thing was for certain, she was my child. They insisted it was a coincidence that she had similar features, but I know they were lying. I would have fought them all to get her back, but I didn’t have the chance.

  Next thing I remember is waking up in a hospital bed. Cam was there. I remembered straight away they had taken her, but for some reason it didn’t matter. And I hated myself because I knew that they had made that happen somehow. They had taken the fight out of me. They said I had fainted and hit my head, been knocked out cold. Didn’t I want to get back to my little boy? Oh, and good news, they’d traced my real embryo in storage and the baby was already developing. Was it too soon? They asked Cam. If I wasn’t recovered from my head injury, they would stop the process but there would be no second chance as the embryo wouldn’t cope with being restored at that stage. I knew it was a threat. Cam knew it was a threat. If I didn’t shut my mouth, they would take that one too. And maybe even take Dane.

  We had to tell people she died. They dressed it up as a security threat, like it was Latheia’s fault. If we didn’t then the whole fertility project would be at risk. Did we want to be responsible for a population crisis? I was weak. Exhausted. They said it was my head injury, but it wasn’t. They were making me weak to keep me compliant. Cam, too. I asked them what happened to her, but they shook their heads. You’re still obsessing about it, they warned me. You must still be ill. Maybe you’re not well enough to look after a child. They went as far as talking me through adoption options for Dane! They’d taken one child. I was terrified. I could still feel that even though most of the time I was just an empty shell.

  We went on as normal after that. Except I was never normal. I had no energy. I was barely there for you, Dane. Cam told you the truth eventually because you kept asking. Even after Rose came and she made you happy again, you kept on asking about her. Tatianna tried her best to get me to talk about it, but I shut her out. It was only when she died that I came alive again. I was scared for the children, but my obedience and my compliance had some advantages as they let us keep them.”

  She stopped speaking and looked at the children, love shining in her eyes. She tenderly stroked a stray curl from Norah’s angelic face.

  “I do love them so much.” She said. “And you two. I’m so proud of
you both. And I’m so sorry that I wasn’t the mother you deserved.”

  Tears spilled over her dark lashes and trickled slowly down her face, tracing the deepening lines of age that life and heartbreak had bestowed upon her prematurely.

  “I love you, Mama.” Rose moved slowly from the bench and kneeled in the cramped space, taking her mother’s hands in her own. “You are a good mother. It’s not your fault. It’s theirs. They did this to you.”

  Alyssa wrapped her arms around the young woman, pressing her lips against Rose’s forehead.

  “I have tried so hard to shake the apathy and the numbness.” She said. “For a while, out there, I felt like myself again and I thought I was back, but it keeps coming back. I blamed the medication, when I realised, but I think some of it is me. And I’m so sorry.”

  “We’ll get you help.” Dane promised, squeezing himself down next to his sister. “We’ll see a real Doctor when we get to De Sierto.”

  Alyssa smiled sadly and reached for Dane’s hand.

  They sat like that for a little while, not caring about the cramps in their legs, just needing the comfort and the promise from their mother that things would be alright. Nobody spoke for some time, but peace settled in his heart and he knew the others felt it too.

  “Are we there yet?” Norah broke the silence as she came back around.

  “Not yet, sweetie.” Alyssa replied, before turning to the others. “How much longer?”

  “Maybe an hour until we surface.” Teonie glanced at the display screen, where a blinking icon indicated their route. “I don’t have the exact coordinates, but I’ve worked out roughly where the barrier starts. We need to surface before there or the ship risks losing power and we’ll be stuck down here.”

  She said it lightly, in a matter-of-fact tone, but the others all turned to her with varying degrees of horror on their faces.

  “Relax.” She warned them. “We’ll surface in plenty of time. However, getting the raft deployed and through open sea will be the challenge. Then we have to get through the barrier and make our way to the island. But that’s the easy bit.”

  “And we’ll be ready.” Alyssa said, squeezing Rose’s hand tightly. “Teonie, I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done for my children. All I’ve ever wanted is for them to be safe.”

  “I couldn’t have made it without Dane.” She smiled warmly at Alyssa and then turned her gaze to Dane. “I’m sorry Gia dragged you into our mess, but at least these guys will be safe. If what we’ve seen is anything to go by, it’s going to get a lot worse back home before it gets better.”

  “We can think about that when we get there.” Dane replied, giving Teonie a knowing look. After everything they had been through together, he knew her, and he knew she had every intention of going back. Just like him, she was prepared to lay down her life for her family, and while they were still there, she wouldn’t rest. He had no idea of what lay ahead of them. There were so many uncertainties: getting through De Sierto’s barrier, the reception when they got there, even whether they would be safe there or whether they would only be a few steps ahead of Apatia anyway.

  “What will we do now?” Norah asked, running her hands along the row of life jackets.

  “Just enjoy each other’s company.” Alyssa smiled at the little girl, opening her arms for her to climb up onto her lap.

  Norah stopped in her tracks, and Dane could tell she was surprised at the unexpected maternal gesture. He could feel them all holding their breath waiting for Norah’s reaction, but the little girl smiled happily and hopped up onto Alyssa’s knee, resting her head against her shoulder.

  THIRTY-TWO

  A short, sharp alarm sounded telling them that they were growing close to their destination, and Teonie slid behind the control station. The ship started to rise, nose first, and it wasn’t long before they broke the surface.

  The ocean was the deepest navy-blue rippling for miles around them. The sun was low; a soft, gentle orb almost touching the waves, throwing one warm streak of rose-gold through the water and another along the horizon, blending its optimistic palette with the still-light sky.

  “It won’t be long until night falls.” Rico commented, eyeing the raft.

  Teonie nodded. “It’s not ideal, I know. We should be picked up pretty quickly by their Coastguard.”

  “I hope so.” Dane unhooked a basic oar from behind the raft. “I have no idea what we’re meant to do with these.”

  “Ok.” Teonie took a deep breath. “It’s now or never.”

  Rico and Rose passed out the life-jackets, taking extra care to secure them around Norah and Tommy. Everyone moved back, squashing against the bench to make room for Dane and Teonie to open the door.

  They felt the breeze immediately; salty but still warm. Dane carefully slid the raft out onto the ocean, clinging carefully to the end. He pulled the primitive toggle sharply and the bundle kicked back, almost pulling Dane through the door. He gripped the edge tightly as the raft inflated and tied the end securely against a loop on the doorway. The inflatable bobbed and floated, moving unsteadily with the waves.

  “Is that safe?” Alyssa asked doubtfully.

  “It’s how everyone has gotten to De Sierto.” Teonie replied, and there was a warning tone to her voice. “There’s no other way.”

  Dane slid the oars onto the raft and looked back to Teonie for guidance.

  “What do we take?”

  “Nothing.” Teonie said. “Just ourselves. Anything with any chip, drive, battery won’t get through.”

  “What are you going to do with the Tech-Shield?”

  She regarded the small harmless-looking gadget thoughtfully, before setting about dismantling the potential key to a world war. Tiny chips and casing were torn apart and she dropped them into the ocean, piece by piece.

  When it was done, they climbed aboard, one-by-one, legs wobbling as they tried to shuffle across the raft to make room for each other. Rico was the last to board and he closed the door to the craft firmly, unknotting the rope that secured them with steady fingers. He pushed off against the hardy, little ship and the raft bobbed away, see-sawing up and down with the waves from the gentle impact. Rose and Dane clutched at their younger siblings’ hands, holding their breaths as the flimsy raft slalomed with the ocean’s rhythm. Apart from the not-yet-setting sun, there was nothing but water around them.

  “Wow!” Tommy raised a hand to shield his eyes from the surface glare. “How will we even know which way to go?”

  Teonie grimaced. “We just hope for the best, kid.”

  She and Dane took an oar each. It took them a while to work out how to move, and then a little longer to move in the correct direction. They laughed nervously at their own errors, but Dane could feel the frustration start to take hold as the sun dropped lower, and the burnished gold colours intensified to vibrant oranges over a midnight-blue ocean.

  They managed to find a rhythm in the pull of the oars, but the ocean was heavy, and they seemed to drift back towards the bobbing craft more than they drew away from it.

  “It’s ok.” Rose reassured them when she could see the frustrated efforts tiring them both. “We’re safe out here.”

  Dane tried to smile to acknowledge her words, but he couldn’t stop himself from throwing worried glances behind him, fully expecting an air-strike at any moment. The desire to be through the barrier and finally safe was almost crushing in its intensity. He could feel sweat beading at his temples as his shoulders worked to drag the little raft against the current. The sun had almost completely turned through its evening cycle and the horizon was an arc of flaming red, throwing the world around them into darkness. Dane pushed through the burn in his muscles and he felt the raft start to obey their physical command.

  “How will we know when we find it?” Alyssa asked nervously, peering into the enveloping darkness ahead.

  “It’s easier to see out here.” Teonie answered, slightly breathless with exertion. “Although I don’t know how t
he dark will impact it, but it almost shimmers.”

  There were nods of heads around the raft and they all peered ahead of them, eyes narrowed looking out for the legendary barrier that they were searching for.

  “Is that something?” Norah spoke up from underneath Alyssa’s arm.

  They squinted into the distance, but night had fallen around them, and everything was an inky-black sameness. Countless tiny lights had crept from their daylight cover and were sparkling above them, but no matter how hard Dane looked he couldn’t make out anything other than the stars.

  “I see it too!” Tommy shouted suddenly, and Dane felt a surge of adrenaline as he pulled harder and faster.

  As the inflatable drew closer, Dane’s older eyes finally made out the source of the children’s excitement. Barely discernible in the darkness, the sky above the ocean shimmered gently as if someone was shining a light from above. The air seemed to sparkle, and Dane counted the seconds in his head as they approached it. He inhaled a deep breath of the ocean air, tasting the salt spray on his lips. One more push and they would be safe. He exhaled. The raft moved forward, bumped against thin air and stopped. It rocked backwards as if hitting a harbour wall. Dane looked at Teonie in confusion. He could make out her puzzlement in the dying light and, in unspoken synchronisation, they pulled forward again. The raft rebounded once more and they both knew it was no mistake. This was the barrier. Teonie handed Dane her oar, and she slid forward carefully in the raft. She leaned across the cushioned front of the inflatable and pushed her hand fearlessly at the barrier. Her hand moved through the softly-shimmering curtain and she almost fell forward as it gave her no resistance. She sat back, withdrawing her arm and looked at her limb curiously before repeating the gesture.