Halve Human

by Stephanie Fazio

“No,” I say again.

  My father only shrugs.

  The others all stare transfixed at the Zeroes, but the Zeroes don’t pay any attention to them. They only look at me. A small shiver of satisfaction goes through me. A tension I hadn’t even knew I was feeling melts away at the sight of my creations.

  Brogut gnashes his teeth as he clutches his tree trunk spear, although he isn’t foolish enough to raise it. If he were an animal, his hackles would be raised.

  Vlaz’s hackles are raised. He’s growling, and it takes a stern command from Dayne to keep him from lunging inside and tearing the Zeroes to shreds…or getting torn to shreds himself.

  “I’ll be damned.” Jarosh lets out a low whistle as he moves his body in front of Camike, blocking her from the Zeroes’ sight. He turns to face my father. “You’re a real bastard, you know that?”

  “Jarosh.” I put a hand on his arm.

  “And you.” He rounds on me. “Letting your father lure you into a trap, just to use you? Again?”

  My face heats. “It’s how we’re going to defeat the Duskers.”

  “They will get our river back,” Ekil tells Camike.

  Camike looks at me, her black eyes all trust. “If Halve saver says so, then I believe.”

  I manage a small smile, even as I feel the weight of her faith settle onto my shoulders.

  “I don’t like it,” Jarosh says.

  Camike lays one of her hands on his cheek. She leans forward, and for a brief moment, their foreheads touch. It’s a private moment, and when they pull apart, the murderous look is gone from Jarosh’s face.

  “What’s done is done,” Dayne says. His words have an ominous ring to them. “But I don’t like the idea of bringing them back to the fortress, especially when we have only Zeidan’s word they will follow Hemera’s command.”

  A fair point.

  “Don’t take my word for it,” my father says. “See for yourselves.”

  The rest of us look at each other.

  “The Dusker initiates,” Zeidan says, “are making their way down the mountain as we speak. You could order the Zeroes to attack them.”

  “We don’t have time,” I say, feeling my anxiety rise. “The Banished are going to surrender. And then the fortress—”

  We’re running out of time.

  “Brogut and me away for too long,” Ekil says. “Need to get back to our Halves.”

  I nod in agreement.

  “Perhaps if the Zeroes kill the recruits,” my father argues, “it will delay the attack on Solis.”

  I know what my father says is true, but I can’t help the hesitation I feel. Even if the Zeroes can kill the recruits without any trouble like my father seems to think, and that’s a big if, we’d be ambushing the newest Duskers, the ones who haven’t yet become killers. They’re not innocent, and I know they’d kill us if our positions were reversed. Still, could I really consider killing them all, just for the sake of proving the Zeroes’ worth?

  “You’ll have to kill them eventually,” my father says, correctly reading whatever expression is on my face. “May as well do it on our terms instead of theirs.”

  I nod. I don’t like it, but I know he’s right. It’ll be better to kill them now before they can do more damage to the Solguards later.

  “That’s an awful lot of recruits,” Dayne points out. “Aren’t there usually hundreds of them?”

  Hundreds. I swallow.

  “Yes,” my father replies, “which means we’ll likely need about twenty of the Zeroes to dispatch them.”

  Ry’s mouth falls open.

  “Twenty Zeroes to take out hundreds of Duskers?” Dayne asks. “Are you out of your mind?”

  I don’t say anything. I saw the Zeroes’ strength at Tanguro for myself…felt their strength when I fought them.

  “That’s being conservative,” my father replies evenly. “Five of them would likely do the job just fine.”

  I listen to the others argue back and forth until we’re out of time.

  “Hemera?” Dayne asks. He gives my father one final glare before fixing his gaze on me. “What do you want to do?”

  I look into his steady blue eyes, and for a moment, I can almost pretend it’s our mother staring back.

  It isn’t fair to have such a big decision resting on your shoulders, my mother would say if she were here now, but I know you will make the right choice.

  With the echo of her voice still in my mind, I’m gripped by the memory of the battle at Tanguro. I think about all the men and women I tried to protect…all the people who died defending the fortress.

  Every one of them was killed by a Dusker.

  I look at my father. “Let’s see if these Zeroes are the army we need.”

  CHAPTER 32

  As we make our way down the pathway, the Zeroes follow behind us. Their clothes clink with every step.

  “Why do they make that sniffing noise?” Ry complains. “It makes them seem even more…” she grasps for the word, “beastly.”

  “They are scenting for the blood of the one who made them,” my father answers.

  “And the others?” Dayne points at the ten that surround my father. “Those don’t seem to be following Hemera.”

  We all stop to look at the Zeroes my father made from blood he took by force. I shudder at the memory of the tube hooked into my vein, carrying my brown blood from my body.

  “Hemera was not here when they awoke,” my father says after a pause. “I was all they saw.”

  “So, they think you’re their mother,” Jarosh says with a straight face. “That makes sense.”

  Ry and Dayne snicker.

  “Blood is stronger than any of that,” my father says, ignoring the gibe. “They will follow Hemera as soon as she claims them.”

  “And what about the first ones you made?” I ask. “What happened to the ones from Tanguro that I didn’t kill?”

  My father shrugs. “Once I made these ones with your blood, I had no need for their inferior prequels.”

  I see the meaning behind my father’s words. “So, you just killed your own creations?” I ask.

  My father says something in reply, but it’s lost to the sound of rushing water. The path ends at the ledge overhanging the Darkness River.

  “Well,” my father says, when I just stand there, “give them an order.”

  “Get in the water,” I say, and then, remembering my father’s instructions, point at the water and make a paddling motion.

  I feel ridiculous doing it, especially with the others watching, but the Zeroes understand. They jump in, barely making a splash, and await my next order. Emboldened, I direct the Zeroes to help my friends through the water. Ekil and Brogut refuse to be helped, and Jarosh will only go with Camike. Dayne and Ry submit to being carried with only some grumbling.

  I wait for the others to disappear into the swirling black water. And then I jump in.

  The current drags at me. But even so, I barely feel any resistance. The swim is easy. Too easy.

  The Zeroes bobbing in the water beside me are kicking up enough bubbles for me to know my muscles should be straining against the water’s pull. And yet, this swim is no more difficult for me than if I were making my way through a still pond.

  In only a few moments, I’m swimming out of the darkness and into blinding sunlight. I crash through the water and heave a great breath.

  Ry, Jarosh, and Dayne are pulling themselves from the water, straining against their sodden cloaks. I’m grateful once again that I’ll never have to wear one again.

  My father directs us to the opposite riverbank, the one closest to Malarusk.

  “Aren’t we a bit exposed?” Ry asks, looking at the barren landscape.

  “The Zeroes’ instincts are best provoked when their master faces a true threat.” Zeidan squeezes out the hem of his cloak. The water droplets hit the ground and are immediately swallowed up by the parched earth.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Dayne demands.


  “That a true battle is the best way to demonstrate their strength.”

  “I can appreciate the irony,” Jarosh says, “of Duskers returning from a meeting with their precious Dark God and running into these monsters.”

  “This is a terrible idea,” Dayne says.

  “These Duskers won’t be expecting a fight,” my father says in his Captain Harkibel voice. “There is almost no risk.” He looks at me. “Just be sure the Zeroes slay them all. We don’t want any of them to be able to report back to Crowe about what they saw.” He stares into the distance where a small cloud of dust is just becoming visible from the approach of many pairs of feet.

  No survivors.

  Seeing my hesitation, my father says, “Consider what these soldiers have done to earn them a place among the Duskers.”

  His implication is clear.

  “I think you should do it,” Ry says. “Give them a taste of their own bitter medicine.”

  The Halves nod at me, silently telling me to go ahead. Only Dayne shakes his head.

  “But what if the Zeroes…go crazy, or something? What if they refuse to obey me? What if—”

  “No better time than the present to find out,” my father says. “But I see no reason why they won’t follow your every order.”

  “Should I—” I begin, but my father cuts me off with a wave of his hand.

  “Trust the strength of your bond. Trust them.”

  “You certainly do know a lot about these creatures,” Dayne says, his eyes slitted in suspicion.

  “I made it my business to know,” my father snaps back.

  Focus, I tell myself. This isn’t your first battle. I don’t let myself think about what happened the last time I led an attack.

  “You,” I point to a group of Zeroes. They step aside from the rest. “Hide in the gulley and wait for my signal,” I point and flap my hands in a way I hope communicates whatever meaning is lost in my words. “You,” I point to another group. “Go around behind those boulders.”

  The Zeroes move off in the directions I indicated without hesitation. Emboldened, I give more orders. Soon, only my father’s Zeroes remain. I look at him, like I’m asking for permission, and then inwardly scowl at myself.

  “You,” I point to them. “Go far enough they won’t see you, and approach from behind. Make sure none escape.”

  For a second, I think they’ll stay with my father. But then, slowly, they move away from him to follow my orders.

  I feel the tethered connection with them, but it’s weaker than the one I feel with the Zeroes I created myself. My connection with these ones feels like a frayed rope that might snap.

  All of the Zeroes move into position. The sun glinting off their metal clothes and the blades of their scythes gives them an other-worldly appearance. My friends stand on the riverbank watching. Ekil has a hand on Brogut’s shoulder, and I think it’s to prevent him from joining the fight himself. Jarosh and Ry are bantering while Camike smiles. My brother stands apart. His eyes aren’t tracking the Zeroes; they’re fixed on my father.

  Zeidan watches the Zeroes move off with a thoughtful gaze. As the Captain of Subterrane Harkibel, I expected him to have criticisms and suggestions in abundance. But to my surprise, he doesn’t say anything. He looks smaller without the ring of Zeroes surrounding him. He looks more like my father now than he has in a long time.

  I shake off the sense of nostalgia as the dust cloud materializes into Duskers.

  “Fifty, sixty?” I muse, shielding my eyes as I try to pick out the individual bodies amid the swirl of dust and gray cloaks.

  “Closer to eighty, I should think,” my father replies. “A poor test of the Zeroes’ strength, but I suppose it will have to do.”

  I push down my rising unease as the Duskers begin to shout to each other and draw steel. They’ve seen the Zeroes.

  They spread out, forming a wide semi-circle to corner our small group with the river at our backs.

  Please, I silently beg the Zeroes.

  Someone shouts a command, and the Duskers stop in perfect alignment.

  “How dare you desecrate this hallowed ground,” one of them calls. “Prepare to die.”

  The Dusker waves his hand. Such a casual motion. Like Crowe, at the moment she looked down at my aunt, kneeling and bloody, and broke her neck.

  The Duskers surge forward.

  “Attack!” I shout.

  For a moment, nothing happens. There are a few scattered chuckles from the Duskers. I feel the blood drain from my face.

  And then the Zeroes begin to pour from the gulley.

  As they merge with the soldiers in gray, the laughter turns to screams.

  “Demons!”

  “Monsters!”

  It’s not a battle. It’s a massacre.

  The Duskers don’t even have a chance to lift their blades before the Zeroes’ scythes are slashing them in half. They dispose of the enemy with brutal efficiency.

  When a Dusker gets close to me, the Zeroes converge on him. The Zero that reaches him first takes the Dusker’s head and smashes it between its hands like an overripe fruit. I bite down on the inside of my cheek, the metallic taste of blood filling my mouth. Blood and bone fragments splatter the Zero’s face, but it doesn’t even blink.

  There’s no emotion in their relentless slaughter.

  And when it’s done, mere minutes later, there’s no celebration…no excited whoops or screams. The Zeroes simply go still. Their scythes are slack at their sides, blood still dripping from the curved blades.

  Men in gray cloaks are splayed out across the blood-stained earth. My army is untouched.

  I look from the dead bodies strewn across the ground to the creatures that brought their destruction. I should be glad to see my enemies lying dead. After all, they would have killed me without a moment’s hesitation. They would have killed my brother and my friends.

  These Zeroes are the answer to my aunt’s last wish, to save everyone.

  But something about the brutal, mindless slaughter makes a feeling of dread curdle my insides.

  My head snaps up as movement in the distance catches my eye. A Dusker who had been at the rear of the company rises as if from the dead and is now running.

  Something about the soldier is wrong. He’s too small to be a Dusker. I squint harder.

  Is that a….”

  “Child! Hemera—” Dayne starts forward.

  A wisp of brown hair trails out of the gray hood and a small gloved hand reaches up to push it back into place. He looks about the same age as Wokee, all angles and knobby limbs. A supply pack, nearly as big as the kid himself, bounces with the frantic pace. I push through the line of Zeroes.

  What were the Duskers thinking, bringing a little kid to Darkness Peak?

  Go ahead and report back on what you saw, I think as I watch the child run. He’s a kid; no one’s going to believe him.

  A shadow falls across the child’s path. And then another.

  Moving with such speed their profiles are blurred…are Zeroes. My Zeroes. The ones I sent to keep any of the soldiers from escaping the battle.

  CHAPTER 33

  What had I told them? Make sure none escape.

  “Stop!” I scream, running. “Leave him alone.”

  But the Zeroes are already in motion. I don’t even know if they’ve heard me.

  “Stop! Stop! Stop!”

  I’m still screaming the word long after the Zeroes have gone motionless and the child is curled on the ground. Dead.

  My legs give out as I fall to my knees beside the tiny, broken body. I gently pull back the hood of his cloak, barely registering that he is in fact a she, and that her neck flops backward like a fish when I clutch her to my chest.

  I beg her, plead with her, but it’s useless. She’s dead. Because I ordered it. I ordered the Zeroes to do this.

  Choking, gasping sounds escape me. It’s a tortured sound I don’t even really register as my own until I cover my face with my hands. The
child’s face, perfectly white like all the Duskers but without the ugly scars, is already starting to blister from the sun. Her eyes, a strange, beautiful gray like the color of her cloak, stare unseeing at the sky. One of her arms is stretched out on the ground. The other is curled around something. When I pull it out of her lifeless grip, a sob escapes me.

  It’s a doll.

  The toy is covered in dirt and there’s a smear of blood across its torn cloth dress. One of its thread eyes has come detached, making it look like yet another casualty of my doing.

  I’m only dimly aware of Dayne crouching down beside me, and then the others. Brogut stoops to pat the child’s head with such gentleness it shatters my heart.

  “Hemera.” Dayne says my name, and nothing more.

  He was right. He knew something like this would happen. But I can’t find the words to tell him.

  “It could have been Wokee.” The words rasp out of me, and with them, I’m struck with the full weight of what I’ve done.

  “Hemera, come away from here.”

  I look up through blurred vision to see my father.

  “You.” Dayne rounds on my father. “I knew no good could come from any of this. I knew you would hurt my sister. And now, look….” My brother’s voice hitches. He turns away in disgust.

  “I didn’t know they would have a child with them.” Zeidan’s voice is gruff as he kneels beside me. Carefully, gently, he closes the child’s eyes.

  “Come back to the Lair now.”

  Standing, my father reaches a hand down to me. It stays extended in the air for several moments before I allow my father to pull me to my feet. He puts a steadying arm around me as my legs give way beneath me.

  “Get your hands off her,” Dayne growls, but I wave him away.

  My good, kind brother. I can’t stand the thought of having him be near me right now, not after what I’ve just done.

  I’m dimly aware of Ry brushing tears from her eyes, and Jarosh holding Camike against his chest as if to shield her from the gruesome sight.

  “The Zeroes will bury her,” my father is saying. “There’s nothing else to be done.” His arm wrapped around my shoulders steers me; I have no will to try to stop him.