by Sarah Carter
“If I take these gloves off, you will fight fare?” Claire asks.
“Yes,” Mason says.
Ariel cries out, “Claire, don’t.”
Mason turns around and looks at her. “You are taking the side of a human?”
With his back turned, Claire spins around and locks his legs, bringing him down. She jabs her fingers into a pressure point. Mason cries out. Claire reaches for him and shocks him. He cries out again, but grabs her wrist. “Oh crap.”
“That hurt you bitch,” Mason growls.
Claire scrambles back and gets up onto her feet. “Okay, no plan B,” Claire says. “Plan C.” She whips the gloves off and lets her energy go.
Mason doesn’t get up, he is just suddenly up on his feet. “You’re Neturu!”
“Yup and the best fighter that we have,” Claire declares, taking her stance. “So, are you going to fight fair?”
She is suddenly in a lock, “Nope.”
Using her incredible strength, Claire dislodges his arm and places her hand on him. Hoping that he is fully Neturu, she lets go and with greater speed than she has before, Claire withdraws his energy.
But, as soon as they hit the ground, Claire cries out in great pain. “Oh god! Oh god! Oh god!” She cries out.
“Claire!” She hears Ariel scream.
With a tremendous force, the energy bursts from Claire and an electrical charge sweeps across the area. It knocks Ariel over and singes everything in its way. A fraction of a second later, Claire passes out.
Chapter 13
Xander
“Claire!” Damien screams at the screen.
Xander watches Ariel fall to the ground with her. “Ariel, oh my god, Ariel!” Aurora cries.
Damien spins around and runs out of the room. Xander and Aurora turn and follow him. Damien runs through the ship to a room. He jumps onto a platform. “Get me down there.”
“Sir.”
“NOW! OR, I WILL HAVE YOU EXECUTED!
“We are going with,” Aurora screams, jumping up next to him.
“Aurora,” Damien growls.
She turns to him and seethes, “She’s my twin.”
“Fine.” Damien looks at Xander. “Are you coming?”
Not even hesitating, Xander jumps onto the platform. They are instantly on the ground. Damien runs to Claire and Aurora to Ariel. “Ariel!” She exclaims. “Wake up.”
Xander goes over by her. There are black marks all over her and her clothes are charred. A large amount of Neturu appear around them. “Secure the perimeter,” Mr. Grandin says. “Check everyone out. Get a cuff on Mason. NOW!”
“You need to move so we can look at them,” someone whispers to Aurora.
“You know nothing about us,” Aurora cries, leaning over her sister. “Oh god. She’s going to die.”
Dr. Galliger appears next to her. “Let me look at Ariel.”
Aurora sniffles and moves out of the way. Xander falls down next to Aurora and holds her. Dr. Galliger takes out a tablet and starts bringing up a bunch of graphs. “Her disc is still going strong, if anything she has extra energy,” Dr. Galliger says. “I think she’s just unconscious.” He takes a tube and holds it under Ariel’s nose. Her eyes flash open and she gasps.
“Ariel!” Aurora screams, colliding with her.
Her sister hugs her tight. “Mason,” she barely gets out.
“We will worry about him,” Dr. Galliger says. “You need to get back on the ship and be taken back to Alaska. We have to monitor you.”
“What about Claire?” Aurora says, looking over by her. Xander follows her gaze. There is a team of Neturu around her body. Damien is standing with his hair clenched in his fingers. “Are you going to be okay?” Aurora asks her twin.
“Yeah,” Ariel says.
Aurora stands up. “I will be right back.” Xander watches her go. She steps up by Damien but he doesn’t seem to notice her. He just stays staring at Claire with his hair clenched up. Xander smiles when Aurora wraps her arms around Damien. He jerks but looks at her. She squeezes him some more and then places her hand on his back. Damien reaches over and takes her hand. Squeezing hard.
“We should go over there,” Ariel groans.
Dr. Galliger pushes her back down. “You need to stay still.”
“Either you let us go over there or I will have Xander put you on the top of that tree,” Ariel threatens with a devious smirk.
He stares at her for a moment and then stands up. They all make their way there. Xander’s heart drops. Claire is white as a ghost with burn marks all over her body. “Oh god,” Ariel gasps, putting her hand over her mouth.
“We need to get her back to Alaska,” Dr. Galliger says.
“Get her there now!” Damien yells. “At full speed.”
“In the hemisphere?” Dr. Galliger replies. “Damien that will cause a massive trail.”
“I don’t care,” Damien shouts.
Mr. Grandin puts his hand up to bellow his ear. “I will tell him.” Damien turns and looks at him. “Damien, your father has relieved you of your position right now.”
Xander backs up under Damien’s glare. Mr. Grandin presses under his ear again. “Take her up.”
Claire disappears. “Why am I not with her?” Damien snaps.
“They need to work on her with you not around,” Mr. Grandin says. “We should go aboard the other ship.”
Ariel is just standing there, staring down. Xander follows her gaze and sees Mason. Xander pulls her into his arms. “He will be okay.”
“He looks…dead,” she barely gets out.
“Claire withdrew all his energy,” Dr. Galliger says. “He should make a full recovery. It usually takes three days.”
“Really?” Ariel gasps.
“Yeah, come on. We need to get everyone out of here before we are seen.”
“Okay…”
Xander takes a step away from her and then they are gone.
*****
Everyone sits silently in the hallway. No one has uttered a word for over two hours. They have just sat there. Xander keeps looking around at everyone. Ariel looks incredibly sad. Aurora won’t stop wringing her hands. Damien looks the worst. His gaze hasn’t moved from this one spot the whole time.
Finally, Dr. Galliger comes out of the room. Everyone stands up. “Claire…” Damien gasps.
Dr. Galliger takes a deep breath and looks at Damien. “It’s not good. She has burns over a considerable amount of her body. She is also drained of almost all her energy.”
“What does that mean?” He snaps.
With the saddest eyes, Dr. Galliger says, “Damien, I would prepare for the worst.”
“What?” Damien breathes out.
“Damien, she can’t regenerate energy. She can only absorb it. She has to be conscious for that. I don’t think she is waking up.”
“She’s going to die?”
“I don’t know, but I would get her family here. It’s not good.”
A guard comes around the corner. “Dr. Galliger, they need you when you have a second.”
“For who?” Damien growls.
“The Mason guy,” the guard replies. “He’s waking up.”
“What?” Damien and Dr. Galliger gasp at the same time.
“Mason!” Ariel cries out. “Where?”
Damien steps forward, “Ariel, no.”
“Who do you think he’s going to want to talk to? We still need his help or is rescuing everyone in the past?”
He shakes his head. “Let’s go.”
The guard member turns and walks through a couple of corridors. Finally, they come to a large room. In the middle of it is a blue, square force field and in the center of it is Mason. He is slowly stirring. Ariel runs over to him, but is stopped by the force field. Still trying to get as close as possible, Ariel yells, “Mason!” He stirs even more. “Mason!”
“How does he have energy already?” Damien snaps.
“We have no idea,” Mr. Paulson says. “Honest
ly, in my opinion, he’s absorbing it from the machinery.”
Mason stirs more and opens his eyes. “Oh god,” he groans, rolling off the table. He lands on his knees.
“Mason!” Ariel screams, going over by him. She falls to her knees to look at him. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” he exhales. “Give me a minute.”
“Give you a minute,” Damien snarls. “I should have you executed!”
Turning around, Mason looks at Damien. “Master Damien himself.”
Damien jerks and narrows his eyes. “You know who I am?”
“Yeah,” Mason moans. “Oh god.”
“Are you okay?” Ariel asks.
“Yes, I’m okay. I just wasn’t told how much this was going to hurt. The little shit,” he grumbles.
“Mason, watch your language.”
He laughs. “Yes sweetheart.”
“Tell us what you know,” Damien growls.
Mason slowly stands up and takes a deep breath. “First things first, I need to see Claire.”
“What? Are you insane?” Damien snaps.
“How do you know who Claire is?” Mr. Paulson asks.
Looking up to the ceiling, Mason says, “I know you said this was going to be hard.”
“What?” Damien says.
“I need to see Claire,” Mason states. “Right now.”
“First, you are in no position to be making demands and secondly, I would never let you near her.”
“Do you want her to live?” Mason asks, looking him right in the eyes.
“How do you know?” Damien replies.
Looking up again, Mason is just silent. “Can’t I just tell them?”
“Tell them what? Who are you talking to?” Damien snaps.
“You and your damn time shifting,” Mason yells.
Xander sees Ariel stand up and walk in front of Mason. “Oh my god,” Ariel exhales. “You’re talking to…”
“Ariel, stop!” Mason exclaims. “Shhhh.” She looks startled.
“What Ariel, what were you going to say?” Damien urges.
“He’s…” Ariel starts.
“Ariel, if you trust me at all, trust me on this. Don’t say anything.”
She looks at him and Damien. “He’s talking to me.”
“Bull,” Damien growls. “What were you going to say?”
Ariel turns away from him and looks at Mason. “How are you going to help her?”
“I can’t tell you,” Mason sighs. “Baby, I don’t want to hurt anyone and very well couldn’t jump with this stupid thing on.” He shows the cuff on his wrist.
“You know what that does,” Ariel asks.
Mason steps up right on the other side of the force field. “You need to trust me. Let me near Claire.”
“You aren’t being let out of there,” Damien states. “So you can stop asking already.”
Looking off to the side, Mason looks deep in thought. “What are you doing?” Ariel asks. He looks into her eyes. Xander can’t see Ariel’s face, but sees her posture change. “Oh okay.”
“What is going on between you two?” Damien asks.
“Nothing,” Ariel says, stepping away from Mason. “I think he’s minds a little muddled from being shocked. Mine is too.”
“Damien,” Mason says. “You need to let me near Claire.”
“It’s Master Damien to you,” Damien replies sharply. “And again, I will not repeat myself. I will not let you around Claire.”
Huffing, Mason sits back down on the table. “Fine.”
“Now, tell us what you know about The Collector. Is it a boy or a girl? What’s their name? What are they doing?” Damien demands.
“Claire didn’t tell you any of this?” Mason replies, looking confused. He looks up at the ceiling. “Oh.”
“What would Claire know?” Damien asks.
Ariel turns to Damien. “She talked to Lexi.”
“I know.”
“No, more was said than what you know about. I only got half of the conversation, so I don’t know much,” Ariel states.
Looking frustrated, Damien runs his fingers through his hair. “Why would she lie to me?”
Xander sees Ariel look at him and it is a knowing look. Xander knows something is up. “Maybe she was supposed to lie.”
“It’s me,” Damien snaps. “Why would she lie to me about it?”
“It’s called time shifting,” Mason states. “Oh shut up for a minute.”
“Excuse me,” Damien gasps.
“Not you Master Damien. It’s called time shifting. If someone knows the future it can change the future, thusly causing a time shift.”
Damien looks really confused. “Who knows the future?”
“I can’t tell you,” Mason says. “If I could just get to Claire, she could agree with me.”
“She’s dying because of you!”
“Well,” Mason counters. “You’re letting her die because you won’t let me near her.”
Ariel looks at him. “What are you going to do?”
He shakes his head. “I can’t tell you.”
“Why?”
“It could cause a time shift.”
Crossing his arms, Damien says, “Do you realize how stupid you sound?”
Mason tilts his head. “Crazy maybe, but not stupid.”
“I want to deck you so badly,” Damien growls, pointing his finger at him.
“You couldn’t even if you wanted to. Claire has met her match.”
“So you do want to hurt her!”
With a roll of his eyes, Mason states, “Just because I can fight as well instantly means I want to hurt her.”
Damien snaps, “You talk in damn riddles.”
“Trust me. I’m not the one talking in riddles,” Mason sighs.
“Yes, you are.”
“No, really I’m not. I just can’t create a time shift. If I tell you it could cause everything to fall apart.”
Stepping right in front of Mason, Damien seethes, “I demand you tell me.”
“I don’t answer to you,” Mason replies, not moving his gaze.
“So you do work for The Collector!”
A look of disgust sweeps across Mason’s face. “Like I would work for that psychopath.”
Ariel steps closer to him. He looks at her. “You don’t work for The Collector?”
“No, I work for the good side. It just took a lot longer than expected, but as I’ve been taught, everything happens for a reason.”
Damien narrows his eyes. “Who do you work for then?”
Biting his lip, Mason looks deep in thought. “Ummm, time.”
“What in the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Mason waves his hand through the air in a wave. “I work for the flow of time.”
With one perfect raised eyebrow, Damien replies, “That makes you sound like a nut job.”
“Yeah well, I’ve spent years looking for the elusive Neturu. It’s kind of hard to find a powerful alien race that doesn’t want to be found.”
“Why were you looking for us?” Damien asks.
“To help rescue everyone. The Collector let me come and go, but god, I tried to figure out how to find you for years.”
Pointing behind him, Damien says, “How did you find Ariel? Didn’t The Collector send you?”
Mason shakes his head. “No, they have no clue. It wasn’t until I found, well I found who I am working for. They’ve told me everything.”
Damien glares at him without saying a word. Finally, he says, “I swear to God I will find a way to hurt you.”
“Listen, no matter what, you’re never going to really like me,” Mason states, putting his hands up.
With a scoff, Damien replies, “Well, that’s a given.”
“But I’m very important to Claire, which means I really want to save her.”
“What do you mean by that?” Damien seethes, clenching his fists.
“I can’t tell you,” Mason sighs.
�
�If you think I’m going to let you take Claire from me…”
“What!” Ariel gasps.
Mason’s shoulders fall and he waves his hands. “No, no, no, not like that. I love Ariel. ARIEL. It’s not like that with Claire.”
“You don’t even know her,” Damien snaps.
“I will,” Mason replies.
“Mason,” Ariel whispers.
He looks at her and walks over in front of her. “Ariel, baby, I love you, only you. It’s only been and will always be just you. You need to trust me on this. I can’t tell you why, but Claire is very important to me. This all needs to go as planned or it will create the biggest time shift and then I have no clue what’s going to happen.”
“Why do you keep bringing up this time shifting?” Damien asks. “I don’t get what you are talking about.”
Looking up, Mason is silent for a minute. “Oh thanks, that’s easy.”
“What?” Damien says.
“I can give you the same example that was given to Claire. If you decide to propose to Claire and you decide to do it on a picnic. You think it would be a surprise, but if somehow Claire knew what was going to happen, it wouldn’t be a surprise anymore. It can cause a time shift. The future shifts onto a track no one knows about. Bad things can happen.”
Everyone blankly stares at him. “Changing the future…” Damien draws out. “Who can see the future?”
“I can’t say or it could cause a time shift,” Mason replies. “It’s important that I see Claire, BEFORE SHE DIES.”
“Absolutely not,” Damien snaps. “That’s out of the question.”
“She will die Damien and that will be the worst time shift for any of us, especially when it comes to The Collector. We can save them but we need her.”
“How are you going to help her?” Damien asks.
Mason looks down and deep in thought. Finally, he nods. “She’s unconscious, is she not?”
“Yes,” Damien replies.
“To gain her energy back she needs to absorb it from someone. She needs to be awake to do that, correct?”
Damien jerks back. “How do you know that?”
“Just answer me. She’s a succubus.”
With a steely glare, Damien turns to Xander and the girls. “Did you tell him?”
“How would we have told him? You’ve had us monitored the whole time,” Xander says back.