by Saxon Keeley
“If you knew him,” she spat, “you would know what an insult it is to wear that insignia.”
The soldier shakes his head while brushing the hair away from her face, her body numb, she is powerless to resist. “I am afraid that I knew him in more ways than you could ever claim to.”
“Yet you betray his memory, you betray all Chinese by wearing that uniform.”
“It was hard to accept the truths that he had learnt,” he explained, pulling off his mask. “But accept them I did.”
“Li Guang,” she muttered in disbelief, shocked to find her old friend and comrade in their uniform. His face pale, burnt, scared and stitches poorly sewn holding his skin together. The white of his eyes seem grey. A ghost of his former self. “You went missing in battle three years ago. What happened to you?”
“It has been sometime since I have heard my own name,” Li smiled. “I went chasing answers.”
“And did you find them?” asked Sun Ren finding it hard to breathe.
“I found answers,” he paused. “I am still not sure if they were the right answers. Earth is a complicated place.”
Feeling as if there is not much time left she presses him further. “Why did you join them? Why did you betray us?”
“I am keeping a promise.”
“A promise…? To Wesley…?”
He nods. “This war will end, but not how we thought it would. Stopping the Loyalists from taking Nibiru was the first step, that meant stopping you. I am sorry.”
She splutters as she laughs. “And how does this war end? In peace, with Chinese and Westerners as equals? Or are we to be enslaved?”
“It ends with his niece. Regardless of what else happens, Jessica must live,” he said. “Though it seems confusing, your death is for the best. Not all carp may climb that waterfall.”
Distracted by the conversation Sun Ren had not realised the loss of feeling in her extremities. For the first time in days she feels cold. Letting the weight of her head go, she welcomes the end. Lulling her to sleep, White Dragon strokes her cheeks whilst humming a tune from an era long since passed.
Maia
Jessica Jung
Jessica dangles her feet over the canal battling against the wind to keep the page in her book. She holds each end tight, feeling the paper bend to the shape of her fingers. In frustration, she forces herself though the next passage until a single drop falls from the sky and onto the centre of the page, the ink runs. Dark clouds encroach the city. A storm is coming. Knowing how precious of an artefact this book is, going home does not seem like an auspicious prospect. She hunches over the book using her body to catch the rain, but it is no good.
“Shit!”
Thunder booms and the surface of the canal water ripples, perfectly formed circles overlap one another in an increasingly incomprehensible pattern. Lightning stabs at Maia. In the streets of the city people rush to find shelter.
A shadow is cast over Jessica and the rain stops landing on her, a loud pattering comes from overhead. She turns around surprised to find her cousin’s best friend Jack Madison holding an umbrella over her. A prefect, he was gathering the boarders back indoors when he had seen Jessica sitting alone in the rain. Only a year older than her, she has often considered him to be far more mature than any of the other boys at The Academy. His sudden intrusion on her solitude leaves Jessica disconcerted.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” Jack said with a smile that makes her blush. “Looks like it’s really going to tip it down.”
She stares at him blankly for a few seconds then awkwardly begins to pack away the book into her bag.
“Hey, don’t go because of me. Look, my dorm is just down there and, well, I wouldn’t want you to be caught out in the rain like this. You’ll catch a cold,” he said. He holds out his umbrella for her. “Here take this.”
“Thank you?” she posed as a question. As she takes the umbrella their hands brush against one another’s, something Jessica feels should be insignificant but makes her skin tingle.
“Don’t mention it, just get home safely.”
Jack pulls up the collar of his coat to ward off the rain, and against her better judgement Jessica watches as he wanders off back to The Academy with a little jog. A heavy raindrop hits the umbrella and she catches herself staring. Quickly she set aside her embarrassing display of interest. Lightning strikes again and Jessica collapses the umbrella, endeared by the stupidity of the sentiment.
The lights in the house are on, assuming it is safe for her to return Jessica walks up the garden path. As quietly as she can she puts the key in the lock and lets herself in. The house is silent. Leaving her bag and the umbrella by the entrance she treads softly through the hall and peers into the family room to see Nicholas raiding their father’s drinks cabinet. He pours himself a large glass of whiskey, noticing his sister in the reflection.
“Evening little sister,” Nicholas called out before she had the opportunity to slip away.
Stepping into the doorway of the room she is unable to muster any kind of civil response and instead asked, “Where is Father?”
“Gone,” he said. “Gone to visit Uncle on Eden. Would you like a drink?”
He looks at her from over the glass while he takes a sip. Jessica does not respond. With Father off planet, home is no longer safe. Already he has begun to drink, it is always worse when he has been drinking.
Walking into the kitchen she can hear her brother following. Briskly looking around she only needs to grab something to eat before heading back out. She rummages about the cupboards and pulls at a packet that makes the whole contents of the cupboard come tumbling out. Rice scatters over the floor. In that moment, she regrets her decision to gather food.
About to pick everything up, she senses her brother from behind. An arm either side traps her against the kitchen side.
“It is just you and me for a few days. Perhaps we can play house like we used to when we were young,” he whispered into her ear. “I will be Father and you can be Mother.”
His hand glides down her body to her waist where he reaches for her front. He cups her in his hand. A sharp pain in her chest stops her from breathing. He brings himself closer.
Regaining rational thought, Jessica flings her elbow back striking Nicholas in the head and manages to twist herself free. He recovers quickly and attempts to box her in again. Sinking her nails into his face she draws blood. Making a break for it, Jessica’s escape is stopped by a tug of her hair, bringing her head slamming down onto the kitchen surface.
Everything goes black for a second, waking to a ringing in her ear. She fiercely fights to maintain consciousness. Reaching for anything close by to defend herself with she swings wildly at Nicholas to deter his advances. At knife point the two siblings stand.
“You fucking bitch,” said Nicholas, wiping away the blood from his cheek.
“Stay away!” warned Jessica holding the knife with both hands.
Her brother is barely able to contain his laughter. He takes hold of the blade holding it steady. “Or what? You do not have the…”
The blade slides through his grip cutting deep to the bone. Nicholas screams, cursing his sister whilst placing pressure around his fingers. She steps back, dropping the bloody knife. Without a second thought, she runs out of the house.
Maia’s streets change when the sun goes down. Soldiers no longer fit to fight drink themselves into oblivion. Illegal brothels open their doors to soldiers on leave so they may relieve tension. Opium smuggled in from Neo-Shanxi sold in dens in the basements of bars and nightclubs. All of it allowed to happen with a blind eye turned from the Chairman and his ministers.
Jessica wanders the night alone with the rainfall masking her tears. Her school uniform is soaked through, clinging against her skin and weighing down her bag. The umbrella was such a pointless item to grab on her way out as there is little chance that the storm will let up for the night, but she couldn’t leave it there with him. Hungry and co
ld she has nowhere to go. She prays the night passes quickly.
“Child. You, walking,” an intimidatingly large middle aged Chinese woman shouted at her. “You look lost.”
Picking up the pace Jessica avoids eye contact and tries to lose the woman waddling after her. She knows better than to engage with mistresses of the night. Too many children have been orphaned by the war and there are those who would prey on the venerable. They are taught all about it at The Academy, the dangers of grooming. At first, they offer young boys and girls a part time job, then eventually they are sold to criminal organisations that take advantage of the lawlessness of disputed colonies. She slips down a back alley and runs.
With nowhere else to go Jessica finds herself at the one place in the city she knows is safe, The Academy. High on the hill, the rest of Maia seems like a world away. No noise. No lights. All the borders tucked in tight fast asleep. Only a few nightlights dimly glow for those children who wake with night terrors. All the entrances are magnetically locked and there is no hope of sneaking in with a senior since it is well passed their strict curfew.
She finds shelter under a small porch and makes herself as comfortable as she possibly can for the long night still ahead. Hopefully in the morning she will manage to sneak into the gym and use their showers to freshen up. Between now and then she puts her knees to her chin and endeavours to read her great grandfather’s book, which is soggy around the corners from where her bag had absorbed the rain, until she can no longer keep her eyes open.
A figure approaches from the rain. Expecting it to be one of the onsite teachers, she is mortified to see Jack instead. She closes her book and is about to run away again. Before Jessica can even get up Jack calls to her.
“Hey!” he said, jogging over to join her under the shelter. “Jessica, what are you doing here? Are you alright?”
She can feel the tears welling up inside, staring down at the ground she does her best not to cry in front of him. Jack rests his back against the wall and slides down taking a seat next to her. He does not push her to answer, instead waits for as long as she needs. For a long time, they sit in silence listening to the rain. The ground is soaked and only the tips of grass peek out above the growing puddles. The crashing against the shelter’s roof drowns out the rumblings of Jessica’s stomach.
“I can’t go home tonight,” Jessica finally said, not wanting to elaborate.
Jack nods sympathetically. “Enough said. Everyone I have grown up with have difficult home lives, sometimes the less said the better. I won’t pry any further unless you want to talk about it.”
“Thank you,” she coughed, the cold having got to her chest.
“Look, I can’t leave you out here all night. Alexander has gone off planet for a couple of weeks which means his bed is free, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. And I bet there is some soup left over from dinner,” Jack said.
Jessica gives him a vague response that is as good of a ‘yes’ than anything else she could have mumbled.
“Good. We will have to sneak you in through the window, female guests aren’t allowed at this hour. Lucky for you my room is on the ground floor.”
Jack jumps to his feet and offers her his hand, she hates being pitied and while she has little other option to accept her cousin’s bed for the night she can at least pull herself up onto her own two feet. Leading the way across the green to a window not far from the shelter, Jack then runs back inside leaving Jessica waiting. She shivers. Her toes feel pruney. Strands of hair fall heavy against her face. It does not take Jack long to open the window, but enough for Jessica to be reminded that she does not want to spend the night out in this weather.
Inside is warm, making her realises how awful she had been feeling. Trying her best to hold back a cough, it forces its way out of her chest lounder than it would have been otherwise. Looking around the divided room, Alexander’s half is filled with shelves of books regarding science, advanced mathematics and engineering. Prints of German art are pinned to his side of the wall space, an aesthetic of a strange culture she is surprised to see her cousin showing interest in. Jack’s side is filled with previously well-read books of fiction saved from being recycled and drawings done on the back of scrap paper.
Dripping on the carpet, Jack finds her out a clean towel and a change of clothes. “I have a key to the shower room just down the hall. I can wait outside for you and if anyone asks, I’ll just tell them a junior wet the bed,” he smiled. “We can dry your stuff on that radiator. It should be ready for the morning.”
As the two of them sneak down the corridor, Jack keeps lookout while Jessica hides under the towel. Thankfully their caution was not needed. With the coast clear he unlocks the shower room and lets her in. The door closes behind her, safe and alone she lets out a wearied sigh.
Neatly she places down the change of clothes and begins to undress. Peeling off her drenched uniform she wrings them out then hangs each item from a peg so they may drip dry. In front of the mirror she places the scissors she stole from Alexander’s desk onto the side of the sink. Naked she stares at her own reflection. Bruises mark her skin from where her brother has had his way.
She takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. Pulling back her long hair into a ponytail, she takes the scissors and holds her hair between the blades. Her heart races. No more, she thinks to herself. Squeezing the handles together the sharp blades cut effortlessly.
What remains falls back into place. The ponytail left in her grasp. With detachment, she inspects the long-wet clump of hair. Walking over to the bin she throws it away as if it were never apart of her. Turning the taps, she steps into a steamy warm shower.
Jack had begun to worry when the door opens, stepping out in a boy’s t-shirt a couple of sizes too big and a pair of old gym shorts Jessica playfully smiles at him. The dramatic transformation, in both mood and appearance, catches him by surprise.
“Does it look that bad?” she asked.
“No, actually,” Jack said, not lying. “I just wasn’t expecting it. It really suits you.”
Jessica blushes and the two of them laugh off the awkward silence that follows. Taking back the towel Jack playfully throws it over her head and directs her back to his room, dropping her off before sneaking away to the kitchen to see what he can scrounge together.
Stretched out along the radiator her uniform dries, her underwear decently tucked away out of sight. Underneath her boots lean against the hot pipes and hung over the back of Alexander’s chair her bag is close to the heat. Her book is drying also. While she waits for Jack to return Jessica inspects his book collection. So many of the spines have worn thin that it is impossible to read their titles, some don’t even have their covers, and others are in a language she is positive is German and therefore completely incomprehensible.
The door opens and Jack enters balancing a bowl of soup and a small bread roll in one hand and a tall glass of soya milk in the other. He waits for her to take a seat on Alexander’s bed before handing her over the soup and bread. The milk he leaves on the side. As she sits slurping away, Jack tucks himself behind the wardrobe door to change into something suitable to sleep in, different to his usual worn socks and that day’s underwear combination.
Flopping onto his bed they sit in a nervous silence, glancing back and forth at one another.
“Sorry I couldn’t scrape together something a bit more substantial. I think the kitchen is waiting for its next delivery from Thuỷ Phủ,” he explained, breaking the tension.
“It is more than enough,” she thanked him. Looking at the novels on the shelves again, she asked, “Do you speak German?”
Jack follows her eyes and his expression softens. “Ah! Yes. My mother was German.”
“Is she away at war?” Jessica asked, thinking nothing of her question.
“No. She died during the Revolt.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, remembering what Jack had said to her earlier tonight, that sometimes the less said the better. She spoons
the last mouthful and places the bowl onto the bedside cabinet next to the milk. Climbing into the covers she fluffs the pillow and rests her head. Jack switches off the light and gets between his sheets. The rain pours hard against the window. “Goodnight, I guess.”
“Goodnight Jessica.”
Eden
Alistair Jung
“There is no need to look so worried,” Alistair said to his nephew, who is gripping onto the arms of his seat with intense unease as the boat experiences turbulence. “We will be landing shortly.”
Alexander looks at his uncle as if he’d just told a poorly timed joke. The boat jolts and Alexander involuntarily squeals. “I have only ever travelled in space once before and that was when Uncle Wesley brought me to Maia, to be honest I think I slept most of that journey. This has very much felt like my first time,” he explained, feeling his anxiety rise as he talks about it. “I understand the science and numbers behind it all, but being shot through an EMR along the line of trajectory at the mercy of mere points of degree, and now being thrown about the insides of a metal vessel as it plummets to the ground…”
“We are not plummeting,” Alistair said amused.
“I do not think I am a fan of space travel.”
The boat stops shaking and out of the window the clouds begin to thin, unveiling a supercontinent covered in dense and ancient forest. Sporadic patches of murky vapour hang thick over the canopy. Alistair has visited his brother’s secret world only a few times, and just like the previous times he is left amazed. Alexander struggles for words, even though he understands the science behind it all he cannot quiet comprehend what he is seeing. The pilot over the coms informs them they are a couple minutes away from the labs and will prepare to land shortly.