by Kate Sander
"Well I have a question for Black Eyes," Ramjeet snapped. "Why the hell couldn't you figure out it was a trap? That password they gave you let them in to the ZTF."
Black Eyes stood up and stepped beside Carter.
"I told Carter what happened," she said. "I don't know about computers or any of this stuff. My people live in the forest. We do not have technology," she shrugged. "I honestly didn't even know that you could shut stuff down from somewhere else. It makes no sense."
"No, what makes no sense is you," Cathy said, glaring. "You show up then suddenly we're getting hacked by the enemy?"
Carter winced, "Cathy-"
"No. Don't Cathy me," she spat. "How do you know she's not a Zoya working for them? So she can make herself invisible, that’s not too farfetched for a Zoya. Maybe she's not a ghost at all."
Ramjeet, Pierre and Lee all nodded their agreement.
"Then shoot me," Black Eyes said. "Tell that big guy to take his gun out and shoot me."
Igor shrugged and pulled his handgun out, aiming it at her head.
Carter held up his hands. "Woah. We are in a civilian’s house. Holster your weapon." Igor kept a steady gun pointed at a smirking Black Eyes. Carter raised his voice. "That's an order, not a request."
Igor shrugged and holstered his gun. "I would sleep like a baby."
"After you cleaned the blood off the carpet," Lee whispered, smirking.
"Shut up, both of you," John snapped, English accent thickening because he was stressed. "Trust your commanding officer."
"Look where that got us the last time," Cathy snapped. "Tomo, Senka and Amanda dead. Maybe we should question our damn commanding-"
"ENOUGH," Carter barked. Cathy shut her mouth. "To even insinuate that I am like Amanda is an insult," he snapped. "Black Eyes is on our side. I trust her. She is not with the enemy. In fact, they tried to kill her." Nodding towards Black Eyes, he glared at the three trouble makers.
Black Eyes brushed her dreadlocks out of the way, showing the bright pink and swollen wire mark around her neck.
"But..." Annabell said, gasping at the gruesome injury, "How did they hurt a ghost?"
"I'm not sure," Black Eyes said. "A guy attacked me from behind. Freudman called him Cesar."
They stared at her, all giving her their complete attention.
Carter nodded his approval, and Black Eyes launched into the story of her trip to Manitoba.
By the time she was done, they were all munching on pizza and listening to every detail.
"So, this stone," Ramjeet said, "it made him younger?"
"Yes."
"So that's not his Zoya power then. That's just bonus?"
Black Eyes shrugged.
"But a Zoya attacked you. So they knew you were there."
Black Eyes nodded.
"Okay, so what makes you think they haven't moved again," Ramjeet said. "If I were them, as soon as that password told them the ZTF were looking right at them, I'd be going into hiding."
"Well, you're Ramjeet," Carter said, nodding towards the computer. "You can hack into a couple of satellites and keep an eye on their place."
Ramjeet smiled ear to ear. "I'm... getting permission to hack back into the military satellites?"
"No," Carter said. "I'm ordering you to hack into the military satellites."
Carter wasn't even done his sentence before Ramjeet was booting up the laptop in front of him, giant smile on his face.
"Okay, while he's doing that," Carter said, "we need to get our identities and travel methods in shape."
"We volunteer for the bus," Igor said happily. "Igor doesn't fly."
John groaned.
Carter smiled.
They were a unit again.
At least for now.
15
Tory
Her feet pounded up the rocky outcrop. The thunder cracked overhead and mixed with the sound of the ocean, it was making her head ring and making her confused in the dark. Feet slipping on the wet rock, she went down on her stomach hard, losing her breath.
"Keep going," she muttered to herself. The yells of the men of the village reached her and spurred her to her feet. The rain was making it hard to see, and the sun was about to set. She needed to make the crest of the cliff. Only then could she lose the villagers in the forest.
Dogs barked and howled and Cass scrambled up the hill. The world erupted into a blinding white light, illuminating for an instant the steep trail in front of her. Another crash of thunder overhead. Cass shivered, the pounding rain chilling her to her core.
The mantra repeated through her head, making her move faster. "Get to the top, then you'll be safe. Get to the top, then you'll be safe..."
She crested the hill and the cliff loomed in front of her, an eighty foot drop into the crashing, churning sea. To her right was the safety of the forest.
A blinding flash of light.
A huge, lumbering outline of a man was in front of her.
Elated, Cass wiped her eyes, trying to see her love more clearly.
"Jolan!" she called ecstatically. "Jolan you came!"
"No," Tory muttered in her dream. "No, not again. I don't want to see this again."
It didn't matter. Tory's dreams were known to do terrible things.
Jolan covered the distance in two large strides and wrapped her in a bear hug, spinning her around in a circle. "Of course I came, my love."
God he looked like Ujarak.
That part made this whole mess so much more uncomfortable. Dreaming from Cass' perspective and knowing the traitorous end was one thing, but Jolan looking more and more like Ujarak every time she dreamed was terrible.
"We need to go," Cass said hurriedly. "The Remiel, it's burning. They are coming for me. They've named me Zoya, or outsider. They think I caused the famine!"
"Darling I know," Jolan said firmly. "I know. I tried to put them right but they wouldn't listen."
Cass grabbed his hand to lead him to the forest. Jolan held firm, grabbing her wrist. A dog howled. Closer this time.
"They're coming," Cass said. "Jolan we have to hurry."
"Do you have it?" Jolan asked. "That stone you're always looking into. Do you have it?"
The man in front of her looked hungry, predatory. Lightening flashed and Ujarak's face lit up. Jolan returned, but the resemblance...
"No," Tory mumbled in her bed. "No, he wouldn't do that."
The dream continued. As it always did. She could never get away. Lightening cracked again and a shadowed figure well behind Jolan appeared. Confused, as she'd never seen that form before in this dreadful place, Tory kept her eye out for it again.
The dream moved on.
"Of course I have it," Cass said. She tried to turn away from her lover but he held her wrist. "Jolan, let go. We need to get to the forest."
"Give it to me," Jolan said. Thunder crashed.
"What? No. You couldn't control it anyway. Jolan, we don't have time for this. Let me go."
He cocked his head to the side and twisted her arm, hard.
"GIVE ME THE STONE!"
"No!" Cass said in pain. "Jolan, this isn't you. Let go! You couldn’t use it if you tried."
"Oh, I could use it," Jolan said. "I've watched you, every night, use it to see the future. You've predicted things, down to the minute. You've won wars with that thing. Of course you caused the famine. You're the most powerful being in the world. But it's all because of that stone. GIVE IT TO ME!"
Cass worked the Remiel from her pocket. Relief flooded her heart when she was able to grab it with her free hand.
"NO!" she yelled and held it up in front of her.
Energy exploded out of the stone in a blinding red light, sending them both flying away from each other. Cass landed hard in the dirt, closer to the cliff. The wind was knocked out of her, the ruby the size of her fist left her hand. Her head swam and rain poured on her face. Lightning struck the forest close to them, causing her eyes to blur. She covered her head and rolled on
to her side in the fetal position.
Thunder crashed again.
She felt Jolan's hand grab her wrist and start to drag her.
"No!" she coughed weakly, clawing at Jolan's hand. "Jolan, please."
"Give it to me," he said, grunting with the effort of pulling her through the mud.
Cass clawed at the ground, trying to slow him down. "I don't have it. I dropped it."
"Then you will die anyway."
Jolan reached the edge of the cliff. Cass could hear the ocean slam against the rocks below. She dug in harder and her hand came across a smooth stone in the mud.
The Remiel. It had almost gone over the cliff and Jolan, in the dark, had stepped right over it.
She clasped on to it, suddenly so tired. Her lover, the only man she'd ever trusted, was going to kill her. All for this stupid stone.
Her decision was made.
Jolan stopped at the edge to readjust his grip.
"Don't do this," she said. "I love you."
Jolan smiled. "I know you did."
He threw her over the cliff.
The Remiel left her hand and fell with her. Cass fell backwards, almost in slow motion. She saw the look of horror cross Jolan's face as he realized what he had done. Not for her, no, but for the stone. The stone she poured her heart and soul into. The stone she used as a vehicle for her power.
Her new power in this world.
The Remiel hit the rocks and shattered, its remnants lost in the ocean.
Cass hit the ocean and was dead in seconds, her head smashing against the rocks, and the swirling waters carrying her out to sea.
Gasping, Tory sat up in bed, coughing and flailing.
"It's okay," a familiar voice said beside her, calming her down immediately. "It's okay."
It took a little to get her bearings and to focus. A dark figure was sitting at the edge of her bed. Senka wasn't in the room, she hadn't returned since their fight on deck that afternoon.
"Been a while," the figure said softly, in that cocky voice Tory knew so well.
"Black Eyes," Tory gasped. "You're back. I'm so happy to see you."
Tory leapt up and tried to hug her, but her arms went right through the ghost's torso.
"It has been a while," Black Eyes said smugly, "if you forgot that I'm a ghost."
Tory laughed. It felt good to laugh. It felt good that Black Eyes was back. She hadn't even realized she was stressed about it.
"I'm so glad you're back," Tory said, plopping down on the bed beside the ghost. "I missed you."
"Didn't think I'd ever hear those words," Black Eyes said.
"I'm sorry," Tory said. "Really, I am. I should have been nicer to you."
"You did kill me, after all."
"Not like you'd ever let me live that down," Tory laughed. Black Eyes smiled at her. Then an awkward silence.
"I almost don't want to ask..."
"I heard you calling," Black Eyes said. "I... I couldn't..."
"It's fine," Tory said hurriedly, trying to cover up her damaged feelings. "I get it."
"I needed some space," Black Eyes admitted. "Three years with you. You were the only thing that could hear me and talk to me. It was nice... Having someone else to talk to. And, I was really helping them out over there. They need me."
"So you're not staying then?"
"No. No, I'm not. But Carter needs to speak with Senka."
"How are you going to accomplish that?" Tory asked.
"I was hoping you'd be able to help me with that stone of yours," Black Eyes said. "Carter's asleep right now. And, we seem to work better..."
"In dreams," Tory finished for her. She shrugged, "Well, if you can find Senka, you can bring her. We're not really speaking right now."
Black Eyes cocked her head. "Might want to get over it," she said. Tory started to argue but she cut her off. "No, really. We're going to war. In two different worlds. Get over it. Work it out later. And if that means that you have to apologize, even if you don't believe it, then suck it up."
Tory was dumbstruck, but Black Eyes didn't let up. "I’m not joking. I actually really like the people I'm working with. A Zoya almost killed me. We're going into war and every single one of them know they will probably die. And you're worried about a stupid spat? Suck it up."
Tory looked at her hands, ashamed.
"So find her," Black Eyes said. "Apologize. And let’s kill these fuckers so I can finally move on and see my husband."
"I... You never told me... Husband?"
"He died in that war right before you killed me. I never told you, because you felt bad enough for killing me. But, I'd like to see him in the spirit world at some point, so if you could stop feeling sorry for yourself and get shit done, that would be great."
Tory didn't answer. Her heart hurt with the truth that Black Eyes was hitting her with.
Black Eyes sprang up and went to the door. "Well then, let's go."
Tory rose and led Black Eyes out the door to find Senka.
It didn't take long to find her in the bowel of the ship among the cargo, with a panther head and Akira's head asleep on her lap.
Tory stopped at the edge of the little nest they'd made and waited until Senka saw her. The fire and anger that flashed in her eyes hurt Tory's heart even more. Tory beckoned and left the cargo hold, heading up to the deck and hoping that Senka would follow.
Tory stormed out onto the deck, cold night air clearing her head and calming her down.
The night was still and chilly. Ujarak was drinking with a bunch of the crew on deck, expertly avoiding conflict, as he always did.
They were going to talk about that later.
"I forgot how amazing our stars are," Black Eyes said in awe behind her.
"They don't have stars, over there?" Tory looked up and noticed what she'd been ignoring.
"They're there. But there's so many lights and giant buildings that you can't see them. Not like this."
The Milky Way swirled overhead mixed with the millions of stars. Tory hadn't looked up in a long time. Ages. Sheer and unlimited beauty shone above her.
How could she forget to look up when all of this was overhead?
"This better be good," Senka said from behind her.
"Do you ever remember to look up?" Tory said in awe.
"What are you talking about?" Senka sighed.
"Look up," Tory said, still not facing her.
Senka walked up beside her and obliged. Gasping, she said, "Woah."
"We're so small, in the grand scheme of everything," Tory said.
"But it feels like we're so big."
"Yeah, yeah it does."
Silence and beauty as they floated along in the middle of a calm sea.
"We need to work this out," Tory said. "There's too much on the line. All this could be gone. No one left to see it if we fail."
"You're right," Senka said. "I won't make Akira forget it, but I will talk to her about working with Eris."
Black Eyes joined them.
"Holy shit," Senka jumped.
"Black Eyes, meet Senka. Senka, meet Black Eyes."
"You're a ghost?"
"You bet I am," Black Eyes said. "And I'm here to see you."
"Me? Why me?"
"Carter wants to talk to you," Black Eyes said, “and,” looking her up and down, continued, "I think you need to talk to him too."
16
Carter
Sleep was eluding him.
The couch was bumpy and dug into his back. The pillow was hard and kinked his neck at a weird angle. At least he had a couch. Most of the ZTF were snuggled in blankets on the floor.
Shelly had outdone herself and had found enough blankets to keep all thirteen of them cozy.
One more night of comfort and then...
And then they all were putting their lives on the line.
A different situation for the handlers. They were used to staying behind closed doors, running the mission from the safety of the ZTF headquarters.
Now, with headquarters gone, they were going to have to go most of the way with the agents.
Yet, the snoring all around him said that they weren't worried.
Or at least not as worried as he was.
He'd have to thank Shelly. And pay her. The family of his son had let them in to their home, had taken care of his family. His work family.
Feeling like a complete failure, he rolled over on the couch and closed his eyes again. Isaac, his son, popped into his head. Just barely in his life and here he was, taking and taking from them. All he ever did was take, take, take. He had nothing to give.
With these dark thoughts, he drifted off into an uneasy sleep.
The dream flashed in his head. Horrible memories, as they always were.
"No, Mel," Carter snapped, driving too fast along the wet highway. The windshield wipers were on their highest setting and Carter still had trouble seeing. "I don't want a cat. We don't need a cat."
"C'mon, baby," his girlfriend begged him, pulling at his arm. "A cat would be perfect. You barely need to take care of them, they're like self-sufficient. And the rescue is giving them away for free right now."
Carter looked at her. Her beauty caught him. Glowing. The light of his life. His entire world.
"Marry me?" he breathed, looking at her.
"What?" Mel asked him, eyes wide.
"Marry me?"
A huge smile broke over her face, "Of cour-"
Headlights through the windshield. Mel screamed, never finishing her sentence. Carter swerved on the slippery road, but his tires couldn't keep traction. A concrete pole rushed toward them. Carter jerked the wheel, but the car didn't turn.
It never turned.
Slamming into the pole, Carter's airbag deployed, knocking him unconscious.
Gasping, he sat up on the couch.
That dream, that terrible dream. It would plague him for the rest of his life.
Carter grimaced and rubbed his eyes. A hangover. How much had he drank last night? It was a blur, he didn't remember anything.
Lots of crazy dreams, though. Especially a long one about a ghost named Black... Coat? Black Tongue? Shaking his head as the memory faded, he rose from the couch in his living room and wandered to the kitchen.