His eyes flickered open, and his thoughts began to work again. She studied his thoughts. He thought it was quiet, and then he wondered what had happened. He frowned and was unsure of himself for the first time in his life. He had always known the answers before. He didn’t anymore.
She knew that because she knew she had his powers now. She also knew she’d never had any special powers to give before now. Both of them were half-breeds and when you mix things up, they sometimes come back out the wrong way around. That’s what had happened here. She’d taken his special powers because she hadn’t had any of her own.
All those people had worried about her, but in the end, she’d just been a normal Derobmi girl with a Zoremone problem.
She felt a bit sorry for him really, but she could also read his mind and knew he wasn’t always a nice person, so she didn’t feel much sympathy for him.
He stared at her, thinking that she looked beautiful.
She stood up and smiled. He could enjoy that thought while he watched her leave.
The Foamy’s guards had fled, and Mrs. Mainston and Lady Foamy had paused in the middle of a hair-pulling fight to watch what happened. Neither of them looked very prim, and it wasn’t entirely clear who had been winning. The purple man was sitting up and looking at her. He was proud of her.
She frowned at him. She had a lot of questions about who he was.
Lord Foamy looked murderous. He’d been pretending to be a true Derobmi for years, and she read his mind. He was a murderer. She saw his hate of her in his mind as she walked over to him. He’d orchestrated this. He’d set her up. He’d set his son up too, and he’d killed the Chancellor to hide his real identity.
She glared at him with fiery green eyes, and then noticed that Parklon had him in a pair of handcuffs, which had been procured from a guard. Parklon knew what Lord Foamy had done. She stemmed her anger, satisfied he’d see to it that justice was done.
She turned and peered at Joe out of pure curiously. He winked at her. He looked like the Joe she remembered. His illness appeared to have gone, but there was something different about him. He had a spark of real intelligence behind his eyes now, a new light.
“You’re okay now?” she asked Joe.
“Yeah, something changed. Didn’t you feel it? The world shook, and I kind of woke up,” he said.
She tried to read his thoughts, but there was nothing there. She stared at him and wondered if he had stopped time or if she had.
In just a few minutes she’d read everyone’s memories and seen what they’d seen and knew what they knew. She grinned.
Now that’s a nifty little trick to have.
It was a bright sunny afternoon in the park. The birds were chirping, and the sun was shining. Carla was making daisy chains in the bandstand, and she was content.
She had finished school early and been awarded a scientific qualification for producing a cure for the illness that had plagued the colony. It had all been connected to her, after all. It was in her blood. Something to do with mixed genes and a natural immunity meant that an antidote was produced with only minor side effects.
Joe was studying botany now and had a minor personality change for the better. Many of the other teenagers who’d had the illness had required some changes in their lives, too. It was part of the cure to be liberated.
Derobmi laws on cleanliness had become more flexible. They had to evolve so the youngsters could fight the illness and live life a little easier. Life on Derobmi had improved in general, and the strict rules weren’t so strict anymore.
Joe’s mind had been the only one she couldn’t read that night, but she felt more connected to him than ever before. She wasn’t alone in the world any longer, and it was great.
She wondered why Joe was so different to everyone else. He’d been cured without being given the cure, and he’d been immune to having his mind read. Whatever had happened in the cave had changed him too, she was sure of it. She didn’t worry about it too much. He was happy and healthy, what more could she ask?
Parklon had been awarded a medal of bravery for capturing the High Chancellor’s killer, and he now worked in a nice clean lab in Derobmi, helping to cure diseases. He did occasionally celebrate with too much beer, but no one seemed to mind as long as it wasn’t at their house.
Bob had disappeared before the police arrived, and no one had mentioned his presence. However, there had been rumors that he had been seen regularly with Lady Foamy. He’d been reunited with his orange car and had been spotted shamelessly driving it around the town center.
Lady Foamy was now divorced, and the community had applauded her heroism and grace in dealing with the fact that her husband was a murderer.
She had gone into politics and had passed a bill for freedom of speech, which especially included literature. Not so many things were banned in Derobmi anymore, mostly due to her work.
Krellin wasn’t as good at everything as he used to be, but he was happier for it and continued to call Carla asking if she’d like a date.
He had no recollection of the special powers he had lost to her, but kept saying that his cave didn’t work anymore since she had blown it up.
Carla had gone on one date with him, just to see what would happen, and nothing did. It seemed that the whole Zoremone thing was no longer a problem for her, at least not with him. Whatever hold he’d had over her had been blown out of her body that night.
Bob was convinced that her troubles with Zoremones weren’t over yet, and maybe he was right, but right now, she wasn’t in any danger from them
That wasn’t the only thing that left her that night. Her powers had gone as swiftly as they had arrived, and her father had fled too.
Cole had unleashed a deadly disease on Derobmi, so he had finally left the colony and put the past behind him. But it was okay. Everyone now knew she had a purple father. She had a feeling she’d see him again.
Her mother and Herb had separated, but they still dated each other, and life for her mother had improved.
Emily Mainston had thrown out the oven and bought a microwave, and then she’d taken a job in immigration, which she loved. She worked closely with Amelia Norris, helping immigrants in and out of Derobmi. They had support groups and cultural learning centers in the colony now, helping people legally come to Derobmi.
After the death of her husband, Amelia Norris testified against Lord Foamy and brought evidence of his real identity to the case against him. Along with murder and attempted murder charges, he was also charged with fraud under his real name of Constanople Ernendez, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Amelia was pleased with the judgment, and simply said, “A life for a life,” to journalists at the hearing.
All was calm. Carla was a true Derobmi girl. Even Lady Foamy said so. She was free from the restraints of school, free to go out into the world and actually learn something, and life seemed full of opportunity.
Everyone was safe and happy, and Carla had realized that there wasn’t just one destined adventure in life, there were thousands of them.
Lord Foamy and all of his bad deeds were gone for good, but when they had guided him into the police car, she had seen something in his mind that she couldn’t forget. It wasn’t a memory, but something he imagined in the future. In Technicolor clarity, she’d seen a war.
She frowned and tightened her fist, crushing the daisy in her hand. It had been a multicolored war, which to him had seemed inevitable.
The carnage and destruction she’d seen had been like a visit to hell. There had been fire and screaming, not just in one place, but everywhere. She didn’t know how it began or who started it. She didn’t know if it was real, but it had felt real, as if it was going to happen one day.
There had been some secrets in his mind that she couldn’t see. She never found out about the source of his red eyes, or—more importantly—the source of his imagined war.
However, on a sunny day like today, it was hard to believe that war was a real possibility. She loo
ked at the broken daisy hanging limply in her lilac hand.
A small spark of electricity glowed on her fingers and the daisy instantly grew back.
She smiled a secret smile. She was looking forward to the next adventure. Who knew where it would take her.
Shattered by Claire Chilton
First published in the Great Britain by Ragz Books 2012
This edition published by Ragz Books
Copyright © 2012 by Claire Chilton
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved.
Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, and the United Kingdom Copyright Act of 1956 and 1988. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
Print Edition:
ISBN 13: 978-1-938988-08-0
ISBN 10: 1938988086
E-book Edition:
ISBN 13: 978-1-938988-10-3
ISBN 10: 1938988108
Published in the United States by Ragz Books
Illustration by Claire Chilton
DEDICATIONS
This book is dedicated to JJ for inspiring Gobbert and helping me bring him to life.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I’d like to thank Derek Landy, Eileen Gormley and everyone at TCT for being utterly amazing writers and people, who have helped me become a better writer. I can’t thank you enough.
“Slacking off again, are we?” A sneering voice behind her caused Carla Mainston to jump. She felt the test tube wobble in her hands before tightly gripping it in her fist as she recognized the voice. She glanced down at her purple hands to see her knuckles whitening around glass tube.
She clutched the test tube, refusing to turn to face him. Even the sound of his voice made her skin crawl. Great, it’s my sadistic boss.
Godfrey Hanns had recently been hired as her superior, in place of her best friend, who had been promoted to bigger and better things.
With a sigh, she turned to face Godfrey. He was a lanky, green-skinned, thirtyish go-getter with the attitude of a used car salesman and about as much honesty. All he ever did was misuse his power and make snide comments about everyone else.
She fought to remain civil as he sneered at her. She despised him, perhaps more than she had ever despised anyone. It wasn't that he was the worst person she had ever met, although he wasn’t far off the mark. It was more that she was unable to do anything about him that drove her to hate him more than anyone else she’d ever met.
She gritted her teeth for a moment before unclenching her jaw and replying. “I’m just cleaning up the lab,” she said, offering him a false smile.
His flinty eyes scanned the lab. “Have you only just started? It looks like a bomb’s hit it.” He flicked his bangs out of his eyes in a mildly camp manner before peering at the sparkling countertop with distaste. “There are marks all over this.”
Admittedly, the countertop did have scratches in it from age and use, but it was cleaned to perfection.
She narrowed her eyes. “Would you prefer me to sand it down and re-varnish it?” As the words left her mouth, she mentally kicked herself for speaking her mind. Speaking out always led to more crap from Godfrey in the long run.
He had a talent for taking everything she said and turning it around to suit him, and she knew today wasn’t going to be any different.
“There’s no need to be snide. It’s unprofessional.” The condescension in his voice grated on her nerves. “You use any excuse to get out of doing your job properly. I’m not your best friend, and I won’t be giving you a free pass just because of your past glories. Clean it again, and this time, I want every inch of this place to be sparkling!”
She turned around to face the windows, placing the test tube in the sink.
She ignored Godfrey, hoping he’d go away. Rather than respond to his idiocy, she stared out across the muddy fields of the Derobmi landscape. Rain dribbled slowly down the windowpane, like a tangle of crystal snakes racing to the bottom. The landscape had once seemed so bright and green, and the sun had shone more often, she was sure it had.
She sighed at her reflection in the window. A pretty purple girl with wild black hair sighed back at her.
What’s wrong with me? She was so maudlin and sad all the time. It made no sense. She was never unhappy, or at least, she never used to be.
She had everything she wanted—freedom, a happy home, good friends and a good job. But somewhere in all those wonderful things lurked a big black cloud of disappointment.
She felt a moment of sadness. Her best friend wasn’t here anymore. Parklon had been promoted and sent to Zoola on a research project. She missed him every day since he’d gone home and left her here.
“Did you hear me?” Godfrey asked.
She scowled at his reflection in the glass, ignoring any thoughts of trying to reason with him. He took great pleasure in upsetting her and pointing out that she was nobody important.
Don’t bite back. It’s not worth it. She knew he’d report her for something else today, thus damaging her reputation even more. She silently nodded, hoping he’d leave her alone, but he wasn’t quite done with her yet.
“You might think you’re special after your involvement with that criminal—Lord Foamy—last year, but most of us know what you really are,” he said, staring down his long thin nose at her. “You’re an illegitimate troublemaker.”
Anger burned up in the back of her throat. The reasonable voice in her head faded away when his last comment hit the nerve it was aiming for.
She spun around and faced him, waving a dirty test tube in his direction. “I did more for this colony than you’ll ever know, you horrid, lanky freak!” She knew as the words spewed from her lips that she was probably going to regret them.
A nasty smile appeared on his face. Clearly, his whole purpose had been to get a reaction out of her, and he had.
“Throwing another tantrum, are you? Convinced you’re some kind of superhero,” he jeered. “They must have recruited you from an asylum.”
She groaned, wishing she’d never confided in him about her special powers when he’d started working with her. He’d seemed okay in the beginning. She hadn’t known it was all an act until a few weeks later.
Her mind-reading powers had just disappeared one day, and there had been no one to talk to about it, so she’d confided in Godfrey. What a mistake!
She felt the irrational burn of anger bubbling up inside her. “You haven’t even seen me angry yet,” she muttered, shooting him a warning glance.
He smiled at her. “Threatening behavior is against company policy. I’ll be issuing you with a warning for that.”
Screw this. She lost all control of her temper. She’d had enough of him. She’d had enough of everything. “I’ve been dealing with your crap for months now, taking every scornful remark and nasty lie you’ve thrown at me.”
She’d begun speaking calmly, but as her anger burned, the volume of her words increased to a shout. “I’ve saved more people than you’ll ever know and been through hell and back along the way.”
The windows in the room began to shimmer and shake as she continued. “Everyone I care about has been taken away from me, and my powers—which were very real, by the way—seem to have abandoned me too!”
His eyes widened with worry, and he took a step back as she continued.
She could hear the windows violently shaking behind her, but ignored the noise. “Because this job is the only bloody thing I have left, I’ve taken all your crap to keep it.”
She heard g
lass splintering behind her, and glanced back to see cracks appeared in the windows. Turning back to face Godfrey, she noted fear in his eyes.
Good. I don’t care. She wanted him to be scared.
Her voice continued to rise in volume and hatred. “And NOW, you’re going to take my job too! SCREW YOU AND THIS JOB. YOU CAN GO TO HELL!”
The windows exploded, and glass shot out across the fields as a blast of something powerful hit them full force.
He dropped to the floor and cowered there, pale with shock and shaking with uncontrolled fear of her.
She stepped over him, walking calmly out of the lab. She paused to glance down at him before she left.
A puddle of liquid spread on the floor in front of him, and there was a wet patch on his trousers. Either something got spilt, or he just peed his pants.
“Don’t forget to clean that mess up.” She pointedly stared at the puddle. “Oh, and I quit!” She turned and walked out of the Derobmi Scientific Institute for the last time with a big smile on her face.
Best day ever!
Parklon Eldemf tried to relax as he hung upside down from a fifty-foot grappling line, suspended over the main server at DalsonCorp’s main headquarters.
He nervously glanced back, up to the ceiling of the vault, which was similar to an elevator shaft in shape and size. High above him, the hydraulic pulley that was suspending him over a web of infrared beams trembled under his weight. The thin wire didn’t look as if it could hold his him for long, but so far, it had.
He closed his eyes, trying to gather his nerves before lowering his head to study the vault below him. The room was dark except for the red beams across the floor and the illuminated podium directly beneath him, which had the DalsonCorp root server on it.
He studied the server. It was a metallic oval pod with no wires or visible attachments on it. There were four sockets on the top of it. Other than that, it could have been mistaken for a silver egg.
Science Fiction and Fantasy Box Set 1: The Squishies Series Page 19