Damn. I’m totally panicking.
Thorne does that awesome move where he sets his hand on my back. It’s centering.
He leans in until his mouth almost brushes my ear. “You look beautiful today.”
“Thank you.” That zero-gravity feeling fades a little. It’s like I’m back on solid ground again.
Thorne opens up the front door. We step inside. I don’t remember my past, but I do sometimes get feelings about people or places. And this lobby feels totally ordinary to me, even though it’s a ruin. I’ve definitely been in places like this before.
Thorne pulls me closer against his side. “Meimi, this is my older brother Justice.” He points to the taller brother, a guy with a rugged face and bulky body who’s wearing a corduroy suit.
“Hello, miss.” Justice tips his white Stetson.
“Hi, there.”
“And this is my baby brother Slate.”
Slate looks like a regular teenager, what with his low-hanging jeans and loose Henley, both of which highlight his whip-strong body. Slate’s shoulder-length white hair and gray eyes are a definite tip-off that there’s something cool happening with this guy. Unlike Justice, Slate doesn’t jump into the conversation.
“Hello, Slate. Nice to meet you.”
Slate bows his head slightly. “Transcendent.”
Thorne gives my waist a squeeze. “Slate isn’t much of a talker. What he means to say is that it’s very unusual for one of us to find our transcendent.”
Slate pulls a small container from his pocket. At first, it looks like an ordinary box. Maybe something small enough to fit some jewelry or something. But it isn’t ordinary. This container is made from what look like shifting silver fibers.
Thorne told me we might be able to get a replacement for the Lacerator. And this container is the same size as the one in the Simulacrum.
I gesture to the box. “Is that what I think it is?”
“Yes, this is the sentient swarm I mentioned before.” Thorne takes the small box from Slate. “The container is its nest.”
“And it’s silver,” I say.
“The same color as all knowledge sentient.” Thorne looks to Slate. “And this swarm chose to help us? I don’t want to get dragged in front of the tribunal.”
Slate nods. “Volunteer,” he says.
Justice keeps glancing toward the window. Slate keeps glancing that way as well.
Huh. Do they know Chloe and Zoe are here? And why would they care?
Justice finally tears his gaze from the window. “We may have a breakthrough in terms of releasing your powers.”
That grabs my interest. If Thorne can use his powers in the Underground, he could help us out, big time.
Thorne sets his hands on his hips and stares at the ground. I know that pose. He’s glad about the news, but there’s still something missing. “Anything else?”
“You might be able to hide your transcendent from Cole,” adds Justice.
Now that REALLY grabs my interest. Words start babbling away, seemingly on their own. “Do you mean that Thorne and I could … you know …”
Thorne gives me a sly look. “The answer is yes.”
I know what that means. We could kiss. The fact shouldn’t make me as happy as it does.
On second thought, maybe it should.
“Thanks.” Thorne nods to Justice. “I look forward to getting your call to confirm things. How do you think you can shield us from Cole’s detection?”
Justice doesn’t reply. Instead, his gaze is locked on the doorway. Slate’s doing the same thing.
I glance over my shoulder. Zoe and Chloe stand on the threshold. Justice keeps staring at Zoe. His mouth hangs open. There may even be a little drool there.
Zoe marches over to Justice and grins. “Hi, I’m Zoe.”
“Justice.”
“So you’re Thorne’s brother.”
“Yes.”
“And you’re from another planet.”
“Slate.”
Zoe frowns. “You want me to talk to Slate?”
“No,” answers Justice quickly. “I meant that Slate is from another planet as well. I’m just tongue-tied. That must happen all the time with you.”
“Oh.” Zoe’s eyes sparkle. “Aren’t you sweet as sugar?”
“No,” says Justice.
“Are we back to one-word answers then?” asks Zoe.
“Maybe.” Justice sighs.
Poor guy. I’ve never seen anyone have it so badly for a girl as Justice does for Zoe. And all she did was stand in a doorway.
I turn to Thorne. “How about we chat with Slate?”
“I love this idea.”
Justice tries to grab Thorne’s hand, holding him in place, but my guy sidesteps the grab. The comment is there, if unspoken.
Talk to Zoe on our own. You can do it.
Together, Thorne and I step over to Slate. Unlike Zoe and Justice, Chloe and Slate are deep in conversation about something called cosmic alignment.
“If you don’t mind,” says Slate. “We’ll be with you in just one moment.” He returns his focus to Chloe and keeps chatting away.
I shrug. “Okay.”
Thorne pulls me aside. “This is beyond strange. My brother Justice is scheduled to be the next Emperor of the Omniverse. Normally, he can talk to anyone, anywhere, anytime. Usually it’s Slate who can’t talk.”
“Then what does Slate do?”
“Sit in a corner doing odd yoga poses and communing with the multiverse. He only gives one-word answers. Always.”
I rub my neck. “Everyone seems to be getting along.”
Across the room, Zoe slaps Justice’s cheek. “Rude!”
I hiss in a breath. “Or not.”
Zoe stomps from the lobby; Justice follows her outside.
“Well,” I rock on my heels, trying to ignore the sudden awkwardness of the moment. “Since we have the new Lacerator 2.0, maybe we should get back to the Underground.”
Thorne nods so fast, I’m surprised he doesn’t get whiplash. “I’ll get Chloe.”
“And I’ll check on Zoe.”
I walk outside and retake my shotgun spot in the hovercar. In the back seat, Zoe stares out the window, her arms crossed and chin up. You don’t need to be an expert in body language to realize one thing. She’s ticked off. What did Justice do?
Speaking of Justice, he steps up to the window and sets his hand against the glass. Silver particles flow out from his palm, creating a loop on the clear panel.
Justice is opening a drift void.
One moment later, there’s a new hole in the glass. Justice leans in and whispers in Zoe’s ear. I decide that the windshield is a fascinating place to stare. After all, Zoe deserves her privacy.
Sure enough, the windshield ends up having a much better view. Chloe and Slate march out from the building, chatting up a storm as they go. Thorne follows behind them, his face pale with worry.
Behind me, Zoe breaks out into a low chuckle. There’s the stomp of footfalls as Justice walks away.
I still want to give Zoe a little privacy, so I wait for what I consider to be a huge stretch of time before turning around.
3…
2…
Flipping about, I face Zoe. “What happened?”
She smiles from ear to ear. “Nothing.” I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone look radiant before, but that term could describe Zoe right now.
Thorne retakes the driver’s seat while Chloe slides into the back.
Side note: I really want to drive this hovercar, but unlike a drift void generator, all the controls look totally foreign. I’m guessing that I never learned how to drive before I got my memory wiped. Ah, well. Something to look forward to.
Chloe waves at Slate through the window. If Zoe is radiant, then Chloe and Slate are beaming. Thorne revs up the engine and we pull away.
“Your brother is so cool,” exclaims Chloe. “Why didn’t you tell me about him before? And did you see that co
ntainer he brought? It’s made from shifting threads and everything. I think it’s a polymer. He told me how to fix the Crawler so the Hollow can more easily control everything.”
“That’s great,” I say. And it is.
“Somethings this project seems impossible, but today, I’m thinking that maybe, it can happen.” Chloe leans against the window, her forehead leaving a heat halo against the glass. “All those people…”
It’s been a fun trip, but at Chloe’s words, all the happiness seeps from my mood. Pulling up my sleeve, I check my wrist cuff.
* * *
Star Council Level Access: Godwin
Humboldt-Merciless Undesirables Tagged: 2,349,838
Godwin-Horde Undesirables Tagged: 535,982
Total To Be Announced At Liberation Celebration: 2,885,820
* * *
A weight of worry settles into my bones. Now, the number of undesirables is closing in on three million. The Liberation Celebration takes place in less than a month.
Back to work.
30 Meimi
August 1 – Two Weeks Before Liberation Celebration
One minute, eleven seconds.
That’s the countdown blazing on the monitor that hangs above the laboratory floor. It’s also how long I have to complete what we’re calling my sneak-around at the Liberation Celebration.
It isn’t going well.
Basically, we turned the laboratory into an obstacle course for me to practice. And by we, I mean me, Thorne, the Hollow, Chloe, and Zoe. We tried to set things up in the Simulacrum, but it turns out, that place isn’t easy to program. Plus, the Lacerator started rattling in his cage so much, the room started to shake.
Thorne says I don’t remember this, but the Lacerator and I met before. The creature supposedly likes me.
Sure. Likes to have me for dinner.
So the Simulacrum is a no-go. We’re using the lab as an obstacle course instead.
And when it comes to practicing my sneak-around, my best time so far has been two minutes and two seconds.
Did I mention the goal time is about one minute?
Ugh.
“Let’s try it again,” I announce. Or rather, I try to use my best announcer-leader voice. It’s hard to speak loudly when you’re panting.
“You sure?” asks the Hollow. “Maybe a break would be better.”
“Nah,” I say. Sadly, that word is accented by yet more panting. “Let’s do this.”
I look to Thorne. “You ready?” He’s the first stop on my sneak-around. According to our official schedule, Thorne and I wait in a monitoring room that’s just off the main stage. Godwin wants us there in case anything goes wrong. A few guards hang in the room with us.
Key fact: the guards have the Hollow’s agony switch.
Step one on my sneak-around is for Thorne to knock the other guards unconscious and take back the switch.
For the record, this is my favorite part.
“So ready,” says Thorne. He’s always totally calm and not panting. That helps me get a little more centered.
The Hollow has connected herself to the big board, so she’s now our official timekeeper. “Starting countdown in three, two, one!”
Zoe stands in the middle of the room. “Poof! My cloud of camouflage smoke goes up and—oh, no—it doesn’t just cover the stage as a special effect. It also fills all the rooms behind the stage, too.”
Thorne has set up three garbage cans as his fellow guards. After he kicks the bins over—that’s to symbolize knocking them out—Thorne pulls out an old waffle wrapper from the last trash can. That’s supposed to symbolize the Hollow’s agony switch. Once I get that switch to the Hollow, she can deactivate her blood-borne virus and then set up the real master mechanism for the Engine. Grabbing the wrapper from his hand, I race from the far right-hand wall to my second stop.
“Call out the steps!” cries the Hollow. “You won’t be able to see a thing through Zoe’s smoke screen.”
“Right.”
I always forget to call out the steps.
“And close your eyes,” adds the Hollow. “Zoe’s smoke screen is built to be impossible for anyone to see through, including you.”
“Right again.”
Wow. Am I ever bad at this.
Closing my eyes, I talk through my movements to reach the Lacerator. “Five steps from the guardroom to the staircase. Go up fifteen stairs. Turn right. Take twenty more steps. Touch the palm scanner. Open the door. This is the metal container for the Crawler.”
For our run-through, Chloe sits on a swivel chair and plays the Crawler. Although I can’t see her, I know she’s sitting somewhere nearby with her hands up in a high-five motion. That’s the height of the top of the Crawler. I need to reach that panel and hit another palm scan in order to open the machine, get the Lacerator out, and swap in the new sentient swarm.
“Six steps to the crawler,” I state. I take my six steps, reach out, and…
Son of a bra–ket notation. I’m nowhere near Chloe.
“Keep going,” urges Thorne.
I rush over to Chloe, tap her hands, and mime taking out the Lacerator’s container. Next I pretend to put the new one inside and pause.
What am I supposed to do again? I got so off track, I’m not sure what’s next.
The Hollow guesses my question. “You need to get me that agony switch,” she says.
“Right.” I slap my palm against my forehead. “The agony switch.”
“And call off the steps,” urges Zoe.
“Steps, sure, yes.” Closing my eyes, I turn around to the imagined door. “Six steps out, turn left, take fifteen steps, and open the first door on my right. March forward twenty paces, and I’m at the Hollow’s cage.”
I open my eyes a crack. I’m nowhere near the Hollow’s cage. I toss the waffle wrapper in her direction because, hey, in real life I could throw her the agony switch. The wrapper floats lazily to the floor, nowhere near the spot where the Hollow is standing.
I bite back a moan. “So let’s pretend I got that to the Hollow. Twenty paces out of the room. Another four steps down the hall. Take the staircase down. Another twenty-three steps. Open the door and I’m back in the room with Thorne.”
“Time,” echoes the Hollow. “That’s the end.”
Little by little, I lift my gaze to the big board. Three minutes and twenty-two seconds. My time on this is getting worse, not better.
That’s just not okay.
“Let’s try again,” I declare.
Zoe yawns. “It’s past midnight. You have a few weeks to work on this. Maybe it’s better to take a break.”
“It can’t be after midnight.” I check the wall clock. Yipes, it’s definitely after midnight. “Okay, let’s call it quits.”
Zoe, Chloe, and the Hollow wave their goodbyes and rush from the room. I get the distinct feeling they think that if they hang out too long, I’ll ask them to run the sneak-around again.
And yes, I am tempted to do one last drill.
Thorne steps up behind me. I can sense his body warmth cascading along my back. “You ready for sleep?” His voice has a husky edge. I think it’s just because he’s tired, but when it comes to Thorne, I’m constantly reading all sorts of sexy intentions into him. It’s really unhealthy.
“I won’t be able to sleep. I’m too wired.”
Which is true.
It’s also true that if I go back to my bedroom with Thorne anywhere nearby, I’ll kiss his face off, no matter the fact that his homicidal father will pop through dimensions to kill me.
I know that sounds crazy.
Still, if you had to hang around someone like Thorne all day long, you’d be thinking stuff like that as well. The guy’s like catnip to my inner kiss-feline.
Thorne leans in. “Why don’t you work on your omnivoid generator?” His voice sounds low and growly in my ear.
When he talks like that, I’d agree to anything. Truth is, I absolutely need to work on my omnivoid generator,
but there are other things to do as well.
“I wish,” I grumble. “But I must get those progress reports to Godwin.”
“You did that this morning.”
“And the video?” We recorded an official dry run before for Godwin. This version didn’t include any of my secret sneaking around.
“The doctor loved it.” Thorne steps around to stand right before me. “So go work on that omnivoid thing. You know you want to.”
You know you want to.
Again, my mind goes dirty places. Yes, yes. I really do want to do anything with you. But the chances it would eventually involve kissing are about one hundred percent.
Still, I force an innocent smile. “In that case, I’ll get started.”
I head over to my corner of the lab, pull out my prototype generator, and get to work. Not much left to do. Sometimes, that’s the trickiest part.
Thorne approaches. “Need help?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be keeping Godwin busy so he doesn’t come back with any fresh plans for us?”
“Battles are triage. You need to finish this first.”
“Thanks. As a matter of fact, I’d love some help.”
And I love you.
Wait? Where did that thought come from?
I clear my throat. “I mean, some help would be nice. Pull up a rolly chair.”
With that, Thorne and I settle in to work. Sometimes with Chloe or Zoe, I feel like we’re stepping all over each other. But with Thorne? Working together is like an intricate dance. It feels so natural, as if we’ve done something similar before.
It gives me hope.
Somehow, Thorne knew I needed that.
And maybe I love him just a little bit for it.
Deep in my soul, something changes. Because this time, thinking that word—love—feels just fine.
31 Thorne
One Night Before the Liberation Celebration
“Sentient pull you to alternate universes in order to accomplish a specific task. Get in and out quickly. Never become attached to any parallel worlds. You never know when you may be called back to destroy it.” – Beauregard the Great, Instructions for Visiting Parallel Worlds
Alien Minds: Dimension Drift, Book 1 Page 16