Chloe cut her off. "You don’t love him."
"Gwen has helped me become more powerful," Seth said.
"Shut up, you fool," Chloe said. "I have controlled you. Back on Orcus, years ago, I needed your strength to survive the massacre. The harder I pulled on you, the more powerful you became. Hans’s experiments did nothing to help you. My worry about you has made me pull harder on you, and it forced your mind and body to grow in strength and torment. I was the drug that you could never escape. My mind is the only thing special about either of us."
"What…I…how?" Seth said, hardly able to speak. His minded was flooded with so many emotions, all negative, clouding his thoughts. She had controlled him, furthering his obsession and his strength. It made no sense. It wasn’t true. Chloe respected the Principles of Man too much to take his freedom away.
Gwen turned to Chloe, waving her hand at her. "Do you love him, or do you just want to control him by making him live in the fictional safety you claim his family can offer him? Your fear shackles him. Let him go. He must decide his own fate for once."
Gwen flipped the hood from her head, exposing her curling, corkscrewed hair to the wind. Her green eyes, so alluring to the men on Mars, were focused, exacting, and completely unwavering.
Confidence and grace had returned to Gwen. Seth couldn’t believe how she had changed in a matter of moments; first cowering before his pistol, and now, challenging Chloe to admit something. She was trying to pull him away from Chloe. Perhaps it was an attempt to save her life or create doubt between them, but he didn’t think so. She was confident in her words.
"I can’t let him go." Chloe shook her head. "I love him more than you will ever know. The Firedogs of the Sun cower at the thought of what we have been through. Seth must learn why our love is the safety he needs. Your love is the one about control. Tell him how you boasted about him being your lapdog, how everything you had told him about the MSA was a lie, and how your MSA has been lying to Mars."
"Lies are a part of politics. The MSA has been lying to Mars, just as every government before us has lied to the people. To protect them."
"Not to this scale. Dakota Lars has told me everything. The food stores you have been so generous with were enhanced to genetically alter us. You have been poisoning the population with Hans Bauer’s recipe to create the perfect society. Your father came up with the idea himself. Through the lies and through the treachery, you have doomed Mars to suffer the fate of the Earth!" Chloe screamed. Her hoarse voice swept along the tower. "Only this time, it wasn’t a meteor that destroyed us. It was the Arwell family."
Through her breathing mask, Seth saw the surprise on Gwen’s face. An unexpected retort from Chloe had sent her mind reeling. "Food enhancements? What are you talking about?"
Ignorance. Gwen replied with ignorance. Seth cinched his tunic closer to his body. There was something both were denying and damned if he knew what it was. The riddles were aggravating him.
"You delay your answers in front of him," Chloe said and then turned to Seth. "Hear her silence. There is no reason for you to believe her when so effortlessly, she meshes truth with lies and treachery."
"Gwen may not have known of the food enhancements," Parker said from behind Chloe.
Seth glanced over at him. He raised his gun, aiming it at Parker. Parker kept his head behind Samantha’s, whom he had restrained in front of him.
Seth moved his gun toward Parker, holding back the shot. If he killed Parker, the girls wouldn’t answer the questions posed. "Patience," he muttered to soothe the division in his heart.
"Parker, you can come out," Chloe replied. "I have Seth under control."
Seth felt a surge of anger churn within him. What had she meant? "Control. You hardly understand the power Hans Bauer has found within me."
"I understand it perfectly. I have given them to you. Gwen told the truth."
Seth went to speak, but Chloe shrugged off the comment after she said it, turning instead to Parker and Samantha.
Parker and Samantha moved up to the group. Seth and Parker still had their guns trained on each other. With a shove, Parker pushed Samantha hard along the landing pad to the center of the group. She yelped as her body slammed against the hard surface.
"Put your gun down," Parker said, tightening his finger around the trigger.
"You first," Seth said, mimicking Parker’s actions. "I should kill you now for driving Chloe away from me. You told Chloe I would use Alexandria against her, and that is why Chloe went into hiding. You are the reason she no longer—"
"Both of you stop it," Chloe said, sternly. She put her hands on the ends of the guns, pushed them downward, and lowered them so their line of fire was toward the landing pad. "I can stop either of you, and I will. Let’s talk about what has happened instead of firing our weapons like the savages we have been for the last two years. We are the last remaining crew of the Protector, and we should act the way Eamonn, Roche, and Jan want us to act. They recruited us because we had the integrity and the compassion to save the Earth. We must save ourselves now."
"Eamonn Dalton can eject himself to the edge of the solar system," Gwen said. "I will never do anything in his name."
"Don’t you ever say that," Parker said. He reached for Gwen, grabbed her by the collar, and jerked her to the deck of the landing pad.
Seth wasn’t about to let Parker bully Gwen. He heaved his fist across Parker’s jaw, sending him staggering backward. But Parker held his footing.
Chloe stepped in front of Seth before he advanced any farther. "Stop it, I said." She looked around at them and then stared at Gwen, who was back on her feet. "Tell us how the MSA was wrong. I have admitted my secret to Seth. Now you mentioned you had a revelation. Seth needs to hear it."
"I’m an adult," Seth replied. "Don’t talk to me like I’m a child."
"She is the cause of it," Parker said, pointing toward Samantha. "Her lies have led Mars down a path that we can never turn back on."
"I did it to make Mars a paradise," Samantha said. "If your Alliance people hadn’t become rebels, we could have made Mars the paradise you wanted. All of you."
"We sacrificed everyone’s freedom," Gwen replied, "under the guise of public safety. We didn’t realize that we were taking the rights of the people. The Principles of Man had always been the founding force behind the laws of the early colonies. The people who followed those Principles were those who excelled and those who didn’t became lawless Raiders. And two hundred years later, the MSA treats everyone like we used to treat the Raiders. My father was wrong to try to manipulate the planet into becoming something it can never be…perfect. We have to accept the flaws in our lives and in our planet. For my father, he never accepted my mother’s death. And I perpetuated it when my father died.
"In the same vein, Chloe never allowed herself to let go of her fears for Seth’s well-being, and you couldn’t let go of the fear you might someday become what your mother was…a Raider and then a scarlet woman. I know of your past, Samantha. You hid it well from the others at school, but you can never fool an Arwell, especially when you are as close as you were to me."
Samantha jabbed her finger toward Gwen. "You can justify your treason any way you wish. Your father would be appalled to hear you talk this way. If it wasn’t for the genetically altering food, you would be weak and would have died in the museum from asphyxiation."
Gwen felt her lips. They were healed. Only hours before they were dry and cracked by the cold. How can this be? She had forgotten the rapid healing she had once known in the presence of Seth. "So Chloe was right. We have been poisoning the population. How could I have been so blind?"
"You were blind because you wanted to be," said Samantha. "You know the MSA guides Mars down the road to paradise. Don’t deny your feelings. They are your true self. Your father wished it."
"Her father would wish that she stood for what was wrong on Mars, even if it was something he had created," Chloe replied. "You should listen to your su
preme chancellor. She speaks the truth about you." Chloe looked up toward Seth. "And about Seth."
Seth was confused, and utterly beside himself. Was Chloe controlling Gwen’s mind? Why is Gwen renouncing the MSA?
He looked around at his crewmates. All of a sudden, entering his mind were the memories of Lunara colony and his friendship; his heart warmed. The Principles of Man had always been a sticking point with Gwen Arwell. Ever since their first encounter, she had been a crusader for it. She accepted punishment for defending the Principles when Hans Bauer asserted his authority beyond the scope of what she thought was acceptable. She was vicious in her defense.
The Principles weren’t perfect, either. He knew that many—Damon Arwell for one—believed the Principles hindered much of what was he was trying to make happen on the planet, especially when it came to Raiders. It came down to the Raiders’ individual rights versus the right of safety of the population. His mother taught him the revolutionary war had started because of a conflict within the courts over the rights of a group of Raiders facing execution. The Principles of Man forbade it, but the government argued those who didn’t live their life by its principles had no right to use it as a shield from punishment.
And he agreed with it.
Seth narrowed his eyes. Now, Chloe and Gwen were speaking as though the MSA had overstepped their boundaries. Gwen was weakening under the pressure of keeping hold of the planet.
Chloe could withdraw his abilities. But he had to do something before they eliminated Samantha and him. He was still agile enough to kill Gwen without the use of his ability. Samantha, Chloe, and Parker had a reason to kill her. They would not stop him.
He squared himself toward Gwen, who was looking toward Parker, each holding their gaze. He looked toward Chloe; her eyes were still locked on him.
She knew his intentions. She was probing his mind. The slight twitch along her face told him. If she was in, then she knew he would never change his mind. The paradise he sought was found beyond her words, beyond their petty Principles of Man, and beyond anything built by the settlers of Mars.
"You are a traitor!" Samantha screamed as she shoved her shoulder into Gwen’s abdomen. She drove Gwen toward the edge of the landing pad.
Chloe screamed, and then, unexpectedly, she took off for Gwen and Samantha.
Seth was aloof, confused by why she would try to save either woman. And they were close to the edge, a place he thought she would never venture.
Parker had other ideas; he sent a swinging elbow into Seth’s jaw, toppling him onto the landing pad. With probable purpose, Parker landed squarely on his hand. Seth released his grip from the gun, and it slid with a squelch along the landing pad.
Parker wrestled to keep Seth down, but even with Chloe’s block on his abilities, she couldn’t hinder his strength. Parker must have felt it just as he did, because Parker scrambled off him and moved toward his gun.
Parker reached it before Seth turned over on his stomach. Probably thinking he could even the odds, Parker tossed both of the guns over the side of the landing pad.
But little did Parker realize that Seth could rip his head off with his bare hands. Seth advanced on him. Parker staggered backward toward the tower.
Seth reached him when the wall of the tower stopped Parker’s backpedaling. Parker advanced toward him. With a shifting of his feet, the uppercut punch—the best punch Seth knew Parker had—zipped past and through without connecting. Seth grabbed Parker’s throat and squeezed.
Parker’s eyes bugged out, and his face turned a bright red. Seth felt a surge of glee. Parker had tried to dethrone the MSA, turn Chloe against him, and ruin his paradise. He would die slowly.
Parker whimpered as Seth squeezed tighter.
Chloe screamed from behind him. Seth spun around, letting go of his grip on Parker.
Chloe, Gwen, and Samantha toppled over the edge. She was gone!
Seth’s heart beat a hundred times faster in the matter of a second. He dashed to the edge of the landing pad, forgetting the hatred, forsaking revenge, and forbidding himself to think the worst. Chloe’s life mattered. The rest could die.
He reached the edge and found both Gwen and Chloe grasping the antenna running along the edge of the pad. Seth reached out, lying on his stomach, pushing his arm toward Chloe. She was too far away.
He needed help. He searched along his waist and found nothing: no rope and no belt. He needed Parker.
He turned around to find Parker, who was still on his knees, smarting, on the other side of the landing pad. He was useless.
Seth stabbed his arm toward Chloe again. Still, he was a meter from her, and there were no holds for him to scale down to get her.
"Help me," Gwen moaned. She was closer than Chloe, able to grab the antenna toward the top. She was kicking to save herself.
Seth reached over and grabbed Gwen by the arm. She swung, releasing her weight into his arms, her feet dangling, a deep drop to the bottom separating her from the ground. Seth panged with wrath. He could let Gwen go.
Gwen looked back at him with her big green eyes, begging him to pull her to safety. Her face was terrified. She knew the thought running through his mind.
Then he looked past her toward the abyss of the Zephyrian floor. Samantha lay motionless. Her head was gashed with blood, and brain matter splashed across the surface.
"Another red stain for the planet to soak up," he muttered.
"Don’t do it!" Chloe called to him. "You must save Gwen. She will begin the healing on Mars."
"She has to die for my Mars to succeed."
"You know your Mars can’t happen. Listen to your heart, the one your mother gave to you. She would stop you before you can hurt your family or your friend so dearly," Chloe said, moaning. "My grip is weakening."
Seth swung Gwen toward her. "Grab Gwen’s legs, I can pull the both of you up."
"Do it, Chloe. I’ll be still for you!" Gwen screamed. "I am sorry for everything I have done to you. This is my doing. I have turned Seth into something he should never have become."
"It is his own demons that have overtaken him," Chloe said, trying to pull herself up. "He needs my sacrifice to show him that Alexandria is his true paradise. You were right in one way. His paradise can’t be found as long as I hold him back. Alexandria can show him paradise. It has always been her."
"Don’t you dare do it!" Panic riddled Seth with fear.
"Learn from what I am about to do," Chloe said. "Promise me you’ll father Alexandria."
"You and I will care for Alexandria," he said. "Grab onto Gwen."
"You’ll take care of our daughter, but you’ll do it alone," she said. "My death is the will of Mars."
And then she let go.
Parker staggered to his feet, feeling the vice around his throat lessen with each gasping breath. Miraculously, Seth had let go of him, but his head was spinning too much for him to distinguish much of anything. He saw the ship to his left and a shadowy figure hunched over at the edge of the pad. He headed toward it.
After three steps, his mind swayed him in circles, and the wooziness forced him to his knees. He put his head between his hands, hoping the dizziness would subside.
He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Chloe had screamed. Where is she?
After about a minute, he felt better and managed to get to his feet again. He didn’t know how. What with the coldness biting at him, the lack of oxygen—thanks to the hands of Seth—and the length of his day, his energy level was negligible. He couldn’t fight off another attack from Seth or Samantha.
He stumbled toward the figure. It was Seth. He could tell by his pants. He couldn’t see the rest of him. His body was stretched out and down the landing pad.
Parker grabbed him by the waist of his pants and pulled him upward.
Parker didn’t know why he was doing it. Seth had tried to kill him only moments before, but there was something electric in the air. A sense that the threat was over, and the only mission left w
as forgiveness.
As he pulled, each tug relieved a part of his mind, releasing the pressure of the past two years. He couldn’t explain it, but he felt the weight of Mars lifting. He pulled Seth up, reached over the side, grabbed Gwen by the collar of her tunic, and pulled her onto the landing pad.
Immediately, as she stood on her feet, she fell to the floor again. He heard gentle weeps coming from her. He felt the urge to comfort her and put his arm around her. But he resisted, thinking of Sarah’s lifeless body. The friend he once had had died, and only the grieving shadow of her remained.
Seth’s face was white and stared blankly. Parker waved his hand in front of his face, but Seth didn’t respond in the least.
Chloe was dead. He knew it. He dared not to look below.
That is what he had felt moments before. The gentle grip she had on his mind had been released as she spilled across the surface of Mars.
Something about the electricity in the air told him her spirit would always remain with him, and his mind would always have a part of her within him. She had touched his mind in the most intimate of ways, and it was a good thing she had told him about what she had done to him. He felt ashamed for yelling at her about it. Now, with her death, her violation was a gift. She would be forever with him.
He looked down at Seth. He continued to stare into oblivion. Parker smiled. Seth was in a euphoria created by the death of Chloe. She was pouring her love into his mind.
With one look and with the understanding of his own experience, Parker knew Seth must be overwhelmed a million times over.
"Parker," a voice called out to him. Parker whirled his head around. There was nothing.
"C-C-Chloe," he whispered. "Where are you?"
"Parker McCloud, do you read me?"
It was Shannon. He reached into his pocket and removed his CommUn.
Lunara: The Original Trilogy Page 103