Flight

by J. A. Huss

  I'm sitting on the bed, my fingers removing my boots before I even realize I'm complying. When I'm done we struggle with the armor for several minutes before he gives up and I smile, triumphant. "See, I told you it was complicated."

  I cross my arms and watch as he pulls out a com. "Yeah, it's me. Bring that Isten guy to Junco's room so he can help me undress her. Thanks." He flashes me a grin. A real grin. "Problem solved."

  Isten arrives a few minutes later and he's not happy. "What the fuck is going on here?" He bumps up to Gid, his gold rage leaking out of his eyes. "You want my help undressing my nine, that's the message you send me?"

  Gid looks over to me. "Well, fuck, at least I know where you get it from. You're all a bunch of assholes."

  Isten pounds him close-fisted in the face and Gideon sweeps his foot against Isten's legs and they both go down on the floor. They grapple there for a few seconds before realizing how stupid they look and push off each other to get back up, breathing hard with raging male hormones. I stand around feeling a little bored. "All this so you can get me in a dress? Really?"

  Gid collects himself. "She needs to shower and change, if you can't get her to do that I'll have you removed."

  I look over to Isten and feel no sympathy for him. "Fuck, Is, just help take the armor off, OK?"

  He walks over to me and slips his hand under my wing. I arch my back a little and squeal as I watch Gid's fascinated expression. "Careful, Isten, Jasus fuck."

  "Look here, Juncs. Reach your arm under your other one, then" – he presses my fingers to a small tab – "pull here and that will release the seal on your wings. Then you can just undo the other seams and take the shirt off." He stands back and waits as I remove the seal from one wing. "Now do it again on the other side."

  I do and I feel the air rush into the tiny cracks between my upper body armor and the skin on my back.

  I release the underarm seams and Isten pulls the shirt over my head. My tank top rolls up a little, exposing my belly, and I watch Gid's eyes go to my SEAR dock before I pull the shirt down again.

  I go for the pants and Gid turns away. Isten doesn't – he just stands there until I'm almost naked and then he moves forward and hugs me. "Junco – don't do this to me, OK? You can't stay mad forever."

  He backs away and takes my face in his hands but I look away. "Not now, Isten. Just let me go eat, I'm so hungry and they won't feed me until I dress up and see my mother."

  Isten's anger surfaces again. "She's hungry? What the hell is wrong with you, feed her, for fuck's sake!"

  Gid opens the door and the guard is outside waiting for Isten. "She'll eat, we're not starving her."

  Isten takes my hand and slips a piece of paper into it. "It's from Tier." I just stare at it and when I look up Isten is gone.

  I open the little folded note and read the avian letters, then fish out my Earth com from the pile of clothes on the floor and switch it on. The blinking lights signal that I have messages but I simply dial one. Tier answers on the first beat. "I'm sorry, Juncs. I'm sorry, OK?"

  "Don't call for Lucan, Tier. If I need him I can call for him myself." And then I hang up and switch it off again so he can't call back.

  "Who's Lucan?"

  I drop the com back in the pile of clothes. "Fuck if I know." I walk into the bathroom and take a shower, letting the hot water blast me until my skin turns red.

  How the hell do they do it?

  Do what, Junco?

  Make me love them no matter what.

  I feel Sera's hesitation but I know she will answer so I'm patient.

  You want to believe, Junco. It's that simple.

  I don't like that answer so the conversation is over. I turn the hot water off and wrap a towel around my body, then another around my hair and leave the bathroom.

  Gid is gone and the dress is on the bed. It's a lovely royal blue color with an empire waist that flows down to the floor when I hold it up to my naked body. The over-shoulder straps are slight and they cross in the back with small hooks.

  I open the door in my towel and Gid looks at me funny. "What now?"

  I hold up the dress in one hand. "This will not be easy, you don't seem to understand how this works. I have wings. I won't be able to get this on unless I have help."

  He comes back in the room and closes the door behind him. "You want me to help?"

  "I'm hungry, Gid. You're not feeling just how hungry I am, so please. Could you please just help me dress so I can eat something?"

  I drop the towel and pull the dress over my head. Gid's eyes linger on my body and then he is up next to me, his hands holding the dress up before I can let it fall down to cover myself.

  He bends down to study my torso, then his fingertip traces the horrific red gash down my stomach. "What the fuck is that?" He looks up at me, his eyes wide and uncertain.

  I push his hand away and let the fabric cover me. "I killed myself. To save Tier." He straightens up and backs away a few paces as I clutch the dress to my body so it doesn't fall to the floor.

  "How?"

  I laugh at him. "What the fuck else could make a scar like that, Gideon? My SEAR knife, of course."

  "They made you mutilate yourself?" He turns around and runs his hand through his hair, then turns back. "Why would you stay with them?"

  I look him in the eye and know that I'm glowing as the words leave my mouth. "Gideon, you have no idea what happened to me so you can judge me if ya want, but all I need right now is for you to hook up this goddamn dress so I can go eat some fucking food. You can touch my wings, just pull the straps over my shoulders and hook them into the dress."

  He moves towards me reluctantly and then tugs on my wings a little as he maneuvers the fabric. I cry out a few times when it gets overwhelming.

  "Does it hurt? To touch them?" he asks me as I'm finally pulling the dress down over my legs.

  "No, it's sexual, Gideon. You might as well be feeling me up."

  I fasten my boots and watch as he blushes like a girl and turns away. "Is that a joke?"

  I laugh. "A joke? No. I rarely make jokes."

  "Oh, shit. I don't have any experience with wings, I'm sorry."

  I lift up the flowing gown and strap my mini-plasma to my outer thigh and then let the silky fabric fall back down towards the floor. "You're not the first, so don't get excited. Now take me to my mother so I can eat or I swear I will die."

  Chapter Eighteen

  The bitch leaves me waiting, of course. One second it's critical for the sake of humanity that I clean up, put on a dress, and rush to her quarters for breakfast. The next I'm left sitting in this completely inappropriate and ridiculous gown, so fucking hungry I'm about to eat my fingers.

  "Can I get some fucking food here, please!" My patience is over.

  I watch a guard leave and then reappear with a tray of pastries. My stomach experiences a futile peristaltic wave and I begin to salivate. He sets the tray down and I grab a sweet roll and take several bites before surfacing for air. Gideon sits across from me with his eyebrows raised. "I was not kidding. I told you I was hungry. Jasus fuck, quit looking at me."

  He puts his hands up and looks away.

  "Junco, you don't have to be so rude. When did you get so unruly?"

  My mother's voice pulls me back to attention and I stare at her with my mouth open, a wad of food sitting on my tongue. I chew a few more times and swallow before talking. "You left when I was six, so don't pretend you know me. I went through with this little reunion so I could eat, and I don't eat much, so you've got about ten minutes before I'm done here. Start fucking talking."

  "This is a social call, Junco. I'm not here for your business matters. Your father–"

  "He's not my father and you're not my mother. What world do you guys all live in?" I look over at Gid for help but his face is blank. I squint my eyes at him. "I won't forget this, Gideon, and I want my armor back today." I stuff the rest of my roll in my mouth and grab another, then push back from the table and h
ead for the door. "If someone could just point me in the direction of Moju I'll be going now."

  The guard stops me with a rifle to the temple.

  "Sit down now, Junco." My mother's words are stern. "The rifles are on stun, but I'm sure you know first hand how badly that hurts."

  The wheels turn in my head and her cunning presents itself front and center. She smiles when she reads my expression. "Yes, Junco. It was on purpose. You can't reach the SEAR with that dress on, can you?"

  I stare at her, then over to Gideon. He's looking the other way.

  "Sit down, Junco."

  Isten?

  I walk over to the table and take a seat to bide my time.

  Isten?

  My mother smiles at me. "Now, let's catch up, shall we?"

  I swallow. "Catch up on what?"

  Isten?

  "He can't hear you in here, Junco, so stop it."

  I hold back my surprise and shrug instead. "You can't blame me for trying."

  "You have wings, Junco. Tell me all about your Fledge."

  I spit out a laugh. "My Fledge? You want to know – fuck it, all right. My Fledge, OK – how's this? I won. Isn't that spectacular? Yeah, I was the most deadly motherfucking avian that General Fledge has ever seen. I killed eighty-something people, including my best friend. A little kid who was only ten years old. Then, after I won, I played Deliverance too, and I won that as well. But only after killing my other friend. I accidentally nicked him with my SEAR and had to chop his head off in front of a packed arena so he wouldn't suffer."

  Gideon stares at me with his mouth open but my mother is as cool as they come.

  "Is that the kind of catch-up you wanted?"

  She just looks at me.

  "Or maybe you'd like to hear how I heard my boyfriend being murdered over a com or how my," I make air quotes with my fingertips, "father dosed me with a fucking abortion spray and left me on the floor of my shower to expel a teeny tiny little baby while the blood pooled around my body."

  Gideon stands up. "OK, look – this is private, Linny. I'm outta here."

  "You bring me here and then you think you get to leave when it gets uncomfortable? I don't fucking think so, Gideon."

  "Sit down, Gideon."

  He does as my mother instructs, but he doesn't look at me.

  I direct my attention back to my mother. "You wanna hear the best part, Mom? I was supposed to kill Tier in that Deliverance fight, he was tried for treason for saving my life back here on Earth. But I killed myself instead. And then the fucking AI that took over my body offered me a deal and the Archers of the Band granted me Resurrection. So, here I am. Reborn twice in the last six months. That must be a fucking world record or something, worth a trophy at least."

  I recognize the incredulous look on her face from toddlerhood. She thinks I'm exaggerating. I laugh. "This is just the highlight reel, Mom. The details are something else entirely. Like the twenty prisoners I beheaded on stage, or the three guys I killed in the showers for trying to rape me. And let's not forget little Kete – we barely noticed when her ass never came back after Fight Four."

  "Are you finished now, Junco?"

  I shrug. "I don't know? Am I? You wanted to know how my fucking Fledge went? Well, I guess it's possible you're not aware that Fledge is nothing but killing from start to finish, but I doubt it. That's not something you'd be ignorant of."

  She ignores my words and checks her nails like some pampered socialite. "If you recall, I had no part in your life past the age of six. I am not responsible for these events. Now, if you want to pull this attitude with your father when you see him, I'd like to stay and watch. Because that would be something spectacular."

  I have so many feelings inside me I don't even know where to begin. "What do you want from me?"

  My mother smiles. "I want you to stay here, of course. Stay with us and forget all this nonsense with these avians."

  "Are you on drugs?"

  Gideon turns his head and laughs at my question.

  "I mean, there is no way in hell I'm staying here with you and this Subjack guy."

  "You're being used by the avians, Junco. They want you for one reason and one reason only."

  "Yeah? What's that?"

  "To make sure you die in the end."

  A chill travels up my chest wound before I can shut it down. "What the hell are you talking about? They've had plenty of opportunities to kill me and I'm still alive."

  My mother looks me straight in the eyes as she speaks. "Because the remaining six Siblings are useless without you, Junco. The clutch is only as strong as all the living members. They need you to be alive when they harvest the genetics. Then how useful will you be?"

  Tier's words flood back to me as I think about this. I have no plans to kill ya yet, darlin'. Perhaps I will one day. Perhaps that day will never come. But right now I'm interested in keeping ya alive.

  There's pounding at the door and I can hear my team outside yelling. Obviously Isten could hear me. I look over at my mother and smile. "You're lying." I get up and walk over to the door and no one stops me this time. I jerk it open and then stop and look up at Tier's surprised face. "I'm gonna go find that bedroom with my armor, Gideon. Whether you come help me find it or not. So be a nice guy and just show me where it is, OK?"

  I wait and then hear a chair scrape back from the table behind me. I listen as the footsteps approach and then I turn and wave him in front of me.

  I look back one final time at my mother and then the door closes and she is gone. I shrug Tier's hand off my shoulder and keep step with Gid, my absurd dress swaying in the wind we create with our fast pace.

  He leads me to the room and opens the door. My armor and supplies are still there and I whip the dress over my head and tug on my dirty tank top. I look back at the guys. "I only need one person to help me get dressed, so choose who stays and then get the fuck out."

  Tier stays.

  "Don't talk to me, Tier, just help me."

  He smiles. "OK, Junco."

  He seals me back up and takes two of my rifles so I don't look quite so insane. We're about to leave when he puts his hand up. "Wait, OK? One question, what the fuck was that about back there?"

  I stand there thinking but it doesn't make sense. "I have no idea. She's crazy. You think I'm crazy? She's crazy, Tier. I need to get the fuck out of this tunnel. I can't stay here. I can't fucking–"

  He takes me by the shoulders. "Stop. We're going tomorrow. It's one day."

  "No. I want to go outside now. Now, Tier."

  "No, Junco. We're meeting with yer father right now. We're planning the mission and yer still in, ya understand? You can't quit in the middle of a mission. And you won't. If ya want to stay here when we leave, then stay. But as you can probably see, you'll be trading down because maybe we're not perfect, but these people are fucking–"

  "– human," I whisper.

  He exhales a heavy breath. "Yeah. Fucking human."

  I pull on the door and open it. Gideon is still outside with the 039 and I glance up at him with a look of surprise.

  "Moju still wants in on the mission, Juncs."

  I turn to look back at Tier. "He does?"

  "Yeah. He's done with Earth."

  The small carbohydrate-infused breakfast inside my stomach stirs up the acids and I have a moment of puke panic as we enter the military section of the tunnels. Gideon leads the way again, directing us down a long side tunnel crowded with troops in various dress and stages of exhaustion and injury. The smell of them is what triggers it and the next thing I know I'm puking in a trashcan that mercifully stands sentry at the intersection of another tunnel.

  When I come up for air Tier is shaking his head at me and his eyes are glowing bright green.

  "It stinks in here."

  We catch up with the guys but the air is thick with questions as we walk.

  Can you sit on it for a week?

  No, Layla. I highly doubt I can sit on this for another day, let alon
e the rest of the fucking week.

  We stop at a cavernous door guarded by both human and machine sentries. The humans physically check Gid and then each one of us. A knee-high machine clacks on eight arachnid-like limbs and then climbs up my leg to spray a chemical antagonist. The mist waffs upward and clings to my armor, and then the bot moves on to Tier. A small yellow cloud of fluorescent gas begins to drift up out of my pocket and the plasma rifles whine and come to attention on my head.

  "What the fuck are ya doing?" Tier yanks the bot off his leg and pushes the guards back as they come at me. "Junco, what's in yer pocket?"

  I reach in and my hand recognizes the small envelope from Layla. I swallow and pull it out and then reveal it in my open palm. "Anti-rad pills, that's all." The guards take the small packet and one walks away. The others keep their rifles trained on me.

  I shrug and look around, unconcerned, and then smile up at Tier.

  "You have a KI implant, Junco. Why do ya need anti-rad pills?"

  I shrug again. "She said take them, Tier, she's the fucking medical officer, ask her."

  "I will." He pulls out his ship com and searches for a signal, but the guards wave us on and I watch out of the corner of my eye as he puts his com away. The guards hand me back the envelope as I pass by and Tier snatches it right out of my hand.

  Gideon is walking fast and I have to trot to keep up. Tier lags behind for a moment and when I look back at him he's barely walking, reading the note with a puzzled look on his face. He looks up and I stop and chew on my fingernail as I wait for him.

  "I know too, Junco. We'll talk about it later."

  I want to cry with relief that's how badly I want this secret to be out. But I don't. There's no time for that.

  Tier sees I'm on the verge of tears and squeezes my hand. "Ya OK?"

  I nod and he takes my hand and we run a little to catch up with the guys who are waiting on us at a door. More biometrics, more guards, more sniffers. Tier hands the little packet over to the guards and explains in a few private whispers that has everyone looking over at me. I bite my lip and take a deep breath.