by Mike Essex
Tobias had reunited my family but I didn’t expect what happened next. My father appeared next to Will and the two of them interacted in a way I’d never seen before. They talked and laughed and smiled. This was Eli but not the Eli I’d known. This man was how he would have been if he hadn’t become obsessed with Tethers. This was a Dad.
Next to my father a woman emerged, the real reason he’d changed. My mother stood next to him, holding my father’s hand. The family I’d never seen now reunited.
“You can’t stay here,” said Tobias. “Without the core, this place could destroy you.”
“I know,” I replied, wishing I could live in this perfect world.
“Did I miss anything?” said Tobias.
“Just one thing,” I said.
I reached into the scene, dragging my way through the memories I had of Tobias and placed two more people down.
“Now it’s perfect,” I said.
The two additions went over to the group and joined in the laughter. Tobias and his brother were reunited again. Now it really was a world unaffected by the Siege.
“Thank you,” said Tobias.
I said the same to him and felt my body dragged away from the scene. As I opened my eyes again I was back in the base sitting next to Will. I took his hand again to try and get back to him but it didn’t work. He was gone and I needed to let him go. He was at peace now.
“It’s done,” said Jill.
“What’s done?” I said.
“We jumped into the bodies of the tech’s that were deciphering the file and made them destroy it. The Koreans will never know what your father did.”
“Will it stop the war?” I said.
“It’s a start,” said Jill. “Together with Jacobi I’m sure we can prevent it.”
I looked back at Will and saw he had a big smile on his face. He seemed content.
“You did good,” I said. “Take care of Mum and Dad.”
SIXTY THREE
Glenn King sat down on a chair behind the bullet proof glass. He took one look at me and picked up the phone on the wall next to him.
Two days had passed since we emerged from the base. Tobias had taken control of the remaining Vanir soldiers in the building and marched them into Jacobi’s captivity. Although we interrogated all of them they refused to give us any information on who the remaining members of the Vanir were.
Although we knew the three richest families were involved that wasn’t enough information. They could be anyone, anywhere. We knew it was impossible to stop them so we decided to send a message instead.
“Hello Glenn,” I said, through the phone. “Do you know who I am?”
“What more do you want from me?” he said, dismissing any formalities.
“I want you to deliver a message for me, do you think you can do that?”
He motioned to the thick brick walls around him.
“I’m sure you can find a way,” I said.
“What do I get in return?” he asked.
His eyes turned orange as Tobias jumped into his body and thrust his head towards the table. He stopped it an inch away from impact. Tobias relinquished control.
“That’s the wrong question,” I said.
“You don’t scare me,” he replied.
“What if I told you Tobias is the one in your mind right now? Does that scare you?”
His eyes turned orange as Tobias jumped inside him. For a minute, Glenn sat there motionless, his eyes darting back and forth. As we’d planned Tobias was showing Glenn all of the ways he could hurt him and all of the ways he could break Glenn’s mind.
Glenn’s eyes turned back to normal.
“Convinced?” I said.
“Ok,” said Glenn, his voice broken.
“Good,” I replied. “I’m sure by now the Vanir have noticed the stories of people surviving the death of their twins?”
“Everyone noticed,” he said.
“Well we can keep that happening. We can make sure no-one ever has to die in that way again.”
“You’re bluffing.”
“I assure you we aren’t. We can save everyone, all we want is one thing in return,” I said.
“What is it?” he asked.
“We want the Vanir to stop. Stop meeting, stop plotting, stop hunting my family down.”
“I will tell them but I can’t promise anything,” he said.
“We can see everyone, everywhere,” I said. “If so much as anyone mentions the Vanir we will make sure they don’t speak again. Am I clear?”
“Crystal,” he said.
“Good. It was nice chatting to you Glenn. Jill sends her regards by the way. She hopes you’re enjoying the cell she put you in,” I hung up the phone and walked away.
Glenn would pass the message on that much I was sure of. As for whether the Vanir would stop I hoped they were smart enough to take our offer.
It took Jacobi several more meetings with the Korean government before he could reach a democratic resolution. We influenced the verdict slightly, with some strategic voting by jumping between bodies but ultimately we were able to stop a war.
Did the ends justify the means? That I can’t say. We had been forced to manipulate people in order to prevent a worldwide tragedy. In the end that had been what Gabe wanted to show us. He wanted us to see that the machine still had the power for good, despite all my father had used it for.
Nonetheless we vowed to use it sparingly. The world wasn’t our plaything and we didn’t want the burden of trying to save it. That was the job of Jacobi now and the other leaders of the world. They had taken on that responsibility and they alone should be the ones to decide how the world would be saved.
Although Jacobi was well aware of the power we possessed he never once asked us to use the machine to influence policy. He felt it would be cheating and unfair on the world. At one point he suggested we destroy the machine but that wasn’t something we wanted to risk, especially if we wanted to keep an eye on the Vanir.
We were true to our promise and prevented anyone from dying when their twin died. By forming a Tether with the surviving twin Tobias allowed them to live out their natural life. In the end he had found a way to put the machine to good use. All Tobias had ever wanted was to complete the work of the Seperationists and bring down the Tethers. Finally he had succeeded.
People quickly discovered this miracle and of course there were those who tried to tie it to Freyr and Freyja, many who remembered the pastor’s sermons. Scientists tried to explain it as evolution, the body fighting back as a survival mechanism, although they struggled to explain how it could occur on such a wide scale so quickly.
As for me I didn’t care if it had been religion or Science that had saved the day. I preferred to think about the people who had achieved that victory and the lives that had been lost to secure it. They were the real heroes. Not some faceless Gods.
We buried the dog tags of the fallen members of the Deck in a garden memorial on the outskirts of London. Despite the regeneration of London, the garden had remained; even the McDougals respected its legacy as a remembrance of those who had died in the Siege.
I sealed up the plot of dirt and had a moment of silence for the friends who had been lost. Then with a renewed desire to go on in their name I carved 52 little ‘x’ marks onto the memorial, signifying their sacrifice for a better world.
SIXTY FOUR
“Aunt Emmie, look at this,” said Anya, as excitable as she’d always been.
I lifted my head from Rex’s chest ever so slightly and saw Anya and Alyx parading around our garden in beautiful red and black dresses, emblazoned with the symbols of The Deck.
“Wow,” I said. “Did you design them yourselves?”
“Yeah!” said Alyx.
“With a little help from us,” said Grace, with Jill chuckling next to her.
Anya and Alyx had settled amazingly well into our home. It had been Jacobi’s idea. He wanted them to have a home and he knew that Rex and I didn�
��t want to have children of our own. We wanted my bloodline to end when I died. Any descendants of mine would have given the Vanir more people to pursue. We didn’t want to pass that burden on.
When Will, Tobias and I died the children of Freyr and Freyja would be gone; every Tether would break and the world would be free. Until that time Tobias and Will were watching over the world, ensuring no-one died when their twin did and making sure people still got to experience the joy of being connected to their twins, at least for a little while.
We had taken Anya and Alyx in like two of our own, spoiling them rotten at every opportunity we got. Unlike my own father I vowed that I would spend every second with the girls, motivating them in whatever way I could. They’d taken a huge interest in fashion and I encouraged them to pursue their dreams.
Rex was a good father. He quit QWS to spend more time with the girls and I think deep down he was tired of running. We all were. The base that housed the machine may not have been much of a home but we’d tried to turn it into one. I wanted to be close to Will and I wanted to be sure my family was protected.
The girls didn’t mind living in a military base. For most of their life it was all they’d known. We still let them play and live normal lives, knowing that if anything happened to them Tobias would let us know. He could see anywhere he wanted and that made him a valuable ally to have.
As Jill and Grace helped the girls create their next fashion masterpiece Pixie jumped on top of me flopping her body down on top of mine. She was a mess, as always, covered in dirt from trying to dig up the garden. I gave her a kiss and tickled her belly.
I’d never expected to see Pixie again but when I’d collected the girls she’d been there waiting. Alyx had told me that many years ago Pixie was donated to the orphanage by a kind stranger who asked that she and her sister take care of her for me.
I knew the stranger could only have been March. We’d rescued Pixie together when she had been weak. Now she was all I had to remember him by, a small reminder of the sacrifice he had made for me. It meant I always had time for her even when she was at her worst.
I closed my eyes and enjoyed the moment. I let the air wash over me and soothe my mind. I embraced all of the good things in my life.
I felt everything.
ONE MORE THING
A big thank you for finishing Tethered Hearts and the entire Tethered Twins trilogy. Your support made this all possible. I want to make sure you get the best out of this book so if there’s any unanswered questions you have about the series please send them to me on [email protected]. I’ll do my best to try and fill in the gaps.
If you enjoyed any of the books it would be fantastic if you could leave a review and tell others about them. Tethered Twins is still a completely self-published indie series so every reader really does count.
Emmie’s story is now complete and you can find out more about any of my future books by signing up for my mailing list at http://blagman.co.uk/ or following me on Twitter as @blagman.
Thank you for going on this journey with me. I’ve really enjoyed building this world and I’ve read every single piece of feedback good and bad. I hope this book delivered everything you were expecting and please do email me any queries, I read them all.
Until next time,
Mike Essex