Tangled Fates

by Carly Fall

  It was a shame she found his human form so attractive. His dark hair hung on his

  forehead, and he stood about five inches taller than her, which would put him at about six foot

  five. His body was large and brawny, and the violet purple of his eyes, which was also the same

  color of his SR44 form, was the most beautiful shade of purple she had ever seen. Yes, physically, he was the by far the most appealing male she had ever laid eyes on. Just thinking of

  him made her cheeks burn.

  Eventually, most of the Warriors got past her breasts and long hair and realized she was

  formidable opponent. She was reluctantly invited to join their training sessions. No, she wasn’t

  as big, nor was she as strong as them, but she could hold her own, especially with a knife. It

  seemed as if on some level the Warriors had accepted her, or at least respected her skills.

  She had been one of the first females to be allowed into the military on SR44. Two

  hundred years after the Royal Congress had proclaimed the Six Saviors gone forever, the people

  of SR44 had gone into mourning. Each abode had hung the flag that consisted of each Warrior’s

  SR44 form: orange, yellow, green, purple, red, and blue. The flags had hung for ten years, as was

  custom. When the mourning period ended, Annis had petitioned to join the military.

  She found that the structure of the military, as well as the hard training and conditioning,

  was just what she needed to escape from her youth and her family.

  As the youngest of five, Annis had come from what humans would describe as a severely

  dysfunctional family. It was always easy to pick on the young or the weakest, and she was the

  target of her four older siblings, especially with a mother who was never around. Their moha

  would disappear for days on end, leaving them to fend for themselves, and Annis was often

  hungry without a lick of food in sight. She had learned that if she kept silent, if she stayed out of

  the way, her siblings tended to ignore her. Once she was old enough to get around by herself, she

  was on her own, and happy about it.

  She would wander the streets, minding her own business. She spent most of her time

  away from their humble abode in the city, exploring the streets and what her world had to offer.

  It was easy for her to blend into the cityscape, as her golden, smoky form was almost the exact

  hue as the high golden buildings that made up SR44 cities. She was ignored and left alone, and

  that was the way she liked it.

  Annis and her siblings had never received an education. They were part of the underbelly

  of SR44, the dirt-poor and forgotten. Her mother had been mated for a short time, which

  produced the two oldest children. Annis did not know her father. The male, who fathered the two

  oldest, had run away to become a Forest Dweller and was never seen or heard from again.

  One day, as she walked the streets, she witnessed a group of military getting into a craft

  to go to the Colony to train. Some of the soldiers expressed their fears of going to the Colony,

  which was where the Colonists were kept. She cringed when she heard stories about the Colony

  being a dark, cold, gray place, devoid of any of the magnificent colors that they enjoyed on

  SR44. SR44ians also enjoyed the time of twilight many hours of their day, and the temperature

  was always mildly warm.

  As the military males marched in their lines, their smoky forms seemed to move as one,

  and she knew she wanted to be a part of that. There was a sense of belonging and purpose that

  the males held, and she thought of her own situation. As a female who felt truly alone, she felt

  the military offered her the opportunity of being a part of something.

  Blake laughed, starling her. She reflected on her childhood, realizing that the reason she

  had volunteered to go after this monster, Susan Kresper, was because she wanted to help the

  children this woman was abusing. She would be diving into the underbelly of Earth, into the

  sordid cesspool, which was the equivalent of where she had grown up. She remembered her

  childhood with clarity, but she was strong and would stand up to the tyranny and mistreatment of

  the young. In fact, she couldn’t wait to get her hands around that woman’s neck.

  A small smile tugged at her mouth.

  “Hot damn. That’s what I’m talking about,” Blake said from the seat next to her.

  The small smile turned into a full-on grin. She had absolutely no idea what Blake was

  talking about, but he was terribly funny.

  “Annis, remind me that you have to watch this movie. There is this fight scene that you’ll

  love. Hell, we’ll make some popcorn and throw back a couple of brews.”

  She reached across the aisle, looking for Blake’s hand. He found hers and squeezed. “I

  would like that, Blake.”

  “Yeah, you’re going to love this.”

  He let go of her hand, and she turned her head toward the windows.

  Blake. She loved it when the sun went down and her sight returned. He often greeted her

  with a wide smile and a twinkle in his hazel eyes. He kept his black hair short, and she was

  grateful he had gotten rid of that God-awful blond color Liberty and Faith had dyed it to rescue

  Annis and an SR44 male named Micah who had been captured by the human government. Blake

  had reminded her of a skunk for a few weeks with his half-black, half-white hair. Thankfully, he

  didn’t smell like one. As she understood it, there were very few odors that compared to the

  miserable creature.

  Blake’s nose bent slightly at the bridge, as if he had possibly broken it in a past time. His

  skin wasn’t exactly white, but more of a lightly tanned color, especially now that he was spending time outside. From what descent he came from, she did not know. What she did know

  was that he was terribly handsome. They got along famously, and he made her laugh.

  It was interesting being attracted to two males. One of them apparently hated her, and the

  other was very kind and seemed to care for her quite a bit.

  She thought of Liberty, who was now happily mated to the Warrior Jovan. Before the

  Miladrids had attacked, the Royal Congress had dismantled much of the SR44 military, and

  Annis was assigned as a guard to Liberty’s father.

  Liberty’s father, who also happened to be Noah’s father, had been instrumental in the

  decimation of the military ranks. Many thought he had lost his mental faculties, but he claimed

  that they had prepared for a war that never happened, and would not happen if history were any

  indication of things to come. He also stated that he didn’t want another SR44ian to suffer the loss

  that he had when his son Noah, and the rest of the Six Saviors, had not returned from their

  mission or eradicating the Colonists.

  She would never forget when her and eleven others were ordered to board their vessel to

  escape the chaos that had become SR44. Their mission had been simple: they were to carry on

  the SR44 race, and they were to do so on Earth. There were cries of anguish for those being left

  behind, anger at those who had been chosen to leave, and infighting among the troopers as to

  who was in charge. On top of all the emotional turmoil, there were the physical transformations

  that needed to be dealt with. Going from a smoky form into a human body took some getting

  used to, as did learning how the body moved and worked.

  The vessel was also bare, as there wa
s no time to prepare. Small rations of SR44 food

  were placed on the craft, but there were no comforts. They all sat and slept on the stark metal

  floor.

  From her corner, she had watched a trooper named Micah take over, her anger seething.

  He was terrible to the other females who had been chosen to carry on the race, sometimes

  grabbing his crotch and threatening them that he was in charge, and when he decided it was time

  start making offspring, they had better be ready. Only one female on the vessel knew what he

  meant by this, and she was often seen laying in a fetal position in tears. Liberty and the others

  didn’t understand the semantics of human sexuality, but apparently Micah had been briefed.

  Annis learned the hard way after landing on Earth.

  He also ranted that if he was going to Earth, he would hunt high and low for the Six

  Saviors, and he would kill all of them. He seemed to believe that Noah and the other Saviors

  were responsible for the destruction of SR44 because they didn’t return right away as everyone

  expected them to, and that’s what caused Noah and Liberty’s father to downsize the military.

  As Annis and Liberty listened to Micah carry on, Annis had watched Liberty quietly turn

  inward, her fear almost a palpable presence. It was then that Annis took guard of Liberty and

  stayed by her side.

  She never imagined she would find a friend in a meek female born of servitude, but she

  had. Liberty had been a kind, innocent soul—one who Annis had originally vowed to protect—

  but she ended up really caring about Liberty and considered Liberty her friend.

  The other troopers they rode to Earth with hadn’t known who Liberty’s sire was, and

  Annis made sure they never found out for fear that they would want to kill her as well. At the

  same time she found that outcast child within herself connect to Liberty. Their friendship had

  grown quickly, and they had survived together. Annis’s sight came and went, depending on the

  solar system and what suns and stars they were near. It had been frightening at first, because they

  didn’t know what to expect from the other troopers who eventually banned together and called

  themselves The Platoon with Micah as their leader. Micah, being the largest physically, had

  bullied and intimidated his way into the leadership position, and the rest of the ranks fell in line

  behind him.

  After a while, The Platoon—and everyone on the vessel—left Liberty and Annis alone.

  Their craft crashed in the middle of the Arizona desert, and during the chaos of the rough

  landing, a steel beam sliced Annis’s leg. Upon reflection, she was fortunate her leg wasn’t sliced

  off. As they sifted through the wreckage, they realized that of the twelve on the craft, they had

  lost three. When the helicopters and the FBI showed up, her military training, as well as her vow

  to protect Liberty at all costs, took over. She had yelled at Liberty to run as far away as she

  could. And that female had run, her legs pumping and working so hard that she reminded Annis

  of the jackrabbits she had witnessed fleeting around the sagebrush and desert floor.

  Annis hadn’t fought capture of the FBI because of her injured leg. However, Micah had.

  Even after imprisonment he continued to fight at every turn, and not just with their captors, but

  with her as well. They had been taken to a facility where terrible things had been done to her,

  things she didn’t like to think about, and things that she hadn’t shared with anyone.

  “Annis?” Blake said quietly.

  She turned her head toward his voice, thankful for the intrusion into her thoughts.

  “Just wanted to make sure you have your contacts in. It’s getting really close to

  sundown.”

  She smiled. Blake was always looking out for her. The contacts would dull the glow of

  her eyes when the sun went down. They were really uncomfortable, but she was fine with the

  discomfort because she would be able to see in a short amount of time.

  “Thank you, Blake. Yes, I have them in. I’m looking forward to emerging from my

  blackness to see the night.”

  Smiling at the absurdity of her words, she turned back toward the window.

  She smelled the flowery scent of the flight attendant’s perfume before she heard her soft

  footsteps.

  “We’ll be landing in about twenty minutes. Is there anything else I can get you?”

  “No, thank you,” Annis said.

  “I’m good,” Blake said in his deep voice.

  The soft footsteps retreated to the back of the plane.

  “What do you want to do when we get in?” Blake asked. “You want to sleep? Eat? Check

  out Susan?”

  Annis cast her eyes forward and took stock of her body. Slowly, shadows formed before

  her eyes, almost as if there were gray ghosts dancing in front of her. Yes, she was hungry. Tired?

  No. It would be nice to get up and get moving, as she didn’t do well sitting for long periods of

  time.

  The shimmering images before her became more pronounced, and a few seconds later the

  details of the plane were crystal clear.

  She looked around.

  The chairs were made of soft tan leather, and she had been correct when she imagined

  where the windows were. There were six rows of seats, and her and Blake sat smack in the

  middle. She guessed the small door up front housed the pilot. She turned her gaze to Blake, his

  smile wide, his hazel eyes sparkling. His black turtleneck hugged his broad chest.

  “I think I would like to eat and then go see Susan,” she said.

  Blake nodded. “I was thinking the same thing. Let’s get to our hotel and check in, grab

  something to eat, then get a layout of Susan’s neighborhood. Get going on the recon and see

  what we come up with.”

  “It sounds like an excellent plan, Blake,” Annis said as her stomach rumbled. “I want a

  steak. And some garlic mashed potatoes.”

  “Your wish is my command. Steak and mashed potatoes it is.”

  Chapter 4

  Blake stood next to Annis in the shadows of a doorway across the street from an

  apartment building that was Susan Kresper’s last known address. He silently cursed the early

  season snow that continued to fall around them. He stamped his feet again and huddled down

  into his parka. At least they had bought warm clothes. He hated New York, especially the Bronx.

  When the idea of a recon mission to watch and learn about Susan Kresper was thrown

  out, Annis had immediately volunteered. Blake followed in her footsteps, and after a little bit of

  talk among the Warriors, it was decided that only two people really needed to go. Four of the

  Saviors were more than happy to stay at home with their mates, and the other two were useless

  slabs of meat having lost their lovrens when SR44 was destroyed.

  And besides, they were only to observe. It wasn’t like there was going to be any battles

  fought or anything. If that had been the case, then the other Warriors would have stepped up to

  the plate. Seriously, what could go wrong?

  Over the past ten months, Blake had put on about twenty pounds of muscle mass thanks

  to the workouts with the Warriors and Hudson’s healthy cooking. He had been solid before, but

  now he was stronger than he had ever been in his life. And bigger. Like two sizes bigger. How

  far his life had come in the past ten months. He had always known there was so
mething

  fundamentally different about him, and that knowledge had struck like a fist to the gut when he

  was fifteen. He’d killed his father and the guy dissolved into a pile of black ash. He kept to

  himself after that, got through school and ended up working tirelessly for the FBI. He thought he

  would never really fit in anywhere with anyone—that was until he barged his way into the Six

  Saviors. He had found out he was half-Colonist. In a nutshell, he got the crappy end of the DNA

  helix, but he had sealed his relationship with the Six Saviors by helping them rescue Annis and

  taking a bullet for Liberty.

  He glanced over at Annis. She stood next to him, still as the night air. Her hands were

  jammed in her black parka, and the hood over her head made it difficult to see her face.

  “Little bit cold tonight,” he said quietly.

  She turned her head and met his gaze. They were just about the same height. A lamppost

  from across the street shone on her chocolate skin. “You’ve got that right, Blake.”

  She turned her head back toward the apartment building.

  Dinner had been great. They had hit the hotel steakhouse of where they were staying in

  Manhattan. Annis had worn a nice pair of jeans and a cream-colored turtleneck that stood out

  against her skin. If he looked carefully, he could see a slight shade of her golden eye color.

  Annis was by far the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. Her skin was a

  chocolate brown, and her dark cat-eyes always observed everything around her. Well, when she

  could see, that is. Her lips were full and her straight, white teeth gleamed when she smiled. Her

  laughter was deep and heavy, and her body tall and strong. She had no idea how incredibly sexy

  she was.

  Everything about her was feminine. Her hips swayed sultrily when she walked, as did the

  rainbow of beads adorning the ends of her braids. Even the way she fought exuded sex. It was

  graceful and beautiful, almost as if she were a ballerina ducking, shucking, kicking, and

  punching.

  A graceful, beautiful ballerina who could wreak havoc with a knife.

  It was such a contradiction.

  He remembered the first time he had offered to grapple with her. All of the Warriors had