by Almney King
I stepped forward and they huddled back, holding strong to each other. No one spoke. They simply stared at me, and as I gazed back at them, I noticed something horrifying. These people were not the Ardent. They were the Defiant. But as I looked at them, I saw something strange. That dangerous flame of knowledge was missing. But as strange as it was, I understood why.
These were the host humans, cast out and jaded by their very own want. Those still clinging to the dream of plenty and perfection. They wanted it so badly that it possessed their sleep, like a romantic dream. But it was a lie. What they sought, the richness of youth and the comfort of ignorance, was all a lie. They did not know, or perhaps they did know. Perhaps the slave was content to be the slave. The slave of greed and war. ARTIKA’s slave. I could see it, how weary and blind and foolish they were.
They looked like the dead. Their clothing was tattered. Their skin gray as ash. Their bodies were cursed with age.
“Are you one of them?” someone asked.
“One of them?” I said.
A boy parted from the crowd. His mother reached after him. There was a petrified look on her face.
“You’re an Ardent,” he said. There was amazement in his voice.
The train was silent. An Ardent, he had said. But he was mistaken. I was no Ardent. I was no follower of the Nazar. What did that even mean? The name Ardent? The name Defiant? What purpose did it all serve? Man? Arsenal? What did it matter? I didn’t know. Were we not all creatures? Were we not all under God? I didn’t think so. Because here I stood, mighty as a god in their eyes with beauty, and power, and strength. I was an idol, a dark lure standing there with the Nazar’s symbol of rebirth flaunted across my chest.
Then I understood it, the meaning of Ardent, of the Defiant. It was a symbol. A symbol of the slave against the symbol of the freeman. Even the name Meridian and the name of man had their meanings. One blessed, the other cursed. And was that not the flaw of man? To desire perfection, beauty, and power above all else. And what would he not destroy? Who would he not kill to possess it, to have the world in one hand and the might of a god in the other?
A man stepped from the crowd. He was an elderly gentleman with a curious look in his eye. “Stand back, son. She’s no Ardent. She’s something else.” He pushed the boy behind him. “What are you?” he demanded.
I approached the man. He stood his ground, raising his arms, protecting the passengers behind him. I could sense his fear though. His heart beat hard and fast. “Everything you’ll become if you continue on this train,” I said.
The man narrowed his eyes. “What do mean? Who are you?”
I looked at the people behind him. There were children, mothers, and fathers of all ages. Young boys in shaggy clothing, their hair long overgrown. The girls were thin, their faces dead and dirtied. I almost pitied their hopelessness.
“If I tell you the truth, will you listen?” I said.
The man stared for a moment then lowered his arms. I took one of the arm guards from the life pack and held it out for them to see. The people gasped. The armor glistened bright as gold.
“Take it,” I ordered.
His hand shook as he reached to touch it. “What is this?” the man gasped.
I pressed the metal into his hand. He jerked back suddenly, afraid the light of the armor would burn him.
“A piece of the truth,” I told him.
He took the armor into his hand. The passengers crowded around to see it, touch it.
“Turn back. Whatever you were told was a lie. The name Ardent will never be yours. It is your children they want. The rest of you are dead to them. Most likely, you’ll be killed. And no one will know. No one will wonder. Your sons and your daughters will be turned to slaves, arsenals, military dogs. With no memory. No dignity. No freewill. ARTIKA will destroy them, mutate them. Their minds and their bodies, just as I am. And they will suffer. ARTIKA will train them. Teach them to kill, to be obedient. Because they’re at war. At war with a world we cannot see, with a people more rich and beautiful than they are. And on that world, your children will die. Rot alone in the very soil of that distant world. And they will accept it. That pitiful death. It will be all they know; to serve, and kill, and die, alone and forgotten. This is the future that awaits them. This is the future that awaits you all.”
No one moved. There was fear in their faces, the gray of death in their eyes. There was nothing freeing about the truth. It was terrifying, inescapable.
“Why?” the man sighed. “How can this be?”
“You know how,” I said.
“But what can we do?” someone shouted. There is only death out there for us beyond these walls! We have nothing! Our people starve! Sick with disease! No water! No warmth! Here we are safe!”
“Is that what you think?”
“It must be a lie! You know nothing! You only mean to scare us!” another snapped.
“Stop it! She’s only trying to save us!”
“No,” I said. “I can only give you the truth. What you do with it is your own affair. But I’ll tell you this, if you fear death, you’ll turn back.”
There was silence again. A gangly woman stepped forward. Her eyes were hard as she spoke. “But we can’t go back, can we? So what do we do?”
I thought for a second. She was right. ARTIKA had them now. The only option they had was a trade. I looked to the old man.
“The shuttle will stop soon. When it does, get off. The patrol officers will stop you. Show them what I’ve given you.”
“What do I say?” he asked.
“Make a trade. They will let you leave if you give up my location. Fifth Haven.”
“Will it work?”
I thought about it, and I was sure there was nothing ARTIKA wouldn’t trade for their precious 2102. “Yes. Most definitely.”
The man nodded. “Alright. We’ll trust you.”
“Trust no one,” I said. “Give that to a higher power. To anyone else, it will be your death.” I felt the shuttle slow and I looked through the huddle of passengers. There was a boy in the back, tall and dressed heavily in black.
“But there’s something I want in return.”
Suddenly, the shuttle came to a stop.
“All passengers departing at Queens Benick, please remain in an orderly fashion as you exit the shuttle. Thank you for traveling Alta Zeda.”
I tucked my hair beneath the black leather hood as the exit lights flickered to life. The line of the hood hid my eyes, casting a dark shadow over my face. I was a shadow now myself—stealthy, obscure, and virtually invisible.
When the doors opened, the passengers jetted into the night, pushing and shoving against each other. The shattered glass was immediately spotted. A squad of civil order officers rushed to the scene. They pushed through the crowd, their weapons aimed to block the new arrivals. The passengers kept on, losing each other in the madness, the Ardent and the Defiant becoming one jumble of people.
I ducked into the chaotic scramble, moving with the push and pull of the crowd. There was shouting, whistles blasting, and the scurrying of feet. I saw several of the passengers, wrangling with the officers, resisting arrest.
I saw the station square up ahead, bright with halo-screens and the blazing lights of hovercrafts. The largest screen stood tall above the people. The Nazar was there. He was flawless, broad-shouldered, and stern-faced. All of his skin possessed an unnatural glow. Then there were images, commercials full of laughter depicting a world of easy living. And it was all so perfectly false. “Welcome,” it said, “to Helix City. Home of the Ardent. You live in a perfect world. There is no reason for fear. There is no need for rebellion. All troubles are absent. All evils are vanquished.”
The neon images flashed, rotating again and again. I noticed some of the Ardent watching them. They were rooted in strange and ungainly positions as if the hypnotic flashes had frozen them mid-stride. I moved around a woman and her daughter and looked them in the face.
I was startl
ed by the blank nature of their expressions. A liquid glaze shined over their eyes. Their lids were unblinking. They mumbled something, the words quick and illiterate between their lips. Then the images changed and they were blinking again, suddenly released from the trance. The woman glanced at me with a look of befuddlement. She gripped her daughter’s hand.
“Momma, isn’t that her?” the girl asked. She pointed to the halo-screen, and to my dismay, she was right. My face lit the screen, the blaring red of a Code A alert drifting across the projection:
“Attention citizens of Helix City, a high class warning is being issued to all residents who may see or encounter rogue 2102. If you spot this individual, alert the authorities immediately. Do not approach this criminal; 2102 is trained and exceedingly dangerous.”
The woman and I held gazes. She said nothing and I wondered why. She only stared at me, with eyes so fragile, so wounded. I turned away from her, easing back into the crowd.
“A generous award will be rewarded to any and all persons who provide information leading to 2102’s capture. For the time being, please return to your designated residences and remain indoors until further notice.”
The Ardent moved as a single body, slowly ebbing away from the station.
“A Civilian Safety agent will monitor the status of your home once all members have arrived. Citizens who chose to defy this order will be punished accordingly. Please be mindful of your safety and the safety of those around you as you return home. Thank you for your cooperation. Attention citizens of Helix City, a high class warning is being issued to all residents who may see or encounter rogue 2102...”
I ducked into the alleyways, dodging the hovercrafts and the search squads. I knew where to go now. Darway Centra had never been so close. Straight from the square I’d go left to the bridge at Vanglis Crossing. A mile down, I’d take the path to New Premise. Then I’d see the light posts, shining green in the fog. I would follow them, all the way down to Marx Avenue. That was home. That’s where I would find her. That’s where I would find them.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
REGRETS
Darway Centra was infested with elite paratroopers and civil order drones. ARTIKA knew everything. That I was going back. That my memories had returned. I expected it. But still, I had hoped for a bit more time.
I moved through the darkened streets. The fog was heavy, masking me from the searching floodlights. An impassable line of ar cannons and well-disguised sharpshooters blockaded the gate. There was no bypassing that line. No way over it and no way around it. Trying was suicide.
I turned back. Darway Centra would have to wait. I’d find refuge elsewhere for now. But I couldn’t stay. Once I saw them again, the farewell would be quick.
Tess 4 was a few blocks down. All was quiet. The streets were empty, long and eerie. I climbed the building, using the air pockets as a boost to the top. There were hundreds of these air pockets running along the outside walls. Without these ventilators, civilians would grow sick in the captivity of their homes. The city air was too polluted and too pumped with chemical to breathe freely. Every aspect of this life was a danger. Breathing. Thinking. Dreaming. Nothing was safe. No one was free. This was Earth. The valley of death I called home.
I reached the top of Tess 4 and wiped the fog from the window. Blurry silhouettes danced before a soft nimbus of light. I gripped the window pane and jammed the glass upward, snapping the locks at each corner. With a final boost, I curled forward into the darkness, landing in a perfect arc on my feet. I unfolded into a stand and found myself alone in the dark of the hall.
There was a familiar feeling there, so strong that I could hardly move, hardly remember. His laughter echoed. And it was beautiful, the sound of summer. I could sense him everywhere. I felt his spirit moving, vanishing into the walls, under doors. I came upon his room, that bright, homemade smell of his still lingering. I didn’t open it, though. He wouldn’t be there. Nor would he ever be.
I came to the living room and stood in the shroud of the dark. A light was on, illuminating the three figures siting still as the dinner table. They held hands. Their voices were but a whisper as they spoke.
“Come out,” a voice demanded.
All three faces turned in my direction, each of their eyes boring into the dark.
“You heard me?” I whispered.
The dark brows pinched with suspicion. “I didn’t,” the man hissed, “but I’ve protected my family long enough to know when a stranger steps foot in my house.”
I took a breath, drawing the hood from my eyes as I eased into the light.
They stared, horrified by the ghost of me, standing there real and in the flesh. Kailes made no farther movements, his mouth split like a broken shell, looking more lost than afraid. Elsa, with her eyes wide and her legs trembling, was close to death. And Ada, a true warrior of time, had shocked herself into a state of unconsciousness. Her body fell limp at the table.
Kailes rose all of a sudden. The kitchen chair crashed to the floor as he stood. He came to me with tears in his eyes.
“Corrine,” he called.
I didn’t know how, but suddenly I was in his arms, gripping his cotton shirt as if I would very well perish without his warmth, his breath, his fatherly scent.
“God, it’s a miracle,” he gasped. He held me tight to the beat of his chest.
I felt Elsa beside us. I let go of Kailes to draw her into me. She was heavenly in my arms. Her scent was affectionate and warm. I felt her tears against my skin. And she dried those drops of sorrow with the caress of her hand.
“How, how did you get here?” Kailes wondered. He came and clutched me by the shoulders. “What happened to you, Corrine? What did they do to you? Ellis... what happened to my boy!”
“Kai,” Elsa sighed, “let the child speak.”
Kailes released me. He took a step back. “I’m sorry, Corrine. I just... ”
“It’s alright,” I assured. “I can’t stay long. They’re looking for me.”
Kailes grimaced. “It’s a Class A alert. They won’t stop until they find you.”
He broke into an infuriated strut.
“Those bastards! Kidnapping our children! Who gave them the right? They can’t get away with this.” He slammed his fist into the table. “God, I swear I’ll kill them all!” his fist dug deep into the metal, again and again. “Where is my son, damn it! I want my son... where is my son?!”
Ada came from behind him and gently touched his shoulders. Kailes flinched. His body shook with his silent sobs. Elsa stood where she was, a hand over her lips as she wept.
“Ellis is alive,” I said.
Kailes looked up. He rushed over to me and seized my arms again.
“Are you sure, Corrine? Don’t spare my feelings. I couldn’t take it, but if you’re telling me the truth...”
“He’s alive,” I said sternly, “and I’ll bring him back... I promise.”
“Corrine,” Elsa whispered.
“How can you, Junebug? It’s impossible,” Ada said.
“Mom!” Kailes hushed.
Ada held up her hand to silence him. “That’s no burden to put on a young girl, Kai. Look at the poor child. She’s running scared for her life, a stranger to herself when she looks in the mirror. Did you even mention to the child what they did to Patra?”
“Where’s my mother?” I interrupted. “What happened... tell me!”
“She’s gone, Junebug,” Ada uttered. “The officials took her away... we haven’t seen or heard anything of her in two years.”
I stumbled back in a gasp, threatening to fall over on my knees. Kailes caught me and pulled me into his chest. I swallowed my rage and drew away from him.
“And Fern?” I asked.
Kailes stared at me. His eyes shifted back and forth. They were hard as iron. “They took her because of Fern. When they came for your sister, Patra resisted. She was arrested for civil disobedience. That’s a Class D crime which, if its sentencing hasn’t changed,
means temporary imprisonment.”
I didn’t understand. Fern was gone? Why? How did this happen? I was half-mad thinking about it, my mind completely lost in itself.
“My mother, where can I find her?”
“It’s impossible, Corrine. You can’t reach her. And the authorities have issued a...”
“Where can I find her?” I snipped.
“Kai, the officers are headed this way,” Elsa called. She had moved to the front door and now stood guard at the window, peeping every so often though the glass.
“You need to leave, Corrine. Damn it, I’m sorry. I wish we could talk more.” He stroked a tuff of my hair. “My goodness look at you... simply beautiful. Just as you always were... like your mother.”
He paused and took a last look at my face. “Elsa, get Patra’s belongings from the room. Mom, watch the door,” Kailes ordered. Then he rushed me back down the hallway. A searchlight scaled across the open window. “There’s a signal tower not too far from Felix SL, the city’s tallest building. The building beside the signal tower, that’s where she’s most likely being held. It’s a heavily guarded facility. Even if by a miracle you managed to get in, there won’t be a coming out, I guarantee it...”
“Patra’s things,” Elsa panted. I took it from her and she threw her arms around me as if she might never let go. I suppose she knew already. Mothers always knew. This would be our final parting.
“May God protect you, Corrine,” she uttered, “and if you can... please bring home our boy... please bring Ellis back to us.”
I released her.
“Corrine,” Kailes whispered. “If you do happen to save your mother... there’s nowhere in the city where the two of you can hide. I’d contact a friend to get you to the other side of Norris Tower, but we’ve recently lost contact... I have to assume he’s been compromised...”
“Kai!” Ada warned. There was a booming knock on the door.
“But if you do somehow make it over, the code phrase is sparrow seven, seven, seven. Say it fast or the Defiant will take you out. Ask for Elijah, he’ll see that the two of you are protected.”