Disobedience

by Kaitlyn Andersen

  Finn’s stomach clenched hard.

  Gods, she is so young.

  “I know someone with markings just like yours,” she told the child gently.

  Carrow’s mouth opened in surprise. “You do?”

  “His name is Conrad. He’s really good at moving things with his mind. What about you?”

  The child bit her lip.

  “I can move things sometimes, but I have to concentrate really hard.”

  Before Finn could offer any additional words of comfort to the girl, Supersonic interrupted.

  “So, you can sometimes move things with your mind?” She teased with a harsh laugh. “I’m sticking with Micro.” Rather than wait for the meek child to answer, Supersonic drew their attention to the cells across the way. “The unconscious one over there is Bedlam, at least that’s what I call him. The Reliance keeps him knocked out with a steady stream of narcotics until it’s time to enter the Dome. I’ve never seen anything like him before. As soon as he wakes up, his skin turns dark red and he bulks up until he’s gigantic. Apparently, he’s half-Khaleerian. All I know is he’s stronger than forty of me combined and angrier than a drunk Goslan.”

  Finn could just barely make out the hulking form of the man in question on the floor of his cell. Two long horns wrapped his head and glistened in the artificial lights. His chest rose and fell with deep, heavy breaths.

  Another half-Khaleerian?

  Finn’s heart ached at the onslaught of information, but—true to her nickname—Supersonic never slowed down to offer her time to adjust.

  “The one in the cell next to him is Viper,” she continued. “You can barely see her through all that latex covering her, but her skin is poisonous. I saw her touch a guy in the Dome once . . . Ten seconds later he was turning blue and foaming at the mouth . . . And that was the last we ever saw of him.”

  “I can hear you, Supersonic. It’s not nice to talk about me like I’m not here,” Viper’s deceptively pleasant if not slightly muffled voice called over to them. She was, in fact, covered from head to toe in a layer of dark latex beneath her jumpsuit, with only two small air holes at her nostrils for breathing. “And I still hate that stupid nickname,” she growled.

  “Hey, don’t be upset, Viper. I was just about to impress her with tales of your cold-blooded success the last five rounds in the Dome.”

  As the poisonous hybrid clucked her tongue in distaste, Supersonic shot Finn a wink and continued with her introductions.

  “Next to her is her partner in ruthlessness, Rock.”

  “That’s not my name and you damn well know it, Supersonic. And quit giving the newbie tips.”

  “I’ll tell you what,” Supersonic teased. “If you can catch me, I’ll stop.”

  Finn’s eyes sought out the young man sitting cross-legged in his cell. He was slender but lean, with dark-blue hair and olive skin. His face was somewhat obscured by his hands as he held it as though in pain. His hunched posture looked nothing short of miserable. A black box the size of Finn’s fist sat in the corner, and it appeared to be connected to the young hybrid by several black wires affixed to his head and chest.

  Supersonic blew him a kiss, undeterred.

  “Rock is half-Kreetian,” she told Finn as she pointed at the black box. “If that vibe cannon didn’t emit constant ultralow frequencies to keep his brain fried, he’d harden his skin and break his way out of here. Isn’t that right, Rocky?”

  He could harden his skin?

  “Shut up already,” the blue-haired male moaned pitifully.

  “One more and then I’m done,” she called.

  Supersonic motioned to the last cell on the left where a small man sat in an empty cell with his eyes closed. Despite his round cheeks and youthful appearance, a smattering of gray hair covered his large, slightly conical head. His skin was a sickly shade of gray as well.

  “That’s Gray Matter. He’s been hush-hush so far about what he is and what he can do, but he’s survived three rounds in the Dome without a scratch, so he must be doing something right.”

  The ashen hybrid lifted his head and opened his eyes in acknowledgement. He wasn’t restrained in any way and his cell was empty of the lasers she’d glimpsed or any other safety devices.

  He would seem utterly harmless were it not for an astute gleam in his eyes. If he’d survived three rounds in the Dome, he must be hiding something powerful behind his diminutive frame.

  “So, what about you and the kid?” Supersonic questioned, eyeing the boxes covering Finn’s hands.

  “What about us?” Finn asked, feigning confusion.

  Supersonic was sharp and didn’t miss a beat, rolling her eyes before repeating,

  “What can you and the kid do? Hopefully it’s something good or you’ll both be dead by sundown.”

  Apparently, they had even less time than she’d originally thought.

  “Listen,” she told the woman as she leaned closer, “we’re not here to hurt anyone. We’re here to rescue all of you.”

  Supersonic’s eyes went wide before she sputtered, her loud belly laughs leaving Finn’s ears ringing.

  “I’m sorry,” she gasped between chuckles, struggling to regain her composure, “but could you be any more cliché?” She held her stomach as she called over to the poisonous hybrid, “Viper, did you hear the good news? The plucky lady and her sidekick are here to save us.”

  Finn could practically hear the smile in Viper’s voice as she purred, “Then what are they doing in cages?”

  “She’s telling the truth!” AJ shouted from his cell. Apparently, he’d woken sometime during their conversation. “We rescue the blended. We come from a ship full of them.”

  “Blended? Sounds like how I order my favorite drink, mutt.” Supersonic chuckled as her wide eyes shot to the other cages.

  “Wait, is this ship the one you were crying about last night?” Viper’s muffled voice sounded amused as she called to him from her cell. “I don’t think they can do much rescuing if the Reliance knows where they are.”

  AJ’s jaw clenched as he blindly twisted his head, searching for the source of the sarcastic voice.

  “They’ll come for us!” he yelled defiantly into the air.

  Finn’s gut twisted, and her mouth went dry. Last night she’d told AJ it would take more than a few Reliance soldiers to get the best of his brothers. In the light of day, however, she was finding it hard to hold on to that hope. Even if they’d heard her warning yesterday, what were the odds it had given them enough time to escape?

  Enyo’s face flashed in her mind, followed by Tiri, Conrad, and lastly . . . Iliana.

  After everything they’d been through together, was she really never to see her sister again? Never to see any of them again? How was she supposed to hold on to hope without Jax’s annoying ribbing or Lex’s constant chatter?

  How could she do anything but grieve when the possibility was becoming more and more real that she’d never again feel Conrad’s gentle touch?

  The Solidarian shifted slightly in his cell, drawing her attention, and Finn caught his gaze. His red-tinged eyes peered into hers with alarming intensity, as though he could read her dark thoughts, before turning away abruptly.

  Shaking off the strange moment, Finn felt determination surge through her. Despair was not an option. Even in her worst moments, no matter what, there was one thing she could always count on: she was a survivor.

  She didn’t know how to be anything else.

  Finn called out to the room.

  “Listen to me carefully. We don’t want to hurt any of you. If we work together, we could all survive long enough to the get the hell out of here. No one has to die in the Dome . . . not anymore.”

  This time, both Supersonic and Viper cackled in amusement. Rock moaned from the floor of his cell and Gray Matter cocked his head to the side, an eerie smile lifting his pale lips.

  “That’s a very nice sentiment, Brain-Dead,” Viper’s condescending voice mused, “but you must be tr
uly hollow in the head if you believe that.”

  “Brain-Dead!” Supersonic exclaimed on a laugh. “That’s perfect! Welcome to the Imminent Death Club, Brain-Dead.”

  The speedy hybrid shot a wide smile to the room and Finn felt a muscle tick in her jaw as she struggled to maintain her composure.

  “The Imminent Death Club?” she asked Supersonic impatiently.

  “Well yeah, there are two ways to get out of the Dome. One: you die. Two: you get bought by some hoity-toity Reliance asshole and then you die.”

  “Speak for yourself,” Viper interceded. “I’m far too valuable to be killed, and once I dispense of our new friends in the Dome, I’ll be sold to the highest bidder. You can’t imagine how desperate I am for a change of clothes.”

  Finn shook her head in frustrated disbelief. The Imminent Death Club seemed to be a morbidly appropriate name for the group. Soon, they would all be unleashed in the Dome and none of these hybrids seemed to have any issue killing one another off to keep themselves alive.

  Finn had no intention of killing anyone, regardless of what the Reliance wanted for their twisted little games. She couldn’t . . . not after Sophie. It had become a hard line in the mud, one she refused to cross ever again. She’d hoped she could get the group to cooperate with her plan, but they were proving to be difficult.

  How was she supposed to keep herself and AJ alive with five powerful hybrids gunning for them?

  As if on cue, a low hissing sounded in each of the cells as billows of white gas began to fill them.

  “Time for the Dome,” Supersonic whispered, her eyes glimmering with anticipation.

  Finn’s panicked gaze flew to AJ as the gas reached her. She dove lower to the ground, hoping to stem the gas’s effects, but her head had already begun to spin, and her breaths had shallowed in her chest.

  “I’ll find you in the Dome,” she promised him, her voice hoarse.

  Finn could’ve sworn she saw him nod, mouth tight with fear, before the gas swallowed her.

  THIRTY

  Finn awoke to blackness to find she’d been moved from her cell. Thin streaks of light stole across the passageway through the tiny window of a steel door as a low roar of screaming and applause shook the ground beneath her. Somewhere outside, speakers blasted the Union of the Planets’ six-note melody. She was still underground, but this time, she lay in a heap in an empty stone corridor. She was unsurprised to see a small intercom and the thin barrel of a laser gun affixed to the rocky wall above her.

  She still had no shoes, but the boxes around her hands had been removed.

  Thank the Gods for that.

  Finn flexed her sore wrists as her eyes flitted around the space. When the Union of the Planets’ anthem died down, an unfamiliar, slightly accented baritone echoed outside.

  “Ladies and gentlemen of the Reliance, welcome to the Dome! Rest assured the games will begin shortly. We have eight talented half-breeds participating on this fine afternoon, ranging from half-Khaleerian to our fan favorite half-Solidarian. Remember, all half-breeds who survive the Dome will be available for viewing and purchase shortly after the games.”

  Finn heard a cry of excitement burst through the crowd at the pronouncement and struggled to hold on to some semblance of calm.

  “Are you ready to meet your half-breed contenders?” Again, the roar of the crowd shook the ground with its enthusiasm. “Entering from door number one, let’s hear some applause for one of our newest additions to the Dome: a half-Anunnaki! He might seem young and unassuming, but beneath that youthful façade lies the heart of a beast. With the twitch of an eye, this half-breed could convince you to shoot your own mother . . . or, even worse, . . . empty your safes.”

  Several scandalized gasps stole through the crowd before the arena erupted into applause and heavy bass music began to play.

  Hold on, AJ.

  “Entering from door number two . . . Oh this is exciting folks . . . we have our very first half-Teslan! As rare as they are dangerous, this half-breed can steal all your secrets with a touch, so keep your distance. Give it up, ladies and gentlemen!”

  Finn just barely heard several mechanisms click over the din of the crowd and earsplitting music as the door in front of her began to open. The answering light was glaring, and Finn had to shield her eyes else risk being blinded. She held her ground inside the passageway, waiting for her vision to adjust.

  Seconds later, the intercom on the wall to her right crackled and sounded. The laser gun whirred to life, rotating until it pointed at her head.

  “Get out there,” an impatient voice growled through the speaker.

  Eyeing the gun, Finn forced her shaky legs to move through the doorway and out into the Dome.

  Just as she’d seen in her mind when touching the walls and windows of Aquarii, the entire space was encased in a dome made entirely of hard-light projections separating the spectators from the games’ participants. The projector itself appeared to be mounted to the Dome’s peak.

  She saw her face broadcasted on several giant holoscreens spread throughout the arena and swallowed hard at the fear she glimpsed in her own eyes. She drove herself to stand straighter and relaxed her features until her face was devoid of expression.

  More laser guns were mounted several feet apart outside the Dome, their muzzles pointed at its center. There, she found what could only be described as an obstacle course of death.

  The right side of the Dome nearest to her had been converted into a minefield of point-defense auto turrets. Enabled and powered by artificial intelligence, the guns were able to automatically target and fire in rotating intervals. Just past that, a huge wall with red-and-blue handholds zapped and crackled with electricity. On the other side of that wall, Finn could just barely make out a smattering of pedestals raised above some kind of boiling liquid.

  Thousands of Reliance spectators surrounded her on all sides, their gazes hungry as they stomped and clapped in a sea of red and gold. Their cheers quieted as some of them began to gasp, their eyes focused on something near Finn.

  Her head snapped to the left where she found AJ, free of his silicone bindings. His dark eyes swirled and sparked with color, and his chest heaved in furious breaths. His black hair was wet with sweat and his skin even more pale than usual. The boy had spent most of his life in captivity being tortured by the Reliance and she could only imagine how terrifying and triggering this must be for him.

  “AJ!” she called to him sharply. His panicked face immediately flew to meet hers, the colors fading as they did. “We can do this, kid. We just need to stick together.”

  Blessedly, he had the presence of mind to hear her words. His face set with determination as he managed a sharp nod.

  “Our next half-breed comes all the way from Xandar. She’s fast, she’s sassy, and you all know and love her. Please give it up for our half-Xandar!”

  The crowd exploded in cheers as the door to Finn’s left opened and a blur of burgundy streaked out into the Dome. She was so fast Finn could barely track her movements as the half-breed did circles around them. Finally, she slowed to a stop in between Finn and AJ, throwing her fists over her head in a shameless bid to egg the crowd on. Her dark eyes glinted with amusement as a wide smile broke out on her face.

  At her antics, the announcer released a soft chortle of amusement before continuing.

  “Next, we have another new competitor and our youngest of the day, but don’t let her age fool you, ladies and gentlemen. This half-Merlidian is as dangerous as she is small.”

  Another door opened into the Dome and several seconds passed before Carrow stumbled her way out, her little hands shielding her eyes from the brightness. The child’s yellow curls fell in waves around her round, delicate face. Even from the distance, Finn could tell her eyes were the same unique shade of cerulean as Conrad’s.

  Despite the dramatic tone of the announcer’s voice, the crowd appeared unimpressed with the newest addition to the games. Sporadic claps and cheers rang ou
t, but for the most part, they seemed to have lost their excitement.

  Finn shot AJ a look she hoped he understood and called out to the child.

  “Stay close, Carrow. AJ and I are going to take care of you. You’re going to be okay.”

  The little girl’s blue eyes widened as she seemed to recognize Finn’s voice. Her lips pulled up into a shaky smile and she nodded in understanding.

  Taking advantage of the crowd’s lapse in energy, the announcer’s voice took on an impossibly deeper tone.

  “The only thing harder than this next half-breed’s skin . . . is his heart. That’s right, folks, our next competitor has four kills in his short time in the Dome. From the stony cliffs of Kreet, say hello to our half-Kreetian!”

  As the crowd once again let loose with raucous applause, Finn watched as one of the doors opened and Rock sauntered out. Freed of the wires causing him so much pain, the Kreetian cut an intimidating figure.

  No longer hunched in agony, he stood to his full height of at least six feet six inches; his blue hair was mussed and his chest puffed out in pride. His face was set with determination, and as he looked over his fellow competitors, his blue eyes gleamed with hatred. His lips twisted in a cruel sneer as he met Finn’s eyes.

  She broke the stare when the announcer launched in again.

  “Now, you can look at this next contestant all you want, folks, but do not touch. This poison princess comes all the way from our state-of-the-art labs on Arcturus. That’s right, with the latest advances in Arcturian science and a little help from the Gods, our forefathers have created a half-Sandsaran. She hasn’t been in the Dome long, but she has already established herself as a merciless contender. Get your gold ready, citizens, because this half-breed is in high demand!”

  Finn was too shocked to focus on the rest of the man’s words.

  The Reliance is making half-breeds? How is that even possible?

  Sandsarans were normally incapable of breeding with humans or any other species outside of their own due to their poisonous dermis. Apparently, the Arcturians had taken the laws of nature into their own hands. No wonder Viper was a ruthless, heartless competitor.