by Cohen, Bryan
She put her hand to her head and rocked back and forth. "I don't know what's happening. I don't know what's happening."
But Jennifer didn't seem to be the only one who had trouble adjusting to a life behind bars. The other members of her cell gave her the widest possible berth. Every time she even tried to talk to them, they cowered away and put as much distance between the two of them as possible.
But though they wouldn't talk to her, they certainly were willing to say plenty of things to the guards outside.
"I didn't do anything. I don't know why you put me here."
"Why am I covered in blood? I don't understand."
"I'm not a dark soul. I don't know why you'd think that."
The messaging was clear. Every single person in her cell seemed to have no memory of at least the last couple of days. And while they'd been accused of murderous acts, nobody seemed to remember a thing.
On the third day of her captivity, she was heavily shackled and led out of her cell into a room. Behind some protective glass, she spied a little boy. Now that she thought about it, he'd been there in the room with them. He'd been the only one who looked upon her without fear, but he was very, very curious.
Jennifer spoke first. "Who are you?"
Riu had a puzzled look on his face. "Who are you?"
She looked left and right. "I don't know why you're here, but I'm Jennifer. I'm friends with—I guess I used to be friends with Ted. And Erica. Do you know if she's—"
"I need to tell you a story."
Jennifer thought of her friend covered in blood, but she had a feeling that this story would be worth listening to. "Okay. Tell me the story."
The little boy cleared his throat. "My grandfather and I had the same power." The boy began to glow a light green. "He was able to stop the dark souls from taking over our world. My father was one of the first people the dark souls killed and tried to possess. But when my grandfather used his power, it didn't just kill the dark soul inside of him. He came back without any memory of his own death."
Jennifer let the realization wash over her. "So, you’re telling me that Ted brought you here to protect against the dark souls. But you don’t just kick the dark souls out.” Her breath caught in her throat. “I did all those things while I was a dark soul. I was dead and possessed and then—and then you brought me back to life.”
Riu nodded. “I did. I brought all of you back to how you are supposed to be.”
Jennifer touched the glass between them. “If that’s the case, it doesn’t just have to stop with us. All of the people the dark souls killed and took over ... You can bring all of them back too.”
23
Ted took in the scent of rubbing alcohol as he held Erica’s hand in the infirmary. The protector had lost a significant amount of blood, but despite her multiple wounds, her heart continued to beat. Ted looked down at the face of the girl he’d been in love with since the age of 10. She was pale and hooked up to a variety of wires and machines that kept her alive. Despite all of that, she was as beautiful as the day Ted had seen her move in next door. He locked his fingers with hers. “I’m sorry, Erica. I should have been there for you. I should have known something was incredibly wrong.” He sighed. “And now you’re here, and it’s absolutely my fault.”
Her body’s only response to his words was the rhythmic rising and falling of her chest. That’s all she could do right now. At least, that’s all she could do in her current body.
A knock from the door drew Ted’s attention to Natalie and Dhiraj. Natalie looked like she wanted to come closer to comfort him, but she seemed hesitant. Dhiraj looked as though someone had carved out his heart and dropkicked it into the ocean.
He forced a smile nonetheless. “How are you doing over here, buddy?”
Ted pondered just how much had changed since the two friends texted each other innocuous jokes instead of life threatening emergencies.
The living soul didn’t return the smile. “The doctor says she could survive like this for weeks. Or she could die in an hour. They don’t know exactly how she hung on, but then again, they probably haven’t dealt with too many former dead girls with a soul from another planet.”
Dhiraj attempted to brighten his expression. “I think I actually saw a plotline like that on Grey’s Anatomy. I could try to find it online if you want?”
Natalie elbowed Dhiraj in the ribs. “I’ve got a new business venture for you. Share your comedy with the world, and then have people pay you not to tell jokes.”
Dhiraj protected his side. “Silence is golden?”
Natalie stepped away from him and knelt by Ted’s side, stroking his shoulder and triceps. “After all of this insanity, the troops are looking for guidance. We could really use your apparently heroic presence right now.”
Ted pursed his lips. “I’m not ready. Not yet anyway.” He looked into her eyes. “I promise I will be though.”
Natalie nodded. “You get a few more hours. Harding thinks we’ve gone dark enough not to be targeted by another nuke, but there are no promises.”
Ted thought back to the time Sandra had tricked him and Dhiraj in the school gym. He’d been fooled then, but the stakes were so much higher now.
“Is Yoshi still unconscious?”
Dhiraj nodded in the affirmative. “Both him and Vott are still down for the count. We have them secure, just in case they try to go all kung fu on someone like Yoshi did on Doren.”
Natalie ducked her head at the mention of her comrade. “But everyone is still saying they didn’t do anything. All the prisoners. They don’t remember it, according to them.” She glanced over at Dhiraj. “Jennifer included.”
Dhiraj began to breathe heavily. “I’m just going to take a minute guys. Keep me up to date on Erica.”
He ducked out of the room quickly, his footfalls getting faster as he went out of range.
Natalie chewed at her cheek. “Real number she did on us. Could have ended the whole damn thing.”
Ted nodded and looked at Erica. Her chest continued to rise and fall with the rhythm of the machine. She’d served an incredible purpose over the last couple of years. Not to mention opening his heart to incredible possibilities. But now she was hooked to a machine, and the world still needed what she had to give.
“Nat, I have a question for—"
“I am not about to tell you whether you should take her off life support or not. She’s our friend, but she’s your protector.”
Ted let out a deep breath. “If I pull the plug, she probably goes back to the Realm of Souls and has a chance to return in a new body. Maybe she can even come back stronger.”
“And maybe she won’t. Maybe she’ll never come back. That’s the kind of choice you’re going to have to live with, Ted.”
Ted put his arm around Natalie and squeezed her close.
She laid her head on his shoulder. “These aren’t the kind of decisions anyone should have to make.”
He kissed the side of her head. “Don’t I know it. Can you give me a little time? I’m going to make a decision soon.”
Natalie stood and touched his arm one more time before leaving him and Erica alone.
He began talking to himself over the beeping sound of the life support. “She’s right. You could die and never come back. But the doctor says the chances of you getting back to full strength are near zero. You’d probably tell me to cut the cord in a heartbeat. I wish it was you making this decision and not me.”
Ted thought he heard something in the room, but it was too quiet to fully make out.
“Hello?”
The sound came again, almost as if it were a mumble of a sentence. It still wasn’t quite loud enough to understand.
He looked at Erica’s mouth, but she was still hooked up to a breathing apparatus. Her eyes remained shut, and her consciousness had no signs of being awake.
Come find me.
Ted’s eyes shot left and right. “Is someone there?”
Come find me.
Ted realized that while the sounds weren’t coming from Erica, the thought was traveling from inside her brain.
He nodded to himself. “Okay. I’m coming.”
Ted released Erica’s limp hand and pressed his palm to her forehead. It only took a moment for him to enter her mind.
24
As the borrowed van rumbled along the highway, Christina Finley thought back to a long car ride she’d taken with her family several years ago. It was the first time she’d gone to visit a college that wanted to give her a full athletic scholarship, and even though it was in the middle of the school year, Ted begged to come along. She looked out at the tall trees on either side of the road and remembered how Ted's constant need to use the bathroom at rest stops nearly doubled the length of the trip. She was so pissed off that, at one point, she locked herself in the car alone and blared loud music for 20 minutes while the rest of the family pleaded with her to open the doors.
Christina smiled as she thought of those simpler times. She hadn't been the kindest and most loving sister, but she hoped that her tough form of compassion had helped Ted realize that the world wasn't always a kind place. The last two years had certainly shown him that if she hadn't.
Doug, her college friend and squad driver, pulled the van to a stop.
"This is the place. We should have a good enough view of the base from here."
She brought her mind back to the present. "All right, gang. Let's keep things quiet and not bring too much attention to ourselves."
Christina got several nods and grunts of approval as they left the van together.
The smell of saltwater reached her nose as her shoes sank into the sandy dirt mixture beside the vehicle. Getting the van from Ohio to the Atlantic Ocean without passing through a checkpoint had been something of a navigational miracle. But after getting word of something she absolutely needed to see, Christina had taken the entire squad van by van for a little beach vacation. Each vehicle had taken a slightly different route, and they were the first ones to arrive.
Doug handed her a pair of binoculars. "How was my driving?"
She took the device and pressed it to her eyes. "Inconspicuous. Perfect for the occasion. Remind me to call the number on the back of your van so I can leave a review."
She focused her eyes through the lenses and could see the edge of the base farther down the coast. She could barely make out some kind of ship docked there, but they didn't have a good enough angle for her to see it better.
She pulled off the binoculars. "Let's go up that hill. I think we can get a better view from there."
A couple of other vans had arrived by then, including one or two with the massive rhinos that her brother had left them with. She was glad she didn't draw the short end of the stick in having to sit next to one of them.
Doug walked beside her as they trudged up the sandy hill. "If your brother actually wins this war-"
"Helps to win this war. We're all fighting just the same as him."
Doug smiled. "Helps to win this war. If we win, do you think things will ever go back to normal?"
Christina shook her head. "If hundreds of thousands of people got taken over in all of this, then who knows what'll happen. Maybe in the end, we'll get a free year of school out of it."
Doug laughed. "You're saying there could be an upside?"
She patted her friend on the back. "You should realize this about us Finleys, we're really into seeing the silver lining." She pointed to the top of the hill. "Let's hope there's a silver lining at the base."
When they reached the summit, Christina looked through the binoculars once again. She had a much better view of things this time, and could see that it wasn't just a ship. It was an aircraft carrier.
Doug took a look as well. "Could that be your brother's ship?"
"No. We'd hear something on the radio about that. Speaking of radio..."
Doug pulled off his backpack and began to set up some audio equipment. Within a few minutes, he had a small satellite dish pointed in the base's direction. After trying a few dozen frequencies, they tapped into the feed of the base.
"We'll work our way down the coast and then head west. Is everything a go for Operation Cockroach?"
Christina scrunched up her nose and put her eyes to the binoculars once more. Upon further inspection, she saw that the aircraft carrier was holding more than dark souls. There were planes onboard. Dozens and dozens of planes.
Doug scratched his head. "What's Operation Cockroach?"
Christina's heart rate increased. "Cockroach. They're talking about humans. It's an extermination squad, Doug."
She watched the realization slowly sink in on Doug's face. "You mean—"
"I mean that those planes are going to head west across the entire country. They're going to take out every last human settlement. Unless we can do something about it." She stowed the binoculars in her satchel. "I hate that I have to say this, but we could really use my little brother right about now."
25
Ted took a second to adjust to his new surroundings. He was no longer next to a hospital bed on an aircraft carrier cruising through the Atlantic. He was in a classroom. From the looks of it, it was his old sixth period study hall from junior year. He looked down at his dorky polo shirt and baggy jeans and reached back to feel his hair. It was longer, like it had been before he became a hero.
Isn't this a blast from the past?
He heard a whisper in his direction and turned toward it. Sporting red lipstick and a skirt that was barely to code, Erica leaned in toward him. She had a smile on her face that spoke of youth and lust.
"Hey, Ted."
Ted was so happy to see her alive that he almost forgot where he was. He wished he could forget where he was. "Erica, there isn't much time. I need to ask you—"
"I want you to get a hall pass and meet me in the band room." Her hand lightly brushed his. "I'll see you in five minutes."
Erica got to her feet and seemed to do her best to show off her legs and hips as she strutted out of the room.
Ted tried his best not to be captivated by the mesmerizing beauty before him. He knew that none of it was real, but a return to the idealized past was tempting.
Ted did wait a few minutes before requesting a hall pass of his own. Much like he had two years earlier, Ted nearly ran right into the assistant principal before doubling back and finally reaching the band room.
As he walked in, Erica shut the door and quickly pressed herself up against him.
She smelled fantastic. "I wasn't sure if you'd come. Do I make you nervous?"
Ted did feel the familiar pangs of high school. Everything was just as it had been before the world fell to the General. Before he knew his true responsibilities as the living soul. Before he found out who Erica really was.
Ted attempted to shake himself into reality. "Erica, we shouldn't do this. We've got more pressing matters."
She slowly moved her hand down his shirt and took his fingers in hers. "Come with me."
Ted obliged, and as his heart thumped, they sat down in the same two seats from that fateful day.
Erica grinned. "I'm sorry I've been so distant these last few years. But I realized I don't want to be popular. I just want to be with you."
Ted shut his eyes, as if it would block out all of the emotions he felt from reliving his past. "Erica, I know you're the protector and that I'm the living soul. I know that every passing second brings the General one step closer to taking over Earth." He opened his eyes and looked upon her in all her faux teenage beauty. "And I know that you're dying. Which means that we have a choice to make." His throat started to close up. "I wish we didn't, but there are millions of lives at stake."
Erica continued to give him the eye, as if the words he'd spouted had no meaning. "I know all of that. But the two of us could just stay here. Ever since Jennifer stabbed me, I've been reliving this day over and over again. I thought it was a curse, but maybe it's a blessing." She gripped
his hand tighter. "And now that I know you're here with me, we can stay like this forever."
Ted's mouth formed a smile as he thought of the possibilities. Instead of trying to continue a war that had been going on for 1,000 years, he could live out these incredible moments over and over again. He allowed his hand to stroke hers as he considered this as the only way he could keep her.
"Just the two of us? Together forever?"
She leaned in close to his face. "I'm willing if you are."
As his eyes zeroed in on her ruby red lips, Ted's mind told him the truth of the situation. Those weren't really Erica's lips. It wasn't even really Erica. This was a fantasy she had brought him into. But staying in a fantasy wouldn't save the world. It wasn't yet time for happiness.
For either of them.
Ted pulled his hand away and pressed Erica's shoulders back. "You know, when you told me what you were, I had no idea if you were good or bad. I had no idea if you wanted to help me or kill me."
Erica let the act slip a bit. "I didn't know either. You looked like William. I thought that you might be another killer like Adam or something worse."
Ted rubbed at the back of his neck. "Looks like the way things turned out, neither of us was perfect at being good."
Erica let out a little laugh. "Seems that way."
Ted looked her straight in the eyes. "I'm sorry, but I can't stay in the fantasy."
"I know."
"And I think that means I have to let your body die. I have to take you off life support."
Erica nodded. "I know."
Ted raised his eyebrows. "Unless you have a good reason for staying."
She took his hand once again, but this time it wasn't as a seducer. It was as an equal.
"I have plenty of good reasons, but they aren't good enough." She smiled to herself. "I try never to get my hopes up too much with each life. But I think this was a good one."
Ted held his breath. "Do you think you'll be able to come back?"