Idiosyncratic

  Silly, silly girl, you’re a coward.

  “A goodbye? But I told you I’d return, dollface.”

  “I’ve heard that before, and they never did. I can’t tell when people lie to me, No’ll. My best friend took my rations and led me into rooms with girls who hit me just to see what bruises looked like. The whole time she told me this was what friends did. When my mother was signing me over to the Orphanage, she told me it was the best place for a defect like me. I could go on and on.”

  “I know you could, and I want you to tell me, but not like this. Not when you are trying to punish yourself.”

  “I love you, No’ll.”

  My words shocked me just as much him. His gaze turned sharp and focused, but then it melted. There was a sorrow in his features.

  “It’s okay, Les’ette. You don’t have to love me back. I know my letter...” He searched for words, shaking his head softly. “I know a boy confessing his feelings to a girl is no longer a simple thing. This world has no room for romance. In fact, it tries hard to rip apart any form of the word love. You and I are not a love story.”

  “No’ll—” My voice caught in my throat.

  “Our world isn’t simple, so we both know that love isn’t simple. My mother loved me, but it didn’t stop her from selling her children to pay her debts. My brother loved me, but then he left with the Astronauts. They loved me, but not enough to stop them from departing with only a goodbye.”

  “Who’s punishing whom now?” I asked.

  He chuckled.

  “Goodbye,” he whispered. “How I hate that word.”

  “Goodbye?”

  His expression turned fierce. His carob-colored eyes ignited brightly against the ebony of his skin.

  “Goodbye doesn’t exist concerning us,” No’ll declared. “We are not a love story, because classifying what’s between us so simply means our love is simple. It means it will eventually not be enough, and dollface, that just isn’t true. I know you’re afraid because you haven’t been loved enough, but I will always fight for you. I want you to say you love me because you do, not because you feel obligated to. You have me at your side either way, so please don’t tell me what you know I want to hear.”

  I hadn’t realized No’ll had any insecurities, but it was suddenly displayed right in front of me. As much as he seemed to read my mind, seemed to know almost everything about me, he wasn’t quite sure how accurate he was.

  “I know I was selfish, keeping everything inside and pushing away the people who truly mattered. I’m so sorry. But, No’ll, you know better than anyone how I feel about you.”

  “When I read you, it’s clouded by my own inclinations.” He pressed his palms against the tank, his eyes staring into mine with pleading honesty. “What do I look like through your eyes? What do you see when you look into mine?”

  As I planted my palms against his, I knew he loved me and I loved him. But with the roughly five centimeters of glass separating us, I knew he was right. It wasn’t that simple.

  “No’ll...” I pressed my forehead against the wall, staring straight at him. “I see my warrior. I see the person I want fighting next to me.”

  No’ll lowered his forehead also, and I closed my eyes, trying to feel any fragment of him through the barrier dividing us.

  “Well, good to know saving you wasn’t a total waste of supplies,” Dr. Upton said sarcastically.

  I turned. He was leaning against a tank around the corner, visible through the transparent walls. I scrambled up while stuffing the trinkets into my pocket as Dr. Upton strolled over to us.

  “Umm...” My cheeks felt flushed. “How long have you been standing there?”

  “Probably longer than you would like.”

  I squirmed.

  “Well, I’m happy the trainee is awake.” Dr. Upton glared at No’ll. “Now you can explain why you were on that ship.”

  |Twenty Seven|

  “I HAD A PROMISE TO keep,” No’ll said, staring at me.

  “How sweet. A lovesick boy risking the jeopardy of an entire secret operation for his darling,” Dr. Upton said, unimpressed.

  No’ll struggled to get to his feet, balancing himself against the wall to meet Dr. Upton face to face.

  “My direct superior approved my presence aboard the Comet Shuttle,” No’ll said.

  “Your direct superior being the chap who died getting you here?”

  “Or’sen is dead?”

  “Yes, exposed too heavily to SV.”

  “No,” No’ll gasped, fisting his hands. “I thought I activated his emergency filter in time.”

  “Well, then, I guess you’re not a complete foolish liability. You kept him alive long enough for him to give me this.”

  Dr. Upton pulled a light bulb from his lab coat. The small luminary was similar to the dozens I’d delivered. He unscrewed the metal base, revealing a data carousel.

  “What’s on it?” I asked.

  Dr. Upton pinched the little black drive between his fingertips, holding it up with the one smile that didn’t make him look like a madman. “Everything,” he said, and then narrowed his eyes at No’ll. “You’re going to have to start pulling your weight, Liability. Do you trust me?”

  “Not particularly.”

  “Ha!” Dr. Upton’s smile turned crazed again. “You’re a clever chap, Liability.”

  “My name is No’ll, by the way.”

  “Liability, there is an air tank stored under your bed. Put it on before it’s too late,” Dr. Upton ordered.

  “What?” No’ll asked skeptically.

  Dr. Upton pulled out his key, slid it into the slot, and turned it. No’ll rushed back over to the bed, flopping clumsily onto the ground.

  “You’re a loon,” he said, wrenching out the air tank.

  “I prefer mad scientist.”

  No’ll quickly secured the gas mask on his face, tucking the tank under his arm. The vents erupted from above as the door slid open.

  No’ll marched up to me. He lingered just a few centimeters away with no boundary between us. We both hesitated, staring at each other. I reached out, gripping his fingers, and he gave my hand a squeeze with a wink. He didn’t let me go, or I him.

  Alarms started to sound all around us. Dr. Upton pulled out his voltage gauge. Its face faded and was replaced with flashing images of Watchmen stomping down hallways and into bedrooms. Dr. Upton grumbled under his breath as he pulled up a display of the perimeter.

  “We’re being invaded,” I breathed.

  “This is your fault, Liability. Yours and your friend.”

  “I thought Or’sen lost them.”

  “Who?” I asked.

  “Repurposed European Federation,” No’ll rumbled.

  “The REF has had a secret presence here for a couple of years under the guise of Emerald Pride. Spies in the NNAF must know about me,” Dr. Upton huffed.

  “Or spies among the Astronauts,” No’ll added.

  “I don’t doubt there are multiples in both.”

  “What was on that data carousel?” I asked.

  “An algorithm to help the body with reintroduction to SV,” No’ll answered. “They didn’t have the ability to test it beyond computerized simulations.”

  “It didn’t work at first,” Dr. Upton said, “but with a few modification—”

  “It works,” Eye’vee said, marching up to us. The top half of her face was pricked with the tips of emerald scales, and a green sheen shimmered across her pale skin. She was the human version of the woman from the photograph.

  Even with all the chaos echoing around us, ricochets of explosions and aftershocks rumbling the walls, Dr. Upton was beaming brightly. There was no hint of that mad scientist, only a hopeful one.

  Eye’vee gripped Dr. Upton’s shoulder with one hand and settled her other on his cheek. Happy tears sprang to his eyes. “They researched the way defects process SV to help them develop the algorithm,” he said.

  “Why defects?” I asked.

/>   “Black genetic makeup is the closest to the untainted human genome,” Dr. Upton explained. “That’s why you can’t access the Idiosyncratic frequency, because humans are not supposed to.”

  “So could I cross borders without side effects?”

  “Theoretically you should survive the withdrawal, but I don’t know about reintroduction,” Dr. Upton said, but he quickly added, “although now that won’t be a problem with my new formula.”

  “I knew from the day you saved me from SV poisoning that you would find a way to help me cross the border again. I had so much trust in you,” Eye’vee said, kissing his cheek.

  “That’s why you married me,” he said.

  Eye’vee nodded, pulling away with a smile. “And that’s why you married me.”

  “Hate to interrupt this darling scene, but we need to go now,” No’ll said.

  “Liability is right,” Dr. Upton agreed.

  Eye’vee laughed and gripped Dr. Upton’s lab coat, pulling him closer to her.

  “No, we don’t,” she countered, pulling out a transporter ray gun and Dr. Upton’s dagger. Her laugh filled with a hysteria that bordered on lunacy. She clicked the button to the dagger’s battery pack, making the blade hiss with heat. “Now, dearest, don’t make me hurt anyone.”

  |Twenty Eight|

  “FOR FOUR YEARS I WAITED in that barricade, knowing you’d figure it out,” Eye’vee laughed, waving the barrel at Dr. Upton.

  “You’re the reason they’re here?” Dr. Upton asked. The words seemed to fall from his mouth. He couldn’t believe them himself. He yanked his coat out of her grip, stumbling away.

  “It wasn’t all lies, dearest,” Eye’vee said, tiptoeing her way up to him. It was when she did a single twirl right before she planted her palm on Dr. Upton’s chest that I realized she’d surpassed all the forms of madness I’d been exposed to. She was the craziest of them all. “There don’t have to be any lies, really. Not if you come with me.”

  “Eye’vee, what is going on? We did this to help people.”

  “No, we didn’t. Stop lying to your little friends, dearest. It’s unbecoming.” Her voice was smooth and giddy.

  No’ll and I exchanged glances. My own worry reflected back at me from his expression.

  “I’m not,” Dr. Upton fired back.

  Eye’vee laughed harder, gripping his shirt when he tried to back away. “Oh, I see. So you’re lying to yourself now.”

  Had everything been an act with her, all in order to gain what she desired?

  “I took this assignment—”

  “For the glory! The challenge! You knew the eyes of history would be watching you, lavishing you with praise when you succeeded.”

  “At first, yes, but...”

  “We both know your moral compass tilts slightly off center, and that’s what sparks revolutions. That’s why we needed to be here when you triumphed, because we can’t let a revolution happen. The REF will unite everyone under the Federation.” Eye’vee’s voice grew louder with her monologue. “We will make all the Astronauts Idiosyncratic again and stomp out the Humanoid Confederacy that is rising against it. We will all be one people. Only the best people will survive.”

  “The Humanoid Confederacy is a part of the Federation, because Serum Verlin isn't working anymore. Listen to yourself, Eye’vee. That line of thinking was what sparked the plague. That was the reason why there is a Federation to begin with. Everything went so horribly. So horribly that it all fell apart and into place.”

  Eye’vee’s eyes grew wide as she pursed her lips.

  “When did your shriveled heart grow inside that twisted cavity? Weren’t you the one who told me it’s the monsters that do what the world needs?”

  “I don’t know anymore, but what I do know is my madness needs to end.”

  Her face froze with a massive fake smile and wide, crazed eyes. Clearly, she hadn’t been expecting Dr. Upton’s resistance.

  “Chaos is everywhere,” No’ll whispered.

  “Chaos, yes,” said Dr. Upton. “I fell deeper into the chaos. This world is nothing but chaos, and I added to it. I became it. And I can’t...I can’t do it anymore.”

  Her expression darkened as a single eyebrow lifted.

  “You might not know, but I do,” Eye’vee said. “I saw how much you needed her, and she you. The niece you were so fond of got into your head. Dearest, don’t be daft like her. Can’t you see we are trying to organize the chaos?”

  I...he... Oh’pol’s last words echoed in my mind. Eye’vee!

  “You’re the reason Oh’pol...” Dr. Upton’s words fell cold as he stared at her, aghast. His face fell into his hands as silent shudders rocked his body.

  “She would have turned you against me before you completed your life’s work. She needed to be quieted. I didn’t expect her to die.”

  The how was unknown to me, being that she was locked in her tank, but just from this little conversation, I knew Eye’vee was an intelligent and resourceful woman. Had she hacked the computer from her tank? Had she escaped somehow in her HAZMAT suit? I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to know the specifics. All I knew was I didn’t doubt for a moment that she could get the mission done.

  My heart shuddered in my chest, and if it hadn’t been for No’ll’s arm wrapped around my shoulders, I would have lost it. He was the sturdy piece of sanity I needed to lean against.

  Dr. Upton started to cackle in a way that made my stomach churn. It was a slow and eerie crow that made it seem like he’d lost touch with his own soundness. His head flew backward, mirroring the roar he’d emitted over the cookie dough Oh’pol poisoned. Agony and triumph. Was Oh’pol his support for such soundness? And now that she was gone...

  When he padded forward toward Eye’vee, No’ll’s grip tightened against my shoulder. Dr. Upton wrapped his arms around her, leaning in as if to kiss her. Was he reaching for the scissors to clip the string that kept him tethered to reality?

  “I guess now I deserve to choke on the feast I helped create,” he said, and then shouted over his shoulder, “Vlady’mir! To the ocean!”

  “What?” Eye’vee asked, turning in the direction Dr. Upton had yelled. He tossed the data carousel and his gauge at me as he gripped her gun. I caught the drive, and right before the gauge smashed against the iron floor Vlady’mir caught it in his mouth.

  Dr. Upton tackled Eye’vee to the ground as they both struggled for possession of the weapon. I realized that his roar, from the cookie dough to Eye’vee’s face, wasn’t that of a madman dangling from a thin thread, but a rational scientist trying to break free.

  “Follow Vlady’mir!” Dr. Upton screamed.

  |Twenty nine|

  NO’LL GRABBED MY HAND and tugged me with him. We ran down the hallway, chasing after Vlady’mir. He bounced to the elevator, flipping against the key slot. I dug into my pocket and pulled out Oh’pol’s key. My hand shook as I missed the hole twice before sinking it in and twisting.

  Dr. Upton cried out. I turned around the second Eye’vee expertly disarmed Dr. Upton with the hilt of the dagger. She scooped up the transport ray gun and aimed it at him. My breath caught in my throat. I couldn’t take my eyes off Dr. Upton as Eye’vee pulled the trigger. No’ll yanked me into the elevator as Dr. Upton burst into a million particles.

  Eye’vee pointed the barrel at us as the door began to close. She raced for the elevator. We ducked behind the control panel, hearing rays twang off the iron. Vlady’mir jumped against the -3 button, yanking us further down.

  “He’s not dead, Les’ette,” No’ll said, leaning so close to me that he knocked my forehead with his gasmask.

  I looked into his eyes and replied, “He’s too brilliant to get himself killed.”

  No’ll slouched against the iron rods and me. His face was beaded with sweat. I pressed my hand against his chest, feeling his heart thud erratically against my fingertips.

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  He nodded, peering down at my fingers. They were t
wisted with his and the data carousel. I shifted it out of our hands, stashing it in my pocket.

  “I knew being with you would put me at risk, but an army?” No’ll teased.

  I scowled at him, but my eyes lingered on his bare ear. They lowered to his chest, which was covered by the thin, rough fabric of his jumpsuit.

  “You don’t have your astronaut suit. What’s going to happen?”

  “I have time before the chemical will seep in through my skin,” he said.

  “How much time?”

  His grip tightened around my fingers as he pressed them against the side of his gasmask.

  “Enough.” He looked into my eyes, giving me a wink.

  I gave him a soft smile and then turned to the maniac bunny. Vlady’mir growled at me, revealing fangs that trapped Dr. Upton’s gauge.

  “So, Vlady’mir, where are we headed?” I asked.

  He must have been excited, because he hopped up and down, swinging his claws around, and not even a menacing growl boomed out of him. Vlady’mir deposited the gauge at my feet, soaking the tips of my shoes with his saliva.

  I picked up the iron gauge and began flipping through the displays. When it showed images near elevator doors I paid closer attention. No’ll leaned into me, the hiss of the air pumping into his mask rumbling into my ear.

  I started to count backward when we reached the first floor of Dr. Upton’s house. I swiped the screen three times and hoped that what displayed back at me was the door to the -3 level, which was clear.

  When the doors opened, Vlady’mir flew out. I grabbed No’ll, pulling him along with me. Pipe work was everywhere. Gears and knobs jutted out all around. A green steam radiated around our ankles, making me grateful No’ll was wearing thick black boots.

  Vlady’mir led us through a labyrinth, twisting and turning around the pipe work until we reached a dead end. He jumped madly around the closed corridor like a trapped animal...which he sort of was.

  “We need to think of an alternative,” I told No’ll.