by Ann Bakshis
“Hello, Sara,” she says, then grabs my arm and pulls me into the gap between the staircase and the elevator wall.
“How do you know who I am?”
“You’re one of his,” she states. “And so am I.” She pulls up the bracelets on her left arm, revealing the tattoo that I already know is there. She then taps on my left wristband, indicating mine. “This allows us to identify each other.”
“How do you know I have one?”
“Because he told me so,” she says, hissing slightly and sounding like the Arliss. “They’re imprinted on us just before we return.” She rubs her chin before continuing. “We’ve met before, you know. Quite recently, but I’m sure that memory has been blocked like all your other ones.”
“Why do you say that?”
“It’s what happens when you decide to bind yourself to him. Upon your return to the living world, your memories are temporarily blocked. It’s how he’s able to stay inside you, watch you, and control you. Your memories will return when your body has had time to adjust to his presence. Some memories should’ve already surfaced by now.”
“You’re the woman I saw the Arliss take into that room, the one with the mattress.”
“Yes,” she replies, smiling.
“How many of us are there? I’m supposed to find them.”
She caresses my cheek with the back of her hand, which sends chills down my spine. “All in good time, Sara. As for now, enjoy the memorial… as it will be the last one.” She kisses me gently on the lips and leaves.
“Such a sweet girl Casey is, don’t you think?” the Arliss hisses in my ear. “I have such big plans for her… too bad they all involve her dying.”
Six
“Sara.” My name echoes through the aisles as I emerge from the gap. “God damn it, where are you?”
“Right here,” I respond, trying to sound as annoyed as possible. “I stayed on the main floor, just like you directed.” I make sure my comment is filled with sarcasm as I gesture widely with my arms and pretend to take a bow.
“Don’t be such a bitch,” Grimm says, rolling his eyes. “Let’s go, everything is ready.”
We head to the back of the main floor where a pickup counter is located, along with the exit for the Factory. Half of Grimm’s squad is pushing large carts loaded with fireworks out the door and down the path to the hangar, while the others carry the nightmarish items from the party supply section. We turn left at the plaza, but only those with the carts continue. The rest make their way into the parks and begin to set up the decorations as citizens carry tables and chairs from one of the other shops, setting them down on the grassy areas.
“Is that for tomorrow?” I ask as we continue down the path.
“Yes. The compounds are in charge of all arrangements for the memorial. Tomorrow the citizens of Demos will gather in Zone D to celebrate surviving the war while the rest of us have somber ceremonies in the compounds. At night, the fireworks will be set off from two old missile silos in the southern part of the Nove Mountain range. Squads Two and Eight are in charge of those this year.”
“Is Zone D where the parks are?”
I can sense his agitation at my question, but the more questions I ask the more memories begin to surface.
“Yes. Demos is divided into five zones. Zone A and E are where the residential buildings sit. Zone B contains all the government buildings, such as schools, hospitals, and maintenance sheds. Zone C has the Factory and all retail shops. Zone D has the parks and reflecting ponds. As you can see, each zone is separated by the stone roads.” He gestures widely, over-exaggerating his movements.
“I get it,” I snap. “God, you’re irritating as always.”
He stops so abruptly that I almost ram into him. “Are you starting to remember things?” he asks as he turns around and speaks in a tone filled with both joy and concern.
“What do you think?” I ask with such sarcasm that I even feel it’s over the top.
He pulls me into his arms and hugs me so hard I can barely breathe. “Yes! I’m getting my buddy back!”
“Let me go. You stink.”
He laughs as he releases me. “You always thought my pungent aroma was sexy.”
“Maybe in your dreams,” I say.
“That’s my girl,” he says, leaning over and squeezing me one last time.
“Don’t get too excited, it’s coming back very slowly,” I add as he starts to walk again, this time with a slight hop in his step. “I’m probably going to keep bugging you with questions until I fully recover.”
“Keegan can help you with those.”
I snort. “He’s avoiding me and is now staying with the rest of the squad for the moment.”
“Lovers’ quarrel?”
“Hardly. It’s like you said to me yesterday—I’ve changed, and he says he needs time to adjust.”
“That’s bullshit, Sara, and you know it. Keegan has always been there for you, and annoyingly so for most of the time. Sometimes to the point of ridiculousness.”
“How would you know? You’ve only been in Rinku for a few months.”
“I’ve known you since we were little. We were both raised in the abandonment home, in the southern section of the Kai Mountains. That was until Tennison, who was the leader for Virtus, came and recruited me. Once I was all trained up, I made sure to come and see you as much as possible. Then Wavern took you to Rinku unexpectedly, where you met Keegan, so I only saw you periodically when our paths crossed here in Demos.”
“Who lives in the home now?”
“No one. It was where those who survived the war and its fallout were placed. The new leaders didn’t want the survivors polluting the pure air of Demos, which is why we’re the only ones permitted outside in the toxic environment. Over time, our families developed a tolerance for the horrid conditions. Depending on where someone’s ancestors were when the war happened, determined the amount of exposure received and the length of time it would take to cycle through till someone was born healthy in that person’s blood line. Andra is a first-generation survivor as her parents were helping with the completion of the Occyln Ring when the bombs started to fall. They’d just gotten it to complete one full rotation when all hell broke loose. Wavern is the next oldest, but from then on it’s pretty much people in their early forties or younger. Thousands of people never saw the sky again.” Grimm lets silence fall between us, but not for long. “It was a good thing Wavern took you out when he did, otherwise you wouldn’t be here.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The abandonment home was destroyed a few days after you left. Everyone, with the exception of a handful of kids, was killed. Those who survived were found huddled in a partially collapsed dorm room.”
I wonder if Cody was one of them. He’s too young to be a part of the compound, so I’ll have to ask him.
“How was it destroyed?”
“By a bomb, much like the one that fell on Lymont the other day.”
“Does anyone know where it came from?”
“There have been speculations over the years as to who could be responsible, but no one has ever been able to prove it.”
“Who do they think it was?”
He stops, pulls me aside from the group, and answers in a hushed tone. “The one who was supposed to have been defeated by the war. The being responsible for the way our world looks today. The monster who annihilated millions of people. They call him the Arliss.”
Uncontrollable laughter rings in my head. “Oh my, such lies you’ve all been fed. If only he and everyone else knew the truth. And that day is fast approaching.”
My head begins to pound from the noise, so I’m forced to rub my temples to ease the pain. I think Grimm notices my sudden change, but doesn’t ask about it. We rejoin the group just as they’re exiting Demos, into the hangar. The fireworks are loaded into the large transports while Grimm and I jump into the four-seater. We follow the vehicles out of the hangar and back onto the road to
Rinku, but just past the Occlyn Ring one of the transports veers down a road on the right.
“Where are they going?” I ask.
“They’re going to launch site number two. That road leads you to Quarn as well, and that opening there,” he begins as we pass a similar road on our left, “will lead you to what’s left of Virtus.”
We haven’t gone far when the second transport turns right and heads down another road, which Grimm says goes to launch site number one. The squad will spend the remainder of the day organizing and setting up the displays for tomorrow. Once they’re finished, they’ll go back to the city and pick up the rest of the team before heading back to Rinku.
“What was our childhood like in the abandonment home?” I ask when we’re about halfway to the compound.
“Tolerable. There wasn’t much to do, so we pretty much had to come up with ways to entertain ourselves when they weren’t badgering us with military drills, technical training, and survival skills. They started us at an extremely young age, to prepare us for our lives in the compounds. You and I accelerated quickly through the program, even though we’re three years apart. We would turn our lessons into a competition, which is why we get along so well.”
“How old were you when you were recruited by Tennison?”
“Eighteen—the standard age.”
“So you’d been in Virtus only a short time when Wavern came and collected me.”
“Yes.”
“Do you know why he took me at fifteen?”
“No, and it’s always been bothering me. I’ve just never been in a position to ask him.”
I decide to stop the questions for the remainder of the ride since my mind is feeling overloaded, so I lean back and close my eyes. They aren’t closed for long when I feel us ascend. It didn’t feel like I’d dozed off, but as I open my eyes we pull into the garage for Rinku. Grimm swings the vehicle around in order to park it back on its pad. As he shuts off the engine, I start to unbuckle myself, but stop when I see Keegan standing in the center of the room with his arms folded over his chest. His cheeks are red and I swear I see steam coming out of his ears.
“Hey man,” Grimm says when he spots Keegan. “Everything is just about all set for tomorrow.”
Keegan stomps over to us, and as Grimm turns his back to remove the keys from the ignition Keegan throws him to the cement floor.
“What the hell, Keegan? What’s your problem?” Grimm asks, trying to get back to his feet.
Keegan bends down, grabs Grimm by the collar, and punches him hard. I finally manage to unbuckle myself just as two men working on a couple of the transports rush over and pull Keegan off Grimm. The men struggle to keep Keegan back.
“Where’d you take her?” Keegan demands, spit flying.
“Who? Sara?” Grimm asks, clearly puzzled by the question. “We went to Demos, you know that.”
“Why is she with you?” Keegan yells as he continues to try to free himself.
“Andra reassigned her to my squad this morning. Didn’t Wavern tell you?” Grimm asks as he wipes blood from his lip.
“He told me, I just didn’t believe it. I bet that made your day though, didn’t it, Grimm? You’ve always had a thing for my wife, and now that she’s lost her memory you can swoop right in and take her as your own. But you’ve already done that, haven’t you? Giving her that tattoo… marking your territory.”
Grimm gets to his feet. “You’ve lost it, man,” he says, jabbing a finger in Keegan’s face. “Being cooped up in here has made you crazy. Sara loves you, stupid, but with the way you’re acting right now she may not for long.”
This only antagonizes Keegan even more. He breaks free and slams Grimm onto the cement again. The two throw punches, roll around on the floor, and kick each other until Wavern comes running up from the tunnel.
“Enough, both of you,” Wavern says, pulling them apart. “Grimm, go see Brea in the medical ward to get patched up. Keegan, you’re confined to quarters until further notice.” Wavern pauses, still trying to catch his breath. “I thought this was all settled years ago. Knock this shit off, or I’ll move you both to Quarn, where Demmer can deal with your crap.”
Wavern lets Keegan go. He and Grimm leave, but Wavern has one of the mechanics go with them. I’m too stunned to move, so Wavern has to nudge me and gestures for me to follow him back into the tunnel. I’m confused as to what just happened, since I actually don’t remember Keegan ever acting like that before. I begin to have flashes of Keegan and Grimm arguing in the past. Although I can’t recall what they were fighting about, I remember it never got violent. Any torment Keegan directed at Grimm was when we were kids—nothing this bad since we moved to the compounds.
“I didn’t think he was going to take it that badly,” Wavern finally says after we pass the tunnel to the medical ward. He sounds both remorseful and puzzled. “I had my doubts about bringing Grimm into the compound when Virtus was destroyed, but everything had cooled off by then. Keegan and Grimm were actually trying to get along. I just don’t understand what could’ve changed and so quickly.”
This time I think Wavern is talking more to himself than to me, so I keep my mouth shut. I don’t think he heard Keegan’s outburst about Grimm marking his territory, so I’m not going to rehash it for him. Wavern looks like he’s already under enough stress; I don’t want to add to it. He taps my shoulder, having stopped a few paces behind me.
“I’m going to check on Grimm. Dinner is just about ready, so go eat. I’ll be down to your quarters later to check on you.”
Wavern turns around and heads back the way we came before I can respond. I continue to make my way through a very crowded control center as workers change shifts, and head into the mess hall. After grabbing my tray, I find Cody and Jules sitting in the back corner. They gesture for me to join them, and ask how I’m feeling, if I’m starting to remember anything, and what did I do today. I keep the fight between Keegan and Grimm to myself, but divulge most of everything else.
“That was a dark day,” Jules says after I mention the bombing of the abandonment home. “Hundreds of people wiped out in the blink of an eye.”
Cody stays silent, his skin turning pale as Jules continues to talk.
“Whole family lines made extinct. Everyone was shocked when survivors were found,” Jules says before shoveling more food into his mouth. “Cody, weren’t you one of the lucky ones?”
“Yeah,” Cody squeaks out.
“How old were you when it happened?” I ask.
“Nine. I lost my siblings in the attack. Our parents had already been dead for several years from radiation poisoning.”
“Does anyone know why it was bombed?” I ask.
“There has been speculation,” Jules replies. “There are some of those, me included, who think it was done intentionally by the governing body to keep the people in the home from straining the world’s dwindling resources. Others speculate it was the work of the Arliss.”
“I thought he was dead, killed when the rest of humanity was. People still think he exists?” I ask.
“Not anymore,” Cody mumbles.
“Who was the Arliss?” I ask after a few minutes of silence.
“No one really knows,” Cody replies.
Jules snorts. “He was a monster who rose up from a dying world to turn those who’d summoned him into his slaves,” Jules says curtly. “They didn’t exactly get what they bargained for. The Arliss was manipulative, overpowering, cunning, and able to turn whole communities into his captives without lifting a finger. Our leaders just aren’t telling us the full story, because they fear his return. You can’t kill that kind of monster without repercussions,” Jules adds.
Cody grows increasingly pale, shoves his tray aside, and gets up to leave without saying another word. Jules and I stare after him as he disappears into the rec room.
“Poor kid,” Jules says after a few minutes of silence. “He was so young when it happened, and then to have everyone he knew die in Virtu
s…”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Tennison was the only leader who offered to take in the handful of kids who survived the bombing of the abandonment home.”
“Why didn’t the other compounds take any of the survivors?”
“Quarn was suffering from a flu epidemic, so Demmer didn’t want anyone else to get infected. I’m not sure why Andra didn’t want anyone. I do know she was pretty adamant about it, even going against the governing body. She absolutely refused to let any of them into Rinku. However, after the incident in Virtus she didn’t have much of a choice. The leaders said they would replace her with Wavern if she didn’t take half of the survivors.”
My memory of that day slowly returns.
The compound leaders, along with the squad leaders and their highest ranked members, were called to a special session in the meeting hall in Zone B. The governing body, which rules over our entire society, forced Andra to take people from Virtus, under threat of losing her position. I can’t recall why she was so defiant, or even if she actually stated why she refused to take anyone. To this day I believe she holds Wavern responsible for her hand being forced. Maybe that’s why she didn’t put up much of a fight when Wavern bolted out to Lymont to get me. I bet she was hoping none of us would return, which would’ve made her life easier.
“She didn’t speak to any of us for weeks,” I add.
Jules gives me a quizzical look.
“My memories are slowly returning, but there are still major gaps that need filling.”
He smiles, finishes his meal, and tells me he’ll see me later. I take care of my tray and dishes when I’m done a few minutes later. As I pass through the rec room I try to find Cody among the others filing in to play games or watch a movie, but he’s nowhere to be seen. I go back to my suite, exhausted from the day. To my surprise, Keegan is sitting on the couch when I enter. I wasn’t expecting him to be here. I assumed he’d go to the squad’s quarters when Wavern ordered him to leave the garage.
“Have you eaten?” I ask, closing the door behind me.