The Arliss

by Ann Bakshis

  “I don’t believe you,” I say, pulling my arm back.

  “Why not?” he asks, sounding a little upset.

  “Because of what Jules said to me… he said I earned it. I earned the right to kill Wavern.”

  “What’s wrong with him saying that?”

  “It’s the way he said it,” I say as I focus back on the road and adjust the sling on my shoulder since it’s slipped down.

  “What aren’t you telling me?” Grimm asks, irritated.

  “Nothing, just forget I asked.”

  I lean my head back against the doorframe and try to hide the tears that are filling my eyes.

  “Jules told us that Wavern had been hurting you for years, violently at times,” Grimm admits after quite a bit of time has passed.

  “How’d he find out?” I ask, swallowing my emotions.

  “He caught Wavern beating you a few years ago, around the time you began seeing Keegan. Your injuries were pretty severe, from what he told us. Jules threatened to go to Andra with what he saw if Wavern didn’t back down and leave you alone, but Wavern didn’t. When Jules caught him again, he had to break Wavern’s arm to get him to stop. Andra got involved and the beatings ended,” Grimm says. “That’s what Jules told us, anyway.”

  If only it were that easy, I think to myself.

  The memory of those two particularly violent incidents had hidden themselves very well but they finally reach out from the recesses of my mind. But there are plenty more in between where Wavern didn’t hurt me as badly. He pounded on me as often as he could when he discovered I’d started seeing Keegan. I never knew why he reacted in such a way, so at the time I just chalked it up to stress, but now I know the real reason. He would’ve seen it as a betrayal, though my memories were altered by that time, so I still have little recollection of our sick relationship. I vaguely remember Jules walking in on us, him having to pull Wavern off me, and then taking me to the medical ward to be stitched up. He gave Nex the excuse that I’d fallen down the stairs. Since the sharp, grated metal covers the compound floor everywhere, it was believable, and so she bought it. Or at least she pretended to. I’m sure she suspected what had actually happened, but because of her position she couldn’t disclose anything.

  Maybe that’s why I took to Keegan so readily. I saw him as a protector, someone who would stand up to anyone trying to hurt me. I’m kind of surprised I managed to block such horrid memories, but with the Arliss wiping them out earlier I’m glad they didn’t resurface until now.

  We pull into the garage and I get out while he parks, wanting to walk back to the compound alone, but Grimm hurries to catch up. He doesn’t say anything, though the expression on his face tells me differently. When we get to the fork I go left, towards the medical ward.

  “Why are you going that way?” Grimm asks.

  “I need some pain medication,” I say, and I gesture to my right arm.

  He doesn’t say anything as I keep walking, but I sense him watching. When I know he can no longer see me, I place a couple of cameras along the tunnel as I go as well as under the counter to the front desk Nex is standing at when I enter. She looks like how I feel: horrible.

  “Ready?” she asks.

  “Is he awake?”

  “No, but I can have him woken up if you want.”

  I nod my head, so she calls Macom to meet us in the second isolation room. I’m surprised she wants a witness to what we’re about to do, but I’m sure she has her reasons. Macom pulls the curtain and door closed before stepping over to Cody’s side. I spot restraints on his wrists and ankles, anchored directly to the floor and not the bed.

  “Remember what we discussed, Macom,” Nex says sternly. “This is for the safety of everyone.”

  “I understand,” she says confidently.

  “Wake him,” Nex orders.

  Macom takes the injector she brought in with her and injects something into Cody’s neck. His eyelids flicker before finally opening. He looks dazed as he glances around the room, noticing all our faces, but focusing on mine when he comes across it.

  “Hello, Sara,” he says darkly. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?”

  I pull the knife from my waistband, gripping it tightly in front of me. “I have some questions for you,” I say coolly.

  “And is that little toy of yours supposed to intimidate me into answering?” he asks, glowering.

  “No. It’s purely for my amusement,” I say, and I step towards the head of his bed.

  Macom and Nex back away, but remain close enough in case I may need them.

  “You can’t kill me, you know,” the Arliss says, gritting his teeth.

  “Perhaps, but I can kill Cody,” I reply, placing the blade against his cheek. “Which will send you back to the plateau. And without me there, you’ll never find a viable host that’ll allow you to resurface.”

  “I have my followers,” he says. “They’ll provide for me.”

  I slash him across the face, but it’s not a deep cut. “And who would those be?”

  “You already know,” he utters.

  “Casey and Wavern, correct?” I ask, and I take his hand and turn it until it’s palm up as best I can before driving the knife into his wrist and cutting vertically.

  He screams as blood soaks the sheets. I glance up and notice that Macom looks to be on the verge of collapse, so Nex hurries over and escorts her to the bathroom at the back of the room.

  “Bitch!” he hollers, spit flying from his mouth. “You’re going to pay for this.”

  “I already did,” I say as I nick his neck.

  “Where’s Wavern? There’s no way in hell he’d allow you to do this to me.”

  “He won’t be joining us, considering he died several hours ago,” I say, smiling. “Oh, and so did Casey.”

  Cody’s eyes grow wide. “How’s that possible?” he asks, startled.

  I lean forward so our faces are close. “Wavern fucked with the wrong girl,” I say, then plunge the knife into his chest.

  The Arliss gurgles as blood flows down his lips, followed by his head lolling to the side and Cody’s life expiring. I wipe the blood from the weapon onto my shirt just as Nex and Macom return.

  “I’ll take care of the body,” Nex says. “Give Macom your clothes and I’ll have you return to your quarters in hospital scrubs.”

  “What are you going to do with them?”

  “The same thing I’ll do with the body… burn them,” Nex says before opening the door and stepping out.

  Macom goes into the cabinet along the wall and hands me the scrubs. I quickly change, hand her my blood-spattered clothes after removing the few remaining cameras I have in the pocket, and tuck the bloody knife into my boot. Before going back to my quarters, I place the remaining cameras around the rest of the medical ward, making sure to leave one in Cody’s room. I automatically go to the scanner before I remember they’d deactivated it, but am surprised to discover that my access has been reactivated. I guess killing my former leader proves I’m a trustworthy enough person now.

  When I’m back in the apartment I wash the weapon in the bathroom sink, take a quick shower, and put on something to sleep in. I’m in the process of turning off the lights when Keegan comes in and rushes up to me, pulling me to his chest.

  “How do you feel?” he asks as he rocks me.

  “Vindicated,” I reply.

  He kisses the top of my head and squeezes me hard.

  “Cody’s dead,” I mumble. “I killed him.”

  Keegan pulls away, but keeps holding onto my arms. “The Arliss has been sent back to the plateau?” he asks with glee.

  I nod.

  Keegan kisses me as he directs me towards the bedroom, stripping our clothes off as we go. Every touch of his skin against mine feels like a match trying to light, and when it does there’s no stopping the inferno.

  “All available personnel, please report to the medical ward,” Andra’s voice rings out, waking us up. “This is
not a drill. All available personnel report to the medical ward immediately.”

  “What time is it?” I ask as Keegan and I throw on some clothes.

  He runs into the living room. “Just after five in the morning,” he calls out.

  We head into the hallway, red lights flashing all around us. When we reach the top level, the entire floor is filled with smoke that fans embedded into the ceiling are venting out. The smell of charred flesh is heavy and gives me an instant headache. We push our way through the crowd and stop when we notice the smoke-covered dividing wall. The coat of grit from the smoke is so thick we can’t see to the other side. I wouldn’t have thought that Nex would burn Cody’s body right here in the ward. Why would she do something so stupid?

  “Open the door!” someone shouts. “The fire should be out now.”

  Keegan places his hand on the scanner and the wall opens. Clouds of smoke and ash rush towards us as we slowly make our way into the remains of the isolation section of the medical ward. I’m forced to cover my nose with my shirt so I can breathe, as the smell of burnt meat is overwhelming. The vents in the ceiling are turned up to full power to try to clear the lingering smoke. When it begins to subside, we see that the room Cody was in is nothing but melted glass, cinders, and a charcoal-black body lying on what remains of the bed. As I stumble around I notice that nothing is wet, even though each compartment has a series of sprinklers to keep any fire from consuming the entire compound.

  “Why didn’t the sprinklers go off?” someone behind me asks as more people filter into the ward.

  “Better question for you,” Keegan begins, “why are the hazmat doors closed?” He points to the sealed heavy metal door, which had been closed on Wavern and me upon my return from Lymont.

  “They should’ve remained open,” someone comments, “to allow escape.”

  “Over here,” another person chimes in over by the nurses’ station.

  I run towards it and scream when I see what the discovery is.

  Two more burnt bodies lie among the ruins, and I know immediately they’re Nex and Macom.

  “Stop her!” someone shouts as Brea bolts into the room.

  I grab her just as she sees the remains, and her shriek almost shatters my eardrums. Jules takes her from me and has to drag her from the scene.

  “I need everyone except the squad leaders to return to their quarters immediately,” Andra says as she enters. “As of right now, this compound is on lockdown.”

  Keegan and I go back to our apartment as instructed, but it’s not long until Jules comes to collect Keegan to assist with damage assessment and cleanup.

  “Do they know how the fire started yet?” I ask, even though I assume it’s too soon.

  “No, but Andra is having us work on that as well while Squad Two removes the remains. The bodies will be transported to Quarn for examination. Grimm has taken lead on that,” Jules replies. “Everyone else is confined to the barracks with the exception of Squads Nine and Ten, as they’re still at the Factory, and Squad Three since they’re handling the control center and lookouts for the day.”

  “I’ll see you later, babe,” Keegan says before kissing me and leaving with Jules.

  I’m rattled by how Nex allowed that fire to get so out of control, but there’s something bothering me about the whole thing. I go into the bedroom and remove the tablet from the pack, turning it on as I return to the living room and sit on the couch. The device automatically links to the additional cameras I spread throughout, but the ones for the medical ward are showing nothing but static. I spot a tab at the top of the images that appears to hold recordings of whatever the cameras picked up when the tablet was off. I tap on it and select the ones for the medical ward, but nothing shows; it’s still only static. Those cameras should’ve at least picked up something, like me leaving the ward after placing them, but there isn’t anything on here.

  I check the recordings of the other cameras just before the fire, in case there was an issue with the entire connection, but they were all functioning normally. I tap on the camera for the tunnel between the medical ward and the barracks. I can’t see what’s happening inside the isolation section, only that it suddenly fills with smoke followed by a bright red flash as fire engulfs everything at once. I switch to the one I placed by the heavy metal door leading into isolation. It captures the door descending, but I can’t see what’s happening on the other side before being blocked off completely. I return to the live feed but the majority of the rooms are empty, with the exception of the control center since that still needs to function like normal.

  I go back to the camera in the tunnel between the ward and barracks, but I turn time back to the moment the recordings started. When I select play I spot Nex going into the medical ward with several old texts in her hands nearly an hour after I put the camera into position. I pause the video and zoom in, noticing that the texts appear to be extremely old. It makes me wonder if these are the ones her grandmother used to bring the Arliss back to life. Why would she have them, and what’s she going to do with them? I hit play and the video continues, but since I didn’t have any cameras in the isolation section at the time I lose what she did with them when the divider closes. I wonder if they’re still in the medical ward, or if they’ve been burnt to ash like everything else.

  “Hello, Sara,” a familiar voice says behind me.

  I freeze in my seat, too terrified to move. Fingers brush the back of my neck, causing me to shiver.

  “Oh, how I’ve missed you,” he says, his hot breath touching my ear. “Where’s your husband?”

  “Why do you want to know?” I ask as my throat tenses up.

  “Because I need to know if I’m going to be interrupted or not.”

  “He’ll be back in a few minutes,” I answer hastily.

  “You’re such a horrible liar. That’s something we’ll need to work on… together.”

  I close my eyes and hope I’m hallucinating, but when I open them Wavern is standing in front of me. He places a hand under my chin, lifting my face up to meet his.

  “You don’t look happy to see me,” he says.

  “How…how are you alive?”

  “A dear friend of ours made sure my death looked real enough to fool everyone.”

  “That’s not possible,” I mumble, and start to shake.

  “Anything is possible if you know the right people, and the right words. I assure you I was well protected from any actual harm.”

  “It was Nex, wasn’t it? She used those texts of hers, didn’t she?”

  Wavern kneels in front of me. “And all it cost her was her life,” he replies. “Such a waste of course, but she chose to save me and I did thank her for that. She didn’t appreciate the gesture, though, so I made her suffer before incinerating her and Macom.”

  “How did she interpret the antiquated symbols? Her grandmother fucked those up, so how is she possibly an expert?”

  “She had the Arliss translate it all. It’s amazing what you can do to someone when they’re under the influence of the right combination of drugs,” he says, sliding his hands up my thighs. “He had no idea what was happening to him. The amount of information those texts contained was insurmountable.”

  “Where are they now?”

  He taps his head. “In here, where no one else can obtain the knowledge—not even you.”

  “Where’s the Arliss?”

  “Trapped in hell where he belongs.”

  “He’s dead?”

  “Yes and no,” Wavern says with a grin. “You see, Nex could only do so much with those texts of hers to assist in my survival. I needed the Arliss for the rest, and you provided him to me as planned.” Wavern puts a hand to my cheek. “He’s a part of me now, and gave me abilities I didn’t think were possible. I can’t wait to show you what I can do.”

  “What do you want with me?” I ask, trying to hold back the tears that are desperately trying to spring forth.

  “All in good time,” he sa
ys before leaning forward and kissing me, practically forcing his tongue down my throat. “But for now, I’ve other things to take care of.” He snaps his fingers and vanishes.

  I sit immobilized for a few minutes as I try to comprehend what just happened, but my mind can’t process it all. How could Nex do this? I thought she hated Wavern as much as I did, so she must have just been pretending. I bet she told me all those things to get me to turn on Wavern so I would give him away. It was probably all planned like this from the beginning. What could the Arliss do that Wavern now has control over? Is there anything Keegan or I can do as a Pheles to stop him?

  I toss the tablet aside and head into the hallway to call Andra from the communicator, but after several minutes she still doesn’t answer. I dread the worst, so I head up to her apartment and pound on the door. Still no answer, and when I try the doorknob it’s locked. I have to kick in the door, and when I enter I see why she didn’t answer.

  Andra is lying on her back on the floor, her eyes wide open, a look of horror frozen on her face. Wavern twisted Andra’s neck around so she’s facing her back. I rush over to her communicator and select the compound-wide broadcast.

  “Medical emergency in Andra’s apartment!” I holler as loud as possible. “Keegan, get up here!”

  I hear doors fly open from the level below and feet rush up the stairs. A mob of people tries to gain access to the apartment, but I keep them at bay for as long as possible until Jules and Keegan arrive. The squad leaders order everyone back to the barracks so they can properly assess what happened. I’m the only one allowed to remain since I discovered her, but I insist that Keegan stay. I hold his hand tightly as Jules pulls me aside while the others examine and cover the body.

  “What happened?” he asks.

  “Wavern… he’s alive,” I say, my voice cracking with fright.

  “Are you kidding me?” Jules asks.

  I shake my head and squeeze Keegan’s hand tighter.

  “How?” Jules asks.