The Kota

by Sunshine Somerville

  Meadow hesitated a moment more, but then the sirens sounded like they were returning, and she reached for Alex’s hand. She looked at her son and stroked his hair. “Khoale, honey, take this nice lady’s hand.”

  Khoale, holding onto his ball with one arm, shyly reached for Alex’s outstretched hand. Alex smiled and looked in his eyes to make a mind link. Then she faced Meadow and made a mind link with her.

  I’m going on more hope than confidence that this’ll work, she thought. But having mind links will be better than not having them.

  Holding both their hands now, Alex tried to tune out the approaching sirens. She looked Meadow in the eye. “Think of the ranch. Picture it in your mind.”

  Meadow’s eyes shifted away from Alex’s face. “Oh, God. They’re coming!”

  “Meadow! Think of the ranch. Only the ranch!”

  The woman’s eyes flitted back to Alex’s, and Alex closed her eyes to enter her mind. A clear blue sky over an empty field in the distance. A fence with chipped paint dividing a green yard. Ponies swishing their tails and eating grass. A breeze rustles the flowers on the edge of a porch.

  With a rushing, tingling burn, Alex held her concentration and felt the sensation stretch over her entire body and out along her hands to Meadow and Khoale. Then it was gone.

  “Hey, my ball!”

  Alex opened her eyes and found herself standing with Meadow and Khoale on a porch. Khoale’s ball was indeed gone, but otherwise he appeared fine. Meadow gasped in surprise and let go of Alex’s hand. Alex looked off the porch to see a green yard with a fence and ponies eating in a field beyond. Everything was exactly as Alex had seen through Meadow’s mind. It was much warmer here than in Chi, and a warm breeze blew onto the porch and brought the smell of green fields to Alex’s unaccustomed nose.

  She leaned on the porch railing, took off her scarf, and let her hair blow around her cheeks.

  It worked, she thought. I can’t believe it worked!

  Crying and laughing, Meadow knelt and hugged her son. “It’s okay, sweetie. I’ll get you a new ball. We’re okay.” She looked up at Alex. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

  “Thank you too.” Alex smiled.

  The porch’s screen door slapped open as an older woman emerged from the house. “Now who in-” Then she saw Meadow and threw up her arms. “Oh!”

  “Mom!” Meadow turned from Khoale and hugged her mother. She was still crying, and now her mother was too.

  Alex stood by, watching. Her smile slipped as she couldn’t help but wish for her own happy reunion.

  Ryu was stuck in Angeles. A rebel uprising had brought the region’s Elite, Hawk, to the metropolis to sort out the mess. All roads – ground and air – out of the city were closed until the rebels were caught. A week had passed since then, but the rebels had slipped into hiding among the hordes in Angeles. Ryu, having a hand in this, kept to himself and waited out the lockdown like everyone else.

  He wouldn’t be fighting here after all. He feared his involvement with the rebels now made him a target, but so far the patrols had left him alone. The more Ryu heard, the more it sounded like the Dominion had bigger problems. It was rumored that Cruelthor himself was displeased with Hawk’s handling of her region and that this rebel uprising might be the last straw. The citizens, therefore, were willing to wait out the lockdown until their Elite was called to judgment.

  One day as Ryu walked along a crowded pedestrian street, a woman’s voice called after him, “Ryu!”

  He spun and looked up the street. The voice was more familiar than he dared hope, but when he saw the woman he knew his sister immediately. Alex was jumping up and down to see him over the crowds, and her recognizable, golden hair bounced around her face as she jumped.

  “Alex?”

  Once Ryu convinced himself he wasn’t hallucinating, he shoved people aside to reach her. He dropped his bag to catch his petite sister as she jumped to hug him, and he squeezed until she gasped for air. Setting Alex on her feet, Ryu smiled at her.

  Just like that, he thought, I have my sister back.

  He’d pictured finding Alex in a hundred different scenarios, but this one had never entered his imagination. She didn’t look hurt, scared, or anything he’d feared. Alex looked perfectly fine. Her pastel summer clothes were even fashionable, and she blended into the crowd better than Ryu’s worn clothes allowed him to do.

  Ryu almost cried with giddy relief. “Sis, where’ve you been? I’ve been looking all over the Continent for you!”

  Alex smiled up at him just like she always had, blue eyes sparkling. “I’ll explain everything, but let’s get out of the street first. There’s so much to say! I don’t even know where to start!” She looked around the crowded sidewalk for somewhere to go.

  Still bewildered, Ryu picked up his bag, pushed into the crowd, and led his sister to a food stopover. The cool air inside was wonderful compared to the street’s bright sun. Several citizens were grabbing a bite inside, but Ryu did a quick scan and guessed these people were harmless. He found a quiet booth by a window and sat facing his sister. Ryu palm-scanned the table’s data screen and ordered from the holo-menu, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Alex.

  She’s healthy, he thought. Clean. Safe. The year that’s passed hasn’t harmed a blond hair on her perfectly brushed head.

  Alex didn’t seem to mind his dirt and grime, and Ryu let her soak in the joy of being reunited. But, he also wanted answers.

  “Okay, sis, start talking.”

  Naturally, the attendant arrived just then and set two orders of crispy junk food between them. Alex smiled at the attendant and then took a few strands of food, nibbling on them absentmindedly.

  “Sis?”

  She swallowed and took a breath. “Ryu, please don’t think I’m crazy. I would, but please don’t you think so. I don’t know where to start. You won’t believe this.”

  Is she seriously worried I won’t believe her? he thought.

  “I promise I won’t think you’re crazy.” Ryu motioned for her to continue.

  Alex tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked out the window at the bustling street. Then, she explained what had happened the night she’d disappeared. She told him every detail she remembered, and her face contorted as she relived the event. Finally, Alex explained how she’d been returned to the field next to their old house. That was a few months ago.

  Ryu sat back in amazement.

  I always assumed she’d been kidnapped, he thought, but being abducted like this is beyond me. Red light force fields, hovering medical tables, strange men speaking another language…

  “And that’s all you remember? You’ve been gone over a year, sis. You don’t know where they took you or what they did to you? Was it the Dominion?”

  Alex showed a bit of her old anxiety as she said, “That’s what really worries me. I don’t know who did this, or why. What if someone is out there, watching and waiting for me to do something that’ll make them come for me again? I haven’t let myself think about that, and I’ve been forcing myself to find you before I start worrying about it.”

  “We’ll find who took you, sis. I’ll-”

  “Ryu,” Alex cut in, “I have no idea who they were.” She looked around and lowered her voice. “Listen to this, though. Whatever they did, my telepathy is far stronger than it was. I hear people’s thoughts without trying. I’ve gotten to the point where I can direct it so it doesn’t overwhelm me. And I can see into people’s memories. When I first got back, I saw in Kali’s memory that you went to El Miret. When I got there – and I’ll explain that in a minute – I went to sparring clubs to find you. I met Lewk, the owner of the Shack. That’s how I knew to come to Angeles, because I saw Lewk’s memory of you telling him you were coming here. As I’ve come west, I’ve sensed you more and more through our mind link.” She took another bite of food to slow herself down. “Remember how I made that mind link with you when we were kids?”

  “Yeah.” He was engrosse
d in her every word now.

  “Well, my mind’s still linked to yours. The other old links I made are gone, but ours is still strong. I used to have a hard time holding links over even short distances, but I’ve felt yours all during my journeys. When I got to Angeles, I occasionally caught a thought from your mind. That’s how I zeroed in on you just now. I have to be close to hear you – it wouldn’t work all the way from home – but once I got to Angeles I didn’t just sense you anymore. I heard your thoughts and knew you were here. Right before I called out to you, I heard you thinking of me.”

  “That’s incredible.” Ryu remembered his food. No longer particularly hungry, he took a handful and ate anyway.

  “There’s more.” Alex leaned forward and locked her eyes on his. Without opening her mouth, she said in his mind, “I’ve learned to guide what people think.”

  Ryu sat back and stared at his sister, wide-eyed. With her words had come the weirdest feeling he’d ever experienced. It was like his thoughts weren’t his own. Alex’s mind-voice in his head had interrupted the flow of all that was his.

  Smiling, Alex nodded at him and let out a short chuckle. “Actually, because we have a mind link, let me try something.” She looked out the window again, not meeting his eyes. In his mind, she asked, “Can you still hear me, Ryu?”

  Ryu nodded as she faced him again. “So we don’t need eye contact for anything? You can talk through our mind link like you can hear through it?”

  “Guess so.” She looked reassured by this.

  We’ll never lose each other again, Ryu thought in relief.

  A man carrying a steaming beverage walked toward the exit behind them, and he glanced at Alex as he approached. Their eyes met as the man walked by the table, and Alex smiled as she apparently read his thoughts. The man left through the door; the telepath chuckled again.

  What happened to her? thought Ryu. She’s been through something unexplainable. She seems to have sorted out what she can, and I guess she’s had time to adjust. She’s definitely excited about her new abilities. I hope I can help her. –Oh, no! Can she hear my thoughts now? I’ve forgotten what it’s like to-

  “Yes, I can, Ryu,” said Alex with a laugh, “but I promise not to probe your mind too often. It wouldn’t be fair. What I used to say about invading minds is still true – it’s dangerous to tamper with other people’s thought processes. I won’t make you think my thoughts too often.” She smiled. “I am excited about what I can do now, but I won’t let it carry me away. I promise. I need you to keep me grounded, now that my head’s so big.”

  Ryu smiled tensely. Then, another question came to mind. “How did you get here? Escaping Malice’s region isn’t easy anymore, for starters. Now you’ve made it all the way to the west coast? Travel is expensive. It took me forever to get here, and I made decent kronar in the sparring clubs. How’d you get here so fast?”

  Alex stopped smiling and made a face. “Whatever those people did to me, it’s nothing I’ve ever heard of. This is the strange part, Ryu.”

  He snorted.

  “No, I mean it. This is really weird.” She took a deep breath. “I can teleport. It scared the crap out of me at first, but I’ve been practicing. I can teleport other people too, if I’m touching them. It’s like… Well, it’s weird. But it makes traveling a lot faster.”

  Ryu shook his head in amazement. “So you just teleported here from home?”

  “No. The first time I did it, I sent myself to El Miret by accident. I can’t teleport to somewhere I’ve never been, so that was as far as I could go. It’s like I have to use my memory of a place to see the place, and then I can teleport. So since I’d never been out of Malice’s region… Well, basically I’ve been hitchhiking through other people’s memories of the places they’ve been. It’s been a long journey.” She sighed, beginning to show how weary she was from her adventures. “Anyway, earlier today I got to the road blocks outside Angeles, and I teleported myself inside the city limits to a place I could see from the road.”

  Shaking his head, Ryu let out a deep, “Hmph.” He didn’t know what else to say – or even think – so he took another mouthful of food. Then he shrugged with a helpless laugh.

  Alex smiled and took a bite. “That’s the point I’ve reached,” she said, mimicking his shrug. Her excitement was wearing off now that they were getting further into what she didn’t know.

  Same old Alex, thought Ryu with a smile.

  She swallowed another bite. “I’ve figured out what I can do, but I don’t know what any of it means. I know you’re amazed that I’ve used my abilities without understanding them first, but I had to survive and find you somehow. Now that I’ve found you, you better believe I’m going to start searching for answers. Who did this to me? How? Why?”

  “Why would anyone do any of this?” Ryu wondered aloud. “Why strengthen your telepathy but then let you go?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Well…” He tried to help. “Are there other telepaths with these abilities?”

  She nodded. “Hearing thoughts, speaking in minds, and even seeing other’s memories are varying skills of telepaths. Some of us don’t need eye contact because of mind links. But I’m not sure if teleporting has anything to do with telepathy. It’s not even like any MOB ability I’ve ever heard of.” She looked around at their neighboring diners and lowered her voice. “Do you still get that tingling feeling?”

  “Yeah. Do you?”

  “Yeah, when I use my telepathy. But it’s different when I teleport. My skin feels warm, like I’m in sunlight, but it’s external and not internal like the telepathy sensation. Teleporting, I think, has something to do with the space dimension. I thought of that last week. I don’t know for sure because no one’s ever been able to control the space dimension. But, when I teleport, there’s a split second when I see red and yellow lights on my body. I must use the space dimension, but I don’t know how it works.”

  Ryu couldn’t get over the possibility of trouble. “Do you think whoever did this to you wants you for something?”

  Alex scowled. “I have to figure it out, Ryu. It’ll drive me crazy if I don’t. Why would anyone do this? I don’t think they meant to hurt me. They wouldn’t have returned me home if that had been their intent.” She rested her elbows on the table and propped her head on her hands, thinking.

  Ryu went over what he’d learned of the world.

  She was gone a year, he thought. She’s missed a lot. Maybe there’s something I’ve seen or learned that can help us… Only one thing comes to mind.

  “Sis, I still think the Dominion had something to do with this. They take people from their homes when they find someone useful. The Dominion said they ceased experimentation with the space dimension because they couldn’t control it, but who knows if they really did? They do other experiments all the time. Here in Angeles, they’ve installed DRK capsules into the drones’ chests that release the virus if the drones are killed. Hawk thought that’d be a good way to deter rebels from killing them. Fortunately I think Cruelthor will make her stop because it’s too dangerous to mess with the DRK. The drones are creepy enough without being virus carriers. I never got too close to them at home, but I’ve seen tons of drones in these bigger cities. Have you had to deal with them?”

  “Yeah. There were a couple guarding the security station at the edge of Angeles. I couldn’t get into their minds because I don’t think they had any. It was eerie. I had to teleport myself into the city because of the lockdown on the roads. Normally, I just fool security guards into letting me enter by giving them whatever password or code they’re thinking of. I’ve seen more and more drones as I’ve come south from home. I hear Cruelthor keeps a good many of them around Capital City.”

  “Yeah.” Ryu shook his head. “The whole thing is just another Dominion method to keep the upper hand. I used to wonder why, after hundreds of years, the rebels haven’t been able to stop the Dominion. But now I’ve seen how strong the tyranny’s power i
s. They control everything, even when it looks like they don’t. Take this rebel uprising in Angeles, for example. You think Cruelthor couldn’t have stopped it if he’d wanted? I think he wanted an excuse to get rid of Hawk. She’ll be stripped of Elite status, from what I’ve heard.”

  “Is that a bad thing? She sounds reckless.”

  “Well, it depends who replaces her.” Ryu shook his head. “We really were isolated at home, and I didn’t know how bad things were until I started searching for you. I’ve been all over the Continent. There are different kinds of bad everywhere, but all bad.” He paused, thinking of the rebel refugees in Angeles he’d helped escape. “I’ve tried to do what I can, but I’m realizing more and more how screwed the rebels are.”

  Alex played with her food. “Ryu, there’s something else.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

  “No it’s nothing more about what’s happened to me.” Alex smiled before growing more serious again. “Back at home, you always said you were sure our lives were meant to be something more. I know I always warned you to be careful, but I think I was wrong. Ever since I’ve gotten back, I’ve met a lot of people. From everything I’ve learned, I honestly believe I’m somehow…different. I think you were right, Ryu. It feels wrong not to do something good with the abilities we’ve been given. I’ve been forced to reevaluate things, and I can’t hide behind my lack of knowledge anymore. I’ve seen enough of the world to know I should help people. I’ve already scanned through your memories – sorry – and I know you’ve tried to help people too. Do you still feel like you did when we were younger? You were the one who always thought we should be…more.”

  It’s always in the back of my mind, thought Ryu. Nothing’s felt as right as when I helped the Bennetts fight those Dominion soldiers. And warning the refugees here in Angeles…

  Alex brushed aside her hair. “I’ve been gone a year, I know, but I don’t think I’m crazy. I can’t explain it, but it’s like I’m missing from something. There’s this pull I feel lately. It’s like what we had when we were younger, but it’s stronger now.” She sighed and rubbed her forehead. “Am I making any sense?”