by Darcy Town
Danny nodded and hopped in the back of the truck. Kennedy leapt in after him. Marx hung around outside. Tasanee eyed the Hunter. “What now?”
Marx moved too fast for her to see. He wrapped her in a hug and kissed her cheek. “Do not forget your worth in your grief. You deserve a place at someone’s side. If not mine, then someone better.” He let her go and jumped into the back of the truck, leaving Tasanee alone and rubbing her face.
***
Rake slept sitting up in his bunk, his feet against the concrete cell wall. A tiny window let in early morning light. His fingers twitched, moving as he dreamed.
Rake fell to the floor with the alien girl. They tumbled across broken furniture in a dilapidated palace. The watchers on hollered at the pair, but Rake paid them no attention. His lips found hers, one hand held onto her head, the other gripped her hip. Animalistic, moving with need rather than desire, the pair was on each other before they hit the floor.
A sigh broke through the cheers. Rake pulled his face away from girl’s neck. The Princess watched them fuck.
Wait, no.
It wasn’t the Princess.
Rake rubbed his eyes and blinked twice.
Lara wore a slinky dress, but not Dead Lara, his Lara. She grinned, her seventeen-year-old face bright and sunny. She stuck her tongue out at him. “Rake!”
Rake blushed and backed away from the girl on the ground. “I wasn’t doing anything!”
Lara jumped on him, laughing, and smiling. Everyone else disappeared and he was left with just him and her. They tumbled through their dream into a field. It was sunny, the grass tall and everything smelled like summer should.
Rake cupped her face in his hands. “What are you doing here?”
Lara kissed his nose. “Saying hello, dumb-dumb.”
Rake lost years until he was seventeen again. “Why now?”
“Why not?” She kissed his cheek. “Can I change out of this dress? It’s not for me.” She waited for him to nod. She snapped her fingers and was in shorts and a tank top. She grinned. “Much better.”
Behind her, a rocket took off on the horizon. Both teens turned to watch it fly towards space. Lara pointed at it. “Rake, you’ve got to go there.”
“I will. We’re going to go together.” His heart soared with each glance at her face. Her skin was soft, warm. He inhaled her; she smelled the same, sweet.
“No.” Lara brushed back his black hair. “Just you, Rake.”
He shook his head. “But you’re my pilot. I can’t go up there alone, I’m just the gunner.”
Lara put a finger to his lips. “You’re the pilot now, Rake.”
“But I can’t go without you.”
“You already have.” Lara pressed him down to the ground and put her head on his shoulder. “You’ve seen it. You’ve been there, flying alone. Remember, Rake. Remember.”
Rake saw in flashes of memory. “No, no!” He screwed his eyes shut. “I don’t want to see this, Lara! You’ll have to leave if I do.”
Lara held him. “I’m already gone, Rake.”
“No!” Rake wrapped his arms around her. “Don’t go, please Lara, don’t leave me!”
Lara kissed his cheek. “I can’t come back. I’ve moved on, changed, but you’ll do fine, Rake.”
Tears streamed down his face. “I haven’t done fine, Lara, and I haven’t been okay. The things I’ve done, Lara, you’d hate me.”
“But I don’t hate you.” Lara hugged him. “I love you, Rake.”
“I let you die!”
“It wasn’t your fault.” She looked into his green eyes. “It’s time for you to realize that.”
“But Dead Lara said—”
Lara put a finger to his lips. “That is not me, and you shouldn’t listen to it, Rake. It does not mean you well. You need to start listening to your instincts, and your feelings, and your Navigator.”
Rake swallowed. “Ravil.”
Lara nodded. “She cares for you.”
“She doesn’t replace you, Lara.” Rake was frantic. “She doesn’t replace you, she never will!”
“Rake.” Lara put her hand on his heart. “Stop being silly.” She kissed him deeply, drawing him to her. “You love—”
“I don’t.” Rake shook his head. “I don’t! I only love you. Please, stay with me, be with me!”
“I am, Rake! I am with you!”
“No, I mean…Please.” He pressed his forehead into her neck, his hands clutched at her shoulders. “Please. I can love you enough. I am strong enough now!”
Lara kissed his nose. “You don’t need to prove anything to me, Rake. I know you.” She sat up, pulling her with him. She rocked him. “Just let things go their course naturally and you’ll see.”
“She’ll never replace you.” He choked on a sob.
Lara exhaled through her nose and held him tightly. “Always stubborn and unwilling.” She smiled. “At least she is as stubborn as you are, she’ll need to be.” Lara nipped his ear. “Be kind to her, Rake, and trust her, not just in Navigating.”
Rake shook his head, unable to let go. “You’re the only one for me.”
Lara lifted his chin. “Then trust me when I say that I want you to be happy. I want you to find love and peace.” She looked up as the sky turned dark and the stars came out. “You go up there and see the stars, like you promised.”
Rake nodded. “I will.”
She kissed his forehead. The stars above their heads caught fire and fell out of the sky. Flames rained down around them. Lara poked his nose. “Live and remember.”
Rake was shaken awake. He jumped and hit his head against the bunk above him. He rubbed his scalp as the dream faded. He touched his face, tears streaked it. He wiped them away and lashed out as a hand grabbed for his wrist.
“Hey! Easy, I’m just bringing you the meal you requested.” A guard held a tray of food, a glass of milk.
Rake smelled spices. His stomach rumbled. “My last meal?”
The guard nodded and placed the tray on his bed. “Gumbo and two percent milk, just like you asked for.” He handed Rake a plastic spoon.
Rake took the tray. “Thanks.”
The man turned and left, locking the door behind him. Rake started in on his soup. He took a bite and shuddered, tears returned. He rubbed his eyes and leaned his head back on the wall. He could still remember Lara’s smell if he tried hard enough.
Rake held the glass of milk with shaking hands. He took a sip and struggled not to weep. The pain felt the same, the aching sense of loss. No matter what she said, or anyone said, he was never going to shake the feeling that he’d let her die. He’d let it happen. He’d failed to keep her alive, because he’d been dying beside her. He closed his eyes. “I should have died too.”
An insistent nagging thought pushed through his sorrow. He was drawn to the here and now. If he didn’t save himself, Ravil would die. His hands spasmed, he put down the milk. He was going to be the death of another girl. He shoveled soup into his mouth, thinking quickly, but no plan came to him. What could he do about it? Maybe he was fated to be deadly to those he loved.
Rake slammed his head back on the concrete wall behind him. “I don’t! I don’t! That’s ridiculous and wrong!” He gulped his milk. “We’re friends, and that’s all we are, just friends. I mean, I could love her that way as friends.” Rake nodded. “That’s what it means, that’s what Lara meant. I love her as a friend.”
He stared at the wall. With thoughts of Ravil came feelings for Ravil, things he wouldn’t give a voice too, he couldn’t. His heart was a shrine for one person and was open to no others.
Rake squeezed his eyes shut. What was he really hoping to accomplish by building a wall around his feelings for Lara? She wasn’t going to come back, no matter how long he devoted his life and his heart to her memory. He could pray, plead, curse, and beg, but nothing would change reality. He’d live to the end of his life and never see her again.
But what about the end of it? That was r
ather near. He had only hours until his death. What did he believe? He put his head in his hands. He’d been raised Catholic, but he’d never seen a manual of what Heaven was supposed to be like. He was nearly positive he wasn’t going to go there anyways, not with all the people he’d killed, maimed, cheated, and lied to, but he didn’t know. Rake sighed, frustrated, things that didn’t seem important before, were looming now.
Rake got up and padded to the door. He spoke through the tiny opening in the door. “Hey guard guy, am I going to get a priest sometime soon?”
“No.”
“No? What do you mean no, not even a chaplain? A monk or imam would do.”
“The President said no visitors.”
“Fuck my father, I have important faith questions!”
The guard sighed. “Sorry, no one is coming.”
Rake punched the door. “Well this fucking sucks! So I’m going to die with a question on my mind, that’s just grand. Please tell my dad I am going to knee him in the balls the first chance I get.”
“If you want to talk I can talk to you.”
“No!” Rake sulked and went back to his soup. “I want someone with some authority on the subject, and you’re just as clueless as me or any other person.” He stabbed at a bit of sausage, muttering through a full mouth, “This is so fucking typical of him.”
“What was that?”
“Nothing!” Rake glared at the door. “Ass.”
***
Ravil’s eyes snapped open. She bolted upright and threw a punch with both hands bound. “Get away!”
Jason jumped back and smiled. “Snappy reflexes, is that an alien thing?”
Ravil stared at the man. He was youngish, well groomed, but his skin was pockmarked. She recognized him as the one that had attacked Rake. “You’ve got an ugly face, is that a Waster thing?”
Jason glared. “Did Drake teach you to be such a brat, or did you learn that all on your own?”
“He’s had an influence, I can’t deny it.” She swung her legs over the edge of the bed. “Why are you here?”
“To take you to the grand event.” He eyed her face. “What did you do to your mouth?”
Ravil touched her puffy red lips. “Nothing.” She’d gnawed on the cuffs for hours before passing out from the pain.
Jason hauled her to her feet. “We’re on a tight schedule. I want to be there when he’s shot.”
Ravil stumbled. “Why do I have to come?”
“Your pick-up is coming after.” He unlocked the shackles around her feet.
“My what?”
“You’re getting the fuck off of our planet.”
She pulled back from him. “What?”
Jason pushed her into the wall. “Don’t misbehave.” He grabbed her by the handcuffs. “I know what you’ve caused. Because of you we only have the illusion of independence.” His entire body shook, he looked as though he wanted to strike her.
Ravil stuck her chin in the air. “Get used to the feeling, you insignificant Waster.”
He raised his hand to hit her, thought better of it, and pulled her towards the door. “Maybe once they have you, they’ll leave.”
Ravil snorted. “No, they won’t. They’ll find a use for you and put you to work doing something. They’ll probably ship you off to mines to work with the Rexos.”
Jason set his jaw. “If I were you I’d shut your mouth.”
She smirked at the back of his head. “Truth hurts doesn’t it?”
“I said shut up.” Jason pulled her through corridors of hardwood floors and tall ceilings. Ravil took in her surroundings. He checked his watch, sighed, and picked her up. He broke into a run. “I am not going to be late for his death.”
“What would happen if I died?” Ravil eyed him.
“We’d be fucked.” Jason breathed hard. “We’ve been looking for you for a long time, and Drake had you. It’s not surprising that he would be party to irritating the rest of humanity.”
Ravil spoke softly, “You know if you kill him I die too.”
Jason rolled his eyes. “Please.” He threw open a wood door. Ravil blinked against sunlight as he pulled her towards a row of black unmarked cars. They all had their engines running. A man opened the door of one. Jason pushed Ravil in and got in after her. He sat her upright and buckled her seat belt as the caravan of cars got in motion.
Jason leaned back, opened bottled water, and took a sip. “Your boyfriend is going to die, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“If he dies, I die, idiot.” Ravil stared out the black tinted windows. “And it’s going to be your fault because I told you.”
Jason shrugged. “Drake didn’t mention anything like that.”
Ravil frowned. Had he kept it to himself because he didn’t want anyone knowing they were blood bonded, or was it that he realized it was futile to try to compromise? Or did he want to die and wasn’t even thinking about her? Could he have forgotten? She ground her teeth. If Rake had forgotten what she’d told him, she was going to kill him herself. She glared at Jason. “Yeah he’s a mental giant.”
“Seems we agree on something.”
She looked him over. “Did he really try and kill his own father?”
Jason looked over at her. “He was drunk, armed, and mouthing off about doing so.”
“So why wasn’t Rake killed back then?”
“He escaped.” Jason’s face took on shades of anger. “But I wasn’t head of security then and this time he won’t escape. Everything but the guns is on manual.”
“So?”
Jason glared at her. “So, his sister can’t hack in and let him out like she did the last time we had him.”
Ravil frowned. “I thought she was dead?”
Jason snorted. “Did he tell you that?”
“He never said it. I just assumed from what everyone else said. She’s not around…”
“But she’s never gone either.” Jason turned away. “I don’t think that bitch can be killed and dad is just being foolish trying to find her and lock her down.” He adjusted his suit as the car drove on. “She was just as much of a brat as Drake was, if anything, she was worse. She’s a fucking international security risk.”
Ravil smiled, she liked the sound of Sammy even more. “Sounds like you’re jealous.”
“It’s no concern of yours so why don’t you shut up and enjoy the ride?” Jason pointed to the windows. “Scenic.”
***
Danny pointed his flashlight above the foot-deep sewage. “I don’t see anything.”
Marx walked ahead of Danny, able to see in low-light without the need for a flashlight. Kennedy trailed Danny, stopping every few meters to sniff something new. The trio trudged through the sewers beneath Bombay, searching for the waste management facility that Tasanee had said she would meet them at.
Marx looked back and shook his head. “Not the markers you indicated.”
“Well it should be coming up.” Danny resisted the urge to scratch an itch on his nose. He’d stumbled twice and put his hands into God only knows what. He’d long stopped being able to smell anything, but the thought of what he walked in was enough to turn his stomach and he didn’t want any of it on his face. He looked down at their GPS device. Their place marker glowed indicating their position and destination. “Okay a few more turns and we should be there. If not, something’s wrong with the data.”
Marx smiled. “My little rat will be there.”
Danny hopped over a floating pile of garbage. “You do know her name is Tasanee.”
“I do now.” Marx moved faster. “Tasanee, pretty.”
Kennedy bounced off the walls behind them. “Are you going to mate with her? Aren’t you worried her not being able to change sex is boring?”
“We are compatible, I already checked in the blood.”
Danny listened in. “How can you determine that based on tasting her blood? It’s just blood.”
Marx held up a finger. “Not to us, we can tell a lot
of things through blood, your emotions at the time—”
“Yes!” Kennedy padded along at Danny’s side and leaned in close. “Your sicknesses and your lacks of things.”
“Deficiencies, Kennedy.” Marx took off his gloves. All of his missing fingers had grown back. He flicked out his claws, making Danny flinch. Marx didn’t notice. “Her blood calls to me in a most delicious way.”
“Sounds like you’re talking about dinner.” At Marx’s wide grin, Danny went on. “Does your blood call to her?”
Marx looked over his shoulder. “I want her to try some, but she refuses.”
Kennedy played with his own hair. “She won’t sense it, none of Wasters can. You not have good talents, Danny.”
“It is just a hope.” Marx looked to Danny. “Regardless, we would be well-suited.”
“Don’t force her to do anything or you’ll be dealing with me.” Danny jumped up on a narrow metal ledge and rechecked his map. “Got it?”
Marx made a face. “I will not force her, but I will be most persistent in my pursuit. I will wear her down, I am positive.”
Kennedy grinned and splashed in the sewage. “A Hunter can stalk a mate for very many turns!”
Marx leaned away from the mess Kennedy made. “She will see my dedication and be impressed by it. She needs a better mate than the blonde. She needs a warrior to run with her, a fearless lover; the blonde is broken.”
“Don’t talk about Katarina like that.”
“Do you disagree?”
“No.” Danny looked up from the map. “But we don’t speak ill of our own.”
Marx smiled after a moment. “What does Tasanee enjoy?”
“I am not going to help you woo her. What is the point anyways? You’re planning on attacking us as soon as our pack is dissolved.”
“We have no quarrel with you and I do not seek to harm Tasanee at all.” Marx frowned. “Perhaps I have not been clear as this language is new to me. You see, I wish to engage in many sexual activities with her.”
“You’re clear, Marx, but we are a family, a pack.” Danny glared at them both. “You attack even one of us, you attack all of us.”
“Ravil isn’t one of yours.”
“Rake is.” Danny clenched his jaw. “And even if you are only seeking Ravil, Lincoln wants to take Rake for his studies.” He stopped and pointed at a junction. “Around the corner should put us into the processing plant. Tasanee had better be there.”