by Kate Sander
Ujarak smiled to himself as he watched the fire burn. They were on a small path that divided a forest from an overgrown rice field. They had managed to steal a couple of emaciated horses from a barn after they left Tang to his own devices in the village. Kai purred as he watched the fire, sitting beside Ujarak. The horses were tethered away from the fire so Kai didn't spook them.
"Should you tell her or should I?" Ujarak asked the giant cat.
Kai huffed.
"Good point. If she was smart she'd figure it out on her own."
Dry heaves echoed in the wind.
"She's not smart enough."
Kai let out a sound that was almost a laugh.
Senka jogged back to the fire. "You'd think," she said shakily, "that two days off the boat would be enough time to get rid of the sea sickness."
"You would think," Ujarak said deliberately, flashing Kai a look.
Senka plopped down beside Kai, who put his head in her lap.
"Well, really. Have you ever heard of sea sickness lasting this long?"
"The Melanthios are of the trees," Ujarak said.
"Yes, I know," Senka snapped. "But you were on a ship to Carabesh, and you sailed over the end of the world. You would be the more sea-faring of the two of us."
Ujarak smartly stayed silent.
"Well what else could cause this?" Senka asked desperately. "If it's not the sea sickness..."
Both hands went to her stomach as the realization hit her.
"No."
Kai put his head on her stomach and looked her in the eyes.
"It seems you have two heartbeats," Ujarak said.
Stunned silence.
"No."
Ujarak stared at the fire.
"NO!" Senka yelled. "No, no, no. That can't happen, I always use a condom. Always..."
A flash-back. Carter on top of her, making fast yet sweet love before her last mission. All of their sexual tension had melted away into one beautiful night of sex before she'd been shipped off to die. They hadn't spoken of it after, each leaving the other to process what it meant. They were going to talk about it when she returned from Germany.
But she hadn't returned.
She'd taken those pills that Tomo had made and she'd died.
And she'd taken Carter's child to this world with her.
"Shit."
She buried her head in Kai's shoulder and wept.
"I guess this is why I've been crying so much," Senka said through tears.
Ujarak gave her a smile. "That would make a lot of sense, yes."
"Pull yourself together," she muttered to herself. A few deep breaths later and she managed to stop the flow of tears.
"Tell me about the father," Ujarak said.
"He'd like you," Senka said. "You guys would go for a beer and not speak and both be perfectly happy. We were never "together". He'd lost a girlfriend and was emotionally walled off. I enjoyed getting drunk and screwing anything with legs..."
Sighing, she dug her hand into Kai's fur.
"That doesn't sound like you," Ujarak said. "The Senka I know wouldn't let anyone but one person touch her."
"Jules," Senka said with a half-smile. "That was a long time ago. I was young, then. Shit, remember we used to speak in sign language because I didn't have a tongue?"
Ujarak smiled and signed, "Yes, I sure do remember."
Senka smiled back and curled up against Kai, relishing the rhythm of his breathing. Her hand stayed on her belly.
"I loved Jules," Senka said. "But I thought he was dead. Then I died and woke back up in my own world. I never thought I'd ever get back here."
Kai yawned and snuggled in.
"I don't think Jules ever moved on," Ujarak said softly.
"I hope he did," Senka said.
"Your heart is no longer his? Even if you can't make it back to your own world?"
Senka thought about that for a long time.
"No," she said. "I don't love him anymore. I still wear his ring. He was what I needed when I was twenty. He isn't what I need anymore."
Her hand on her stomach, I love you baby, she thought, drifting off to sleep. I'm sorry that you'll never meet your daddy.
Ujarak watched the fire, listening to the rhythmic breathing next to him of the woman and her giant panther.
He hoped she never reunited with Jules. The knowledge that she carried another's child and no longer loved him would break him.
23
Carter
Carter leaned back in his favourite chair, listening to The Lord of the Rings again.
It was always on.
Carter loved the movies, granted, but this ghost's incessant viewing was starting to get old.
"You're sure you don't want to watch something else," Carter mumbled through closed eyes. "Anything else."
"You've shown me other stuff," Black Eyes said. "It all sucks. This is the best, you said it yourself. Why would you want to watch anything but the best?"
Carter sighed, "Change is nice."
"Change is stupid."
"I suppose you'd take that stance, considering you're a ghost."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Means clearly that you're not about change, since you're still around but you're dead," Carter snapped.
"What's eating you?" Black Eyes asked. "You're grouchy."
"I want to know how Amanda saw you," Carter said. "It's bothering me. How'd she know you were there with me?"
"Lucky guess?"
"Did that seem like a lucky guess to you?"
"No, no it didn't," Black Eyes said, frowning. "I stayed invisible. It's actually more work for me to be seen by anyone but you."
Carter kept his eyes closed, "What did she mean when she said to ask you why Tomo and Senka weren't in the same place? Tell me exactly why you came over here."
Black Eyes sighed. They'd been over this. "Okay, so Tory sent me to a few people to try to organize an assault. Everyone’s in different places so I'm trying to get them together, right? So Ujarak, Tory's man, is in prison in this place called Carabesh. So, I help him escape and tell him to go east."
"Why east?"
Black Eyes shrugged, "Tory had a feeling in her gut for him to go east, so I passed on the message."
"Really? She's making decisions based on gut feelings?" Carter opened his eyes and shook his head. "I'd be fired in a day."
"It's different here," Black Eyes said. "Anyway, Tory's gut is different. Her mom's a Zoya. Dropped dead after she was born. Her dad went crazy, joined the Ampulex and was told to kill her. Even the Ampulex are scared of her."
"Why?"
"I dunno, I don't know much about all this. But, if I had to guess, it'd be that her mom was a Zoya. Not her dad. Zoya tend to just drop dead. Seems lucky that her mother made it the full nine months before dying."
"Never thought about it that way before," Carter said. "Anyway, so Tory trusts her gut? No other leads or anything? And people follow her?"
"Well, I am," Black Eyes said. "She's pretty convincing. And, like I said, her gut tends to be right. Never seen it wrong before, actually. So yeah, Ujarak goes east."
"Okay, then what?"
"Then I come over here. It's a bit different for me to make it to this world. I really have to focus. It's like sinking deep into an ocean. Anyway, I come here and talk to Senka."
"What did you say to Senka?"
"Well," Black Eyes looked at him with sad eyes, "umm, well she was hurt, right? Like really hurt."
"Black Eyes," Carter said, noticing her tone. "What happened?"
"I told her to die, alright? I told her to take the pills and die.”
Carter exploded to his feet. He tried to grab her by the shirt and haul her to her feet but his hand passed right through. He had to settle for yelling. "How could you tell her to die? I buried her because of you!"
"Don't put that on me," Black Eyes snapped. It was her turn to stand and yell. "She wanted to die. Her dog had just died. That Tomo lady
had just died. Everyone was dead."
"She didn't need any of your encouragement."
"SHE WAS GOING TO DIE ANYWAY!" Black Eyes shouted desperately. "You didn't see her. There was an explosion. She was a mess of glass and blood and burns." Black Eyes settled down and sat, looking at the floor. "Tory told me to tell her to die angry. I thought that, if she took the pills and Tory's advice, her pain would stop."
Carter's anger left as Black Eyes looked at him desperately. "I wanted her pain to stop," she said. "All of it."
Something clicked in Carter's brain. "Die angry. I heard you on the video."
"What are you talking about?"
"The video!" Carter said. He rushed around the living room, looking for something. "I heard you telling her to die angry. Why did you tell her to die angry?"
Black Eyes shrugged, "I don't know. Tory just told me to say it. She goes with her gut, remember?"
"Ha," Carter gasped victoriously, holding up his work tablet. "Watch this with me." He pulled up the video of Tomo and Senka in the German compound. Their last moments on this earth, taken by Senka's body cam.
Carter cringed as they watched Tomo as she was being tied to a chair and force-fed the pills that would kill her. Then, Freudman losing it, because Tomo had on a necklace that had disappeared and that she wasn't scared when she was dying. Then Leo, Senka's dog, attacking, giving Senka enough time to put a bullet in the henchman's head. Senka going after Freudman and the explosion.
"Why... Why was he so mad she wasn't scared?" Black Eyes asked hesitantly.
"I always just assumed it's because he got off on fear," Carter said.
"Okay this might sound stupid," Black Eyes said. "But, I know Tory. She was concerned with where people were. Not really anything else. She wanted to bring them all together again. Maybe that's where anger came in?"
Carter turned to look at her.
Black Eyes forged ahead, "Maybe the emotions people feel when they are dying correspond to a place," she said. "It's not the craziest thing I've ever heard of..." she finished with a mumble.
Carter closed his eyes and breathed deeply, "You're right, it's not crazy. What good is making a bunch of Zoya if you can't find them in The Other Place? They're building an army. Exactly where they want it."
Carter sat back down heavily. "We will have to check with all the Zoya at the ZTF but I think it has merit. Why else would Freudman have been so mad that Tomo wasn't scared enough?"
"Does it matter though?" Black Eyes asked. "Like yeah, now we know that emotion leads to where you go, what does it matter?"
"Maybe we can send someone over there," Carter said. "Maybe we can beat them at their own game."
24
Tomo
The stench was overwhelming.
She was getting close to her target. Senka, that Zoya who her mother had told her to hunt.
The Forsaken would do more than hunt her. She'd rip her limb from limb, slowly and carefully. Mother had told her to. So she would do it as best as possible.
"But... You know Senka," a little voice said in the distance. "You love her. She's like your little sister."
The Forsaken shook her head. It didn't matter if she knew her. She had to feed this hunger, this burning deep desire. She had to. It was the only way, her only future.
She'd rip her limb from limb.
Then she'd move on to the people following her. Two women, a child and a man. The Forsaken knew two of their scents. The other two were foreign. It didn't matter if she knew them or not.
Mother had given her the command to kill. Once Senka was dead, she could kill anyone she'd like. She could feed this insatiable hunger in her gut however she wanted.
"But this isn't you," the voice piped up, a little louder than before. "Senka loves you. You love her. It was you and Senka and Carter. You were a team."
The Forsaken growled. This voice was annoying. Always wanting her to starve instead of feed. Mother said she would kill the voice. That was Mother's job.
"Maybe Mother is lying to you," the voice said. "Maybe she can't kill me. Because to kill me would be to kill you."
"No," Tomo said, shaking her head. "No. Must kill Senka. Must. She told me to."
"Since when have you ever done what you've been told," the voice said. "Shit, it was always Senka getting you out of trouble. Also, good thing you married your boss or you would have been court martialed a long time ago."
Married.
Amanda.
The picture of Amanda the day she'd proposed popped into her head. She'd been nervous all day. And Amanda was never nervous.
"What is wrong with you?" Tomo had asked her after a lovely dinner.
"Nothing," she'd said with a sidelong glance. "Just distracted, I guess."
Tomo had brought her in and kissed her neck. "Can I offer a distraction from the distraction?"
Amanda had laughed. Then had gotten on one knee. In the middle of a downtown Toronto night. No place special. Kneeling in a puddle.
"Marry me."
It was the most romantic thing that had ever happened in Tomo's life. Her girlfriend, the clean cut leader of her top secret military group, was kneeling in a puddle, begging her to marry her.
Of course she'd said yes.
Tomo cracked her neck and opened her eyes, looking at her surroundings. She was on the edge of a forest next to farmland. In the distance, she could see two figures walking along a path towards her.
She knew that walk.
Tomo smiled. Senka was here. They'd be able to take on the Ampulex together. And get this bitch out of her head.
"Now Tomo," Malin said in her brain.
"No," Tomo moaned.
"We talked about this, young lady. You belong to us now. You are an Ampulex. You cannot be trusted to make responsible choices for yourself, so we have to make them for you."
A vision, bright and clear flashed before her. Amanda was on fire. She was in a hospital gown and burning.
"NO," Tomo reached for her. Amanda's beautiful hair was burning off. Screaming in pain. The flames engulfed her.
"HELP ME!" she screamed.
"I'm trying, baby," Tomo moaned. Reaching forward, wanting to help. Wanting to take her away, but never succeeding. Amanda was beyond her grasp.
"WHY WON'T YOU HELP ME?" Amanda begged. Her skin was turning black and blistering.
"Baby, I'm trying," Tomo gasped. She sank to her knees and covered her eyes. But Amanda burning was still there behind her eyes. Screaming in pain, her face was melting, showing bone underneath.
"Enough," Tomo moaned. "Make it stop. Make it go away."
"Will you do what you are told?" Malin's voice said sweetly in her ear.
"Yes," Tomo said. "Just make it stop."
Amanda was gone in a flash. The fog returned to the world around her, as did the smell. Senka's stench filled her nostrils and made her gag.
Kill.
Rip. Tear. Kill.
She'd rip Senka limb from limb, then feast on the remains.
It was what Mother wanted. And Mother always got what she wanted.
25
Senka
"Trudging," Senka said suddenly out loud.
"Hm?" Ujarak asked from in front of her.
"We're trudging. That's the word I was looking for."
They were indeed trudging. Their horses had died yesterday, just too famished for them to save, so they were walking across the country of Anzen. Keeping the forest to their left, they tried to make decent time by sticking to paths made by farmers. This area hadn't been inhabited for a while and nature was slowly reclaiming the paths and farms.
It made for slow going.
Trudging.
"Do you need to stop and rest?" Ujarak asked, worried.
"I'm not a fucking invalid," Senka snapped, puffing more than she should be during an easy walk. "I'm not even like three months pregnant. I'm not even showing."
Ujarak smartly kept silent.
Senka felt it. Kai's hackles r
aised. to her left in the trees. Danger.
"Ujarak …"
Behind.
Senka turned and dove forward, the sword passing over her back by a fraction of an inch. Unsheathing her tantos mid-dive from across her back, she turned to attack.
And stopped.
Stopped dead.
"T... Tomo?" she said softly.
Her best friend, her partner, her family. She was there, standing in front of her. Her long red hair, usually kept neatly tied up in a bun, was messy and free. Gaunt, clearly underfed and exhausted, Tomo kept her eyes lowered.
"Tomo?" Senka asked again, reaching out. "Tomo it’s me, Senka. You know me..."
Tomo raised her head. Her eyes were milky white. Snarling, she raised her katana and attacked. Ujarak was running at them, coming to Senka's defense.
"No!" Senka yelled, dodging the katana as Tomo swung at her head. "No! I know her."
Tomo attacked with a fury that Senka had never seen before. Swinging and cutting, she was aiming for a kill.
Senka could fight well. She and Tomo had always been evenly matched during their ZTF training. But Senka was more ruthless and would often go for the kill. Tomo wasn't like that, she'd aim to injure.
Apparently times had changed.
Senka spun, narrowly avoiding the swinging sword and kicked, nailing Tomo in the chest. It barely caused her to step back. She snarled at her again.
"Tomo!" Senka yelled. "Kogo Tomo Hachiman, Blood Empress of Anzen! Remember who you are!"
A guttural yell and Tomo started swinging again.
"She doesn't know you!" Ujarak yelled. It was the most intense fight he'd ever witnessed. The women were moving so fast that he could barely see them, so he wouldn't be able to swing his hammer even if he wanted to. Too much of a risk of hitting Senka. Frustrated, he hung back, watching for an opening so he could pin the woman Senka called Tomo. "She's a Zoya. Zoya don't remember!"
Senka dove again, slashing with a tanto at Tomo's knee. She pulled the short sword at the last moment, and only scratched Tomo, who didn't even seem to feel the knife passing over the side of her leg.