Remember Me

by Stacey Nash

  He points to his ear where a piece of black rubber curls around it. “Oh, telcom,” I say.

  He raises a lazy brow. “What?”

  “Telcom. You’re wearing one. That’s how you spoke to Cynnie.”

  “This is called a defero.” He points to the device.

  “No, it’s a telcom.” I frown.

  His eyes slowly widen like he’s been slapped in the face with a memory. “You’re right. We are resistance.”

  I nod, and he squeezes my hand.

  A smirk comes to his lips and his eyes sparkle. “I can hear that too, Cupcake.”

  I grin and punch him in the arm with my free hand. Memories of the first time I used a telcom come to my mind with the remembered words: standing in a small clearing with another girl and guy, Jax teasing me about accidently projecting private thoughts.

  My feet anchor me to a stop.

  The guy—the same one from yesterday—it was him. Jax stops when my hand slides out of his, and spins around with a slight crease between his brows. “What is it?”

  “Who’s the guy that kissed me?” It’s like a hidden memory, crouched in the darkest corner of my mind. I can’t quite make out the details, but they’re there, hidden in his blue-eyes boring into my memory.

  Of course Cynnie chooses that moment to appear out of the night. “Who kissed you?”

  I feel my cheeks warm as they both look expectantly at me and I want to sink into the earth below my feet. I’m not like this, kissing two boys in two days. Jax and I stare at each other. I open my mouth to speak, but he holds his hand up and spins away. “I’ll think of something and get word to you soon.” He disappears into the darkness.

  I reach out but it’s too late, he’s already gone. “I’m sorry,” I whisper.

  “What was that all about?” Cynnie asks. “And who kissed you?”

  The dark outline of a telcom in her ear catches my eye. “Can I borrow that?”

  She uncurls it and hands it over. I push the bud into the opening of my ear. “Jax,” I say with my mind while thinking of him.

  “What?” he answers, short and sharp.

  “I’m sorry.” I pause, waiting for him to say something. He doesn’t. “I didn’t know who he was, who we were.” I pause again, and he still doesn’t answer. I shouldn’t feel this scared that he cares, and damn it, I want to know who the guy was, but I need Jax. The feelings I have for him are strong, certain, and sure. “Jax?”

  Still no answer.

  We only just found each other again and now this. Cynnie looks at me through narrowed eyes, her head slowly cocking to the side. “Anamae, what’s going on?”

  “I …” I can’t find the words. It’s like they’ve all been sucked out of me and left a hollow emptiness that only a moment ago was full to overflowing. “Didn’t you say Nik would wake up soon? We’d better go.”

  She nods and we both start walking down the street. When I kissed that guy, it felt good, and I thought maybe he was someone who loved me, he could tell me who I am, what I was. That was before I knew Jax was Jax, before I remembered there was an us.

  We pass under a big tree, and someone seizes my arm from behind. I squeal, spin around ready to attack, but find Jax’s face hovering just inches from mine. With his hands resting on my hips, he tilts and plants a solid kiss on my lips, then pulls back and kisses my forehead too.

  “It’s okay.”

  My heart somersaults then back flips. I rise onto tiptoes and let my lips find his, my whole body flooding with warmth as I kiss him and he kisses me back. One of his hands cups my face and the other tangles in my hair while we confirm our mutual feelings. My palm rests against the back of his head, holding us together. Eventually we both pull away and he runs his hands down the sides of my arms. I feel more complete than I ever have. As he steps back, his hands trail down my arms, and when they reach my hands, he steps back again so just our fingertips touch.

  “I will figure this out. Get us home, where we belong. Just sit tight and don’t give Nik reason to suspect anything.” He drops his arms to his sides.

  I nod.

  “Goodnight, Mae.” He smiles and disappears into the darkness again.

  I hear a chuckle and turn to see Cynnie watching me. “Well,” she says, “that was pretty hot.”

  I feel my face flush and run my tongue over my tingling lips, not sure I can speak.

  “Guess I know now who kissed you.” She snickers.

  “It’s not what you think.” Was that my voice? It was so squeaky.

  “Sure looked like it was.” She snickers again. “Don’t be embarrassed, he’s hot. And I saw this coming forever ago.”

  “We’re the same.”

  She frowns. “We’ve been through this. You can’t be.”

  I sigh, not in the mood to go over the whole thing. A smile reflects my mood as we resume walking, memories of the past flitting through my mind. All of them have one thing in common. Jax. His jade eyes, his toned arms, and that all-knowing smile. My head feels airy as we walk back to the house. In fact, my whole body does, like I’m walking clouds.

  I wake in the morning a little less tense and a little more rested. For the first time in almost a month, I dreamt while I slept. Dreams of Jax and me and the resistance guy. We were all laughing and training, but not the same kind of training I’ve done in elite class. This was similar, but different: high in the air, up in the tree tops like deadly trapeze artists.

  Something about my rapidly returning memories and knowing I’m not in this alone makes a huge difference. It’s like I can do this. Together we can find all of our lost memories and find our way home, wherever home is.

  When I climb out of bed and shower, I wonder what plan Jax will come up with for getting us out. It’s not right to expect him to do it all though, so I need to come up with my own plan. Porting seems like the best idea, even if we have to steal the tech. I’ll suggest that next time I see him, if I don’t get my hands on some between now and then. I feel a little giddy at the thought of seeing him again and can’t stop smiling even though I’m acutely aware of it.

  Breakfast comes on a tray while I’m in the shower, magically appearing in my room like it always does. It’s never seemed odd before, but as I settle into the chair in my sitting room and pull off the domed metal cover, it does. Why don’t we all eat together, at a table in a dining room? Is everyone separated or just me? Maybe it’s a ploy to keep Jax and I apart.

  I slide the eggs around my plate and fork some into my mouth but miss and scrambled eggs tumble down my shirtfront. With a groan, I lift my plate up, searching for the napkin that always lies beneath. For some reason today, the white fabric’s folded down the center, making a triangle. Weird, it’s usually laid flat. The material is soft against my fingertips as I unfold it. While bending back the crease, black marks catch my eye. I smooth it out and twist it around so I can read the writing. Scrawled across in messy handwriting are the words:

  Got it. Same time, same place.

  Chapter Twenty Eight

  Will

  Yet another morning at breakfast Lilly and nothing’s changed. With my elbows square on the dining room table and my fingers steepled, I think about my work, trying to block out her incessant chatter.

  “What are you doing today?” she asks from across her bowl of oatmeal.

  “Thought I might—”

  “Play with that darned thing again.” Her spoon clinks against the bowl. “It’s all you’ve done since we got back. I thought you’d be keen to get out in the action.”

  Her unsaid words hang between us. Keen to find Mae and bring her home whether she realizes it’s what she wants or not.

  “Working on this is getting me there,” I say. “If we can build it then we’ll have a prototype. It might be worth more when we offer it up for ransom or it might—”

  “For ransom? Are they actually running with that plan?”

  “Why wouldn’t they?”

  She glances toward the door and
shrugs, brushing something off her shoulder. “Well, I’m training with Garrett. He’s got some new tech weapon that sounds cool. Whatever plan he and Dad have been cooking …” More imaginary lint. “I’m sure it’s getting hotter. You certain you don’t want to join us?”

  “Uh huh.”

  My thoughts trail off to the day in the lab with Mae standing opposite me, confused as hell. I stare at flames leaping in the fireplace and try to tamp down the goddamn ache that appears every time I think of her. Lilly’s chair screeches across the timber floor, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I’ve been stuffing around with the prototype we made from the plans nonstop. If I didn’t use it to fill in the time I’d implode in a ball of frustration. Beau’s still not doing a fricking thing.

  Mae.

  Your tricks won’t work on me. Her voice, clear as if she were speaking right now, stabs my mind, entrenching itself deeper. The dumbass ache is too much. Thinking is too much. I shove my chair back, and take myself straight to the room I’ve claimed as my workshop. When I walk through the door, Marcus is sitting at the small round table, the black box cradled in his hands. We built it from the blueprints, but neither of us can work out what it fricking does.

  “Figure it out?” I ask.

  “No. But I still think it’s some kind of transmitter.”

  “What, like a bug transmitting our conversations?”

  He chuckles. “Well if it is, then they just heard the beans I had for breakfast make a gassy reappearance.”

  We both laugh. “It’s not like we’re big on conversation.”

  “I’ve had enough of this thing for today.” He pushes his chair back and passes the contraption to me. “Catch you later.”

  “Later.” I turn it over in my hands, wondering how long he’s been here if he’s over it this early in the day.

  The metal’s cool and smooth, and, spinning it, I know there’s nothing to see, just the shiny black casing. We must have missed something or got something wrong. I place it on the table then grab the plans from the bench, unroll them, smoothing the paper flat on the table and pinning the edges down with screw-filled glass jars.

  Motherboard, wires, transmitter, switch: I mentally tick off each component. We put them all in, so it should be working. I unclick the casing and place it on the table then study the prototype, comparing the mess of soldered parts to the lines and squiggles on the plans. Motherboard, chips, switch, wires, transmitter. I look from paper to parts and back again. Transmitter, paper, transmitter, paper, blue chip, paper, blue chip, paper, red chip, paper, red chip, paper, switch, paper, switch.

  Switch.

  Damn. A small gap—the little piece of melted solder doesn’t quite connect it to the motherboard. Six months ago I barely knew what to look for, but all the time I’ve spent with Marcus and tech … tech is just like engines, only on a smaller and more complicated scale. Yanking open the drawer under the bench, I retrieve the soldering iron, a pair of goggles, and set to work.

  Blue and red sparks shoot from where the iron touches the solder. It’s done. The goggles stick to my face, making a suction noise as I pull them off and dump them on the counter. Lay the iron down, flick the switch and a low sound hums, like a running fridge.

  Odd.

  That’s more than we’ve gotten out of it before. I watch and wait but nothing else happens. Surely it does more than that. I flip the switch to the off position and take it back to the table.

  Flitting from the blueprints to the exposed prototype, I compare the two again. Nothing else strikes me as out of place. Damn well frustrated, I replace the casing yet again, and turn the switch. It illuminates a small green light and sends the low hum through the room. It’s softer and more muted than before but now it reverberates through me, leaving a weird buzz in its wake. With a shiver, I flick it off and sit there, staring at the useless piece of crap for several more moments.

  Be damned if I know what else to do, so I set it down on the table. There’s no point continuing with this until I can come up with something different. I’ll go check out this new tech weapon that had Lilly so pumped. Might be fun; distracting. I should probably ring home too and check in. Dad will fire me if I’m away much longer.

  I travel through the halls without seeing any friendly faces. When I reach the stairs to the basement, Lilly, Garrett, and at least one other person sound like they’re arguing.

  “I did put it on properly.” Lilly’s indignant.

  “You can’t have. If you did, it wouldn’t have done that.”

  “How can I put it on wrong, Garrett? I just shove my arms and legs in it and it’s on.”

  “She’s right,” the other voice says—a guy.

  I jog down the stairs two at a time, trying to resist the smile tugging my mouth. It’s not often Lilly loses her cool, but when she does it’s damn amusing. As I reach the base of the stairs, she tosses her hair over her shoulder and climbs up off the floor. Fists her hands on her hips and stares down Garrett. Glad I’m not him.

  “Are you sure this … weapon or whatever it is does what you think?”

  “Of course it does.” He reaches for her arm. “Your protect-it mustn’t be working.”

  Hell no, he isn’t pinching her arm, is he? Step away, Garrett, she’s fired up. As he pulls his fingers back I can see the protect-it shimmering in the light, the same mocha color as her skin.

  Curiosity gets the better of me. “What happened?”

  They turn my way and Lilly’s angry expression makes that smile fight to the surface again.

  “Garrett knocked me on my butt with his stupid new weapon.”

  “I didn’t mean to, something went wrong.”

  We both grin, earning ourselves a full-blown scowl from Lilly.

  “With the weapon? What is it?”

  Garrett reaches around behind himself, retrieving something from his back pocket. Looks like a sling shot. He flattens his other hand revealing a palm full of marble-like balls similar to the one at the great fence breaking.

  “You put her on the floor with a sling shot?”

  He smirks.

  “How is that possible?”

  “Tech ammo,” he says. “Got the five finger discount from an agent yesterday. Unfortunately I didn’t get the pistol, only these babies. They work pretty well out of a sling though.”

  I hold my hand out, and he drops a small grey ball into it. It’s smooth between my fingers, different to the fence breaker. “Let’s see how it works, then.”

  Still pouting, Lilly snatches the sling out of Garrett’s hand and extends her other hand to me, palm up. Garrett’s mouth turns in semi-smile. “Scared of it now, Lil?”

  “No. But fair’s fair. It’s your turn. If it’s ineffective against protect-its like you claimed, you’ve got nothing to worry about now, have you?”

  She positions the ball in the leather strap, pulls back and lets it fly. The ammo pings off Garret’s chest like a flicked elastic band making him snicker.

  Lilly’s eyes widen. “But … what … I don’t get it.”

  “Told you so,” Garrett says.

  “Give me another one.”

  He offers his hand and she scoops up all the balls. In the blink of an eye, she shoots them all at him rapid fire. He laughs harder with each new shot bouncing straight off him to roll along on the floor. I laugh too, and scowling, she turns the damn thing on me.

  Ah frick.

  Before I know what happened, my vision reddens, shooting pain through my whole body. My muscles seize like I am nothing but one massive cramp and I slam into the floor. A brief moment of panic steals my breath and I can’t move, can’t even think.

  “Shoot.” Lilly rushes to my side. “I’m sorry, Will. Are you okay?”

  I try to talk, but my mouth won’t form the words or even move. After a few seconds, my feet shuffle a little. I can move again, thank God. I ache all over as I pull myself up off the ground and onto my haunches.

  “What the hell, Lilly?” Garrett says. �
��You knew he didn’t have a protect-it on.”

  “But it wasn’t working on you, so … I thought the ammo must have lost its … oompf.” She shrugs, tossing me an apologetic look.

  “That’s because I was armored up. Will wasn’t.”

  She blinks. “I was, though.”

  “Yours must be broken.”

  Footsteps pound down the stairs. “Guys, turn off all tech,” Sam booms a moment before he emerges at the bottom step.

  Lilly and Garrett both tear their suits off and drop them on the floor like they’re poisoned. Lilly bends down to pick up the offending pellets, her rear nicely curved—ah crap what the heck am I thinking? I turn my back to her.

  “Why?” Garrett asks.

  “The barriers, even the hide-all, they all went down for a few moments.”

  Lilly sucks in a sharp breath and Garrett says, “Fu—”

  “Just fricking great,” I say.

  Sam nods. “It’s back up now. It went down twice, so it’s probably best to keep all tech off until its effectiveness is guaranteed. We don’t want to draw the Collective here.”

  “How the hell did that happen?” Garrett asks.

  “No idea. We’re trying to work it out.”

  “We’ve already lost one safe house,” Lilly mumbles barely loud enough for me to hear. Walking around me, she holds her fist to Garrett, who grabs a plastic container from the floor and places it underneath. The balls clink as she drops them.

  “I’ll let you know when it’s right to go. Marcus is working on it now.” Sam starts up the stairs.

  I rise off the floor, my muscles still jittery and not quite normal. While they pack up, my mind wanders back to the black box and its weird humming. It didn’t seem to do anything else, so there’s got to be something else missing, something not there or not connected right. A gentle touch on my arm brings me back to the basement. I blink at Lilly standing right before me.

  “Sorry I tasered you.”

  I smile. “Not the first time a girl’s put me on my rear.”

  The smile drops from my face as I remember the last time Mae whooped me. I was dangling over the edge of the rope up high in The Ring, staring at the ground a mile below with fear stiffening my legs. She whacked me right off the walkway with her expert aim. My hand instinctively rises to her pendant hanging on the chain around my neck.