The Esoteric Design: Disbanding Hope

by A. R. Crebs

  “A few more days?” Aria gaped at the woman. “Oh my God, how long have we been here?” Her head twisted to the left and then the right.

  “You’ve been here for about three days.”

  “Three days?!” Aria screamed again.

  “Please, Ms. Clarke, lower your voice. You’ll wake the other patients, and you need to relax.”

  ‘Clarke?’ Aria thought. Now it was starting to make sense.

  “Relax? How can I relax? We’ve been in the hospital for three days.” Her eyes narrowed at Troy. “We are in Fountains, aren’t we?”

  “Of course you are,” the nurse replied. “Your pilot dropped you off. Luckily, he knew about your medical history. If not, we wouldn’t have been able to tell what your blood type was since your dog tag was missing, and both of your DNAISs were burnt to a crisp.”

  Aria glanced at her wrist, noticing the bandages. Her eyes then fell to Troy's which was similarly dressed. Bringing her attention back to the man’s chest, she noticed he was wearing his necklace that only contained one tag instead of his usual two. She gave a wry smile.

  “Courtney never wears hers. She’s gotten herself into trouble before because of it,” Troy said, glancing at Aria with piercing eyes.

  “Well, I don’t like being treated like some spoiled brat’s pet,” she replied, folding her arms.

  “Still, it could save your life if you wore it like protocol instructed,” the nurse stated. “And I couldn’t find any active files on you.”

  “It’s because she doesn’t wear it. Every time she’s been in the hospital, she’s been listed as anonymous,” Troy explained.

  “Well, I guess that would make sense. Still, they could’ve checked your DNAIS the previous times…” the nurse muttered, glancing at her watch. She quickly stood up. “Anyway, it’s dinner time. I’ve got to check with the kitchen to make sure your food order has been updated to solids. I’ll return shortly.”

  Troy and Aria both remained silent, watching the older woman slip out of the room. After a few more seconds–to be sure no one was within earshot–Aria sat up in bed and faced the man.

  “What in the hell is going on?” she hissed quietly. “How long have you been awake?”

  “Chillout; everything’s fine. I woke up this morning. Luckily, Aren came to check up on us not long after. He knew Walten would be keeping a close eye on any records that revealed our names. He’s a smart kid. Before he brought us in, he tore off my dog tag, leaving only Dad’s. Don’t know how the idiot doctors didn’t realize he’s been dead for nearly forty-six years….I’m sure Aren came up with some good excuse.”

  “And how’d he know about the Courtney bit?” Aria asked.

  “Not sure; I figure he did some digging. Funny, a kid can look up anything he wants on us, and Walten can’t seem to ever find us.”

  “Nobody said Walten was smart.”

  Troy snorted a laugh. “Or his cronies.”

  “So…I guess Aren also went the extra mile and burned out our DNAISs,” Aria said, running a hand over her bandaged wrist.

  “Yeah. He says ‘sorry’ by the way. It was the only way he could keep our identities private. Good thing you had given him a backup of all your files. He said he had a plan, been working on a project the past few days with the information you gave him.” Troy stretched out his leg, the joint popping loudly. He winced. Even Aria cringed. “Not sure if that was a good sound.” He rubbed his knee.

  “Should I be concerned about his little project?” Aria asked.

  “He said that if you asked that, to tell you not to worry; he’s got it all under control,” Troy mumbled, still running his palm over his leg.

  “I hate being out of the loop,” she groaned.

  “You hate not being in charge.”

  She glared at him, frowning the more he smirked.

  “Okay, dinner is served,” the nurse called out as she entered the room. Aria and Troy quickly turned their attention to the woman. “You know, I’ve worked here for over twenty-five years, and I still cannot tell you what, exactly, is in the meatloaf,” she laughed.

  As she set the trays down, Troy gave a cockeyed grin at the sloppy tan-colored mess on his plate.

  “Just like how mom used to make,” he cheered.

  Aria wrinkled her nose. “This looks like my cooking.”

  “And I expect you both to eat it all. You need your strength and health.” The nurse’s expression turned into a hard look. “Especially if they are in such a hurry to get as many soldiers out on the field as possible.”

  “What’s the hurry?” Aria asked. She rolled her eyes as the woman tucked a napkin into her shirt.

  “Oh, I suppose you wouldn’t know with everything you’ve been through. The war…against Cherno, Saray, and Roma. They need as many soldiers as they can get.”

  “Saray and Roma, too?!” Troy shouted.

  The nurse quickly pushed him back onto the angled bed and placed a napkin in his collar.

  “Yes. War’s been declared. Apparently Cherno was so angry with Mr. Walten for buying out Elixis during the Stock Talks that they nuked Athenia just to keep him from having it! And then, Cherno teamed up with Saray, who is also allies with Roma. Ever since they attacked the Underbelly, both President Clarke and Mr. Walten have turned up missing. General Jeron Feyette has been in charge of all the military ever since. I suspect that it’s Cherno who has kidnapped the President and CEO. And now being teamed up with two of the largest militaries in the world, Cherno is very dangerous.”

  “Cherno had nothing to do with the attack on the Underbelly!” Troy argued. “Nor did they nuke Athenia!”

  The nurse was taken aback by the man’s angry outburst.

  “When did Feyette mobilize?” he asked, not bothering to explain the truth to the nurse. Walten’s propaganda clearly was already in full effect with the general populace.

  “Well…three days ago they sent out drones and mechs,” the woman stammered. “Troops were sent out about two days ago.”

  “Shit! We need to get out of here! We’ve got to find James.” Aria tried standing from her bed, her arms tangling with the IVs again. As her bare feet hit the floor, she began to topple over, her knees buckling.

  “You need to sit down! You’re not healed yet! You’ve got a few more days before you’ll be walking out of here.” The woman guided Aria back into her bed.

  “No…you don’t understand,” Aria said, her breathing heavy from the small amount of movement. “We are all going to die if we can’t get out of here.”

  “Honey, there are plenty of soldiers out there right now. Those Cherno bastards will get what they deserve for killing all those innocent people down in the Underbelly. As messed up as a lot of those folks were down there, they didn’t deserve that,” the woman said, tucking in Aria. She then proceeded to remove the IVs. “And neither did Athenia. I’m sure Saray and Roma will get their just deserts, too, for allying themselves with that terrible Lebedev.”

  “Lady, there’s something out there you can’t comprehend, and it’s going to destroy us all,” Troy snapped.

  The nurse placed her hands on her hips, frowning at the male soldier. “Are you one of those conspiracy theorists that think monsters are doing all of this?”

  “Pull your head out of your ass! What reason did Cherno have to destroy the Underbelly? If they were going to attack, why not attack the side that counts–Bio-Tech? When are you people going to open your eyes and realize the truth to what’s really going on here?” Aria said, her eyes flaring with hostility.

  The nurse gaped at Aria in shock. Irritably, she folded her arms across her chest. “You two just be quiet and eat your dinner. I don’t need you working up all the other patients in this hospital. Any more complaints and I’ll have you both sent to psychiatric care. Then you won’t be getting out of here for a while.” She quickly spun and marched to the exit, dimming the lights to the vibrant white room, and shut the door.

  “Well…that didn’t go so w
ell,” Troy said. Picking up his fork, he poked the questionable meat on his plate. “You know, it’s probably better that she dimmed the lights. Doesn’t look so nasty that way.”

  Aria scoffed. “I’d rather eat field rations.”

  Troy followed with a scoff of his own. “I’d rather eat your cooking.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far.” She scrutinized her meal.

  With a huff, the woman plopped back onto her pillow, staring at the pale ceiling. She was hungry but didn’t feel like eating, especially the mush sitting in front of her. She angrily tugged on the napkin tucked into her shirt, crumpled it, and dropped it to the floor. Why couldn’t she have a cheeseburger? That sounded good. Or pizza. Even then, could she stomach the food? The smell itself was making her feel nauseous. Closing her eyes tightly, she took a deep breath, trying to ignore the clatter of Troy’s fork as he ate the cafeteria mess.

  “You better eat that,” he mumbled with a full mouth.

  “Don’t think so,” she muttered.

  “Do it, or I’ll spoon feed you.”

  “You eat it.”

  “I would, but I know you need it more.”

  “It’ll just make me barf,” she groaned.

  The room was silent after that. Aria sighed; her eyes remained closed.

  “You need to eat. Why are you always so stubborn?” a familiar voice grumbled. It seemed quite aloof and rumbled with a bass tone. Aria wasn’t sure where the voice had come from, but she had nearly fallen asleep when it sounded.

  “I’m not being stubborn; I will barf,” she replied.

  “I didn’t say anything,” Troy spoke up.

  Aria opened her eyes, looking at the man in the bed next to hers. He had nearly eaten all of his food already and was gaping at Aria like she had grown a second head.

  “You said I was being stubborn,” she stated.

  “No, I didn’t. I’ve been eating while you’ve been sitting over there snoring.”

  Aria’s face twisted. Maybe she had fallen asleep. Dismissing the argument, she lowered her head. As the woman lay in her bed, she thought of the times she was sick as a child. Her mother would venture to the nearest store and bring her back some sweet treat. When she did that, it always made Aria feel a little bit better.

  “Oh, I see why you aren’t eating,” Troy said with an accusatory tone.

  “Why?” Aria asked, irritated.

  “You’ve gotten full off of chocolates.”

  The woman’s green eyes popped open. “What chocolates?”

  Troy pointed. “Didn’t notice ‘em before. Someone must’ve visited while I was out.”

  Aria looked to the opposite side of her bed where a small table was. Beside her lamp was a petite pink box that had a matching bow.

  “Those look like the ones from Saray,” Aria whispered.

  With a shaking hand, she gripped the decorative box. Carefully, she opened the small note tied to the top. With beautiful handwriting, there was a message scrawled inside.

  ‘For the tummy ache….’

  Aria’s breath hitched, her heart pounding in her chest. Who would give her this gift? No one knew of their trip to Saray except for Clarke and Lebedev. It sure as hell wasn’t from Lebedev, and Clarke’s handwriting wasn’t that nice. Aria rubbed her eyes, thinking of the voice she had heard only moments ago. It wasn’t Troy who had called her stubborn. Was her mind playing tricks on her, or did she actually hear Dovian’s voice? And were these from him? If so, why wouldn’t he show himself to her? Where was he? Was he safe?

  “Who’s it from?” Troy asked, tearing the woman from her thoughts.

  “Uh, it…it doesn’t say,” she grumbled, quickly opening the package. “I’m sure it’s from Kovacevic or something.”

  ‘Yeah, like he can write in cursive,’ she thought.

  “Why would he send you chocolates? Would he even know we’re here?” Troy asked.

  “Maybe there’s another one of those bakeries here in the city. I mean, it’s just a pink box. Anyone could have bought this from anywhere. I bet it was Aren.”

  Troy shrugged, not thinking much of the whole ordeal. Aria, however, couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to it than that. Maybe she had just hoped there was.

  Looking inside the box, she heaved a tired sigh. There were four truffles, each individually wrapped. Sure enough, her suspicions were correct. Inside was another message: ‘a little piece of heaven’ and a tiny smiley face drawn in the corner.

  “Troy, we need to get out of here,” she whispered.

  "Are Those Chocolates?"

  Chapter 3

  The chill of the cave froze Ivory to her core. Though she didn’t feel it as much as read it in her senses that she should be cold. After all this time, the young woman never once thought about how she wasn’t feeling things correctly like an ordinary human being. Sure, she knew it was cold. And as she sat on the slick crystalline floor of the chamber, her knees drawn to her chest with her arms wrapped around, she didn’t feel uncomfortable. Pastel-blue eyes stared back at hers through her reflection in the ground. Who was this woman with fair skin and matching pale hair? As hard as she tried, no memory would surface from her previous life. Perhaps she had no memories because of the damage to her brain caused by the gunshot wound that stole her life away nearly a year ago. But was she even that same person? Perhaps she had no memories because she was nothing more than a simple clone, a clone of a dead body. She was a mere representation of a deceased woman named Ivory that once had a family–a mother, a father, and an adorable little sister who loved her dearly.

  ‘Fiona.’ The name bubbled in her mind.

  She had no recollection of the girl outside of the miniscule memory from nearly a week ago. Though she had no idea who Fiona truly was, Ivory felt a deep connection to her. And for a few minutes, she almost had hope, hope that she could figure out who she was and where she belonged. But all that bright hope was brutally crushed thanks to General Feyette and his team of murdering soldiers.

  ‘That’s what you get for always trying to think positively. Your optimism only makes the cruel reality more painful.’ She glared at her reflection in the shining floor. Her angry expression made her seem harsh and distant, a complete contrast to her typical joyful appearance.

  Ivory blinked away her tears. Her hands gripped her forearms tightly, nails digging into her flesh painlessly. She was living in an unknown world surrounded by unfamiliar humans, monsters, and a Sorcēarian. The Sorcēarian, a man whom she knew nothing about but felt everything in the world for, the feelings of another, filled her with both hope and fright. Dovian was once calm and kind, but his presence the past few days left even her skin crawling. But what was she afraid of? Why was she feeling anything at all? She was a biomechanical android. She, herself, was a monstrosity, built only to destroy humanity. Last thing she knew, robots didn’t have feelings. They weren’t supposed to understand or feel anything.

  “Maybe I am just a robot, and this is what robots go through. Maybe they sit on the inside always contemplating their existence and reason for feeling anything at all,” she whispered.

  “You feel things because you are alive, Ivory,” a male voice rumbled inside the dark chamber.

  Ivory shivered a little at the sound. It was Dovian’s voice, but something behind it made her heed warning. He was in another one of his moods. She twisted her head, looking upward at the tall, lean man. He had his hood drawn; his piercing blue eyes stared coldly upon her. In his right hand was his staff. The orb cast light around him.

  “Why are you sitting in the dark?” he asked. “You haven’t even bothered leaving the cave.”

  “It’s not like it will grant me any freedom,” she grumbled harshly.

  Dovian never tore his eyes from hers. He frowned at her spiteful glare. She was obviously angry with him.

  “You are as free as I am,” he returned.

  “You are a slave as I am,” she mumbled.

  “And how is that?”
<
br />   Ivory slowly stood, her once beautiful masquerade gown was now tattered and torn, covered in stains of dust and burns from her heated thrusters and particle beam. Only one hand was gloved, the other article had been demolished in the amassing of her weapon. Her filigree mask was also long gone, probably lost during her travels with Euclid to this terrible cave. It was in that instant while looking at the beautiful glaring blonde that Dovian had realized he never once asked her if the other Sorcēarian had ever harmed her.

  “You are only here because you are too scared to stand up for yourself and do what is right,” Ivory stated. “You are afraid of her.”

  Dovian finally tore his brilliant eyes away. “And what is the right thing, Ivory?”

  “Why are you even questioning it?” she hissed. “You know very well that you are wrong.”

  “You should be careful what you say,” Dovian warned.

  “Why? Because the horrible child will overhear? The monster that wants to destroy everyone and everything will only kill us both once she gets what she wants!”

  “Lower your voice! You have no idea what she is,” Dovian growled.

  “I don’t care! I want to go home!”

  Dovian snatched her by the arm then. “And where is that, Ivory?” he said through gritted teeth. “You have no home. You and all you’ve ever known in the past life have all been destroyed by the humans.”

  “And you let Aria and Troy die!” she shrieked.

  Dovian tugged her close. His voice lowering, he said to her, “They are not dead.”

  Ivory’s glare finally dissipated as her eyes widened, and her breath halted. “They are alive?” Her voice raised in pitch.

  Dovian nodded in affirmation.

  “You know this for fact?” she asked, her tone lowering again.

  “I’ve seen them myself. They survived the attack and are currently in a hospital in Fountains. Things were looking bleak at first, but now they seem stable. They will be alright.”

  Ivory’s glare returned. “No thanks to you!” She pushed away from him.