by J. F. Johns
The temples were no longer in use. Their purpose was to entertain the travellers from other capitals. Only one God existed and that was the Nation. Eric couldn't help but snort at the thought as soon as he stretched out like a lazy cat that had just awoken from a long nap. He hated travelling by train, but they had decided to not use a car, so he disembarked alongside all the other cyborgs and made his way calmly out of the station.
He marched down the crowded street where building after building was squashed together, one on top of the other, tossed together for lack of room. Here nothing mattered when it came to architecture; if there was space, a building would rise.
This particular street was called Yu Wang Street and was known for its bars. Workers stood outside beckoning people to enter, the loud seductive music causing most to turn away from their original destination. Pretty girls giggled and gestured at tourists to follow them inside. The dwellings above held homes where the occupants left the windows wide open and the sound of televisions blasted out as laughing kids stared out and men smoked colourful cigarettes.
Capital One was also busy, but there was order to such chaos. Everything was white and sleek, modern and perfect. Here, everything was old, rusted or broken. People bumped into each other, and no one really cared about the rules between humans and cyborgs. There wasn't enough space to keep such distances, so people chose not to.
A fight broke out and Eric stepped to one side as he lit himself a cigarette, staring at the two men. He wondered where Morgana was and whether she would be long. He spun on his heels at the sight of the location where they'd planned to meet; Hot Steaming Circuits. The idea of Morgana stepping inside such a place amused Eric terribly.
A slap across the back of his neck made him drop his cigarette. He arched an eyebrow at Morgana.
'Seriously? The Hot Steaming Circuits was your first choice?' They stepped inside as Eric lit himself another cigarette.
'It wasn't,' Eric said as he sat down on a sticky stool and gestured at the waitress. 'But Sexy Wires has a really bad reputation right now. Didn't want to scare you.'
'Does Scarlet know you enjoy these kinds of places?' Morgana eyed the drink dropped in front of her, which was a blue concoction with red ice.
Eric grinned, showing teeth. 'Scarlet enjoys them far more than me.'
Morgana rolled her eyes. 'You're a strange couple.'
Eric chugged his own drink back in one gulp, then clapped the counter as heat burnt his throat. He turned encouragingly at Morgana, wiggling his eyebrows at her. 'It's fun.'
'I can't drink, moron.'
'Thought I should try anyway.' He snatched Morgana's drink and gulped it down.
The bar was dark and small. Women and men -humans as well as cyborgs- walked around almost naked, sitting on customers laps or dancing on the counter where the waitresses behind served the drinks and food. A lot of it got knocked over, but no one complained.
'How we doing this?' Eric asked as he snatched another drink. The memories of Scarlet and the bar had been fun at first, but now they hurt. He didn't want to think of it any longer.
'I'll be the one to talk.'
Eric scoffed. 'You make it sound as though your brothers don't absolutely adore me.'
'I didn't say they don't, but sometimes you can be a bit pushy. And annoying. And irritating. And tiresome.'
'Woah.' Eric took another sip of the drink he'd stolen off the counter. 'Keep it down, Morgana. One might think you're growing feelings for me with such praise.'
She sniffed the air, ignoring him. Her posture on the stool was perfect, her back straight, her neck long and tall. It was perplexing even after all these years to look at Morgana and Scarlet. They'd been built to be perfect in every single way. And yet they weren't. Sometimes Eric thought they were the most human out of all of them. They felt so deeply and strongly, and they were always willing to do what they thought was right.
'Stop staring at me like that, Thorn,' Morgana muttered, her eyes glued to the ceiling, her angelic face twisting to disgust at the sight. 'Can we please go? This place is...' She sniffed the air again and pulled a face. One of the workers approached Morgana, dancing around her. Eric would've burst out laughing if it weren't for the fear of Morgana hurting the worker.
'Wouldn't do that if I were you,' he said, waving the worker away with his hand. The man, built like a building itself, grunted something and turned to walk off.
'The temple isn't far,' Morgana explained, her face serious as always, but Eric could tell she was annoyed and uncomfortable in the bar. 'We ought to wait until closing times to speak with them. I wouldn't want to inconvenience them.'
'How noble of you.'
The sharp look Morgana gave him only made Eric sneer. He'd missed her company. They had always teased each other, driving Scarlet mad at having to deal with what she called 'two bickering children'. Eric chuckled.
'What's so funny?'
'Was just remembering something.'
'About Scarlet?' Her eyes brightened.
'Of course.'
And just like that, they sat in the grimy and dark bar lost in conversation, talking and laughing over the memories they shared of the person they most loved in the world.
...
Camille found herself almost drunk, standing on the wooden table in the kitchen, her arms up in the air as the cyborgs below her cheered her on while she danced in circles and drank, spilling brown liquid all over.
Malcolm had made his way into the 'party', giving the situation a worried look until Camille had forced him to climb up onto the table to dance with her. Having Malcolm next to her, and her son upstairs finally happy after getting Terra back made Camille feel as though absolutely nothing could ruin the happiness she was feeling. She twirled around and around, laughing as she tilted her head back. Malcolm grabbed her waist before she could fall back, which just made her laugh even more.
'You're drunk,' he muttered into her ear.
'I aaaaaaaam.'
'Maybe you ought to go to bed?'
'I'm having fun, Malcolm.'
He chuckled. 'Okay then. Let's have fun.'
They danced as if they were fifteen years old. Someone had put music on and even though a part of Camille felt she should worry it was too loud- and some neighbour might alert Watchers- another part of her just didn't give a damn. They had sneaked their way into the Government's Headquarters and saved Terra. All under Petra's stuck up nose!
Camille hopped off the table, almost losing her balance and sat down next to Hooky, who was smiling cheerfully as he smoked one of his coloured cigars. 'We did good,' she said, patting the table.
'We did,' Hooky agreed.
Someone said something and everyone cheered, but Camille hadn't heard what it was. She cheered anyway. Finally something was going their way. It felt too good to be true. But it was.
The music changed into something more upbeat and Malcolm was doing a sexy dance. Camille couldn't help but notice a few greedy eyes on him, and she wondered who would be the lucky lady to fall into his arms that night.
She had taken so much of his time, demanded so much of him. And Malcolm had never complained. He'd been there by her side through the ups and downs, always leaving his own feelings and desires to one side for her. She didn't deserve someone as wonderful as him. Watching Malcolm dance on the table with all the women drooling beneath made Camille realise that she needed to give him more freedom. She needed to back away from him. He would never find someone to love if she was constantly there, a shadow lingering over him because it was too scared to let go.
'Ya look sad,' Hooky said.
Camille's face was burning, but she was pretty sure it was because of the alcohol. She shrugged. 'Just thinking about things.'
'That usually makes me sad, too,' he said.
Camille smiled. The drinks were making her bubbly and even though there were a dozen questions she needed to make Hooky about the Pits and Terra, she didn't
want to ruin the mood. So instead, she kept her butt glued to her chair and cheered Malcolm on.
Until she spotted Kalem by the door and her world came crumbling down at the sight of his face.
She didn't know what had happened, but she knew something had. If someone had asked what it was that had given it away, she wouldn't have known how to reply. It was a gut feeling. She knew her son better than anyone, and she knew something was terribly wrong.
Camille jumped out of the chair and rushed out of the kitchen, grabbing Kalem before he could run away and hide. 'What's wrong?' She felt someone behind her, and then a robotic hand was on her back. Turning, she looked up into Malcolm's blue worried eyes.
'She doesn't remember me,' Kalem whispered.
'What?' Camille frowned. 'What are you talking about, Kalem?'
'Terra.' Kalem cleared his throat. 'Petra's done something to her. She doesn't recognise me.'
'I don't... I don't understand.'
'Let's go and speak with her,' Malcolm said.
'No.' Kalem's voice broke. Camille felt the need to reach out and hug him, and before he could escape her embrace, she pulled him into her arms. He didn't try breaking free, which made Camille realise how serious the problem was. 'She doesn't want to talk to me.'
'Okay,' Camille said, glancing over at Malcolm, unsure of what to do. 'How about I speak with her?' She felt Kalem nod against her chest. 'Okay then. I'll speak with her. Your dad and you should go sit down and...' Camille froze, unsure. Malcolm shrugged, clearly uncertain of everything too.
'She doesn't remember me,' Kalem whispered, and the way his voice said the words broke Camille even more. He was shattered, hopeless and upset. Her arms around him tightened, never wanting to let go. If only she could make it all go away with a single touch.
Closing her eyes, she willed for it all to be fixed.
'It's going to be okay,' she whispered to Kalem. 'I'm gonna make it okay.'
Kalem separated from her, and the emptiness he left behind brought a wave of despair and sadness to settle in Camille's very soul. 'This isn't going to be okay, mum.'
'It is.' She grabbed Kalem's face to force him to look at her. 'It is. I promise you that I'm going to make it okay.' She felt Malcolm behind her, his hand on her back again. A warning. A warning not to promise things she couldn't keep. Camille didn't care. She would do anything to make her son's pain go away.
'Come on,' she said, letting go. 'Dad is gonna make you something to eat.' She gestured at them to head into the kitchen. Maybe the party would cheer him up. Or distract him just for a little while. And something to eat always helped.
The fear took over as soon as Malcolm and Kalem vanished into the kitchen and Camille slumped to the ground, her back against the wall. The look on Kalem's face had frightened her so much. There was no spark in those silver eyes, as if the life had been drained out of him. Such a thing petrified her.
Camille sobbed in middle of the hallway, and when her body couldn't produce more tears, she ran. She ran to Terra.
Chapter twelve
After the strange encounter with the boy named Kalem, Terra had fallen asleep. She didn't think she'd be able to, but her body had shut down. It had helped regain some of her lost energy, because now she felt so much better for it. Charlotte had come in to make sure Terra was okay and to clean her wounds. Terra had sat up in bed, watching Charlotte skilfully change the bandages over the stitches.
'You don't need to look so shocked,' Charlotte said. 'I've been cleaning wounds for many years now. I don't need eyes to do it.'
'How did you know I was-?'
'I don't need eyes to know you'd look at me with shock, either.' Charlotte's small pale hands worked fast and efficiently. 'When you live as long as me, you start to realise that people's reactions are usually the same.'
'I'm sorry.'
'For what?'
Terra realised she wasn't entirely sure. 'I didn't want to be rude.'
'You weren't.' Charlotte shrugged. Even though her hands were at work, her head was held high, her eyes focused on nothing at all. 'You of all people should know that sometimes others don't really understand what it's like. So most of the time, they just don't know how to understand.' Terra's hand flew automatically up to her white blind eye.
'The wound feels better,' Charlotte added as she finished. 'Curtis did an excellent job with the stitches.'
'Thanks.'
Charlotte nodded and turned to put the metal bowl away and rinse the equipment in a small sink at the other side of the room. Terra couldn't help but watch the cyborg as she moved about without any trouble at all, clearly aware of where everything was.
'Can I ask you a question?'
Charlotte's body tensed, but she nodded. She wasn't very old, in her early twenties. Her long black hair was kept in a high ponytail and even though she was very thin, she was very strong too. As soon as she finished, she pulled the sleeves of her black jumper up and grabbed the chair by the bed to sit on.
'Kalem... He says I know him.' Terra felt suddenly nervous. She didn't really know Charlotte that well and opening up to the cyborg was probably overstepping boundaries. But she needed to speak to someone. Anyone. 'I don't remember him at all. I think that perhaps Petra might've done something to me. I was wondering... Is it true? Is it true that I know him? It's a dumb question but...'
'If Kalem says he knows you, then you should trust him.'
'How can I trust someone I don't know?'
'What does your gut tell you?'
Terra frowned. 'I don't-'
'Terra.' Her voice was sharp, but not unkind. 'Just close your eyes and let your gut tell you. Stop looking at things. Feel them.' Charlotte stood from the chair and put it back in its place. 'I'll let Curtis know about this, anyway. Maybe there's something we can do about it.'
The door to the room slammed open and Camille appeared, her eyes red and puffy. Terra realised she'd been crying. It was odd to see her in such a state. Terra had only ever met one type of Camille; the indestructible cyborg made of steel. So seeing this other side to her was beyond bizarre.
'We need to talk,' Camille said. She was angry. Terra had no idea why, but she suddenly felt like a kid that was about to get scolded. It made her think of her father and wondered where he was. He was better off without her and her troubles. The further away she kept from him, the safer he'd be from Petra's claws. 'Charlotte, do you mind giving us a few minutes to talk?' Terra couldn't help but notice how Camille's tone had softened.
Charlotte nodded, and without acknowledging Terra, turned to leave.
Camille made her way to the stool where only a few minutes ago Charlotte had been sitting. She dropped down on it and rested her elbows on her knees, rubbing her face until it turned red.
The minutes ticked on and yet Camille didn't speak. She sat there staring off at the wall, completely ignoring Terra, which made the human girl uncomfortable and worried. Terra's mouth parted various times to speak up, but she quickly shut it after thinking about it. Camille had come to her, so she would patiently wait until Camille was ready.
'Kalem.'
She hadn't expected her to speak so soon and the sound of her voice made Terra jump. 'Who? Oh, the boy that rescued me.'
'My son.'
'Your son?'
Camille's hands balled into fists. 'How can you not remember? Terra, Nation forbid you're making this up.' Sighing, she brushed through her short blonde hair. 'How? How is any of this possible?'
'I don't know.'
'Why would Petra do this?'
'I don't know,' Terra repeated. 'Clearly she must've thought it would hurt me, but...' She wanted to feel bad. To cry over losing the memories of someone she should've known. But if she couldn't remember him, she couldn't feel bad either.
'You really don't remember him, do you?' Camille's voice was so heartbroken it made Terra feel dreadful at having to shake her head. She wanted to pretend she knew Kalem, that she
remembered him in order to make everyone happy. But what would be the point? 'Okay... I'll fix this. I'll make this okay. I'll talk to Curtis. Do you mind sleeping here tonight? I'll arrange a room for you in the morning as I doubt you'll want to sleep in...' Camille abruptly shut up, her face taut as if she'd bitten into a lemon. 'Never mind. I'll get that set up for you tomorrow, okay? And I'll fix this.'
Terra couldn't help but frown at Camille's tense body and at the way she kept repeating herself. She wanted to tell her that it was okay, that it wasn't her responsibility. But something about the cyborg's expression made Terra not say anything. Instead, she just nodded and thanked her.
Camille finally stood up, her hands shaking. It was unsettling to see, and even more knowing it was Terra's fault.
'Can you do me one favour? Just one?' Camille turned to look at Terra as she spoke.
'Anything.'
Camille seemed as though she was struggling to speak. 'Just try, okay? Please. If not for me, or for him, but for yourself. Just try to remember Kalem.'
Terra nodded, surprised at the request. And then Camille left, saying goodnight under her breath. For some strange reason, even though Terra was finally safe and surrounded by friends, she felt utterly alone in the world.
...
'I think everyone's gone by now,' Eric said, dropping his cigarette to the ground and stepping on it. Morgana gave him an annoyed look as she hid between bushes by the entrance to the temple. Eric hadn't bothered hiding. He stood leaning against a tree, his hands in his pockets. Curfew would be taking place in an hour, so everyone had rushed home. Soon the other two Prototypes they were waiting for would make their way out of the temple.
'Why in hell are you sitting in a bush?'