After Darkness II

by J. F. Johns

  'A weapon,' Eric said.

  Terra rolled her eyes. 'Are you planning on using that on Scarlet?' At the mention of Scarlet's name, Eric tensed. He nodded. 'How does it work?'

  'It's meant to paralyse,' Curtis explained. 'Like a taser.'

  Frowning, Terra tried inspecting the weapon from where she stood. 'How's that going to bring Scarlet back?'

  'The gun is only meant to paralyse her so the Prototypes can speak to her,' Eric explained.

  'And they can bring her back by talking?'

  Eric's eyes sparkled with interest and curiosity. 'Do you have any better ideas?'

  'I actually do.'

  'Terra.' Curtis's tone could cut through ice, warning. She didn't care. If no one else would listen except for the blonde cyborg in front of her, then so be it.

  'Let her talk, Curtis.'

  'The twins and I are connected to Scarlet through the Destroyer. Surely we could somehow...' Terra sighed, unsure of how to continue. Then she remembered something and brightened at the thought. 'When Scarlet rescued me she said she had felt my pain. What if that's true? What if we're connected in such a way that if something happens to me she can feel it? Perhaps... Perhaps we could use that to bring her back.' She pointed towards the weapon. 'Could you maybe put my blood in that thing? Would that make a difference?'

  Curtis piped up. 'Could try.' He wheeled himself across the small space on the chair to grab a needle. He beckoned at Terra to give her arm to him and she shuddered. 'Only if you want.'

  'Yes, do it.' She wasn't going to back down over a bit of drawn blood. She'd never been affected by blood before. She had fought in the Pits, causing many bodies to fall to the ground bleeding. But since her time with Petra in that room...

  Curtis took the small vial of blood once he had finished and placed it in an opening in the gun. Terra wanted to ask him what that opening had been intended for, but was interrupted by Curtis speaking. 'When the gun is shot, the vial will fire like a bullet. Perhaps the blood won't affect her in any way, but it might help increase the connection between you.'

  Eric shrugged. 'We won't lose anything for trying.'

  'I also think the twins and I should go,' Terra said, rubbing her arm where the needle had pierced her. 'We stand a good chance of getting her back. Better, even.'

  'No.' Curtis's red eyes gleamed with anger at the suggestion. 'The twins are just children.'

  'Curtis...' Eric took a long drag from his cigarette and then squashed it against the desk. 'We need to try everything.'

  'Ten and Rife agreed to it,' Terra hurried. 'Well, Ten did. Rife didn't say much. But I know we could bring her back. We're connected to her.'

  Curtis tapped his gloved fingers against the desk, flicking the cigarette Eric had left burning. 'Why are you so intent on doing this?'

  'Because Scarlet saved my life. I owe her.' She noticed the way Eric was watching her, analysing her with those yellow eyes as if he couldn't quite understand what her intentions were. Raising her chin, she stared right back defiantly.

  'I like how your brain works, muchacha,' Eric said, grinning. He grabbed a bottle that had been discarded behind boxes. Pouring the contents in two cups that he grabbed from another desk, he handed one to Terra.

  'She's underage,' Curtis muttered.

  Eric cursed, then quickly grabbed her cup back from her hands. 'Yeah, none of that for you.' He swallowed the first in one gulp, then shrugged and guzzled the second one too.

  'I didn't know you spoke more languages,' Terra said.

  'He doesn't,' Curtis replied, his back on them as he messed about with the weapon. 'He just speaks the language of subnormality.'

  'Ignore him,' Eric said, grabbing another cigarette, which made Terra frown. 'He's just always been jealous because I'm better looking.'

  Terra nodded, suddenly feeling anxious at having been gone so long. What if Kalem woke up and found her gone? He'd think something had happened to her. 'I should head back,' she said.

  As soon as she stepped into the hallway, Eric followed, shutting the door behind himself. Coughing, he muttered, 'May I have a word?' Terra nodded. 'Curtis won't let you or the twins try and help Scarlet. He won't risk your safety over... Well, Scarlet is unbreakable in that sense so... I mean... Look, I know I'm asking a lot from you and I'm an asshole for such a thing but...'

  'I'll do it,' Terra spat out, eagerly pleased that someone wanted her help. 'I'll sneak out. No one has to know.'

  'The twins...Maybe they should stay... I mean, they're kids so...'

  Terra could tell he wanted them to tag along but felt guilty as hell, so she shrugged nonchalantly. 'Yeah, sure. They'll stay.' She knew Ten and Rife would come along. If there was any chance of success, she needed them with her. And they wouldn't stay behind no matter how much she insisted on them doing so.

  'Tomorrow night,' Eric said. 'We'll be going after Scarlet tomorrow night.'

  Terra nodded. That didn't give her much time to mentally prepare for such a thing, but then again, waiting would just make everything more difficult. Waving goodbye, she rushed back to Kalem's room. It took her a good while to find it, but once she did, she crept in silently, her eyes on Kalem's closed ones, making sure they didn't flutter open.

  Settling back next to him, Terra felt a peacefulness wash over her as it had never done before and she fell asleep within seconds.

  ...

  Malcolm found Camille sitting on the roof of their home drinking from a bottle, her eyes sunken low and her cheeks red from the wine.

  'It's really late,' Malcolm whispered as he made his way to her side. 'And you look tired.'

  'Shut up. I'm thinking.'

  'About what?'

  'I need to speak with Curtis about how we can fix Terra's memory.'

  'I don't think something like that can be fixed, Camille.'

  Her head turned so fast he was afraid it might snap. Instead, her green eyes flashed with fury. 'No! I refuse to believe this cannot be fixed.'

  Malcolm sighed, rubbing his face. 'Perhaps it can. I don't know. What I do know is that lack of sleep doesn't help anyone.' He gestured at the bottle of wine which was now empty.

  'I can't sleep. I got stuff to do.'

  Malcolm wanted to ask what exactly she needed to do because she was just sitting on the roof drinking, but decided to not get into an argument with her. Instead, he glanced down at his hands; one human and one robotic.

  Camille suddenly threw the empty bottle across the alley where it crashed against the wall of the house in front. Thankfully it didn't land against a window. 'Camille!' he hissed.

  Giggling, she turned to look at him. 'Are you gonna get angry, Malcolm? You neeeeeeeever get mad. That's something everyone loves about you. Calm and wise Malcolm. Gosh, it drives me nuts sometimes.'

  Malcolm stood up, not wanting to fight with her. He knew what Camille was like when she was pissed and went searching for fights wherever she could. He wasn't going to be her personal punching bag because she was in a shitty mood.

  As soon as he turned away and began climbing back inside, he heard her sobs. Sighing, he returned to her side and sat back down. Her pale face had turned terribly red from the wine and the crying, her eyes full of tears. She was hugging herself, her fingers pressing into the sleeves of her blue jumper a little too forcefully.

  'I'm so tired!' she cried out. He knew she didn't mean sleepy. He patted her back, massaging it softly as he had done so many times before as she sat crying over something. 'I don't know how to fix all of this mess.'

  'You don't need to fix anything.'

  'Kalem's my son... I need to help him.'

  'Yes, he's your son. But he is old enough to find a way to fix his own problems. Camille, you can't just put the world's problems on your shoulders and decide that it's up to you to fix everything. Just breathe.'

  'But if I don't-' She began to sob harder.

  'What?' Malcolm chuckled. 'You'll be a bad mother if you
don't fix this hiccup? Come on, Camille. Why are you acting like this?'

  'Because...' She shut her eyes. 'I don't want Kalem to suffer over love the way I did. It suffocated me. I just don't want to see him suffer over anything like that.'

  'I don't want that either.' He pulled her into a hug, her face buried against his chest. Brushing back her short blonde hair, he wiped her tears away. 'Come on. Getting into bed will make you feel better. It always does. Tomorrow will be another day.'

  They made their way back inside. Malcolm helped Camille get changed, pulling her pyjamas on as she continued to cry. He tucked her into bed and then lay on it next to her, knowing full well she wouldn't let him wander off. He'd stay until she fell asleep.

  Wiggling closer, Camille forced her way between his arms, which made Malcolm chuckle. She sniffed his jumper and made a face, grunting at how bad it smelt. 'There's such a thing as washing your clothes, Malcolm,' she muttered against him.

  'You didn't wash them.'

  'Ain't your mother.'

  They both laughed and then Camille fell asleep, her breathing even. Malcolm closed his eyes, telling himself he'd get up in a minute, as soon as he made sure she was settled. But at some point, Malcolm drifted off too.

  Chapter twenty-two

  'Did you sleep at all, Thorn?' Morgana asked the cyborg as they made their way into the kitchen the next morning. Eric really did look like crap, those bright yellow eyes less sparkly than usual. Deep dark bags ran beneath them, his usually bronze skin a sickly white.

  'Sleep is for those that don't have vision,' he replied, grinning.

  Morgana didn't bother replying as she hopped down the two steps leading into the kitchen. Nerves were running high after Eric had woken everyone up announcing that Curtis had finished the weapon so they'd be going after Scarlet that very day.

  Camille and Malcolm were busy preparing breakfast. Her face was red and swollen from lack of sleep and clearly from having cried. Malcolm kept giving her worried looks which she was choosing to ignore. Morgana didn't understand those two at all, and shrugged at their weird relationship.

  Curtis was already sitting at the kitchen table, fully clothed for battle. Dark sunglasses covered his eyes, black gloves hid his robotic hands and a black jumper, as well as trousers, were covered by a long dark leather coat which hid him within the shadows. Charlotte was also at the table, Tristan by her side, which made Morgana halt, surprised. They weren't talking or even looking at each other, but there was something odd about them having chosen to sit so close to each other. The contrast between them was shocking. Tristan was a huge Prototype with a shaved head and an angry face, whereas Charlotte was very frail looking with extremely pale skin, white eyes and long black straight hair.

  'Okay, so here's the plan,' Eric said, raising his voice to grab everyone's attention. At that exact moment Malcolm swirled around with a pan, gesturing at everyone to sit down. 'Breakfast first!' He began dropping eggs and bacon on plates as if his life depended on it. 'Can't expect soldiers to go to war on an empty stomach.'

  'No one is going to war,' Eric mumbled. His yellow eyes landed on a piece of bacon which he quickly snatched from the plate and swallowed in one piece. His body shook with nerves and Morgana was more than surprised that he wasn't barking at everyone to stop eating. It was easy and obvious to tell he was nervous about the plan and hopeful at getting Scarlet back.

  Eric leaned against the counter, a cigarette in hand with a plate beside him. The twins came rushing in at the smell of bacon, and Morgana was more than pleased to see the rabbit in Ten's arms. Alive.

  Rife made his way directly to Curtis's lap and snatched some egg from the cyborg's plate. It was pretty clear by the way he was trying to stuff the rest of the food down his throat that he liked Camille and Malcolm's cooking.

  Kalem and Terra appeared, quickly hurrying along to sit down to eat. Camille shot worried glances at them, but kept herself by the counter with a cup of coffee in her hands.

  'Okay, so can we start?' Eric grumbled, lifting his eyebrows at Malcolm. At his friend's nod, he continued, 'The plan will be as follows; the X-Prototypes will help me find Scarlet tonight as soon as curfew takes place. We shoot Scarlet with the taser gun and you guys do your magic.' Eric turned to glare at Morgana.

  'That doesn't sound much like a plan,' Morgana said. There seemed to be so many flaws in what he had said. And no one was questioning it. Morgana realised that everyone felt too bad for Eric to do anything against the entire ordeal. No one really thought Eric's so called 'plan' would work, and they were just going along with it to make him happy. Morgana knew that everyone wanted Scarlet back, but it was pretty clear that they couldn't do much about it.

  Except for Morgana and the other Prototypes.

  The responsibility and the hope Eric had put on their shoulders was slowly beginning to sink in and Morgana felt immediately unsure of what they were doing. Yes, something needed to be done about Scarlet. But perhaps leaving Eric to deal with it wasn't the smartest option, especially knowing that Tristan was willing to destroy Scarlet if they couldn't bring her back.

  Morgana couldn't help but glance around the kitchen at all the different faces she had known for such a long time. She wanted them to be happy, to find peace and to live in a world ruled without Petra. But her beating heart told her that perhaps some wishes wouldn't come true.

  ...

  Curfew was about to take place and Terra hurried about getting dressed. Eric would be leaving with the Prototypes at any moment to go searching for Scarlet. Terra had different plans. They'd never make it without her or the twins; of that she was sure.

  As soon as she marched down the hallway, Kalem appeared in the opposite direction. Her heart sped up at the sight of him and at the memory of sleeping next to him.

  Turning around and hiding was no longer an option, so she continued forward, pretending to go to the kitchen. Her plan didn't seem to work as Kalem followed her and she stopped, turning to give him a questioning look. 'Are you following me?'

  'No.'

  'It looks like you're following me.'

  'I'm not.'

  'Okay, good.' She continued towards the staircase, but instead of heading downstairs where the kitchen was, she marched up. Kalem continued behind only a few paces back. 'You're following me!'

  'Terra.' The sound of his voice brought her to an abrupt stop on the stairs. 'I know what you're up to.'

  'Not up to anything.'

  'You're going with Eric.'

  Damn it, she cursed. Aloud she said, 'So what? You can't stop me. This is my choice and decision. If anyone can help Scarlet it's me and... Besides, I have a plan. Way better than Eric's non-existent one.'

  'Okay.'

  'Don't you dare try to stop me.'

  'I wasn't planning to.'

  'Oh.' She stared down at the cyborg unsure of how to proceed. 'So why are you...?'

  'I'm coming with you.' He climbed up, passing her on the staircase, his lips twitching as if he wanted to smile.

  'With me?'

  'Yes.' He continued to move and Terra rushed up to follow him. 'No one can stop you, Terra. You're like a tornado when something gets into your head. So I'm coming with you to make sure you don't get killed.'

  Terra pulled a face. 'I'm not going to get killed!'

  'I know. Because I'll be there making sure of it.'

  They made it to the attic. Terra wanted to scream in his face but at the same time hug him for not letting her do it alone. She was scared and petrified of what could happen, and knowing that he was there to help made her feel a little bit better.

  'Maybe if we get Scarlet back she can somehow make my memories...' Terra bit the inside of her cheek in frustration. She hated what Petra had done to her, taking something so personal away. 'It's not fair that Petra always wins.'

  'She won't win.'

  He didn't say anything else, so Terra just nodded and climbed out the attic window. As soon as
she poked her head out, everyone outside turned to look at her. All the X-Prototypes were there along with Eric who was standing dangerously close to the edge of the roof smoking one of those colourful cigarettes. The blue smoke was hard to see in the darkness of the night, but Terra watched it swirl up into the sky.

  'No way.' Morgana marched right up to Terra and Kalem. 'Get back inside.'

  'Morgana.' Eric rushed forward, pulling his arm around her shoulder, which she brushed off in irritation. 'Terra is coming to help.'

  'No, she isn't.'

  'Yes, I am!' Terra stepped forward. 'I have a plan to get Scarlet back and none of you are going to like it but I really need you to trust me.'

  'Terra.' Morgana sighed. 'This is too dangerous.'

  'I know it is, but if we want to get Scarlet back you need to trust me. The twins and I are connected to her.'

  'The twins are children.'

  'And so are we!' Terra was losing her patience. 'You're what? Eighteen years old?'

  'I've been alive for more than a hundred years. And I cannot die. If Scarlet attacks-'

  'Then you'll just have to protect us as if it's your life that's on the line.' Terra didn't want to admit that the look Morgana gave her scared her, but she wouldn't show her fear to anyone.

  Morgana didn't admit defeat, but as she turned away from Terra, it was pretty obvious that the discussion was over and Terra and the twins would be allowed to go. Excitement rushed up and down Terra's body at the prospect of saving Scarlet.

  'So, what's the plan?' Eric asked.

  Terra rubbed her hands from the sudden cold. The smell of garlic and tomato was strong and it was starting to make her stomach growl. It wasn't the right moment to start thinking of food, but her mouth began to water.

  'You're not going to like it but....' She noticed Kalem's eyes narrow. Morgana had crossed her arms against her chest, clearly irritated. Terra told them the plan she'd come up with and hoped that for better or worse, they'd give her the chance to set it into motion.