by Hanna, K. T.
Time slams back into place. “Dom!” she screams, no longer caring who might hear them, which patrol might come running to retrieve them and hook her up to the grid. Right now all she wants is for him to be okay.
“Dom, Dom,” she mutters his name under her breath, the sound echoing back in her ears. It’s not conscious, but she has no idea what to do. Panicking is not the best option, but right now, it seems like the only one.
“Damn it, Dom.” She checks over his body, trying to figure out if there’s anything she can do to help. Not all of him is human. Not all of him isn’t.
“What do I do? Damn it! Dom, what do I do?” But his eyes don’t open and reassure her like they usually do when he tries to regenerate his energy. No, this time, they stay closed. She blinks back the tears and studies the sticky mess on her fingers—like thick black blood.
Her abilities are sluggish. The only thing left is her core, calling to her, luring her in, but knowing how much of the reserves she’s already tapped into makes her hesitate. It’s a gut feeling—if she uses it right now, she might never come out. If she uses it right now, the parasite might gain a foothold.
But this is Dom, her Dom. So she digs deep and gathers what she can, trying to blend it with the human elements in his body. She won’t lose him like she lost Iria. She can’t.
There’s no response. Either her reserves are completely gone or she’s not executing it correctly for him. Sai glances around, nervously, still waiting for a patrol to realize what’s happened. The streets are far too quiet, far too empty, especially for this nice a part of town. PC 4 is definitely not impoverished.
Dom’s colder than usual, and his everyday camouflage is starting to fade at the edges. She watches in rapt fascination as it makes its way up his body, inch by inch, slow as death. He can’t be dying. “You’re not allowed to die.”
But he doesn’t respond and the axe is still jutting out of the gaping hole in his chest at an awkward angle, the handle resting on the ground. Sai glares at it and scowls. If she removes it, will it kill him? Or will it have the opposite effect? One of the wounds on his right thigh is less wide than it was—barely, but definitely. Should she try to reach in and heal him again?
She frowns and attempts to meld, even if only to try and knit him together loosely, but there’s resistance, something all too foreign. His passageways are foreign. Perhaps the axe is blocking the way for his body to start knitting back together.
Slowly, she maneuvers her way around to the other side, blocking out the death and carnage around her and refusing to breathe through her nose. The copper stench is pungent, and if she doesn’t get out of there soon, it’s going to overwhelm her. She cringes at the resistance against the handle when she places her hand on the edge.
The contact makes Dom move slightly, but at least he moves. She grabs the handle with both hands and gets ready to pull.
“Stop it right there.”
Sai gulps and lowers her hands, wondering just how many people are here now. She should have moved him sooner. So many against both of them was one thing, but with Dom down…
She turns and is surprised to see an elderly couple with modest clothing standing in front of her.
“What do you think you’re doing?” the lady whispers, while the man’s eyes are busy darting all around. From behind them, they wheel a low gurney. Why they have it, Sai has no clue, but she’s grateful.
“I… It’s not closing. It should be closing,” she mumbles, unsure of what to say to them. “He’s never been hurt like this…”
The woman shakes her head and leans over to examine Dom. “I’ve not seen him like this before, but that doesn’t mean we can’t fix it. Although, if you’d pulled that out…”
“Stop the chit-chat and help me move him.” The man’s voice is gruff and worn with time. “We don’t have forever.”
Sai watches them as they hoist Dom onto the gurney and glance back at her. They seem to know her. They seem to know him.
“Quick then. The patrols are already on their way.”
She follows them blindly, not understanding anything. But if they were GNW, she’d be dead by now. They could be taking them anywhere, and she let them grab Dom. She pushes down on the panic that threatens to rise, barely able to quell the shadows that are starting to snap at her thoughts. They head down a side street, the gurney barely making any noise at all. Sai frowns, wondering if this is all part of a trap.
The old man stops and digs an old-fashioned key out of his pocket. One of the ones with teeth. He slides up the reader and unlocks the real lock with a reassuring smile before pulling Dom through with him.
Sai gets ushered through the door, clutching at her confusion like a security blanket until they’re safely locked inside. The woman pushes her down in a chair and shoves what appears to be a hot tea into her hands, finger raised in the eternal gesture of silence.
Dom is wheeled into a room not far from the kitchen, and the old man stays there with him. Sai looks around at the comfortable—actually, beautiful—place these two have. It’s got wooden flooring, like from the old world. The whole place is homey and comfortable, like nowhere Sai’s ever been. She sips at her tea and does her best not to feel melancholy. The warm liquid hits her belly, and the tension ball inside starts to unwind.
“Much better, dear.” The older lady smiles at her, and Sai realizes that she’s not as old as she originally seemed. Maybe a little younger than Mathur. “Don’t you feel a little less hysterical now?”
Sai nods at first and then scowls and puts the tea down, eyeing it warily. “Who are you?”
“It’s not going to bite. It’s just a relaxing herb to help you not panic. Right now, Dom needs you not to panic.” She skillfully avoids the question.
Sai crosses her arms and glares at the woman. “Who the hell are you?”
Her host sighs. “I’m Gardien.” She smiles self-depreciatingly. “Garr.”
Sai blinks. “Garr? I thought Garr was a guy.”
Garr shakes her head. “No, definitely not. When Mathur faked his death, I agreed to stay in the cities as a part of the Exiled resistance. I flitter around the PCs closest to Central, in and out of my bars. We knew you were coming to PC 4, and Kayde managed to tap into their protected channels not too long ago. Sadly a little later than needed.” Her smile fills with sorrow. “My husband Merl will help him as well as he can and then I’ll fix him. It’s…”
“He’s never been hurt. He’s invincible. He’s always been there. Always…” Sai takes the cup back into her hands and keeps its warmth close, trying to ignore her shaking fingers. “This is bad…very bad.”
Garr shakes her head and puts a hand over Sai’s. “Listen to me. He will be fine. I was Mathur’s assistant. I know what I’m doing.”
She seems so positive that Sai doesn’t have the heart to correct her. But Dom won’t deal well with whatever it is that happened. That strange frenzy wasn’t him, and it wasn’t human.
“Please?” she asks as she sniffs back the tears. There’s no room for even contemplating doing what they need to without Dom. “Just make him whole if you can.”
Garr stands up and looks at Sai for a long moment. “I can put him back together, but in order to be whole? I think he needs you for that, my dear.”
Sai nods, a strange calm and determination settling over her. “You make his body whole, and I’ll see if his mind will listen to me.”
“Deal.”
Garr walks into the other room and closes the door, leaving Sai alone with her thoughts and the rapidly cooling cup of tea. She stares at the walls, with old photos projecting up in 3-D from holoframes. Several oil paintings decorate the walls, remnants of an age fading into history, except that every minute or so the loaded image changes to another.
Sai watches them switch so abruptly, like Dom did outside.
The cushy pillow wakes Sai more than the knocking on the door. She jolts out of sleep and hits her head on the bed above her. Its proximity feel
s like it’s trying to crush her, and she focuses inward to try and ease the panic she can feel rising. Something flickers at the edge of her vision, but when she turns her head, the dark edges are gone. She tries to remember why she’s in this bed and just what happened after the blur of attackers. Slowly, she maneuvers herself up and to the door to peek out.
On the far side of the kitchen, the main door opens. Sai notices the old-fashioned lock is no longer visible before ducking her head back around the corner and creeping to hide beside small bookcase. It’s easy enough to hear the conversation.
“Did you hear any commotion last night?” a voice at the door asks.
Garr’s response is bright and cheery, and somehow she sounds older than she actually is as she replies. “I often hear commotion at night, young man. Sometimes I don’t understand what it is you young people get up to. I believe there was a party out there, though. All this screaming and yelling—sounded like they were having a great time.”
“Did you look out, perhaps catch a glimpse of where some of them might have been going?”
Garr affects a gasp that almost lands Sai in stitches. “I don’t spy on people. Besides, once I made the mistake of opening my door to watch some of the goings on and some young man came over and wanted to use my restroom. I can’t say no to that. Just between you and me, I think he might have been a little inebriated. He missed the toilet bowl something dreadful.”
“Ah.” The man at the door sounds uncomfortable, impatient to get out of the situation. “Thank you for your time, ma’am. We won’t trouble you again.”
“No trouble at all! Feel free to stop by if you’re ever in the neighborhood.”
The door closes, and Sai breathes in with relief. She inches to the door, only to be greeted by Garr and another cup of tea. “Come out here and drink that one up. If I’d realized how drained you were, I never would have given you that other one. This one will give you a bit of oomph.” Garr smiles at Sai and focuses on her until Sai gulps down a few mouthfuls.
Almost immediately, she feels rejuvenated and eyes Garr suspiciously. “Is this a drug?”
“No, dear, no. It’s just a nice herbal and vitamin supplement. Lots of B for everyone, right?”
Sai shrugs and drinks more. She stares at the slightly green liquid in the beautiful stoneware mug. “Will he… Is he going to be all right?” she whispers into her drink, not entirely sure she wants the answer and therefore not sure she wants Garr to hear the question.
“He’ll rejuvenate enough to move in a couple of days. You’ll need to stay here while he does.” Garr gestures toward the room, and her merry face takes on serious overtones. “Mentally, though? I don’t know. I’m not sure he’s equipped to deal with this. Dom is… They’re not built to realize their mortality. It was never part of the plan.”
Sai blinks back tears again. “Has he woken up yet?”
“No, but he should shortly. Stay within calling distance. He’ll probably need you. He won’t remember me.” Her tone is wistful, a sudden far-off look in her eyes.
“You’d be surprised what Dom remembers, Garr.” Sai isn’t sure how else to make the woman feel better. “He’s pretty remarkable.”
“Dom is a domino, the first domino. It’s what he is, and that’s part of what defines him. He has a personality, the ability to learn and adapt, the abilities to form friendships and create enemies. He is far more complex than we ever dreamed.”
“He looked like he lost his humanity out there.” She gulps, uncertain how much to disclose. “Like the parasite took over.”
Garr shakes her head, the distance gone and her focus intense as she turns to Sai. “Adrium is anything but human, Sai. It’s parasitic, alien, and dangerous. We married it with the best psionic DNA strands we could find to give control of it to the being we created. It seems last night, the parasite made him reckless.” She shakes her head.
“Is there a chance he won’t be himself?”
Garr shrugs. “A small one? Let’s just wait until he wakes up.”
For the first time since Garr and Merl took them in, Sai is scared for Dom to wake up. If he opens his eyes and has that red, demon-like gleam in them, she’s not sure she can do what’s necessary.
Sai isn’t sure how long she’s been staring at the oil painting on the wall above the sink when she hears it.
“Sai?”
She hears the feeble voice and frowns, wondering if it’s her imagination or if Dom is talking in his sleep. Setting the coffee cup down on the table, she gets up and goes to poke her head around the doorframe. His skin is lit up like a disco ball, like all those times she’d seen him malfunction while they were still at the facility in Central.
Maybe it’s the domino version of a fever.
The section in his chest, thighs, and arms where adrium chunks went missing are recognizable, as their color fluctuations aren’t in sync with the rest of him. His head thrashes from side to side, but his eyes aren’t open. It’s the first time she’s truly seen him in anything resembling sleep, even though she knows it’s closer to a coma.
She moves forward and takes his limp fingers in her own, brushing over them lightly. Finally his body settles down and Sai squeezes into the tiny seat next to him, trying to lend him some comfort with her presence. She turns her thoughts inward and gives herself yet another round of healing. The passages of her abilities are raw from usage—she’s lucky she didn’t blow them wide open when she fought the night before. She may have pushed herself a little too far.
“Sai…”
This time his voice sounds like a breath, but his eyes are closed and his body remains still. She grips his hand tighter, willing him to be himself when he wakes up, to not look like the strange alien beast he did when she saw him fighting. His fingers are soft and cold, almost malleable, lacking their usual coherence. She tries not to imagine them turning into the lethal blade-like things he used last night. It’s hard to get those images out of her head.
Then again, she wasn’t any better. She shouldn’t have killed them, but they weren’t giving her the option. How do you not kill people who’re hell-bent on your own demise? She didn’t have another choice, did she? Sai pulls his hand against her forehead, feeling the soft cool reassurance that at least he’s still there. If the adrium had hardened, it would mean he was dead. Without electrical impulses, adrium is just a metal—there’s nothing for the parasite to feed on and it goes dormant.
His fingers move, stroking her hair, and Sai freezes, lifts her head, and looks at him.
Dom’s eyes are only open a slit, and a pale silver light leaks out from them. She can’t help sighing in relief that he’s okay, that he’s still himself. His face isn’t quite the form she’s used to seeing. It’s the one thing she’s noticed during her time with him and all the rest. Each of their eyes has a distinctly different pattern, and right now Dom’s are the most beautiful she’s ever seen.
The tears finally roll down her cheeks, and she moves the chair closer to hug more of his arm.
“You’re alive…” His voice is soft, not quite the old one, tinged with the metallic resonance the dominos sometimes get when they’re not at their peak. “I dreamed… I thought you were gone.”
Sai shakes her head. “I’m okay. A bit beat up, but then we both are…” She regrets the words the instant they’re out of her mouth.
“It wasn’t a dream?” Dom’s eyes close for a few minutes, and she stares at him, wishing with all her heart she could take those words back, have him open his eyes again and reassure him he’ll be all right.
It’s hard to wait patiently—to not stand up and shake him and tell him everything is okay, that he’s stronger than all of this put together. She’s just about to give up when his eyes open again, a sliver of red hanging around the edges, and it’s all she can do to suppress a gasp as it leaks back out of view.
“I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. It wasn’t your fault.”
“You got hurt.”<
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She barely restrains herself from snapping back that he is hurt far worse. “I didn’t take down half as many as you did.”
Dom coughs or laughs or maybe it’s a bit of both. “I can’t remember it properly. Everything was such blur. It’s like time stopped. There was so much blood, so much death…” He pauses and sighs. It’s a sad sound and echoes through the room.
“It was kill or be killed.” She’ll keep telling herself that until the day she dies. It’s that or fret herself into insanity.
“I slaughtered them, Sai…and I think I liked it.” He closes his eyes again, but his lips keep moving. “I feel…pain. Sai…I don’t like this.”
She doesn’t know what to say. So she stands up and hugs him, curling on the edge of the bed, careful not to disturb any part of him that was injured, which is difficult. She wraps her arms around him, trying to will strength into him the way he did for her, trying to feed her healing through their touch, but the response is sluggish and she clamps down on her frustration, resting her head on his less damaged shoulder. “I didn’t know you could be hurt.”
“Neither did I.” His words are bitter, and she wishes she could see his eyes because the tone doesn’t sound quite like the Dom she loves. “But at some stage I was getting hit with so much I couldn’t cope anymore. The parasite couldn’t keep up even after it coaxed me into that mode. I saw red. I couldn’t do anything but kill. I wanted more of them, Sai, more of them to run at me. This is…not good.” He stops, and his body convulses several times.
“Dom?” she asks, pushing herself onto one elbow. “Dom?”
The convulsions stop. One hand holds onto her own arm painfully, as if afraid to let go. “Can you stay with me?” His tone is so soft Sai can barely hear it, but she nods and adjusts the sheets at the side of the bed so she can rest more comfortably, if a little precariously, on the edge.
Dom’s eyes close, and his body grows still and cool, but doesn’t solidify. She watches him, the strange stasis that he falls into, the way the adrium reflects and softens the lights in the room, absorbing them into its morphing abilities. He seems peaceful, at ease, even if the hand that clutches at her still hasn’t eased its grip. Sai closes her eyes with a mind to just rest for a bit and falls asleep.