Water slid down his face into the squishy purple carpet between his knees. "That someone has an unhealthy infatuation with me?"
"No." Brooke sat on the sofa in front of him and crossed her legs below her yellow sundress. "It means we have done our research. We know your education history, your medical records, and every person you have spoken with in the past ten years. We know you broke your little toe on your left foot fourteen years ago. You had a prescription for high blood pressure medication that you stopped taking two years ago. You used to like classical Earth music, but in the past two years, your tastes have shifted to classic rock."
"Okay, so you know a lot about me. What's the point of having this information? Who are you?"
Brooke took a scalpel from between the cushions on the sofa. She held out her left arm, turned it over, then sliced into her forearm. To Tobias's surprise, there was no blood. Brooke peeled back the flap of skin to reveal black shiny material underneath. "You see, I am not human." Her red nails tapped on the hard surface below the skin. "This is my carapace, my exoskeleton. The human disguise is just that. A disguise. I am an evolved Olonictian."
"Olonictian? Individuals in your race never operate alone. You're controlled by a hive mind."
"So you do know a bit about us. You are correct . . . and incorrect at the same time. We always work together, be that in pairs or in hoards of millions. However, we are not slaves to the hive mind. It is . . . a suggestion more than anything. The less evolved Olonictians like the hive warriors or the savage infiltrators? They can't speak. They only obey. But the evolved ones like me? We are the beings who run Olonictu. The insect-like beings are our slaves, our creations, our soldiers. You have fear in your eyes, Mr. Desruisseaux. Do not be afraid. I am aware of the unsavory reputation we have gained due to the rebellious actions of some of our hive warriors in attacking the human colony of AX-97 and other outposts. However, we are on humanity's side."
He scoffed. "You abduct me at gunpoint, tie me up in the trunk of your hovercar, leave me there to nearly die from the fumes, now I'm on my knees and chained to a chair and you claim to be my ally? That is not how alliances are created."
"Then perhaps we need to start from the beginning. Hello, Mr. Desruisseaux. I am Brooke. I lied to you about the missing day. It is, indeed, Wednesday evening. I deceived you because I needed to get you flustered so you would listen and obey me."
"You had a gun to my back. I would listen and obey anyone. So, I did not magically lose a day somewhere? No tears in the space-time continuum?"
"No, thank the Hive Queen. The last time that happened, we had to start a universal war to distract from the fact that we had been propelled four thousand years into the future overnight. The article I showed you on my communicator was a fake. I made it."
What did she say? "Hold on. The space-time continuum has been tampered with?"
"Oh, you poor humans. Let's just say the date you use on your calendars is dramatically wrong. That's why civilization and technology are vastly different from colony to colony."
"I don't understand. That's not-"
Brooke placed her finger against Tobias's lips. "Shh. It's done and over. We saved you. Be grateful. Now we're working to clean up that mess. No one knows about it except for Olonictu. Let's keep it that way, all right?"
Even though Tobias had endless questions about that, he buried them in favor of finding out the more immediate answers. "So that means that Nemo is-"
"The boy is alive."
Tobias let out a sigh of relief. He nearly broke down crying from the realization. "Oh, thank space. You have him, then? Please tell me he's okay."
"Indeed."
"How? How did he fall twelve stories and land unharmed?"
"He didn't land. We caught him. Nemo heard the call of the hive mind, so he went to the window and jumped like a good obedient boy."
"He's only part Olonictian."
"It's enough." She raised a thin eyebrow. "He is a very intuitive child. Very special. I can see why the military and Azimandia want him so badly. Too bad he has been so . . . abused and manhandled like he was a dog."
"Where is he?"
"We have him."
"Who is we?" Tobias asked, glancing around cautiously for anyone who could have been hiding in the room.
"My workers. They serve me for the chance at being my next mate. Don't you understand who I am, Mr. Desruisseaux? I am the daughter of the Hive Queen."
He was in way over his head. "What do you want with Nemo?"
"We only wish to protect him. In order to do that, we have to eliminate Azimandia and Elysia. We seek to end this inter-galactic war in the least aggressive way possible."
"Is that why you had Rav Tillman?"
"Oh." Brooke smiled and laughed in amused pleasure. "So someone figured it out. Bravo, Mr. Desruisseaux. Rav Tillman was our man on the inside, our mole, our agent. He was the first of many single entities who will infiltrate both Azimandia and Elysia to control them from the inside. Rav was not intended to be a weapon, though he certainly had the capability to be devastating. We preferred to keep him in his diplomatic state. But a copy of his command codes were stolen and reproduced. I trust you know of the destruction he caused in Odyssia?"
"Thousands of civilians were killed."
"Indeed. A regrettable consequence of inadequate safeguards."
"Why are you telling me this?" Tobias asked. "Let me take a guess. You want my help for something."
"Yes. We have this." Brooke leaned over to the bookshelf on the wall and slid out a black leather journal with a strip of white lace wrapped around it. "No one can read it."
Tobias instantly knew what it was. "That's Euro Brightman's journal."
"And you can translate and decode what is written in here. We are aware that you have ties to Elysia and that abandoning those friends will be difficult or impossible for you, but-"
"No." He hated those bureaucratic bastards. They had tortured him and murdered his young daughter. "No, I will help you take down the Elysian government. No problem with that. There is so much bad blood between me and President Jonathan Brightman that it could fill all of Elysia's waterways and still spill over."
"Interesting. So we have your help? You will voluntarily be our ally? This saves you the hours of torture we had planned."
"Without question. The Elysian government is beyond corrupt. They bombed their own citizens and their deployed troops on Dualictum. They tried to execute Euro's friend, a master sergeant in their army, because he chose to save Euro's life instead of taking a cyanide pill when they were held captive by Valmorons. Lucas Stephens was a hero, but they treated him like a criminal, labeled him a traitor, and stripped him of his citizenship to be a slave. Now that same government is kidnapping children and forcing them to fight in their war. Tell me how a three-year-old is going to fare on the front lines against warbringers? They're not. They are mowed down like paper dolls in a fire. The government is secretly funding churches across Elysia which are little more than whorehouses where offering children are abused and killed on a daily basis. It's all just to gain favor with the priests and keep the massive following appeased. I will do anything in my power to stop this."
Brooke came closer and released the chains around Tobias's wrists. "Welcome to the family, Mr. Desruisseaux. As a welcome gift, I will return the boy to your custody. Nemo, darling, come on out."
The patter of tiny feet rushed down the hallway leading from the bedrooms of the beige-walled apartment. The blond boy peeked playfully around the corner. "Toby!"
"Nemo!"
Nemo ran to Tobias and hugged him. "I'm okay. They're nice here. They gave me a bubble bath with the biggest bubbles ever and they let me eat an entire pint of ice cream." He whispered to him. "Before dinner."
Tobias picked him up and spun him around. "Don't you ever scare me like you did earlier at the hospital. Do you hear me? I thought I had lost you."
"Sorry, but they told me I might see my daddy. I love y
ou, Toby, but I love my daddy too."
"Oh, I know. I know you do."
Brooke tugged on the hem of Nemo's red t-shirt. "Take your clothes off so Mr. Desruisseaux can inspect you and ensure that you have not been damaged."
"No, that's okay. I believe you." Tobias set Nemo down and rustled his hair. "So, what do we do now?"
"Nothing for tonight." She slid over to the window and peered through the blinds. "You are both free to leave or to stay. This entire apartment complex is under my control. Every resident here is an Olonictian. We will protect you and Nemo with our lives. This will be your safe house and your headquarters where you will receive briefings and missions when and if the time comes. The only orders I have for you are to begin decoding Euro's journal. We do not need it immediately, so take your time and do it correctly. We look forward to working with you in this universe-altering partnership."
* * *
Dallis rolled off of his cot to walk up to the shaking human hidden by the white cloak. "Hmm."
Neon's beads clanked as he crawled up behind the human, licking his lips. "Do you think it's . . . a female?"
"Don't. I'm warning you, Neon."
"No, listen to me, Dallis. They gave this human to us to play with. I want to play with it!"
"What happened to never mating outside your race again?" Dallis asked, snorting in laughter.
"If we're going to die down here and never get another chance to see Biromian women, then I will take any chance I can. We'll take turns."
"Neon, I hope for your sake that you're joking. Rape is not okay."
"Rape? That's such a human notion. There's a reason there is no Biromian word for it. We are not them." Neon sniffed the human's back then grabbed it from behind.
The human squealed and thrashed its arms. "Ah! Stop it. Please stop!"
"Do you hear her, Neon? She doesn't want you to touch her."
"Argh! You are so infuriating, Dallis. Fine. I won't play with our toy . . . yet." Neon took the human's slender pale hands and dragged it to his cot. He removed his belt and quickly tied the human's wrists to the metal frame. "There. Now she can't get away. Shall we unwrap our present?"
"I guess. But we're only looking. No touching."
"Fine, fine." Neon pulled the large white hood back then tilted his head to the side in confusion. "What the hell is this?"
A soft-featured young man with curly brown hair, haunting grey eyes, and pink-rimmed glasses that were speckled with teardrops stared at them. He was white with fear. His pale pink lips quivered as he whimpered in his helplessness.
Dallis frowned. "It's a male."
"I almost don't care."
"Shut up, Neon. It's not funny anymore. Go to bed."
"But-"
"I said to go to bed. I will tend to the human."
Neon grumbled as he crawled onto his cot and covered his head with his blanket.
Dallis knelt down in front of the human. "Don't mind Neon. He's joking. At least, I hope he's joking. We really are gentle creatures. I am Dallis. Dallis Zimnark. Go on. This is usually where you introduce yourself. I'm not gonna hurt you. Oh? Too scared to speak? Or have you not seen a Biromian before? We are rough around the edges, but I can ensure you that we are friendlier than any Azimandian you've come across. Now, tell me, human, What is your name?"
He closed his eyes. "B-Benjamin. T-Trainor."
"Trainor? Are you somehow related to Vance Trainor?"
"He's my husband. Don't kill me!"
Dallis gasped and immediately released Ben from the cot frame. He then bowed with his forehead touching the floor. "Prince Benjamin! Neon, get down here and show him some respect. He's royalty."
"Not my prince."
"He is Vance's husband. If any royalty deserves our respect, it is the couple of Vance and Benjamin. Now, kneel before him and beg for forgiveness."
Ben appeared to be absolutely overwhelmed. He continued whimpering in his terror while the two Biromians kissed his feet. "Stop! Just stop this!"
"You are one of the two princes of the rebellion." Dallis sat up and straightened Ben's glasses for him. "Vance is our friend, our very good friend. We had no idea it was you under this cloak. You're a lot younger than I pictured you'd be. How old are you?"
"Twenty-six."
"You look like you're a teenager. And your husband is twenty-nine? Way to go, Vance."
Neon took Ben's hairless chin in his fingers. "I can see why Vance chose you. I'm Neon. I wasn't going to harm you. Well, I'm bored now." He climbed onto his cot and immediately started snoring and did not get up again.
"Okay." Ben held his arms protectively around his chest, the cloak swallowing his small frame. "The guards said you two would kill me. They said Vance is dead, that he rebelled, but I don't believe them. Vance wouldn't risk my life for anything. If you really are his friends, then tell me he's alive. You know he's alive, don't you?"
"No, Ben. We don't know anything. I can call you Ben, right?"
"Sure."
"Wanna take that cloak off and try to relax?" Dallis asked.
"No. I'm cold."
Seeing this conversation going nowhere, Dallis thought of something to break the ice. "Tell me, Ben. What is it like being married to Vance? We know he can be a bit . . . well, he can be really conceited and abrasive."
"I wouldn't know. I fell into a coma the night of our wedding and I've only seen him twice since I've been awake. One of those times was when I was in the hospital on Star-World Omega. He slit my throat."
That was concerning. "Uh . . ."
Ben rubbed his throat where a dark scar ran all the way across. "He didn't want the invading hive warriors to rip me apart. It was an act of mercy. The next time I saw him was a few days ago in Tirlmayn's laboratory after the scientists had essentially brought me back to life with help from the Genesis Sequence. I couldn't talk to him, though. We've been married for over a year, but we haven't even had a night together. No honeymoon, no romantic time, nothing."
"That's heartbreaking. Biromians don't mate for life and we don't get married, so I can't imagine your pain. How do you deal with something so awful?"
"One day at a time. I've gone through worse."
"You've gone through worse than this?"
Ben slowly nodded his head. "My father sold me to my abusive ex-boyfriend when I was young. I was stuck in that awful relationship, afraid for my life, until Vance saved me. I will wait for as long as I have to in order to be with Vance again. I really don't believe he's dead."
"You were a slave?"
"Slavery, if done with a legally-binding contract, is still legal on AX-97, my home planet. My father even took my original name from me and gave it to my brother once he disowned me."
"Why did he disown you?" Dallis asked.
"I'll give you one guess. Go ahead. It's painfully obvious."
"Um . . . because . . . you were a messy child? I don't know."
"No. Because I'm gay."
Dallis bit his lip. "Oh."
"He was an Elysian priest. He sold me to teach me a lesson."
"This is why human religions are horrible and should be destroyed."
"Oh, no. Please don't say that. That's not true. I'm a Christian, just . . . not corrupt like most of the churches have become. I am very religious. My faith is extremely important to me. I simply disagree with some of the interpretations of the Bible. And I hate the way children are used like objects."
"Huh."
Ben began crashing from his fear and anxiousness. He yawned, leaning against the cot to support himself.
"You're exhausted." Dallis pointed to the cot in the corner. "You can sleep there."
"What about him?" Ben nodded at the sleeping cyborg on the floor.
"Derek? He's a cyborg. He sleeps on the floor most nights. You can have his cot. Do you need my help to stand? You appear to be in pain."
"No, I-" Ben picked himself up, but his knees buckled and he fell to his hands and knees. "I'm not weak."
&nbs
p; "I never said anything of the sort. Lift up your cloak. Show me what you're hiding under there. Don't look at me like that. I'm not stupid, Ben."
Ben sighed as he slid the cloak off of his bare shoulders. "I'm not proud of it."
Dallis ran his fingers along the human's rib cage that was pronounced, his ribs sticking through the flesh, down to his concave stomach, to his bony hips and the waistband of his cotton pants. Pinpricks spotted his bruised skin and tiny dried points of blood had bubbled to the surface. "What did they do to you? If I know Tirlmayn, he was using you as an experiment."
"Yes. I haven't eaten in days because the stuff he injects into me makes me so sick. I can't keep anything down. But don't worry about me. I have to find Vance. He's alive. I just know it." Ben twirled the gold and pink topaz wedding band around his finger. "If we don't receive news of him being alive by morning, I will break out of this place and go looking for him myself."
"You can't break out of here. Believe me, I've tried."
"You didn't try hard enough. Vance taught me some things in the months before our wedding. I can handle myself."
"Like you've handled yourself so well thus far? You're dying."
Ben stood again and shuffled slowly to the empty cot and sat on it. "I'm weak in body, but strong in mind. I didn't nearly graduate from medical school by being stupid. I will find him."
"Then tonight, will you at least try to get some sleep?"
"If you promise to keep Neon away from me. He scares me."
Dallis grinned as he picked up the lantern and shut it off. "Neon is harmless. But if it makes you feel better, I will keep an eye on him. Sleep well, Prince Benjamin."
Chapter 7
"Vance, stop! You're going to get us both killed." Visht chased his prince down the rubble-strewn street as explosions rang out around the evacuated buildings and smoking battle spheres.
The Genesis Sequence Books 6-10 Page 19