by Vu, Andrew
“So, how did you come out of this alive?” Apollo asks me. “From the looks of things, I thought no one survived.”
“Luck, I guess,” I respond. “One second I was running for my life, the next second I woke up conscious and surprised. When the bomb went off, there was a moment when I thought death was certain. It looks like someone, something, up there likes me.”
“I’m glad fate is on your side,” Trevor says. “It’s been a tough night, half of our team is dead. First Borton, now Erawan and Colbo, not sure if Apollo and I could’ve taken all of them alone.”
“How many of them are left?” I ask.
“By my count, six. There’s Candy, Ace, Alex, and Tiago Lawton, and the twins who got away. But we’re plumb out of leads. The completion of this mission is in jeopardy, we don’t know where they are at this point.”
“You didn’t hear my conversation with Curtis Lawton?” I ask Trevor. “I thought you were listening in.”
“No, you started breaking up before he let off the bomb. Why?” Trevor asks curiously.
“Because, he gave them up. He said Tiago Lawton and the others are hiding at the Li station. They’re planning to use it to get to San Francisco. From there, the ultimate destination is the Moon.”
“I see,” Trevor says. “If they get to the Moon, they could hunker down at one of the uncharted, unsettled plots of land there. They could live there for the rest of their lives, hell, even build a society. The Moon is still an undeveloped free space, they’d be near untraceable if they wanted to.”
“Why did Curtis reveal his brother’s location?” Apollo asks.
“I was thinking about that,” I respond. “When he died, he said something about being a pawn, that he was just a part of Tiago Lawton’s schemes. I suspect he had something to do with Curtis’s death and your meeting with Oscar Lawton.”
“So you think Tiago is the master planner behind all of tonight’s events?” Trevor asks.
“It seems so,” I say. “I would say Tiago Lawton is extremely dangerous.”
“You know what that means,” Apollo says.
“Yes, we have to stop them at all costs,” Trevor responds, clutching his pistol. “Fulfilling our mission will be the number one priority. We must eliminate them.”
Their response intrigues me. “You seem to be acting different. I thought all you wanted to do was capture them and let the Alliance deal with them. I thought you had the whole we ‘come in peace’ mentality.”
Trevor looks at me. “After our last encounter, I’ve changed my mind. Apollo and I have discussed things. We’ve been underestimating them. They are dangerous. They’re against the wall and all they can do is fight back. We either kill them, or be killed by them. We can’t take them lightly anymore.”
“Seems like a drastic change in strategy after one incident. Those twins must have really rattled you two, huh? You know, you kind of sound like Borton.”
“We’re different,” Apollo says, “And we won’t be killed like Borton. He wanted to massacre them. His overconfidence got him murdered. We respect our enemy and that is why we have to take every precaution necessary.”
I smirk off his comments. “Sure, whatever you say, dog. Tomato, tomotto. It sounds the same to me.”
I can tell he’s slightly annoyed.
“And what about you?” he says. “All of sudden it looks like you’re getting soft on us. Still think this is a walk in the park, even after Curtis almost blew you to smithereens?”
“I never thought things were going to be a walk in the park!” I snap back. “Wasn’t I the one who told you fools not to underestimate them? Wasn’t I the one who warned you of their traps? Well, guess who was right.”
He wants to go at it with me, but Trevor looks different. He kneels with one knee and wipes the grime from his face.
“You’re right, Fenrir, you did warn us,” he says. “And I’m sorry that I didn’t listen to you. I didn’t expect much from our enemy. If I had given them the credit you gave them, then perhaps three of our team members would still be alive. I bear this responsibility and I’m not going to fail at it again.”
He takes a quick glance at Colbo’s body and continues.
“Listen, I wanted to come in peace, I truly did,” he says. “I wanted to extend my hand and let these halfkinds know that we won’t be their executioners. The last thing I wanted was for anyone to get hurt. But things haven’t turned out the way I expected, and because of this desire, this weakness, Erawan and Colbo are dead. Perhaps what we’re doing isn’t ethical. I think the same thing, but the halfkind that’s left, Tiago, we’ve seen what he’s capable of. He’s turned on his family members, he’s sent some to their graves. If he’s willing to do all this, what other lengths could he possibly go to in order to achieve his goals? If we don’t stop him now, we may be letting a monster loose on the world. It’s true that we may not know our enemy that well, maybe his motives are virtuous, but I’m not going to take that risk.”
Commander Trevor makes some valid points. Whoever we’re dealing with, this Tiago Lawton, he’s done things so ruthless and cruel it makes me wonder what else he’ll do next. He could go away forever, or he could come back with a vengeance. Against us, against the High Dog Council, against my Brotherhood. Perhaps coming at him armed and prepared is the only way to go if we want to prevent any of this.
“What we do going forward, what we do at the Li teleportation station, it won’t be easy,” Trevor says, “but based on what we’ve seen today, it will be necessary. Decisions like these are hard to make, but I finally feel like it’s the right one. I’m done making the wrong choices. My order is to take on Tiago Lawton with full force and I need all the team members I can get. We three are the only ones left and I intend to finish things that way. Are you in?”
When I started this quest, I wanted to do what the Brotherhood of Wolves asked me. As the night became darker and the task became grimmer, I started to question my objective. Even now, even after they have nearly killed me, I wonder if hunting these halfkinds is the right thing to do.
But then I think about Tiago Lawton, the architect of all this deceit and madness, and I feel compelled to join Commander Trevor and his dog.
“Okay,” I say, “I’m in.”
“Thank you, Fenrir,” he says.
“So, what is the plan?” Apollo asks.
“They’re at the Li station, right?” Trevor asks me.
“Yes,” I respond.
“Apollo, find directions and an ETA, stat,” he says.
The dog pulls out the graphical interface hooked up his helmet and does a quick search. “It’s about 11.7 miles away from here. ETA by hovercar should take ten minutes, tops.”
“Good,” he says. “Fenrir, what kind of defenses do you think they’ll have? You’ve seen them in action tonight.”
“Most likely they’ll have mines of some sort, possibly like the garden mines that we encountered.”
“I’m not sure about that,” Apollo says. “Such puny arms might be good for some decoy operation, but if this is their ticket out, I think it’ll be heavily fortified.”
“I agree,” Commander Trevor says, “when we arrive, I want both of you equipped with scent boosters to scout the area. I want to know what’s in there before we make our attack. I know wolves don’t like relying on that tech, but I don’t want to take any chances. Equip your scent booster, got it, Fenrir?”
“Fine,” I say begrudgingly.
“Once we’re in, keep your communicators on at all times,” Trevor says. “I’ll give you commands from there.”
“I lost mine,” I say.
Commander Trevor takes a communicator out from his belt and hands it to me. I’m surprised because it’s a wolf model.
“Always be prepared,” he says.
“Thanks,” I say. I think this is the first time I’ve thanked him for anything all night. Who was I turning into?
“Stay focused and be prepared to eliminate anything onsit
e,” Trevor says. “I don’t want a moment of hesitation. As we’ve learned tonight, that hesitation could get you killed and no one else is dying under my command.”
“Understood,” Apollo says. Like a stereotype, he’s loyal as ever to the human, it kind of makes me sick.
“Fenrir,” Trevor says to me, “are you ready?”
I think about the moral questions swirling in my head, about what’s right and what’s wrong. I think about Curtis Lawton’s last words. And then I think about our opponent, Tiago Lawton. He’s not above sacrificing his own brothers and sisters. The most dangerous types of people are the ones who are willing to do whatever it takes. In the end, they think their actions are justified.
But we’re doing the same thing.
“Yes, I’m in. Let’s go,” I say reluctantly.
Chapter 28 – Iris Lawton - Memories
November 17, 3040 4:04 AM
We’ve made it back home, back to 1523 Chakming Drive, back to where it all started. Dawn is approaching, rays of sunlight stretch into the landscape. The journey from the Li station to home was far, so we had to scurry as fast as we could if we wanted to stay under the shade of nightfall. I didn’t think the walk would take so long and I was afraid that we would get lost since we were journeying through unfamiliar territory. Fortunately, things looked familiar enough from all the moving we had done this past week.
When we arrive, it’s like I barely recognize the place. Nothing has changed. The walls are still dented, the front is unkempt. Pieces of garbage float by from the gusty Nevada winds. The windows are barred. It’s always been a little grimy, a little dingy, a little bit rough. I can’t say it’s ever been the most welcome looking place, but it just doesn’t feel like home. It was where I grew up in, but that’s now a memory.
When I step on the front porch this time, it feels different. When we lived under this roof, it was a place that I found comfort and joy. I must’ve sat on this front porch several times. Mother let us hang out in the front and backyard since our house was so isolated. Each time, I felt like I belonged here. Now, I feel unwanted, that I’m a stranger in a strange land. I can already sense how deserted my home is, how empty the rooms are inside, without setting foot in it. I look at my house from the outside and I see a body without a soul. I don’t feel happy coming here, I feel wrong. I never thought that a homecoming could be so unwelcoming.
I step inside and things hit closer to home. Ace said the United Species Alliance Science Division was here earlier. They must have inspected and cleared out our things, because the house is empty. Every precious memory, every item we couldn’t take with us, they confiscated. I knew that the USASD was thorough, but I didn’t think they would be that detailed. Only a week after leaving, the vacancy of my home is quite astonishing.
No one is here when we arrive. I doubt they need workers showing up at 4:00 in the morning for inspection. Since they already swiped every piece of evidence they could get, I’m not sure when, or if, they will make a return visit. I don’t see any surveillance equipment or patrol drones. Actually, I don’t see anything at all. For the time being, it seems that we are safe.
I look at Isaac and wonder how he feels about coming back to an empty home, but something else is on his mind. He stands here in rage, still angry over how we were cast aside so easily by Tiago.
“That bastard, I hope you’re right,” he mutters under his breath.
“About what?” I ask.
“Your premonition, about how you said they’d all perish. I hope Tiago doesn’t set one foot on the Moon, I hope he dies trying.”
I’m a bit flabbergasted by the callousness of his words. I can see they are genuine.
“Isaac,” I say softly, “don’t say such things. You may be upset now, but still, he’s family. You know he cares.”
Isaac sneers at my comment. “He has a funny way of showing it.”
He lets out a sigh. He knows his words are reactive, not thoughtful.
“I’m sorry, sis,” he says to me, “you’re right. He is family. But what do we do now? We have nowhere to go.”
“We could stay here,” I say optimistically.
Isaac makes an uncertain face. “I’d like to do that, Iris, I really would. But the house is only empty now. I can’t guarantee it’ll stay that way. You know someone is going to come back. This visit is temporary. It’s not safe here. This place isn’t our home anymore.”
Before we arrived, I was hopeful there’d be something for us here, but my eyes cannot lie, my home is a ghost of what it used to be.
I walk through the rooms and reminisce of the times when things were simpler. I refuse to see the void that my house has become. I visualize the memories that will haunt my mind for days to come.
Our living room is right beside me. It’s dark right now, a little dusty, and some foliage has crept its way onto the floors. It already had been wearing and tearing away, long before mother died, but the condition emphasizes how abandoned our house is.
I close my eyes and see the same room in a much different light. I go back thirteen years. The floors and walls are new, shiny, and clean. It’s evening, but the room is glowing from lamps that mother had recently purchased. There are couches, chairs, rugs, and decorations on the wall. The room greets me, the comfort I feel warms me.
I am not seventeen, I am four years old. All my brothers and sisters are with me. Mother has a fairytale tablet and it’s story time. We all sit on the ground while mother towers above us with her tale ready to read. We aren’t bickering, alliances aren’t drawn. We don’t know about the world outside, how much they hate us, how much they want us dead. Instead, the eleven of us sit there in marvel, hanging on every word she says. The only world we have is her.
She’s telling us the fable of the wolf and the dog. A fatigued wolf meets a healthy dog and is impressed over its fit appearance. The dog tells the wolf his life of ease, having free food and shelter, while the wolf has endured a life of hardship. The wolf decides that the dog has the perfect life and wants to join him, and the dog happily accepts his company. However, as they travel to the dog’s home, the wolf notices the fur around the dog’s neck is worn away. He inquires about this and the dog replies casually that his collar leaves a mark around his neck. Collar? The wolf knows no such thing and soon realizes that the dog is not free, so he leaves him. A full belly is a poor price to pay for liberty.
“Why does the dog have a collar around his neck?” I ask mother.
“Because he has an owner,” mother responds.
“But why is that a bad thing?” I respond. “Why doesn’t the wolf want to be owned? He’s hungry, shouldn’t he eat?”
“Because, he isn’t free,” Tiago interjects. “It’s better to have the choice of feeding yourself than have someone feed you.”
I am a kid so I make nothing of the story, but Tiago is old enough to understand its lesson. He realizes he is not the wolf in the story, he is the dog, and mother is the owner. She provides us with food and sustenance, but carries our collars high above our heads. It isn’t only her who is our master, but the rest of society as well. They force us to live underground and they dictate our actions. This fable is a tale that resonates with him for a long time. That is what drives his yearning for freedom.
I move on to the kitchen. The piles of dishes and cooking utensils are gone. The many spices and canned goods mother had are no longer there, only empty shelves remain. On the counter where the outside window is, there used to be a vase of handpicked flowers that she would fill every month. There would be roses, tulips, daffodils, but even that has been taken away.
I notice a red stain on the floor, and can only picture Leonard face down in a puddle of blood. It sets the grim, new tone of this house.
The only thing left is our round, wooden dining table that we ate so many home cooked meals on. I see myself at age five, eating a bowl of chicken soup mother had prepared while she is busy tending to a boiling pot on the stove. I entertain myself, doodl
ing away pictures of me and my brothers on my tablet as I happily slurp my soup.
“Mom,” I call to her.
“Yes, dear,” she responds.
“When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?”
My question startles her and she drops the metal stirring spoon into her pot. She looks out of the window and stares off to space. I am young and unaware of the effect my question has on my mother.
“Mommmm,” I say, nagging at her. “Did you hear me?”
She snaps out of her trance and focuses on the question. “Yes, dear, I heard you. Sorry, mommy was thinking of something else. What was your question again?”
“What did you want to be when you were young?” I repeat my question.
She turns off the stove and takes a seat next to me. She observes my sketches and gazes at me.
“Oh,” she begins saying. “I wanted to be a lot of things growing up. I wanted to be a dancer, a singer, a model. I wanted to travel the world and meet the man of my dreams. What do you want to be, my little princess?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” I say casually. “Maybe an artist, or maybe a space explorer! Oh, maybe I can be a dancer or singer too! Maybe I can be famous! Do you think I can do that, mom?”
She is weary to answer my question. She doesn’t have the heart to tell me I could never be those things.
“Maybe one day,” she says indecisively.
“So did you get to do those things? Did you get to be a dancer?” I say as I continue to scribble on my tablet.
“Sort of.”
She looks away from me and stares at the ground. I continue to color without a care in the world, but she silently reflects on her past. All she can think about are the sins she’s committed.
“Did you fall in love with the man of your dreams?” I ask her. I set my tablet aside and look straight at her.
“Well, kind of,” she says hesitantly.
“Is that who our dad is?”
She looks at me and doesn’t know what to say. I’m a curious child and I want to know the answers to everything, no matter how uncomfortable they may be. I don’t know the gravity of the question.