Iris

by Yolanda Sfetsos

  “Fox?”

  He kissed the top of her head. “I can’t believe it. Out of all the people in this damn room…” If he’d ever needed an indication to confirm Iris and he were meant to be together, this was it. The odds had been stacked against them after they’d been separated. Yet, here they were.

  His excitement was short-lived when several people screamed.

  Fox lifted his head in time to catch Ed racing toward them with a serious expression on her face. She grabbed his elbow, and he held on tightly to Iris, letting Ed lead them deeper into the swarm.

  “Come on, boy scout. He’s found you. Two for the price of one will make his living conditions pleasurable, but not yours.”

  They all ducked when shots were fired around them. More people screamed. Others tumbled behind them in a domino effect of wounded, crashing bodies. They kept moving as fast as they could past the many bodies packed on the dance floor.

  “Where the hell are we going?” Fox asked, raising his voice to be heard over the commotion.

  “Anywhere but here,” Ed replied with a flick of her curls.

  “Can you see him?”

  “I think we lost him,” Ed said.

  Fox sucked in a quick breath, drawing Iris to his side, but she tensed in his arms. He was about to ask her why, when the cool, hard press of metal against his lower back stopped him. It had come out of nowhere. One second, they were running away from the shots, unscathed. The next, the bounty hunter loomed behind them. He didn’t need to look back to know it was Lex.

  “Don’t move, and there’ll be no trouble.” His voice was rough, somehow louder than the drumming bass.

  As if on cue, the flashing array of color splashes on the large screen overhead were replaced with his father’s face.

  Chapter Forty-One

  “Both of you need to come with me.”

  Iris turned enough to see the man towering over them. He was huge, and not just in stature. His wide shoulders blocked out everything else behind him, and the expressionless look on his horrid face made him look inhuman. Half of his face was covered in metal, the flesh scarred. One of eyes was a circular scope and the other gleamed darker than night, as he stared at her. His right hand held a long, thick gun, and the barrel was pressed into Fox’s spine.

  Cold fear raced through her body.

  “Hey, dude. What’s the deal? You’re blocking the screen.”

  The bounty hunter barely moved but still managed to glare at the person who’d interrupted. He didn’t say anything, simply lifted his other hand and blasted the man with a different gun.

  The music stopped abruptly, and dancers shrieked. Some ran to the other side of the room, anywhere but where the dead body lay, or where the killer stood ready to blast anyone else who got in his way.

  “Don’t hurt them,” Iris said. “Your fight is with us, not them. If you’re going to take us to your boss, do it now. Just leave everyone else alone.”

  Fox shook his head at her. “Iris, don’t.”

  She looked away. As disappointing as it was to end up losing everything she was now prepared to fight for, and instead wind up where she started, there was no other choice. She couldn’t let this giant monster kill any more innocent people, or disrupt the strange ambience they all enjoyed here.

  The sound of a familiar voice caught her attention. “Good evening to everyone in Nexus City. What a marvelous evening we’re heading toward tonight.”

  Iris spun around to glare at the big screen everyone else was already facing and saw the face of the man responsible for all of this on it. A huge smile beamed across his handsome face. He stared at the camera as if he didn’t have a care in the world. As if by his command, people weren’t dying at every corner.

  “In less than an hour, history will be made, and all of our lives will be changed, forever. So, stay tuned to witness the unbelievable news I will share with all of you shortly. Very soon, Nexus will no longer be alone.” The screen clicked off and then flashed with a kaleidoscope of colors.

  “Give us back the music,” someone yelled.

  The men in motorcycle helmets got moving, and the thumping started immediately.

  So, the music didn’t stop because of this hunter, it stopped for the predator.

  When several dancers got a little too close, the bounty hunter pointed his second gun at them.

  “Get moving,” Lex growled. “If either of you make any sudden movements, or try to get away, I’ll shoot. I don’t care what the consequences are.”

  Both Fox and Iris nodded their understanding. Lex used his weapons to motion Iris on his left, and Fox on his right. This way, he had total control over their every move with the barrel of each gun pressed securely against their backs.

  No one dared to question or challenge the hunter as he forced them to push through the thick crowd, heading toward the other side of the room. When the dancers parted and made way for them, it didn’t take long to get there. No one wanted the same trouble they were in.

  When they stepped out of the dance hall, the door slammed behind them.

  Iris jumped. At least now she knew that if she did lose total control of her power, there would be no innocents about. The one man who’d be the recipient of her wrath deserved every bit of it.

  “I already mentioned it in there, but just because Wentworth wants you unharmed and alive, it doesn’t mean that I won’t shoot your heads off if either one of you try anything. I will not hesitate to pull the trigger. Do we understand each other?”

  They both nodded.

  “Come on. Let’s get moving.” The hunter pushed them forward with a simultaneous shove of the weapons pressed against their spines.

  Iris had no recollection of where they were going, but when they walked through what felt like miles of isolated corridors and tunnels, she realized there was something oddly familiar about this place. With each step she took inside this glass channel, small flashes appeared inside her head. Not even the overcast sky being so much closer at this height did anything to deter the rush of memories.

  She’d run this way before, but headed in the opposite direction. Yet, she hadn’t crossed via the Rave. So, how the hell had she gotten past and ended up in the basement so far away?

  Iris stopped as the sudden burst of pain threatened to slice her skull in two. Both of her hands shot to her temples, so she could press her fingers against her head and hopefully relieve the pain.

  She couldn’t stop the cry from tearing out of her throat.

  “Iris!” Fox grabbed her around the waist before she fell to the floor.

  No, don’t make sudden movements, she wanted to say. I don’t want the monster to shoot you because you’re trying to help me. No more deaths at my expense, please.

  Images—slices of another time—filled her mind…

  She saw herself running down this same tunnel, her eyes captivated by the large clouds overhead. When she noticed a bolt of lightning cut the sky in two, she’d almost stopped, but she ignored it. Just as she’d ignored the shimmer of green she knew she shouldn’t be running from.

  Why did I run away from my home? The tree and I belong together.

  With each new step she’d taken, a tight ball of rage had expanded within. Anger had eventually replaced her fear and confusion because she mourned leaving such a big piece of herself behind...

  “Come on, Iris. You have to hurry.” The redheaded woman encouraged her to run faster. Her red curls bounced as they ran together, in what felt like slow motion.

  They were getting farther and farther away from the only place she’d ever known. Until the hollowness inside her gut rose to her head, short-circuiting and making her forget so much.

  “Don’t stop,” the woman called, looking over her leather-clad shoulder. “We need to hide you in the basement. No one will find you there.”

  Iris nodded, even if she didn’t know who she was hiding from…

  Ed. The person who’d helped her escape Wentworth’s clutches had been t
he redhead. Why didn’t she say anything earlier?

  “Iris, are you with me?” Fox asked, touching her face.

  “I’m fine,” she whispered, disentangling herself from his protective arms, until every single fragment slid from her mind. She focused on the dark clouds overhead. I’m heading home. Not even Kingsley would stop her from rejoining the tree she’d been bonded to since birth.

  “Anymore of this bullshit, and I shoot you in the brain, you got that?” To reinforce the statement, the hunter clicked the safety off and pressed the smaller gun flush with her temple.

  She wasn’t scared of him, anymore.

  Although she hadn’t gained all of her memories yet, she was slowly piecing together the puzzle of her life and now realized Ed and Spalding hadn’t lied.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Fox looked back but still couldn’t see Ed. Where the hell had she gone? The woman had access to this building and one cryptic move after another. Was she really helping her mother’s corporation in hopes of overturning his father, all so Nexus could be a better place? Or were they simply trying to win over power and shift it in the direction of the York family?

  He wasn’t stupid. Fox knew how hard Daye York had worked in order to keep up with Kingsley Wentworth. Where he manipulated and concentrated on oppression and using as many of the unsuspecting population for experimentation as possible, York Industries had delved into the research of solar power.

  He’d also heard rumors of several successful greenhouses already having developed enough fruit and vegetables to be readily available for mass consumption. It had been one of his missions a few years ago—to infiltrate York Industries and find out if it was true. He hadn’t found the evidence to prove any success. Not that he’d tried very hard. His hatred for his father always stopped him from pursuing things to the full extent of his capacity.

  Fox looked at Iris, walking silently beside him, still suffering from unstable bouts of memory recall. He wondered just how much she’d eventually remember, and damned the fact he couldn’t recollect the many years he’d apparently spent getting to know her.

  He reached for her hand and squeezed it.

  They stopped in front of a closed door, guns still pressed against their backs, and waited for the hunter’s instructions. There were no automatic access panels here. To open this door, a special code was needed.

  “Use your code, Wentworth Junior,” Lex said, shoving him forward.

  This was the last thing in the world he wanted to do, and he hesitated for a few seconds. Lex smacked him in the back of the head, and Fox fell to his knees. As soon as he keyed in the numbers, his father would know he was here and alive.

  Iris ignored the giant and closed the distance between them, enough to help Fox get to his feet.

  The back of his head throbbed, and blood was already seeping from the wound. He swayed but managed to punch in the five-digit code. The door swung open, leading into the large foyer of his father’s office.

  A large, marble plaque stuck on the wall behind the reception area spelled out WENTWORTH CORPORATION in individually carved letters.

  Innes stepped out from behind the impressive desk, a look of confusion splashed on his face. He tried to hide the surprise, but Fox had already caught it. “Ah, Lex. You’ve finally found her.”

  “I found Wentworth’s son, too. Whoever said he was dead must’ve lied to the old man, ‘cause here he is—alive and kicking.” As if to prove the point, Lex kicked him in the back of the legs, and Fox lost his footing, tumbling forward. “This should get me a little extra.”

  “Yes.” Innes sighed, crossed his arms over his perfectly pressed suit, and stared at them, with a deepening look of confusion. Almost as if he’d expected this to turn out a little differently.

  “What’re you waiting for? Buzz the old man. I need to get my payment and my wife back.”

  A chuckle escaped Innes as he unfolded his arms. “Are you stupid? Your wife is already dead. Did you honestly think he’d let her live?”

  “He said she was in a holding cell.”

  “She was, but you continued to fail every step of the way. So, he took care of her. She was his insurance from the beginning.” A small sneer spread along Innes’s thin lips.

  “I’ll kill you.” Lex took a step, ready to advance on the skinny twerp.

  “Uh-uh. Don’t move an inch, or I’ll blow your brains out.”

  Fox felt relief flood through him when he caught sight of Ed, her pistol already pressed against the back of Lex’s head.

  “I love saying those words,” she said with a laugh. “Now, drop those big guns, and kick them towards Innes.”

  Lex spread his arms out at his sides and simultaneously dropped each weapon to the plush carpet. “I’ll make you pay for this, bitch.”

  “I’m sure you will…if you get the chance.”

  Lex reached for his pocket, but before he got there, Ed had already smacked the back of his head with the butt of her pistol. The big man collapsed to the floor with a loud thud.

  “Your timing is always perfect, Eddie.” Innes stepped over the motionless body of the bounty hunter and threw his arms around her, before pressing his lips against the redhead’s.

  Fox let Iris’s hand slip from his. “What the hell is going on here?”

  “You wanted to know how I have a key to this side of the city…well, meet my special friend.”

  “Is that what I am, now?” Innes cocked an eyebrow. “You know I prefer the term lover.”

  “Wait a minute. You betrayed my father?” He never would’ve thought this brown-nosing, always immaculately-dressed prick would do such a thing. Innes had always seemed to have his nose rammed so far up Kingsley’s ass that Fox assumed he was in love with the self-professed King of Nexus.

  “Is that a problem? You didn’t seem to have much of a problem doing the same thing yourself.” Innes secured an arm around Ed’s shoulders.

  “No, no problem. I’m just surprised.” These two didn’t seem like a fitting couple. He’d always figured Innes didn’t like girls. “Who did the double-crossing, then?”

  “There was no double-crossing,” Ed said.

  “I don’t—”

  “I reprogrammed the AI and gave Lex the location,” Innes said.

  Fox closed his hands into fists.

  Ed held her hands up in show of surrender. “Hey, before you bite my head off, I didn’t find out until it was too late.”

  “I had to do it. The old man was getting suspicious of everyone,” Innes added. I had to do something to make it look like he was getting what he wanted.”

  Fox was about to respond when Iris headed toward the closed door of his father’s office, which was probably a good thing for Innes. The longer Fox thought about what they’d just endured because of Innes…the harder it would be to stop himself from knocking the twerp’s head off.

  Iris tentatively lifted her fingers, ready to touch the wood in front of her. “What’s the plan?”

  “Your father has a top secret transmission ready to start in less than ten minutes.” Innes wandered back to the other side of the reception desk. He fumbled with a stack of papers. “I’m not sure what he’s got planned exactly, because he refused to share the details, but I managed to intercept a few strange transmissions coming from his office.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We think your father manipulated the use of one of the satellites still surrounding the planet,” Ed answered. “They’re all still out there and have been for hundreds of years. Most of us thought of them as useless, so they’ve been floating, dormant. Looks like the great and mighty Wentworth didn’t see them the same way.”

  “Technology continued to develop in Nexus, but we lost the ability to connect with other regions of the world. It’s why the ancient humans had these satellites in the first place. They’d developed ways of transmitting from one side of the globe to another. They’d even developed a thing called the Internet. Amazing thing, really—�
��

  “Innes, we don’t have time for this. Just get to the point.” Fox didn’t want a history lesson right now.

  “Of course. I’ve been doing a lot of research of my own, lately.” Innes winked at Ed before addressing Fox. “Whatever he’s got planned is top secret, but I think he’s made contact.”

  “With the outside?” Fox couldn’t fathom how he could have succeeded. Though, if anyone could, it would be his filthy rich father.

  “Could be just across the city or across the world,” Innes answered with a nod. He shuffled a bunch of papers on his desk.

  “We’re surrounded by ocean. There’s nothing beyond the city limits,” Fox said, testing the theory.

  “That’s what your father would like us all to believe.” Ed moved toward Iris.

  “Are you saying we’re not alone?”

  “No, Fox. We’re not. My mother never believed we were. She’s had people search the outside world for years. Some would never return. Actually, most didn’t, but there were always transmissions. Then, about a month ago, one of the men she sent out did come back. He had digital photos of places beyond our city limits. He claimed to have made contact with others who lived below, too.” Ed shrugged. “Why don’t you show him the evidence?”

  Innes extended the papers he held out toward Fox. “Go on, take them. See for yourself, and don’t feel too stupid about it. The old man had us all fooled.”

  Fox didn’t realize his fingers were shaking until he grabbed a hold of the photos from Innes. They were black and white digital printouts, and most were out of focus. Yet, he could definitely identify trees and benches in what he knew used to be called a park. A man without protective gear waved at the camera. Another photo showcased the sea just behind the York Industries building. He’d seen this before, during a mission.

  He shook his head. “It’s supposed to be toxic out there.”

  “Don’t know what to tell you,” Innes said with a sigh. “Maybe they evolved.”

  “No, they didn’t.” Iris was still facing the door, her shoulders rigid, and her braid trailing down her back as she shook her head. “I’ve been touched by the rain, and wasn’t affected. I felt it on my face and put my hands in a puddle.”