Thirteen Forgotten Worlds (Seam Wardens Book 1)

by Brant Williams

  What had happened here? It looked – and smelled – like a frat party had been crashed by a zombie horde. And how did Amy get vodka into a rehab clinic?

  Alexa motioned for me to follow her into the bedroom. The smell of sweat and body odor was stronger here.

  That was never a good sign – unless you were headed for the gym and even that was arguable.

  Amy lay sprawled unconscious on a bare mattress wearing tattered sweatpants and a ripped t-shirt covered in what looked – and smelled like – curry stains. The sheets and blankets had been ripped from the bed and lay strewn about the room. Her once flawless skin was smeared with dirt and food, and bits of what looked like Doritos were crushed and tangled in her hair. I could see the rise and fall of her chest, so she was still alive, just asleep or unconscious.

  I looked questioningly at Alexa. This couldn’t be normal, could it? I knew rehab could be bad, but I thought this was a posh place for people to vacation when rehab was mandated by a federal judge.

  Alexa shrugged and raised a single eyebrow in a this-is-your-problem-not-mine look. Which was true but still sucked.

  I sighed and gently shook Amy’s shoulder to wake her up. I had expected her to be groggy or hard to wake up. Not so much.

  The minute my hand touched her shoulder, her eyes flew open. The whites of her eyes were so bloodshot that at first, I thought they were bleeding.

  As soon as she saw me, her features twisted into a grimace of hate and fury.

  Then, she attacked.

  14

  Angry Women

  I jumped back, but not before Amy caught me across the cheek with her raking nails. Three long, bloody gashes appeared on my cheek, and blood dripped down the side of my face.

  It wouldn’t have taken much to focus all my enhancers on strength and punch her through the wall, but I had come to save Amy, not kill her.

  Instead, I focused one enhancer on healing those gashes and put the rest on speed. I needed to restrain her until I could talk some sense into her. I hadn't realized that she would be so far gone.

  After a few minutes and several more bloody scratches, I discovered it’s not easy to gently restrain someone when they are in rage-beast mode and don’t care if they hurt you or get hurt themselves.

  Alexa didn’t jump in and help either. She just watched with an amused expression on her face as I struggled to restrain a girl less than half my size.

  And got bloodied up in the process.

  I slowly added more enhancers to strength once I was able to get a hold of her. I was stronger and faster than her, but seriously, it is hard to restrain a flailing, crazy person without hurting them.

  “Can you help here?” I finally asked Alexa as Amy narrowly missed ripping off my ear. I had no idea how well an enhancer could handle amputated body parts.

  “More than happy,” Alexa said, holding back a big grin. “I just didn’t want to intrude on your special moment. You know, long lost friends catching up and reliving the old days.”

  “Trust me,” I said, “the old days were nothing like this.”

  “A shame,” Alexa said. She reached out and grabbed Amy from behind in a bear hug and lifted her in the air. It was my turn to smile as Amy reached back, grabbed Alexa’s hair and started yanking on it.

  After a few minutes of tussling, we were able to use the sheets – as stained and gross as they were – to wrap Amy up like a burrito and immobilize her.

  “Now what?” I asked.

  “Get the enhancer out.”

  “How?” I asked.

  Alexa shrugged.

  And that's where the flaw in our plan came into crystal-clear focus. We both knew I had to somehow get it out through her mouth, but neither of us knew how to do that.

  I knew it had to go from her mouth to mine, so I did the only thing that made sense to me at that moment.

  I kissed her.

  Well, not really. Believe me, if what we did was considered a kiss, it ranked up there with some of the all-time worst kisses in the history of kissing.

  I had to use quite a bit of strength to keep Amy’s head still as I placed my mouth completely over hers. I felt more like a human vacuum cleaner than anything.

  Amy tried to wriggle free, but after a moment, her struggling began to slow down. I hoped I wasn't smothering her. I kept my mouth over hers and in a flash felt something jump from her mouth into mine.

  It was a disturbing feeling — like someone spitting their gum into my mouth. I tried not to throw up.

  I felt the enhancer join with my others. I had a brief moment of wondering where they stayed in a human body. Did they stay in the stomach or did they somehow burrow into other parts of the body? That was a thought I really didn’t want to pursue. At least not now. I was still working on the not throwing up part.

  Fortunately, I had no bad effects, no passing out or anything like that. In fact, after the initial grossness factor had passed, I felt great. Energized. I wondered what my limit would be. How many enhancers could I take before my body couldn't handle anymore?

  I opened my eyes and saw that Amy had already opened hers. The redness was gone, and the look of fury was replaced by surprise.

  In record time, I pulled my mouth off of hers and jerked back. Not only was I embarrassed at the idea that she thought I was kissing her, but also at the idea that she might think that the full-seal over her mouth was my idea of how a kiss should be.

  “Pierce?” Amy said, her voice hoarse and raspy. Clearly being in a psychotic rage was tough on the vocal chords. “Is that really you?” She looked down at the sheet wrapping her up and then around at the room. “How did I get here?”

  Alexa let go of Amy’s legs and stood up. “Maybe I should give you two some time alone,” she said.

  That comment triggered warning bells in my head. I may not have dated much in high school, but I had witnessed enough jealousy and drama to have an idea of where this could go if I didn’t take immediate action.

  “No,” I said. “I think you should stay here. Please?”

  It was the please that did it. Amy nodded and knelt back down beside me.

  Together we pulled the sheets off of Amy and freed her arms and legs so she could sit up.

  “Am I better?” Amy asked. She felt her arms and legs as if checking for damage, and finding none, looked back up at us.

  “You are,” I said. “You were given something,” I said. “Something very dangerous that gave you stamina and energy, but ultimately would have killed you.”

  Amy sighed deeply. “I should have known it was too good to be true.”

  “What was?” I asked. “What can you tell us about it?”

  “About eight months ago, I was struggling with concentration. I was exhausted all the time and between filming, learning lines, and other promotional interviews and appearances, I was only getting about three hours of sleep a day. But we were in the middle of shooting season three, and we were on tight timelines, so there was no way I could take any time off. My manager, Robert, gave me something to drink and promised me it would help me concentrate and give me all the energy I needed to get through filming the rest of the season. He forgot to mention the ‘eventually killing me’ part.”

  "What you were given is called an Enhancer," I said. "It does help for a short period, but it eventually becomes too overwhelming. You can't sleep, and without that mental downtime, you start to go crazy."

  “That’s exactly right!” said Amy. “At first it was wonderful. I could memorize easily again and didn’t even feel tired at all. Once shooting was over I thought I would be able to sleep for a month, but instead, I continued to stay up all night, every night. I could maybe sleep for an hour or so a day. I had no idea how much I needed sleep until I couldn't get any and felt the effects. I tried all sorts of medication and when that didn't work, began drinking just to dull the mental pain.”

  “Do you know where Robert got the Enhancer?” I asked. “Who was his source?”

  Amy
shook her head slowly. “If I did know, I can’t remember. Everything’s a bit foggy right now. I keep having flashbacks of horrific things I did… or things I think I did. I’m not really sure right now. Did I hit a paparazzi with my car?”

  “It’s important you remember who was the connection,” said Alexa. “We’re trying to find the people responsible for this.”

  After a moment of concentration, Amy finally said, "I don't think he ever gave me the name. He just told me the benefits. I could maybe talk to him and find out."

  “That would be great,” I said.

  “I’ll try,” Amy said slowly. “I’m not even sure if he’s still my manager. It doesn’t take much of a career setback before people who are supposed to be your loyal friends drop you like you’re radioactive.”

  The irony of this statement after how she had broken up with me was a bit much to handle. “Yeah,” I said. “That certainly sounds familiar." I was unsuccessful in keeping the note of bitterness out of my voice. That surprised me. I didn't think it still bothered me, but maybe I hadn't processed through all the hurt yet.

  Amy clearly understood the reference. She blushed and looked away. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I was a jerk.”

  I waved away the apology. "That was way in the past. I get what happened. You were young, and it wasn't going to work out. You did us both a favor."

  “Maybe,” said Amy, “but I didn’t handle the situation very well.”

  Alexa cleared her throat. “So, you’ll talk to your manager and find out who was his contact?”

  Amy nodded.

  "Good. You should probably tell him that the effects have worn off and you want to get another one. Ask him for the contact information to the direct source so he doesn't have to get involved, or something like that."

  “I can do that,” said Amy. “Can I get your number so I can let you know what I found?”

  “I don’t have a phone,” I said.

  “You don’t have a phone?” Amy seemed scandalized. “Who doesn’t have a phone? Did you join some Amish commune or something?”

  “Hardly,” I said. “Let’s just say I joined an organization that deals with situations like yours, but keeps a very low profile.”

  “How can I get in touch with you to let you know what I found out?”

  I looked at Alexa. "That's a great question," I said. "Any idea?"

  “Email,” said Alexa. “They don’t typically let Cadets have net access, but I know a way around it.”

  I gave Amy my email address and Alexa and I stood to leave. Before we could leave, Amy jumped up and gave me a big hug and kissed my cheek. “Thank you,” she said. “You saved my life.”

  Talk about awkward. I was too shocked to hug her back. I looked over at Alexa who had a dangerous glint in her eyes. I gently disengaged and stepped back.

  "Let us know when you've found something," I said, and we left.

  We left the clinic quietly, the next few minutes dominated by an awkward silence. I finally stopped in the middle of the busy sidewalk and faced Alexa. I had once again activated my Eraser, so the throng of pedestrians parted around us without even realizing we were there. “Look, I’m not interested in her, okay?”

  “I never said you were,” Alexa said. There was a frosty tone to her voice that said differently. “I do find it interesting that you felt the need to bring it up. I mean, what should I think when you kiss your old girlfriend and then she kisses you back?”

  I was torn between laughing and screaming in frustration. “What I did was so not a kiss,” I said. “When I kissed you did I cover your entire mouth with mine and suck out your enhancers?”

  Alexa stopped for a moment, and then the corners of her lips twitched up in a small smile.

  “I don’t believe that was quite how our kiss went, but the details are a bit foggy, and I could be misremembering.” She let that last statement hang expectantly between us.

  And there was no way I was going to pass up a perfect set up like that. “I remember it quite clearly,” I said. “I suppose I owe it to you to refresh your memory.”

  So, we embraced in the middle of the sidewalk and kissed as if we were completely alone. Which, thanks to the Eraser, we effectively were.

  We took our time and when we had finished, Alexa sweetly smiled up at me. "Oh, yeah. That's right. I remember it now."

  The rest of our time in California was much more pleasant. We held hands and took our time finding a secluded place to open a gate. We technically could have done it at any time, but the truth was, we were simply having too much fun enjoying each other's company and talking about the crazy things we did together as kids. Considering that I had only been with the Seam Wardens for a few months when I was a kid, we had gotten into a surprising amount of trouble.

  When we finally found the perfect spot, we kissed some more. Neither of us was in a hurry to get back to headquarters. It wasn't often we got alone time together like this, and it was a luxury neither of us wanted to end.

  Eventually, the sun went down, and we both realized we couldn't justify staying here any longer. We had to get back before lights out, and anyone noticed our absence.

  Alexa turned on the gate box and manipulated the controls to open a gate to headquarters. As soon as I stepped through, I immediately wanted to step back out to California and just stay there.

  Reid and Abby stood in front of the gate, their arms folded and their faces clearly showing their anger. That was bad enough, but with them were six armed Seam Warden guards all holding their Boom Sticks at the ready.

  We were in serious trouble.

  15

  Doing My Time

  “It’s not what you think,” I said.

  Reid raised an eyebrow. "It's not? You didn't sneak out to take a look and see if your friend was given an enhancer when I had explicitly told you I would take care of it?"

  "Ok, so that's actually a fairly accurate description of what happened," I said. "But what was I supposed to do?" I asked. "You said it would be weeks before anything could be done. She didn't have that long. She was like a wild beast when we found her."

  “He’s telling the truth, sir,” Alexa said. “She wouldn’t have lasted more than a few days given the condition she was in.”

  "That wasn't your call," said Abby. "You were given explicit instructions, and you violated them. There's order to the Seam Wardens, and it's important that everyone follows it – unquestioningly. There isn't always time to explain decisions, and sometimes there are important reasons why decisions can't be explained. You need to trust the orders you are given and obey. Understood?"

  I felt my anger starting to rise. I had been entirely justified in going to save Amy's life. That was what being a Seam Warden is all about — protecting innocents from what comes out of the Seams.

  "That sounds great in theory – until it goes against everything we stand for. Tell me, what was the reason you couldn't explain to me that was worth letting someone die?" My voice rose as I spoke, and by the time I finished speaking, I was practically yelling.

  Reid put a hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. I wanted to yank my shoulder away, but I resisted the urge.

  “Do you think that the reason I can't tell you just magically went away?” he asked. “I need you to trust that we will do the right thing. It wasn’t your concern. Right now, you need to learn and develop your skills – that’s your job for now. Once that’s done, we can talk about what happens next.”

  I glowered at Reid and Abby but didn't say anything. I had a strong feeling the next time I opened my mouth, it would result in my foot getting stuck in it.

  I lowered my eyes and looked away.

  "Good," said Reid, and not unkindly. "I'm glad we understand each other. But since you broke the rules, you must face the consequences."

  I glanced over at Alexa who had a look of exhausted resignation on her face. It was clear she had an idea of what was coming next.

  “Punishment duty for the next mo
nth,” said Reid.

  Alexa opened her mouth – presumably to give an indignant reply – but stopped at the look Reid gave her.

  "Two hours every night after lessons," he continued. "You will clean bathrooms, practice rooms, hallways, and anything else you are assigned. You will do this quickly and with high-quality work. Any sign of slacking off and you will get extra days added to your punishment. If, after the end of your time, you have managed to keep out of trouble, you will be relieved of your extra work. Is that clear?"

  Our fate had been decreed. Arguing now would only result in a harsher punishment. It was time to cut our losses.

  Alexa and I both nodded.

  “Good,” said Abby. “You start right now.”

  Cleaning in the Seam Warden world was often used as a punishment. We have a big facility with a lot of people who live there. We can’t just hire a cleaning company because they would keep forgetting we exist and not show up for work.

  That means we have to use people who can remember the Seams. And when you're short-staffed on people who can save the world from rampaging monsters, using them as sanitation engineers is not really the best use of their skills.

  Which means the majority of the work is done by those too young to go and fight, those who are too old to fight, or those who messed up and are being punished.

  Which is where Alexa and I fit in.

  The first week was cleaning the Cadet practice facility and training rooms. It was bad enough having to do this work, but Kevin and Logan deliberately made extra messes just so we would have to clean them up. Then, they would stand around and watch, critique our work and point out places where we missed a spot or didn’t polish the steel brightly enough.

  That ended once Abby came to check on us and saw them in action. A week of their own cleaning duty and they were significantly less inclined to mess with us.

  After we had cleaned the Cadet facilities, Alexa and I were assigned to clean public bathrooms throughout Headquarters. Surprisingly, this was way better. Yes, cleaning bathrooms is nasty, but neither Alexa nor I were afraid of hard work. The bonus was that we were left alone for the most part and were able to talk to each other while we were cleaning. In fact, we were able to talk much more than we would have if we hadn't been cleaning.