by Jamie Zakian
Rai’s fingers froze above the keys. His body remained still, yet his gaze coasted to Joey. He pressed his leg harder against hers, the computer beeped, and he jolted back.
“I’m gonna kill the jammer,” Rai said, the clicks of his keyboard bouncing around the room.
“You know how to do that?” Joey asked, kneeling beside Rai.
The pace of Rai’s typing slowed as his breath quickened, but his stare never left the lines of code that streamed against his black screen. “Of course I do, it’s my—”
Kami dug her elbow into Rai’s rib, hurling a pointed glare.
His hands froze as he tilted his head to glower at Kami. “It’s my specialty,” he finished through gritted teeth.
Joey edged back from Rai’s clenched fist. These two were intense. It could be normal; she didn’t know anyone outside G-Sector. The whole world could be this extreme. It would explain a lot. She glanced over her shoulder, spying her brother’s calm face. A smile overtook her lips. He was right; separate rooms sucked. She’d never admit it out loud though.
“There,” Rai said, hitting the Enter key. “One jammer, down for the count.” He leaned back with a smirk. His fingers entwined, knuckles cracking as he stretched his arms out. The door locks clicked open, and he pointed to the vent above. A low whirl echoed through the small grate, right on cue.
Chapter Six
Sabrina pounded the keypad beside an airlock’s steel door as Reyes lowered the bomb to the floor, remaining on one knee. She wanted to slap on a brave smirk, maybe say something reassuring, but she was pretty sure they were about to freaking die.
“My stupid jammer’s blocking the doors,” Sabrina said. “Is there a manual override?”
Reyes climbed to his feet, and the machines beside him churned. Overhead lights blinked on, a loud whoosh sprang from the pipes, and the bomb emitted a series of beeps.
Sabrina’s gaze lowered from Reyes’ gaped jaw to the explosive at his feet. A red light flashed to green, and a click echoed from deep within the pile of C-4. Reyes threw his arms around Sabrina, shielding her face in his chest. Nothing happened, except the hint of embarrassment that spawned within the man’s eyes.
“Really?” Sabrina said, holding back a snicker. “Not even your muscles can block a two kiloton explosion, tough guy.”
Reyes drew back. His hands stayed gripped onto her sides, his gaze locked onto hers. It looked like he might kiss her, and for a fraction of a second, she actually considered letting him.
“Very slowly, step away,” she whispered, lifting her hands off his chest.
While backing away, Reyes glanced at the bomb. “Is it armed?”
“Yeah!” Sabrina looked at her watch, gently tapping its faceplate. “We should’ve had six minutes left.”
“Now what?”
Sabrina crept toward the nest of wires that interlaced the weapon of mass destruction. She’d already surpassed the limits of her training, by leagues. “This design, it’s so complex, so advanced. I …”
She was Captain Sabrina Stone, scourge of the U.N.E., protector of mankind.
“I can do this. Gimme your multi-tool.” She tried to deliver a look of certainty, but it might’ve shown through as terror.
Reyes slid the multi-tool from his belt, his grip tightening on the smooth metal.
“I can do this,” she repeated, mustering up enough confidence to steel her gaze.
Reyes let out a low groan, then opened his tight fist. Sabrina nodded, as encouragement to herself, and plucked the tool from his hand.
“The concept’s the same.” Softly, she turned to face the bomb. “It’s just wrapped in a showy package.” She inched closer, her hand trembling. “Without the plasma, it’s just an electrostatic, multilayered explosive.”
In a gentle motion, she bent down. Her stare locked on tiny colored cords, eyes following tangled lines.
“Sabrina,” Reyes blurted out, and Sabrina flinched. She veered her gaze to Reyes, finding a shocked expression. The man rocked in place. His mouth opened, yet no words came out.
“What?” Her hand flapped at the wrist as her stare turned hard.
“I …” Reyes shook his head, his tight shoulders slumping. “Just good luck.”
A few harsh comments flew from her mouth, muffled by her low grumbles. She turned back to the bomb. There was no time for doubt, so she took a deep breath then cut a purple wire.
The snip of clippers cutting cord echoed from the walls, followed by silence. The beeps stopped streaming from the bomb, and an explosion didn’t blast the flesh from her face. At least, for now.
She jumped to her feet, her seconds of relief swallowed by waves of panic. “We got sixty seconds to get this thing outta here.”
Reyes dashed to the keypad beside the airlock and entered in the code. A buzzer sounded, gusts of air burst out in streams, and the inner door slid open. “I can shake it around now, right?”
“Yeah. For forty more seconds.”
He planted his boot on a solid base of C-4 and kicked. Metal screeched as the bomb slid across the steel floor, stopping in a clunk when it struck the fortified outer door.
“Hit the green button,” Reyes yelled while rushing to a large red knob on the other side of the air lock. Sabrina pressed the button, sealing the glass door shut, and he yanked the purge lever.
Before the outer door could fully open, the vacuum of space sucked the bomb into darkness. An explosion lit the cosmos in white, eclipsing the sparkle of distance stars. Blue waves of lightning-laced clouds barreled toward the spacebus, puffing out as they rolled atop one another. The outer door slammed away the ghastly image, and a violent jolt rocked the ship.
Force flung Sabrina like a rag doll. She glimpsed Reyes crash into a wall of pipes before the back of her head clunked against something solid, knocking her vision to black.
***
A flurry of lights illuminated the instrument panel of the cockpit, and Winslow looked at his watch. “That’s not right. It’s six minutes early.”
“I guess that Sabrina woman isn’t as good as the hype,” Natalia muttered.
Winslow grinned, glancing at Natalia. “We’re still alive, aren’t we?”
As Natalia flashed a smile, a loud buzzer rang out. “We have incoming,” she yelled, just as the ship hurdled downward.
Winslow dropped the jammer to grip onto the controls. The thick straps of a five-point harness dug into his ribs. Pressure blocked the flow of air, his shaky fingers stretching toward the computer. The spacebus spun to the side, hurling him against the armrest and forcing a groan from his chest. “Hit the override,” he yelled to Natalia, propping onto his elbow.
The autopilot was far from reach, and blinking directly in front of Natalia’s blank gaze. She didn’t move, didn’t try to reach for her controls. Her hands stayed crossed in her lap, her vacant eyes caught on the arch of a wormhole as it swirled closer.
“Kozlov,” he shouted, and she flinched. “Switch off the autopilot.”
Her stare finally tore from the windshield, landing on him. In the soft glow of a scathing wormhole, he glimpsed sorrow in her eyes. He grabbed her hand, holding tight, trying to transfer his strength into her will. The clench of her jaw broke free, and she hit the flashing button on her screen.
In an instant, weightlessness kicked in. Winslow shook his hand loose from Natalia’s tight clutch and seized the controls. His stomach flew into his throat as the front end dropped down. Flecks of starlight gave way, the smoky radiance of a cosmic tunnel reflecting a deep green off the windshield.
“This is it,” Natalia said, her voice cracking with fright.
The wormhole’s edge neared, its green glow flooding Winslow’s vision. He pulled the helm and hit the thrusters. Buzzers squelched, masking the low rumble in the air. A gateway of shattered stars rippled within its force field, zooming along right in front of the windshield, threatening to devour his ship. He opened the flaps, and the s
huttle’s nose slowly inched up from the wormhole’s pulsating curve.
Teal sparkles glared in his eyes. He could almost see the specks of atomic particles floating between space and time. When a cloud of green dust wafted across the nose of the shuttle, he slammed his palm against all four thrusters. A sudden jolt launched the ship upright. Every rattling bolt stopped as the shuttle righted itself, leaving the distant drone of a quantum field.
“Holy … I can’t believe you pulled that off,” Natalia gasped, her unsteady hand rubbing her brow.
Winslow took a deep breath, still locked stiff in his seat. “We had plenty of room,” he said, using every bit of energy he had left to appear unruffled.
***
Once Joey was certain the ship had finished tossing her into walls, she peeked up from the floor. Gadgets and clothes were scattered on every surface, much worse than before. She grabbed onto a dresser drawer, since they were all open, and pulled herself up. The first thing she saw was Jesse cradling Kami on his bed.
“OMG,” she cried out.
“What?” Kami yelled, wiggling out of Jesse’s grasp. “We fell.”
“Whatever.” Her glare drifted away, landing on a pool of blood. “Rai!” She ran around the desk, skidding to a stop. The sight of bright red blood gushing from Rai’s forehead froze her every joint. She wanted to bolt, but her cowardly legs wouldn’t move.
Kami dropped to the floor beside Rai’s motionless body. Her hand cupped the deep gash on his head, and she gazed up at Joey, silently screaming for help.
That one look sparked a fire in Joey’s gut. She ran into the bathroom and grabbed a first-aid kit. After bumping Jesse aside, she knelt next to Rai.
“What are you doing?” Kami quavered as Joey tore through the white plastic case.
“I saw this on an old TV show.” Joey lifted a thin clear tube of powder and unscrewed the top. “He’s just knocked out. This’ll stop the bleeding. Then we can wake him up with smelling salts.”
“Are you sure?” Kami held her shaky lips together, tight. She drew her stare from the thick blood that seeped between her fingers, looking at Joey.
An all-out hissy fit brewed inside Kami. Joey could see the freak-out fighting to erupt and Kami struggling to keep it in check.
“Don’t worry. He’ll be okay.” Joey removed Kami’s trembling hand, and a gush of blood spilled over from flaps of swollen skin. Her stare stuck to shards of ripped, pulsating, oozing flesh. Even though her brain begged to look away, she poured a crystallized powder over the wound.
When fine grains mixed with blood, a hard shell formed. Thin streams of blood stopped flowing from Rai’s head, and Kami smiled.
“Now wake him up,” Kami said, grabbing Rai’s limp hand.
Gauze pads, medical tape, and bandages flew over Joey’s shoulders until she spotted a packet of smelling salts. She cracked the seal and waved the stick under Rai’s nose. His eyes shot open, and she leaned away from his flailing arm.
Kami threw her head onto Rai’s chest and hugged him tight.
“How … I’m on the floor?” Rai slurred. His hand lifted toward his head, stopping short. “My laptop!”
Kami thumped to the floor as Rai slid away. He sat up, wobbled, and then gripped his temples. “Ow, my head.”
“Your computer is fine,” Jesse said, placing the laptop back on the desk.
A flash of light pulled Joey’s stare to the cracked screen of Kami’s handheld. She scooped the device off the floor, and its case broke apart in her hand. “Crap. Kami. Your thingy looks trashed.”
“Seriously!” Kami seized her handheld, her jaw caught open as pieces dropped to her feet. A frown to end all frowns swept in, claiming her lips.
Rai patted Kami on the arm, joining her in the somber stare at the mangled gadget. “I’m so sorry, Kami.”
A chuckle flew from Jesse’s mouth. “You guys are nuts!” He plucked the handheld from Kami’s grasp, holding it out. “It’s just silly tech.”
“Oh man,” Joey mumbled, slinking away. It only took her five minutes to figure out that handheld was Kami’s world, and Jesse was supposed to be the smart one.
Those cranky Matsuda eyes steered to Jesse, and he just shrugged. “What! It’s no big deal. We’re alive.”
“No big deal!” Kami cried out.
“Not cool, man,” Rai said.
Kami stood in front of Jesse and poked his shoulder. “That silly tech was my life. I had everything on there.” Her eyes sank to the shattered display, and her tense shoulders wilted. “All the vids of my parents. Pictures of our home, gone.” She plopped onto Rai’s bed, drawing her knees to her chest.
Joey sat at the far end of the bed. Kami looked ready to make a tiny coffin. That girl needed a hug, but she wasn’t going to do it; she’d probably get slapped. The stupid little sympathy smiles she was hurling did pretty much nothing to help. Rai should be at Kami’s side, comforting her, that’s the whole point of having a twin.
“I guess I can share my laptop with you,” Rai said, picking his toppled chair from the floor.
“I can fix it!” Jesse knelt beside the bed, placing his hand on Kami’s knee. “Like, one day, and I’ll have it good as new.”
“Yeah right,” Kami huffed. “How are you gonna find handheld parts on a spaceship?”
“I got my ways,” Jesse smirked.
A small grin peeked through Kami’s veil of sadness, and her glossy eyes lifted to Jesse.
“Well good,” Rai said, slumping back into his chair. “Cause I really didn’t wanna share.” He typed as he spoke, his glare fastened to the screen.
“That’s messed up,” Joey shouted. Anger rose in her chest, its burn like a fuel that propelled her across the room. She slammed the laptop’s lid closed, nearly crushing Rai’s fingers. “If you two didn’t look so much alike, I’d never know you guys were twins.”
Kami jumped up and pushed Joey’s hand off the laptop. “Not all twins are touchy-feely like you two.”
“Yeah,” Rai added, peeking out from behind Kami. “Didn’t you see those German twins? I don’t think they said two words to each other at check-in.”
Germans, Asians, it didn’t matter. Twins were twins, connected, caring, kind to each other. She looked at Jesse and his face crinkled, shoulders lifting just a tad.
“Okay then!” Joey yelled. “I guess we’re the weird ones.” She turned and hit the door button, squeezing her way out as soon as the slab started to open.
Chapter Seven
Jesse almost chased after Joey as she stomped from the room. It was hard to watch her go, but he had little choice. To run after her now would only confirm the freak Westen twins notion.
“Whoa! Emotional,” Kami said with wide eyes.
“She’s just …” Jesse sat on the corner of Rai’s desk, taking a minute to actually think before he spoke “ … sensitive. It’s always been just the two of us and Mom. All this is a lot for her.”
Kami sat on the other end of the desk, gazing into his eyes. “She didn’t have any friends at school?”
“We couldn’t afford school.”
“What?” Kami squawked. She looked at Rai, who pretended to be busy, then back at Jesse. “But it’s only like fifty Gs.”
Jesse’s stomach twisted. That was more money than his family spent on food, for an entire year. “That’s how much school costs?”
“Well, per person,” Kami mumbled.
“Yeah.” Jesse chuckled. “We could barely afford the O² to get the mail every week.”
“Get the mail? Why would you need O² to get the mail?”
“There’s no giant dome to protect G-Sector. We had to suit up in full anti-radiation gear to get the mail, take out the trash, go anywhere.”
“Oh.” Kami slid off the desk, a lost glaze coating her eyes. She straightened her silk shirt, lifting her chin. “I’m just gonna … go apologize to Joey.” She gestured to the door while strolling backward.
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“And tell her I forgive her for touching the tech,” Rai said. Kami waved, walking out the door, and he opened his laptop.
“Dude!” Jesse closed the lid, ignoring Rai’s glare. “You have a huge, gaping wound on your head. You need stitches.”
Rai touched his forehead, jerking his arm away with a wince. “It’s not bleeding.”
“No. You’re going to medical.”
Jesse reached for Rai, and the guy whacked his hand away.
“All right,” Rai said, holding his arm out stiff. “Can I just get a minute to run a system’s check, Mom?”
A huff carried Jesse back a few steps, right to a pile of clothes. He scanned the mess, which had spawned little baby messes all around the room. His shoulders slumped, and he started closing drawers.
***
Light faded in and out, a steady throb ripping Sabrina from a haze. She pushed to her knees, and warm streaks trickled down the sides of her neck. Bolts of pain spread throughout her skull, calling to her hand for comfort. She slipped her fingers beneath her ponytail, and the rubber band snapped. Sticky hair fell against her neck, relieving only a fraction of the ache. She grazed a wide gash on the back of her head before the sharp sting of her light touch forced her hand away. Strength faded and her hand fell to the hard ground, its thud bouncing around the room.
“Reyes.”
Only the click of machines answered her call, and she glanced up from the floor. Through cloudy eyes, a man sprawled on his back blurred into view.
She crawled across the floor, collapsing as her wrist gave way. “Ah, dammit. Reyes.” The bones in her wrist grinded together with every move, yet she wriggled closer to Reyes.
“Don’t be dead,” she said, leaning over his body. Her hands went straight to his neck, searching out a pulse. Sure enough, a strong beat thumped beneath her fingertips. She grinned, then slapped his cheek.