Remembrance

by SJ Moquin

  “I came as soon as I found out. We want to help.”

  “We?” Lark asked still confused.

  “I appreciate that, but is it wise for you all to get involved? And even if you do, what can you do? What can any of us do?” Gwelle asked, frustration tinting her words.

  “We can help you get Raiden out.”

  “Who is this we?” Knox asked realizing more was going on than appeared from the looks Gwelle was casting behind Jexxa self-consciously. She’d purposely left out any mention of the Zanareen invisibly watching them. As far as Lark and Knox were concerned it was just Jexxa standing here and just the alien girl who’d been watching the settlement over the past few weeks. Jexxa looked at Gwelle and back to her friends now both standing in the small room.

  “Jexxa has friends with her who, because of special abilities, we can’t see at the moment.” Lark’s mouth fell open at Gwelle’s soft-spoken words.

  “Stellar!” Knox exclaimed, his blue eyes widening in excitement. Gwelle grinned her first true smile since that morning at her friend’s enthusiastic reply. Lark wasn’t as joyous about the revelation as the guy who now had his arm wrapped around her friend’s waist.

  “This stays between us though. Until Jexxa’s people choose to reveal themselves, we will keep their secret.” Knox and Lark agreed with a nod and watched Jexxa walk further into the room.

  “Now, what is this about getting Raiden out?” Knox asked a bit too enthusiastically.

  “He’s not safe where he is. His detainment has to be linked with the threats against your lives,” Jexxa said.

  “You’re right. But he’s being held in detainment under the command center, below ground in a secured bunker. How are we supposed to get in and out without being…?”

  “Seen? I think we have that covered. You just need to provide a distraction.”

  “Oh, we can do that. I’m good at distractions,” Knox said, wiggling his eyebrows up and down. Lark’s elbow found a soft spot between two of the big blonde’s ribs, causing an oomph to fill the room. But Gwelle knew he had a point. Between the three of them, they’d had plenty of experience providing distractions and covering for each other. With the right planning, this might work.

  “Good. We need to move fast though.”

  “When were you thinking?” Lark asked looking more nervous than the others.

  “Tonight,” Jexxa replied without hesitation.

  Two hours later, Gwelle tripped through the dark, clinging to the shadows along with Knox and Lark, who trailed right behind her, so close she could hear their shallow breaths. Knox, of course, was more excited than either girl. She and Lark seemed to pick up the enormity of the situation, just how much was riding on them being able to pull this off and get Raiden to safety. They’d waited until her mother was asleep, then slipped out the window into the cool night air. Jexxa waited for them just ahead as they wound their way through the colony. While it was a bit harder to see the shimmering at night, she knew Jexxa wasn’t alone as she moved ahead of them.

  Moments later they arrived close to the front gate, the command center sitting across from the now empty staging grounds. The hustle and bustle of the day was gone, and only a random patrol passed by in the dark. Moonlight bathed the area as the three friends slid in behind Jexxa. They hovered just a couple buildings over from their target.

  “Ready?” Jexxa asked, but it wasn’t Gwelle or her friends she spoke to. She must have gotten a quiet affirmation from those invisible aliens around them because she nodded back, pointing towards the command center. Jexxa gave Gwelle a look before slipping towards the building, a shimmering glow hitting her as moonlight bounced off where she’d just been visible seconds before. Gwelle didn’t dwell on the strangeness of the situation or even if they should be here, simply looking at Lark and Knox who nodded before moving around the other side of the building. Each of the three kept an eye on the entrance to the detainment area from a different vantage point.

  Gwelle watched her perimeter for signs of guards or other protectors, nerves beginning to get the best of her. One foot tapped a steady rhythm in the soft dirt where she stood. She glanced at the stairs leading up to the large circular veranda. A light shone from one of the windows on the upper level, but not until it flicked off did she push away from her spot against the small supply building next door. She’d almost reached the command center, determined to get a closer look in case someone was going below when a deep voice called out her name.

  “Gwelle, why am I not surprised to see you here? I think we should talk.” Turning slowly, Gwelle stared face to face with Commander Corsin, his steel gray eyes cutting into her. He motioned for her to join him.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Crossing Over

  Wind whipped around Gwelle and sent wisps of her dark hair fluttering behind her as the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach grew. The commander stared at her where she stood, mere paces away. Her foot twitched. She wanted to turn, to run. But could she, should she? She tamped down her nerves and squared her shoulders.

  “Can I help you with something, Commander?”

  “Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that, Gwelle?” the commander asked, one brow quirking up. She swore she saw his lips twitch as if he was biting back a smile, or a smirk, she couldn’t quite tell as the shadows whipped around them. “What are you doing out here this late?” His tone sounded as if he already knew exactly what her answer would be or should be. But she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of being right.

  “Getting a breath of air. Last time I checked there was nothing illegal about that.” She wasn’t sure where the steel in her voice came from, but it wasn’t from bravery. Fear tripped through her veins as she stared at the commander who crossed his arms and refused to take his eyes from her. She held his stare, willing her eyes not to blink.

  “Let’s go up and have a chat.” Corsin pointed towards the stairs.

  “I really need to get back home.”

  “Gwelle.” His cold voice halted her step backwards. “Raiden will get a fair hearing.”

  “Will he?” Ice filled her veins where fear had curled moments before. She narrowed her eyes at the tall man in front of her. “Seems to me, it’s already been decided based on circumstantial evidence.”

  “Nothing’s been decided. I know you care about him. I care about him. His uncle was my friend, just like your dad was. Do you think I really wanted to lock Raiden up?”

  “You didn’t seem to have a problem with it earlier today,” Gwelle hissed, feeling the icy cold shift to heat flaming through her. Rage fogged her mind a moment. A rage so strong it made her forget why she was there or what she was supposed to be doing. And just who she was talking to.

  “Things aren’t always what they seem, girl! Don’t do something you’ll regret. Go home and let me handle this.” Commander Corsin’s voice rose. It had lost that calm which seemed to always be wrapped around him like a cloak. He raked a hand through his greying dark hair. After a moment, his eyes shuttered, returning to that calm, cool demeanor he was known for. “Gwelle, I know why you’re here.”

  “You do?” She stiffened at the words, not only for what they were, but how they were spoken. Deep and full of the authority that he held. Her breath caught in her throat.

  “You wanted to see him.” Relief washed over her, but she bit back the sigh threatening to escape at the commander’s words.

  “I don’t…”

  “Come on, Gwelle. I know about each and every time you snuck into an area you shouldn’t have on Deliverance. But this isn’t the ship. This is real now. Everything in Nova-Zera counts. It’s the difference between us surviving and not. So no more sneaking around. I’ll arrange a visit for you tomorrow if I can.”

  She paused a moment, remembering why she was here. Had she spoke with him long enough to aid in Raiden’s escape? She hadn’t heard the signal they were supposed to give when they were clear with him. She listened for the whistle, wondering if she
missed it while she and the commander had been speaking. Deciding that playing along was better, safer, than losing her patience, she drew a deep shaky voice in before looking up. With a contrite look now on her face, she began speaking.

  “You’re right. I wanted to see him. I needed to tell him I still believed in him despite what his friends and family believe.” The words were hard, cold, but not rushed or angry. When a brief pained look flickered behind Corsin’s grey eyes, she knew her words had hit their target. The soft trill of a night bird called out around them sending tremors through her heart. Her eyes flickered behind Corsin towards the darkened command center. She couldn’t see anyone in the shadows looming around it but knew the call for what it really was: the signal Raiden was free.

  “Go home, Gwelle. I’ll send word tomorrow when you can come visit.” Corsin sounded tired. She should be afraid, knowing what he’d done and was capable of but at that moment she only saw her father’s friend who’d grown old without anyone to love, without a family of his own.

  She nodded, not bothering to reply as she turned, using this moment to leave without causing suspicion. Gwelle walked calmly away in the direction of her house. She waited to see if he’d say anything or call her back, waited to see if he’d notice his prisoner was gone by some chance. Gwelle placed one foot in front of another in a non-hurried pace. Her shoulders tensed, itching to turn around to see if his eyes followed her or if even now, he was walking around to the holding cells where Raiden was supposed to be. When she reached the first crossroads, she looked over her shoulder as she turned left onto a path that led towards her row of houses. The commander was nowhere in sight.

  Gwelle spun in a full circle. She could see no sign of Corsin or anyone else. She picked up pace, cutting across a few yards towards the far side of the settlement near the agricultural district. No one went there at night, which was why it was the perfect place to meet up after Raiden’s rescue. They’d decided on a spot near the far wall in a darkened area between guard stations prior to leaving her house. She would be a bit later than the others, having had to deal with Corsin, and swing wide around the settlement to avoid his suspicion. Her feet picked up pace. She hurried through the darkened paths.

  A few minutes later found her at the fence without a sign of her companions anywhere nearby. After ten minutes, Gwelle began pacing. She debated the wisdom of trekking back through the settlement to the command center. Rather than taking the risk of running into a patrol, she walked along the darkened section of the tall wall separating the colony from the wild forest around them. Had Jexxa failed in retrieving Raiden? Had the alien tricked them? She’d heard the signal, or had she? The commander had distracted her. Maybe she had imagined it. Shaking her head, Gwelle turned pacing back the opposite way.

  She couldn’t stand there doing nothing. Her feet spun back in the direction she’d come just in time for her to see a couple dark shadows detach from the trees lining the path. She stumbled to a halt; her breath hitched in her throat until Raiden’s handsome face came into view. Moonlight flickered through the few trees around them, bouncing off Jexxa’s pale blonde hair where she walked beside him, but she only had eyes for Raiden.

  She took one step, then another, until she closed the distance between her and Raiden. His arms wrapped around her in a warm embrace, her feet lifted from the ground as she hugged him. He pressed small kisses on her brow, cheeks, and then lips until a small cough brought their attention back to present.

  “I was beginning to worry,” Gwelle whispered as Raiden lowered her back to the ground but didn’t drop his arms.

  “We had to convince Lark and Knox to go home so they wouldn’t be found out. There’s no reason for anyone to know they helped. And then we ran into a couple of patrols that we had to dodge,” Raiden explained. Gwelle lay her head on his chest breathing him in, relief flooding over her. A niggling of fear tried prying itself back into her mind, but she pushed it away. He was here with her safe, at least for now.

  “We need to get you somewhere safe. Jexxa and I thought you could stay at her house, since there’s no one else there until we sort this out.”

  “No,” Raiden interrupted the moment her words were out.

  “What?”

  “I’m not staying here in camp. I need to see my uncle again. Something he said earlier has been bothering me today as I sat in that cell.”

  “But, Raiden, we have to prove your innocence. That’s what is most important right now. Then we’ll worry about the rest,” Gwelle said, stepping back to look up at the boy who still hadn’t unwrapped his arms from around her waist as if he was afraid she’d vanish when he turned loose.

  “It’s all tied together. They’ll be searching for me soon. And they’ll start with anyone I’ve been seen with recently. That includes Jexxa at the festival as well as you, Lark, and Knox. It’s best I’m not in the settlement for now. I’m going with Jexxa to her village.”

  “But… that’s not safe, is it?” Gwelle’s voice raised with concern as she glanced between Jexxa and Raiden.

  “I’ve tried convincing him not to come. We cannot be sure that the memories of the visit will remain intact. Therefore any information you glean from your uncle may be lost when you return.”

  “What if you bring Jefferson back to the cave, like this morning?” Gwelle asked, trying to figure a way around Raiden leaving.

  “The trip this morning took a toll on him. He may be able to return in a few days’ time, but not now, not before our time runs out,” Jexxa replied twirling a strand of her long silvery blonde hair.

  “The last time, Gwelle remembered. Or at least pieces of it. What if she comes along again, and this time we only stay long enough to talk to Uncle Jefferson?” Gwelle’s heart raced at Raiden’s words. He was right. She did remember some of what happened but not everything. Just bits and pieces. More like a dream that vanishes when you wake.

  “I can sneak you in. But you can’t stay. Not long. There’s a chance the shorter trip won’t wipe your memories as bad and in case it does, I will remain with you the entire visit, so I can fill you in.”

  “And your people? Will they be alright with you bringing us?”

  “Some will. Those who support a peaceful approach to your settlement. But a few of the elders and their supporters would use it against me when time for the vote came. But it’s alright. No one will harm you while you’re my guest.” Gwelle nodded at Jexxa’s words before she turned her gaze to the tall man at her side.

  Raiden’s face was serious, hard. She knew he was worried and wouldn’t have suggested she came along unless it was important. They needed information now, and the only man who could give it to them now slept in an alternate plane somewhere in this strange, new world. They would do what they had to, she thought, squaring her shoulders and chasing the doubts from her mind. She’d spent too much of her life fighting the doubts, pushing herself to do stupid, foolhardy things in order to prove it was gone. Now, when it mattered the most, she wouldn’t second guess herself or give into it. She and Raiden were the only two who stood between the survival or death of the people in their community. It had to stop and stop now.

  “Let’s go. The sooner we’re there, the sooner we can get back,” Gwelle said. Raiden smiled down and tugged her into his side. Together they could do this. They’d always made a good team, she reminded herself, even if she’d let herself forget it at one time. Never again though, she promised, as they followed Jexxa back into the darkened forest.

  ***

  The cave walls glowed and twinkled around them as Jexxa led the way deeper into the underground caverns. They hadn’t paused to tell Lark or Knox where they were going. It was better this way. Plausible deniability. Her friends could honestly say they had no idea where Raiden was and therefore wouldn’t be implemented in any wrongdoing. She still hated it though. She hated everything about this situation, the sneaking around, keeping things from her mom, and especially not knowing exactly who they could trust.


  Raiden was determined his uncle could shed light on whatever was happening, but she wasn’t as sure. Physically, Jefferson seemed in great health, but mentally, he lived in his own world. The better thing would have been to find the proof they needed back at the core, and to not involve Uncle Jefferson or the Zanareen again. But they were here now, and she’d support Raiden if this was what he needed to do. She couldn’t blame him. If it was her dad instead, she’d be doing the same thing, there was no doubt about it. Raiden grasped her hand staying slightly ahead of her as the tunnel narrowed. Neither of them knew what to expect as they followed the girl in front of them.

  “Not long now,” Jexxa called, several paces ahead of them, almost as if she’d heard the thoughts pounding in her head. “When we get to the village…” Jexxa started but paused as she slowed and turned towards them. “…things will be different. My people will be… different. I will be different.” Jexxa spoke slow and clear, making sure both of them understood what she was saying. Not just the words, but what she was actually saying.

  They would meet the real Jexxa once they crossed over to the second plane as she’d explained to them earlier. The Eather plane was still part of Varax but separate as well. And once over they had a short amount of time before it would begin affecting their memory. If they remained too long, Jexxa would place them in a sleep-like coma similar to the last time they were taken there.

  It was very hard placing a lot of trust in Jexxa’s hands. But if they couldn’t show her that trust, could they ask the Zanareen to trust her people? She wasn’t a diplomat. Far from it, actually. But even she knew she and Raiden had just become representatives whether they wanted to or not. Whatever they did once they arrived in the Zanareen’s territory would reflect directly upon every survivor, those both here on Varax and those still on their way through the endless reaches of space.