Shifting Power

by Dacia M Arnold

  “Yeah. Live ones, too.”

  “I need to get out of this room before I pass out. I hate this place. The whole room is like a rubber wetsuit.”

  Even though relief was only a few steps away, Valerie held Hyka’s arm for support. Hyka took the last step and reached for the knob when Valerie saw a pool of blood under the door. Red smeared the floor as Hyka pulled the door open. Hector looked up at them from the ground, wide-eyed and pleading. Blood gurgled in his throat, his energy fading. Hyka shoved Valerie back just as a thick bundle of wires shot through her chest from an unseen force.

  Valerie felt Jarrett’s energy. Rage burst from her body through a scream that shook the walls. Hyka fell to her knees before going limp, still impaled by the jagged cables. Valerie pulled the intrusion from Hyka’s body with all her strength. Both hands on her friend, she concentrated her energy. The electricity moved through her in waves over Hyka’s motionless body, stimulating stem cells to target and repair the damaged tissue, but her power alone was not enough, and her friend was running out of time. With another scream of desperation, she pulled energy from everything around her, including the small spark of life left in Hector. The hallway shook. A tear fell from her eyes in fear. She wanted to save the young man too but didn’t know how to control her ability. She couldn’t isolate the gathering of power to keep from killing the guard.

  More Facility security guards rushed down the hall toward her. Valerie drew on their excess energy and steadied the healing on Hyka until her friend gasped for air. Her tissues continued to rebuild, and Valerie took her hands away. She wished Jarrett was tangible, so she could rip him apart all over again.

  A sucking gust of wind pushed by her and into the TTC. The door behind her slammed shut. The sound made her jump, bringing about a contraction, stronger than anything she had ever experienced. The painful tightening coursed from her back and across her abdomen. Valerie stiffened with the strain, powerless to move, or even breathe. The second it released she collapsed to the floor and prepared herself for another. She screamed so loud the light bulbs burst around them and progressed down the corridor.

  “Open the door!” she shouted through clenched teeth and tears. She was in labor, and her only hope was to make it back into the room.

  The guards tried their badges, but the locking mechanism would not respond.

  “Keys,” she panted with the few precious moments before the next wave of pain. “Hector has keys.”

  They wrestled the keyring from the body and spent more time locating the appropriate one for the door. Even with the correct key, the guards had to force their entry into the room. An energy departed the center, knocking one of the men against the far wall. Valerie struggled to drag herself into the room. Another contraction gripped her. Coming to their senses, the guards held her under each arm and shuffled her through the door. A trail of her own blood streaked from where she had been laying on the floor. The contractions ceased.

  “Call Monica. Doctor Dominguez. And get Hyka.” Valerie scooted herself back to the exit. A guard tried to intercept her, but when she made it the threshold, she reached one arm out to grasp Hyka’s hand.

  “She needs me,” Valerie said breathless and through exhausted tears. “Don’t you try to leave me again, got it? I still need someone to make my coffee.”

  “I suppose we’re even now, huh? You might have to make my coffee now.” Hyka groaned as she twisted onto her right side, holding Valerie’s hand.

  “Is that baby okay?”

  “I don’t know.”

  After several minutes, Valerie fell out of consciousness. Her mind went to a place of darkness; a pitch-black room with four corners. Standing to her left was Lucas laughing maniacally though she could not hear him. Across from her was Caleb crying. She took a step to him and noticed, to her right, Scott. The gentle Scott she recognized from when before planes fell; when she worked an ordinary job, and their only trouble was what to make for dinner. She moved to Scott and wrapped her arms around his neck. They were transported back to their bedroom sleeping in each other’s arms, peaceful and safe. Her body finally let her relax.

  “You’re crying,” Valerie said to August when she could hold her eyes open.

  He was resting in a chair that had been pulled up to her bed. His eyes were closed, and the skin around them was red and raw. His long dark brown hair was tucked underneath a hat. Maybe her weakened state allowed her guard to drop ever so slightly, but Valerie welcomed his concern for her as a sweet gesture. Her anger dissolved, and though she could have thrown blame like daggers, she chose to stop fighting him. Someone needed to concede the war for her heart. Scott only haunted her dreams, but he was otherwise gone. Her war within the walls of the Facility was best fought with an ally. The stress-worn man sitting next to her was the strongest person in her corner. Even stronger than herself.

  “Valerie, I am so sorry. I shouldn’t have taken off like I did. I knew better than to assume he wouldn't attack you." August kept his head down as he spoke. "What was I thinking leaving you with him loose in this place? This is my fault. I don’t know what I would do without you or the baby. I know she’s not mine, but for as much as I love you, I love her and Caleb just as much.”

  Her heart relented, and she understood how being so worried could be misinterpreted as love. But the mention of her daughter produced the slightest jealousy in her chest. Including Caleb was a good cover for the DiaZem effect he felt toward her daughter. She hoped it was like a father loved a daughter and not the disgusting way Jarrett intended for her.

  Though August’s fear wore genuinely on his face, Valerie decided right then he would not be allowed in the delivery room. The decision simple. If the need arose, she would choose her own life over the baby, a selfishness she acknowledged and felt justified with. She did not trust August to carry out the same judgment. He had no place to determine if she was unable.

  “Where is Hyka?”

  “She has the day off." He sniffed and reached for her hand. She did not pull away. "I will fix this.”

  “Caleb?”

  August pointed to the bedroom door that framed a little boy with a birthday crown on his head and a handful of balloons.

  “Come here and snuggle me, birthday boy. It’s okay. Mommy’s feeling better.”

  A smirk spread over his face, and he climbed as quickly as he could into his mother’s arms.

  “I am free years gold,” he exclaimed, holding his fingers up.

  “Gold, huh? Good job, buddy.” She gave him a high-five before rustling his hair.

  “Daddy said you were a bad girl, Mommy. You got hurt. Ms. Hyka was a really bad girl, Mommy,” he said so innocently concerned.

  Valerie swallowed her bitterness and took a heavy breath. “Honey, that’s not Daddy talking to you. That is the bad, stinky, mean man. He is dangerous. You tell him next time he tries to talk to you I said he’s a bad man and to leave you alone, okay? Then you come tell Mommy, and I will punch that mean man in the face.” She held up a fist, the same way she threatened all boogiemen Caleb feared in the night.

  “He has no face, silly Mommy.”

  Much to everyone’s disapproval, Valerie demanded to be brought up to date as soon as she got out of bed.

  “At least use a wheelchair,” Jack suggested, even though everyone was used to her stubborn resolve.

  Though Valerie had recovered, Monica cautioned her from being too involved. She lost a substantial amount of blood, but since August’s return, Dr. Dominguez deemed her and the baby healthy once again.

  “There is nothing wrong with me. I’m not adding drama to this situation just so everyone can feel like a hero. I am not weak, I am not injured. I am kept in the dark by the people closest to me, and it almost cost Hyka her life.”

  A nearby lamp burst, caused by her temper’s sudden rise. The incident had cost Hector his life. She held the guilt for not saving him and ultimately taking what little energy he was still fighting for. She would not blame their se
crets on her killing him. She would quietly own his passing, but she would not allow the choice to be taken from her again.

  A smile played on August’s cheek as Valerie grabbed her blazer and strode out of the room for the meeting. He might have been entertained by her temper, but she was eternally grateful their connection did not include reading each other’s mind. He never would have lasted this long.

  Duke moderated while Hyka pounded meeting notes into her computer. The Facility’s department leaders of the research, security, and the control room all gave their names and positions, though there was a palpable nervousness in the room. Those who worked under Lucas Jarrett knew they would be facing a death sentence if Valerie had not removed him from the position. She had not been tested to this extreme and hated inflicting mortal fear into anyone. Like trying to discipline a rescue dog who had been beaten their whole life. She tried to mask the frustration fueling her determination to understand the problem.

  “It seems much has gone on without my knowledge. I promise to give anonymity to everything discussed in this room. Who wants to go first?” Valerie looked over those seated around the large table in the TTC. The location was chosen for the same privacy reasons of Lucas Jarrett’s wandering energy. Besides, nearly dying was not the worst thing about the situation. Valerie shuttered the images of the day before from her mind and lifted her chin to await explanations.

  Duke spoke on August’s behalf, as her partner sat in the hallway with Caleb where his abilities were needed to maintain power.

  “To put things bluntly, we have a ghost problem,” Duke started, smug as usual. “Lucas Jarrett’s energy is still loose in the Facility. He wants nothing more than to return to power and has attacked multiple people in the last week. Our research team has been working in extreme caution to destroy his energy, or somehow contain the power. Though, the technology for the latter is coming along quicker than the former.”

  “What’s in Chicago?” Valerie asked him, prepared to not believe anything he said.

  “We have located two male DiaZem, one of which is in Chicago. A rumor is going around of a female in rural Montana.”

  “The plane that landed in Billings during the Awakening?”

  “Yes, but months have passed, and it’s Montana. If she’s evading us, we can’t put any weight into finding her.”

  “Where is the other male?”

  Duke took a drink of water before answering. Everything he did annoyed her.

  “In Hawaii. His closest port is in San Francisco, but consider once the two DiaZem are in proximity he’ll either not leave San Francisco, or they are both headed back down to Hawaii. August says nothing can separate them, even for the greater good.”

  The comment came almost as a challenge. Did August really think her incapable of leaving?

  “We can’t leave Hawaii without power,” Valerie said, giving the statement the weight of law. “But Jacqui leaving California will leave us vulnerable on the coast.”

  “We recently discovered the power footprint of Denver overlaps the West Coast,” Hyka reminded her.

  “We need six DiaZem to man the aircraft carrier to secure the Pacific Ocean. Can we manage with a team in Hawaii and four—which we have yet to find—on the carrier?” Valerie asked. With Jacqui finding a partner, she could easily pin this task on another region. She had as much interest in being a national leader as she did a regional figure. Politics and military strategy seemed trivial in her plight of normalcy.

  “Our team will calculate the placement and get that answer to you,” the control room manager said as he took the note down.

  “The other DiaZem is in Chicago then?”

  “Yes.”

  “But if he’s a male, how does that make any sense for August to get him?”

  “Because he can’t risk losing you behind enemy lines. We need you here to continue to power most of the region,” Duke answered, a tone of annoyance in his voice as if he were answering a child’s persistent questioning.

  “Why can’t Jacqui go get him? That way, Hawaii maintains power, and she has her partner?”

  “Because the Chicago DiaZem will only communicate through August’s son. If it were an option for you to go, you’d be on a plane already. The Council knows Jacqui is without a partner. If she travels outside her footprint and into overlapping enemy territory, they’ll be suspicious and could attempt to collect her. Chicago sits on the edge of our power grid. When we contain Lucas' energy, Denver’s power reach will shrink, and we'll lose access to the DiaZem in Chicago, giving the Council an opportunity to weed him out without interference from us. August plans to retrieve his son along with the male DiaZem soon. We are almost done perfecting the technology to allow them to travel together. After this field testing, we will adapt the machinery to trap Jarrett’s energy.”

  The mention of Lucas Jarrett made her skin crawl.

  “How long until there is a safe room in the hotel?” Valerie directed the question to the new executive of research, appointed after the suicide of his predecessor.

  “Madam DiaZem,” Doctor Drake Kingston spoke up from his chair along the wall, “in instances like now, every time we mute your or Doctor Wilkes’ abilities, the region loses some of its footprint. The recent hiatus has demonstrated the flow of electricity is less disturbed when his power is absent. However, when you are in a safe room, the footprint shrinks to just maintain the city of Denver, leaving the full region to operate on stored conventional energy. While it would be safer for you and your children to remain in a safe room, it allows the Council a visible opportunity to come into our airspace without our knowledge as we cannot observe more than a fifty-mile radius.”

  Valerie’s back ached. Her abdomen contracted and gently released. She welcomed the harmless Braxton-Hicks.

  “Are there any updates on the Council?”

  “Jacqueline still has connections within the Council. Exiled members have not undergone formal trials,” Hyka explained. “However, there is talk of England producing a weapon based on the theory of how you and August used the copper coil to kill Jarrett. A portable device powered by a DiaZem team. That way, they can travel to each region and perform executions.”

  Valerie nodded, but her head throbbed. She experienced every pregnancy symptom she managed to bypass for four months. She sipped her water and worked to remain focused.

  “Please go on.”

  “August did not make contact with the male DiaZem in Chicago before he needed to return.”

  “Can someone else make the trip and persuade this dude to come with us?”

  “We’re working to figure that out,” Hyka answered at the ground in a mumble.

  “What are the obstacles?”

  Valerie glanced at Duke with one eyebrow lifted as he hoisted his hands in the air and produced no answer.

  Valerie exited the room, making sure not to linger outside the door. Her pace quickened as she regained her strength, and the symptoms faded. Caleb trotted beside her until she scooped him up to walk faster away from the place.

  “Valerie?” Courtney Dominguez caught up at the elevator. “May we address the agenda for your public appearance tomorrow?”

  Valerie nodded for her to proceed. Having a press secretary was a welcome luxury she found in an old acquaintance. Courtney became a close friend and confidante soon after she brought her wife, Monica to the Facility. What Hyka lacked in emotion, Courtney provided in all aspects. Valerie also found comfort in having strong women around her to rely on as she navigated her new role and still tried to cope with being a widow and single parenthood. Valerie’s monthly visit to the Children’s Hospital was by far her most rewarding task. Her passion project converted a wing of the hospital into a group home of orphaned Conductor children who lost their parents in Jarrett’s attack on the city. She coupled her job of nursing with her love of being a mother. An added bonus was Caleb had the opportunity to play with other kids in a safe and secure area.

  “I've notified the
region to expect intermittent losses of electricity beginning at seven a.m. for a maximum of thirty-six hours due to your and August’s departure. The hospital executive staff will meet you at eight a.m., and then you’ll proceed with the regular tour of the living areas. Concluding around eleven, you’ll load back into the convoy and make for the regional leader’s meeting at the state capitol building. I couldn’t reach Kevin, but your father ensures everyone has arrived or is online for the conference.”

  “Where’s Kevin?”

  “Your brother likes to patrol the city from time to time.” Courtney gave a half-lipped frown and rolled her eyes.

  “Figures.” Valerie put Caleb down in the elevator. “Last chance. Anything else I need to know about?”

  Courtney shook her head, clearly ashamed at being in on the secrets kept from Valerie.

  Caleb hummed to himself, swaying his head from side to side in his car seat. Valerie sat in the third row of seats next to him in the black SUV. Because of the threat in the Facility, everyone attended the DiaZem team’s monthly tour of the city. Jack, more excited than Caleb, jumped at the opportunity to visit Mike Burton. Valerie, however, dreaded seeing her father and brother for the first time since tasking them with clearing the city of the deceased. Even with Mike’s betrayal, he did everything she asked of him for penance. Caleb missed his grandpa. Valerie recognized the need to keep what little family she had left close to her, but Kevin was still bitter she was the one with the DiaZem gene and not him, which only made her anxiety worse. Their father had trained them from a young age in case either carried the gene. All bets were on Kevin, but when the chosen one turned out to be Valerie, her brother’s ego never recovered. He made regular trips to the Facility, coordinating efforts with Duke on outreach and employment in Denver. He never once made any attempt to see her or Caleb while he was there.

  The convoy arrived at the Denver Children’s Hospital right next door to Valerie’s former place of employment. They were early and off schedule for security reasons. Most of the medical staff consisted of Conductors though many General Population maintained employment. As Valerie used her position as DiaZem and the duties that came with it to help her move past the grief of her new reality, she learned the jobs provided by the orphanage provided the same healing effect to those who worked there.