Estranged

by Alex Fedyr

  Marley was silent for a moment. He quietly replied, “I always do.” Kalei heard him take a deep breath before he continued, “So, any ideas on how to take him down when he exposes his hide again?”

  “Other than tying his ankle to a rocket and launching his ass into space? Not a clue.”

  Marley laughed. “Okay, well, if you come up with anything better than that, be sure to give me a call.”

  “Of course. I’ll talk to you later, Marley.”

  “Later.”

  Kalei returned to the computer room and sat down at her usual terminal in the corner. Walker now sat on the opposite side of Erit, working on his security re-writes for Terin.

  While Kalei waited for the computer to cue up the latest surveillance feeds, the image of Xamic getting shot at E-night buzzed through her head, gnawing at her like an unfinished puzzle. Turning to Erit, she said, “You know what? Maybe you can tell me, Erit: how does Xamic do that thing where he takes a bullet to the head and laughs it off?”

  Erit chuckled. “I’ve never heard it put that way before. It’s nothing too incredible, really. Quite simply, he has a lot of darkness.”

  “That’s not much of an explanation. C’mon, Mister Professor, give me the full write-up.”

  Erit made one more click on whatever he was working on and turned to face Kalei. “Truly? You’re giving me full leave to lecture? Well, I suppose I’d better start talking before you reconsider. To begin, you know that the darkness is the energy behind healing your wounds, correct?”

  “Yeah.” Kalei was mildly offended he had to ask.

  “Well, the greater the amount of darkness you have within you, the faster those wounds heal. Of course, if you don’t have a lot of darkness, you can still take advantage of this concept by concentrating your darkness around the wound. It’s quite handy, really.”

  Kalei was mildly surprised. “Why the hell was Estranged First Aid 101 not included in basic training?”

  Erit returned to his computer and typed a few commands as he replied, “Yes, well, we still consider it to be ‘advanced’ training, as there are some other applications for the technique that could be quite disastrous in the wrong hands.”

  Kalei raised an eyebrow. “Such as?”

  Erit fell silent for a moment as he finished his typing, then he turned back to Kalei again. Using his hands to animate, he said, “One particularly useful application is to use the darkness to enhance performance. By concentrating the darkness around certain muscle groups, strength and agility will see drastic improvement. Run faster, jump higher; anything you can think of. I saw the reports from your run with Xamic through the train yard, and I can assure you, Xamic’s ability to vault a railcar does not come naturally.”

  Kalei mulled over the idea. It sounded like something out of a superhero movie, but she had to admit, she was intrigued.

  Erit returned to his work as he said, “I can see you are considering trying it out for yourself. Feel free. It really is an invigorating experience, and one I am sure you will find quite useful.”

  Kalei was eager to take Erit up on the offer, but she knew Terin wouldn’t be pleased to find out she was shirking her duties to go play. Hell, she wouldn’t be pleased. People needed her right now. So, she turned back to her computer and moved the mouse to banish the screen saver. She would have time to try it out the next time she went to the roof to meditate.

  But when her computer woke up, she found several of the windows blank. She gave her monitor a smack to the frame. “Some of my cams aren’t coming up.”

  “Don’t do that!” Walker scowled at her. “Some cams will be going off and on while I rewrite the systems.”

  Kalei dropped her hand away from the screen and replied, “But I thought the security systems weren’t on the network. How can it interfere with the cameras?”

  Walker growled at his computer. “It’s a mess. Don’t ask.”

  The routine continued, and the air began to cool as fall approached. The roof was especially cold, but Kalei didn’t mind throwing on a jacket to go up there. It was peaceful on the roof, perhaps the most peaceful place in all of Downtown. Occasionally, she heard a shout or a siren below, but the distance muted the sounds down to a whisper, and the wind usually kicked up to carry the lower notes away. It was nice.

  Until she sat down to meditate. The meditations were really just redundant, boring, and exhausting at this point. All they really did was feed her frustration, making her feel like a hamster spinning in its wheel while the world outside slowly moved along the road to destruction, a journey she was helpless to avert so long as she was stuck in her wheel. But the harder she worked, the faster the wheel spun, and the faster she went nowhere. All the while, thoughts of Xamic and his kidnapped Untouched plagued her, taunting her powerlessness. She wanted to scream.

  When she became especially restless, she began experimenting with what Erit had told her about using the darkness to enhance muscle performance. It was one of the few areas where she could make progress. She started with wall sits. Without trying anything, she could last about a minute and a half before tiring. Then, when she started shifting the darkness to her quads, she could last... well, she never really found out. She got bored after twenty minutes and went back to meditating.

  After that, Kalei started testing out her speed. She found a stopwatch in the rec room and timed how long it took her to run from one end of the roof to the other. Just over eighteen seconds. It wasn’t a bad time. Then she pooled the darkness throughout her legs. She ran again.

  She had barely made it off the line when she had to stop because her stomach and back weren’t strong enough to hold her up against the new speed, nearly sending her over backwards.

  With a bit more concentration and some proper adjustments, she made the sprint in eight seconds flat. She couldn’t keep the grin off her face. She sprinted across the roof for another hour before pulling herself away to get back to work. It wasn’t an easy choice.

  She had just sat down at her terminal when Jenna said, “Kalei.”

  Kalei ignored her.

  “Your friend Lecia was found outside the gate. We’ve got a couple of Wardens bringing her into the district now.”

  Kalei turned around. “Why are they bringing her into the district?”

  “Looks like she’s Estranged.”

  “What?”

  Jenna apathetically replied, “You heard me.”

  “Shit.” Kalei jumped out of her seat and headed over to the elevator. “Tell them to bring her to headquarters.” She hit the button.

  “Roger that,” Jenna replied as she went back to work.

  Downstairs, Kalei pulled out her phone and dialed Marley.

  He answered, “Hey, perfect timing! I just found Xamic’s Grunt House.”

  Kalei almost dropped the phone. “Really?”

  “Yeah, it’s a great location too. He used the Luxury Grove Condos in the heart of Tech Town. That puts him right in the middle of everything. The Celan Bank, the State Supreme Court, the Trade Building. He can have guys at any one of those places in under five minutes if someone gives him trouble. It’s ingenious, really.”

  “Not sure I’d call it that.” Kalei was only mildly pleased to discover that her guess about the barracks being in T-Town was correct.

  “Eh, call it what you will. I’ll let SWORDE take over from here.” Kalei heard Marley’s chair rolling and squeaking as he stood up. “So, anyways, what were you calling about?”

  Kalei stepped out onto the sidewalk, watching the end of the street where she knew the truck would be coming from. “It’s about Lecia. We found her.”

  “Seriously? Alive, I hope.”

  “Depends on your definition.”

  “Then define it for me.”

  Kalei sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “She’s a fucking Estranged.”

  Marley sighed. “Damn. Well, we knew this would happen one day. She couldn’t play with fire forever.”

  “Yeah.” Kale
i heard an engine approaching. “Listen, she’s here. I’ll call you later, alright?”

  “Alright.”

  Kalei hung up as the van pulled around the corner. She took a step back from the curb in case Jarmel was driving.

  Luckily, it wasn’t Jarmel, because the van stopped neatly alongside the curb. The driver, still in full Warden black, got out, and Kalei asked, “How’s she doing?”

  “A bit shaken, to say the least. She— well, come see for yourself.” Kalei recognized Usha’s voice and followed her to the back of the van.

  As they arrived, a second Warden opened the door. There was Lecia, hunched over on one of the bench seats. Her usual plethora of layers were absent in lieu of a simple yellow T-shirt over a pair of jeans. She looked a bit dirty, a bit dazed, but otherwise unharmed. Lecia blinked against the light as Kalei carefully took her arm and led her out of the van. As she stepped onto the street, the woman slowly raised her head, staring at the crumbling skyscrapers, turning her head as she tried to take them all in.

  Kalei asked, “Lecia? How you feeling?”

  Lecia pulled away from the sky and looked at Kalei. “Kalei?” Her voice sounded dreamy. Her eyebrows came together, and then relaxed when she recognized Kalei’s face. “It’s you.”

  Seeing Lecia so disconnected bothered Kalei. She wasn’t sure if Lecia was just high, or if she was seriously hurt like Josh had been. Kalei calmly persisted, “How are you feeling?”

  Lecia’s eyebrows puckered again, perplexed. “Feeling?”

  The knot of concern in Kalei’s gut tightened. She took Lecia’s hand into her own gloved one and said, “Come on. Let’s go find Erit and get you all sorted out.” She waved off the other two Wardens and they peeled away to return to their other duties.

  “Okay.” Lecia followed, her gait measured and softly rolling as though she were walking on a cloud.

  Inside, Kalei asked the Warden at the front desk where Erit was. She replied, “Just saw him go into the elevator not two minutes ago.”

  Kalei thanked her and led Lecia up to the decrepit, golden doors, pressing the “up” button a couple times. As they waited, Kalei realized that this was Lecia’s first time in SWORDE HQ. The woman should be ecstatic, jumping with joy at this opportunity. She had wanted to see the inside of HQ for ages. But Lecia just stood quietly beside her, her mouth slightly open as her eyes lazily traced the trajectory of some invisible sprite. Kalei jabbed the button a few more times.

  At last, the elevator dinged and the doors dragged open. A few uneasy moments later, the pair stepped out into the computer room.

  “Hey, Erit, can you check Lecia out for me?”

  Erit turned around. “Sure. What seems to be the problem?”

  Kalei looked at Lecia, whose eyes still lazily danced around the room, heedless to its occupants. “I don’t know. She just seems... out of it.”

  Erit stood up and walked over to them. “It’s possible she is simply adjusting to her new... state. But, nonetheless, I will take a look.” He looked into one eye, then the other. He gently picked up one hand and looked at her solid black nails. Lecia was oblivious to the inspection. Her eyes had finally focused on something behind Erit, and a crooked grin crept along her face, as though she had discovered a hidden paradise.

  Erit asked, “Lecia? My name is Erit. Nice to make your acquaintance.”

  Lecia’s head slowly cocked to one side, her eyes still gazing in the distance. “Funny.”

  Erit raised an eyebrow. “I beg your pardon?”

  “Your words are funny.”

  Erit laughed. “Well, it seems you have noticed my accent.”

  Lecia ignored him.

  Erit released her hand and faced Kalei. “I am sure she is fine. I recommend we take her to a recovery room, allow her a few hours to adjust, and then check in to see if we can help her become acquainted with her new life.”

  Kalei replied, “But this doesn’t seem normal. Lecia may be stupid, but not like this. How do we know she— How do we know she isn’t like Josh?”

  “We cannot be certain. Everyone adjusts to the transition differently, and it is quite possible she will snap out of this. All we can do is give her time.”

  Lecia muttered, “I... have something to do.”

  Kalei looked up and found that Lecia had wandered over to Erit’s terminal. She held something small in her hand, something like... a thumb drive. The same thumb drive Landen had confronted Xamic with. Kalei recognized it by the Tusic logo on the front, and a small chip missing out of the side of the plastic case.

  Kalei sprang for the terminal. “Lecia! No!”

  Before she could make it across the room, Lecia plugged it in.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Reunion

  “Shit!” Kalei pushed past Lecia and pulled the drive out of the computer. Still holding it in her left hand, she reached for the mouse and woke up the computer, intent on stopping whatever program might have been activated.

  Walker rushed over. “What happened?”

  Kalei handed the thumb drive to him. “She plugged this in. Could it be the worm?”

  “Shit! Jenna, did anything happen on your end?” Walker went to the back of Erit’s computer and started unplugging network cables.

  “Nope. Nada.”

  Meanwhile, Kalei looked over the windows on the screen. Nothing new seemed to be open, and she didn’t even know where to start looking for a worm. But before she could do anything, Walker came back and shooed Kalei away from the computer, sitting down in her place and opening programs she had never seen before.

  “Is that the worm program?”

  “No. Now stop asking stupid questions and let me do my job.”

  Erit joined them and asked, “What’s the damage, Walker?”

  Walker was quiet for a moment as he typed like mad, windows opening and closing on the screen. And then he said, “Nothing. I can’t find anything.”

  “Maybe I pulled it out in time?” Kalei suggested.

  “Maybe, but I won’t know for sure until I run a full diagnostic on the system.”

  “Okay.” Erit turned to Jenna. “Call back all the Wardens in the field. Tell them to establish a full perimeter within the fence and double the guards on solitary.”

  “Which? We only have enough people to do one or the other,” Jenna pointed out in dull pessimism.

  Erit cursed eloquently beneath his breath. “Focus on the gate and the fence. We’ll provide back-up to solitary as needed.”

  “It still won’t be a full perimeter. We’ll only get about half the fence.”

  “Just do it. Kalei, grab Lecia. We need to go find Terin.”

  Lecia was still blissfully ignorant of the panic going on around her, and she readily followed along at Kalei’s suggestion. They found Terin on the third floor, checking in on some new recruits as they learned to spar.

  Erit interrupted and pulled Terin into the hall, explaining the situation. When Erit mentioned Lecia’s role in inserting the thumb drive, Terin walked over to her and put one hand on her left temple, closing his eyes as he did so. Kalei started to say something, but her phone went off.

  Annoyed at the timing, Kalei stepped away to answer it. She didn’t even bother checking the caller ID; only one person knew her number. “Marley, this had better be important, because—”

  “It is. Xamic was just spotted in Tech Town. Reports say he’s standing on the fountain outside the entrance to Stanley Park, yelling at pedestrians about a party. Frank says he looks like a freaking frat boy trying to get everyone pumped for homecoming. We have people heading there now, but we don’t want to make a move until SWORDE gets here.”

  “Got it.” Kalei moved to hang up, but Marley said, “Hey, how’s Lecia doing?”

  “It’s–complicated... I’ll see you in T-Town.” She hung up the phone. “Terin, Xamic’s been spotted outside Stanley Park.”

  Terin opened his eyes and slowly pulled his hand away from Lecia, showing no indication that he had
heard her. He said, “Lecia should be fine now. Have someone take her to a recovery room.” He turned and started walking to the stairs, Erit following after him.

  Kalei shouted, “Hey! Where are you going?”

  “T-Town.”

  Kalei caught a passing Warden and instructed him to take Lecia to a Recovery Room. Lecia still seemed confused, but her eyes were clear and beginning to focus. Kalei chased after Erit and Terin. “What was wrong with her?”

  “Xamic.”

  “Yes, I know we are going to see Xamic, but what was wrong with her?”

  “I told you. Xamic is what was wrong with her.”

  “You mean he—”

  “She’s fine now. Get suited up before I leave without you.”

  Kalei took off to do as she was told. Time had finally run out; they were about to get their answers.

  SWORDE responders pulled up to Stanley Park in two vans, blocking each end of the street as a crew of ten fully suited and armed Wardens stepped out. They took up positions behind the row of parked cars lining the outer edge of the park, training their weapons on Xamic, watching him carefully.

  Kalei climbed out of the cabin of the first van, along with Terin and Erit, and she followed the two not-so-young men as they moved to stand behind the Wardens. Terin didn’t crouch behind the car or pull out a weapon. He simply stood there in the street, not even suited up, with Erit and Kalei flanking him on either side. Even Erit had neglected to put on Warden gear, leaving Kalei to feel very out of place with her two companions.

  But that was the least of her anxiety. As she looked across a mere fifty feet to the fountain guarding the park’s pedestrian entrance, she saw Xamic standing on the stonework, grinning ear to ear like a boy who knew it was his birthday. Kalei swallowed and fought off the urge to duck down behind the cars with the other Wardens.

  Xamic saw the show and clapped his hands together. “You made it! Wow.” Xamic fixed his eyes on Terin, his mood becoming grim. “You finally grace us with your presence. It’s been, what? Nineteen years? I’m sure Erit here would say that time flies, but for me, it felt like nothing less than centuries.” Like flipping a switch, Xamic’s face brightened again, and he casually waved off the mood. “But that’s all over with now. You picked a good day to come out of your hidey-hole, bud. You’re gonna be glad you didn’t miss this. Now, let’s get this party STARTED!” He gave a WHOOP! and hopped off the fountain. “Hey, coppers! Fuzz heads! Get out here before I have to do something stupid. Yeah, I see you with the newspaper. Cut the crap. You’re going to want all eyes on this baby!”