by Ann Bakshis
“I…I don’t understand.”
“All will be explained if you go to the fifth floor.”
“It’s sealed, just like this floor.”
“Yes, but with the suit and your modifications you can easily access that level.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“Your very existence depends upon it. We cannot afford to lose this world, or the tower.”
“And if I refuse?”
The lights turn on, flooding the room and throwing odd shadows in every corner. I begin retreating to the lifts. The monitors hanging from the ceilings show images from within the tower. Frey is sitting at the table where I left him, but he’s only with Van. Garrett paces in the lift. Addie is patrolling the lobby, but keeping her distance from the door. Brink is in one of the classrooms going through cabinets.
“If you do not, you leave us with no choice,” the voice changes to one of a low hum, but I can still understand it. “All will die, even those you care for. Their deaths will be painful, but necessary. Do not be afraid, Max. You are one of us now.”
I slam myself into the security gate. My fingers hastily search for the handle behind me, finally locating it. I pull the door open and begin to loop back into the lift, but I get stuck in the void.
“We will help you, but in turn you must help us.”
“Let me go,” I scream.
“You are one of us now, Max.”
My face hits the floor of the lift hard, cracking my nose. Garrett grabs my arm, helping me to my feet. I slam my fist into the console in anger, and we start to ascend to the fourteenth floor. Blood is pouring down my nose, yet the suit isn’t stained. Garrett directs me to one of the exam rooms and takes care of my injury.
“What happened?” he asks, applying a healing ointment to the bridge of my nose. It mends in a matter of seconds and the blood stops.
“I want to get out of here.”
“And go where, Max? Pentras Tower is the safest place in the Dead Zone.”
“We’re not the only ones here.”
“You’re not making any sense.” He helps me down from the examination table. “Let’s get you upstairs. You haven’t eaten all day.” He takes my arm and guides me back to the lifts.
“I’m not hungry,” I say, protesting. “Please, I just need to get out of here for a while.”
The lift door opens and a Dead Mark and a Rapid are waiting inside. Garrett instructs them to take me to the top floor and make sure I eat. The door closes without Garrett getting on board. When we reach the top floor, I sit down at the table I’d been at earlier. Frey has left and I’m almost force fed by Van. I finally succumb to Van’s threats of sitting on me and eat. When I’ve satisfied him, I’m allowed to go back to my room.
As soon as my door is shut and locked, I strip the suit off and throw it into the corner with the other dirty clothes. I put on the outfit I had on the night before, turn off my light, and get into bed. It’s not even completely dark yet, but I feel like if I don’t shut down now, I’ll regret my actions.
I doze off and on. The light outside has completely faded when I wake several hours later. As I open my eyes, I hold my breath since I know I’m not alone in my room.
“You were never subtle in your lurking,” I say to Brink.
He emerges from the corner off to my left. I try and move, but discover I can’t. I catch him smiling out of the corner of my eye as he comes closer.
“Paralyzers are wonderful things,” he says, sitting on the edge of my bed. He taps the device that currently rests on my abdomen.
“Why?” I ask, choking back my fear.
“You betrayed me, Max. I thought I could forgive you after your affair with Frey, but now you’re with Garrett? A Patrician sympathizer?”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“We all saw you leave together. No one could find either of you in the building. It was like you two didn’t want to be found.”
“You’re crazy. Get this thing off me.”
“Frey thinks it too,” he says, lying down next to me.
“Nothing happened. We were in the center lift.”
“Yes, but it was stopped next to a sealed floor. The lift didn’t move for almost thirty minutes.”
“This is unbelievable. I would shake my head if I could since this is all utter nonsense.”
“Then what were you doing?”
“Nothing. I wanted to see if I could loop into the sealed floors, that’s all.”
“And? Did you?” His tone changes to one of intrigue.
I’m about to answer, but stop just as the words are forming in my mouth. “You’re not Brink.”
“Why would you say something like that, Maxy?”
“This isn’t real.”
Brink begins caressing my arm, then nudges his legs against mine. “Yes, Max, it is.”
“How did you get in my room if the door is locked? You’re not a Looper, and no one’s abilities work outside of Thrace Tower except for mine.”
He stops.
“You’re the Patrician and I’m waking up now.”
Brink and the paralyzer vanish, but I still can’t move.
Sleep paralysis.
“Frey!” I shout as loud as I can.
I’m finally able to sit up. Sweat drips down my forehead, and my heart races as someone pounds on my door. I fall out of bed and have to crawl over to unlock the door. Frey and Garrett burst in, weapons drawn. Frey sheathes his blade, picks me up in his arms, and we head upstairs. He sits me down on one of the couches, far from the windows. Garrett joins us a few minutes later having checked the entire floor for any intruders.
“Destroy this,” I say, shaking my wristband. “They’re in my head.”
“Who is, Max?” Frey asks.
“The Patrician. They know we’re in Pentras Tower. I thought I could hide it from them, but they know.”
“What happened?” Garrett asks.
“They wanted to know if I’d managed to get into one of the sealed floors.” I bring my hands close to my face. “They want something in this building and have never been able to access it until me. That’s why I was maimed. They did it so I could get them what they’ve been searching for.”
“How do you know?” Frey asks, sitting next to me.
“I just do.”
Garrett sits by my feet. “We can’t deactivate your wristband, Max. We’ll never be able to move in and out of the tower or the Dead Zone.”
Tears run down my cheeks. “I don’t want this. Any of this. Why are the Patrician targeting me and no one else? I could just loop away and never come back. Then where would they be?”
“You’re just tired,” Frey says. “You need to get some sleep. We can talk more about it in the morning.”
My wristband chimes, which is odd. A display appears showing someone on the roof of Pentras Tower. The Nius who was in Addie’s group rushes from the lift.
“You need to come. Hurry,” she says, out of breath.
We follow her towards an exit at the far end of the room that leads to the roof. The night air is chilly, and the wind strong. The four of us have to hold onto the guardrail along the roofline in order to keep from being blown off. The Nius points to the lone figure that is standing at the corner of the roof. We step cautiously over to the person facing us.
“Don’t!” Addie shouts.
We all stop.
“How did you get up here?” Frey asks.
“I don’t know. I was in the lobby, but I fell asleep on the couch. When I woke up, I was on the roof.” Her voice trembles, as does her body.
I step closer. Frey grabs at my shirt trying to stop me, but I swat at him. “Addie, hold on. I’m coming,” I say, trying to keep my tone calm.
“They’re going to kill me, Max,” she says, choking on tears.
“Who is?” I ask, moving one more step closer.
“The Dracken.”
I stop.
“I thought they were go
ing to help us. Free us from the Patrician. But it was all lies, Max. Your parents lied to everyone,” she screams. “This should be you standing here, not me.”
“You’re being manipulated, Addie. The Patrician got in your head through your wristband. Don’t believe them.”
“You’re wrong, Max. You’ll see. You’re all wrong.”
“Addie!” I shout as she falls backwards off the roof. I try and loop, but I’m being prevented.
“Go get her,” Garrett screams at me.
“They won’t let me!”
“Who, Max?” Frey asks.
“The Patrician.”
Twenty-Three
Everyone has been instructed to report down to the sixteenth floor of the medical section. The Nius who alerted us about Addie has figured out how to disarm our wristbands. I’m the only one not permitted to do so, as I still have to be able to loop.
I needed to be away from everyone, so I’m sitting at a desk in a classroom on the twentieth floor. I stare out the window as the sun begins to rise. We’ll only be able to hold off the Patrician for so long. Once they figure out the wristbands no longer work, they’ll send the army, and we are greatly outnumbered.
“There you are,” Frey says, walking in. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” He takes a seat next to mine, reaches for my hand, but I pull it away. “It’s not your fault.”
“I know,” I respond, but I continue to stare out the window.
“Our wristbands are defunct. We can still use our weapons, but no shields.”
I don’t respond.
“Come on, Max. I need you to snap out of whatever funk you’re in.”
“How were you chosen?” I ask after a long silence.
“What do you mean?”
I turn my attention towards him. “For The Litarian Battles. To be a Dracken.”
“Troy’s father recommended I apply for The Litarian Battles.”
“Why, do you think?”
“Because Troy and I are friends. He wanted both of us to go to Icarian so we could get out of Tarsus. Troy’s father knew the trouble I had at home. He thought The Litarian Battles would be a perfect outlet for me to escape.”
I turn my head back towards the window. “He lied to you.”
The desk legs scrape along the floor as he moves it closer to me. “Who did?”
“Troy’s father.”
“I’m not following you, Max.”
“My parents are dead because of him. I spent my life in the Outer Limits because Mr. Larsen wanted to be the leader of Tarsus. The Patrician have been making him promises for years, provided he did what they asked. He set my parents up to be executed, but the Patrician changed their minds when they saw how greedy and ruthless he is. They feared he would try and take them over, so Leader Fallon was sent in to replace my father instead of Mr. Larsen.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
I turn my tired eyes onto his sorrowful face. Frey looks worn out, beaten, and on the brink of exhaustion. I probably look the same, if not worse.
“Where’s your sister?”
“Dead.”
“And who killed her?”
“The Patrician. Max, you know all of this. What’s the matter with you? Why are you acting so strange?”
“Because my friend just jumped off the tallest building in the Dead Zone and I couldn’t save her. Because I’m being manipulated by all sides and it’s making me crack. Because I’m trying to figure out the truth and it starts with Troy’s father.”
I slam my head down onto the desk’s surface. My arms fall to my sides and I close my eyes.
What is in this building that everyone wants, and is willing to destroy cities over? What did my parents know that made them such a threat? Will the right side win when this is all over?
“I need to find Troy and Lok,” I say, raising my head.
“Why Lok?”
“He and Troy went to the academy. They may know something.” I turn to him. “You went too, didn’t you?”
“Only for a few years. My father pulled me out when your parents were killed. He thought their deaths had something to do with whatever the Patrician were teaching us at the academy. I had just turned eight.”
“At what age do you start there?”
“Five, but not everyone gets to go.”
“I know. Van told me.”
“Why do you think Troy and Lok can help you?”
“Because I killed Rem before I asked her any questions.”
A look of shock crosses his face. I rest my head on my arms and stare out the windows again. Frey leaves a few minutes later. A half-hour goes by before I go up to my room and put the suit back on. I belt my sheath around my waist, secure my boots, and go look for Garrett. He’s down in the lobby when I finally locate him.
“I need you to come with me,” I say to him.
“Um, ok. Why?”
“Everyone thinks you’re a Patrician sympathizer. I need the Patrician to believe I’ve aligned myself with you. So, whenever I leave the tower, I need you with me.”
“You really think I’m still with the Patrician? After what they did to Addie?”
“It doesn’t matter what I think, all that matters is what the Patrician think. I need you to go along with me.”
“Why not Frey?”
“They know he’s a Dracken, so my plan won’t work.”
“And, what is your plan?”
“If I tell you, you won’t go along with it.”
“Dammit, Max.” He kicks the couch he’s standing in front of. “When do you want to leave?”
“Now, preferably.”
“Are you going to tell anyone that we’re leaving?”
“No.”
“What if something happens to us? They’ll be stuck in this building forever.”
“At least they’ll be safe.”
I step towards the doors and stop, waiting for him to decide whether he’s coming with me or not. He hesitates, but it doesn’t take him long to join me. I take his hand and loop us out of the building and straight to the plaza where I killed Rem. Her body is no longer there. The minute we land, my wristband goes off with locations of the other players. I minimize the display, ignoring it. I go over to the ledge of the pool and sit down.
“Aren’t we going to get the others?” Garrett asks, standing in front of me.
“Not right now.”
“So,” he begins as he sits next to me, “why are we out here then?”
I reach up to his face and pull him into me. I kiss him hard, deep, and heavy. His hands pull me in closer, then he pulls me into his lap. I wrap my legs around his waist while he searches for the seam between my top and the leggings. He finds it just as the drones begin to hum overhead. I don’t open my eyes as I want them to think I don’t realize they’re there. Garrett lowers me to the stone pavers that cover the plaza, and now I begin to wonder how far I’ll need to take this to convince the Patrician I’m loyal to them so they loop us to where they’re at.
He’s in the process of removing my top when I feel us being pulled into the void. The floor is cold against my exposed skin. The lone light shines above the two of us as we hastily don our clothes. I can tell Garrett is pissed that he was interrupted. I’m both annoyed too, though also relieved. I know I was tricking Garrett, but at the same time I didn’t want it to stop.
“Max,” the female voice echoes around us. “Have you found your loyalties? Will you do what we have tasked you to do?”
“Yes,” I say without hesitation.
Garrett steps behind him. He’s so close I can feel his breath. He wraps his arms around my waist and begins nuzzling my neck. “Welcome home, Max,” he whispers in my ear.
My heart stops.
Was I just manipulated? Did he really just turn the tables on me? Was it the Patrician who got to Addie, or was it Garrett?
“Has the task been completed, Garrett?” the female voice asks.
“Yes. You can
start the transference at any time.”
I push him off, stepping back so I’m only half in the light. “What did you do?” I yell.
“I’m making everything right. Lok told me how to alter the wristbands. I just showed the Nius girl how to do it.”
He reaches out to me, but I step back further, my head hitting something metal and sharp. I collapse to my knees, reach around, and when my hand is back in front of my face it’s covered in blood.
“What is this place?” I ask to anyone who’ll answer.
“Patrician Nine,” Leader Fallon says coming into focus.
Lights turn on, filling the dark space. We’re in a corridor lined in thick, dark metal with jagged edges. The portion I bumped into has a window above. A face looms in the room behind it, observing us. The woman in the window disappears, but I can still sense she’s there.
“Is that supposed to mean something to me?” I ask, holding my head so the blood stops dripping.
“There are ten Patrician ships, and you are on number nine,” Leader Fallon says, looming closer.
“Ships? As in what? Spaceships?”
“In a manner of speaking, yes,” Leader Fallon answers.
“Max, they’re trying to protect us,” Garrett says, kneeling next to me.
“You’re one of them, aren’t you?” I say to Garrett. “A Patrician leader, not some miller from the Outer Limits.”
“Not exactly.” He removes my hand, takes off his shirt, and begins cleaning my wound with it. “My parents were, but I’ve been in the Outer Limits my whole life. Sent there to keep an eye out for you.”
“What?” I ask, my stomach turning into knots. I roll over onto my side, bring my knees into my chest, and begin to rock.
I’m going crazy. This is all nuts. None of this is really happening. What have I gotten myself into? What have I done?
“Max,” Garrett says.
I hear him, but it seems like he’s miles away.
“I want to go back,” I tell them. “I want to go back to Pentras Tower.”
“Shortly, Max,” Leader Fallon says. “Once the transference is over, you and Garrett will be returned to complete your task.”
I close my eyes trying to keep the tears at bay. I can only imagine what’s going on back at the tower. What are they doing to Frey, Van, Brink, and the others? Will they survive whatever is happening to them? Why did I allow this to occur?