Looper

by Ann Bakshis

  He grabs me by the throat, brings me to my feet, and we loop. He throws me hard onto the metal floor when we reach Patrician Nine. I bang my head and the world spins. I start to feel as if I’m going to be sick when Garrett picks me up again and we exit the hallway into a massive observation room. I can see the ruined landscape of the Dead Zone clear as day. Parts of Tarsus and the Outer Limits are only slightly visible.

  Garrett shoves me onto a couch, goes over to a communicator, and presses a button. “Nuke it,” he says.

  I stand and get close to the glass. Missiles fly towards the planet, obliterating it in a matter of seconds. A second wave is sent, this one shattering the world into tiny pieces. Just behind the shards is a smaller planet. Probably Icarian. It too is destroyed, blown to dust. I retreat back to the couch and sink down.

  “How did I fail?” I ask myself.

  “You didn’t fail, Max,” Garrett says, sitting next to me. “You did exactly what you were supposed to.”

  I look over at him since I had been transfixed on the devastation. “How?”

  He reaches into his quiver and pulls out the screwdriver. “All Patrician tools have trackers in them. Did you think they would actually let me die? They looped me a few seconds before the explosions ripped the shelter apart.”

  “I can loop away from here.”

  “And go where, Max? You’re world is gone. It’ll be sometime before we get back to where the Patrician originate from. Besides, I think the modifications done to you will be reversed before we get there.”

  I look back out into space. I feel numb, withdrawn, and angry. I reach for my Kopis, but it’s not there.

  “That was taken from you the moment we got on board,” Garrett says, inching closer.

  “Just kill me. You have what you want,” I say, grabbing and pulling at the suit.

  He wraps his arm around me, pulls me in close, and whispers in my ear. “Your life will be spared, Max. You’re reward for your loyalty is to be my mate for life. You will never leave my side. You will be placed in a high ranking position, and once the modifications have been reversed we’ll start a family.”

  He pushes me down on the couch, removes the suit, and forces me to submit. I try and fight him off, but I have no real will left. A few hours later, I’m removed from the observation room and taken to a surgical stall where the wristband is removed, the scarring on my hands mended, and my ability to loop terminated. I am fitted with a ring on my right hand that signifies I belong to Garrett. It also prevents me from harming myself by sending signals to my brain to counteract any self-destructive thoughts. I refuse to listen to anything anyone tells me about my new rank in the Patrician order. Garrett is awarded Commander, which will allow him to invade other worlds with the Dracken technology. I wonder about Hammond and if he survived. Garrett tells me that Hammond was trapped inside Thrace Tower and died when the planet was destroyed.

  The Keepers are now extinct, the Dracken forgotten, and I’m now a Patrician.