Forgotten

by Kristin Smith

  Thankfully, my father has stayed out of the way, for the most part. And what little I’ve seen of him has been met with his persistent denial of knowing anything about Trey. How could my father not know I had another brother? How could he not know my mother carried two babies in her womb? Here is my father, a genetic genius, and yet he let something like this slip past him? It doesn’t seem probable or likely. Which makes me wonder what he’s hiding.

  And then, there’s Trey. He’s my twin by all meanings of the definition, and yet, we couldn’t be more different. He is a desert rogue, and I, the heir of a great empire. We may share the same blood, but we’ll never be brothers. At least, not in the truest sense of the word.

  “Do you wanna go swimming with us?” Emily begs. “Puh-lease, Si-Si? Puh-lease?”

  I can’t help but smile at Emily’s persuasive skills. She’s a force to be reckoned with, just like her sister. “Told you,” I whisper to Sienna. “She’s relentless.”

  “I’m sorry, Em,” Sienna says. “Not right now. Maybe later?”

  Emily turns her blue eyes to me. “Zane? Do you?”

  Before I can respond that yes, I would love to go swimming with you just as soon as I finish talking with your sister, Sienna sighs and says, “Just give it a rest, Emily. Zane doesn’t want to go either.”

  A frown crosses Emily’s little face, but before she can cry, I bend down and gather her pudgy hands in my own. “I’ll swim with you in just a bit. Sound good?”

  Her frown is immediately replaced with a tentative smile.

  Vivian wraps an arm around Emily’s shoulders. “Is everything okay?” she asks her older daughter.

  I straighten up and stand to the side, listening, as Sienna fills her mother in on the latest development with Trey. I’m not sure how much Sienna has told her mother, but I do know that Vivian has been in to see Trey a few times.

  When Sienna finishes speaking and takes a deep breath to calm her quivering voice, her mother replies, her face full of sympathy, “I’m sorry, sweetie.” Vivian opens her mouth like she’s about to say something else, but Emily tugs on her arm.

  “Come on, Mommy, I want to go swimming.”

  Vivian throws us an apologetic smile. “Zane, perhaps Sienna needs a little distraction? Hmm?” Her eyes rest on me, conveying the meaning behind her words.

  There’s nothing I’d like more than to make Sienna forget about Trey. Forget she ever loved him—my long-lost, delinquent brother. With effort, I keep my jaw from clenching. “Of course. I’ll see what I can come up with.”

  When they exit the weight room, the door clanging closed behind them, Sienna turns to me with fire in her eyes.

  “What was that?”

  “What?” I ask innocently.

  “You? My mother? Are you two conspiring against me?”

  I scoff. “Not against, only for.”

  She props a hand on one hip and narrows her eyes. “What kind of distraction?”

  I think fast, trying to come up with something that would appeal to her. “Maybe we should go somewhere to get your mind off everything. The dam?”

  She shakes her head quickly.

  “I would suggest the Megasphere, but that’s out.” As soon as those words exit my mouth, I want to put them back in as her cheeks redden.

  “Please don’t start,” she warns.

  My hands fly up in surrender. “Sorry.”

  There is one place she’s probably never been. “I know the perfect place.”

  ***

  The Gateway feels like the dead part of the city with its broken buildings and crumbling structures. So when we pull up to one forgotten building in particular, a square brick structure, it’s no wonder that Sienna shivers beside me. All the life has been sucked from this part of town, and all that’s left is death and rot.

  As we climb out of my car, Sienna’s eyes never leave the building. When she turns to me, the question is written on her face. “What is this place?”

  The half a dozen marquees that once lined the walls are now crumbling and missing their corners. A layer of dirt and grime covers them so completely that if they once displayed what was playing here, it is now completely unreadable.

  I swipe my fist across the dirt on one of the marquees, and the pretty face of a dark-haired actress shows through. Not someone I recognize though. An actress from a different era, a different time.

  “A movie theater,” I finally say.

  “Really?” Her face lights up. “I’ve always wanted to see one.”

  “And now’s your chance.”

  I stride to the car and place my hand on the trunk. Once it senses the heat from my hand and has read its print, it pops open. Nestled inside is a crowbar, which I pull out, along with a duffle bag.

  “We’re breaking in?” she asks, her excitement deepening.

  “I wouldn’t call it breaking in.” Shouldering the bag, I insert the crowbar in the space between the old wooden frame and the door. “My father owns this place. Well, actually, his family did. He just inherited it. Along with half the other crumbling buildings along the Gateway.”

  The crowbar finds a good foothold. Using my muscles, I work at it until I’m able to pry the door open. We’re greeted with blackness and a mildewy smell that clings to us.

  “Why doesn’t your dad tear down places like this? Or those other old casinos? He could build something better. Something useful,” she says as we step inside.

  I’ve wondered the same thing, even begged my father to do something to make this part of the city look better. But according to him, his hands are tied.

  “He can’t.” I pull out my Lynk and shine it around the dark corners of the room. “The government forbids it.”

  Sienna’s voice is heated when she responds. “But it’s his property. They can’t tell him what to do with it.”

  “Sadly, they can. They give him a monthly stipend for leaving them as is, but threaten to fine him if he removes them.”

  “Why? Why do they care so much about Legas or this part of the city? Why do they want it to be so hideous?”

  I try to keep the bitter tone from my voice, but it’s hard. “They want it to be a reminder. A reminder of who is in control. And what we’ve lost.”

  The Upheaval wasn’t that long ago, yet it was before my father’s lifetime. It’s said that a great nation once existed, one with power, military, and money. But that power is also what led to its downfall. And its own civil war.

  “I hate them,” Sienna says fiercely. “I hate them all.”

  The fire in her voice, and I’m sure in her eyes as well if I could see them, makes me chuckle.

  I shine the light on the dusty ticket collector’s box. The see-through glass is smudged with dirt and age. “This is where they collected tickets.” We walk a little further, and I’m vividly aware of Sienna’s arm brushing against mine. “And that,” I say, pointing to the long counter, “is where they sold candy and popcorn.”

  We turn and make our way down the wide hallway of doors, each one leading to a different theater. If you count them, there are twelve in all. I pick one at random and hold the door open for Sienna to enter. Shining the light in front of her feet, I follow her into the pitch-dark space. Once we reach the apex of a small incline, we are greeted with dozens of rows of seats, all angled toward the three-story movie screen in front.

  Sienna’s breath catches beside me. “Oh wow. It’s bigger than I imagined.”

  My hand finds her elbow, and I gently lead her up a few stairs to a middle row, and then into the very center. The seats are coated with dust, but Sienna doesn’t seem to mind as she sinks down into one.

  “I think I’ll just sit here and pretend, if that’s okay,” she says.

  “I can do you one better than that,” I say. “Do you have your Lynk light?”

  She nods, pulling her Lynk from her back pocket and clicking it on. The light illuminates the dirty seat in front of her.

  “Stay here. I’ll be right back.�
��

  With the duffle bag on my shoulder and my Lynk in my hand, I exit the theater and search for the Digital Command Center. It’s a small room filled with old computers and equipment. I dump my bag on a table and unzip it, searching for the handheld generator tucked inside. The metal is cool against my fingers as I pull it out and look for an outlet, using the light from my Lynk. Once I find one, I insert the generator and wait a few seconds for it to kick in. The lights turn on with a hum and a groan like they’re protesting their usage.

  Glancing around the room, I eye what I have to work with. Obviously, I’ve never used a digital projector before, but honestly, how hard can it be?

  I remember my father saying once that all the projectors were controlled from here. If I can hack into the system, I may be able to gain access to one.

  I pull my comscreen from my duffle bag and set it up on the table, bypassing a few access codes that are elementary in comparison to what we have nowadays. And then I’m in. I search for a movie that might sound familiar, but there aren't any. They are all too old. So I do the next best thing—I scroll through until a title stands out.

  Unmatched Circuits.

  I click on it and wait for it to pull up, then I select a screen and hit play. As I exit the room, closing the door behind me, I’m not sure if it worked. However, when I enter the theater where I left Sienna, there’s crackly music playing and the three-story screen is lit up with credits.

  Sienna smiles when she sees me. “I’m not sure how you did it, but this is awesome.”

  I settle into the seat next to her and pop open the recliner.

  “How’d you—?”

  Reaching over her, I press the button on the side of her seat. She immediately goes back, her feet flying into the air. She laughs so hard that when she stops, she’s breathless.

  “Thanks,” she says. She turns to watch the screen, and I have a perfect view of her profile. Even in the dark, she’s beautiful.

  She must feel my eyes on her because she turns to me. “What?”

  I look away. “Nothing.”

  Her gaze stays on me for several seconds before she turns back to the screen. The movie crackles and cracks at times, but at least it’s working. It’s about a robot girl who has feelings and falls in love with a human boy. I have a hard time concentrating on the movie with Sienna so close. When she moves, I catch the berries-and-vanilla scent of her hair. When she places her arm on the rest beside mine, it takes all my willpower not to slide my fingers through hers.

  “What do you think it was like?” Sienna whispers during one particularly boring part of the movie.

  I look at her, not sure what she’s referring to.

  “Back then. What do you think it was like? When there were casinos and movie theaters and… fun.”

  “You mean before Pacifica and the other Provinces?”

  She nods, tapping a finger against her lips. “I mean, I imagine it was nice. But I wonder if people still thought the same things. Still acted the same way. Still hoped for more.”

  “I’m sure they did. People have always wanted more. Since the beginning of time. That’s what helps our society grow and change, progress and advance.”

  “Spoken like a true Chromo 120 poster child,” she says, her tone wry.

  I believe she views herself differently because she isn’t genetically modified, but I hope she knows I don’t care about that. I’ve never met anyone like her, genetically modified or not.

  Because it’s too tempting and because I’m tired of denying myself, I take her hand in mine, the warmth of it running through me.

  “Listen, genetic modification is something I have. It isn’t who I am.” I turn her arm over and inspect the brown spots on her arm, the same ones that are sprinkled over her nose and along her cheeks. “Take these brown spots for example.”

  She wrinkles her nose. “My freckles?”

  “Yes, your freckles.” I’ve heard the term, of course, but haven’t been around many people who have them. Just one more thing I adore about Sienna—one more thing that makes her different. I rub my finger over her arm, the movie in the background creating dancing shadows. “These freckles are something you have, but they don’t define who you are.”

  She tries to pull her arm away, but I won’t let her. “I hate my freckles,” she says. “They’re ugly.”

  To prove a point, I lift up her arm and kiss one freckle and then another. “I like them. They’re unique. They’re beautiful.” I look at her then, the lights from the movie highlighting her cheekbones and pursed lips. “Just like you.”

  Not even the shadows can hide the deep blush that spreads up her neck to her cheeks. And this time, when she pulls away, I let her.

  We’re both silent for the rest of the movie, and I’m internally kicking myself for making her uncomfortable. She’s made it clear she loves Trey, so I should keep my distance. But when it comes to Sienna, it’s hard to stay away.

  And then there’s Arian. I know it’s wrong, but when I’m with Sienna, I try to forget I’m betrothed to someone else, someone who is a perfect match for me. A girl who is flawless and beautiful and my equal by all accounts. And yet, despite her perfection, she doesn’t hold the same appeal that Sienna does. I don’t know what it is about Sienna that gets under my skin. She’s like an itch that can never be reached—a prize that can never be won. And it makes me want her even more.

  Once the movie is over and we’ve gathered everything from the Digital Command Center, we walk to my car. Sienna places her hand on my arm.

  “Thanks,” she says. “I needed that.”

  Her hand is burning a hole through my skin. “Good distraction?”

  She smiles. “Very good.”

  I lift open her car door and wait as she climbs inside. “The day isn’t over yet.”

  “You have something else planned?”

  I close her door and cross to the other side of the vehicle, sliding inside. “Perhaps.”

  With a flick of the button, the top comes down off the Aria, turning it into a sporty convertible.

  “You like to go fast, don’t you?” I ask with a grin.

  She rolls her eyes. “I own a motorcycle. What do you think?”

  I look pointedly at her seat belt. “Then you’d better buckle up.”

  Once her belt is snapped into place, I put the car in gear and take off down the Gateway. It’s such a long, straight strip of road that it’s perfect for gaining high speeds. Sienna squeals and throws her head back, and for a second, I get a glimpse of the carefree girl she probably once was. Before her father died, before all that crap went down with Radcliffe, before she met Trey.

  I’m not too worried about Enforcers, mostly because they don’t come around the Gateway until their nightly round up. We have the entire street to ourselves. We speed past towering casinos and tiny chapels. The faster I drive, the wind whipping through Sienna’s short hair, the deeper her smile, and the lighter her laugh.

  It’s only the two of us. And a car fast enough to make her forget. As I drive, my only hope is that if she wants to remember, she’ll try to remember this. Me. Us.

  When we get to the end of the Gateway, she turns to me and says with a wide smile, “Let’s do it again.”

  So we do.

  3

  SIENNA

  Once we’ve driven down the Gateway several times, and I’ve paused to catch my breath from laughing so hard, I know where I want to go next. To see the one person who can keep this happiness and lightheartedness going—Chaz.

  Zane readily agrees to take me to Chaz’s apartment, a building close to this darker side of town. Regrettably, it’s been weeks since I’ve seen my best friend in person, and I’ve missed his teasing smile and quick wit terribly.

  When we pull up to Chaz’s apartment, I hesitate. The polite thing would be to invite Zane in to meet Chaz, but I’m feeling selfish. I want Chaz all to myself.

  Zane must sense my hesitation because he immediately pipes up. “I
’ll drop you off, if that’s okay. I need to run over to the Match 360 Legas facility.”

  In an attempt to make him feel less unwanted, I say vaguely, “Sure you don’t want to come in?”

  “Normally, I’d love to. Truth is, I think you could use some time away from me, my house, Trey… everything.”

  I smile at him because he’s right.

  “Pick you up in a couple of hours?”

  “Sure.” I step out of the car and watch as the Aria speeds away.

  As I walk up the crumbling brick steps to Chaz’s apartment, it does feel as though I’m leaving everything else behind. Maybe for a little while I can pretend that I’m back in GIGA—the Genetically and Intellectually Gifted Academy where Chaz and I met years ago. Maybe for a few minutes, I can have a simpler life, one where I’m not running from guns and bombs and boys who don’t remember me.

  When Chaz opens the door, I fling my arms around him. His body is soft, warm, and familiar. He takes a step back in surprise.

  “What’s that for?” he asks.

  “I missed you,” I reply. “Do I need a reason other than that?”

  When Chaz smiles, his eyes get lost in his plum-like cheeks. “I suppose not.” Just as quickly as it appeared, his smile fades. “Wait, do you need something from me?”

  I laugh and take his arm, guiding him to the worn couch in his living room. There are several snack cake wrappers and chip bags scattered across the coffee table, along with a pile of dirty plates. “No, Chaz. There’s no hidden agenda. Not this time.”

  “You know I’m teasing, right?”

  “Of course. I’m the one who keeps your life interesting. Without me, you would be so bored.”

  Chaz chuckles, picking at the knotted fabric of the couch. “How’s Trey doing?”

  My chest tightens in response to hearing Trey’s name. I proceed to tell Chaz everything—about how Trey believes he works in the Capital and has a fiancée.

  Chaz watches me with round eyes. When I’m finished, he says, “Wow, they’re good.”

  “Who?”

  “Whoever was behind this. While Trey is off in la-la land thinking he’s some business executive in Rubex with a swanky car and fat wallet, the Fringe doesn’t have a leader. They’ve managed to cripple the Fringe with the intent of gaining access to everything Trey knows.”