Love/Hate (Aspects Book 1)

by L. C. Mawson

  “Not all of us can become a genius by watching TV.”

  Em rolled her eyes before continuing. “You’re not focusing on the important point.”

  “Which is?”

  “You’re the descendant closest to Jia, followed by me. Whoever this is wants her line wiped out.”

  “So we’re high priority targets?”

  Em nodded. “Yeah... Though I think I know where they might be.”

  Claire raised an eyebrow in question.

  “So, Lita’s a fragment of the Rena ship’s AI, right?”

  “Right.”

  “Well, there are other fragments. One in each Tower, and Ori.”

  “Ori?”

  “Ori is what’s left of the original AI. She resides in what remains of the ship’s systems. What wasn’t cannibalised to make the Towers. These systems most likely contain the old records on the Rena, including medical records. So far whoever is hunting us has been operating by chance, but what about when they have Jia’s DNA records? How long do you think it would take to hack into the criminal and medical databases and find her descendants?”

  “So where’s the ship?”

  “The Wasteland,” Em said, her voice showing a little strain. “It was before the monsters became as widespread as they are now and once all of the Rena died... There was no one with the knowledge to make preserving the carcass of the ship worth it. We let the wilds take it.”

  “Do you think the AI is up and running?”

  “If Ori is still active, she will most likely not be stable,” Lita chipped in. “Remnants of the kind of procedure which made me and my siblings usually degrade rapidly. Isolation will not have helped.”

  “How quick do you think we’ll have to be to catch them?”

  “Our powers are out of balance until the new Jealousy is appointed. No one should leave the Tower until then.”

  “Hate, Vengeance and Pain did after Love died.”

  “They crept out when no one was looking, and they only did it because the monsters were in the city. Going into the Wastelands? That’s a different story.”

  “Well, how long is it going to take to find the new Jealousy?”

  “Mademoiselle Bennett is returning with them now,” Lita informed them. “She has requested that everyone waits in the communal living space to greet them.”

  “WE FOUND THEM,” CLAIRE said as soon as she and Em entered the communal living area, where the others were already waiting for them.

  “Where?” Hate asked first, moving from where she'd been leaning against the wall.

  “The Rena ship. There are records there that they need.”

  “Then we need to go there.”

  “Not alone,” Justice chimed in. “Not again. This time we all go.”

  “For Jealousy,” Vengeance agreed, an unusual scowl darkening his features.

  Serenity nodded. “The more of us who go, the better chance we’ll have.”

  “I need to be there anyway,” Em mumbled to Claire, clearly not comfortable bringing up the idea of her leaving the Tower in front of the others. “I’m the only one who can get into the system if Ori is uncooperative.”

  Pain appeared out of nowhere, as usual, and took Em’s hand.

  She smiled in response, though her hair quickly grew to Claire’s length to obscure her features.

  “I’ll watch your back,” he assured her as her hair turned the same shade of sandy blonde as his.

  Before anyone could say anything else, the lift chimed, alerting them to the fact that Mademoiselle Bennett was back.

  She exited the lift looking as professional as ever in her black suit and her hair up in a tight bun. The kid trailing behind her looked decidedly less put together. The poor kid was in their pyjamas and Claire wondered just how quickly they had been snatched up. She thought that she’d had it tough, being brought in without being able to get back into her room.

  The kid had olive skin and a wide nose which was the focus of their face, drawing attention away from their wide silver eyes and thin lips. Their hair was black and bushy, just falling over their shoulders. They had their arms behind their back, tugging their sleeve down over their new Aspect Band, and their eyes were fixed firmly on the floor. Claire felt an urge to assure them that everything would be all right. They didn’t look older than fourteen, with their flat, lanky frame.

  “Aspects,” Mademoiselle Bennett greeted. “This is the new Jealousy.”

  “Hi,” Claire greeted, giving what she hoped was a reassuring smile. “I’m Love.”

  The kid nodded, remaining silent.

  “And this is Hate, Empathy, Pain, Serenity, and the twins, Justice and Vengeance,” Claire said, indicating to each of them in turn.

  The kid just nodded again, still clearly nervous.

  “We’re not scary once you get to know us, I promise.”

  Mademoiselle Bennett chipped in at that. “I’m going to see Jealousy to their room. They’re agender, so they/them pronouns please.”

  Everyone nodded in response.

  “You can get to know each other in the morning,” Bennett said before leading Jealousy back to the lift.

  As soon as the door was closed behind them, Justice spoke up. “Our powers are rebalanced now. We need to leave before the trail goes cold.”

  Claire nodded but it didn’t feel right. Not when Jealousy had only just arrived. To leave them alone when they were so scared and nervous...

  “We’ll give them an hour to settle in,” Em said, figuring out where her thoughts were. “Then we’ll explain that we’re leaving.”

  “Okay,” Claire agreed, though it was a little reluctant.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  After about five minutes of waiting, Justice spoke up, proposing that they get ready while they waited for Jealousy to settle in.

  Vengeance had chipped in, saying that they should make sure to take any advantage they might have.

  And that was how Claire ended up in front of the door, behind which lay the beast she'd rode in on, trying to not be terrified.

  What if it escaped as soon as they opened the door? What if it attacked? What if it had gone berserk in the hangar and destroyed all of the vehicles?

  “Are you okay?” Hate asked her.

  “Just a little nervous.”

  “About what? We rode this thing across half the continent.”

  Claire frowned. “Was it really half the continent?”

  “I don’t know, I was generalising.”

  “Oh.”

  “Are you really that scared?”

  “Well, I don’t know much about it. I’ve never seen a creature with black scales before.”

  “It’s a Dreamer,” Hate said, shuddering a little. “It... sort of sings. It puts you to sleep and you get these horrific nightmares.”

  “You’ve encountered one before?”

  “Yeah.”

  “How did you stop it?”

  “Serenity had her headphones on. It helps to keep her calm in battle sometimes. She dispelled the song after just a minute or so. The worst minute of my life.”

  “And you’re seriously asking why I’m worried?”

  “Well, I mean, the song takes a moment to take effect. You can bolt before then.”

  “Okay,” Claire said in reply, though she didn’t move.

  “Do you want me to open the door?”

  Claire seriously considered the offer for a moment before shaking her head. She took a deep breath, steeling herself, before pressing the button in front of her, opening the door.

  Nothing happened.

  No battle screech, no swiping claws, no gnashing teeth.

  And no song, either.

  She entered the room, wondering what had happened to the monster. Had it figured out how to escape? Had it been injured in their escape and she hadn’t noticed? She felt a twang of concern in her chest and hurried to find it.

  The search didn’t take long. As she looked behind the dropship, in the small space
in the corner, she saw the Dreamer curled up, asleep.

  “Aww,” she couldn’t help but say aloud as it gently flicked its tail in reaction to a dream.

  It wasn’t all that much different from a big dog, she thought as she moved over to it. She wondered if it was a girl or a boy, but she had no idea of how to check.

  The Dreamer stirred as she approached, its eyes opening, but it simply let out a soft, almost-purring sound as it recognised her, bowing its head.

  Her hand moved forward, almost of its own accord, to pet the top of its head. The purring sound intensified as the Dreamer moved its head into her hand.

  “It’s not attacking,” Hate observed as she walked over to them, a note of surprise in her tone.

  “No, Sleepy wouldn’t attack me,” Claire replied with certainty.

  “Sleepy?”

  “They needed a name.”

  “Well, I can’t argue there...” Hate moved a little closer, seeming to grow more confident as Sleepy gave her a quick once over before going back to ignoring her, presumably deciding that she wasn’t a threat. “I can’t believe it, Love...” she breathed. “Even your predecessor couldn’t tame a Dreamer. Not even a baby one.”

  “I’m not exactly sure how I did it,” Claire admitted. “I just knew that I had to save Jealousy. And get you out of there.”

  “I could have protected myself,” Hate bit back, surprising Claire.

  “I didn’t say that you couldn’t,” she reasoned. “I wasn’t exactly thinking straight. Jealousy had just been shot. I couldn’t lose either of you.”

  Hate nodded. “I’m sorry, I just... I don’t want you to get hurt because you’re trying to protect me.”

  “What if I promise that I would do the same for any of the other Aspects?”

  Hate shook her head, groaning. “Don’t tell me things like that, Love. Attitudes like that will get you killed.”

  “Caring about my teammates will get me killed?”

  “It’s what killed your predecessor.”

  Claire didn’t have a response for that. She felt a fear grow in the pit of her stomach. A once familiar feeling she hadn’t felt since Jealousy had fallen. It was strange; she would have thought that watching a teammate die in front of her would have only made her fear of losing her life in the fight against the monsters worse. But all it had done was made her realise that she couldn’t lose anyone else. The Aspects were her family and she would gladly give her life if it meant protecting them. She couldn’t watch any of them die again.

  Sleepy gave a questioning keening sound as Claire realised that her hand had stilled. She brought it to stroke down the Dreamer’s back, reassuringly.

  “I’m sorry,” Hate said after a while. “It’s not my place to question how you work. Clearly you’ve got control of your powers.”

  What if I wanted it to be your place?

  The question went unsaid between them, but Claire was pretty sure that Hate knew that it had crossed her mind, as she hurried out of the room without another word.

  “Is this ever going to get less messy?” Claire asked aloud as she continued to stroke Sleepy.

  The Dreamer gave a soft growl in response.

  “Yeah, I didn’t think so...”

  CLAIRE WAS SURPRISED to see Empathy outside Jealousy’s room when she arrived. Not that she supposed that she shouldn’t be there. There had been no consensus on who would talk to Jealousy. In fact, Claire wasn’t entirely sure why she'd been the one to decide to do it. Maybe because she was the newest Aspect and so empathised more with their current situation? Well, maybe with the exception of Empathy, but she was there too.

  “You here to talk with Jealousy?” Claire asked as she approached.

  Empathy nodded as her features morphed into Claire’s. “I figured whoever came to talk with them might want some help.”

  “Thanks,” Claire said before knocking on Jealousy’s door.

  It only took a few moments for them to answer, still in the same pyjamas as before.

  “Love,” they said with surprise before noting Empathy behind her. “There’s two of you?”

  “No, that’s Empathy,” Claire explained.

  “I’m a shapeshifter,” Em clarified.

  Jealousy nodded, seemingly a little dazed. Claire figured that this must be overwhelming for them. They moved back into the room and indicated that the other two should follow.

  “I thought Mademoiselle Bennett said you guys would come by in the morning,” Jealousy said.

  “Things have changed,” Claire told them. “We thought we should check in with you now. Are you doing okay?”

  Jealousy shifted their weight from one foot to the other, back and forth rhythmically as if neither could support them for more than a few seconds, as they glanced around the room.

  “These rooms... Did they belong to Jealousy? The one before me, I mean?”

  Claire was a little caught off-guard by that question. She hadn’t even considered that when she'd moved into her own floor.

  “Yes, they did,” Empathy answered in a tone meant to reassure.

  Jealousy struggled to stifle a barking laugh. Their eyes betrayed their raw terror. “So I’m sleeping in a dead girl’s bed? And it’s not just one dead girl, is it? How many before me?” Their gaze dropped a little, becoming distant. “And how many after?” The last question was barely more than a whisper, but the other two caught it.

  “Thirty one,” Empathy told them. “And probably at least twice that many after you. But you’re not a placeholder for number thirty-three. This isn’t a death sentence.”

  “Tell that to the girl I replaced.”

  “I’m not going to sugarcoat this for you,” Claire told them. “It isn’t fair and it isn’t right. Humanity’s last hope or not, we shouldn’t have been asked to give up our lives to save our species. The second you put on that Band, you became a living weapon and I am sorry for that. I truly am.

  “But you need to understand one simple fact - you are not alone. The rest of us will do everything in our power to protect you.

  “And sometimes we’ll fail.” Claire let her gaze drift around the room momentarily as she wondered what they had done with the last Jealousy’s things. Did they destroy them? Send them home to her family? Her sister? She hoped for the latter.

  “But that won’t stop us from trying.”

  Jealousy’s eyes were wet with tears at this point. They nodded, sniffing a little in a failed attempt to hold them back.

  “Thank you,” they eventually managed, swiping at the tears with their sleeve.

  “Jealousy, we need to explain something. The rest of us are going to leave on a mission shortly.”

  “Mademoiselle Bennett didn’t mention anything about a mission.”

  “It was last minute. We only just arranged it before she returned with you.”

  “Do you need me to come with you?”

  “No, that’s all right. You haven’t come into your powers yet, and I’m guessing that you don’t have any combat training?”

  Jealousy shook their head.

  “That’s all right. We don’t expect you to. We’ll start your training in the morning, and you won’t be expected to come with us on missions until you’re ready for it. There’s no rush. The rest of us can handle it.”

  Jealousy nodded, though it was quickly followed by a frown. “You’re all going?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’ve never heard of all of the Aspects from a Tower going on a mission together before.”

  “Special circumstances.”

  Jealousy didn’t respond for a few moments, before eventually whispering, “Am I still going to be the only new kid after tomorrow?”

  Claire didn’t want to lie.

  “We’ll see,” she said simply. “‘Night.”

  Jealousy didn’t respond as they left the room.

  CLAIRE AND EMPATHY returned to the hangar to see everyone waiting. They were all in their best combat outfits. Armour did little
against monsters, but the prospect of facing a Rena opponent equipped with a blaster rifle had everyone in full body armour.

  Justice normally wore her black suit with silver accents into battle anyway, so it wasn’t much of a change for her. Though she had a helmet on now. No use covering your torso if they could just hit your head.

  Her brother looked odd in his battle armour, though he still insisted on wearing his vest over the top. Hate, however, had opted against her leather jacket. Claire supposed she probably couldn’t get it on over the extra padding of the suit. Her unggeom was the only familiar sight in her get-up.

  Serenity’s armour clashed with the others simply by being a light blue, instead of black. It didn’t much matter in terms of camouflage, since the jet black was going to contrast against the green of the Wastelands anyway, but it was certainly different. The only other colour was Justice’s silver accents, Pain’s blood-red ones, and Claire’s own, small, purple hearts, which Em had decorated her armour with at random points, including the forehead of her helmet.

  “Did you check your armour’s seals?” Vengeance asked his sister.

  She rolled her eyes at him through her helmet’s visor. “Yes. Just like I told you the last fifteen times you asked.”

  “I know, I just... I was just checking.”

  Justice responded by checking over his armour seals, making sure everything was properly in place.

  “I’ve never worn armour before,” Em said quietly to Claire as they both finished putting their own armour on. “It’s... heavy. And not in a good way.”

  “Sorry, I think you’re getting that from me.”

  “What weapon should I choose?”

  “Well, which ones do you know?”

  Em shrugged. “Whichever ones the people around me know.”

  “Then something long range, like one of the blasters. You should be as far from the fight as possible.”

  Em nodded, taking a blaster. Claire followed her, taking her staff. Not that it would help her to counter a blaster. She wondered how people used to fight when they just fought other people, both sides equipped with firearms. Did they just hide and fire shots around their cover at each other? Run really fast while they shot and hope the other side missed?