by Alan Janney
“That’s why he named him Kid.”
I ask, “How did you meet the Chemist?”
“He found me. Back in the 70s.”
“Did you enjoy working for him?”
“I reckon that question doesn’t matter at all.”
“I like you, Nuts.”
He grunts again. He briefly worked for the Chemist here in Los Angeles, establishing the infrastructure while committing none of the scientific monstrosities. After the Chemist died, he decided to stay for the challenge.
“I don’t know what I’m doing,” I admit. “I woke up like this. I don’t remember the Chemist. Or Walter. Or Blue-Eyes. I don’t remember anything. I don’t know any Infected, other than you. You’ve been around a long time, Nuts. You know things. You know about the disease and the other Infected and…anything you can tell me would really help.”
“Bah, you’re doing fine. Keep it up,” he snaps. He sees me like he sees all machines: functional or broken. Right now I’m functional.
“Have you ever met the Outlaw?” I ask.
“I have not.”
“Why are you still here? I mean, I’m glad you are. We’d be in trouble without you. Do you have a home?”
“I have a workshop in Germany. A man needs only his shop. All else is superfluous.”
“So then why didn’t you leave?”
For the first time, he pauses. He searches the horizon a moment. “This is a challenge. Plus, the Blue-Eyed Witch needs killing.”
Blue-Eyes. Of the many things I learned when I woke from falling down the rabbit hole was that I have enemies because the Variants follow me. And Blue-Eyes is the worst of them. Possibly the most dangerous woman alive. She is Infected, born with the Hyper Virus. She’s similar to Kayla in that her strengths aren’t physical. Blue-Eyes produces pheromones and can use her charms to control all those around her. If you’re in her sphere of influence, you’re in love with her. Especially men. Mind control, in effect. Ten times stronger than Kayla.
She has the President in her grip. She’s the reason America’s military broke in half; half the generals are under her control, and half aren’t. And her claws are always reaching for more power. I’ve never met her. Dalton once said he’d shoot me before allowing us to interact.
I ask Nuts, “You know her?”
“I know our systems will operate better without her. She’s an anomaly. Lacks vision. And you might be our last hope for her elimination.”
“What about Walter?”
“He’s just as bad. Turn north here.”
He takes me to a sprawling industrial complex at the far edge of our border. Nuts and his engineers spent the entire month of June at this water treatment facility, installing turbines, fixing overflows, and customizing it for our Kingdom. He guides me on an exhaustive tour, and he inspects and explains things I don’t understand. After twenty minutes I quit listening. Engineers gather to watch. I tell them they’re doing exemplary work and they flush with pleasure and relief. Like I know what I’m talking about.
“Nuts.” I stop him while we’re alone on a catwalk suspended over outdoor pools of deep water. “I’m a busy girl. This is overwhelming. I don’t understand any of it. And I don’t want to. Make this simple for me.”
“Bah,” he growls and scratches his scalp with knotty fingers. “Fine. Our water spills down the Sierras out of the Owens river in Nevada.”
“Okay.”
“Our intake is more than enough. We’ll never deal with scarcity. And we’re using the flow of water to turn turbines and generate electricity. We send the electricity to our power plant in Burbank.”
“Got it.”
“We’ve closed down two-thirds of this water filtration plant because we don’t have the manpower and we don’t need to filter that much water. Our reservoirs are full.”
“Okay.”
“But look.” He gestures impatiently at the big plant. It’s a maze of buildings and plumbing. “We’re vulnerable. We’re at the border and we’ll be attacked soon. We have enemies. They take out this plant, we’re in trouble three weeks later. Big trouble.”
“I see. What’s your suggestion?”
“I want soldiers and Guardians posted here. A lot of them.”
“Sounds wise. I’ll confirm it with General Brown. How many?”
His scowl falters a moment and he nearly smiles. Nuts and I get each other. There’s too much to be done for indecisiveness. “I’ll get you exact numbers.”
* * *
Kayla swears she told no one, but by lunch time everyone knows the Outlaw approaches. Our hive is abuzz. The Overseers are gossiping. The Guardians are rigid and they stare westward, over the horizon. The Workers discuss events in hushed tones.
I stand in the cafeteria on 8th Street, feet planted firmly on the dirty floor, and glare across tables of lunchers. All eyes are on me. All eyes. They watch and whisper.
“Kayla.”
“Yes?” She’s behind me, texting so fast she might set her phone on fire. I’ve seen her texting with a phone in each hand, both thumbs moving like a woodpecker on speed.
“Why are all these people staring at me?”
She doesn’t answer. The texting stops.
“I mean, I get it. I get stared at a lot. But this seems excessive.”
She is slow to respond. “Carmine…sweetie, we need to talk.”
* * *
Back in my apartment, I inspect the horizon through my missing walls like I might spot him. “Where is he?”
“The Outlaw will reach Burbank tonight.”
“Hmm.” I tap my lips in thought. “What, fifteen miles from here? Fourteen? He might be Downtown tomorrow.”
Kayla sits on my bed, long legs crisscross, posture perfect, hair perfect, hands in her lap. “Queen Carmine.”
“Yes.”
“Take out your phone. And find your photos. Do you remember when I discovered your name? And forwarded you all those Instagram pics?”
“In July.”
She nods. “Yes. I thought the photos might jog your memory. But I didn’t transfer every photo I found. I hid some of them.”
“Why?” I take off my backpack and sit on the chair in the corner, and bring up my photo library. “I’m too busy for this. Make it fast.”
“Your history is…complex. Find the photo of you and the handsome boy with blue eyes.”
I scroll quickly. I know the boy she means. He’s in several. Good looking guy, great cheek bones, broad shoulders, big smile. I don’t remember him, other than like maybe he was the main character in a movie I saw once as a kid. “You’re talking about Katie Lopez’s boyfriend.”
“Right. Your boyfriend.”
“I don’t have amnesia, Kayla. Or if I do, it’s not coming back. I’m a different person. I’m not Katie. This kid is not my boyfriend.”
Kayla adjusts her long silky hair and wrinkles her nose and stalls. Anxiety and irritation crash like thunder in my chest, but without a discernible cause. I’m suddenly nervous and I don’t know why. She searches the ceiling for answers and shakes her head. “I still can’t believe you’ve never Googled yourself.”
“I don’t like reading things I can’t remember. Plus, I don’t fully understand how Google can still even operate. Will the internet function in perpetuity, no matter what happens to the population?”
“Carmine. That boy in the photos? That’s Chase Jackson. The Outlaw.”
The Outlaw. I enlarge and scrutinize the photo more closely. The boy has his arms around Katie Lopez and their foreheads are touching. I remark, “Katie Lopez dated the Outlaw?”
“Carmine. You dated the Outlaw.”
“That can’t be true.”
“But it is.”
“Why am I just learning this now?”
“I assumed you’d eventually figure it out yourself. I assumed you’d investigate your past. I told you your real name, and believed that’d be enough. Little did I know you’d swear off all social networks and ne
ws channels. I didn’t know you’re a recluse.”
“Everyone knows?”
“Many do. But how many of the Queen’s subjects would dare ask her about her love life?”
“You should have told me.”
“You have amnesia, Carmine. I see how the lack of memories affects you. You grow deranged when you realize you should remember something but you can’t. You threw a motorcycle once, you were so angry. Much better for you to eventually discover it yourself. Besides, we thought he might be dead. He disappeared.”
“When did you discover this?”
“Discover that you used to date the Outlaw?”
“Yes.”
“July. When I hid the photos from you.”
“But the Outlaw is Infected. A world breaker. He’s insane.” Inexplicably, my voice is wavering.
“His insanity is purely a story that Blue-Eyes fabricated for the media. The Outlaw is her enemy. In reality,” she takes a deep breath and lets out a dreamy sigh. “In reality, he’s perfect.”
I place my phone on the overstuffed chair’s armrest and grip the fabric. My fingers are trembling, and my emotions swirl. I say, “I’ve seen the videos. The Outlaw killed dozens of Guardians.”
“The Variants were under strict orders from the Chemist, our Creator. He directed us to beat the Outlaw near death and then subdue and transport him. The Outlaw was never the aggressor.”
“Did you ever fight the Outlaw?”
Kayla shakes her head. “No.”
“Would you have, given the opportunity?”
“Given the chance, yes.”
“Why? This makes no sense.”
“Carmine, you never met your creator. I was built. I was given a disease and DNA by a madman. I emerged as a new being, and then I met my maker. It was the most over-whelming experience of my life. His DNA is inside my bones, and when he spoke my whole being lit on fire. We had no choice but to obey him. Even if we didn’t want to, he could turn us into rabid animals.” She is shivering and rubbing her arms at the memory. “He was dead when you woke up. You aren’t tainted like the rest of us.”
“I have another question, one I should have asked long ago.”
“Sure.”
“Why am I a Variant? Did Katie volunteer for the surgery?” This is one of those seminal questions always hovering in my mind, foundational to existence but too big to confront.
“Oh boy. I feel like I need someone else here for support. Can I go get the reporter?”
“Tell me, Kayla.”
“Can I record this conversation? I feel like this is a historically important moment.”
I lower my head between my knees and start taking deep breaths. It shouldn’t bother me. I don’t care. But somehow I do. Emotions swirl and rage. “Tell me.”
She speaks slowly now, carefully choosing innocuous phrases. “I volunteered for the surgery. I voluntarily became Variant. You did not.”
“Explain.” I’m staring at the dusty blue carpet under my sneakers, trying to steady the universe. My stomach heaves like I’m car sick. It shouldn’t; I’m not Katie.
“Katie Lopez never signed-up for the surgery. She was abducted. You were, I mean. There was a war. The Father…err, the Chemist was hellbent on capturing the Outlaw. So the Chemist abducted you in order to trap the Outlaw. You were bait, because you were his girlfriend. You were kidnapped and forced into the surgery against your will.”
Voices inside my mind. Far off weeping. My brain pulsates and the room grows dark.
“Are you okay?” she asks. “Carmine? This is another reason I didn’t tell you. We have very fragile minds after the surgery. Our brains function like recovering from concussions…Carmine!”
I pitch forward onto my face. As darkness closes, I hear a distant voice in the echoes of my mind…I was bait and Chase came anyway. He was always silly like that.
* * *
Teresa Triplett is here when I wake. She’s a pretty reporter who decided to live in New LA and chronicle our lives. I remember her from my past life. A little. I recall her being on television screens.
I’m on my back. My muscles tremble like I’ve just been sick. I shift uneasily and listen to Kayla and Teresa Triplett chat while Kayla pats my face with a wet cloth.
Teresa says, “I’m surprised she doesn’t pass out more often. Most newbies do.”
“She still gets the headaches. But she’s not like the others.”
“You got that right, girl. You told her everything?”
“No. But most of it. She remembers her boyfriend. But that’s it. Not emotional attachments.”
Teresa sighs and I hear her bulky digital camera clicking. “I have old images stored on here. I could show her other photographs but apparently they aren’t effective. If seeing Chase doesn’t help, maybe nothing will.”
“Do we want her to remember? I mean, if it ain’t broke, you know? She leads the Guardians naturally.”
Teresa says, “I’ve never been in this apartment before. She lives a simple life, doesn’t she. No frills.” Her camera shutter clicks three times.
“Hey. No photos.”
“Who are you texting?”
“Nobody.”
“You’re texting the computer hacker, aren’t you.”
“It doesn’t matter, and don’t write that down,” Kayla snaps.
“Do you monitor internet traffic?”
“Of course I monitor internet traffic. I am a internet savant.”
“Did you know my photographs of you get so many visits that my website crashes?”
Kayla is silent a moment. I sneak a peek at her. She peers intently at the reporter. “…go on.”
“You get more views than Carmine does,” Teresa says. “Your pics are the second most forwarded and copied pictures on the net.”
Kayla makes a ‘humpf’ noise. “People are so vain.”
Teresa reaches out to tug on Kayla’s long-sleeved, form-fitting blue shirt. “Says the girl wearing a six hundred dollar Akris.”
“Who gets more views than me?”
“Who cares? People are so vain.”
Kayla tosses her hair and rolls her eyes. “It’s Blue-Eyes. Isn’t it? It is. I mean, I don’t care. But, right? It’s her?”
“Yes. Blue-Eyes get the most traffic.”
“Ugh. I hate that woman. I want to claw her eyes out.”
I speak for the first time. “Kayla?”
“Yes, my Queen.”
“You have issues. And don’t call me that.”
My Devotee enters, carrying a tray of fruit and veggies and chocolate. My head swims when I sit up, but I eat apple slices and chocolate.
He leaves and Teresa says, “That is a gorgeous man. I don’t know how you keep your hands off him.”
“He’s vapid. Plus, I don’t want worshippers. Teresa, have you met the Outlaw?”
“Yes. I used to cover him for Channel Four News and he trusted me. We met several times.”
“Did you ever meet Katie Lopez? I mean, did you ever meet me?”
“Once. Before you two started dating. Long story.”
We’re all sitting on the carpet beside my bed, munching on the tray of food. I ask, “How do we make the Outlaw go away?”
Kayla nearly chokes on her orange. “Go away?? Why would we do that?”
“There’s no need for him to visit. He’ll be nothing but a distraction. Life is too hard right now. Plus, with Walter here? We don’t need extra intruders.”
“I…we…” Kayla is blinking and staring out the window like trying to solve an impossible chemistry equation. “I’m speechless. I don’t understand.”
Teresa says, “I’m a huge fan of the Outlaw, but Carmine might have a point. He’ll certainly upset the Guardians.”
“How?”
“I’m not positive. But he does. He’s Infected. Not a Variant like you two. There’s a big difference.” She finishes chewing a carrot and brushes her hands on her shorts. “Everyone with the disease has…w
ild tendencies. Like untamed animals. You’re all alpha predators. And like alpha predators, you don’t get along. What I mean is, you shouldn’t get along. The Infected tend to hate one another, but the Chemist wanted his army to be cohesive so he messed with your genetics. He tinkered with your DNA and implanted his own. As a result, Variants tolerate each other. The same blood runs through your veins, like you’re family.
She continues, “But the Outlaw never underwent the surgery. He’s pure. So his body chemistry upsets the Variants. He doesn’t have their DNA. He registers as an enemy alpha predator.”
I stew on that a moment and ask, “What will happen when our Guardians encounter him in Burbank tonight?”
“Again, I’m not positive. The Chemist didn’t reveal everything to me. But I imagine the Guardians will have the same reaction leopards have when a lion wanders into their den. It won’t be pretty.”
I’m tugging on my lip while I think. Kayla hates it when I do that. She thinks it’s unbecoming of a Queen, and now she pulls my fingers away. I smack her hand so hard she yelps. I ask, “Will they kill him?”
“No. I doubt they can. He’s quite formidable.”
“Okay, so we’re back to the beginning. How do we make him leave?”
“You can’t,” Teresa smiles. “He won’t go.”
“Why not?”
“He’s here for you. He loves you.”
I groan in frustration and stand. “That seems aspirational. Kayla, post a message online. We don’t need the Outlaw here. I don’t want to see him. Katie Lopez is dead.”
“No she’s not.” Kayla is smiling now too. “She’s alive. And she’ll need a sexier outfit soon.”
I hurl Kayla’s phone like a frisbee out into space. It spins away, arcing several blocks and falling a hundred feet before smashing into the TCW building. She sticks her tongue out. “I have ten backups.”
“Good. Use one of them. We can’t risk him upsetting the Guardians. Tell the world the Outlaw is denied entrance into New Los Angeles.”
- Five -
I meet with the Farmer Overseer and Governess to discuss more efficient ways to transport water to our agriculture. The Farmer Overseer wants to use the Guardians. I’m reluctant. I tell her I’ll think about it.