[scifan] plantation - books one to three

by Stella Samiotou Fitzsimons

  Daphne follows as they both attack the Sliman.

  Nya, Tilly, Scout, Rabbit and Biscuit do the same soon afterwards. The Saviors attack the

  invaders with everything they have while I throw my electric blasts left and right.

  I feel a sharp ache in my right hand that gets worse as I keep firing. The pain gets so intense that

  I almost drop the device and I have to support my right hand with my left.

  The power I can generate lessens over time and becomes unstable. I am losing control of the

  device and the harder I try, the worse the outcome gets. I am not the only one who takes notice of this.

  Two of the Sliman disentangle themselves from the conflict with the Saviors and walk towards me. I

  fire at them desperately but they are able to avoid the small electric lightning-like flames I produce.

  The device doesn’t obey me anymore.

  I take in the scene around me: the Saviors are being defeated, their injuries get worse and they

  are beaten down. The only ones that are still putting up a decent fight are the super-warriors, Daphne and Finn, but they won’t last for long.

  My strength and concentration abandon me, I see the raised gun in the Sliman’s hand and realize

  it’s a tranquilizer. They don’t want to kill me, they want to take me prisoner and study me. They want to see how I’m doing what I’m doing. I understand that, I’d like to know the answer myself.

  A second Sliman plunges at me with another tranq gun, then a third one. The device shuts down.

  Finn drops to the ground under their blows. Daphne keeps kicking, keeps resisting.

  This is it, then. It was good while it lasted. The Saviors made their stand at last. The guns aim at

  my arms and legs. I close my eyes getting ready for the blow. When I wake up from this, I will not be

  me anymore.

  I hear a familiar voice screaming out my name. I open my eyes and barely have a moment to

  watch Damian’s face as he jumps on the first Sliman and breaks his neck with a single click. He

  jumps in front of me, gun in hand, ready to protect me with his own body.

  There are ten Sliman left standing and eight of them close in on Damian. He puts his left arm

  behind his back and pushes me further away. The guns that aim at him are not tranq guns. The first

  shot scratches his left shoulder. He fires back getting one more Sliman out of the way.

  The second pulse hits him on the thigh causing a deep gash. He stumbles for a moment but then

  steadies himself. My eyes get teary and my heart drops. All I can think is that I don’t want him to die for me, that I’d give anything to protect him, to save him. I’d give anything to go back in time and treat him with more respect and appreciation for all that he has done for the Saviors. For all that he’s doing for me now.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I see Theo, Zoe and Doc running to our aid, but they are too far

  away, they will never make it here on time.

  Damian hits one more Sliman before he gets shot in the right arm. I feel as if I’ve been struck

  myself. His gun drops to the ground. He stands powerless as two more Sliman aim at him.

  They’re done playing. They are going for his chest.

  The blasts are fired simultaneously but Damian is left standing in front of me. Daphne has

  managed to free herself and jump in front of Damian. Her blond hair falls onto her face as she

  stumbles backwards before collapsing.

  Damian screams like a hurt animal. Finn crawls to Daphne. Scout and Tilly stare in disbelief.

  Nya falls to her knees and pulls her hair. Rabbit hides his face in the burnt soil. Biscuit trembles. Zoe, Theo and Doc slow down as if suddenly frozen, unable to process what has just happened.

  The Sliman don’t bother with Damian anymore. He’s kneeling next to Daphne, his face red with

  tears and despair. The Sliman are coming for me.

  I feel a wave of rage and fury build up inside me. I don’t care about anything anymore. My veins

  swell up in my temples. I don’t give a damn whether I live or die. My fists get tight around the device and only now do I realize I am still holding it.

  I yield the power that lurks inside it with a fury and force I didn’t think possible. The ground

  shakes when I target the two Sliman who shot Daphne. They fly up in the air and then sail backward

  like dolls in the wind and smash viciously against the burnt remains. I did that.

  And more. I create a cyclone that sweeps everything up in the air, rocks, debris, weapons,

  branches, leaves. My fury is now directed at the two aliens, I go to them with big strides, my features harden up to the point that I don’t think they will ever return to normal. My hatred is overpowering,

  overwhelming. It’s all that exists right now.

  I hear the sound of new vehicles, the aliens have called for reinforcements. I don’t care. I can

  take them all on. I won’t stop until they’re all dead, little specks of dust on their way to oblivion. I will kick the whole bloody species back to the space where they belong and watch them blow up into

  tiny pieces.

  Thirty more Sliman walk in on the scene of disaster, weapons in hand, eyes fixed on me.

  “Freeze them”, I think to myself and the device spews out a curtain of ice. It’s not enough to actually freeze them but it becomes clear to me that the device is connected to my mind and will do whatever I

  tell it to do.

  I blow away the new horde of Sliman with a huge blue electromagnetic blast. They are taken

  aback and don’t know what to do next. Two Sliman take off towards the Saviors that have gathered

  around Daphne. One of them grabs Tilly by the hair and the other one kicks Rabbit on the shin. The

  distraction they create works for them as I lose focus. Four Sliman run towards me and before I know

  it, four guns are pointed at me from four different directions.

  I order the device to blow them all up but it’s a confusing request and I have to refocus my

  attention. I start spinning on the spot and the first shot misses me by a few inches. The spinning

  increases the power of the receptor to the point that I think I can set the whole forest on fire. A blue shield springs out of the device and covers me like a mist. Their next pulse blast hits the shield but cannot penetrate it.

  The two aliens order the Sliman to withdraw. One of them drags Tilly with him. The aliens look

  at me as they retreat and I can read the look on their faces. They don’t want me dead and they don’t

  want to die either. They will go back and organize a manhunt especially designed for me.

  I will be hunted for as long as the alien species remains on this planet. I hold the device firmly

  against them until they release Tilly and take off in their vehicles. I could probably blow them to

  pieces but I feel drained.

  I drop to my knees overwhelmed by suspended emotions and physical exhaustion. When I look

  at my friends, beaten, bloodied and worn out, my blood freezes.

  The Saviors stare at me with caution as if I was a stranger.

  19

  Darkness has crept inside the forest turning the greens to browns and grays, causing pupils to

  dilate and hearts to shrink.

  We’ve traveled as far as we can on our way to the mountains, but we can’t go any further. We

  are bodies without spirit, legs without muscles, thoughts without hope.

  Daphne lies on the ground, her breathing is labored and forced. Her eyes are closed. Her

  connection to the world is fading.

  Doc has tried to tend to her but there’s nothing more he can do.

  Zoe is inconsolable. She, Theo and Doc are the only ones that haven’t been injured. They are

>   alert enough to fully comprehend the weight of our situation. Zoe caresses Daphne’s hair while trying

  to hold back her sobs.

  Finn hasn’t said a single word but I can tell he’s in great pain emotionally and physically. He

  has been badly hurt as are Tilly, Nya, Rabbit and Damian.

  I am numb, confused, I can’t make sense of anything.

  “Freya,” I hear my name whispered. I look up and see Zoe who wants me to go to her. Her face

  is pale but a glimmer of hope emerges on it.

  “Daphne has asked for you,” she says.

  I am paralyzed.

  “Go, Freya, talk to her,” Zoe insists. “Your name has been on her lips since she got hurt.”

  I feel the anguish in Zoe’s voice. But I can’t talk. I can’t form a single sensible sentence. I want

  to tell Daphne that I’m sorry but what good is that now? I’m sorry for all my petty thoughts. I’m sorry for my jealousy. I’m sorry for my arrogance. I’m sorry I made you my enemy.

  I don’t know how to say any of this, so I kneel next to her silently. Daphne moves her lips but no

  sound comes out. I lean over her. “I will make them pay, Daphne, I promise. No matter what it takes, I will destroy them all.”

  I tighten my fists around the alien device and squeeze it hard. It releases a rainbow of light that

  grows larger and larger until it encompasses the trees all around us. The forest is lit with colors and shimmering lines of energy. A little circle of yellow light sparks out of the device and lands on

  Daphne’s face.

  She opens her eyes with a sudden burst of energy. She gazes at my face and Zoe’s face, then

  stares at the light with a smile on her lips.

  “The flood of light. It was you,” she says. “You were the one in my dream. You are the flood of

  light.”

  The smile lingers on her lips even as she leaves this world. The light around her turns into a

  white mist and it sprinkles down onto her.

  The tears we have been holding back are free to roll down our cheeks. One by one we lean over

  Daphne to say goodbye. When it’s Damian’s turn, he hurries to walk away, hunched over and

  dragging his injured leg.

  I walk over to Finn. I sit next to him and rest my head on his shoulder. The familiarity of this

  seems strangely odd in the semi-darkness of the forest under the moonlight.

  “Everything is my fault,” he says. “I don’t know what I was thinking, or maybe I simply wasn’t

  thinking at all. I put all this in motion.”

  “No, if it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine, Finn. Daphne died because of the mess I got myself into,

  because I grabbed the device from the alien, because I put Damian in a position where he had no

  option but to try to protect me.”

  “We shouldn’t even be there,” Finn regrets. “I shouldn’t have convinced kids to go with me. We

  weren’t ready. Damian knew it.”

  I know that he believes what he says. I know that he’s overcome with guilt. I know that he’s in

  pain. I am not mad at him, not anymore, nobody can predict the future, why should he?

  “It’s no use blaming yourself, Finn. You had no idea this was going to happen. You followed

  your instincts. Now we have to regroup and move on. They know about us.”

  “They know about you, you mean. They will not rest until they get their hands on you,” he says

  and he looks at me with curiosity.

  “Don’t look at me like that,” I beg of him.

  “You connected with the device,” he says. “You shouldn’t have, but you did. You made the

  impossible happen. You connected to it more efficiently than the aliens themselves. Maybe Theo will

  have an explanation.”

  “You don’t sound too surprised.”

  “I’ve always known you were special. How many times have I told you?”

  “What are we going to do?” I ask.

  “I’m the wrong guy to ask. Damian is our leader.”

  We don’t say anything for a while. We will say goodbye to this forest that has been our home for

  so long. Daphne will never leave this place and we may never return. I will take her energy with me.

  I feel this more than I think it.

  “What are you thinking?” Finn asks.

  “Daphne. Did you fall in love with her?”

  He gives no response for what seems like an eternity.

  “It doesn’t matter,” I say. “She’s inside me now. I feel her.”

  “Silly, Tick. Daphne loved Damian for years. He didn’t share her feelings, or maybe he didn’t

  want to have feelings for anyone while he was responsible for our lives. Daphne tried to get him to

  change his mind. He became distant. He shut her out. He refused to talk to her in private anymore. He

  kept her at a distance.”

  “But why did she confide in you? Does it have to do with the hidden box?”

  “I need time to put everything in order inside my head first. Daphne had a premonition that she

  was going to die in a flood. She didn’t talk about her premonitions much but she had quite a few that

  turned out to be accurate.”

  I remember now. She said I was in her dream. She called me the flood.

  “She wanted to have some time with Damian before this happened,” Finn continues. “She

  thought if Damian lost the leadership of the group temporarily, he might be more open to her. She

  asked for my help, she wanted me to find a way to replace Damian. I didn’t really agree, but I did

  agree to show more initiative and put Damian in a spot to give her opportunity to approach him when

  he was vulnerable. I made a horrible mistake.”

  “I want to know about the box,” I tell him. “It consumes me.”

  “The box was Daphne’s. She wanted me to give it to Damian after she was gone. I knew she

  was serious about this. I couldn’t turn her down even though I never believed she was going to die,

  Freya, honest.”

  The trees bristle in the breeze unaware of our human struggles. I squeeze his hand. His burden

  weighs heavily on him. I want to help him carry it.

  “Somebody should go find Damian,” Finn says. “He’s hurt in more ways than he will ever

  admit.”

  This is what I can do for Finn. Help Damian. “It’s the least I can do,” I say. “He saved my life

  even though all I’ve ever done is defy him.”

  “Thank him for all of us. He has always cared only about our well being.”

  “Finn, we will get through this.”

  I let go of his hand and turn my eyes to the spot where Daphne’s body lies, surrounded by the

  familiar faces of her friends and companions.

  “Safe travels, Daphne,” I whisper.

  *

  DAMIAN SITS AT THE ROOT of a big oak tree. The screen of the sensory device has turned

  into a flashlight. I can see him clearly. He is perfectly still, staring into the void of night. His arm and leg have been clumsily bandaged. His face is bruised in several spots yet he looks more handsome

  than ever.

  “Go away,” he says without looking at me. I don’t go. I sit by him. The look on his face is

  murderous when he turns it on me.

  “Are you deaf?” He spews the words out slowly putting emphasis on the deaf part but then he

  starts laughing. His laughter fills the space around us with an angry intensity. It ricochets off the trees.

  It bounces off the ground and hurts my eardrums.

  “Fine, if you don’t go, I will,” he says as he stands up.

  “It’s not your fault, it’s mine,” I say but I don’t think he cares. I ge
t up too and stand in front of him.

  “Daphne made the choice to give up her life for you. I know how terrible it feels, because in a

  way, she gave up her life for me, too.” My voice breaks into a thousand tiny glass shards as I speak.

  “What do you know?” Damian shouts at me. “You have no idea, so spare me your pity. You are

  clueless still even if you somehow turned into a super-hero today. Now clear off and leave me

  alone.”

  “I’m not afraid of you,” I say trying to sound as calm as possible.

  “Well, maybe you should be,” he snarls.

  “I know a lot more than you think. I know Daphne loved you.”

  “Just shut up.”

  “I don’t know when you realized that you loved her, too. I don’t know if it just hit you today or a

  long time ago.” I grab his wrists as he tries to raise his hands to push me away. “She chose to jump in front of you because she loved you. It was her choice, her right.”

  “If she had just listened to me,” he begins fighting the pain in his heart, “I could have kept her

  safe.”

  “We will never be safe, Damian. We are fugitives. We are the Saviors. A lot of us will die and

  when more join us, they will die too. Fewer will die with you leading us. You can’t wallow in guilt.

  We all need you.”

  He remains silent but I can feel a pressure he doesn’t understand building up in his chest choking

  him, making him lightheaded.

  “I came here to thank you,” I tell him. “For saving me, for all that you did.” I realize then that

  this is not what I came to say. This is what Finn wants me to say. My words would be questions, petty

  and confused and accusing him. I’d ask him why he came back for us. I’d ask why he didn’t run to

  safety, to the mountains, when he had the chance.

  He turns his face away. “I cared for Daphne. I respected and admired her, but you were wrong

  before. I didn’t love her. Not the way she wanted.”

  I take a step backwards when he moves towards me and locks his eyes on mine. Then another

  step and another until I find my back against a tree.

  “Do you realize what you did back there, Freya?” he says as he crouches down to level his eyes

  with mine. “You’ve changed the rules of the game forever. You are our future.”