Atonement (A Science Fiction / Fantasy Romance)

by Fall, Carly

  Sophia tried to put together the pieces of why Micah imprisoned him in the shed, as if he were no better than a rabid dog. Why would Micah keep a human imprisoned in such a cruel fashion? Unless he wasn’t a human. Perhaps Blake was a Colonist, and the thought that Megan had been in such close proximity to him made her shudder.

  She simply couldn’t believe he was a Colonist. She’d seen firsthand how they killed at random, their horrible demeanor, their tortured souls when she watched her family slaughtered. Blake possessed none of that, but maybe when he was well he would exhibit such behavior.

  If he were a Colonist, she would be happy to let him die. However, she lacked certainty of that assessment. When she’d visited him on her astral travels, he showed no signs of Colonist behavior. She considered calling Micah, but thought better of it. He would be angry they’d gone into the shed, and her senses told her that if she did speak to Micah about Blake, it wouldn’t bode well for Blake.

  Checking her watch, she saw three hours had passed since she visited him last. She couldn’t allow the male to die on the property.

  She needed to think things through before she phoned Micah and questioned him. Until then, she promised Megan she would help Blake, and she intended to keep her vows to her daughter.

  Gathering her courage as she filled a bottle of water, she set her mind to nursing the male back to health, and then finding out who he was and why he was being held captive in her shed.

  As she walked toward the small building, Sophia heard the low groans emanating from Blake before she reached him. Pulling open the door, the moonlight fell on him as he twisted and turned on the cot.

  “Blake,” she said, entering the shed, her eyes illuminating the small space. She wondered what he would say about that.

  His eyes opened slowly and finally focused on her. She glanced around the shed, happy to see he hadn’t been sick again.

  “How are you feeling?” she asked, sitting down on the stool. She set the flashlight on the ground, the beam pointing upward. It cast a soft glow throughout the small space.

  “I’ve been better,” he said in a raspy voice.

  Sophia couldn’t help but smile. “I’m sure you have. Would you like to try some water?”

  He nodded, and her hands shook as she brought the cup to his mouth. Water spilled down the side of his face; it would be easier for him to drink if he could lift his head.

  She certainly wasn’t going to let him loose, so she put her left hand behind his head, his sweat-soaked strands of hair falling through her fingers. As she lifted his head a little, he took a small sip of water and closed his eyes. She sat back down, wondering why he hadn’t commented on her eyes. As a human, she would think he’d be very afraid, but he wasn’t. That only led to other questions. Perhaps he thought he was seeing things in his feverish state? Or was there something else? Perhaps he was one of those horrible government workers Micah had mentioned—the ones who’d cut him and stuck needles in his eyes. No matter what his story was, she was relieved he remained shackled.

  As she studied his face, she noticed his strong jawline and high cheekbones. If it weren’t for his pale skin and cracked lips, she imagined he’d be very handsome.

  He looked at her, and she studied the green-yellow color of his eyes visible in the bright moonlight. She was so used to seeing either dark or bright glowing eyes, and the soft color was unique to her.

  “Thank you,” he whispered.

  She nodded.

  “You’re an SR44ian,” he said.

  Sophia gasped. “Yes,” she answered. “How do you know about our race?”

  Blake’s lips twisted into something resembling a smile. “I-I used to spend a lot of time with SR44ians.”

  Intrigued, Sophia leaned forward. “In what capacity?”

  Blake looked up at the ceiling and remained silent for a long time. Finally, he said, “I was aligned with the Six Saviors.”

  Anger coursed through her. If those Saviors had done their job instead of surrendering as Micah had said, she wouldn’t be on this planet. She’d be at home living the life of royalty. By now she’d most likely be mated and in love. Perhaps she’d have many offspring as well.

  Thinking along those lines was twofold. If that sequence of events had taken place, then she never would have given birth to Megan, and she couldn’t imagine her life without the girl.

  “And how did you come to such an . . . alignment?”

  Blake shrugged. “Sometimes the stars are in the right place and stuff happens.”

  Sophia considered his words. Was the destruction of her home planet and the events leading up to it the stars being in the right place? No, she didn’t believe so. That was an unfortunate series of events, and Sophia wondered if that was what Blake meant. The Saviors had let their people down. They were not honorable males, yet her first impressions of Blake said otherwise.

  “Micah is very angry with them,” she murmured.

  Blake nodded. “Yep. He’s been mad at them since he first set foot on this planet, and he hasn’t been shy about letting them know. You’d think he’d have a little gratitude since they—or I should say we—broke him out of the government facility after he was captured.”

  Sophia narrowed her eyes. That wasn’t how Micah had described it. He had told her that he fought his way out, killing many in his path. “I don’t know if I believe you,” she said.

  Blake shrugged. “I was there. It’s the truth. It doesn’t matter to me if you believe it or not.” He shut his eyes.

  Someone was obviously lying, and she had no reason to trust this stranger.

  “That was the first time I met Annis,” Blake mumbled.

  Sophia sat back in the stool, shocked, as his words sunk in. Micah had said that Annis had been killed in the government facility. How would Blake know of her existence unless he had seen her?

  “I loved the way the beads at the ends of her hair sounded like raindrops when they knocked together,” he murmured.

  Yes, Blake definitely knew Annis.

  “Is . . . is she alive?” Sophia whispered, her heart beating wildly.

  Blake’s eyes looked sad. “Of course she is. She’s mated to one of the Saviors.”

  Sophia swallowed and covered her mouth with fluttering hands. Could his words be true?

  “Liberty is also mated to a Savior,” Blake said, closing his eyes again. “Both Liberty and Annis are very happy.”

  Standing, Sophia knocked down the stool and almost tripped over it as she staggered for the door.

  “I don’t believe you,” she hissed. “Micah told me they are both dead, and he has no reason to lie to me. You, on the other hand, do."

  Blake chuckled and shook his head. “Honey, I don’t have any reason to lie. I’m going to be dead in a day or two, and I don’t give a shit if you believe me or not.”

  She stepped outside, her mind racing.

  “Hey, Sophia?” Blake called. “Thank you. Thank you for everything. You’re a very kind woman.”

  Her head swam with the information she’d learned. Liberty and Annis alive? Each mated to a Savior? How could this be? Why did Micah lie to her, or was it Blake who was lying? She needed to sit down and think things through rationally. Someone was lying, and she had every intention of figuring out the truth. Without another word, she shut the door and hurried back to the house.

  Chapter 30

  The sunlight streamed through the slats in the shed bringing Blake to consciousness. He actually felt a little better today—well, at least he didn’t wish he were dead. His shoulders though . . . oh, man. Red-hot pain radiated down his arms, across his back, and up his neck.

  The door opened slightly, letting more light in. The top of a blonde head came into his view. It was the little girl. What was her name? Megan. Sophia had called her Megan.

  “Hey,” he said.

  “Hi.” She scrunched down on her haunches in the same corner as last time.

  They stared at each other for a beat, an
d Blake couldn’t help but smile at her utter cuteness. Today she wore jeans and pink long-sleeved shirt. Her pink tennis shoes lit up when she walked, and blonde ringlets fell in messy tangles around her very serious face.

  “I don’t think your mom wants you in here,” Blake said.

  Megan nodded her head. “I know.” She made no effort to move.

  “Well, she’s going to be mad if she catches you.”

  Megan nodded again. “I know. She’s still sleeping though.”

  Okay, well, he gave the kid points for bravery and defiance.

  “Do you know Micah?” she asked.

  Blake sighed. He didn’t know the relationship between Micah and Megan, and he didn’t want to say anything awful about him in case he was someone special to the girl. Besides, he really didn’t have anything good to say. “Yeah, I’ve met Micah a few times.”

  “Why does he have you tied up out here?”

  How did he explain that one? He couldn’t very well tell the young girl that Micah was turning him in for money. “I . . . it’s a long story.”

  Megan tilted her head, her dark eyes shining with curiosity and intelligence. “I think Micah is sort of bad.”

  Blake smiled. She had no idea what a bastard the guy was.

  “How do you know Micah?’ he asked. Time to dodge and deflect.

  “He’s my father,” she said, fury in her eyes. “I don’t like him though. He does mean things to my mama that make her cry. She doesn't think I hear her, but I do.”

  It didn’t surprise him. Micah was a cocksucker of epic proportions. Anger welled within him at the thought of Micah hurting Sophia, or any female, and Blake hoped Micah didn’t touch this strong, little girl.

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” he murmured. “Why doesn’t your mom leave?”

  Megan pushed a ringlet out of her face. “Micah says the war on Earth is awful. He says that the Colonists kill lots of people and he’s keeping us safe here.”

  If Megan was telling the truth, Micah had lied to Sophia and Megan. What was the purpose of it though?

  Only one word came to mind: power.

  “Well, that’s not true,” Blake said. Suddenly, the need for the heroin hit him like a freight train, making his muscles tense and his jaw clamp. Taking a deep breath, he tried to get a grip on the insane urge. He didn’t want to be involved in this drama—he wanted to be so high that nothing else mattered.

  “It’s not true?” she asked.

  Blake stared at the little girl, wondering what her fate would be if she stayed with Micah. Knowing Micah, Blake doubted it would be anything good. However, he wasn’t in any position or condition to play the hero. He had his own problems to think about.

  “You should go back to the house before your mom finds out you’re in here.”

  She stood slowly and nodded. She opened the door a crack and turned back to him. “You’re telling me the truth, right?”

  “Yeah, I am, Megan.” He had nothing to lose—he’d already lost it all.

  “And you won’t tell my mama that I was in here, right?”

  “Nah. You’re secret’s safe with me.”

  He understood why Sophia didn’t want Megan in the shed. She didn’t know Blake, and she was simply protecting her little girl. However, Blake didn’t want to be the one to get Megan into trouble, so he’d keep his trap shut.

  Megan slipped out and gently shut the door, and Blake couldn’t help but wonder what other lies Micah had told. He’d like to find out and plant some doubt in Sophia’s mind.

  Chapter 31

  Sophia walked into the kitchen just as Megan came in. She was about to scold her for going out to the shed, but then she saw a bowl full of green beans in her tiny hands. She hadn’t defied Sophia; she’d been harvesting crops.

  “Good morning,” Sophia said with a smile, as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

  “Hi, Mama.”

  Megan set the bowl on the counter and went to the pantry to get a box of cereal. “Can you please help me with the milk?”

  “Of course.”

  Megan seemed to grow more independent every day, and it brought Sophia a little happiness that she was still needed, even if it was to pour the milk.

  They sat at the kitchen table, Sophia drinking her coffee, and Megan eating her cereal. A large pink elephant hovered in the room under the guise of Blake being tied up in the shed out back. Sophia wanted to check on him to make sure he was okay, as well as talk to him further about Annis and Liberty. If he felt well enough, she had many, many questions to ask. She also wondered if he had recognized her. Sophia felt strange broaching the subject. How did she explain her ability of astral projection without sounding crazy?

  After another night of very little sleep and much thinking, she came to the conclusion that she must find out who was lying—Blake or Micah. Glancing over at Megan, her heart hurt. She knew keeping the girl cooped up here in the middle of nowhere wasn’t good for her—she needed to interact with other people besides her mother. Right now, everything seemed okay, but when Sophia thought of Megan as an adult, she couldn’t help but wonder what her purpose would be, especially if the war was still going on. Megan possessed great intelligence, and certainly Micah would tap into that in some form or another. However, Sophia considered herself intelligent as well, and although she tried to make the best out of her situation, she often thought she was cut out for much more than growing beans and making children. She knew so little about life outside her walls, but certainly there was something she could do.

  What if Blake was being truthful and Megan could live a full life, enriched by other people, new experiences, and places?

  Her role in this world had been cemented, but Megan had so much potential. The last thing she wanted for her daughter was a future like hers.

  “I think I’ll go check on Blake,” Sophia said, taking her coffee cup to the sink.

  “Can I come?” Megan asked.

  “No, I think its best you stay here, honey.”

  Sophia filled a bottle with water and heated some vegetable broth. She rummaged in the cupboard for the ginger teabags she had made when Megan suffered an upset stomach not too long ago.

  Setting everything on a tray, she turned to Megan. The girl sat at the kitchen table engrossed in a book on Earth’s solar system. She stared at a page showing a map of all the planets as she absently shoveled cereal in her mouth. “Mama, where was SR44?”

  Sophia looked at the map. “It was beyond that picture,” she murmured as she walked over to the table. “If my calculations are correct, I believe it was over here.” She pointed at the far edge of the table from where Megan sat.

  “That’s a long way away,” Megan said.

  “Yes. Yes, it was.”

  Tears stung her eyes as she remembered her beloved home with the tall golden buildings, the beauty of its smoky inhabitants making their way through the day, their bright colors creating a living, breathing rainbow of splendor. How she missed her family.

  Megan flipped the page and continued reading. Perhaps Blake could add to the history of their people if he had truly been aligned with the Saviors. Why wasn’t he any longer? If they were truly honorable males, as legend had them to be, then Blake must have done something to upset them.

  Or perhaps he fabricated his whole story. Then again, how would a simple human know of SR44ians? He wouldn't, unless he was one of those government doctors who tortured Micah.

  She went back and forth on whether to believe him or not, and decided the only way to find out was to question him further.

  “I’ll tell you what,” Sophia said, “let me talk to Blake for a while, and if I deem him safe, you can come out as well, okay?”

  Megan smiled, her little cheeks dimpling. That spark of excitement gleaned in her eyes. “Okay, Mama!”

  She stood and did a silly dance where she stuck out her butt and shook it while flailing her hands above her head.

  Sophia laughed. Megan was usually very serious
and acted beyond her years, so Sophia was glad to see this happy, little girl let loose.

  Chapter 32

  Sophia pulled the shed door open and stepped inside. Even though the temperature hovered in the sixties, it was quite warm in the small space.

  “Hello, Blake,” she said. “Would you like some fresh air in here?”

  “Please.”

  Leaving the door open, she pushed the stool into an upright position with her toe. Sitting down, she set the tray down on the floor.

  “I made you some tea to help your stomach,” she said, lifting the cup.

  “Not right now,” Blake said. “We have an . . . issue.”

  Sophia set the cup back on the tray. “And what is that?”

  Blake looked at her. “Apparently, my insides haven’t been totally destroyed and I need to pee.”

  Sophia glanced over his body. Of course he would. She should have thought of that before.

  “And I don’t want to piss myself,” he mumbled.

  “Yes. That's understandable."

  She wasn’t certain what to do. If she could somehow release him from his shackles, how did she know he wouldn’t hurt her? Or Megan? She didn’t think he would, as he seemed pretty harmless when she’d visited him during her astral travels, and he’d been nothing but polite to her since being trapped in the shed. However, she didn’t fully trust him.

  There had to be another way so he didn’t soil himself.

  She glanced over at where the handcuffs screwed into the wall. They were held by a simple hook. She could slip the handcuffs out of the hook, and he would still be shackled.

  However, even though he was constrained, he could still do her harm. She needed a backup plan.

  “I’ll be right back,” she said, and ran to the house where she grabbed a long, sharp knife out of the drawer, hoping she wouldn’t have to use it. In his current state, Blake appeared very weak. She didn’t want to stab him, but if necessary, she would.