by Erin Grey
“Never mind Brianus,” said Zhian, grabbing my hand and carrying on to the same door my new friend had been dragging me towards. “He’s been here a long time and thinks he’s the local ‘head steward’, or something.”
“Well, at least he seems to be happy here.”
“You think so?”
“Yes. He must like it here if he wants to show it off.”
Zhian threw a surprised look over his shoulder, then pushed open the door. We moved through the room that was empty but for some tables and chairs, then exited into a hallway.
“Where are we going?”
“I want you to meet Silvi, if she’s still here.”
“Do your parents work here too?”
“No. They’ll be at the headquarters in Synpa, my home town.”
“Aren’t you worried they’ll find out you’re here?”
“No. It’s unlikely anyone will inform them. And if they do find out, all they can do is have me removed. Or worse, ask to speak to me. Here we are.” He stopped outside a grey door and called out—the same greeting he’d used at Ric’s door in Ginniker.
Feet shuffled across the hard floor before the door was pulled open. A small woman of pearly, periwinkle colouring squinted up at him. With glacial speed, her lips turned up into a smile.
“Silvi!” said Zhian, leaning over to clasp her hands together. “I’m so happy to see you.”
Silvi nodded, then peered at me. I consider myself short, but Silvi had to look up to examine my face.
“This is Jane, Silvi.” Zhian pointed inside the room. “Can we come in?”
Silvi stepped back abruptly, clearing the doorway for us. The room contained a small bed, two chairs, and a table. Zhian gestured for me to sit down in one of the chairs while he took the other. Silvi sat down on the bed and regarded me with a faint aura of curiosity.
“Silvi,” said Zhian, drawing her attention. “How are you? Happy?”
“Did you see that?” asked Sandy in suspicious tones. “Her smile got wider, but her eyes froze. What does that mean?”
“Perhaps she is timid,” said Jasper.
“Or terrified,” said Sandy.
Silvi croaked out a sound that I took to be a ‘yes’.
“Have they been giving you what you need?” asked Zhian.
“Yes.”
“Have the tremors come back?”
Silvi held out her steady hands.
“That’s good.” Zhian turned to me. “She’s doing so much better than the last time I saw her. When she first came to the clinic—I was still working with the drug back then—she used to shake all over.”
“That’s wonderful, Zhian.” I glanced back at Silvi. “Is she always this quiet?”
“She used to cry out in pain. But you don’t feel the pain anymore, do you, Silvi?”
Silvi shook her head and smiled her vacant smile.
“They must still be using the drug on her,” said Zhian. “It is why she has peace.”
“Peace—maybe,” said Sandy. “Brain function—not so much.”
“I don’t like this,” said Mitch.
“That’s … nice,” I said.
“I’m so glad to hear that.” He stood and held his hands out to me. “It’s time for the pain to end, Jane.”
“What?” said Jasper, Sandy, Gwendolyn, and Mitch in chorus.
“Uh?” said Emmy.
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“What?” I stood but didn’t take Zhian’s hands. I clutched at the table for support.
“You can be like Silvi. No more pain, no more—”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I want you to be happy, Jane.” He swallowed. “I love you.”
“No,” said Sandy.
“Oh,” said Gwendolyn, flustered. “But he loves us. Don’t hurt his feelings.”
“I’m drawing a line here,” said Sandy firmly. “It’s only been a few weeks. And drugging Jane and locking her away is not love.”
“But he’s so sweet,” insisted Gwendolyn. “He’s done so much for us. Maybe there’s been a misunderstanding. I really like him.”
“That’s called Stockholm Syndrome,” said Sandy.
“You’re insane,” I said to Zhian.
“See how the drug brings Silvi peace.” His eyes pleaded with me. “You can stay with me and be free of pain. Idesta will take care of you, and you can finally be happy, with me. You don’t have to die.”
“I don’t have to … what?”
“You don’t have to die. The drug will make you forget everything that hurts you.”
“Forget?” The implications of his words took a moment to parse. “Wait, how do you know I was going to … going to die?”
It is highly probable that Zhian’s next words were going to be about as welcome as a chilli-infused enema, but at that precise moment, a siren began blaring.
“What in the name of—” Zhian looked around wildly. “We need to get out of here.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me back into the hallway. My hat sailed off.
I ripped my hand out of his, leaning against the wall for safety. “I’m not going anywhere with you. What the hell is happening?”
“I don’t know,” said Zhian, terror in his eyes. “There must be a breach.”
“A breach?”
“Someone has gotten out, or someone has gotten in.” He held out his hand again. “Jane, please. It’s not safe here.”
“You have an odd idea of safety,” I growled back. “Why should I trust anything you say?”
“He promised,” sobbed Gwendolyn.
“Look,” Zhian said, standing too close. “If the siren goes, the first place anyone checks is the patient’s residence. You do not want to be found here.”
“Dammit, Zhian!” I stamped my foot, and my scarf slid to the ground. “I’m not listening to any more of your crap! Just tell me how to get back to the car. Then stay the hell away from me.”
“Jane—”
“Well, if it isn’t Asclepius’ biggest disappointment.”
Zhian shuddered and whipped his head in the direction of the deep voice that had resonated above the whining sirens. He stared mutely at the man standing meters away. I peeked over his shoulder and caught my breath. The man’s face shimmered as if it were made of bronze, and his gold eyes were slightly magnified by his rimless glasses. A black cap covered his hair, and he carried a large, rectangular object liberally sprinkled with buttons and barrels that was almost certainly not set to ‘stun’. Through the double doors he’d just exited, I could see similarly-armed characters pulling open doors and ushering out patients.
“Aidon,” choked Zhian. “You’re alive?”
I pressed against the wall behind Zhian, torn between Sandy’s desire to run, risking a shot from that gun, and Gwendolyn’s begging to stick with Zhian, which could mean spending the rest of my life in a drug-induced stupor.
Aidon smiled and sauntered closer, but his weapon remained poised for use, his finger resting lightly on the trigger.
“I wouldn’t call that a happy smile,” said Sandy.
“It’s more of a snarl, really,” said Gwendolyn.
“You are correct,” said Jasper. “His attitude is distinctly hostile.”
“Of course I’m alive, you idiot,” said Aidon, shifting his spectacles to his head. “I got out long ago, when I was still a child. You must have heard.”
“No, I knew nothing about it.” Zhian’s skin paled to the near-white Verdigris of old brass. “They told me you were dead. What are you doing here?”
“Releasing these poor unfortunates from a life of highly-medicated oblivion.”
Zhian scowled. “You’re part of TRAG.”
Aidon inclined his head, as if accepting a compliment.
“Your family’s been busy, Zhian,” he said. “But so have I.” He turned and called over his shoulder.
My mouth dropped open when Ric strolled th
rough the doors, a weapon like Aidon’s hanging at his side.
“You’re working for him?” growled Zhian. “For those traitors?”
Ric smiled. “Working together. I’ve been watching you for some time.”
“But you were in Ginniker before I moved to Latros,” said Zhian. “I looked you up on the knit.”
“I created an alias and records for Jane,” said Ric. “You think I couldn’t do the same for myself?”
“Why were you watching me?” Zhian snapped.
“We’ve been keeping track of the Cæcus family for years,” Ric explained. “Just because you appeared to break ties with them did not make us believe you had truly changed. Seems we were right.”
“Our mission is to stop your family’s mistreatment of the differently-energied,” said Aidon.
“Abnormals, you mean,” Zhian spat. “They have a better life in here than they ever could out there.”
“That’s debatable,” said Aidon.
Zhian’s face twisted in anger. “How did you know we’d be here?”
“As soon as Ric realised Jane was from Earth, he installed a long-distance transmitter in her translator,” Aidon answered. “We heard everything you said to her, including your idea to bring her here.”
“And you decided to release all the patients while you were at it?”
Aidon’s mouth tilted in a half-smile. “That plan has been in the works for a while now. We were only looking for an opportunity. When you mentioned coming here, we knew it was the perfect time to move. Five clementines, one slingshot8.”
“What makes you think she needs rescuing?” shouted Zhian. “If you were listening to us, you would know I care for her.”
“Right,” Aidon sneered. “And you’re just here for a little visit, not so you can turn her into one of the walking dead.”
“That’s not how it works,” said Zhian. “I only brought her here to help her. She was severely depressed and anxious, talking to herself, and then she decided to take her own life, so—”
“Hold the phone!” I shouted, grabbing Zhian by the shoulders and spinning him to face me. “What do you mean ‘she was depressed’? How could you possibly know that?”
Aidon smirked. “Looks like Zhian here was indulging in a little surveillance.”
“You were watching me?!” I shoved him away. “What kind of creep are you?!”
“Jane, it’s not like that,” Zhian insisted. “I was doing research, observing Earth humans to try to find another way to cure our people. Then I saw you and felt drawn to you, compelled to help. I knew that if I could just get you to Eorthe—”
“Wait, hang on.” I breathed in deep, sorting through my words. “Are you saying that you brought me aboard your ship ON PURPOSE? That you KNOW how to get me home?!”
“Yes, I brought you to my ship,” admitted Zhian while having the decency to look ashamed. “But no, I don’t know how to get you home.”
“We could get you home,” Aidon said, carelessly studying his fingernails.
“Really?” I said, shocked. “How?”
“If Zhian could find a way to get you off the planet, we can find a way to get you back on it.”
Sandy snorted. “Right, and he has nothing but pure motives.”
“But he said he wants to help,” said Gwendolyn. “Although Zhian also said he wants to help and I love him and …” She trailed off in confusion.
“I believe,” said Jasper, “given Aidon’s current actions, that the probability of him helping us get home is higher than that of Zhian doing so, should we choose to remain with him.”
“Too hard,” groaned Mitch.
I considered Aidon. “What’s in it for you?”
“First of all, I get to piss off Zhian. Which, taking into account the danger of smuggling you onto a craft and delivering you to a planet we’re not supposed to contact on pain of death, is hardly worth it. But no one deserves to be at the mercy of the Cæcus family, and I’ve made it my mission to free anyone in that execrable position. As to getting you home—my team will find a way.”
“Jane, you can’t trust him,” pleaded Zhian. “He’s—”
“Do you know what they do to people here, Jane?” interrupted Ric. “People who show no signs of being of any benefit to their idea of society? They disappear.”
“That’s not true,” hissed Zhian.
“Tell that to my sister,” shouted Ric. “They took her a year ago. All record of her ever being here vanished six months later.”
“You’ve misunderstood,” said Zhian. “They must have moved her to another location where she could get better treatment.”
“They moved her to a grave, Zhian.”
“You can’t know that for sure.”
“I saw it myself,” Ric spat.
“Jane.” Zhian turned back to me. “You’ll be safe here. They can make you feel good again, make all your bad feelings go away.”
“By turning me into a zombie?” I screamed.
“Or a corpse,” interjected Aidon.
“I’ve done nothing but help you,” pleaded Zhian. “I’ll take care of you, make sure you have everything you need. You can have a good life with me!”
“You abducted me and want to keep me sedated and imprisoned!”
“It’s for your own good!”
“You promised you’d get me home so I can help my family. You think leaving them to suffer is for my own good?”
“Jane! You’re making a mistake! I only want to make you happy!”
“No, you want to make me like you, living in comfort, burying yourself in TV shows while your people starve. You’re already a zombie.”
“I wasn’t so buried I didn’t see you and your pain. I can save you.”
“This is not a movie, you … liar!” I snapped. Sandy winced at my weak choice of insult, but I was upset and confused and not at my best verbally. “You’ve been watching too many fairy tales. They’re not real life! I trusted you, and the whole time you were planning to trap me on this planet forever, thinking you’re some kind of knight in shining armour. I think I’ll take my chances with the guys freeing people from this nuthouse.”
Zhian grabbed me by the shoulders. “I won’t let you!”
Ric knocked him upside the head with his weapon, and Zhian collapsed in a heap on the floor.
Gwendolyn and Mitch both blenched at the hurt inflicted on Zhian, but Sandy cheered.
I gritted my teeth. “I’m ready to get out of here. Lead the way, Athan.”
“Aidon.”
“Whatever. Just go.”
7 By which I mean the architect woke up screaming in a pond of sweat.
8 As I discovered later, this Eorthe saying refers to the method of catapulting a rock at a citrus tree so as to knock a number of fruit off the branches with one shot. Because lobbing stones at birds is cruel.
18
Dooklr
@1UPNEWS
Destructive Abnormal caught wandering through streets of Ruthia after local Regulator clinic goes up in smoke. Read the full story on 1UpNews.knit
#LiveNews
@hotgreenmamma
These crazy abnormals should all be locked away! Why are they allowed to walk free among normal people, putting us at risk?
#IGETANGRY #ProtectTheNormal #LockThemUp
@allcapsguy
THIS IS UNACEPTABLE OUR CHILDERN ARENT SAFE UNTIL EVREY ONE OF THEM IS CAUT
#LockThemUP #StopAbnormals
@TRAG
The term ‘Abnormal’ is offensive and the use of it is a hate crime. The differently-energied need care and training, not incarceration.
#RightsForAll #EndTheStigma
@AccaLarentia
My nephew is differently-energied and he’s the sweetest kid you ever met. He just needs our love and support. Why are people so cruel?
#EndTheStigma
@iluvyewnikruns
Why are people so worried about the Abnormals or energy-challenged or whatever when yewnikru
ns are being poached for their horns and teeth?
#savetheyewnikruns
@1UPNEWS
Tensions between Fredzenberg and Caruthia rise as peace treaty is rejected. Read the full story on 1UpNews.knit
#LiveNews
@siniblue
Seems like Caruthia is looking to repeat history
#DontMentiontheWar
19
The bit where I nearly fall off
“What’s going to happen to all the patients?” I asked, hobbling after Aidon, who moved swiftly around a corner and down a passageway. Ric had fallen back to seal off our exit route against pursuers. “Won’t the clinic people come after them? And what’s TRAG?”
“Could we possibly discuss it later?” he called over his shoulder. “Once we’re safely out of here?”
I nodded, but he wasn’t looking. We descended level after level, until we reached a place where Aidon’s helpers shepherded drowsy patients along the corridor, through a wall that appeared to have been blasted open with some kind of explosive, and into a tunnel. We crept through dank semi-darkness, walls dripping with moisture, our feet splashing through unseen puddles.
Emmy whined.
“Emmy’s afraid of the dark,” said Mitch.
Gwendolyn shrieked. “I think I saw a rat!” She trembled. “It’s so cold and horrid down here.”
“But pretty badass, you have to admit,” said Sandy gleefully.
The tunnel opened into a wide ravine shadowed by craggy slopes. Patients and rescuers were hurriedly crammed into a number of large vehicles with darkened windows and sped off into the night.
Claustrophobia squeezed my throat, and the warm tight air filled with body odours turned my stomach queasy. The drugged surrounded me, and neither Aidon nor Ric were in the same vehicle, so it was pointless asking where we were headed or when we would get there or if anyone could ask the driver to stop and let me throw up into the purple undergrowth.