Rory, being in the information loop, was insisting that once Jack felt up to it, we start our victory tour. We needed to take advantage of the worldwide feelings of goodwill and triumph while they lasted. We’d start with Continent One, but then go on to Two, and so forth. Every major city. The journalists had been swamping me at the camps, and now here in the streets of Origin. Mostly I just made sure my make-up was applied properly, and I kept my comments bland and uninformative. Rory told me the Council would come up with a script we should stick to, and Lulu seemed to love the attention. She had taken to preening in front of the cameras, enjoying her image being projected on screens all across Origin, often stopping to point and laugh when we encountered a broadcast in which she was featured.
The funerals were still being held, and the city was more quiet than usual. It seemed a gray shawl of sadness hung over it. Even the buildings, once so tall and bustling with life, now seemed to hunch over in grief. Originals would stop to point at us, and sometimes engage us in conversation, but mostly they were silent and war weary. On Continent Four, the warring factions that had erupted prior to the Travelers returning were surrendering their weapons, and Councils all over the world were meeting with each other to sign treaties for world peace. Yes, world peace, that nirvana that had eluded all the people of my own generation, and so many that had come before us. It had taken potential annihilation to bring people to a place of compromise, but I wasn’t looking that particular gift horse in the mouth. Yet I doubted our pledges of peace would keep the Travelers away for long.
School had started up the day before yesterday for Lulu again, and now she had two friends. Caitlin had returned safely with both parents still alive, and soon Tyler would be attending Lulu’s school. My newfound fame had cut a swath through Origin society. The Super Moms now followed me around like I was their new leader, Kendra bowing and scraping the most. They had suggested I start teaching a running class, so they could learn some of my tricks. I had declined but maintained some semblance of politeness. I wasn’t soon forgetting their bigotry toward me and my family, and if I had a position of importance now, I was making sure my daughter got the respect she deserved.
I wasn’t yet back to my old job in the forest, but Nick and Marilyn had returned to the observation station as quickly as possible. They wanted to honor Elizabeth’s last wishes that our bonobos remain safe, and so they were. That part of the forest, in fact most of it, had remained untouched by the war, and that was a relief. It was too precious to me, to all of us, to be damaged irreparably. Marilyn told me over my communicator that Charlie asked for Elizabeth, and when they had told her what had become of Elizabeth, she had signed, “cry,” because bonobos were unable to shed actual tears. That had pierced my heart, and I held my sadness close to myself as if it were a balm to soothe my soul.
I was braiding Lulu’s hair in the same fashion as I did mine when we heard our front door being commanded open. Jack! Lulu flew from the living room to greet him. I gave a happy sigh, and tried not to analyze our good fortune too closely. We would be together again, and that in and of itself was a miracle.
He stood in the entranceway, looking the same but fundamentally changed on some level I couldn’t comprehend. His eyes were still a warm brown that shone with love for the daughter who now was trying to climb him like a tree. The perfect symmetry of his face, his rugged jaw, and his well-muscled form were all totally human. But the way he held himself was different, as if at any moment he would land on all fours and take off at a lightning speed toward the forest, never to be seen again. I cleared my head of this thought, and walked deliberately toward him. He set Lulu down, and opened up his arms for me to fall into. We stood there for several moments, just embracing one another. Lulu stood back, sensing the importance of this reunion. But after a time, she grew antsy, insisting we all prepare a meal together. Jack was quiet, but he seemed intent on returning to a normal schedule.
Over our meal, we discussed Rory’s plans for us, and how that would impact Lulu.
“I don’t think it will matter much for her to be out of school for a little while. I told Rory we would devote maybe a month to all these tours, and he seemed amenable. And I think, if you were up to it, on our tour we could stop off at our cove, introduce Lulu to it. What do you think?” I heard the hope in my voice, but Jack ignored it, instead focusing on Rory’s demands.
“He’s asked a lot of you, of us. You don’t owe him anything.” Jack had become impatient at the mention of the abrasive politician, and I didn’t want to anger him. His newly medicated status was still a bit of an enigma to me, despite Eva’s long and tortuous explanations of how it worked. Jack was shoveling the food into his mouth as if he hadn’t eaten in many days, and I was heartened to see that his appetite had been unaffected. Lulu was eating with great gusto as well, and for a moment I reveled in the health of myself and my family. A lot of people out there were in mourning, too many. The final death toll for the city of Origin was close to one hundred thousand. And as we traveled around the world, we’d probably find those numbers would be even higher in some cities.
“Listen kid, after we get back I agreed to let the Facility continue to study my physiology. If I can help in any way, to ensure nothing like this happens ever again … They’ve got several other half-morphs who’ve agreed to it as well. I think they can figure out a lot about the Travelers by studying us. It will be invasive, but safe. So I don’t want you to worry about it.”
I stopped chewing.
“You agreed to this? And Eva didn’t tell me?” My voice rose several octaves. I didn’t want anything else to do with experiments, or the Travelers. If we could just try to get back into a rhythm, into a schedule … Lulu was watching our exchange, twirling her fork around her plate. I cleared my throat, and composed myself.
“I suppose they want to do experiments on me as well? After all, it was my weird ability that saved the world. I’m pretty sure there are other clones with abilities just as strange as mine. In fact, I’m certain of it,” I said, thinking of Mack giving me that all-knowing wink after Eva had asked about the fire. I’d seen it, and it had been a massive inferno. But I’d looked away at all the other bodies they’d had to clear off the battlefield, including the alien bodies the Facility would be studying as well.
“They don’t want to study you, kid. Just the half-morphs. At least that was the deal. And I did make a deal, kid.” He set his glass down, and looked down at the table as if ashamed of what he would say next.
“In exchange for studying me, I made them promise to clone Alyssa back to life. They have the technology, obviously, because we’re sitting here. They haven’t used it yet to bring back anyone else from death because of all the ethical issues, and also because the Director forbade it. But, Mina, she gave her life to save mine, and yours too. She deserves this. She’ll be the only person they bring back.” He stopped, and looked up at me. I had turned to stone, and Lulu had watched my reaction closely. It felt like my wounded heart would never recover from this. He wanted her to be cloned back to life, again? Out of all the people who had died, who wouldn’t be returning, including Elizabeth?
“Jack, this is … this is too much. What is she to you that you’d agree to undergo invasive testing so that she could live again?” My mind was a swirl, and Jack just sat there looking determined.
“She’s an equal. To me, to you. To everyone. She didn’t get a fair shot. She’s getting cloned back to life and I’ll need to be there for her. I’m her only friend. Please tell me you’re too compassionate to be jealous over something like this. Anyway, I’ve agreed to it, and it’s already been set into motion. The process. The same process that got us here in the first place. It’s done.”
He stood up and left the table, taking his wine glass with him. Lulu said nothing. I couldn’t breathe.
I needed to get up, move, go for a run, think. I smiled at my daughter, the effort to keep my face serene almost as impossible as my foray into alien minds.
“Ok, Li
ttle Owl, I’m going to go for a run. Do you think you can hang here with Daddy?” I watched her expression closely to see if she’d picked up on this upsetting turn of events. Her eyes were solemn, but no more so than usual. I thought that she might be burnt out on emotion, too, and perhaps hadn’t noticed the tense exchange between her father and myself. I had to hope that all this recent trauma wouldn’t affect her childhood psyche. But now it was my turn to cast my mind inward yet again, and let my thoughts take off into a place of uncertainty. Alyssa. Jack. Me.
Out on the trails, I maneuvered my way around several Originals who wanted to chat me up, scrutinize me, ask questions. I had taken on my role as a new celebrity with aplomb, sure, but right now I needed to be utterly alone, with my pain and my fear and my hope that had been crumpled up like a used rag.
The sky was clear. The grass was green. In the parks where the trails wound seamlessly through the perimeter of the city, I could always let myself go and be free with the gift of this body. Air that smelled of jasmine wound its way into my lungs as I began to run. Alyssa. Jack. Me. It was a mantra my mind couldn’t stop repeating, and my feet found the rhythm of it. Was there anything I could do to stop this? Was there anything I could do to change Jack’s mind? Likely not. My gaze was focused on the trail in front of me, but I found myself ignoring knolls, roots, potential hazards for a klutz like me. It almost didn’t matter if I tripped and fell because would Jack even notice?
Stop it! You’re being childish. You keep your shit together for your daughter, and your friends, and your life. These were the thoughts I chided myself with, but all I really wanted to do was retreat into darkness, close my eyes, and ignore reality.
But maybe it wasn’t such a big deal? Maybe … we’d been given yet another chance. Attitude was everything, and maybe I needed to just accept that life would never be perfect. But it was life, and maybe that was as good as it would get …
My legs were pumping out a steady staccato, my blood thrumming through my veins, the sun hot and bold on my cloned skin. Maybe things would be ok.
I flicked my braid behind my back, felt a drop of sweat gather on my brow and slide down my face. No tears. No.
Maybe things would be okay.
Maybe.
Copyright © 2017 by Mina’s Little Owl, LLC
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any fashion, print, facsimile, or electronic, or by any method yet to be developed, without the express written permission of the publisher.
Prospecta Press
An imprint of Easton Studio Press
P.O. Box 3131
Westport, CT 06880
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www.prospectapress.com
Original cover art by Pat Presley
Cover and book design by Barbara Aronica-Buck
First Edition
Manufactured in the United States of America
Trade paperback ISBN: 978-1-63226-085-7
eBook ISBN: 978-1-63226-086-4
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