I shrug a shoulder, unconcerned at the moment about the events on Earth. I need to get out of here. “Okay. Is this going to get us back home?”
The pink Vojin looks away from me, placing her hands on her hips. Her use of body language helps me recall her name, Noranti. “There.” She points to the monitor in the middle. Waulers gang up on a man, kicking and stabbing him. “Death,” she informs me. Pointing to another, she says, “Destruction.” Fire is erupting along a forest. At another she gestures, saying, “Hate.” People are marching, fists thrusting in the air as they hold up posters and sticks, raiding yet another city that may soon be swarmed with Creations for Citizen Management. She continues to go over the video, showing our dying planet from the pollution poisoning the air to the withering wildlife and forests. “This species is a virus to the planet Earth. Such a beautiful place.” The screens change from the worst of scenes to open seas where large fish roam, to a rushing river deep in a forest where a deer drinks from the water, to snow falling on an empty, abandoned street untainted by human traffic.
The screens change again, back to the first scenes. Then Noranti says, “There is so much hate and death. So much destruction wreaks havoc on Earth already.” On a few other screens are landmines of garbage and debris piled high on land or flooding the water supply, attacks on cities, and on the last is the ongoing war between the countries.
I nod slowly, saying, “This is why Creations are here.”
She presses her hand to the switchboard again, and the screens blink as they change again. “Creations are the problem.”
A string of cuss words gathers on my tongue. I bite them back when she gestures toward the screens. Creations march on the protest as I suspected they would. They take out all parties involved; a simple way to resolve the violence is to eliminate the cause of hate. The Waulers, they’re also diminished. The mounds of trash are taken care of by a crew of Creations that has been working around the clock to minimize pollution and find preferred ways to dispose of trash overflow, composting it instead of burning it. Everything she reveals is exactly what Creations are instructed to do. There’s no problem here.
“Like I said, Creations eliminate the problem,” I say.
“The only benefit to Creations is that they follow instructions well, put aside their opinions, and run into the fire when ordered. However,” she points to the middle screen now, which shows lines of dead bodies with Creations standing around them, adding more. “Death.” On another monitor, Creations torch an entire town. “Destruction.” On a final screen, she shows Creations fighting to the death with another country. “Hate.” The screens disappear. Noranti takes a single step back from the switchboard and faces me. “Creations were not a resolution to this virus, but another strain. A development of a greater problem.”
I meet her black, big almond-shaped eyes feeling attacked on both counts, human and Creation. Derision causes my upper lip to curl up and my nose to crinkle. “Creations do as they’re told,” I say, shoving a pointed finger toward the ground. “We have a job to do. We were created for this reason, and we will uphold our duty to the America. Questioning this, refusing to comply puts our lives at risk. You know this. The Vojin insisted their implants accommodate the rules imposed on Creations by the government of the America.”
She blinks, a film-like eyelid falling down and slowly lifting, glossing the once dry-appearing eyes. “We are enemies of the Earth as you all are enemies of the Earth.”
Shaking my head, I say, “We manage the citizens of the America. We were created to do so. We fight the other countries to maintain the America’s top placement in the world’s hierarchy. And we show the universe our country is able to face all things without fear.”
“Creations were created to kill, to destroy–”
“We were created to protect, to enhance, and encourage!” I say through my teeth.
“They,” she says with emphasis, flashing a shade of red, “were created to despise anyone and anything that goes against their government.” She continues to gesture to the blank wall. “Creations are the destruction. You manage the citizens, maybe to maintain order, but you manage the citizens by making them afraid of you, by keeping their numbers down, keeping them in control, and eliminating their freedom.”
“The America is the freest country on the planet Earth!” I fire back.
“You are not free, Kylie.”
“I’m free,” I say, pointing at my chest.
“You may be free to speak and walk. You are not free to change, to experience without sneaking or hiding, to bask in the real enjoyment of life.”
I find myself shouting to defend myself and slightly rising up on my toes with every word I spit past my lips. “My life’s enjoyment is being better than everyone else, fighting for my country, and applying myself.”
Noranti turns away from me in a smooth motion, going back to the switchboard. She presses her hand to the center then climbs over the desk to the wall. She presses her finger to the second to last screen on the right... “This is your life’s enjoyment.”
My chest swells. I swallow hard and cross my arms to keep my hands from shaking. I’m two inches tall as I witness her reveal: Marc, carrying me dressed in my purple dress around the base. In this shot, I see a moment of that night I’ve wanted to keep private. On the screen, he stops beneath the moonlight, and in the middle of the road, he spins us around. We wear smiles the width of our shoulders, and our eyes are brighter than the moon. We shared our fictitious freedom and lived in it for a night, with each other, something we could never get from anyone else. They could release me as a Creation and tell me I’d never have to follow another order as long as I live, but I’d still feel captive without…him. The thought crashes around in my head, and I hate the stabbing sensation climbing up my spine.
That shouldn’t be the case anymore.
“This doesn’t matter!” I smash my palm down on the glass. The event continues to play and takes over every monitor. I slap my palm down again in a different area, but it doesn’t stop. Over and over I slap the glass, trying to get the screens to change. “Shut this off. I was not free! I was fooled! I can’t see this as freedom or enjoyment!”
She presses her elongated middle finger against the screen in the middle. “No?” she asks as the video playing changes. They caught us, here, talking through the bars. They noticed my slight tell when I melt for him. It boils my blood.
I slam my fist on the glass again, knowing full well I have no effect on it. I lean over, palms on the glass, shaking my head as my breaths grow heavy. My feelings burn my cheeks, and an ache wrenches through my chest. I breathe and say, “What is your point?”
“The Volones want the Creations terminated and Earth destroyed. They’ve taken out many planets before, and it was only a matter of time before they tried to take out Earth again.”
Narrowing my eyes, I cross my arms. “Again?” To my knowledge, Earth has only been attacked once. “The Volones were responsible for the first destruction…”
She nods. It’s impossible to read her facial expression because she lacks the necessary facial features. No eyelids, eyebrows, or skin to help express a wrinkle from a frown or the stretch of a smile. “They partially destroyed the Earth, and then saved it so the Earth’s leaders would trust them. This not only implied their value, but also their strength.”
“It was all a ploy for this?” I gesture around me and realize I’m not on Earth, and she can’t see the herds of Zombies and their destruction on our planet. A thought trickles into my mind of the time we visited Highrum and the conversation came up about eliminating Creations. “It was all for the day they could make requests, such as destroy Creations?”
She nods. “Originally, we were to select four, you and Lukahn and two other humans. You four would establish a race of humans in which our values of order and control were already within the bloodline.”
“By the blood of an inserted Creation.”
She shakes her he
ad and whispers almost too low for me to hear her, “By a rebellious Creation. Every offspring would have the DNA of a being that is of each of the parties. The human knows remorse and love, the Creation has the will to protect and heal, and the Vojin has the ability to latch and control. They would not only be able to care for each other, but care for the planet as well. Our hope is we can teach them, end the loss of life, end destruction, and eliminate hate.”
Since being a Creation, since being a forged host to Vojin, and living on earth, I’ve learned a lot. I’ve studied emotions and experiences; I’ve tested ideas and broken limits. And there’s one thing I’ve learned that I doubt will ever change. “Hate lies in people regardless. Blood has been shed on the land, there’s no erasing that, and the evil that rises with the revenge of those departed souls will continue to haunt the land and spread the evil.”
Her hands rise at her sides, palms up. “Understandable. This will take some practice. However, with strict observation and study of the mind, constant instruction, and induced behavior treatments, I doubt by the time we’re finished that evil will be a concern within the new generation.”
“Induced behavior treatments?” I lift my hand to my chin and take it between my fingers. “This is how you all created the Zombies?”
She makes an odd tittering sound, but her face can’t express amusement. “It is simple to create humans who want to hurt and destroy other humans. Although, establishing a human who wants to care for, love, give, and understand is a task that not even the Maker could help us achieve. We tried that with you and Luke, encouraging you to focus in on your dormant emotions, your human anatomy, to make you a better species, but it was a failure. Instead, it brought you here, raiding our command module.”
Wait, so this isn’t even their home base? What a freaking bust this entire plan was! I hang my head and press my thumb and middle finger to my temples, trying to suppress the escalating headache that’s traveling from the back of my head to the front. I shrug, replaying her statement in my head, how Luke and I were technically failed experiments. Looking back at her, I say, “No one is perfect. So what now? You’re going to help us out of here?”
“The destruction of Creations has already begun. Bases are crumbling as we speak, from your leader’s instruction to discontinue the Separation bases. Some Creations, however, are being reserved for the sake of protection, but it may not be for much longer. The Volones will continue their destruction, they’re careless about what can become of the humans because the more fear they can create, the easier it will be for the planet’s leaders to turn to them for help. Like the other planets they’ve taken over. Minimize population, set up homes, give Vojin free range to Earth’s resources, and the inhabitants live indebted to them.”
“Why me?” I ask. “Why are you telling me all this?”
“We need you, Kylie. You and Lukahn. Your mother and father were so close to putting an end to their mission, but were caught before they could.”
Easily piqued at the mention of my parents, I beg, “What can you tell me about them? I want to know everything. I demand to know the exact reason you all killed them.” It wasn’t a Volones who threatened me in that burrow or taunted me with the reveal of killing my mom and dad, it was a Vojin. A regular-sized blueish green Vojin.
Her hands grab my shoulders. The beds of her four fingers pressing against my flesh are firm and round like a coin. “We don’t have the time for that right now. Assist in stopping them. Pick up where they left off.”
Shoving her bright arms from me, I say, “I don’t know if you’ve noticed this or not, but you all currently have me locked in a Vojin prison where I have to pee on the floor in front of everyone. I can’t assist you in anything.”
“The brothers will help you when the sisters and Volones are not around.”
Pursing my lips, I murmur, “Sure they will.”
“Put aside your anger with them. Your tarnished freedom with your friend will reconstruct.” Noranti presses her hand against the glass on the switchboard again. The monitors turn on. “It was only partially destroyed, but the freedom that lives in your heart is long-lasting. You simply need to change your mind.”
Partially destroyed. Carden’s incredibly quirky smile flashes in my mind, and I remember him saying the same words.
“Things can be destroyed and reconstructed. It only takes a seed to grow a tree, even after you’ve burned down the entire forest.” She turns for the entry door. “We will return to your cell now.” She heads out of the room, and I follow behind her. Just before the door slides open, she adds, “They will execute their plan in two Earth days. Figure out your strategy quickly.”
Chapter Four
The glass floor is getting uncomfortable. I stand up from sitting in the corner and pace the floor. I’m tired, but I refuse to sleep. Anything can happen if I blink too long, and I don’t want to miss it. We’re still on day one, waiting on night, or at least for the hall to empty.
“Ky?” Sean whispers, gaze flicking back and forth from me to what’s in front of him, down the hall. He may be keeping an eye on Collins or his brother.
I press my thumb and index finger against my closed lids. Rubbing hard, I try to draw some water to my dry eyes and wake myself up. “Yeah?”
“Rest. You’ll need it. You’re good.”
Shaking my head, I say, “I prefer not.”
Grumbling, Sean leaves from standing on this side of the hall and goes to his brother. “Let’s go get some shut eye. Collins and Cecilia, you two. We’ve been up for hours. They’ll be fine.” I hear all four of their footsteps slap the glass floor before the door whishes open and closes behind them.
“Kylie?” Luke calls my name at the same time Jord says, “Pssst” to try and get my attention. “What’d that Vojin say?” Luke asks, four cells down. He’s farther away from me than I’d like him to be and closer to the door. I worry about him being snatched out of the hall, should I accidentally fall asleep.
I explain everything Noranti and I discussed, leaving out Marc. But I do mention, “She and Marc have told me they are on our sides. I just don’t know for sure.”
“You know him better than all of us, Kylie,” Seits starts. “Do you think he would turn on us? On you?”
“Or do you think they have something on him that would force his hand?” Jord adds.
I pinch my bottom lip and lift my gaze to the ceiling. “I…I don’t know.” Marc isn’t the type to be suckered into doing something he doesn’t want to do.
“You all need to accept your prince is a pauper and move on,” Cory says in his typical grumpy tone, turning onto his side as he lays on the floating bed.
I roll my eyes and lean against the glass wall of my cell opposite the bed. I refuse to sit on that thing. A shudder crawls up my spine every time I look at it. This whole place makes me uncomfortable. Being in the enemy’s camp, not knowing if anyone can be trusted. “We need to get out of here, guys. Any ideas?”
“Did you see anything on your walk with the pink one?” Jord asks.
“Nothing but hall after hall. No identifiers or anything that looked familiar. We’ll need to take out the Volones first, the big gray ones. They’re the cause of everything. And they plan on destroying our world in two days.” I think over my words and correct myself. “Their partial destruction, but that pink Vojin, Noranti, didn’t mention Earth being the problem.” Maybe their plan is to recycle the world. If they intend to only cause disruptions on Earth by eliminating humans and Creations, why wouldn’t they expect the Earth to be affected by their actions in some way? “But something can’t be partially destroyed, right?” I wonder out loud. Maybe they actually plan not only to wipe out the inhabitants from Earth, but to destroy the planet like they tried to do last time.
Cory walks to his bars and leans his shoulder against them as he looks down the hall. “Sure it can. You take what you can salvage, destroy everything else, and in using what you have, make something new or better than what y
ou had.”
Enlightened, I push for more intel by giving more detail. Cory seems and has always seemed to know a lot about the Vojin’s plan. “You terminate all the people on earth, save four—two guys and two girls—and use them to rebuild mankind.”
“Train them up the way you please,” Harold chimes in.
Jord says, “And you’ll have their minds to mold and manipulate for an eternity.”
Shaking my head, though he can’t see me, I say, “Not if everyone is turned into Zombies. They aren’t hurting the planet at all. They’re only killing or changing people. The world’s technically safe this way, and the dead bodies possibly help fertilize the land.”
“Essentially, you destroy the people without hurting the planet,” Cory says matter-of-factly. “But people make the world whole, without them that’s destruction in itself. The only thing standing between them getting what they want is Creations. Creations will continue to fight as long as they exist. Once they’re out of the way, the Vojin or Volones will hold the planet in their hands.”
“Enough with the small talk,” Harold nearly shouts. “We can try to figure out these things once we’re back home. Kylie, that thing must have told you something we can use to get out of here.”
I nod, though I know he can’t see me. “Noranti will help us get out of here as long as we help them by taking out those Volones. Period.”
“Help while you’re behind bars, huh?” Cory scoffs. He goes to the floating bed and lies back down, throwing his arms behind his head.
“Then that’s where Marc and Sean come in?” Luke asks.
I wrap my arms around my middle. The idea of asking Marc for something or relying on him turns my stomach. I snort and say, “Yep.”
Luke asks, “Are you working on coming to terms with that?”
“No.”
“Well, Ky. You need to suck that shit up. Woman up and do what you need to do so we can get out of here. We’re all ready to go home, and if the only thing standing between us and getting out from behind these bars is you making nice with Marc, you’ll do that.”
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