by A. J. Ross
He started to pay attention to his body. He figured he should have been exhausted. His heart was beating a bit more rapidly and his breathing was heavier than normal, but neither was extreme. If he had chosen to run another thirty miles, he probably could have.
He stopped by a local market. The only extreme need was for food. He took a couple pieces of dark ball berries. It was a fruit the size of a large apple. The berries had black skin and dark purple flesh, usually with two dark brown leaves at the top. The flesh was firm and sweet. This was one of the few things the humans didn’t bother to try and pick a name for. Like the Grii, when it came to fruit, they simply called them all “berries.”
“You’re not from here,” a woman said as Lincoln walked by her.
He smiled politely. “No ma’am. Colony B”
“Oh, I know who you are,” she said with her eyes wide. “Your Lincoln Wolfe. From Sword Nation.”
Lincoln nodded and extended his hand to her. She reached out and shook it. “LaVega Ortiz, nice to meet you.”
Lincoln smiled, “Nice to meet you too.”
“So, what brings you to A?” she asked.
He shook his head, “Nothing really. I went for a jog this morning and . . . ended up here.”
“Wow,” she replied. “That’s a long way. How far is colony B? About thirty miles, right?”
Lincoln just nodded. He still couldn’t believe it either.
“Have you heard about the ship that landed here from Kayora?”
“You know about that?” Lincoln was surprised to learn this information was widely known.
“Of course,” she replied. "I saw when it landed.”
Lincoln’s eyes widened. “Where did it land?”
“About a mile from here. But the base confiscated the ship and the passengers too. I’m not sure where they are now.”
“Did you speak to them?”
“Yeah,” she replied matter-of-factly. “Lots of people have.” Her eyes filled with sentiment, and she sighed, “It’s terrible what they’re doing to those people. They’re treating them like animals.”
Lincoln nodded. His eyes panned the far distance. He knew all too well from the reports Raymond had supplied the council with, not to mention the images his own imagination had so vividly painted on his mind, disturbing him from his sleep. A part of him ached whenever he thought of the situation. He was not a boy who was unaccustomed to feelings of hopelessness, be they real or imagined. He felt linked to each one of the slaves on Kayora.
He made a decision. He was going to talk to them.
Lincoln walked into the building, deliberately late for the councils meeting, mostly because he still didn’t have a handle on his feelings. He had only one objective, to speak with the refugees. He knew Raymond would give him a hard time but he didn’t care. There were some things he needed to know, and questions he needed answered.
When he walked into the room, Raymond was the only person there. He was gathering his things and placing them neatly in his opened briefcase. He glanced up as Lincoln walked into the room. “You’re late Mr. Wolfe.”
Lincoln didn’t address the comment, instead he got right into what he came to say. “I need access to the base. I want to speak to the refugees.”
Raymond scoffed. “You already have access to the base,” he said. “If you want to talk to them, talk to them.” Raymond shut his briefcase roughly, snatched it up by the handle and began to walk out of the room.
His moodiness was enough to incite Lincoln to mumble one last thought under his breath, “I will, since you guys wanna hide behind Grisian.”
Raymond stopped in his tracks. He reversed his steps and came back into the room, “Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” Lincoln dug in. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you, but I’m not about to just sit here, and let those filthy Kayorians murder and experiment on our people.”
Raymond’s eyes filled with amusement. Lincoln’s behavior, to him, was no more than a constant bellowing testimony to his youth. His ideals were juvenile and short sighted. Raymond had tried over and over again to appeal to him on logical grounds, but Lincoln was only capable of thinking with his heart. Raymond decided to speak his language. “You know what Wolfe, you’re right.” He placed his briefcase back on the table.
Lincoln looked over at him unsure of how to take his words. He knew this was not a concession on Raymond’s behalf. Subtle though they were, he could detect the tiny hints of sarcasm in his tone. This would be a standoff, and he resolved in his mind to rise up to whatever verbal attack Raymond was preparing to unleash on him.
“You’re right,” Raymond repeated. “You can’t let those filthy Kayorians hurt our people. You can’t do that, because what would that make you? You’d be just as bad as the Kayorians, right?”
Lincoln kept his eyes locked onto Raymond’s. He absorbed the mockery in his tone, bracing himself, unsure of where he was headed with his questions. He knew better than to respond to any of them. Whatever he said from this point on, Raymond would find a way to use against him.
“Or worse yet,” Raymond continued, “You’d be just as selfish and weak as me. Right Wolfe? The only problem is, you keep thinking like a hero, and not a man. If you want to be a hero Mr. Wolfe, then by all means, assemble an army. Launch an attack against the Prime Minister. Prove to Lord Grisian you can save your fellow man without endangering the lives of the inhabitants of Graiis. Defy him. Defy him with all your strength, honor, and courage. Show him the unending potential of the human spirit, and when it’s all finished, he will grant you the highest honors Graiis has to offer, right? Our good intentions always paint happy endings in our minds Wolfe, but reality rarely ever is so kind. I’m going to tell you what’s really going to happen.
Let’s say you do find a few idiots crazy enough to embark on this suicide mission with you. Let’s say you do overtake the Prime Minister. Let’s say you do set the humans free from slavery. Let’s say you do become the hero you see in your fantasies. Do you know what Grisian is actually going to do? Once you defy him, and murder his good friend the Prime Minister?”
Lincoln could feel the tension building in his shoulders. Hearing Mr. Arthur's description, he began to think about all the details he had missed in his imaginings. It was much more delicate in nature than he originally thought.
Despite that fact, the information Raymond was trying to bury him under was not enough to blur the lines between right and wrong. Lincoln stood up as straight as he possibly could, eclipsing Raymond with the three inches of height he had acquired over the last couple of years. His jaw clenched, and his green eyes were unyielding.
“I’ll tell you what he’s going to do,” Raymond continued. He leaned closer to Lincoln and said coldly, “He’s going to take her from you.”
Lincoln scoffed at the words before he realized who the ‘her’ was Raymond was referring to. His impertinence was instantly followed by a horrific realization. Raymond was right. Up until that moment he had completely failed to make a connection between his actions within the council and his possession of Braii.
“He’s going to take her from you,” Raymond repeated, this time in sing-song. “After everything you did to get her. He’s going to take her, and choose a new son-in-law. Choose a new set of hands to hold on to his precious daughter. Oh, but don’t worry Wolfe. You’ll still be a hero. You’ll be the most celebrated man on Graiis and Kayora. Enjoy your fame. Enjoy it while you live out the rest of your days watching the woman you love with another man. Watching the woman you love standing on her balcony being kissed and petted by another man. Watching the woman you love give birth to another man's three, beautiful, children.”
Lincoln’s confidence faltered, and his exaggerated adolescent display of bravado crumbled under Raymond’s words. He became human again. His shoulders had slumped slightly, and his eyes were filled with an even greater intensity than before. He could see it. Raymond’s words painted the most devastatingly dull picture o
f his future, made even worse by their threateningly close proximity to reality. In his mind, he saw Braii standing out on her balcony with another man’s arms wrapped around her waist. His heart was overrun by an incomparable sorrow, followed by a burning and possessive jealousy.
He felt a whirlwind of emotion, but fear was the strongest. Raymond’s words had hit their mark and sunk deeper by the second, tearing apart his fantasies and current aspirations. The only woman he had ever truly desired was Braii. He thought about their last encounter. He thought about her smile and the warmth he saw in her eyes. She was starting to see him. He had found a way to soften her, and she had begun to blossom for him. He had earned her hand and her love. His wedding was only days away, and after he would be in bed with the tangible manifestation of his lifelong dream.
He slumped down in a chair. He had lost in the most unceremonious way, falling victim, not to a stronger enemy, but to his own weakness. He felt pathetic and selfish. He was not going to risk losing Braii, no matter what was at stake. He hung his head. His heart was heavy in his chest, and each breath was painful.
Raymond sighed, regretting minimally the distress he had just caused Lincoln. He took no pleasure in watching him suffer. It hurt him to have to be the one to bring Lincoln face-to-face with his own limitations, considering just a few years ago, he had been the one to introduce him to a world of endless possibility. Raymond kept his eyes on Lincoln, but his tone softened, “We’ve received a communication from Rahilius. He wants the ship and its passengers back. We send it in four days.”
Lincoln’s eyes filled with tears, but he fought them back. He had already made a decision and resolved to comply with Grisian’s orders.
Raymond’s hand rested on his shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. “The suns’ will rise tomorrow Mr. Wolfe,” he said. “This I promise.”
Feeling the deepness of that statement, the tears he held captive began to escape. He felt them running down his cheeks. Quickly wiping the tears away, he cleared his throat and stood up, walking towards the door.
As he neared the exit Raymond called to him, “Mr. Wolfe.”
Lincoln stopped in his tracks. He turned his face ever-so-slightly in Raymond’s direction, just enough to show he was listening.
“About the ship’s return to Kayora, would you do the honors?”
Lincoln’s jaw tightened as he absorbed the final blow in his humiliating defeat. He drew a large breath. Swallowed whatever remaining pride fought to linger on his lips. Emptied his voice of all weakness and uncertainty, and responded to Raymond with nothing less than complete resolve. “Yes sir.”
The next morning, Lincoln felt better. Pri-Solii had appeared in the morning sky, just as she had always done. He still felt he was being torn in two by the decision he had been forced to make. In three days, he would send a ship with four desperate individuals who had managed to escape a terrible injustice, right back into the hands of it. In three days, he would become a crueler man than he could have ever imagined was possible. But, today was a different story.
Today was his announcement party for the engagement. He would be a guest in Grisian’s house and dine at his table. Today he would receive Grisian’s blessing in taking the hand of the one he had come to call “daughter,” and it would become known to the whole world Braii was going to be his wife. This would be his last night with her before the wedding in five days. He was overjoyed. Occasionally he would encounter brief periods of guilt over the fact he could feel such jubilation despite knowing about the suffering on Kayora, but it didn’t last long. He was in Love.
There was an urgent knock at the door. Again. Again. He sprang from his bed, grabbed a pair of pants he had left on the floor the night before, and slid into them. He snatched a shirt that was hanging from the half-opened drawer on his way out. Barely getting it over his head, he opened the front door. It was Penny.
“Hey,” she said as she raced into the house.
“Hey.” Lincoln struggled to finish putting on his shirt the rest of the way. “Do you want to come in?” he asked sarcastically.
She looked around the living room. “Where’s your mom?”
“At her shop,” he replied through a yawn. “Do you need to talk to her?”
“No. I actually came to talk to you. I was wondering if you had found a way to help the people on Kayora, because if not, I have a few ideas.”
Lincoln tensed up. He would have to break the news to Penny. He hadn’t even thought to prepare for the conversation beforehand, but now he wished he had. He sighed. “Listen Penny,” he said softly, “I’ve spoken to the council. Rahilius wants us to send back the ship and its passengers. Grisian thinks it will be a sign of good will if we humans return the ship. Raymond has it scheduled for departure in a few days. I’m sorry, but there’s nothing we can do.”
Penny’s eyes grew wide as Lincoln spoke. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing, and his overly calm demeanor only served to make matters worse. “What? Why? What did you say to them when you went?” she asked.
Lincoln shrugged his shoulders. He recalled the humbling discussion he had with Raymond the other day. His pride would not allow him to share the truth with Penny. “It doesn’t really matter,” he said. “They’ve already made a decision.”
“So, what are you going to do?” she asked. “You said you were going to stand up for what was right, even if the council wouldn’t.”
“I know,” Lincoln said emphatically. “That’s exactly what I’m going to do. The council is right. It’s best if we send the ship back to Kayora.”
“Are you kidding me?” Penny asked. Her face was white, and her eyes were full of disbelief. “Best for who? Not the people on Kayora. What are you going to do, just forget about them?”
“You don’t understand the situation,” he stated. “It’s more complicated than you think, believe me, it’s what’s best.”
Penny looked at Lincoln as if he were a stranger. She couldn’t begin to understand what had been the cause of his loss of conviction. He had completely changed sides in just a couple of days.
Lincoln heard his front door open. “Wolfe,” Logan walked into the house. Penny and Lincoln both turned their attention towards the front door as he entered. Lincoln was a little shocked to see Logan, seeing as though the two of them hadn’t spoken since the council’s last meeting.
“Raymond told me you were sending the ship back to Kayora. I thought you were against it.”
Penny turned her face sharply in Lincoln’s direction. He tried to ignore her stare, wishing Logan hadn’t come in at that moment inadvertently opening a whole new can of worms he was yet again unprepared for. He could tell by the look in Penny’s eyes she was expecting an explanation, and he had none.
He simply nodded. “Yeah, I talked to Raymond.”
“I’m gonna’ come with you,” he said. “Are you doing it before or after the wedding?”
This time Lincoln’s eyes grew wide. He couldn’t believe Logan had mentioned his wedding in front of Penny.
“Wedding?” Penny repeated. “Who’s wedding?”
Logan looked confused at first, but then he realized what he had done. He realized Penny was hearing this information for the first time. He had wrongly assumed she and Lincoln were at least close enough where he would have shared the news of his engagement with her. Logan looked at Lincoln, apologizing with his eyes. He felt the air quickly begin to thicken with tension between the two of them. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt you guys,” he said to Lincoln. “I’m going to get going. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
Logan left Lincoln and Penny alone. Penny was fuming. She continued to stare at Lincoln, waiting for an explanation for Logan’s words. She waited, not because she needed it, but because she wanted confirmation for what she had already put together in her mind. She knew out of the thousands of beautiful women on Graiis, there was only one whom Lincoln would sell his soul for. Several weeks ago she had heard the news that Grisian's translator was n
ow eligible for marriage. In all her years of friendship with Lincoln, he had been mindlessly obsessed with her. After the Sword Nation petition though, he stopped talking about her.
Penny had taken his years of silence as proof he had gotten over his schoolboy crush. She mistook his endless indulgences with different girls at school as proof he had become uninterested in the idea of being with just one woman. She had abandoned all hope of ever being with him, convinced he was no longer the dedicated, loyal person he was when they were children.
Hearing he would soon marry the translator changed everything. She now saw he actually had been loyal, just not to her. She felt the pain of jealousy as she imagined him taking his vows with the translator, instead of her. She knew she had no right to be jealous. She was in a relationship of her own, and Lincoln was free to do whatever he pleased. Still, the news of his engagement somehow made her feel like she had been rejected. She hated the intensity of his love for Braii. It was a monster that always managed to jump up between her and Lincoln whenever their romance would finally begin to bud. An ever present and destructive curse, was his love and obsession with a woman who had never done anything at all to deserve it.
Lincoln sighed, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. It’s been a lot going on these last few weeks.”
“Now it all makes sense,” she mumbled bitterly. “You’re not going to jeopardize your ‘happily ever after’ no matter how many people suffer.”
“It’s not like that,” he defended himself. “Protecting Graiis should be our main priority.”
Penny shook her head in disgust. She stood from his couch and headed towards the door. “Well,” she said, running her fingers through her hair, “if you don’t do something about it, I will.”
After she walked out the door, Lincoln rolled his eyes, letting out an irritated sigh. His day was already off to a bad start.