The Fractured World 5

by David Aries

  “You leaving the planet was never the issue—it was the means in which you wished to do so which caused a headache.”

  “What are you talking about?” Faris asked.

  “It’s crucial this project remains a secret; outsiders cannot learn of this place. That’s why I am prepared to offer you freedom, as long as you agree to my terms.”

  “What terms?” I said.

  “I shall grant you freedom in exchange for your memories.”

  Again, I found myself dumbstruck by an answer too ridiculous to comprehend. “H-huh?”

  “If you agree to let me erase your memories of all that has happened here,” the voice explained, “I shall grant you passage from this planet.”

  “H-hold on,” I said. “What do you mean ‘erase our memories’?”

  “It sounds like he’s talking about a mind wipe,” Trez said. “It’s this crazy illegal procedure that can pluck out whatever memories it fancies and… poof.”

  “Only a tiny group of races can perform them without the proper technology,” Faris explained.

  “And it’s not like that tech’s commercially available or anything… although I doubt that worries these pricks.”

  “Your memories of this place, and all that has happened here, will be erased,” the voice said. “Instead, I will implant memories of a time hole to explain where you’ve been all this time.”

  “Now they’re implanting memories?” I said. “And what’s a time hole?”

  “It’s a type of wormhole that sends people forward in time,” Akko explained. “Sometimes, hours… but it can be days, weeks, years…”

  “Enough about the time hole! What about the implanting?!” Trez said. “I’ve never heard of any tech that can do that: even illegal stuff. Just who are you guys?”

  “That information is classified,” the voice said.

  I clicked my tongue. “Of course.”

  “There is no need for you to know what you will immediately forget.”

  “That’s presuming we accept.”

  “You should; I am offering exactly what you desire.”

  “Or so you claim,” I said. “You really think we’re gonna buy any of this? Even if we do surrender, I bet you’ll stab us in the back.”

  “I have no reason to do such a thing. This deal is as beneficial to you as it is to me.”

  “That’s true,” Faris said. “He gets this place back without a struggle while ridding himself of hostile opposition.”

  “And, as much as it sucks to say, I reckon the APK will buy that time hole story,” Trez said before her voice dropped to a grumbling whisper. “Fucking rozzers…”

  “The only downside for him would be losing some pawns, and I presume we’re already compromised.”

  “Correct,” the voice said. “I would have to wipe your minds to return to you the experiment, but doing so would be an unnecessary risk after you’ve shown an aptitude for disobedience. It would be safer to remove you from the board.”

  “Nothing I’m hearing explains why letting us go is better than killing us,” I pointed out.

  “If killing you was preferred, I would not be here offering a deal. Your death was all but guaranteed when you went against the experiment. If needed, I could simply attack The Core until not a soul remains.”

  I snarled while grinding my teeth.

  “However, I would prefer a quicker, blood-free handover. Your recent actions aside, you’ve served as fine contributors to the experiment—perhaps the finest. It would be a shame to destroy those I’ve had the pleasure of watching progress from the start.”

  “But it wasn’t such a shame when you fired a cannon at us, was it?!” I snapped.

  “Calm down,” Faris said.

  “How can I? It’s like he’s trying to take the piss out of us. Suddenly, we’re a beloved bunch of pets it would be a shame to kill? Hours after he tried to nuke us? He’s just saying whatever he thinks will get us out of here.”

  “Whether or not you believe me is meaningless,” the voice said. “Ultimately, you have two options: stay here and die, or accept my offer and live. It’s time to make your choice.”

  My blood sizzled. What I wanted to do was chin the prick. but I couldn’t… just like I couldn’t ignore his ultimatum. After all, if it was true, it didn’t matter if everything else was the biggest load of hogwash that had ever been uttered.

  Are those seriously our only two options?

  I didn’t want to believe it, but we were shipless and living in a base our enemies would do anything to get back. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say we were totally screwed.

  My boiling temperature plummeted. I squeezed my trembling fists shut with such force it felt like my nails were going to stab through my palms. “What about DD?” I said. “Is she allowed to come with us?”

  “Sweetie!” Akko said, jumping to my side. “What are you doing? Y-you’re talking like you’re thinking of agreeing.”

  I bit my bottom lip. “You have to admit, it’s a pretty good offer if it’s true.”

  Her green eyes widened. “What?!”

  “We’ve been looking for a way off this planet since forever. As far as I see it, he’s practically rolling out the red carpet.”

  “A wise observation, Child of Earth,” the voice said.

  “No it isn’t!” Akko squeaked as she shook me. “He’s going to wipe our memories. Our memories! Don’t you understand what that means, sweetie?!”

  My teeth squeezed harder, pinching into my skin. I knew all too well, but it was a truth I was trying to ignore.

  If I lost my memories, I’d forget about my mates.

  “Don’t you care about us?!” Akko said. “Do you want to forget us that badly?!”

  “Of course, I don’t!” I replied. “But it’s because I care about you I’m thinking of accepting. Look what position we’re in! Our sanctuary is gone, our ship is gone, and we’ve been forced into an underground prison the owner’s want back. This place has always been dangerous, but not like this. We’re no longer welcome on this planet. There’s no way we can survive here for the long haul.”

  “W-we’ll manage somehow,” Akko said, arms slowing.

  “Will we? My job is to protect you. Right now, accepting this offer seems the best way to do that.”

  “But what’ll happen to us?!”

  “What she said, my Brandon,” Casella said as she grabbed me from my other side. “We cannot possibly be together if we can’t even remember each other, yes?”

  I winced. “It’s better than letting you die…”

  “But it ain’t exactly all sunshine and lollipops, is it?” Trez said, marching in front of me. “You remember you put a bun in my oven, yeah?” She gave her stomach a pat. “Are you expecting me to raise this alone?”

  “Compared to raising it here?” I replied. “This is no place for a newborn, and that’s not even the least of our problems. You think we’ll be allowed to have a kid in peace? Just think of how many things might go wrong, to you or our baby. This place might have a lot of tech, but I don’t see any medical supplies.”

  “I am afraid we have nothing of the sort in this facility,” DD said.

  “See? Eret’s already warned us how dangerous half-breed births can be. If I don’t accept this deal, if I don’t get you out of here, I’m putting your life in danger.”

  “If you do, you’re cutting me out of yours!” Trez spat back.

  “I know that!” I said. “I know that… but it’s better than you not having a life at all. I’m not sure I can take losing another woman I love because I’m too scared to act…” I sighed and shook my head. “I’ll never understand what my sister saw in that bastard. I was just a kid, but I could tell he was bad news from the moment we met.”

  Then again, pretty much everyone could but her. How did somebody so wonderful get blinded by the biggest idiot around?

  “Every day, I wonder how I could have saved her. If I’d been braver, could I have made her see
sense? What about if I was stronger? Could I have driven him off?” I laughed at the memory of what I actually did: jack shit. “The night it all happened, I had a bad feeling… but I didn’t try and stop her. I was scared she’d get mad at me, so I kept my gob shut.” I grabbed my chest as my heart sped up, stabbing me with every pulse. “You all know what happened next: killed in a crash caused by her drugged-up idiot of a boyfriend. My sister, ripped away from me by an idiot—by an idiot I could have stopped if I’d just done… anything!”

  That was the thing about her death. Sure, it was a car crash, but it was no accident. At least, it wasn’t a freak occurrence. Anyone could have seen such a thing happening from a mile off. I sure did. It was completely preventable, yet I didn’t stop it.

  “Even though I knew not intervening was placing her in danger, I stood back and let it happen while telling myself everything would be okay,” I confessed. “Am I supposed to do that again? Am I supposed to turn this offer down and just hope things will work out for the best?” I shook my head. “I can’t. I love you guys too much to risk history repeating itself. As much as it pains me to think of a world where we’re apart, that’s nothing compared to a universe without you girls.”

  Ultimately, I wouldn’t end up feeling a difference, but those two scenarios were leagues apart. As long as they lived, they could still achieve happiness.

  That was something I had to protect, no matter what.

  For a moment, nobody made a sound—not even the troublemaker on the other end of the call.

  “Brandon,” Sylvetty said, her gentle voice cutting through the silence. “Are ya a bleeding eejit?!”

  I flinched. “Huh?”

  “Pouring yer heart out is good and all, and I dinnae wanna sound like I’m trivializing what you’ve been through, but where do ya get off talking like this is yer decision to make?”

  “What?” I replied. “That’s not—”

  “I agree,” Vay said as she folded her arms. “Since when do I need a protector? I can look after myself, thank you very much.”

  “Me too,” Faris said. “What gives you the right to decide my fate? Aren’t I supposed to be free?”

  “I-it’s not like that,” I said. “I’m just trying to protect you…”

  “We know that,” Casella said, “but you are speaking as if our lives are your responsibility, yes? As if we can not decide for ourselves… yes?”

  “Totally,” Trez agreed. “You’re chatting like we’re a bunch of ditzy dames who need their big strong hunk to look after them.” She scoffed. “Newsflash, buster: we’re fucking awesome. Sure, you’ve bailed us outta shit more times than I can count… but need I remind you how many times we’ve saved you?”

  Akko tugged my arm. “She’s right, sweetie. You’re not our protector; you’re our mate. It isn’t your job to keep us safe… it’s your job to be with us.”

  “And you’re gonna do a pretty lousy job of that if ya forget all about us!” Sylvetty added.

  I tried to respond, but all I managed to do was stutter out false start after false start.

  Casella squeezed my hand. “When I first gave you my gift, it was to help us survive, yes? It was not supposed to be so you would become some great hero who would protect us on your own; it was supposed to be so we could do it together.” She smiled. “I want us all to be safe, really and truly I do, but what I want more than anything is for us all to be together. Any way off this planet that means losing my memories, which means being apart, is not acceptable to me!”

  Vay laughed. “You tell him, little one! Did you forget how long I spent searching for a man capable of besting me in combat? Now you expect me to let you go? Never!”

  “And did you forget what else losing our memories will mean?” Faris said. “I came here a brainwashed slave terrified of Bogdan. Do you think I want to go back to that? Do you think guaranteed safety is worth the price of turning back into a tool?”

  “No herix will accept that deal,” Demi said. “Our memories are not for sale.”

  Her subordinates didn’t reply with words, but their piercing stares weren’t those of a group ready to back down.

  “And I’m sure we’re not the only ones who think this way, yes?” Casella said. “I don’t believe Keith and Millith would ever accept any deal that meant forgetting each other.”

  Joobee raised one of his furred mitts. “I can’t speak for everyone else, but I’d hate to forget about Demi… a-and the rest of you guys, too!” he said with an awkward titter.

  My mouth hung open as I struggled to reply. I scanned the room in search of a solitary ally, but there was nobody to be seen.

  The only person present interested in accepting the deal was me.

  Casella pulled my arm into her cleavage. “We understand that you want to protect us, my Brandon, but this is what we’ve decided. No matter how dangerous it may be, we want to stay.”

  “B-but,” I spluttered.

  Trez pointed up at me. “No buts! We’re big girls; our lives are ours to decide. Sure, you can influence them, maybe knock some sense into us when we’re acting dumb—”

  “Like refusing to leave when a cannon is coming,” Faris said.

  “—but, at the end of the day, we make our own choices: right or wrong.”

  “And we choose to stay and fight!” Vay said.

  “We choose to stay together,” Akko added, squeezing my arm.

  I tried to counter, I tried to speak some sense into them, but the words didn’t come.

  “Deep down, I’m sure you want the very same thing, yes?” Casella said. “You want to stay by our sides forever and ever.”

  “You know I do,” I confessed, “but I’m scared. What if this is the wrong move? What if I let you condemn yourselves to death?”

  “For the last time, ya ain’t letting us do anything,” Sylvetty said. “Yer not in charge of us. We can make up our own minds.”

  “What she said, sweetie,” Akko added. “We are not your responsibility. Your sister was the same; her decisions were her own. You bear no blame for what happened to her.”

  “But—”

  She pressed a finger to my lips. “You can think of a million different ways you might have been able to save her, but that doesn’t change that it wasn’t your fault. Your duty to her was as a brother, not a savior.”

  “And to us, it’s as a partner,” Trez said. “That means working together, not trying to lord over us.”

  I found it impossible to refute her words—their words. I was their mate, not their ruler. Hadn’t I encouraged Casella and Faris to break free of what was expected of them and follow their own desires? Now I was trying to trample on their wishes to force what I thought best upon them?

  That wasn’t right.

  “We know what we’re doing is dangerous,” Faris said. “We’re doing it anyway.”

  Casella squeezed my arm. “And we want you to do it with us.”

  “So what say you, stud?” Vay asked as she offered a hand. “Shall we descend into luncacy together?”

  Indecision paralyzed me. There was a voice in the back of my heading telling me not to take the risk. It warned me to remember my sister and do what I thought was right.

  What’s right…

  Acting like my mates were children too stupid to make their own decisions. Was that what was right?

  Of course not.

  They were amazing girls I had boundless love and respect for. The thought of forcing them to obey me, of treating them like Bogdan would, made my skin crawl.

  My mates aren’t stupid; they know what’s on the line.

  Was my sister the same? She had to know what her boyfriend was like, but still she’d chosen to be with him. Even if she hadn’t thought things would turn out the way they did, she still knew a life with him was more perilous with a life without… yet that was the choice she’d made.

  Why have I never thought about that before?

  It didn’t make me feel better, nor did it make up
for everything that had happened, but it helped me piece some things together I probably should have a long time ago.

  I sighed and said, “If that’s what you girls want, I won’t stop you. In fact…” I grabbed Vay’s hand. “Count me in.”

  Casella giggled and bounced on the spot. “Really and truly?! My Brandon!” She jumped onto her tippy toes and gave me a firm smooch on the jaw.

  Vay laughed. “Welcome to the team, stud!”

  “More like back to the team,” I said. And now I’d made that choice, I was never going to suggest leaving again.

  Faris glanced at the screen. “Are you still listening?”

  “That I am, Child of Atin,” the voice said. “I have heard everything.”

  “Then I’m sure you know our answer.”

  “I do. It is disappointing, but I cannot say I am completely surprised. Besides, it is not I who will suffer the consequences of your poor decision making.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Trez said. “Now hurry and fuck off.”

  “Gladly. If you change your minds, do not hesitate to contact me. That treacherous android should be able to patch you through.”

  “What part of ‘feck off’ didn’t ya understand?!” Sylvetty said.

  “Ending communication,” the voice said before the call ceased.

  Chapter 17

  For a spell after the call had ended, nobody said a word.

  “Was that really the right choice?” I asked after what felt like an eternity.

  “Of course, my Brandon,” Casella said. “Deep down you must know as such, yes?”

  Accepting would have meant forgetting everything about her: the sound of her voice, her beautiful face, how her heavenly scent tickled my nostrils, the way she always threw herself into hugs with the force of a linebacker, not to mention all the wonderful moments we’d spent together.

  Of course I didn’t want to lose all that. What sane guy would?

  I rubbed the back of my head. “Still, now we need to deal with the consequences.” I dragged my hand away and tried to look as dignified as possible. “DD, how soon until they launch an attack?”

  “It is hard to say, Master Brandon,” DD said. “They have the means to attack at any time.”