by E S Richards
As Asher took in a deep breath once he had finished speaking he looked at his sister and Cain. Zahyra was shaking her head slightly, while Cain just stared at him wide eyed. At least a minute passed as Zahyra began to mumble under her breath. Asher swallowed, hating that he was already causing her so much pain, but he knew it was what he had to do.
“Zahyra,” he started, reaching out and taking his sister’s hand.
“Asher you can’t go back there!” Zahyra grabbed both his hands and squeezed them tightly, looking up into his eyes.
“You don’t know that you’ll be safe there,” she pleaded with her little brother. “Ash you... you killed our father. Well, they don’t know it was actually you but they know one of us killed him. You can’t think they’ll just forgive that do you? I’m not blaming you for what you did, I’m proud of you – in that moment you were stronger than I could ever wish to be – but you can’t think they’ll just forget about it.”
“I know,” Asher squeezed Zahyra’s hands back in return. “But they need me. Or at least, if they don’t need me they’ll want me. You’ve seen how crazy they get about their experiments in those labs. I am their greatest experiment. There’s no chance they’ll pass up the opportunity to learn about me, even after how we left.”
“But we can’t trust them!”
“We don’t have a choice. I know this is hard but please, Zar, think about what you would do if you were in my position. You wouldn’t even consider staying with me if you thought you might harm me in some way, why is it any different the other way around? You went through so much to save me: travelling to the mutant camp when I was taken, breaking us out of the safe haven. Please, let me do something to save you.”
Zahyra stared at her little brother. She hated how much sense his words made to her, knowing full well if their positions were reversed she would get as far away from him as possible, even if only to protect him. But would she go back to the safe haven? Even knowing what Asher knew about himself, she couldn’t imagine ever willingly setting foot in that place again. There had to be another way.
“What if,” Zahyra picked her eyes up from the ground, but was swiftly cut off by her younger brother.
“It won’t work Zar. Whatever you’re thinking of it won’t work. I don’t understand this mutation, there’s only one group of people who do. I need to go back.”
“Cain can help you!” Zahyra refused to let her thoughts die down, she had to at least try and convince Asher to stay. “He controls his mutation all the time – well, almost all the time – he could help you to control yours as well. You’ve got to at least try it Ash, I can’t lose you to that place again.”
“And what about when I get near Cyrus and he hears everything I’m thinking? Everything you’re thinking as well? I need to get out of this place before he finds out, otherwise all three of us will be out on our own again.”
“Do you really think I care about this place?” Zahyra was almost shouting until she felt Cain’s firm hand on her shoulder and looked into his cautious eyes. “Ash,” she spoke slightly quieter, “we can leave this place. I’d rather us be homeless and together than live here without you.”
“But that’s not what I want!” Now it was Asher’s turn to raise his voice and he turned his attention to Cain instead. “Cain, please tell me you understand? You’d do anything for Zahyra wouldn’t you?”
Cain nodded.
“Even if it meant never seeing her again?”
He nodded again, his mouth setting into a firm line.
“Then you know why I’ve got to do this. I’m not saying it’ll be forever, or that I won’t see you again. I’m valuable to the safe haven, I’ll strike a deal of some sort. They can learn from me, I can learn about myself and then they can let me go.”
“You can’t trust them Asher,” Zahyra’s voice was bleak now, like she had almost given up hope. “You don’t know what they’re truly capable of.”
“Zar,” Asher turned back to his older sister. “I love you. But you have to let me do this. Please.”
Asher watched the faces of Zahyra and Cain as they let themselves fully process what he was saying. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy convincing Zahyra to let him go, but he had already decided he was going back to the safe haven and he wasn’t going to let her get his way, not this time.
Asher ran through his reasoning in his head while he waited for someone to speak again. Going back to the safe have scared him a lot. Zahyra was right in saying that they couldn’t trust anyone in that place and that they would be cautious to reaccept Asher after what happened when they left.
But Asher also knew that no one who was still alive in the safe haven truly knew what happened. If he had to, he could say he was taken against his will. Zahyra and Cain would never return to the safe haven, so he didn’t have to worry about protecting their reputation. He didn’t like that he would have to lie about them, but he knew it would be necessary for him to be allowed back inside.
He was also worried about what they would do to him once he was inside. Zahyra had told him briefly about the tests she had undergone in her T128 trial, but Asher hoped they would be more lenient with him. Especially as he was willing to contribute to their research.
Figuring out his mutation in more detail was very important to him, but not as important as keeping his sister safe. Asher knew she wouldn’t see it the same way as him but if he let himself hurt her in any way, other than by leaving her, he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself. Ever.
Finding out his true capabilities also excited him a little bit. If he could learn to control his mutation he would be able to accomplish incredible things. He had never wanted to be a highly ranked mutant, but now that he didn’t have a choice about it Asher realised he needed to accept it and try and make the best out of his situation.
His only worry about leaving Zahyra and Cain in the warped settlement was Cyrus finding out the truth. With Cain it was okay, Cyrus had already admitted it was hard to hear what he was thinking and Asher had confirmed that himself. But Zahyra was more of an open book and if Cyrus wanted to, Asher was sure he could find out anything he wanted from her. She was clever though; he knew that, he just didn’t want his departure to be in vain.
“How would you get there?”
Cain’s question caught Asher slightly by surprise while Zahyra shook her head, disbelieving that Cain was encouraging her brother.
“Well, I was sort of hoping you’d take me,” Asher replied to Cain. “At least most of the way. I know you wouldn’t be able to get in sight of the facility.”
“Asher, please...” there was desperation in Zahyra’s voice. “You don’t need to do this.”
Asher didn’t know what to say to his sister. He couldn’t explain himself any more than he already had done and also knew any further words would fall on deaf ears. Instead he shuffled forward and wrapped his arms around his sister, holding her tightly and closing his eyes. He didn’t know how long it would be until he saw her again and ultimately, that was the hardest part of him leaving.
“I could take you,” Cain spoke while Asher was still hugging his sister. Zahyra pulled away from him, giving Cain a glare.
“Don’t encourage him.”
Cain laughed. “It kind of sounds like his mind is already made up. At least if I go part of the way with him then I can make sure he gets there safely.”
“Then I’ll come too.”
“You can’t Zahyra,” Cain looked softly into her eyes. “Someone needs to stay here and feed the settlement a cover story. If all three of us leave they’ll think something’s up.”
“But I don’t want to lose both of you.” There was a deep sadness in Zahyra’s voice as she spoke and it was then Cain’s turn to wrap his arms around her in a hug.
“You’re not going to lose either of us.” Cain spoke softly. “It won’t take us more than a day to get there if we move quickly, and then I’ll come straight back here.”
“And Asher?”
“I’ll be fine Zar. This is for the best and you know it.”
Zahyra swallowed. Asher was right but she wasn’t willing to admit it. Losing him to the mutant camp had been the worst moment of her life. She hadn’t told anyone, but she would rather have stayed in the safe haven, putting up with T128 for the rest of her life if she had known Asher was safe somewhere. In a moment of clarity, Zahyra realised that was exactly what Asher was doing now and for the first time that afternoon she managed to smile. She saw him suddenly as the boy he had grown up to be, not just as her little brother.
“Okay,” she mumbled quietly, barely catching Asher’s attention. “I don’t like it, and I’ll worry about you every second of every day until I see you again. But I do understand why you’re doing this.”
“Thank you.”
Asher threw his arms around his sister again, Cain’s body then falling on top of his. The three of them held each other in silence while the wind rustled the leaves in the trees around them. Asher relished the moment, knowing he was setting himself up for hardship. But whatever awaited him at the safe haven, he knew it was worth it if Zahyra and Cain were safe.
“When do you want to go?” Cain asked, releasing his hold over Asher and Zahyra eventually and letting them all lean back again.
“Soon,” Asher replied. “The quicker I get out of here the less chance Cyrus has of finding out. You’ll need to be careful around him Zar,” he continued, turning to his sister. “Try and avoid him if possible or at least think of something else when he’s nearby. If he finds out I don’t know what will happen.”
Zahyra nodded. “How soon?”
“Well,” Asher paused for a moment, “how about tonight?”
Chapter 9 – Asher
Watching the desert fly past his eyes Asher contemplated for the millionth time whether he was doing the right thing. When he’d said goodbye to Zahyra a few hours ago he had been so close to abandoning his quest to find out about his mutation and just staying by her side. If it hadn’t been for his worry of what would happen to her if he borrowed another dangerous mutation and lost control of himself he was certain he would have never left. But he knew he was dangerous now and he knew he had to at least try to learn more about himself.
Cain sat beside Asher, his hands firmly gripping the steering wheel of the vehicle they had found. The two of them hadn’t spoken much, Asher knowing that Cain was also dubious about his decision. He respected however that Cain hadn’t tried to argue with him, he had only offered his support.
After leaving the warped settlement just after dinner – a strained event where all three of them had struggled to keep their minds occupied in order to stop Cyrus listening into their thoughts – Cain and Asher had travelled on foot back towards the big city. They hadn’t entered it though, as Asher had suspected, Cain instead leading him on a slight detour to where they had found the vehicle.
Asher wondered why they hadn’t used it on their journey to the warped settlement a few days before but he didn’t ask Cain the question out right. He had quickly realised that the man had many secrets, but everything he now did was centred around the protection of his sister; a feeling Asher shared with him.
Asher was both thankful and disappointed by them being able to drive to the safe haven. Naturally it made their journey easier and would allow Cain to return to Zahyra much quicker. On the other hand it meant that he would have to arrive at the safe haven much sooner than he had anticipated and despite his assurance that it was the right thing to do, he was still nervous about the reception he would receive.
Asher believed Zahyra was right in suspecting the safe haven would be more cautious with admitting him safe entry this time around. He was merely banking on them being so eager to learn about his mutation and putting their pursuit of knowledge above what had already transpired.
But Asher knew they wouldn’t forget the countless lives that had been taken on the day of their escape, least of all Emerson, who Asher had actually killed himself. He knew he would have to lie and could only hope the residents of the facility would believe his tale.
As dawn began to break over the horizon Asher knew his time with Cain was almost up. They had travelled through most of the night, only stopping very briefly to rest for an hour when they first found the vehicle. Cain had already told Asher it would be too dangerous for him to get close to the safe haven, especially once it got light. At least with the aid of a vehicle it meant Asher had a much shorter distance to travel on his own and he wouldn’t have to navigate in the dark.
“I’m only going to say this once,” Asher looked up as Cain started talking, although not once taking his eyes off the beaten track on which he drove to look back at the young boy.
“Are you sure you want to do this Asher? I can turn this truck around right now and we can go straight back to the settlement, or we can go somewhere else, start afresh. I’m not going to try and talk you out of it if your mind is truly made up, I’m just saying that if you have any doubts, if you’re not completely sure about what you’re about to do then this is the time to say it. Once you’re inside the facility none of us can even guess at when you’ll be able to get out again, you know that don’t you? It could be a lot longer than you are currently thinking. If you’re not sure Asher, tell me now and we can turn around before it’s too late.”
Asher took in a deep breath, letting Cain’s words penetrate his thoughts properly. He knew it could be months before he saw Cain and Zahyra again, maybe even years. He also knew there was a possibility he would never see them again, that the safe haven wouldn’t allow him to leave, or worse. But he needed to protect his sister and he needed to discover more about himself. Sadly, there was only one way to do that.
“I’m sure.”
“Then this is where we say goodbye.”
A sharp exhale of breath escaped Asher as Cain brought their vehicle to a halt. He hadn’t realised it would actually be so soon that he would be on his own, but as the sun slowly rose over the mountains ahead of them – the mountains where Asher knew the safe haven was hidden – he accepted that Cain was right. It was time to say goodbye.
Their transaction was short but sincere. Cain wrapped his strong arms around Asher and held him for a moment, before tousling his hair and offering him a feeble smile. Asher made Cain promise to look after Zahyra and tell her that he was sorry again, for what he was doing. Cain reassured Asher a great deal and as he began walking towards the mountains on his own he knew his sister was in safe hands. With Cain around, no one would ever get the chance to hurt her again.
The sound of the truck’s engine starting up again and the large vehicle turning around and driving away filled Asher’s ears. He didn’t dare to turn around and watch Cain leave, frightened of the tears that were threatening to form in his eyes. He thought back to when he had been taken by the advanced mutants and knew this was another time where he had to be strong, be brave. So much had happened to him since then that Asher realised he found it easier to feel confident about what he was about to do. Maybe all the days of faking strength had given him some for real as well.
As the mountain became much larger Asher began searching for signs of an entrance. He realised that although he had used two during his time there, neither his entrance nor exit had allowed him much time for taking in his surroundings. Deciding that trying to find the way the three of them had arrived at the safe haven the first time, Asher stuck close to the mountain face and continued to walk towards the west.
He needn’t have worried however, because he had taken no more than a few steps in his newly chosen direction when a voice called out from behind a rock nearby, followed shortly by two men in grey uniforms with matching red armbands quickly coming into view. This is it, Asher thought, there’s no going back now.
“You there!” One of the men cried over as they began marching towards him. “Stop where you are!”
“What are you doing here?” The second man demanded as they drew to a halt in
front of Asher, blocking his path towards what he assumed must be another entrance.
“I live here,” Asher spoke confidently; ready to reproduce his twisted and modified version of the truth. “Or at least I did until about a week ago. I worked with my father, although he was shot...” Asher feigned remorse and sadness as he spoke. “We worked with Professor Welbeck,” he remembered the name Zahyra had told him to repeat. “Can you take me to her please?”
The two safe haven soldiers looked at each other warily for a moment, neither of them knowing how to proceed. Using the professor’s name would confirm to them that he had been inside the facility, everyone within the safe haven knowing her name.
“Where have you been for the last week?” One of the soldiers spoke up, still unsure about what to do with Asher.
“I was kidnapped,” he replied bluntly. “You must have seen and heard about what happened. A mutant broke in and took me, but I didn’t want to go. This is my home. That’s why I escaped and came back here. Can I go back inside now please? I’m quite tired.”
The soldier who had asked the question shrugged, looking at his companion who mirrored the gesture.
“Uh, yeah. Follow us kid, we’ll have to take you to a holding room. But I’ll call the professor down to speak to you.”
“Thanks,” Asher replied, knowing his age and neediness were doing him some favours. Had it been Zahyra trying to return to the safe haven he was unsure they would be so lenient. But then, he still had no idea how Professor Welbeck would react. He had only met the woman once and she hadn’t been the most friendly of people.