Anais Eternal

by Paige Graffunder

  "It's just a door," Kai said, their voice laced with disappointment. I laughed and twisted the knob, shouldering the door open.

  "That's the thing with doors, Kai," I said. "It's rarely ever the door that's remarkable, it's what's behind them." I put my back against the wall, letting the Himlani walk past me. Kai turned back to me, their hair framing their face, the tips of their golden ears poking through the curtain of their raven hair. Their smile was coy and full of humor.

  "Oh look, Twyla, more doors!" Kai exclaimed. Twyla shook their head, turning their green eyes up to the ceiling in a facial expression so clear they didn't need words. I laughed and stepped forward, pushing open the first door of three on the right.

  "As I said, Kai, it's what's behind them that counts." I stepped into the room and pressed against the wall, making space for the Himlani to follow. The room was narrow, but long, maybe only 12 feet wide, but there was at least 120 feet to the back wall. It was packed with neat rows of crates stacked in piles of three. Each had a word printed on them in an old Human language that I knew the Himlani could not read. I waited for Kai's smartass remark and was not disappointed.

  "Boxes!" They trailed a claw over the lid of one of the crates, drawing a line through the thick dust. "You're right, Ana, what wonders you have uncovered." I chuckled and stepped forward, flipping the latches and pushing the lid open, revealing the contents. Kai stepped forward to peer inside and I stood back grinning, letting them inspect it. After a moment they looked back at me.

  "What is this?" they asked haltingly.

  "Human explosives," I said nonchalantly.

  "Oh! Oh..." Kai turned their eyes back to the boxes with more interest. "Oh, I see how this works, oh this is very interesting..."

  "There is more," I said heading back out of the room.

  "More of this?" Kai said cheerfully.

  "I don't know, maybe, but definitely more that we can use," I said over my shoulder. Etachs followed close behind me. In the next room, there were similar crates, but they were all full of stacked brown boxes, each stamped with an inventory of the contents. It was shelf-stable food, lots of it, unexpired, even after all this time. In the following room were crates and crates of clothing and shoes. The rooms on the other side of the hallway were equally stocked with useful items.

  We spent the next two days surveying and inventorying the facility. It did indeed run underneath the Himlani ship, and thus a plan began to form. The Humans followed us below ground on the second day and began to help with the surveying and inventorying. They chose rooms and found bedding and things. There was working electricity down here and running water. We also found a lot of stored Human medical supplies. It was a gift, but we were cautious about its handling. We found a security system and coded it to the Himlani implants. Clyvre spent an entire night developing a wrist wrap system for Humans so they wouldn't have to get anything else implanted. We made security levels and assigned tasks, and we made sure that we did everything with respect and order. The time passed truly quickly but being so close to Tatiana without having her yet in my arms felt like murder. I just wanted to get it done already.

  As Etachs and I sat in Mess Hall A as night fell on the third night, sipping the tea I had found, they expressed a similar impatience. "I know we have to do this correctly or we will fail, but I am so anxious to see her again."

  "Yeah, me too," I said, blowing on the still-too-hot liquid in my plastic mug.

  "What if..."

  "Don't," I cut Etachs off.

  "What?"

  "She's alive."

  "How do you know for sure?" Etachs asked plaintively, their hands laid palms up and open on the table.

  "I can tell," I said shortly.

  "Through the bond?"

  "Yes."

  "Can you... speak to her?" I looked down into my cup and said nothing. "You can't, can you?"

  "No," I said after a long pause.

  "Then how do you know?"

  "I know because I can still feel her, but it's like she's…” I struggled to find the words. “Like she has crimped the cable before the signal gets to her."

  "I don't understand."

  I sighed and sent Etachs a series of pictures through our bond. A small Human child holding a garden hose, alive and bursting with water, then the same child folding the hose until it was kinked up, the nozzle dripping but otherwise empty. Etachs frowned.

  "I think that whatever they are doing to her, it has made her hide the bond from everyone, even herself so that they can't sense my magic or hers," I said at last.

  "How do you know she isn't dead if you can no longer feel her? That is what I don't understand."

  "Because the bond is still there. It's still connected to her, just not in the same way it was before."

  "I don't like it," Etachs muttered.

  "Neither do I," I said and sipped pensively at my tea. We sat in companionable silence for several minutes, our hot cups held in otherwise cold hands.

  "Are you going to be ready when the time comes tomorrow?" they asked into the silence.

  "Yes, I have to be. Are you?"

  "Yes." They turned their eyes up to me, "Ana..."

  "Yes, you can."

  "I haven't even asked you anything yet," they said grumpily. I smiled and tugged at the bond between us.

  "Yes, you did."

  "I hate that."

  "I know."

  "Are you sure it's OK? I don't want to confuse things between us anymore than they already are, but... tonight, this could be it, there could be no more nights after this if we are not successful."

  "I know, and I'm sure." I drained my cup and rose to my feet offering a hand out for Etachs' cup. They similarly drained theirs and handed it up to me. I took both to the sink, I didn’t speak as I washed and dried them. Etachs remained at the table and rose only when I was drying my hands with a towel. They walked over to me, taking my hand in theirs, and we went off to my room.

  That night we slept tangled in each other, for warmth, and comfort, and love. We had all the rage that we could stomach, and we were facing something that could not be won on rage alone. To get Tatiana back would take love as well, so we found it in each other, but just for that night. In gentle words and close embraces. No kissing and they lacked the parts for more, but when I woke the next morning to find the curtain of their hair spilling across their face, I smiled, brushing it behind their pointed ear, and coaxed them to wakefulness with soft touches and softer words. I know it was likely the last peace we would find before we went to war for my sister, so I allowed myself to savor it.

  Breaking In to Break Out

  Thrixx was inside a tank, like an animal on display, there were children standing outside looking in at them. Human children, Fae children, and Himlani children standing around gawking at them with wide eyes. The tank had been filled with fluid, but that didn't seem to be important. Thrixx could still breathe.

  The children just crowded around and stared at Thrixx, expressionless, devoid of any emotion at all. Thrixx began to feel uncomfortable under their scrutiny and moved to the glass, yelling at them to go away, to leave them alone. Their words were warbled and indistinguishable in the fluid, and even though they spoke, and they were breathing, no bubbles rose up to the surface before them at their words. Instead of leaving, the children crowded in closer, their faces pressed to the glass, boxing Thrixx in. Thrixx pushed off the glass and floated to the center of the tank, eyes darting around looking for any way to escape. But there was nothing, just the liquid, just the glass, and then it happened.

  One of the children, a Fae with chestnut hair and blue eyes, lifted her arm in the air, her elegant fingers closing into a fist. She stared directly into Thrixx's eyes and brought her fist down on the glass. The sound was intense and terrifying. The noise reverberated around the tank like cannon fire, pounding into Thrixx's head. They lifted their hands to cover their ears, instinctively curling up to protect themselves. The gesture was pointless, the liquid
seemed to amplify the sound, drilling it into their every pain receptor. Thrixx screamed, and the noise began to fade, but just before it was gone, another one sounded. Thrixx's eyes flew open. Another child had joined the Fae child, and both their fists colliding with the glass made the sound so painful they wished they would pass out, but they couldn't. Soon all the children were beating their fists rhythmically against the glass and all Thrixx could do was scream and writhe, scratching at their own face, trying anything to get away from the agonizing tolling noise.

  They dropped their hands from their ears and wrapped their claws around their neck. They pressed the wickedly sharp edges into their scales and opened their own throat. The water went black and cloudy, Thrixx opened their eyes and saw that all the children were laughing. Pounding their fists and laughing, and all their eyes had turned a pure, inky black.

  Thrixx rocketed out of sleep, their hands jumping to their throat, but it was dry, their pulse hammering beneath their scales, their blood still in their veins where it belonged, panicked but alive, breathing fast and insistent. A dream. It had been a dream…

  ◆◆◆

  I watched as Kai affixed the last prepared packet of C4 to the ceiling of the bunker. We had spent all day today creating walls and locks so that the parts of this place that were not under the ship could not be penetrated by Himlani if things went badly and they pushed us back. As they descended back down the ladder, I raised my eyebrows.

  "Is that the last of it?" I asked. They nodded, smiling at me. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, trying to get my heart to pick up a steady rhythm. "OK, let's get back to the command center and get everyone geared up." I spun on my heels and headed towards the reinforced door, swiping my wrist over the modified panel. The door slid open and I paced down the hallway, mind racing with everything that had to go right before we could get Tatiana.

  Due to Tarq's genius, we managed to hack some critical files from the ship already, using crudely constructed signal boosters affixed to the thick concrete ceilings of our underground refuge. As a result of these acts of piracy, I knew where my sister was being held and I had partial maps of the facility above us. I didn't know the full route, but I had most of it. Once inside, Etachs and I could use our portables to get the rest of the maps and figure it out. I strode into the command center to find the 10 or so liberated Humans and Fae that Tarq had been teaching to use the Himlani tech as well as Tarq, Cylvre, Ozwa, and Casys.

  "Where's Etachs?" I asked.

  "They will be here in a minute," Tarq said, not looking up as their claws tapped over the terminal. I leaned my back against the wall and put all my energy into keeping my breathing even as the seconds ticked by. I was ready for this to be over. I just wanted my sister back. I counted to 649 before Etachs entered the command center. They had one of the tactical bags we had found slung over their back and another in their hand. I looked up, meeting their eyes, and saw my anxiety mirrored on their face. They handed the bag to me.

  "Thanks," I said, kneeling as I pulled my quiver and bow over my shoulder. I affixed the quiver to the side of the bag where its contents would still be easy to access. Once done, I rose, pulling the pack on, my bow held loosely in my left hand. Etachs regarded me gravely.

  "Are you ready?" they asked.

  "Yes," I replied. We turned in unison to Tarq and Cylvre and their team of new Technicians. They all looked up at us, their expressions as grave as ours. We nodded to them and they nodded back.

  "Good luck," Tarq said, but they were the only one who spoke as we exited the room. We had chosen six ingress points based on the available blueprints of the ship and how they aligned to this facility. Each was a small storage room with a reinforced fire door that opened onto a larger room, also with a reinforced door. Beyond that door were three more levels of security before anyone would get even close to penetrating the facility in earnest. We had effectively cut off all ingress and egress to the east wing, which was directly under the ship. Beyond the second fire door lay 200 Humans and a spattering of Fae, as well as one Himlani to each group, except for the group that had Kai and Twyla. The Himlani were there to help and act as guides.

  Etachs and I made a circuit checking in with each blast point before making our way to our own. I dug around in my pocket and pulled out a small bag, plucking the drawstring loose. I shook out the two earpieces inside, passing one to Etachs. We secured them in our ears and did tests when Tarq answered that he could hear, and we confirmed we could hear each other. I took a deep, steadying breath. This was it, no going back now.

  "Kai?" I said quietly.

  "Yes?"

  "Blow it." I swear I heard Kai laugh and then there was a noise like nothing I have ever experienced before. The walls shook and I instantly felt the oppressive pressure the explosives had generated, even through the doors and reinforced walls. Seconds later we were pouring through the rooms, ladders were erected, and we were scurrying up into the ship. It was about a 25-foot climb, through dust and debris, before we emerged out of the hole in the floor we had created.

  I nocked an arrow, scoping for Himlani Enforcers. Etachs unzipped my backpack, pulling the armed and modified Sentinel out of my bag and tossing it in the air, it bobbed around uncertainly, but as the first of the Himlani came running around the corner, Rounders raised, it whirred and clicked and opened fire on them. The chaos that ensued was magnificent. I laid three to waste with arrows drawn faster than their eyes could track and drew my knives, the blades singing as I flew into the fray.

  Within a few seconds, I stood among their bodies. None had gotten off a single shot at me or Etachs. I bent and picked up a Rounder, manipulating the buttons on it, and pressing it to my wrist to code it to me. I snagged a second and walked back to Etachs, who had just given the all clear for our back up to ascend. They took the weapon and deftly keyed it to their own implants, shouldering the weapon as the battalion of Humans and Fae poured through the hole in the floor, climbing up the ladders faster than I thought they were capable of. Etachs pulled up their terminal and began directing them. Each was armed with Human firearms and blades. We had spent this time wisely, training them to use what we found, even if it was only a crash course.

  We poured through the hallways like water, slaughtering all that we passed, detachments splitting off to clear rooms, and then rejoining the massive sea of bodies. The Himlani that encountered us stood no chance. After what seemed like an eternity of running around this place, Etachs finally said, "This is it."

  We pushed into a room; Rounders raised. The Humans and Fae behind us knew what their mission was and did not need us. So far, everything had gone according to plan, which worried me. There hadn't been any shouts of alarm or anything through the earpieces that we wore. The ship, on the other hand, was a different story altogether. They definitely knew we were here, and they were responding. So far things had gone in our favor, but I was anxious about this stage of things, separating from our group and leaving them without us. But while the liberation of Human and Fae kind alike was our ultimate goal, my mission was Tatiana.

  Etachs shut the door behind us and walked into the control room, Rounder raised. They hissed a warning to the two Technicians who started to rise from their seats but stopped when they saw me, arrow nocked, string tight.

  "We will spare your lives, for now," Etachs said to them in Himlani. "If you let us take what we need and go." The two Technicians looked at each other, then one went for their Rounder and I spilled his blood across the terminal, nocking another arrow before the other could blink.

  "Make better decisions than your friend," I said through gritted teeth. The other lifted their hands in surrender and backed away from the terminals. I gestured with my bow for them to stand in the corner and they obliged. I didn't bother disarming them. It wouldn't make any difference. The Himlani were physically superior to the Humans, faster, stronger. To the Fae, however, physically they were outmatched in strength and reflex, their inverted legs however, afforded them a fast
er run speed and a higher jump than the average Fae. This one knew if they moved, I would spill their throat just like their companion.

  Etachs kicked the lifeless body of the first Technician out of the chair they had fallen across and sat down at the terminal, their fingers flying over the screen.

  "W-what are you looking for?" asked the Technician.

  "Mind your own tank-pounding business," hissed Etachs as they manipulated the terminal. After a few seconds, the portable chirped. "OK," said Etachs. "We got what we came for." They looked over their shoulder at me and gave me a tight-lipped smile. I nodded and turned to the Himlani technician.

  "When we leave, do not leave this room. Stay here until the alarms cease, and you might survive," I said. They said nothing, merely trembled, their orb-like eyes wide. Etachs stripped them of their Rounder and we slipped back out of the doorway, closing it behind us as Etachs, holding their terminal in one hand and a Rounder in the other, led the way forward. I followed, glancing behind us every so often to see if we were being pursued. After confirming that we weren't, I pushed a bubble of my magic around us, cloaking us from view.

  Etachs and I ran through hallway after hallway, ending every Himlani life we encountered until we were standing in front of a door. Behind the nondescript door was the half of my heart. Etachs and I looked at each other, each afraid to open the door, to see what they may have done to her. I knew I could heal her, but not here. Fae bodies, I had learned, took much more energy to heal, because their own magic inherently worked against mine. Himlani, who had no magic, were much easier. Neither of us moved to open the door for several seconds.