Marked Chaos

by Niki Livingston

  Regardless, no harm, no foul. The device that the girl with the black, curly hair had taken was replaceable. Dad was not worried, just intrigued by her continued exploration of our new home, and her unwillingness to communicate with us. It would be interesting to see what she did with the monitor, since it was possible to track her whereabouts and hear her conversations. If she figured out how to open it, I could even watch them.

  Creepy, I know. I chuckled to myself at the thought. But maybe then I would understand why I was physically sparked by her presence.

  “Alex, are they gone?” Dad asked from a few feet back in the brush.

  My neck muscles strained as I glanced at him over my shoulder. “Yes. I really hope I can meet them in person someday.” I was stressed about our new home, and the irritating itch spreading down my torso was not helping. It was days like these I missed my old friends and that ridiculous diner with all its greasy food.

  “Give them time. Those two have an adventurous flare.” His hand curled over my shoulder. “It would not surprise me if they return in the next few days. Maybe they will stay and actually ask questions.”

  “Or maybe I will go meet them and make it less intimidating.” I patted his chest and forced a smile to meet his. “You can be a bit scary.”

  He roared with laughter, his typical response to anything he found ridiculous. “Me? I’m a sweet teddy bear.”

  I choked back a laugh and he nudged me in the side with his elbow. “You are my sweet teddy bear.” I leaned against his chest and wrapped my arm around his waist. “Let’s go home.”

  “Good call.”

  His hand rested on my upper back as I maneuvered around his large stature. His gray, taut skin was a far cry from normal for me, but I was getting used to it. Even though I had the bluish-silver markings of his anaman skin swirling like glowing tattoos down my body, the majority of my skin was still the pale-white that came from my human mother.

  My life had been turned upside down when my Aunt Tallisa forced me to join her in the future—the time period of my birth. Thousands of years from everything and everyone I knew, I finally met my parents and discovered the dire circumstances they were in, all because they chose to have me in a world that did not welcome cross-breeding—well, and the tiny fact that my mom had been married to another powerful man at the time she and my father had their affair.

  The plan was to make me an example of what happened to anyone who chose to disobey the laws of humans. My aunt was going to see to the torture herself, having been promised the freedom to go anywhere she pleased after my execution.

  I was grateful Uncle Henry showed up when he had. If not, I would not have made it to the year 4034 and in an entirely different dimension from the one where most of the civilization wanted me dead. Our new home was strange, and it had been surreal to build in the same area where I had grown up, bounced from one foster home to the next, and worked in that shabby, run-down diner. With the ecosystem finally balancing out about two hundred years ago, my old town seemed more like humid Florida instead of Rapid City, South Dakota.

  “What’s on your mind?” Dad asked, pulling me in close when he wrapped his arm over my shoulders.

  The smell of salt from his sweat fluttered under my nose. “Just remembering how we got here.” I glanced at the roof entrance to the hotel I had driven by every single day back in 2025. It was the one building standing that was not completely covered by over a thousand years of growth and the damage from the meteors that had nearly annihilated life in this dimension. “It’s eerie to see this place at times.”

  “Do you miss it?”

  I looked up at him as we stepped through the outer doorway that led into our cloaked ship. That girl had discovered our storage room where the monitoring device had been left, only because Dad continued to forget to close it. Lecturing him about leaving the door open had completely flown over his head until today.

  “I miss the greasy hamburgers and fries.” I grinned as I rested my palm on the screen for the door that led to the main cabin. “They are just not the same on your big ship.” The blue light scanned down the screen and the door slid open, revealing our temporary home on the other side.

  Dad’s forehead creased slightly.

  “But they are starting to grow on me. Don’t worry, I am happy I’m here.”

  His hands clenched into fists, and he shook his head. “I know you are.” His gaze drifted over the room again. “I just thought Mom and Henry would be home by now.”

  The room was quiet and exactly how we had left it earlier that morning. Mom was with the others down in the valley, overseeing the construction of our new town. It was not like her to be late.

  “Maybe they needed more time to finish.” I swept my left thumb down my right wrist, activating my communication device. From the chip in my wrist, a hologram screen penetrated the fabric that covered my forearm. I pushed channel two of our com. “Adina, what’s your status?”

  It was quiet. My agitated gaze met Dad’s worried expression.

  He pressed his finger on his com. “Adina? Henry? Do you need assistance?”

  Someone whispered in reply, but neither of us could understand.

  “Come again,” I said, hurrying to the other side of the ship where the surveillance footage that monitored the valley was set up.

  “Alex,” Henry whispered frantically. “We’ve been attacked and are hiding in the basement of your new home. We need Jax to—”

  The sudden silence was deafening, and terror washed over me like icy water. I swallowed hard, pushing down a sob that was threatening to show how weak I felt inside. A flood of electricity prickled through my body, intensifying the tingling from earlier.

  Dad scanned the security system monitors. Our drones were positioned in various spots around the valley, but two of them were not working. The other eight showed several hostages lined up in the center of our town, surrounded by over a dozen or more humans. They had guns.

  “Who still carries guns? I didn’t realize there was any place around these parts to produce those.” My trembling fingers reached out for Dad’s arm.

  Dad patted my hand, then reached for the controller for the drone nearest to the group. “The anaman from this dimension have plenty on their own ships. Those are not the weapons of your time.” One of the drones rose from its position, and Dad flew it closer to the crowd. “Who knows what they have continued manufacturing since the meteors destroyed so much on the ground?”

  I leaned forward against the cool metal table, squinting at the group holding my people at gunpoint. “I’m going in.” My hands wrapped tightly around the edges of the table.

  “Like hell you are,” Dad snapped at me, his eyes shooting toward me as they narrowed, revealing the fine lines around them. “Don’t start being a hothead just yet.” His gaze returned to the screens as he maneuvered the drone onto the roof of one of the unfinished buildings, right behind four of the attackers.

  Dad was the bravest man, anaman and human alike, I knew. Even though I had these heightened senses, I was still a ridiculous klutz who caused more problems. I had to rely on him and Mom, and everyone knew it.

  A lanky anaman male stepped out from the shadows. He was not one of ours. I glanced at Dad, watching as his jaw clenched. I was learning what his expressions meant, and this one was pure disgust and fury. It was the same look every time I brought up Tallisa’s name. I peeled my eyes off him, just as the anaman man spoke.

  “Do you recognize him?” I whispered, afraid of his answer.

  He glanced at me, but just stared as if he could not find the words.

  “We are not here to hurt anyone,” the anaman announced, the drone picking up his voice clearly.

  Dad’s attention snapped back to the screen.

  “But we will if we are not given the cloaking device you have been using on your ship.”

  Andy’s hand shot up as if he were in school. I cursed under my breath, waiting for the chump to give away our hiding spot.


  “You don’t need to raise your hand, keefie,” one of the human women hissed at Andy, then poked the end of her firearm into his ribs. “Get up!”

  Andy stumbled to his feet, kicking up dirt around him. The woman ignored his inability to walk and pushed him toward the anaman. His gaze drifted upward and rested on the drone. He raised his brows slightly, and I noticed his thumb pointed up as he pressed it against his hip.

  I glanced at Dad. He had seen it and was watching, tight-lipped.

  “He won’t give us away,” I muttered, tapping my fingers on the table and pleading with all that was holy he would keep his mouth shut. I could not stand the wait.

  “He better not,” Dad grumbled under his breath.

  He whirled around and pressed his hand against the monitor on the opposite wall. After its scan was complete, the wall to the left slid open, revealing an array of weapons.

  My jaw dropped. I had no idea these were hidden here. I stepped close to the one nearest to me and ran my hand down the barrel of a gun that did not have a clip or cylinder for ammunition. It was a dull black and was double the length of the revolver from the time period I grew up in.

  Dad was busy strapping on belts and stashing firearms and knives in all the sheaths.

  “Do you have something you want to tell me, or are you going to continue to stare at me like an idiot?” the anaman asked Andy.

  I whirled back around and leaned closer to the monitors. Dad grunted as he continued to load as much as possible of the armory onto his body. This was not going to end well.

  Andy glanced upward again at the drone. Luckily, unless you knew what you were looking for, no one would see it as anything but a part of the building it was sitting on. The anaman twisted around and stared straight at the drone, squinted slightly, and then whipped back around, smacking Andy across the face.

  “Speak or sit back down!” his voice roared over Andy like a fire.

  Andy flinched as if he had been stabbed but then quickly regained his composure. He reached up and flipped his sweat-soaked, mousy brown hair out of his face. “What exactly are you searching for? A cloaking device?”

  It was possible he was stalling the anaman.

  The ashen-colored anaman stepped closer to Andy, who only came up to the man’s chest. “Do not be a hero.” He hissed the words so quietly, I barely caught them. “Where is your ship?”

  “How do I know you will let us live if I give you our ship’s location?”

  I could only see the back of the anaman and Andy was barely visible, standing right in front of the tall man. The entire group had become deathly quiet. I could only hear Dad cursing under his breath as he rushed around the room.

  Finally, the anaman spoke. “You don’t know, but I will promise you this: if I do not receive the cloaking device within the next thirty minutes, I will begin executing your people.”

  I gasped, covering my mouth with both hands as I swung to face Dad. He was barreling from the room.

  “Stay here, Alex,” he yelled as he tore down the hallway toward the rider storage. “I mean it.” His frantic tone stopped me in my tracks.

  I heard the bay door open and cringed when the last rider blew out of the ship, leaving me alone to watch in horror as Dad and my family fought for their lives. I turned back toward the monitors.

  Andy was whispering and pointing, but I could not hear what was being said. Another anaman from our group, Eshah, was struggling against one of the enemy humans, trying to get to Andy. Her usual calm expression was clouded with crimson fury. If she were angry, then something was not right. Usually Andy was impulsive and frustrated most of us, but Dad loved him. I would be surprised if Andy gave away our location, although it wouldn’t be the first time he made me regret trusting him.

  I wrung my hands together and then wiped away the bead of sweat rolling down my forehead. This was too much for my anxiety. I jogged down the hallway and back to the hidden door that led into the hotel but stopped short just before I opened it. Voices drifted in from the other side.

  I pressed my ear against the door. Unless they knew it was there, they would not see it, as it was cloaked. It couldn’t be the anaman and humans holding my family hostage, as I just saw them on the monitors. Unless there were more.

  I gulped down the terror rising in my throat. What if they were the distraction so Dad would leave the ship?

  I raced from the room and shut the inner door to the ship, then double-checked it was secure. I tore back down the hallway and leaned in close to the monitors.

  Andy’s head was pressed against the ground by the anaman’s foot and Eshah was on her knees with the barrel of a firearm hiding within her thick, lavender locks. My pulse drummed against my skull as my gaze shot over to the monitor that was connected to the camera by the hidden door. It was black, but I could still hear their voices.

  I turned up the volume.

  “Shut up, Jako,” a female voice snapped. “Have you ever broken into one of their ships before? This one is far more advanced than the anaman ships we are used to, so give me a break.”

  “We are running out of time,” a male voice hissed.

  I had to lean in to hear what else he was saying.

  “—the village won’t know who stole the cloaking mechanism if we are out of here in the next five minutes.”

  “Honestly, Jako. I am no amateur. Get off my back!” the female voice snapped again.

  Something was thrown against the ground, and I jumped when it clattered against the door. Despite it being cloaked, they obviously knew exactly where it was and how to break into the panel. Now I knew I was dealing with two factions.

  I groaned just as the male spoke up again.

  “Get it together. Beck will have our heads if we come home empty-handed. You know that anaman garbage cannot get his hands on that cloaking device, or else we are all dead. He knows where we live.”

  “How did my day take such a drastic turn?” I grumbled under my breath.

  Good thing we were prepared for these situations. My fingers flew across the glass table, enabling the second security camera and the laser gun. I would give them a good shock.

  As I crossed my toes for good luck, my eyes flittered across the new view in front of me. A human woman was kneeling in front of the door with the panel for our handprints pulled apart. Her nearly black, short wavy hair was held back from her ivory complexion with a black cloth, almost like the bandanas from the twenty-first century. A human man was hovering over her, watching her every move. His breath was ragged and his long face was covered in sweat, making his deep-brown skin glimmer.

  A flash of movement a few feet behind them caught my eye. Another man stepped out of the shadows, carrying a firearm in his right hand.

  “Any luck?” he asked as his eyes shifted around the darkened corridor to the right of the door.

  “Not yet,” the woman shot back at him, obviously annoyed by this man as well.

  “I know your pain, sista.” I chuckled and aimed the laser at the man hovering above the woman. “We probably could be friends in another lifetime.”

  I pressed the trigger button, and a smile warmed my cheeks when the man nearest to her hollered in pain. He danced on one foot down the hallway. The woman shot up from the floor and whirled around, while the other man scooted back a few feet, pointing his weapon at the other two.

  “What’s wrong?” he hollered, wiping his wavy coffee-brown hair from his eyes. The gun shook in his other hand as he pointed it directly at the woman. “What did you do?”

  She held up her hands, with one wrapped around some tool I could not quite see. “Nothing, Dax. Point your weapon away from me, right now.”

  I pressed the com button. “I’m willing to play nice.”

  All three faces swiveled toward the camera, followed by their weapons.

  “But you will need to leave now. Come closer, and the next shot won’t be so pleasant.”

  “I told you they were witches!” the woman
hollered. Her chestnut irises focused on the door as she stepped back toward her companion. “I’m leaving.”

  She spun around and tore off down the hallway, dragging the man I shocked behind her. My gaze drifted back to the wavy-haired man. He was staring up at the camera with a crooked smile rising on his cheeks, revealing two deep dimples that made my heart skip a beat. He was devilishly handsome, someone I would have wanted to date back in 2025.

  He lowered his gun and shoved it back into its holster tucked right under his armpit. “I hope we meet someday, my little phantom sorceress. I think you could teach me a lot.” He winked and then jogged past the camera.

  I collapsed into the chair next to the table. “Witches?” My fingers raked through my black locks, and I shook my head before leaning against the table. “This place has been lost to the dark ages.”

  The handsome stranger would have to wait, even though I was struggling to forget those glimmering copper eyes staring at the camera.

  All that commotion and I had forgotten about the hostage situation in the village. I moved the monitor for the security camera to the side and focused on the drone’s video camera poised above my people. The sun was dipping just below the horizon, so I was losing light quickly. The anaman was no longer in view, but Eshah was now lying face down on the ground, unmoving. A dark crimson color had pooled around her head. Blood.

  I pressed my lips together, pushing down a scream, then scanned the other monitors for Andy, the anaman, and my father. Everyone else had been moved away from Eshah and were surrounded by thirteen women and men, all holding weapons at my people’s heads. The anaman stepped into my view, whispering to one of his men, but Andy was nowhere to be seen.

  From the corner of the screen someone shot out from behind one of the unfinished buildings, then Dad crept alongside one of the structures until he was right behind the anaman and his man. He pressed a laser gun against each of their backs.

  “Everyone drop their weapons,” he barked at the invaders.

  Each of them twisted around, their fingers tightening on their firearms instead of releasing them. An icy chill prickled down my spine. I had a bad feeling about this.