by Giger, S. L.
“Oh my God,” slipped out of my mouth. Luke dropped to his knees and Melissa sank onto Rey’s legs with her upper body. Finally, he ripped his feet free and jumped off the couch, a bit surprised himself how easily that had worked. The sixty-year-old man he was before the transformation couldn’t have pulled off such stunts.
“Rey, stay here, they will kill you!” I shrieked, thinking of the Orbiters. Or the VCP with their guns. “Or you might kill yourself. You have no idea how your powers work.” It was a miracle that he had stopped in the middle of the room after jumping up from the couch.
But he didn’t listen. In a second, he was at the door, coming to a halt just in time without crashing into it and another second later he was gone. I heard Melissa groan which made me think they’d be okay, but I didn’t have time to check on them. I chased after Rey. I was pretty sure his aim was his house because it might be something he still remembered. Unfortunately, that was also the closest place with a deliciously beating heart. Now Alex was in immediate danger after all. Exactly what we had wanted to avoid. I tried to run faster. Rey was still in my vision far ahead zigzagging past trees and road signs as if he hadn’t done anything else all his life. I only focused on him, trying not to lose sight, our surroundings swooshing by in a blurry color mix. We reached the city and he ran along the fences of Orleans’ shelter with me still on his heels. The longer we ran the more I asked myself whether he was trying to lose me or whether he simply didn’t know where to go. His house hadn’t seemed to attract him, and it was astounding that so far, he hadn’t shown any interest in humans at all. The way he had behaved I was sure he could easily break into the shelter and rip some hearts out if he wanted to. When he reached the coast, he ran along it, probably not realizing he could run across water.
“Rey, wait. Where are you going?” I called as no humans were around anyway. The streets were empty except for some parked cars along the road.
Rey looked around but kept running. We were far into the state of Rhode Island when he approached another shelter. I don’t know what had changed but suddenly, he came to a halt in front of the barbed wire fence. I swore because if anybody watched, people would have seen him appear out of the blue. I raced toward him to tear him away from there. However, in the next instant Rey had disappeared. Could he have been so fast that not even I noticed where he had run? Before I could ask myself, any more questions everything turned black around me. I stopped dead and waited for the dizziness to pass. After all, this wasn’t the first time the Orbiters had summoned me and therefore the darkness didn’t come as a complete shock. When the fog cleared away, I discovered Rey a few yards to the right of me. Finally, the Orbiters had interacted in a good moment. Apart from black eternity, there was nothing else around us. Not feeling anything solid below my feet gave me slight vertigo.
Rey pressed his palms onto his eyes. “What the hell is going on?” he yelled, and his voice echoed. “Why are all the people behind fences and how can it be that we’ve been on Cape Cod and moments later I run past the ‘WELCOME TO RHODE ISLAND’ sign?” He dropped to his knees into the black nothingness.
“I know, the world is in a mess. That’s why you had to become a Siren. We want to help everything go back to normal. To your second question, as a Siren, we can run fast. It’s very surprising though that you can maneuver with so much ease. I had to learn that first.”
Rey was now pressing his hands to his ears and had his eyes shut tight. Although I wasn’t sure whether he was listening, I had to ask. “Rey, when you ran past the humans or even when you stopped running, what were you thinking?”
He didn’t reply or move. I was growing nervous he’d actually lost his mind.
“Nathalie, your job is to restore the good faith into magic and not expose us to the world.” One of the Orbiters spoke, and Rey now crouched lower so he could hide his head between his legs. What could I say to him to make it better for him?
“It is you who told me to create a male Siren and you could have cut in a little earlier for my taste”, I replied boldly. If they still needed me, they wouldn’t harm me.
“We had to be sure of his intentions. He didn’t attack humans and doesn’t seem to be bothered by them, so that’s a good start. But the memory loss is a problem. You must try again.”
“What do you mean? Change another man?” I closed my eyes for a moment to block out reality. They couldn’t be serious.
“Numerous. If transformation takes one month, we can’t waste time waiting for the outcome.”
I gulped knowing they wouldn’t let me leave here until I’d tell them what they wanted to hear. “What will you do to the guys if they turn out like Rey?”
“He is a danger to us. I’m afraid we can’t let him go back.” The Orbiters whispered like an icy breeze.
I started to tremble but tried not to show it. “He was the first one and he is my friend. You have to give him more time to adjust.”
“You need to spend your resources on a positive outcome and not on babysitting.”
“Yes, but have you ever thought this might not be the right approach after all?” Rey hadn’t budged. I walked over to him and spoke to him like with a scared child. “Rey, we will get you back, don’t worry. Soon, the world will seem more understandable again.” I turned away from him and muttered, “I hope for everyone.”
“Enough.” It resounded from all sides and I clenched my jaw until it passed. “This isn’t only about your limited quarter on this earth and what is good for you. You must succeed in this or else everything will be meaningless.”
“I see something needs to be done. You must believe me, I will do everything I can to set an end to this, but you can’t make me change innocent men and rob them of their life afterward.” Fear had managed to creep into my body, nevertheless. What if they killed Rey now and he wouldn’t even receive a fair chance? “I won’t do that.” A sob escaped me. “I can’t.”
Rey finally brought out his head from between his knees and stared ahead into the darkness with his arms wrapped around his legs.
“I thought you were here for the balance of right and wrong.” I dug my hands into my head and hair. Having to hold on to something. “Not even giving someone a chance who struggles because of you would surely put too much weight onto the lever of wrong.”
“This isn’t about what used to be. It’s about what he is and how he behaves now.”
“You wanted male Sirens. Perhaps that’s how they are.” I breathed quickly, almost hyperventilating. “But I know he can learn. After my transformation, I would have reacted like him if I had had his strength. Would you have killed me then?”
The Orbiter which was only a whisper answered without hesitation. “Very well. This will be a one-time chance for Rey. If you can’t get him to agree with the terms of being a Siren, we can’t let him on earth.” By terms, they meant not to expose magic to humans and not to kill innocents.
“He will learn. It will be alright.” A heavy weight fell off my shoulders.
“And it can’t interfere with the fight against PaNacea.” One of the Orbiter’s boomed.
“We are on it. Claire and Themba are in Europe getting to the core of who’s PaNacea’s true leader.” Claire, Melissa’s creator, was doing her best because she felt very protective of our family. Themba’s motivation was driven by keeping in touch with us and making sure we didn’t create an army of male Sirens. He was one of the other few male Sirens who could control himself but absolutely disagreed with the creation of new ones after his own experience.
Of course, all of us could work more relaxed if we knew Roisin was okay, but I couldn’t push my luck any further this time and ask the Orbiters about her again.
“Pursue that but don’t forget that Sirens will be the key,” the bass voice of an Orbiter spoke to us. Shortly thereafter the blackness mixed in with grey and I knew they had sent us on our journey back. I lost sight of Rey in the huddle around us. Plus, I had to concentrate on not falling because the ro
om was spinning so much. As quick as it began it stopped. With dread, I realized we were in Rey’s house. Alex dropped a can of corn salad, spilling its content over the floor.
“Seriously? Perhaps this is testing him a bit much.” I instantly stood between Alex and Rey but couldn’t hide my anger toward the Orbiters for having brought us here.
Rey stared at Alex intently, slowly getting up while brushing some invisible dust off his pants. The old Rey would have been furious with someone creating a mess in his beloved living room, as the room reminded him of the good times with his wife. The new Rey probably only concentrated on Alex’s fast pounding heart.
“I see you are alive again.” Alex swallowed, taking a step back.
Rey looked from him to me, snorted and then dropped onto the chair next to the bookshelf. “What is going on?” He put his head in his hands. “I don’t know anything about myself or this world but somehow I feel it’s not how it’s supposed to be.”
“You are right, not much is.” I breathed, still ready to fight him in case this was a trick. “But before I start you have to tell me one thing. How does his heartbeat make you feel?”
Rey looked over to Alex again as if he’d already forgotten he was even in the room with us. Rey narrowed his eyes in confusion. “Now, that you say it, why do I even hear it?”
A laugh escaped me. “So, you don’t want to,” I took a deep breath, “kill him?”
He sat up a bit straighter and tilted his head. “Why, should I?”
Alex let go of the air he had been holding. “No, of course not. So, this means, the serum has worked?” His voice was more of a whisper and his face brightened but fell somewhat when he noticed my own tired face.
“I would call it a partial success.” I turned to Rey. “Rey, do you recognize this room?” There still was a plastic cover on the couch like Rey had left it because he didn’t want any changes after his wife had to leave. Some pictures on the wall revealed what a pretty woman Evelyn used to be, and their sparkling eyes told a love story on their own. He had given up on his life when they no longer could be together because of her disorder. Could he really have forgotten all the happiness and pain, or did he not want to remember? I expectantly waited for his answer as he was studying the bookshelves. It was in this very room that we first met.
Yet, neither his tone of voice nor his words changed. “Why, should I?”
I gave Alex a meaningful look.
Chapter 5
“If you don’t remember anything, get ready for a long story.” I addressed Rey. “Even though it might sound unreal, I’m afraid there’s no going back to a different reality now.” I sat down on the plastic of the couch and Alex joined me after some hesitation. He was still uncomfortable sitting near Rey.
“So, where should I start?” I asked because even though Rey might remember the world that existed one month ago, so much had changed that nothing made sense anymore. “Perhaps, I could begin with telling you about yourself. This is your house. Your living room. You’ve lived here with your wife Evelyn.” I paused to see whether that rang a bell. His glance swept across the pictures again. Yet, he didn’t show any sign of recognition. “Evelyn had a bad reaction to a shot and now lives in a mental hospital.” I paused to wait for my words to cause an emotional reaction. He used to suffer so much because of that. The way he almost stopped living when she didn’t remember him, and they could no longer spend their life together. I could relate to the pain because if anything happened to Alex, I wouldn’t know how to go on either. So, how could my words leave him cold now? Did we rob him of his past?
Rey got up and shot toward the window in Siren speed. He gave me a fright because I thought he’d smash into the glass, but he again stopped in time and looked out onto his lawn. I sunk back into the couch, exhaling deeply.
“You could tell me anything.” He said with his back turned to us. “Everything feels detached from me.” He straightened his back and lost the vulnerable appearance from before. Alex’s heartbeat quickened again, being reminded that Rey was still very unpredictable, and we couldn’t be sure what his next move would be.
“I feel the strong urge to fill the holes in my brain with fitting puzzle pieces but what you are saying isn’t helping in any way.” He turned around, his veiled eyes making it impossible for us to read his thoughts. Before he could change his mind about being attracted by Alex’s adrenaline, I tried a new approach.
“You are a glass blower and can create amazing things. Maybe doing something with your hands will bring back some memories. Let’s have a look at your workshop.” I got up and motioned for him to follow. We walked into the shed, which was chilly with the oven having been out for the past month. It still smelled of a long died out fire though and the tools were arranged along the wall and on the workbenches like Rey had left them. Rey’s bed stood in one corner, freshly made. Only from the dust that had settled on the book on the bedside table, you could tell it hadn’t been used in a while.
Rey stood in the entrance, not quite sure where to go and Alex was a few feet behind him. I bit my lip. Alex should have stayed in the house and at least keep a wall between him and Rey.
“This is your kingdom, Rey. Go have a look if anything rings a bell.” I urged him.
He walked to the workbench, picked up a bauble and carefully traced it with his fingers.
He titled his head. “Yes, I know how to do this.” He let go of a sharp breath and his face broke out into a smile. More of a smile than I had ever seen on Rey’s face. Human Rey had worn a hard and concentrated expression. A mask which he had trained to hide the sadness about the loss of his love. This smile, however, transformed him from someone sinister to someone you wished you knew.
Rey laid out pieces of glass on the workbench and I took a seat on my old space on the wooden bench. With my head, I motioned for Alex to go back inside the house. However, curiosity got the better of him and he joined me on the bench. I moved an inch away from him to let him know this had been a reckless idea.
“You were a normal human and this was your job.” I addressed Rey again. “Up until two years ago, I was a human myself and had no idea anything supernatural existed. Now, however, there is a reason why we need to exist.” I sighed. “As you saw with the fences all over the US, our country and the world are in trouble. There is a medical organization named PaNacea, led by Dr. Palmer, who manipulates humans into thinking magic is bad. PaNacea is quite successful in killing magical creatures while the humans hang on to every word Dr. Palmer says. According to him, a religious cult cursed the world and brought a deadly virus upon the people. PaNacea will be their only hope in finding a remedy against the virus.”
“The same PaNacea that produced stomach pills?” Rey asked to my surprise. Up to now, I hadn’t even been sure whether he was listening.
“Yes, you know them?”
He frowned. “I don’t know why. When you said their name, I remembered this fact. I could picture one of their plastic bottles with pills.” He massaged his temples. “But I can’t remember whether or why I took them.”
Still, it was good that there were certain things he remembered. Probably, this meant other memories would return as well. “Those voices we’ve heard in the black space were the Orbiters.” I continued. “They are like our supreme court. Unfortunately, their other plans have failed, and they couldn’t come up with anything better than to send Sirens into the fight against Dr. Palmer. Rather, male Sirens, because as we have seen with you, they are stronger than female Sirens. Up to now, it has only been possible to change women into Sirens. Whenever we've tried to change a man, it has ended in a catastrophe because afterward, he’d attack humans. But we developed a serum with which transforming men safely should become possible, and you agreed to be the first one to be tested.” I quickened my pace toward the end to make it short and painless. I swallowed. “Please, tell me you remember any of this because except for the memory loss, you turned out great.”
He played with the
glass ball in his hands and threw it into the air a couple of times, catching it with one hand. “If I hadn’t witnessed everything I did, I would call the ambulance, thinking clearly you are the insane one and not me.” Then he leaned closer toward me and whispered. “Am I in some kind of study and you drugged me and now are testing with special effects how much it takes until I believe in magic?”
I sighed, and Alex pursed his lips. “No, this isn’t a joke. We are Siren’s and Alex is human. You do feel the difference between me and him, don’t you?”
Rey focused on Alex and I took Alex’s hand. “Right. He has a heartbeat and you don’t. So, I should be wanting to kill you?”
“No, that’s exactly what the serum was supposed to change,” Alex said, his eyes wide with surprise that Rey had addressed him directly. “If you don’t feel the urge to kill me, Cathy’s death wasn’t for nothing.”
“Yes, it wasn’t.” I clenched my jaw. “And I guess memory loss isn’t a big price to pay if you have to start a new life anyway. But Rey, we were friends,” I tried again. “Now you are treating me as if I am an enemy. I only want what is best for you.”
“What’s that supposed to be?” He paced around the work shed.
“You can live with us and help us save the world. Over time, you might remember more.”
He walked past the sink over which there was a small mirror. After he passed it, he took a step back to take another look. I realized this was the first time he caught a glimpse of his new self and the irritating eyes. His chest expanded with air and a second later he jumped back with a shriek that didn’t sound human at all. For the first time, he hadn’t calculated his movement correctly and jammed his back into the workbench, sliding to the floor.
“Rey, are you okay?” I went to his side.
“What is wrong with my eyes?” He stammered.
“They are beautiful. Like the ocean.” I said. “Much better than mine. When I don’t control them or wear contacts my eyes are an abysmally evil black.”
