by Paris Singer
The man named Ira, mumbled something under his breath as he reached for somewhere behind his head. Just as he did, his whole face, mandible and chin tilted up to an angle, leaving gaping holes where his eyes had been. With both hands, Ira lifted his entire head off, revealing that of a boy not much older than me inside.
“Did you say something?” asked Iris.
“No,” he replied, with a much younger tone of voice.
“No, what?”
“No, aunt Iris,” sighed Ira, sounding dejected.
“Good. Why do you insist on wearing that thing when your face is much nicer?”
Ira grumbled something under his breath I couldn’t hear.
“What you’re telling me is interesting,” Iris continued, addressing me. “Fly, lock them both up in the cells. I’m not done hearing what this boy has to say.”
“No,” I exclaimed. “There’s no time.”
“Iris, Simia’s being invaded by the Morex. Seven’s brother—”
“Not my problem,” snapped Iris. “You can tell me all about it later,” she added.
“Later? We need your help now.”
“Watch your tone. Don’t confuse the situation. I didn’t say I’d help you. You’re only still alive because you’ve peaked my interest. If I determine the information I want out of you to be useless, you can expect the rest of your time alive to be very unpleasant. As for you,” she turned to Alana, “we need to have a little chat. Take them away. To separate cells. The farthest away from each other.” With that, Iris turned and walked toward her seat, as the group of crew members that looked identical to each other shoved us toward and out the exit, back into the labyrinth of tunnels.
CHAPTER FIFTY SIX
“Stop pushing me,” I said, shoving one of the crew members with my shoulder. A sudden surge of painful electricity ran through my body as something prodded me in the ribs, causing me to stumble. Alana caught me as I was about to hit the icy ground.
“Don’t touch him,” she growled. The crew responded with a series of clicks and whistles which, if it was a language, it was one I’d never heard before. “Better not antagonize them,” she said in a low tone. “We still need their help.”
“Their help? They’re not gonna help us. Iris hates you for some reason, and that boy Ira whatever wants us dead. Now we’re going to be locked up for who knows how long, then they’ll probably shoot us out into space or something.” From somewhere behind me a crew member prodded me in my hip, causing me to lose all feeling in the extremity. Luckily Alana still had a hold of me. “Stop doing that,” I shouted, which made them click and whistle with apparent glee while they bounced around us.
“It’s never too late for anything,” said Alana. “You know how impulsive Iris was at your age. She’ll calm down soon and, as she said, we’ll have a chat about things. Her looks and situation may have changed, but she’s the same old Iris we both remember. Give her a chance. Be patient.”
I wanted to shout we didn’t have time to waste waiting for Iris, or anyone, to decide our fate. We needed to act as quickly as possible. As much as I wanted to leave the asteroid in search of One, I was again forced to be patient—to wait while others determined the outcome of events. I felt my fists tighten, light-headed from the sudden surge of anger that beat from within my chest.
We descended along the narrow, misshapen tunnels, lit only by a light here and there, until we came to yet another large room. Other than the metal sheeting that covered patches of ground, there were only three large orbs lined up next to each other near the left wall. Each of the silvery opaque spheres had a slow moving mist or fog inside them. Each hung suspended in the air between a wide circular base on the ground whose centers were raised, and silver-gray cylindrical tubes above them which extended vertically down from the ceiling that was obscured by a series of bright white spotlights dotted around the room. It was gloomy and cold.
Two of the crew members made their way to two of the floating orbs on either side and pressed a series of dials on small consoles embedded inside each on the bases below them. As they stood back up, Alana and I were shoved forward: she to the farthest orb on the right, and I to the closest on the left.
“Don’t worry,” she said, glancing back at me. “Remember what I said. It’ll be okay.”
We were both placed in front of our corresponding orbs. The slow, fluid motion of the mist inside was soothing somehow. One of the crew members that surrounded me (there seemed to be more of them than there had been before we entered the room) grabbed my wrist and raised my hand up toward the orb. I didn’t understand what he was saying, but it looked as if he wanted me to touch it. Gingerly, I reached forward, but stopped just short. A mild heat was radiating from the orb and spreading up my arm. A strange sensation formed inside me, from within my chest, like a pulling motion. Then, without warning, I was thrust forward into the orb. There was a blinding flash of light just before I fell face first onto a cold, hard surface.
I picked myself up groaning from the pain and looked around. “What is this place?” Thick, dark gray fog filled the endless space around me. Hints of gigantic columns rose all around and vanished up into nothingness. A few steps from where I stood was a stone bench. As I approached it I saw that there were a few others placed here and there angled in no particular direction. I sat down on the nearest one.
How long would I have to stay there? Until Iris decided she wanted to speak with me, I supposed. But how long would that be? Minutes? Hours? Days? Could it even be weeks? Or beyond? The Iris I’d known would never have done anything like this. She was hard-headed at times, but she would never have hesitated to help me if I needed her. She would have offered to help, and I could have counted on her until whatever problem there was had been resolved. This Iris was different. Hardened. Something must have changed her. Or perhaps she was just angry with Alana about whatever they’d argued about? Whatever the reason, it didn’t change I was stuck inside that orb. A prison with no apparent walls. I had to get out of there. But how? “Let me out,” I cried. My voice echoed all around, making the prison seem deeper, and more hollow than before.
“They can’t hear you.” A low, gruff voice came from somewhere to my left.
I stood up and took a step back, my hand poised over the button on my Sphere gauntlet. “Who’s there?”
“Relax. I’m trapped here, like you.”
“Am I just supposed to believe that?”
“That’s up to you. It doesn’t really matter. Believe me, or not, it doesn’t get us free of here any faster.”
“Come out where I can see you.”
A begrudging sigh cut through the drifting fog. A faint shadow materialized a few meters ahead. Its owner appeared to be taller than me, but lean, maybe even lanky, with long arms that seemed wider in the forearms than the upper half. I couldn’t be certain, but it appeared as though their head was smaller than the rest of their body.
“Happy now?” grumbled the figure in a soft tone.
“I still can’t see you,” I said, squinting.
With yet another sigh of clear exasperation, the figure said, “I am starting to think you annoy me.” As they stepped forward through the fog, a familiar shape emerged. Despite the differences in height and build, the figure ahead was unmistakably that of a Morex.
CHAPTER FIFTY SEVEN
The heavy clang of steel striking the ground echoed all around as I released the light-chain from my gauntlet.
“What are you doing?” grumbled the Morex. “What is that?”
I got into an offensive stance, ready to attack. “Why are you here?”
“Oh. No, wait,” said the Morex, taking a step back, holding his large hands in front of him. “I know what you are thinking. You are wrong. I am not like they are. My race cast me out. I am just a drifter. I am trying to make my way in this pitiless life. I have never hurt anyone. I would not. Believe me.”
“Now you want me to believe you? I’ve met your kind. All Morex are the same:
ruthless, unrelenting pillagers.” I took two steps toward him.
“No. Not all. Not me.”
“Prove it.”
“Look at me. I was rejected. I am an outcast. Trapped here, like you. You do not need to attack. I have already suffered in this life. You do not need to attack.”
I wasn’t convinced. The Morex were a ruthless, opportunistic race. “Where are the others? The others like you?”
“No others,” he replied, the tone in his voice indicating he was under duress. “I am here, like you. Trapped like you. No others. Please. You do not need to attack. You do not need to attack.”
The Morex’s reaction was unlike any I’d ever seen or heard of regarding his race. They just didn’t behave like that. Was this some trick? But, if it was, why? Why go through the trouble of deceiving me? To what end? There was no way of knowing if the Morex was up to something or was telling the truth. I needed more information. I retracted the light-chain and ball. “They rejected you because you were different, is that it?”
The Morex’s tense body language relaxed a little, as mine did. “Yes. My race, they don’t accept differences. Body must be strong—look strong. Mine… Me, I was born small. Grew small; too thin.”
I sat back down on the cold, hard stone bench. Perhaps sensing I wouldn’t attack him, the Morex found a nearby bench and did the same.
“My mother, my father…” he went on, “when I hatched, they saw I was small, thin. Not like the rest of my brothers. They were ashamed. Dropped me in a garbage shoot, down into the depths of the city’s junkyard, where all unwanted things go. But I survived. Some creature, dark, unknown, kept me alive. Maybe to eat me when I was big enough, maybe not. But when I did grow old enough, it showed me a way back to the surface. Then disappeared back into the depths. I stowed away on a research ship and sneaked off it on the first planet they landed on. There, I wandered the many streets. Lived outside, in the cold. One icy night, a group of Grangs circled me while I tried to sleep. Beat and kicked me. But I was stronger. I didn’t know how strong. A native passing by saw what I had done. Didn’t run away. Came close and talked with me. Said her name was Kiola. Wanted me to fight in her club. Offered a room and food. I accepted. So I stayed with her. And I fought. Then, not long ago, she set up a special fight on a moon of Trubulass. We took her ship. But got lost. Came by these asteroids here. By accident. The marauders found us. Killed her. And now I am trapped here. Just a prisoner. Like you.”
I listened to the Morex’s story, torn between feeling a sense of sympathy for him, and one of mistrust. “You have a name?” I asked.
The Morex paused a moment, watching me. Then he said, “Kiola gave me a name. Tagasi. Tagasi is my name.”
“Tagasi. My name is Seven.”
“Seven.”
“I need to get out of here,” I said. I figured that, if he was up to something, Tagasi would reveal it soon enough. The charade would be over. But if he wasn’t, he might be able to help Alana and me escape. Especially if he was as strong as he claimed to be.
“Not possible. There is no door to walk through, out of this place.”
“There has to be a way. If there’s a way in, there has to be a way out.”
“The door can only be opened from outside,” grumbled Tagasi.
“How can you be so sure? This prison is so big: there’s got to be some kind of panel or dial hidden somewhere, right?”
“No. There are no dials. The door can only be opened from outside. I have looked. For days and for nights I have looked. No dials.”
I stood up and paced in frustration. “No one in their right mind would build something like this without at least a fail-safe in case they get trapped inside. It’s got to be somewhere,” I said, looking around me for any visible signs of a device. Tagasi remained silent while I walked around the vast, endless prison, taking care not to wander so far as to lose sight of him, for he marked my starting point. The longer I tried and failed, the more frustrated I became.
“Why are you here?” said Tagasi, breaking the silence.
“Huh?” I replied, lost in my own thoughts.
“I told you why I am here. Now, you tell me why you are here.”
“It’s a long story, Tagasi,” I replied, feeling around one of the many stone columns.
“My story was long, too. And we have time.”
“No, I don’t have time. I need to get out of here now.” The frustration and sheer sense of powerlessness were overwhelming me. I needed to find a way out, but I also needed his help. So far, Tagasi had given me no reason to doubt him, so I would remain as courteous to him as he had been to me. For the time being, at least. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? It’s just… Okay, I’ll tell you all about me, if you help me search for a dial, a device—anything that might actually be an exit to this place.”
“There is no device.”
“Indulge me. Please.”
Tagasi gazed at me a moment, then stood up and walked over to the column next to mine, and examined it.
“Thanks,” I said, hesitantly. It was strange to thank a Morex, but I still appreciated his effort to help. I recounted my life aboard the Sky Drifter, the events that led me to Simia, and consequent events that followed up to the present situation. Tagasi listened, pausing from time to time to gaze at me.
“Who is this Pi you met?” he asked.
“Pi? He was one of my friends I told you about on the Sky Drifter. But the one Alana and I met—the one that told us how to get here—he’s the real one, so he had no idea who I was. That was weird.”
Again, Tagasi paused a moment, and said, “And where did you find him?”
“I think Alana called it Sabaku, but I could be wrong.” Suddenly, my instincts flared up. “Why do you want to know?”
“This Pi, he is interesting. He moves always. Likes to cook, but does not like to have customers. Funny.”
“Oh, yeah,” I smiled, “I thought it was pretty funny, too. Though not too surprising, knowing him.” I felt stupid for having been suspicious at his question. I guessed Pi was an interesting enough person that people wanted to find out more about him.
“And you say this Alana, the one who freed you, she wants the help of the Commander of the marauders. Why?”
“She thinks she’s the only one who can help us get to… Well, get to the Morex so I can save my brother from them, and my friends on Simia.”
“But why would she do this? Why would she help?”
I explained to Tagasi how Alana and Iris were old friends, but they’d fallen out over something, which is why we had been imprisoned. “When I saw Iris for the first time I was so happy, and thought that everything would be okay. I understood why Alana had sought her help. But then… I don’t know… Iris is different now. Like she’s another person, or something.”
“Time changes all things,” said Tagasi.
“Yeah, I guess. Though I wonder what could have changed her that much. Pi’s pretty much the same as he was, I think. Maybe a little rougher round the edges, but still the same. Iris just seems so… Too different. Like something made her like that. I don’t know.”
“No. You don’t,” replied Tagasi, in a low, deep growl.
I turned to face him. He was gazing at me with resplendent yellow eyes that suggested an underlying aggression.
“You’re asking a lot of questions, Tagasi,” I said. “How come you’re so interested in all this?”
Tagasi didn’t answer. He gazed silently at me through the thick fog. I could only see his shadowy outline and glowing, unblinking eyes. I placed my hand over the button on my gauntlet. “Tagasi?”
“The Commander has helped many. You are in no position to judge when you do not know of who you speak.”
My heart raced. “You’re not a prisoner like me, are you?” I asked. Tagasi continued to watch me in silence. I pressed the button, releasing the light-chain once again, but as the ball hit the ground, the two orb-like yellow eyes vanished in the shadows, along with Tagasi
’s outline. He was gone.
CHAPTER FIFTY EIGHT
“Tagasi?” I called out tentatively, edging closer to where he’d been standing. But there was no sign of him. He must have left the prison, I thought. So there must be a way to leave here without the need of a dial, right? I looked around the area where he’d been standing, feeling around the column, but found nothing indicative of a dial, or panel. The only other explanation would be—
Somewhere ahead I heard the sudden sound of footsteps approaching. Once again I placed my hand over the button on my gauntlet, ready to fight. “Who’s there?” I called out. “Tagasi?” Maybe he hadn’t left after all. But the footsteps didn’t sound like his. These were faster, denoting a certain focused determination. “Who’s there?” I repeated. No sooner had the last syllable escaped my lips than the entire foggy space I stood in became an enormous, rippling mass, its dull gray colors fading out into other, more colorful ones.
“I haven’t come to hurt you,” came Iris’ voice as the rippling ceased, and I found myself in a place I never thought I would ever see again. I was aboard the Sky Drifter. My eyes darted all around, taking in what I was seeing. I was standing right in front of my quarters where Iris and Pi would wait for me every morning before we all went to the academy. A lump formed in my throat. I tried to fight back the gathering tears from my eyes. I’d missed being there far more than I had realized.
“So, you do have memories of being aboard that old ship, then. You were telling the truth.”
I had forgotten where I was for a moment, and would not have thought it in the least bit strange if Pi and Iris, as I had known them then, had walked up to me, ready to leave for class. Instead, the taller, older figure of Iris stood a few paces from me, her arms folded across her chest.
“How am I here?” I breathed.
Iris grinned. “This? A handy little piece of technology I acquired once. Have a seat.”
