The building explodes.
The floor above us comes crumbling down, rock hitting rock with a crack or snap. Slices of light cut through the cracks, and the patter of small footsteps hasten in this direction. We race down the tunnel to avoid being buried in the debris or being caught by the child Creations making their way through the rubble.
When we left for the Vojin’s base, we were based in Desert Hills. I bet it’s no accident we ended up in Highrum, where everything is going to shit. I should’ve let Ky kill that pink Vojin. We were set up from the start.
Seits grabs my shoulder as she hurries behind me. We follow the small group through the underground passage. “Do all Creations here live in tunnels now?” I ask.
“It’s likely to find first and second gen Creations down here,” the girl with the pink nails says.
“I need to get to the Guidance building. Is there a tunnel that leads me there?”
The girl chokes on a laugh but manages, “You have a death wish or something?”
“Nope. I have a friend there who might be in trouble. We’re going after her.”
Her laugh bounces off the walls. “She must’ve been one of the special ones who got an invite?”
I lick my lips and think on it. “I guess.”
Someone from behind us says, “They’re going to use her. She’s not in any danger until majority of the Creations are dead. Take it easy.”
“Use her for what?” I ask.
“A few things maybe. Depends on what she is. But they know something about her she may not likely know about herself or else she wouldn’t have fallen for their schemes.”
We continue down the long tunnel, running behind each other to their safe haven. “Can you give me an idea of what you think they’ll do?”
“If she’s going to be a consort, she’ll be stripped of her emotions, made braindead, and turned into a breeder. She must possess qualities in a Creation they’re looking for. They’ll take her babies, and train them to be leaders of the Guidance. The only thing they want is the fearlessness of Creations. And if she’s shown a display of affection and charisma, they will use her to attract other Normals and Creations, specifically ones who are this discrete extraterrestrial being, Itteix. There’s been talk about auctioning off Creations to other countries. Like slaves. It’s sick. We are still people. They’re treating us like animals.”
“If that’s your friend. You can count her as dead.” The girls voice saddens as she continues, “You’re not getting in there. They likely have her locked away by now, in a glass box, waiting to be experimented on.”
What the hell is going on here in Highrum? Does the Trade know nothing about this to step in, and if not, how is the Guidance keeping such a plan under their radar? “While I appreciate your assistance, I’m not here for your speculation or advice. I just need directions. Let me worry about everything else.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
I jolt forward, gulping for air.
My sight’s gone, and a buzzing is shaking my ear drums.
I scramble to my left and cringe from the strike of pain in my right rib cage.
A gentle hand pats me on my shoulder twice.
A groan shakes my throat as I return to lying against something hard, far beyond uncomfortable. I wait for the discomfort to pass, breathing through the pain.
“Hey. Kylie. Just take it easy,” breaks through the fog, and I relax, overcome with the relief that I can hear. The pat on my shoulder returns. “You took a pretty hard hit. It may take a bit for you to recover.”
“Where,” I rasp. It’s inaudible. I clear my throat. “What’s happening?” I blink. And I blink again until I can make out my surroundings. I jolt forward, ignoring the screaming pain in my side, recognizing the brown hair and broad shoulders of the boy sitting beside me. “Danny!”
Danny adjusts his position from crouching on his knees to sitting down. “I think you have a broken rib.”
I nod, trying to find a comfortable sitting position that doesn’t hurt. “What’s going on?” I scan where we sit. One window lets the sunlight into a small room. Dark carpeted floor is beneath us, and the walls and ceiling are a warm gray. “Where am I? How are you here?” I press the heel of my hands against my eyes. Regaining consciousness is daunting. A metallic taste floods my mouth, and my head spins. It feels like needles are being shoved into every inch of my head. “What’s wrong with me?”
“Pain. Lasting pain maybe,” Danny says. “And I had to, kind of, zap you back. Like the doctors would use a defibrillator.”
I glance down, looking my chest over. A hole the size of my palm has burned through my shirt. I push my hand over it and see my hand scarred and burned. Then, I recall, “There was an explosion.”
Danny nods. He sits beside me, knees propped up with his arms resting atop them. “You were down for the count, Ky. I had to resuscitate you.”
I scan the floor for the device he used to bring me back, but the room is completely empty. “How?”
Danny rocks back and grinds his teeth. He draws back and forth and says, “Something crazy is going on here in Highrum.”
“Including you being here and avoiding my questions.” I struggle to climb to my feet, hunching over to my knees and pushing my hands to the floor to bring my feet under me. I rise, and a spell of dizziness knocks me back to the ground. I hit the floor on my side, catching myself on my elbow.
“You need to take it easy, Kylie,” Danny says peacefully. His entire demeanor—the patience in his round, brown eyes and square shaped jaw—is off-putting.
I groan, attempting to rise to my feet again. I make it up and hunch over to rest my hands on my knees. “I’m out of it.”
“You’ve gotta give yourself some time to recharge, Ky. Your body has been through a lot.”
I gesture for him to keep talking.
“A lot of us are here. Not many humans, but a lot of Creations. Back at Desert Hills, the base was stormed.”
“By the Zombies?”
“No. By Creations.”
I lift my head and meet his eyes. “What?”
Danny spreads his hands and shrugs. “It started with the Zombies. The leading Creations stepped up to take them down, and a couple of ’copters hovered over the base, Creations dropping down with guns drawn. They wiped out the toughest Creations and the others, rounded them up like sheep. A lot of them fought. Edward, Megan…oh man. Every member of Luke and Marc’s teams. It was a brawl in the roads until the Creations that dropped from the ’copters shot them down. They lined the remaining seventy of us up, and we boarded buses that took us to planes. We landed here, and what a shit storm this place has turned out to be. Some Creations made it out before all this happened. They were needed for Citizen Management, I think. So not everyone is gone, but the majority are.”
“How are you here?” I straighten my spine, grunting against my broken rib. I hold my side and try not to complain. “They wouldn’t have taken their eyes off you.”
Danny tilts his head a bit to the left and hitches a brow. “They didn’t. Trade Officer Grandin was waiting at the place of our arrival. I assume it might’ve been the Guidance building. He excused me, and I left him. He briefed me and gave strict instructions to find you.”
“Why? What’s he want with me?”
“This is going to sound weird, but you’re not just a Creation. You’re part Itteix. It’s a species not of this world.” Unfazed, I meet Danny’s gaze, and his eyes widen. “You knew?”
I pace the floor to stretch my limbs and get myself used to the aching in my right side. The room is eight steps from one wall to the other and each step hurts. “I just found out.”
Danny stands and shoves his fists to his hips. “Well that makes this a lot easier.”
“There was a letter I think Seits or Harold left for Luke and me to find. It explained my parents were Itteix. But that’s as far as I know.”
“It was right. For many of us, our parents were the last of our race
. We were riding the tail of a comet passing Earth and spotted the Vojin scum attacking the planet. We did everything we could to save this planet but were unsuccessful. They blew up the comet, and those of us remaining fell to Earth.” Danny walks to the window and squats to hide as he peers out of it. “The Vojin changed the narrative. Said the ‘invaders’ were the enemy, and they were trying to save this planet, but it’s always been a lie. They wanted Earth. They killed thousands of us, destroyed this planet and tricked everyone,” he hisses, slamming his fist against the wall. “The Vojin wanted to colonize this world, and that’s what they did. They work slowly. First phase: gain the trust of your enemies. Second phase: persuade them to eliminate their defense so they can easily move in. And third phase is the takeover. We’re in phase two.”
I meet him by the window and squat down as he does. We look out to open land; the lowering sun glares its bright light upon a green pasture. Wind sweeps over the tall grass, causing it to flow like the sea. “Then the Vojin are the cause of this? They were never the saviors?”
Danny nods. “Parents like ours, in their true form, they’re made up of light. Frame like ours, but of light. They disguised themselves as humans to blend in, and it worked for a while. Then the Premier began the design of Creations. Many members of the Trade are of the fallen Itteix. They’ve had to witness the Vojin make their way deep into the America as they fooled the Guidance. So they sent the many of their own kind to investigate this.”
“How does it all explain me?” I ask. I realize he keeps saying we, so I replace my me with, “…Us?”
“They had children. Watch this.”
Danny backs far away from the window going deep into the room. Facing me, he stands with his arms spread out at his sides. From within him, light seems to resonate from his chest and his body. His clothes begin fading out, and he’s replaced by a human body made up of light.
I throw my hand up to guard my eyes against the brightness and reach for my holster. I pat the right side of my waist, searching for my gun. It’s not there. The beam of light dims a bit, protecting me from its blinding affect. The hairs on every inch of my body stand on end, but it’s not fear. I lift my right arm before my eyes, seeing tiny bolts of electricity bounce between the hairs. “What’s going on?”
“This is what we are.” Danny’s voice is an echo, and I don’t see his mouth move. His frame dims and brightens as he speaks. “Where our parents needed to put in a lot of effort to hold their disguise, it’s the opposite for us. We need our energy to undertake our identity as Itteix. It comes from our heart.” At the mention of the organ, my gaze drops from his head to the left side of his chest, where I can visibly see his heart pumping what seems like lightning through his body.
“You’re saying I look like this?” I point to my chest.
He nods and fades back into Danny. “There aren’t many of us. But those of us remaining do what we can to survive here.”
“How? How do I do it?”
Danny chuckles, head hanging as he rustles his hair. “It sounds silly. But you charge your heart with energy. Think about the things you’re most passionate about; get your blood racing. I assume you’ve never attempted to activate your inner being.” He points to his heart. “The little jolt I gave you earlier, though, may help with the activation. Concentrate. Just come away from the window. We don’t want anyone to see you.”
I cross the room and close my eyes, letting my mind run free. The first thing to come to mind is finding the nearest pistol, ensuring it has those specially made bullets, and emptying a clip into the Vojin. But I don’t react to this thrill. The second thought I have is getting Luke back. I miss him a lot. I miss his voice pumping me on and encouraging me to kill these sons of bitches. I miss him at my side, just being here with me.
“You almost got it, Kylie.” Danny says. “You’re flickering. Itteix, we fuel off the emotions we feel. The more positive the emotion, the better. Things like curiosity, contentment, joy, interest, even affection. For a Creation, I suspect this might be a little difficult. But you know what these are. Your experience with them should help.”
Instantly my mind shifts to the only person I’ve experienced every positive emotion with. “Marcain,” I say aloud.
A thud sounds as something heavy slams to the floor, shaking the room.
I open my eyes to the room washed in white and blue. Danny’s scrambling to his feet, arm thrown over his eyes.
“Wow, Ky. You’re brighter than I thought you’d be.” His face contorts as he squints against the light.
I extend my hand to help him from the floor, but its visual effect distracts me. I lift it before me, spreading my fingers. The light seems to make up my insides, shinning out just beneath my flesh. I drag my hands over my arms, and it feels like my skin. Only my appearance has changed. “Can you see my heart pumping?” I ask, but the sound seems to be coming off of me instead of being made by my mouth.
Danny makes it to his feet. “Yep. Can you turn it off?”
I twist my torso, checking my front and rear, looking for a way to turn myself back to normal. “Is there an off switch?”
“Focus on returning to your regular state.”
I focus on myself, a being without light, and the beam around us fade. I look over my regular hand. “Okay. Cool.” I shake myself out, feeling a sudden heat warp my body then fade away. “Agh!” I scrape my hand over my flesh.
“It’s hot. You get used to it the more you use it. But it can be quite uncomfortable.”
I look myself over. My skin’s flushed red, and I still wear these ridiculous satin shorts and tank, now dirty and dingy from my adventures. “Have you always known about me?”
He shakes his head. “Not until Trade Officer Grandin visited the base. He saw me the day he visited you. He and my parents had a close relationship, and I’ve been privy to a lot going on recently.”
Turning into a beam of light is cool, but I’d prefer the ability to self-heal. I sit on the floor, careful to protect my side. The energy it takes to reveal the Itteix side of me is inundating me, and while I’m glad I know now—the detail of what this is to me and how it affects me—I have a lot to accomplish, and I don’t see how it fits into my plan.
Then I consider, “Let me guess…You’re here telling me all of this because someone wants me to do something. A mission?”
Danny nods. “The Guidance is working with the Vojin. They are not all to blame, but Arletta and Richard are. They need to go. And we’ll need to eliminate the Vojin.”
I chuckle at the word we. It’s always us and we when people make their request, but when it’s time to go out there, we’re no longer a unit. “Anyone can do this. You can do this. You know how to be an Itteix much better than I do. Blind them, then shoot them in the head. Boom. Done.” I lay myself back on the floor and let my eyes close as I breathe, energy draining. “Does this feeling last long?”
Danny paces the floor, “Taking them out isn’t going to be that easy,” he says, ignoring my questions. “They are hunting aliens like us. I didn’t tell you this because I wanted you to see what you are, but the more you use your power, the more the hue glows around you. A clear tell that you’re Itteix.”
I try to jolt up, but the broken rib stabbing my side keeps me down. “Come again?”
“A golden nugget to them is a Creation who’s an Itteix. They’re identified—”
“I know,” I cut him off. “By their display of emotions. Even Arletta knew I was Itteix—I’m assuming. Everyone knew but me. My emotions bombarded me. They were slow at first, starting when I was a kid. I seemed to learn them one by one. I could recognize them by the way they affect me, my reactions. And when I took the human emotions class, I could finally call them by name. And learning them seemed to wake them up even more.” I keep my breaths short so I don’t have to expand my lungs. “Frustration and anger seemed to be okay to display, but when I would show worry, concern, these would earn me a side-eye. I learned to hide them b
ecause no other Creation showed them, though I saw them in Normals all the time. I realized I was different. And I didn’t know why.”
Danny huffs and plops down beside me. “You are their ace in the hole, Kylie. Worth billions, and they can use you to create more of you. The advantage they have, having someone like you on their team, is that you can be used to attract more. Itteix have the ability to draw in their own kind. We’re stronger in groups. Our energy is next level. Our best defense is electricity.” Danny lifts his index finger, holding them three inches apart, pointing toward each other. Violet electric currents pass between them. “Our bodies are also weapons. Deadly. But we can’t heal on our own. Although, if our power is blended with Creations…” He trails off.
“And add in the Vojin mixture…” I nod, still unable to lift myself from the floor. “They want that too, for their ability to control the cerebral cortex.”
“Shit,” he sighs, head shaking, hung low. “We can’t allow them to succeed.”
“Listen,” I say. “I was sold on taking them down when I found out they were taking out Creations. I just need to find Marc first and the generals. Sean too. Even Collins. Once I find them, we’ll figure out how to stop the Guidance and the Vojin. Just let me rest here for a second. To catch my breath and recover.” With every word I speak, it feels like I ran a mile.
“We don’t have that kind of time. The longer we take, the more Creations lose their lives. Eventually, they’ll all be wiped out, and those mind-controlled child Creations will be on the hunt for Itteix. That’s most of the Trade members.”
“Mm-hmm.” I can’t open my eyes, and sleep sinks down on me.
“I believe you can do this, Kylie. And I’m here to make sure you do that. So here.” He grabs my left hand. “Activate your healers, and I’m going to pass on to you my energy.”
“We can do that?” I ask.
The Separation Trilogy Box Set: Books 1 -3 Page 78
