by Kate Sander
We formed the Zoya Task Force. A top secret Canadian Military organization that circumvents the United Nations and answers to the Queen. We've had our fingers on the pulse of the underworld for over a century, quietly and efficiently bringing justice.
You think Hitler actually committed suicide?
To be clear, I am not a Zoya. I'm a handler. Who was unceremoniously promoted to the head of the ZTF after the last head committed treason.
I had two women, two partners. We worked well together, and were always successful.
Tomo and Senka.
Then, the last mission. The mission to Germany to save my estranged son from child traffickers. We'd thought Tomo was dead, but really she'd been kidnapped. She'd made a pill for her captors. A pill that made Zoya, but Zoya who were dead here and alive in The Other Place.
So now, the Ampulex army was growing. And there was no way to stop them from this world.
Tomo and Senka took the pills.
They died here. They woke up over there, now the first people to be Zoya twice.
I'm not sure what happened after that.
I know that Tomo's wife committed suicide. A pen to the neck. Bloody, gory, and final. I have this funny feeling that Tomo didn't make it.
So that leaves Senka. She is the only one who can stop the Ampulex from The Other Place.
We're on the hunt for the bastard Freudman, the leader of the Ampulex over here. The asshole who forced Tomo to make the pills and then forced her to take them. Then, he'd blown up Senka, hurting her so severely that she had no choice. Die, or take the pills and go back to The Other Place.
Senka had made the choice.
I loved her.
She left me.
Revenge.
That's why I can't sleep. That's why I'm writing this, even though I know no one will read it.
The Lord of the Rings is on repeat behind me. Black Eyes, the ghost from The Other Place who’s here to help, is watching it.
Don't ask. I'm just as confused about the situation as you are.
But, she's been quite helpful and I'm learning not to ask about certain things. Tomorrow, the remainder of the ZTF, the seven Zoya and their handlers, are getting together to discuss ideas. It's been two months. Too long has that asshole eluded our grasp.
San Francisco is gone. Swallowed into the ocean. We have sufficient evidence to indicate that it's because of the increase of Zoya crossing into The Other Place. It's changing the radiation of the entire universe. All due to Freudman. He now has millions of peoples’ blood on his hands.
We have to stop him.
We have to.
If we can't... Then the water will swallow the earth. A billion or more will die.
Senka. I hope you stop them from The Other Place.
I hope I see you again.
Rest assured, darling, that I will do everything I can to stop them from here.
Freudman, if you've hacked my computer and are reading this, I have something to say.
I'm coming for you.
And when I get there, you better hope your Zoya powers can deal with grenades and an assault rifle.
Signed,
Warrant-Officer Carter Green
Where do I begin?
Honestly, kid, there’s a lot that has happened in my life. I'm not even sure where to start. I know that I'm writing this so that you have something to read in case I die.
But that seems so silly. Because if I die right now, so do you.
So maybe I have something to read in the future. If we both make it out of this alive, then maybe someday you can read about what your mom went through.
Or something like that.
I just want you to know that I love you, more than anything. Even right now, as I write this, only three months pregnant with you, I know that you're the best. And that's what sucks.
I need to risk my life. I need to fight. But what if I kill you?
If I don't fight, everything will be lost.
So to begin. Because maybe you'll live and I won't. And that's okay. That's how it should be, and someone who tolerates me will take care of you.
I'd say who loves me, but I'm not sure if anyone does anymore.
Well, darling, I guess we will start at the beginning.
I was sixteen when I crossed over the first time. My family was in an accident, and my father died. I was left very sick in a coma, so I came here. I woke on a hill with no memories. Like every Zoya, I remembered nothing of my old life. A man, Master Appollyon found me and trained me. We were of the Melanthios, the people of the forest. The Melanthios were at war with the people of the city Solias. They attacked and killed everyone in my village, including Appollyon.
They took me to the dungeons. I've spent a lot of time in prison.
Quick tip, if you ever get there, you have a lot of time to get into shape.
Anyway, after a few years, the Queen of Solias helped me escape. It was imperative that I saved her sons Titus and Sol and that I negotiated a truce between the Melanthios and the people of Solias. I went with Jules to the Melanthios, where I met Tory, Ujarak and Eli. Tory and Ujarak you'll meet someday I'm sure; they are with me now. I heard a rumour Eli is dead, but no one knows for sure. Jules... Well, I loved him. He was my first love. And he loved me. He went to propose and I sent him away. Some stupid misunderstanding.
I have to be honest, I didn't save the Queen's sons. And I did not negotiate a truce. The Queen died. The King died. They left Solias in the hands of a madman. He went to war with the Melanthios, and I died killing him. I thought Jules died saving me. I still don't know what happened to the Queen's sons. They sure aren't on the throne and the country of Langundo is in chaos.
I was dead. But I wasn't.
Apparently dying is a lot harder than I thought it would be. But maybe that's because I needed to live to make you.
Anyway, I died in The Other Place, and I woke up in my old world. That's where I met your father. Warrant Officer Carter Green. I was recruited into the Zoya Task Force, he was my handler. Carter, Tomo and I, we were a team. We helped people. I truly believe that we did.
Then Tomo was kidnapped.
I found her, but she'd made these pills. They made Zoya. And then we both took them. I came back here, carrying you. The man who forced Tomo to make the pills, Dr. Freudman, was working for an organization called the Ampulex.
So, here we are, hunting the Ampulex. They are bringing too many Zoya over. It's causing problems, I know it is. They can make people lose their minds. They did it to Tomo and she died.
How she would have loved you.
You would have been her pride and joy.
We're on a ship, heading back to Langundo, chasing Malin and Roald and the Ampulex. We have to beat them. Or they will consume everything in their path. Kai, our wonderful panther, he's here. I'm sure he will be around you all the time when you can finally read this. He is looking after some kid we found who was following Tomo before she died.
I promise, someday, when the pain of losing Tomo isn't so near, I'll tell you about her.
I promise I'll tell you about your father every day.
So now, I want to live. It's the first time in a long time that I want to live. And it's to bring you into this world. So you can take it by storm.
But the Ampulex need to be gone first. I won't birth you into slavery.
I will stop at nothing to make sure you're born into safety.
Signed,
Your mother,
Senka
Part I
“Treachery and violence are spears pointed at both ends: they wound those who resort to them, worse than their enemies.” - Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights
1
Senka
"Snap out of it, Tomo," Senka yelled as her best friend attacked her again.
Eyes white, sword glinting, her friend was under the control of the Ampulex. And was out for blood.
The arrow came from behind her.
Senka heard
the whoosh as it flew by her ear and buried itself in Tomo's chest.
"Oh," Tomo said, looking down.
"TOMO," Senka yelled, sitting bolt upright in her bed.
"Senka," Tory said from beside her. "Senka calm down, it was a dream."
It took Senka a moment to place herself. The bed pitched sideways and vomit rose in her mouth.
A ship. She was on a ship.
She heaved and Tory scrambled up from the bed next to her, grabbing a bucket.
"It's okay," Tory said, patting her back as she puked in the bucket. "It's okay, Senka. You're doing good."
One last heave of pure bile and Senka pulled her head out of the pail. Tory stood and disappeared out of the room. Probably up to the deck to dump the pail.
Senka hated boats. And she was beginning to really dislike being pregnant.
Guilty about the thought, she put her hands over her belly. It was still flat, no sign of the baby from the outside. But she knew she was pregnant.
"Not like there are pregnancy tests in this world," she mumbled, laying down in bed in the fetal position. This wasn't planned, she hadn't been trying. Just a dumb night between her and Carter before... "Before you died," Senka said.
Then, she'd taken those pills and brought Carter's baby to another world.
Oops.
Senka grabbed the ring around her neck. The ring her first love, Jules, had given her the first time she'd been over here. Guilt. That's all she felt when she held the ring. She should get rid of it, but she couldn't. It had a ruby for its eye. That ruby was keeping Senka's memories intact. If she got rid of the ring, she'd forget everything. It all had to do with Tory's stone, the stone called the Remiel.
Shaking her head, she tried to let it go. She didn't understand any of this. How does a ring keep her memories? But she had proof. When those cannibals had stolen her ring, she'd all but forgotten about her home.
Jules.
It hurt her to keep his ring. Ujarak had told her that Jules still wasn't over their brief relationship. Senka had moved on, never expecting Jules to survive the knife through the chest.
A small knock on the door.
"Come," Senka grunted hoarsely.
A low creak as the door was pushed open slowly.
Eris, the teenager that Tory had brought along on this trip, poked her head in, "Tory?"
"Not here," Senka said tersely. She didn't trust that kid. An Ampulex traitor just happens to show up five minutes after Tomo is killed? Nah, that teenager has something to do with it. And Senka was going to prove it.
"Oh," Eris said, "okay then.” She stood there awkwardly for a second then shut the door.
Senka heard Tory come down the stairs and say something to Eris. Senka lay back down, covered her eyes and focused, trying to stop any further vomit. The door opened and closed, and Tory's light footsteps entered the room.
"Where'd you find that kid?" Senka muttered. "I don't trust her."
"Drink this," Tory said, ignoring the question and approaching the bed.
Senka listened, gulping the water.
"Ugh," she said as her stomach turned with the waves.
"Keep it down," Tory said.
"I'm obviously trying to keep it down," Senka snapped. Tory patted her arm. "And you didn't answer the question. You guys have been super secretive about it since we burned Tomo." The memory made her stomach quiver.
Tory sighed, "We've been secretive because it's embarrassing, alright?"
Senka opened her eyes and looked at her friend. Shoulders slumped, staring at the floor, the woman in front of her didn't look like the General of the Melanthios army that she knew.
She looked broken... and there was something else. Something Senka recognized.
Senka sat up, nausea momentarily forgotten. "I'm sorry I hadn't noticed," Senka said, laying her hand on her friend's shoulder. "What happened, Tory? I've been through shit too. It helps if you talk about it."
"It's so embarrassing," Tory said, burying her face in her hands. "I was surrounded. How could I let myself be surrounded? Without a weapon? And they..." She sobbed into her hands.
Senka hugged her, her own past flooding her memories as well. She knew exactly what they'd done. Exactly how it felt.
"It's not your fault," Senka said hoarsely. "Tory, it isn't. Sometimes people get the drop on us. And we realize we aren't invincible and we can't kick everyone's ass."
"The kid saved me from them," Tory said, sniffling. "They didn't do what they were planning. They started, then Eris came and killed them. A teenager had to save me. Who am I, if a teenager has to save me?"
"You're a General of the Melanthios army. You're the keeper of the Remiel. That stone can do anything, you said so yourself. You're a badass." She squeezed Tory against her shoulder. "And you're human. And humans are weak."
"The kid's a Zoya," Tory said. "She's stronger than me."
"Physically? Maybe. But she's human too. As am I. And you're still the strongest I know."
Tory sniffled into her shoulder again.
"You're sure that book doesn't tell you anything?" Tory said, gesturing to the beautiful brown leather-bound book in the corner of the room. "Even the Ampulex thought it would end all wars if they sent their army to get it."
"Well," Senka said, "it actually tells me a lot. A copy of The Lord of the Rings that's thousands of years old. We always assumed that this place, where Zoya come from, is an entirely different world. But I think it's the future of my time. And that tells me a hell of a lot."
Tory sniffled.
"Thanks for not making fun of me," she said. "I watched an entire monastery die to protect it. People gave their lives to protect that book. When you told me that it was an old work of fiction… That hit hard."
Senka understood. All this stuff hits hard. They sat in silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts.
"Thanks for lying," Tory said.
"Hm?"
"About the book telling you a hell of a lot."
"Well, it tells me we're in the future," Senka said.
"That doesn't really do much though, does it?"
"No. Can't see how it could."
"So thanks for lying."
"Anytime."
2
Tory
Cass Crumpler pulled her mink coat around herself, being careful not to catch anyone’s eye. She heard a rumble behind her as the steam engine pulled away from the train station, leaving her on the platform, a long way from home. Hating how tight the coat was over her dress, she pulled at the sleeves, trying to warm her hands in her thin gloves.
March of 1895 had been exceptionally cold.
It was late, too late.
"It's not good for a young woman like yourself to be going to New York so late," her father, Arthur, had said to her before her journey.
"I think it's good for her," her mother, Rebecca, had piped up. She had just finished with a patient and had walked into the room. "Mr. Tesla is a fine gentleman. He will keep his promise and meet her at the station, I have no doubt about it."
"I don't trust a white man to take care of my daughter," Arthur said grimly.
"She'll be fine," her mother had said. "Mr. Tesla is a European. They had no slavery over there. And we're on the Eastern Coast now, things will be different for our daughter. Plus, we all know why it needs to happen." And her mother had given her a severe look.
With that, Cass had gone on her way (with a little extra prodding from her mother). The longest trip she'd ever taken alone.
And now, no one was on the platform and it was getting to be very late.
Cass looked around nervously, trying to fight off the cold breeze. This job was important to her. Her mother had arranged it all and Cass needed to do well and make a good impression.
Clip-Clop-Clip-Clop
The hooves of a horse drawn carriage coming down the street. It only took a few moments when it pulled up at the station.
"Miss Crumpler?" the driver yelled, hopping off t
he front.
"That's me," Cass said softly.
"Sorry I'm late, Miss. This wind has my horses all in a tizzy," he said, picking up her suitcase and hauling it to the carriage for her. "Mr. Tesla is in one of his moods," the driver said, helping her into the back of the carriage. "I hope you got some sleep on the train, as he wants to start the experiment tonight."
Excitement built in Cass' chest to hear that, tonight, she'd be making her debut as a research assistant. Visions of matching her mother's prowess danced through her head. The world wouldn't just be talking anymore about Rebecca Crumpler, the first black female physician. They'd be talking about her daughter, Cass Crumpler, the black woman inventor.
Cheers, awards, accolades all swam in her head as she watched the beauty of New York City on a snowy night pass her by.
Knowing her parents wouldn't approve of her motivations, she kept them private, only now allowing herself to dream of the fame.
She'd learn all she could from Mr. Nikola Tesla, then she'd branch out and make her own amazing electrical discoveries. Even her older sister Lizzie would be jealous.
Lost in thought, the trip to South Fifth Avenue went quickly.
"Do you have the time, sir?" she asked the driver when they pulled in front of the handsome four story building in Manhattan.
"It is one o'clock in the morning on March the thirteenth, Madam. And you should be asleep, but as I said, Mr. Tesla gets on tangents and likes to work late sometimes. Rarely sleeps, these days. You'll get used to it."
Cass nodded and stared at the building nervously.
"I'll bring your things up to the fourth floor. Mr. Tesla has a room set up for you in the back. You will be assisting him with research. You can read?"
Cass was affronted, but she knew that she'd have to prove absolutely everything in this work. She had to be smarter and work harder than any white man to prove herself, just as her mother had.
"Of course. I would not be wasting his time if I couldn't."
