by C. C. Bolick
I knelt beside her. “I want the truth. All of it. Now.”
“I need you to understand I couldn’t stop Van.”
“Why did you let him kill me?”
Mama looked at the floor. Tears glimmered at the corners of her eyes. “I’ve always loved you, Regina. You’ll always be my daughter no matter what. Don’t doubt I’ll carry this choice like a jagged scar upon my heart forever.”
A long silence passed before I said, “You haven’t answered my question.”
“I knew what Van planned before he lifted the laser. He was ordered to pull the trigger.”
“Whose order? I can’t believe this.” I spun and threw my hands into the air.
“If you can’t get rid of the anger, all of this is a waste of time.”
“Waste of time?” I choked. “Did you really go there when time means nothing here? This is part of me dealing with my death. Now I’ve also got to accept the fact my own mother let me die.”
“It was the hardest decision of my life, but if there’s a way to save this planet it’s worth a shot. You would have died along with everyone else.” She sighed. “So would your brother and I can’t let that happen. Do you think he deserves the consequences of what we’ve done?”
“You mean what you’ve done. That’s how you convince yourself what happened to me was okay?”
“It will never be okay, but it’s what had to be done.”
“Why did Van have to fire the laser?” Again, I thought about our talks, how he seemed to be convincing himself that killing one person was worth the lives of everyone else. It was as if he’d waited for my response and I couldn’t remember what I’d told him. One person’s life to save a planet? That was probably a fair trade. I laughed.
“You can’t possibly find humor in this,” she said.
“Van didn’t want to kill me, did he?”
“No.”
“The queen forced him to shoot me? I’m surprised she didn’t shoot me herself.”
Mama shook her head. “Van has more blood on his hands than anyone I’ve met. He volunteered for this mission.”
“Volunteered to kill me?” For this mission… How did I become part of his mission? If Mama wanted my anger to stop, the chances of that happening were diminishing by the second. “How long have you known Van planned to kill me?”
She opened her mouth but closed it without a word.
“This is worse than I thought.”
“Accept your fate and then we’ll talk.”
I took another deep breath and closed my eyes. Using my power, I reached out and shoved every ounce of my strength against what felt like a rock wall. Her power.
Mama stood her ground, shoving back at me like the time when I’d once locked her out of the bathroom back at the camper. I was eight. She’d pounded the door and shook the handle until the door gave way. It was one of the few times I remember her spanking me.
The harder she pushed back, the more power I funneled at the wall of her strength. As my power reached its peak, my muscles clenched as if I’d run ten miles. Instead of giving up, I punched one last time until the wall that was her power crumbled.
When I opened my eyes, she was gone.
“Nice job,” she whispered. “You can’t shut me out forever.”
“Watch me.” I waved a hand and all light disappeared, along with every sound.
I sat on the couch in the darkness, but took comfort in the fact Travis’s memorabilia surrounded me. It might be dark, but I could feel a trace of him in this room. I’d rather be alone with a hint of Travis than stuck with anyone else.
That’s when I realized I no longer feared the darkness.
* * * * *
Travis
I woke with a start and sat up. My first thought was of Rena. My second was pushing her out of my mind. Thinking of her death was still too new, too raw. Inside, I felt numb.
Looking around, I realized this was my room at the base. Dad stood a few feet away with a re-generator wand in his hand. The long stick with a lighted end reminded me Dad wasn’t human. He was an alien who’d spent years undercover working for the agency before his disappearance.
The same night he left me and never looked back.
“That didn’t take long,” Dad said. “Do you feel any pain?”
He actually sounded worried about my health. The man was a better agent than I was, far more experienced with lying. I rubbed my head while trying to recall how I got there. “What’s going on?”
“You were hit over the head, hard enough to fracture your skull. I healed the damage.”
The events from the conference room came back. The shock of watching Rena die left me empty inside, like I’d found a way to die with her. I remembered grabbing Dad’s laser and pointing it at the queen. She’d given Van the order to kill Rena and she’d be the first to face my revenge. Pade jumped between us. Why couldn’t I pull the trigger? It wouldn’t be the first time I shot someone and this someone had killed the person who meant everything to me. If he was in on this plan, he deserved to die.
I hated myself for hesitating long enough Dad ripped the laser from my hands. Since I’d taken the serum the night before, I didn’t have any of my powers, especially the one that allowed me to burn a person’s skin. In seconds that person would be dead.
It was the reason I always wore gloves. I held up my bare hands and made fists. It was a curse that made me an island in a sea of people, unable to touch any person I didn’t want to hurt, especially Rena. Last night I’d been thrilled to get rid of the power and finally touch her again.
I’d never wished for this curse until today.
When Dad took the laser, I was defenseless. In my rush to get dressed and attend Sylvia’s meeting, I hadn’t bothered to wear my gun. No powers, no gun… What kind of agent had I become? How could I be this weak? Rena deserved better.
Then someone slammed my head. “Who hit me?”
The re-generator wand disappeared and Dad put up his hands. “You need to calm down.”
“Calm down?” If I still had my power to teleport, this discussion would be over. “Who hit me?”
“Tyler.”
“There’s a special place in hell for a person who betrays his best friend. And for someone who betrayed his son.”
“Strange that you mention hell,” Dad said. “People on Golvern love to read Earth’s books. Some have accused me of being the devil himself. Why do you think I use the name Noah? Much less intimidating.”
For a moment, the shock of his words overcame my hatred. “Noah Payne is not your real name?”
Dad shook his head. “Would you like to—”
“My name is Travis Payne. I won’t let you change who I am.”
“That’s not why I’m here.”
The temperature of the room seemed to rise as he waited for me to ask the question. Sweat beaded along my forehead. I had no intention of playing his game. “You probably think I should forgive Tyler and play nice. Isn’t that what you asked for on Golvern? You wanted me to help wipe out some of your old debts.”
“Tyler was doing his job. His first duty as one of the palace guards is to protect Golvern’s royal family.”
I thought of this foreign planet Dad called home. I’d traveled across the galaxy, through a gateway, to a planet smaller than Earth. A thousand years more advance than Earth, they had technology like the re-generator wand Dad used to heal my cracked skull. He’d insisted it would be my home too, that it was my birthright to use my gift to see the future and help the queen, but I’d never go back there. After meeting the queen and seeing her palace, I didn’t care if that planet was wiped out of existence.
Now that she’d killed Rena, I prayed it would happen sooner rather than later. “Tyler will regret this just like she will. And you.”
“I didn’t pull that trigger.”
“No, but I’m betting you knew Van would.” I laughed when what I really wanted to do was pound his face. “The whole time I thou
ght Van was planning to shoot you.”
“I can imagine how you might have thought that.”
“Van hated you. He told me he’s not the only one. Even you’ve told me people want you dead.”
“Years ago, I lived my life for me alone. I didn’t care who I hurt or who died because of me. I lied. I stole. I killed. Whatever it took to get what I wanted.”
“Then you’ll understand,” I said. “When I kill you, you’ll know why I pulled the trigger. Chip off the old block.”
He smiled. “You’re taking Rena’s death well.”
“Well?” I raised an eyebrow. The humor in his voice meant he didn’t buy the ‘kill him’ threat. “I can’t feel anything right now. It’s like we’re in some kind of cartoon and nothing is real. I don’t even know for sure if you healed my head.”
“I did.”
“You lied to me before; you’re probably lying to me again.”
“I’ve never lied to you.”
“Back on the island you said we were killing time. You could have brought me back to this base but you didn’t.”
“You would have interfered with Rena’s mission to the sun. She had to go there so we could gage her power.”
“We?” Every thought in my head stopped as if someone hit the pause button on a remote. “You’re working with her? With Van?”
“I know it’s hard for you to understand—”
“Hard for me to understand?” I jumped to my feet. “You knew Van would kill Rena and you purposely kept me from reaching her.”
“Strengthening her power meant saving lives. She didn’t need you there as a crutch. Yes, I kept you away.”
Though I got in his face, the same face I’d spent thirteen years wishing to see again, he didn’t retreat. “What does strengthening her power mean if she’s dead?” When he looked away, I glanced around us. “Is she here in this room? Rena?”
He hesitated. “I don’t know, but I won’t take a chance on destroying our only chance to change the future. I’ve seen the destruction. No one will survive.”
“You told the queen everyone would die. You made this plan.”
“I’ve known about the destruction for thirteen years. It’s why I left you here with Sylvia. The night I disappeared, I saw a vision of the future. One of Golvern’s suns will explode and destroy Golvern before traveling through the gateway and wiping out this system. Neither planet will survive. I promised Sylvia I wouldn’t return until I found a way to stop the destruction.”
“Why should that matter to me?”
“You’re hurting,” he said. “You’re numb inside and you don’t know what to do next. You think hurting others will take away the pain.”
“Rena’s dead. Nothing can take away that pain.”
He reached for my shoulders. “Travis, you’re at the heart of what will happen and you don’t realize it.”
“The bombs she defused—Louis’s bombs—you said he had alien technology. How did Louis get this technology?”
“I’ve funneled technology to Louis for months. Anything he needed to make advanced bombs. Rena needed to build her powers and defusing nuclear bombs seemed the likely first choice. Her mission to the sun revealed her limits. Unfortunately, she wasn’t strong enough in human form.”
“You’re worried about my revenge and you’re willing to give a terrorist bombs and destroy lives because of a vision? What if you’re wrong?”
“I’m not.”
“You think Rena’s power can stop a star from exploding?”
He nodded. “I’ve thought for years she could be the answer. After the queen read your future, she assured me this was the only way. Killing Rena unleashed the full extent of her powers. Now it’s up to her.”
“I thought Van was the bad guy. Maybe it was you all along.”
“What if I am? All you can think about is avenging Rena’s death. You don’t seem to care if the world ends.”
“You’re right,” I said. “The quicker everyone dies, the easier it will be to enjoy my revenge.”
Dad sat on the couch, but I refused to follow. “If you’d been able to focus on your job and not Rena, you would have seen this coming. I may be the villain, but I’m still your father. There’s not much you can do to stop my personal mission, which is to keep you alive.”
“Why would you care?”
“Keeping you alive is the only promise I made to your mother before she died,” he said in a hoarse voice. “But her body was frozen before her last breath. We have the chance to save her.”
I thought of the frost on Mom’s eye lashes back in that cryogenic cylinder. Her face was as beautiful as the pint-sized me remembered. “You’ll never bring her back.”
“Maybe not, but I haven’t given up on that dream yet. You shouldn’t either.”
I crossed my arms. “If you really loved her, you know how I feel about Rena. How could you let Van take her away?”
“Because it was the only way to save you.”
“That’s stupid. Now that she’s gone, I don’t care if I die. I’ll never see her again.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”
I paused. “You think there’s a way I can see her again?”
“I know there is. I’ve seen the future.”
“Tell me.”
“You’ll see her again, but you’ve got to survive the next twenty-four hours. I suggest you keep your eyes open and your mouth shut. We’ve got a meeting to attend this morning.”
“You can’t be serious. I’m not going to the senator’s trade meeting. The queen will be there and all bets are off when I see her or Van.”
“As an agent, it’s your job. Sylvia concurs.”
“Sylvia… I’m sure she’s outside the door waiting to lock me up on the isolation floor. As soon as my powers return, I’m a threat. I can kill anyone by touching their skin. If I hadn’t drunk that serum, Van would already be dead.”
“Sylvia doesn’t see you as a threat. I’ve told her we need you.”
“Like she cares what you have to say. She locked me up before and she’ll lock me up again. If she doesn’t, I’ll kill everyone who was in that room, starting with Van and his queen.” I laughed bitterly. “I would lock me up.”
“You’ll kill no one.” A laser appeared in Dad’s hand which he held out for me. “I’ve seen the future. I believe in the agent you’ve become. I’ve seen the man you’ll be. If you’re so sure about revenge, take this laser and shoot me. I don’t think that’s what you really want.”
“I want Rena back.”
“In twenty-four hours, she’ll save the world with your help. Until then, I’ll do everything in my power to make sure she’s ready.”
The lights dimmed. Dad looked around in question and the lights dimmed again before returning to normal.
All of my anger melted away. “Rena?” It felt as if she stood next to me. “She’s here, I know it.”
Dad placed the laser on the couch next to him and stood. “Twenty-four hours is all I’m asking. Afterward you can kill whoever you choose.”
“Promise me I’ll get her back.”
“I can’t make that promise. She will return, but getting back the Rena you knew might not be possible. Especially if you’re bent on turning this place into a bloodbath once your powers return.”
I reached for his arm. He shuddered as I touched the skin at his wrist. “You saw my future, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Tell me how to get her back.”
“Sometimes the future can be altered, but sometimes no amount of effort can tip the scale.” Dad teleported and left me alone in the room.
Chapter Three
Rena
I don’t know how long I sat in the darkness. I’d drifted into a solitude with no regard to time. Mama said time was different for us, but how long could I shut out the world? I needed time to process my death. She insisted I needed to accept the truth.
No one would keep me and Travis
apart. It was the only truth I felt sure of. In here, I would use my time wisely and think of a way to make Karma work for me.
Surrounding me was a cocoon made from the thickest fabric I could imagine. Warm and cozy. Safe. Thicker than the sleeping bag I used back when the heater went out in the camper and Dad spent the week drinking every night instead of fixing the stupid thermostat. Yes, it did get cold in Florida.
Instead of feeling stuck here, I chose to stay. For the last few months, I’d grown closer to Travis, maybe become dependent on him in some ways. I wanted Travis by my side and I didn’t want to think about going through the rest of my life without him, however long that might be.
No, to exist here I’d have to survive without Travis. I’d managed fine when Sylvia locked him on the isolation floor. Yes, he left me a letter with directions on how to escape the base. But after that, I was on my own. He wasn’t in the car with me in Virginia.
No, Erin was with me. Our trip hovered at the edge of my memory, like an adventure from years before, not days. Part of me wished to leave the darkness and see Erin. The other part of me was afraid she might run the other way. She wouldn’t be able to see me.
No one could see me now.
But on our last morning together, Travis saw Mama standing near the end of the bed. Not Mama as Bethany, but Mama in her true ghostly form. How had he been able to see her?
Because she’d visited Travis while he was in the coma. There were so many rules I needed to learn about my new form. I’d been so focused in school, set on learning physics and calculus and becoming an aerospace engineer. A tear slid down my cheek, one last taste of the bittersweet line in the sand. Mama was right. I couldn’t go back.
I’d have to learn the laws of this new reality. Perhaps it was time to finally let go of that dream and accept this new world.
If she could get into Travis’s head, maybe I could too.
I wiped a hand over my face. The touch wasn’t real, but it felt real enough. I bit my lip until I tasted blood. That was a taste I’d never forget.
When a knock sounded, I drew the fabric closer. “Go away.”
