by Zoey Indiana
When he was born, it had been a miracle. None of the Resistance scientists could figure out how his chromosomes had mutated to produce him, but then again, they were all too excited because he was the first male born since the virus that would restore the natural order.
“No one’s gotten pregnant, it’s been four years!”
“That just means we need to try harder.” Kai’La reached for him again, but he stopped her.
“Something is wrong with me.” Cay dropped his face into his hands. There was so much turmoil in his mind for him to articulate it all right now.
“Look at you, there is nothing wrong with you.”
“Please leave, I’m not in the mood for visitors right now.”
Kai’La remained motionless for a long time, then left without a word.
Cay let out a jagged breath and leaned back against the couch. Resting his head on the top, he stared up at the ceiling. At this rate, he would never help restore humanity to what it once was. Could they have lied? Was it possible he wasn’t fertile? While the number of tests had declined over the years, they still gave him painful fertility injections, and constantly tested every known body fluid he had. Was there even a point to it all?
He needed something to distract himself... or maybe someone.
Cay left his quarters and headed towards where Nova was staying. Just thinking about her made him feel lighter, and he wanted to learn everything he could about her.
Once he arrived at her door, he paused. What should he say? What reason did he have to be here? When she’d crashed into him in the hallway earlier, her wandering hands told him she was interested. Minutes later she’d rebuffed him and tried to escape his presence. It had been intriguing because no woman ever ran from him before.
Reaching out, he pressed the button to let her know someone was here. Relief coursed through him when the metal door slid open. He stepped inside and analyzed the plain room. Since it was a guest residence, it was nice but simple and just like his room, but with more color.
“It’s you again!”
Cay wished she sounded more eager to see him. “Yes, it’s me again.”
“What are you doing here?” Nova jumped off the couch and crossed her arms.
“I just wanted to formally meet the newest visitor to Gu’Kano Colony.” Cay invited himself to sit on her couch.
“We’ve already met, it was nice to meet you.” Nova walked over to the door and pointed. “You can leave now.”
“Ah, that’s not very nice. I’m here to welcome you to the colony. Nothing more, nothing less.” He patted the couch next to him. “Tell me about Violet Five, I’ve never heard of it before.”
Nova muttered something Cay couldn’t quite make out and stayed motionless in a staring deadlock for an eternity before Nova heaved a deep sigh and sank into the chair across from him. Clearly she wanted him to leave, but not enough to try more. Maybe she was interested after all, but just playing hard to get.
“Violet Five?” Cay smiled.
“It’s a Resistance bar I own and run within the inner-city perimeter. I supply indulgences for city dwellers, and Resistance members have a safe place to meet.”
Fascinating, when she told him her name was Nova, he wasn’t expecting her to be that Nova. She was one of five Resistance leaders who ran haven businesses inside the inner-city. They also considered them the most valuable members inside the Resistance, alongside the few who ran colonies and himself.
Nova interrupted his thoughts. “Now you know who I am, you can leave.”
Cay watched her face for the smallest hint of expression. There was a spark of curiosity in her eyes but her face showed exhaustion. “When was the last time you had a vacation?”
“Excuse me?” The surprise on her face was adorable.
“I said, when was the last time you had a vacation?”
“I won’t win this, will I?”
“Probably not, you seem determined, but overworked. While you want me to leave, you are too tired to throw any effort into it.” Grabbing her hand with both of his, she jerked her hand back, but he held onto it. He started by stroking her palm and working his way down her fingers. “You are so full of stress, I’d be happy to help you relax.”
“I’m sure you would, but I’m okay. I’m just here to audit the process of some items we stock at the bar, not a vacation.”
“Why not take a moment to relax while you’re here not vacationing?” He moved up and rubbed circles on the underside of her wrist with his thumb. She let out a soft sigh and sank back into the chair more.
“Because I have a lot of important things to complete while I’m here.”
“Like what? Tell me what is so much more important than your own wellbeing.” He went back to massaging her hand, taking a moment to give each finger attention.
“Like really important business things.”
He held back a chuckle as her eyes closed, now she was relaxing.
“Ah, those really important business things. Gotta focus on those.”
“Are you teasing me?” Her eyes lazily opened and focused on his face.
“Only a little.” This time he couldn’t hold back the smirk while he tugged on her arm. “Come over here.”
Happy surprise burst in his chest as she stood, and he guided her next to him on the couch. Now this was a view he never wanted to miss.
After she sat next to him, he massaged her shoulders. A whiff of her shampoo caught his attention, and he leaned in closer, jasmine. Her brown hair didn’t reach his hands. Nova let out a soft moan. Cay felt movement down below, but now wasn’t the time for that. Nova was like no other woman he’d met. She wouldn’t fall into his bed, no he’d have to work to gain her interest. Then he would have her in his bed.
3 Gu'Kano Resistance Colony: Nova
A high-pitched chirp pulled her from bliss. She wiggled and felt something warm and hard behind her. Opening her eyes, she saw an arm holding her. Alarmed, she sat up and turned around. Cay! She’d fallen asleep while he gave her a massage.
Another chirp intruded on the moment. Cay winked at her and walked over to the door, pressing a button. The door slid open and An’Da rushed in.
“Nova, ARI raided Violet Five. Our courier barely escaped. She said ARI was on the way here next.” She cut herself off. “Cay, what are you doing here?”
“Just welcoming our friend here.”
Nova exploded off the couch. “Wait a minute, they got V-Five?”
An’Da’s eyes narrowed as she nodded. “We have to evacuate.”
A shiver of ice shot down her back. Was Jay’La safe? Nova paced, hoping she wasn’t dead or undergoing Rectification Treatment. She was too nice and had been through too much to be in the hands of ARI. “What are the plans here? I’m not used to Gu’Kano’s procedures.”
“Several people have left already, but the focus is on a handful of people, like Cay here.” An’Da pointed to him, “It is vital he gets away. His life is worth more than most of the people who live here.”
“It’s not my life that’s so important.” Cay sounded almost bitter.
“Then what’s the plan to evacuate him? I need to make sure he’s safe before I leave.”
“The women in charge of evacuating him went to his residence quarters.” She pulled out a small device and pressed a few buttons. “I notified them where he is, they’ll come here and take him to a more secure colony.” Nova held her tongue. She wanted to keep him safe, but they barely knew each other. Surely the women who knew him were the best to protect him.
“Then I’ll wait for them to arrive. Once he’s safe with them, then I’ll leave.” Nova plopped onto the couch and slipped on her jacket. Shame washed through her. While she was here flirting with a man, her friends were taken by surprise. An ache formed in her chest as she thought about what would have happened to Jay’La and the other Resistance members.
“You don’t have to stay, I’ll make sure he stays safe.” An’Da took a step closer to
Cay.
Something about the way she said it made Nova sit up. Taking a closer look at the woman, Nova saw a faint red haze around An’Da she’d never noticed before. If she trusted her intuition, it meant that An’Da wasn’t to be trusted.
“No, I have to stay to make sure Cay’s safe. I refuse to leave until that moment.” A quick look toward Cay revealed he was glaring at An’Da. Something seemed off about this situation. “We should leave and head towards the women, it would speed up the process.”
“No, we should stay here.”
“If we stay here, we’re more at risk. We need to move, now.”
“It shouldn’t take much longer.” An’Da glared at Nova.
Nova walked towards Cay and An’Da. As she focused on An’Da, the red haze thickened around her. Something wasn’t quite right about her, but as she walked within touching distance of them, an earth-shattering boom echoed through her bones.
Nova grabbed onto Cay and they both caught themselves before they fell to the ground. An’Da fell to her knee, but before Nova could second guess her suspicions, she grabbed Cay’s arm and sprinted from the room. Some of her fears were confirmed when women in red uniforms appeared on the floors above them. They ran along the main hallway until Cay pulled her to a stop.
“We need to go this way.”
Nova turned down the hall he indicated and ran. They weaved through doorways and hallways until a red uniform materialized in their path. Nova stopped so quickly she lost her balance. Cay’s arm caught her and kept her on her feet. Turning around, she found another red uniform behind them. They were trapped.
4 Gu'Kano Resistance Colony: Cay
“Halt! We have orders to kill anyone on sight.”
Cay held his breath and struggled to think as ARI soldiers surrounded them. They would have no problem killing Nova. She was on the ARI most-wanted list, as for himself, suspicion sank into him that death would be better than being a prisoner. Before he could talk himself out of it, he grabbed Nova and triggered a door near them to open. They both fell through the door, but Cay scrambled to his feet and pressed a button on the wall display. The door sealed shut right as the first red uniform appeared in his line of sight.
“That should give us about seven minutes to think before they break through.” Cay looked around the room and confirmed the sinking feeling in his gut as he caught his breath. “I know all the escape routes in the colony.”
“It sounds like there is a ‘but’ coming.” Nova lay on the floor, heaving for air.
“However, we are cut off from all of them right now. If we had made it another two meters, we’d have a chance.” Cay reached a hand out to help her up, and she took it.
“Right, because nothing could be that easy.” Nova stood and looked around the room.
“What are you looking for?”
“A way out.” Nova reached into the pocket of her jacket and pulled out a small device.
“I put a trulium door between us and the way out. Sprinkle in a few ARI soldiers, and we’re trapped.”
“Your point is?”
“Did you hear what I just said? They trapped us in this room. How are you going to find a way out?” The woman was obstinate. She was hard-headed and impossible. If he survived this, he promised to return to his old life and give up this fascination with the woman trapped with him.
“Just because we’re trapped doesn’t mean we can’t get out.”
Cay rolled his eyes. “That’s exactly what that means, it’s in the definition of the word.” He gestured to the surrounding room. “This is a residential quarter, they’re designed for the same entrance and exit. We should’ve waited with An’Da for the other women.”
Nova spun, giving him an intense look. “The people you think you should trust the most are the ones you can trust the least.”
Hair stood on the back of his neck. “Then why should I trust you?”
“You shouldn’t, but what do I have to gain? I don’t even know you. You’re just another person to me.”
“That’s not what it sounded like.” He couldn’t hold back the grin.
Nova turned away from him and inspected the wall. “How wide are your shoulders?”
“What?”
“Your shoulders, how many centimeters wide are they?”
Words eluded him as he tried to respond. “Wide? I have no idea… how wide are your shoulders?”
“Thirty-five and a half.” Nova turned and looked him over. “You’re probably about fifty-six centimeters, which will make this close.”
He straightened his spine as her eyes roaming over his body set him on fire. If ARI wasn’t trying to break the door down at this very second, temptation begged him to show her how large he was.
“Are you coming?”
Oh, how he wished he was coming right now. “What?” He shook the dirty thoughts from his mind and saw that Nova had found some kind of access way he hadn’t noticed.
Nova pointed to the opening. “Are you going to stay here or come with me?”
5 Gu'Kano Resistance Colony: Nova
Nova crawled through the access way listening to Cay muttering random curses, but she couldn’t look back to see what the problem was. It was rather narrow, and she didn’t want to risk giving their location away by talking. Heat invaded her cheeks when she realized that Cay’s view was of her ass. She hoped the lunch she’d eaten a few hours ago didn’t cause any trouble, because she might die of embarrassment if she managed to dutch oven him in the ducting. They crawled around a corner and Nova froze, then something crashed into her ass.
“Why did you stop?”
“The access way collapsed, I think there’s another utility door half a meter back.” Her voice cracked. The sound of Cay moving rattled through the access way, then there was a grunt and a curse. “That doesn’t sound good, what’s happening?”
A few more curses followed. “I’m stuck.”
“What do you mean you’re stuck?”
“This’ll be a thing for us, won’t it?”
“What will?”
He chuckled. “Nevermind, my shoulders are stuck. I can’t move forward or backwards.”
Nova groaned, this would only get better if ARI found them. “Exhale.”
“What good will that do?”
“Let out all the air in your lungs and diaphragm. It’ll make you more narrow. Hopefully, just enough to let you move.” A long hiss of air followed by the sound of skin sliding along metal.
“That actually worked.”
“You actually listened.” Nova grumbled as she thought back to when Cay followed her to the supply office. She’d made it clear then she wanted him to go away.
“I heard that.”
“Good! You’re the most stubborn man I know!”
Cay let out a hardy laugh. “I’m the only man you know.”
“You know what I meant.”
“I think I found the utility door. Go ahead and work your magic on it.”
“I don’t have any magic.”
Nova made it to the utility door and pulled out a small tool. Thirty seconds later it fell away and crashed on the floor. “Damn, someone’s used it recently. Usually they stick and need force to open. I hope they didn’t hear it.”
Nova slid out and spread her arms. Tucking into a ball, she rolled and jumped up without missing a beat. She turned around to see Cay slam face-first onto the ground.
“Someone really should have taught you basic fighting skills.” There was a click behind her. “They would be useful right about now.”
Nova slowly turned around with her hands up. Five hazy red ARI soldiers stood there with Reapers pointed at her face. A cold sweat broke out on her back. If she tried to fight them, they would kill her. If she saved Cay, it would be worth it. But the odds were against her and her skill set. She dropped to one knee, and then the other as she placed her hands behind her head. Last thing she needed was a trigger-happy soldier killing her because she moved wrong.
&nbs
p; Cold metal restraints bit into her wrists, and Nova sighed as the totality of the situation sank in. Their worst enemy had captured them, either they would torture and execute her or would put her through Rectification Treatment. Icy fear coursed through her veins at the idea of Rectification Treatment. No words in existence were horrible enough to describe the process.
If she escaped this impossible situation, she vowed to herself that she would leave Cay in the protection of the Resistance, then she would move Violet Five and take down the Sovereign.
A soldier pulling her to her feet jarred her from her thoughts. The next few minutes were critical. Every second they were in the hands of ARI, it became increasingly difficult to escape. A quick glance behind her showed Cay in the same position.
They marched out of the underground colony and were loaded into a prisoner transport. Once a soldier shoved her on a bench, Nova looked around. It was an older model transport, probably outdated sixty years ago. If ARI knew they were raiding a prized Resistance stronghold, she’d thought they’d bring the top of the line equipment and transports.
“Turn around and let me see your restraints.” Nova commanded Cay, making his eyebrows rise and revealing a black eye was forming from his fall. It didn’t detract from the handsomeness of his face.
“What? Why do you need to see them?”
“Instead of playing this what-and-why game, can you just do it?”
“Because that’s not as fun.”
Reluctantly, he shuffled around while grumbling. Just what she thought, the restraints were older models as well. Maybe ARI wasn’t doing so well since the Resistance had doubled its efforts. In the last three months, the Resistance had destroyed five supply depots and two manufacturing compounds. The setback must have been worse than they thought.
“Find anything useful?”
“Actually, yes I did.”
“What’s the plan now?” Cay avoided her gaze. “They told me ARI would kill me on sight. No one told me what would happen if they captured me.”