The Island Experiment

by Erica Rue

  It was strange to accept comfort and advice from a Ficaran, but it had been a strange and awful few days. She comforted herself by remembering that, soon, she would have closure. She and all the other Aratians that the Green Cloaks had betrayed would be able to heal.

  She felt the tremble of the ground before she saw the brown and black fur of the maximutes returning. Controlling her impulse to jump up, she stood and walked calmly toward Theo. They met at the edge of where their group was waiting.

  “How many are there?” she asked.

  He exchanged a looked with Felix before answering. “Six.”

  “So few,” she said, uncertain whether to be glad. Either there had been fewer traitors than expected, or not all the Green Cloaks were here. She was about to share her concern with Theo when she noticed how pale he looked. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  “They’re dead,” he replied.

  “All of them?” She was glad that the others hadn’t heard this revelation yet.

  “Yes. The Vens beat us here.”

  “Show me.”

  “Cora, it’s not a suitable sight for a young woman’s eyes.”

  “I thought you were a man who could follow orders,” she snapped. “Show me.”

  Theo nodded, though he seemed more sad than angry at the command. “The first body is in the field. He was killed trying to escape.”

  Cora paused a moment to scratch her maximute behind the ear, and he licked her face in thanks. He had been a gift from her father. No one had wanted to claim the pup because his fur was all black, a bad omen in Aratian culture, and so her father had found a solution. He had given the pup to Cora and taught her how to ride, though few women got maximute training. Cora didn’t get to ride him often, so he spent most of his time with the cavalry, not as a war dog, but as a companion dog. Even the fiercest warriors need a friend, she thought.

  She climbed atop the beautiful maximute and fell in next to Theo. She assured everyone they weren’t in danger and ordered them to stay put. She could tell Lithia didn’t like that idea.

  Once they were out of earshot, she turned to Theo. “Bring Asher to the front. Elijah’s son. I want to see his reaction to the first body.” Cora told herself it was to judge his innocence, but a large part of her wanted him to feel a piece of what she had felt as she watched bodies fall around her that night. In her heart she already knew he was guilty.

  “A sound idea,” Theo replied, gesturing to the Ficaran who had been keeping an eye on him. After the battle at the Vale Temple, Theo recognized and trusted some of the Ficarans he had fought alongside, including Colm and his men.

  Asher was loaded onto Theo’s maximute. His hands were tied behind his back. He tapped his fingers to his thumbs, and his eyes darted about as soon as the farm came into view.

  “We have something to show you,” Theo said to him. To Cora, he added, “We’ll ride ahead, and come back for the others.”

  Cora climbed atop her maximute, and the three were off. She hadn’t been out to the farms in years, but the slick, white barn was just as she remembered it. In the distance beyond it was a short row of five small farm cottages. The barn was built from the same pre-fab material as many of the Ficaran apartments, but the houses were made from local materials.

  They walked down a row of the field. The crops here were new, barely ankle high and littered with weeds. This made the body easy to see at a distance, along with the two large carrion birds, omens of the state it was in.

  The birds flew away at their approach, and Cora glanced toward Asher. His fingers stopped their twitching. Once his eyes settled on the body heaped on the ground, he couldn’t look away. Once they were close enough, she lowered herself from her maximute. She wanted to hesitate when the smell hit her, but she resisted and breathed through her mouth. This is what a leader would do, she thought. Right?

  Her inspection was brief. After seeing so much death in the past few days, she thought she would have become more inured to the sight, but it was just as gruesome as ever. This was the unmistakable work of a Ven. She had seen enough shredded bodies to know the aftermath of Ven claws. She thought the face was familiar, but she couldn’t look at the body for long enough to remember the name.

  Theo helped their prisoner down from the maximute. “Asher, do you recognize this man?”

  The young man clenched his jaw, and for a moment, Cora doubted her conviction that he was a Green Cloak. Then, he broke. His chest heaved and his lip quivered. He clumsily fell to his knees, his hands still tied. Theo moved to restrain him, but there was no need. The boy was sobbing into the dirt.

  Cora felt strange. Asher deserved this. A part of her was glad he felt grief, even if it was only a fraction of her own. The strange part was the connection she felt to him in the moment, the sadness of seeing someone in so much pain, even if he deserved all of the pain in the world.

  They killed your father, she reminded herself. They betrayed your people.

  Hot rage burned away her pity. Asher lay in the grass, silent tears running down his cheeks. She towered over him on her maximute. “So you are a traitor. Let’s go see if everyone’s dead. How many of you were there?”

  He didn’t answer.

  “How many more bodies did you find, Colm?” she asked, her tone matter-of-fact.

  “Five more besides this one.”

  A fresh sob escaped the boy’s lips. “They’re all dead?”

  “How many were here?”

  “There were six here when I left.” His voice was lifeless as the corpse next to him.

  Something about the way he phrased it nettled her. She put it together, but Theo was already speaking.

  “Here. There are more elsewhere?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Where?” Cora demanded.

  “You’ll kill them, too,” Asher replied.

  “What do you mean ‘too’?” Cora interjected. “Vens did this. You chose them over your own people, and this is how they repaid you.”

  “We chose truth, or at least a chance for it, but we were wrong. By the time we realized what the Vens were it was too late.”

  “What do you mean?” Cora asked.

  “We thought that the Vens would recognize and appreciate our help, but they killed the ones who let them in. By then, it was too late to do anything.”

  “You never even talked to them?” She raised her eyebrows. “You assumed they were what you thought.”

  “Anything was better than the Farmer and Michael, or so we thought.”

  Cora balled her hands into fists, nails digging into her palms as she fought to keep control of her emotions. “Then what’s your plan? Why not confess?”

  “You would have rejected us. We just wanted to find a way to come back home.”

  “That’s true. We don’t want you back,” Cora spat. “What were they doing out here?”

  Asher was silent.

  “Tell me!” she shouted.

  But Asher wasn’t listening to her. He was staring glumly at the farmhouses, no doubt thinking of his fellow Green Cloaks.

  Wrong as it is, she thought, even traitors can be mourned.

  24. CORA

  Theo called one of his men with the communicator and ordered them to bring everyone to the farmhouses. He heaved Asher back onto his mount, and he and Cora headed to the nearest cottage. The other bodies were inside. She hesitated at the door, examining a smear of dried blood on the doorframe.

  “Cora, you don’t need to go in there,” Theo said.

  “I do,” she replied.

  Cora thought that she was prepared, but she was mistaken. In the field, the blood had soaked away, into the ground. Inside, it had coalesced into sticky, coagulated pools. She didn’t try to reconstruct what had happened. All she could process was the blood and the smell and a pair of lifeless eyes that stared right through her.

  Cora burst back outside, and though free of the metallic stench, she could not master the urge to vomit. She knelt next to a smal
l bush and heaved, aware that most of her traveling companions had arrived and were watching her.

  Jai hopped off his machi and hurried to her side. “Here,” he said, offering her a handkerchief. She took it and heard Theo’s men explain to the group what had happened.

  Her eyes were watering. No, she was crying. She wanted Jai to leave her alone. She turned away, but he put a hand on her back, saying nothing.

  “I wanted this. I wanted to kill them all.” More death, more blood. If the Vens hadn’t gotten here first, it would have been on her hands. “I know I would have killed the Green Cloaks if they’d been alive. If they’d resisted at all. I wanted them to die, but—” She took a shuddering breath. “Ever since my father died and Will died, there’s been this hole in my heart, and I thought this would give me closure.”

  “But that hole is still there?”

  Cora nodded. “This isn’t justice. This is horrible. War is horrible. Will we ever have peace?”

  “I think once the Vens are all gone, we stand a chance,” Jai replied. “Do you really think they’ll leave us alone?”

  “We can’t be sure, but the Icon works again, which will protect us. Plus, from what Lithia has told me, the Vens never sent out a message about this place. No others know we’re here.” Cora knew that they were safer now than before, but there was a fear in her heart that would never go away. Not after everything she’d seen since the Vens arrived.

  “Then I do think we can have peace,” Jai said. “We’ve got Ficarans here helping us, and a few weeks ago, I never would have imagined that was possible.”

  “If the alliance lasts.”

  “Make it last. You’ll be in a position to do a lot of good once you become Regnator.”

  She raised her eyebrows at him. Had he not figured it out? “I don’t think I can accept the conditions of becoming Regnator.” He would understand her meaning. I cannot marry you. She would never marry him or anyone else. She thought he understood that.

  “Then change the rules,” Jai said.

  Cora cocked her head, sizing him up. If he was saying what she thought he was, then Jai wanted to reform the Matching as well. Maybe he did understand.

  A door slammed. Cora hadn’t noticed Lithia or Bel enter the house, but she heard them leave. Bel turned back to the house and closed her eyes. Maybe she was praying, or maybe she couldn’t get the images out of her head. Lithia kicked over a box of empty glass jars, causing them to shatter in a beautiful tinkling noise, then stormed off into the field.

  “I’m going to check on her,” Jai said, “but I’m here if you need anything. I want to be your friend.”

  “I know. Maybe we can be friends. Lithia needs a friend, too, especially with Dione gone. Make sure she’s okay.”

  As soon as Jai left her side, Theo emerged from the next house. He looked troubled, but not like before. Concern, not disgust, wrinkled his brow. In another moment, he was by her side.

  He spoke quickly, in a low voice. “There’s something I need to show you,” he said, leading her into the house. Once inside, he led her to a back room and opened a storage trunk.

  Cora felt her pulse quicken. “The missing guns! What were they planning? Is that why they were out here? To collect these?”

  “It looks that way,” he replied.

  “What did they need the guns for? You don’t think they were planning a rebellion, do you? After everything we’ve been through?” Cora felt her anger returning, but the day’s bloody images pushed back against the tightness in her chest.

  “I do. I’ve already called Benjamin to warn him, but I don’t think we should stay here much longer. We ought to return home. Hopefully Asher will give up his companions.”

  “Good. We need to tell Colm about the guns, too,” she said. “They belong to the Ficarans, and I don’t want to risk our alliance, especially in the face of everything that’s going on.”

  Theo stopped her before she could leave. “There’s more.” He produced a small framed screen. An Artifact. She’d seen one of these before. It displayed pictures and played back video.

  “Did the Green Cloaks leave a message? Is there video of their meetings?” Maybe they would be able to identify the rest of the traitors.

  “No, it’s something else. Look.” Theo turned it on.

  The first picture was a young woman Cora recognized. Her grandmother. But where was she? Behind her was a window that looked out onto the stars. Like a house in space.

  Theo showed her the next picture. And the next. Some had gleaming towers in the background, others had too many moons. The clothes were unlike their own. Every face she recognized belonged to an elder.

  These had not been taken on Kepos. Here was proof of what Lithia and the others had told her. She had believed them, yet somehow seeing these pictures made it real in a completely different way. Now she knew their tales weren’t just wishful thinking.

  “There’s more,” he said.

  Now she was watching a recording of a beautiful young woman. Her face was familiar, and after several seconds, Cora placed her.

  “She’s the grandmother who arranged my hair for the Matching. Victoria’s mother.”

  It seemed to be an interview. Off camera, Jameson asked why she had decided to join his expedition.

  “I want to get out there. Explore! In all my life, I’ve never left the station.” The woman laughed and grinned for the camera.

  Cora couldn’t watch anymore. According to Lithia, Jameson had taken away this woman’s memories. She had been promised a new life, but Jameson took that promise too far when he brainwashed her and the others after he brought them to Kepos. Every Aratian and Ficaran needed to see this.

  “Jameson really was lying,” she said out loud. Theo just nodded. She looked at him closely. “He wasn’t a god. I have no claim to rule.” There had been some small part of her that hoped that Lithia was wrong about Jameson, but there was no disputing what she had just seen.

  “Yet we need a Regnator,” Theo said.

  Cora shook her head. “No, we need a leader. I knew this was coming. This changes nothing, only makes it more urgent. When the others find out…”

  What had she been expecting? She couldn’t attack traditions like the Matching and still hope to preserve the ones that gave her power. Was it worth this to eliminate the Matching?

  Yes! was the resounding response in her head.

  “There will be chaos,” Theo said. “Many people are confused, questioning what they know about the Farmer. The attack has shaken them, and many don’t want to believe that the outsiders are telling the truth, that our whole way of life is a lie.”

  “It’s not our whole way of life. Just the Matching and the Regnator.”

  “And the reason for our conflict with the Ficarans.”

  “If our conflict is based on lies, that’s all the more reason to strengthen our alliance.”

  “And who will do that?” he asked.

  They walked back to the front of the house. Cora thought about the implications of this video. She would have to step down. “I know that I cannot take over my father’s position, but—”

  “You have to. Without succession, there will be chaos. Power-hungry wolves like Elijah will step in. Your father had flaws, but he was a fair leader. You are like him.”

  They emerged into the bright daylight, and she blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted. She looked around for Elijah’s man—no, his spy—Gavin, but didn’t see him with the others. It made her uneasy.

  “I’m just a girl to them,” she said. “Especially now that I’m not the granddaughter of a god. No one will allow it.”

  “You fought alongside us. You’re out here now. Look at these other women who follow you. These things were unthinkable before the Vens came.”

  “I’m not sure even that’s enough. But there’s something else.” Cora hesitated, looking up at Theo. “I feel relieved, knowing that I won’t become the Regnator. Once I show these images to our people, all doubt wi
ll be gone. The Farmer will be established as a liar.”

  “We need a plan before anyone else sees these pictures. For many on the fence, confused about who we are and where we come from, it will be proof enough. But if men like Elijah get a hold of it…”

  “There will be rebellion,” Cora finished. She closed her eyes, glad that Elijah didn’t have the display. What if that had been his plan all along? Between the images and the guns, he could do some real damage.

  Theo nodded. “More fighting and more death.”

  Cora needed to put a plan in place. Her people’s doubts about the Farmer were strong after the Ven invasion, but faith could soothe doubt away, especially at such a painful time.

  “Theo?” She turned over the Artifact in her hand. “What if there’s another copy?”

  25. ZANE

  Zane was in the Calypso’s common area taking a break by himself. Oberon was “in the middle of something” and had promised he would be up soon, but that was half an hour ago. Zane didn’t mind. He had gotten used to spending time by himself when he lived on the freighter with his parents. In fact, it was overwhelming being around so many people all the time. Dinner with nothing but his thoughts was a welcome break.

  An incoming call on Zane’s manumed surprised him. It was Bel. Had they made it to the farm already? His fork clattered onto the half-empty plate.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, heart pounding.

  “Nothing’s wrong,” she replied. “I just missed you. I wanted to hear your voice.”

  Zane smiled. This admission did nothing to reduce his heart rate, but calmed away his anxiety.

  “I miss you, too.”

  “How’s your arm? How are things on the mountain?”

  “Arm’s doing okay. Hurts a lot, but I can move it pretty well. Oberon’s too caught up in the Calypso’s death to think of much else.”

  “Right. Poor Oberon,” she said. “Don’t tell him, but Dione and Brian found his dad, and now they’re going to try and fly the colonizer off the island.”

  “Didn’t she say the dragons lived near the colonizer?”