by M. R.
"Don't just look at it, Derek. Wear it. Love, Abbey."
He knew it–had felt it. There was a moment in Japan where he knew, deep down, only three of them were fighting for their lives. He put the jacket on. Two of his best friends were gone; maybe one would come back...someday.
"She was very brave. They both were very brave." Dr. Farling's voice. "Abbey fought very hard, pushed out what happened to her, to Connor, so she could fight. But it caught up to her. She couldn't face you all."
Derek turned to Dr. Farling: "She had nothing to be ashamed of."
Cassandra stepped into the room. She had never seen Connor's room until she helped Abbey put all his things in boxes. How quickly someone could be lost, just gone. But he wasn't. This room was so empty–blank–but an eeriness lingered, a feeling that the room was...wrong, that things were not the way they were supposed to be. Cassandra wished they could've left, talked downstairs in the sitting room, or the lounge, anywhere.
"It wasn't shame," she finally said. "Heartbreak. It was heartbreak. To have seen you would've been like reliving last night, but this time she wouldn't be able to repress what happened. She'd feel every moment." She went to the window, looking out to the grass and trees. "She's taking her brother home sooner than planned. I am sorry you all didn't get to say goodbye."
"Who will lead the team now?"
"You will lead your team."
"Perhaps Quake–"
"No." She faced Derek: he was looking to her. "You know what's at stake in a way Quake doesn't now. Lead in Connor and Abbey's name. She left you that jacket for a reason. It belonged to their father, then to Connor, and now you. So you will gather your team and meet with Silby for your next mission. After that, you will meet with Coach O'Brien, who will explain to you what happened on the cliff. I will do the same with August."
Derek went to leave.
"Wait," she said. "I don't know what coach will say. But remember to creatively use the mental and physical tools I've taught you to explore and maneuver the range of your sympathy." She smiled.
Derek nodded, a seriousness had come over him. He understood what Dr. Farling was telling him: she would always be his true teacher, the principles she taught him were his core.
When Derek returned to the lab for August, he found him awake, surrounded by Julian and Constant. Julian glared at him like he didn't belong there. August could tell by Derek's look he wanted something. When he left the lab, August followed, brothers in tow, knowing Derek was leading him somewhere.
They trekked to The Summit, the highest hill under the dome. Derek and August wore linen, Derek in his coat, the two stripped of their mission suits to be prepped for incubation. Julian and Constant wore matching flannel pajama bottoms and white t-shirts. Julian walked in fluffy slippers, Constant flew about barefoot. Once at the peak, the boys sat in a moment of silence. Then:
*Augie? Hear me?*
*Yes.*
*You're alive.*
*Evidence would suggest.*
*Connor–*
*I know. He's and Abbey are gone. Julian told me. He woke up last night and heard Abbey. She was hysterical.*
*He doesn’t trust me.*
*It’s nothing against you.*
The holographic sun was warm, the temperature cooler than the sweltering heat outside the dome. Clear skies, manufactured breezes, yet Derek longed for the great tree and plains of grain. To be alone. Together.
*Everything that happened last night...I'm happy it happened. I meant every word.*
August looked to him and smiled.
During the night, slipping into dream state, their minds had reached out for one another. They laid in their special place, under the tree. Derek thought August was dead, this August some last strands of his consciousness, a psychic residue, that lingered inside of him. He wanted to hold on forever. For the first time, he had clarity; he was free, nothing was keeping him from feeling and knowing how he felt. So in their shared world, he said:
"I love you." He had to get it out in case August went away forever.
"I love you too," said August.
Their sky had changed. Day and night occupied the same heaven: the sun and its blue sky to the west, the moon and its celestial night to the east, melded together by the hues of sunrise and sunset.
"You can stay here forever," said Derek. "I'll come to you every day."
August laughed: "I don't need you to protect me. But we need to talk..." He told Derek about the rapport that had been forming between them. As more people came to Hyperion Academy, people of different backgrounds with different mentalities, he had become more self-conscious and more afraid of his power, fearing how people would feel being around someone who could see inside of them.
Derek trusted his love: "Complete the rapport."
It was done, finished when Derek had reached for August as they slept in their chambers. He had made up his mind to never let go, to keep August with him forever.
They had stayed in their world, lying under the tree, August in Derek's arms, until the thought-dream was over. When Derek had awakened, he was afraid it was a dream, just a dream. He felt a terror about to overcome him, the awareness he was all alone, but then he saw August and his brothers next to him. He cried. The dream was true, but still, even now at the top of The Summit he had to make sure.
Julian took a ball out of his pocket. When August saw the ball, he broke contact with Derek, but Derek could still feel August's perturbance through their rapport.
Derek shook his head–Meghan. He remembered Meghan. He had to talk to her. But there was no anxiety, no fear. He had lost his best friends and admitted his feelings. He cared about her, but it was time to let go, to grow, to be the man and woman they both needed to be, for themselves and their team. If she could understand, then she could've been as happy as he was in his special place. If there was something special for him right here, then there had to be something special for her out there. Somewhere.
Constant shot down the hill after the bouncing ball. August gave up with Julian, now looking to the sky, a holographic reflection of the Earth's sky, real to August. Even if simpler than the cosmic sky in his own world, this sky, Nature, was magic to him.
He felt tears, the tears he had cried holding Connor's body. But he also remembered Connor's smile, how good he was with people like when he met Susie. He should've been more like Connor, friendly...or something.
Derek remembered when he and Connor raced up this very hill, climbed trees in the forest, and the first time they sparred in combat training. They didn't talk a lot. So what? They were brothers.
<<>>
Quake stood in the doorway to the lounge. Meghan was looking out the window. He placed himself behind her, watching Derek and Ellington leave the academy, heading to The Summit.
"He even talk to you?"
"Shut up." She left the window and sat on the sofa. He sat next to her.
"You're not dressing like the tool anymore."
Instead of Derek's red and black suit, she wore a new design, a scarlet jacket that buttoned at her chest, draping around her over a gray mission suit. Her brown knee high boots had three inch heels (the maximum allowed by Hyperion protocol). She was silent. And discussing Derek wasn't why Quake had searched the academy for her.
He put his arm along the back of the sofa, behind her. She scooched away, but just a twitch of a finger and he could touch her hair. He resisted. After a moment, he said:
"Uh, what happened to Connor. It should've never happened."
"You can't be serious?" she said.
"What?"
"Now? Of all times now? You're gonna make another 'I-should-be-leader' pass at me now? And let me guess, I should be by your side as you take over."
"He ain't here for you."
"I'm not there for him."
"He didn't ask you to go out there with 'em." Again, this isn't what he wanted to say, to talk about.
"Screw you." And she marched out.
Quake
ran his hands over his hair, resting his head in his palms. He didn't know what he had said. He didn't know what to say. A kid he went to school with was dead. He woke up, and the kid was gone. He always saw him, but he never knew him. And he'd never see him again. Maybe it was too late–he didn't know–but he wanted to know something about him, Connor. His favorite color, his favorite food...something. He couldn't go to Derek. Probably not August–he didn't know. He and Meghan were friends–she put up with him. He just didn't know and he wanted to know.
Everything was falling apart. Coach didn't see him as a leader, and now his own team was turning against him. They used to respect him, but Flare, the only person he trusted with his life, had upstaged him, taking over the trials for team leader. Why'd he betray him? Why was it the closer he got to getting everything he wanted–friends, Meghan, team leader...family–the more he became an idiot and screwed it up. Now Connor. He would've leveled Japan to dust before letting a teammate fall.
And he sat alone. Meghan had left him. She crossed the hall, went into Dr. Farling's office and sat. Cassandra looked up at her, but she was gazing into the air. They had no appointment; she planned to talk to Meghan after the others had left on their mission. Her student was Connor's friend, and she wanted to deduce how she felt about Derek. In Japan, Dr. Farling remained in constant contact with her team–feeling, praying. She didn't know what was happening, but she felt Derek's desire–his need–to protect August. It wasn't quite the same as his drive to help Connor and Abbey.
"As an empath you must be feeling a lot."
"I guess," muttered Meghan.
"Have you talked to Derek?"
"Nope."
"Have you empathized–"
"I don't use my powers on Derek. I respect his privacy."
"It's not that simple and you know it. Emotions radiate from people. Especially given the situation, an empath can't help but feel the intense feelings of those around her. I see you've changed uniforms."
"Yeah. I just felt like it. I woke up and just knew to put it on."
"You were close to Connor."
She wasn't "close" to anyone. Even Derek. She knew that much. She was near people, around them all the time, but she wasn't "close" to anyone:
"Yes we were 'close.'"
"You came here with him. And Derek."
She sighed. "We needed a ride to homecoming. Derek's friend, Jayce, drove us. Connor was walking. We gave him a ride. Jayce swerved as a deer ran across the street, we went off the ravine."
"And then?"
She shrugged. "Jayce died. We activated. Our lives were pronounced over and we were brought here. Derek and I were only on our second date. He and Connor weren't really friends until they came here. Then when Abbey found out, she came too. She had already activated."
"You didn't have to come to the academy. Or at least stay as long as you have. You’re juniors; It's been nearly five years."
"Derek said it was a good idea."
"And now?"
"He'd still say it was a good idea."
She wasn't ready, thought Dr. Farling. She wasn't ready to know what she already knew: her boyfriend wasn't in love with her, and she wasn't in love with him. She latched onto him for security, to not feel so alone and confused as she lived with being different. Without Derek, what did she have? Meghan may have said nothing; Cassandra believed in another answer: you had yourself. But for someone as insecure as Meghan, she'd never realize how powerful that was. She didn't use her powers, because deep down, she thought not using them would make her normal. And when she became normal, she could go home and be normal with all the other normal people.
However now the young empath knew better, having spent the whole night empathizing against her will, forced to feel the worry, fear, terror, grief...but then peace...love. She knew none of these emotions could've been hers. They belonged to others. That love was not her love, and it wasn't being given to her. She was different. That fact was now unavoidable, unchangeable. She'd adapt and at least use it to her advantage.
"Can you make someone love you?"
Dr. Farling sat back in her chair: "No, Meghan. No you can't."
"I mean as an empath. We can read people. Why not change them?" She looked to her teacher.
The doctor could "massage" fields, gently influence their curvature to conform to the shape of emotions, hence inducing their feeling. She knew Meghan could do this so much more easily than herself–the girl was gifted, a natural. But the mentor said:
"Reading a book and writing a novel are vastly different endeavors, regardless of how similar they seem." Meghan would work through this, but in the meantime she needed protection from her fears, her loneliness, herself.
"I suppose."
Cassandra continued her work at her computer. Meghan returned her gaze to the air: All writers had to be able to read. You had to understand language before you could manipulate words. But then what? She made Derek love her. Everyone else figured it out. He'd figure it out. Not even Quake would talk to her then. God when did she go back to being so pathetic?
She used to be popular. Boys, including Derek, wanted to be with her. And now she had to chase them? Make them love her? Screw 'em. Screw 'em all. What did she need with them–with anyone? She had herself then, and she had herself now. She was the one who lost the thirty pounds and stole the designer clothes to reinvent the mopey, self-pitying stress-eater she was into the coolest bitch at school. She did it before, and she could do it again. She had just gotten use to being on top. But whatever, she'd revamp herself yet again, as a superhero.
"I want to be on the mission roster."
"I think that would be a good idea," said the doctor, sensing a new found confidence in her pupil, and relief within herself. Meghan had found herself quicker than she thought. Sometimes, it felt so good to be so wrong.
<<>>
Silby was in her lab, one floor under the Hyperion dome. Abbey's metal boots were propped against her desk. She sat, looking at the shoes, looking at the chair Raijin sat in during his first, and only, visit. They should've been here, somewhere–the academy, at home, the arcade. Connor liked air hockey.
She had cried herself to sleep. Then woke up in the morning just to cry before she could gather herself and face the day, coming to work, her lab, her true home. She had spent her life alone, no family or friends, but now she had a family, people she loved who didn't know to love her back. But it didn't matter, she was happy to love nonetheless.
Spending the best of her life in the labs, she had watched the students of Hyperion on screens and read about them in reports. She knew Derek and August were sneaking into the kitchen when she got a late night craving for ice cream herself. She knew Klug carved the most beautiful deer out of soap he "snuck" from the linen closet (which was open access). She also knew that when Flare and August were accidently alone, going to the same place in search of a reprieve from their team and brothers respectively, they were friends. August had encouraged Flare to put his talent for strategy to use. He truly was Dr. Farling's protégé. But she hoped Derek and Quake would've understood if they knew. After all, despite the cliques, they were all teammates. But maybe it was best the two captains were left out of the loop.
She never told Cassandra, never revealed to anyone, how close to her she held the students. This was her private realm–her lab, her mind–no one could distort or corrupt the world she built for herself.
Once more she read the mission briefing. She was a scientist who worked like an artist. She imagined the revelation of Derek's power, how it worked, and became inspired, imagining a device that might just make him invincible. But creativity, as rewarding as it was, was also tiring. She put the file away; there was still work to do preparing the new mission files.
Mission One: recruit Raijin's sister, Megumi Crawford, and the Gutierrez sisters, Valencia and Victoria. Dr. Farling had tried to bring the three girls, all friends, into the academy, but they refused. Now, Megumi needed to be informed of her
brother's condition, and it was becoming more necessary to have the symps under one roof–dome. A foreign government hunting them, embarking on missions, symps activating more frequently–times were changing.
Silby wished she could've been the one to tell Megumi about her brother. When she read Dr. Farling's initial report on her, she had described her brother as a "dysfunctional loner" for thinking he was a god reincarnated. When Cassandra attempted to recruit Raijin, the doctor recommended something she never had in the past: that Silby be the one to talk to the potential student. She had tried. And failed. He wasn't at the academy; he was dead–worse then dead, a prisoner trapped on the horizon between life and death, frozen as all else moved; transitioned; changed. She was the only one who knew him, knew his dream of finding their mother and being a protector. That was what a god was to him, a man, the best man he could be. In the end, brother and sister were alike: they both wanted to be loved and feel like they controlled their destinies.
The girls wanted to chart their own courses. The idea of the academy, nestled under a corporation with rules and teachers, was offensive to them. The girls would balk at her blind allegiance to Hyperion, to Daniel, but look at their loyalty to each other. We trust the ones who make our house, our school, our lab, a home.
Given their ordeal, Team Blue would go to the girls, now designated as Team Gray. She looked at a note clipped to the file: Derek had submitted August as second-in-command; Meghan was on the roster. Julian and Constant would be joining them. Team Blue was reformed: Derek as captain, Ellington with August as second command, and Meghan.
Mission two: investigate the energy spikes at Sweet Pine National Park. Silby prepared the file for Team Green: Quake, Flare, and Klug. She'd send Susie along as well, giving her a chance to experience both groups.
CHAPTER SIX
The Traitor Trade
She had woken up alone. The first rays of morning. A breeze. A floor of broken glass.
She gathered herself. Hajime and Katsume were gone. Central Command would dissolve her. She couldn't explain what happened. Even if not announced as a traitor, carrying all the suspicion towards her subordinates’ actions, she still had the shame of being an incompetent leader to bare. Her career–her reputation–ruined. Even if she got back to Ryo, her husband, how’d she get them out of the union?
