by Matt Ryan
They all shifted in their chairs.
“We don’t know their location.” Harris ended up being the mouth piece and Evelyn held back her contempt. She hated people lying to her.
“I have no intention of harming them.”
“And what about their boy?” Gladius asked.
“He’s going to end us all. I sensed his soul in the moment my father passed on; his fate was revealed to me. I will not falter in my opinion. Time reveals all.”
Harris sighed and glanced at the others. Evelyn didn’t like how much time they had all spent with each other. She loved Lucas and Julie like second parents, but their child was a problem she had wished she had taken care of sooner. But now, she knew hurting the child would cause too much pain on the ones she loved. It didn’t mean the threat couldn’t be compartmentalized, but she wasn’t lying about not harming them.
Harris put his hand in his jacket and Evelyn sent the chills down the back of her neck and the world in front of her froze in place. She hopped off the chair and inspected the contents of Harris’s jacket. It was a letter from Julie.
Dear Evelyn,
It felt prudent to inform you we will be taking a long sabbatical from it all, and plan to raise Will in a safe environment. Please stop trying to find me and my family.
Aunt Julie
Evelyn sat back on the chair and released time. The dull hum changed to the noisy environment of the room.
Harris pulled at his jacket and realized the letter was in her hands. “Sneaky.”
“I don’t like to waste time, Harris. I know you appreciate that. I’ve read the letter and I think they are going too far with this. I have changed my mind and don’t want to harm him.”
“You’ve made aggressive attempts to find them, Julie is careful and very smart. I’d be cautious if I was them as well,” Harris said.
She took a deep breath and set the letter down on the chair. “I was considerably younger when we first met, and my past actions don’t represent my current intentions toward Will.” They were never going to understand and trust her the way they trusted each other. Joey and Edith had been the two who truly took her for what she was and didn’t expect anything else from her but to just be herself.
“When is the move then?” Travis asked.
“Immediately. I’d like her to wake up in her own bed, the bed she grew up in, where her mom is making breakfast or whatever common routine they had.”
“I’m very happy to hear you are reconsidering including the family,” Harris said.
“It’s time,” Evelyn said.
“I agree,” Travis said and patted her on the shoulder.
“No, it’s time.” She hopped off the chair and stuffed the letter in her pocket. “The meeting is over.”
Travis nodded and stood. The others did the same, exchanging looks.
Travis walked next to her and she reached out, holding his hand. She liked the contact with him. He had become the one constant in her life, but she knew it wasn’t because he enjoyed her company, it was because of Poly. She watched the way Travis looked at her mom and felt the connection between the two when they were close. It was nothing like Joey and Poly, she’d never felt something like that, but it grew stronger each week from Travis. The move was as much because of him, as it was from keeping Poly away from them. Maybe a planet of separation would sever the tie.
“I want you to keep him here,” Evelyn said.
“Okay,” Travis said
“I think it will help my mom,” Evelyn said. “I want to visit him, alone.”
Travis nodded and let her enter the elevator on her own.
She used her thumb and pressed the unmarked button. The elevator shifted to the right and then dropped a few floors. The doors opened and she stepped into the blank square room with stainless steel walls and white lights reflecting off the glass floor. She touched the panel on the wall and a large drawer slid out, hissing and sending a cold gust of air over her.
“Hello, Dad,” she said, touching his cold hand. His face held a tinge of blue and frost formed around his eyebrows. “I may have found a way, but it will involve risking the entire world.” She reached for his mind but came up blank. “I wish you could hear me, talk with me. You always knew what to say. I hope I’m doing the right thing, but only time will reveal that answer.”
She knew he couldn’t hear her, but it didn’t make it any easier to say the words. “Mom isn’t getting any better. She needs you and I think somehow, she still feels you and I know you still feel her. I’m going to take her back to Earth, so you might not feel us for a while, but know we aren’t gone. I need her to start healing.”
She brushed a few bits of frost off his face. “This may be the last time I visit you for a while, maybe forever, depending on how my plan goes.” Getting on her tiptoes, she kissed the side of his face. “I love you.”
“THAT LITTLE GIRL CREEPS ME out,” Gladius said, taking Gem out of her case. “Oh, Gem, I’ve kept you locked up for way too long.”
“You know what creeps me out?” Hank started.
Gladius typed in the coordinates on the aircraft and it lifted off from her dad’s beachside mansion. From the increasing height, she spotted the new building inland—the hospital he’d built solely for the purpose of housing Poly. If the media found out about it, they’d thrash him for such spending on a single person. Though, if they knew that person was Poly, they might change their minds; they might even wonder why Travis had not done more for her.
Gem patted her arm and looked up with her plastic eyes.
“You were talking about Gem, weren’t you?”
“What? No, I like Gem.”
“She creeps you out, admit it. It’s not her fault you grew up in a world without Your Doll.”
“I don’t know, it’s been just me and you for a while, and now we are bringing in Gem? She stares at me when you aren’t looking.”
“Oh, ha-ha, so funny. You know I had her custommade? She’s a part of me, I’ve told her my every secret and the things she’s seen me do . . .” she trailed off.
“I know she is important to you and that makes her important to me, but she’s not coming into the bedroom.”
“Like I’d risk getting her dirty. You learn a lesson once the hard way and you never forget it.”
Hank sighed.
“Fine, I’ll put her away for now.” She turned off Gem and put her in her case.
The aircraft soared over Sanct and Gladius looked down, feeling a sense of pride at the city’s resilience. In a way, what Poly and Julie created had turned into a blessing. It prepared them for what Marcus was about to inflict on the world.
“You think she’s telling the truth about Marcus’s plan?” Hank asked.
“Yes. It makes sense. The dude never really went without a plan.” She glanced over at her man and saw his somber look. She knew he was thinking about Joey and Samantha, and probably Poly as well.
“I want to move back to Earth. I think I need to be there for her.”
Gladius squinted and glared at Hank, but he wouldn’t meet her eyes. “You want to help Poly?”
“Yes, but she isn’t who is going to need our help, it’s Evelyn. You’re right, she is getting creepy, almost robotic in her actions. She is starting to remind me of Marcus. Even Marcus did endless charity work and cured most the diseases of the world for free, before his mother died.” Hank looked worried, and shook his head. “I think these hyper intellects, like Marcus and Evelyn, need human contact and not just yes men following them around.”
“Are you calling my dad a ‘yes man’?”
“No. Well, sort of. We all know he has other motives, as staying in Evelyn’s good graces keeps him close to Poly.”
Gladius closed her eyes and shook her head. Her dad couldn’t see Poly as single right now, it was too soon. But he did have a woman in distress disability . . . always had. “You think my dad’s going to move to Earth?”
“If he does, we’ll know how fa
r he’s willing to go. And if he does, it’s all the more reason to move to Preston. It’s a great town, I think you’ll find it interesting.”
“I’m not a small town kind of girl, Hank.” She crunched up her mouth at the idea of it. What did they do there, milk cows and herd chickens around all day? The idea of doing laundry terrified her.
“I know, but we can build a house there to suit your needs. Did you know we hand-build houses still? There are no printers.”
“You’re not selling it very well.”
“How about this then, it’s a great place to start a family.”
Her heart raced and her eyes went wide. She stared at Hank, letting the meaning of his words sink in. “You want to start a family with me?”
“Of course.”
Gladius felt tears building in her eyes and she unbuckled her seatbelt to straddle Hank’s lap. She embraced him in his chair and felt the aircraft descending without anyone controlling its flight path.
“I didn’t think you’d like the idea,” Hank said.
“It’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.” She played around with her hair in his face because it annoyed him, but he brushed it back with his hands and kissed her.
“We’ll need some money to make it on the other side.”
“Gold. It’s valuable everywhere it seems and I’ve got tons of it.”
“Wow. Are we really going to do this?” The excitement built in Hank’s voice.
“Yes,” Gladius squealed out in joy.
“You know when you scream like that . . .”
Gladius smiled and reached back, putting the craft in hover mode. She returned and started unbuttoning her shirt.
“Gem’s put away, right?”
Gladius laughed. She couldn’t believe they were going to start this new chapter of their lives together in Preston of all places. It would take some getting used to, but what was life without some risk and change?
POLY AWOKE IN HER BED, reaching around for Joey, but he wasn’t there. She sighed and rolled out of bed. Placing her feet on the floor, she briefly considered rolling back under the covers.
“Hey, Mom.” Evelyn called from her open door.
“Hi, sweetie, is Grandma cooking breakfast?”
“No, she went to town to get eggs.”
“You sleep last night?” Poly asked.
“No need.”
Poly nodded and walked to the doorway. “I wish I could condition my body to eliminate the need for sleep.” She bent down and hugged her little girl. “Can’t you stay small for a bit longer?”
Evelyn laughed. “I’m limited to the growth rate of my bones, so you’re in luck. If I could, I’d already be as big as you are, Mom.”
“Well, I’m not considered a tall person by any means. Maybe you should aim for higher.”
“Dad was six-foot-one.”
Poly nodded her head and the mention of Joey sent a wave of guilt and pain through her. “Maybe you’ll be tall like him.”
It’d been two months since they moved back to Preston and after a few weeks of waking from the coma, she could mention him without breaking down into a mess. The doctors and her daughter told her time heals, but that wasn’t exactly true. Sure, she’d found a way to live with it, but it hurt just as bad every day. She’d just found ways to hide it more from Evelyn. She had a special girl to raise.
A beeping noise sounded from outside, like a dump truck backing up.
“What did you get?” Poly asked with her hands on her hips.
“Just a three phase power supply, I need it for my work,” Evelyn said in a rush.
Poly walked downstairs. Out the front door, a group of electrical trucks parked around the house, with a few men working on the power pole and others tearing out the old electrical panel on the house.
“Good day, miss,” one worker in a hard hat said.
Poly closed the door and turned to Evelyn as she approached. “How are you paying for this?”
“You know.”
Poly took a deep breath through her nose and closed her eyes.
“Mom, I need this power upgrade. The old power supply couldn’t run half the stuff necessary. Besides, you know this is me trying to save the world, don’t you think that’s worth a bit of fudging the bank accounts?”
“It’s stealing.”
“No. I’m creating money, it isn’t coming from anyone. I just channel it so it becomes harder money. Really easy actually.”
Poly felt weaker and looked at her daughter. What was she going to be like in a year, ten years? Poly already lamented everything she was never going experience with Evelyn. The idea of sending her to school seemed ludicrous considering she’d learn everything in a matter of hours, find mistakes in the texts, and then make corrections.
“I know you are thinking you’re doing the right thing here . . .” Poly couldn’t come up with an argument but then realized what Evelyn really needed, something she hadn’t had—life experience. “How about we go on a road trip, just me and you? I could take you around and you could visit places you’ve seen online, actually meet some of the people you are saving.”
Evelyn crunched up her brow as she tried to rationalize Poly’s request. “I get all the information I need on the internet.”
“Seeing a picture means nothing compared to seeing, smelling, and touching something in real life.”
“Can I bring my Panavice?”
“Sure.”
“Okay, when do we leave?” Evelyn said, sounding excited.
“We’ll tell Grandma about it and then head out. Go pack a few things.”
Evelyn nodded and ran back upstairs to her room. Poly watched her leave and waited for her door to close. Hearing it shut, she rushed to the back bedroom Evelyn had converted. She pushed the door open and gazed at the dark room, filled wall to wall with monitors and different computers. Wires ran across the floors with extension cords plugged into every available outlet.
Each monitor had scrolling information across it, stock markets, web cams, traffic cams, random web pages. But one monitor, off to the left looked different than the rest; it was clearer and didn’t have any text filling parts of the screen. The whole screen showed a construction site, a large dome building of some sort, mostly done, with a few sections left exposed.
Poly leaned in closer to see the men on the side of the dome. They looked miniscule in comparison to the behemoth complex.
“Mother?”
Poly jumped at Evelyn’s voice.
“What are you looking at?”
“What is this?”
Evelyn walked over. “It’s something I’m building, well, it’s actually something I’m finishing. It’s going to help me save everyone.”
Poly’s mouth hung open and she shook her head. “This isn’t just some shuffling around of a couple stocks, this is a major project, Evelyn. This is costing what?”
“One point two billion.”
Poly fell on the seat next to the screen and her heart pounded, staring at her daughter. “Evelyn . . .”
“It’s got to be done. When the Purgers come, they aren’t going to be negotiated with, they are going to take everything. If I have to create a few billion to help save Earth, it’s worth it. In fact, we can take our road trip there. That way, I can show you what I’ve built.”
Poly didn’t know what to say. A kid takes some money from the change drawer and they get grounded . . . what did you do to your one-year-old baby girl who just stole a billion, or billions as she put it, from the world?
“Sweetie . . .” Poly felt a tingling in her mind and she resisted Evelyn’s attempts. “Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“You’re trying to change my mind, to make me see your side of it. Don’t do that to me, or anyone else, it isn’t right.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Evelyn turned off a monitor.
“What was on that?”
“Nothing.”
“Tur
n it back on.”
Evelyn blurred for a split second and the monitor turned on.
“I know you just went fast. Don’t keep things from me.”
“Ugh, fine.” She hit a few keys on the keyboard and the monitor switched to Lucas, Julie, and their child eating breakfast at a diner.
Poly stumbled back, with her hand over her mouth. “Why are you watching them?”
“It’s not them, just him.” She pointed at Will. “I get feelings with people. It’s hard to explain, but I know how people are from the moment I meet them. When I first met Will, seconds old, I knew he’d be the end of us, it screamed to me. Even just looking at him on the screen, I can’t shake the feeling.”
“You can’t . . .”
“I’m not going to do anything to him, Mom. I’m just watching, that’s all, I swear. Don’t you think if I wanted to hurt him, I could? Like in minutes, I could call a missile to strike that very diner, but I don’t and won’t.”
Poly struggled to find a way to communicate with her. Just the fact she’d thought of a missile strike as an option was disturbing. “Maybe we should meet with Julie and Lucas, so you can get to know Will. I’d sure love to see the little guy.” Poly stared at the screen and tried to get a better look at him. He sat up in his baby chair at the end of the table while Lucas played an airplane sort of game to feed him. What would he be, six months old? Was he a normal boy, or was he like Evelyn?
“I’d like to meet him. Maybe I can talk with Aunt Julie and see if he’s exhibiting any dangerous behaviors.”
“I bet he can’t even walk.”
“For now. Can we go on our road trip and stop talking about this?” Evelyn whined.
“Yes, I think it’s even more important now that we do, and no more spying on them.”
Evelyn shrugged and left the room with a backpack on.
When Opal got home, they helped unload the groceries and had a light breakfast together. Opal thought the road trip idea was fantastic and helped Poly pack a few items.
Saying their goodbyes, they got into the car. “You ready?” Poly asked Evelyn.
