The moment we’re outside the dome, both the car and my smart watch start lighting up. Godwin is calling.
“Thorne, should you get that?”
“Right.” I hit accept on my smart watch.
Godwin’s voice sounds through the dashboard. Great. Now Meimi can hear his every word.
“Is this alert correct?” asks Godwin. “Did you just punch out Vargas?”
“He insulted Wisteria,” I state.
“Look, I told you to seduce her, but don’t go overboard.”
If you’d asked me a minute ago, I’d have said there was no way Meimi could look more pale or wide-eyed.
I was wrong.
At the mention of the words I told you to seduce her, she reaches an entirely new level of shock.
Damn you, Godwin.
“Sir, I’m running across some magnetic interference out here.” To create said magnetic interference, I summon my battle sentient to rise up from my skin and enter the inner workings of both my smart watch and hovercar. Unless you were looking carefully, it would seem like a little grit hovering in the air above my skin.
It isn’t.
A moment later, a loud hissing sound takes over the audio connection. “It’s getting worse, sir. I’ll be back in touch as soon as I can. No later than twenty-four hours, as we agreed.”
I picture my sentient cutting off all contact with Godwin, and that’s exactly what they do. The line goes dead. A poof of smoke rises up from the dashboard.
“The audio and video tracking system in the car just short-circuited,” I say.
“You think?”
“We can speak freely now.” Assuming you ever want to talk to me again.
Some of the color returns to Meimi’s face. “Are we going to that Berkshire hotel?”
“I promised myself I’d never lie to you.”
“So that’s a yes.”
“It is. We must check in by midnight. Godwin will need to confirm that we’re together. And since we’ve lost all other comms, I can’t risk failing to check in. If we go totally off grid, Godwin will put a Merciless squad on our tail.”
Across the front seat, Meimi holds her data pad so hard, I worry that she’ll snap it in two.
I nod toward the device. “You might want to release your grip. You put a lot of work on that thing.”
Meimi softens her hold a little. But now she focuses all that angry energy into glaring daggers of chilly hatred in my direction. “Back at the Simulacrum, you said you wanted to tell me something.”
“That’s right.”
“Is that what you wanted to tell me? You were taking me to a hotel?”
“No.”
“Then what is it?”
“I never visit a hotel to meet girls. That’s all a cover. I leave the Boston Dome so I can contact my brothers. I’m an alien.”
“As in … from another continent or a different planet?”
Here goes.
“Different planet. I’m from Umbra.” I quickly scan her face. Normally, I’m the one who’s all stony features. Now it’s Meimi’s face that gives away nothing. “Did that explanation help?”
I risk another look in her direction. What greets me are more ice daggers from Meimi’s eyes.
Nope. That didn’t help at all.
“Listen to me,” says Meimi. “I saw Beauty and the Beast. I understand Stockholm syndrome. This is all mind game stuff. Next you’ll be showing me magic tricks and saying it’s your alien powers. You might even say you sabotaged that call with Godwin with your alien mojo.”
“I did sabotage that call with my alien mojo.”
Meimi keeps right on staring, but some of the chill has left her gaze. Maybe she has an affinity for aliens on an unconscious level? I can only hope.
Adjusting her seat, Meimi turns to face me. “Let me make a few things totally clear. You are my guard. You play hot and cold. This evil Vargas guy says you plan to take me to a hotel, and whoa, that’s where we’re going. There are actual haddock in the ocean that are less fishy than you in this moment.”
“I don’t blame you.” I huff out a breath. “It does look terrible.” I lock her eyes with my most serious gaze. “Even so, what I told you is true.”
“You have nice eyes and you’re my only possible ally. Those are the only reasons I’m still talking to you.”
I nod. “Logical.”
“And I don’t think I’ve ever stayed in a nice hotel before, so I’m okay with going there. But you sleep in the hallway.”
“That was always the plan.” My sentient shoot me the image of a deer stepping closer for a handful of nuts. Or whatever it is that deer eat. I get the idea. I need to play it cool here.
“Plus,” adds Meimi. “I get first dibs on the shower.”
“Fair enough.” There’s a lot more I want to say—like hello, you’re my transcendent!—but this moment isn’t the time.
“Glad that’s all settled.” Meimi leans back into her seat. “Where are we going before the hotel?”
“To meet some people from your past life.”
“Let me guess. Chloe, Zoe, and Fritz?”
Interesting. On one level, it’s obvious how Meimi guessed those names. She actually knows these three people far better than I do. That said, I’m curious how she was able to access such specific memories after everything Godwin did to her.
“We’ll see Chloe and Zoe first. How did you know?”
“You’re not the only one with a fishy side to their personality. I saw those names in a dream.”
That piques my interest. “My people place a lot of import on dreams.”
“Your alien people. Right.” Leaning forward, Meimi turns the radio to an ear-splitting volume.
I get the message.
She’s done talking.
For now.
12 Meimi
Forget genetically enhanced attack beasts. If you want to torture someone, play government-created ballads at top volume for a few hours. It’s awful.
Now, I could certainly turn the radio down or change the station. But the way Thorne keeps wincing? I’m pretty sure he’s suffering as much as I am. And that works fine for me.
Hotel reservations?
I’m an alien from outer space?
Please.
I am not falling into his mind traps, period.
That said, my own sanity isn’t looking too solid. Why? When I glance out the car window, I see a reflected version of myself that’s just like me.
Only blue.
I know, not great.
And Blue Me has a lot of opinions, too. When she speaks, I hear her voice inside my head. And the overly loud ballads drown her out a little, but not all the way.
These are what you call red flags for ongoing sanity.
“You should give him a chance,” says Blue Me in my mind. “After all, you know drift science. There are tons of other worlds running parallel to this one. Who’s to say he isn’t from one of them?”
“I’m ignoring you,” I reply mentally.
Blue Me keeps right on going. “Just think about Vargas. What a scumbag. Thorne totally pounded that Merciless guy into mush, just for getting all leery at us.”
“Maybe that was a little cool.”
Okay, it was a LOT cool.
“And Godwin? That creep wants to control you. If Thorne’s your ally, wouldn’t Godwin want to sabotage him? Couldn’t that be why he’s saying stuff about seducing you? You could be falling into Godwin’s whole trash-talking trap.”
I purse my lips. Blue Me just made a few good points there.
“And has Thorne ever done anything to make you feel unsafe?” asks Blue Me.
“He’s rude.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“It’s not pleasant. The guy’s like ice.”
“Only when Godwin is around. Plus, if Thorne were all supportive of you in front of Godwin, then where would you be? With another guard.”
I scrunch my lips to one side
of my face. This only happens when I’m thinking very seriously about something. In this case, it’s how Blue Me made yet another really good point.
Something jabs me in the shoulder.
Oops, it’s Thorne poking me.
I scooch away from him. “What?”
“We’re at Zoe and Chloe’s garage. I’ve been asking you if you’re ready to see them.”
All of a sudden, I wish the car floor would open up so I could hide somewhere deep in the earth. “Let me guess. You’ve been trying to talk to me for a while?”
“Five minutes. The shoulder poke was a last resort.”
“I got a little distracted.”
And instead of giving me guff, Thorne fixes me with his big brown eyes and smiles. “It’s fine. You were plotting and scheming something. I like watching your mind at work.”
In this moment, I’d love to have a witty comeback, but all I can manage is a single sound. “Oh.”
A warm and mushy sensation expands across my insides. It must be something I ate. No way am I getting gooey feelings about my sketchy guard.
Thorne opens his door and speed-walks toward my side of the vehicle. No question what his goal is here; he wants to get my door. For some reason, it seems a little relationship-y for him to do that. Like we’re on a date versus a quasi-kidnapping. Moving even faster, I slip out my door and pause before the garage.
It’s a run-down building, but then again, everything outside the dome is a ruin. The place a long, single-story structure made from cement blocks. A pair of roll-up garage doors lines the front façade. A faded wooden sign reads Leon’s Deluxe Garage.
Something about this spot feels so familiar, yet I just can’t place it.
Curse you, amnesia.
Thorne moves to stand beside me. Even with all the strangeness between us, I have to admit it. I’m glad he’s here. There’s a certain stony I can kick ass vibe he has, which I totally appreciate.
“Before you go in, there are some things we should cover,” says Thorne.
“Shoot.”
“You knew Chloe and Zoe from before your procedure.”
I give him the side-eye. “You’re not going to say accident?”
“I won’t because it wasn’t. Godwin targeted you for your science skills. He wiped your memory. That’s what this is all about.”
“Right.” I hug my elbows.
“Sorry.” Thorne’s voice turns gentle. “I didn’t mean for that to surprise you.”
“It wasn’t a surprise. Not really. I mean, I suspected it all along. It’s just different to hear someone say the truth out loud.”
Thorne moves to stand in front of me. All of a sudden, only a few inches separate our bodies. “You may not believe this, but I’d never lie or say anything that hurt you. Unless, you know…” He grins and dang, the guy has dimples.
“What?”
“Unless Godwin’s around and lying makes your life easier.”
“Thank you.” We’re still so close and, Stockholm syndrome aside, I’m enjoying the liquid feeling that now runs through my insides.
Thorne is yummy.
Someone clears their throat. Looking over, I see a girl standing in the main doorway of the garage. She’s tall and wiry, dressed in overalls, and has her hair pulled into matching ponytails on either side of her head.
“Meimi,” she gasps. “Is it you?”
Thorne turns around, stopping so his body half blocks the path between me and the new girl. Like the building itself, she seems so familiar. Plus, this chick acts super excited to see me. We must have been good friends.
An ache fills my soul. How I wish I could remember.
“This is Meimi,” states Thorne. “But the Authority wiped out her memories. She’s here because she needs your help.”
Another girl pops her head out from behind the first. They look identical, except the second has her blonde hair in straight tresses and wears the perfect amount of make-up. And is that a cashmere sweater? I didn’t even know those existed anymore.
The second girl waves in my direction. “I heard what he said. You don’t remember me either, but I’m Zoe.”
“And I’m Chloe,” says the first. “We’re twins.”
Turning to her sister, Chloe starts talking away as if we weren’t here. “Do you think that’s the Thorne? Miss Edith talked about a hot guy by that name who was really into Meimi.” She pulls a red handkerchief from her pocket and rubs her neck, but it only serves to leave a grease stain behind.
“Obviously, he’s the Thorne,” counters Zoe. “But we can’t have that conversation with them in the driveway, now can we?” Zoe waves to me and my guard. “Come on inside.”
The twins disappear into the garage. Thorne turns to me. “You still want to do this?”
For the first time since I awoke in the hospital, I feel so happy I could smile my face off. Seeing Chloe and Zoe is like finding a lost part of my soul.
“Absolutely,” I reply. “Let’s go.”
13 Thorne
“An emperor or empress cannot merely rule their subjects. They must inspire them.” – Empress Janais, The Fifth Age of Umbra
Meimi and I step inside the run-down garage. The scent of engine grease and mothballs fills the air. One side of the interior is piled high with beakers and vats of questionable chemicals. The opposite part is crammed with gears, wires, and all things electronic. A kind of no-man’s land lies between the two halves, a space that’s filled with old rags and dust.
I instantly recognize the layout. My brothers and I have multiple rooms like this. We’re like magpies, finding and piling up our junk. Battle gear for Justice. Fortune-telling tools for Slate. And stacks of books for me. We like to think of ourselves as having an organized mess.
Mostly, we just have a mess.
Chloe and Zoe stand in the empty space between their piles of supplies. Both seem wide-eyed and curious. Chloe’s the first to speak. “Do you remember anything about us?”
The way Meimi clasps her data pad to her chest, you’d think the thing was a security blanket more than an electronic device. “What did you call me before?”
“Meimi,” replies Zoe. “That’s your name.”
“I like that better than Wisteria,” says Meimi.
Chloe sniffs. “That’s because Wisteria was your alias when you were stealing stuff.”
Meimi pales. “I’m a thief?”
“Not really,” adds Zoe smoothly. “How do I put this?” She taps her cheek. “Ah, I have it. You needed to build things without the government knowing. That sometimes required taking stuff from warehouses and leaving anonymous payment.”
“So, I’m a nice thief.”
“Precisely,” says Zoe.
Meimi turns to me. “And I knew you from before?” Her big green eyes take on a look that can only be described as hopeful. In this moment, I know one thing.
She wants to trust me. Knowing that, I feel about ten feet tall.
“Yes, you knew me.” I can’t help myself; I reach up and cup her cheek with my hand. It’s grounding to feel her skin under mine. “After you were taken, I found Godwin and convinced him to make me your guard. I’ve been watching over you, Meimi.”
Chloe sniffs. “That is so damn sweet. Holy sh—”
“Language,” interrupts Zoe. “What my sister means to say is that this is a sweet scene and all, but you said something else before. You need help?”
I lower my hand from Meimi’s skin. Losing the connection hurts, but Zoe’s right. We have other things to discuss here.
Meimi twists her hands at her waist. “Where do I begin?”
Chloe raises her arm. “Can I guess?”
Meimi shrugs. “Sure.”
“You’re working on another hella kickass science gig and you finally want us to participate,” says Chloe.
Meimi’s mouth falls open with shock. I have to admit, I’m a little surprised myself. I figured Meimi would have to do some fancy talking to get the twins to accept
the idea of helping out.
“How did you guess?” asks Meimi.
“Wishful thinking,” says Zoe with a grin. “For years, we’ve begged you to let us in on your schemes. It was about time our luck changed.”
Chloe holds out her palm. “Specs. Here. Now.”
“Okay.” Meimi hands over the data pad. “There are official requirements for Dr. Godwin. And then there’s a secret plan for us.”
Chloe scans the data pad and gasps. “Fuuu—”
“Language,” interrupts Zoe.
“Oh, fudge,” says Chloe sarcastically. “Dr. Godwin wants to murder millions of people with his Crawler toy.”
Zoe taps the screen. “But we’re going to ruin his plans, make him a fool, free the undesirables, and get out of this garage for once.”
Chloe brightens. “Day-um. That’s awesome.”
I’ve run tons of rescue missions on other planets. Recruiting local help is never this easy. Frowning, I rub my chin. I checked out Chloe and Zoe before. They definitely have the skills to help out Meimi, but I’m not sure they’re fully understanding what’s at stake here.
I turn to Meimi. “They’re not getting it.”
“Agreed.” Meimi focuses on the twins. “Look, this project is super dangerous.”
“But the chemistry specs are awesome.” Zoe lets out a low whistle. “My part will be so fun.”
“My engineering stuff isn’t as cool,” sighs Chloe. “A Crawler is basically a fat spider bot. Meh.”
“It’s not that bad,” says Zoe. “It’s more of a fat spider bot with an omnivoid generator inside.”
“Guys,” calls Meimi. “Both of you must be one hundred percent clear. You’ll be locked in an underground bunker for two months building something that could help kill millions of people while empowering Godwin to take down the government. If we fail, we’ll all be killed. ”
“Officially, that’s the scheme,” says Chloe. “But your secret plan is amazeballs. No one’s going to kill anybody. Well, maybe Godwin will have a terrible accident once he hits jail, but that’s it.”
“Right?” asks Zoe. “Godwin got so many cool people arrested. Now, they’re all waiting for him in jail with knives that are made from tin cans and stuff.”
Alien Minds: Dimension Drift, Book 1 Page 7
