by Matt Ryan
“I told you not to.”
Harris brought his bag between his legs and unzipped it.
“What you got there?” The man yelled over the hum of an approaching cube.
“If I can’t get to you, then this will get to all of them,” Harris pointed at the cube flying by.
The man’s eyes lit up. “What is it, a bomb?”
Harris shook his head and pulled out the shielded box. He used his Panavice to open the first lid. From there, he typed in a code and opened another lid. This particular case shielded any possible signal trying to get in or out. He opened the last lid and took out the small memory stick, containing an evil he thought he’d never see again.
Evelyn had reprogrammed it, weaponizing Alice.
“Is the terminal there?” Harris asked.
“Yes, that’s the mainframe. But it isn’t anything you can hack into.”
“This old lady isn’t going to hack into it, she’s going to destroy it all.”
The man whistled through the hum of a large cube flying by. It reminded Harris of Ferrell. He had to be ten thousand miles away.
The stick holding Alice felt heavy in his hands. He knelt next to the terminal and found the data connection. He hovered the stick next to the port.
“Do it,” the man urged.
Hank came to Harris’s mind, and he pulled out his Panavice to check to make sure they weren’t still on the planet. He stared at the screen and their location. They were still on Ryjack, and close to a place he knew to be a one-way stone. Had Hank led them to the wrong stone? Harris sighed and slapped the Panavice against his waist.
“Losing your balls? Come on, set that thing off before she comes.”
Harris couldn’t have another one of the six on his conscience, but they should be far enough away, Alice couldn’t get to them quickly. Unless she took access of his Panavice and found them . . . He’d have to risk it and have faith in Evelyn’s programming.
“I knew it. I knew you wouldn’t end this.” The man stopped looking at him and got back to his kneeling position at the stone. He looked like part of the stone after a while, holding onto it like he was worshiping it.
Then the humming of the place stopped. The silence was deafening. Harris looked around to explain the silence.
The man at the cube stood up and backed away from the stone. He looked white with fear and then turned to face Harris. “She’s coming. Do what you need to do, now!”
Harris scrambled with the stick and shoved it in. It might take a minute for the thing to load, so he walked away from it.
“She’s here.”
A woman appeared next to the stone. Harris sidestepped toward the door.
“Who are you?” the woman asked and her voice boomed around the room.
Harris didn’t answer, but something told him to run. So he ran toward the door and kicked it open. A row of cubes sat in the air above him, as if waiting in a line. He ignored them and knew he had about thirty seconds before Alice went online. With any luck, the woman would chase him until it was too late.
He got to the rail and looked down into the pit, where cubes were being produced. Must have been hundreds of feet down. Then he felt an object strike his neck. His body jolted out of control and he fell over the railing. Good, she’s keeping up with me.
As the floor rushed up toward him, he felt another stone hit the back of his neck. None of it mattered anymore, this was the end for him. In the last second of the fall, he witnessed all the machines collectively collapsing. The cubes were falling with him now, and all the different bots went dormant. Alice, beautiful Alice was doing her work.
HANK OPENED HIS EYES. HE hated traveling through that swirling world of freefall. Holding onto Gladius, he looked around. They were in a large building, with rows of metal shelving reaching to the ceiling. Hank let go of Gladius and stepped toward the aisle sixteen sign.
“No, this can’t be,” he said.
“What? Where are we?”
“Cost Plus.”
“Oh my God, is that you, Hank?” A young woman and a little girl came running up to them. “How are you in here? We didn’t hear the door open.”
Hank blinked hard ignoring the question, glancing back and forth between Mary and the little girl. When Gladius hit his arm to get his attention, he turned to her, eyes wide.
In all of his wildest dreams, he never thought he’d see Mary again, but that didn’t mean he never wondered about her. She’d been his first, his only—besides Gladius. He never thought what they did would take hold, not on the first time.
It had been a moment of weakness when Carl had come to them, pleading for someone to lay with his daughter. They wanted a child for her and they’d most likely be the last people they’d ever see. Just the mention of her brother, Peter, being the only other suitor, made him cringe. He couldn’t have let that happen.
It had been curious, clumsy, and quick. How could they have produced a child? The thought had been in the back of his mind since they left Mary that morning and she’d hugged him goodbye. But seeing it right in front of him, his child, a little girl, he broke down and teared up. He didn’t want to cry in front of Gladius, but he couldn’t hold back.
“Listen,” Mary said with tears building in her eyes. “I don’t care how you got in here, all that matters is you are here. You’re back. I never thought I’d see you again.” Her arms opened and then fell to her sides. She looked like she wanted to be hugged more than any other person Hank had seen in his whole life, but he had to ask the question.
“Is she ours?” Hank asked.
Mary nodded. “Haven’t been any others coming by, have there?”
“Wait a second . . .” Gladius stepped to the side and waved her finger between Mary and Hank, then pointing at the little girl. “You’re telling me this is your kid?”
“Yes,” Hank said. “Mary’s dad asked me to try . . . to try and give his family the gift of a child. I never thought. . . .”
Gladius frowned and took in a deep breath. He wanted to comfort her and tell her she was the love of his life—that none of this would change what they had—but her face told him she didn’t want his affection at the moment.
He knelt down and faced the little girl. “Hello there.”
“Her name is Cindy. Cindy, this is your dad.”
She hid behind her mother’s leg. “You said he was dead. You told me the monsters outside killed him. You said—”
“I was wrong,” Mary said.
Cindy took a step away from her mother and stared at Hank, studying him with her intelligent gaze. “Where have you been?”
“I was tr-trying to protect . . . I was out there.” Hank pointed to the outside wall. “If I knew you existed, I would have been here as quick as I could.” His chest tightened as he watched his little girl process the information.
She looked from her mother to Hank, and he wondered if he was on some kind of trial. Was he worthy of her affection, or had he done too much harm to come back from? He knew firsthand what it was like to think one parent was dead, and he hated that he’d continued that cycle for another child.
“Did you kill all the monsters outside, dad?” The word dad sounded foreign from her mouth. “Is it safe to go outside now?”
“No, it isn’t. The monsters are still out there. But I’m here now. I will protect you.” She took a step forward and then looked back at her mom, maybe asking for permission. Mary smiled and nodded. Cindy ran to Hank.
He opened his arms and she ran to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. With her secure, he stood and held his daughter. The guilt weighed heavily on him. How could he have been such a terrible person to never have come back here? He knew there was a chance Cindy existed, yet he’d chosen to be ignorant of it—deny the possibility. As long as he didn’t know, it wasn’t real.
As he held her in his arms and she smiled at him, he knew his whole world had changed. He couldn’t let his daughter live on this planet, and stopping the purge
people became an even greater priority.
“I’ve missed so much,” Hank said.
“Where have you been?” Cindy asked.
“She’s a smart one, just like her dad,” Mary said.
Hank couldn’t help but smile and hug her again. Eventually, Cindy retreated back to her mom’s leg, but locked her gaze onto Hank and Gladius. She’d probably had never seen another person outside of her Cost Plus family.
Gladius cleared her throat. She kept a normal expression, but Hank knew better. The redness in her cheeks and the lines near her eyes told him she was scared and confused. He’d thought about telling her numerous times of his encounter with Mary, but it never seemed appropriate to talk about something that might not have been.
“Let me introduce you to my girlfriend. Cindy, Mary, this is Gladius,” Hank said.
“Oh. Nice to meet you.” Mary nodded.
“Yes.” Gladius put her hand out to shake, and Mary just looked at it, seeming confused. Dropping her arm down, she turned to Hank. “I don’t think this could get any more awkward. Hank, did you know you had a child with her?”
“Can you give us a minute?” Hank said.
“Yeah, of course.” Mary beamed with a big smile and stared at him. After what felt like too long, she said, “Good to see you again, Hank. Come on, sweetie, let’s give daddy a minute with his lady friend.”
Hank faced Gladius and took a deep breath. “This is absolutely crazy, I know. You have to believe me, I didn’t think she would actually get pregnant. I mean, we only did it once. And the only reason I did it was because her dad came on all strong, with their plight of never being able to find a suitor for their daughter. They wanted the gift of a child, and Lucas and Joey were both attached at the time. I felt bad for them. I wanted to help. It meant nothing. Nothing like I have with you.” He bit on his lip and waited for something from Gladius, anything. The blank look she gave him made him fumble for his next words.
Gladius spoke first. “Does this place have a stone near it?”
A stone? He looked around and realized what she meant. “No, it’s like hundreds of miles to the south.”
“So you chose this place, instead of getting us home, so we could maybe help save the worlds. What do you think that says?”
“I don’t know. I had the Alius stone in my mind and right when he dropped the stone, I guess I must have subconsciously thought of this place.”
“You think of her?”
“Sometimes. But not like that. I’m happy with you.”
“I just . . . I don’t know what to do with this.” She threw her hands up in the air.
“You don’t have to do anything. Nothing has changed between us.” Hank took a step closer to Gladius. “But you have to know, I can’t let my daughter live in this place, this world.”
“It might actually be the safest place for her right now. I doubt the queen will ever attack this world, and she has her little factory here.”
“I won’t leave them here.”
“Then what, Hank? Are we to adopt a whole new family and put them up in our house? Are we to change our plans of escaping all this? What if we run across another pretty girl who wants a child? Should we galavant around the worlds, dropping your seed for all those needy wombs?” Gladius put her hands on her hips and tears filled her eyes.
He’d never seen Gladius cry. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even know you at the time. And it’s not like you don’t have a history.” Hank winced and instantly regretted his words.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing.”
“Hell no, you tell me right now.”
He didn’t want to have this conversation. No matter what route he took, he’d sound like a jerk. But she grinded her teeth and glared at him. There was no way out of it. “How many men have you been with?”
“What kind of question is that?”
“I know the answer. It’s on Vanar’s net. There’s a social scoreboard with points and ratings, and you are near the top. I’ve only been with two women and they are both in this building right now. Not to mention, I’ve only loved one of them.”
“You searched me?” Gladius said.
“I did and I felt terrible afterward. Not because of what I found, but because I did it. But that doesn’t matter. I don’t care about your past. I only care about the person I have right in front of me.”
“That’s a lie. If you didn’t care, you would’ve never brought it up!” She growled and closed her eyes briefly. “I hate that I care what you think. I hate that I have a past that isn’t like yours . . . but I don’t regret it, Hank. Because everything I’ve done ultimately led me to you, at the exact moment I was ready for you. And the absolute worst part of all of this?” She pointed off toward the direction Cindy and Mary had taken. “This whole situation makes me love you even more.”
Hank melted and rushed to her. She met him and they hugged.
He kissed her cheek, then she pulled back and said, “Are there any other little secrets out there I should know about?”
“Just one, and this is a big one . . . I ate the last Snackie Cake at home.”
She punched him on the chest. “You better not have. I’m not even kidding.” He laughed and grabbed her again. “Now, can you tell me where the hell we are? And who are these people staring at us?”
Hank turned and faced Mary’s family. He spotted Mary’s dad, Carl, and her brother, Pete. They both looked so much older. Stretching his neck to look around them, he noticed one person was missing.
“Hello, Hank,” Carl said. “I didn’t think we’d ever see you again.”
“Running theme here,” Gladius muttered, tightening her arm around his.
“Hello, Carl, Pete.”
“Who you have there?” Pete asked.
“This is Gladius.”
“Hello,” Pete said and waved with a sheepish smile.
“Where’s Jenny?” Hank asked, looking for their mom.
Pete looked away, and Mary and Cindy looked at each other. Carl took a step forward and said, “She didn’t make it; came down with the illness.” His voice cracked and he covered his face with his hand.
“I’m so sorry,” Hank said.
“So, what are you doing here?” Carl asked, and glanced at Cindy.
“We were . . . it’s actually rather complicated,” Hank said.
“He wanted to see if that girl actually produced his offspring,” Gladius offered.
“Yeah, there’s that.”
“Are you staying, Daddy?” Cindy asked.
Hank looked to Gladius and felt himself in a battle of two worlds. Could he explain things without looking completely insane? Could he leave them here, while they dealt with the purge people? What if little Cindy got sick like her grandma?
“I don’t think you should stay here, Cindy. How would you like to live in a world where people stayed dead when it was their time?”
“Yes,” Cindy said.
“All of us?” Mary asked.
“You know of a place that doesn’t have the dead?” Carl said, full of optimism. Something Hank didn’t remember seeing in the man the last time they were there. Maybe the death of his wife, or the birth of his granddaughter, made him realize there could be a better life outside of Cost Plus.
“I do, but right now, it’s under attack and my friends and I are going to stop it.”
“Is Poly around?” Pete asked.
“Yes, she is still around.”
“She’s hot,” Pete said and Mary nudged him. “What?”
“Don’t be a sicko.”
“Oh, like you and your boyfriend here?” Pete said. “What kind of person has relations with a stranger, only to have a kid? No offense, Cindy.”
“That’s enough, Pete,” Carl said. “Hank, you didn’t answer Mary. Are you going to take all of us?”
“I will, but I have to set my world straight first. It might be a more dangerous place than here right now and Gladius and I
have a long travel ahead of us to get back home.
Gladius cleared her throat and nudged Hank in his back.
“What is it?” Hank asked as Gladius moved in close to him.
“When I tackled that purger to the ground, I stole this.” She pulled out a sack and then opened it. Inside he saw the purple stone, exactly like the one Harris had. “I didn’t know what they did until Harris used his on us. This is our ticket out of here. Unless you have another place you want to be on Vanar?”
Hank glanced back at Cindy. “This is amazing. We can get them off this planet.”
“I thought you said it was too dangerous.”
“That was only because we had to clear through Ryjack to get to the stone. Now we can jump right there.”
Gladius shook her head. “I hate to burst your bubble, but didn’t you hear Harris? This only works with up to three people.”
Pete crossed his arms, but kept quiet. Carl rubbed his thinning hair and gave a slight shake of his head.
The steel roll-up door rattled and the faint sound of groans came through.
Cindy grabbed at Mary’s arms, and she picked her daughter up. “Not tonight, you won’t.”
“I guess you guys are stuck here for a while,” Carl said. “I can set up a room for you. We’ve changed a few things since Cindy was born. We’ve taken up residence back in the old employee offices.”
“No way am I spending the night here,” Gladius said. “We should jump now. We can always come back,” she whispered.
“I need to see this out. Give me a little bit, please.”
Gladius’s lips thinned, but she nodded and followed Hank and the rest across Cost Plus.
“Dad,” Pete said. “I don’t think they plan on staying here long. But, maybe they can help us with our problem?”
“Yes, please, Dad,” Mary said, putting a hand on her father’s arm.
“Let me guess, you need a second child?” Gladius said.
Mary shook her head and looked at Hank. “We need someone to kill our mother.”
