She’d never had to do that anyway because she didn’t get sick, but her father had to. “Wow. Where did you say Cascus is from?”
“I didn’t.” He looked away from her. “He says he doesn’t remember. He only remembers the ‘quakes and the sickness afterward, nothing before that.”
“Do you believe him?”
A flash of something—anger maybe? or defensiveness?—lit up his eyes for a brief moment. “Of course I do. Why wouldn’t I? Why would he lie about that?”
“Chill, dude.” Myri smiled. “It just seems odd, is all.”
He raised an eyebrow at her and his mouth twitched as if he was trying not to laugh. “Chill dude?”
Myri shrugged. “I heard it on the street. It seemed fitting for the situation.”
A pounding on the door limited his retort to a rolling of the eyes. “Come in,” he said.
“Hey, Morgan.” The blonde girl, maybe a little older than Myrikal, looked her up and down with a quick glance before turning her full attention on Branch. “The boss wants to see you.” She flicked her eyes at Myrikal again. “Alone.”
Morgan? Myrikal thought back to when they’d first met. Was that Branch’s real name? Myri stole a quick peek at the girl. Was that makeup she was wearing?
“Hey, Myri,” Branch said. “I’ll be back in a few. I know I said I wouldn’t leave you alone with anyone, but maybe Alyssa can finish showing you around and I’ll meet you back here?”
Myri nodded. “Yeah, okay. See you then.” What should she do? Should she smile at the girl? Introduce herself? Her awkwardness had only gotten worse in Branch’s long absence from her life.
The girl solved Myri’s dilemma as she yelled at Branch’s back as he hurried out the door, “Way to introduce me to your friend!” She turned to Myri and rolled her eyes, half-smiling. “I’m Alyssa. And, you must be Myrikal. Morgan talks about you all the time.”
“He… he does?” Myri’s face flushed when Alyssa’s eyes flicked quickly down at her flashy unitard. She’d never thought much about what she wore before, nobody on the outside seemed to care or pay any attention to the skin-tight outfits her dad had always insisted she wear. But Alyssa had on normal clothes. And she looked cute. Myri looked down at the lightning-splayed, black spandex and crossed her arms over her chest.
“The goggles I get. Morgan told me your eyes are sensitive. But what’s with the lightning-queen get-up?” Alyssa asked.
“Oh, well… it’s… my dad always…” Myri sighed. “Yeah, I need to get some new clothes.”
Alyssa laughed—not a laugh that made Myri cringe with embarrassment, but one that made her want to join in. “Don’t worry about it, kid. You actually pull it off quite well. My short, stubby stature would never allow me to look that good in that thing. But, if you want, I can show you where you can get some new garb. You can trade some work for it.”
“That’d be great.” Myri relaxed her crossed arms a little.
Holding the door open, Alyssa asked, “What has he already shown you and what do you want to see next?”
“He showed me the central square and the gardens. I’d like to see more of how you’re constructing the buildings and furniture. I can’t believe how fast this has all taken shape.” She stepped out onto the porch and cocked her head to the side. “Are those power tools I hear?”
“Yes. The Boss is a genius. He invented these batteries we use for our tools. He said he’ll be able to make them work to power our houses, too, but he wants us to get more of the infrastructure built before we move on to that.”
“Where did you get the tools?” They walked down the gravelly road as they talked.
“Oh, they’re all over the place. Abandoned because no one’s been able to use them for so many years.”
The “batteries” looked like something a mad-scientist slapped together from spare parts. Larger than Myri had expected, they looked nothing like the batteries she’d seen and used. They were housed in a special building Alyssa called the “power house.”
“We bring the tools back here at the end of the day to be recharged for the next day’s work,” Alyssa explained.
The roots of Myrikal’s hair tingled and her nerves pulsed with energy in rhythm with the pulsating green liquid flowing through clear tubes atop the “batteries.” It pulled at her, wanting to drink of her energy. It felt alive. “Do you feel that?” she whispered, rubbing her hands up and down her arms to try to rid herself of the sensation of bugs crawling under her skin.
“Feel what?” Alyssa scrunched her eyebrows together.
Realizing that her weirdness was showing again, Myri shook her head and tried to smile. “Nothing. Where to now?” She backed out of the building, relieved that the pull on her nerves subsided.
Alyssa stepped up beside her. “Nothing, huh? It didn’t seem like nothing from the look on your face.”
Not knowing how much the girl knew about her special abilities, she said, “I don’t know, maybe I’m just not used to being around powered up batteries.”
Alyssa looked sideways at her for a few seconds before responding. “It probably has something to do with your affinity to getting electrocuted with lightning and coming out of it unscathed.”
Myri sighed. “You saw that, huh?”
“Yep. I saw that.”
Feeling the need to explain the unexplainable, Myri said, “I’ve never done that before. It just kind of… I don’t know… called to me, I guess.”
Alyssa shrugged. “You’re a strange one, that’s for sure. But normal stopped existing when the ‘quakes hit. So, whatever. It’s cool.”
“Really? You aren’t freaked out about it? About me?”
“Nah. Your special abilities could come in handy with The Boss’s plans. We all have a part to play in this new world.”
“What plans?”
Alyssa waved to a group of people putting up a fence. “I’ll leave that to him to tell you.” She pointed at the grassy area inside the unfinished fence. “We’re going to try to catch some wild pigs and goats. Cascus said he knows where some are about a day’s travel from here.”
“What for?” Myri watched the people work in teams to pound fence posts into the ground.
“Food, of course. Pigs are good to eat and you can milk goats and use it to make all kinds of stuff.”
“I guess I knew that. I mean, I’ve read about farms and stuff.” She turned to Alyssa. “This guy really does want to make things like they used to be, huh?”
“Better, Myrikal. He wants to make them better than they used to be.”
“Why? I mean, what’s his motive? What does he get out of it?” Her dad’s lifelong teachings still crowded her thoughts.
“His motive is to create a better place to live. For himself. For all of us.”
Myri frowned, wrinkling her forehead. It all sounded great. Heck, it all looked great, but… something nagged at her intuition. Not in a strong way, but a gentle tickling, like the fleck of a booger stuck to a nose hair at the outer rim of her nostril. Myri closed her eyes, giving herself a mental shake. It’s just Russ making noise inside my head. I left him behind yesterday. He’s in the past and this is my future. “Let’s go see if Branch is back yet.”
“Branch?” Alyssa raised her brows.
“Uh… I mean Morgan.”
“Yeah, well, you’ll have to tell me the story behind the Branch thing.” Her eyes sparkled playfully as they headed back toward Branch’s house.
“I think I’ll leave that to him. It’s his story to tell, not mine.”
Alyssa shrugged. “Whatever. I admire your loyalty to him even though I’d really like to hear the scoop. You know, find out some embarrassing tidbits about his past.”
Myri tried to keep from smiling as she thought about the first time she’d met Branch. That was his story to tell, too.
Waving from his porch, Branch stepped toward them, a smile on his face. “Perfect timing! I just got here a few minutes ago.” He turned to Myri. “Did yo
u get a chance to see everything you wanted to? What do you think?”
“You all have done some pretty amazing things here in such a short amount of time. How did your meeting go?” What she really wanted to know was what the meeting was about, but she didn’t want to pry too much.
“It was good. He wants to meet you.”
“Now?” She glanced down at her flashy unitard.
Catching on to Myri’s thoughts, Alyssa said, “Oh, crap. We forgot to go to the clothing storehouse. Can we hurry and do that before Myrikal goes to meet the boss?”
A tiny flicker of worry flashed across Branch’s face. “I guess so, if we hurry. He’s expecting us back soon.”
Myri straightened her shoulders. “No. It’s fine. I should go meet him and make sure he’s okay with me trading work for clothing before I just go barging in the storehouse.” She chewed on her bottom lip for a second. “Thanks, though, Alyssa. Will you be around later to help me pick out some clothes?”
Alyssa winked. “You bet I will. My fashion sense combined with your rockin’ body cannot end any way but amazing.”
A flush spread up Myrikal’s neck and face. She looked down, her mouth twitching into a weird little smile. “Thanks. I’ll see you in a bit, then?”
“Yep.” Alyssa turned to Branch. “See you in a bit, too… Branch.”
His eyes widened a little and he glanced at Myri. She shrugged. “You didn’t tell me to keep that a secret.”
Branch laughed and waved as Alyssa walked away. “It’s okay, I’ll just have to think of a really mind-blowing story to go with it.” He grabbed Myri’s arm and stopped. “You didn’t reveal the truth to her, did you?” The fake look of horror he plastered on his face made her laugh.
“No, Morgan, I didn’t spill your dirty little secrets.” The heat of his touch through the tight sleeve of her outfit made her lean toward him slightly. She tore her gaze away from his. “We should probably get to our meeting.”
“Yeah.” He cleared his throat and dropped his hand from her arm. “We should. Follow me.”
Together again, it seemed to Myrikal that they’d never been apart. The ease with which they fell back into their friendly banter relieved her battered soul. His appearance, however, was definitely not the same. The slightly pudgy kid she’d known had grown into a tall, muscular—dare she think, handsome?—teenager. And that was different. The innocent touch of yesteryear now caused a not unpleasant sensation wherever his skin met hers. It freaked her out a little.
Maybe it freaked him out a little, too. They walked in silence to the center of the compound where the largest of the new buildings stood. When she’d seen it from afar, she hadn’t noticed the difference in building materials. She reached out a hand and brushed her fingers across the odd matter. The same sick feeling she’d experienced in the power house returned, only to a much lesser degree. Instead of the sensation of bugs crawling under her flesh, this felt more like a light breeze lifting the tiny hairs on her skin. Still, it gave her the creeps. “What is this?”
Branch shrugged. “I’m not sure. Cascus found it and brought it here. He had enough for this building and the power house.”
“Does he live in this building?”
“Yes. Downstairs. The main floor is for meetings and gatherings.”
The door swung open and Myrikal stepped back.
“Come in, Morgan and Myrikal. Welcome to the Central Building.”
Myrikal started to think that Cascus’s long flowing robe was a strange choice of wardrobe—then she remembered what she was wearing. She had no room to judge. She squinted, unable to see his face clearly. She tried to keep from grimacing as a strange odor wafted from the robed man. She’d never experienced nausea in her life, but the way her stomach rolled now at the smell, she thought she might finally know what it felt like to be ill.
“Have a seat, both of you,” he said.
They sat on a small couch across a coffee table from Cascus. Branch, eyes never leaving his “boss,” introduced Myrikal. “Cascus, this is my friend, Myrikal, that I’ve told you so much about.”
Cascus nodded. “It is a pleasure to meet you, my dear. I’m very happy for Morgan that you’ve finally found each other again.”
Myrikal swallowed down a wave of unease. “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, sir.”
“Please, there’s no need to call me ‘sir.’ You can call me Cascus or Boss—as many of the folks here call me as a term of endearment. We are all equal here, though. There is no boss. I apologize that I must get right down to business for lack of more time.” He leaned forward. “What can we do to convince you to join us, Myrikal?”
Why couldn’t she see his face clearly? She moved her gaze to his hands, the only other part of him that was visible beneath the robes. She blinked her eyes and squinted. She couldn’t quite figure it out, but something was off with her sight. Branch nudged her with an elbow. Right. She should respond to Cascus’s question. “Well, this way of living is not something I’m even remotely used to. It would take some adjustment. What would be expected of me in return for joining your clan?”
He steepled his fingers together—at least that’s what she thought he did, it seemed like her vision cleared for a brief moment before fritzing out on her again.
“We would expect the same of you as of everyone else,” he said. “You would be given a main job within the clan as well as being assigned other duties as needed. With plenty of free time in between. We strive for happiness here and I believe everyone needs to feel needed but also to have fun. Those are the things this world has been missing for the last twenty-five years or so.”
Myri shook her head, trying to clear her vision. She really wanted to cover her nose with her hands or a thick cloth. She’d never experienced an odor like this before.
“Do you disagree with something I said, dear?” Cascus asked. Branch’s leg bounced up and down beside her.
“Oh, no. No, not at all. What kind of job do you foresee me doing?” she asked.
She thought he smiled. “We just so happen to be in the midst of building a special team in which your unique talents will be a huge asset.” He paused. “Morgan is a member of this team, as well.”
“What is the task this team will be doing?” Myri asked.
“We just so happen to be holding our first meeting tomorrow to discuss that.” He stood in a fluid motion and Myri’s vision blurred further, it looked like two forms separated for a split second and then rejoined as he stood. “I’m sorry for the brief time I’m able to spend with you today, but I must be going. I have a prior engagement, as I stated earlier. I’m sure Morgan can answer any further questions you have. I hope to see you at the meeting in the morning.”
Cascus swept out of the room, down a semi-hidden staircase in the back corner. Myrikal stared after him. She gasped, as, for the briefest of seconds, he transformed into a distinctly non-human form. Writhing beneath his blurred skin was a tangled network of the same pulsating green liquid she’d seen in the “batteries.” She stared around the room, noting that nothing else in her line of sight was blurred or difficult to make out. Her vision, when looking at anything but Cascus, was perfect, as usual.
Alyssa’s little house was a bit smaller than Branch’s and the furniture wasn’t nearly as nice. She had obviously scavenged it from within the city too, but hadn’t done anything to improve it above cleaning it off a little. Myri took her up on her offer to stay there, worried that staying with Branch would be awkward. Myri had trouble sleeping, but it didn’t have anything to do with the furniture. She was used to sleeping on old, dusty, torn couches.
Waking nightmares plagued her for the first time in her life. She couldn’t remember anything concrete in the dreams, just vague images. Cracks in the earth, oozing coils of green gel-like substance, like something crawling from within the depths of the chasm. Sometime, hours before dawn, Myrikal gave up on sleeping. She got up and dressed in the new jeans and shirt Alyssa and Branch had helped her pro
cure after the strange meeting with Cascus. She put them on over her unitard since she didn’t know how long she’d be staying with Alyssa and didn’t want to presume she could just store her stuff there.
Myri hadn’t said anything to Branch about the problems she’d had with her ability to see Cascus clearly or the odor he obviously didn’t smell. She needed time to think about what it could mean. She wanted to see if it recurred. Maybe it was just a one-time aberration. Maybe it had to do with the huge jolt of electricity she’d stolen from the sky earlier in the day. Maybe that’s what had caused the strange dreams as she struggled to sleep.
Shaking the thoughts from her head, she quietly opened the door and slipped outside. She needed some fresh air before the meeting, still hours away. She wandered around the inside perimeter of the compound, noting a gated exit/entrance on each side of the rectangular structure. Two guards were posted at each gate, none of them seemed too concerned that she was wandering around in the darkness of pre-dawn.
She stopped in front of the two guards stationed at the entrance she’d come through the day before. A male and a female stood watch, crossbows strung across their shoulders.
“Hi. I’m Myri. Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.” The male guard smiled.
“What, exactly, are you guarding against?”
“Intruders,” he said. “When we first started to get things set up in here, we had a lot of outsiders trying to steal from us.”
“So…” Myri looked at the female, “you aren’t here to keep people inside. You’re here to keep people out?”
The guard nodded. “Yes. That’s right. The people that live here are welcome to come and go as we please.”
“And visitors are welcome, as long as they’re cleared through the proper channels first,” added the man.
Good to know they weren’t trying to keep people in. Not that that would be an issue for Myrikal. She could get outside the walls without any problem. “Well, if an older man named Russ tries to enter, don’t let him. You guys have a good night.”
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