by E. J. Mellow
“Can’t you see that both of us think this is a bad idea?” Dev turned back to Elena. “Give me a meeting with the elders. I’m sure we can find another solution.”
Elena didn’t reply right away, merely kept her gaze trained to Hector’s, a silent conversation passing between the two. Dev watched on, awkwardly shifting as he slowly witnessed the usually emotionless Vigil now experiencing an array.
“Repent for redemption,” the elder eventually spoke to Hector, her voice soft, soothing. “Not damnation.”
The pale-haired man took in a stuttering breath. “Yes,” he said thickly. “Yes, I’ll do it.”
Dev blinked. “What in all of Terra just happened?”
“What always would.” Elena stood back. “Now that that’s settled—”
“Nothing is settled,” Dev interjected, but Elena talked over him.
“There are still a few more things that need to be aired out”
“No, rewind please.” Dev held up a hand. “What kind of mind control did you just place over Hector to get him to comply?”
“None,” Hector said tightly. “My decisions are my own.”
“Really? How so, when Elena just commanded we obey her?”
Hector lifted a frosty gaze to Dev. “I take this new role with honor.”
“Honor? Since when did you ever care for such a thing?”
The Vigil’s green eyes narrowed. “There’s much you don’t know about me, Devlin.”
“And thank Terra for that.”
“Gentlemen, please,” Elena cut in. “There’s only one more piece of business we need to take care of, and we must do it quickly, for your time is almost up with me.”
“Then by all means”—Dev folded his arms over his chest—“continue.”
She glanced at Hector. “We must discuss your involvement with Aaron.”
Dev’s whole body seized up. “Aaron?”
“But I already told you.” Hector’s shoulders hunched forward. “I didn’t know who he was, what he was planning.”
“Yes, no need to excite yourself,” Elena reassured. “You passed the truth serum, so there is nothing to fear on our end.”
The room went quiet while Hector and Elena looked to Dev, but he was too terrified to move, to breathe. For he could feel his mind being taken over by a darker force, one that would propel his hands to reach for his Arcus if what he was piecing together was true.
Slowly, and with great care, he faced the Vigil who, until this moment, he didn’t believe he could hate more. “What. Did. You. Do?”
“Nothing—”
Dev seized Hector by the throat and lifted him a fraction off the ground. “What did you do?!”
The Vigil tried to gasp through Dev’s grip, his face turning red as he frantically grabbed at his hands. Dev squeezed harder right before an invisible energy wrapped around his whole body, shocking him with an acute pain and forcing him to drop Hector.
Both men collapsed to their knees, Dev glaring up at Elena, knowing she was responsible for what just happened.
“You’re insane!” Hector wheezed as he bent over coughing.
“What was your involvement with Aaron?!” Dev forced himself to his feet, moving forward.
Hector tripped as he scrambled back, but when Dev was about to lunge for him again, he was rendered paralyzed, the same energy as before holding him in place.
“Let me go,” Dev bit out, his eyes pinned to Hector.
“Not until you calm yourself,” Elena replied in slight boredom. “All of this is really unnecessary. Hector will tell you what you want to know. If you are to work together, this must be aired. That is, if you can spare him a moment to speak.”
Dev glared at Hector, the realization of their future unity suddenly sinking in, and Hector seemed equally unhappy about it.
Tipping his chin up, Hector brushed off his clothes, seeming to revel in prolonging explaining, for it kept Dev stuck under Elena’s hold. He better run fast after this meeting. Her powers won’t save him then.
“We traded,” Hector eventually said.
Dev narrowed his gaze. “In what?”
“Many things,” he said. “Nectus in exchange for certain information on Robert, news about Terra for objects he could bring me from Earth. But I truly had no idea who he was. He’s not the only Vigil to ever go rogue, you know.”
Dev didn’t know this, but that was of little concern, for as Hector continued to talk, Dev realized why Elena maintained her hold on him, forcing his feet to stay rooted to the ground, his hands stuck by his sides.
By asking Aaron to find Robert, to check in on him, Hector had led Aaron straight to Molly.
— 9 —
My midnight,
I can’t see clearly anymore.
I need you to come home.
I need the light of your star
to guide me.
—Part of a letter from Dev to Molly
The sound of soldering tools and metallic scents fill the lab. A contrast to the silent and less-than-pleasant aromatic taxi ride Rae and I took to the location in Brooklyn where Sonja has set up shop. Since the incident with Becca, something has definitely shifted in Rae—there’s a solemn energy to him now, like his thoughts are clouded and heavy. I understand. I too feel like I’m walking under a fog these days, neither of us the best companions.
It’s been almost a week since we revealed everything to Becca, which means it’s also been a week since either of us has talked to her. She stayed long enough to listen to us explain further about what was going on and that while Rae was, yes, technically an alien, he was nothing like we see in the movies. We’re all aliens to someone, I had said. While she surprisingly agreed, none of it was enough to stop her from running straight for the exit. Rae followed but was momentarily blocked by her slamming shut and locking the closet door. It only took one swift kick from Rae to open it again, but by that time I was pulling on his arm and pleading with him to let her go, to give her some space to take it all in. I mean, I’m the one who actually traveled there, and I still didn’t believe it when everything was explained. I can hardly blame Becca for her reaction.
In the days that followed, Rae waited outside her apartment like a watchdog, resorting to me bringing him sandwiches, because as hard as it is to believe, I was pretty certain he wouldn’t have eaten otherwise. Becca must have been staying at her sister Steph’s, for she never appeared, and while he could have stalked her at work or at her sister’s, I told him unless he wanted the police to get involved, he probably shouldn’t. Her phone was also turned off, so neither of us knew if she saw or listened to the countless messages we left.
All we can do now is wait. And by Rae’s usually lively countenance turning to an eerie sullen shadow, I know he’s not handling that well. While I’m feeling the same effects of potentially losing my best friend, one of us needs to function. So it seems our roles have switched, and I’m the one nudging him to start the day and keep moving.
I watch Rae walk over to Sonja in the back of the room, his footsteps heavy, and I sigh, hoping she has some good news for us. Raymond, the Vigil scientist who helped me in Terra, is also here now. He’s been coming and going for about a week, and I glance to his familiar form currently bent over one of the computers in the middle of the space. The sleeves to his white lab coat are rolled up, and his thick-rimmed glasses reflect back the blue glow from the monitor, his thinning brown hair neatly parted to one side.
“Hi, Raymond.” I approach him with a grin, and his head pops up, his eyes magnified by his lenses.
“Molly, on time as usual,” he says with a smile. So far Raymond’s proved to be a very animated and optimistic man. Anytime I show the slightest interest in something he’s doing, he falls full force into explaining what it is and its importance. If it wasn’t for him, I still wouldn’t know the difference between a tumor-promoting and opine-synthesis gene, and we couldn’t have that now, could we?
“Sonja called to say there’s been som
e new developments.”
“Yes.” His brows shoot up in excitement. “We’ve pretty much completed the Molecular Chamber. A few more things to test and make sure of, but it’s looking good.”
I try keeping my face neutral while anticipation and fear mix in my chest. I still can’t believe I could actually be going back, and soon. How much will the transfer hurt? What’s at risk? My Vigil companions have been rather closed lipped about the details, and my trepidation has kept me from pressing for answers.
“That’s awesome,” I say and look to the back of the room where the Molecular Chamber rests. Two pods, similar to the white coffin I lay in back at the Village Portal Bookstore, now sit behind the glass partition in the corner. The differences in these are the multitude of wires streaming from one to the other, a complicated spider’s web, and each has a domed glass.
“Why are there two pods?” I ask.
“For each of you.” Raymond clicks away on his keyboard.
I frown. “Each of us?”
But I get no answer from the Vigil who’s now engrossed with a message flashing on his screen. He grumbles something about our archaic human technologies before typing away again.
Leaving Raymond to deal with whatever that is, I make my way over to Sonja and Rae, who stop their conversation as I approach. They stand by a table outside the Molecular Chamber, the chrome surface filled with various equipment and papers, none holding any real meaning to me.
“Why are there two pods in there now?” I nod to the room in front of them.
“We were just going to discuss that with you,” Sonja says before furtively glancing to Rae.
“Oh?”
“Why don’t we all have a seat?” She gestures to a group of chairs close by. “Raymond, can you come join us?” Sonja calls to the man, and he hurries over.
“I’m not going to like this, will I?” I say, gripping my thighs as I sit.
No answer.
“Rae? What’s going on?” I turn to my friend, his hazel gaze distractedly fixated on the cement floor before it comes up to meet mine. “Did something happen in Terra? Is it Dev?”
“Dev is fine,” he says, rubbing his lips together, “but Terra was dealt a pretty severe attack by the Metus earlier this week. They inflicted a great deal of damage to part of the city’s wall. It wasn’t breached, but things now need to move a lot quicker.”
“Why didn’t you mention this to me when it happened?” I ask, my heart beating faster. Dev hadn’t written anything about it either.
“A lot went down that day, both Terra and here.” He looks at me pointedly, and I think of Becca. “I didn’t want to add any more worry onto our already stressful plate.”
“But now?”
“Now we must address what needs to happen to ensure your quick return to Terra.”
“Raymond said the chamber is pretty much complete, so that’s good, right?”
“Yes.” Rae nods, looking to Sonja. “It is.”
I glance to the female Vigil. Her hair is down today, the gray locks falling right below her shoulders, but the effect does little to soften the sadness I see etched in her green gaze. I swallow. “I’m sensing there’s a but mixed in here.”
“But,” Rae goes on, “we had to change the plan slightly for the chamber to be ready sooner.”
“Oh my.” Raymond flutters his fingers over his knee. “I thought she already knew the details.”
“Not quite.” Rae says.
“Oh dear,” he tuts again.
“Knew what details?” I ask. “Guys, just tell me.”
Rae clears his throat. “We’ve run out of time, Molly, and what we originally were aiming for is no longer an option.”
“What were we originally aiming for?”
Sonja is the one who answers. “We were looking for a way to duplicate the unique DNA properties of the Vigil that allows us to walk freely in and out of the dimensional portal, so we could add it to your own.”
“And now?”
“Now we can’t duplicate per se. We can only transfer, which was the original intent of these machines.”
“What does that mean, only transfer?” I ask, glancing to Rae, whose gaze is on the ground again.
“It means,” she says, “what we were trying to change about the pods, we’ve unfortunately run out of time to explore. We can only use them as they are now, what we built from the original schematics, and what we have assurance will work.”
I let out a frustration sigh. “Yes, but Sonja, what is that?”
She wets her lips before speaking again. “To give you the DNA required, we will need to take it from a Vigil.”
A thick silence settles in the lab, everything in the universe suspended in stillness.
“What do you mean, take?” I ask slowly.
“Through the Molecular Chambers, we’ll be transferring the Vigil’s unique DNA to fuse with yours.”
“Okay.” I nod. “And what will happen to them, to the Vigil?”
“Well, luckily, replicating and inserting human DNA is what Veda Corp. does, what we have perfected, so we will be replacing what they give up with that.”
As her words sink in, the periphery of my vision fish bowls out of focus. “Wait. So you’re saying to make me be able to return to Terra, a Vigil has to…become human?”
Sonja’s silver gaze holds mine. “Yes,” she says. “That’s what has to happen.”
“That’s crazy!” My eyes are wide, unbelieving. “Who in all of Terra would agree to such a thing? They’d be giving up everything.”
No one answers me, but then again, they don’t have to, for it only takes Sonja solemnly glancing to Rae to break apart my world as she silently tells me everything I don’t want to know.
— 10 —
What haunts me the most
is that I can’t hold you
when you need me the most.
—Part of a letter from Dev to Molly
There’s a phrase people use when endless bad things happen—when it rains, it pours. I’ve always hated that saying. First, it doesn’t always pour when it rains, and secondly, why are we using a mundane thing like droplets of water to describe when a person is getting broken in two by life’s consistently unfair actions? It should be rephrased to something like, when it rains, lightning will soon strike you dead—I could attest to that one. Let’s paint a picture that describes an iota of the pain the person is going through, because merely being wet would be a welcome relief right about now. My heart, lungs, blood—everything in me feels like it’s being crushed by what’s just been placed in front of me.
“No.” I push up out of my seat. “No, we aren’t doing that.”
Rae stands with me. “Molly—”
“Don’t you say it!” I level a finger at him. “Don’t you dare say this is what needs to be done.”
“But it is.”
I stare at him, incredulous, before glancing to the others. “Are you all mad?! There has to be another solution. We could…we could simulate another lightning strike, try to open that door in my brain again. Or maybe if we use whatever’s in those Conscious blades, stab me with it. We can see if it reverses the effect? Two negatives make a positive, right?”
“No, Molly.” The softness in Sonja’s voice nearly undoes me further.
“We can wait then.” I give a decided nod. “Surely we can wait a little longer to figure this out? Terra has fought wars before, where there wasn’t a Dreamer present. Why can’t they now?”
“This is like no other war previous,” Rae says solemnly.
I tug a hand through my hair. “Does Dev know your ridiculous plan?”
“Yes.”
I blink, stunned. “And he’s okay with it?”
“None of us are okay with it,” Rae says a bit sharply. “But I’ve thought long and hard to come to this decision, and I accept it.”
I rub my forehead, a stuttered breath escaping me. “But why does it have to be you? Get someone else—”
/> “There isn’t anyone else.”
“There has to be. What about a Vigil prisoner or something?”
Rae shakes his head. “This is my duty—”
“Fuck your duty! I can’t ask this of you! I can’t kill you. I can’t—”
“You’re not going to kill me.” He steps forward and brings me into his arms.
“Yes I will. You’ll be human.” I try pushing away, but he only holds me more tightly.
“And what’s so bad about being human?”
“Stop it.” I finally step out of his embrace. “You know what I’m saying. Do you even understand what you’ll be giving up? Your home! Friends, Terra.”
“All things you were forced to give up.”
“That’s different.”
“Is it?”
“Yes!”
“How?”
My lips press together as I glare at him. “For one thing, if I had chosen Earth, I would have forgotten about everything I gave up. You won’t. Plus, another Dreamer would have eventually come. They might still now. I’m replaceable.”
“That most certainly is not true.” Rae glowers. “You were specifically chosen for this mission, Molly, a direct descendent from the last Dreamer. There’s a reason for that. And if we’re going to talk about being replaceable, then what about me? There are Vigil being trained as we speak to step forward and fill my shoes.”
My lips purse at that. “But none of them are you.”
“My point exactly.” His gaze softens. “None of them are you.”
My shoulders droop. I’m so tired, so tired of all of this. It can never be easy, can it? I’m not asking for a completely smooth road, just one that’s not filled with as many gaping potholes.
“But what will you do once you’re human?”
“I’ll still be your guard here. My duties on Earth won’t be effected. I just won’t be able to follow you into Terra. You’ll have another guard to help you there. And…I’ll have Becca. This might give us our chance at a proper life together.”
