The Bright Image

by Tim Niederriter

  "Don't think like that."

  "Why not?"

  "Because it makes you sad."

  "I wouldn't be happy anyway," said the girl.

  Rebecca glanced at me, questioning, but silent, allowing the dialog between me and the young Fiusontha to continue. The girl on the tombstone pursed her lips. Despite everything this girl would grow to become, my heart ached to help her. After that, I doubt any of you will be shocked what I said next.

  "You can be."

  "Can I?"

  You must always hate them, my child.

  "You have to love to be happy. Even if you don't love a person, you have to hope and dream for something you love."

  Rebecca arched an eyebrow. Evidently, she had not expected my readiness to break open. After these days of trouble, I really had no choice, even addressing a future monster.

  "You really think that?"

  "Yes," I spoke in unison with the remembered voice.

  Fiusontha's eyes narrowed at me.

  "I don't know if I can keep doing this." Her eyes closed completely.

  "You don't have to! Please, listen to what I'm saying."

  "You're not my daddy," she said in a low voice. "You're too kind."

  Her eyes flew open, wild anger flaring in her gaze. She dropped off the stone. When her feet touched grass, she was no longer the little girl, but instead the adult aeon killer.

  I took a step back, surprised by her transformation. She glared at me, one eye covered by a fall of black hair. Tears ran down her cheeks.

  "Sudhatho didn't lie to me back then," she said softly. "I don't like liars. Like Balancar. Like Tohamaya. Like you."

  Rebecca interposed herself between us.

  "He's not lying. He wants to help you, even after everything you've done."

  "I have a mission in the real world. Step away."

  "I can't." Rebecca took a defensive stance, arms moving slowly into a guard position. Her mind burned hotter and she glowed visibly with inner fire.

  "You love each other," said Fiusontha.

  "No question," I said as Rebecca nodded.

  "I see through you." Fiusontha bared her teeth in a feral grin. "They chased me away because I wanted to be with mother. She wasn't really my mother, but I wanted her to be. That was all I dreamed of and hoped for, but she hated me. She rejected me! But I took her with me."

  "You cleaned her," said Rebecca.

  "Not quite," said Fiusontha. "I linked to her. I won't ever be alone. Even lovers can't say that."

  Fiusontha slammed into Rebecca fist to fist, mind to mind. They fought back and forth, flickering flame and dancing shadow. I circled, looking for a weakness in Fiusontha's structure, but this deep in her mind she seemed tough as diamond. Rebecca retreated a few steps. Fiusontha glanced at me.

  "Why don't you help her, Jeth. You love her, don't you?"

  "I do."

  "How will you feel when she falls?"

  "I don't want to hurt you."

  "Don't you? I cleaned the other one." Fiusontha turned toward me, relaxing her defenses. "Hit me with everything you have, human. I promise you, Liz wouldn't hesitate, and neither would Rebecca."

  Rebecca started forward, poised to deliver a mental blow.

  "Rebecca," I said, "wait."

  She glanced at me. "Jeth?"

  "I have to do this," I said.

  "She's wrong. About everything."

  "Not about one thing."

  I marshaled all the processing power I could from my mind. My tendrils sank into the grave soil like roots. I stood at the center of my own mental tree, an aeon in style if not in power.

  Fiusontha beckoned me toward her with one finger. She kept her arms lowered and her defenses down. Still, if I struck her, I knew who would hurt more and it would not be her. This trick was to undermine my resolve for an inevitable counter-attack.

  "I'm not your father," I said, "But neither was Sudhatho or Balancar. They used you. The led you to this point. Don't let them rule you any further. You're free to be someone else."

  "You know nothing about me."

  "I've met Yashelia, Sudhatho, I know Balancar. You don't owe them your life."

  Rebecca nodded.

  "He's right."

  "No!"

  Fiusontha lashed out, shadowy ropes extended from her arms and lashed Rebecca across the face and chest. Rebecca crashed onto her back. I started toward her, biting my lip to keep from calling her name.

  "Don't!" Rebecca said.

  Fiusontha's whips caught me in the midsection. I crashed against a cold headstone. Pain went through my mind like a lance of frost. I staggered upright. Fiusontha stood over Rebecca. She seethed inside and out with unconcealed fury.

  "I met her once," said Rebecca.

  "Who?" Fiusontha's fluid whips wrapped around Rebecca's arms and dragged her to dangle a few feet off the ground.

  "Tohamaya."

  "You met her. So what? You'll never know the way she crafted me, the way she burned her qualities into my being. The black ichor was hers first."

  "I remember it," said Rebecca. "She changed herself because she wanted to protect people. She didn't hate humans. She cared for us."

  "How do you know that?" hissed Fiusontha.

  "She told me. She said she loved us, all of us. Those were her last words."

  "You lie!"

  "No! I was the only one there when she died."

  "Why would you be there?"

  "Because I killed her," said Rebecca.

  Fiusontha's eyes flowed with black tears. She twisted Rebecca's arms back, making her scream with pain. I mustered my power and tackled Fiusontha to the ground. Tears stung my face.

  Rebecca. I didn't want to believe it but knew it was true from her tone. Fiusontha shoved at me, but I held on. First one tendril released Rebecca and grabbed me, then the other did the same.

  I wrapped my mind around Fiusontha, abandoning physical projection. I expanded my barriers. Defensive walls grew and surrounded us.

  Rebecca called out, "Jeth!"

  "Get the others out. I'll hold her here."

  "Jeth, I won't leave you like this."

  "I know," I said.

  She hurled a ghostly shape toward me. It looked like her, determination engraved on ethereal features. That shape flew through the closing gap in the walls and joined me. I felt only a sprinkling of the impact, but I recognized the presence. Rain.

  Then walls sealed me in completely. I forced the cocoon around me, Rain, and Fiusontha out of the illusion. Our minds plunged into the depths of some unknown place. Fiusontha howled in fury, raking at my mind with all her remaining power, but it was too late. No one could hear her but me and Rebecca’s fragment. I stayed locked with her mind and we plummeted into unconsciousness.

  Unregistered Memory, Thomas Fenstein, The Energy Farm

  Thomas and Celsa picked their way through the remains of the light ship's bridge and over the fallen forms of beasts and wild stars. Thomas gave a low whistle when he saw Fiusontha lying unconscious on her back. His brow furrowed as he turned to the still form of Jeth and Rebecca crouched beside him.

  "Sorry we didn't get here sooner," he said.

  "He stopped her," murmured Rebecca, tears in her eyes. "He stopped the aeon killer, Thomas."

  "Jeth?"

  Rebecca nodded.

  "I helped, but he's still in there."

  "Did you get Liz out?"

  "She should be waking up now," said Rebecca, then shook her head. "I have to go back in."

  She reached for Jeth's temples, arm swaying unevenly.

  "Woah, you're heroic dose is long gone. You need to rest," he said.

  "He's your friend, just let me—"

  Celsa stepped forward, gently taking Rebecca's hand before she could touch Jeth to dive into his mind.

  "I sense him. He'll be alright for now."

  "She's in there with him, Fiusontha."

  "Better in there than out here," said Thomas. "We can't risk her ge
tting free."

  Rebecca let Celsa help her up, still looking at Jeth. His features were serene, despite all the pain his physical body must be in from the breaks, scrapes, and bruises, not to mention...Thomas noticed the black gouges cutting through Jeth's leg.

  "We need to get him to a hospital, a regenerator, something," said Jeanine. The girl bore a bit of resemblance to the aeon killer.

  "I've sent a call for help," said Celsa. "A Harper transport is on the way."

  "Good god," said Thomas, looking over the scene.

  "Thank god," said Jeanine.

  He nodded.

  "For once." Then he sighed, looking at Jeth along the line of Rebecca's gaze. "But we didn't get off easy."

  "Yeah," said Rebecca sounding numb. "Not easy at all."

  Unregistered Memory, Elizabeth Ashwood, BrightNet

  Three days after returning to her body, Elizabeth still felt jittery as she contemplated going live in a few minutes. After Fiusontha's mind, stage fright didn't seem so bad. She had to tell everyone, tell the whole city the truth.

  Cleans could be restored. Sarah glanced at her from the other side of Elizabeth's office, where the two of them waited.

  "You sure you're up for this? I can go with you."

  "I can do this. I'm strong enough."

  She knew she always had been. She might be alone, with Jeth still unconscious, but she could handle this report. She sighed. This would be a special report, in more ways than one, Jeth. At last, she straightened her legs and stood.

  "I'm ready."

  The door opened. Lena Essen poked her head inside.

  "Samantha says it's time."

  "Good," said Elizabeth. "We took too long already."

  She walked out her office door and onto the world stage. The lights were hot on her skin, the eyes of the sensors followed her as she took the seat across from Samantha Lockwell. The reporter looked at her, a bit of sympathy in her expression for a moment, then the emotion was gone and the questions began.

  Elizabeth told the truth.

  She talked a long time.

  Unregistered Memory, Ryan Carter, Command Center Alpha

  Ryan listened to Elizabeth's explanation of what had happened in the refugee district as Kamuek docked his battered ship at Command Center Alpha. He and his team went inside and waited in the briefing room for their meeting with Colonel Cannwald. He tuned out the broadcast when the door opened and Cannwald entered.

  "Everything is in order," the colonel said. "Stand at attention."

  Ryan, Alesia, Conner, and Kamuek stood. Cannwald shook hands with each of them one at a time. When he finished, he stepped back.

  "Welcome to the Dark Division, each of you."

  They all saluted. Butterflies filled Ryan's stomach.

  "Sir," said Kamuek.

  "Yes, captain?"

  "My ship won't be much use to us, I'm afraid."

  "I noticed your heroism out there, captain. Don't worry about the ship. I have requisitioned some elements you will find useful in that regard."

  Kamuek raised an eyebrow.

  "Colonel?"

  "It's all in order. We'll need pilots like you in the war that's coming."

  "Thank you, sir."

  "We'll need all of you." Cannwald turned to Ryan. "I hope you're ready, Carter."

  "I couldn't be more ready," said Ryan. "I'm tired of watching."

  Cannwald put a hand on Ryan's shoulder. His large fingers pressed into the new fabric of Ryan's military uniform.

  "Good luck out there," said Cannwald softly. He lifted his hand and addressed them all. "We fly in two hours for the staging area. Everything should be in order by now. Communication to elsewhere in or out of the city will be restricted from this point on."

  Ryan nodded.

  "Yes sir!" the team said as one.

  Unregistered Memory, Rebecca Waters, Candlegrove Heights Hospital Level

  Natalie and Harvey had just left to open the blood bar, so Rebecca was sitting alone by Jeth's bedside when his parents entered. She hadn't seen them in years, but they looked pretty much as she remembered, just a bit more gray, more worn, and more tired.

  She stood up as Jeth's mother rounded the foot of the bed. Before she could speak a greeting, the older woman wrapped her in a tight embrace.

  "Rebecca," she said, teary-eyed. "They told us someone was here with him. It makes sense it's you."

  A fresh wave of sorrow broke over Rebecca. Tears began to form.

  "I left him behind once. I didn't intend to do it again."

  Jeth's father walked to the bedside, silent. His mother released Rebecca.

  "I'm so glad you found each other again."

  "He found me, really."

  In more ways than one, she thought.

  "Don't worry, about your son. I'm not going to leave him like this." He would be diving in right away if it was me laying there. She clenched one fist at her side. "I promise."

  Jeth's mother nodded. His father took a seat. They watched him, talking intermittently for a long while. When the three of them left the strange building at the end of the day, they left together.

  Rebecca knew she would go back, needed to go back. Already, she missed him too much. She wouldn't lose Jeth again.

  I scratched at the barrier every now and then, but it seemed impervious to attention. Thanks to the internal power, I’d been forced to make it fit close and seal completely.

  Fiusontha's howls died away. She rested at the far side of the little cocoon, shrunk in on herself and seemingly small and weak at last. I took the opportunity to put a barrier between us. Hopefully, that would keep her here until I could find a way out.

  "You won't get there alone," said Rebecca from behind me.

  I turned. The form and voice were hers, but the fragment of Rebecca's personality and memories went by a different name.

  "Rain."

  "Yes," she said. "Now, do you want to get out of here or not?"

  "I think that's pretty obvious," I said.

  "Good. Then listen to me. This may take some time, but I know a way you can get back to the real."

  "I'm listening."

  She grabbed my wrist and grinned.

  "Finally alone," she whispered.

  I scowled at her.

  "What are you doing?"

  "No questions until after."

  I stared into her eyes, pulsing with light, and something different from Rebecca's inner heat. Her grin widened as she poured herself into my being.

  That's the last thing I remembered for a long time. When I woke up, he was there too, but I don't think he’ll recall that moment. Rain explained it to me as this new personality was born. Personality division and replication was a painful process, for everyone involved, both me and him.

  I gave him the memories he needed to understand our situation. That part was easy. Until not that long ago, we were the same person.

  Those things he remembered were mine and my friends. We shared a lot over the years, and especially over the last six months. I hoped those days weren't gone for good.

  We took our time getting through the process. Everything had changed, and I don't think we can go back to how things were. Rain didn't think he would be ready so soon, but I had high hopes.

  I greeted him through the shell that contained him.

  “Good to meet you. Time to break out of this shell, wouldn't you agree?”

  Author’s Note

  Hello, dear readers.

  I want to say, I haven’t written to you folks in the past because honestly, I wasn’t confident you existed. Now that I know you’re out there, let me thank you for reading.

  This book was intense for me to write. I had a lot of difficulties handling all the directions I could have taken it. The fact is, it’s done now. I hope you enjoyed it, because while writing is always a joy, it can also be a struggle sometimes.

  This is not the end of the tale, as you can probably guess. Jeth and his friends will return in The Ocean Co
nspiracy, later in 2018. I hope I’ve given myself enough time to write that book. If it ends up being as difficult as this one, I will definitely still get it released by the end of November.

  As for the mean time, I have some other books I’ve been working on that are about ready to drop. Check out the new “Spells of the Curtain” fantasy series available summer 2018, because that will be my next major release.

  If you liked this book, don’t forget to leave a review on amazon.com.

  That’s it for this time. Chat with you again at the end of the next one.

  Tim Niederriter, June 2018

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  Tim Niederriter has been reading fantasy and science fiction since he was five years old when his parents introduced him to the hobbit.

  These days he writes stories in science fiction, fantasy, and combinations of the two for himself and for others. When not writing fiction or losing at games, he maintains a blog at dwellerofthedeep.wordpress.com, and you can find his personal website at timniederriter.com. He also talks on the podcasts “Of Mooks and Monsters,” and “Alive After Reading” available at mentalcellarpublications.com and wherever podcasts are downloaded.

  He lives in Minnesota for as long as the corn decides not to eat him.