by M. Van
Most of this information already existed inside my head and was considered common knowledge, although I wondered if it had been planted by TED or if they were some residual memories someone had decided to leave inside my head. Saera, sitting at Kyran’s right side, yawned.
“I know this is tedious,” Kyran said, glancing at Saera, “but your sister’s mind is still a bit fragile, and we need to input these things in the right order, so she won’t get confused—we’ve developed this protocol for a reason.”
“Why bother,” Saera replied trying to contain another yawn. “She’s already confused.” Before I could react, Harp reached out and smacked her on the head. It wasn’t hard or anything, but Saera reacted as if he’d been punched her in the face.
“Aaauw,” she said, drawing out the sound.
“Pay attention,” Harp said and returned to his imposing stance. I just raised an eyebrow, but felt curious as to what kind of relationship Saera had with Harp and, related to that, how did I fit in?
Kyran grinned for a second, but his face turned grim as he hit another key and said, “A lot of people died back then because only the major cities had access to the shields that protected us from the radiation and rapidly changing environment—not to mention the destruction of the colony on the moon.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Saera piped in, “the world turned to shit and civilization along with it, and while we know there might be other settlements out there, our communication with them is nonexistent.”
“Saera,” Harp said in warning.
“I know, we have to be gentle with Maecy’s brain,” she said sounding annoyed, “but can’t you just ask her how much she knows and move on from there.” This time Saera folded her arms across her chest and slouched in her chair.
Kyran and Harp both glared at her but then redirected their gazes at me.
“That would probably do,” Kyran said as he shrugged and looked up at Harp.
For a moment, Harp held a thoughtful expression and then said, “Maece, would you tell us what you know?”
His use of the name, which Saera had told me I preferred, made me wonder if he cared. This not knowing was becoming old very quickly, and I shrugged before I nodded in compliance. The faster we got through their “undoing-a-brain-wipe” protocol, the faster they would get to telling the stuff I needed to know.
“In the beginning, hundreds of cities protected by energy fields had survived, and the ones that could tried to work together. On this continent, among other things, they built a vast underground Hymag system that allowed them to travel between cities without the need of shields, but over the millennia as our situation grew direr, war and distrust gained the upper hand,” I said.
I continued to explain that the only reason that the Combined Districts of Tenebrae, which consisted of the cities Umbras, Nebula, and Opacare, had managed to persevere was because of the Subterran people.
“Which I’m not going to describe in detail because you’re all from there,” I said.
Saera grinned. “See, that took about two minutes.”
Their lack of discord over my statement of them being Subterran seemed to prove my point. Although their black, sturdy-looking clothing had ultimately betrayed them.
As Saera had pointed out, I too was getting impatient. It felt as if they were giving me the runaround, and I still had no idea why I was here. If the little information Saera had given me was true, and from the images she had shown me before I dared to guess that it was, then I could understand her intentions. She wanted her sister back, even though that statement seemed ridiculous to me. We were so different in appearance. How could I ever be her sister?
“Now can we stop playing around,” I said, “so you can tell me what’s going on. Please.”
Chapter eight
Maece
“Your stupid ass volunteered,” Saera said, “and everything went sour after that.”
Harp shot Saera a hard look. On other occasions, Saera had seemed more subservient toward Harp, but this time she stood her ground. She held Harp’s gaze and seemed determined to get her point across.
“For what?” I asked as I had no idea what they were talking about.
“Perhaps, I should explain,” Kyran said as he got up from his seat. “I might be the only one able to keep the emotions from running wild.”
He took a seat on the table so he could face us, and all sorts of lights flashed to life as his butt rested on the glass-like surface, but nothing happened on the screen behind him. Kyran glanced up at Harp as he prodded his feet on the chair he had just abandoned. Harp nodded in agreement.
“As Saera just said, you volunteered to go on a fact-finding mission,” Kyran started, “to keep us updated on anything interesting ArtRep Enterprises was up to.” He continued to say that officially we weren’t sanctioned by the Subterran government. “Unofficially, we’re tasked to investigate anything that might be of use to our leadership.”
“Who’s we?” I asked.
All eyes shifted in Harp’s direction, telling me where to find my answer.
Harp didn’t even blink as he explained, “We are a private branch that works in service of the Subterran people.”
“You’re rebels,” I said without hesitation.
“That depends on your point of view,” Harp added.
After raking a hand through his wild hair, Kyran said, “For diplomatic purposes, we’ve existed as so-called rebels for years, without any government affiliation. This way they have someone to do their dirty work and at the same time have someone to blame in case of some conflict with our neighboring cities. A special council has been put in place to supervise our actions, and they report back to the government, so the government is still a component in the organization of things.”
With his statement about this council, Harp shot Kyran a sharp glance as if he had just divulged a piece of information that he shouldn’t have. This made Kyran shift uncomfortably on the table, and several lights flashed as he did. He cleared his throat and added in a hushed tone, “No one is supposed to know that.”
Saera rolled her eyes at Kyran before she said, “As part of Harp’s team, you volunteered to aid in the investigation.”
“So, that’s when I joined the rebels?” I ask.
“No, you’ve been part of this for a long time, along with—” Kyran started to say until Saera planted a fist against his shoulder.
“Kyran,” she said in warning.
“What?” Kyran replied.
“You gotta give her the space to figure these things out on her own,” she said. Kyran shot her a confused look and then turned to Harp.
“But I thought you said—”
Before Kyran could finish, Harp intervened, “Just give it time.” As he spoke, Harp placed the emphasis on the first word and then gave Kyran a hard look.
Kyran looked a bit hurt as I studied the faces around me. Saera’s brow furrowed as she shifted her attention from one man to the other. She looked confused about something, but Harp held that same placid expression as he always seemed to do.
Before long, I felt like a spectacle as all eyes in the room turned to me, and I shifted my gaze to the ground. This was a lot of information to take in. A few hours ago, I was still an enforcer working to uphold the law, and now these people were telling me that I belonged to a group that went against that same law.
Tenebrae saw Subterran rebels as a vexatious group that needed to be put down with an iron fist. I had no memories about this, but I wondered how many of them must have died by my hand. If it wasn’t for some sixth sense buried deep inside me that told me to trust these people, or at least Saera, I might have bolted from the room. They must have known of the things I’d had to do as an enforcer, and they still had decided to pull me out.
Being Saera’s sister, or even being part of one of Harp’s teams, might have been a reason to pull me out, but would these reasons have been valid enough if it meant compromising the entire operation? Was there some other r
eason for them to have pulled me out?
Something in their story didn’t add up.
“I don’t understand,” I said. “You said it had been two years.” I pointed a finger at Saera. The gesture wasn’t meant to point the blame at her. I just wanted to make clear that she had been the one who had told me.
But I wished I hadn’t after I saw the guilt flash in her eyes. She opened her mouth, but even without knowing what that look meant, I cut her off and said, “How did I end up as an enforcer and why did you let them use me as their personal killing machine?” My voice wavered, and I had to swallow hard as the image of that boy wedged underneath my boots flashed across my mind.
“Something went wrong, and you disappeared off the grid,” she said. “For a long time, we thought you were dead.” Her voice was barely audible while she had the briefest of eye contact with Harp. That pained look that by now I had seen more often than I would have liked on Saera’s face resurfaced.
“How come…” I said, softening my tone. “I mean…why now?”
“We don’t know what happened exactly, but they must have captured you somehow. Like Saera said, we thought you were dead until she saw you on a broadcast—you were working security at some celebrity event,” Kyran said as his fingers fiddled with the HDA on the table. As I observed his nervous tick, I noticed his cheeks were a bit flushed, and his eyes seemed to take in everything except me.
He coughed before he added, “Besides the obvious reasons, Saera came to Harp with this information, and we were able to put the plan of getting you back in motion.” For a moment longer, I wondered why Kyran kept avoiding me but then set it aside as I realized what he had said.
“Other reasons than the obvious ones?” I asked, sensing there had to be more going on. “Obvious besides him being my boss.” Because that was the only obvious reason to me, although I could tell there had to be a connection between Saera and Harp. Kyran looked at me for a moment and then blinked as if the pieces had fallen together for him.
“Oh, right,” he said, “and because he’s your dad of course… or something like that.”
“Kyran!” Saera called out sounding annoyed.
“What?” he asked unaware of what he’d done wrong. Saera made a noice that resembled a soft growl before she let out a long breath. After a moments of hesitation Saera cleared her throat and then said, “He, uh…” She paused, but then threw a heartfelt smile in Harp’s direction. His face remained impassive, staying in the exact pose that it always seemed to be stuck in, but there was something in his eyes. I think it could have been pride.
“Besides working for him, he’s…like our dad,” she said. “He sort of adopted us, but that’s a long story, and it is better remembered.”
I had to remind myself to close my mouth as I stared at them both. Along with about a dozen other questions running through my mind, Saera prompted one question that seemed most important to ask.
“Will I?”
“Will I, what?” Kyran asked.
“Remember,” I asked hesitantly. “Remember my life from before.”
Both men looked at me as if I were some lost puppy. Well, at least Kyran did; Harp held his usual expression. Saera shook her head vigorously.
“You said it was possible,” she said, pointing an accusing finger at Harp. The big man shifted his feet and conveyed some form of unease for the first time since I had met him.
“I told you it had been done before, but it wouldn’t be probable.”
“Bullshit,” Saera exclaimed, “that’s not what you said. You said this was the same thing that had happened to Spiro.”
“Saera, please.” Harp spoke in a low and calm voice. “It’s not—”
Unwilling to let him finish his sentence she said, “No, not ‘Saera, please.’ I’ve been patient enough waiting for almost a year for Kyran to get her mind ready so we could get her back, and now that we finally have her back you’re telling me she will never remember us—then what the hell did we do it for?”
I stared at Saera in surprise at her outburst and felt a little hurt at the idea that I wasn’t enough. Tears started to fill Saera’s eyes, but she wasn’t done yet.
“They might as well have killed her.”
Her words suggested that I hadn’t been worth saving without the memories of my previous life. Then it occurred to me that I didn’t even know this woman, except for what they had told me, and that wasn’t much. So why did I care?
“Enough.”
Harp’s voice reverberated inside the tiny space. The silence that followed felt taxing until Saera sighed in frustration and got up from her chair. Our eyes met for the briefest of moments, and I saw shock wash over her as if she’d just realized what she had said. Even though I couldn’t remember what our relationship had been like before, I had felt the sting when she mentioned that I might as well be dead. Her cheeks flushed before she turned on her heels and stormed from the room.
I stood, feeling the urge to barge after her, but Harp, reading my intentions, stepped in my way.
“I know this doesn’t make much sense now, but trust me when I say that I will do anything in my power to get your memories back, and if technology doesn't permit it, then I will personally tell you everything I know,” he said as he placed a hand on my shoulder, “but please, stay and let Kyran explain. I’ll go and talk to Saera.” Although these had been the most words I had heard him speak since we’d met, it was his eyes that did most of the talking.
Those dark eyes bored into me with a tenderness that I had never seen. Deciding to trust his judgment, I nodded in agreement. He dipped his head in satisfaction and then glanced at Kyran, who sat motionless on the table. Apparently, words were overrated in these parts, because without saying anything, Harp turned and walked out the door.
Stunned, I watched the door click shut behind him. Kyran let out a long, hissy sigh, and I turned to face him. His mouth twitched upward, and he said, “Tricky thing, having a family.”
“Right,” I said with a little grunt before I realized that I was part of that family. At least, I had been.
Kyran scooted from the table and gestured at the chair.
“Come on, let’s get you a little bit more up to speed.”
“Who’s Spiro?” I asked before Kyran’s fingers could reach the keyboard. His head twitched, but he didn’t look at me.
“I’m not sure that is mine to tell,” he said. He sounded nervous as he rattled off the words.
“Oh please,” I said in exasperation. Here we go again, was all I could think.
“Sorry,” Kyran said with an apologetic shrug and returned his focus to the keyboard. Frustration seized control over me, and I forcefully dropped myself into the chair while Kyran tapped a couple of keys on the glass surface of the table.
Lights flashed, and images appeared on the screen, showing documents on everything having to do with the investigation into a company called ArtRep.
Through those papers, I learned that ArtRep was the company that provided all three cities residing within Tenebrae borders with artificial representations. They also controlled anything that had to do with technology, communication, and power generation. Kyran explained that Subterra had always been a more peaceful society, and they never had a need for artificial law enforcement.
“Those are the main ArtRep buildings in Umbras,” Kyran said. “Do you recognize them?”
I watched the picture on the screen of the giant skyscrapers that seemed as if they almost touched the dome shield. Two of them seemed to be of similar height, but the third towered over both. As I scrutinized the tall buildings and the rainbow of colors that bounced off their reflective surfaces, I realized that I did recognize them.
“I’ve been there,” I said sifting through my memories. “I…I had to stand by a door outside a room where a meeting was held.”
Kyran grinned and nodded in satisfaction.
“How come I can remember this?” I asked. “Shouldn’t this have been deleted
at Memory Junction?”
Kyran’s grin grew wider before he said, “As you know, I have a second job. I’ve been working at Memory Junction for a while.” I glared at him, but he just chuckled. He had been working at TED because of me, and it seemed he’d been tinkering with my brain.
“So why can I only remember you from last night?” I asked.
“Well, because that wouldn’t be smart,” he said, giving me a sideways glance that told me my question had been stupid. “I could only tweak your memories here and there or introduce you to certain ideas—to trick you into thinking for yourself. Only in the last couple of weeks, I left some of the recent memories intact, and I added that picture so you could get used to it and seeing Saera wouldn’t completely fry your brain.”
“Thanks, I guess,” I replied. My mouth remained open, but the words seemed to have gotten stuck in my throat. A question had bothered me ever since we’d started this trek down memory lane, and even though I had asked it, I had yet to receive an answer. I glanced at the ground and swallowed hard before I gained the courage to look up at Kyran.
“How did I end up there?” I asked and paused for a second. “I mean…was I…”
Kyran's cheeks flushed while his gaze shifted to the screen and he grabbed the HDA off the table.
“Please don’t force me to tell you why you were there,” Kyran said and then jammed the HDA between his teeth. Stunned at his words, I could only glare at him. Kyran must have realized what he had just said because the color of his face neared a shade of purple.
“Why I was there?” I asked and hated the quaver I sensed in my voice. As if he hadn’t just implied that there had been a reason behind me ending up as an enforcer and that it hadn’t been because I was captured, Kyran kept his gaze on the screen. He didn’t even dare to look at me anymore. “Kyran, please, you know more than you’re saying, and I think you know more than even Saera does.”
