by Barry Solway
Mel and Jon were still training with the others when Mel hit her threshold with Harkin. Gorgeous, Harkin and Mel were laying down protective fire in a simulated hallway while Sharon was setting up a bomb. Sharon was tired and flustered and her times had gone down. Harkin turned suddenly and slapped her on the back of the head.
“Hurry, girl! You’re taking too long,” he snarled.
The blow wasn’t hard, but Sharon had tears in her eyes. Mel thought it was probably more due to frustration than anything, but she’d had enough of Harkin’s harassment. Pivoting from her position covering the hallway, she trained both pistols on Harkin.
“Step away from her, now,” Mel said through clenched teeth.
Harkin turned to face Mel, a flash of anger in his eyes. She knew Harkin wasn’t someone to mess with. He might be a jerk, but he was tough and very serious about his craft.
Harkin’s hand twitched on his sidearm. “Don’t test me, girl. If you draw a weapon on me, you had best be prepared to use it. Lower your weapon, now, before I take it away and spank you with it.”
Mel swore and opened fire. Her first shot hit Harkin in the forehead, snapping his head back. Six more hit him in the body, sending him staggering against the wall before he slumped to the floor. Sharon screamed and covered her head with her arms. Running up behind Mel, Gorgeous pushed her arms up, causing the next two shots to hit the ceiling.
“Mel, enough!”
Harkin groaned on the floor. All the firearms in active training were loaded with nonlethal rounds. They packed quite a punch, though. Harkin also had his body armor on, so Mel doubted that most of the shots to the body had done any real damage. He’d have quite the headache, though.
Mel brushed past Gorgeous and walked over to Harkin. She bent down, still pointing the pistol at him. “Sharon’s my friend. You aren’t. You touch her again, and next time I won’t stop firing until you’re dead.”
Mel turned away, ignoring Anna’s arched eyebrow as she walked out of the drill and grabbed a bottle of water from her pack. Beats had put down his staff to watch her scuffle with Harkin and he nodded in approval. “Keep that up and someday you’ll be as charming as me.”
Mel laughed lightly. She kept her back to Harkin, to prove she wasn’t afraid of him, but her heart was hammering in her chest. Her reaction had been completely in the moment and driven by adrenaline. Now, she was thinking how stupid she had been.
“Do me a favor and let me know if it looks like he’s getting ready to shoot me in the back,” she whispered to Beats.
“Hmm. I would not let him shoot you,” Beats said. Mel nodded to him with gratitude.
“Okay, everyone, let’s take a break,” Anna said, as if nothing had happened. “Gather around. I want to discuss some new findings you all need to be aware of.”
Gorgeous helped Harkin up. Glaring at Mel, his hand clenched his sidearm. Gorgeous stood between him and Mel, probably the only thing stopping him from shooting Mel outright. Mel forced herself to return Harkin’s stare without flinching.
Anna looked directly at Harkin. “Is there a problem?”
Harkin’s eyes flicked from Mel to Anna. His eyes wrinkled in a certain way, and Mel took it for a sneer. “No. There is no problem.”
“Good. I’d hate to have to replace you just days before the game,” Anna said, her voice forceful. “Do I make myself clear?” Harkin nodded curtly and Anna continued.
“I have some troubling news about our friend, the Red Shirt. We did some digging based on the feedback you had from the last game. There’s a solid chance that Red Shirt is a psychic.”
“Seriously?” Riley said. “You mean like he reads minds and stuff?”
“Not read minds, no. It’s a deliberate genetic mutation from hundreds of years ago. It was bred out, but sometimes shows up as a recessive gene. People with these abilities are illegal. The Sovereignty won’t allow it. And they aren’t allowed in the gauntlets. Reportedly, they could read surface emotions, create emotional states in others, maybe even create delusions in another’s mind. Most interestingly, they may have been able to control creatures with low intelligence. Like animals.”
“Wait,” Gorgeous said. “You mean like the frogs. Or the cats that attacked us?”
Anna nodded. “Exactly. The land piranhas have a single leader that guides the mass. The rest of them hone in on that leader. The cats could obviously be controlled directly. There is also the issue of what happened to Sharon.”
That was still a matter of contention. Sharon never remembered trying to attack Mel or what had happened right before she woke up. Anna thought it was a side effect of the concussion she had suffered. But her behavior had been erratic right when Red Shirt had been standing just yards from her.
“That does make sense,” Mel said. “He was there with the frogs and with the cats. Plus, what happened to Sharon. So he’s a ringer. They bring him in as an 8 to leave more room for the rest of the team, but he’s got super-secret mind control abilities. Does anyone play fair in these games?”
“No,” Harkin interrupted, staring at Mel with contempt. “There is no fair. You take advantage of anything you can to win. Or you die. That is how the gauntlets are played.”
Mel couldn’t even muster getting angry at Harkin. “Yeah, I’ve noticed that. It’s why I value working together as a team. Can we get Red Shirt disqualified?”
Anna hesitated. “Yes and no. The architects would take the charge very seriously. These psychic abilities are hard to prove, and there is no technology that can test for it. They would have to review old game play and determine if there was a pattern that revealed those types of abilities, or maybe interview other players he has come in contact with. He’s been careful so far. In the last game, he affected the animals, only attacking Sharon when he thought it highly likely he could kill her. There may not be anyone alive who has directly felt his abilities. But it doesn’t matter. If we file a complaint now, they may cancel the game. They won’t have time to do an investigation in two days, and if the other team can’t find a replacement they have the right to call for a forfeit. That would mess up Kathor’s timeline, so filing the complaint isn’t an option.”
“You know, I sometime think Kathor is more against us than the other team,” Riley said. “Good to have the reminder. So what do we do about him?”
“Nothing. We just need to be aware that he may have these capabilities. I don’t have any way to simulate it in combat. We don’t expect any animals or predators in the third game. The city of Sor Asthona is is too cold and barren for much wildlife.”
“Damn,” Mel said. “So Kathor expects us to go against a team that’s overpowered and cheating?”
“You won’t be there,” Harkin hissed, stabbing a finger in Mel’s direction.
Mel glared back. “Yeah, even worse, you will be. I actually care about my team getting out alive, and all you care about is yourself and whatever Kathor’s paying you.”
“I’m a professional,” Harkin said. “Not an incompetent child playing at war games. Had I realized the type of team—”
“Give me a break!” Mel yelled. “Like you didn’t beg Kathor to be on this team once you found out Beats and Mirage were on it? You’re just pissed because you aren’t even in the top four of talent! Not used to being filler, are you?” Mel threw out the last line with as much vehemence as she could.
Harkin swore something the translators declined to translate and raised his sidearm. Mel surged forward, grabbing at both of her pistols. “Do it! You think that last one hurt? Wait till I hit you in the eyeball!”
Gorgeous sprung between them, pushing Harkin backwards as Riley jumped in front of Mel, trying to push her guns to the side. Harkin struggled to get past Gorgeous, snarling while Mel yelled at Riley to get out of her way.
“Enough!” Anna yelled, a booming voice that caused everyone to throw their hands to their ears.
“What the hell?” Mel said, rubbing at her ears. They still rang from Anna’s bellow.
>
“There will be no more fighting between you. Anyone who attacks or instigates a fight will answer to Kathor. Is that clear?”
Everyone shuffled around, although Riley and Gorgeous continued to stand between Mel and Harkin. Anna turned specifically to Mel. “I said, is that clear?”
“Yeah, yeah, it’s clear,” Mel muttered, still rubbing her left ear. “I can’t even hear anymore.”
Anna turned to Harkin. “Harkin? Agree now or leave the ship.”
Harkin finally pushed Gorgeous away. “Kathor knows I am a professional. She attacked me first.”
Anna sighed. “This is getting old, Harkin. Agree or leave the ship. Decide now.”
Harkin put down his sidearm and glared at Anna. “I agree, of course. Keep these children in line and there will be no more problems.” He turned back to Mel with a snarl. “You should thank me. I’m trying to ensure this Sharon human can do her job. It’s a horrible feeling when your own incompetence gets a teammate killed. Don’t you think?” Without waiting, he turned and walked out of the training room.
Regardless of the promise she had just made to Anna, Mel would have shot Harkin. But she was so stunned by what he said that he was gone before she could react.
Anna must have realized it because she stepped forward to stop Mel from chasing after him. “Why don’t you all break for an early lunch? And do me a favor and don’t kill each other.”
Chapter 36
Mel couldn’t remember the last time she had been so furious. She stormed into the main room, pacing back and forth in front of the observation window. Riley and Gorgeous dropped back to give her space.
“That alien bastard,” she snarled.
“Typical Asadharan,” Gorgeous said. “They aren’t known for their captivating personalities.”
“That would be me, of course,” Riley replied.
Gorgeous shook her head and approached Mel. “He didn’t mean it, Mel—”
“Of course he meant it,” Mel cut in. “The worst part is that he’s not wrong.”
“That’s not true,” Riley said.
“Forget it.” Mel walked to her room. “It doesn’t matter. I just want to be alone for a bit.” She walked into her room and waved the door closed behind her. As she paced the small room, she realized that she had never really hated another person the way she hated Harkin right now. She didn’t care if he was right or not. The rest of the team had to count on someone who didn’t care about them. She knew in her heart that Harkin was going to get someone killed. And there was nothing she could do about it.
She stopped dead in the middle of the room. Maybe she could find him. To let him know that if any of her friends died because of him, she would hold him responsible. If she tried to track him down, Anna might intervene. But she had another option. She moved towards the bathroom.
***
Mel didn’t want to admit it, but she was lost. She had a vague idea that Harkin’s room was straight across the ship from where the others were, but she had never been there. Guessing she made a wrong turn at some point, she realized the only choice she had was to go back or to try and get her bearings.
Stubbornly, she refused to give up her search. She stopped at the next panel and opened it with a click. The dark room made it impossible to see anything. No choice but to go into the room and reorient herself.
Quietly pulling herself up through the panel, she let her eyes adjust. Shivering, she thought it odd that the room was so cold. Had she ended up in the freezer section of the kitchen? As she stood, emergency lights came on along the walls. They weren’t bright, but the suddenness caught her off-guard. The large room curved along one wall and she spotted the outline of the doorway along the curve. As she headed towards it, she stumbled into a large glass pod filled with a thick, clear gel. She realized there were several banks of these pods in rows throughout the room. Dozens of them.
The first pod was empty, but she stifled a scream as she came to the second. Under the glass lid, encased in gel, lay the remains of a man. She thought it was one of the zombies, maybe one they had killed when trying to escape. That seemed so long ago, and she couldn’t even remember exactly when it had happened. The next one had a zombie woman in it.
The room was apparently a morgue. Regret at coming here fought with her determination to find Harkin. Deliberately avoiding looking in the pods, she quickly made her way to the door. She would get her bearings, then get out. As she approached the door, the lights suddenly came on at full brightness. She ducked behind a pod just as Anna walked in.
Mel peeked out from behind the pod as Anna stood at the entrance. Anna took a step forward, allowing the door to close behind her, and surveyed the room.
“Mel. Where are you? You shouldn’t be in here. Come out, please.”
Mel debated whether to continue hiding, but Anna would eventually search the room and find her. She slowly stood, glaring at the other girl in an attempt to hide her own guilt.
Anna smiled, but Mel thought she looked nervous. “There you are. Can we go somewhere and talk?”
“I seem to remember you didn’t have anything left to say. But sure. Here’s as good as any place.” She definitely did not want to stay. But something about Anna’s behavior bothered her more.
Anna licked her lips. “Not here. Please, the bodies, I don’t like it here.”
“Yeah, that’s two of us.” Mel turned her head to look around the room. There must have been fifty or sixty pods, including the empty ones. As Mel turned, Anna took a step forward, drawing Mel’s attention back.
“Mel, please!” Anna said, almost shouting. “We should go. You shouldn’t be in here.”
“Don’t want me to see Kathor’s handiwork, hmm? How many of us humans he experimented on? How many had to die for Riley to live?”
Anna sighed in exasperation. It was clear she was upset about something and trying to act calm. “I’m not trying to hide it, but it doesn’t do you any good to see it, either. You know there were zombies before Riley; it’s not exactly a secret. Can we please leave?”
Mel frowned, but stepped forward from behind the pod. As she did, she absently looked down.
“Mel!” Anna yelled. But it barely registered as Mel’s eyes froze on the contents of the pod. A naked human female, looking healthy from the chest down. But from the collarbone up, the body was charred. The skin was black or had melted in places. Lips, hair and eyes were missing. The nose was mostly gone along with one ear, while the other ear was melted to a nub. And the hands. The skin on the palms gone, showing burnt flesh and bone.
Mel would never have recognized the face, but she did recognize the body. Her body.
She stared at it in rapt fascination. This was her, after she had been burned in training. It was horrible and yet she couldn’t take her eyes away. She realized Anna was yelling, but couldn’t hear the words. Looking at the body, some of the pain of the accident came back. But so faint. Certainly, looking at the damage she had taken, the pain should have been much worse than what she remembered.
She looked up to see Anna standing next to her.
“I didn’t realize how bad it was,” Mel said.
“Mel, don’t… please, come away. You shouldn’t be seeing this.”
Mel nodded and realized her throat was dry. She licked her lips, but it didn’t help. It felt like her tongue was wrapped in sandpaper. She spun away from Anna to look at the next pod. Another body. Her, lying naked like the first. This one had a darker skin tone than the burned one, clearly tanned. The face was badly bruised, with a large welt on one side of the head and what looked like a broken jaw. A jagged hole marred the left shoulder.
Mel’s face twitched. That was her from the first game, after Wicked stabbed her. She glanced at Anna, who had settled into an impassive stare, not trying to coax her out of the room anymore. Mel looked at her quizzically; there was something she was missing, but she couldn’t figure it out. How had all these versions of her gotten there? What the hell was going on?
Mel took three quick steps to the next pod. Another version of her. Paler than the second, this one looked almost at peace. The face was clean and injury-free, with the barest hint of a smile. The huge gash in the abdomen, exposing a floating rib, gave it away. Her, after the second game.
Her mind reeled and she felt weak. Leaning heavily against one of the pods, she realized she was looking down at the dead girl’s foot. Her foot. She jerked away from the pod.
“What is this, Anna? What’s going on? How… how…” Her mind froze. This meant something, but she couldn’t quite grasp it.
“I’m sorry Mel,” Anna said, stepping forward to steady Mel. “You shouldn’t have found out like this. Kathor hasn’t been healing you. He’s been cloning you.”
Mel sank to the ground, a strange feeling washing through her. Cloning? What did that even mean? Creating new bodies and then… what? Somehow transferring her mind. Keeping her alive…. But, was that even right? She wasn’t being kept alive. She had died, multiple times, if she could believe her own eyes. She touched one arm, brushing her fingers lightly over her own skin. Then her hand came up to touch her cheek. This wasn’t her, the real her, the original her. This was some body created in a lab. And what of the mind inside this body? Was that her? What did it even mean to be her, to be Mel? Her mind raced in circles, but an overriding thought cut through the noise and she laughed out loud. Mel realized she was hyperventilating through her laughter.
“Mel,” Anna said, obvious concern in her voice. “Catch your breath. I know this is a lot, just try to relax.”
Mel looked at Anna and laughed again. “You don’t understand. I thought… I thought I could save everyone. I thought I could get us back home. Kathor healing me, that was just dumb luck. But I’m not even me. There was no getting me back home. I was one of the first ones to die, back in the first gauntlet. I’ve been living a twisted joke this entire time.” She puzzled through that for a moment. If she had died in the first game, then she hadn’t been living through anything. But someone had. Who was it? Someone else had lived her life since the end of the first game. Multiple someones. But that made no sense. They were her memories. But who was she? Her mind spun and she realized she was giggling.
