by Ali House
“Well you did a damn good job convincing me,” Zenyth said. She was pissed off that Kit had used her like that. Not just because it had all been a lie, but because she had believed it.
Kit suddenly sat up. She swung her feet over the side of the bed and stood. Every muscle ached, but she couldn’t just lie there. She was still wearing the black pants and shirt she’d had on yesterday, although they were now torn and covered in dirt and blood. Her left ankle hurt when she put pressure on it, but she refused to stay in this room and be yelled at.
“What are you doing?” Naydir asked. “You need to rest.”
“I’m not doing it anymore,” Kit said. Her voice was strained and close to tears. “Not one of you can imagine what it’s like to go through what I went through or to make the decisions I’ve had to make. I caused all of this – I fucked all of this up and I hate myself enough right now, so you don’t get to make me feel like shit about it!”
She pushed past Zenyth, ignoring the pain pounding in her head and throughout her body. She’d had enough and nobody was going to stop her from leaving.
“You’re still recovering!” Bryanna protested.
“My sister’s an idiot,” Naydir apologized.
She ignored both of them and limped down the stairs.
“Good job, Z,” Naydir said angrily. “Be upset at yourself all you want, but leave her alone.”
When Kit reached the main floor, she headed straight for the front door. She didn’t want to talk to or see anyone else. She just wanted to be alone. All she had to do was walk out of here and she’d never have to listen to Zenyth again.
“Leaving?” a voice behind her asked.
She felt an overwhelming sense of relief, which was quickly replaced with dread. She was not prepared to deal with this right now. How could she face him after what she’d done?
“Were you going to say goodbye?” the voice asked.
She was only a few feet from the door, but she stopped and turned to the living room. Lying on the couch was Vaughn. His right arm was wrapped in bandages from the shoulder down, and there were bandages around his head. He moved into a sitting position and Kit could see how much pain that one movement had caused him. It was possible that his ribs were bruised or broken. He was alive, no thanks to her.
Her eyes filled with tears and she couldn’t hold it back anymore. She dropped to her knees in the front porch. Why couldn’t she have died yesterday? Why couldn’t she have done that right? Didn’t she deserve it for all the pain she’d caused? The tears rushed down her face as she sobbed uncontrollably.
A pair of arms wrapped around her.
“It’s okay… It’s okay…” Bryanna’s voice whispered in her ear. Her voice was soft and calming, but Kit couldn’t stop shaking. She couldn’t stop thinking about how she had almost killed Vaughn because she was stupid and weak, and had let Tecken brainwash her. She’d ended the war, but she was also the reason it happened and the reason so many people were dead or injured. She’d betrayed a lot of people and there wasn’t one decision she’d made that she felt good about.
It felt like hours before her tears dried up. Bryanna continued to hold her, whispering soothing words in her ear. When Kit finally looked up, everyone but Zenyth was standing around her, including Vaughn, who was leaning on Naydir for support.
“Kit,” Vaughn said gently. “It’s okay.”
“No! It’s not!” She didn’t know how he could stand there with injuries caused by her and tell her that.
“You were being manipulated by them. Of course you’d rush to Nathan’s side if you two were on the same team.”
“It’s not just that.” Her voice was raw from all that crying. “I was…” She put her hands over her mouth. She couldn’t say it. Every time she thought about Nathan, she felt sick to her stomach.
Bryanna’s arms loosened and she moved away, pushing Cale and Naydir towards the kitchen. When Kit and Vaughn were alone, Vaughn put his left hand on her shoulder and knelt in front of her. The movement must have caused him a lot of pain, but he barely let it show.
“I don’t know what you did or what you went through,” Vaughn began softly. “What I do know is that they messed with your head and turned you into somebody else. Whatever you did, it wasn’t you – it wasn’t the person sitting in front of me.”
“I wasn’t brainwashed when I killed Erikson or when I tried to kill the Tecken army.”
“But it was something that you had to do. Erikson needed to be stopped. If he’d retreated back to Tecken, he never would have stopped trying. He’d have an heir and the cycle would begin all over again.”
“How many people are injured because of me? How many have died?”
“Would you have done all of that if Tecken hadn’t brainwashed you in the first place? Would you have helped them invade? Would you have fought on their side?”
She looked at the ground. “No.”
“Then stop beating yourself up about it. The person who did all of that wasn’t you.”
“But why do I envy her? She wasn’t insecure or scared – she was what everyone wanted her to be, just on the wrong side.”
Vaughn put his hand on the side of her face and made her look at him. “I don’t know what else to say to you, except that I forgive you and I love you. You, the person sitting in front of me, who’s made mistakes and done things that she’s not proud of. Who wanted to avoid a war instead of starting one.”
“How can you say that after everything I did?” she whispered as she stared into his eyes.
He ignored her question and hugged her. “Thank you for stopping the war. Thank you for doing what needed to be done. Thank you for come back to us. Thank you for coming back to me.”
If she’d had any tears left, she would have cried again. Instead she wrapped her arms around him, taking comfort in the closeness of him.
“Be careful,” he said. “You’re more powerful than you think.”
Kit laughed in spite of herself.
Bryanna poked her head around the corner. “Is she back with us?” she asked.
Kit nodded. Bryanna disappeared for a few seconds before coming out of the kitchen and running over to the two of them. Vaughn backed off as Bryanna almost tackled Kit with a hug.
“I’m so glad you’re back!” Bryanna said. Her excitement was enough to make Kit ignore the new pain that her tackle had brought to attention.
Naydir and Cale came out from the kitchen, but Zenyth remained out of sight.
“I’m glad things are okay now,” Naydir said. “But Kit and Vaughn really should be resting.”
Naydir helped Vaughn to his feet while Bryanna helped Kit. After all that had happened, Kit felt exhausted. The pain was starting to return and everything hurt. Before she could disappear upstairs, Naydir called out to her.
“Triton wanted us to call him when you woke up. We haven’t yet, but…”
Kit nodded. “Do what you have to do.”
As soon as Kit was back in her bed, she fell asleep. She hadn’t been awake for more than an hour, but it had drained everything from her. She slept through the night, waking up to sunlight pouring through her window.
When she woke up, she felt much better. She had decided not to hide from anything. She was going to own up to what she did and not let anyone make her feel like crap about it, not even Zenyth. Besides, she laughed to herself, she was the all-mighty Six-Elemental. Who was going to take her on?
Triton must have been waiting for her to wake up, because a few minutes after she awoke, he came in to talk to her.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” Triton said. “You really had us worried.”
“I was pretty stupid, wasn’t I?” she replied.
“Stupid? You could have easily excluded yourself from the collapse, but you didn’t. Were you trying to kill yourself?”
“Yes,” she replied.
He paused. He hadn’t been expecting her to say that so candidly. “Why?”
“Truthfully, becau
se I thought that everyone in the Segment hated me. After everything I’d done I figured they’d all be better off without me.”
“So you did kill Erikson?”
She nodded. “I’m really sorry about the second barricade, but I wouldn’t have gotten close to him without proving that I was still on his side. I didn’t want to hurt anyone, but I had to make it look good.”
“You definitely did that.” He wanted to talk to her about everything that had happened yesterday, but instead decided to change the subject. “I was over on Tecken for a while yesterday, speaking with a young woman with red hair who’d taken charge of the island. She already knew about Erikson’s death and seemed prepared to surrender.”
“Akola.” Triton didn’t have to describe the person for Kit to know who it was. “She was in the tent when it happened.”
“We discussed the terms of their integration and by the end of it she seemed satisfied. They’re allowed to stay on their island, although we would like for some of them to move to other islands. They’ve got to dismantle their army and allow an ISS building on the land and a team to sweep the island for underground hideouts. They can refuse a Church of Humanity, but they can’t discourage anyone from moving there.”
“That sounds reasonable.”
“I thought so myself. She’s a hard person to negotiate with, but much better than Erikson. After the discussions, she asked about you. I told her what had happened and, though she tried to hide it, she seemed worried.”
Kit knew that someday she’d have to sit down with Akola and talk to her about what had happened. Maybe they’d be able to stay friends or maybe there was too much in the way. Either way she’d have to face her at some point.
“What about Nathan?” Kit asked. She hadn’t seen him since before she’d regained her memory. For all she knew, he was still out there trying to cause trouble.
Triton paused. “He was caught in the collapse with you,” he said carefully.
For some strange reason, Kit knew that he wasn’t dead.
“He has a few injuries, but is otherwise okay.”
“And…?” she said.
“He was found with a gun on his person. According to the law, it’s an automatic death sentence, and considering the number of people he’s shot, they’re eager to make an example of him. We are adamant about letting people know that it’s not because he’s from Tecken, but we still expect people to think that way.” Triton paused. “It’s scheduled for the day after tomorrow at three in the afternoon, if you’d like to be there.”
The thought of seeing Nathan one last time gave her a strange feeling. How could she face someone who’d manipulated her in the worst way possible? He knew that her mind had been messed with and he still took advantage of her. He’d pretended to care for her, while she had actually cared about him.
“I’ll think about it,” she said.
“Well,” Triton said briskly, switching gears again, “take all the time you need to recuperate, just know that the ISS will want you to report on everything that happened. They’ve got plans for rebuilding the bridges between Tecken and Stanton and Tecken and Drakkar. There’s even talk of getting you a position in the Forces.”
“They’re going to be disappointed.”
“But –”
“I’ll help build the bridges and clean up the mess I caused, but I’m not going to join the Forces or the ISS.” She wasn’t sure if she still had her job at Skyline, but she’d rather be unemployed than a puppet.
“Why not?” Triton was honestly confused. This was a great opportunity.
“Because I’m sick of war. I’m sick of letting someone else tell me what’s right and wrong. I’ll help where I’m needed and if I’m needed, but no more than that.”
“But you’re the Six-Elemental.”
“And other Segments might see that as a threat if I join the Forces.”
“The army won’t like your answer.”
“They’ll have to deal with it. If they force me to join the army, they’re no better than Erikson.”
Triton could see the logic in her answer. He wondered if General Kalith or Dominika would.
“You realize that you’ll never live a normal life once everyone knows what you are?” he said.
She smiled at him. “I don’t think I even know what a normal life is.”
Vaughn held Kit’s hand as they walked into the police station. She was trying to be strong, but the thought of what she was about to do was taking all of her strength away.
“I’m here to see Nathan Roane,” she said to the blue-haired woman working the front desk.
“One moment,” the woman said before leaving to alert someone that Kit had arrived. When she returned, Naydir was with her.
“I’ll take you to see him in a minute,” Naydir explained, “but there’s someone you should talk to first.”
Kit was confused, but Naydir didn’t elaborate. She held Vaughn’s hand tighter and followed Naydir to one of the interrogation rooms.
She’d spent yesterday talking with Dominika and General Kalith. It hadn’t been fun to relive everything that she’d done, step by step – especially when it came down to reliving the months she’d spent at the Tecken compound. A part of her wished that she could have forgotten about all of that when the reassignment – as the Tecken scientists referred to it – had worn off, but everything was still there.
They had tried to get her to reconsider joining the Forces or at least the ISS, but she wouldn’t budge. She turned down every offer they gave her, even threatening to leave the Segment if they didn’t back off. Was one of them in this room?
When Naydir opened the door, she saw that it was Akola sitting at the metal table inside.
“I’ll be a moment,” Kit told Vaughn, letting go of his hand.
“We won’t be recording or watching this, just so you know,” Naydir said as she walked past him.
She nodded, and Naydir shut the door behind her, leaving the two of them alone. Kit sat down in the chair across from her former best friend. She could still remember the last time she’d helped Akola dye her hair.
“Hi,” she said.
Akola gave her a look that was almost a glare. “Hello.”
“What are you doing here?” Kit asked. “I thought you’d be staying on Tecken.”
“I am. They’re making me the leader of the island, since I’m the only one who’ll deal with them in a somewhat-polite manner.”
“That’s pretty impressive.” Kit was trying to keep her tone upbeat, but Akola wasn’t letting her off the hook. She doubted that Akola would ever forgive her for killing Erikson, but there was always hope for civility, wasn’t there?
“Are you here to see Nathan?” Akola asked.
Kit nodded. “Is that why you’re here?”
“Not quite. I’m here to execute him.”
“Really? I thought an officer or the police chief would do that.”
Akola shrugged. “The ISS thought it would be best if someone from Tecken did it, so that nobody would think they were killing him for the wrong reasons. I actually agree with them about that. I’m not looking forward to doing this, but he deserves nothing less for running around with a banned weapon. Are you sticking around to watch?”
Kit sighed. “I don’t know. I’ve never been big on executions.”
“I would have thought differently.”
Kit frowned. “If you want me to leave you alone, I can. The ISS wants me to do some work on Tecken, so I can’t avoid you completely, but I can try to stay out of your way.”
Akola crossed her arms. “So, you’re working for the ISS now, are you?”
“Only until I clean up the mess I created. Then I go back to work at Skyline.” Kit had heard that Skyline was back up and running and helping with the rebuilding, so she called her boss yesterday to see if she still had a job. Miraculously, he said that if she wanted her job back she could have it. She had probably caught him off guard, but it was too late for him
to take it back.
“Really?” Akola almost laughed. “The Six-Elemental is going to be an architect?”
“It’s what I want to do.”
She shook her head. “You are a difficult person to figure out.”
“Not really.”
The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes.
“I should get going,” Kit said. “I don’t have a lot of time.”
Akola nodded. “I’ll see you around, I guess.”
“I guess.” Kit stood up from the table and walked out of the room.
“How’d it go?” Vaughn asked her.
Kit shrugged. “It was what it was. I doubt that seeing Nathan is going to be any easier.”
Vaughn took her hand. “You can back out if you want. Nobody will think less of you for it.”
“I might.” She turned to Naydir. “I’m ready.”
Naydir led her towards the holding cells. They passed through the door and into a hallway with cells along either side. Kit kept her eyes straight ahead and focused on what she was about to do as they walked past all the empty cells. Any prisoners had been transferred to Aesira before the war and since then they hadn’t needed to arrest anyone but Nathan. Tecken rebels were being brought back to Tecken for Akola to deal with.
Nathan’s cell was at the end of the hallway, the most secure and the furthest away from the door. He was sitting on the bed, staring at the empty cell across from him.
As she neared the cell, Kit let go of Vaughn’s hand and continued to walk forward. Naydir put a hand on Vaughn’s arm to stop him from going with her.
She walked the last ten feet to the cell, stopping in front of it. Nathan didn’t move as she approached the bars, and continued to stare at the wall.
She didn’t know what to say to him. What could she say to a man who was going to be dead in less than an hour? Her first instinct was to scream and yell and tell him what a horrible person he was for taking advantage of her in that way, but as she stared at him her anger went away and she couldn’t help but remember how it had been between them.
“I guess you’re back with Red,” Nathan said, not taking his eyes off the wall.
Kit glanced at Vaughn before turning back to Nathan. “I am.”
