“My circulatory system is primarily comprised of plant matter now,” Rose explained with immediate enthusiasm, apparently finding the concept much more scholastically intriguing than disturbing. “It’s largely self-repairing and sustainable thanks to photosynthesis, I can actually produce a variety of different plants for a wide range of uses, not to mention my defensive capa…” she stopped, seeming to realize the abnormality of their lives, and the potential for overwhelming anyone who didn’t live them daily. “Anyway, it’s a spectrum.”
“And you… bring metal to life.” Regan asked, watching one of Danae’s works-in-progress slink by. A cat without fur, he thought, just a metal frame right now, but the smooth way it moved was definitely catlike. The one he’d seen before had definitely been one of these, just a much more finished version.
“Metal, plastic, most inanimate material,” Danae gave a half-nod, half-shrug. “It helps if they’re already put together, usually? So, I put them into the shape I want, then… yeah. Life. Mostly limbs, though. A lot of prosthetics.”
“They’re amazing.” Rose knocked on one of her legs; it made a solid clicking noise. “I don’t know where I’d be without her.”
“Pff.” Danae slipped one arm around Rose’s waist. “Right here, brewing miracle medicines and helping thousands of people, just like now.”
Rose giggled and tapped Danae on the nose, wiping off a spot of ash. “You know what I mean.”
“You do all this for free?” Regan asked, incredulous despite himself.
“Cups or gallons, depends on the job.” Danae nodded to herself. “It’s tight, but we can usually get by from month to month.”
“Cups of…what?” Regan blinked.
“Oh—water!” Evelyn said, remembering that some things would have to be explained. “I’m sorry, yeah, that’s something you should know here. You notice how hot it is here? Hot and dry? Yeah. The most valuable substance in Parole is water. We get big water shipments in once every couple of months, but it never lasts long. So people save it, and use it to trade for stuff.”
“Trade it, fight over it, die for it.” Rose gave a sad shake of her head. “It’s not right. It’s not fair. Access to clean drinking water is a basic human right… whether it’s granted or not. But here it’s currency.”
Regan swallowed, starting to feel thirsty already. He didn’t like thinking about this, so he changed the subject (and reminded himself that he wasn’t afraid). “So what can you make besides animals and prosthetics?”
Danae smiled. “Anything, probably. I can take a piece of scrap and give it life, make it better than it was before. And they are alive,” she said softly, wide blue eyes tracing a butterfly’s path with something like a dreamy reverence. “Maybe not like you and me, but… they are.”
Regan thought about cracks in the sidewalk and what happened if you stepped on them. The barrier, impenetrable and deadly. The legions of armed men keeping them all inside, pushing them unerringly toward the fire raging below. “So—could you make a weapon?”
Danae snapped from her peaceful reverie. “Now why would you ask that?” she asked, eyes going hard and narrow.
“That wolf thing is dangerous as hell. And if you can give life to, say, guns that never miss or something? The possibilities are limitless. We could really have a chance here!”
“You’re just like the rest of them,” Danae whispered. “I have a family now. Is everything a weapon to you people?”
“What?”
“I don’t do that anymore. Why won’t you leave me alone? Evelyn, what is this?” She looked from Regan to Evelyn, an edge of fear in her voice. Her arm tightened around Rose, who unconsciously returned the squeeze.
“He doesn’t know what he’s saying,” Evelyn said quickly. “That’s why we’re here. He’s got some kind of amnesia, and we figured Rose could help.”
“Listen, I'm sorry if I said something offensive.” Regan said, dropping his eyes. “I really don't know what’s going on in this place. Just that Hans said…” He broke off as Danae gasped. She and Rose stared at each other for a moment. Then, together, they slowly turned to look back at Regan.
“Did you say Hans?” Rose asked finally.
Regan slowly nodded. “That name. Yes. And that he can get me out of Parole.”
Danae stared at Regan, eyes narrowed and mouth twisted in what looked like a grimace of pain. “Who are you?”
“I don’t—”
“The first thing you ask me is if I can make a gun,” she cut in. “And now you know the name Hans? And you expect me to believe it’s a coincidence?” She shook her head. “No. There’s no such thing. Who are you?” She let go of Rose and stepped toward him and Regan wanted very much to step back from her hard eyes; he felt like a bug under a microscope.
“I don’t know. That’s why we’re here.”
“Wait.” Rose frowned. She exchanged a little glance with Danae then Evelyn, and Regan had the feeling they’d all just had an entire conversation. “We’ll help you. It’s what we do. But whoever you turn out to be, if it involves Eye in the Sky, we don’t want any part of it. Ever.”
“Mamas?” a small, scared voice called. They all turned to see Jack peering around a corner. Then a huge black wolf’s head popped around to look too, snuffling the top of his head.
“What is it, sweetie?” Danae asked, fighting to keep her voice controlled when it threatened to shake.
“Why are you sad?”
Danae tried to smile. “I’m not sad. We’re just… having a talk.”
“Everything’s fine, baby,” Rose said gently. The little boy started toddling toward her, and she held out one hand for him to stop. “Wait for Mama, baby. One, two, three.”
This time, Regan watched more closely and saw what the countdown was for. Rose’s skin was covered in thorns as well as flowers, and as he watched, the tiny barbed points withdrew into her flesh like a cat’s retracting claws. “Okay, ready!” She opened her arms and Jack rushed into them. She wrapped her son in a warm hug, kissing the top of his head. “Go play with Dandy for a little, okay? We’ll all be there in a minute. We’ll have lunch and you can show Evelyn her picture.”
“What about the dragon guy?” Jack looked up at Regan, eyes every bit as wide as they’d been before.
“I’m… I’ll be here,” Regan said, trying to nod reassuringly, but just feeling faint and a little sick.
Jack wasn’t entirely satisfied, but he nodded solemnly. “Okay.” He disappeared around the corner and the sound of small feet and big paws on linoleum faded.
Rose looked back up at Regan—and the tiny, curved thorns protruded back out of her skin. If it hurt, she didn’t make a sound. “You didn’t ask anything terrible,” she said at last. “It’s a natural question. A normal reaction. What do you do when you’re locked up? Try to escape.”
“For about the first five years," Danae shook her head, red curls flying. “Eventually you gotta figure out when to quit.”
“Yes.” Rose nodded, much more calmly. “We do have… a history here. That you couldn’t have known about.”
“I'm sorry,” Regan said quietly.
“Listen, questions like that are dangerous, okay? For us and you both,” Danae sighed and rubbed her temples like she had a sudden headache. “Just forget it. I don’t make weapons anymore, but … I used to. For the people who are supposed to protect Parole, but really keep us trapped like rats and wait for us to burn.”
“Who are they?” Regan asked in a dry whisper. “What’s going on in this city?”
“Eye in the Sky.” Danae said, lip curling into a snarl. “SkEye for short. And they are watching, always. It’s not paranoia if they’re really watching you. Excuse me.” She turned on her heel, and without another word she stalked out of the room. Regan stared after her and opened his mouth, but suddenly there was a soft hand on his arm.
“I’m sorry. But you have to understand, she only has our best interests at heart,” Rose said quietly. “Danae
doesn’t trust easily. I can’t blame her, really. Not after what Eye in the Sky did to her.”
“She’d do anything to keep our son safe,” Evelyn said, eyes on the doorway Danae had just left. In an adjacent room, Jack’s laugh mingled with the sound of heavy metal paws on linoleum. “I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
“Our?” Regan had to ask, but still hesitated. Even in this small, safe-feeling oasis in the middle of a fiery nightmare, it felt important to walk carefully and check for cracks before trusting solid ground.
“Yes.” The warmth and pride in Evelyn’s smile melted the last bit of any lingering heaviness in the room, replacing it with the security of certainty. Even if he couldn’t explain the relief he felt, Regan found himself giving her a rare, small smile back. “It’s hard to make a life for yourself here. Family is even harder. But it’s more than possible. Almost anything is in Parole.”
“Yeah… I…” He couldn’t even say why, but Regan couldn’t stop smiling. The relief was overpowering; he almost felt the need to sit down.
“Are you okay?” Evelyn zeroed in immediately, taking a step closer. “That did something. That was important, right there.”
At first, all Regan could do was nod. Then he stopped, realizing he wasn’t sure what he was nodding about. His smile slipped away. “I did feel… what you said, when… I don’t know. It’s hard to explain.”
“Family?” She asked gently.
“Yes!” His eyes brightened again. “Something about this. Being here. Seeing your… your wives?”
“Mm-hmm.” Evelyn nodded with a proud grin. “Like I said, we made our lives together possible. Do you think you had one like ours? A poly family?”
“I…” Regan stopped, creases deepening in his ridged brow as he thought, trying with everything he had to put a name to the feeling—faces if possible, faces with names? Out of everything he’d learned, all the too-few answers and far more questions, this seemed by far the most important.
“It’s okay. Take your time.”
He tried. With everything he had, he tried, feeling like something or someone incredibly important—or more than one someone important to him—were just out of reach, out of sight. The feeling was so powerful, so certain, so inarguable, he knew he was staring the answer to a huge part of his life and himself right in the face. Instead of a window to his past, this place felt like a mirror. Unfortunately, if this was the answer, he didn’t know the question to ask. And if it was a mirror, he still didn’t recognize the face in his reflection.
“I don’t know,” he said at last, shoulders sagging. “It… the song. The song you sang last night. It feels like that. I know it, but not from where.”
“Well, at least that means you know it by heart.” Evelyn looked at him like she wanted to pull him into a hug, like her own heart ached. “It’ll come back. I know it will.”
“I hope so.” His eyes were downcast, and he seemed every bit as exhausted as he’d been hopeful and excited a moment before. How could you miss someone without knowing them? He didn’t know, but he was sure finding out.
“Well, let’s pencil in ‘polyamorous family’ on our list of clues,” Evelyn couldn’t help but sound both encouraged and encouraging. “I know we don’t know for sure, but… that reaction was a very good sign. Can’t fake that.”
“Not that kind of love, no…” He sighed, still deep in thought. He didn’t pay much attention to the automatic words that came out of his mouth, because a new thought occurred to him. “I don’t think there were any kids around, though. Don’t get me wrong, Jack seems really—real sweet and all, I just don’t think I’ve been around kids much.”
“Probably not,” Rose wisely understated, automatically giving Evelyn’s hand a squeeze as she passed and headed into the kitchen, mechanical legs clinking on the tile. “But it’s still helpful. Anything is. We’ll do our best to help you get your life back, Regan.”
“Thanks. Yeah.” For some reason he had a hard time getting his hopes up. He wondered if his pervasive anxiety and difficulty trusting anything at all was useful information. “Anything would be great. Thank you.”
“My experience with… I guess you’d call it telepathically-induced amnesia?” Rose easily fell into deep thought too, but she seemed to have a lot more fun doing it. “Hm! It’s rare, but I know I’ve seen it at least once before, and if I did, I took notes.”
“Of course you did,” Evelyn grinned at her. “Copious ones. Because you have a system.”
“An excellent system,” Rose’s easy response might have been the next line in one of her wife’s songs. It certainly seemed like an exchange they’d had several times before. “The more chaotic the world gets, the more order I’ll maintain in my little corner of the universe, to balance it out. And Parole is very… chaotic.” Her look tried to turn pointed, but she failed to hide the smile underneath.
“Superhero-ing is messy work, Rose,” Evelyn folded her arms with mock seriousness. “I will not apologize for being a defender of justice. But I did apologize for that file cabinet incident. And I do again. That was unfortunate.”
“Perils of the pursuit of goodness—but I can carry on, adapt, and recover from any fiendish assault. And so can my file cabinets.”
“That’s what heroines do,” Evelyn just smiled up at her, chin in her hand and sleepy-eyed; for a moment it seemed like she almost forgot they were having a conversation. “You know, if you ever get bored... Parole’s still there, and so am I. Ever think about stepping out of retirement for one night?”
“More often than I care to admit. Especially given recent events.”
“Me too. But just imagine--you and me. Defending streets, saving lives, messing up evil plots, just like old... well nah, it won’t be just like old times, Danae won’t come near any of that with a ten-mile pole, but still. I swear, those were some good times. Even when they... weren’t.”
“Mmm, I have to admit, sometimes it’s tempting.”
“And there’s no one else I’d rather have watching my back.”
“But I’ll leave the sound and fury to you, darling. Some people fight the good fight on the streets… some people alphabetize.” Rose smiled and nodded for Regan to follow. “Now come on, let’s find you some answers. ”
Feeling lighter and more hopeful already, Regan started after her. But before he got there, a pounding at the door erupted, so forceful and abrupt he jumped a couple inches into the air.
“I’ll get it!” Danae rushed past them from another room, undid the inside locks and jerked the door open. Immediately, she tried to slam it shut, but a black-booted foot jammed it ajar.
“We have a warrant to search the premises.” The voice was muffled, like it came from behind a mask. “Straight from Major Turret himself.”
“How dare you come back here?” Anxiety tightened Danae’s sharp voice. “For the millionth time, I’m not your bomb builder anymore!”
“Stand aside. A wanted murderer is in the building. Your cooperation is required.”
“What? Murderer?!” Shocked, Danae opened the door a little bit, revealing two men in full-body black uniforms. Regan’s mouth fell open. Their masks completely covered their heads, with black reflective visors and a shape that reminded him of skulls, or mustard gas masks from old World War One photos. But that wasn't where he recognized these shapes from. They were important for another, frustratingly unknown reason, and the ominous familiarity was what made his blood run cold.
“He was seen entering your residence minutes ago. Stand aside or you will be charged with abetting.”
Evelyn stepped forward. “Danae, what’s going—”
One of the masked men caught sight of the dumbfounded Regan “There he is!” He shoved past Danae and she yelled in protest, reaching out to stop him, but he elbowed her in the chest, slamming her into a wall.
“Danae!” Rose dashed from the kitchen, fists raised and thorns out. “Get away from her—”
The masked men drew their semi
-automatics, then everyone froze as a bloodcurdling howl cut through the air.
They whirled as Toto-Dandy bounded in front of them, fur standing on end and metal fangs bared. A terrified Jack clung to the beast’s thick neck—apparently he’d been riding bareback when Toto-Dandy transformed from babysitter to attack wolf. Rose lurched forward and grabbed him from the livid beast’s shoulders, stumbling backwards into Evelyn.
Dandy let out a bellow like a lion’s roar mixed with the grinding, smashing gears of an engine from Hell, and a spurt of fire burst from his mouth. He charged forward, lunging at the invaders in his home, roaring and breathing streams of flame.
“Open fire!”
Danae dashed toward her family as gunfire and snarls exploded in her hallway, screaming “Go, go, go!”
They went. They stampeded in a terrified tangle of legs and wigs and vines, Danae shoving them from the back and Evelyn dragging Regan forward, leading the way. One of the officers was down, while the other one aimed his gun at—
“Dandyyy!” Jack screamed, leaning back over Rosie’s shoulder with his little arms outstretched, watching as his friend fell limp against the wall in a hail of bullets. The wolf lurched spasmodically, making mechanical grinding noises as tiny shining clockwork cogs and gears scattered like broken glass among the bullet casings. “Nononono, go back, go baaaack!”
They tumbled out the back door, through a sandbox, past a swingset and down a backstreet alley. They kept running, cutting through scorched yards and side streets until Evelyn finally panted “stop, stop, we lost them!” So they slumped, exhausted against brick walls.
“Do you wanna tell us …”Danae panted, slumping against a dumpster. “Just what the hell you did? Who did you kill?”
“Nobody!” Regan protested, though his brain was frantically flashing back over the past 24 hours. The kid in the library; he'd been unconscious, not dead. There was no way, no possible way, Regan hadn’t hit him that hard, he was breathing…“I swear! I don’t even know—”
“All right, everyone stay calm,” Evelyn kept glancing around and up at the sky, expecting to hear a helicopter’s thrum any minute. “How many back at the house, two? I saw two. Assuming they’ll call for backup, that means we can expect at least four more after us, coming from—”
Chameleon Moon Page 6
