They need to see what the truth looks like.
I study my team. They are all as nervous as I am. We’ve faced the unimaginable and we have hurt so many people. Everything we ever did was to protect our families from this—or at least that was the lie we believed when we were drugged into submission. It’s a different kind of guilt, inflicting pain on people you love as opposed to strangers. It is sharper, like a bag of hooks, each one clinging to organs usually protected by bone.
This is the hardest thing we’ve ever been asked to do.
I take a deep breath and open the door and we all file inside. Our families just look at us. Mouths gaping. The silence is thick, the air almost unbreathable. I feel like I’m in trouble, like I’ve been caught doing drugs or shoplifting. I’m going to have to shake this feeling. I haven’t done anything wrong. More importantly, I am going to have to convey that our parents haven’t, either.
Finally, my mother, Vega, speaks. “Ryn, what in the hell is going on? What are you wearing? What happened to your hair? Min Gud.” Her words are a rushing train. I suppose I’m glad that she only said that last bit in Swedish. Usually, when she’s very upset, everything is said in her native tongue.
“Okay,” I say calmly. “I am going to tell you all what is happening. Just please don’t interrupt me. I know you’ll have questions, but time is critical. Just hear me out and then you can go for it.”
The parents look nervous. Most of the dads are fidgeting, their thighs moving up and down like pistons. The moms are all partially covering their faces with their hands as if they know what I’m about to tell them will be something they will want to hide from. They’re not that far off.
I start at the beginning: the rash, the chip, ARC, the training, the Rifts, what we fought, the Blood Lust, Ezra, Edo, my trip through the Multiverse in search of answers, and, finally, the answers that I found. I explain that war is on the horizon. I tell them plainly, honestly, that we might not all survive. I assure them that death is preferable to a life in service to the brutality of the altered Roones.
There is weeping. There are long careening wails that remind me of being inside a Rift as I am telling the story. Beta Team stands, not quite at attention, but we are stiff-backed. There can be no bending here. We understand that we must remain strong, for them. When I am finished talking, Boone’s parents take a step toward him and he takes a step back. He cannot be their boy. Not now. Not yet.
“I knew it!” Flora, Levi’s sister, says suddenly. “I fucking knew something was going on. I told you, Mom! Levi was doing a handstand on one arm. He put that fire out in the kitchen faster than the Flash. You wouldn’t listen to me. You made me think that I was crazy!” Flora’s hands are waving wildly. She is furious. I want to roll my eyes. Leave it to Flora to make this about her.
“I know you think this is real,” my dad begins gently. He gets up off the couch and takes a step toward me. “But isn’t it possible that they brainwashed you into believing all this? ARC could be the world’s biggest cult. Maybe they are training you for some kind of war. Maybe the government is even in on it, but . . . but the rest is too insane.” He takes another step toward me, as if I was a wounded animal and he has to be cautious. No sudden moves. “There’s just no way that doorways all over the world to the Multiverse could be kept a secret. It’s too huge.” More silence. A couple of the crying parents begin to sniffle. Oh yes. Dad is being reasonable. That’s a fairly rational explanation, sure. They need proof, I guess.
“Henry, I’m sorry. I’m going to have to use you to demonstrate because you’re the biggest. Is that cool?”
“Depends on what you’re going to do.” He crosses his arms and raises a single black eyebrow at me.
“Slight emasculation. That’s all.”
“Well, I guarantee that there is nothing in this world that you could ever do to make me feel emasculated, so go ahead,” he prods.
“Not me . . . Violet, pick him up,” I tell her. She looks at her parents, who have been the most subdued throughout this whole thing. They are nice enough, but they are the kind of self-involved people that maybe should never have had kids in the first place. With her small lithe arms, Vi cradles Henry’s head in one palm and runs the other down his body, settling on his rear. And then, with absolute grace and ease, she lifts him high above her head as casually as if she were holding up a banner.
The parents gasp. The crying starts all over again. “Stop!” I order them tersely. “Look, I know, it’s a lot. We couldn’t tell you because they used drugs to control us. By the way, you were all drugged, too. Every time you came in to meet a ‘teacher’ or had a ‘conference,’ your coffee was spiked so that you just accepted the way things were. So, enough. Take all the time you need to process this, you just can’t do it here. You have to go.”
“We are not leaving here,” Levi’s mother, Jenny, says with dogged determination. He looks a lot like her, but she has much more red in her hair. She isn’t tiny like my mom or Violet’s. She is built like a Pacific Northwesterner, broad and strong.
Not as strong as me, though.
“Yeah, you are. All of you. I’m sending you away. Again, this is going to sound shocking, but I’m sending you to a different Earth. One I know the Roones can’t get to.”
“No, Ryn, you are not sending us away. Detta ar galen—” my mother starts.
“We won’t leave you,” Henry’s dad says firmly. As he is a First Nation person, I think this is hitting him doubly hard. “If you fight, we fight. That’s it.”
“Dad, you can’t.” Henry sighs.
“No one is going to fight,” Violet’s mother speaks up, finally. Her hands are shaking. I think it’s all just beginning to sink in for her. She is a very successful attorney and barely at home. At some point Vi will tell her that this is not something to feel guilty about. That the fact that she had little parental supervision made this much easier. She didn’t have to constantly lie like we did. But, again, not now. “We are going to take this to the media. I am calling CNN. The world needs to know what our government has done to you,” Vi’s mother announces with haughty determination.
Once again: Denial. Screams. Protestations. Everyone is yelling over one another. Each parent thinks they know what’s best and in this particular case, each parent is dead wrong.
“Enough!” I yell, and everyone stares at me, most of them as if I’m just another teenage girl who doesn’t know better. It takes a lot not to roll my eyes at their condescension. But I’ve just gone through this with Varesh and the rest of the generals, and so I’m prepared. In my most commanding voice, then, I say, “This isn’t a negotiation. I’m sorry, I really am, and I’ve heard each and every one of you, but this is not a request.” My parents look at me—really look. I almost feel like introducing myself. This is the first time they’ve ever met the real me. At home I barely speak. I certainly don’t swear. I interact as little as possible because I felt like such a phony. I’ve been hiding for years. No more. “You are all going. Right now. To an Earth populated by robots that look like famous people. Okay? It’s totally awesome and it’s going to blow your minds. You don’t take anything with you. You just leave.”
“You can’t expect us to just go, Ryn. You’re our children,” Henry’s Korean mother says in beautifully accented English. “We will not abandon you.” Well, now I know where Henry’s loyalty comes from—from both his parents.
“You aren’t abandoning us,” Levi answers. “You’re allowing us to do our jobs. We can’t do this if we think you’re in jeopardy. They are onto us and they know that Ryn is leading the charge. They will use you as leverage. Don’t make her choose between our families and tens of thousands of Citadels around the world, not to mention the civilians that’ll get caught up in this. Don’t do that to her.”
All I hear is breathing and the rattling drum of hearts beating. They can’t bear for this to be true. They can’t believe they didn’t see it. And now that their eyes have been opened, I am asking th
em to pretty much ignore it all—nothing to see here!—and walk away. I realize I have put them in an impossible situation.
Well, welcome to the club.
I begin to open my mouth, but before I can say anything, Henry stops me.
“Trucks. Big trucks. They’re coming,” he says with his usual calm.
“I don’t hear anything,” Flora whines.
“Ezra, I’m going to open the Rift and give you my QOINS. Oh, and here—take my pack, too, just for now.” I had dropped it at my feet and now I shove it into his arms. “Tell Cosmos what’s going on. She’s already offered protection. She’ll know what to do,” I say quickly. “Portland, 2021, casual wear,” I tell my cuff and I am instantly covered in skinny jeans, a sweatshirt, and Vans.
“What is that?” my mother screeches.
I practically laugh. She’s worried about my clothing after all I told them?
“That is something I got at the place you’re going,” I say. “It’ll be cool. I promise.” I hug Abel, who has said nothing this entire time. He looks shell-shocked. His face is all eyes. I quickly run my hands up and down his arms, nodding at him. We all hug our families. I wanted more time. I had so much more to say, but they have to get out of here.
“So you think I’m just going to ride this out in Robot Land?” Ezra asks me.
“I wish you would,” I answer hurriedly. “But I know you won’t. Just get them settled and then Rift back to the Village, as soon as you can. Levi is going to need my QOINS, and we will probably need you doing something computer-y.”
“Computer-y?” He almost looks hurt, but I know he’s just happy to be included. I throw him a tight grin, and he smiles back. No matter what’s between us, it is a nice smile.
Even at a time like this, it’s good to know he’s the one looking after our families.
The team and Levi are looking at me, and now I hear the trucks, too, barreling down the driveway. “Rift. SenMach City,” I tell the cuff. The Rift opens and the booming sound of it tastes like a drink of water after a day of marching through scorching heat. The great moan of the Multiverse has become part of me, as familiar as my own voice. It settles me even as it rearranges me. As a Kir-Abisat, I need it.
Our families stand before the emerald doorway in abject terror. When it goes fully black, I give a slight nod to Ezra, who assures them that he’s done it dozens of times and that it’s safe. Still they don’t move. The rumbling motors stop, doors slam. No time. I look at my dad with pleading eyes. He has to go. He gulps, then nods, then grabs Abel and my mom and leaps. Boone’s mom gasps, but others start moving, and Ezra shepherds the rest through. The Rift slams shut. I breathe out audibly and my shoulders drop just an inch. That, at least, is done.
“The rest of you need to book it. Right now. Get to the Village. As soon as Ezra gets back, you need to work in two teams collecting the UFA on this Earth,” I order quickly.
“UFA? Are we getting flying saucers?” Boone asks. I don’t bother to respond. There are boots on the ground and they will break down this door any moment.
“This would all be so much easier if we could just Rift from place to place on this Earth, but we can’t—at least I don’t think we can. The Faida Earth will act as a kind of a hub. You go to the Rift in Poland, China, Brazil, all of them—collect the UFA, and then Rift to the Faida Earth and then back here to the Village. It’s going to take time, a lot of time, and I’m going to give you as much as I can.”
“You’re going to let them take you?” Levi practically whispers. He has hold of my shoulders. He doesn’t want to let me go.
“It makes sense. They are going to want answers, and I can stall. Ten seconds,” I warn. Levi grits his teeth. He knows full well that this is the best plan, the one that makes the most sense, but that doesn’t make it any easier.
“Fine,” he concedes, shaking his head. He pulls me into his arms and practically strangles me in a brief embrace. “Don’t die,” he orders. Before I can even reassure them, they are gone. They’ve escaped out the back and even if there are troops out there, Violet knows all the shortcuts.
I know these soldiers will break down my door. My parents don’t need to see signs of a struggle when they return, so I race to the front and fling open the door, throwing my hands in the air.
“I’m unarmed!” I scream. I look out to the rounded driveway. I don’t know what or who I’m expecting. It could be Citadels. It could be Settiku Hesh or even Spiradaels for all I know. But what I see is at least fifty armed human soldiers. Not Citadels. Adults. They aren’t wearing standard-issue fatigues, though. They are wearing all black. Almost a variation of our uniforms, with ARC patches.
They turn their guns to me. “Do. Not. Move,” one of them warns me.
“If I was going to move, I’d be long gone,” I spit. “I’m letting you take me in.” The man who had addressed me laughs, sort of, because his mouth isn’t smiling. It dawns on me in that moment that they have no idea I’m not in my uniform. Because of the sensuit, I just look like a regular kid in jeans.
A bunch of soldiers head up the steps toward me. “Wait,” I say, raising my voice an octave, trying to sound even younger than I am. “There isn’t anyone inside. If you need to search the place, I understand, but please,” I plead innocently, “my parents will freak out if they come home and their house is destroyed.” I say this to another soldier, a younger one. He looks over at the older man, who must be commanding the unit.
“We won’t tear the place apart,” the leader says. “Just cooperate. Be a good girl now. Don’t do anything stupid.”
Ordinarily, an order to “be a good girl” might result in a punch to the face. In this instance, I’m going to use my appearance (and apparently my gender) to my advantage. I know I’m on my Earth, but in this moment, I kinda feel like I Rifted to The Handmaid’s Tale Earth. I walk slowly toward one of the dozen cars. I guess they must be Seelye’s men, private guards. It makes sense that he would have them, because he’s such an ungodly douche, and there’s no doubt plenty of people who might want to kill him. Still, there’s a lot of them. That can’t be a good sign.
I hear the soldiers run into the house behind me. I remain calm and walk up to the man in charge. My hands are still up.
“Don’t move any closer or I’ll put a bullet between your eyes, Whittaker,” he tells me grimly.
“Okay . . .” I say slowly. But, really, this is more of a question. He wants me to come with him, but I can’t move?
“Get down on the ground. Face-first and put your hands behind your head.” Wow. This is really happening. I’m, like, being arrested. I guess he really doesn’t understand that if I wanted to kill him, I could do it in approximately 2.8 seconds by leaping over to where he is standing by the open car door. I could snap his neck, rip the door off the hinge, and use it as a shield. From there, I could handily execute his entire team.
I suppose it’s actually better that he not get that.
I do as I am told. I get down slowly, putting my face in the gravel. Immediately, I am swarmed by soldiers holding me down and cuffing me. I don’t know how many there are, but there are enough to make the small rocks scrape at my cheeks and leave a sour taste in my mouth. Not blood, but a sharp kick of shame. I am being touched aggressively, by many large men. I am letting them do this and I hate that.
“You can’t break out of those cuffs, missy,” the commander tells me. “Made by the Roones for special circumstances like this.”
“I told you I was going willingly. You don’t need to shackle me,” I inform him, my tongue absorbing the salty earth of the gravel.
At that he does let out an actual laugh. I am yanked up, and two men on either side of me point their sidearms inches from my head. “You’re a Citadel,” he says, like the word is filthy enough to taint his mouth. “All you do is lie.”
Strangely, that stinging piece of truth hurts more than anything that’s happened so far.
Chapter 21
The bunker is abs
ent of its usual busyness. There are no civilians, no intake workers or anthropologists. I don’t know if Seelye has let them go or killed them—both options seem equally likely. The walls down here are thick. Even with my spectacular hearing, there is nothing. There are no screams, no jostling or yelling “Hup two three four!” There is also a suspicious lack of Citadels. I want to assume that they have now been absorbed into the UFA. Henry had ample time to brainwash and drug anyone left to oppose our new regime in my absence. Levi and the team would have planned for this, the moment I told him that Seelye knew. I just didn’t get a chance to ask him what that plan was. I can only hope that they have made their way to the Village.
I am led into interrogation room C. As soon as the door is open, four of Seelye’s men take out the table and chairs. I’m not sure if this is because they don’t want me having access to anything I might make a weapon out of or if their intent is the sheer indignity of the floor. Well, he’s double the idiot if he thinks that a bunch of tiles are going to somehow break me down. Not after what I’ve been through.
I sit happily on my bum. Two men still have their guns aimed at my skull. I’m surprised when a third is brave enough to remove the handcuffs. I’m pretty sure I broke out of this exact same room on the first Earth I rifted to. They must know that the double-sided glass is easy enough for me to kick through. They take the furniture but leave a means for escape? This is a power play then. Fair enough. I can play, too.
I wait. For hours. I close my eyes and lean back on the wall. They probably know I’m not sleeping, but I also don’t look worried or anxious. Inside, I am not so calm. The team has to get to every Rift site and activate each cell. I have no idea how many Citadels they were ultimately able to recruit. They also have to get to the Faida, the original Roones and Karekins, the SenMachs and the Akshaji. Hopefully, Ezra grabbed the SenMach troops when he took our families there.
The Rift Coda Page 21
