AfterLife

by S. P. Cloward

  “If you kill him, we won’t have anything to lure that Wesley boy with,” Doc said, pulling Seth from his trance.

  Seth opened his eyes and turned his head toward Doc who was still seated behind him. “I wasn’t going to kill him.”

  “Good,” Doc said, lifting his tablet back up to continue reading, “I’d hate to think I’ve been keeping him alive and healthy for nothing.”

  “He has a purpose to serve and I intend for him to serve it.” Seth removed his hand from Lyall’s neck. “I’m just checking on his status.”

  Seth rarely allowed such an informal manner. He purposely had Doc transferred with him to Chicago when the Body assigned him to oversee the region. He was the best medical doctor in the Atumra and one of the few people Seth actually respected.

  “I expect you to do your part when the time comes,” he informed Doc.

  “I always do more than I’m expected to do. Don’t you have someone else you should be worrying about right now? Is Jezebel still in meditation?” Doc was nonchalant and didn’t look up from his tablet.

  “She was when I left her.” Seth abandoned the antemort on the table and turned around to face Doc. “Am I wrong to distrust her?”

  “You don’t trust anyone, Seth.”

  “You’re right. I don’t. I’m going back to my office.”

  Seth left Doc and the antemort and returned to his office. Jezebel was awake, sitting upright on the couch when he arrived. “Did he sync with you?”

  “He did.” She was cradling her chin in her hands and her elbows rested on her knees; her hair was hanging down, hiding the sides of her face. “I didn’t believe he could really do it, but he did. It went just as you said it would.”

  Seth walked over to sit at his desk. It was good news. “Will he be attempting a rescue?”

  “Tomorrow night. I told him exactly what you wanted me to tell him.” She lifted her head to look at Seth. “You’re going to kill him, aren’t you?”

  “He’s already dead, Jez, you know that. But yes, he won’t make it out of here.”

  Jezebel stood up and moved to leave the office.

  “Don’t go too far, Jezebel. You’ll be needed for the rest of the task tomorrow.” He turned his chair to face the window as she left the room, then whispered to himself, “And once that task is done, you will be taken care of as well.”

  Chapter 24

  Wes remained in meditation as he thought about his next move. He wanted to tell someone about his conversation with Jezebel. Thinking first of Emily, he dismissed the thought. Meri was his partner now. After arriving home from their walk, they quickly synced in order to create a connection, and now it would be a simple matter to reestablish that link whenever they needed to.

  He was still thinking about it when suddenly Meri was standing in front of him in the nothingness. Her arms were folded and the corners of her mouth were drawn up in a smile. Boy, he was getting good at this; just the thought of Meri connected them.

  “How was Jezebel,” she asked as Wes approached her.

  Her directness startled him. “Um, how did you know I went to see Jez?”

  “I’m just good at reading situations,” Meri said. “You wanna keep walking while you tell me about it?”

  “Sure. You knew I’d want to talk to you after I saw her, didn’t you? That’s why you’ve been waiting for me.”

  “I didn’t know for sure but I thought you might, and I’m glad you did. It tells me that you trust me.” Meri was walking beside Wes as they moved through the dark void. “So, Wes, how is Jezebel? Did you know she was my partner too before she defected to the Atumra? We weren’t paired for long before she switched sides, but I did get to know her a little bit.”

  Wes knew Jez had been a member of AfterLife before she defected and switched sides, but he’d never heard any other information about her. Poor Meri, that meant she’d lost her last two partners to the Atumra. He decided to stick to the topic at hand instead of asking about Jez’s time at AfterLife.

  “She doesn’t seem happy,” Wes started to say more, but Meri interrupted him.

  “Did she give you that flower?” Meri paused their walking by touching Wes’s arm. It was evident the question and answer were important to her.

  Wes looked down at the flower Jez had given him before leaving her garden. He forgot he was carrying it. “Oh right, well, she did give me this. She also said something about remembering the oleander. I asked what she meant, but she didn’t say.” Wes’s concern for his ignorance of what now seemed to be a meaningful part of his interaction with Jez began to grow.

  Meri started walking again and Wes followed. “Wes, do you remember if there were other flowers around?”

  “There were, but I don’t remember all the names. There were the oleanders and this purple one. I think she called it hyacinth. We were in a garden so there were lots of other bushes and flowers, but the only other one I can remember is the begonia.”

  “That’s interesting.” Meri reached for the flower that Wes was holding. “Do you mind?”

  “No,” Wes said, handing her the flower, “not at all.”

  Meri took the flower and began to spin it in her fingers like Jez had been doing in the garden. “Sorry I changed the subject. Go on with what you were saying.”

  “She’s not happy,” Wes said. “Apparently she’s being punished for losing me as a recruit and was ordered to get my brother Lyall. She told me how we can get into the Atumra headquarters in Chicago to free him.” Wes recounted his conversation with Jezebel. When he finished, Meri appeared to consider everything he told her.

  “She’s warning you, Wes. I think she was telling you what she had to, a script if you will, but I think she was warning you that it’s a trap.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Let’s stop and sit down.” An iron and wood park bench appeared in the nothingness and Meri sat down. “Here, sit down and I’ll explain.”

  Wes complied.

  “Okay Wes,” Meri said, turning to face him. “I have no doubt that part of what she told you is true. I think she is being punished for losing you. The Atumra doesn’t like to lose recruits. They would rather kill them than allow them go to another organization, especially AfterLife. Anyway, I think the flowers are the real clue. Flowers, like colors or gemstones, have different meanings. For example, when you think of red roses you think of romance and love. Other flowers can be interpreted to mean different things, too. The oleander usually means caution and begonias are usually used to tell the recipient to beware of something. I think she was telling you that your brother can be saved, but you need to be cautious. I think she was put up to it; she was told to give you information to lure you to their headquarters where they plan to destroy you. The flowers were her warning.”

  “Meri, that would mean she was expecting me to show up. She was sitting in the flowers when I found her. How would she have known to have them there? She doesn’t know I can connect with other Mortuis like I can.”

  “That’s exactly it, Wes. That’s why I’m sure there’s more to this than we think. She was in a garden surrounded by warning flowers to tell you how to save your brother on the very night you saw them together. Do you remember how shocked you were that I knew you could astral sync? Only a few people actually know. Emily told me because I was being placed with you. She told me that the only other people who know are the Ancestors and Ken and his wife. I’m sure it was shared with the Ancestors of the other AfterLife Hubs around the world because that’s what they do, but no one else is supposed to know. So…”

  “So,” Wes interrupted, “there is an Atumra spy among the Ancestors who gave them the information, and now they’re using this knowledge to try to get rid of me.”

  “Yes. That’s the only explanation that makes sense. In the process of getting rid of you they can recruit your brother who may exhibit the same abilities once he becomes a Mortui. I think Jezebel was trying to warn you. I also think she feels guilty about wha
t she’s doing.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “This flower,” Meri said, handing Wes the purple hyacinth, “means she’s sorry.”

  His simple conversation with Jezebel had quickly become far more complex than Wes imagined. This was all a plot to trap him. Well, he shouldn’t be surprised; it had felt like one from the beginning. “How far do you think this goes? If what you’re saying is true, then everything from being sent to Chicago, to seeing Jezebel with Lyall, to our rescuing him is all part of Atumra’s plan.”

  “I’ve had suspicions they might have people in AfterLife. It only makes sense. We have people hidden among their ranks. I recommend we follow their plan so there’s no evidence that we suspect anything. That would only put Lyall and Jez in danger.” Meri took the flower from Wes’s hand to examine it again. “If we want to win this game I think we’re going to have to play it.”

  “How?” Wes asked. He didn’t know who to trust now. He didn’t want to trust Jezebel but it seemed she was warning him. He trusted AfterLife but someone in the organization was working with the Atumra to finish him off. Was it one of the Ancestors at the Hub here in Illinois or was it one from a different Hub? At this point there was no way to know. “Who do we trust?”

  “Tomorrow we’ll contact the Ancestors and see what their plan is. They’ll need to know you synced with Jezebel, but we won’t tell them about the flowers or the warning. I have a feeling that whoever the Atumra spy is, it’s someone close to our operation here. We want that person to pass on the information that Jez did what she was supposed to do. When we talk to the Ancestors about this, let me do the talking. I want to plant some traps of my own.” Meri had an excited look on her face. She looked like a war strategist who had just stumbled upon and decoded the enemy’s message detailing their next attack.

  “Fine with me. I’m still trying to wrap my head around all this.” Their plan sounded good, but he didn’t know what Meri’s larger plan was. He needed to trust her, he decided. He already thought – no, he knew – she was someone who cared about him. He would follow any plot she devised. If he couldn’t trust Meri, there wasn’t anyone he could trust, and he’d be better off walking away from all of them. Unfortunately, with his brother to save, that was simply not an option.

  Chapter 25

  “The information Jezebel provided is consistent with what we already know about the Atumra,” Anne Marie said, her image displayed on the laptop’s screen, “and I don’t think there is any reason to doubt her. From your account of your conversation with her, Wes, I can only believe that what I thought about her before is accurate. She’s never been happy since she left AfterLife, and she did develop feelings toward you before your death. I think we should cautiously consider her an ally, as she seems to want to help you rescue your brother.”

  “Do you think we’ll have any problems getting into their headquarters, Anne Marie?” Meri, who sat next to Wes on the couch in their small apartment, leaned closer to the screen.

  “We may. There are some holes in the information we’ve gathered, but like I said, the facts Jez provided are consistent with what we already know.” Anne Marie disappeared from the screen for a second, then quickly reappeared holding a tablet computer in her hand. “We were already aware of the location of their center of operations and that very few soldiers are present there at any given time. The building is mostly a training facility similar to the Hub. We have many members who have transitioned from them over the years, and they have provided substantial documentation concerning the Atumra’s operations there. We even have a layout of the floors that exist in the building’s lower levels. It’s not as detailed as we would like but at least it’s something. I’ll forward all the information we have so you won’t go in blind.

  “Also, we’re not sending you and Wes in alone. We’ll send a few other members from the area to assist you. I want there to be enough of you to secure Wes’s brother without incident, but we can’t have a whole army there drawing unwanted attention. The last thing we want is local antemort law enforcement getting stuck in the crossfire.”

  “Do you know who will be helping us yet?” Meri sat back on the couch and folded her arms, her face expressionless. She appeared to be accepting their instructions at face value, but Wes knew she was carefully considering every word the Ancestors gave her as she evaluated the situation.

  Anne Marie flipped through screens on her tablet by sliding her finger across the face. “We haven’t decided yet. The other Ancestors and I are looking at all available pairs to see who will be best for this particular situation. We should be able to get them assembled and a rendezvous set up soon. Oscar will get back with you once the final decisions are made.”

  “Thanks, Anne Marie. We’ll wait for word from him. I’ll do my best to prepare Wes for tonight. None of us is really prepared for this kind of situation, but Wes is still new to being a Mortui.”

  “That’s a good idea, Meri. I’m sure any preparation will be advantageous. Let me know if you need anything else from us once you get the mission plan. Best of luck with your brother, Wes. I’ll talk to you two later.”

  The image of Anne Marie disappeared from the screen as the call disconnected. Meri closed the laptop and stood up. Her lips were pressed tightly together and her forehead was scrunched in thought. Wes watched as she stood in one place for a second and then walked around the table to stare out the window on the far side of the room. It was obvious from her posture that she didn’t like the rescue plan outlined by the Ancestors, and even he could see the red flags confirming it was a trap.

  Finally Meri spoke. “Okay, you’ll have to do exactly as I say for this to work. First and foremost, we need to play their game. They’re using your brother as bait and the only way to save him is to go into the trap to get him.

  “Jez talked about Seth, the man who’s in charge of them. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the one who devised this plan, along with whoever the AfterLife infiltrator is. From what I’ve heard about him, he’ll want to pull you into sync and destroy you one on one. My question for you is, do you think you can fight him if he does?”

  For months Wes and Ken had been running mock virtual fight simulations in and out of sync in the event that something like this might happen. Wes also knew the challenge of fighting someone with decades of experience with this type of encounter would be one he probably wouldn’t win. He’d come close a few times, but he’d never bested Ken. “I may be able to defend myself for awhile, but I don’t know if I can defeat him in sync. I don’t know what he’s capable of doing or creating.”

  “No, neither do I,” Meri said.

  “What’s your plan? How long do you think I would need to hold him in sync for you to do whatever you have in mind?”

  “I can’t answer that because I don’t know. Don’t forget time is different in sync. You could end up fighting epic battles that last centuries but only be in sync for a few minutes, or you could go in for what seems like a few minutes while hours pass in real time.” Meri sat down again in the chair next to Wes. “I’m not trying to scare you, but I need to be straight with you. Someone wants you gone. Both you and your brother’s lives are at risk. There are probably very few scenarios where we all walk away. You might go in and save Lyall without being severed, but then again you might not. We could all end up being severed while the Atumra assimilates Lyall.”

  Meri’s honesty was actually comforting. He’d already considered the fact that they were going in blind and had only a limited chance of success, but that didn’t decrease his desire to continue. Faced with a choice, he would rescue his brother even if it meant being severed himself. His main concern was to save Lyall before someone turned him into a Mortui.

  “I know, Meri. I’ve thought of all that, too. Even so, it’s something I have to do.”

  “I know that. It’s something we both have to do. There are things going on here that are bigger than you or Lyall, and I have every intention of being a part
of it.” Meri walked over to Wes and put her arms around his shoulders, gently hugging him. “There is the possibility that everything will work out exactly how we want it to. Let’s focus on that and what we need to do to make sure we’re successful.”

  Wes turned toward Meri. “So, what’s your plan?”

  “I only have the idea of a plan now. I’ll need to make a few phone calls, but I hope to organize some additional backup of our own. If one of the Ancestors is the Atumra plant, I don’t know if we can really trust anyone they send to help us.”

  Meri spent most of the rest of the day on the phone. Wes’s instructions were to go into meditation and prepare for the possibility of being in sync with Jezebel’s superior, Seth. Instead, he found himself roaming his re-created theme park without purpose. After a few hours, he opted just to wait in the real world until it was time to face the inevitable.

  Sunset came and went. Wes stood at the living room window and stared at the street below. It was a nice night – too nice of an evening for a dangerous mission. It should be raining or snowing, or at the very least there should be thunder and lightning, he thought, but it looked like just another quiet night. Nothing to alert anyone about the seriousness of what might be coming.

  Meri emerged from her bedroom. “Ready? It’s time to meet the team the Ancestors have set up for us. We’re rendezvousing at a diner near Navy Pier.”

  “Do you know who’s going with us? Have you worked with any of them?”

  “I’ve only met two of them before. You’d think I would have crossed paths with the others at the Hub or something, but I haven’t. One couple is coming from out of town. There will be six all together. With the two of us, that’s eight.”