by Alex Fall
Heather scoffed at my comment nearly out of reflex, but their attention was too consumed by the elephant in the room. "And who might you be?" Mason asked.
"Ah...Felix Mason Drake," commented Keegan. He must have fun with this method of introducing himself, but the fact that he knows their names so well means he's really been picking my brain.
"Uuuh...what?" He replied with a sort of denial. Wyatt stifled a laugh. He's seen this before too.
"Heather McMillan, oui?"
"Excuse me?" She replied.
"Wait...do you know all of-" Gus began to inquire.
"Gustavo Mendes." Then his pointer finger swayed towards Hugh.
"Yes, Hugh Pruitt. We understand you know our names..." Hugh interrupted. I could tell Keegan tried to hide his letdown for getting beat to the punch. "Now, what's your name, young man?" Hugh asked.
Keegan paused and repointed at Hugh. "Hewitt Pruitt." Then in quotation gestures, he said, "Hugh."
Wyatt started snickering again. "Hewitt? Your name is Hewitt Pruitt?"
Hugh closed his eyes and massaged the bridge of his nose where his glasses rested while Wyatt continued to snicker.
"Erin, who is this?" Heather asked.
"Your answer."
"What?" Two of the Board members asked in unison.
"You asked me what happened while I was gone. He's your answer." I could tell that Keegan liked the buildup introductions I've been giving him lately. He didn't outwardly show it but...I don't know how to explain it, but I could feel his inner joy puff up. Maybe he was just flirting with me again.
"How come he didn't say your name?" Gus asked Wyatt.
"Cause we've already gone through my name in another conversation. Just wait till you hear how he knows..."
Again, the board's attention was fixated on Keegan. In reply, he shrugged and said, "Pardonnez-moi , mais je ne parle pas anglo."
"Huh?" Mason let out.
"He doesn't speak Anglo," I interjected.
The board flew into an upset but I held my hands up to restore order. "Hey! I know, it's annoying as *cuss.*" I earned another flick for cussing. "Just... Let me explain a little bit. And please don't interrupt, OK?"
* * *
Keegan typed away on the keyboard. The De'mus Board sat absorbed in his explanation, trying both to disprove it and understand it at the same time. I imagined that it disturbed them to a degree to know that he was a mind reader, but they couldn't stop asking him questions about it, or the rest of the people in Lenburg. For his part, Keegan endured their questioning and answered as much as he could, or as much as he wanted to. He picked up and filled in for me after I had explained a certain amount. For my part, I fell out of the conversation in a state of ennui. I listened to them go through the things I already knew while circling a particularly dark scar patch on my upper wrist with my finger.
"So where is this Lenburg?" Mason asked.
Typing. "Do not know, compared to here."
"And you came through a warp gate?" Gus reaffirmed.
"Yep. Same one I told you about," Wyatt commented.
"And these...Dwellers. None of them become powered later?"
Typing. "I can introduce you to one. Erin brought her with us."
Dang it, Keegan. Must you always put me in bad situations?
Hugh looked up. "You brought her?"
I shrugged.
Gus stooped next to Hugh and whispered a suggestion about questioning me a little further. Hugh nodded and stood.
"Thank you for your information Mr. Keegan. We would like to talk to Erin a little more about this, so would you please wait outside for a moment?"
I sat up a little bit upon being addressed, but Keegan developed a look of concern and shook his head no. He didn't want to leave.
"We need to talk to Erin privately," Gus repeated.
"Non! Mauvaise idée!" He said, growing nervous rather abruptly. He knows something... What is he saying?
"Keegan, please. Wait outside," Hugh said, holding a hand out towards the door.
He looked over to me and swallowed. He typed something quickly, closed the laptop and handed it to me. Then, he dismissed himself. He kept looking back at me, even as the door closed. He's...concerned? Worried? What is it he knows?
"Can I go too?" Wyatt asked.
"No. We need you for cross reference," Mason denied him. Wyatt melted into his chair out of disappointment.
"Cross reference; a doublespeak way of saying interrogation," I sighed.
"Oh, you DO speak," Heather quipped.
I glared at her. "Shut up for once."
"Okaaay, so let's get to it," Hugh stated to calm the two of us. "First off, we have yet to hear back from Vick Martinez. Do you know his whereabouts?"
A grave silence fell over the room. I peered at Wyatt, who looked to me, then back to Hugh. Neither of us wanted to address it. "Yes."
"Where is he? Is he alright?"
Wyatt took a deep breath and looked out the window. He seemed to be playing it off as boredom, but I knew better. Even I felt the guilt, but instead of playing it off, I locked eyes with Hugh. "You're on the De'mus Board, not the Martinez Board."
"Whatever that means..." Heather whispered to herself.
Hugh leaned back into his seat and broke gaze. "Alright then. Well, on another note, we have arranged for you to be seen by a physician."
"I'm fine!" I blurted.
"And what of your broken hand?" Heather retorted.
"It's fine," I repeated.
"And what of your burns?" Mason questioned.
"Or gunshot wounds, bruises, and stab wounds?" asked Gus.
"Don't forget concussions," Wyatt added.
"Just to make sure, we have arranged it anyway," Hugh stated after raising a hand to silence the rising onslaught of remarks.
I leaned back in my seat and felt my irritation begin to rise. Why am I holding this laptop? Why did Keegan give me this?
"We need to know what happened to you once you disappeared," Hugh continued.
"Things..." I replied.
"What kind of things?"
This guy is about to interrogate me, I know it. It's making me mad. I opened the laptop to read Keegan's message.
"Erin, they are going to make you angry," it read. How does he know me that well? And he's right, of course. But why tell me?
"Erin. Please start from the beginning," Gus prodded
I set the laptop down and rubbed my temple. "I got knocked out and abducted. The Greaters took me somewhere while I was out, so I escaped and stayed hidden."
"That's all?" Gus asked after the pause.
"No," Wyatt answered.
"Did you use your power at this point?" Hugh asked.
"Yes I did. Does it matter?"
Hugh folded his hands and hid his mouth behind them. "Hm..."
"What next?" Gus reminded me.
"It's a long story..." I dismissed.
"We've got time," Heather affirmed.
My irritation is rising.
"Fine! I'll tell you what you want to hear. I dodged the Greaters until I could find the stuff they took from me. I had to fight some of them off. There was a fire user there that burned the *cuss* out of me. I almost died multiple times from then on, all while just trying to stay hidden. They wanted to kill me, so I kept on the move, until my crew happened to find me. Remind you of any past scenarios?!"
Gus looked to the ground and the rest hardened their faces. Of all the people here, Gus should remember. He helped keep me hidden for a time when I was on the run from the Directorates.
"How many burns did you make?" Hugh asked solemnly.
"Dozens! Does it matter?"
Mason collaborated with Wyatt to confirm if any of this was true. Hugh continued, "To me, it does. I am in charge of your well being."
"I am in charge of my own well being!" I spat.
"Did you kill anyone?" Mason suddenly asked. Wyatt followed up with a quiet "That was blunt..."
I loc
ked eyes on Mason. "Yes."
"How many?"
"Several. I don't know!"
"Yes you do," he came back.
I let an angry breath flow out of my nose as I clenched my teeth. "Yes! I DO know exactly how many people, but I'm not going to tell you!"
"We're highly concerned with the fact that you discover another city full of people, and your first action is to begin murdering them," Heather reasoned.
"Hey! They attacked me first!" I shouted in her face.
"True," Wyatt pointed out.
"See?!" I yelled for emphasis.
This stupid Board is only looking to condemn me! I can see them grasping for any reason to punish me. Hugh especially digested his thoughts. "You were bred to be a weapon, you know that right?" He asked.
I felt a surge in my mind and anger. "Of course I know that! What *cuss* *cuss* wouldn't be able to see that?!"
Hugh held up his hands. "I'm just noting, whenever you are exposed to circumstances that resemble your past experiences, you-"
"What, get mad? Angry? Violent?!"
"Well...yes. It's degrading to your mental state."
"You've been keeping profiles on my mental health?" I growled.
"Of course," Mason commented. "You're a rare find. We need you to be on the mend."
"Rare find?! I am not an object!" I roared. Wyatt began to look very uncomfortable.
"Erin..." Gus slipped in.
"Erin, please calm down. That's not what he's saying," Hugh tried to assure me.
"I'll calm down when I get out of this room..."
"The way I see it, she is currently not in any condition to continue service. We need to-" Heather began to state.
"WHAT?!" I screeched. "Unfit for service?! You will get mowed down if you step foot over there without me!"
"You're not the only one who can handle themselves, you know," Mason pointed out.
"Besides, we don't plan on charging in, guns blazing," Heather said.
"What are you expecting to happen?" Gus asked calmly.
"Get the Little One out there, and get the-" I started demanding.
"The Cruiser?" Mason asked in disbelief.
"OK, we need to set some ground rules," Heather declared.
"Get that pre war Cruiser out there, now!" I demanded once more. "It worked once, it will work again!"
"You can't just order around assets like that," Hugh stated. "There's higher authorities you have to keep mind."
I stood. "FOOL, THERE'S NO ONE ABOVE ME!"
The Board fell silent. Tension grew. Hugh cleared his throat. "We can't give you access to the Little One."
I gritted my teeth and my anger spiked. "Sorry. I didn't catch that..."
Wyatt stood and slowly backed up. "Oh boy..."
"We cannot let you use the Little One. I'm not sure if you get to keep your ship at this point. That will be a point for future discussion by the Board."
I barely noticed that Gus too got up and backed off, on account of my rage. Quite suddenly, I drastically heated my arms and burst through the glass table between us, sending flame, shattered glass, and shreds of my sleeves across the room. Now everyone was standing, but I shoved Hugh back into his rolling chair, rolled it back against the window, and gripped the armrests on it while glaring down on him. I tried to speak, but settled instead into a sort of growling, shouting crescendo.
No one moved. Hugh appeared terrified. Heather covered her mouth, and Mason and Gus stood by the walls watching intently. Wyatt too stood opposite of them, his force fields on standby. It was the first time I had used my power in the sight of the whole Board. I believe they were shocked, so I continued glaring at Hugh, teeth bared and breathing wrathfully. My arms tightened from the newly acquired burns. Pain blurred my mind. I was too angry to notice the office door open until later.
Yet, just as I was formulating my next wave of words, someone wrapped a blanket around me. I tried to throw off the distraction, but that someone put their arms around me and gently pulled at me, beckoning me to leave. Keegan whispered into my ear, "Erin, allons-y."
I released the chair and stepped back to examine Keegan. He was solemn, but patient with me, even bold enough to meet my eyes again. I now examined everyone else. Fear, disappointment, stress; the usual. But not Keegan. I inwardly knew that he came back in here for me, to support me, to save me, but I didn't want to acknowledge it.
Even still, as if he was currently reading my mind, he shook his head at me. Was that...disappointment? My mood sunk. Why does it hurt so much when he gives me that look? Wonderful, now I am down AND enraged. Keegan would give me an earful later tonight.
He responded curiously, however. All Keegan did was hold out his hand to me. What did he want? Is he offering me something? Does he expect me to interact with him? The sound of Wyatt's Templar units powering down had me turn around to face him. He looked highly concerned over the situation. It was at that moment that Keegan took the opportunity to grab my hand and pull me towards the door. The Board watched me leave without further comment.
Outside the room, people had gathered from likely every office on this floor to observe me. They wore fear on their faces. Several were recording the event. Would it reach the news? My mood sunk further and my fists tightened as I felt my anger fluctuate. Yet, Keegan kept leading me away from them, out of the way of further shame. He was protecting me.
I found myself in the elevator, headed to sublevel one, wrapped in a blanket and standing with Keegan. I shook his hand away from me and turned to face the wall. My emotions were clashing with me, and his air felt like a third party trying to add to the inner warfare. Stop staring at me...
"Hé."
I didn't want to face him, so I ignored him. But being the man he is, he stepped close beside me, into my peripheral view. I found myself looking at the ground, hiding behind my hair.
"Hé..."
Leave me alone...
"Erin."
"...what?" No, no. I sound far too angry.
"Regardez-moi..."
What is he saying? Do I want to know? I gave him the slightest peek from behind my curtain of hair. Smiling. It's faint, and it might be forced, but he's smiling. It gives him an air of warmth.
"Qu'est-ce qui est arrivé, petit saphir?
"...I don't understand you," I said in a low voice.
The elevator slowed and the door opened for someone to get on. Keegan stood by and denied access to that person. He pointed to me and gave some odd gestures that seemed to convince the person to stay off. Then it was back to the two of us again. The distraction kept me hushed though. Silence followed us all the way to the underground floor that served as maintenance and shipping and loading bays. There was no one down here. Decorations were absent, walls were minimal, and small openings allowed sunlight to leak in through the corners here and there as added light sources.
"Why are we down here?" I asked once off the elevator.
His response was to lead me to a private but open area of the department and cross his arms.
"This doesn't answer anything. And it's cold down here..."
"Qu'est-ce qui est arrivé?"
I pulled the blanket close and glared at him. He already knows I don't understand, why does he bother?
"Speak," he finally said, as he lowered himself to sitting on the concrete.
"What is there to say? I got mad, just like you prophesied..."
He waved his hand for me to continue.
"What?!" I shouted.
Keegan sighed and lowered his hand as if to tell me to lower my volume.
"Look, I don't...I don't know what happened. They made me mad! They always nitpick me and order me around! I hate being around them, and you weren't there to help like you said you would be!" I looked aside. "I told you I would disappoint you. I can't be your hero...the only idea I could think of short of killing everyone was shot down by the Board. And now my ship is going to get taken away. I won't have a home anymore..."
I glanced
back at Keegan, who seemed to be sincerely listening. I rubbed my throbbing burns softly through the blanket, and exhaled a portion of my stress. A taste for sleep meds was seeding itself.
"I'm sorry, Keegan. You were right... Again."
I checked again to see him still listening. What is he after?
"...you don't have the patience to handle me," I admitted.
"Ah, ah, ah. Oui!" He corrected.
"No, you don't! All am is a massive failu-" I began to shout.
"Hé, NON! Non, arrête ça!" Keegan shouted over me and cut me off. He rose and stood in front of me, looking in my eyes. "Non. Vilain Erin. Ne fais pas ça."
"...Sometimes I wish I could understand what you're saying..."
He touched my nose. "Good."
I felt another chill from the air conditioning, so I pulled the blanket tighter. It hurt my burns. Keegan looked me over once I grimaced.
"You, Ok?" He managed to formulate.
"...not really." I would never admit that to anyone but him. We stood in silence for a moment.
"Keegan..."
"Oui?"
"You aren't disappointed in me?"
He opened up his arms and pulled me into a soft hug, but not enough to hurt my burns. "Non."
Part 26
Blooms, bushes, and exotic rock formations surrounded me. The fantastical dream world of Ilavoan greeted me cheerily, but along with the perfect conditions came another welcomed circumstance: the ability to freely talk to and understand Keegan.
"Hi," he greeted heartily, sitting and looking over me in Fake Arty's form as I lay in the grasses.
"Hey."
"Miss me?"
"Of course not."
"Liar..."
A smile crept onto my face, so I sat up to avoid exposing it to Keegan. I'm sure he noticed though.
"Still taking sleep pills I see."
My smile faded. "Yep. The Board stressed me out too much."
"I tried to tell you."
"That's what the laptop was for? To warn me not to get angry?" I asked with an upset tone.
"You're right, I'm sorry. I should have found a better way. Really, I shouldn't have left you in there alone."
I examined the painted landscape in the distance. "Keegan...you're too good to me."
