Learning the Hard Way 2

by H. P. Caledon

  “Discarded among rats behind the Mining-steps.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “Yeah, but I don’t know. I’ve never heard of others.”

  “Then what makes you think you’re an Evo-race?”

  “Sit forward.” Keelan did so himself. Mike leaned over, and Keelan locked gazes with him before he changed them to the two black pools.

  “Wow. Yeah, I’ve never seen that before, either. Does something happen? I mean, do you see differently, like the Lekosta race?”

  “Yeah, some people change color. And I think that the ones who do are like me. I think it could help me find my daughter. But, as I also said, it won’t help much.”

  “Colors. What, like their skin?”

  “No, aura. The colors aren’t the same. Maybe because I haven’t met someone who is related... I don’t know.”

  “So you see colors. Is that it?”

  “No. Maybe I should just quit stalling and tell you the whole story,” Keelan said and sat back.

  Mike stayed in his leaned forward, curious position. “Go on.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Around my sixteenth birthday, I woke up in a dorm in juvie. Something was wrong. Some shouted, waking the others, who too began shouting and screaming, and they were all directed at me. The doors flew open, and the guards stormed in, turned on the lights, and that’s when things really went wrong. First of all, because I could see myself. My skin was chalk white, and my arms seemed... thinner, longer. And I panicked. Guards jumped me and hit me and... and I don’t really remember much more after that. Screams and... blood. My white skin was covered in it, and the contrast was crazy.

  “The next thing I remember I’m running through the streets on Verion four, toward the Mining-steps, where I tried to hide. That’s not easy when you’re that white, in your underwear, and covered in blood. It was Brad Dorsey they sent after me. You knew him.”

  “He actually told me about this.” Mike slumped back with a reflective yet concerned expression.

  “What did he say?”

  “That he never found the creature. That they never found out what it was.”

  “That doesn’t make sense.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I was running for three days before I collapsed from exhaustion. No sleep and not much food. When I woke up, I was normal again. I moved in on Red Turf and got caught by a real piece of shit. He forced me to... sell myself.”

  Mike gaped, looking horrified.

  “Mr. Rick. I tried to kick his ass one day for keeping too much of my earnings. That didn’t go too well. I changed again. Don’t know how, but I became all white again. They were pretty shocked about that, and I used the confusion to get the fuck off Red Turf.

  “I was so scared every time I changed, because I couldn’t control it and didn’t know how to change back. When I finally tried, my hair was blond, and my nose looked weird. It took a while to look like myself again, and I promised myself that I would never do it again. Never change again.”

  “Okay,” Mike said, visibly shocked.

  “And I didn’t. Not even when I got caught with my hands in some guy’s pockets as he was busy talking to some other guy. Another huge ass-kicking for me, but one of the men is my first registered murder. The other one crawled away while Dorsey slapped the shackles on me and took me to his ship. I could have changed and hid. But I ended up in an institution for hopeless cases of juvenile delinquents on Orlani in the Svennika System.”

  Mike nodded slowly. “And what doesn’t make sense?”

  “Dorsey. He caught me at last.”

  “Ah, well, the other side of the story says you escaped from the juvenile detention on Verion four during the disturbances with the white species. Dorsey tracked both of you... which turned out to be one and the same.”

  “Okay, then it makes sense.”

  “But... how does it work? That Evo-thing. I don’t get how... you morph certain features?”

  “Blood. DNA, I guess. I don’t know enough about biology to even begin to understand how it could work.”

  “Guess it doesn’t matter anyway. You promised never to do it again, so that’s kind of final.” Mike laughed.

  “How else was I going to get you out of that hospital? Walk right by five bounty hunters who already wanted my head on a stick because they were sure I was coming to finish your ass off while you were lying defenseless in a hospital bed? They checked you and found out too much in way to short a time. And the part about Mathers.”

  “How did you do it?” Mike asked, stunned.

  “Andy Thompson was the one who shot you. Andy Thompson died half an hour before he walked into that hospital and got you out.”

  “You broke your promise to yourself to save me?”

  “You had just taken a bullet for me! You dead was not an option!”

  “How?” Mike asked, but his voice failed him. Keelan found the bubbly sensation and saw a mental image of Andy Thompson before he let the sensation spread and felt his body change.

  “No fucking way,” Mike exclaimed and backed away from Keelan by climbing backward over the backrest of the sofa. “You’re...”

  “Andy Thompson.”

  “How well did you hide that body?”

  “Not well enough.”

  “This is sick, this is out there, this... this isn’t fucking possible!” Mike finally bellowed and pointed at Keelan who focused on his own form and felt the change. He stood to straighten his clothes. “And the white thing?”

  Keelan looked for the bubbles, then saw the white figure and changed, catching his pants before they slipped off his too-slender form.

  “You’re not an Evo,” Mike whispered, looking at him with pained confusion on his face. “You’re not even human.”

  “Then what am I?” Keelan’s voice came out almost as a shrill whisper—not the deep baritone he was used to.

  “How the fuck should I know? And if I haven’t heard of the species, then we have to shut the hell up about it! Shapeshifter? You would be classified as to be eradicated because you can circumvent security. Kill a guard, take his form, and walk right into the fucking Senate! Holy fuck, Keelan. We’ll never talk about this one again, either!” Mike rubbed his face.

  “What if my daughter changes at the same age? What if she can?”

  “Then she’ll be easy to find.”

  “They are not classifying my daughter as something to be eradicated, because then I’ll eradicate them!”

  “So we find her first. Do you have that under control?”

  “I’m getting there.”

  “Good.” Mike drew a deep shaking breath. It was obvious Mike was trying to hide just how shaken up he was, and to see how much, Keelan took a step toward him. Mike didn’t back away from him as he’d feared. He just looked expectantly at him, so Keelan changed back to his human form, feeling nauseous.

  “I’m gonna go take I shower. I hate shifting. I feel alien in my own skin.”

  When Keelan had finished, he found Mike in the cockpit.

  Oh, shit, did he call someone? No, he didn’t, he promised.

  Keelan still tiptoed closer.

  Mike was doing a search on all databases, and there were numerous links open in one edge of the screen.

  “What’s that?”

  Mike jumped. “I’m searching shapeshifters or form shifters. According to some old lexica, there was a species that could. Apterians. They’ve been extinct for hundreds of years. There are no pictures or renderings, but they were white. And very, very evil.”

  “Evil?”

  “Yeah, even the Free Species Association approved that they could be hunted and... eradicated. They raped everything, murdered... if you have the stomach for it, you can read it. My time in Delta, after you went to isolation, is a fucking sweet vacation compared to that.”

  Mike got up to walk the cockpit, and Keelan noticed that he wasn’t limping after having sat.

  “I’m not evil... not that evil,” Kee
lan mumbled and glanced at the screen.

  “No, and you have a human blood type. Not that the sparse information says what apterians had. But it shouldn’t be possible for species to reproduce across such different DNA. I mean, even Evo-races have trouble inter-breeding with humans. Your kind can’t be a result of those... rapes.”

  “Would be a good reason for a mother to throw her newborn baby to the rats, don’t you think?”

  Mike stared at him. “What do you know about... what it is you can do?”

  “That I have to ingest the blood. In my mouth. Or an open wound, I guess, because how else did I get the blond? I don’t even know who it is.”

  “So it’s DNA. And DNA is passed on when you make a kid. So, if you’re in another shape while... reproducing, then that has to be part of the DNA. But it has to be their DNA, too!”

  “You could ask the physician?”

  “No! If he goes to Lewis... or... did they take a blood sample from you?”

  “Not while I was conscious.”

  “This is a clusterfuck if I ever saw one. No one can know this, not with what I just read.” Mike’s voice shook, and he hadn’t stopped walking back and forth. He couldn’t even keep his arms at ease. Either they were crossed, or he rubbed his face, pointed at the screen, pocketed his hands, or swung them while walking some more.

  “Okay,” Keelan said.

  Mike walked to the door but stopped. He didn’t turn around.

  “They’re classified as predators, Keelan. Ever wonder why you’re so good at... violence?”

  “Yeah. I can smell fear.”

  Mike snapped his head around.

  “It’s as strong and recognizable as sticking your nose into a pot of freshly brewed coffee. But it doesn’t smell like coffee. More like that sickly-sweet stench of something rotting. Can you smell fear?”

  Mike shook his head. “Come on, let’s eat. We need to lay a few plans and get your new ID in place before we land.”

  Chapter Twenty-one

  When it came time to land on Verion four, Mike handed all reins to Keelan. He sat in the copilot seat and assisted verbally, giving advice—a few delivered in falsetto. But the landing proceeded without drawing too much attention.

  “You can let go of the Jesus-bar now, we’ve landed,” Keelan said, grinning.

  Mike sent him a displeased look. “Who couldn’t wish for a simulator right now? Just so you had something else to practice in.”

  “You should have seen the prison transporter.” Keelan laughed, once again seeing it hover and then just drop. He unbuckled.

  “Hey, you forgot something.”

  “What?” Keelan looked at the gauges. “Oh yeah.” He logged the last details into the log book and shut down the program.

  An hour later, they left the ship and stepped into the darkest period of Verion four’s day.

  “Are you sure about this?”

  “The only thing I’m not sure about is the shitty lawman ID in my pocket.”

  Mike chuckled and patted his pack. “Come on.”

  “I feel strange,” Keelan said.

  “With a plan like this? No wonder!”

  “No, not strange like that. But to walk here. Now, and... not having the threat of being thrown in jail again hanging over my head.”

  “What, you feel free?”

  “Nope, but it’s strange.”

  “Like walking a strange place yet, you seem to know the streets?”

  “Yup, that’s the one.”

  “I felt like that when I was back on Spec Edit twelve after having been in Delta.”

  Keelan wasn’t sure the two feelings could be compared. How could they? Mike had lived his entire life as part of society. To Keelan, that world was what went on on the other side of a border. Whether the border consisted of a window or bars didn’t matter.

  Keelan looked at his crono. “It’s about time.”

  “Okay, let’s fly.” Mike continued ahead while Keelan turned into an alley and knocked on a door. Someone opened.

  “Hey, Billy, is Alice here?”

  “You’re dead,” Billy said and looked him up and down.

  “No, and that’s why I need to talk to her.”

  Billy stepped aside and let Keelan in. Then they heard Alice yell from the bar.

  “Billy!”

  “Billy, get her out here. And the guy she’s most likely yelling at. Blond, blue eyes—he’s my distraction.”

  Billy sent Keelan a puzzled look but finally shook his head and made his way to the bar. Alice was still scolding. The door opened, and Billy came into the storage with Mike almost hanging from Billy’s grip, kicking in the air.

  “You could have told me that the bouncer was your size, beef-head!”

  Billy chuckled and let go. “Had to look real,” Billy said.

  “Billy, I meant out the front door!” The door to the bar opened again, and Alice came in, stopping short at the scene. Then she saw Keelan and her world seemed to slow down. “Keelan?” she whispered.

  “I’m only officially dead.”

  “Keelan!” she burst and hugged him tightly. He held her close and inhaled the scent of her hair. When she’d lain in his arms after they’d had sex, he’d tried to memorize her scent, but at night in Irgang, when he thought about her, he couldn’t recall it.

  “Don’t ever do that again,” she sobbed and kissed him greedily. Then she pulled back and hammered her fists against his chest, uttering a frustrated sound.

  Keelan pulled her back into the embrace and stroked her hair.

  “They said you killed a bounty hunter.”

  “Mercenary, and he survived.” Keelan pointed at Mike. “It was the other one who threw me in jail.”

  “How did you get out?”

  “Later. Right now, we need to talk to you. Can we go sit? I could really use a cold beer.”

  Alice nodded and smiled up at him. Then she sent Mike a look on her way to the bar that made Mike send Keelan an alarmed one in return.

  “Hey, grab a few empty crates on your way in,” Billy said.

  “Sure,” Keelan said and handed Mike an empty crate.

  “With that mother, I’m scared about meeting your daughter,” Mike whispered loudly. “Did you see that look? She wants to kill me.”

  Keelan noticed Billy’s gaping expression at the mention of a daughter, so Keelan put up a finger for him to keep it to himself.

  “No, she’s not going to kill you. Did you show her your badge?”

  “Yeah.”

  “That’s the cause of the feeling you’re having. She won’t kill you, but you might want to lock your self-esteem away someplace safe, or she’ll trample it to pieces. Isn’t she wonderful?”

  “You’re the perfect couple,” Mike mumbled and followed Keelan through the door—each with a crate in hand.

  The night had ended for Alice’s little bar, and there were only a few people left to work on closing up. Keelan and Mike dropped off the empty crates behind the bar. Keelan wanted physical contact with her and took her hand. She seemed to feel the exact same way.

  Billy placed three cold beers on the bar and left, so they took a seat.

  “What did you mean about you only being officially dead? And him?” She gave Mike another stare that made him glance insecurely at Keelan.

  “He’s okay. My new name is Kaleb Hunter. I’m supposed to be my own identical twin brother. I’m here to ask you to remember, that Keelan had an identical twin brother who also grew up in Churchburrow. We had him, well me, logged in their files. The fence is gone, Alice. Almost.”

  “Almost? Mr. Lawman over there?”

  “Is my partner.” Keelan grinned and slammed his own ID onto the counter. “Sending an escaped max lifer after other cons... it’s hilarious.”

  “Hysterically so.”

  “I have a mission.”

  “So you can’t stay?”

  “Longer than last time, yeah. Our mission starts here.”

  “Something
I’m not supposed to hear about,” she said and caressed his hand.

  “Well, you can hear about this one. What you told me that night. That we have a kid—”

  “It’s a long time ago, Keelan... Kaleb. I’ve learned to live with it.”

  “I haven’t had that kind of time, and I can’t forget about it. While I was in prison, I kept dreaming that I was running around in there looking for the child. That I kept hearing the child call for me. Call me Dad.”

  “What are you going to do?” Alice asked and gently turned his face toward her.

  “I’m gonna find our daughter.”

  She gaped at him.

  “Mike and I called in a few favors. We had a daughter, Alice. You might even have seen her, because she grew up in the Churchburrow Institute. She ran off a few years ago, and if we’re to catch her scent and track her, we have to start here on Verion four.”

  “A daughter?” Alice asked, her eyes welling up with tears.

  Keelan stroked her hair.

  “I sometimes look at young faces. Hope to recognize one. Recognize you or me in it.”

  “Our only problem is,” Mike said, “that we have to start out low-profile. Keelan just died, and Kaleb looks a lot like him. That could present a problem even though all lawmen are being sent information of a newly sworn in doppelganger lawman right now. Plus, Ratkins is on his way.”

  “What if he doesn’t buy it?” Alice asked.

  “Oh, he will. Or he’s intelligent enough to not open his trap about it.”

  Keelan pulled Alice in for a hug and inhaled her scent. She was back right where she belonged. In his arms.

  “Do you have a room... Mike, was it?” she asked.

  “No.”

  “I have a vacant one. You can sleep there.”

  “Where am I gonna sleep?” Keelan whispered.

  “On four crates in the storage room,” she said.

  Keelan snorted.

  “Where do you think?” She poked him in the chest.

  “Goodnight, Mike,” Keelan said and got up.

  “Hold up, boys, we need to finish up here, first.” She motioned to the empty bar.

  “You fill the crates, I’ll take the glasses,” Keelan said.

  “You fill the crates. I’m not supposed to lift anything that heavy with my arm yet.”