“Yes, I did. I thought it was because I was with you. After all, you are the prodigy who has befriended the ship klutz.” Alan scowled at the thought. He was far from being a klutz. It wasn’t his fault he had a lot of bad luck. “It wouldn’t surprise me if they thought I was your slave or something.”
It was Jaes’s turn to roll his eyes. “You are far too uptight. They’re curious about you, nothing more.”
Alan didn’t have a response for him, so he pressed onward with their jog. They would be approaching the view of Earth soon. Seeing the planet always cleared his head. “I’m not uptight.”
“Tell me about something that isn’t related to work. I’m tired of talking about it,” Jaes said, laughing.
Was there anything in Alan’s life that didn’t revolve around work? When was the last time he’d done something for himself or anything resembling fun? “You’ll just have to be disappointed, because I don’t have much to talk about. Unless you want me to tell you about the stupid computer game I played while I was killing time.”
“It’s a start. Has anything changed with your betrothed? What about your charges? Have you heard from your family?” Jaes eyes seemed to light up.
Alan peered over at him. “You want to gossip?”
“Remember, my family doesn’t want to contact me. I have to live vicariously through you,” Jaes mumbled. “And my charges aren’t as social with me as yours are with you. In that aspect I’m a bit jealous.”
His comrade was much more lonely than Alan had realized. The guy liked to unload his emotions and secrets, not to mention be around peers who treated him like an equal. No wonder he’d so desperately sought out Alan’s friendship.
After a moment of quiet passed, Alan decided to indulge his friend. “I haven’t heard anything from my family or home since I spoke to my father last. Letters are few and far between, given the distance they must travel, as well as the security checks. The last one I had received from my mother was good news. I think both me and my father being gone is hard on her. At the end of my service, I plan on leaving and going back to her for good. I don’t want to be gone from home anymore.” He risked a glance at Jaes, unsure of what he would think of his confession.
Jaes nodded, scratching his chin. “Understandable. You don’t want to see this whole thing through to the end?”
“I’m hoping the war will be done by the time I’m finished. That’s another five years away. Anything could happen between now and then.” It felt like a vain dream to have, but it got him through the long nights of being so far away from his family.
“Sometimes I feel the same way, but I don’t think I have the same luxury as you do to leave as soon as my time is done. It’ll be expected of me to continue, which is fine. I like my job. What I don’t like about it is how isolated it makes me. When my leave time comes, I’m thinking about traveling around on Earth instead of going back to Altura,” Jaes said.
Alan cracked a small smile. “There is a lot to see here. I’m ready to go back. The whole reason I joined the military was so I could find Alonauxoonamondae again. Now I have, and…” Everything feels like a complete waste.
“But you still have your charges, and I can tell that they respect and value you as an individual. That’s a whole lot different than mine treat me.” Jaes stopped jogging just as they reached the window displaying the view of Earth. He gazed out of it and pressed his hands against the glass. “My charges respect me as their leader, but I don’t think they see me as a person. I’m the alien and they think I’m arrogant enough to believe I’m better than them even though we’re the same species. The only difference is the planet we live on. Your charges have the opposite problem. They see you as human, and so they don’t respect your authority over them. Sometimes, I would rather be just a person. If only for a little while. Otherwise I feel as though I’m losing what remains of my heart.”
Slowly, Alan approached the window, taking in the sight of the massive blue, green, and brown orb in front of him. In a lot of ways, it looked a lot like a picture. It was far too beautiful and majestic to be real. Yet, the clouds swirled across the planet’s surface, proving it was real and thriving with life. It was so large, and he was so small.
Closing his eyes, Alan took in a cleansing breath. “Having a heart isn’t what it’s always cracked up to be.”
“If we stop feeling, then we’re no better than the other tribes who are manipulating this planet. I’ve noticed you’ve become harder. I don’t know if it’s to protect yourself, or because you truly don’t care anymore, but as a friend, and superior, I recommend finding something about this fight to be passionate about again.” Jaes didn’t say “or else,” let alone give any kind of ultimatum, but he might as well have. The sharp gaze he gave Alan suggested there would be consequences if he didn’t obey the order.
“And what are you passionate about?” Alan asked sharply. If he says Cadence, I will punch him.
Jaes shrugged. “I’m passionate about our cause. Stopping the spread of our ways as much as possible before this planet is ruined just like our last battlefield was…that’s very important to me.”
Yet, you treat your charges like soldiers instead of independent teenagers. He almost said the comment out loud. Holding it in seemed like a wiser decision for the time being. It was one of the few things the two did not see eye to eye on. There would be a better moment to pick that battle. Instead, Alan continued to stare out the window, watching a storm front come over the area where his charges were from. He’d gotten good at recognizing the weather patterns from orbit. They aren’t going to like getting more snow.
“I wouldn’t say I don’t care,” Alan said softly. “Passion is a strong word. I care about my charges and their wellbeing. That’s what keeps me going right now. They’ve been placed in my care, and I need to see that they stay there. If I give up, Sir Orioltogorthan will give my charges to someone else. That could prove disastrous.”
“Or they would be rehabilitated,” Jaes mumbled.
Alan raised an eyebrow. “It makes sense, but I’m not sure how I feel about that, considering some of the things that have happened between them. Then again, it would solve a lot of the unnecessary drama between the group.” Still, he couldn’t imagine what would happen if his team were to be rehabilitated. They wouldn’t be friends anymore, and as much as the fumbled relationship between Cadence and JD hurt them, it was an important life experience to retain.
“If we can do it to the enemy, we can do it to anyone. Or that’s what our technicians are trying to figure out.” He clapped Alan on the back. “At least then all of this would be nothing more than a dream. Going back to normal has its perks.”
“Yes,” he mumbled. Yet there was a pain in his heart at the thought of his charges not remembering who he was. Perhaps he cared a lot more than he realized.
Chapter Eleven
Whenever Orlando was distressed in the past, he went to the cemetery and visited with Dallas in the mausoleum that had become his best friend’s final resting place. Even though Dallas was dead, just being able to be near him was always a help. Not to mention, Orlando could talk without having to worry about anyone talking back; he enjoyed the pure silence inside the cold stone building. With Dallas resurrected, Orlando could talk to him in person, something he was still getting used to.
He glanced over at his friend. Every day, Dallas’s appearance changed. When he had first been brought back to life, he resembled the thin, lanky, fifteen-year-old boy he’d been at death. Most of his dark hair had fallen out, his skin had grown significantly paler, and his body was even thinner than normal. His muscles fell into atrophy and disintegrated along with the rest of his organs once he started to decompose. Whatever Nia did to him with her powers, she was able to make him much stronger at a fast pace.
Every day, Dallas progressed further and grew up a little more. Almost as if his body were playing catchup and he was aging at an accelerated rate. His body was filling out more and gained at le
ast four inches in height, so that he towered over Orlando. Little by little his shoulders broadened, making him look more like an adult. The dark hair on his head was no longer missing in patches, but cut short and even against his skin.
Hopefully, there wouldn’t be any negative consequences to cheating death.
“You worry too much,” Dallas said with a smirk. He shoved his hands into his pockets and shivered. The two were walking through one of the many tunnels that littered the cities where Orlando lived. One connected to his mansion.
Orlando shrugged. “I would have preferred to drive back home, but I can’t run the risk of my parents seeing you. They’re up in all of my business lately. There’s no way we could sneak in through one of the main doors.”
“No, I meant you’re worrying too much about the consequences of cheating death, as you so elegantly put it.”
“Reading my mind again?” Orlando rolled his eyes.
Dallas laughed. “I can’t stop it from happening. There’s no off button to my power. Thoughts pour out of people like they’re talking right at me. Sometimes I can drown them out and ignore them, but I still hear it. Trust me, I’d rather not know what’s going on through your head.”
“At least there’s that.” He paused. “Man, I feel bad for you when you’re around Nia then. She’s got to be a piece of work up there.”
“Yes, but not for the reasons you’re imagining,” Dallas said quietly.
Another shrug, and Orlando put his hands into his pockets as well. The weather was warming to above zero degrees, but it was also far from being comfortable outside. Inside the tunnels, things were only slightly warmer since there was no wind chill to fight against. Where’s Angela’s fire power when I need it?
Dallas chuckled. “Am I ever going to meet her?”
“Who?”
“Angela.”
With a groan, Orlando hunched up deeper inside of his coat, feeling a slight burning on his cheeks. If he was caught blushing, he’d never hear the end of it. He couldn’t believe he was doing it in the first place. Blushing was not his thing. The fact he’d been caught thinking about Angela threw him off-guard and was embarrassing, like he’d done something wrong even if he hadn’t.
“Well?” Dallas pressed.
“Didn’t you already meet when she gave you the prepaid cell phone I bought you?” He lifted one of his eyebrows.
“That’s not getting to know her. We said hi and that was about it.”
“You said you wanted to meet her, not get to know her.”
“I figure she’s important to you, so I might want to,” Dallas said.
Rather than respond, Orlando continued on in silence. Angela was important to him; there was no denying it. So were JD, Cadence, and Alan. It wasn’t time to get them all acquainted with Dallas. Then again, he’d never had to share Dallas before. Back when he was first alive, Dallas hadn’t had any friends beyond Orlando. What was so wrong with him selfishly enjoying some time just the two of them again? Why did he have to bring everyone else into the mix too? It was bad enough Nia was in love with the guy. She hogged up a lot of time, and Orlando still had a lot to make up for.
After a long moment of silence passed, Dallas nudged him. “Doesn’t have to be tomorrow or anything. Just some time in the not-too-distant future, I would like to hang out with her sometime. I might be a loner, but I do enjoy the occasional social interaction.”
“Fine, in the not-so-distant future, I’ll let you have more than a one-word conversation with her. I suppose after a while, you’ll be tired of being cooped up inside of the mansion all of the time anyway.” He huffed, pushing out all of the frustration in that one breath. “Speaking of living in the mansion, you’re going to be sequestered to one wing. There should be enough space to wander around. Everything you need will be there. Food, cooking supplies, bed, shower, and I’ll bring over some video games and all that too. Obviously, you can’t stay there forever.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Didn’t think you would. It won’t be long until I can get you your own condo or house or whatever. I think I can talk to Alan about getting you some kind of legit fake identity too.”
Dallas grinned. “Now that would be awesome. Then I wouldn’t have to live in hiding all of the time.”
“One more year, and then we can do more stuff together.” If Orlando had things his way, they’d share the same apartment for a while and live like the rich bachelors they were. Not like Orlando planned on following the stereotype of a trust fund baby. Blowing all of his money on alcohol and girls was a waste of time. The idea of being able to spend his inheritance as he chose, to travel, and to have official independence was nice all the same. There was a lot of world to see and a lot of things he could do in it. Hopefully, he’d have a steady girlfriend to share the experience with.
“So catch me up on what I’ve missed,” Dallas said.
Snorting, Orlando did what he did best—dodged the topic. “You already know. Remember? Didn’t you stalk me? You haven’t missed anything.”
“I meant now. I can’t exactly stalk you anymore. I worry about you, man.”
“Why? I’m not going to do anything.”
“You’re already doing a lot. Alturan war ring any bells?”
“Nothing has happened in the past three days. Alan mentioned something about taking Sprout’s memories away from her and that we’re getting a new team member.”
Dallas raised both of his eyebrows. “You call that nothing?”
“I shouldn’t be talking about this stuff with you,” he mumbled.
“Why not?”
“Because you can actually talk about it with other people now?” Orlando gave him a sideways glance.
“Right, my social circle is so big,” Dallas said, his voice rich in sarcasm.
Taking a calming breath kept Orlando from snapping off something equally sarcastic and potentially rude. “You talk to Nia. I know you two are all in love, or whatever, but for obvious reasons I don’t exactly trust her. I do, enough to know she’s not complete bad news. Something about her still rubs me the wrong way, though. Probably the fact that she doesn’t feel remorse over being vicious.”
“One of her more endearing qualities,” Dallas muttered. “She and I might be dating, but you’re still my best friend. I’ve been watching you deal with this from the beginning. You don’t have to do it alone anymore. Especially since we’re…you know…the same.”
How the same were they? If Dallas knew everything, then he had to know the truth about Orlando’s heritage. Voice shaking, Orlando swallowed his pride and asked what he really wanted to know. “Are you…from Altura too?”
Dallas gave a slow nod and the tiniest of smiles. “My parents worked with yours for a long time. After I decided to off myself, they went home again. I’m sure they thought about bringing me back with them, but obviously if that had happened I wouldn’t be here now. Double-edged sword.”
“You mean, you don’t know if they wanted to take you back?” Orlando asked. “Didn’t you stalk them too?”
“Briefly, just to see why they were gone all of the time. Like, what could be more important to them than me.” His friend clenched his fists. “Then I learned about all of this Altura stuff, and let them go. If I try to find the answer about why I was left behind, I might just get mad at them all over again. It’s easier to forget about them and let it go. You know what I mean? Earth was the only home I knew, anyway, so in that regard it makes sense to leave me back. The one time I went to visit Altura, I saw a little shrine in the living room, so I guess that counts for something.”
When Orlando looked over at his friend, he noticed tears in his eyes. Dallas had never been the sensitive type. He was always so cool and collected. Seeing him express any other kind of emotion was strange, and Orlando wasn’t sure how to react. Did he give him a hug? Drop the subject? Let him keep talking? Press further? Being a friend was something he was severely out of practice in. When it came to Dalla
s, he couldn’t mess it up again. Second chances were rare, third ones even rarer.
They were both quiet for a moment. “So we’re both aliens,” Orlando said with a sour laugh.
“Pretty cool, huh?”
“Sure.” Though he wasn’t all too sure he thought it was “cool.” Alan he could accept as an alien, despite how human he was. Coming to terms with Alturans in general being a lot like the people of Earth was something Orlando was working on. Actually being one of the aliens was a whole other thing entirely. He didn’t feel like an alien, or like he was any different than any of his “normal” friends. There had to be a mistake.
“If you need to talk…”
“I’ll find a therapist,” Orlando snapped.
Dallas raised both of his hands up in front of him, defensively. “Just offering. I’m cheaper than a shrink.”
“And you’ve also dealt with enough of my problems.” It was always about me. Wasn’t that one of the reasons he couldn’t handle being alive anymore? I was too selfish. No matter what Dallas told him, Orlando would always blame himself for his best friend’s suicide.
For a while, all Dallas did was stare at him, and it drove Orlando nuts. What could possibly be so interesting about him to look at?
“What?” Orlando snapped. “Say whatever you’re thinking.”
“I’m just trying to figure out where to start talking,” Dallas said.
“Anywhere.”
“Thanks,” his friend mumbled, then louder, “I’m worried about Nia. Her parents suck. When I finally get my own place, I might ask her to stay with me for a while.”
Both of Orlando’s eyebrows shot up. “Moving a bit fast, are we? Didn’t realize things were that serious between you two.”
“They aren’t.” A slight pink spread over Dallas’s otherwise pale skin. “Like I said, I’m worried. Her mom is abusive and destructive. Her dad won’t do anything to protect her. She needs to get out of there before she does something stupider than some of the other stuff she’s tried. Since I came back, she’s relaxed some, but now that I’m not there to watch her…What I want to know is if it would make you mad since you’re going to technically be my landlord.”
Opheliac Page 12
