The Trinity (Fall of Venus)
Page 2
“Well, the fire represents fear obviously. Evie—well, I don’t think I need to explain that part. The boy is probably your fear of losing the baby. Or being a mother.”
“Yeah,” I murmur. “I suppose that makes sense.”
“So which is it?” Marcus asks as he crawls into bed next to me, propping himself up on his elbow.
“Which is what?”
“Are you afraid of being a mother or losing the baby?”
“Both, I guess. To be honest, I didn’t even want this baby until I was on the verge of losing him. The thought of it being Glenn’s . . .” My voice drifts off into silence as I sink my face into my palms.
“So what if it is?” Marcus pulls my hands away and grasps them tightly in his. “Pollen I told you I’ve forgiven you for that. If it’s Glenn’s, it’s Glenn’s. That’s not going to change the way I feel about you. Or the child. And you will love that child as much as if it were mine.”
“But I’m scared. I’m so scared of having his life in my hands. One wrong move on my part, one bad decision, and he could be gone.”
“That’s not going to happen. I won’t let that happen. And Pollen, you are going to be the best mother. You’ve already proven that with Evie.”
I look down, stroking my blue finger, and laugh sardonically. “Evie is with them now. What exactly have I proven?”
“That was not your fault. You did nothing wrong. They kidnapped you, remember?”
I press my lips together and nod. There really was nothing I could to do prevent Evie’s kidnapping. I’m beginning to see that now. But it doesn’t change the irresistible urge to go after her now. But how?
“Everything’s going to turn out fine, babe. You’ll see. We’ll get Evie back. And we’ll be on the first ship to A1D3.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Maybe not. But you said yourself that Granby wanted to give you some kind of award for your heroism at Crimson. Maybe you could talk him into putting you on the first Earth mission.”
My muscles relax and I turn to meet Marcus’s dashing blue eyes. He always has a way of brightening my sour moods. Granby offered me an advisory role in the Ceborec army after my many successful escapes from Crimson. I turned him down, but that was before I found out about Evie. Now, I’d love to take him up on his offer. But after the way I reacted after learning Evie’s fate, I doubt the offer is still on the table. I’m sure Marcus is using the Earth mission to entice me and draw me away from any stupid ideas I could be forming to rescue Evie. I haven’t come up with any yet. But I will.
“I’ll do that,” I say. “But I’m sure they won’t let me go while I’m still pregnant. Hopefully they’ll hold off until this little guy is born.”
“Speaking of this little guy,” says Marcus, rubbing my belly, being carefully to avoid my healing wound. “Have you thought of any names yet?”
“No.” I shake my head. “I don’t want to name him yet. Not until he’s born. Call me superstitious.”
“Okay,” Marcus smiles. “Just, please don’t name him Glenn, Jr.”
I laugh, grateful that Marcus can find humor in the fruit of my betrayal.
Chapter 3
Today I finally get to leave this prison.
I’ve been holed up in our apartment ever since Dr. Yipolis gave me to okay to leave the clinic after I returned from my most recent stint at Crimson. Marcus insisted that I stay in bed until my gunshot wound fully healed. And Granby insisted that I be watched at all times. Because crazy, five-month-pregnant Pollen with a hole in her abdomen might go rushing off on some brazen mission to save her niece from the clutches of the evil Trinity. Give me a break. Okay, yes, that fleeting idea did occur to me, but I’m not that stupid. So I’ve been staying in the apartment on bed rest for a whole week. And I’m dying to get out.
On the bright side, I did have my fair share of visitors. Marcus couldn’t attend to me constantly since he had to continue training with Granby’s newly formed army. He and Drake and Glenn swapped out duties, although Glenn had the mouse’s share of the burden. Although Marcus has forgiven us, he still trusts Glenn no more than he trusts a weatherman who predicts snow. Glenn was only called in when other resources had been exhausted. Occasionally Jansen and Nicron would pop by—always together. They’re not so secretive about their relationship anymore after what happened to Yoric. Timber hasn’t come by, which has me extremely worried considering she’s my best girlfriend. Marcus says she has her own issues to deal with. I suppose that’s true. She lost Yoric, and surely she feels responsible for what happened to Evie. She was under Timber’s care after all.
Drake comes by most of the time. Granby wanted him to spend some time recuperating and gaining back his strength before hitting the field again. Every time he comes over he brings a truckload of food. Eats every last crumb, he does. Over the past week, his flesh has started to thicken, the color has begun to radiate through his skin, and he looks more and more like my brother every day.
Drake doesn’t like talking about Crimson, so I don’t prod, though he did tell me a little about what happened to him. Turned out while he was deployed to fight in the Deimosian War down south, he discovered that one of his commanding officers in the North Cytherean Army was in league with the Trinity. Drake discovered their intentions to release the virus long before it came into play. But before he could leak the information he was gagged and sacked and sent off to solitary at Crimson, which just so happens to be owned by Frasier Trident, a key component of the Trinity (and I heard that he was simply a shareholder before the virus took out his competition and made him the sole owner). They kept Drake secure there, torturing him as punishment, I guess. I’m still not sure why they kept him so long. Why they didn’t just execute him. Perhaps they were trying to turn him. His sharp shooting skills would be an invaluable asset to the Crimson Enforcers. Or maybe he carries some genetic anomaly like Evie and they kept him for testing. She is his daughter after all.
Even though I’m well enough to get around now, I still have to be escorted everywhere I go, and everyone treats me like a fragile butterfly with shredded wings. Okay, yes, I went a little nuts when I found out Evie had been taken. It took Marcus, Dr. Yipolis and three nurses to sedate me, but not before I completely destroyed the exam room I was being held in. I hear one of the machines I crushed will need to be replaced and they’ve had to send out a party to scavenge some hospitals hundreds of miles away. Yeah, I overreacted a bit. But I’ve come to terms with it now. And I’m ready to get back in the game.
This morning I’m eager to accompany Marcus to training. I’m secretly hoping that Granby will let me participate although it’s more likely I’ll grow wings and fly away. I wish this pregnancy would be over already. It’s holding me back. Maybe I can persuade Dr. Yipolis to induce labor four months early. Yeah, not likely.
On the way to the armory, Marcus waves to some of his old construction colleagues, who are driving some unusual equipment out toward the perimeter. Two men are in the front seat of an electric cart towing a trailer, which carries some enormous cylindrical objects covered by a white tarp along with some shovels and spades. One man sits at the back of the cart, holding tightly to the huge coils of wires and cords hanging on both his shoulders.
“What is all that?” I ask. Marcus hasn’t been intentionally keeping me in the dark, but he’s only told me things on a ‘need to know’ basis, to avoid placing any unnecessary stress on me and the baby.
“They’re putting up additional security around the perimeter. In fact, now that you’re getting around, you’ll need to be aware of this. With the threat of attack, Granby’s ordered the engineers to build an electromagnetic fence just like the one at Crimson.”
I stop dead in my tracks and stare at the cart as it glides off in the distance, and then back at Marcus.
“Yeah, you and I are essentially trapped here.” He smiles. “If and when I ever let you out of my sight, stay away from the outskirts.”
“But why?” I ask.
I allow my mind to return to Crimson. To the rec room and cafeteria where I observed and interacted with the other survivors there. Something just doesn’t add up. Those weren’t soldiers. They were grieving mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, teachers, writers, farmers, builders. They weren’t fighters and certainly not killers.
“Marcus, why would Granby think that the refugees would join their army? You remember the people back there. If they wanted to fight they would have joined the Enforcers. This doesn’t make any sense.”
“You’re right, it doesn’t. But Granby knows what he’s talking about. Remember all those files you procured from Crimson?”
I nod. Before I rescued Drake I took it upon myself to finish the mission that Marcus, Glenn, and Yoric couldn’t before they were captured. I had intended to retrieve the plans for the shuttle, but instead, took every flash drive in sight. Who knows what secrets those may hold? Apparently, General Granby does.
***
Lying back on the hillside my face slurps up the warmth radiating from the sun. It’s the first time since I was kidnapped that I’ve been outside. And before that we were underground for nearly five months. The grass beneath me prickles my bare shoulders and arms. I close my eyes to block out the rusty haze in the sky and let myself relax and enjoy the moment. In the valley below I can hear General Granby shouting drills and the systemized order of the soldiers responding.
A slight rolling sensation in my belly jerks me out of my solace and I giggle when I see the protrusion moving just under my skin. I’d forgotten how magical this feeling is, the feeling of life growing inside me. The little peanut in there has got quite an elbow jab. I’m sure he’ll have the zeal of his daddy one day. Whoever that is anyway.
“They finally let you out and your taking naps on the lawn?”
I cup my hand over my eyes to filter the brightness of the sky and see Drake standing over me. He looks so much healthier now. A far cry from the skeleton he was a mere week and a half ago. His russet hair has been cropped short and his face clean-shaven. He sits next to me, dangling his arms over his bent knees. He’s in partial Ceborec army uniform—green and gray camouflage. Now that he’s started training with the others he’s back to himself and pushing his body and mind to the limit.
“Shouldn’t you be down there?” I point down at the valley where the other soldiers are running some sort of obstacle course. I spot Marcus climbing a flat wall that is about three feet taller than him. He struggles initially, but manages to swing his leg up over the top and straddles the wall, reaching down to help the others who can’t jump as high. Once his comrades are all safely over, Marcus propels himself down, landing smoothly on his feet.
“Granby didn’t want you up here alone. He asked me to stay with you for this round.”
I roll my eyes. “I’m not going anywhere. Tell him he can relax.”
“He’s worried about you Pollen. And so am I.”
“You needn’t be. I’m fine. How can you be so calm and collected? Knowing they have her.”
Drake’s expression contorts and he looks like he just ate a sour apple. I wonder what he thinks when he imagines Evie at Crimson. “We’ll get her back. But not by acting rashly. The Trinity know what they’re doing. They’ll be expecting us to come rushing in to rescue Evie. In the meantime, they won’t hurt her. She’s too valuable to them.”
“Drake, you should have seen her. They drained so much blood from her she looked almost as sick as you did.”
Drake presses his lips together, ire setting in to his olive green eyes. Part of me expects him to snap, wants him to snap. How can he remain so composed?
“We can’t act impulsively,” he says with restraint. “I’ve been discussing it with Granby. We will get her back, Pollen. You can count on that. Or I’ll die trying.”
I wince at those final words. I just got my brother back. I can’t lose him again. I reach out and touch his hand. Drake and I were never very touchy-feely with each other, despite our closeness. In fact the only time we’ve ever hugged was when he was deployed and even that was an incredibly awkward moment that resembled two mannequins embracing.
“You know, mom practically had a nervous breakdown when they told us you’d died.”
Drake remains silent and stiff, looking straight ahead as a true soldier would.
“We had a funeral and everything.”
An uncomfortable silence hangs heavily in the air. Drake’s never been the emotional type. Always kept his feelings locked up in a bulletproof safe.
“The virus got them, right?” he finally speaks up. I nod. “Did they go fast? I mean, did they suffer?”
“Not for long. Dad died first. Mom passed a few hours later. I buried them in the garden, with Spooky.”
Drake chuckles, breaking the tension. “Well, I’m glad to hear the cat got a place in the family cemetery.”
I glance down at the soldiers and catch Glenn peering up at me. He adjusts his eye patch and looks away quickly. The swelling around his nose has gone down and he almost looks like himself again except for the purple splotches of healing bruises. I didn’t see it happen, but I heard Drake beat the crap out of him after we escaped Crimson last week. Broke his nose and banged him up pretty badly. I haven’t seen Glenn much since then. In the few times he came by he’s been distant. I think he’s depressed because Marcus and I are back together. I’m not really sure what to say to him.
“I’m worried about Glenn,” I say aloud, to nobody in particular.
“What the hell, Pollen? That piece of shit got a fraction of what he deserves. He’s lucky to be alive.”
“Don’t, Drake.”
Drake shakes his head, frustrated. “That asswipe never deserved you Pollen. Even before all this shit happened. I’ll never understand what you saw in him. Or why you still care.”
“He had a hard life, Drake. Give him a break.”
“A hard life? A lot of people have had hard lives. That doesn’t give them an excuse to fuck up everyone else’s.”
“He cares about me. I know you can’t see it, but I can. He’s changed a lot since he was at Crimson. He stopped drinking. He committed himself one hundred percent to the Ceborec army. He even made a promise to rescue you when I was banned from joining the army.”
Drake huffs. “But that’s not what happened.”
“Yeah, because he was captured before he even had a chance.”
“You seriously think he would have released me? You’re delusional, Pollen.”
“Yes, I do believe that.” I sit up and face Drake squarely, though he still stares off in the distance. “Drake, you don’t understand. When Marcus and I were separated, Glenn really thought he had a chance with me. He would have done anything to win me back. He knew that if he came back from Crimson without you, any hope of winning me back would have been crushed.”
“You’re not going to change my opinion of him, Pollen.”
“I know. Just . . .” I pause to gather my thoughts and choose my words carefully. “If you can’t get along with him, stay away. Okay?”
“With pleasure.”
We sit for a few minutes in silence. I pull at the grass, tearing pieces off, and sprinkle them back on the ground. Drake sits straight up, still looking stern and resolute. I want to ask him what he’s thinking. But I’m too afraid of what he might say. So I decide a change of scenery is in order to clear our minds.
“Hey, I’m getting kind of tired of watching everybody else have fun. I think I’ll go visit Timber. Wanna come?”
“I suppose I don’t have a choice.”
I roll my eyes again. “I suppose not.”
Chapter 4
“Pollen?” Timber peers out from under her swollen eyelids.
She looks like she just crawled out of a rabbit hole and her voice cracks. “I’m so happy to see you.”
Timber wraps her arms around me and holds me for a full minute. Her usually spiky blond hair lies flat and lifeless on her head. Her complexion is pale and I can discern from the hollows in her cheeks that she hasn’t been eating. She’s always been petite, but now I can see the detailed protrusion of the bones in her wrists and neck. I want to be angry with her. I really do. I trusted her to watch over Evie and keep her safe. And she let me down. But it’s so hard to be angry with her after I watched Yoric die. He was going to propose to Timber and she never even knew. Now seeing her here like this, I’ve got nothing but compassion for her.
“Who’s this?” she asks spying Drake behind me.
“My brother. Drake.”
Timber’s eyes widen and her slightly morose expression turns to pure terror. Her arms tremble and I can see her eyes glisten with the beginnings of tears. She backs away cautiously.
“It’s okay, Timber. He’s not mad at you.” I glance back at Drake and gesture for him to come in. Timber huddles against a wall, trembling. I’ve never seen her so frightened.
“I’m so sorry,” cries Timber. “I’m so sorry, I tried to stop them. I never should have . . .” her voice trails off into sniveling whimpers as her back slides down the wall until she’s sitting on the floor grasping her knees.
“I know, Timber. It’s not your fault. I believe you.”
Drake squats down on the other side of Timber and hands her a wad of tissues. She gazes up at him in reverence; like he’s a god or something. She’s scared of him, and yet she seems drawn to him.
“They would have taken her regardless. They would have found a way,” whispers Drake.
My muscles tense. When I was at Crimson they took some amniotic fluid from me to see if the baby has the same peculiar genes as Evie. If he does, they said they wouldn’t need Evie after all. I haven’t told anyone yet. And I’m not sure that I will. I know it’s selfish, but I have to put my baby first now.