by K. L. Lewis
“What now?” he gloated as Yue came by, nudging him aside on the way into the doom. “No one likes a sore loser, Yue!”
CHAPTER 22 – R&R
DeMarcus and Yue’s jaw dropped at the view inside the crescent. Solar trees and terminal fountains among three floors, bushes of blue, green, and purple hues dividing the crescent from the natural beach, a massive half-moon shaped pool with a large white orb raining water at the crescent’s center, and three smaller pools bridged by tubes between them as golden rays poured down from above. It was sprawling waterpark under one roof, and that was just this one crescent.
Pale soft-bodied manta drones cruised underwater with the swimmers, while red and white striders skidded on the surface. Mischievous fish drones in all colors and shades darted through the waters, filtering the pool, and peeking out with squirts of water at swimmers passing by. And between the walkways of each were teardrop pods scattered near the snack bars between the bushes.
An eye-catching sight, but less so than Gabby in her blue and red two-piece as she walked by with a smile at DeMarcus on her way to a Jacuzzi. It was like his brain left his body as his feet followed his heart to join her, only for Yue to tug him by the ear over to the main pool. “Enough drooling, lover boy,” she teased. “You can have fun with her another time.”
“If there is another time,” DeMarcus grumbled along the way.
Jade and Tyrone stood by the main pool and leapt into the water, waiting for Yue and DeMarcus. The two cannonballed into the pool, swimming up and roughhousing each other underwater as a manta drone flew overhead.
Two fish drones joined the fun and took sides, spitting streams of water at the other. Tyrone sunk under the surface with a red fish tugging him along. He swam behind Yue, pulling her by the legs to the pool floor as DeMarcus stroked over and sank to the ground from Yue kicking off his chest to the surface. Bubbles flew from his mouth as he smiled at his sister glaring down at him and Ty before diving back down for a second round. Ty taunted her on her way over, and DeMarcus floated by as she turned after him.
His lungs losing air, he resurfaced with a huge gasp and turn to the voices echoing from a public news-screen hovering overhead. On screen was that Themiskyran Councilor he met yesterday, that red-headed human named Aiela Falay speaking over a joint operation with the British Isles and Iuvia. “With the efforts of our Iuvian partners and the British government, we were able to prevent the sale of a volatile nanostrain that had intended to be sold to the Monumans,” she said. “While we’re unsure what the full details of their intentions with this technology, the success of yesterday’s operation in Brighton has guaranteed that it stays out of the wrong hands.”
Red Phoenix, no doubt. But DeMarcus was told not to speak about it to anyone. As he drifted in the calm waters with his drone circling around, he noticed Jade sitting alone on the edge of the pool looking up at the news-screen as well. He dismissed his drone, then floated over to her, greeted by her warm smile. “Having fun?” she asked.
“Yeah,” DeMarcus answered, rising from the water and sitting beside her. “It beats having bullets fly around.”
Jade smiled and blushed at his eyes ogling her up and down, then her eyes wandered down to the scar on his stomach. “What happened to you there?”
DeMarcus covered the scar and turned away. “I’d rather not talk about it.”
Jade leaned closer. “It’s okay. You can tell me.”
The two were interrupted by Yue shouting in pain. “Ow, cramp! Cramp!”
Ty laughed. “Should’ve waited 30 minutes after eating.”
DeMarcus kept watch as Ty went to Yue’s aid, only for Ty to stop and yelp in pain at a cramp in his side. “Ah, dammit!”
“Yeah, that’s what you get!” Yue taunted.
DeMarcus shook his head at their banter as he dropped in the pool and swam over to them. He was only a few strokes in before he stopped at Gabby soaring through the waters and dragging the two to the edge with the aid of a manta. “Well, that’s one problem dealt with,” he said as he returned to Jade.
Jade chuckled at the two laying on the shore. “I’m guessing those two are always like that?”
“They never stop jabbing at each other,” said DeMarcus.
As the hours passed by and the lights faded among the night sky, DeMarcus lounged on the benches near an automated campfire with Jade and Tyrone. The news went onto an HDF assassination plot in Illina foiled by Iuvia and the NAF. DeMarcus and Tyrone worried over their friend Sarah who was in the city, but were relieved when she answered their call.
“I’m fine, guys,” Sarah said. “Don’t worry about me.”
“You know we can’t help that,” said Tyrone. “Glad you’re safe though.”
“Hey, look!” DeMarcus pointed. “It’s LaBelle!”
The group’s eyes focused on Capt. Ara LaBelle appearing on the news after her forces stopped the HDF, mentioning how odd that the Amalgam Concord were absent for this kind of stunt.
“Yeah, it’s not like the Amalgam to be missing in action like this,” said Tyrone.
“Speaking of action,” Sarah said with a teasing gaze at DeMarcus.
DeMarcus’s brow rose at her glancing at Ty while giving a teasing smile and nod back at him. “What?” DeMarcus asked, looking back at the two.
He noticed they were looking at Jade leaning closer to him. He had no clue what that had to do with anything, but he never got another word out when Yue’s booming laughter hit his ears as she and Gabby returned from the shack.
“I’m just sayin’, you were all over my brother like he was your boyfriend,” said Yue. “Pretty bad impression.”
Gabby giggled. “Hey, he’s cute. But maybe I did come a bit strong.”
“A bit?” Jade sassed, sparking a slight chuckle from DeMarcus.
DeMarcus leaned away with a smirk over his shoulder, seeing Sarah cover her snicker at the sneer Gabby gave Jade. “Uh oh. Careful, DeMarcus. I’m gonna log off before their claws come out.”
Sarah hung up, leaving DeMarcus puzzled as the group gathered closer to the fire.
“Don’t mind her,” said Tyrone. “Anyway, Gabby, we never really got to know much about you. Like where you’re from and all that.”
“Well, I can’t say there’s all that much about me,” said Gabby. “I was born in the Novae Republics, though my dad’s from Torvil. I’ve been through Asia and Africa during the Reconstruction, sometimes helping my dad with whatever grunt work he was doing.”
Yue tilted her head at Tyrone. “Almost like a certain someone else’s granddad.”
“Yeah, but sometimes traveling attracts trouble,” Gabby continued. “Getting in a few fights, and watching people eager to make a scene can really open your eyes to the world.”
Yue snickered. “You fighting? You look too delicate to throw down.”
“Sweetie, I don’t go looking for them, but this rose has thorns,” said Gabby, sparking another laugh in Yue. “Oh, and don’t get me started on the places where bullets love flying around. That’s how I met Jade in the Sinic Republics. We kept each other safe and ran for cover when the Fronties went at it with the Pacific Sphere Group, and we’ve been friends since.”
“I still remember it like it was yesterday,” Jade gloomed.
Yue sighed. “I know the feeling. I still remember when my mom and I ran for cover in Grand Detroit during a militia attack. They hit when you least expect it.”
The story stirred the uncomfortable memory in DeMarcus of his near-death. It swirled in his head in a whirlpool of rage as he once again wondered where his killers came from.
Yue took a deep breath, her voice becoming faint as she continued. “It made me realize how helpless I was—when I saw those killers chase DeMarcus away from the store I was in, I didn’t know what to do. My mom tried to stop me when I ran out to find him…and then I saw him lying in his own blood on the sidewalk.”
But he survived. And it was the day DeMarcus was forever be thankful for.
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“Wow…that’s really sad,” said Gabby, turning to DeMarcus. “I’m…sorry.”
“Is that how you got that scar?” Jade asked, pointing at his stomach.
DeMarcus covered his scar, but the cat was already out of the bag. “Yeah. But I’m still alive. That’s what matters.”
“I don’t know what I’d do if I lost someone close to me,” said Yue.
Gabby face was a stiff as she sulked over Yue’s words. “It feels like a part of you died. My brother was killed years ago by people from Serali when he was visiting my sister in Italy. It was because of that she joined the military, and my dad almost re-enlisted himself.”
DeMarcus’s jaw locked. He knew the feeling himself. It’s not easy, and far from nice. It’s a harsh struggle overcoming the loss of a loved one, but if they were still here seeing you in such heavy sorrow, they’d tell you to learn and adapt. To move on, even if they’re not there with you.
Next stop was London as everyone packed their bags and rented auto-vans for a cross country drive. The adults took one van leading the pack, with Keith and Jun playing chaperones for the teens and the little ones. Sitting alone at one of the tables, DeMarcus tapped on the keys of his OmniMorph in search around the Great Lakes back home. His face on its screen, his eyes shifted at the others chatting around him, cautious of anyone who might take notice. With the Amalgam Data Slip laid between his lap and the window, the last thing he wanted was anyone to see what he was up to.
GLDET and GLILL, what did they mean in the Great Lakes of the NAF? Were the last three letters of each an abbreviation too? But of what? Did he need a dictionary just to match the letters? That would take more time than he’d want to spend.
What about the numbers: 42-83 and 41-87? Maybe that would pull up something? Typing the numbers in only gave him the latitude and longitude positions, both covering and overlapping such a wide area that it was impossible to know anything specific from either one.
He threw his head back and sighed. Why was this so difficult?
“What’s wrong?” Gabby approached his table and sat down right beside him, shoulder to shoulder with her eyes locked on his. He didn’t bother hiding the Data Slip from her, having already known about it after spotting it over his leg and turning to the globe on his screen. “You searching the locations online? Good luck. The Amalgam doesn’t make it that easy to find their locations.”
“I figured I’d get some idea from it.” He folded his OmniMorph, then wrapped it on his wrist, and his head rested on the back of his seat. Then something heavy landed on his shoulder, and he turned to Gabby resting her head on him. “I wish I could be of more help,” she said.
DeMarcus folded the Data Slip and stuffed it in his pocket. “Don’t worry about it,” he said. “At least I found something.”
Looking ahead, he caught Yue squinting at them. Then she shook her head and returned to her OmniMorph, leaving the two be. At least the claws weren’t coming out at Gabby anymore. Good thing too, as he felt Gabby’s fingers sliding up his arm as her head moved toward his neck. He fought the smile growing on his face as her wavy hair brushed against his skin, and a sweet smell tickled his nose.
“Oh, sod off and get a room!” Jade shouted across from them, shaking her head the moment DeMarcus looked over.
“What? I didn’t do anything!” DeMarcus said.
“Yeah, you’re totally not holding her hand,” said Yue.
DeMarcus looked down at his fingers laced with Gabby. He turned back to Jade, who grumbled and rolled her eyes at the window. Then there was Tyrone, who merely gave him a shrug. Jun meanwhile leaned on her wrist with a crooked smirk back at DeMarcus. What did he have to say now?
It all fell out of his mind as the hills descended to a cratered desert ahead. Dark soil, ashes, and pebbles piled around the puddles of grass as automated dozers and tractors flattened the ground, with green disc-shaped drones hovering above and peppering the land with sharp cones. “Dang, what happened here?” Tyrone asked.
“This was where the one of the Battles of Britain took place,” said Keith. “Back when the Fronties were bigger than they are, they salted this whole landscape in their invasion. It was far worse than it is now.”
He pointed at trees across the next hill they drove over, where more drones continued peppering the land with cones before the city that rose in the distance. “It took a long while to reforest this land and repair the damage done since, and this was one of the luckier areas.”
There was always a scar of the Solar War somewhere out there it seemed.
After a half hour of riding, they reached southern London, stopping at the Saffron Square. It was much smaller than the Megaplazas back at the NAF, but no less busy with its bustling shops and cafes at the edge of the walls from the walkways at the center. DeMarcus nearly tripped on himself as Gabby tugged him along, and every time he looked back at Jade following behind, he noticed her emanating a dark chill as her lips pursed at him. It was like he was given a choice not to follow, or rather, it was not often he had opportunities like this with a girl he grew fond of. But as they browsed one of the clothing stores at the end of the square, a chill went up his spine from a parahuman woman on her OmniMorph passing him and Gabby.
He thought was being paranoid, but for a moment he thought he saw the woman back in Brighton speaking to that strange man who shadowed him yesterday. He thought he was being followed, but that couldn’t be right. “Yes, I found it,” the woman said. “It’s the same as the one in Brighton, although I doubt it’ll be any trouble. It’s not a trophy worth worrying about.”
“Hey, Gabby? I think the others are waiting on us.”
Gabby squinted an eye at him. “Why are you whispering?”
He tilted his head at the parahuman on her OmniMorph ahead. “That lady, didn’t we see her in Brighton yesterday?”
Gabby glanced at the parahuman, and her ear twitched, then she leaned toward DeMarcus when she got the hint. “Let’s get out of here,” she whispered.
They went toward the exit, resisting the urge to look back at the woman behind them. “Just ignore her, just ignore her,” DeMarcus muttered as they walked out.
“Be careful, more like,” said Gabby. “No telling who she might be talking to.”
“I doubt it’s someone serious,” DeMarcus said. “Not like it has anything to do with us, right?”
“And if it does?” Gabby asked with a sharp look in his eyes. “Remember what happened back in Brighton?”
“Yeah, and I’ve been training in case militants came storming after us,” DeMarcus quipped. “You see these guns?”
DeMarcus flexed his arm, barely getting a bulge of thin arms, but it was worth seeing Gabby laugh and play along when she pulled herself closer to him. “Just be careful, for me at least. I do wanna see your handsome face again someday,” she said with a tap to his nose.
DeMarcus shrugged and smiled. “If I’m still single.”
Gabby smirked and narrowed her eyes as her face drifted toward his. “Oh, I doubt that’ll be an issue.”
“Ahem.” They turned around to Yue and Jade standing behind them, both with their arms crossed. “You lovebirds look like you’ve seen a ghost,” said Yue.
“Something like that,” said DeMarcus. “So, what next?”
“Just browse around and wait for our parents, I guess,” said Jade. “There’s still plenty to do around here.”
“I’m all shopped out here,” said DeMarcus. “They got any magna-rinks here?”
“Why would you want to go magna-skating when you’ve got two gorgeous ladies to keep you company,” Yue teased, with Gabby and Jade giving sultry looks at DeMarcus.
“Well…I…um…uh…” DeMarcus’s yammering did him little favors as he wondered how to deal with all this attention, backing away toward Ty standing near a fountain.
Ty looked back at him, then turned around to the girls. “The hell’s going on here?”
Perhaps he can be of assistance and bail
him out. “A little help?” DeMarcus whispered.
With a wide grin, Tyrone obliged. “Sure thing, bud. You gotta live a little and enjoy yourself.” He pushed DeMarcus toward the girls, but DeMarcus went stiff and rocked backwards, pulling Ty down into the fountain with him.
The girls laughed as Ty grimaced at DeMarcus. “Really?”
Well, at least DeMarcus didn’t look like a fool alone, and got a good chuckle from it. “Well, ya gotta live a little.”
CHAPTER 23 – A GIFT TO REMEMBER
Spending their remaining days at a hotel in London’s South Bank district, the group of teens gathered at a table with Shen, Keith, Abrams and the Zhengs as they exchanged rec-work experiences in Asia and Africa. Everything they brought up was treated like a powder keg: from the founding of Themiskyra, to the rise of Serali in Mid-Asia in their challenge to the Monumans south of their borders, it was all another side of the militant problem that dominated the modern era.
Abrams grumbled when those last two countries were mentioned. “Never thought the Monumans and Seralis would last as long as they did,” he said. “We thought we’d let them wipe each other out and rebuild from there, but they almost caused another war.”
“So, what happened?” DeMarcus asked.
“They tried to get an edge over each other and everyone around them,” said Qin. “Serali once tried negotiating a treaty with Themiskyra, only for them to discover it was a ruse.”
“I guess I should be thankful for those two screwing things up though,” Abrams said. “I probably would’ve never met my first wife while we were working in Themiskyra together.”
Qin cleared his throat. “Thanks to my help.”
“I was gettin’ there!”
“And neither of you would’ve gotten anywhere were it not for Sekhmet,” Keith added.
“Remind me where she was at the time?” Abrams asked.
