by Ain Soph
Dryden clears his throat, and Edric glances over at him, all of the malice from before returning to his expression. He and Dryden glare at each other for a minute longer before Dryden speaks up, “There’s something wrong with him, Luxem. I don’t know if his feelings have driven him toward obsession, but he can’t continue the mission with us.” He turns his back on Edric to face me. “We need to leave him behind or I’m afraid he’s actually going to act on these violent impulses. He has the same emptiness of the people in the Void. I thought a saw a flash of it before, but now, I’m sure. I pushed him into a corner, and all I got back was some prerecorded reaction. He’s just a husk, operating on orders from someone or something else.”
I want to tell Dryden that I know Edric better than that. I want to tell him to stop talking about Edric as though he isn’t even there. I want to tell him that Edric disappeared, that he doesn’t remember any of it, that I think he’s somehow connected to Project Artian, but I never get the chance. One second, Dryden’s talking about his analysis of Edric in a clinical, dispassionate manner; the next, he’s lying face down on the ground with blood matting his scalp. I widen my eyes in horror, a silent scream choking my throat, and raise my eyes to see Edric standing behind him, a blood spattered rock in his hand and a face of equal horror to mine. When he meets my eyes though, all signs of remorse leave his face, and instead he wears an empty stare. I want to run, I want to check for Dryden’s pulse, I want to stay and fight, but I remain rooted to my spot, unmoving except for my heaving breaths. What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? Edric said he’s not himself. Dryden said he’s being controlled. Can I somehow break through to Edric enough to stop him?
It’s a good idea- appealing to Edric’s better nature, but something inside me is broken, and as much as I will myself to move or say something, I can’t. Nothing on me is functioning correctly. I can’t even cry or scream properly, but I know my face is still twisted into a mask of terror. In mercenary training, we’re taught how to deal with violent Artifs and malicious humans, but not best friends, not family. He’s being controlled. I have to believe that. All signs are pointing toward an outside force possessing his mind. But, what does that mean? If I fight him, am I actually hurting the innocent part of Edric? The real Edric? Even if I tried to fight him, I have no idea how capable I’d be right now. It feels like my entire mind has been wiped clean. I can barely remember to breathe.
When Edric takes his first step toward me, that’s when I spring into action. Finally, my body’s responding. I bolt upwards from the ground and kick Edric as hard as I can in his groin, catching him off guard. He slams onto the ground in pain, while reaching for my foot. He wants to pull me down with him, so we’re on the same level. I jump back, yanking it out of his grasp. How long will he be down for? Do I have enough time to check Dryden for signs of life? If he’s still alive though, what am I going to do about it? He’s passed out, and there’s no way I’ll be able to drag him away to safety before Edric recovers. My best option is to knock Edric out. If he’s unconscious, I can find something to tie him up and keep him from hurting Dryden anymore… or me.
Edric groans, still in pain, and grunts out a slurred sentence I have to strain my ears to understand, “I’m- not- going- to- hurt- you.” I ignore him and look around for something I can use as weapon. There’s the rock Edric used on Dryden, but I hesitate before moving to pick it up. The gray of the stone is smeared with deep red, and I release a shaky exhale before grabbing it with both hands. I turn to knock Edric out with the rock, but my hesitation costed me precious seconds. He’s already recovered and on his feet. I thought for sure he’d be down for longer, but I was wrong. Edric lunges for me, catching me off guard and knocking the wind out of my lungs.
At some point during Edric’s tackle, I bit my tongue. Coppery blood starts filling my mouth. I want to spit it out but Edric’s body is too heavy on mine. I can’t lift my head enough to spit, so instead, I swallow it down, trying to keep myself from gagging. Edric finally lifts his body off of mine to sit cross legged on the ground and groans again, rubbing his head. He must have hit it off the ground when he tackled me. I try to stand up and kick him, but my legs won’t hold me. I fall back to the ground with my vision spinning. He didn’t hit his head off the ground. It must have smacked into my own. Surprisingly there isn’t that much pain. It must be from my adrenaline, or maybe it hit hard enough that I’m only half conscious right now. Regardless, I need to get out of here. I have to fight. I only have so much time before I’m going to black out.
Edric stands up, brushing the dirt off his pants. I want to stand, but despite my best efforts, I can’t. Black spots are still dancing at the corner of my vision. I need to recover- quickly. I rush to stand again, but fall back down onto my knees. The impact of our head was too much for me. How is Edric functioning right now? He seems completely fine. Still, I need to hold onto whatever semblance of consciousness I can. Edric kneels beside me and puts a hand on my shoulder, but I mumble for him to stop touching me before crawling away from him. I doubt he understood anything I said. I can barely understand myself. Sloan watches me struggle to move my body away from him and sighs, running a hand through his hair. “Luxie, you have to forgive me sometime. I did all this to save you.”
I look up to see Edric giving me a lopsided grin like he has so many times in the past. It makes me sick to see him trying to act so familiar now, as though nothing’s happened. It’s like since Dryden is taken out of the equation, Edric’s back to his normal self. Somewhat. He still isn’t acknowledging the carnage around us, and Dryden’s unconscious body lying only a few feet away. I whimper at his smile and back away from him until my head bumps into a tree. I hiss and hold it in my hands. Now, the pain’s setting in. Edric saunters toward me, taking his time. He knows I don’t have the strength to go far. “Don’t be scared of me, Lux. That hurts. I was only trying to protect you, and now look, the threat is gone, and we can finish our mission in peace.” My tears finally spill over, leaving a hot trail down my cheeks. I try to stand for another time on shaky legs. It feels impossible to fight with my head this clouded, but I’ll give everything left in me to get away from Edric. As I finally come to a full stand, still leaning on the tree for support, Edric reaches me and tenderly cups my cheek. “If this is about your head, I’m sorry. But, everything will be okay if you just let me take care of you.” Edric’s eyes take on an eerie glow as he cocks his head to the side in an unnatural angle. “I’ll take care of you forever.”
I gasp a choked breath, my throat still thick with blood from my injured tongue, and push him away with as much force as I can muster. He stumbles back for a moment before quickly recovering. I know my shove wasn’t strong, but it caught him off guard enough for me to get away and that’s all I wanted. Before he can lunge for me again, I run around the tree and try to sprint deeper into the forest. If I can make it farther into the darkness of the trees, it will be easier to lose Edric. My head is pounding and my vision’s fading fast, but I need to find a hiding spot. That’s all I have to do- find a spot where I can finally let myself pass out, one that’s hidden from Edric’s stalking eyes.
Suddenly, I hear shouts coming from, what sounds like, all around me. I care less about what they’re saying than their volume. My head was already pounding from smacking into Edric’s. I must have a concussion- and a bad one at that- if I’m this sensitive to noise. I cover my ears, trying to do anything I can to quiet the voices, but even with my throbbing head, I don’t stop running. I run until a glaring white light overtakes my vision, making it impossible to see two steps in front of me. Navigating the dark forest wasn’t easy before, but at least I could make out shadows and outlines. I can’t with this light blinding me.
I groan and put my hands in front of my eyes to block out the brightness, but it barely works. I can’t make sense of anything happening around me, but I don’t have enough time to try. The cacophony of voices couples with the painful light in front of me is too much for
my fragile senses to handle. I’m trying so hard. I’m struggling to hold on. I’m putting my last bit of willpower into hanging onto consciousness, but it’s a losing battle. Only moments after the light hits me, I crumple into a heap on the forest ground, blissfully unaware of the commotion happening around me. I just can’t hold on any longer.
EPILOGUE
“She’s waking.”
“How are her vitals?”
“Exemplary. I doubt she feels any pain, which should surprise her considering the intensity of her concussion.”
“Good. And the boy? The one that snapped?”
“His chip was outdated. He was used in an earlier version of Project Artian. Currently, his software is being updated. He should be good to go in no time.”
“And the one he attacked?”
“Alive. Still unconscious, but the attack won’t leave him with any lingering side effects. He most likely won’t remember much of the night, though.”
“That doesn’t matter. We have the three of them here and that’s all I need.”
“But, sir, how will you convince them to join our cause?”
“Simple. We have the boy’s mother and girl’s sister- and her parents were dedicated to the cause, killed by our enemies. I think we’ll have no problem convincing them to join Project Artian.”
“She’ll want to see Isoline. She has too many questions about her.”
“An oversight on our part. Isoline should have never returned to the boy, but it seems she allowed herself to become too emotionally attached. She’s been dealt with accordingly.”
“Then, everything is going according to plan?”
“For the most part, yes. We have our work cut out for us.”
“Sir, she’s calling out for her friends. I fear she’ll be too angry to talk if we wait much longer.”
“Good. I’ll go myself.”
“You? But I thought you preferred to stay behind the scenes. Is she that important?”
“Her and the boy both are. The other one is more of a… body guard. But, yes, I will go myself. Who better to explain the situation than the leader of Project Artian- the leader of the very Scarlet Reapers she spent so many years trying to find.”
“Will you use your real name? How much information will you give her?”
“Calm down. I choose how much to tell her. I am in charge here. Don’t make me regret allowing you into our inner sect. Yes. I will use my real name. With Ulric dead, my name will hold no significance to her.”
“Then should I tell the guards to bring her to the conference room?”
“Please do. It’s time we put the next phase of our plans into motion.”
“Do you want an introduction?”
“I don’t want too much pressure on the meeting. Allow me to introduce myself. All you need to tell her is that Henrick is ready to meet with her.”
Henrick gazes at the screen, watching Luxem’s panic with a smile. With each pummel of her fist into the door, each scream, and each tear, his grin grows wider. It’s only a matter of time until the next phase of Project Artian is initiated and his plan is complete. Just a matter of time.
END
