I coughed, splattering whisky across the front of my shirt.
“I’m sorry, what did you just say?”
Tom raised his hands in a placating manner and his tone was soft, like he was talking to a child.
“Now, now, Rayna. Hear me out, don’t overreact.”
“Overreact?”
“You will understand, if you just listen. I know that it sounds shocking. After all, it goes against everything we were trained and taught. But so did revealing the truth to the public, didn’t it? Hard choices need to be made, sometimes. You understood that, at the time.”
“Well, I don’t understand this, Tom.”
It wasn’t a lie. I was having a bit of trouble catching up to what had just happened. This wasn’t the turn I had expected this conversation to take.
“It isn’t complicated, Ray. You just have to stop thinking of them as people. They fooled us into treating them as if they were, but it was never true. And what do we do if another species threatens humanity?” he waited, as if I was supposed to respond; when I didn’t, he continued. “We protect our own, of course. Whatever it takes. No different than using pesticides on roaches, or mosquitos.”
“They aren’t roaches. Even if they aren’t human, they are still sentient beings.”
“In some ways, that makes them worse. At least roaches aren’t intentional in their destruction. They don’t plot against us. The ubarae made their choice. Now you need to make yours. I am here to ask you to join us, Ray, help us make the world safe for humanity, so that what happened with the Domini never happens again.”
“What you are suggesting isn’t just insane, it’s impossible. There are at least hundreds of thousands, maybe more, ubarae. You couldn’t possibly kill them all, any more than people have succeeded in killing every mosquito.”
“I can understand why you would think that, but we’ve been working on this problem for awhile, now, and there is a way. Our organization is more vast than I think you imagine. We have been gathering power, resources, expanding our surveillance and monitoring of ubarae. We have a large number of members who are dedicated to our cause. We aren’t ready, yet, but when the time comes, we can make it happen. I have great faith in that.”
“What exactly are you planning? Where are you getting all these people and resources from?”
“Ah, ah, ah,” Tom wagged a finger. “It wouldn’t be prudent of me to reveal things like that so soon, would it? Once you join us and earn the trust of the people involved, then I am sure that the whole plan will be laid out for you.”
I was beginning to really regret being this intoxicated. I was in no way equipped to handle this, at the moment. It was possible that even at my best, I wouldn’t be, but I certainly wasn’t right now. All I could seem to must was a general confusion, even though I knew that wasn’t a helpful response.
“I don’t get it. Where is this coming from? You have never hated the ubarae, never advocated for killing them. You always treated everyone with respect.”
“True, that was my mistake,” Tom admitted. “In the past, I believed that there was a way that everyone could coexist peacefully, and I worked hard to try and make that happen. I have since learned that that is not possible. I was part of the problem, perpetuating a false narrative. My eyes are opened, and I see things clearly, now.”
He seemed to notice the expression on my face and hurried to elaborate.
“I would have thought you, of all people, would see it immediately. But I should have remembered that you actually have a very soft heart,” he shook his head ruefully. “I mean, after what Carmine and the Domini did, even with all of our oversight, all of our caution? We have been spending human resources, risking human lives, for what? To try and keep the ubarae in line? Why? Why are they worth so much of our time and effort. What makes that a reasonable thing for humans to invest in, Ray? Think about it. Have they proved themselves worthy of it? Has it proved to be a viable strategy?”
He looked over at me, sadly.
“Even if you once believed that it was, surely last night taught you otherwise, didn’t it? You saw those women, chained up in a dank basement, robbed of free thought, free will. You saw the girl the incubus would have left down there to die, just to keep himself out of trouble. And even though they are safe, now, the psychological damage is likely permanent. Trust me, I have seen it enough with the Immune that we have captured since the incident. Even if the hold of the Domini is broken, they will never truly be the same. The ones I knew, they were good people. They should never have been placed in the danger they were. They should never have been exposed to Carmine or Suzette or any of the others.”
“They knew what they were signing up for.”
“Did they? Did any of us know that what happened to them was possible? And even if they would have agreed, why should anyone risk their life to control the appetites of a monster? It would be like asking people to feed themselves to sharks, to protect an endangered species. I doubt anyone would argue that that was a reasonable thing to consider.”
“I like to think we are also long past the time when we would consider killing all sharks, though, just to protect swimmers.”
“Perhaps. But is it just an imperfect analogy. They are not, truly, the same as sharks. Sharks are not usually hunting us; they do not actively plot against us. Ubarae, on the other hand, made their choice when they backed the Domini. Make no mistake, that is what they did when they failed to warn us of the danger.”
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“Most didn’t know.”
“Do you really believe that?” Tom scoffed. “Come on, you aren’t that naïve. They knew. How could they not? The ordinary ubarae were simply willing to roll the dice. After all there was no real risk to them. I imagine that they figured if the Domini came out on top, they would benefit and if they Organization came out on top, they could claim ignorance and their lives wouldn’t meaningfully change. To them, there was no way to lose. So, tell me, Ray, why should we risk ourselves to keep them safe, only for them to betray us again the moment they sense an opportunity?”
I swallowed hard, I was starting to feel a little nauseous, honestly. He took my silence as permission to continue.
“I know that you see it. You don’t want to, because you don’t want to have to face what needs to be done, if I am right, but you know that this is the truth. And I know that this sounds very harsh, extermination, but it is really a minor sacrifice to make for the long-term safety and comfort of humanity. There will be a brief period of strife, but once that passes, none of this will ever be a concern again. And really, can the loss of life even compare to the lives that will be sacrificed to the ubarae, if we keep things the way they are? The people killed by rogues, those that lose their lives to preventing that, even those that simply give up many years of their life policing them. Over time, how many lives will that add up to? What are all of those lives worth? It is better to finish this now. Cleanly. We exterminate every one of them, as quickly and as humanely as possible, and we free all humans from the threat, forever. It is the right thing to do, Ray, the only thing to do. And I think, deep down, you know it.”
He rose and crossed the space to stand above me, smiling, he placed a hand on my shoulder.
“So, will you join us? Do this one final thing to protect all of humanity, and then you can finally be free of this. And, even better, you can have your vengeance, get closure for what they did to you, to James…”
A surge of anger forced me to my feet, I shoved his hand away. I was furious that he would even suggest that James would ever have been a part of something like this, furious that he would think ‘vengeance’ was even something I would want, furious that he was talking to me about this as if I would certainly agree with his ideals and want to be part of mass murder. I wanted to tell him that. Tell him that he could dress it up however he liked, but what he wanted was a slaughter. He was afraid, and he wanted to massacre every ubarae to ease his fears. It was pathetic. Disgusting. But those thoughts all remained jumbled inside my brain, my mouth stubbornly refusing to articulate them coherently. All I could manage was,
“Get out of my house.”
“I know that this is a lot to take in all at once, Ray, but in time I think you will see that I am…”
“Now.”
“Alright,” he raised his hands in surrender. “I’ll go. Give you some time to consider my offer. But don’t do anything stupid, like trying to interfere, alright? There will be people watching you, for your own safety, of course. And don’t misunderstand, we don’t need you, I am here because you are my friend, and I want to help you. This is all going to happen, with or without you. The only question is whether you will be a part of it. Call me when you are ready to talk again.”
Tom left, closing the door behind him. I stared after him for a long moment. Tightening my grip on the whisky bottle, still dangling from my fingers.
“Fuck!”
I turned and whipped the bottle at the wall, it struck near the doorway, shattering and leaving amber liquid running down the wall into the carpet. Simon yelped and jumped back into the hallway, startled. Honestly, I was a bit startled, too. I had forgotten he was still here. We stared at each other in silence, the only sound was the dripping of whisky onto my carpet. Finally, I broke the stalemate,
“How much of that did you hear?”
“Enough.”
I covered my face with my hands, it did not help the room stop spinning.
“You don’t… you don’t agree with him, do you?” he asked softly.
I dropped my hands to glare at him,
“Of course I don’t!” I snapped, before taking a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I was about to say ‘how could you even ask me that’ but honestly, until this moment, I wouldn’t have thought Tom could believe those things, either. So, it’s a valid question, I guess.”
“What are we going to do?”
“Well, with any luck, he is lying, or at least exaggerating, about how powerful his group is. It is entirely possible that they can’t actually do any of the things he is suggesting.”
“And if he can?”
“I don’t know, Simon. I honestly have no clue. I am much too drunk for any of this.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone,
“Well, I need to call some people and…”
I snatched the phone from his hand and powered it down.
“What the hell, Ray?”
“You cannot call anyone. And while we are talking about that, stay away from the windows, too.”
I stepped past him, shooing him towards the centre of the room, and began drawing my blinds.
“What are you talking about? I need to tell my people about this. Give me back my phone.”
“Nope. Bad idea. If Tom wasn’t lying and his group is really both well connected and watching me, then we need to make sure that no one ever finds out that you were here. If they do, you are as good as dead, Simon. The people planning to exterminate all ubarae certainly wouldn’t hesitate to shut you up.”
His face grew pale,
“So, what does that mean?”
“It means you need to stay inside, and don’t do anything to signal to the outside world that any one is here but me.”
“You want me to hide in your apartment? For how long?”
“I don’t know,” I finished closing my last curtain. “I haven’t really thought that far ahead yet. Just… wait here and I will let you know when I get back.”
“Back? Where are you going?”
“I need to go for a walk. Get some air, clear my head. Think. Hopefully, by the time I get back, I will have some idea of what to do next. Until then, just hang tight, ok?”
“Ray, I’m not sure this is a good idea. You aren’t really in any condition to be wandering the streets. And I need to warn the other ubarae what Tom is planning.”
“Look, Simon, what information do you even really have to impart? That there might be people plotting to kill ubarae? I think they already know that. Tom even specifically said that they are not yet ready to put their plan into motion. It can wait,” I put a hand on his shoulder, meeting his eyes. “I know I am asking a lot, but if you have ever trusted me, even for a moment, I need you to trust me right now. Please.”
Simon held my gaze for a moment, then sighed.
“Alright, Ray, I trust you. But I won’t wait forever.”
“Thank you,” I handed him back his phone. “Do not power this back on, unless you have literally no other options. Stay away from the windows and the door. And if you hear someone trying to break in, hide. Absolutely no one can know you are here. Understand me?”
He nodded,
“What am I supposed to do while you are gone?”
“I don’t know. Meditate, take a nap. Just keep a low profile. I’ll be back.”
I grabbed my coat and keys, then headed out into the hall. This time, I locked the door.