“So there hasn’t been any word from Morgan or the others,” Jerik said thoughtfully, staring down into his mug of coffee. “I see.”
Nick nodded, his face morose. “I really tried to find them when I got back. Even Benji is nowhere to be found, and I know for a fact that was her real name.”
It was a commonly accepted idea that most of the humans taken to Menora had hidden their real names. Confronted with ten thousand strangers, it was a logical choice. After all, if they’d made it home they didn’t want any of the trauma to follow them. But as far as Nick had shared, that wasn’t the case. Many people had formed ‘Menora Support Groups’, where they talked about what had happened in that other world.
“A lot of people thought it was a strange dream,” Nick explained. “But once enough news went around, people started to realize that it had really happened. They formed groups to talk about it. Quite a few of them were pretty rich, so they were able to find everyone that still existed.”
“And that didn’t raise any flags?” Jerik asked, surprised. “How could you locate nearly ten thousand people without anyone taking notice?”
“Oh, there were plenty of people that took notice,” Nick assured him, grinning broadly. “They even tried to infiltrate the meetings when we had them. But it was easy to tell who was fake and who was legitimate.”
“How?”
“Simple. We asked them who got a million points first.”
Jerik sat back, thinking quickly. It was a simple enough question, that was true. But it was knowledge that only survivors of Menora would have. “That’s not a bad way of doing it.”
“We thought so,” Nick agreed. “But you’re wrong. We didn’t gather ten thousand people for the meetings. We only ever managed to find a little over one thousand.”
“What?” Jerik spluttered, surprised by how low the number was. “Where are the rest of them?”
Nick merely shrugged. “We tried our best to find everyone that was missing. But eventually, we had to admit that they might just be gone. Besides, we had the Nexuses to worry about. They were still relatively new by the time we’d returned.”
He paused, falling silent for a few long seconds, then added, “I thought you’d died. I knew Jerik was your real name, and I found proof that you’d existed before Menora, but there was no evidence that you were still alive.”
Jerik nodded, feeling a pang of guilt that was rare for him. “Yeah, sorry about that. I went to Ahya first and foremost. I wanted to see what other worlds were like.”
“I get it,” Nick said, though his voice was still solemn. “It’s not like I needed you once the Menora business was finished. It was nice to see you again, though.”
Jerik smirked at that. “So, who out of the old squad could you make contact with?”
Nick let out a long sigh. “Only you.”
“Really? Not even Benji or Katrina? Or Morgan?”
He saw Nick’s shoulders lift and fall in a sad little shrug. “There’s no sign that the sisters ever existed on Earth. I did find someone who looked like the Morgan we met in Menora, but by all signs, she died shortly after returning. She had a Facebook page that served as her memorial. Family posts told us the story. Her town got wiped out a few months after returning from Menora.”
“Damn,” Jerik swore quietly. “Which of the cities was she from?”
“Toledo, by all accounts. She didn’t even get to see her home rebuilt.”
“And now it’s the home of the Nexus Games.”
Nick nodded. “I visit the place where her old home used to sit each time I go and visit. It seems like a lot of the Menora survivors do. It’s kind of our way of paying respect for the rest of the people that we couldn’t find.”
Around them, the mess hall was more or less empty. Few Nexians remained, those senior members that hadn’t been wiped out by several days of hard training and the grueling test that Charlisa and the other Lieutenants had administered earlier. One notable exception, Jerik wasn’t surprised to see, was Eric. He sat alone at a corner table, staring off into the distance with his hands folded neatly on top of the table.
“He said he’s from here originally, right?” Nick asked, noticing where he was looking. “How long has he been away?”
“Since twenty-ten, as far as we’ve been able to tell,” Jerik replied. “He said he came back about a year after he’d vanished for a bit, but didn’t wait around that long.”
“He’s been gone for sixteen years?” Nick asked, his eyes wide. “But he only looks like he’s twenty-five or so. How young was he when he left?”
“Just barely twenty, I believe.”
He caught the thoughtful frown that crossed Nick’s face and gave a snort of laughter. “Don’t hurt yourself trying to figure it out. Time works differently there, I guess. Their calendar is about one hundred and fifty days shorter.”
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
“So two-thirds as fast. Makes sense,” Nick muttered. Then he looked away. “So he was part of whatever army you mustered in the other world, is that it?”
Jerik laughed again, this time out of sheer amusement. “Not at all. I only ever intended to build one army, thank you. In fact, I was part of his mercenary group. We were small but effective.”
Nick held back his surprise at the thought that Jerik would be willing to follow another’s orders. But he was sure his former commander had his reasons. Since he didn’t want to waste his time and energy unraveling that mystery, he turned the conversation back to the first topic.
“So,” he kept his voice quiet, even leaning a little closer to Jerik. “What’s the plan, then? How are we going to stop them from taking away the Nexus powers?”
“I said we’d wait to see what unfolds,” Jerik replied, his expression guarded. “We don’t know enough of Grimr’s mission. Until we do, and until we’re both a little stronger, we shouldn’t act too hastily.”
“I know what you said,” Nick replied, now sounding quite obstinate. “But I also know you. I know you’re not wasting your time sitting here learning nothing.”
“Yes, you do know me. You also know that I don’t share any information if there’s a risk of something going wrong.”
Nick folded his arms and leaned back in his chair, one eyebrow raised. It displayed a sort of confidence that Jerik didn’t recognize in him. In Menora, he’d been confident in his ability to make and use weapons, but he never had this sort of quiet social confidence. He spoke with authority, and he didn’t sweat the small silences that a more stubborn speaker would offer up. Was this the result of his time in the Air Nexus? Or had he simply grown up while Jerik was in another world?
An amused grin slowly spread across Jerik’s face, and he let out a bark of laughter. “You’ve gotten too smart for your own good, Nick. But I’m being serious. I don’t want to share my thoughts on the matter just yet.”
“Alright,” Nick agreed, surprising Jerik. “But you’re not keeping me in the dark about this. If you don’t treat me like a confidant, I might not remain your ally for long.”
The words were friendly enough, but Jerik heard the steel of his voice. He was telling the truth. If Jerik wasn’t able to resolve the situation in a way that he approved of, he’d cut ties. He wouldn’t act against the Nexuses, Jerik was sure of that. But having him as an independent third party, particularly one that knew him so well, was not something that he looked forward to. He nodded his agreement with the point. “I promise not to keep you in the dark for too long.”
-
The next day, nearly everyone slept in. When Eric found his way down the stairs to the mess hall, it was to find the dining area still moderately full of people. The staff had cooked this meal, he noticed, not his Alpha. They weren’t as good as Will Andrews, but they were good enough, and the breakfast was enjoyed.
“Morning, Eric,” one of the servers said brightly, noticing his entry into the large open space. “Come over here, I’ve got some coffee ready for you.”
Eric found his way over to the serving line, rubbing his eyes with one hand. The mingling of the Nexuses had gone well over the past two weeks, he saw. Almost none of the tables were limited to one Nexus. Instead, they were seated in a wide net over the room, the clashing colors of their outfits making a very interesting display.
“Fresh pot,” the server said, sliding a tall mug of the sweet brown coffee out for him to take. “Just how you like it. A little honey, no milk.”
Eric took a long sip and sighed in gratitude. “Thanks. Best thing in the morning.”
“Well, along with some good food,” the server added, sliding a plate towards him loaded with eggs, sausage, and a few stacked waffles. “Dig in.”
Eric carried his breakfast over to one of the less crowded tables. It was only when he was halfway to his destination that he realized Megan was sitting there. Whether intentionally or not, she’d chosen one that was out of easy earshot of everyone else. And, for that matter, the other Nexians were too involved in their own conversations to pay much attention to her. Suppressing a sigh, Eric made his way over.
As he expected, Megan looked uneasy about something and was clearly hoping to speak with him. He’d barely managed to sit down before she started. “I don’t know how I feel about this, Eric.”
“It’s nearly over,” he replied, deliberately misunderstanding her point. “You’ll be going home tomorrow, right?”
“I’m not talking about the training camp,” she said, her tone a little belligerent. Had she realized that he was trying to avoid having this discussion? “As you very well know.”
He took another long sip of his coffee to give him some breathing room. “What you’re thinking about is a betrayal against Grimr and his mission.”
Megan’s face paled slightly. “I-I know that. I do, okay? It’s just…”
She fell silent for a moment, casting her gaze to the side. The thought that she might not have planned out exactly what she wanted to say occurred to him, and that made him grin, though he hid the expression behind his mug. “That’s not at all like you.”
“What isn’t like me?” She whipped around, glaring at him.
“Being so timid,” he replied. “You’ve always known exactly what you want to do and say. It’s not like you to beat around the bush.”
“Can you blame me?” She asked, tapping her fingers on the clean tabletop. A nervous gesture of hers, he knew. “I just can’t stop thinking about Felix and Olivia.”
Eric shrugged. He’d never met the famous twins of the Water Nexus in person, but he was familiar with their legend. “What about them? Are they credible threats to our mission?”
“Well, they are, but that’s, uhh, not why I keep thinking about them.”
Eric looked at her. He really took a second to study her closely, and she was aware of it. Megan was a master at keeping her features disguised, but he’d spent the better part of five years as a mercenary. He knew how to tell when someone was lying to him or hiding the truth. “You’ve fallen for one of them. Felix, I’d had to guess.”
He threw that out as a test and continued to watch her intently. At the specific mention of Felix’s name, her face reddened slightly. It wasn’t enough to be called a full blush, but he caught it, and she knew he had. The deduction was what caused her to break her silence.
“I mean, I love Michael,” she whined, shifting awkwardly on her bench, “but Felix is…”
“Get to the point,” he said, his voice suddenly firm. “Are your feelings for Felix stronger than your desire to help Grimr and return to Ahya?”
She winced at the toughness of his tone but didn’t reply at once. She looked down for several long seconds and took a few deep breaths before saying quietly, “I don’t know.”
Eric cursed internally. He thought he’d be the one with the biggest doubts. Sure, he had a whole family to return to. But Megan had an established career, a partner, and the respect of many important people in Milagre. He would have thought that she’d attack this missing with an acute single-mindedness, to get home as quickly as possible. He knew for a fact that, before they’d left, she hadn’t considered Earth home. Not for many years.
“It won’t last,” he said quietly. “They’ll discover that you’re part of our mission eventually. How do you think they’ll feel about you then? Do you think Felix or Olivia will take kindly to the fact that you planned to betray them?”
She couldn’t think of a reply to that, so he hammered home another point. “You have so much waiting for you back in Ahya, Megan. You don’t even have family here.”
He knew that her father had died when she was young, as a result of some kind of criminal activity. The story wasn’t clear. Her mother, meanwhile, had been a rabid consumer of narcotics and had died the year before Megan entered university. It had been at least fourteen years since she’d known anyone on Earth that even closely resembled a family.
“I suppose you’re right,” she said, a tear running down her cheek. “It’s just that… Rachel is so kind to me, and Felix is amazing.”
“Then enjoy the time that you have with them,” Eric replied quickly, not giving her time to consider an alternative. “Because as soon as our mission is complete, we’ll be leaving them behind.”
“Don’t you feel bad too?” She asked. Now her voice was hard as well. She was angry at his insistence. “How do you think Will and his lot will react to your betrayal?”
He shrugged diffidently. “It’s nothing compared to returning home to Emma and Emily. Sure, I don’t like tricking and using him, but it’s necessary.”
She continued to glare at him for a few seconds, then pushed herself off of the bench with a single angry movement. “I’ll see you later, Eric.”
“Don’t do anything rash,” he said, just before she could turn away. “You know what Grimr is capable of.”
She paused then, and he noticed the slight shiver that she gave off. “That’s the thing I can’t stop thinking about. But just because he’s doing what he thinks is right, it doesn’t mean that it’s right for me.”