Beating two Dwarfs was exhausting enough, but it was only the beginning. The possibilities for our next move were endless, so I gathered everyone in a circle for a discussion. It was like we were a group of friends sitting together at recess, but it felt like we were wasting time. While we discussed our next move, Frost was making hers.
“Gotta admit, I didn’t expect Anderson to be the hero this time.” Laura grinned as she crossed her legs. “Not that I expected him to be useful at all.”
“That had better make us even,” Anderson said. “Don’t forget that Frost took off with my bro. I need to track her down as much as you guys.”
“Rebecca, what happened after I called you?” Manning asked. “I’m glad you made it here, but what did you see when you landed?”
Rebecca huffed as she massaged her arm. “It was an awful sight. When I arrived, all the black robots—what do you call them? Black Dwarfs? They were on their way back to Frost. I fought off a few who tried to steal me, and followed the rest here. That horrible woman taunted me about my escape. She said she’d recapture me and make sure I’d never think freely again. She’s changed, Theo. What happened?”
“I’m sure she was just better at hiding her insanity back in your day.” Beth inspected her rifle. She was the only one standing. “I’d suggest searching the town for survivors, but I doubt there are any. We should just leave.”
“And do what?” I said. “Go after the First Ship? Right. Because I feel like getting blown up by the Asteroid Belt Formation today. As much as it sucks, we can’t move against Frost with the power we have now. We need allies.” I turned to Laura. “You think a certain ragtag group of rebels would be happy to see us?”
Laura’s face lit up (not literally, thank goodness). “The Oppressed! They’d help us for sure. They owe us after everything we did for them…not counting all the tragedies. Rebecca, you just came from their base. How were things over there?”
Rebecca shuddered. “Disorganized. When the scruffy man, Surge, gave me permission to leave, they were running around like lost little schafe. The raid on Epsilon failed, so they’ve been trying to figure out their next move. I’m sure a new objective is exactly what they’re looking for. Although one member in particular—”
“We don’t need your stupid rebel friends.” Beth slapped her rifle on her back. “What we need are the AI. No one else has the power we need to defeat Frost. Plus they’ll be ecstatic if I return with so many Hybrids.”
“I couldn’t care less about getting you a promotion, Beth. Frost is bad, but the AI are worse. All we need are the Oppressed.”
“Are you sure? Even after she stopped me from revealing the truth? I’m telling you that she’s our parents’ true murderer. I just want the details to come from her mouth since you obviously don’t believe me.”
“Why would I? What have you said or done that’s trustworthy? We’re wasting time by talking about this. Let’s get these Dwarfs onto Beth’s ship.”
“You want to bring along the guys who tried to kill us?” Anderson asked in amazement. “I know I said it’s good to be a little soft, but you’re taking it too far.”
I needed to demonstrate my point. I walked over to the White Dwarfs that lay immobile just a few feet away. Weird how we hadn’t restrained them, but we also didn’t have anything strong enough for that. I leaned down and placed my hand on one of them. The Dwarf’s eyes glowed as I willed its faceplate to split into four pieces, revealing a guy with a blank expression. His unblinking eyes stared up at nothing. I had no idea what the suits did to their minds, but it didn’t look good. I repeated the process for the guy in the other suit, revealing his face as well.
“They’re harmless like this,” I said. “If I can get them out of these suits, Frost can’t use them anymore.”
I touched the head of the Dwarf on the left and doubled down my connection to it. Once more, data flooded my mind like a rushing river. Pain stabbed my head, and the river pushed against me, but I wasn’t about to lose to imaginary water.
The rest of the White Dwarf suit slid away from the human imprisoned within it. Now he was just a guy lying in a mound of white tech. It was like he was buried in snow. He might have been unconscious, but I assumed he was alive. I also assumed that this headache would be sticking around. I repeated the process with the other Dwarf as my friends gathered around the first one.
“Well done, Wander!” Manning crouched beside the guy and pressed two fingers to his neck. “A pulse. Thank goodness. If you can do this to every White Dwarf in President Frost’s arsenal—”
“I could barely do it to these two.” I huffed and fell back after freeing the second guy. The asphalt was softer than a bed at that moment. “There’s no way I could do that to every single robot. We’ll figure out how to handle these guys in the future, but, for now, put them in the ship. I know what Beth said about the survivors, but I want to look anyway. I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t look for Opifex and his mom.”
“Family friend or not, you can’t risk our mission for him.” Beth folded her arms as she inspected one of the disassembled Dwarfs. “There’s no way he was spared Frost’s wrath. Especially if she knows about your relationship with him.”
“That’s exactly why she would spare him.”
“No, I’m with her for once,” Laura said, “because the best way to help everyone is to beat Frost, right? They’ll all be safe once we take her down.”
“What? Come on, Laura. Aren’t you curious about what happened to your parents?”
Her entire face twitched. “I couldn’t care less about those scumbags at this point. If I found out they were taken, I’d just laugh. That’s what they get for making me cry over them last month.”
I wasn’t going to win this fight. Anderson could have brought up his godfather, and Manning could have brought up any number of kids he’d taught over the years, but they didn’t. Even they had given up hope. Everyone had just accepted that the Dwarfs had taken all the New Selene citizens. I just wasn’t that pessimistic…not anymore.
“I get that everyone thinks I’m crazy, but I have to be sure. We can use our phones again, so I’ll check in with you guys once I’m done searching. Just stay put…and look for Alhabor. That coward totally disappeared after Rebecca clocked him.”
Alhabor must have snuck away while we were distracted by the Dwarfs. I couldn’t imagine the damage that a weasel like him could cause unsupervised. Thank goodness the town was empty…
I waved goodbye to my friends (and Beth) as I waltzed over to an abandoned cruiser. It was pink and had a stained wing mirror and a dent in the door. Poor thing; it had no idea that its owner had been taken against their will. I placed my hand on it and willed it to turn on. Then I stepped back as the door popped open and the engine hummed to life.
Why had I ever hated my powers? They were more useful than a video game strategy guide.
I hopped inside and pulled the door shut. The seat cushion had been worn down, and everything smelled like the inside of a jar of pickles. I stepped on the pedal as I gripped the wheel. It’d been so long since I’d driven a cruiser. Driving with one arm seemed dangerous, but the streets were barren, so I couldn’t hurt anyone besides myself.
I glanced at a street sign as I drifted past it. Opifex’s house was closer than his workshop. That was the first place I wanted to check.
Every cruiser I passed was stationary and empty. I didn’t even need to brake at the stop signs, but I did so out of instinct. Since I wasn’t in danger of crashing, I fished out my phone and set the cruiser on autopilot. I dialed Opifex’s number and held it up to my ear as I drifted by a block of houses. Each door had been left open like that of the house we’d found the first Black Dwarf in.
My phone droned in my ear a few times before Opifex’s voicemail took over. His deep, raspy voice asked me to leave a message…then he told me to check out his hardware store. That was one way to advertise your business. I ended the call and dialed again. Same result. I groaned as I tried again. If it went to voicemail one more time I was going to chuck this thing out the window.
The tone stopped. The voicemail didn’t activate. Had he picked up?
“Opifex!” I stomped on the brakes, ending the autopilot mode and slowing the cruiser to a halt in the middle of an intersection. “I can’t believe you picked up. Are you okay? Do you know what’s going on? Are you safe? Wait, I kind of already asked that—”
“Slow down there, Skipper. It’s hard to answer when you’re just blurting out the questions.”
My stomach dropped. This wasn’t Opifex. It didn’t sound like him, and the person sure didn’t talk like him. I knew who this friendly sounding, seemingly harmless guy was.
“Alhabor!” I gripped the phone so hard that I felt it bend. “Why do you have Opifex’s phone? Where is he?”
“Swing by his house for a visit. You might find some answers there.”
“Wait, Alha—”
My phone beeped, signaling the end of the call. I growled and threw it on the floor. Slamming my foot on the pedal, I propelled the cruiser forward. My heart beat against my ribcage, speeding up as my rage grew. Frost must have told Alhabor about my relationship with Opifex. They had planned this. She was going to use him to get me on her side. It was too late for that. She had already left. Alhabor was supposed to be rounding up the remaining Dwarfs. He was doing a lousy job of it.
I pulled up outside a stout brown house—the same house outside which I had been in the habit of parking back when I had still been pushing everyone away. It was the house I’d stayed in after my return: the house that Opifex lived in with me and his mother. If Alhabor had touched either of them…
I hopped out of the humming cruiser. I wasn’t about to waste time turning it off, so I left it running. My feet clacked against the pavement as I raced toward the front door. It was gaping open. I had to remember to be calm. If anyone got hurt because of my unstable emotions, I’d never let myself live it down. I took a few deep breaths as I slowed down and walked inside.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
The Sun had almost completely set, resulting in a dark interior. Only a twinkle of light kept the haunting atmosphere at bay. A curtain-free kitchen was to my right. I stepped past it and headed into the living room. Usually, the TV brought the room to life, blasting galactic soccer games or reality shows about mechanics. Now it was silent, dark, and filled with dread. The mood had everything to do with the three people in the living room.
Opifex sat in the corner of the room with a bloody nose. Standing beside him was Alhabor, who was restraining a frail old woman in his arms. She was Opifex’s mother, Maria. Alhabor held a pistol up to her head. His finger hovered above the trigger.
“Stay right there, Epsilon Explorer.” Alhabor wiggled his gun. “Unless you want to see a grandma die. Gotta admit, it’s on my bucket list.”
“What is wrong with you?! She doesn’t have anything to do with any of this. She barely knows what’s going on.”
I said that, but her eyes were wide with fear. Her wrinkled mouth gaped open as she looked at the gun and then at me. She was the one who’d convinced me to open up again. She cared about me even though she barely knew me. She was so nice. She didn’t deserve to be involved in this.
I glanced at Opifex, who also shouldn’t have been here. His sullen eyes made contact with mine. He didn’t seem afraid, only defeated. He was only there because he knew me. I had to do everything I could to get them out of this.
“Hey man, I’m just following orders.” He snickered, rattling the gun. “Nah, just kidding. I’m doing this because it’s fun. Sorry, but you remind me too much of Sirius. Same stupid hair, same stupid luck. I would wring your neck, but, thanks to Frost’s favoritism, I can’t. I don’t get what she sees in you softies, but, someday, I’ll be teacher’s pet. I’ll have twice the power I ever had as the Constellations’ leader.”
“What’s the point of having power? You’re not trying to end the war. You just want to keep fighting it.”
“Of course I do!” He shouted. I flinched from his outburst. With all that excitement, he might pull the trigger accidentally. “When my mother came home with that trauma, she acted like it was a curse. What an idiot. She was branded by combat! It was proof that she had become a hardened warrior, but she never accepted that gift. Her refusal blinded her. She was never the same…she never acted like a real mother again. It’s why the word ‘family’ means nothing to me. I only started one to see if I’d enjoy being a dad. Then again, who needs that title when I can have the entire First Division army?”
Was Alhabor implying that he resented his mother for giving in to her trauma rather than relishing it? I realized it must have been hard to appreciate his parent’s struggles with hardship while he was a kid. That was how his twisted outlook on things was born. How had I managed to unravel something that had been part of him for so long? Maybe his real family had a shot.
“I know you ditched your family, but it’s not too late to go back to them.” I took a tiny step forward. It was small, so Alhabor didn’t react to it. Maybe if I inched forward enough, I could save Opifex’s mom. “Not only do I know Nessa, but I know where she is. I could tell you if you stop all this. Despite what you’ve done, I have to believe that there’s hope for you. I managed to pull myself out of a funk, so maybe you can too.”
More like, I have to distract you long enough to save Maria.
“What, were you the president of the debate team? Nice speech, but I couldn’t care less about what Nessa’s been up to. My experiment failed, genius. Do you think I would have left if I cared about her?”
“She can’t walk anymore! She lost the use of her legs on a mission.” I took another little step forward as his eyes widened with shock. “She needs you now more than ever. Can you honestly say that you’d turn your back on your daughter at her lowest moment?”
He clenched his jaw as conflict washed over his face. I took a couple more steps forward while he wrestled with himself. I was almost within reach. I could yank his arm away to free Maria. Then I could tackle him. It’d be hard to fight with one arm, so I would also need to get my bionic one back.
“Sounds like that brat’s dealing with some hardship, just like Mom. And I’ll bet she’s just as weak.” Alhabor shoved the pistol’s barrel against the head of Opifex’s mom. “Time’s up, Granny.”
“Stop!” I raised my arm in the air to surrender. “Don’t, please. I’m begging.”
Alhabor sighed. “You know, your begging me not to only makes me want to do it even more. Why does everyone think a dumb brat like you is so smart?”
“You need to capture me for Frost, don’t you? Spare her and I’ll come quietly. I won’t even grunt when you put the cuffs on. Imagine how impressed Frost would be if you brought back all the Dwarfs and her future apprentice.”
“No!” Opifex reached out for me. “Don’t give him what he wants. Don’t sacrifice yourself.”
I was about to argue, but then I realized that Maria was shaking her head. Her eyes displayed resolve despite the tears that filled them. I was doing this for her, but she didn’t want me to. I understood, but…it didn’t matter what she wanted. I was doing this for her safety, not for her happiness.
“You’d give up your freedom, maybe even your future, for one person? No wonder you tried appealing to a monster like me.” Alhabor’s grip on the pistol loosened. The barrel was aiming at Maria’s chest now. Was he about to drop the gun? “You’re not just some brat. You’re a bit of a hero, aren’t you? That’s good…except for one little detail…I hate heroes.”
Time slowed as Alhabor squeezed the trigger. A green beam zoomed out of the barrel and penetrated Maria’s chest. It was a piercing round. She gasped and reached for the sizzling hole in her nightgown. Alhabor let go of her shoulder, letting her fall to the floor. Life fled from her eyes.
My heart thumped in my ears as I watched an innocent woman die before my eyes. The darkness of despair consumed my stomach. Color drained from the environment. I’d only ever seen an AI die. It was similar to what I was watching now: movements slowing to a stop, light fading from the eyes, the body going limp…
Why was this happening? I’d done everything I was supposed to do. I’d tried to do what he wanted. I’d tried to do what was best for everyone. What else could I have done?
“I give you points for trying, kid.” Alhabor smirked as he inspected his gun. “But sometimes that’s not enough. Sometimes, you can do everything in your power to make things go right, and they still take a sharp turn toward wrong. It’s just life, and, more importantly, it’s a good lesson. Was it meant to be? Nah. I just really, really hate goody two-shoes like you.”
Opifex released a deafening cry as he charged Alhabor. He tackled him to the floor, raised one of his burly fists, and brought it crashing down on Alhabor’s face. Tears ran down his cheeks as he raised his other fist and repeated the process. He shouted nonsense and barraged Alhabor’s face with punches. Whatever pain Opifex was causing Alhabor, it didn’t compare to the pain in his own heart.
His mother was the reason he had become a mechanic. She had been very supportive of his passion. Thank goodness she had been. Otherwise, Opifex would never have gotten me into it. I owed so much to her…but I hadn’t even been able to save her.
Alhabor smirked and spat out blood. “You done yet?”
He caught Opifex’s fist and pushed him away. Then he dug his elbow into Opifex’s chest, driving him to the floor. Seizing Opifex’s throat, Alhabor held him down. Opifex coughed and clawed at his hands but to no avail.
I rushed toward them, but Alhabor stopped me with a punch to the stomach. A shudder ran through my body, and he swung at my legs. I fell back as pain gripped my body. The last of my endurance fled my body. I couldn’t get rid of the darkness that resided in my stomach. I pointed my palm at Alhabor’s back, but all I managed was a crackle. I’d been abusing my power all day, and it had finally reached its limit. I was useless.
Alhabor got up and stomped on Opifex’s chest. The latter squirmed under his foot, evidently trapped. Snickering, Alhabor aimed his pistol at Opifex’s heart. His action mirrored his shooting of Maria.
“Like mother, like son.” Alhabor wiped his bloody mouth. “Something this cruel would usually be beneath me, but you assaulted a soldier. I have to defend my rank. You know how it is.”
Opifex frowned before he shut his eyes, and went limp. He had given up. He thought the only choice he had was to die. No. I couldn’t let this happen. I couldn’t let Opifex die feet away from his mom. Screw my limits.
I pointed my palm at Alhabor again. The same pathetic crackling happened. But I wouldn’t allow it. Not this time. I pushed past the barrier that represented my limit. My hand trembled as I did. I knew that this might kill me, but better me than Opifex.
White electricity surged up my arm. It wasn’t warm like it usually was. It was harsh and biting, like a snake made of lava was wiggling through my arm. It all came exploding out in an unstable burst of light and surged into Alhabor’s pistol. The light faded, but I saw ghosts of the flash every time I blinked.
“That was…impressive.” Alhabor rubbed his eyes and examined his gun. Even though I had just blasted it, it seemed fine. “Frost warned me that you had freakish powers. The idea that I was fighting a living thundercloud scared me for a sec, but come on! How did you miss? Now you’re wheezing like you just got back from the gym. That’s what you get for being a good little hero.”
It was true. My entire body was numb except for my face, which was constantly inhaling and exhaling. I wouldn’t be surprised if I ended up doing this for the rest of my life. Whatever I had just used hadn’t been normal electricity. I could have ruined my body forever. I watched Alhabor as he took aim at me, specifically at my remaining arm.
“Frost is gonna kill me, but I can’t have you pulling that again.” A devilish grin spread across his face. “Say goodbye to lefty!”
I would have braced myself, but I couldn’t feel ninety percent of my body. Alhabor pulled the trigger. I expected a beam, but nothing came out of it. He smacked the gun and pulled it again. Streaks of white light stained the sides of the gun. Alhabor muttered in confusion as it grew brighter. Now it resembled a star more than a gun.
The gun exploded in a burst of white that rivaled the beam I’d just created. Alhabor’s screams thrashed around my head as I shut my eyes. A shock wave washed over me. I barely felt it, but it was impossible to ignore. I pried my eyes open. The destroyed remains of the gun lay beside me. It was seared and warped like a ball of fire had burst out of it. I’d made it explode?
I looked past my feet and saw Alhabor curled up in a corner. He sucked in air through his teeth as he massaged his left hand. Blood was dripping down his arm, pooling on the floor. He had been holding the gun when it had exploded. It had damaged his hand and might even have blown it off. I might have cost him his hand.
Good. He deserved that ten times over for what he’d done. My stomach fluttered with the satisfaction of seeing him in pain.
“You…” He craned his head toward me. His eyes were bloodshot. All signs of his jovial nature had fled his face. “You did this. You damn brat!”
“Guess I’m not as ‘good’ as you thought,” I said through numb lips.
Alhabor clutched his bleeding arm as he fell back and screamed. Now was our chance. As if on cue, Opifex rushed over and scooped me up in his arms. He ran out the front door, taking us outside. New Selene’s dark sky was the only thing I could see as I bobbed up and down in his arms.
“Hey man, can you move?” Opifex asked me in a raspy voice.
“No,” I said. “There’s a running cruiser nearby. Get in and drive toward 506 Mathilde Avenue. Please.”
Opifex nodded. “Yeah. Of course.”
I frowned. “Opifex? I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. We’re okay, man. Everything’s gonna be all right.”
I didn’t believe him because he didn’t believe his own words. Opifex pulled open the cruiser’s passenger door and lowered me into the vehicle. I slumped in the chair due to the lack of feeling in my back. I just realized that I hadn’t even taken my arm back. I’d been using one arm for so long that I was getting used to it. That was probably a good thing. This was who I really was. Any right arm would just be a prosthetic. Still, it was one that I would have liked to get back.
I let my head roll to the side as Opifex stomped on the pedal. At least I could watch New Selene roll by through the window. There wasn’t a person or moving cruiser in sight. Nor was there a sound in the air besides those produced by the wind and our cruiser. This town had never been packed, but seeing it like this was…too much. I did nothing to stop the tears that were building in my eyes. Not that I could.
Opifex sniffled beside me. I rolled my head toward him. He rubbed his eyes, driving with one arm.
“What’s going on? Why did any of this have to happen?” Opifex’s voice broke as he choked on a sob. “I was at the shop when it started. Everything was fine up until the TV stopped working. Then customers complained about their phones not working. Giant robots came bursting through the door. You know what I did? I ran!” He paused to sob and sniffled a few times before talking again. “I was worried about Ma, so I just left. I didn’t even try to help anyone! I let everyone get taken—”
“What could you have done?” I said. “I fought those things. I know how powerful they are. If you even tried, they would have taken you anyway. You were right to go home and protect your family.”
“But I couldn’t even do that! Ma’s…gone. All because I wasn’t strong enough to protect her. That military psycho beat me in two seconds.”
“Of course he did, because he’s a soldier. Opifex, listen…”
I explained what had happened and why it had happened. I explained about the Black and White Dwarfs and President Frost’s decision to screw over her own citizens. I explained where I’d been and what I’d been up to. It all seemed so irrelevant now.
“How is that any better than what the AI do?” Opifex frowned. “If they don’t kill us, Frost’s robots and soldiers do.”
I shook my head. “It’s not better. If the war is Frost against the AI, then it’s evil against evil. I guess Frost is the lesser evil, but if she keeps going like this…then I don’t know.”