BEATRICE:

“It’s not working yet, but it will. I’ve got this…” Jackie focused on the fire in front of us. Her leg shook nervously under her Life Rite hospital gown. She was a mess, with the energy of a drug addict looking for a fix. This is what became of Grace’s daughter?

It would devastate Grace to see Jackie’s state, despite her best intentions to keep her daughter hidden from me.

Poor Jackie divulged two significant points of interest in that clumsy exchange. When I first saw Jackie in the lab, I noticed her resemblance to Grace hidden under her matted ponytail and dirty janitor jumpsuit. Her initial blood test confirmed my suspicion, but hearing Jackie say it out loud was a huge win for me.

Her knowledge of the slipstream made the connection even more real. Jackie had no clue what was going on, but her intense concentration on the flames was admirable.

“It’s working!” She lost consciousness and entered the slipstream, leaving her physical body behind.

I wasn’t aware that you could use fire as a way into the slipstream, but I had a lot of experience, so I felt confident it wouldn’t take me long to master this new skill.

“Here we go.” I took a deep breath and watched the flames dance in front of me. Their performance delighted and entranced me. The rhythmic movements lit up my eyes and engulfed my mind. I slipped away from the physical space to meet Jackie in the slipstream. Unlike her sloppy entrance, I gracefully took my physical body with me. Amateur!

“Here we are. Well done, Jackie.”

She stared into a stream of Grace giving her away to that janitor, Baxter. Jackie was a toddler, crying desperately for her mother not to leave. Grace covered her tracks, I’ll give her that. Who would have guessed Jackie was with someone who cleaned the toilets?

Grace abandoned Jackie and left her to fend for herself in this cruel game of have and have-nots. Being Grace’s daughter should have provided a life of luxury, not struggle. I put my hand on her ethereal shoulder for comfort.

“I’m sorry, Jackie. That must have been difficult being abandoned by your mother. You’re not the first family member Grace turned her back on.”

Jackie tried to hide her tears. She didn’t have the guts to look me in the eye.

“Let me show you the truth about your mother,” I said with a deep exhale.

The pitiful amount of portals Jackie had access to swirled away, replaced with sparks under my control. I had to be strategic about what to show Jackie so she could truly understand the complexity of the situation. If she followed the actual truth, things would still work out for her.

“Let’s go back to Bennu Island,” I said. “Where did you leave off?”

“The villagers were storming the complex,” Jackie replied meekly.

I nodded. “It’s a painful scene to revisit, but crucial for you to see the devastation, the true cost of Grace’s idiotic actions.”

I concentrated my efforts and called that portal to me. Some people ran through the slipstream to find their moments, but my skills were more advanced, enabling me to call forth sparks on demand.

Jackie noticed this. “Wow, you’re good.”

Who had shown her the slipstream in the first place? I had an inclination, but would get her to confirm my guess in due time.

“Follow me, Jackie.”

The desired stream opened itself to me, and I dived inside. Jackie followed, but stayed on the outskirts as a passive observer. She clearly knew how to watch, but did she know how to engage and manipulate? More details I would surely get out of her when the time was right.

Bennu Island on the night the villagers came to the complex was a difficult stream for me to experience. I stayed away from it for a long time, but knew it would need to be faced again someday.

At the front gate of the Camp Claudi complex, guards shot the poor villagers that weren’t smart enough to flee. The locals didn’t deserve to be killed, but what they did was dangerous. Order needed to be maintained.

“This is awful,” Jackie said.

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“Yes, but the real story isn’t out there. It’s inside.”

I settled onto the impressive balcony overlooking the volcano. Mark Claudi sat at a table, tinkering with his drone.

Alpha looked basic in those times. It didn’t have any attachments under its signature eye-like structure yet. Mark was only just learning that appendages would give it a broader scope of duties. Presently, Mark attempted to attach a gun to its face plate in order to help the guards deal with the restless natives knocking at the door.

Mark was as handsome as ever in his signature polo shirt and boat shoes. Broad shoulders, chiseled cheekbones, striking blue eyes. He was perfect in every way.

Unable to get the gun to adhere to the drone, he pushed it away with frustration.

Mark stood and walked to the balcony’s edge. He gazed up at the castle tower, still half built, then down at the massive volcano below. He took in its power as his own. Despite the minor snag with the drone, he was pleased with himself and all he had accomplished. As he should be. Years of struggle were finally paying off.

Two guards burst into the office adjoining the balcony, with Grace and that village boy under their control.

“Sir, we caught your daughter with this punk in the fray.”

“Bring them to me,” Mark said without turning around.

The guards pulled Grace and a handcuffed Zayne, I believe his name was, out onto the balcony. Gunshots sprayed in the distance.

Grace called out, “Father! Where have you been?”

Mark turned and nodded to the guard, who released Grace. She ran to her father and wrapped her arms around him.

Grace looked up at Mark with tears in her eyes. “I was worried sick about you. I haven’t seen you in days and I thought…”

“Shhhh.” Mark wiped away his daughter’s tears. “I was working on something extremely important. It’s time to reap what we sow.”

“You didn’t even say goodbye,” Grace whispered. “I thought someone had taken you and Mother.”

Mark replied, “I’m sorry about that, but I thought you were mature enough to be on your own for a few days. Perhaps I was wrong to think you’d outgrown your naivety. Hmm?”

“Well, I…” Grace fumbled for an answer.

“How did you get involved with… this boy?”

Mark and Zayne looked at each other with recognition.

“Dad, this is Zayne.” Grace glanced over at her friend, who stood in battle stance under the guards’ control.

“No one should ever be in a cage, Father.” Tears streamed down Grace’s face as she struggled to deliver those words to Mark.

“My dear, this world is too complicated for your sensibilities. There’s a lot you don’t understand, but it’s okay. I’m here now. I’ll always be here to fix your mistakes.”

Mark hugged Grace and nodded to the guards, who pulled Zayne toward the door. The boy struggled, defiant and strong.

“Don’t hurt him!” Grace called out. “Father, please tell me. What did Zayne do to deserve that cage? Maybe he can make things right somehow.”

Zayne screamed, “I was taken!”

The two guards struggled to get Zayne off the balcony. He was as strong as both men combined.

“Grace, please!” Zayne called out as they tried to drag him away. He was desperate to stay with her, but he could see, in her father’s commanding presence, their connection crumbled.

Still, Grace tried to wield what little authority she thought she still had. “Let him go, Father.”

Mark smiled down at her. “Forget about him. I have a surprise for you, Grace.”

He casually walked past Zayne and the guards, into the office and over to a side room that was open.

Grace yelled to the guards, “Stop! Keep him here. Let my father and I come to a conclusion.”

The guards let up, and Zayne stopped struggling. They probably listened to Grace because they weren’t forceful enough to finish the job, anyway.

Mark came back out onto the balcony, pushing his wife’s wheelchair.

Grace ran over and hugged her mother. “Mom, where have you been? I thought I lost you.”

Her worry seemed genuine. Grace cared for her mother, but perhaps she preferred her to be crippled so she could be the sole recipient of Mark’s undying love. Being adored by a man like that was intoxicating, after all.

Jackie called out from the edge of the slipstream. “Wait, is that… is that you in the wheelchair, Beatrice?”

I smiled and stood up from that godforsaken wheelchair that kept me prisoner for years. Stronger than ever and excited to show it, I picked up the wheelchair and threw it over the balcony into the volcano.

Grace was understandably shocked, but instead of being excited for her loving mother’s cure for paralyzing muscular dystrophy, she was jealous.

“You’re Grace’s… mom?” Jackie asked, still piecing it all together.

“Mother, how?” Grace asked. “I don’t understand.”

She looked like I took her credit cards away. If Grace cared for me, she would have been elated rather than horrified.

“Your father has developed an astounding cure for my muscular dystrophy using those disgusting bird eggs from this miserable island. I didn’t think it would actually work, but I feel better than ever. We can all go home and get back to normal. Can you imagine the gala we’re going to throw? A celebration is in order!”

I hugged my daughter to celebrate this monumental occasion. It killed me not to hug my family for all those years. I was a prisoner in my body, trapped as a passive observer. For the first time in eons, I squeezed her tightly. Instead of embracing me back, Grace pulled away.

“The serum…” Grace whispered as she looked at Zayne and then back at me.

That little ingrate pushed me away and said, “You used Zayne and… and how many others? You experimented on them. You kept them in cages!”

Mark pleaded, “Don’t be ridiculous, Grace. Of course we’re sorry about that. We truly are, and we will make things right with retribution payments, schooling, jobs, you name it. We will more than take care of the boy, I promise.”

I tried to make her see the bigger picture. “Grace, do you realize how many lives we can save with this treatment? Think of all the people we can help now. It’s a miracle!”

Zayne yelled, “Look what you did to me!”

He screeched like a Bennu bird and ripped his hands apart, snapping the handcuffs off his wrists with ease. The guards ran away like cowards.

Zayne flexed his sculpted muscles. His veins glowed under his skin. With another flex, his skin lit on fire. He grunted, stretched his powerful body, and two fiery wings grew from his arms. The leathery wings extended down to the floor, massive and glowing! We created a monster!