Earth

2017

Rory had lost track of time.

General Price pressed a wet cloth to her forehead and pushed her hair back from her face. It was his first time coming to see her since the interrogation began.

"I'm sorry, Rory." His voice was heavy.

Her vision swam. She'd expected something different than drugs and disorientingly loud music, like physical pain. Strangely, Rory thought she might have been better equipped for that. The unsettling feeling of the medication gave her the chills.

All she could think about was how she told them to get it over with. What kind of person would react the way she had? Familiar. Rory knew suffering and she knew not to expect anyone to show her mercy. But why?

She hated being a mystery to herself.

Fire ran through her veins, rushing into her from the IV hanging over her head. The general had turned off the awful music that had played on repeat and dimmed the harsh overhead lights, but her heart was still pounding out of her chest and her thoughts were hard to catch. The drugs had stolen her mind from her. What little of her mind she had, at least.

At some point she'd realized they were trying to keep her from being able to lie and then track the lies. All the details they asked, the way they rephrased the same questions, and did so with her under the influence, seemed like they wanted to catch her red-handed.

Rory wasn't lying though.

"Did you remember anything?" He asked.

She'd apparently trained with their guns, but that would not lessen her suffering to say. "No." Rory met the general's eyes, searching for truth, because she had so few places to look for it.

"The way you've handled yourself is reminiscent of someone who's been interrogated before, or trained to resist it."

"I don't understand any of this." Sobs that she couldn't release thickened her voice. "I'm broken into pieces that don't fit together."

"You've studied Earth and you're experienced with interrogation. Yet you're here alone with nothing at your disposal. It's seemingly more and more likely that you're a refugee. The alternative, that you're a trained specialist, worries me."

"Me too." Crazy enough, it did worry her. This wasn't her planet but it was full of people who didn't deserve what could be coming. The phantom pain of an unknown past stoked her fear for this planet.

"We truly are just children." Her voice cracked. "Children beating each other with sticks. Such nonsense. I wonder if we learned from our parents... Or if they grew past our ways..."

She thought General Price was going to speak again, but he only turned and left her alone in this room. Left her broken beneath the weight of more pain than she could comprehend.

All she'd ever known and loved was lost.

Rory was lost.

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Muffled noises roused Rory from her sleep. The fire no longer flooded her veins. Was it over?

Hope touched the hurt places in her heart. Such a frightening thing to feel when having hope broken hurt worse than anything else ever could.

"Rory." A voice she knew.

A smile crawled onto her face. "Theo."

Fingers brushed her wrists. She managed to open her eyes to see him struggling to unlock the cuffs. Dr. Johanson stood behind him, looking shaken beneath her calm facade.

"What... are you doing here?" Rory asked.

"We insisted." Theo had her free now. "They're done with you. We're taking you to your new home."

"Home..." Rory moaned the word. Nothing had ever sounded weirder.

Theo put his arm behind her to help her when two soldiers approached, but he only glared. "Stay away from her."

The doctor helped Theo lift her. "We've got you now, Rory."

She met Theo's eyes as he held her close and turned for the wheelchair nearby. Having someone hold her, even for a moment, felt incredible, like home wrapping around her and soothing her soul.

Together, Dr. Johanson and Theo wheeled her out into the hallway and through the building.

"I don't know your first name." Rory watched the doctor, too tired to smile again, even though she wanted to.

"It's Christine, honey."

"Christine." Her eyes slid shut. "Theodore." Consciousness nearly drifted away. "My only two friends on Earth."

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Rory's ordeal had bought her windows that opened to the outside. It bought her three rooms and a kitchenette. It bought a fenced in area outside in the fresh air.

As much as she wanted to shun happiness after the price she'd paid for such basic luxuries, this was all Rory had, and it flooded her with joy. After all that time in the room where people stared at her constantly, it was such a thrill just to look at the sky or watch the wind kick up dust.

Had she always been enthralled by simple things? Or was her life just this pathetic now?

It was hard to say where things went from here. While they gave her such little information, her sense told her that the government would be preparing for every contingency, and that they'd never let her out of their captivity. How could they?

Rory's world had shrank down to a few rooms in a military complex. She longed to stretch the limits of these walls surrounding her. To push and find a way beyond them. No, not physically. She had no plans to run. Crazy enough, she didn't even want to. Of all the things that didn't make sense, that had to be up there. Rory was content in captivity. What the hell did that say about her? Probably that she was pragmatic. How would she escape and survive in a world where she had absolutely nothing while an entire government chased her?

Maybe it was also because she was so afraid for this world.

Breathing in deeply, she fell back on the bench that she'd moved to the window and closed her eyes. Testing remained a daily ritual, only life had begun to squeeze its way into the clinical. Especially when Theo came. All of their conversations were monitored and recorded. Rory knew that. But talking to him and Christine felt real. The doctor couldn't visit often, but Theo came at least once a day.

Rory napped until she heard Theo's soft knocks on the door. They were distinct, like his voice. She'd come to recognize these little details.

"Can I come in?"

Always he asked and always she said, "Please do."

His white coat was perfectly neat, as always. "Are you sleeping better?"

Rory didn't think she'd processed the interrogation in a normal way, not that she had any idea of what normal was. Theo had seemed concerned about how well she'd handled it all. Truth was, Rory just had to survive. Feeling would come later when she was safe. Those instincts drove her even more than her desperation to recover her memories and figure out what she was doing here.

"I slept well last night." She scooted down the bench so he could sit beside her. "You don't have a list of topics today."

He chuckled. "No. I thought we'd have a break from the notes."

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"You can't resist asking me all the questions you think up every night."

"Trying to control myself here. Although, I do think of more to ask you every day." He shrugged, smile so sweet that it was charming. "You are the only alien I've ever met. Or time traveler." A nod. "Dimension hopper. Genetically modified clone."

"Oh, you have new theories?"

"Always new theories. Most are stupid, though."

"Same for me. I can only guess at my life. It's really sad."

"If we could figure out what caused your amnesia. Or how the craft you came in works. It seems like it is just a shell. There's no computer, nothing mechanical apart from the door. I think something else transported you and it just carried you. But it's not my area of expertise."

Rory watched him. "You didn't bring your notes, but this is still an interview."

"No, it's not. Really. I don't have an agenda today."

"You always have an agenda. It's fine. You can't help yourself."

"What do you mean?"

"You're a scientist. You can't help but dissect me, even through normal conversation."

He shifted, expression tightening. "I don't want you to feel that way."

"Why not? It's not my personality that makes me fascinating, Theo."

"That's not true."

Rory sighed and leaned back on her arms. "As long as I'm here, I'll be a lab rat. There's no escaping that. It's nice to have some scientists who actually like their rats."

Theo stood and paced a few steps before facing her again. Interesting how put together he always seemed until suddenly he wasn't. He wasn't the best at covering his emotions. "Stop insulting yourself. Stop insulting me."

Her brows raised. "I've insulted you?"

"Yes. You said Christine and I were your friends. Now you're a rat? And I'm just some cold-blooded scientist experimenting on you?"

Maybe her tone had been a little more jaded than she'd realized. "Sorry. I'm just frustrated, I guess. I don't ever really know how I feel. I try not to think about it."

"Maybe you should. Maybe you need to connect with your emotions more, not just to try remembering your old life, but to be healthy."

"Are we doing therapy now, too?"

He groaned and sat back down, though not as close as before. "I didn't mean to make you feel like you're a subject. You're a person." His voice quieted and he glanced at her before returning his stare to his feet. "I care about you."

Rory bit her lip. He was shy, wasn't he? Shy because he was being honest about his emotions or shy because of her? "I won't question it again. I didn't mean to do that in the first place."

He looked up at her. "I do have some questions that kept me up last night, though."

"I knew it was coming."

"Just a few." He turned to face her. "Okay, I'll say a few terms and you tell me the first word that comes to mind. It has to be the first, alright?"

Rory sat back against the wall and drew her knees up. "Alright."

Time passed quicker with Theo than it did with anyone else, and she wished it worked the opposite, because she'd rather that he never left.

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Theo's knock came at the door later that night when he shouldn't have been back until the next day. Was it him? It was. He always knocked four times. The first two softer than the last.

"Theo?" Rory set the paintbrush she'd been using down beside her palette.

He opened the door a crack, an aberration from his usual. "Can I come in? Sorry for dropping by."

"Yeah. Is everything okay?" Her eyes widened as shuffled in, holding a guitar. "What are you doing?"

"I kept thinking after we talked. It isn't fair for you to be the only one humiliated. You're always watched and poked and interrogated. I haven't been considerate enough." He sat down on the bench by the window, looking at her for a moment before laughing quietly. "Prepare yourself."

"Theo–"

He strummed, his fingers deft as they danced across the neck of the guitar, the sounds beautiful enough to clash with his self-conscious smile. "Rory..." He chuckled softly as he sang. "Forgive me."

"No." She covered her eyes with both hands and dropped down onto the bench. "Oh, you really don't have to do this."

"Rory," he sang louder. "Forgive me!"

"Theo, stop."

"You're not a rat. You're–"

"You really don't have to do this."

"You're human. H-U-M-A-N. Rory, the human. And I'm so sorry."

Rory shook her head. "Great voice. Great instrumentals. Fucking horrible lyrics. They're bad, Theo."

"H-U-M-A-N." Theo strummed harder, singing louder.

"You really don't have to spell it again."

"Rory, the human." He lowered the guitar and smiled. "Have I embarrassed myself enough?"

She covered her mouth, biting her lips.

"Oh, you need more?"

"No." She laughed and lowered her hand. "I don't think I can take more. You have thoroughly embarrassed yourself."

"I probably need to work on the song a little more for next time."

Rory caught his eyes, stomach fluttering. He was a quiet kind of handsome. A quiet kind of funny. But loud in his kindness. "I forgive you, Theo. Not that there was anything to forgive in the first place."

"There's a lot you've forgiven. Someone should offer you an apology."

"What else can I expect? I'm a threat."

"You're a person."

The thudding of the heart filled in the quiet that followed. "Are most people like you? Kind and trusting?"

"I like to think so. I have been called an optimist, though." His brows pinched then as his eyes dropped her hands. "Have you been painting?"

"Oh." Rory nodded at the window. "I'm working on something." She moved to the glass where brushstrokes of violet covered the blue sky outside.

"Is that..."

"The sky. Yes. It looks right to me." She rubbed her arm. "I kept trying colors until it did." The violet covering the sky made her stomach light. "This feels like home."

"That's incredible." His stare switched from the window to her. "We could do a functional MRI to see which parts of your brain you're using when you do this. Prove whether it's a memory."

"I thought your imaging showed I'm having procedural memories and things like that."

"This is different. I think this is like the song you sang. It's an actual memory."

Her throat tightened at the mention of the song. "Why didn't you want to do tests while I sang the song before?"

"It seemed cruel. Clearly, it's a source of pain. I decided not to pursue it."

Even then he'd cared. "Theo..." She walked to the window, looking at her violet sky. The camera was behind her. If she spoke softly, they probably wouldn't hear her. "There's something I haven't told anyone."

He moved beside her, tapping the tacky, drying paint, like he was just inspecting her work. "What is it?"

"I swear this is the only thing I haven't mentioned."

"Say it, already."

Rory swallowed hard. "I know how to use guns. I know how to use your guns. An M16." She watched the change in his expression as he processed the information. "Why would I know anything about guns from Earth or how to use them?

"Never tell anyone." Theo's voice was tight. "Never."

Her eyes widened. She tried to speak, but nothing came out.

"I'm serious, Rory."

"But what if it could help keep this world safe?"

"Unbridled panic never kept anyone safe. No good will come of this, not unless you have answers." He eased closer, voice low. "Rory, there's no hope of you ever having a life if they find out you've trained with our weapons."

Guilt pricked her for keeping it a secret. "I'll never have a life anyway."

"That's not true. If you keep helping us, it's only natural they'll favor you. They won't be able to help it if you make them care about you."

Her breath caught at the tenderness of his voice. "You actually do trust me. Why?"

"You're a good person."

It wasn't the first time they'd gotten close. This time felt different still. His eyes didn't leave hers.

"You deserve better than this," he whispered. "You've lost everything. You can't lose your hope for a future too."

"There's only one reason to train with guns. I have to say something eventually."

"There's two reasons. One is to attack. The other is to defend." He picked at the violet residue on his finger. "Only you can say which of those you want to do."

"Others like me could have the same knowledge and skill set."

"The military is already preparing for that. They assume that if you know enough about Earth to have mastered English and Mandarin that your people could have mastered much more. I'm trusting you. So you trust me too. Tell no one."

She started to speak again when a sudden knock on the door made her jump. Did someone see them talking quietly? Had she gotten Theo in trouble?

"It's urgent." That voice. It sounded like one of the general's advisors.

Rory rushed to the door and opened it wide. "What is it?"

The woman swallowed hard enough for her to hear. "I need to show you."

She rushed down the hall with the woman, Theo following closely behind. Then they entered a room Rory hadn't seen before, one with monitors lining the wall. The general stood with his arms crossed, staring at a screen.

Lights flickered as the camera shifted from a reporter Rory had never seen to someone who made her breath catch.

Dr. Christine Johanson.

Her friend spoke confidently on the screen. "I did not come to the decision to share this news with the world lightly."

Theo moved beside Rory. Her voice trembled as she whispered to him. "What have you guys done?"

Dr. Johanson spoke on the screen, voice clear. "The world deserves to know the truth."

Theo breathed out through pursed lips. Solemn. "It wasn't me."

The general turned to Rory. "Did you know about this?"

"No."

He slammed his fist against the table. "Damn it!"

Dr. Johanson continued to talk, spilling secrets that Rory knew would land the woman in prison for a very long time.

And the small world that had become Rory's in the past seven weeks blew up on the spot. She couldn't imagine what this new future held.