J Batt: Onliest

The words were enough for the bots. Arquella bobbed in understanding and returned to the others. She, Bear, and Huck joined the amassing multitude and led them out to explore.

Rather than racing back on a bike, Syn and Avia, with Eku and Blip at their sides, took the time to walk the distance back to the great tree. Each living thing startled Avia. For a long time, she huddled close to Syn, uneasy about the strangeness of this world. With each step, the sense of delight took over, and she ventured out—first to look at flowers and then to stare at squirrels and admire the myriad bots moving to and fro. Above, the giant jellyfish sky cleaners bobbed. Over the treetops, lumbering and docile tree movers stepped. Amidst them all, monkeys swung and dogs bolted through. The world burst at the edges with life and activity.

The last of the walk ended with Avia running through the trees, her smile large, laughing at the wonder of it all.

That night, the Ecology swarmed into the empty spaces of the Zoo to sleep throughout the night. Several brave parties ventured out to the settlements on the Rise that they were so familiar with. Within days, the Disc would be filled with all of the various life of the Ecology.

Avia and Blip followed Syn to the tree, to climb the stairs and sleep in her treehouse. Bear was unable to make the ascent, so Arquella stayed with him at the bottom. Huck joined them up above. Soon, they were all fast asleep—except Blip, who stood sentry at the entrance, his internals glowing brightly through his broken shell.

Syn laid her head down on an old pillow and closed her eyes, with the image of Blip guarding the door as the last she saw that day.

Avia curled close behind her, and she felt the girl’s warmth through the blankets. “She’s still out there.”

Syn replied, “Ya. Somewhere.”

Avia said, “I’m scared of her.”

“Me too.” Behind them, Eku purred. Syn added, “But we are safe here.”

“Okay,” Avia sighed, her words a thin whisper.

The darkness of fatigue soaked through, and Syn drifted into its embrace. Sleep filled with the fangs of recent dark moments, panic unattended, fears left to fester. Sleep without rest.

Her throat blazed. She coughed and opened her eyes wide, frantic, searching for the source of her torture. She couldn’t breathe—something was pressing across her mouth; a dark form hung out of reach, its arms pressed to her head. She was being smothered.

No. There was the sharp, acerbic taste of something on the cloth. She was being tranquilized. Before her vision faded, she saw the dancing orange of firelight—all around her. But why?

She searched frantically for Blip, clawing around. From the corner of her eye, she saw the white of his shell, but he was against the ground, unmoving. She saw, a meter away, another glint of white shell. Blip? What’s happening? What happened to you?

Above her, she saw Avia staring down. Manic fury in her eyes, the girl’s grip was impossible to break.

She wanted to scream, and then the image shifted. It wasn’t Avia. It was herself. Her own halo of dark hair, the orange dots across her forehead. It was herself.

As whatever the chemical was finished its work, she stopped struggling, and her last, brief conscious thought that night was the word “Why?”

Then her body fell into stinging cold. She scrambled to grab ahold of anything solid and her fingers dug into mud. She opened her eyes to see the same image of herself, twisted as if under water. That mirror image reached through from beneath the waves to kill her.

No! That wasn’t right. It wasn’t the other girl under the water. It was Syn. Syn was under the water and couldn’t breathe, and the hands of the mirror girl were clamped around her throat holding her down.

Neci!

Syn kicked out, trying to push the girl off. She had no leverage and missed with each attempt.

Desperately, she clawed at the girl’s arms; long, brightly colored fingernails tore into flesh, pulling skin away in crimson lines. Syn’s next breath came easier. The pressure at her throat relaxed as Neci’s fingers loosened. She had hurt Neci.

Syn raked again, aiming at Neci’s face. The girl pulled back, but Syn’s nails clawed across her cheek. Neci howled and wretched away. Syn kicked again, targeting the girl’s torso and landed the kick perfectly. Neci fell back, splashing down in the water.

Syn scrambled to sit up. She pulled herself from the water with a massive gasp, her heart racing, her lungs desperate for air.

She came up on her shaky legs and stepped back as Neci did the same, standing up out of the water. They stood at the edge of the coursing river as it moved past the great tree. Syn had bathed in this very portion so many times, resting on its shores with Blip and Eku. Now, knee-deep in cold waters, she struggled for her life.

Everything glowed orange. Neci’s fierce face was bathed in red light. But Neci looked different. She had pulled out her braids and was wearing a pair of pants and a shirt from Syn’s own collection. A dozen necklaces draped around the girl’s neck and there were seven dabs of orange paint on the girl’s forehead. She was holding her side, and Syn saw blood staining the girl’s new shirt. Around her, the water rippled and orange flames reflected in the dancing surface.

Syn spun to discover the source of the fire. The great tree was engulfed in flames, burning like a massive torch. Dozens of response bots had scrambled to put out the flames, but they were struggling to keep it contained as the fire crackled and spread through the reaching limbs.

Something hit Syn in the shoulder, and she stumbled forward. Pain radiated from the impact, and she splashed aimlessly, working to keep from falling forward. She gained her balance and turned to see Neci swinging a branch at her. She was unable to dodge the blow, and it hit her hard in the face. Syn tasted blood and spat large clumps as the world turned to a thick ringing in her ears. She could no longer hear the splashing of her steps in the water. All was a din.

She staggered in her steps and took in the scene around her. The tree was blazing and, in her memory, she saw Blip’s demolished shell. Syn turned toward Neci. “Why? Why did you kill him?”

Neci’s own steps were faltering. Her hand was pressed hard to her side and blood pumped with each limping step. She dragged the branch in the water as she moved to strike Syn again. “You killed my child! You killed Admiral! You killed my Sisters!”

Syn heard the words as if through water, and their understanding was lost, but Neci’s rage was not. Syn shouted back, “Why did you kill Blip?” Her hearing had returned enough that she could hear her own muffled voice.

Neci bleated back, “He’s a liar! Liar! They were all liars and traitors!” She staggered ahead, swung, and the branch missed Syn easily. Neci stumbled forward as the momentum of the swing pulled her off balance.

“Just leave us alone!”

Neci swung again, missing, spitting with each word, “You killed everyone! You came to my world!”

“You tried to come here first!”

“This should’ve been my world! I should’ve been given Eden, not you, you pale echo. And when I’m done with you, this world will be mine.”

“They’ll never accept you. The Ecology is scared of you! Avia knows you’re twisted.”