Nick James - The Pearl wars

“That day on the rooftop,” I continue. “We triggered something in each other. It brought me here. You, too. Help me find the lab. We’re connected in some way.”

“You’re crazy,” he replies. “There is no lab. The Unified Party’s sifted through these ruins hundreds of times. Everything was destroyed.”

I elbow him in the stomach with my free arm. He stumbles back, allowing me time to break free.

He’s about to lunge at me again when a soft whimpering cuts through the silence. Both of us pause, listening to the crying.

“Do you hear that?” Cassius whispers.

I nod, coughing. “It’s coming from the other side of the alley.”

Without responding, he walks to the edge of the building and peers out a large hole in the side of the wall. I limp after him and turn the corner into the alleyway.

The crying grows louder.

I toy with the idea of attacking him again. His back’s turned, but even without the injuries I’d be no match for him. It’s safer to run.

And that’s just what I’m about to do-until I step into the intersection.

I recognize it immediately from my dream. No, not dream. Memory. Everything’s where it should be, each concrete skeleton positioned as if I had stepped back in time. The green mist has cleared. It’s lighter now, but the same.

Then, crouching on the sidewalk next to a blown-out window, I see her.

A girl a few years younger than me sits with her back to us, dwarfed by a jagged, barely standing wall. She senses us immediately. She quiets and turns around to stare.

She wears loose-fitting pants and a shirt, unadorned and simple. Once white, they’re now smattered with dust and dirt from the ruins.

We approach her carefully. Something about her demeanor demands caution.

There’s something off about her. At first I don’t see it, but as a faint glimmer of sunshine pokes through the smog and illuminates her skin, I notice the glowing.

Green. Hazy, but undeniably green.

The energy pours from her like a beacon. Pearl energy.

The pieces fit together perfectly in my mind, even though if I sat down and thought about it I’d realize how crazy it sounds.

I know who this girl is.

She flew out of a Pearl on the overpass. I freed her.

The girl staggers forward, looking at us like we’re a pair of strange animals. She squints as she pushes through the mist, jerking her head side to side. Her bony shoulders are hunched over. She’s malnourished, to say the least.

Cassius and I stand in silence. I watch the girl stumble on bits of rubble. She seems disoriented-out of place.

The sadness and uncertainty in her eyes make her look like a child. Her wispy blonde hair floats in the breeze, sticking to tear-dampened cheeks. She wipes it from her face and allows herself a faint smile as her eyes meet mine.

Then she runs, an awkward lope toward me like a baby learning to walk.

Her first words are unrecognizable-strings of sounds like the ones I heard coming from the Pearl in the trailer. But as she falls forward into my chest, there’s one distinct word buried in the clutter. “Key,” she says.

Before I can react, she wraps her arms around me in a tight embrace. At first I try to pull away, but as her skin touches mine my body buzzes with warm electricity. My knees scab over and smooth. The throbbing in my ankles retreats. Every last drop of pain fades into a memory. She’s healed me.

After a few seconds, she lets go. I fight the urge to grab her again and hold her close. It’s addicting, the energy.

“The. Key.” Her words come out fractured.

“Oh.” I fumble with the chain around my neck, pulling the key from under my torn shirt. “You mean this?”

She glances down at the silver key for a second before looking back up at me, brows furrowed. She shakes her head.

I pull the chain over my head and cradle it in my hand. “The key, right?”

Her eyes narrow and she points her finger into my chest. “The. Key.”

Cassius steps up behind her, grabbing her shoulder and spinning her around forcefully. “Who the hell are you supposed to be?”

She pushes away from him immediately, pulling her arms up around her shoulders. She glances back at me before scanning Cassius from head to toe. Then me again. Then Cassius.

I place the necklace around my neck again. “Do you know anything about a lab?”

She cocks her head, eyes focused on a point far off in the distance.

“Do you understand me?” I continue. “Do you speak English?”

Her eyes shoot back. “I… learn… English. Learn. Ed. Learned.” Then it all spills out like I’ve flipped a switch inside of her-a jumble of words thrown together so fast that they become a single sound. “Carbon-bench-green-supervisor-episode-age-sea-setting-plenty-s mall-escape-crunchy-umbrella-orbital-police-future-run-”

“Okay,” I try to interrupt her, “that’s enough.”

“-radius-church-shiny-given-convict-rhythm-lost-lecturing-abhorren t-”

Cassius glares at me. “Shut her off!”

“Don’t you think I’m trying?” I grab her shoulder, hoping to shake the crazy out of her.

“-silverware-dance-shipping-amaze-cry-”

I grip onto her other shoulder and spin her around so we’re face to face. Her eyes roll back, gazing up at the sky. All I can do is watch for a moment as her lips move effortlessly to accommodate each new word-faster and faster until I have to shout to be heard over her voice. “Have you seen a lab?” She ignores me, eyes still far away, so I repeat myself. Louder. “Did you come from a lab?”

The girl stops. Just as suddenly as it had begun, the string of words becomes a tense silence. Her eyes drop to meet mine, her voice soft. “Came from energy transport.”

“From a Pearl. I know.”

“Key should know.” She reaches up and rubs her chin, clenching her teeth. “Before transport, there was a lab.”

I drop her shoulders and clench my fist. “I knew it! Where is it? I think this key might open something inside. If we can just find-”

“Wrong.” She grimaces. “Incorrect.” I watch as she moves her tongue around in her mouth, opening and closing her jaw. “Untrue. Transport laboratory is many moons away. You should know.”

My fingers fall loose at my sides. I run through her words again and again in my mind, trying to convince myself that there’s another explanation.

Cassius scoffs. “This is ridiculous. I’m supposed to believe that this girl came from inside a Pearl? That’s the stupidest thing I’ve heard in my life.”

She turns to him. A hint of green still lingers around her.

He shakes his head. “Pearls are energy. Electricity. They’re not people. They’re resources!”

“Transport energy,” she replies, eyes dissecting him. “Body and soul broken. Electrons, neutrons, dancing inside… waiting… waiting to reform. Waiting for sanctuary.” She reaches her fingers out to his arm. “Your wrist. Bare.”

Cassius pulls back his hand. “You don’t seriously believe this crazy chick-”

“I saw her fly out of the Pearl,” I reply. “And it’s not the first time. Back in Portland… ”

Without turning around, the girl lays her hand on my shoulder. Again with the pleasant, almost tranquilizing buzz. “More of us. Where are they?”

I shake my head.

“Key,” she continues, “Key unlocked them. You know.”

Cassius moves forward to grab her arm. Before he can do anything, her hand darts up and he’s forced back by an invisible energy wave.

“The others,” she whispers. “Thousands. Where?”

“I don’t know,” I stammer. “I… didn’t know.”

“Key. You know.”

I stumble backward in realization of what we’ve done. I breathe deeply. “All of them. Every single Pearl we’ve used to power a Chosen City or a Skyship, they’ve all been people, haven’t they? We’ve been killing people.”