Nick James - The Pearl wars

Cassius grabs onto the guy’s wrist and tries to yank his hand from the bracelet. But it’s like trying to move a tower. The guy stays utterly still, possessed by the words streaming from our bracelets.

“I didn’t want this for you,” the voice continues, “but you would have surely perished if we’d have kept you with us any longer. Our world is crumbling. The Authority seeks to colonize and conquer Earth. We cannot let that happen, so we must stay and fight… try to get as many members of the Resistance as possible off-planet before we take down the Authority once and for all.

“Of course, this means nothing to you. You’re only children. I’m sorry that it had to be children. An adult body would have rejected the serum necessary for transforming you… for giving you the power to manipulate transport energy.”

“Pearls.” I look over at Cassius. His arm goes limp, giving up on trying to break free.

“You were still growing,” the voice continues. “We needed bodies that were malleable enough to survive the triggering process. I would have done anything to keep you here, but you were our only hope of getting safely off-planet in time.”

Energy continues to erupt around us, feeding the man the next words. And with each new phrase I grow more and more certain that this is her. This is our mom speaking.

“The Authority is everywhere,” the voice continues, “and now that they’ve discovered your father’s energy transfer, this civil war is getting bloodier by the hour. They’ve already attacked Earth, leaving us free to jettison you to safety among the ruins. From all we’ve been able to assess, the planet should provide you with stable living conditions. And when this war is over and we have won, we will join you. I wish there was another way. I hope you will be able to understand. And forgive. Your father and I love you very much.”

Mom. It’s Mom.

The man releases our wrists and staggers backward. The voice stops. So do the coils of energy.

Cassius and I stand in silence for a moment, dumbfounded. As loony as it all sounds, everything fits together like some messed-up jigsaw puzzle. A few days ago I would have laughed it off as some elaborate joke. But I’ve seen too much.

And then the dread sets in. Every fallen Pearl an extinguished life from our home planet… wherever that is. Madame knew, and still she kept Cassius from me. Pearls were more important to her than the truth… than lives.

Suddenly the thought of her buried beneath a pile of rubble isn’t so horrifying. Screw this so-called “Authority.” People like her are the real enemy, trading lives for energy to power Chosen Cities. One of those lives could have been my mom’s. Or dad’s.

The guy stumbles to the ground, hand over his face. Then for the first time he speaks in English. Two words. That’s all it takes.

“All gone.” His face crumbles as he crawls into the darkness. “All gone.”

Cassius shakes his head. “We can’t just leave him here.”

I consider my options: grab the guy and take off on the run again, or contact Alkine and head back to the Academy. As angry as I am at Alkine, he was there when it counted back in Seattle. The Surface is too dangerous right now, with or without Madame.

“I’ll take him up to the Academy,” I respond. “It’s the only safe place.”

I wait for Cassius to argue, but all he does is nod.

I glance over at the invader, face still buried in his hands, then turn back to Cassius. “You should come with us.”

He scoffs. “That’s not a good idea.”

“Why? Don’t you think our parents would have wanted it?”

“I can’t go up to a Skyship. I belong down here.”

I frown. “With the Unified Party?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Look,” I step forward, “if I’m gonna start freeing these people, I’m going to need your help.”

He glares at me. “I just spent the past few days trying to kill you. Do you realize what you’re asking?”

“People change.”

He gives a cold laugh. “You’re optimistic. What happened to that scared little kid hanging off the rooftop?” He walks back to the side of the cruiser.

I follow him. “Are you saying we’re supposed to be enemies?”

“Fisher, you and I can’t be enemies anymore. That doesn’t mean you should trust me.”

“But our mother said-”

He bangs his fist on the dark metal. “That was just a recording. A trick.”

“That wasn’t a trick, Cassius.”

He shakes his head, keeping his face obscured by darkness. “You wanna believe it, don’t you?”

“You’ve seen what’s happened.”

“It’s ridiculous.” He sighs, staring at the ground. “They abandoned us,” he mutters. “Left us with this stupid, impossible mission. They should have known we’d be separated.”

“They’re still coming,” I lean against the side of the cruiser. “They’ll be here.”

He glances up at me, eyes slit. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

I ignore him, peering inside the cabin. “You got any long-range CPs that could tap into the Academy’s frequency?”

He nods, steps into the cruiser, and comes back with two palm receivers. He tosses one to me.

“They’re closed circuit,” he mutters, “but you can change the frequency. Play with the dial at the bottom.”

I look up at him. “Are you gonna keep the other one?”

“Why?”

“If we need to get in touch… ”

“And what? Plan parties while the parents are out of town? Get real, Fisher.”

I keep my eyes locked on him. “Promise you’ll keep it.”

He says nothing, but slips the receiver into his pocket. Then he moves to the door handle, preparing to pull it shut.

“Wait.” I hold out my hand. “What are you doing?”

“There’s something I wanna take care of,” he replies. “You said you knew how to contact the Academy. Is there anything else you need?”

“No… ” I start. “I mean, is this it?”

He sighs. “You start breaking Pearls again, you know where to reach me.”

I nod. And without a goodbye, he pulls the door shut and moves to the driver’s seat.

I back away from the cruiser, over to the alien, and watch as the landing gear retracts and the ship rises into the sky. Another moment and it retreats into the darkness, rippling my battle-torn visitation suit as it speeds away.

I clutch the com-pad in my hand, holding it in front of my face and taking refuge in the meager light provided by the touch screen. He’s angry, that’s all. In shock. I’ll see him again.

But for tonight, it ends on a rooftop between Cassius and me. Just as it began.

Cassius Stevenson snuck through the shadowed hallways of the Lodge, looking over his shoulder with every corner he turned. He had changed into a fresh suit upon arriving, eager to leave the dirt and dust of the Fringes behind.

It was three in the morning, much too early for most to be awake. Without Madame, the Lodge was quieter-less of a fortress and more of an old, lonely mansion.

His mind rushed back to childhood memories. Birthdays. School. Training.

It would be the last time he’d walk these hallways.

After changing clothes, he’d broken into the student infirmary and managed to run a full body scan. Ever since he’d seen Madame reduce Fisher’s girlfriend to a puddle with the press of a button, he knew he’d need to make sure she couldn’t do the same to him.

Sure enough, the scan detected a chip. Not in his head, luckily, but in his wrist, directly below his identification code. He’d stuffed his pockets with supplies. The chip would have to come out. Not now, but soon.

His next stop was the Office of Research and Discovery. Last time he’d entered, it’d been to leech the energy from a Pearl-to destroy the life inside. Now he was heading straight for the central radar system used to track Pearl landings. He wouldn’t be able to stop the Unified Party outright, but he’d be able to slow them down.