Well, there I was, me, just 13, waiting on that bridge for someone to take me to what would be my room for however long my dad decided to keep me here. I put my bags down and walked over to the rail. I looked up first, knowing the stars were supposed to be beautiful up here. They were, too, but then I looked down and decided never to look down again. I knew the space station was huge, but I hadn't known that included height. I moved away from the rail and went to my bag to take out something to do while I waited. As I turned around, I saw her. She was just standing there, staring at me, like she had never seen a boy before in her life.
"You're him, aren't you?" she asked timidly. "You're the one I asked for..." she trailed off. Then the alarms went off. She didn't seem to notice. She seemed to be balancing on her toes, still waiting for me to answer. She had on some sort of suit that would go under armor and it looked pretty torn up. She only had on one boot, too. Otherwise, though, I could see she was pretty. She had brown hair that went to her shoulders and blue eyes that had great depth to them.
"There she is!" a bunch of guards called over the noise of the alarm. They were all the way at the other end of the bridge. As they were walking towards us I could feel their footsteps moving the bridge. How had she walked across it without making it shift like that? The guards drew nearer. I don't know why but their presence made me feel uneasy.
A guard grabbed her arm and she snapped her head to look at him out of the corner of her eye. Her face grew grim. The guard let go and backed off. Man, if this girl scared some of the most well-trained guards there were she must be something. I was suddenly very intimidated by this girl, no older than 13, standing in front of me.
She then flicked her hand up; deflecting what seemed to be a dart from hitting her. It landed right by my foot. I stared at it then looked up to see a guard putting a stun gun to her head. What on earth had I gotten myself into? A guard picked up my bags and hurried me down the bridge to the door. He had blocked my view and I couldn't see the girl.
"Who are you?" the guard stated almost robotically once the door closed.
"Michael Hinkara," I said just as robotically. There hadn't been enough people asking me that question lately.
"You're General Hinkara's son?" he said in utter disbelief.
"Yes," I said with a sigh. I hadn't been asked that question enough either.
"Did they tell you to wait there?"
"Yes, they said someone would come for me and bring me to my room before they would bring me to my father."
"I think I better take you to your father straight away. I'll get someone to take your luggage to your room for you."
"Thanks." I said as he started down the blindingly white hallway. I took a bag from him as we started walking and he nodded appreciatively.
When we got to a room he opened it only to reveal about a dozen guards suiting up for patrol. He asked one of them quickly to take my bags to my room. I put the bag I was carrying down next to the others and the guard nodded. I followed "my" guard then down another white hallway to a door that had many guards around it. I guessed it was my father's room or his office or something.
As we walked into a small room I started to hear shouting. I couldn't make out the words until the next door opened.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU LET HER GO!"
"She escaped, sir, we tried to keep her confined but-"
"THERE ARE NO EXCUSES FOR WHAT HAPPENED HERE! MY SON WAS WAITING THERE! HE COULD HAVE BEEN HURT AND THEN WHERE WOULD WE BE?!?"
The room silenced as I walked in. My dad turned around. He was still red in the face from screaming at whoever was behind him. I felt bad for whoever it was. Before my dad left he used to yell at me like that about my grades and stuff.
"There you are," my dad said, coming over to greet me, his face slowly returning to its original color. "It's been a while hasn't it?"
He said it like we were old pals, like I had forgotten all he had done to me.
"Five years, Dad."
"Yes, a very long time. I wish I could have come back but if you knew what was happening-" he stopped. I wasn't looking at him anymore. I didn't care about his work. I cared that he left without saying he was sorry, without telling me anything. He just left me. I knew he generally cared about me but it didn't seem like enough compared to what else he's done.
"Well, I guess we better fill you in on the basics. Maybe then you'll understand." He snapped his fingers and the person behind him ran out of the room. She looked scared as she ran past. Man did I know that feeling.
He moved out of the way and I saw his desk and a chair in front of it. He motioned for me to sit down. I didn't know what to say or do. I just stared at him.
"Who was that girl I saw?" I asked impulsively. I had a strong feeling this involved her. I could tell because he stopped and stared at me.
"So you saw her? Well," He seemed very uneasy now when before he was stern, "you know of earth's real-life superman?"
My mouth must have dropped. "Tha-That's her?" I said daringly.
"Yes." He said this so that there could be no answer. He didn't want to carry the conversation farther than it needed to go but I was still curious.
"I thought it was just some guy in a high-tech suit..." I stuttered in disbelief. I had once idolized this character as a kid. This new "superman" had been going around earth saving people when I was 8. When I was still dreaming of better things even though my dad had gone. To know that all this time it was a kid my age, it was just total shock.
"That's what we hoped everyone would think. Looks like we were right. No one would suspect a child to be superman, nor would they think it was a girl."
"So it's the suit and armor that gives her the strength -"
"Nope. It's not the suit," He stated matter-of-factly. "It's all her own strength. I'll explain how it happened if you want." I nodded slowly wondering and curious of how she could have obtained enough power to move a fallen building to get people trapped underneath. And how she had stopped that missile that was targeted to the wrong spot if she was only around 12 or maybe 13.
"It started when we began colonizing the planet of Zicon. You know of the people there right?" I nodded trying to egg him on into telling me everything. "Do you know of the legend of Ziran, too, or will I have to tell you of that as well?" I knew enough, for this legend stretched over thousands of years but I knew of the main story and I told my father so he continued.
"Ziran supposedly was upon a mountain top after the events stated in this legend when his brother, you know of his brother right? His brother surprised him and put a curse upon his head that made his soul be separated from his body. This usually wouldn't be a problem but he then put another curse upon him that would make his soul not be able to re-enter his body."
"What does that have to do with her?" I asked interrupting him.
"Well a soul without a body must find a host, which explains those few who seem possessed. With Ziran's power level, though, he needed a host that may be able to retain such power. That and he needed to enter a body soon or he would be sent off to "The Paradise Planet" for souls without hosts. This urgency sent him to the closest life forms he could sense..."
"One of our colonies," I spoke filling in the blank.
"Precisely. Here he found Amira or our superman as a baby. Unfortunately his time was almost up so he made his soul combine with hers. He assumed a baby could grow with the power and adapt to it. The fusing of the two souls set off an explosion completely wiping out the colony and leaving her as the only survivor. A few witnesses living miles away explained they felt the shockwaves from the explosion. Later Ziran's brother confessed his wrong doing but did not disclose upon which mountain Z's body lies and before the Ziconians knew it, he was gone. Now," He stood up. "Zicon is covered with many mountain ranges and with it being twice the size of earth, we estimate that it has about 5 times the mountain ranges that we have. While many teams search, it is rough going-"
"What about Amira?" I said not caring about military details.
"She was found and examined. She was fine but as she grew up, without trying to, Ziran started to drive her insane. He became a constant voice inside her head and even now we can just barely control her. And she only seems to be getting worse. Here's where you come in," He said and looked at me. I gulped sort of loudly knowing it couldn't be a very good reason why I was here. "One day while I was trying to talk to her I mentioned you. She stopped struggling against the guards and repeated your name. This was odd because she usually only spoke in Ziconian, if she spoke at all. She then asked if she could meet you. I asked her why and she said you could help her."
"How am I suppose to help her?! I don't even know her!" I said in utter disbelief. "She could probably rip me limb from limb in a second!!"
"Well, all we want is for you to talk with her. See if you can get anything out of her that could help us find the location of Ziran's body." I knew it. I had known it from the second I read that letter from him. He just wanted me to help him. He hadn't wanted to just see me. Mom was so wrong.
"How do you control her?" I asked, not knowing if I actually wanted an answer.
"We usually end up giving her shots or using stun guns." I must have looked disgusted. "It's the only way. Believe me. You'll see." He motioned for me to stand up and follow him. I really didn't want to but I wanted to stay on the space station because it meant I got access to their huge library. I guess I am a book worm.
"What room is she in?" My dad asked a guard politely as we were walking out of the door.
"The usual lab," The guard stated pointing down the hall and handing my dad a key card.
"Thank you," My dad said as he took the card. "I'll return this later."
We started going down the hall. For some reason I felt sort of under dressed. My dad was wearing a suit and everyone else we saw was either in one too, was a guard, or had a lab coat on. I was just in a shirt and jeans. I guess it didn't matter too much but I think it embarrassed my dad.
We turned left, then right, and came to a door. It sounded busy inside. My dad quickly put the card in and pulled it out and the door slid open to reveal chaos. Both the machines and the people seemed to be running around. In the middle of all this pandemonium was a chair that seated Amira. She was staring at something to the left of her as we came towards her right. She had both boots on now. My dad walked over to a scientist or doctor and started talking with him. I walked closer to her and started to walk towards the front of her to see her face. Then I noticed she was strapped down. I felt bad for her then, being caged like that, not only by what bound her arms and legs, but also what was in her head.
I stopped walking as I noticed something odd. Her right hand was moving as if she was writing something but no paper or pencil was there. I was still wearing my jacket and I remembered that I had a small notepad and a pencil in my pocket. I took them out slowly and knelt down next to her. She was still staring off into space as if she had no idea I was there or anything was going on around her. I looked around and saw no one cared that I was here. I slipped the notepad under her hand gently and she still didn't seem to notice. Then I did something I wish I hadn't. I slipped the pencil gently into her hand.
The whole room seemed to stop. She straightened in her chair and her hand stopped moving. Her eyes came back to the room bright and wide. Her head and eyes turned slowly toward the pencil in her hand. I think everyone else around inhaled then because they sure didn't after that point. She squeezed the pencil gently and it shattered into thousands of splinters. Everyone was still. Out of nowhere she screamed and the power she released was so immense it pushed me and everyone else there back. She went nuts ripping the arms right off the chair. Guards swarmed in from out of nowhere and nearly pounced on her. She flung one of them off of her and the guard hit the wall hard. The others grabbed at her arms and legs. A few tried desperately to grasp her head but she was flailing about so wildly that it was near impossible. That and her teeth made a menacing display, being that they looked a lot like the fangs of a large cat.
The guard that had hit the wall lunged toward her, him having recovered. He grasped her head firmly and pulled it up exposing her neck. Another guard pulled out a needle. As he gave her the shot she seemed to slow. She didn't try to move her head as they gave her the shot. Maybe she had learned from experience not to do that.
She finally slumped in the guards' arms. One of them picked her up and put her on a stretcher that had just been pulled into the room. She looked like a large flimsy doll now. She was then taken through a door opposite the one we came in. It all happened within seconds but from this event I was now very scared of Amira and of what was going to happen to me and to her.
I turned back to look at my dad. I could see the anger swelling in his eyes. I stared at the notepad and the shattered bits of pencil on the floor. I was still shocked when I stood up to take my turn at being yelled at once again. He walked over gripping his hands in fists. I thought he was going to deck me. Thankfully he didn't because with how angry he looked, he probably could have killed me with one blow.
"HOW COULD YO-!!" He stopped and took a huge breath. After he seemed to have calmed down a bit, though still very red in the face, he continued. "It's my fault. I should have told you about how volatile she is and what you can't do around her. Sorry."
I had never heard that word come from his mouth. It shocked me mostly because he blamed himself. I guessed he wasn't screaming at me because there were still a lot of people in the room.
"It's alright. I probably should have known better or I at least should have thought about what I was doing..." I said as I looked down, knowing he would feel better if he could place most of the blame on me.
"It was your first time around her, really, so don't feel bad. Probably everyone in this room has set her off like that at least once without even trying, too." He relaxed even more now. "You should probably go to your room and unpack. You can try talking to her later. But next time, don't try a stunt like that."
"I won't," I said before adding, "Uh, I don't know where my room is..."
"Come with me. It's back past my office. You'll need a key card," He looked down at the one in his hand. "I'll have to get you one."
I followed him in silence, wondering how I was suppose to talk to someone who shattered a pencil just by squeezing it enough to be able to write with it. I also questioned what had made her so troubled that something like breaking a pencil could make her go berserk. I knew it was because Ziran was in her head but how bad could that be? He had seemed like a fairly admirable guy from what I read of the legends. I guess I'll have to read more of them I thought as I realized we were at his office.
He handed the card back to the guard and told me to stay there. He came back out a few moments later with a key card on a wrist band.
"Try to keep it on you most of the time. Everyone here has one but yours can get you into almost any room unlike most people's cards. So, you'll keep an eye on this, right?" He asked handing it to me.
"Of course, Dad," The word felt weird coming from my mouth. I hadn't talked to him for so long it was odd calling him that. "So, where's my room?"
"Oh, yes, sorry, make a left at the end of this hall and it will be at the very end of the next one. Hope you like the view from your window...I'll see you later." He hinted and pushed me towards the end of the hallway.
When I got to my room I had to see what he had been talking about. I ran to the row of small, circular windows and peered through one. It was the earth, big and round in the window. We were close but still fairly far. It was a beautiful sight. I wondered for a while if anyone down there was looking up and thinking about who may be looking down.
I turned around and saw my luggage on the bed. The room was very spacious and thankfully had a bathroom of its own. I opened my bag and started making it my room. My computer books on the nightstand and some on top of the dresser, clothes in the drawers, and my clothes I hung in the closet. I didn't have to use the dresser for clothing. It all fit in the closet. I had very few other possessions with me. A sketch pad and a couple of notebooks were almost all the other things I had with me. My dad had said everything else would be provided for me so I hadn't thought of bringing much.
I pulled out my one true thing of any value. A real book with real pages all bounded together. These weren't common anymore because everyone used the computer versions of them. I did too, but having a real one was great. I don't know how many times I had read it but it looked like I had read it more times then I should have. I put my treasure down on the nightstand next to the computer books. I took one of the computer ones and sat down on the bed. The good thing about these was you could fit a lot of books on one and you could keep them on memory type cards. I had a few of the computers because they were cheaper than the cards. Another great thing was that they also held games. I didn't have a lot of games but I had my favorites.
I enjoyed my games until I heard a knock on my door. I looked at my watch. I had been playing for over an hour. That's one problem with the games. They take so long but are so interesting that you don't realized how long it's taking. The gaming industry should have watched how far they advanced their technology.
"Michael Hinkara?" A voice more stated than asked.I put down the computer and went to the door. When I opened it I found another guard staring at me. "Hello again," He said as I realized it was the guard I met on the bridge. He had two other guards with him this time. He motioned for me to follow him and I did but the other guards didn't follow. They just stood outside my door and stared forward. I guessed I was going to have guards around me all the time now like my dad.
We went passed my dad's office and took the left that went towards the lab. When we didn't take the right I figured that we were going to a different room. I remembered that the guard had told my dad she was in the usual lab so there must be others.
We went down about 3 more hallways until I saw my dad standing outside a room with many guards. She must be here I thought as my dad now motioned to follow him. I had meant to ask the guard his name but I figured I'd see him later.
We walked into what seemed to be a huge control room. There weren't many people but with the amount of machinery, I don't think people were even necessary. Next we went into a door that had a platform with two guards and stairs. We went down the stairs to a door. My dad took out a yellow key card and put it in.
When the doors opened I couldn't tell that they had opened to anything. The room was entirely white. Then I saw a bed in the corner with a blanket and a pillow. I had been expecting another lab but figured this was her room. I looked to where my dad was looking and saw a huddled lavender lump. It must be her. How awful to have to sit in an entirely white room or in a lab all day and just be let outside to do a job and come back. She had nothing to do in here.
She picked her head up and I saw she had been hugging her legs. I had wondered how she had curled herself into such a small lump. She looked like she had been drugged, staring at us all dazed and confused. Then her eyes opened wider as she looked at us. She just stared, eyes asking what she should do.
"Go ahead," My dad said encouragingly. "Say whatever you can to get her to talk or to gain her trust."
I hated it. He treated Amira like a wild animal. Something not to be touched only gawked at and drugged when it was time to move it. I would never want to be treated like that. I didn't have any control over if I would be treated like that or how she was treated and I knew that. I knew I had to be careful now, too, for whatever I did next could make her decide what she would do with the fact that I was here like she had asked.
I moved closer and wondered what to say. I didn't think a simple "hi" would do here. I wish I knew Ziconian, I thought, and then I could talk to her and my dad wouldn't know how stupid I sounded. As I got even closer, taking slow cautious steps, I saw she was really inclining her neck for no reason. It looked uncomfortable for her to do so I knelt down. She seemed alright with that. I wanted to look back for encouragement but I couldn't. Her eyes were mesmerizing. They were a plain blue but they seemed to have age and wisdom that were odd for a child. They seemed to go back so far, sort of like if you looked hard enough you could see her brain and what she was thinking.
All of a sudden she turned her head away. I reached out slowly to touch her shoulder, to let her know I was concerned about her. I realized this may not be a good thing to do because in a flash she had her hand clamped tightly around my wrist. I was shocked. I hadn't seen any movement from her before her hand was actually on me. She looked at me. Her stare went straight through me, trying to see what was in my head. And just as quickly as she had grabbed my arm she let go and was curled up again. "What's wrong?" I nearly whispered. She curled up tighter.
"He won't go away..." I just barely heard her. Her voice was small and gentle, almost like a loud noise would shatter it.
"Ziran?"
"Don't say his name. He comes when you say his name. I don't want him here anymore..." She uncurled herself a bit.
"Why don't you want him here?"
"He refuses to do what I say...and he won't go..."
"Have you talked to him?" I felt like I was asking too much of her but as long as I kept her talking I thought she'd get use to me.
"I'll never try again...he yells at me...he wants to go find himself...but I won't let him ruin my body...he's already ruined my soul..."
So she knows she's like this. She knows. But how could he ruin her body trying to get his back? I guessed those mountains must be really treacherous.
"Maybe if he tells us where it is we can get it for him."
"You want me to ask him?" She looked at me in disbelief. She acted like I had just asked her to jump off a bridge. Now that I think about it, in comparison, I probably had.
"Why not?" I asked, thinking it wasn't such a good idea with how she was acting to ask her that. I hoped she didn't blow up at me again. I felt bad enough already and if she did it again I would really feel awful.
"I'll try," She said cautiously. Then even softer than she had been speaking she added, "...but it's your funeral if he doesn't like me asking..."
I gulped and nodded. She closed her eyes lightly. She seemed to twitch slightly. She then opened her eyes. But the problem was they weren't her eyes. They were orange-red.
"I'LL TELL YOU WHERE IT IS..." A voice screamed, but it wasn't aloud. The voice was in my head. I held my ears, it really hurt. I looked back towards my dad. He was holding his ears, too.
"IT'S ABOVE WHERE MY SOUL FIRST DIED AND MY BROTHER'S DID, TOO. HIGH ABOVE THERE IS WHERE IT LIES. YOU'LL HAVE TO FIND IT SOON, OR I'LL SHOW MYSELF. YOU DON'T WANT THAT..." As it finished yelling, it faded gently. My eardrums were ringing.
"He's gone..." She said in a tiny voice. I looked at her. She was crying.
"Why are you crying?"
"He yelled at me..."
"For what? You're just trying to help him..."
"He says he's sorry...there are two of him...one evil, one good..."
"So you really just want the evil one to go?"
"Yes..." She curled up so I couldn't see her face. I could still hear her sobs, though. I felt horrible. I had made him yell at her, the one thing she didn't want him to do.
"I'm sorry I made you do that. I know you didn't want to..." I felt useless. Like I couldn't help her, like she didn't believe I wanted to help her.
"Thanks for coming here..." She whispered so no one but me could hear her as she turned farther away.
"Come on," My dad said behind me, "she's had enough for now."
I must say that I agreed with him, though, for I had had enough, too.