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CHAPTER NINE
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TYRA
I couldn't wipe the smirk off my face as I held her over the edge of the Space Needle. My hands were wrapped firmly around her neck and nothing gave me more satisfaction than to see her choking helplessly. I had the upper hand here. Once I loosened my fingers, she would plunge to her death. That was the exact reason for our little rendezvous - I wanted her to die.
"C'mon, aren't you gonna beg for mercy?" I jeered, my hatred for her evident in my voice.
She stared at me with cold and emotionless eyes. "Wouldn't give you the satisfaction." Her voice was raspy, and for good reason. I was cutting off her air supply.
I wasn't too worried about her suffocating - given her X5 abilities, she'd go without air for at least seven minutes. I wanted her to die with the full weight of her crimes on her shoulders, so for the moment we were having a deep and meaningful conversation.
"See why I hate you? You spoil all my fun." I pointed out.
"That's not the only reason why you hate me."
I shrugged, pleasantly surprised. The bitch was smarter than I thought. "Ok, fine. I hate you in more ways than one. Ever since you and those other kids bailed on us, my life has been hell. And by that I mean Psy-Ops, Psy- Ops and more Psy-Ops, brainwashing, torture and yes, you said it, more Psy- Ops. Why us? Why ME? I'm not the one who abandoned the mission; I'm not a coward or a traitor. But I got punished. And you know what? It's all your fault!" I spat out.
For the briefest moment I saw a flash of sadness in her eyes. "I'm sorry. We didn't know that there -"
I released my anger by squeezing her throat even tighter, cutting her voice off. She let out a strangled cry. Didn't she know that I didn't care about her side of the story? I had suffered too much at her expense for her to deserve the right to voice her pathetic excuses.
"Shut up!" I ordered, pausing as I waited for her to obey. She struggled in my grip, but she was no match for me. Only ten minutes ago she had had a seizure, and that weakened her.
"There's more." I snapped. "You didn't realise the consequences of your escape, did you? You didn't know that while you were gallivanting around in the outside world, all free with no responsibility, we were copping the bad end of the bargain. DID YOU?!" I yelled, feeling the anger burning up inside me.
I shook her to make sure she was listening to me. "And you know what makes me hate you even more? After all you've done, you still have a perfect life. You have a family. You're loved. You have a husband who would walk through the deepest, darkest depths of hell for you. And what do you do? You cheat on him! You throw it all away for some one night stand with a freak from a cult. You don't deserve to have a perfect life, Jondy."
I fixed a penetrative gaze onto her, not letting her eyes leave mine. To my surprise I saw tears of guilt welling up in them. I had never cried before, and seeing Jondy on the verge of tears...well, it was almost like watching myself cry.
Good! I thought. Let her cry. I didn't care if she was feeling all the pain in the world at that moment. She was poison. She made me sick.
"You don't deserve Zane." I finished off in a deadly tone of voice.
"I know." Jondy whispered with a grief stricken look on her face. "But please don't kill me. I need to find Corey...."
"Don't you worry. I'll take care of that. And they won't even realise that you're gone." I replied, my voice sickeningly sweet.
Jondy frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, let's just say I'll be right there to take your place, honey." And I meant that literally. I was going to take her place. After all, if a little bitch like her was allowed to have a nice family like that, then why couldn't I? And since she was going to be out of the picture in a few seconds time, Zane and Corey would be left all alone. Ok, ok, I knew Zane would never love me as much as he loved Jondy. Hell, I knew that he wouldn't even love me HALF as much as he loved Jondy. That's why it was so crucial to get rid of her. I could PRETEND to be her. And maybe, one day I would tell him the truth, once he saw that I could be just as good a wife as Jondy was. Possibly even better.
Once Jondy caught the meaning behind that statement, she yelled furiously, "They'll never fall for it!"
"Why not?" I sneered. "Krit and Syl did. Corey did. Face the facts, Jondy. I AM you, whether you like it or not. We're clones, remember?"
Jondy began struggle even harder, her blue eyes flashing with anger and disbelief. "Believe me, they'll know. I'm not sure whether or not Zane still loves me, but he doesn't love you. Do you even know what love means?"
"If you can learn, then so can I." I said boldly.
"Don't you dare lay a finger on Corey." She growled through gritted teeth. "You'll probably break his neck accidentally while you're playing with him!"
"Like I said, I can learn to be all maternal. Manticore taught us how to adapt to all kinds of situations."
"Corey is NOT a SITUATION! HE IS A LIVING, BREATHING LITTLE BOY! How could you look him in the eye and let him call you 'Mommy'? It's not right!"
"Yeah, and do you know what else is not right? The way you get to have all the goodies in life, after all you've done!"
Jondy sighed (as much as she could consider my hand was clamped around her throat) in defeat. "You've made your point, alright? I know I'm a heinous bitch that deserves to burn in hell. But that doesn't mean you should sink down to my level."
I stared at her as if she were stupid. "Who said anything about sinking down to your level? I'm just taking what's rightfully mine."
Jondy's eyes narrowed. "Get. Your. Own. Family." she hissed.
"Bite me." I shot back.
Then I loosened my fingers.
I watched her as she plummeted down to the hard ground at a speed which no one could survive.
And she didn't even scream.
********************************************************************
ZANE
I walked out of Max's apartment block feeling numb. I didn't know why I had been so upset when Jondy blurted out, "We had sex, ok?" White had said the exact same words to me just a few days ago. But hearing it come out of Jondy's mouth....it was like a good hard slap in the face. It stung. And it made me do something that I'd never done before - question whether or not our relationship was as perfect as I'd thought.
Didn't she love me? Wasn't I good enough for her? One part of me said that these were stupid questions, but I had never felt so insecure in my life.
I didn't know what the hell was happening between us. Of all people I never thought that she would keep secrets from me. We trusted each other with everything. And because we were both X5s, we had a mutual understanding of one another - the seizures, the bad dreams, what it was like to be hunted and haunted by your memories. We didn't have explain things to each other. We just knew. That was the difference of being with a transgenic rather than an Ordinary. I didn't have to be afraid that she'd leave me if she found out that I was a freak.... because she was a freak too.
Now there was a possibility that it would all change.
I kept trying to tell myself that it wasn't a big deal. So Jondy slept with a guy without telling me. So what? She had a justifiable reason. But then again, because of that I had believed a lie. I thought Corey was my son. Mine and Jondy's son. That was all bull shit. If I couldn't trust Jondy, who COULD I trust?
I shook my head as I walked down a crowded marketplace in Seattle. I didn't want to think about this. I didn't want to think about what it would be like living my life without her, whether or not this whole thing with Ames White worked out.
Suddenly someone slammed into me with their bicycle. And it just happened to be on the exact spot where Jondy had kicked me before.
"WATCH IT!" both me and the owner of the bike yelled angrily, at the same time. Pain shot up my leg.
I looked up and my expression softened when I realised that it was Max that had run into me. She looked different. Maybe it was the fact that instead of wearing army fatigues, she was wearing black pants, sneakers, a jacket and a cap.
"Hey." I said, surprised.
"Zane!" Max exclaimed. "Sorry. I kinda lost control of my bike." She shifted a bag of groceries around in her arms.
"Geez Maxie, didn't they teach you how to carry groceries and control a bike at the same time at Manticore?" I teased half-heartily. I wasn't really in the mood for joking, which was unusual for me.
Max shrugged. "Nah," she drawled. "They were too busy torturing me."
I gave her a sympathetic look but she dismissed it. We started walking in the direction she had been beading before, exchanging small talk. It was quite boring but I wanted to keep it that way to avoid the subject of Corey's mysterious kidnapping. Because if we started talking about that, the conversation would eventually lead to Jondy....someone I really didn't want to be talking about right now.
But unfortunately, the inevitable arrived.
"So...I guess I don't get to meet Corey just yet huh?" Max said softly.
I shook my head and took a bag of groceries from her arms, avoiding her eyes.
Max was silent for a while, as if she was waiting for me to talk to her. I said nothing, so she spoke again. "But I will get to see him, right?"
I shrugged wordlessly, feeling something eat its way into my heart. Was this supposed to help me?
"At least Jondy's OK."
"Yeah," I murmured in agreement. She was right in saying that.
"Bet you miss him, huh?" Max prompted tentatively.
I knew what she was doing now. She was trying to get me to talk. Very discreetly. And unsuccessfully. But why? To make sure that I was alright or something? Maybe she was just trying to help. I dunno. All I knew that talking about this was only making me feel worse. Didn't she know that Corey wasn't my son? Wait a minute...she didn't. I hadn't told her yet.
I sighed at my own idiocy.
"So, are you gonna tell me or what?" Max's voice was more forceful than it had been before. I hated the way she could see right through me. "Zane. I'm your sister."
"Alright." I paused.
Max raised her eyebrows expectantly.
"Well, Jondy kinda slept with some guy when she was in heat one time and now he's thoroughly convinced that Corey's his son and to make matters worse he's part of a breeding cult called the Familiars and Corey's gonna help them bring about the end of the world." I rattled off automatically, like I was reciting my ABCs. I had told this story so many times ( minus that part where Jondy had slept with White because I wasn't a hundred percent sure it was true ) that it wasn't funny.
Max stopped dead in her tracks and stared at me in disbelief. "I don't know how you can say that so casually," she muttered after a while.
"Can't go 'round feelin' sorry for yourself." I said dryly. "S'not gonna make things better."
Max ignored my comment. "Jondy cheated on you, and you're ok with that?" she asked incredulously as she continued walking.
I sighed, following her. She wasn't giving up. "No, I'm not ok with that. But it's in the past. Just leave it there." I replied curtly, hoping that I had ended the conversation.
"You're not upset? Not even a little bit?" Max prodded on, ignoring my attempt to avoid the subject. "She lied to you."
Of course I was upset. I felt betrayed. But that didn't mean that I had to analyse the situation to death.
"I don't want to talk about it." I muttered grumpily.
"Well you're going to have to talk to her eventually, coz you can't let it get in the way. You need to look for Corey. And you need each other -"
"Don't you think I know this?!" I exploded. Suddenly it had become too much. I couldn't stand this. "I know! I'm not stupid! I just can't do it now, coz it hurts, ok? She tried to explain, but I didn't let her. I couldn't look at her anymore, because when I do all I see is Ames White laughing at me!"
Max looked startled. I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down. I was attracting an audience. Then I said a bit sheepishly, "Sorry. Can we just forget about it?"
"You sure you don't wanna talk about it?" Max asked gently.
I did want to talk about it actually. But I wanted Jondy. Not Max. No offense to her or anything. I nodded, trying to reassure her that I was alright and that she didn't need to treat me like a small child who had just had their lollipop snatched away by the town bully.
"Whatever." Max deadpanned, the usual emotionless expression resuming its position on her face. "It's already forgotten." And with that she stormed off in the direction we were heading before my outburst.
I couldn't tell whether or not she was pissed at me, or whether or not she expected me to follow her. But considering that I still had a bag of her groceries, I figured that I probably should. I ran to catch up with her, half expecting her to yell at me. I realised that was getting yelled at a lot today. Syl yelled at me for lying to her, Jondy yelled at me for putting Corey in danger, and there was a possibility that Max would yell at me too. Couldn't I do anything right?
Instead, as I fell into step with my baby sister, she said cheerfully as if she had no memory of our conversation before, "So you wanna come with me to Joshua's house?"
I sighed inwardly with relief. She'd gotten the hint that I really, really didn't want to talk about Jondy. I could've kissed her. "Who's Joshua?" I asked.
"A friend of mine. He's....a nomaly," she replied casually.
"What?!" I exclaimed, horrified.
A nomaly? Had she gone mad or something? Had Manticore totally screwed with her mind? Nomalies were the one thing that '09 escapees were scared to death of. I mean, why wouldn't we be? They drank your blood for dinner!
Max grabbed both of my shoulders and made me look at her. "Look, listen to me. And don't panic."
"Don't panic?" I interrupted. Images of crazy nomalies with fangs and twisted faces growling at us filled my mind. "Don't you remember what Ben told us about them? They're evil! I'm not the one in need of psychiatric help, you are!"
Max rolled her eyes at me. "I never said you needed psychiatric help. And do you really believe what Ben told us? They were just stories made up to give us some answers on why our lives were the way they were. That doesn't mean that they're true. We just didn't know any better. Those nomalies were treated just as bad as we were. And besides, Joshua's really sweet. He couldn't hurt a fly. Trust me."
I looked at her warily, trying to decide whether or not her speech was a result of insanity, or whether she was just trying to get me to see the truth. "You sure 'bout this?"
"Positive." Max assured me.
I sighed. It usually took ages for Max to trust someone. So if she trusted this Joshua guy not to hurt her, then maybe it would be safe to go there. Unless she was insane.
I forced that thought out of my head and said, "Ok. I got nothing better to do." I seriously hoped that Max knew what she was doing.
About ten minutes later we stopped outside a huge, very rickety looking house. It would've looked really nice during the pre-pulse days. Now it looked....like shit.
Max grabbed my wrist and led me to the door and I followed reluctantly. I hated to admit it, but I was terrified. I kept hearing Ben's voice in a hushed whisper -
"They'll drag you to the dungeons, cut you open and drink your blood!"
I took a deep breath and told myself to calm down. He's just another transgenic. Nothing to worry about. We're practically family. I shuddered. Family?
"Joshua!" Max called out to what seemed like an empty house. Then she said to me quietly, "Don't worry. It's alright."
I turned my face away and tried to make myself look busy by checking out the inside of the house. I didn't want her to think that I was weak, or scared.
"WHAT was that, 205? You were SCARED? Scared, 205? Good soldiers do not get scared! Good soldiers do not have emotions, you do not fear anything! Your mind has been corrupted by the world outside. Do you need to be reminded of your duties as a soldier, 205?" Renfro roared.
"Joshua!" Max called again, walking further into the house, leaving me standing in the doorway with a bag of only God knows what.
I placed the bag on the floor and walked into the living room. It was so dusty. There was a lot of old furniture there though. An old armchair. Books scattered everywhere. A fireplace. Wooden floorboards.
I picked up one of the ancient books and began leafing through it. It was in some weird language that I didn't even recognize, which was strange considering Lydecker had made sure that we could speak almost every language on the planet. I flipped to the front to see the title of the book, but it didn't really have one. It was just a picture of some kind of lion or a tiger. For some reason it seemed oddly familiar. I racked my memory, trying to figure out where I'd seen it before, but some black writing at the top of the page caught my eye.
Sandeman.
That's what it said. My heart rate increased. That was the guy who created the Familiars! Maybe he knew where Corey was! But then again, if he was part of the Familiars, he'd most likely kill me before he told me anything.
I guess that made this house enemy territory.
"Who are you?" demanded a slightly accented voice.
I whirled around, startled. Before me stood the nomaly. Joshua. Whatever.
I wasn't even able to answer his question, I was so stunned. I had never been this close to a nomaly before, and I had wanted to keep it that way. No such luck.
He looked like...well, a dog. Sort of. And he was enormous. Even taller than me and I had been the tallest out of all the X5s. I resisted the urge to back away from him.
He glared at me suspiciously, and sniffed the air. "Hmmm. Cat in your cocktail."
I had absolutely no idea what he meant. So I didn't say anything. I just gulped.
"Hey big fella, there you are!" Max reappeared out of no where. I had never been so glad to see her in my life. "Joshua, this is my brother Zane."
"Zane?" He turned to face me, giving me a pointed look.
I nodded a bit stiffly.
To my surprise, the nomaly's face broke out into a smile. A doggy smile. Then he held up his hand, waiting for me to give him a high-five.
I gave him one and relaxed slightly. "Hey."
"I have a brother too." He said shyly. He seemed pretty nice. Now I felt kind of stupid for being scared shitless about a bed-time story. I mean, sure, he sure as hell looked freaky, but his voice was soft and gentle. Guess you can't believe everything you hear.
Max smiled fondly at him. "Really? What's his name?"
"Isaac. Twin brother. Looks like me." Joshua hung his head, looking slightly depressed. Maybe he missed Isaac. Max decided to change the subject.
"So what did you do today?"
"Read father's books," he replied.
That definitely got my attention. "You mean, like this one?" I held up the book that I was holding.
"Hey!" Max butted in before Joshua got a chance to answer. She snatched the book away from me and scrutinized the picture of the lion-tiger-thing, looking thoughtful.
"That's one of father's books." Joshua managed to reply, finally.
"Yeah, and that's the Manticore symbol!" Max cried out again. She pushed the book into my face. "Look."
I nodded in realization as the memories suddenly flooded back to me. I remembered seeing it once before the escape, but only once, when someone had accidentally left some files in the barracks. The symbol had been at the top of the papers, but instead of just a lion it had the letter 'M' intertwined with it.
"It's a bit different though." Max wondered out loud, echoing my thoughts exactly. "Your father just keeps poppin' up everywhere," she said to Joshua.
I was confused. "What? Who's your father?"
"Joshua's father. Sandeman." Max replied.
"Sandeman's your father?" I yelped in surprise. That was definitely unexpected. "Where is he?"
Joshua shrugged. "Gone. He lived here, before. Tried to find him. But I couldn't. He's gone."
"Oh. I'm sorry." I said quietly. "D'you know anything about the Familiars though? Or can you read this writing?"
Joshua shook his head apologetically.
I sighed. "Darn." I had never felt so bloody useless. I knew that I should have been doing something, anything, to get Corey back, but I didn't know what. I had no clues, no leads, nothing. And I most certainly couldn't go to the police to report that Corey had been kidnapped, 'coz, well, Ames White WAS the police. Deep down I knew that there was nothing I could do until White called to tell me the answer to that horrible question, but I didn't want to admit that it was out of my hands.
Max noticed my crestfallen expression. "You gonna tell me what you're thinking? Maybe I can help you, y'know."
"I can't just sit here and do jack shit, Maxie, while Corey's out there, somewhere. Dammit, what if he'd really scared? He's never been away from me or Jondy for more than half a day. And that half a day was only when we both had to go to work. I know he might not even be my kid, but still..." I trailed off.
"You really care about him, I know." Max finished off for me. She paused, looking at the book I was holding. "So what's got you all fascinated by that thing anyways?"
"Say's Sandeman in it. He's part of the Familiars. And he created Manticore, apparently. Thought it might tell me something. Anything. Like maybe what the Familiars want with Corey. I know that 'he is crucial in the survival of the Familiars', or some shit like that, but there has to be more to it. Only problem is, I can't understand the writing."
Max took the book from me and flipped through the pages. "You're right." She frowned. "You know what? I can ask Logan if he can translate this for you, if you like."
I looked up at the nomaly that had been waiting so patiently while me and Max talked. "Only if it's ok with Joshua. It's yours, after all."
Joshua nodded his consent, after a moment of thought. "Don't spill coffee on it." He said with all seriousness.
Max smiled. "I tell Logan to be careful."
"Thanks, man." I yawned suddenly. I realised that I was dead tired due to the lack of sleep I had been getting over the last few months. "Can I crash on your sofa, Maxie?"
"Thought you'd be sleeping on the same bed as Jondy. That would be more comfortable." Max suggested.
I lowered my eyes.
"The sofa." Max piped up, trying to break up the tension in the room. "Sleep on the sofa. The sofa's good."
I let out a small laugh. "Thanks. If you need to sit on it, just kick me, or something."
"Will do," she agreed.
"And Maxie?"
Max groaned, pretending to be annoyed. "What is it now? You're worse than a five year old demanding attention," she snapped. But she was smiling.
"Thanks. For everything." I was particularly referring to the book. I had absolutely no idea what was going to be in there. For all I knew, it was just Shakespeare in a foreign language. But then again, the Manticore symbol was on it. That had to mean something.
******************************************************************
I picked the lock on Max's apartment and walked in like I had a few hours ago. The only memories I had of this place were the ones of me and Jondy fighting.
"I HATE YOU! I hate you so much! Why'd you let them take him? For fuck's sake, HE'S YOUR SON! You're supposed to keep him safe and now he could be dead and it's all your fault!"
I winced and listened for any sign of movement that would tell me that Jondy was still in here. I still didn't feel like talking to her.
"Bastard. Get your hands off me."
I made my way to the sofa and gratefully laid down on it. As I shut my eyes I tried to let sleep wash over me, but I couldn't.
"You lied to Krit and Syl. They're your best friends. And you lead Corey to believe that that girl was me. Why should you treat me any different?"
I lay there for about ten minutes, trying to ignore the sound of Jondy's voice in my head. Finally, with a sigh of annoyance, I turned onto my stomach. All I wanted was to have a long, dreamless sleep.
"How could you do something like this? What did they do to you?"
By then I had drifted off into a daze, and when a hand suddenly touched my back, I jumped out of my skin. I leapt up, completely alert, and grabbed the intruder's shirt, slamming them back onto the sofa. Why hadn't I heard them come in? Geez, I thought. Tyra was right. I was getting sloppy.
I came face to face with familiar blue eyes that were filled with surprise. "Jondy?" I gasped, letting go of her instantly. "Sorry. You scared me."
"I woke you up," she said quietly, still recovering from the shock of my attack.
"Nah. I couldn't sleep. Did I hurt you?" I knew it was a dumb question. It was kinda insulting to her, too. She was an X5. It would take a lot more than what I had just done to hurt her physically.
She shook her head, giving me a concerned look.
I wanted to talk to her. I really did. I wanted to tell her all my insecurities and all my fears. But I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I couldn't forget the way she'd backed away from me like I was some monster that she didn't recognize. It had been a few hours ago now, and I knew that she thought I had been reindoctrinated, but the point is, I HADN'T. It was me who did all those horrible things. I had agreed to give Corey away, not 205. She had every right to tell me that she hated me, but I didn't want her to do it again. I didn't think I could take it.
We both sat in an uncomfortable silence. Jondy looked as if she didn't know what to say. I had walked out on her after all.
"I'll let you sleep." As she got up to leave, I grabbed her hand.
"Don't go," I whispered, suddenly desperate for comfort. We had to get over this weirdness between us. "I don't wanna be alone."
Jondy's expression softened and I pulled her back down onto the sofa with me. I lay down so that her back was against my chest and pulled her close as she snuggled against me. I expected to feel safer, warmer, but instead as soon as she was in my arms alarms bells went off. Something was seriously wrong, but I didn't know what.
Jondy seemed to sense my unease, and turned her head to look at me. "What's wrong?" she asked softly.
"Does something feel..weird..to you?" I said uncertainly.
Jondy frowned. "Apart from the fact that Corey's gone?"
"No." I replied. "It's something else."
"Are you sure? Maybe you're just worried about Corey." She said quickly.
I sighed, frustrated. Maybe I was just being paranoid. "Yeah, probably." I agreed, but I was unable to shake off the feeling that something wasn't right.
"Don't worry Zane," she said in a low voice. "We'll find him."
I nodded and offered her a tiny smile, but I still wasn't the least bit consoled. What surprised me the most was when she leaned forward to place a soft kiss on my lips, I didn't feel anything. I kissed her back, but the familiar rush of I-would-die-for-you love that usually coursed through my veins was absent.
As she deepened the kiss I pretended that nothing was wrong. I didn't want to have to explain to her all the fucked up thoughts that were running through my head. What was wrong with me? First I was willing to give my only son to a psychopath, and now I failed to feel a single ounce of emotion for the woman I had loved for more than five years.
I began to panic slightly. Wasn't I in love with her anymore? A few hours ago I had loved her more than anything. I knew that for a fact - I mean, if I didn't love her, I probably wouldn't have given a crap if she slept with Ames White. I would've just left her without a second thought and gotten over it.
But I did care. I cared a lot. That didn't explain why I just suddenly ...stopped..loving her. Maybe I was just feeling bitter and resentful because of what she'd done. Maybe. But whatever it was, I hoped that it was just a phase I was going through, and that it would leave as fast as it came - because if it didn't, what was I going to tell Jondy?
Jondy finally pulled back from me and I brushed her hair gently away from her face, trying to act like everything was normal. She smiled at me, her eyes bright and happy, before turning around and leaning back into me.
I sighed and realised that the feeling that something wasn't right was still lingering at the back of my mind. I pushed it away, feeling thoroughly annoyed with myself. I was about to close my eyes and go to sleep when I caught sight of the barcode on Jondy's neck, which was no longer covered up by her hair.
Usually it wouldn't have bothered me much. I knew how much she hated getting it removed. It stung like hell so she avoided it at all costs. But something about the last three numbers made me take a closer look.
211.
A wave of shock radiated through me as I tried to register this without Jondy - or whoever this was - realising.
You've got to be kidding me, I thought. The girl lying next to me couldn't be Tyra. No. Tyra HATED me, so I couldn't see why she would...
I squeezed my eyes shut and then took another look, hoping that my eyes had been deceiving me.
No such luck. The numbers on the end of the barcode still read 211, as clear as crystal.
I still didn't trust myself. She was Jondy...wasn't she? But then again, Tyra had managed to fool Krit and Syl, so there was no reason why she couldn't fool me. But would she really stoop so low? I decided to ask her a question that I was positive only Jondy would know the right answer to.
"Hey," I murmured, sounding reminiscent. "Remember that time Corey had that imaginary pet mouse? He loved that thing. And when it died, he cried for about three hours straight." I let out a small laugh, for the effect.
I knew that if this was really Jondy, she'd look at me like I was complete idiot and ask me what I was going on about, because what I had just said was completely untrue. Corey had never had an imaginary pet anything.
"Yeah, that was so cute," came the reply.
I froze. So it really was Tyra.
In a way I was relieved, because that explained the reason why I felt no love for her and why I had sensed something was wrong. But as soon as I had that figured out I was faced with another, more serious dilemma - if this was Tyra, then where was Jondy?
I leapt up, desperate to get as far away from Tyra as possible. I flattened myself up against the wall while she stared at me from the sofa, looking utterly perplexed at my sudden movement.
"What now?" She gave me a strange look as she sat up.
"Don't play all innocent with me," I growled, feeling disgusted at myself for falling for Tyra's stupid trick; angry at Tyra for doing what she did; and worried because I had a feeling that something might have happened to Jondy. "I know you're not Jondy."
"Zane, what are you talking about, you big idiot? Of course I'm Jondy. Who else would I be - the ghost of Christmas past?" she snapped, insulted.
A feeling of doubt descended upon me. That was exactly what Jondy would've said.
Tyra sensed the lack of confidence I had in my accusation, and stood up to take advantage of it.
"Look sweetie, you're just tired. It's been a tough couple of days. I know you're worried about Corey but it wouldn't hurt to get some sleep," she said calmly, trying to soothe me.
I was tempted to take her advice, but my stomach churned uncomfortably. "No." I whispered, following my gut instinct. "I saw your barcode. You're not Jondy."
Tyra glared at me. "You've gone completely bonkers, if you ask me," she replied smoothly, showing no sign that she was going give herself up anytime soon.
Anger flared up inside me. I grabbed her by the hair and slammed her face- first into the wall. Usually I didn't resort to violence on women - genetically engineered or not - but this seemed to be the only way to get her to tell the truth.
I whipped the hair away from her neck, not bothering to be gentle, and ran my finger over her barcode. "See. 339367281211." I read out, slowly and carefully.
Tyra let out what sounded like an annoyed grunt. "Fine, you caught me," she sighed, sounding faintly amused.
"I thought so," I said triumphantly, keeping her pressed up against the wall. "Now tell me, why did you do it, huh? You working for White? Did he tell you to pretend to be Jondy and kill me when I let my guard down?"
"You know, impossible as it may seem, I don't always have to take orders from someone. I'm capable of doing whatever I like without someone to boss me around," she huffed.
"Oh, WOW!" I cried with fake enthusiasm. I wasn't the least but interested in what she was or wasn't capable of doing. I just wanted to why she was pretending to be Jondy. "Now answer my question." I demanded.
"I'm not working for White," she replied quietly, after a pause.
Surprisingly, I felt slightly disappointed with her answer. If she had been working for White, at least I could've had some way of getting in contact with him. She might've known where Corey was, and I could've tortured it out of her.
"So if you're not working for White, then what the hell do you think you're doing?" I yelled into her ear, getting madder by the minute. "Did you think that it would be funny to trick me into thinking that you were Jondy? Is it some kind of dumb joke? Did you -"
"NO!" Tyra interrupted, squirming. "NO, OK?! It wasn't like that!"
I was officially confused now. I couldn't think of any more reasons why Tyra would do this. "Then what?" I wrenched her head back, the same way she did to me on the first night we met.
Tyra winced. "Geez, no need to get violent. You were really sweet before."
"That's because I thought you were Jondy," I said angrily. "And speaking of Jondy, would you happen to know where she is?"
I didn't like the way Tyra laughed when I asked her that question.
"She's burning in hell," she spat out, speaking to the wall. "Where she belongs."
I paled, my heart pounding with fear and worry. "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, trying to keep the panic out of my voice.
"Meaning - she's dead."
I released Tyra and stepped away from her. Those words had been totally unexpected. I took a moment to think about it. Then I laughed.
"Oh she's dead, is she?" I mocked her as she turned to face me. I wasn't going to let her fool me this time. All she trying to do was weaken me, make me vulnerable. She wanted to make me do something stupid. Jondy was not dead.
Tyra looked at me square in the eye. "Yes," she replied, deadly serious. "She's a goner."
I remained unperturbed, and pretended to go along with this little lie of hers. I was mildly interested in what she was going to come up with. "And who killed her then? White?"
Tyra shook her head. "Me," she said, quietly but purposefully. She kept watching me, without blinking, waiting for my reaction.
Something about her graveness scared me, but I was never going to let her know that. Maybe she was telling the truth? Jondy....dead?
No. I hastily reminded myself that Tyra was a very good actress. She would have to be. Manticore made sure of it.
"You?" I snarled, getting tired of the game that we were playing. "Yeah, that'd be right. Sounds like something a conniving, heartless bitch like you would do. Kill someone that's done absolutely nothing to deserve it."
I knew almost immediately that what I had just said had completely infuriated Tyra, because seconds later she exploded like a burning match that had been dropped in a pool of kerosene. I prepared myself for a fight.
"DO YOU THINK I'M PLAYING SOME KINDA GAME?! THAT I'M JUST SOME LONELY, PATHETIC LITTLE GIRL LOOKING FOR ATTENTION? I'M TELLING YOU THE TRUTH! AND IF YOU'RE TOO STUPID TO REALISE -"
"MY ASS YOUR TELLING ME THE TRUTH!" I yelled back at her. "You've given me no reason to trust you. For all I know, it's a trap! You tell me Jondy's dead, I go running off to find her, and White swoops down on me and you get a pat on the back!"
Tyra rolled her eyes and let out a growl of frustration. "WHAT PART OF 'I'M NOT WORKING FOR WHITE' DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?!"
"YOU ARE SO FULL OF SHIT! WHY DON'T YOU JUST ADMIT THAT YOU'RE WORKING FOR WHITE? WHY ELSE WOULD YOU SAY THAT YOU'VE KILLED JONDY?!"
"Because I DID kill her, genius!" Tyra bellowed. "I fuckin' watched her die! I followed her up onto the Space Needle and there she was bawling her eyes out and I snuck up behind her and threw her off the edge! And believe me Zane, she didn't survive!"
I was shocked into silence. Jondy. Dead. Gone forever..... I shook my head, trying to convince myself that Jondy was safe and alive. Maybe she was with Maxie. Or Krit. Or just taking a walk. "No. No - I don't believe you." I stammered, a little too quickly.
Tyra was advancing on me; her blue eyes a cold, stormy ocean of hate and anger. She was a lot calmer now, and a lot scarier. "You better believe it, 'coz you won't be seeing her ever again."
I was silent for a few moments. "You killed her." I whispered, finally, half to her, half to myself. I didn't know why, but I believed her now, no matter how much I wanted to deny that Jondy was dead. I should've recognized the crazy look of a murderer in her eyes much sooner than this.
There was the slightest hint of a smile on Tyra's face. "Guilty."
I stood there motionless, not knowing whether to scream or yell or hit something. I was so incredibly numb - I felt nothing. But I knew it was only because the harsh reality of it hadn't completely soaked in.
I blinked and tried to clear my head. Maybe - just maybe -Jondy was still alive. Maybe she was lying there, waiting for someone to find her, hanging onto her last breath. Maybe I could look for her and take her to the hospital and then she'd be ok....
Without another word I headed for the door, planning to take Max's Ninja and ride as fast as I could to the Space Needle to look for Jondy.
"Where are you going?" Tyra demanded as I grabbed the keys for Max's motorcycle.
"Lookin' for Jondy," I replied gruffly. I didn't wait for her to answer me, or follow me. I hoped to God that she wouldn't.
As I leapt on to Max's bike I told myself that if she knew that I was riding it, she would kill me. But this had to be an exception, right? I mean, Jondy could be dying..
What if I hadn't realised that Tyra was pretending to be Jondy? I thought as I wound through the streets of Seattle. Jondy would've been left there to die, and I never would have known. Did she think that she had been forgotten?
"Don't worry baby, I'm coming," I whispered. I didn't know why I even bothered - my voice was immediately carried away by the wind.
The Space Needle got bigger and bigger and soon enough it towered over me. A fence encircled it and I parked Max's Ninja and sailed over it.
"Jondy!" I yelled, running about in all directions, searching the base of the Needle for Jondy. "Jondy, it's me! Where are you?"
As each minute passed the intense feeling of terror and foreboding built up inside me. What if she really was dead...what would I do without her....I couldn't survive without her....never told her how much she meant to me....
Then, finally, I saw her crumpled body lying next to an abandoned pile of furniture. I blinked to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. A stab of fear brought me to my senses and I darted towards her. She looked terrible. Her head looked as if it had been bashed in by a baseball bat and her hair was matted with dark blood. Her arm was twisted in an odd angle, and I was positive that she probably had acquired more injuries, only I couldn't see them.
I sat down next to her with a shaky breath. Unlike when I was with Tyra, I felt an incredible surge of love and concern when I touched her face. Her skin was deathly cold.
"C'mon Jondy," I called out softly. "It's ok now. Open your eyes....please be ok. Please don't be dead." Tears began to sting my eyes, and I continued pleading with her - "Wake up Jondy. It's me. It's Zane. You're gonna be alright. I'll take you home....just open your eyes...." The part of me that was a soldier told me that it was too late, but the part of me that was human got the better of me, and I scooped her up and cradled her limp form in my arms. "Don't leave me please, just hang on....I love you...."
"Oh SHIT! Zane?" a familiar voice cried. It was Syl.
I turned my head to see her rushing towards me. I had never felt so glad to see her....I couldn't think straight...she'd know what to do...
"What happened? Oh, no.." she whispered, clamping a hand over her mouth as she crouched down next to me and Jondy. "Is she ok?"
I shook my head as I watched Jondy, waiting for her to move, speak, give any sign to show that she was alive. "I-I dunno, I think she's...she won't wake up," I stumbled over the words, too distraught to speak.
Syl, as calm as ever, pressed two fingers against Jondy's neck to check for her pulse. A heartbroken expression settled onto her face.
"What?" I demanded, dreading the answer. "What is it?"
Syl paused, looking torn. "She's dead, Zane."
************************************************
A/N: I'm sorry that I took an unbelievably long time to update this, I just couldn't get it out. Oh, and please tell me if you think that my story is morphing into something that is moronic, way too sappy or into an overly dramatic soapie....and I'll try my best to change it in the chapters to come. Because I really don't want my story to be something that is moronic, way too sappy or into an overly dramatic soapie, but I might be doing it without realising..you know what I'm saying? Oh and thank you to everyone who reviews, I really appreciate it - and a special thank you to Sammie and steph, my most loyal readers who review practically every time! ( You rock!
CHAPTER NINE
************
TYRA
I couldn't wipe the smirk off my face as I held her over the edge of the Space Needle. My hands were wrapped firmly around her neck and nothing gave me more satisfaction than to see her choking helplessly. I had the upper hand here. Once I loosened my fingers, she would plunge to her death. That was the exact reason for our little rendezvous - I wanted her to die.
"C'mon, aren't you gonna beg for mercy?" I jeered, my hatred for her evident in my voice.
She stared at me with cold and emotionless eyes. "Wouldn't give you the satisfaction." Her voice was raspy, and for good reason. I was cutting off her air supply.
I wasn't too worried about her suffocating - given her X5 abilities, she'd go without air for at least seven minutes. I wanted her to die with the full weight of her crimes on her shoulders, so for the moment we were having a deep and meaningful conversation.
"See why I hate you? You spoil all my fun." I pointed out.
"That's not the only reason why you hate me."
I shrugged, pleasantly surprised. The bitch was smarter than I thought. "Ok, fine. I hate you in more ways than one. Ever since you and those other kids bailed on us, my life has been hell. And by that I mean Psy-Ops, Psy- Ops and more Psy-Ops, brainwashing, torture and yes, you said it, more Psy- Ops. Why us? Why ME? I'm not the one who abandoned the mission; I'm not a coward or a traitor. But I got punished. And you know what? It's all your fault!" I spat out.
For the briefest moment I saw a flash of sadness in her eyes. "I'm sorry. We didn't know that there -"
I released my anger by squeezing her throat even tighter, cutting her voice off. She let out a strangled cry. Didn't she know that I didn't care about her side of the story? I had suffered too much at her expense for her to deserve the right to voice her pathetic excuses.
"Shut up!" I ordered, pausing as I waited for her to obey. She struggled in my grip, but she was no match for me. Only ten minutes ago she had had a seizure, and that weakened her.
"There's more." I snapped. "You didn't realise the consequences of your escape, did you? You didn't know that while you were gallivanting around in the outside world, all free with no responsibility, we were copping the bad end of the bargain. DID YOU?!" I yelled, feeling the anger burning up inside me.
I shook her to make sure she was listening to me. "And you know what makes me hate you even more? After all you've done, you still have a perfect life. You have a family. You're loved. You have a husband who would walk through the deepest, darkest depths of hell for you. And what do you do? You cheat on him! You throw it all away for some one night stand with a freak from a cult. You don't deserve to have a perfect life, Jondy."
I fixed a penetrative gaze onto her, not letting her eyes leave mine. To my surprise I saw tears of guilt welling up in them. I had never cried before, and seeing Jondy on the verge of tears...well, it was almost like watching myself cry.
Good! I thought. Let her cry. I didn't care if she was feeling all the pain in the world at that moment. She was poison. She made me sick.
"You don't deserve Zane." I finished off in a deadly tone of voice.
"I know." Jondy whispered with a grief stricken look on her face. "But please don't kill me. I need to find Corey...."
"Don't you worry. I'll take care of that. And they won't even realise that you're gone." I replied, my voice sickeningly sweet.
Jondy frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, let's just say I'll be right there to take your place, honey." And I meant that literally. I was going to take her place. After all, if a little bitch like her was allowed to have a nice family like that, then why couldn't I? And since she was going to be out of the picture in a few seconds time, Zane and Corey would be left all alone. Ok, ok, I knew Zane would never love me as much as he loved Jondy. Hell, I knew that he wouldn't even love me HALF as much as he loved Jondy. That's why it was so crucial to get rid of her. I could PRETEND to be her. And maybe, one day I would tell him the truth, once he saw that I could be just as good a wife as Jondy was. Possibly even better.
Once Jondy caught the meaning behind that statement, she yelled furiously, "They'll never fall for it!"
"Why not?" I sneered. "Krit and Syl did. Corey did. Face the facts, Jondy. I AM you, whether you like it or not. We're clones, remember?"
Jondy began struggle even harder, her blue eyes flashing with anger and disbelief. "Believe me, they'll know. I'm not sure whether or not Zane still loves me, but he doesn't love you. Do you even know what love means?"
"If you can learn, then so can I." I said boldly.
"Don't you dare lay a finger on Corey." She growled through gritted teeth. "You'll probably break his neck accidentally while you're playing with him!"
"Like I said, I can learn to be all maternal. Manticore taught us how to adapt to all kinds of situations."
"Corey is NOT a SITUATION! HE IS A LIVING, BREATHING LITTLE BOY! How could you look him in the eye and let him call you 'Mommy'? It's not right!"
"Yeah, and do you know what else is not right? The way you get to have all the goodies in life, after all you've done!"
Jondy sighed (as much as she could consider my hand was clamped around her throat) in defeat. "You've made your point, alright? I know I'm a heinous bitch that deserves to burn in hell. But that doesn't mean you should sink down to my level."
I stared at her as if she were stupid. "Who said anything about sinking down to your level? I'm just taking what's rightfully mine."
Jondy's eyes narrowed. "Get. Your. Own. Family." she hissed.
"Bite me." I shot back.
Then I loosened my fingers.
I watched her as she plummeted down to the hard ground at a speed which no one could survive.
And she didn't even scream.
********************************************************************
ZANE
I walked out of Max's apartment block feeling numb. I didn't know why I had been so upset when Jondy blurted out, "We had sex, ok?" White had said the exact same words to me just a few days ago. But hearing it come out of Jondy's mouth....it was like a good hard slap in the face. It stung. And it made me do something that I'd never done before - question whether or not our relationship was as perfect as I'd thought.
Didn't she love me? Wasn't I good enough for her? One part of me said that these were stupid questions, but I had never felt so insecure in my life.
I didn't know what the hell was happening between us. Of all people I never thought that she would keep secrets from me. We trusted each other with everything. And because we were both X5s, we had a mutual understanding of one another - the seizures, the bad dreams, what it was like to be hunted and haunted by your memories. We didn't have explain things to each other. We just knew. That was the difference of being with a transgenic rather than an Ordinary. I didn't have to be afraid that she'd leave me if she found out that I was a freak.... because she was a freak too.
Now there was a possibility that it would all change.
I kept trying to tell myself that it wasn't a big deal. So Jondy slept with a guy without telling me. So what? She had a justifiable reason. But then again, because of that I had believed a lie. I thought Corey was my son. Mine and Jondy's son. That was all bull shit. If I couldn't trust Jondy, who COULD I trust?
I shook my head as I walked down a crowded marketplace in Seattle. I didn't want to think about this. I didn't want to think about what it would be like living my life without her, whether or not this whole thing with Ames White worked out.
Suddenly someone slammed into me with their bicycle. And it just happened to be on the exact spot where Jondy had kicked me before.
"WATCH IT!" both me and the owner of the bike yelled angrily, at the same time. Pain shot up my leg.
I looked up and my expression softened when I realised that it was Max that had run into me. She looked different. Maybe it was the fact that instead of wearing army fatigues, she was wearing black pants, sneakers, a jacket and a cap.
"Hey." I said, surprised.
"Zane!" Max exclaimed. "Sorry. I kinda lost control of my bike." She shifted a bag of groceries around in her arms.
"Geez Maxie, didn't they teach you how to carry groceries and control a bike at the same time at Manticore?" I teased half-heartily. I wasn't really in the mood for joking, which was unusual for me.
Max shrugged. "Nah," she drawled. "They were too busy torturing me."
I gave her a sympathetic look but she dismissed it. We started walking in the direction she had been beading before, exchanging small talk. It was quite boring but I wanted to keep it that way to avoid the subject of Corey's mysterious kidnapping. Because if we started talking about that, the conversation would eventually lead to Jondy....someone I really didn't want to be talking about right now.
But unfortunately, the inevitable arrived.
"So...I guess I don't get to meet Corey just yet huh?" Max said softly.
I shook my head and took a bag of groceries from her arms, avoiding her eyes.
Max was silent for a while, as if she was waiting for me to talk to her. I said nothing, so she spoke again. "But I will get to see him, right?"
I shrugged wordlessly, feeling something eat its way into my heart. Was this supposed to help me?
"At least Jondy's OK."
"Yeah," I murmured in agreement. She was right in saying that.
"Bet you miss him, huh?" Max prompted tentatively.
I knew what she was doing now. She was trying to get me to talk. Very discreetly. And unsuccessfully. But why? To make sure that I was alright or something? Maybe she was just trying to help. I dunno. All I knew that talking about this was only making me feel worse. Didn't she know that Corey wasn't my son? Wait a minute...she didn't. I hadn't told her yet.
I sighed at my own idiocy.
"So, are you gonna tell me or what?" Max's voice was more forceful than it had been before. I hated the way she could see right through me. "Zane. I'm your sister."
"Alright." I paused.
Max raised her eyebrows expectantly.
"Well, Jondy kinda slept with some guy when she was in heat one time and now he's thoroughly convinced that Corey's his son and to make matters worse he's part of a breeding cult called the Familiars and Corey's gonna help them bring about the end of the world." I rattled off automatically, like I was reciting my ABCs. I had told this story so many times ( minus that part where Jondy had slept with White because I wasn't a hundred percent sure it was true ) that it wasn't funny.
Max stopped dead in her tracks and stared at me in disbelief. "I don't know how you can say that so casually," she muttered after a while.
"Can't go 'round feelin' sorry for yourself." I said dryly. "S'not gonna make things better."
Max ignored my comment. "Jondy cheated on you, and you're ok with that?" she asked incredulously as she continued walking.
I sighed, following her. She wasn't giving up. "No, I'm not ok with that. But it's in the past. Just leave it there." I replied curtly, hoping that I had ended the conversation.
"You're not upset? Not even a little bit?" Max prodded on, ignoring my attempt to avoid the subject. "She lied to you."
Of course I was upset. I felt betrayed. But that didn't mean that I had to analyse the situation to death.
"I don't want to talk about it." I muttered grumpily.
"Well you're going to have to talk to her eventually, coz you can't let it get in the way. You need to look for Corey. And you need each other -"
"Don't you think I know this?!" I exploded. Suddenly it had become too much. I couldn't stand this. "I know! I'm not stupid! I just can't do it now, coz it hurts, ok? She tried to explain, but I didn't let her. I couldn't look at her anymore, because when I do all I see is Ames White laughing at me!"
Max looked startled. I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down. I was attracting an audience. Then I said a bit sheepishly, "Sorry. Can we just forget about it?"
"You sure you don't wanna talk about it?" Max asked gently.
I did want to talk about it actually. But I wanted Jondy. Not Max. No offense to her or anything. I nodded, trying to reassure her that I was alright and that she didn't need to treat me like a small child who had just had their lollipop snatched away by the town bully.
"Whatever." Max deadpanned, the usual emotionless expression resuming its position on her face. "It's already forgotten." And with that she stormed off in the direction we were heading before my outburst.
I couldn't tell whether or not she was pissed at me, or whether or not she expected me to follow her. But considering that I still had a bag of her groceries, I figured that I probably should. I ran to catch up with her, half expecting her to yell at me. I realised that was getting yelled at a lot today. Syl yelled at me for lying to her, Jondy yelled at me for putting Corey in danger, and there was a possibility that Max would yell at me too. Couldn't I do anything right?
Instead, as I fell into step with my baby sister, she said cheerfully as if she had no memory of our conversation before, "So you wanna come with me to Joshua's house?"
I sighed inwardly with relief. She'd gotten the hint that I really, really didn't want to talk about Jondy. I could've kissed her. "Who's Joshua?" I asked.
"A friend of mine. He's....a nomaly," she replied casually.
"What?!" I exclaimed, horrified.
A nomaly? Had she gone mad or something? Had Manticore totally screwed with her mind? Nomalies were the one thing that '09 escapees were scared to death of. I mean, why wouldn't we be? They drank your blood for dinner!
Max grabbed both of my shoulders and made me look at her. "Look, listen to me. And don't panic."
"Don't panic?" I interrupted. Images of crazy nomalies with fangs and twisted faces growling at us filled my mind. "Don't you remember what Ben told us about them? They're evil! I'm not the one in need of psychiatric help, you are!"
Max rolled her eyes at me. "I never said you needed psychiatric help. And do you really believe what Ben told us? They were just stories made up to give us some answers on why our lives were the way they were. That doesn't mean that they're true. We just didn't know any better. Those nomalies were treated just as bad as we were. And besides, Joshua's really sweet. He couldn't hurt a fly. Trust me."
I looked at her warily, trying to decide whether or not her speech was a result of insanity, or whether she was just trying to get me to see the truth. "You sure 'bout this?"
"Positive." Max assured me.
I sighed. It usually took ages for Max to trust someone. So if she trusted this Joshua guy not to hurt her, then maybe it would be safe to go there. Unless she was insane.
I forced that thought out of my head and said, "Ok. I got nothing better to do." I seriously hoped that Max knew what she was doing.
About ten minutes later we stopped outside a huge, very rickety looking house. It would've looked really nice during the pre-pulse days. Now it looked....like shit.
Max grabbed my wrist and led me to the door and I followed reluctantly. I hated to admit it, but I was terrified. I kept hearing Ben's voice in a hushed whisper -
"They'll drag you to the dungeons, cut you open and drink your blood!"
I took a deep breath and told myself to calm down. He's just another transgenic. Nothing to worry about. We're practically family. I shuddered. Family?
"Joshua!" Max called out to what seemed like an empty house. Then she said to me quietly, "Don't worry. It's alright."
I turned my face away and tried to make myself look busy by checking out the inside of the house. I didn't want her to think that I was weak, or scared.
"WHAT was that, 205? You were SCARED? Scared, 205? Good soldiers do not get scared! Good soldiers do not have emotions, you do not fear anything! Your mind has been corrupted by the world outside. Do you need to be reminded of your duties as a soldier, 205?" Renfro roared.
"Joshua!" Max called again, walking further into the house, leaving me standing in the doorway with a bag of only God knows what.
I placed the bag on the floor and walked into the living room. It was so dusty. There was a lot of old furniture there though. An old armchair. Books scattered everywhere. A fireplace. Wooden floorboards.
I picked up one of the ancient books and began leafing through it. It was in some weird language that I didn't even recognize, which was strange considering Lydecker had made sure that we could speak almost every language on the planet. I flipped to the front to see the title of the book, but it didn't really have one. It was just a picture of some kind of lion or a tiger. For some reason it seemed oddly familiar. I racked my memory, trying to figure out where I'd seen it before, but some black writing at the top of the page caught my eye.
Sandeman.
That's what it said. My heart rate increased. That was the guy who created the Familiars! Maybe he knew where Corey was! But then again, if he was part of the Familiars, he'd most likely kill me before he told me anything.
I guess that made this house enemy territory.
"Who are you?" demanded a slightly accented voice.
I whirled around, startled. Before me stood the nomaly. Joshua. Whatever.
I wasn't even able to answer his question, I was so stunned. I had never been this close to a nomaly before, and I had wanted to keep it that way. No such luck.
He looked like...well, a dog. Sort of. And he was enormous. Even taller than me and I had been the tallest out of all the X5s. I resisted the urge to back away from him.
He glared at me suspiciously, and sniffed the air. "Hmmm. Cat in your cocktail."
I had absolutely no idea what he meant. So I didn't say anything. I just gulped.
"Hey big fella, there you are!" Max reappeared out of no where. I had never been so glad to see her in my life. "Joshua, this is my brother Zane."
"Zane?" He turned to face me, giving me a pointed look.
I nodded a bit stiffly.
To my surprise, the nomaly's face broke out into a smile. A doggy smile. Then he held up his hand, waiting for me to give him a high-five.
I gave him one and relaxed slightly. "Hey."
"I have a brother too." He said shyly. He seemed pretty nice. Now I felt kind of stupid for being scared shitless about a bed-time story. I mean, sure, he sure as hell looked freaky, but his voice was soft and gentle. Guess you can't believe everything you hear.
Max smiled fondly at him. "Really? What's his name?"
"Isaac. Twin brother. Looks like me." Joshua hung his head, looking slightly depressed. Maybe he missed Isaac. Max decided to change the subject.
"So what did you do today?"
"Read father's books," he replied.
That definitely got my attention. "You mean, like this one?" I held up the book that I was holding.
"Hey!" Max butted in before Joshua got a chance to answer. She snatched the book away from me and scrutinized the picture of the lion-tiger-thing, looking thoughtful.
"That's one of father's books." Joshua managed to reply, finally.
"Yeah, and that's the Manticore symbol!" Max cried out again. She pushed the book into my face. "Look."
I nodded in realization as the memories suddenly flooded back to me. I remembered seeing it once before the escape, but only once, when someone had accidentally left some files in the barracks. The symbol had been at the top of the papers, but instead of just a lion it had the letter 'M' intertwined with it.
"It's a bit different though." Max wondered out loud, echoing my thoughts exactly. "Your father just keeps poppin' up everywhere," she said to Joshua.
I was confused. "What? Who's your father?"
"Joshua's father. Sandeman." Max replied.
"Sandeman's your father?" I yelped in surprise. That was definitely unexpected. "Where is he?"
Joshua shrugged. "Gone. He lived here, before. Tried to find him. But I couldn't. He's gone."
"Oh. I'm sorry." I said quietly. "D'you know anything about the Familiars though? Or can you read this writing?"
Joshua shook his head apologetically.
I sighed. "Darn." I had never felt so bloody useless. I knew that I should have been doing something, anything, to get Corey back, but I didn't know what. I had no clues, no leads, nothing. And I most certainly couldn't go to the police to report that Corey had been kidnapped, 'coz, well, Ames White WAS the police. Deep down I knew that there was nothing I could do until White called to tell me the answer to that horrible question, but I didn't want to admit that it was out of my hands.
Max noticed my crestfallen expression. "You gonna tell me what you're thinking? Maybe I can help you, y'know."
"I can't just sit here and do jack shit, Maxie, while Corey's out there, somewhere. Dammit, what if he'd really scared? He's never been away from me or Jondy for more than half a day. And that half a day was only when we both had to go to work. I know he might not even be my kid, but still..." I trailed off.
"You really care about him, I know." Max finished off for me. She paused, looking at the book I was holding. "So what's got you all fascinated by that thing anyways?"
"Say's Sandeman in it. He's part of the Familiars. And he created Manticore, apparently. Thought it might tell me something. Anything. Like maybe what the Familiars want with Corey. I know that 'he is crucial in the survival of the Familiars', or some shit like that, but there has to be more to it. Only problem is, I can't understand the writing."
Max took the book from me and flipped through the pages. "You're right." She frowned. "You know what? I can ask Logan if he can translate this for you, if you like."
I looked up at the nomaly that had been waiting so patiently while me and Max talked. "Only if it's ok with Joshua. It's yours, after all."
Joshua nodded his consent, after a moment of thought. "Don't spill coffee on it." He said with all seriousness.
Max smiled. "I tell Logan to be careful."
"Thanks, man." I yawned suddenly. I realised that I was dead tired due to the lack of sleep I had been getting over the last few months. "Can I crash on your sofa, Maxie?"
"Thought you'd be sleeping on the same bed as Jondy. That would be more comfortable." Max suggested.
I lowered my eyes.
"The sofa." Max piped up, trying to break up the tension in the room. "Sleep on the sofa. The sofa's good."
I let out a small laugh. "Thanks. If you need to sit on it, just kick me, or something."
"Will do," she agreed.
"And Maxie?"
Max groaned, pretending to be annoyed. "What is it now? You're worse than a five year old demanding attention," she snapped. But she was smiling.
"Thanks. For everything." I was particularly referring to the book. I had absolutely no idea what was going to be in there. For all I knew, it was just Shakespeare in a foreign language. But then again, the Manticore symbol was on it. That had to mean something.
******************************************************************
I picked the lock on Max's apartment and walked in like I had a few hours ago. The only memories I had of this place were the ones of me and Jondy fighting.
"I HATE YOU! I hate you so much! Why'd you let them take him? For fuck's sake, HE'S YOUR SON! You're supposed to keep him safe and now he could be dead and it's all your fault!"
I winced and listened for any sign of movement that would tell me that Jondy was still in here. I still didn't feel like talking to her.
"Bastard. Get your hands off me."
I made my way to the sofa and gratefully laid down on it. As I shut my eyes I tried to let sleep wash over me, but I couldn't.
"You lied to Krit and Syl. They're your best friends. And you lead Corey to believe that that girl was me. Why should you treat me any different?"
I lay there for about ten minutes, trying to ignore the sound of Jondy's voice in my head. Finally, with a sigh of annoyance, I turned onto my stomach. All I wanted was to have a long, dreamless sleep.
"How could you do something like this? What did they do to you?"
By then I had drifted off into a daze, and when a hand suddenly touched my back, I jumped out of my skin. I leapt up, completely alert, and grabbed the intruder's shirt, slamming them back onto the sofa. Why hadn't I heard them come in? Geez, I thought. Tyra was right. I was getting sloppy.
I came face to face with familiar blue eyes that were filled with surprise. "Jondy?" I gasped, letting go of her instantly. "Sorry. You scared me."
"I woke you up," she said quietly, still recovering from the shock of my attack.
"Nah. I couldn't sleep. Did I hurt you?" I knew it was a dumb question. It was kinda insulting to her, too. She was an X5. It would take a lot more than what I had just done to hurt her physically.
She shook her head, giving me a concerned look.
I wanted to talk to her. I really did. I wanted to tell her all my insecurities and all my fears. But I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I couldn't forget the way she'd backed away from me like I was some monster that she didn't recognize. It had been a few hours ago now, and I knew that she thought I had been reindoctrinated, but the point is, I HADN'T. It was me who did all those horrible things. I had agreed to give Corey away, not 205. She had every right to tell me that she hated me, but I didn't want her to do it again. I didn't think I could take it.
We both sat in an uncomfortable silence. Jondy looked as if she didn't know what to say. I had walked out on her after all.
"I'll let you sleep." As she got up to leave, I grabbed her hand.
"Don't go," I whispered, suddenly desperate for comfort. We had to get over this weirdness between us. "I don't wanna be alone."
Jondy's expression softened and I pulled her back down onto the sofa with me. I lay down so that her back was against my chest and pulled her close as she snuggled against me. I expected to feel safer, warmer, but instead as soon as she was in my arms alarms bells went off. Something was seriously wrong, but I didn't know what.
Jondy seemed to sense my unease, and turned her head to look at me. "What's wrong?" she asked softly.
"Does something feel..weird..to you?" I said uncertainly.
Jondy frowned. "Apart from the fact that Corey's gone?"
"No." I replied. "It's something else."
"Are you sure? Maybe you're just worried about Corey." She said quickly.
I sighed, frustrated. Maybe I was just being paranoid. "Yeah, probably." I agreed, but I was unable to shake off the feeling that something wasn't right.
"Don't worry Zane," she said in a low voice. "We'll find him."
I nodded and offered her a tiny smile, but I still wasn't the least bit consoled. What surprised me the most was when she leaned forward to place a soft kiss on my lips, I didn't feel anything. I kissed her back, but the familiar rush of I-would-die-for-you love that usually coursed through my veins was absent.
As she deepened the kiss I pretended that nothing was wrong. I didn't want to have to explain to her all the fucked up thoughts that were running through my head. What was wrong with me? First I was willing to give my only son to a psychopath, and now I failed to feel a single ounce of emotion for the woman I had loved for more than five years.
I began to panic slightly. Wasn't I in love with her anymore? A few hours ago I had loved her more than anything. I knew that for a fact - I mean, if I didn't love her, I probably wouldn't have given a crap if she slept with Ames White. I would've just left her without a second thought and gotten over it.
But I did care. I cared a lot. That didn't explain why I just suddenly ...stopped..loving her. Maybe I was just feeling bitter and resentful because of what she'd done. Maybe. But whatever it was, I hoped that it was just a phase I was going through, and that it would leave as fast as it came - because if it didn't, what was I going to tell Jondy?
Jondy finally pulled back from me and I brushed her hair gently away from her face, trying to act like everything was normal. She smiled at me, her eyes bright and happy, before turning around and leaning back into me.
I sighed and realised that the feeling that something wasn't right was still lingering at the back of my mind. I pushed it away, feeling thoroughly annoyed with myself. I was about to close my eyes and go to sleep when I caught sight of the barcode on Jondy's neck, which was no longer covered up by her hair.
Usually it wouldn't have bothered me much. I knew how much she hated getting it removed. It stung like hell so she avoided it at all costs. But something about the last three numbers made me take a closer look.
211.
A wave of shock radiated through me as I tried to register this without Jondy - or whoever this was - realising.
You've got to be kidding me, I thought. The girl lying next to me couldn't be Tyra. No. Tyra HATED me, so I couldn't see why she would...
I squeezed my eyes shut and then took another look, hoping that my eyes had been deceiving me.
No such luck. The numbers on the end of the barcode still read 211, as clear as crystal.
I still didn't trust myself. She was Jondy...wasn't she? But then again, Tyra had managed to fool Krit and Syl, so there was no reason why she couldn't fool me. But would she really stoop so low? I decided to ask her a question that I was positive only Jondy would know the right answer to.
"Hey," I murmured, sounding reminiscent. "Remember that time Corey had that imaginary pet mouse? He loved that thing. And when it died, he cried for about three hours straight." I let out a small laugh, for the effect.
I knew that if this was really Jondy, she'd look at me like I was complete idiot and ask me what I was going on about, because what I had just said was completely untrue. Corey had never had an imaginary pet anything.
"Yeah, that was so cute," came the reply.
I froze. So it really was Tyra.
In a way I was relieved, because that explained the reason why I felt no love for her and why I had sensed something was wrong. But as soon as I had that figured out I was faced with another, more serious dilemma - if this was Tyra, then where was Jondy?
I leapt up, desperate to get as far away from Tyra as possible. I flattened myself up against the wall while she stared at me from the sofa, looking utterly perplexed at my sudden movement.
"What now?" She gave me a strange look as she sat up.
"Don't play all innocent with me," I growled, feeling disgusted at myself for falling for Tyra's stupid trick; angry at Tyra for doing what she did; and worried because I had a feeling that something might have happened to Jondy. "I know you're not Jondy."
"Zane, what are you talking about, you big idiot? Of course I'm Jondy. Who else would I be - the ghost of Christmas past?" she snapped, insulted.
A feeling of doubt descended upon me. That was exactly what Jondy would've said.
Tyra sensed the lack of confidence I had in my accusation, and stood up to take advantage of it.
"Look sweetie, you're just tired. It's been a tough couple of days. I know you're worried about Corey but it wouldn't hurt to get some sleep," she said calmly, trying to soothe me.
I was tempted to take her advice, but my stomach churned uncomfortably. "No." I whispered, following my gut instinct. "I saw your barcode. You're not Jondy."
Tyra glared at me. "You've gone completely bonkers, if you ask me," she replied smoothly, showing no sign that she was going give herself up anytime soon.
Anger flared up inside me. I grabbed her by the hair and slammed her face- first into the wall. Usually I didn't resort to violence on women - genetically engineered or not - but this seemed to be the only way to get her to tell the truth.
I whipped the hair away from her neck, not bothering to be gentle, and ran my finger over her barcode. "See. 339367281211." I read out, slowly and carefully.
Tyra let out what sounded like an annoyed grunt. "Fine, you caught me," she sighed, sounding faintly amused.
"I thought so," I said triumphantly, keeping her pressed up against the wall. "Now tell me, why did you do it, huh? You working for White? Did he tell you to pretend to be Jondy and kill me when I let my guard down?"
"You know, impossible as it may seem, I don't always have to take orders from someone. I'm capable of doing whatever I like without someone to boss me around," she huffed.
"Oh, WOW!" I cried with fake enthusiasm. I wasn't the least but interested in what she was or wasn't capable of doing. I just wanted to why she was pretending to be Jondy. "Now answer my question." I demanded.
"I'm not working for White," she replied quietly, after a pause.
Surprisingly, I felt slightly disappointed with her answer. If she had been working for White, at least I could've had some way of getting in contact with him. She might've known where Corey was, and I could've tortured it out of her.
"So if you're not working for White, then what the hell do you think you're doing?" I yelled into her ear, getting madder by the minute. "Did you think that it would be funny to trick me into thinking that you were Jondy? Is it some kind of dumb joke? Did you -"
"NO!" Tyra interrupted, squirming. "NO, OK?! It wasn't like that!"
I was officially confused now. I couldn't think of any more reasons why Tyra would do this. "Then what?" I wrenched her head back, the same way she did to me on the first night we met.
Tyra winced. "Geez, no need to get violent. You were really sweet before."
"That's because I thought you were Jondy," I said angrily. "And speaking of Jondy, would you happen to know where she is?"
I didn't like the way Tyra laughed when I asked her that question.
"She's burning in hell," she spat out, speaking to the wall. "Where she belongs."
I paled, my heart pounding with fear and worry. "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, trying to keep the panic out of my voice.
"Meaning - she's dead."
I released Tyra and stepped away from her. Those words had been totally unexpected. I took a moment to think about it. Then I laughed.
"Oh she's dead, is she?" I mocked her as she turned to face me. I wasn't going to let her fool me this time. All she trying to do was weaken me, make me vulnerable. She wanted to make me do something stupid. Jondy was not dead.
Tyra looked at me square in the eye. "Yes," she replied, deadly serious. "She's a goner."
I remained unperturbed, and pretended to go along with this little lie of hers. I was mildly interested in what she was going to come up with. "And who killed her then? White?"
Tyra shook her head. "Me," she said, quietly but purposefully. She kept watching me, without blinking, waiting for my reaction.
Something about her graveness scared me, but I was never going to let her know that. Maybe she was telling the truth? Jondy....dead?
No. I hastily reminded myself that Tyra was a very good actress. She would have to be. Manticore made sure of it.
"You?" I snarled, getting tired of the game that we were playing. "Yeah, that'd be right. Sounds like something a conniving, heartless bitch like you would do. Kill someone that's done absolutely nothing to deserve it."
I knew almost immediately that what I had just said had completely infuriated Tyra, because seconds later she exploded like a burning match that had been dropped in a pool of kerosene. I prepared myself for a fight.
"DO YOU THINK I'M PLAYING SOME KINDA GAME?! THAT I'M JUST SOME LONELY, PATHETIC LITTLE GIRL LOOKING FOR ATTENTION? I'M TELLING YOU THE TRUTH! AND IF YOU'RE TOO STUPID TO REALISE -"
"MY ASS YOUR TELLING ME THE TRUTH!" I yelled back at her. "You've given me no reason to trust you. For all I know, it's a trap! You tell me Jondy's dead, I go running off to find her, and White swoops down on me and you get a pat on the back!"
Tyra rolled her eyes and let out a growl of frustration. "WHAT PART OF 'I'M NOT WORKING FOR WHITE' DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?!"
"YOU ARE SO FULL OF SHIT! WHY DON'T YOU JUST ADMIT THAT YOU'RE WORKING FOR WHITE? WHY ELSE WOULD YOU SAY THAT YOU'VE KILLED JONDY?!"
"Because I DID kill her, genius!" Tyra bellowed. "I fuckin' watched her die! I followed her up onto the Space Needle and there she was bawling her eyes out and I snuck up behind her and threw her off the edge! And believe me Zane, she didn't survive!"
I was shocked into silence. Jondy. Dead. Gone forever..... I shook my head, trying to convince myself that Jondy was safe and alive. Maybe she was with Maxie. Or Krit. Or just taking a walk. "No. No - I don't believe you." I stammered, a little too quickly.
Tyra was advancing on me; her blue eyes a cold, stormy ocean of hate and anger. She was a lot calmer now, and a lot scarier. "You better believe it, 'coz you won't be seeing her ever again."
I was silent for a few moments. "You killed her." I whispered, finally, half to her, half to myself. I didn't know why, but I believed her now, no matter how much I wanted to deny that Jondy was dead. I should've recognized the crazy look of a murderer in her eyes much sooner than this.
There was the slightest hint of a smile on Tyra's face. "Guilty."
I stood there motionless, not knowing whether to scream or yell or hit something. I was so incredibly numb - I felt nothing. But I knew it was only because the harsh reality of it hadn't completely soaked in.
I blinked and tried to clear my head. Maybe - just maybe -Jondy was still alive. Maybe she was lying there, waiting for someone to find her, hanging onto her last breath. Maybe I could look for her and take her to the hospital and then she'd be ok....
Without another word I headed for the door, planning to take Max's Ninja and ride as fast as I could to the Space Needle to look for Jondy.
"Where are you going?" Tyra demanded as I grabbed the keys for Max's motorcycle.
"Lookin' for Jondy," I replied gruffly. I didn't wait for her to answer me, or follow me. I hoped to God that she wouldn't.
As I leapt on to Max's bike I told myself that if she knew that I was riding it, she would kill me. But this had to be an exception, right? I mean, Jondy could be dying..
What if I hadn't realised that Tyra was pretending to be Jondy? I thought as I wound through the streets of Seattle. Jondy would've been left there to die, and I never would have known. Did she think that she had been forgotten?
"Don't worry baby, I'm coming," I whispered. I didn't know why I even bothered - my voice was immediately carried away by the wind.
The Space Needle got bigger and bigger and soon enough it towered over me. A fence encircled it and I parked Max's Ninja and sailed over it.
"Jondy!" I yelled, running about in all directions, searching the base of the Needle for Jondy. "Jondy, it's me! Where are you?"
As each minute passed the intense feeling of terror and foreboding built up inside me. What if she really was dead...what would I do without her....I couldn't survive without her....never told her how much she meant to me....
Then, finally, I saw her crumpled body lying next to an abandoned pile of furniture. I blinked to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. A stab of fear brought me to my senses and I darted towards her. She looked terrible. Her head looked as if it had been bashed in by a baseball bat and her hair was matted with dark blood. Her arm was twisted in an odd angle, and I was positive that she probably had acquired more injuries, only I couldn't see them.
I sat down next to her with a shaky breath. Unlike when I was with Tyra, I felt an incredible surge of love and concern when I touched her face. Her skin was deathly cold.
"C'mon Jondy," I called out softly. "It's ok now. Open your eyes....please be ok. Please don't be dead." Tears began to sting my eyes, and I continued pleading with her - "Wake up Jondy. It's me. It's Zane. You're gonna be alright. I'll take you home....just open your eyes...." The part of me that was a soldier told me that it was too late, but the part of me that was human got the better of me, and I scooped her up and cradled her limp form in my arms. "Don't leave me please, just hang on....I love you...."
"Oh SHIT! Zane?" a familiar voice cried. It was Syl.
I turned my head to see her rushing towards me. I had never felt so glad to see her....I couldn't think straight...she'd know what to do...
"What happened? Oh, no.." she whispered, clamping a hand over her mouth as she crouched down next to me and Jondy. "Is she ok?"
I shook my head as I watched Jondy, waiting for her to move, speak, give any sign to show that she was alive. "I-I dunno, I think she's...she won't wake up," I stumbled over the words, too distraught to speak.
Syl, as calm as ever, pressed two fingers against Jondy's neck to check for her pulse. A heartbroken expression settled onto her face.
"What?" I demanded, dreading the answer. "What is it?"
Syl paused, looking torn. "She's dead, Zane."
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A/N: I'm sorry that I took an unbelievably long time to update this, I just couldn't get it out. Oh, and please tell me if you think that my story is morphing into something that is moronic, way too sappy or into an overly dramatic soapie....and I'll try my best to change it in the chapters to come. Because I really don't want my story to be something that is moronic, way too sappy or into an overly dramatic soapie, but I might be doing it without realising..you know what I'm saying? Oh and thank you to everyone who reviews, I really appreciate it - and a special thank you to Sammie and steph, my most loyal readers who review practically every time! ( You rock!
