I hadn't even had enough time to roll off the couch when Mom entered the apartment. She was humming a cheerful song to herself, while swinging her purse to and fro. At first, she didn't notice me sitting there until I cleared my throat.
With the speed of a tiger, she flipped around, fists poised and foot ready to smash my face in.
"Uh…hi Mom," I smiled, worried that I was going to end up with a bloody nose in a less than a second.
"Alanza!" she cried and immediately greeted me as I rose to my feet in a giant hug. She smelled like male's cologne and chicken with garlic, yet, I decided to postpone the interrogation until I had told her about the sudden danger. "How was New York, dear?"
"Can I sum it up into three words?"
"What?" she asked, confused, laying her purse down on the counter.
"Dad. Gone. Manticore."
Every child must get a real thrill out of shocking the hell out of its parents. So, naturally, when the blood drained out of Mom's face, and she had to catch herself on the countertop, I felt somewhat pleased with myself.
"What do you mean? Manticore?" she whispered.
"You want the full or abbreviated story?"
"Just start talking, Alanza, just start talking."
"Ok, here's the deal: Everything was going fairly well-I guess James was being pissy, but never mind that. In the middle of the week, Krit and Syl took us to see a play on Broadway in which they both had featured roles in, and we were, therefore, going to get free tickets.
"Anyhow, the play was ok overall. A little stingy on the outfits-"
"Alanza, quit dawdling," Mom warned.
"Yeah, so Dad and I left early because Case wanted to stay and 'check out the equipment' with Krit and Syl. I wanted to get back to the hotel and sleep, and I'm sure that Dad wanted to do the same. He was, after all, running on less than four hours of sleep and wasn't the happiest camper.
"We had made it about three or four blocks before Dad started looking worried. He got us behind this building and said that Manticore men are after us. So, he told me to run and go back to the hotel, while he fought the bad guys. I ran down the alleys and suddenly, one of the men captured me. Dad flew in, accompanied later by Krit, Syl, and Case. Come to find out, these weren't regular men; they were X7s."
"Shit…" Mom hissed.
"To make a long story short, Dad left to go off and fight the evil king, Krit and Syl are on the verge of clinical depression, Case is fairly happy and trying to stay sane, and as for me, I'm attempting to comprehend all of this."
"You sure they were X7s?" Mom asked.
"Pretty sure. They didn't talk, and Case said they communicated ultra-sonically. Why are you so worried?"
"Alanza, these X7s are ten times faster, stronger, and all around better than any X5 could ever hope to be. If they're still affiliated with Manticore, they are going to up on the latest training. You were lucky that Krit, Syl, and Case came by. Zack and you would've been killed."
"Tasers."
"They have tasers now too? That can't be good either. Tasers mean that someone from Manticore still wants the X-series alive for whatever twisted little projects they have."
"Case says that gang accident I had were Manticore men too. Norms, though."
"They're in Seattle too? That must mean they know that we're here. Not necessarily the exact location because Seattle's too big of a city for them to pinpoint the exact location, but to know the city is bad enough."
"Do you think we should leave? I don't know how much my head is worth; I know it has to be an awful lot. I mean, hey, wouldn't you want the superior being of your psycho genetically hyped up army with you? I know I sure would." Seeing Mom's crestfallen face, I looked away. "Sorry," I mumbled.
"No, it's not you. It's just that this is all coming too fast."
"What do you mean? What exactly is 'all'?"
"I'd consider leaving Seattle for your safety mostly, but I don't think that I can even do that."
"Why not?"
She held out her left hand and I realized, in an abrupt instant, where the chicken and garlic along with the cologne fragrances had come from. A sparkling diamond set in silver glistened on her ring finger where the only kind of ring can go.
Meeting her eyes, I whispered, in stark horror almost, "You're engaged to Logan, aren't you?"
Mom nodded her head quietly, affirming my question, while I shook mine in disbelief. "This can't be happening…" I mumbled, dazed and hurt as the emotions bubbled inside of me, threatening to erupt and spew forth into angry words that I wouldn't be able to control.
"What do you mean?" Mom asked innocently.
"What do you mean, 'what do I mean'? You can't be getting engaged to Logan!"
"Since when?" Mom snapped back with more power than I would have preferred. Rising to my feet, I stood in front of her on the couch, spreading my arms to try to make her understand. Although I knew it was pretty much pointless, I figured I would give it my best shot. After all, I had just come home fairly happy and didn't feel like ruining that feeling too much.
"What about Dad?" I asked her.
"Zack?"
"That'd be him…."
"What about him?" Mom questioned.
"You can just forget about him!"
"Alanza, we've already talked about this-"
"He loves you!"
"-and us together would never work out. You know that, Alanza." Mom bit her bottom lip, then shrugged. "What? Did you really think that life was going to be all strawberry jam-sweet and smooth? C'mon, you have to realize that things weren't going to turn out with a white picket fence in the front yard."
"I'm not asking for any damned white picket fence," I spat angrily.
"Then what are you asking for?"
"I'm asking for you to listen to me. Manticore people want me to be put in a cage where they can poke and prod me all day long. They want you, Mommy Dearest, to be put in a cage as well, like a gerbil or a guinea pig for their psycho experiments. You know, for once, I'm agreeing with Dad. We can't stay here, Mom."
"Then if you're all hyped on going, get outta here, Alanza."
"You know I don't have the money to leave."
"Well then, don't sit here and criticize me for my life. I keep a roof over your head and food in your stomach and-"
"Don't even start it," I warned, pointing a finger at her as she sat on the couch. All of sudden she decided to act like the savoir that I didn't need. Unfortunately, I was pissed now, and there was nothing that she could do to stop it. The wrath was unleashed. "You think I'm suddenly going to hug you with tears in my big green transgenic eyes and say, 'That's just great, Mommy. I'm so happy you're engaged to a man that you haven't seen for twenty years and is about that much older than you. When's the wedding? I'd love to be a bridesmaid'. Give me a break, Mom. You have to understand where I'm coming from."
"I do."
"No. You don't."
"What am I not understanding?"
I paused and inhaled deeply as I rested my hands on my hips, focusing towards a stain on the ceiling. Everything was moving far too fast. Suddenly Manticore had been violently shoved back into my life, James was irritable for no apparent reason, and Mom was engaged. I knew that I shouldn't ask what could go worse because irony was an ugly monster to predict, let alone control.
"All right, Mom," I began, still refusing to look at her as she waited with her disgustingly patient face, "here's the deal: Dad loves you. He said that he always would. You have to at least respect his feelings by not marrying Logan."
"Alanza, Zack and I were never married or connected with anything besides you."
"Don't you love him?"
"Who? Logan?"
"No, Dad."
"Yes."
"Then why don't you-"
"But," she replied, rising to her feet, as the joints in her kneecaps popped naturally, "not in that way I love Zack as a brother, as a man that I can admire and have around here if I need some help. He loves me as a wife, a girlfriend…" She paused, thinking about what she was going to say. "Zack loves me in the way that I love Logan," she stated flatly as if that would answer all of the universe's questions.
"What does Logan think about Dad?"
"The less Logan knows the better," she mumbled, twirling her hair nervously.
I arched my eyebrows. "I see. You don't tell Logan anything and then it's all good. Right?"
"You have to try to understand, Alanza. I know you weren't there when I left Logan-"
"Don't jump to conclusions so quickly. I was in your arms when you left Logan. Dad came for you; he could have let you die in Seattle with me. But he didn't, because he cares about you. You have to give him that much!"
"All right, tell me then, what kind of man leaves his entire family in Seattle without telling them where he's going? Tell me that, Alanza."
"Manticore."
Mom snorted indignantly. "Manticore, my ass. If Zack wanted to stay, he would have. He's just afraid to face the truth that he's not captain anymore and therefore can't control the squad."
Just as I was ready to fling another comeback in Mom's face, the door to the apartment opened, bringing with it Original Cindy. She smiled her sunny little sexual smile upon seeing me, but I didn't smile back. I simply glared at her with fierce eyes that warned her death was closer than she would have hoped for her. Her pleasant grin faltered, and she said nothing either Mom or I, and moved into the room that used to be Dad's.
"Oh. By the way, so nice to know that we have an extra guest," I hissed so vehemently that spit trickled down my lower lip. I wiped it away with the back of palm in animalistic fury.
"Her girlfriend kicked her out," Mom explained.
"So she just comes tromping back here? Great. Not only is there you and Brin, now Cindy's back along with me. And, I'm still stuck on the frickin' couch! What's gonna happen if Logan comes to live with us? Hmm? Have you told him about your heat sessions? About how you have to screw any male in your sight? Might want to tell him that because what if he gets in the way? Oh, wait, never mind, you love him in that way, so it's all fine and dandy if there's a ton of freaks running around because you can't control your sexual urges! Maybe Dad was right! Maybe I should just leave and-"
Suddenly, I fell to the ground as I warm flush spread across my right cheek accompanied by a stinging sensation. Mom stood above me, her left hand hanging loosely at her side, while her eyes were clouded over with anger and tears as if she was unsure whether to scream or cry. There was a vein in her temple throbbing, and I could see that she was biting down harsh enough of her jaw to taste blood that may have been coming from her tongue.
I didn't move for a moment. I didn't even bother to raise my cool hand to the burning feeling on my face. I wouldn't give her the pleasure of showing her that I was actually hurt. Instead, I shot daggers through her, trying to kill her with my slit eyes.
Finally, Mom cleared her throat, raised her arm and pointed to the door. "Alanza, get out." Her voice was strong enough to be convincing, yet when you live with someone for twenty years, you know when they are on the verge of tears, which Mom was.
For a minute, I paused, waiting to see if she was really serious. Finally, when Mom didn't let her arm drop, I pushed myself to my feet and glared down at Mom from my height. "Fine, then, I will," I spat. I slammed the door harshly behind me and gunned the engine of my motorcycle so that I whipped down the streets at speeds that rivaled those planes that had broken the sound barrier. In the back of my mind, I could hear Case's voice whispering, "When the world breaks…"
