Betrayal runs in your veins
Alexandra woke up, lost. Where was she? Her eyelids were heavy and she struggled to open her eyes. Her mouth tasted like rusty blood. She couldn't clearly remember what had happened. She had spat up some blood and probably fainted. She tried to sit and glanced around her. She seemed to be in a bedroom because she was on a bed. Yet the walls were rocks and there was no window. The room was lit by a few lamps in the corners. She ran her hands over her body, checking she was alright and exhaled in relief when she found nothing. She slowly stood up and started to look around in silence. Alexandra glanced to her watch. She had been asleep for 2 days. She walked at the door and slowly pulled it and she silently opened it. She slipped discreetly outside the room and shut the door behind her. She arrived in a long and thin dark corridor that seemed never ending. She walked on tiptoe, being careful not to make noise, looking everywhere so that she didn't get lost or caught. She heard some voices not far away and approached quietly from an open door. There, she recognized Lucas' and her father's voices. She froze and leant against the wall, trying to keep her breathing calm, listening to them.
"I wonder how it would have been to have you as my son in law," Charles wondered to himself aloud.
"Son in law? You're joking right?" Lucas spat.
"Well, you got my daughter pregnant, I hope you would have at least married her!"
"Do you really think I would have kept that baby?" Lucas snarled. "I would have found a solution to get rid of it."
"You're so heartless," Charles chuckled sarcastically. "May I remind you that this baby would have been my grand child?"
"No offense Charles, but I had enough of dealing with your daughter."
"I can understand that," he smirked. "She's not that easy to live with."
"That's an understatement," Lucas laughed.
"My dear daughter, don't stay outside. Come on and join us," Charles suddenly said, his eyes locked on the open door. Lucas nearly spat the whisky he was drinking and turned his head to the door. Alexandra stopped breathing at her father's invitation. She tried to recompose herself and walked in, her eyes still in shock from what she had just heard. Lucas tried to keep an expressionless face so as to not betray his embarrassment. For the first time in ages, he was deeply ashamed. Ashamed of his lies, ashamed of his past, ashamed of who he had been and who he was now, ashamed to be there, ashamed of hurting her voluntarily, ashamed of what he had said, and most of all, ashamed of what he was going to do. When she entered the room, she realized her mother was there too and a man, who looked like a bodyguard, standing next to her. The room was built in the stone with no windows, like the rest of the places she had seen, but this time, a big screen was playing the picture of a green jungle on it. It was like there was a bay window in the room. "It's not polite to listen to the others conversation."
"Obviously a lack of education from my parents," she taunted.
"Touché."
"Where are we?"
"A place called Silent Brake. But don't stay there, come and sit with us, we have important things to discuss," he said, patting the sofa he was sitting on.
"I'm perfectly fine right here," she said firmly. "What are we doing here? What is he doing here?" Her father pursed his lips, his eyes narrowing, thinking about what to say.
"What do you think we are doing here?" He asked simply, not answering. Alexandra's brain was working fast, a load of questions and theories growing into her mind. She was not in Terra Nova anymore and by the look of the stone she was not in a place she had ever been or seen before. The rock was different from Snakehead Falls or from The Badlands. She had woken up in a bedroom and not in a cell, which meant she was not a prisoner, or so she was thinking. Her parents and Lucas seemed fine, which meant they were not abducted. Only the man next to her mother was a stranger, yet her mother didn't seem to be worried. Then, where was Taylor? Where was Damon? Why had her parents and Lucas brought her here to a hidden place? Why had Lucas said such horrible things on her? And above all, why was Lucas so friendly with her father like they had been friends for a long time?
"Am I dead?" She blurted out, half joking half serious.
"No you're not," her father stated, suppressing a laugh.
"Am I going to die?"
"One day, like everyone."
"Am I… Are you… When are we?"
"Something like 85 million years in the past, why?"
"So we are not in the future?"
"Nope," he said casually.
"I'm tired of your game. What are you doing here?"
"Rebuilding the future."
"Rebuilding? Hang on, have you finished the portal?"
"Almost. Should be done tomorrow."
"Why… Why are we not in Terra Nova anymore?"
"Hmmm let's just say that Taylor and I do not share the same opinion on how to use the portal."
"I was sure you were hiding something, I was sure of it," she sighed, wincing. "You're planning to go back to the future on your own. You won't help them."
"Actually, I'll help everyone. I'm going to give the future what it needs."
"Needs? Are you gonna steal this place to save the other one?" She didn't want to believe it.
"Steal? I am not stealing. I'll just take back what belongs to us."
"You're gonna sell it. You are gonna do what the Phoenix group wanted, right? You are still working for them!"
"Actually… No," he smiled. "And yes."
"No and yes?"
"Do you remember when we walked into the portal and ended here, I said we didn't stay alone for more than an hour, that a scientist from 2149 found our calculations and made a new portal with a better technology. I guess you already met this scientist," he chuckled darkly. Alexandra looked intensely at Lucas who was clearly avoiding her gaze now, staring at the wall. "When Hope Plaza sent men to secure the place, we made a deal with them. We hired the Phoenix group, we planned the attack from the Sixers, we made everything." His father was really proud of himself and it made her sick, she felt ashamed to be his daughter, she felt disgusting. She had thought that he had had no choice but to work for them and in the end he was the one who had decided everything.
"And me? Did you do this? Have you brought me here on purpose?"
"Ah no, that was a real mistake. Yet, it was for the best! We're glad to see how fate turned good for us. It was made to happen that way honey!"
"If you hired Lucas, I guess you hired Mira too. If you decided everything then… Did you ask her to torture me?" Alexandra asked, suddenly more aware of what all of this was implying.
"No, honey, of course not. It was collateral damage only. Yet, she has been punished for this, hasn't she?" Charles said, smiling to Lucas with an evil grin.
"How did you know we were going to the Badlands when we found you?"
"Oh, let's just say that Thomas has been a good help."
"Thomas?" She was stunned.
"He's a good actor, isn't he?" Her father grinned.
"The bottle of water…" She murmured to herself. "You asked him to poison me?"
"Poison is a little bit excessive don't you think? Let's just say we needed you to look like you were ill."
"I spat blood."
"Indeed. Only to emphasize the show, make this more dramatic. It worked well."
"You used me. You set me up. You disgust me. Have you ever thought that what you take in the past for the future has an impact on this same future?"
"Who cares? We can travel whenever we want!"
"You're going to destroy everything."
"No we are not. We are not in the real past," her mother spoke for the first time. "This place only has one reason to exist and we are going to use it."
"Remember, I told you that your mother and I created a spatiotemporal door connected to 85 million years, but in an alternate timeline. This alternative timeline avoids temporal paradoxes. So it doesn't matter what we do here, it has no impact on our future. It's like a clone of the earth that we can use to save the real one."
"But it's not your plan, is it?"
"Indeed, I don't give a shit about saving our planet. People only get what they deserve. They created their misfortune. People are so greedy, they want everything immediately. There's no patience anymore. The predator for humanity is humanity itself."
"It's not our role to adjust the universe. You're not God!"
"No I'm not. I am so much more powerful than God," he smirked seriously.
"You're mad. You're going to break all the rules. If you change the past, you'll change the present and the future, even if it's in a parallel world. You'll destroy everything!" she looked at Lucas; "I thought that you of all people would understand that!"
"Well, I guess you were wrong," he spat. His harsh tone startled her. Who was that heartless and distant man who was standing in front of her? She glared at him and he kept his cold eyes locked into hers.
"I trusted you," she grimaced.
"Misjudgment."
"I saved your life."
"You and your savior complex," he mocked.
"You saved my life."
"I needed you to be alive."
"You said you wanted to be with me."
"Pure strategy."
"You used me."
"Don't take it personally. I was just following a plan."
"You slept with me," she said, disgusted.
"To be honest, it was not the worst part of the job," he smirked arrogantly.
"You said that no matter what would happen it would have nothing to do with me." Lucas wanted so much to tell her he had meant what he had said, but instead he kept to his role.
"Another lie in an ocean of lies."
"You said you loved me. Was it a lie too?" She dared to say, challenging him.
"You're such a clever girl. I'm very disappointed you didn't see that one coming," he snapped. Lucas knew he had no other choice other than to say that, yet it hurt him more than he could say.
"Go ahead then, say it," she said firmly. "Say that you've never loved me," she challenged him, her eyes looking deeply inside his, ready to find the truth in it.
"I - have - never - loved - you," he replied harshly, his voice ruthless, emphasizing every single word. Alexandra felt her heart stop. She wanted so much to see he was lying, but all she could see was a total stranger in front of her, rejecting her.
"Look at her! What a hating look! If that glare could kill you'd be dead by now!" Her father was enjoying the scene.
"I thought something special was going on between us, something unique," she said coldly, disgust audible in her voice. Why was he humiliating her? She felt like the worst dirty thing in the world. "I should have remembered that people don't change. They just find new ways to lie," she said with anger. She glanced away, just enough time to recompose her face so that it was unreadable. "Why am I here? I guess you didn't kidnap me just to humiliate me in public?"
"My poor daughter, always so weak. Your feelings are always getting in the way. It's so easy to fool you."
"Not everybody can be as heartless as you are," she replied roughly.
"My Alex… Ah this daughter is going to kill me one day," he laughed.
"Why am I here?" She insisted.
"Honestly, Alex? I'm sure you already know why."
"You obviously think that I'm cleverer than I really are. Why am I here?"
"Come on Alex, you're not fooling anyone here. I know you've been playing dumb all along. You know what I want."
"No I don't," she laughed nervously.
"You've been trying to tell it to me since we met. You know it, it's in you somewhere. Let it get out. You've been trying to forget it, to restrain it, to hide it, this strange feeling you've got since you saw us." Alexandra suddenly had difficulty breathing, like there was not enough air in the room. It was harder to swallow,
"I don't see what you're talking about."
"Wow, those walls you built around you they are tough!" He taunted, amused.
"When life hurts you harder every time, you need to be stronger than that."
"There I recognize my tough daughter," Charles beamed.
"Tell me why I am here," she commanded him coldly.
"Ok, I'll help you for the start. One indication. Two words. Photographic memory." Alexandra looked at him in disbelief, her eyes wide.
"What?"
"You. Your gift."
"My gift?" She chuckled awkwardly.
"Oh my god, you really don't remember?" He asked seriously.
"Remember what?" She shrugged, suddenly feeling very stupid. Her father stared at her, his eyes narrowing on her, trying to read her minds.
"Think," he said simply. Alexandra felt a knot forming in her stomach. The strange feeling she had had since she had found her parents was pointing out again. "Come on, show Lucas how clever you are. He doesn't believe you're special. Show him that you're a lot more than a bimbo with a gun."
"Nice," she grimaced.
"Alex, use this lovely brain of yours and show us that you are a stunning hard drive with legs."
"Thank you dad, I appreciate the compliment," she said in an ironical tone. "But I don't care what Lucas thinks about me. There is nothing special about me except my psychopath parents."
"That's rude! I'd rather say visionary than psychopath," he said, hurt.
"Poor you, I'm so sorry. You should have bought a pet instead of having a girl, it would have been easier for you to control it."
"Ok, enough jokes," he stopped her. "Time for seriousness."
"I am bloody serious. Why can't you grab that?" She said harshly, annoyance overwhelming her.
"Don't you remember it?" She glared at him, speechless, pursing her lips. "Russia, winter 1999? Does it remind you of something?" Lucas was staring at Alexandra and saw her eyes flicked as she seemed to remember something. Her father noticed it too. "Ah, here we go. Your brain is still working isn't it?" Alexandra was staring at the floor, her mouth slightly agape, her gaze lost in her thoughts, her breathing growing quicker. "What about China, summer 2001?" She slightly shook her head, her eyes still locked on the ground, information filling her mind. It was like her father had unlocked a door in her brain, it was like she had kept files hidden in a part of her, waiting for him to bring them back to her. Pictures and photos of people, places, were flooding her mind. She was totally invaded by different kind of feelings, sensations. "Africa, spring 1997? Oh no, I know, my favorite one, America, December 2005."
"Stop it," she suddenly yelled, looking back at him furiously. "Stop it!" Her father had a sardonic smile on his face, he was clearly enjoying seeing her struggling.
"Wanna tell me something?" Charles mocked.
"Shut your fucking mouth!" She growled, angry. Lucas was very surprised by the animosity of Alexandra against her father. Charles must have really hurt her in the past to generate this kind of reaction. Lucas clearly didn't like the way he was treating Alexandra, he was boiling inside. He had to restrain himself from assaulting him and knocking him down. This man disgusted him, he was arrogant and selfish. And one day he had been impressed by the man. Of course, one day he had been like this man.
"I must admit, I am really impressed. You did a good job forcing your brain to forget all about it. You really improved your gift after we left you," Charles said proudly. "I shall train you later though, just in case."
"I despise you," she spat through gritted teeth, her eyes full of disdain. "I'm not your toy. I'm not your secret weapon. I won't do it again. I won't help you," she huffed.
"So this is what you think. But you'll see, you're going to help us."
"Never. You can't force me, I'm not 6 anymore, I'm not scared of you anymore."
"Oh there you're wrong. I can and I know you'll do it because your heart is your weakness." She stared at him furiously, her jaw tightening in anger.
"You broke my heart a long time ago now. You can't use it as a weakness."
"There you're wrong again. I guess you wouldn't like your little friends from Terra Nova to die in horrible sufferance?"
"You're the devil," she spat, disgusted.
"Join us."
"I'd rather rot in hell than be with you," she roared through gritted teeth.
"Then you'll have what you wish. Gordon, take this stubborn girl to a cell so she can have time to think about it."
Gordon looked like an ogre. He was big and tall, a mountain of muscles. He walked to Alexandra, his big hands ready to catch her. She reacted immediately at his touch, kicking him with her knee right in the crotch. He winced but didn't move and grabbed her throat with one of his huge hands, pushing her hard against the wall, furious. Her feet no longer touched the ground, her legs were dangling in the air. She tried to kick him but could not reach him. Gordon smiled at the sight of her struggling.
"Get off me! Stupid dumb monkey," she shouted, gasping for air, her hands pulling his wrist, trying to escape his grip. In a second, Lucas stormed out his seat and was pointing his gun on Gordon's head.
"Drop the girl," he commanded him coldly. Gordon slowly turned his head to face Lucas, his eyes holding his glare, and with an evil smile, he opened his hand, making Alexandra fall on the floor. "We do not harm women. Understood?" Gordon nodded, his eyes raging furiously at Lucas. "And you," he continued, grabbing Alexandra's arm roughly and pulling her up without delicacy. "Behave yourself or you'll regret it," he warned her severely. She rubbed her aching throat with her hands, trying to ease the pain. She swallowed hardly, staring at Lucas in despair. The man in front of her was not the man she knew. He was looking at her with disdain and antipathy, and it made her heart tighten in sufferance. She had thought for a second he was going to save her and only now she realized he was not on her side anymore. Maybe he had never been on her side at all and that thought was worse than everything. Gordon brought her back to reality, grabbing her shoulder and leading her outside. They walked along the corridor she had taken earlier but this time they headed to the left at the intersection. He accelerated his pace, forcing her to walk faster. They went down stairs and Alexandra couldn't suppress a shiver as the further down they went, the colder it was. They arrived in front of a heavy wooden door and Gordon opened it.
"Go inside," he commanded her.
"No," she hissed firmly. Gordon tilted his head, looking at her, his face unreadable. He seemed to deliberate which way to get her in, then he suddenly grabbed her arms and threw her inside. She literally flew into the cell and fell heavily on the ground, the violence of the shock knocking her out.
"I was sure she would not bow. This girl is so stubborn," Charles said to Alice once Gordon and Alexandra were gone.
"Well I wonder who she got that from," her mother said, slightly annoyed. She didn't like him spilling his anger on her.
"Sorry Alice," he said, cupping her face with his hands. "I know it's not easy for you. Trust me, it's gonna be fine. I'll have her change her minds."
"Do we really need her? We could leave her here."
"No, I want her back by my side. I want both of you with me."
"What were they? The dates?" Lucas asked, cutting them in their conversation.
"When I taught Alexandra how to use her brain to remember everything, I brought her with me visiting nuclear centers, State buildings or Embassies, you know, important places. Then I used to ask her to remember every detail, security codes, how many guards where in the room, where the best place to hide or escape was… She was good, very good," he said proudly.
"She was the best," Alice said bitterly. She seemed annoyed by the capacities of her daughter and Lucas was sure it had not been her idea to use Alexandra's talent for this kind of use. "Excuse me, I got few things to handle," she apologized before leaving them.
"Would you excuse her, it's harder than she thought having her daughter back in her life." Lucas nodded, he didn't know what to say and surely Charles was not expecting him to answer anyway. "So, let's talk about more important things. We've got a destination to choose."
Feel the music, feel the story
Alex's part
"I'm in here, can anybody see me? Can anybody help? […] Can't you hear my call? Are you coming to get me now? I've been waiting for you to come rescue me. I need you to hold all of the sadness I cannot live with inside of me. I'm in here, I'm trying to tell you something, can anybody help? I'm in here, I'm calling out but you can't hear, can anybody help? Can't you hear my call? Are you coming to get me now? I've been waiting for you to come rescue me. […] I'm crying out, I'm breaking down, I am fearing it all, stuck inside these walls, tell me there is hope for me. Is anybody out there listening?" I'm in here - Sia
