Chapter 10: Jay's Story
"Ved is my younger brother, you know that already," Jay began. "When the virus came, I didn't know what to do with him, he was a scared little boy and to tell you the truth, so was I. We were from a town about sixty miles from the city we just came from. The kids in the town formed tribes, nowhere near as large as the ones in the city, but big enough to where we needed leaders and a council to keep them all in order. I was the leader of one. Everything was going well. Ved was thriving, our tribe was working hard, there was food to eat . . . and I was in love." "Amber?" Iris asked. Jay shook his head. "No. Her name was Allie." "What happened?" Iris asked softly.
Jay looked at Iris with a sad, angry expression. "She died. From a cut on her finger that got infected." Iris looked appalled. "How horrible!" she cried. Jay nodded. "I was devastated after Allie's death. I didn't see any reason for attempting to survive in a world where someone could die from something so small. It was . . . one of the reasons I joined the Technos." "How did you find them?" Iris asked. "They found me," Jay answered. "They came looking for recruits, and I left my tribe to listen to what their leader had to say. He promised to create a new world, with order, hospitals, schools . . . and I believed him. The Technos drove cars, they flew airplanes, they had high-tech weapons . . ."
"I take it the leader didn't keep his promises?" Iris put in. Jay sighed and played with the tassels of a pillow on the chair. "I believed him, for so long. I went along with things that at first, I found horrible, but . . ." "You got used to them," Iris said, nodding. He nodded in agreement. "Yes." He had a strange look on his face that Iris found unsettling. "And Ved?" she asked him. Jay shook his head. "I shouldn't have joined them," he said quietly. "Ved . . . he became a different person. He became cruel, overbearing, selfish . . ." "Like the leader?" Iris asked. He nodded. "Just like the leader. Ved became a sort of apprentice to . . . to the leader."
Iris' eyes narrowed as she contemplated what Jay was saying. She knew there was something he wasn't telling her. "Jay," she asked, "who was the leader?" He looked at her with resignation. "Ram. Ram was the leader." Her eyes widened. "Ram? The . . ." "The person here at the hotel, yes," Jay finished. "Let me explain . . ." "You'd better," Iris said coldly. Jay cleared his throat. "Like I said before, Ram had the Technos doing some terrible things. I was his head general. We overran cities and captured people . . . don't ask where we sent them because I don't know. Ram did experiments on some of the people, but I didn't know how terrible they were until much later. We came to the city the Mallrats are from, did the same thing there."
"Yet you're friends with them?" Iris asked frostily. "Ebony was the leader of the city," Jay continued. "I ended up falling in love with her, we had a relationship. Ram wanted her, he was married to her two sisters, Java and Siva, and he wanted all three. Anyway, that was part of it. I think he really desired her, for herself. In some ways, she was like him. He set up a virtual reality program that showed me kissing Amber, she believed it to be true, and married him. I was angry. And, I admit, heartsore. Not heartbroken, but heartsore. But Ebony soon found out that Ram had lied to her about me, and we continued our relationship behind his back. We ran away together. That was when I met Amber. I couldn't help but want her. She was an amazing woman."
"So you left Ebony?" Iris asked. He shook his head. "No. I still loved Ebony. But Amber changed me. I didn't want to run away, I wanted to return to the city and take Ram down. Ebony didn't want to, and that was when we began to fall apart. She knew, even then, that I had a thing for Amber. We argued about it constantly. But she returned with me." "It seems like she loved you more than you loved her," Iris said with a raised eyebrow. Jay sighed and nodded. "Maybe. But Ebony loves herself more than she loves anyone else," he said. "Anyway, we went back to the city. I had a contact inside the Technos, a friend of mine called Mega. Through him, and by joining with the Mallrats, we brought Ram down."
"What about Ved and Cloe?" Iris asked. "You have barely mentioned them." Jay's eyes narrowed. "Ved fell in love with Cloe," he said. "She was a Mallrat. Ved treated her badly sometimes, but he truly loved her. Being around Ram didn't teach him much about how to treat others. I could see why he loved her. She wasn't afraid of him. She wasn't above getting even with him when he was cruel. But Ram found out about her, and took her away. I'm not sure where she was taken, but I have my suspicions." "What do you mean?" Iris asked, looking fearful. "Ram was the sort of person who would have tortured Cloe through virtual reality just because he was angry with Ved," Jay told her. "And I'm sure when he was done, he sent her to an experiment center."
He shook his head, looking weary. "Ved demanded Cloe's return. Ram told him he would fight him for her. They played a virtual reality game and Ram won. I don't know what happened to Ved after that. It seemed like he just disappeared. I was devastated." Iris' stern expression softened. "I'm sorry," she said. Jay looked up at her with a small smile. "Now what happened after Ram was taken down?" Iris asked. "How did you come to be friends with him?" "We aren't friends, exactly," Jay said. "He helped us defeat Mega." Iris looked confused. "I thought Mega was your friend?" "I thought he was, but it ended up that he wanted Ram defeated so he could take over. And in a lot of ways, he was more cruel than Ram."
Iris blinked, uncomprehending. "Crueler than Ram . . ." Jay nodded. "Yes. At least Ram never threatened babies." "What?" Iris cried. "Mega basically told Amber she had to help him or he would hurt Bray," Jay explained. "And he used Trudy to find me after Trudy found out about me and Amber." Iris' forehead creased in confusion. "I . . . thought you were with Ebony." "I was, but she left me, paranoid that Amber and I were together. Mega and Ebony's sister Java used virtual reality to mess up her mind. She formed her own tribe, the Zootists, and . . . well, that's a whole other story. Anyway, once she left me, I did try for Amber, but she was angry that her baby's father had been killed by the Technos, so she pushed me away. I ended up with Trudy."
"And broke her heart, once Amber decided she did want you," Iris finished, looking at him coldly. Jay looked a bit surprised. "Yes. If that's the way you want to put it. Anyway, Mega used Trudy to find me. I was so angry about what he did to Amber that I tried to kill him. He captured me, but I escaped. I found Ram. He was living with Slade and Ruby. I found out that . . . it wasn't him who killed Ved. It was Mega. If it would have been Ram, I would never have been able to work alongside him. Without Ram, we would never have taken Mega out. But it was Ram's computer program that created the virus we left the city because of."
"And that's your story?" Iris asked, shaking her head. He nodded. "That's my story." Iris was silent for several minutes before speaking again. "You did some terrible things in your lifetime, Jay," she said finally. "Even here, far away from the mainland, we have heard about the Technos and the things they have done. You seem to be truly sorry for what you did under Ram, and for that I can forgive you. You were caught up in something that ran away with you. That can happen, especially in these times. But I admit, the way you seem to be able to throw away women you supposedly are in love with, the way you lied to them, makes me wonder about you."
Jay looked surprised. "I didn't lie to any of them!" he said. Iris snorted. "You lied to Ebony when you told her you didn't want Amber. You lied to Trudy about the same thing, and entered into a relationship with her on false pretenses." Jay's mouth opened and shut with only a squeak coming out. "Now, I think that is enough for one night," Iris said coldly. "You understand, in order for the Council to allow you to remain here permanently, you will have to tell them all this." Jay nodded, still looking shocked. "Then I will say goodnight," Iris said, waving him away imperiously.