Repossession (The Keepers Trilogy) (27 page)

Elara sighed impatiently, calling on her trusty keypad device again. The projector screen appeared before us. “I did not want to have to do this, Skylla, but I suppose it is necessary.”

“Wait,” Jet shouted, “what are you doing now? Skylla, don’t listen to her! She’s trying to turn you against me.”

“What is this?” I asked, scanning the screen. An image of the Abyss appeared, the last Black Hole we’d stayed in.

“We not only have access to your memories, we have access to a record of your entire past. Things you could not or were unable to see. To experience the full effect of how truly deceptive this human is, we must do this.” Elara cued up the video footage and punched in a command on the keypad. “You will feel slightly disoriented. Do not be alarmed. I am temporarily restoring your emotive memory. Stand by.”

“What are you—”A wave of lightheadedness washed over me and I swayed to the right. Elara’s stiff arm caught and straightened me.

“Skylla, are you okay? What are you doing to her?”

“Easy,” Elara’s voice soothed me. I swallowed and squeezed my eyes, pushing down the nausea swirling in my gut. Emotion flooded me like a monsoon, each and every feeling I’d had for Jet coursing through me at lightning speed. I opened my eyes and raised my gaze to his, and it was like seeing him for the first time.

“Skylla,” he choked out, the recognition sweeping his face. “What have they done to you?”

“I … remember,” I whispered.

“You remember what?”

“That I love you.”

Elara shifted at my side and pressed play to resume the footage, sending the images rolling in a dizzy disarray.
Jet and me, in the hallway in the Black Hole.
Him looking down at me like I was a dessert he was about to eat. Kale showing up and asking where we’d been. Kale and Jet exchanging tense words. Me finding Jimmy so I could help train Zeke.

And then, a flash of gold.

Blonde, to be exact. A pretty blonde, the one I’d seen leaning against Jet when I left the Abyss pool to search for and confront him.

“What is this?” Jet yelled, trying to get Elara’s attention. “Hey!”

Elara remained expressionless as I took in the footage.

“I’d love to show you a good time,” the blonde said, pulling Jet to the side when Kale disappeared down the hallway.

Jet’s gaze traveled down her body and my stomach rolled. “Oh, yeah?”

“
Mmhhhmm.
” She leaned into his ear. “I know just the spot.”

“Lead the way,” Jet said, flashing her a sexy-as-sin smile.

My eyes snapped shut and I turned away, unable to look at the screen. I instantly missed the numbness that accompanied the absence of my emotive memory. This was cruel. “Stop,” I said to Elara.

“Skylla, that never happened!” Jet insisted. Hera’s crying grew louder, echoing from somewhere in the corner of the room. “Listen to me, Sky, this is all a lie! What they’re showing you, it’s a lie! I don’t know how they’re doing it, but I never touched that girl. Look at me, damn it!”

I spun around to lock gazes with him. “And you collecting me? Turning me over to those men? Was that a lie?”

He ground his teeth. “No. That part’s true. You knew I collected you.”

“You could’ve let me go. Those Collectors never would’ve seen me if you hadn’t been standing there, spying on me!”

“You don’t think I tell myself that, every second of every day? I know it’s my fault they found you … it’s
all
my fault, everything you went through since that day. But I never, ever meant to hurt you.” His voice cracked and wetness glistened along the edges of his baby blues. “God Skylla, if I could take it all back …”

“Do not listen to him, Skylla Warden,” Elara chimed in, stepping in front of me. “He is lying to you. He had sexual relations with the blonde behind your back. We have all of the footage if you wish to see.”

“You bastards!” Jet exploded behind her. “It’s all fabricated, Skylla, this is bullshit! Hera, tell her.” He turned and grabbed Hera, guiding her forward to look me in the eye. “Please, Sunshine, tell her how much I love her. Tell her. Skylla, she knows. I’ve told her what you mean to me. We need to get out of here. They’re brainwashing you. This is all wrong, do you hear me? It’s wrong!”

A searing tear ripped clear across my abdomen, pain so strong it cut me in half. The image of Jet ogling that girl, the closeness of their bodies, his voice, her words … their secret spot. Likely the same spot Jet took me to.

“Stop this,” I turned my back to Elara, my chest heaving in anger. “Now, please.”

“As you wish.” Elara raised her thin fingers to the keypad and threw a quick glance to Jet before reversing the emotive memory control. A jolt of energy zinged from my head to my feet and with it, all the heart-crushing emotion I’d felt for Jet whooshed from my system.

So. Much.
Better.

I turned and faced Jet, my face falling blank. “I don’t want either one of them executed, Elara,” I instructed, keeping my eyes on him. “Don’t send them back to Prototype Seven, either. I’d like to recruit them for Foundation Zero.”

“But—”

“Jet Phoenix still saved my life. His intentions were good. Hera is an innocent child. They go
to Foundation Zero.”

Elara’s wary look passed between my friends and me. “Affirmative. As you wish.”

Breaking my connection with Jet, I started for the door, not bothering to look back at him or Hera. The excruciating pain brought on by the betrayal I’d just witnessed not once, but twice, was thankfully dulled, but the pain brought on by knowledge was another matter. This man and his sister were virtually strangers now, just two people I shared memories with—a short, fleeting journey. But Jet Phoenix, whoever he was and whatever I’d meant to him, deceived me one way or another. Walking away from this place, from Elara, meant not only letting down the human race, but also losing implantation permanently, which meant having to live with the hurt of Jet’s betrayal for good—having to feel every ounce of it, while it swam raw and festered in my heart. There would be no more numbness, and no escape from what I’d done: allowing the human race to rot when they could have had a chance at a brand-new home.

All of that rested in my hands now, and I’d made up my mind.

“Jet, whatever you had with me … let it go. It’s over. I wish you luck. Take good care of Hera.” The sounds of his protest reverberated throughout the room, but I was already two steps out the door.

SIXTEEN

The next day began with a rush of events. The first night in my new room—if you could call it that—in Lucenta was beyond surreal. Elara had led all Seven Shepherds to their sleeping quarters, which were actually lavish bedrooms with fish tank-like walls and floors. My room was right next to Kale’s, and we could see each other through the glass.

The moment I sank into my squishy, warm waterbed, I felt comfortable. Almost at home. I left the comfort of my new bed and posh sleeping quarters to meet Kale outside in the hallway. From there, we met the others and were whisked away for breakfast, then to suit up, and finally, to the recruitment wing for a briefing and to begin our next task.

“This place is like a five-star resort,” Kale whispered to me between bites of his pastry. He took a sip of his coffee and winced. “Damn, that’s hot. Good, but hot.”

“Want mine?” I offered, taking a seat at the round table in the meeting room. “I’ve barely touched it. Might be cold by now.”

“Nah, I’m good. Thanks.” He sat next to me and scooted close. “Not very friendly, are they?” He jutted his chin in the other Shepherds’ direction. None of them sat at the table with us. Instead, they paced the other side of the room quietly, each one seemingly off in thought. Their breakfasts were plopped on the table, but no one was biting.

“Guess we’re not really here to make friends.” I averted my attention away from the Shepherds and to the empty white wall instead.

“Are you doing okay? I know we haven’t had time for that talk yet. I never know when it’s a good time.”

“I’m thinking never.”

“What?” He laughed, and I turned to deadpan him. When he realized I was serious, his smile fell. “Am I missing something?”

“They can see our memories, Kale. Can look into our past, like pulling a file on our life story. None of our thoughts are safe, let alone our conversations. If they have that kind of power, we’ll both be quiet.”

“You can’t be serious. Working with Rico, I discovered some crazy things about the Invaders … but that … that’s a whole new level of crazy.”

“Yeah, well, if we know what’s good for us, we’ll just do our job. That’s what we’re here for, right? The Invaders need our help. We belong to them now, and we owe them. Our race is depending on us.”

“Whoa, whoa …” Kale set his coffee down and swiveled in his seat to face me. He lowered his voice. “What’s gotten into you, Sky? These things killed your parents. Took you prisoner. I thought we were both feeling … I thought we were starting to have second thoughts about this place and what it meant. Everything I said, bringing you here … I might have made a huge mistake.”

“I was having second thoughts. But you have to know when to pick your battles. There’s too much at stake with this one, and you know it. Besides,” I mimicked him and lowered my voice, “I want to be here. The Invaders can give us something invaluable. The fact that they’re even offering to do that at all has to mean something, right?” I held him with a stare. “Admit it, you feel it, too. You want to stay. You were already feeling it, before we came here. You were the one to make me think differently about it all in the first place. I know you understand.”

“Yes, but that was before we got here and I found out what we’re truly in for. Before Elara’s whole spiel. Just yesterday, you felt the same exact way. I feel it too. But I admit I want to be on the Invaders’ side.… the desire’s growing. Which is why we should talk about this, while we still have a say, can still think for ourselves. We could lose ourselves to this activation, to this, this loyalty, at any moment. And then what? There’s no going back. It’s already in motion.”

The way he called me Sky reminded me of Jet, and how he used to say my name. I blinked and looked away. Why was it that I wished I could actually feel something for Jet again? It was all so unnatural, so unnerving that I could recall all of these memories, yet feel no attachment to them. They were just there, hanging around like dead weight. “It’s too dangerous to consider backing out now,” I said, lifting my coffee to my lips. I was right. It was cold. “Look, you’re my only friend now—we’re all we’ve got.” I shot the other Shepherds, who were still distancing themselves from us, a look to emphasize my point. “Please, ride this out with me. Stay. Let’s help the people back on Prototype Seven. Let’s give them a new planet, a new home.”

Kale’s fingers found his rumpled honey-blond hair. He ruffled it while his mind worked over my words. “I’m starting to think I never should’ve led you here … never should’ve—”

“Stop.” I reached up and pulled his fidgeting hand away from his hair, bringing his eyes to mine. They seemed to soften as they scanned my face. “You were right, okay? We’re doing the right thing.”

“Tell them that,” he nodded to the other Shepherds. Lorie and the two other women were huddled in the corner now, whispering and slipping us suspicious glances. “They don’t seem so sure about this, either.”

“They probably have the same thoughts we do. They’ll come around. If they don’t on their own, the activation will kick in soon enough.”

Elara’s cool voice pulled us from our hushed conversation and we stood to greet her, tossing our coffee cups into the wastebasket.

“Good day, Shepherds. Please, gather around.”

Lorie mumbled a snarky remark while the others congregated around her to stand in front of Elara. Kale and I remained next to each other but gave her our attention.

“The recruitment selection process begins now, and it will last approximately twelve weeks, depending on how quickly you make your selections and how long it takes for those recruits to complete their training. We will then begin transfer to Foundation Zero to commence permanent settlement. The suits you are wearing will equip you for your own training. They are flame resistant, water resistant, and bulletproof. You will be exposed to a number of conditions during training, so these suits are necessary and must be worn at all times. Are we clear?”

We gave Elara a collective nod and I picked at the sleeve of my skintight, dark blue suit. The long sleeves and legs clung to me, but felt lightweight, like a second skin. The suit zipped straight up the back like a wetsuit, and the collar stopped just at the base of my neck, like a choker. My shoes were attached to the suit, and were thin and flexible, with strong traction.

“Good,” she continued, threading her hands behind her back while she walked back and forth. “You will undergo both physical fitness and psychological training. We need to assess your boundaries, to find out what you are capable of and what your limits are. Your endurance, stamina, and psychological boundaries will all be pushed. The objective is to identify your strengths and weaknesses so each of you are as well prepared as possible, for the flight to Foundation Zero and what you might face when you arrive. It is important to keep in mind that all of your selections will be subject to one last approval process. Just because you choose a certain recruit does not guarantee that particular recruit will receive approval.”