Unison (The Spheral) (46 page)

“Justice was served, and now so is our dinner.” I placed two dishes on the table, and Flora unenthusiastically stared down at her food.

“You haven’t eaten all day, and you’ll need your strength before we leave.” I sampled my omelet.

“Killing a man ruined my appetite.” Flora got up and walked towards the window.

I picked up the remote control and closed the shutter. “Indifference ruins mine,” I said.

Flora turned to me. “Neither of us will be eating then.”

I slammed my fist on to my plate, and food splattered on me. “You’re weak-willed and weak-minded. A disgrace to what you used to be.” I wiped my face. “Did Kai take away your ability to think for yourself as—”

Flora darted toward the table and shoved it against me.

I pushed back my chair and jumped to my feet. “
That’s
what I wanted to see! You must fight hard to—”

Flora charged me and thrust the heel of her foot against my stomach with such force that I almost fell.

“That’s for reading my journal!”

I sat and leaned forward to relieve my aching abdomen. “You were dead.”

“My thoughts are private.” Flora cried. “You had no authority to—”

“In Unity, nothing is private. The Corporate Hierarchy views you as their property to use in whatever way they desire. Direct your anger towards them for what they’ve done to you and will continue to do to the rest of the Unitians who believe in the Sacred Oath.” I placed my hand over my heart. “All hail Unity. Together we unite in Unity. Together we fight to keep alive the flames of Unity. Together we live for our Unity. Together we die for our Unity. We are one in Unity. I am—”

“Shut your slocking mouth!”

Flora went to kick me again. I grabbed her calf, and she fell.

“Why did you become a Striker?” I asked.

“What do you want me to say?”

“Anything that tells me your mind is your own again.”

Flora got up on to her forearms. “I thought my actions proved that.”

“Killing Kai doesn’t prove anything other than you wanted him dead.
Why
did you kill him?” I helped Flora up.

“I…I just got angry.”

“Over what?”

“I don’t want to talk about this now. Killing a man also makes me tired.”

Flora headed to the back door, and I let her go. She needed time to think, and I had a mess to clean up on the floor.
Better spilled food than spilled blood, Damon
.
Let’s keep it that way, at least until we make it to New Athenia.

After I washed up and had a shave, I went out to the back where Flora sat gazing at the mountains.

I sat beside her. “Sorry if I pushed too hard.”

Flora turned to face me. “You almost look human without all that fur on your face.”

“In between transports I avoid my mirror.”

“And the shower.”

“Shisa doesn’t care what I look…or smell like.”

“If she could speak, I think she’d disagree.” Flora smiled.

“I forgot how much I miss that.”

“Miss what?”

“Your smile.”

Flora turned away from me.

“Sorry. I sometimes get lost in time.”

“How did Kai find us?”

“Are you sure you want to continue? There will be no turning back,” I said.

“That was obvious when I fired my plazer.”

I paused for a moment to think of what to say. I never had trouble revealing everything to Flora in my past incarnations but now that she wanted to know, I was reluctant to speak.

Flora raised her brows anticipating my explanation.

“The scourge is a lie. It’s used to make people afraid to leave Unity and accept the implant.”

“I’ve seen people die from—”

“Whatever is killing them has nothing to do with it. I’ve traveled beyond the other side of the old tunnel and haven’t seen even one case.”

“What is its purpose then?”

“To track you.”

“That can’t be.” Flora rubbed the side of her forehead. “There are purple sleeves who are Strikers. They would’ve informed us if—”

“I met up with Tyrus. They know.”

“He’s alive?” Flora smiled as tears streamed from her eyes. “Kai told me he died.”

“He’s in New Athenia.”

“Why did he leave?”

“They’re now transmitting Harmony to fetuses, and Tyrus couldn’t stop—”

“It’s too late,” Flora cried. “The Strikers failed. The Corporate Hierarchy will never be defeated.” She clenched my arm hard. “Was everything I did in my life monitored since I was removed from the tank?”

“Why don’t we break for a—”

“I have to know now—before I lose the last few pieces of myself that are still mine.”

“It only feels that way now. You can reclaim yourself. I did, and you can—”

Flora ran into the cabin, and I chased her to the kitchen counter where she was about to grab her plazer. I seized her arm and got it away from her.

“Give it to me! Things have gone too far!” Flora cried, “They can’t be stopped!”

I recalled Flora saying something similar to me in my first incarnation, and I started to wonder if it had anything to do with her last reintegration session. “That’s true only in Uni—”

Flora punched my stomach, and rage overtook me. I aimed the plazer towards her.

“What are you waiting for?” Flora asked. “Do it!”

I slammed the plazer against the cabinet. “This isn’t you speaking! You have to see through this if you want to survive! Don’t give any more of yourself to the Corporate Hierarchy. They’ve taken enough.”

“I can’t live like this—knowing I’ve been monitored like some germ under a microscope.”

Flora’s defeatism was overpowering her, and I needed some of my old psychological engineering tricks to challenge the programming done to her. It made good enough sense when the thought first came to me. “I’ll return your plazer on one condition…”
Are you slocking serious Damon? Remember the patients you couldn’t help? The ones that filled out a request for death? Maybe you do have the scourge or worse…maybe you’re being reintegrated.
I pounded the cabinet out of frustration and then smiled at Flora. “Sorry. Wasn’t talking to you.”

She crinkled her forehead. “Who were you talking to then?”

I raised a brow and removed the power supply from Flora’s plazer. “Psychoanalyzing myself would take too long, and we have to get out of here soon.”

“I’m not going anywhere with—”

I handed the plazer to Flora. “In my last incarnation, I knocked Kai out with my plazer. I set up camp nearby and kept watch over the cabin. He didn’t leave until the next day. I hung around for three more days, waiting to see if Unity Forces would show up. They never did. I’m assuming Kai kept quiet because he couldn’t frame me for assassinating the Overseer. Since he won’t be making any calls this time around either, we should be okay for a while, but I’m not counting on that. After Kai died, his implant stored all his final vital signs along with his last tracked position.”

“If Kai really did all of this on his own, no search party will be sent out for him until they discover him missing. That won’t be for another five days.”

“Why five days?” I asked.

“Assuming he told the Chosen he was going on holiday, he would’ve requested his usual five days off. He’s been doing that ever since I became his protege, and he’d continue the same trend if he wanted to avoid suspicion.”

“As much as I appreciate your professional assessment, I’m sticking to my three-day schedule. You’re welcome to join me.”

“What if I don’t?”

I held out the power supply. “I’ll give this back to you.”

Flora eyed the power supply and then me. “Three days.” She walked away.

I had no intention to follow through with my offer, and I had no idea what I’d say if Flora decided to take her life again. She had three days to convince herself to fight, and I had three days to come up with a good response in case she opted for a loaded plazer.

Flora quietly stared out at the pond. Under the moonlight, the beauty mark below her ear returned me to the night we first met.

“Can we stay in this spot forever?” Flora asked.

Shisa came over and squeezed in between us. Flora gently stroked her coat.

“The longer you’re away, the more at peace you’ll be.” I traced a circle in the dirt and placed three smaller circles inside. “Think of this moment as the start of your true life—one you’ll have more control of. You’ll be surprised how much better you’ll function once you’re completely removed from Unity.”

“But I don’t belong anywhere else.”

“Do you really want to belong anywhere?”

“I’m not even sure how to answer that.”

“The time I spent alone taught me invention and creativity flow freely when I don’t need to censor myself. They were easier to find once I let go of Unity, in mind and spirit. My only purpose now is to satisfy my own curiosity. No one tells me what to read, how to dress, what to invent, how to think, or what to believe or not believe in. I don’t keep quiet when I see an injustice, and I won’t compromise my values to belong anywhere. That’s what belonging does—you must compromise your values to fit someone else’s agenda. To me, belonging to something means being owned by something.” I drew an “x” outside of the circle. “I choose un-belonging. I choose freedom.”

“What about the Outsiders? What are they like?”

“Most tribes live without electricity. Some live in small villages while others migrate each spring in search of food. The only exception is New Athenia. It’s filled with culture and art. I had a great life there for a few of my incarnations.”

“Why did you leave?”

“To help the Strikers. It’s my restitution for the damage I caused with Harmony. Each transport I conducted brought me closer to reclaiming my humanity.” I reached down to pet Shisa. “Someday I’ll feel whole again.”

“You won’t be able to return here because of what I did.”

“Seeing New Athenia through your eyes will make this all worthwhile.”

“Wish I could say I’m looking forward to all of this, but all I feel now is emptiness.”

“I felt that way too, when I first left. I wasn’t accustomed to being alone. All that talk of being together in Unity was programmed into my mind, and I had to work hard to remove myself from that trap. Eventually, I found the solitude comforting.” I took Flora’s hand in mine. “It’s in the silence where you hear your voice the clearest.”

MOTHERHOOD

F
lora spent most of the following day in my bedroom, and she refused to come out for dinner. I knocked on the door and when she didn’t answer, I entered.

She lay on her side with her back towards me and didn’t budge from her position, even when my steps produced creaks on the floorboard.

“Since you didn’t get a chance to try out my lentil omelet last night, I made another one just for you.”

Flora remained silent and eerily still. Fearing she changed her mind about waiting three days, I rushed over to her. I was relieved when I saw her blinking eyes staring out the window.

“I’ll keep it warm for you on the burner.” I left the room.

Shisa walked over to me, and I pointed my finger towards Flora. “Go. Keep watch on her. You’re better at this than me.”