Charged - Book One (27 page)

I was expecting him to be walking toward me with a
scowl, but he wasn’t. He was different. He seemed younger,
healthier; the dark grey areas had diminished. The glow had
returned to the arteries in his neck and his eyes were brighter and
he was smiling at me, of all people. My vision was still a little
off but it actually looked like a real smile.

“What am I missing here?” I said.

“You charged me,” she said.

I nodded my head. Maybe it hadn’t hit them, that it
wasn’t enough. At least not enough to break her bond with Danel
which was all I could think about.

“No Lew, you charged her completely,” Aaron said.

“What?” He wasn’t making any sense.

Emotionally, I brushed up against her and there it
was. I could feel her core inside of her. It was very powerful. I
almost couldn’t believe it and I kept reaching deeper into her.

“Are you sure?” I said.

“Yes. She’s been through every test we could think
of. It appears to be permanent,” Collin said.

Permanent
. That was the only word that
stuck.

“How?”

“It’s possible the mutation in your chromosomes
altered Ben’s core. We don’t actually know at this point. It’s also
possible that when Kye merged with you that you’re mutation was
transferred to her. We have found some slight anomalies in her
chromosomes. We’ll need to do some more tests on you,” Collin said,
rubbing the back of his neck looking dumbfounded at me. “Nothing
has been completely conclusive. But what it really means is that
she’ll never need to be charged again.”

My head was just swimming with this new information.
Tears started to stream down Kye’s beaming face and I reached out
and wrapped her in my arms. Emotionally, I pushed out all the joy
and love I felt for her.

“What makes you think it’s permanent?” I said.

Collin then looked at Danel and I released Kye as she
quickly wiped her tears away.

“That is an assumption. But based on the data we
have, she has the strongest core we’ve ever seen.”

“So, do you think you can charge another one?” Aaron
said.

Charged – Book Two – The Drid

Is available now. Sample to follow.

Sample of Charged - Book Two – The Drid

I’D BEEN CONSCIOUS approximately ten minutes when
the atmosphere in the lab drastically changed. It wasn’t subtle; it
was like the air thickened all around me. With stiff muscles, I
pushed myself up into a sitting position on the medical bed.

Two minutes ago, everyone was smiling and elated
because I was alive and Kye would never need to be charged again.
But now, their expressions revealed something else. I scanned their
faces but all of them were fixated on Danel. He looked the most
uneasy. His gaze locked onto the floor and his spider-like fingers
were sliding back and forth over his palms. I started to worry
about what could’ve possibly happened in the seven days I was out
cold. I licked my dry lips, dreading the words I would hear
next.

“We were
ordered
to execute them…I want you to
know that,” Danel said.

Even before my mind registered the statement, I knew
it was an excuse wrapped in an apologetic tone. It was the way he
said it that threw me off. Danel was the facilitator of this
station. A being of confidence and bitterness, but the sentence
sounded like it had fallen from the lips of a small boy rather than
a nine-foot tall alien. I looked at Aaron but he was stoic, didn’t
even blink. Crazy thoughts entered my mind as Danel finally locked
eyes with me.

“What are you talking about?”

If Danel was doing the explaining, it wasn’t going to
be good and only half of it was going to be the truth.

He approached the bed and let out a long sigh as if
this moment was somehow inevitable. He seemed hesitant and all I
wanted to know was;
who
was killed? The room grew quiet and
I was growing even more concerned as the seconds ticked by.

“Two hundred years ago when Ben was in charge of the
stations, he told us to terminate all of the companions. We were
certain they were draining our cores beyond any point of
regeneration. All of the stations were ordered to ship them here to
have them demolecularized and they obeyed.”

I tried to digest what he was saying but it was like
I was physically struck. All I heard was that they didn’t just stop
making companions. They murdered them. I grabbed Kye’s hand and
squeezed it lightly. I could feel my facial muscles tightening into
a scowl as I tried not to glare at him. He looked away from me and
continued.

“After…after they arrived, I watched one hundred and
ninety-three willingly enter the chambers and I just couldn’t watch
it anymore. Thousands of Tanjennians fled to other ships, heart
broken or enraged. That’s why there were only twenty-two of us here
when you found this station.”

He paused for a moment and stared off into the back
of the room. His eyes dimmed and he seemed stuck in the past. I
could sense pain from him, but only for a second. He took a deep
breath and refocused his eyes on mine. 

His wide, sad eyes didn’t lessen the disgust I felt
in the pit of my stomach. And the first day I’d met Ben flashed in
my mind. I remembered him saying, “this ship is taboo,
kid.” 

I didn’t think Ben could actually do such a thing. I
searched his memories and disappointment started to well up inside
of me. I could actually hear him in my head giving the order. It
was his memory but it was so vivid it was as if I was there when he
said it. And once again, it was like
I
gave the order. I
could feel everything he felt when he said, “put them in the
chamber.” Even though I heard it in my own thoughts, I just
couldn’t believe it. The images faded but his feelings of despair
lingered just a few more seconds. Ben’s memories would be with me
forever and this was the first time it really worried me. Why would
he do this? Why didn’t he tell me?

Danel stopped pacing and continued.

“Alma and I managed to save twenty-five companions
and stored them on level thirty-eight in the deepest part of the
cyro dome. We’ve been keeping this secret for two hundred years.
Even Alma kept it a secret until she died and her memories were
transferred to Collin.”

And there it was, he wanted something. That would be
the only reason he was ever honest with me. Not for one second did
I believe Ben wasn’t forced into this decision. I felt confused and
almost betrayed by Ben. He never said a word about the companions
needing to be charged. Maybe he was ashamed. I could almost hear
the explanation; he would save his people whether they wanted to be
saved or not. I just couldn’t believe it.

The relief I had because Kye never needed to be
charged again had dissipated completely. I immediately pushed up my
wall so no one could feel me. The thought of one hundred and
ninety-three hybrids being molecularly reduced to nothing made me
nauseous.

“Why didn’t you just freeze all of them?” Even I
could hear the bitterness in my voice as I watched Collin shift
uncomfortably in his chair.

I could sense grief from him, but it wasn’t his
grief, it was Alma’s. I’d almost forgotten that Collin was now
probably struggling to control her memories.

“We exhausted all possibilities of regenerating their
cores, nothing worked unless we charged them ourselves. We tried
everything and I mean everything. Ben wouldn’t put them in stasis
because he felt that it would only prolong a false hope. He thought
that over time some would demand to have their companions returned
even if they knew it would kill them. So when the order was given,
it was made clear that anyone who didn’t comply would also be
terminated.”

I just couldn’t wrap my head around it. I couldn’t
believe that Ben established this law even though I had the proof
in my own mind. The Ben that I knew couldn’t do this; he was
incapable of genocide. Or maybe I didn’t know him. Maybe he was
different when he established the law. He must have seen the error
of his ways. Somehow, he’d changed through the years or Kye
wouldn’t have been produced.

I tried to recall how Ben expressed himself to Kye
and I could remember how kind he was to her. I knew he loved her. I
could feel it inside of me, but I could also feel a deep sadness.
Ben knew she was killing Danel.

Then Ben’s memories pushed to the front of my mind.
It was only a second. No, it was less than a second but it was
gut-wrenching. I could see the companions entering the huge chamber
and then it was on. They all felt it; the void. The companions were
gone.

I didn’t know what my expression revealed but Danel
started talking even faster in a defensive tone. It took me a few
seconds to shake off Ben’s memories to listen. The images faded
quickly.

“I was following orders, we all were. We are not
proud of ourselves and what we did was self-serving and vicious. I
am aware of this. But many voted against it. Try to understand the
tragic situations that would have arose if we left them in cryo
stasis. After enough time, the elders would retrieve their
companions possibly by force. They then would have no other choice
but to flee topside. You didn’t even exist the last time we had
problems with the humans. It would’ve been sheer chaos for your
kind and ours,” he said.

I had no response except a rigid frown and I looked
around the room wondering if I’d misjudged the entire Tanjennian
race or just Danel and Ben. I couldn’t imagine any Tanjennian doing
anything by force other than Danel. And of course I had to notice
that he said, “many voted against it,” not
I voted against
it
.

“But he let you make Kye? Why didn’t you tell him
about the others then?” I said.

He paused again and took a deep breath.

“When he found out about Kye, he almost had her
terminated. I begged him not too. So, we agreed to keep her a
secret. Everyone on this station agreed. Kye has never been to
another station without the foundation, without the contacts. She
always made contact as a human covert.”

I wondered why I hadn’t made this connection before.
There were thousands of Tanjennians on Earth and only twenty-two on
this huge station. And none ever visited until I survived merging
with Ben.

Danel shifted his weight to his left side and he
started to radiate more light under his skin. He was nervous.

“Only you possess the capabilities of giving us
another chance. You could charge their cores; the ones we’ve
hidden,” Danel said.

I knew it coming when he said they hidden twenty-five
of them. That’s what he wanted. He wanted me to charge the rest.
There was a hint of desperation in his voice. Danel then brushed up
against me emotionally and I felt despair, guilt and pain. He
wasn’t holding anything back today; he was more than desperate. And
for once, I was actually more pissed at Ben, than Danel.

Yet, nothing could change the past. This was two
hundred years ago and humans had done so much worse hadn’t they? I
knew what he wanted, what they all wanted. I wasn’t going to judge
them for something that happened two hundred years ago. At least, I
was trying not to. If I was Tanjennian and my race was dwindling
before my eyes, I would ask the same.

“And how does the rest of the station feel about
this?” I said.

“Search their feelings, they are all on board but
only because we told them how you charged Kye’s core completely. Of
course, if you can’t charge another they would be put back into
stasis,” he said.

I didn’t know if I wanted to put myself on the line
for the others and everyone could see it on my face. I sensed a
fleeting moment of sadness from Kye. I could only guess it was
because she was hoping she would not be the only hybrid soon.

“And you’re certain that Kye is completely charged?
I’ll never have to charge her again?” I said.

“Completely,” Danel said.

“We can make sure you’re not in any pain this time,”
Collin said. He then lightly brushed me with his emotions and they
were caring and honest.

I’d now been touched emotionally by more Tanjennians
in ten minutes than I had in the last two months.

“You shouldn’t have merged with Kye alone. We can
monitor you and make sure you’re vital signs are stable.”

This helped, but I didn’t think I could just keep
charging others continuously. If it drained the Elders, eventually
it would drain me too.

“And if anything goes wrong, Kye can actually pull
them out of you. Her capabilities of manipulating her own mass is
not limited to just herself. She can change the mass of other
companions when she touches them,” Danel added.

His statement wasn’t reassuring. It was unnerving.
I’m sure Aaron was fascinated but I still thought of Kye as human.
I wondered how he could be so sure when Kye had never been around
another hybrid companion. I looked at her and her expression only
confirmed my thoughts. Her face was blank. There was no encouraging
smile. She didn’t really know.

“What makes you think I can charge that many? Why are
you so certain it wouldn’t kill me?”

“Remember when we discussed your DNA when you
absorbed Ben?” Collin said.

I nodded my head.

“Well, we’ve been doing some research and you truly
have some unique chromosomes, but they’re not all ours. So far we
haven’t found the same in any other humans either but we have five
thousand years of samples to test. We’ve only gone through a few
hundred. This could be a common human mutation and your core has no
signs of depletion from charging Kye.”

Yes, I was some kind of mutant. We’d already
established this. It was confirmed by my very existence. But they
were guessing, even I could see that. They didn’t really know. How
could they? Just because I charged Kye, didn’t mean I could charge
twenty-five more. I studied Kye for a moment. Her eyes were full of
hope and longing. I squeezed her tiny hand and she squeezed back.
She gave me a loving smile and she looked so alive, so beautiful.
Her glowing eyes now had even more specks of gold around the edges
of her irises. She was simply stunning and I drifted for a second
as I gazed at her. How could they murder one hundred and ninety
three companions like this one?