The Individuality Gene Read online

Page 8


  “Where are you?” I ask.

  Here, says R’ha as he appears before me.

  “Thank you. You saved my life.”

  It was nothing.

  “Are you all right?”

  He nods. You?

  I’m about to answer when I notice something behind R’ha. It’s a drone. Though it’s damaged beyond repair, it has enough power for one final shot. Its gun is raised and aimed right at me. By the time I realize what’s about to happen, it’s already too late.

  The drone shoots.

  Memory 16

  I watch, powerless, as the blast speeds toward me. The light it produces is blinding, yet I can’t seem to look away. The fizzling sound it produces fills my ears, blocking out everything else. It draws nearer until it fills my entire field of vision. It’s almost upon me.

  This is it, I think. I’m about to close my eyes when a shape appears before me. I don’t understand what it is until it swallows the glow of the incoming shot.

  R’ha hits the ground with a soft thud.

  I stare at his quivering body, perplexed, but it’s not until I notice the black liquid oozing from the gaping wound in his stomach that it finally hits me.

  R’ha sacrificed himself to save me.

  I remain frozen for a moment before my friend performs one final act of bravery. Outstretching a trembling arm, he aims his palm at the drone and fires. I still have no clue how he manages to produce the blasts, but it’s of no consequence.

  The drone is dead.

  I hurry to my friend’s side. The wound is far worse than I originally thought. There’s no way he will survive.

  “What have you done?” I croak.

  R’ha looks at me.

  I did what I had to. His voice is feeble, yet it resonates throughout my head.

  “Why?” I ask. “You barely know me.”

  I knew your brother. He was a good man. And so are you.

  “…”

  I’m sick. I have an incurable disease.

  I should be relieved, but I’m not. The fact that he was already dying doesn’t change the fact that he sacrificed himself to save me.

  “How long?” I ask.

  I would have died within the next few weeks. I don’t regret my decision. You have a great destiny ahead of you. I could sense it from the moment I met you.

  I try to speak, but no words come out.

  Can I ask a favour of you?

  I nod.

  Tell my family what happened. His voice is barely audible. And… tell them… tell them I… I love them.

  “I promise.”

  He smiles one last time, then closes his eyes and fades away.

  R’ha is dead.

  Memory 17

  I stare at the door, unblinking. My arm is outstretched, but I have yet to knock.

  “Are you sure you want to do this alone?” asks Kara.

  I glance at her and nod. Jonn stands by her side, unwilling to meet my gaze.

  “I made a promise,” I say as I knock. The sound of my knuckles hitting the door seems distant, muffled. But then the door swings open and everything suddenly snaps into focus.

  An alien appears before me. For a brief moment, I allow myself to believe R’ha somehow survived, but the Kra’lor standing before me isn’t my friend. For one, she’s a female, a fact made abundantly clear by her swollen chest. Her eyes are slightly more elongated than R’ha’s, and her features are more delicate, more feminine.

  This must be R’ha’s wife.

  Yes? she says, speaking in my head. Her voice is soft, sweet. How may I help you?

  The urge to flee rises within me, but I fight it and force myself to speak.

  “I’m a friend of your husband. I must speak to you.”

  Please come in. She steps aside and gestures for me to enter.

  I glance at my friends. Kara gives me an encouraging nod. Jonn remains of stone.

  Let’s talk in the living room, says R’ha’s wife as she leads me into the dwelling.

  My name is A’lina, she says once we reach our destination. And this is my daughter, A’lara, she adds and gestures to the child playing in the corner of the room.

  A’lara is young. She possesses the body of a six-year-old, but determining her exact age is impossible due to her alien origins. Her head is disproportionately large and her eyes so massive they seem to occupy most of her face. Like her parents, she has no ears, mouth or nose. But strangest of all is her ability to make objects float.

  A’lara sits cross-legged. An assortment of strange toys hovers around her in a beautifully-choreographed dance.

  R’ha never mentioned aliens possessed telekinetic abilities. Then again, he also failed to reveal the fact that they can shoot yellow energy from their hands.

  “Can all Kra’lors do that?” I ask, still looking at the child. She remains focused on the aerial dance until she notices me staring. Momentarily ignoring the floating objects, she smiles and waves. She seems so happy I can’t bear the thought of telling her of her father’s passing. But I don’t have a choice. I promised.

  A’lina shakes her head, unaware of my internal conflict. A’lara is special. She has a wonderful future ahead of her.

  Once again, pain stabs at my heart.

  Let’s take a seat, suggests A’lina, gesturing toward the nearby couch.

  We get settled in, and the moment I’ve been dreading finally arrives. I hesitate, but only for a moment. The more I delay, the worse it will be.

  “Something happened to your husband,” I say, speaking in a low voice to make sure R’ha’s daughter doesn’t overhear. “He… he’s dead.”

  I fall silent, allowing the news to hit A’lina.

  It doesn’t take long. Her eyes tear up, and her shoulders begin to shudder. The scales that coat her body quiver, but don’t move with enough velocity to make her disappear.

  What happened? she asks. Her voice remains unchanged, but I can tell she’s in a great deal of pain.

  I debated whether or not to tell A’lina the truth and came to the conclusion that she deserved nothing less. Now it’s time to explain why R’ha won’t be coming home.

  “My friends and I come from the future,” I explain. “We travelled here to help the people of this time. Your husband was helping us. Without him, we never would have succeeded in our mission. But protecting the humans came at a high price. Drones found us and tried to kill us. I would have died if not for R’ha. He sacrificed himself. He gave his life to save mine.”

  I planned on revealing R’ha’s motivation, but now that I’m here, I can’t seem to bring myself to speak of his illness. Doing so would only tarnish his memory. Not to mention it would diminish the heroism of his sacrifice. As wrong as it is to lie to a grieving widow, telling her the truth seems worse. I thus remain quiet as A’lina processes what I just told her.

  She sobs for a while before regaining her composure.

  Thank you for telling me.

  “You’re welcome.” I wish I could do more, but I can tell my presence is only making things worse. I stand and retrace my steps to the front door. The trip seems to take forever, but I eventually reach my destination. Pausing for a moment, I glance over my shoulder. From where I stand, I have a clear line of sight to the living room. I see A’lina speaking to her daughter. No words are spoken, but I can tell by the child’s reaction that she just learned her father is dead. I’m about to look away when A’lara focuses on me. Though she stands far away, I can sense the hatred wafting off of her.

  You killed my father! she screams into my head. I hate you! I HATE YOU!

  I don’t notice the floating objects until they’re nearly upon me. I dive out of the way just in time. The toys bounce off the door and fall to the ground. Seeing them scattered about reminds me of the last time I saw R’ha. Tears fill my eyes, and I dart out of the house, leaving my friend’s family to grieve.

  My companions are waiting for me outside.

  “How did it go?” ask Kara as I str
ide past them.

  I ignore the question and march on. I don’t know where I’m going, but anywhere is better than here.

  I wander around for a while, my friends keeping pace with me. We end up in a park. I suspect it’s the one where we first appeared, but it’s not until we come across a familiar clearing that I have undeniable proof.

  The bodies of five drones are scattered about, a gruesome reminder of the battle that took place mere days earlier.

  “This is where we first met him,” says Kara.

  I nod. This is the spot where R’ha first risked his life to save ours. And now he’s dead.

  “What now?” I ask.

  “We do what we always do,” says Jonn. “We pursue Avalon.”

  He’s right. Avalon is responsible for all that happened. Without her, R’ha would still be alive. He may not have survived long, but at least he wouldn’t have had to give his life to save mine. Now more than ever, I’m determined to make her pay for all she’s done.

  “Let’s go,” I say. I twist the triangles that make up the face of my ring and watch as a portal appears before me.

  Jonn goes first.

  “Are you all right?” asks Kara once we’re alone.

  R’ha is dead, Avalon is still on the loose, and Kara and I are no longer a couple. No, things aren’t all right. But taking my anger out on the girl I love will accomplish nothing, so I nod and gesture for her to enter the portal. She hesitates for a moment, then steps through.

  I’m all alone. I look around, but the beauty of my surroundings does nothing to assuage my pain. Only time can accomplish that.

  “Goodbye, my friend,” I whisper. “I will never forget you.”

  A tear streams down my cheek. I wipe it away and step through the portal.

  Memory 18

  I appear in a park. Unlike the one I left behind, this one is old and decrepit. Dead trees litter the paved path that stands before me. Dried shrubs and dehydrated flowerbeds can be found by the dozens. Even the grass is dead. The stream that once flowed nearby has long since dried up, and the lampposts that border the path are no longer operational. It seems as though this entire time is dead.

  “Where are we?” asks Kara. She and her father stand a few metres away, studying our surroundings.

  “I don’t know,” says Jonn, “but wherever we are, we’re not outside.”

  I look up to find a ceiling hovering high above us. Its presence is perplexing, but not as perplexing as the yellow orbs that riddle it. Glowing softly, they produce a just enough light to illuminate our surroundings while still keeping all within sight bathed in shadows. It’s strange, yet oddly beautiful.

  “When do you think we are?” asks Kara.

  Jonn shrugs.

  “Who cares? Let’s find Avalon and get the drowned out of here.”

  He’s right. The sooner we locate Avalon, the sooner we can put this strange time behind us and get on with our lives.

  I activate the holo tracker, but the hologram that appears fails to reveal Avalon’s location. I focus on the red arrow, willing it to turn green, but its crimson tint remains unchanged.

  “What’s wrong?” asks Kara, noticing my frown.

  “Avalon isn’t here,” I say, showing her the hologram.

  “That’s impossible,” says Jonn. He grabs my arm and presses the button a dozen times, but the hologram remains the same.

  “What the drowned?” He releases my arm, and I take a moment to rub the soreness from it before deactivating the hologram.

  “What now?” I ask.

  Kara shakes her head. Jonn shrugs.

  We remain silent for a while before I decide to voice the question we’re all asking ourselves.

  “Why are we here if Avalon isn’t?”

  “Did you activate the tracker?” asks Jonn.

  That’s so typical of him. Each time something goes wrong, he immediately assumes it’s my fault. While I admit I’ve messed up in the past, I’m now innocent.

  “Of course he activated it,” snaps Kara before I get a chance to defend myself. “You saw him do it.”

  “Maybe he did it wrong.”

  “How do you press a button wrong?”

  Jonn shrugs. I expect him to keep arguing, but he doesn’t. In fact, he does the complete opposite.

  “You’re right,” he says. “This isn’t Won’t fault.”

  Hold on! Did Jonn just admit he was wrong?

  “It’s Kidd’s fault.”

  Ah! That makes more sense. Jonn wasn’t admitting defeat. He was shifting his accusation from me to Kidd.

  “How could this possibly be Kidd’s fault?” asks Kara.

  “Simple. He created the tracker. It’s his fault if it doesn’t work.”

  “Have you considered the possibility that Avalon was here but left before we activated the holo tracker?”

  Jonn grunts. “I doubt it.”

  Kara rolls her eyes. I can tell things are about to degenerate into a full-blown argument, but something catches my eye before I can intervene.

  Two large shapes are moving toward us through the dimly-lit park. They appear human, but their imposing stature marks them as a potential threat. Yellow light emanates from their chests, illuminating the path before them. I can’t tell whether or not they’re friendly, but I don’t plan on sticking around to find out.

  “Guys,” I say. “We have company.”

  “What are…” begins Jonn, but his voice trails off when he notices the two approaching strangers.

  “Who do you think they are?” asks Kara.

  Jonn shrugs.

  “Should we hide?” I ask.

  Jonn scoffs.

  “Soldiers don’t hide.”

  I can think of more than one occasion when Jonn purposefully avoided being seen, but I now doesn’t seem like the right moment to bring it up. I merely watch as the humans grow closer. It’s not until they’re within throwing distance that I realize what they truly are.

  Robots.

  Unlike the floating spheres we encountered before, these machines bear a striking resemblance to humans. Black as charcoal, their metallic frames are so massive they make Jonn appear puny, a feat not easily accomplished. Staring down at us from the top of their two and a half metres are emotionless faces with no mouth, no nose, and two glowing yellow eyes. Their arms and legs are massive and move with surprising fluidity given their artificial nature. Now that they stand so close, their torsos appear to glow with increased brilliance.

  The robots come to a standstill a dozen metres from us and stare at us with their unblinking eyes.

  “What should we do?” I ask.

  “Retreat is always a good option,” says Jonn.

  “Do soldiers retreat?”

  “On occasion.”

  We turn to flee, only to find two more robots standing behind us, immobile and silent.

  We’re trapped.

  We could try to escape via the stream that stands to our right or the shrubbery that lies to our left, but I doubt that would work.

  “Any ideas?” I ask.

  “We could open a portal to another time,” suggests Kara.

  “Which time?”

  “Who cares?” says Jonn. “Just get us out of here.”

  I nod, but something catches my eye before I can open a portal. All four robots have raised their arms, and their palms are now glowing with the same yellow energy that emanates from their chests.

  “What’s happening?” asks Kara.

  “I don’t—” I begin, but that’s as far as I get before the yellow energy bursts from the robots’ palms and careens toward us. I drop to the ground, taking Kara down with me. Jonn nearly gets hit but dives out of the way just in time. We avoided the first volley, but a second soon follows.

  I roll out of the way and catch sight of one of the robots just as it gets hit by a rogue energy sphere. The yellow glow explodes on impact and spreads across the metallic being’s frame, but the robot remains unaffected. I take this as
a good sign and assume the spheres are harmless, but the assumption goes up in flames when one of the glowing balls hits me square in the chest, and my entire body lights up with pain.

  I scream in agony as the electricity courses through my veins. The sensation is beyond anything I have ever experienced, and I soon find myself praying for the sweet relief of death. It doesn’t come, but that’s a good thing because the pain subsides after a few seconds.

  My eyes flutter open, and I scan my surroundings. Jonn and Kara lie next to me, convulsing. Jonn recovers first and starts yelling at me, but I can’t make out what he’s saying. It’s not until he points at my hand that I understand he wants me to activate my ring. I reach for it, but a massive shape appears before I can open a portal.

  I stare at the robot as it aims its palm at me. Yellow energy blossoms from its hand. I wince, but the sphere remains within the palm. It grows brighter and brighter until I can’t bear to look at it. I tear my gaze from it just as it leaves the robot’s hand.

  The orb slams into me with the force of an eighteen wheeler. The impact is so jarring I barely even feel the pain. One moment I’m begging for death; the next I’m slipping into unconsciousness.

  Memory 19

  I awake to a throbbing headache. I sit and look around, but my vision is blurry. I bat my eyelids, and the world slowly comes into focus.

  I’m in a forest. Trees stand all around, swaying in an inexistent breeze. The rustling of the leaves sounds like breathing. The leaves themselves emit a soft yellow glow that illuminates the surrounding vegetation. I can make out a bed of soft, spongy moss and clumps of ferns. A brook gurgles nearby. It looks like any other forest, only there isn’t a single fallen leaf or broken branch. But I forget all about that when a grunt reaches my ears.

  It’s Jonn. He lies next to me, tossing and turning in his sleep. His breathing is shallow, and his brow is dripping with sweat.

  “Wake up.” I shake him. It takes a while, but he finally emerges from his slumber.

  “What happened?” he groans.

  I hadn’t considered it, but now that the question has been voiced, the memory of the robots comes rushing back.

  “We were attacked,” I say.