Ouroboros 2: Before Page 14

  He had to say as little as he could.

  Especially around that Varo character.

  There was something truly unsettling about him.

  ‘We will need weapons,’ Cara suddenly announced. ‘We will also need time to plan.’

  Varo sneered. ‘The resistance must be careful,’ he shook his head, his disdain for Carson obvious in every movement and every word, ‘if our weapons and people are found after this ineffective mission, they will be tracked back to us. Cara, think about what you are doing.’

  ‘I am helping the Goddess,’ she intoned darkly. ‘I would warn you to think about what you are doing also, but it is clear you are incapable of doing so. You think only about what is best for you.’

  Varo simply smiled. ‘And the resistance,’ he added after a long pause.

  This caused Cara to whirl on her foot. She faced Carson and she nodded low. ‘You have my pledge of assistance. I will do all I can to help you and the touched.’

  ‘Great,’ Carson managed.

  . . . .

  Really, great? That had been his response? This woman thought she was risking her life in a suicidal mission for him, and he thought that was great?

  Before he could chide himself too harshly, Cara began bickering again with Varo.

  Soon enough Harya led both him and Nida towards the far side of the room.

  Not soon after that, Cara joined them again.

  With startling and alluring efficiency, she hashed out a plan with Carson.

  For the first time since he'd arrived in the past, he felt as though he was doing something worthwhile.

  He felt as though he was getting somewhere.

  He wasn't. But he couldn’t appreciate that yet.

  Chapter 10

  Cadet Nida Harper

  She was silent.

  She'd been silent since the event in the tunnels.

  She felt . . . odd.

  Really strange in fact.

  The energy in her was distracting. It kept stealing away her thoughts.

  Though she tried to concentrate, she couldn't.

  She simply felt heavy and tired.

  Carson and Cara had been hashing out a plan of attack for the Central Security Facility for the past hour, leaving Nida to simply sit in a corner staring at her feet.

  Though Nida knew she could stand, walk over there, and try to help, she also knew she would be of little actual assistance.

  Not in her current frame of mind.

  Occasionally she would pull back the top of her glove and peek at her skin underneath.

  The entity . . . she could still feel it.

  It was weak though.

  And yet, somehow, paradoxically, its effects on her felt stronger than ever.

  This palpable sense of confusion haunted her every movement and thought.

  Feeling exactly like she wanted to curl up in her own bed with a bowl of steaming hot pasta heaped with cheese, she sighed softly.

  She was stuck in the past.

  What was worse, she didn't seem capable of doing anything to help her cause.

  Though she was arguably the worst recruit in 1000 years, she’d never felt as weak as this before.

  She just couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't fight.

  She felt spineless and pathetic.

  If it weren't for Carson's diligent protection of her, she would have been mincemeat long ago.

  ‘Get over it,’ she whispered softly. But those few words were insufficient to pick up her mood, nor could they cut through the fog engulfing her mind.

  Pressing at her forehead with the back of her hand, she noticed how dirty her hair was.

  She was still covered in the foul-smelling ooze that had caked the bottom of that tunnel.

  It was disgusting . . . yet she almost didn't care. She just didn't have the brainpower to bother being put off by anything.

  She sighed again, drawing her arms up and locking them around herself as she leaned against the wall to her side.

  Everything in this room was rusted. Great layers of red dredge covered the walls and floor, and metal flaked off the strange machines and pipes that littered the ground.

  She half wondered what all of this stuff did, yet once again the thought simply drifted away as she tried to follow it through.

  It was almost as if someone or something didn't want her thinking too hard.

  . . . .

  Which was a seriously paranoid thought, and no doubt a further symptom of her growing, powerful fatigue.

  Sighing again, she looked up to see Carson beaming at Cara.

  His eyes sparkled.

  Cara, for her part, looked like she didn't want to hit him—which was a new expression for her.

  Nida frowned.

  The two of them had their heads locked together as they considered their plan, and every now and then their even tones were punctuated with laughter, usually Carson's.

  . . . .

  He liked her.

  You didn't need to be a genius to note that.

  It was as obvious as his big, violet, sparkling eyes.

  She was exactly his type. Strong willed and capable, she was Nida's perfect opposite, especially now.

  Reflecting once more that she had never felt so weak before, Nida closed her eyes.

  Before she could drift off, she heard Carson and Cara walk away. Blinking one eye open, she watched Cara lead Carson over to a table further into the room where an enormous paper blueprint was stretched over the wood.

  Despite herself, Nida frowned.

  She didn't know why.

  . . . .

  Okay, that was a lie.

  She knew exactly why.

  She was jealous. Which was really stupid considering she didn't even like Carson.

  With that sleepy thought occupying her mind, she closed her eyes again.

  Sleep took her instantly.

  In fact, it came with such speed you couldn't reasonably call it sleep.

  It was more of a vision.

  She was standing back on the surface of Remus 12.

  Again she stared at the destruction around her.

  The dust.

  The chaos.

  Then, once more, she stared at the stars just as they began falling from the sky.

  One thing was different this time though. The blue energy no longer jumped and danced over her palm.

  In fact, as she looked down at her body, she realized it wasn't there at all.

  For her body was stone.

  Cold and unyielding, cracked and broken.

  Stone.

  No bone, no blood, no flesh.

  Just rock, hard and old.

  The energy—the entity—had bled from her and now sunk into the dust by her feet.

  It danced and jumped and surged.

  It plunged deep into the surface of the planet, racing down, down, down.

  . . . .

  With a snap, Nida woke.

  She did not wake because the vision had ended—rather she looked up to see someone shaking her shoulder.

  For just a moment she thought it was Carson come to check on her.

  Then she blinked back the sleep and realized it was Varo.

  He stood there, one hand rested on her shoulder, a strange smile playing across his lips.

  ‘You were having a nightmare,’ he said simply.

  Whenever he spoke to Carson, Varo always had a cruel edge to his voice. Right now it was gone though, and his thick accent lilted with something that almost sounded like compassion.

  ‘What?’

  ‘You were having a nightmare,’ Varo repeated.

  He finally let his hand drop, and he took a step from her.

  She closed her eyes, tried to regain her concentration, then forced them open again. ‘I . . . .’

  ‘You are alright,’ he assured her.

  Blinking again, she now realized Carson hadn't returned, and she twisted her head sharply. He was still on the other side of the room looking ove
r the blueprint with Cara.

  He clearly hadn't noticed that Nida had been dreaming, just as he hadn't noticed Varo was now by her side.

  No. Carson seemed far too distracted by Cara's company.

  Nida turned to face Varo.

  He smiled.

  Again it did not have the hard edge she expected to see—it looked apologetic and kind at the same time. ‘You do not have to fear me,’ he said perceptively. ‘I won't hurt you,’ he added in a quiet voice.

  She nodded.

  Then she shook her head. ‘I should go to see Carson,’ she said. Immediately she stiffened as she realized she'd used his real name.

  Varo looked confused, but then hid the emotion with another smile. ‘What were you dreaming of?’ he asked directly.

  ‘What?’ she stuttered, thrown by his sudden question.

  ‘Touched, it would be my honor to transcribe your dream. Please, tell me what vision the Goddess sent you.’

  He looked genuine. From his words to his expression, it didn't appear as if Varo was playing.

  . . . .

  ‘Vision?’ she repeated warily.

  She knew she should stop speaking to him; she just didn't have the brainpower to navigate a conversation right now, especially with a man like Varo. She'd already accidentally used Carson's real name. What else could she reveal, given time and enough confusion?

  ‘I will admit, you are the first touched I have met, but I know of the legends. I know of the importance of your visions. I know how they will shape our history. So please, you can trust me with your message. Tell me what you saw.’

  Nida shook her head. ‘I . . . can't,’ she realized.

  ‘I apologize for my actions before; I must do all I can to protect this resistance. Your friend's plan is suicidal. I can't risk my people. He should also know that he cannot risk you. A touched is the most valuable gift a generation can be given,’ Varo began, his face no longer showing any hint of arrogance. In fact, he looked like a changed man.

  Nida stared up at him and wondered how someone could change so quickly.

  ‘You are more valuable than any ideology,’ Varo continued, ‘you should not be sacrificed—’ he began.

  ‘Step away from her,’ someone warned him. And that someone was Carson.

  He came marching up, a truly dark look in his eye.

  Varo's expression instantly soured.

  ‘Are you alright?’ Carson nodded at her, his gaze searching hers as he did.

  She hooked her hair behind her ears and nodded.

  Though briefly she considered shaking her head.

  She wanted to believe she was fine, but maybe she wasn't.

  Maybe the entity was corrupting, she realized with a shiver.

  That could account for her confusion and for the vision.

  She shuddered again, suddenly feeling cold right down to her bones.

  So cold, in fact, it was as if her body had been replaced by stone.

  That image brought up her vision again, and she remembered staring down at her body wrought from rock.

  It had been horrifying. She'd been unable to move as the stars had fallen from the sky, as the entity had sunk deep into the earth.

  . . . .

  ‘What did you do to her?’ Carson snapped as he pushed past Varo.

  Carson stared at Nida with pale cheeks, his gaze searching as he clearly checked her over for injury.

  ‘I'm fine,’ she noted quietly.

  It was a lie though; she wasn't okay.

  She was deeply and thoroughly confused.

  She didn't know what Varo wanted, but she couldn't deny how much his behavior had changed around her.

  . . . .

  The vision.

  She bit her lip, her teeth sinking hard into it and sending a sharp ache into her jaw.

  She used that pain to anchor her attention.

  Varo seemed more than keen to learn of what she'd seen; he'd also suggested that other 'touched' also had visions.

  She was suddenly struck by how little she really knew about this situation. From the entity, to the resistance, to the people around her.

  ‘Just get away from her,’ Carson snapped, taking up guard right in front of Nida.

  Though she was thankful for his assistance, she still tried to peer past him.

  She made eye contact with Varo. Whilst he shot Carson a deadly glare, whenever he turned that same look on Nida, it softened immeasurably.

  ‘I don't know who you are or where you've come from, but don't talk to me like that,’ Varo warned Carson. ‘And don't think you can take risks for the rest of us. Just because the Goddess has charged you with protecting this touched, doesn't mean you can put the rest of us at risk.’

  ‘I'm not going to risk anyone but myself,’ Carson's tone was menacing, each word snapped and cracking like a whip.

  ‘Then leave Cara here,’ Varo jumped on the opportunity. He also nodded down at Nida. ‘And I trust you are not stupid enough to take her along.’

  ‘She's coming with me,’ Carson said. As he spoke, he drew himself up to his full height. He still wore his armor, though his helmet wasn't on his head.

  He was a very imposing figure, or at least he should have been. Yet Varo did not seem to be put off.

  Instead, the man simply shook his head. ‘Don't be an idiot. And don't risk what you don't have to. You're more than welcome to go on this fool mission, but if you take a touched with you, the government will find out. And when the Governor hears there is one in his city . . . he will raze it to the ground to get to her. You get that, right? You get how serious this is?’

  No. Carson probably didn't. But he didn't let that stop him. He still stared down at Varo with as much concentrated anger as the lieutenant could muster. ‘She is coming with me,’ he said simply.

  Nida very much felt like she no longer had a voice of her own.

  She just sat there behind Carson, letting him do all the talking and arguing while she stared on meekly.

  She wanted to say something, she wanted to come to her own defense, yet she just couldn't push past the confusion long enough to try.

  ‘Carson,’ she whispered, realizing she had to tell him what was happening to her.

  He didn't hear her.

  ‘You fool,’ Varo said with sudden and vehement passion. ‘You have a touched. We could learn from her visions. We could help our world. We could steer from the path of danger. And yet you stand there, selfish and unwilling to listen. I don't care if the Goddess has given you her weapons; you clearly don't deserve them.’

  ‘And what, you do?’ Carson barked. ‘I’ve seen the way you look at the Goddess tear and my armor. And the answer is no. You're never going to get your hands on them. Just as you're never going to get your hands on Nida.’

  Varo pressed his lips together. ‘That's a strange name.’

  Carson swore, realizing what he'd done as he shook his head bitterly.

  ‘She is Nida and you are Carson. I've travelled, but I have never come across such names. Where did you say you are from? Oh, that's right, you didn't. You haven't shared a scrap of information. You simply want us to sacrifice our lives and the delicate status quo so you can embark on this foolhardy mission,’ Varo concluded.

  Briefly Carson shot Nida a disappointed look, but he snapped his head around to offer Varo a growl as the man finished.

  Yep, she'd accidently told Varo Carson's real name, but to be fair, Carson had also slipped up.

  She wasn't about to point that out though.

  Instead, she had to tell Carson what was going on with her.

  . . . .

  But no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't concentrate long enough to go through with her intention.

  Instead, she simply sat there, shaking her head lightly as a dense fog descended on her.

  ‘Varo, do not threaten them,’ Cara began.

  ‘Threaten them? Don't you see? He threatens us. Don't be impressed by the fact the Goddess blessed him wi
th her devices; look past that and note how this man behaves. He would take you on a suicide mission, Cara, and he would take the touched with him.’

  ‘I trust him; the Goddess trusts him,’ Cara bowed her head low.

  ‘Ha, and how do we know that? He may have stolen these devices,’ Varo concluded.

  ‘You think I stole these?’ Carson challenged.

  ‘Prove that you did not,’ Varo growled in reply.

  ‘Fine,’ Carson spat, and then he did something pretty rash.

  He took off his armor.

  In the blink of an eye, it receded from his body and back into the two dense bands around his wrists. Then one-by-one he took them off and handed them to Varo.

  ‘Go ahead,’ Carson challenged. ‘Put them on. Try to make them work, you'll quickly find they can't be used by anyone but me. The Goddess,’ he added, ‘blessed me with them.’

  His voice did not waver as he lied, and he looked on at Varo with an unqualified challenging look.

  Varo, for his part, stared down at the armor bands with awe.

  Then he proceeded to put them on.

  There was a strange, curling smile flicking up his lips.

  It promptly froze.

  Varo tried to flex his hands. When that didn't set the armor shooting up over his skin, he settled for prodding at the bands instead. When that didn't work, he commanded them with his voice.

  ‘They'll only work for me,’ Carson said. ‘Now give them back,’ he reached out his hand.

  Varo hesitated.

  Carson brought up the device on his hand and spread his fingers.

  Varo stared at the glow picking up along the device, then silently handed back Carson's armor bands.

  Without pause, Carson put them on, then, in a split second, they morphed back into full-bodied armor excluding his helmet.

  ‘Right,’ he said, ‘you still think I stole this armor?’

  ‘Yes,’ Varo sneered, ‘but I also think I would need more than a single minute to figure out how to operate it.’

  Carson shook his head. ‘You'd need a few millennia,’ he laughed.

  Nida watched and listened, but not once did she actually do anything. She simply sat there, as useless as useless could be.

  It was almost as if she couldn't move.