Chaos Theory (17 page)

Pissed he was taken so easily Max glared right back. “I knew
something was off with you. You’re one of them.”

Blue didn’t have time for a pointless argument. Kali wasn’t
there, and that meant he had to move on, regroup, and figure out
what to do next. “Can I let you up?”

“
You’re going to stick one of those parasites on me. Fight me
like a man.”

Blue let his psychic hold on Max dissipate, over the
melodrama. “Not today. Get up and calm down.”

“
Baby,” Max barked as he rolled onto his feet. “Knock it off,
yeah?”

The tiger gave the snow leopard one last backhand then paced
back, hissing menacingly.

Natalya limped to Igor who crouched beside her, his grizzly
face aghast at the damage his companion suffered.

Max had eyes on the Hybrids, but petted his companion, and
murmured his thanks for keeping him safe when he was distracted.
Baby purred in contentment, rubbing against his leg.

Christabella gaped at the Hybrids with wide eyes, but her gaze
kept flicking to the biggest of them, the one who petted the
leopard, rubbing faces. Christabella thought Max was the biggest
person she’d ever seen, but this Hybrid was solid muscle, and just
so tall. “My stars,” she breathed as Igor stared at her curiously
with eyes like the surface of her birth planet Neptune.

“
She’s not here,” Lara said. “I checked all the rooms and
encountered nothing but an unfriendly wolf in one of the
bedrooms.”

Max’s face darkened “Howl? He’s Kal’s FetchMe, and the most
docile creature you’d ever meet.”

Lara ignored him and focused her bored gaze on Blue. “Can we
leave now?”

“
Howl,” Blue murmured, knowing the FetchMe heard
him.

Lara slapped her thigh. “You can’t be serious?”

“
Can’t leave him here.”

There was another explosion, and this one rocked the domicile.
The windows blew out, casting shards of glass into the room, and a
blast of hot air knocked them over.

Furniture uprooted and was tossed across the room, and Kenshin
cried out as the heavy sofa rolled and crushed his legs.

Christabella crouched in the corner screaming, and Max dove to
shield her with his body.

The FetchMes snarled and roared as they nimbly bounded over
obstacles flying at them. Howl ran into the room barking loudly and
his clamour set Baby roaring and Natalya hissing.

The VidSee dislodged from its mount, but Igor batted it away
with his arm as he slammed into the wall.

The trembling stopped.

Blue stood calmly in the middle of the disarray. He had
intuitively wrapped himself in a bubble of telekinetic energy after
he had fallen, so had been unaffected by the disturbed contents of
the room. Next time he would shield them all. He had to remember he
was no longer alone.

Lara was on her feet first, darting to the window to peer
distrustfully into the street. Blue noticed she had pulled a pulse
rifle from her bag, and was deftly sliding a Blue Matter canister
into the hilt.

He was not looking forward to watching her do damage with the
deadly weapon, and he eyed the heavy bag she carried wondering if
confiscation was in order.

Igor rolled the sofa off Kenshin and helped him up.

Natalya sat quietly at his side.

The silence faded, and there was once again the sound of
crying and screams in the distance. There was also the growing
sound of laser fire and smaller explosions.

Max worked on quieting Christabella, and Baby prowled around
them, agitated and protective. “What was that?” he asked, trying to
see out the window.

The domicile across the road had a section of the roof
missing, and further down the street he could see other homes in
similar states of duress. Dust was heavy in the air and had a
reddish tinge. Over the rooftops, Max saw a burgeoning cloud of
black smoke.

“
You Humans and your bombs.” Lara narrowed her eyes at
something coming closer and backed away from the window. Something
loud flew overhead. “The fighting is heading this way. Your
Alliance hasn’t quite figured out resistance in such a manner is
futile.” Her attention switched to Blue. “We need to take off.
She’s not here, Omicron, and we can’t afford to get trapped in this
battle.”

Blue understood the logic of her reasoning, but he couldn’t
give up, not yet. “Go. I’ll follow. You know where I
live?”

“
I found your home when I hacked the BeepMe network before I
was taken. How do you think I found you in all this
mess.”

“
Your OmniLock?” he demanded.

Lara showed him the strip of sliver on her wrist and Blue
swiped his thumb over it to transfer the codes to enter his
home.

“
You can’t stay here, it’s too risky….” Lara trailed off,
blinking repeatedly.

Blue had felt what she had a nanosecond before and had already
spun around.

Tremendous surges in power whiplashed through the domicile
like the rising of the tide, gathering immense force in a gradual
swell. The air hummed and crackled, an electric charge that rippled
outwards. The energy contracted, it left the Hybrids stunned and
wary, an uneasy pricking over their flesh. The intense expansion of
psychic energy would act as a homing beacon their kind would feel
for miles.

Blue unclenched his teeth and stared towards the back of the
domicile, where the strange event had originated. His pulse raced,
and he struggled to keep his face composed as chills of fear ripped
through him. He was supposed to be the highest ranked Hybrid on
Earth.

If that was so, what had just happened back there?

“
You said we were alone,” he whispered.

Lara backed towards the front door, her face dead white. “We
were. Omicron we must leave–”

“
Do as I say, not as I do. Go now.” Blue’s gaze twitched to Max
and Christabella. “Take the Humans and the FetchMes with
you.”

PART
THREE: INVASION

Everyone is quick to blame the alien.

Aeschylus

15.

Kali gasped. Lungs burning, she took a step and her legs
wobbled madly. She froze. Arms extended for balance, she swiped the
air in front of her. Everything was blurred. The murky world smelt
too strong, sounded loud, felt too harsh. Random globs of light
drew her fractured attention. Solid objects? She scrunched her eyes
and rubbed them. They were sore, sensitive, as if she’d woken from
two days sleep and been forced to look directly into the sun. Scalp
itchy, she jumped as the wind rustled her hair over her shoulders.
Her mouth was dry, her tongue thick and swollen. She swallowed to
work up more moisture, and it hurt.

Her muscles ached.

Everything hurt.

A chill swept over her skin, and Kali realised she was quite
naked. She wound one arm over her breasts, and the other covered
her groin. Blood rushed to her face, and she hoped to hell wherever
she was she was alone.

Wiggling her toes, she felt grass. Breathed in and smelt
flowers and ... smoke? There was a scream and she jumped, her head
jerking to the sound. Another scream from the other direction made
her tremble. She could hear things exploding, voices shouting,
people crying and shrieking in terror.

The sky looked dusty. Kali caught one of the fuzzy black
things floating in the air and opened her palm, squinting at
it.

Ash?

Rubbing the dirtied hand on her side, she took a hesitant
step, her body confused and uncomfortable.

Her distorted vision corrected enough to make out a wall in
front of her, then a whole a structure.

It looked familiar.

Home.

“
Papa?” she whispered, stumbling forwards to safety.

She reached the doors and winced when broken glass was crushed
underfoot and cut into her flesh. It had been smashed? Rikard would
blow bosons when he saw it. Was there rioting? Another war? She
shook her head at herself, trying to think clearly. There was only
one public authority, the Alliance. Civil war? She pushed her hand
out, and it passed through where she knew it should be solid. She
stepped into the domicile kitchen, and her weak legs
gave.

Determined to find her parents then find clothes, Kali crawled
on wobbly arms. She blinked rapidly trying to clear her eyesight
and began to feel stronger, a sense of purpose driving her
actions.

She was beginning to remember. She’d been on a date with Blue,
and they had been taken. He’d been hurt, and she had been dragged
away and … sent home?

Kali knew it was useless, but she began to cry. When she
thought of the hole in her memory she knew that time represented
pain and loneliness. She experienced a deep sadness the longer she
tried to remember what happened to her, and she sobbed.

She was confused, her heart hurting, and her body
cold.

Kali stopped moving and cried harder, the tears hot on her
cheeks, blinding her completely. Reaching the corridor, she curled
up by the wall and wrapped her arms around her knees.

That was how Blue found her.

Turning the corner, he jerked to a stop when he saw her dark
head bowed. Relief made his knees weak. Blue’s heart pounded as he
drank in the sight of her safe and whole. Her shoulders shuddered
with a heart-wrenching sob, and Blue rushed forward, arms
outstretched. Overwhelmed to see her, he grabbed her arms, but
immediately pulled away.

Blue took a large step back, confused at the strange sensation
that crawled up his arms.

Her neck became rigid, and her eyes locked on his. She blinked
stiffly, and when her lids lifted her pupils dilated until the
hazel of her iris disappeared. “I’m cold, Blue.” Tears rolled down
her cheeks then her pupils returned to normal.

Blue approached her again with care. “Are you injured? There’s
blood.”

“
I stepped on glass.” She wiped at her face, keeping her legs
tucked into her chest. “You’re … you’re okay. Did they send you
here too?” Kali tried to look past him. “What’s going on
outside?”

“
Invasion.”

“
That does not sound cosmic.”

“
Where are your clothes?”

She wrapped
her arms tighter around herself. “I woke up like this.”

That was strange, but he didn’t comment, she was obviously
uncomfortable. Blue helped her to stand and tugged off his jacket
to allow her some modesty. “We need to get you dressed, and we need
to leave. Where’s your room?” He would have carried her there, but
she seemed to find no comfort in his embrace, and he didn’t want to
stress her further. They had a long and dangerous journey to his
home. The sooner they got out of her domicile and on the move the
better. Blue knew Lara had been right about getting caught in a
battle, there was only so much he could do to protect them out in
the open.

Shell-shocked, Kali hobbled onto her bed and clambered on. She
grabbed her covers and fisted a hand in the fabric, comforting
herself as Blue tore around the room.

Dragging open draws, he riffled through until he got the
basics. He grabbed a bag and flung the clothes into it.

Kali shook herself, stood, and began to put clothes on. She
glanced out the window and soldiers sprinted past wearing full
battle gear with pulse rifles in hand.

She blinked, and the window was clear.

Had she imagined that?

“
An invasion. People are evacuating?” Tears pooled in her eyes
when her thoughts turned to her parents again. She sat heavily on
the bed. “Is that where my parents have gone? They … they left
without me?”

Blue paused with clothes bundled in his arms. He considered
telling her the truth then decided it wasn’t the time. She looked
too pale and shaky. If she went into hysterics he’d be forced to
put her under, and he didn’t want to use his abilities on her in
that way. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “I will protect
you.”

“
It’s not me I’m worried about,” she croaked. Kali clutched her
chest, terror squeezing her heart. “Answer my question, Blue. My
parents. They took us so did they take others too?”

“
We don’t have time to discuss this. Our priority is getting
out of this quadrant unseen.” Blue felt the sparks of minds closing
in on the house. “We have to take off right now.” He zipped the bag
and crouched in front of her, helping her to put boots on. “I
promise as soon as we reach my home I will answer your questions,
but right now we have to run.”

Kali looked away from Blue’s face and watched her neighbours
across the road be dragged shrieking from the basement of their
home.

Dead-eyed people separated the emotional father from his wife
and little girl. They tore the screaming child from his arms and
shoved her into a cage. They wrestled him to the ground and slapped
something on the back of his neck as his wife was dragged away in a
babbling hysteria.

Kali looked away because if she continued to look she was
going to have a panic attack. Maybe she was already in the grip of
one, she couldn’t breathe. She clasped her throat. “I don’t … I
don’t know what to do. I need time to think. Just give me
time.”