Chaos Theory (36 page)

There were times she caught glimpses of Blue, of Max, of her
father. But they could not see her or hear her. They thought she
was safe and whole when the truth was she was slowly
dying.

Despite all odds, she had succeeded.

Feeling her second-self die, Kali had taken control of what
she created and thrown everything she was into it. The ones holding
her prisoner had become aware of what she’d done somehow, and
yanked her back, but not before she sent one hell of a message
through her replicated body.

They had to have heard her. She no hope if they didn’t come
for her.

Kali didn’t know what to do when the glass of her containment
chamber cracked. The water spurted through the fissure, highly
pressurized. The crack spider-webbed and the tube shattered,
jettisoning her onto the cold floor.

Choking, she grabbed the thick tube shoved down her throat and
pulled. It came slowly, dragging on the inside of her throat and
caused her gag reflex to go crazy. Kali yanked the tube out and
vomited green liquid.

Shaky, she swiped at her mouth and pushed wet skeins of hair
from her face.

Already looking for the exit, she shivered in the cold, and
stood on wobbly legs.

It was then she noticed the pallid creature waiting for
her.

How she missed it was proof of how fuzzy her vision was. It
stood ten feet tall, and she staggered back to see its androgynous
face. Hairless body moist it swayed, lanky limbs cocked at odd
angles even at rest.

‘
He comes.’

Kali rocked onto her heels, hating the voice inside her head.
“Stop it.”

‘
The replica was effective.’

“
Get out of my head,” she mumbled, pointlessly holding her
hands over her ears.

It moved its head and shoulders. Disjointed circular motions
that made Kali doubt the bones in its neck were connected like
hers.
‘You fear us.’

Kali shook on the spot, holding it together by a thin thread.
Water dripped from her naked body onto the floor in steady plinks.
She wrapped her arms around her chest to try and keep warm, and
rubbed her arms stiffly.

She scanned the empty spaceship.

They were always alone. Not once had she seen another
alien.

The walls were jagged crystal and partially see through, but
it was difficult to locate an exit. The walls must overlap. Kali
knew she would have to run her hands over them to find the way out.
She flexed her toes in the puddle she stood in, surprisingly
sure-footed after being suspended as she had for so
long.

If she ran would it chase her?

“
Will you let me go?” she asked.

No response. It didn’t like answering questions to which there
was an obvious answer.

“
I hate you.”

The alien’s head tilted back and wobbled. Amusement?
‘Logical to expect that emotion. The knowledge
you have is subjective.’

Kali wanted to spit in its face, and run, but curiosity got
the better of her. She also wanted her mad dash to the wall to be a
surprise, so she had as much time as possible to find the exit.
“What knowledge don’t I have?”

‘
Much. You saw little.’

It knew she had looked inside its head? “What do you expect me
to do now? Hide from you?” Her expression was fierce, and she
lifted her jaw as if daring the alien to come at her. “I’m going to
fight.”

‘
Expected.’

The answer caught her off guard. Then again unexpected was
this alien’s calling card. “Aren’t you worried I’ll hurt your
Hive?”

It moved its head again, this time a wide swooping motion by
its elongated neck. Gangly arms bent funny, moving as if bobbing on
water. It was an off-putting fluid gesticulation that made her
uncomfortable to watch.

‘
The Hive is obsolete. This is the thought of us who love
Humans.’

Kali began to wonder if she was still trapped in the tank.
Having a brain haemorrhage whilst experiencing hallucinations. “Do
you have any idea how much is wrong with what you just
said.”

‘
Hybrids are built. You are Zeta. You and the others were born
of love.’

“
Zeta. The seven? You’re not making sense.”

‘
We are connected to the Hive. You are safe. Our presence
removed upsets the balance of the Reckoning. You are safe if we
remain. Do you understand?’

“
Not really, but whatever.”

‘
We are connected to the Hive. Impossible to deceive. We omit
thought to manipulate.’

She must be hallucinating. It acted as if it was in
earnest.

Kali once again tried to pinpoint an exit, but the corners of
the room grew dark and that gloom crept forward. Uneasiness had her
rooted to the spot. “I want to leave.”

‘
He comes.’

“
I never want to see you again. If I do I’ll kill
you.”

The alien blinked slowly. Its jaw moved, the seam of its
mouth splitting enough to reveal a lipless smile.
‘Fail and we will find you, return you to the
deep sleep.’
It pointed to the broken
chamber behind her warningly as a reminder.

The darkness swallowed the room and Kali knew she’d been
tricked. She was still trapped. “I’m dreaming this, aren’t I?” Fat
tears rolled down her cheeks. “I’ve gone mad.”

The Novan disappeared and left Kali shivering in the
blackness.

30.

Blue stormed the main chamber of the Novae spaceship, and his
heart stalled.

The Novan turned its oddly shaped head, but made no immediate
move to escape. After staring at each other for what seemed an age,
Blue lifted his pulse rifle, willing to destroy one of his
creators. The alien lifted a spidery hand, and calmly pointed to
the crystal cylinder in the middle of the room.

Then faded away as if it never existed.

Blue dashed over to the tank and pressed his hands to the
surface. It was cold. Icy mist wrapped around the ceiling to floor
container. A suspended body drifted closer to the fogged glass.
Blue rubbed at the moisture to get a better look, knowing he was
about to be horrified, knowing he’d found what he
sought.

A phantom of the girl he knew floated in the water. Head
drooping forward, her dark lashes were stark against sunken cheeks.
Parted lips he’d thought the prettiest rose were pallid and bluish.
Her long hair was a raven cloud billowing around her face. Her body
was a sylphlike twist of slender limbs, a slumbering mermaid
encased in blue-green seawater. A black tube was shoved down her
throat, and her wrists were restrained above her head, her ankles
tied to keep her legs secure.

This was what she had sent him, this vision of herself
trapped.

Blue hefted his pulse rifle and slammed it into the capsule
keeping her prisoner. “Found you,” he rasped. “Kali, I’m
here.”

Frantic to get her out, he hit the crystal with a burst of
telekinetic energy. It cracked. Blue smashed at the barrier until
it shattered, the splinters scattering across the floor, and
slashing his face drawing blood.

A gushing wave of slimy water drenched his clothes. The force
almost took his feet from under him.

Kali hung suspended before the tubes connected to her arms and
legs detached. She swayed forward, no longer anchored in. Undoing
the ties at her wrists and ankles, he yanked her out, but paused
when he noticed she wasn’t fully separate from the pod.

Propping her up on his shoulder, Blue detached the slightly
thinner tube that had been placed at the base of her skull. It was
a living vein. Pulsing tendrils snaked out and adhered to her skin.
He carefully peeled them off, wincing at the raw skin left
behind.

He dithered over the worst pipe until he gritted his teeth and
pulled it out inch by gruesome inch. The glossy silicone tube
slithered from her throat, and Kali puked greenish
slime.

Her skin was pale and rubbery. The pads of her fingers and
toes deeply wrinkled. Her hair stuck to her skin in dark lashes and
wrapped around her throat. The smallest of her baby hairs were
bleached white, and his heart leapt into his throat at what that
meant.

Pushing back the wet strands, Blue stroked her
face.

He’d dreamed of her like this, just like this.

Blue cradled the precious bundle in his arms, rocking gently.
He couldn’t say how long he sat hunched over her, but no power in
the universe could have taken her from him if they
tried.

Kali’s mind stirred. Her eyes swivelled restlessly behind thin
eyelids. She whimpered, and the sound caused him physical pain. Her
mind woke in an uneasy rumbling that set his teeth on edge. She was
preparing herself for something, getting ready to do battle. For
what other reason would her energy coalesce so fiercely? How many
times had she woken and fended off a mental invasion, had her
attempts to remain unviolated been thwarted, and her mind
riffled?

Blue bit back his pain and focused on hers. She had grown
leaner, and the lines of her face had strengthened. There were
negligible frown lines on her forehead that weren’t there before.
Her long eyelashes were luminous white at their bases.

Moaning softly, Kali’s eyes fluttered open and fixed on him.
The directness of her gaze cut right through him. And the colour of
her irises! She frowned, fuzzy and unfocused. “I want sunlight.
It’s so dark.” She sighed listlessly, and snuggled into him. Her
fingers curled into his shirt, gripping tightly. “I do love it when
you rescue me.”

Blue grappled with his emotions. “I don’t
understand.”

“
You say that every time.” Her arm lifted weakly and she
brushed her fingertips to the mottled bruises on his face. “You’re
usually less bloody. Who beat you up?”

“
Kali, this isn’t a dream.”

He wondered if the delirium was because of the shock to her
system, or because the Novae cracked her mind.

Blue wanted to curl around her and block out the world. She
wanted to see the sun. What she needed was to go to the medical
bay, but Blue would not deny her this. His need to show her that
this time her dream was reality overrode everything
else.

“
Shut your eyes. Hold onto me.”

Absolute in her trust, she did just that. Kali closed her eyes
and hugged him as tight as she could. He scooped her up and tucked
her into his chest.

This felt right, watching over her, holding her close. This
was how it should have been the first time.

Lara and Igor waited for them from the entryway. They moved
aside to let him past. Lara spoke, but Blue refused to answer any
questions. Igor wisely held her back when she dogged his
heels.

“
Get Kenshin,” Blue demanded.

The outer blast doors dissolved, and warm light poured onto
the ship ramp. Streaks of pink and orange blended into a clear blue
sky.

They hovered above the Loklear domicile.

Blue still had trouble dealing with his rage. She had been
right above him.

Beneath them, buildings burned and smouldered in the aftermath
of the battle that had blown through. Blue sensed sparks of life
hiding in the destruction, but otherwise it was ghostly
quiet.

He sat, keeping Kali close. A strong breeze had goose bumps
popping up on her skin, and a hard shudder wracked her frame. He
tugged off his top to wrap her in it. He warmed her with his body
heat and friction from his hands.

Kali peeked from the cradle of his body. She stuck her face
into the wind and gasped in pleasure. The sunrise was beautiful.
After being submerged in the dark, it was what she needed to come
alive.

Feeling bodily discomfort, the brightness of the sun, and the
warmth of the body she was draped over, Kali stared at Blue. If it
were a dream, he’d look perfect, not like he’d survived a war zone,
and had the quarks pummelled out of him. Kali clung to the edge of
her sanity, and was terrified to let go. Tears welled and slipped
down her cheeks.

She turned to faith. Faith that fate wasn’t that cruel. Faith
that Blue truly held her in his arms.

“
Not dreaming?” she choked.

Blue cupped her face. “No. I’ve got you.”

Her features darkened, and the disbelief was painful for him
to witness. She wiggled until she freed her hands and placed them
against his chest. She blinked rapidly then paled even
further.

Her breath hitched.

Ducking her head, she burrowed closer … and
laughed.

Startled, Blue tried to bring her face up, so he could see,
but then he noticed her shoulders were shaking. She laughed and
cried. Her heaving sobs were infused with relief and
pain.

He surrounded her with his body and comforting pulses of his
energy. So that she would feel safe.

“
May I?” Kenshin loitered at the top of the ramp next to Igor
and Lara. He had a bag filled with equipment, and appeared
sincerely concerned.