Inherited War 3: Retaliation (20 page)

“Holy crap!” Hal exclaimed. “That’s outside of the galaxy. I didn’t know that there was anything between galaxies.”

“There is one thing.” Split explained. “A whole system moved by the ancients to protect something very important to the outcome of this war.”

“What?” Hal asked with wonder in his voice, artificial as it was, it still held undertones of awe.

“We don’t know, but there better be a lot of them.” Split said with a grin as they activated the warp count down.” Split disconnected and let Hal do the flying as he pondered what had happened. They realized not only could they remember this visit, but the dozens of other visits they had made over their twenty thousand years of preparing for Cole’s return to the galaxy. So much of what they had done in their life had been shaped by a hologram of a being predicting events in the distant future. Split realized that the Jarrod in the hologram was not the same man he had known. That Jarrod was long dead, while it seemed this one was alive. All of their questions would probably never be answered, but they were okay with that. They currently knew more than any other being in the galaxy. Split closed their eyes as the ship warped space and time and shot off for a place no one had ever gone, as far as he had heard. Past the galactic rim, and light years away from the galaxy they had inhabited for far longer than any other sentient being had ever lived. They smiled the whole way.

CHAPTER 11

It was hopeless, Sky thought to herself. She was being drug from memory to memory and was unable to act, let alone stop it from happening. To make matters worse, Cole had started believing the false memories faster each time. He wouldn’t even look at Sky when she was right next to him. She wracked her brain and tried to think of something, anything, that would help. She came up empty, but she refused to give up.

The memory world was starting to form around her again. What would it be this time? More savage beatings from her as his parents? Her denying him food and water? Locking a young Cole in a dark closet for hours?  Whatever it would be, it would not be pleasant.

She was startled for a moment when the world formed and she found herself standing next to a young Cole on the street of his home world. He was about sixteen by his looks and still a skinny sick kid. He had his face pressed up to a big window and was looking into a restaurant. When she saw what he was looking at, she knew where they were.

Up at the counter, leaning forward on her hands to get a better look at the menu, was a girl. She was wearing a very short skirt that was slowly inching up as she leaned further into the counter, a fact that both Cole and the adolescent boy behind the counter noticed. Her cut-off shirt barely covered the bottom of her breasts and was straining to hold them in.

Cole had told her this story when they had been prisoners on the research ship months ago. She was Cole’s first love, or so he thought at the time. He had been infatuated with her and had finally dared to ask her out. He said he had seen her at a restaurant and had felt drawn to her, now Sky knew why. She watched as the girl placed her order and leaned back away from the counter. Her clothing trying its best to cover her up.

True to form, when the girl turned sideways slightly, Sky saw her face on the human girl’s body. She knew this wasn’t going to end well. She strained and fought against the invisible bonds that held her in place as she watch Cole screw his face up in a mask of courage and head for the door.

“I thought she actually liked me,” the real Cole commented in a daze. “She talked to me in study hall and helped me with my math. I thought that if anyone would spend time with me, it would be you, Sky.”

Oh no, she thought. This hasn’t even started yet and he already remembers me as the girl that humiliated him that night. Cole had told Sky the whole story. He had been so preoccupied with watching the girl, Bethany was her name, he hadn’t seen her friends already in the booth. If she had been alone she would have turned him down gently, but in front of her friends, she had to play the part. She had to be better than him and treat him that way. Sky tried to talk but her mouth was closed, sealed by the power of the hooded beings mind. He wasn’t there. He had stopped showing his form a few memories back. It hadn’t mattered; he was winning.

Suddenly something shifted, a ripple passed through the memory, everything blurred for a moment and when it reformed, Sky and Cole were no longer alone.

“Quick, I have broken his hold,” Gavreal said to her as his form blinked into existence. “I cannot stay long. The strain of holding the bridge open and being here is too much.” Sky knew he was right. She was suddenly running for the door. The hooded figure appeared but was confronted by Gavreal. The Kin grabbed the figure and threw him, not a foot nor a few feet. He rocketed the figure away, far away.

“Go I have bought you some time!” Gavreal yelled as he slowly faded from view. Sky ran, and she pulled the memory to her as she also ran towards it. Without stopping, she went through the door and flew into the body of Cole’s infatuation. She took control and turned to see Cole come to a stop behind her. She had a moment to decide her course of action. She chose and committed to it.

“H-h-hi,” he stammered. “Umm…” That was as far as he got.

Sky looked at him and saw the hope in his eyes as he worked up the courage to talk to the only person who had been nice to him in ages. Sky saw that hope and almost gave in. She could change his memory and brush off her friends and go with Cole, give him one good memory with her face attached, but she couldn’t. Cole had come to love her for who she was. He loved her even with the bad memories of his past. She did change the girls face, though. She slowed and stopped time while she searched Cole’s memories and found the right one. She grabbed his memory of Bethany and forced it on the face of the girl in front of Cole. Cole remembered every detail of that night, and Sky replaced the one created by the hooded figure with the actual memory. Then she spoke.

“Ughh, get away from me. I don’t know you.” She gave him a shove and he went stumbling backwards. He turned slightly to get his balance and saw the friends he hadn’t seen before. They were laughing and pointing at him. Cole turned back to look at Bethany, and the look of pain he had on his face was devastating to Sky. But it was not directed at Sky, it was directed to the actual Bethany who Sky had placed back in the memory. Sky flew from the girl’s body and went back out to the real Cole.

“I don’t know why I thought it was you who embarrassed me. You weren’t even here. Sorry, Sky,” he said and turned to look at her. “Where next?” His tone was still flat and emotionless as ever but he was acknowledging her again. She had regained some ground. It took a moment for her to realize that it was indeed up to her. The hooded being had not returned as of yet.

“You need to remember me in a good light, I think.” She built her will and concentrated on a memory of hers that linked in to a very important memory of Cole’s. She shifted from one memory to another in halting starts and stops but eventually got there. She was standing in a hallway on a starship. Cole was next to her and they were both watching a memory of Sky.

“I don’t remember this,” Cole said in his monotone voice.

“Because it’s my memory of before, an important time for me, and I hope you. Sky had skipped past the rest of Cole’s messed up childhood and taken them to a pivotal point in their own relationship. The memory Sky was standing with her had halted just before a door control panel. Her hair was tied in a ponytail and her face was slick with sweat. She had a nervous look in her eye as she hesitated at the door.

“You were nervous?” Cole asked her.

“Very. You did things to me that no one had ever done before. I felt, whole, complete for the first time ever. I was terrified you would send me away.” All of Cole’s attention was on the memory of Sky as she stood at his door trying to make up her mind. She finally did and she opened the door. The real Sky grabbed Cole’s arm and pulled them in after her. They watched Sky sneak into the bathroom and deactivate her second skin. Sky got in the shower behind Cole and surprised him for a second time that day. The real Sky got behind and shoved the real Cole into the one from both of their memories and she entered her body. Cole looked down into her eyes and she looked up at him.

“Do we have to do everything the same as last time? The real time?” Cole asked.

“No, this is our memory and we can do what we want with it.” Cole smiled down at her and lifted her up to kiss his face. She wrapped her legs around his waist and held on for all she was worth. She pressed her wet body into his and felt his body respond to her. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she felt the enraged tormenter of Cole’s memories beating uselessly against her mind to get in. In this place, in this time, Cole was hers and hers alone. She easily shoved the nuisance away and focused on the pleasure of being with Cole.

She could feel the memory rapidly closing. She had tried to make it last longer, but necessity dictated that someone should win the battle for Cole’s mind. Besides the fact that the hooded being was relentless in his attempts to wear her down so he could gain access to this memory. She needed this memory to be perfect. She needed Cole on her side so she concentrated again on another memory and made the swap. It went smoother this time and the bridge of the
Retribution
slowly came into focus.

This hadn’t been what she was aiming for. Her nemesis must have interfered. She was suddenly not alone as the being raced into the memory and got mere inches from her face.

“That will not work again,” he fumed at her. “That
beast
will not interfere again.” She felt it as it built up its will. Something had changed though. Where before she had been helpless and tossed about by the whim of this evil being, she now felt like she had a toehold from which to stand and fight. She did just that. She pushed back, mentally and with her arms. She reached out and shoved the being away from her. It stumbled backwards, and she felt a sense of confusion for a moment.  Her toehold grew in size and she felt as though she had something solid to place behind her back and lean on for support.

Silently the two waged a war of the wills. The being was losing ground, and Sky was taking as much as she could. Sky smiled at the being and felt the rage as it flowed off him. He lost more ground. With a bestial snarl, Sky shoved at him again, this time only with her mind. He staggered backwards a pace.

Cole suddenly appeared, sitting on the chair he called the Captains Chair. The distraction was costly for Sky. She lost much of the ground she had gained and was back to a small sliver of support to lean on, but it was enough. The game had changed for her. She was no longer helpless and could affect the outcome of the memories now.

“Fine, the contest truly begins then,” the being hissed. “If I cannot break him with you, I will break you with him. Most beings truly do not know what makes another who he is, why he does what he does. You will see where Cole truly was born.” She fought against him but lost as the bridge slowly faded and a new scene took its place.

They were back in the room she had seen Cole at first. Held to the ground by the floor itself with that horrible mask bolted to his head. He was motionless and barely seemed to breathe. Standing in front of him, motionless, was an Esii. Not just any Esii, but the one tormenting his mind. Standing just behind the Esii was Split. Split had a knife pointed at the back of the Esii’s neck and appeared to be waiting for something. The Esii hadn’t noticed Split yet. On the ground was that Earth girl, Anastacia. She appeared to be physically and mentally spent. All four figures were frozen in time.

Sky struggled to understand the scene. No one had really explained to her how Cole had escaped his initial captivity. Anastacia was too standoffish to approach, and Split just grunted and told her to ask Cole. Cole had said that Split had saved him and that’s all that mattered. She felt this was the point of his initial freedom but she couldn’t understand what was going on.

Then her perception changed slightly. Another image imposed itself slightly off center over the one she had seen first. Cole was free of the floor’s restraints and free of the mask. He was on his knees and had his eyes locked onto the face of his Esii tormentor. There was no Split or Anastacia in this part of the vision, just Cole and the Esii. Cole smiled up at the Esii. It was a smile that spoke volumes. He had figured out how to beat his capturers and win his freedom, but he didn’t know Split was there to help. Then a steady thump echoed through the room. Cole snatched at the Esii and held onto him, smiling all the while. The thump slowed. Sky recognized it for what it was—a heartbeat. Cole’s heartbeat and it was growing slower and fainter by the second.

Cole was killing himself and taking the Esii with him. It was almost over for Cole when Split, who was somehow monitoring Coles mind, acted. He slammed the knife point into the back of the Esii’s neck and rotated the blade one hundred and eighty degrees around. In his moment of death, the Esii did something. Sky saw, for lack of a better description, electricity spark from the Esii to Cole. It lasted for only a moment and ended with the death of the Esii. The scene slowly faded from her view and she would forever remember the horrible decision Cole had made to free himself and what he had picked up in the end.