Page 18 of Rebirth

But I remind myself she is a fleeting distraction. She will settle here soon at Unity and she will meld into the background like the others of her kind. And in the meantime, I will wait for my end.

Soh’fee will make another of my brothers stay. With her, he will find a home. That place reserved for only a few of us. And for some, not at all.

Like me.

It is only a matter of time before we leave this place. And I will return to my broken world with the rest of my brethren who have found no solace here.

But till then…

I stare at the creature floating in the tank before me. Hyu’man…and yet not.

Rescued from the wilds while the Gryken still roamed freely, she has been here for many cycles. And though her wounds have all healed, she remains unresponsive. Everything on her hyu’man form has healed. All the bruises. Scratches. Broken limbs and torn skin. Everything returned to perfection.

But there is something else there, something stopping her from regaining consciousness on her own accord.

Living on her, within her, an entity that doesn’t belong.

And that thing is one I cannot remove. Not without ending her existence.

My gaze slips to the tank beside hers, to the creature within that watches my every move silently.

My nemesis.

My forever enemy.

The Gryken stares back with deep, soulless eyes. Unmoving, yet seeing everything.

We have met many times. Stared wordlessly at each other with the barrier between us. And still, even locked away, I feel the pull toward it.

The parts of me that remain intact shiver at the proximity of my foe. While that other part yearns to go closer.

It is a constant war. One I do not reveal to my brethren. It is a weakness I alone must endure.

Some sound in the lab draws my attention and I freeze.

There should be no one there. Since the War’s been in effect, my brethren have left me mostly alone. And so have the hyu’mans.

There’s another sound, so quiet, I shouldn’t be able to hear it. A soft pitter-patter of feet coverings. Hyu’man feet coverings. And that makes me turn my head in the direction of the intruder.

Time moves without me knowing because I shift, moving from one place to another without recollection of the journey, and suddenly I am before the entrance to the lab, the hole opening within the wall to reveal the person behind it.

Her back is turned to me, but I recognize her anyway. How could I forget? Our meeting is still fresh in my mind. And as before, when she followed me into the woods, she has followed me here now.

Into the ship. Far away from the others. Where no one will hear her cries.

Before her is a small device. An icosahedron that develops a light matrix.

The moment her fingers move over the device, it activates. She springs back and freezes, but once again, her curiosity wins. She steps closer once more, so transfixed by what’s before her that she doesn’t hear my approach.

I am at her back, far closer than I should be, before she senses my presence.

“It is a light matrix.”

“Oh shi—!” She jumps, bumping into me and then rearing forward into the counter before us, arching her body away from mine as wide eyes meet mine over her shoulder. “I was—”

“—following me again.”

Her pale cheeks flush at my observation, but she holds my gaze with defiance equal parts irritation and intrigue. “You left me no choice.”

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