The Last City Read online

  However, if indeed I had generated it, it would be the first thing that I had successfully created. Every other attempt was either messy, or embarrassing, or both. I still couldn’t even produce a simple - drinkable - cup of coffee.

  I preferred to think of our new bed as a gift from the Central Unit, sensing our need, and combining our tastes.

  And the following morning, he dressed for breakfast in the usual plain white pants and shirt he always wore when in the city. I hated the white. There was too much of it, everywhere. But he must have seen my brief scowl as I studied him, for he explained that it was what he’d always worn before I came.

  “When I met you, you were wearing grey and the perfect shade of blue.”

  “That was for you,” he said, and smiled.

  I placed my hands upon his shoulders, gently stroking them, and wondered if he ever dripped paint upon his perfect, white clothes when he worked, and I imagined a colorful palette across his chest.

  “I’d like to paint all of this. Too much white,” I told him, and ran my hands up and over his shoulders.

  “What color?”

  I thought about it for only a moment, consumed by the feeling of his outline under my hands.

  “Me,” I whispered, but I couldn’t look up into his face. I was sure if I did, my knees would give way.

  “I might have a hard time wearing you,” I could tell from his playful tone, that he was grinning, and waiting for me to respond.

  However, I had no voice to respond with. And so, I released the breath that was desperate to stay locked within my chest, and rose my face to his.

  But then I couldn’t look away. I couldn’t even try.

  The slightest of movements from him, told me he was moving forward, toward me, and so I took one shuffling step backward after another.

  It wasn’t until my heels hit the wall behind me that I knew I was out of room. He then placed his hands upon the wall on either side of my shoulders, stopping his forward momentum. Disappointment swam in my stomach, but his gaze never left mine. And his grin never faltered. The stone behind me, pressing into my back, was cold at first, hard and unwelcome. He then inched toward me, his body closing in, his breath filling my lungs, and the wall behind me grew warm and then softened upon his unspoken request. His command of their power source never failed to amaze me. But that thought was fleeting as his mouth found mine, and his soul swirled through me to my core.

  ∞

  After breakfast, he reminded me of my promise to Lena. And I found myself torn in three directions - training, back to the Spire, or stay right where I was with Jordan.

  “Come on,” he said, and chuckled, as though sensing my indecision.

  I sighed in agreement, “Training.” I resigned myself to it, and let him lead me back to the bedroom where we proceeded to change into warrior clothing, to run the distance to the Arena.

  “It is necessary though. At first, the concern I felt for you, for all that Lena was putting you through outweighed the reason why you needed to. But Lena’s right.”

  “About?”

  “You need to learn to defend yourself. It’s not enough to just have the will when you need it. You need the techniques and the strength behind it.”

  “I wish she wouldn’t keep asking me to hurt her, and just teach me instead.”

  “Why?”

  “Because she’s my friend, I can’t hurt her.”

  “She hurts you without a second thought,” he said.

  “I know, but it’s what she was raised to do. I was raised to be a girl and not much more.”

  He picked up both of my hands and drew me toward him. “It takes more than learning how to move, though,” he said. “Your body needs to understand the movement. The pressure, the force, and momentum need to become second nature to you. And you need to become desensitized to the pain that will come, as well as to the pain that you’re going to be delivering, and focus upon delivering it. Don’t worry about Lena, she’s almost never defeated.” He stopped and frowned momentarily, as though he didn’t believe what he was saying. But whatever thought, or feeling had passed through him, it soon faded. And he continued, “She’s relishing the moment when you finally give her what she wants.”

  “So, she… wants me… to hurt her,” I almost couldn’t say it. It just didn’t sound right coming out of my mouth, as though the words were backward, and inside out.

  “She needs you to hurt her.”

  I couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. And I looked at him in confusion, while trying to fathom the deeper meaning in his words. But it escaped me.

  “She needs to know you can,” he explained. “Because if you can, then you won’t have any reservations about hurting a complete stranger, or perhaps even someone you despise.”

  I had to think about it for several moments, before acknowledging that her logic made sense. If I could fight her or Dax, hand to hand, the way she needed me to, then I would have no problems defending myself against the ward. Whether the fight with ward would be winnable, was another matter, but at least, I would have no trouble trying.

  And I tried to hold onto that moment of clarity as we left the city, running side by side, to the training dome. Once inside however, Jordan’s speed and aerial abilities had me mesmerized, as always.

  “Lydia, focus!” Lena demanded of me on more than one occasion, and I would swear I could hear him laughing every time. Although, I don’t know how she did it. Dax was just as thrilling to watch, and she had no trouble at all not watching him. I wanted to ask her how she kept her focus, for he was her soulmate. Every part of her would have been drawn to him. But I knew this was part of who she was. The warrior she’d been raised to become. It wasn’t just her capacity to take the pain and deliver it, it was also her mastery of mind, her ability to exact control over herself. And I envied her every strength.

  Jordan and Dax flew ahead of us to the Arena, and by the time I’d arrived with Lena, I was sure they were deep into killing each other.

  But upon entering our training room, I stopped. In the center of the room, stood a black mass from the floor to the ceiling, with squared off edges. It was almost as wide as one of the cubicles we changed our clothing in. It was definitely big enough to hold… someone. I swallowed, regretting my choice to train, and hoped that whatever she had in store for me, would be over lightning fast.

  “What is this?” I asked her, trying to steady the uneasy quiver in my voice.

  “A surprise for you,” she responded. But I didn’t like the way she grinned about it.

  “For me?”

  “Yes, and for this you will definitely keep your warrior suit on.”

  She moved to stand beside the tube, folded her arms and leaned against it. She then stared at me a moment longer before touching one hand to its surface. The moment her hand retreated the black sides faded to green. I gulped back the fear that rose within my chest, attempting to choke me, and I stared unblinking into the cylinder. Trapped inside, was the ward.

  At first, he only glared at Lena, but she paid him no mind. She only stared at me, studying my reactions. And then he saw me, and the corners of his mouth turned up into that smile I’d seen too many times.

  “Lena,” I gasped, barely above a whisper. “What is this?”

  “You’re going to fight him.”

  I couldn’t look away from what I knew, was surely coming. “You must be joking,” I rasped out, my words barely audible.

  “No, I’m not. Here, he will be controlled. You fought well with the simulation, but you failed with me. You need a reminder of what it is you are fighting.”

  “Lena…” My every nerve shook as I tried to back away. The ward’s eyes swept over me, sending a chill down my spine, as memories of his hands on me, cutting me, unsettled my nerves. My knees weakened as they filled with water, almost sending me to the floor.

  “I’m not ready for this,” I implored her, and forced my gaze away
from the ward to stare at Lena, pleading with her.

  “Yes, you are,” she said, stepping to the side of the room. Her hand inched toward a panel and I knew the moment she touched it, the ward would be unleashed upon me once more.

  “Don’t watch me,” Lena told me. “Hands up. Protect yourself.”

  I turned back to the ward. His grin had spread across his face, in anticipation. No doubt seeing me squirm under his glare, had fed his desire. I rose my hands and tried to ready myself for the attack, hoping something would happen to forestall the moment of his release.

  I can do this, I told myself over and over. I can do this.

  I gulped back air, then tried to exhale my fears away. As my therapist on Earth once taught me, breathe in, breathe out, release the feeling with it. But the fear of him was knitted so deep within my every fiber, that no amount of breath could abate it.

  I blinked. And at the wrong moment. For too soon the green was gone. His tube was erased from around him, leaving him standing right in front of me, sizing me up. When his gaze moved down my body I struck as hard as I could, attempting to force him backward.

  “Ready to play, are you?” he growled, as he swung back at me.

  I tried to block him, but his force was much stronger than I remembered, and he hit me as though my arm had not even been in front of my face. I stumbled back a step, but I was determined to not let him take me down, and I lunged toward him, striking him harder, trying to push him backward. I jumped and kicked, landing hard on his knee. I was sure I’d heard bone snap, but he didn’t fall. He didn’t even indicate that I’d hurt him. Instead, he came after me with a greater determination, striking me blow after blow.

  I could hear Lena calling to me, yelling instructions, but I couldn’t make out her words. The pounding in my chest and my head, and the noise of his body slamming into mine again and again, surpassed her every attempt to help me.

  I wanted to stand my ground. I needed to. I was determined to.

  But all I could feel was that I was falling.

  And the pain growing inside me, attempting to be heard. However, the only sounds that made it out of my mouth were my muffled groans, followed by my forced grunt when my back struck the ground, knocking the wind out of me.

  I scanned the area nearest me, needing to find him, needing to know what was coming, but there was no longer anyone near. I then glanced toward the wall where I’d last seen Lena, hoping she would end it. And she had. The tube which once held him, was once more a solid black mass.

  It was over.

  But the pain went on.

  And on.

  And on.

  He’d struck every part of my body. Broken me in places I was sure would never heal. My cries barely reached my own ears. It hurt to even to make a sound, and drawing a breath sent knives through my chest. The warrior suit was taking too long to level out the pain. I closed my eyes and waited, knowing relief would be moments away. It had to be.

  I barely felt her hands upon me, when Lena pulled me up. But despite her hold, I crumpled back to the floor before even making it upright. I didn’t want to stand. I couldn’t, even if she demanded it. I attempted to breathe through every spike of pain that accompanied each movement, but every breath also renewed the searing heat that stabbed deep inside. The emotion that tried to take over, contracted my chest, and a quiet scream escaped me as she picked me up. Too easily, she carried me down the hall to the healing room and laid me upon a table.

  I cracked my eyes open, but only one obeyed my request. I needed to see the room, to know relief was coming. And through the cloud that filled my limited vision came a familiar face. Haize was there. Finally.

  She took one look at me, and then whispered Lena’s name, urging her not to let Jordan in the room until she was done. But he knew I was hurt, he’d sensed my pain. How could he not have? And I tried to watch him as he stumbled toward me.

  But before he could reach me, the fight broke out between him and Lena, and she explained it wasn’t her this time.

  “What do you mean it wasn’t you?” his voice resounded throughout the room. He wanted to touch me. He reached out a hand, but Haize slapped it away. “Lena! Who was it?”

  “Ward,” I mumbled around the sour taste of my blood, as my one open eye involuntarily closed. Though, I wished through the pain, that I hadn’t attempted to speak. I wished even more for the simple ability to look upon Jordan one more time. But Haize was numbing me. And too soon, sleep descended upon me. I was grateful for the reprieve.

  ∞

  When I felt myself waking, all that went through my mind was I’m going to kill her… I’m going to kill her. Her being Lena of course. How dare she bring the ward out of the Spire. He was the one person I was training myself to defend against. I was nowhere near ready for what she’d done. He could have killed me. Again.

  I waited until the last of the sleepiness had left my body and I opened my eyes, sitting bolt upright, determined to confront her. But I was back in our new four-poster in the city.

  “Hey,” Jordan whispered.

  “I’m going to kill her.”

  “I already did.”

  “Huh,” I panicked. I didn’t literally want to kill her, well maybe just a little.

  “She’s fine. I didn’t kill her too much. Left a piece for you. It wasn’t him though,” he said.

  His words caught me off guard, and I swung my head toward him in confusion, of course it was the ward.

  “What do you mean?”

  “It wasn’t really him, the ward. She just wanted you to think it was him. He was only the simulation.”

  I stared at him for just a moment longer, absorbing his words. And I then, fell against him.

  “If I’d known it wasn’t really him, I might have stood a better chance of defending myself.”

  “Why?” he asked.

  And again, I was confused by his question. I ran through every one of my memories that involved the ward, including the recent fight, and I tried to put it into words. His sole intention was to hurt me in the most twisted ways. And there was no reasoning with him. The ward terrified me. But I didn’t want to say so.

  And I didn’t need to. Jordan’s soul felt the trembling within mine, he sensed the terror that ran through me. He rose his hand to rest against my cheek, and I leaned my face into his palm.

  I felt, instead of heard, the groan deep within him before he spoke. “This is why you need to learn,” he whispered to me. I opened my eyes despite the reassuring comfort of his touch and his tone. His response was not what I was expecting. “I don’t want you to feel that way about him. You shouldn’t want to either.”

  He was right. I didn’t want to be so afraid. This was the very reason why I began training in the first place, and at my first real test of strength, mind and body, against the ward, I’d failed myself.

  And I knew I would go back for more.

  7

  The Man in the Machine

  We didn’t return to the Arena that day. It was too soon, we both agreed upon that. I needed a cooling off day before crossing paths with Lena.

  I decided instead, to go back to the Spire. A day of sifting through more of Threa’s history would do me good. I promised Jordan however, that I would keep a closer eye on the time, and not disappear all day again.

  As I walked down corridor after corridor of the Spire building, with Ani silently at my side, I hoped I wouldn’t be disturbing Mason by just showing up and taking his time. But I was sure he would be happy to see me. I was also sure he would be yet again, alone in his room. He had to be starved of company. And I wondered if he ever left.

  However, before we could walk into the room, the door opened and he stepped out. And he wasn’t alone. Apparently, the two hadn’t yet become aware of their witnesses as they hugged a little too friendly, before whispering their goodbye. Only then did they turn toward us in unison, and smiled.

  “Lydia,” Mason said
, stepping forward to briefly hug me. When he released me, his companion greeted me just as warmly.

  “It’s good to see you again,” she said, smiling at me.

  I knew who she was. I’d seen her numerous times in the Colony. But in that moment of surprise, her name escaped me.

  “Hello,” I said, smiling back. But my voice was a little too strangled, embarrassed by my horrid memory.

  “You should come back to see us more often. You spend too much time training your body. Your mind needs a workout as well, you know.”

  I wasn’t entirely sure what she meant. But I was fascinated by her offer, particularly after the previous day’s exercise.

  She leaned in to hug me goodbye, whispering her name as she did. “Mya.”

  “Mya,” I repeated, begging my brain to remember her name, and I promised I would visit her soon.

  When she and Ani walked away, I turned back to Mason, wanting to tease him about his lady friend, but I decided my comments were best left unsaid.

  “Shut up,” he mumbled, as he walked into his room.

  “I didn’t say anything,” I said, following him in.

  “Of course, you did. It just didn’t come out of your mouth.”

  “Well, I’ve been worried about you, in here, cooped up, all alone all these years. And it turns out your dating a super-model.”

  “I’m what?” he chuckled, but I chose not to explain. I lived in a world of gods and goddesses, neither fitting in nor exactly an outcast, but instead, existing someplace in between hope and fear.