Betrothed Episode One (7 page)

I'd
woken up three years ago.

The Captain nodded at me once more, then turned his
attention
to
Mark. “These are confusing and dangerous times for us all,
Lieutenant, I suggest you take this newfound one back to the
closest institute and return to duty. We must all be vigilant in
the build up to the wedding.”

Mark
snapped a salute.

The
Captain returned it, flashed me a warm smile, and walked
off.

I stared
at him as he left, then, mouth still opened, turned to stare at
Mark.

He
watched the Captain go, a strange expression pulling at his usually
handsome features. I couldn’t place it, but there was definitely a
hard edge to Mark’s usually soft gaze.

A few
seconds later, he caught me staring at him, and he lifted an
eyebrow. “I got something in my teeth?”

Mark
tried to crack a joke no matter the situation. You could be running
from the apocalypse and he’d still pull you aside and try to make a
funny face.

Right
now I was in no mood to laugh.

I waited
until the Captain was out of earshot, then I let my mouth drop
open. “What was that?”

“
Oh him? He’s just Captain of Police. Captain Fargo. Half
human, half cyborg.”

“
Mark, you know what I’m talking about.”

Mark
pressed his lips together, trying for a smile, but there was a
distracted edge to it. An edge that didn’t disappear until Fargo
was well out of sight.

Mark turned to me in full,
and
for
a few short seconds he looked at me as
if he’d never seen me before. His pale brown eyes darted left and
right as if he was trying to memorize every detail of my
features.

“
... Mark?”

He shook
his head. Then he leaned down and plucked up my hand.

I
spluttered. “What are you doing?”

“
Getting you off the streets, kid. Following orders and
getting you some place safe.”

“
Mark, why did you tell that guy I only woke up
recently?”

He ran a
hand down his mouth, digging a thumb distractedly into his chin.
“He asked, so I told him.”

I stared
at Mark as he all but dragged me along. His grip was firm around my
wrist, and he kept darting his eyes left and right as if he was
expecting something.

Nerves
shot through my back, and I drew to a stop, digging my feet into
the smooth path before us.

We were in a leafy, garden-like area of town. Buildings were
sunk down behind alien trees, their knotted roots climbing up walls
and onto roofs.

Mark and
I were now walking down a smooth metal path rimmed on both sides by
golden grass.

“
Come on, kid, we need to get you some place safe.” Mark
tugged on my arm.

His grip
almost hurt as it dug into my wrist, but I didn’t yield.

“
No, Mark, tell me what the hell is going on. I-I-I saw the
broadcast. And t-there—”

Mark
checked over his shoulder, apparently ignoring me.

“
Mark, what’s going on? Why did they say that woman betrothed
to Illuminate Hart is Annie Carter? I’m Annie Carter. That’s my
history. I’m Annie Carter.”

Mark
visibly stiffened, the muscles down his back and along his
shoulders turning rigid like stone. He flicked his gaze towards me.
“You're confused, and we need to get you some place
safe.”

“
I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's going
on.”

He wiped
a sweaty hand down his mouth. I could see his fingers and palm
glistening. “Just move.”

“
Mark—”

“
Listen, kid, just move. I'll explain everything on the way.
You trust me, right?”

It was
such a sudden question, and the look behind his eyes was so damn
intense. I couldn't help but stand there and stare at
him.

“
Do you trust me?” he repeated, his gaze somehow growing more
intense, like a star ready to go nova.

I
stuttered and nodded.

“
Then come with me.” He tugged me forward.

This
time I didn't resist.

I let
him pull me down the path and back into the city.

There
was plenty of time and opportunity for Mark to explain, yet he
didn't.

Nor did
he ever drop his grip on my wrist.

I had no
idea what was going on, and I couldn't calm down. My heart beat so
erratically, I thought I'd faint.

The
city, which had once seemed so beautiful, suddenly felt clinical
and cold. All those tall white buildings and smooth walls reminded
me of the room I'd woken up in three years ago.

The day
my life had changed forever.

“
Where are we going?” I asked a few times, but I never got an
answer.

As a security officer in the Foundation Forces, Mark had an
implant in both his wrists. It could produce a holographic input
panel just above his hand. He was now manipulating
it
, light from the
hologram playing up under the side of his jaw and down his
neck.

He was
so focused.

“
Come on, where the hell are they?” he muttered a few
times.

“
M-Mark, what's happening, where are you taking
me?”

“
Don't worry. Some place safe,” he muttered for the tenth
time.

“
D-does this have something to do with Illuminate Hart?” I
couldn't control my voice or my thoughts as I spoke.

Had
there honestly been some kind of mistake? Had the wrong woman stood
on the platform beside Hart during the ceremony?

Had Hart
figured it out? Had he sent for me?

My
thoughts kept whipping around my mind like water sucking down a
vortex. I thought I'd be pulled to my knees.

I
clutched my free hand to my chest, my sweaty fingers digging into
the collar of my plain tunic.

I
couldn't breathe again.

Every
time I tried to inhale, nerves drove my breath back.

I
started to wheeze.

“
Just calm down,” Mark said with a quick look my
way.

“
Calm down? H-how the hell can I calm down? I don't know
what's happening—”

“
Just be quiet,” he snapped.

Mark
never snapped at me. No matter how much I unloaded on him, he would
always take it with a smile. That's why he'd been so brilliant.
Without him, I'd never have adjusted to this future.

“
I need to concentrate,” he explained as he looked sharply
over his left shoulder.

By now it was night. The dusk on this planet was short and
sharp. It was like a stage set - curtains closed. You would get a
quick burst of deep purple and gold light along the horizon, then
the dark would descend.

I had no
idea what section of the city we were in. Though I'd been on this
particular cluster planet for a couple of days, I hadn't explored
it that much.

Though
every building we passed was new and sleek ... somehow this place
felt darker than the rest of the city. It wasn't the architecture
so much as the vibe. We could have easily been standing in the
dingiest darkest slum of the universe.

I
shivered.

The
streets were narrower here, like labyrinths at the feet of tall
towers that reached high up to the sky.

The
buildings cast long shadows, and though there was street lighting
everywhere, it didn't matter.

It still
felt cold and dark.

There
were more people hanging about. Which was unusual for the cluster
planets. This may have been my first visit to the Central System,
but I was starting to realize this place really was the hub of the
universe. Here was where it was all run.

Everyone
I'd met so far had been rushing around with some incredibly
important task to complete.

And yet
now I saw aliens leaning against walls or, for want of a better
word, loitering.

There
was something in their gazes.

“
Mark,” I used my free hand to grab on his sleeve, “I don't
like it here.”

He
didn't respond.

“
Mark, I want to go back to my hotel. I ... we should call
security or something. And ... I should go back to the Contracts
Office. Somebody there will be able to help me.”

“
That's not going to happen, kid.”

“
Mark, just, please, tell me what’s going on?” I
whimpered.

Maybe it was something in my tone, because he finally turned
to face me. With a single darting look around us, he stepped
closer
. “You said you
trusted me.”

“
I do.”

“
Well keep trusting me.” He tightened his grip on my wrist and
tugged me forward.

Unashamedly a few tears streaked down my cheeks.

But I
didn’t resist.

He was
the only man in the universe I trusted. It sounded grand, but it
was true. I knew no one else. Sure, there were a few people from
the institute, but no one like Mark.

No one
who seemed to give a damn.

I
couldn’t control myself as we continued, and I started to
sob.

As soon
as I made a noise, Mark hissed at me to be quiet.

I didn’t
know what was going on. From the second I’d stepped foot in the
contracts building, my life had started to break.

Finally
we appeared to arrive somewhere.

It was a
staircase leading down. A massive staircase. It appeared to descend
into a basement level, not of a building, but of the whole goddamn
city.

My eyes
widened in wonder as I saw it, but the wonder couldn’t
last.

There
was something ominous about that staircase.

I didn’t
know why, but a peculiar sensation started to build in my
chest.

“
Mark, I don’t want to go down there,” I suddenly said, my
voice firm for the first time that day.

I stood
my ground as he tried to drag me closer.

He
whirled on me, clapped his hands on my shoulders, and looked right
into my eyes. “Annie, you’ve got to.”

It was
the first time he’d said my name since he’d found me.

I
swallowed at the look he shot me.

“
Annie, something’s going on, and I’ve got to get you
somewhere safe.”

“
I-is it about the betrothal—” I began.

He
hushed me quiet immediately. “Just trust me, okay?” He tried to
pull me towards the staircase.

There
were a lot of people using it, but none of them looked, well,
savory.

They all
had a specific feel to them, the kind of feel I’d once associated
with people who hung around alley mouths or loitered in the
subway.

“
Just down these steps. We’ll get there soon,” he
promised.

I didn’t
move.

I
couldn’t.

I swear
something locked me to the spot. It was like concrete had been
poured into my legs. My knees stiffened and my feet locked into the
ground.

“
Annie,” Mark hissed quietly, his frustration shaking through
his voice, “come on.”

I
couldn’t move.

What had
started as a niggling pain behind my left eye now built to true
agony. It felt like someone had sliced into my brain.

Before I
could let out a gasp, I got a compulsion.

It was
the only way to describe it.

I could
almost, almost see myself doing something.

Once
upon a time I’d liked to dream. Most of all, I’d liked falling
asleep and watching the hypnogogic flashes as the conscious mind
slipped into sleep.

Well now
it was like I was half falling asleep.

I tipped
back on my heels then I clutched my eye.

Mark
snapped towards me. If he’d looked frustrated before, now he looked
focused.

Mark was
a funny guy, light and charming, the perfect man to rely
on.

Now he
looked so different.

Before
he could say or do anything, I jerked to the left.

Someone
was coming.

A group
of people.

It was
important I got their attention.

I
stepped forward.

I didn’t
know what I was doing – I was following the compulsion building in
my limbs.

I jerked
a hand up and started waving, just as a group of security officers
came thundering around a corner.

“
He ran that way,” I found myself saying, copying the
compulsion in my mind. “Just there.” I pointed to a random
alien.

Or at
least I thought he was random.