Unison (The Spheral) (33 page)

Flora gawked at me just as she had the last three times after hearing my revelation. I’m certain my Outsider appearance made her mistrust me, but I didn’t care. I was tired of dying in my thirty-second year. “What I’m saying will shortly be proven. Kai is accusing me of the Overseer’s murder because he killed him.”

“You can explain all of this to your confessor.”

“I don’t acknowledge Unitian law…or your interpretation of it.” I got out some containers of almonds and dried fruit and threw them into my backpack.

“You have the scourge. Return to Unity with me before you—”

“I’d rather get shot in the back by you again than go back to Dome Dungeon.”

For one fleeting moment, Flora looked at me as she had in my first incarnation, but I was too angry to indulge in nostalgia.

“If I thought it would make a difference, I’d ask if you remembered me saying this before, but I don’t care anymore. You’ve turned into a sleeve-worshipper and when Kai kills you, it will be too late to rethink your loyalties.”

“All these delusions you’re experiencing can be stopped,” Flora said.

I stormed over to Flora and pushed the chair onto its back. “The delusion is Unity!” I walked around and peered down at her. “See it for what it is or die again.”

“It’s you who is living in the delusion. You’ve been out here so long that the abnormal has become your normal.”

“What is your normal?”

“Unity, and the connection we feel when we’re a part.”

I clenched my fists. “You’re drowning and don’t even know it.” I grabbed my backpack and headed towards the door. “I’m done with trying to save you.”

“Aren’t you going to free me?”

I smiled. “Wasn’t planning on it. You look comfortable.”

“You can’t just leave me here.”

“Why not?”

“That would be cruel, and you claim you’re innocent. No one will believe you if you leave me here.”

“If you shot me with my back turned to you, would you consider that cruel?”

“And cowardly.”

“Then you’re cruel…and cowardly by your own definition.” I opened the door.

“Please, don’t leave me here.” Flora’s Unity Guard facade cracked, and she began to cry. “Untie me. No one will find me here.”

The desperation in her voice pulled me back to her.

I kneeled beside Flora and began to untie her. “Understand this, Unity Guard…if you follow me, I won’t hesitate to kill you.

“What about my plazer?”

I helped Flora up.

“You won’t be getting it back in this round, so avoid Kai on your way back to that dungeon of yours.”

“Please…don’t go.” She extended her hand towards me. “Return with me and reclaim your connection to Unity.”

“Unity is just a word used to lump a whole group of people together to control them. I bet you can’t even tell the difference between an Outsider and a Unitian.” I tugged on my beard. “And please don’t state the obvious.”

“Unitians don’t commit murder.”

“The Overseer’s death is justice served. I’d proudly admit to killing him if I were responsible.”

“The sickness is making you speak these blasphemous words. A visit to the reintegration center will help you.”

I pointed to my head. “Pillaging my mind of what makes me unique is blasphemous.”

“Once you’ve completed treatment, you’ll remember who you are and what you’re a part of.”

“Which is what?”

We both answered. “Unity.”

“You’re getting predictable.” I crossed my arms.

“Unity is your only salvation.”

“No, Flora, it isn’t. You’re your only salvation. If you don’t see that you’re—”

I heard the cuckoo clock chime and examined the security holoscreens. Nothing was present but rocks and trees. “Why aren’t the motion sensors detecting him?”

“Detecting who?” Flora asked.

“I don’t have any more time to debate you.” I rushed off.

“Where are you going?” Flora asked.

“To a place far away from you and Kai.” I secured my backpack and headed for the door. “I’m too slocking tired to relive another encounter with you two.”

“Come back with me,” Flora said. “It’s not too late.”

I turned to face her. “For me, it won’t be.” Something about her expression made me wish I left her tied to the chair, but there was no time left to second-guess myself.

I sprinted halfway up the ridge with Shisa. When I had a clear view, I looked through my binoculars and spotted Kai on the middle ridge. He was right on schedule. The physical exertion of my run diffused my anger, and I returned to the cabin hoping Flora was still there. The door was left ajar. Shisa ran in ahead of me and straight to Flora, who lay on her back. Blood gently spilled from a long vertical cut on her forearm. I grabbed the kitchen knife she still held in her hand and threw it across the room.

“Why did you do this?” I lifted Flora and gently cradled her in my arms as I’d done in my first incarnation.

“Unity is justice, and I couldn’t deliver. I’m no longer a part of Unity. I’m alone,” she cried.

I placed my hand against her cheek. “No. That’s not true. I’m here.”

“You left, and I failed. Kai would’ve made me go through reintegration.” She coughed. “I can’t go through that a—”

Flora died in my arms. My anger towards Kai had five incarnations to build up, and I was eager to explode all over him.

Kai opened the door and entered the cabin. I grabbed him from behind and jabbed the plazer against the small of his back. “Drop it.”

Kai dropped his plazer, and I kicked it across the room.

“What did you do to her?” Kai observed Flora and then Shisa who growled at him.

“Save your poorly acted concern for your proteges. I know you came here to kill us, and you already succeeded with Flora.”

“It looks like as though she got to herself first. She was psychologically unstable. Perhaps if you were still in Unity, your counsel would’ve saved her.”

I forced him to the ground. “You’re the one who’s unstable, you psychopathic, old slock!”

Kai pulled himself up to his knees, and I smacked the side of his head with my plazer.

“Listen to me.” He rubbed his head. “This can turn in our favor.”

“How?”

“I’ll tell the confessor that Flora killed the Overseer and implicated you. You can stay here and continue your life—”

“Why should I trust you?” I kicked Kai in his gut. “You came here to kill me.”

Kai grabbed his abdomen and winced in pain. “A female dog plays in a pasture. From out of nowhere, a pack of wild dogs appear.” He straightened his posture and glared at me. “Two of the males approach the female, but only one can mate with her. The bigger male growls, and the smaller dog meekly barks and crawls back to the pack. The larger dog believes he’s the victor…until the smaller dogs realize they’re greater in number and fatally attack their leader.”

“Except your little
dogs
aren’t around to save you.”

“You’re surrounded. Everyone knows you killed the Overseer.”

“You killed him…so you could take his place.”

Kai appeared surprised.

“I’d say congratulations, but I’m not sure you’ll be returning to claim your title.”

Kai snarled and made another attempt to get up.

I smacked him across the face with my plazer. “Unity might have been a good idea during its founding, but it’s become a prison that you’ve built around yourselves, and one from which there’s no escape. You’ve become more dangerous than a pack of wild dogs on the hunt, devouring each other over power, prestige and privilege. You’ll continue to devour until there’s nothing left but bones and ruins.” I aimed my plazer at Kai. “Like the Ancients, you’ll soon be forgotten. How does that make you feel?”

“That we can’t escape history, any more than we can recapture it.”

I looked at Flora’s bloody body, recalling my final words to Kai during my last incarnation,
Enjoy your victory while you can because when I see you again, I’m going to kill you.
I intended to keep my promise, but I clubbed Kai with my plazer instead. He passed out, and I made another attempt to shoot him, but my index finger refused to execute my desire for revenge. I dropped to my knees and yelled. In that bleak moment, I believed all was lost, but fate spoke to me from within the cabin. The pictures of Old Woman and Wade that hung on the wall, a snapshot in my pocket of the murdered couple, and the woman I loved who lay dead on the floor demanded I continue fighting Kai and everything he stood for.

I wrapped Flora in a blanket and carried her towards the mountain on the eastern side of the cabin. At the clearing before the elevation path, I lay her on the ground and covered her with leaves twigs, grass, and wildflowers. I shot my plazer into the kindling until it caught fire and then I spoke the ceremonial prayer aloud.

“From the ground you arose, and to the ground you shall return. Of this Earth you’ve been granted life, and from this Earth new life shall arise in your place. Carry on into heaven, where your identity will eternally be stored as sacred. Through my memories of you, your presence will be celebrated for all the joy you’ve brought to our Unity. All together, we were here. All together…we’ll be again.”

The words seemed truer to me then they ever had. I gazed into the flames until they blurred from my tears. Shisa walked around the pyre and whimpered as she had done with Old Woman. After the fire went out, and Flora’s ashes were reunited with the Earth, I climbed halfway up the ridge where I set up camp. From there, I kept watch over the cabin.

In the late afternoon, Kai staggered outside clutching the side of his head. He lost his balance and grabbed hold of the porch rail. After several failed attempts to walk, he went back inside and didn’t leave until the next morning.

The fact that Kai did not call for assistance implied he wanted his presence to remain a secret. For confirmation, I hung around for three extra days to see if Unity Forces would arrive to inspect the cabin. All remained quiet. I contacted Roth and told him what transpired. Not knowing if Kai would continue to independently monitor my whereabouts, and without any proof he assassinated the Overseer, we agreed I should take a year off before resuming Freedomline. The decision made me recall Wilfrid’s declaration about me. Although I disagreed that I was Nomad, I was starting to feel like one.

THE WELL

A
s we caught sight of Littlefield, Shisa sprinted towards the gate. Upon entering, the circle was quiet. A quick look at my holologue reminded me it was tranquil time. I approached the well to fill my canteen, and an ominous foreboding came over me. My COR alarm sounded and after I shut it off, I placed my hand on the well. I closed my eyes and tried to find a connection, but none came.

“Damon?”

I turned and saw Genevieve.

“I thought you weren’t coming for another twelve days.”

“So did I. Is the guest bungalow available?”

“For you…always.

Genevieve detected my unease and tried to console me. Amid our discussion, my thoughts returned to the well and why it set off the COR alarm. I politely excused myself and entered the solace of my bungalow and began unpacking. Shisa barked, wanting to be let outside.

“Shhh, they’re all asleep.” I removed my bow from its case.

She hopped onto the cot and leaned her chin on her paws.

“Rest up. Michael will probably have you running around until the day’s end.” After I finished rosining my bow, I got out my violin and played with the intent of retrieving my memory about the well. Slow long strokes in the lower octaves made my mind more receptive and open. I played, “Beneath the Lonely Stars to Nowhere,” which I wrote while I lay dying after my attack. At the start of the song, I remembered gazing up at the sky, Shisa lying beside me keeping me warm, and the eternal-light that liberated me from my pain. My thoughts came and went, and I disconnected from them by focusing only on my music until I was no longer aware of my outer surroundings. When the memory I searched for presented itself, I was jolted back into consciousness. During my first incarnation, I followed the map given to me by the Unitian couple I met in the tunnel. I ended up here where I filled my canteen, and the whole village was deserted.