The Unknown

TWO | awakening.

"Wake up, lovebirds. We've got work to do."

It was Jade's voice, but Tess couldn't open her eyes yet. Someone had drawn the curtains, allowing the late morning sun to glare through the window, the light so brilliant it forced her eyes shut.

"How did you find us here?" She asked, squinting.

Jade ignored her question, propping her elbows on the windowsill to gaze at the streets below. "They captured Ana. Everyone else is safe, for now," she said in one quick breath.

"What will happen to her?" Tess asked, rolling out of bed, still wearing her favorite blue dress. She joined Jade at the window, watching the infestation of soldiers crawling through the city.

Jade's face darkened, but she answered brightly, "She'll be fine. But we all better be more careful from now on. No hedonistic benders, no more converting whoever you want. Stick to the assignments."

There was a pause as Tess processed that order, nodding. Then she faced Jade. "Kyle is recovering from a blow to the head."

"Let him rest, then. You, come with me."

Without explanation, Jade led Tess down the stairs, avoiding the elevator. On the forty-second floor, Jade knocked quietly and eased open an apartment door.

Tess hesitantly stepped inside, peering around the room. Finally, she spotted a figure in the corner, hugging his knees and twitching occasionally. It was Soren. His eyes were blank, staring into emptiness.

"What happened to him?" Tess asked with unease. She slowly approached, scared she might startle him. His pupils were very wide, as if dilated to the maximum—even though a bright square of light fell over his face through a tall window.

Jade stood with her arms crossed. "Humans have drugs that trigger the brain to release neurotransmitters, giving them pleasure. Since we can control our own physiologies, we can release them ourselves and prompt our brains to create more. Soren is behaving exactly like an addict, except the drug is, essentially...within himself."

Tess stared for a minute, her stomach churning with a mixture of disbelief, horror, and curiosity.

Jade sat down on the bed, crossing her legs. "I've been meaning to tell you this, and since we're here...you and Kyle are to be separated."

Tess's heart dropped like a stone. She studied Jade's face. "Are you joking?"

"No."

"That's not fair. You said we could be together once we gave ourselves up. We—" Tess cut off, aware that she sounded like a human, driven by emotion rather than rationality. Or like Soren, caving to his body's desires, lacking self-control.

"They're orders from above, not me. Until we finish the mission—converting the entire city—you're not to see each other. It's a distraction." Jade watched her reaction closely. "Sometimes humans regard love as a drug, you know. It's addictive."

Tess grit her teeth and turned away, struggling to suppress the part of herself that wanted to shout that this was bullshit. "That's seventeen million people, and we've converted, what, a few thousand? It's going to take years—"

"The mission is more important than anything," Jade stated. It was a sentiment that had been drilled into all of their heads after they'd been converted.

Tess swallowed, sinking onto the bed beside Jade. "Okay. Okay, then who am I supposed to work with?"

"Me and Rosalie. And Jessie and Shaun will work with Kyle." She elbowed Tess in the ribs. "See, I'm separated from my man, too." Jade fixed a compassionate look on her face, but Tess thought something was always slightly false, almost condescending, in her expressions. "And you two can stay together until the soldiers clear the area. You'll have time to say goodbye." She smiled vapidly.

"Then what about him?" Tess nudged her chin toward Soren, who was rocking back and forth on the floor.

"He's of no use to us in this state."

Tess couldn't help but raise her eyebrows. "We've lost two in one day?"

"It'll be fine."

***

Later, Jade took Kyle to the same room and explained what had happened to Soren. Tess tagged along because she wanted to soak up all the time she could with him. As Jade spoke, Tess's hand found Kyle's, interlacing their fingers and squeezing.

"It reminds me of when my mother was drugged up after her accident." Kyle's face looked stoic, but his voice became soft and boyish as he recalled his body's worst memories.

"You're not to tell the others," Jade instructed, ignoring him. "We don't want them getting the idea to exploit their bodies' systems."

"Then why tell us?" Kyle asked after a moment. It was a logical question, Tess thought.

They never questioned it aloud, but for some reason, Jade had been delegated as the one who communicated directly with others of the Species. No one else knew how she did it or what was said, apart from what she told them.

"I want you to talk to him, try to get him to snap out of it. I have other work to do. Top secret." Jade flashed a mischievous smile and disappeared into the hallway.

For the rest of the day, the pair stayed in the room and tried to elicit any response from Soren, with little success.

In the afternoon, they ordered food from downstairs free of charge. The humans they'd already converted were pliant, willing to do anything they asked without question.

Tess was at ease, beginning to accept they'd be separated, as long as it would be temporary. It would only make the moment they reunited more enjoyable than ever. And she hoped they might be able to sneak off together sometimes; the fact that it would be off-limits made only made the idea sound more exciting.

When she tore herself from her thoughts and turned to Kyle, she was shocked to see the wet streak of a tear trailing down his cheekbone.

She edged closer to him. "Are you okay?"

He nodded.

She gently planted a hand on his arm. "I don't have any memory of you—" she corrected herself, "—your body—crying. Ever."

His lips parted, but there was a long pause as he stared into space. "I think it's just that I—sorry, he—had lived with these memories for years. And I'm just digging into them, so it's like experiencing them for the first time. Sometimes it all comes flooding to mind as vividly as if it were happening. A lot of horrible shit happened to...me."

Tess looked down, noticing his hands shaking. She took them and tried to hold them still. She didn't like seeing him like this; it made her stomach turn. "I knew about your mother, but is there more?"

"Yes," Kyle said softly. He made it clear he wasn't going to elaborate, shaking off her hands. He slowly stood and walked out the door.