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GUARDIAN X RETURNED Alexa to her cell after her new assignment. It was nap time, and Residents big and small slept away the stupor that had arrived after a Serenity-laden lunch. Alexa’s meal waited on a steel tray on her bed, and she was momentarily confused when she saw a sandwich on a white platter.
“I’ve been researching your planet.” Guardian X nodded proudly to the sandwich. “It seems that Earth-humans like these things called subs, sandwiches, or grinders. Essentially, two slabs of carbs with protein and vegetables between. Does that sound right?”
Alexa’s jaw dropped. “Yeah, it does. You did this for me?”
“It’s easy for us who have grown up in the MGA to forget what this might be like for one such as you. Even with the Blinders giving you a sense of normalcy, this is all beyond strange. So I wanted to give you a small piece of home. Consider it a thank you and a final farewell to what you once knew.”
Alexa walked over to her bed, placing the tray with the sandwich on her lap. “What do you mean, farewell?”
“If you are to work with us, you must assimilate. You must completely forget your home. We will provide you with lessons so you can better understand the multiverse. Ignorance is fine for a Resident but unacceptable if you are to be a member of our team.”
“Assimilate.” Alexa gathered the sandwich between her fingers. The bread was spongy, like angel food cake. She parted the slices to find two grey slabs of a manufactured protein.
“We will gradually wean you off Serenity, so it no longer clouds your mind. We need you at full mental capacity if we’re going to succeed in this new endeavor. And one more thing.”
“Yeah?” Alexa dropped the sandwich, trepidation writhing in her gut.
“We will also have to install another bit of hardware into your system.”
“Okay?” Her fingers brushed the Blinder’s small discs above her ears and temples. Whatever else they planned to do to her was still better than being trapped forever in a cell the size of a closet.
“It’s for our protection if this doesn’t work out as planned.” Guardian X laced her fingers together. “Call it a ‘kill switch’ of sorts. If you dare ever raise a hand against us, the kill switch will do exactly that. I trust you to do the right thing, but I also knew the other Guardians would never accept my proposal without it. Trust can’t always be earned, but it can be manufactured.”
Alexa didn’t know what to say, so she stuffed half of the sandwich into her mouth. The spongy bread dissolved like cotton candy, leaving the tough, chewy protein slices behind.
“What do you think?” Guardian X nodded toward the sandwich.
Alexa gulped down the salty blob. “Tastes great.”
“Wonderful. Well, I have a great amount of information to input. Enjoy your meal, and I will see you tomorrow.” Guardian X hurried away with a bounce in her step Alexa had never seen before.
Alexa set aside the remaining part of the sandwich and collapsed on her bed. So, she was about to become Guardian X’s pet project, and if everything went well, her life might change for the better. And if it went badly, she might end up dead after all.
The chorus of snoring was louder than usual. Had the Guardians added a little extra Serenity to everyone’s midday meal after what happened on the roof? Even Rusty was gone from the world, laid out on his bed, his chest rising and falling in the steady throes of sleep. Alexa’s eyes became heavier despite her mostly empty stomach. She stuffed down another disgusting bite, picturing a double-decker club from one of her favorite cafes in downtown Riverview as she chewed.
She closed her eyes, trying to picture the sun glistening on the St. Croix River: the gulls squawking, powerboats rumbling, and waves lapping the hull of her dad’s bowrider. She could almost feel the sun beating on her face, making her warm and sticky. Music would drift from other boats, and from beach bar-and-grills near the river. There would also be the laughter of teenagers racing around a small island, joyful, free, and likely a little drunk.
Alexa curled her body into a tighter and tighter ball as she counted all the moments she had lost. Could she ever go back? Could her life ever be what it once had been?
Osu's voice broke her reverie. Are you back in your cell, Earth human? I could not find you for a while.
A hollow laugh escaped her. No, her life would never be normal again. She turned to face the wall and murmured, “I was on my new work crew assignment.”
Was it better than your assignment with me?
“We were cleaning the roof. I got to see the mountains, so it wasn’t so bad.”
I have never seen the sky here. I felt we were in a high place, far from everything. If I listen hard enough, sometimes I can hear the wind whistling against this gods-forsaken place.
“I’ve never seen mountains like those. The sky is purple, even in the middle of the day. And there are giant moons in the sky. The sun isn’t bright here. Maybe that’s a normal thing in the multiverse? I’ve never been to a different planet before.”
My home planet had blue skies. Sapphire heavens. Or so the stories claimed.
“We have blue skies on Earth,” Alexa said, pulling her knees up to her chest. “I was just thinking about home before you called. I have this feeling I’m never going to see it again.”
Imagine never having a home. Imagine trying over and over again to find one, to make one, only to have the multiverse’s most incredible power tell you that you do not deserve to have a home, that you are monsters for being different. That your way of life is wrong.
“I can imagine that easier than you think. The Brume told me that Bright Ones overtook planets and destroyed them.”
That is what the MGA has led everyone to believe. The truth is, we were too powerful, and we refused to join their so-called alliance and, thus, we were a threat. The MGA’s annihilation of the Bright Ones has proven them as the decisive power once and for all.
“They sound like an evil empire. And all this is happening while little ol’ Earth spins around and around. Lots of us think we’re the only ones in the universe. Like we’re something special. Did you know some people on Earth think the Earth is flat?”
I am never surprised by ignorance. Not anymore. Not after what I have seen in my lifetime.
Alexa let out a long, sad sigh. “I was happier when I thought we were all alone.”
As a child, I had a smaller life. There was a time—I was just a little one—and we were so happy, my family and I. We had a beautiful home. I did not know we were in hiding. Not until they came for us. When I feel the most alone, I think back to that time.
“I miss my family too.”
I am sorry. There is no need to talk about maudlin things. Did you enjoy your time cleaning the roof? I cannot imagine your fellow Residents are much for stimulating conversation.
“No, we’re not supposed to talk to one another when working.” If Alexa didn’t know better, she would suspect Osu missed having her around. “I can’t exactly communicate with them the way I can with you.”
No, of course not. I imagine they are a bunch of stupid, simple, violent beasts high on drugs.
“I got to see what happens when a Resident has a bad trip.”
What is a bad trip? Did they fall off the roof?
“No, it was like the opposite of what Serenity is supposed to do to you. This huge, terrifying guy came right at me. I thought I was going to—”
Did the Guardians stop him?
“No, um, I did.”
Silence hung between them for several seconds before Osu said, They saw you? The Guardians? You showed them what you can do?
“Yes.”
I do not understand. How are you still in your old cell? How are you not drugged into oblivion?
“The Guardians and I have a sort of arrangement.” Alexa bit her bottom lip. She hadn’t thought this out. She shouldn’t have mentioned what happened on the roof. “They want me to work for them.”
Again, a tense moment of silence emerged between them. Crossing the many halls, slipping through the six-inch thick steel, Alexa pictured Osu in his cell, his little closet, blue eyes blazing. His lovely, Blinder-manufactured face tensed, his lips tight. The face in her mind spoke. Get out of my cell, Alexa.
“I’m sorry.” Alexa sensed her mind was being drawn back across the distance and re-entering her body.
How is this possible? How can you work with the ones who keep us caged?
Alexa let out a hollow laugh. “I didn’t really have a choice.”
There is always a choice. Always. I see what you truly are. A creature who convinces another they can be trusted right before they turn them over to their enemies. I have met many like you. You use others to your advantage. And you lie.
“No.” Alexa’s voice cracked as she pictured Una’s death repeatedly in her mind. Was she a traitor? A liar? Someone who did whatever it took to survive, even if it meant the death of a friend?
Never speak to me again.
“Osu, please, wait,” she whispered, but she knew he had already left.