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ONLY SUCCESS OR DEATH. She had been there once before.
Her old friends—anxiety and withdrawal—attempted to make a reappearance as she rose to greet another sunless morning. Rusty glowered at her from his cell, pacing the length of his invisible wall. What did he know, and what did she dare tell him?
Her breakfast arrived, but Alexa didn’t have an appetite. How could she eat when her life dangled in the balance once again? She fingered the bandage at the base of her skull as homesickness came in waves. She missed her family, Sid, and, most of all, she missed Mateo. When everything else failed back in Riverview, she always had Mateo to get her through. She never would have survived Una and the Brume without him. She pictured him throwing his hands in the air and crying, “This is insane!”
Yes, truly insane.
Guardian X returned once the other Residents were taken off to breakfast. Something about the twinkle in her eye put Alexa on edge. The Guardian’s smile only appeared genuine when something crazy was about to happen.
“I have a surprise for you this morning.” Guardian X practically bounced in place. “We’ll be working in the outdoor recreation area today.”
Alexa sat up straighter. “Outside?”
“Yes, we want to try something new. Let’s go.”
They took another one of what Alexa liked to call the “secret tunnels” through the building. One moment, they strode through a dim hall; the next, she stood within the rose-hued glow of Resident Darkstar’s mountainous planet. The sky was free of clouds, giving the moons more room to overwhelm the heavens. An open plane of dirt and scrubby grass, roughly the size of a football field, spread before them. A towering concrete fence topped with thick, twisting wire surrounded the area. The wires hummed, buzzing with electricity, and beyond the yard, the mountain range spread as far as she could see.
“Right there is today’s exercise.” Guardian X pointed toward the center of the field.
A strange contraption roughly the size of her Honda Civic—even Alexa’s Blinders couldn’t make it normal—stood in the middle of the field, surrounded by a half-dozen Guardians. The stack of metal cylinders, wires, and steel hummed even louder than the surrounding fence which quivered with unseen power.
“What’s that?” Alexa hesitated to move any closer to the droning metal beast.
“One of the many fusion storage cells that help power this amazing facility. It’s recently begun the process of breakdown, which happens after several decades. Usually, we discharge the gathering energy into another cell before meltdown. However, this time, we thought it would present a perfect opportunity to test your progress.”
Alexa’s empty stomach clenched. “What do you want me to do?”
The storage cell bounced and thrummed. Electric arcs snapped and curled around the device, causing each of the Guardians to leap back several feet.
“We want you to contain the cell when it goes into meltdown.” Guardian X beamed.
Thank God she hadn’t eaten anything. “Seriously?”
“Yes, of course. You’ve done such a wonderful job moving heavy objects. Let’s see how well you do at containment. When this cell discharges, it will emit a small explosion. Your goal is to keep it from doing any real damage. We are outside its blast perimeter.”
“But this is completely different.” Alexa’s heart raced. In high school, failure only meant a lousy grade or maybe even going to a lesser college. Such stakes were ridiculous compared to an actual bomb going off.
Guardian X shrugged. “Instead of lifting, try containing. If it doesn’t work, we’ve learned something new. There’s no harm in trying.”
The cell bucked in place—a beautiful but terrifying stream of arcs radiating like miniaturized light clusters. The hair on Alexa’s arms and neck stood on end.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” she gasped.
“Don’t worry.” Guardian X placed her hand on Alexa’s shoulder. “None of us will die. However, some minor burning is possible. Oh, look. It’s entering its final phase. Get ready, X485!”
“Minor burning?” Alexa squeaked.
White-hot sparks burst from the guts of the cell. Alexa let go of the physical, ignoring her panic and galloping heart and reached outward with her intention. She focused on each detail of the juddering fusion unit, reaching out unseen hands to press back the curling electric arcs before they could whip out far from the cell. Her invisible hands became a dozen arms. Now she spread them wide, embracing each shock, each current.
“Despite all my rage,” Alexa whispered, pulling deeper within. Focus could only go so far. She had to get a little angry to subdue a raging lump of power.
The cell fought back, bolting against her invisible arms. Where one arc subdued, another snapped outward. Alexa spread her arms wider, stretching her invisible limbs into walls. Her head throbbed from the effort. A faint, green haze encompassed the quivering beast.
“You’re doing great, X485,” Guardian X shouted as a roar rose from the storage cell’s guts.
“Still just a rat in a cage.” Alexa fought to maintain her invisible wall around the contraption. When one part of her wall stabilized, another started to crumble. She didn’t have it in her.
Then it happened. All the storage cells' bluster came out in a blossoming fireball. Alexa’s lower walls held tight, but the ceiling immediately shattered. A flaming column shot up toward the sky, but only up and not out at the surrounding Guardians. The column blazed for a moment, then disappeared, leaving a lump of smoking wreckage behind.
Alexa bent forward, relieved, then slumped to the ground. Her face smashed into the dusty earth. She inhaled the mineral scent of the dirt, turned her head, and let out a pathetic sneeze when her muscles slackened. It was as if every bit of strength had been sapped from her body. A dark halo ringed her vision. The world tipped as the Guardians hurried to her side, each wearing a huge grin.
“That was wonderful!” Guardian X dropped onto her knees beside Alexa. “You did as well as I expected.”
Alexa coughed, kicking up a cloud of dust. “I can’t move. Can you roll me onto my back?”
“Of course.” Guardian X gently lifted Alexa’s head from the ground and turned her over. “Wasn’t that magnificent?”
She cleared her throat to get their attention. “Just so you’re aware. I can’t move.”
The Guardians, all of their heads bobbing, hovered above Alexa, each one congratulating Guardian X as if she had done all the work. Alexa ought to be annoyed, but another wave of exhaustion blurred her vision. She didn’t want to pass out. Not again. Passing out was becoming much too much of a habit.
Guardian X bent over. “I’m sorry, I barely heard you.”
“I can’t move.” Even filling her lungs and moving her lips took effort.
“Oh, so sorry. Everyone, let’s get her to the infirmary and give her fluids. I don’t want her near the general population until she returns to normal. Amazing work, X485. I can’t wait to try again.”