Chapter Forty-Seven

 

Tyson explains, “Murry needs both Nitarri twins, and he doesn’t want to risk Stephen getting hurt in te capture.”

I groan. I keep putting every guy in my life in danger. “What can he do with a couple of Nitarri that he can’t do with anybody else?”

Tyson scrunches his mouth in, concentrating. Finally, he blows out air through his lips. “Yeah, I’m not really sure about tat.”

That doesn’t sound like the logical, methodical Tyson I know. It’s extraño. He knows he’s being manipulated inside his own mind, pero he thinks he’s enjoying it. “You have no idea what the parasite in your cabeza is planning to do, and you have no problem with that?”

“I know tat it is not going to be darkness crying awards-show pain. He’s not tat type of person.”

“Even if he just had you snatch me? It’s been almost a week since I managed to eat chocolate. The theobromine has to be out of my system by now. Why not just infect me to get me on your side?” I hold up my hands quickly. “Not that that’s an invitation, nada, nunca.”

“You’ve made it clear tat’s not what you want. And what Murry wants more tan anyting is a friend.” Tyson gestures towards a box under the bunk. “Take a look.”

“Friends don’t ransomsnatch friends, amigo.” I pull out the box. He’s given me a change of clothes and some food pouches and agua. A thought hits me. “Pero what about that beso? When Kaliel kissed me.”

“Murry wasn’t trying to infect you. Tat was Kaliel’s impulse, magnified by te mindworm’s curiosity about what a kiss felt like, and why Kaliel thought he shouldn’t have it. It was Murry’s first kiss. You made quite an impression.” He scratches at his ankle with the opposite boot again. “Change now, and I’ll be back in a minute to destroy te old clothes. Tere’s bug blockers in here, but tat won’t work once we get outside. Can’t have Tawny tracking us now, can we?”

I take off the MIAG tee. I never thought I’d feel so naked without one of Tawny’s cameras. Tyson’s given me a thin black sweater and jeans. Which gives me no clue as to what we’re about to do.

When he comes back for the bundle of clothes, I ask, “So where are we going?”

“To find Stephen. Eat and rest. We will be tere soon.” He holds out his hands to take what I’ve pushed through the bars. His hands are shaking.

Mine are, too, pero I have an excuse. I gesture at his solid boxer’s knuckles with my chin. “You OK?”

“Bluebird Zandywood jumpfest. Sweet nap dreams.”

Annnd… that’s what you get when you have Tyson channeling Mertex. I’m going to miss this guy when I get regular surly Tyson back. I have several injectable vials of dewormer in my bag, and I have to find a way to use one of them. Because, as adorable as this version of Tyson is, it’s not right that he’s not in control of his own mind.

There’s something else in the bottom of the box, a thick yellow envelope about the size and shape of a pencil case. I open it. Inside, there’s a syringe full of swirling gold and hero stuff and death. “Tyson, what is this?”

I know full well what it is. What I really mean is why is it here.

“It’s what you want, more tan anyting. Murry wants you to have it since he knows it won’t kill you like it killed Mertex.”

Tyson moves over to his command chair, fires up his heat lamps, checks the controls one last time, and falls asleep. Well, that’s familiar at least. He sleeps like a rock. I wonder if the parasite sleeps too, or if it’s awake in there, processing whatever’s still coming in through his senses.

The shirt he gave me has a convenient pocket on the sleeve. I slip a vial of dewormer into it. And then I sit on the bunk, trapped in the cell with my overwhelming need and the liquid that would scratch the itch in my blood and no one to stop me from taking it. Except me.

I slide the syringe back into the envelope, put it back in the box and put the box back under the bunk. No one would blame me. Everybody caves eventually. And the IH might give me the strength I need to escape when Tyson opens this cell.

Without realizing it, I’ve pulled the box out from under the bunk. I pick up the yellow envelope.

I’ve resisted this longer than anyone else. Maybe it really is time to blunt the pain of losing mi vida.

Pero, if I take it now, it will be that much easier to give in next time, and soon I’ll be dead.

I’m not going to sit here and torture myself, because I know that in a matter of minutes, I will open the envelope and uncap the syringe. Before I can change my mind, I put the envelope on the floor and stomp hard on it. There’s the satisfying crackcrunch of breaking glass, the liquid soaking through the envelope paper.

Tyson stirs. It’s been less than fifteen minutes. He does something else to the controls, and we’re boomeranging back planetside to Zant. It’s possible we never even left atmo.

Once we’re down, Tyson moves over to the cell. He gestures towards the diagram of the island where Kayla’s supposed to be, zooms the image in to a single stretch of coastline. Chances are we’re very close to her now. And her brother is here somewhere. Because I told him to come.

“Call Stephen and tell him to meet us here.” He points to a restaurant at the water’s edge.

“No.” I cross my arms over my chest. I can feel the vial of dewormer there, the outline distinct against my fingers.

“Why not?” Tyson looks puzzled.

“You cannot ransomsnatch a person, take over someone they trust, not tell them what’s going on, and still expect them to help you.”

“I thought we were friends now.” Tyson’s whining. It’s not a good “look” for him.

“We are. Pero, Stephen is my friend, too. I’m not going to put one amigo through something feartastic to help another.”

“But we’re not going to hurt Stephen.” Tyson’s mouth drops open, revealing his fangs. “Tis is because Murry tested you, isn’t it? He’s sorry about tat. He didn’t understand what it means when a person dies – not until he stayed inside Mertex until the very end, felt what it’s like to have your consciousness – your very you-ness – slipping away. He regrets Mertex’s death very much, regrets attempting to have Fizzax eat Brill, and Kaliel try to cut him open. He’s very sorry tat Brill is gone and you are alone. Like he’s alone. He wants you to forgive him – like they forgave Kaliel.”

It’s like my chest is caving in. “Oh, mijo. They forgave Kaliel because they could see he wasn’t going to hurt anyone any more. Murry has to hurt people to live. Or has he found a way around that too?”

“I refuse to be a dog!” Tyson shouts.

I flinch back away from the bars. The mindworm had said it could push through any host. I just hope it’s not hurting Tyson’s mental functions to do it. “Who said anything about a dog?”

“I tried being tat corgi Frank Sawyer always has with him. It… wasn’t satisfying. No hands, limited sensory input, brain that works like mush. And worst of all, dogs can’t talk. I broke tat hug after two days.” Tyson dips his cabeza, that dangerous snake-flex movement sending chills across my arms. He shows me his fangs again. “I need to be a people. And nobody’s going to volunteer for tat.”

This isn’t working. I need Tyson to let me out of this cell. “Sí, OK. I get it now. If I call Stephen, you promise not to hurt him?”

“Cross my heart and hope for pie.”

I’m not sure if it’s Tyson, Mertex, or the mindworm that originally heard that cliché wrong, pero I manage not to laugh. “I’ll call him if you let me out of the cell.”

“Call him, and when he gets here, I’ll let you out. Use your handheld, so I can hear. I’ve blocked te signal for your sublingual.”

“Holding me prisoner isn’t going to make me trust you.”

Tyson tilts his cabeza. “But it’s te most logical, expedient way to get what I want.”

“Logical and expedient doesn’t get you friends, mijo,” I sigh. There’s an exit door on the other side of those bars, and there’s a vial of dewormer in my pocket. And neither of them are doing me any good while I’m trapped in here. “Haza. I’ll call him.”

When Stephen answers, he says, “You are not going to believe the conversation I had with my dad. He said Grandma pulled me and Kayla out of a burning building in the middle of an ecological collapse when we were like two. That’s where that scar on my shoulder came from – the flameproof sheeting came unwrapped a bit. I can’t wait to tell Kayla. You have news, right?”

I’d forgotten about that scar, the one that wasn’t a birthmark and he never could figure out how he got. It’s been a long time since that brief period when we’d been a couple.

“Kayla’s not hurt, is she?”

“No.” I clear my throat. “No, nothing like that. Mira, Tyson wants to go over some maps with you. Can you meet us at that little Peruvian place on the corner of the island?”

He blinks. “There’s no Earth-based restaurants here.”

“Oh, my mistake.” I emphasize the word mistake. “It’s Pakksceran.”

Come on Stephen. Put it together. That one time – the only time – we went together to the drive-in holotheater, it had been for a cheesetastic mystery set in Peru. And the scene in the restaurant had been a setup.

Stephen smiles. “I can see why the slip. They have a savory chocolate dish there a little like mole. I had some last night.” Is he really that dense? Or is he that good of an actor? I’m going with dense, unless he proves otherwise. And, if we both survive, I’m going to give him a crash course on the difference between Mexican and Peruvian cuisine. He says, “I’ve been checking out basements in public buildings all over this island, so I’m close. I can meet you in about twenty minutes.”

“Perfect.” I hesitate. “Stephen, you know I love you, right?”

Now if that doesn’t clue him that something’s wrong, nothing will.

He looks at me strangely. “You know I’ve still got a thing for Claire, right?”

Some people just do not get subtle. At least when he gets captured, he may have enough theobromine in his system to keep Murry from infecting him.

After I’ve hung up, Tyson says, “The Nitarri are te strongest naturally telepathic species in the galaxy. Some of tem can kill you with teir minds.” He sounds fizzbounced when he says the last part. Just like Mertex would have been. “Stephen should be able to find his sister. But she’s still refusing to call out to him.”

Mi amiga must be so scared, trapped with Murry. My heart aches for her. “Did you tell Kayla she’s Nitarri?”

“Why would we have to tell her what she is? How could she be twenty-five years old and not know she can broadcast her toughts and metabolize heat?”

My handheld rings. It’s Chestla. I almost don’t answer it, since Tyson’s still in the same room – though he seems preoccupied reading something.

Pero, when I do answer, it’s Leron looking back at me. Chestla had said the Evevron medic was involved in the Mindhugger cover-up. Now he has her phone and a threatening look on his face.

Leron raises an eyebrow at me. His golden eyes are almost the same shade as Tyson’s. “Are you alone?”

I look over at Tyson, who is watching with interest. “Not exactly. I’m hanging out with one of your old friends. A very Sympathetic one.”

Leron looks confused for a moment. Then his feral cat’s eyes go wide as he realizes I mean the Mindhuggers. “Is that so? And you’re sure you’re still yourself?”

He’s asking if I’m infected.

“So far at least. You can check my eyes if you want.” I bring the phone in close to my face and look up at the ceiling. I’m trying to hide my anxiety, pero I’m sure the flush to my face and the subtle camera shake is giving me away.

“Good. Good. We don’t know what would happen if one of those hugs wrapped around your sublingual.”

I shudder. Could I wind up an idiot or a vegetable if Murry changes his mind and infects me?

“How about Chestla?” I ask. “Can you put her on the phone, so that I can see she’s still herself too?”

As in, still breathing.

“Can’t do that,” Leron says. He turns the camera so that I can see Chestla slumped on the floor. My chest and gut fill with ice. He’s killed her. No y no y no!

Pero, then she takes a deep breath, and I can see her chest rise and fall. Relief floods my limbs.

Leron turns the camera back at himself. “I don’t want to have to hurt her. We all liked Chestla back when we were kids together, and Ball’s one of my best friends. For his sake alone, you know?”

Leron knows how close he came to losing that friend. I can’t help but picture Brill cradling Ball, doing everything he could to keep the Duracell from bleeding out. Mi vida fought so hard to keep other people safe. To keep me safe. And now Brill’s gone. I swallow back the thickness in my throat. “What do you want, then?”

“I want to know what you plan to do with those holofiles she sent you. Everything she’s been doing is right here on this phone. And if it goes public, do you know how many of us are likely to die? The Galactic Court doesn’t show mercy when you’ve created a plague.”

Tyson’s face is impassive. I don’t think he’s listening.

I swallow. “I thought the people involved in the experiments on those criminals were dead.”

“Then you haven’t seen the e-mail Chestla sent you. We realized right away that they shouldn’t have been experimenting with sociopaths. The proof that we covered it up, conducted further experiments trying to correct our error – that’s enough to warrant executions for the entire team I’m assigned to. I’m too young to die, Bo.”

“You have more to worry about Chestla saying something than you do me.” I’ve always been dedicated to exposing the truth. And yet, I’m willing to hold on to this secret.

Sí, it has something to do with Grammy and Leron and the others, Chestla’s friends who have gotten caught up in something they can’t control. Pero, it has to do with Murry too.

I’m fascinated with him. And there’s something that’s been nagging at my brain that’s finally making sense. “Can I ask you something?”

“I guess.” Leron shrugs.

“The original researchers. Were they infected when they died?” I had assumed mindworm-hugged people had killed them. But what if they were part of Murry, killed by normal Evevrons out of fear?

Leron grimaces, showing me his incisors. He looks like he isn’t going to answer. Pero, finally, he nods. “I think so. I’m pretty sure. The rumor is they were trying to spread the plague offplanet.”

This threat to the two divas with the poisoned chocolate – Murry had been testing me to see what I would do, so that he could learn. That makes perfect sense if his second formative tier was made up of researchers. He’d seen what they’d been doing to the first tier of him through their eyes, with all their justifications. He couldn’t know that those justifications had been wrong. And when someone died as a result of Murry’s experiment, he realized on his own that what he had done was unethical.

Murry is developing a conscience.

I realize that I want to help the Mindhugger.

Pero how? Nobody’s going to willingly share their brain with a parasite.

I think about Evevron’s giant vermin, how the spucks’ faces look like they could be from Tyson’s species, and that sparks a half-formed idea. I wish I had the old Tyson to run it by. He’d know the lines between biogramming a new sentient species to share your planet and unlawful mindhacking. “Can I ask you a weird question?”

Leron looks at me warily, pero he nods.

“Those spucks. You’re sure they’re not sentient?”

He looks offended. “Surely Chestla has explained that our people do not eat any animal even suspected of being sentient–”

I miss part of what he says because an alarm starts chirping, and Tyson moves over to silence it. He pulls up a holo of what looks like the outside of his ship. There’s a flash of movement. It could have just been a bird, pero Tyson’s studying it.

“Sí, I know they’re supposed to be just pests. Pero those front feet of theirs, do you think they qualify as hands?”

Hands that could dig new waterways, reshape the planet if the spucks ceased being destroyers and became a people.

“Maybe. But they don’t use tools or anything–”

He thinks I’m still trying to prove them sentient. “But they could?”

He nods. “Theoretically. We’ve gotten away from the point of my call. I was threatening Chestla.”

“Don’t bother. I’m going to try to fix this for everyone. If I can. It’s a long shot, and Murry here might not go for it.” I look over at Tyson, remember that conversation he and Brill had about how every little kid wants to be something special and unique. The mindworms are already unique. Maybe, though, I could convince them to be something with an even higher cool factor – at least chido for someone as geeky as Mertex. If Mertex’s personality really is in there, he just might be willing to limit himself to one non-sentient species that meets all his qualifications – decent brain, hands that can use tools. The only one missing is the ability to talk – pero, maybe he’d give that up for the chance to fly.

I’ll need the Evevron’s help – especially Leron – if I’m even going to have a chance of pulling this off. “Tell Chestla her cesuda ma begs her to help you, at least for now.”

Leron’s mouth drops open, his brilliantly white predator’s teeth glinting in the synthetic light where he is. “Anything else?”

Tyson drops the ramp to the ship and steps out onto it.

“Sí, por favor.” I drop my voice to a whisper. “One more hypothetical question. What could you do with two Nitarri and a giant machine built out of two black somethings, glass, copper and a roll of fiber optic cable?”

Leron blinks at me. “Overload someone’s brain from a distance? Or supercool something, I guess.”

My chest goes cold. Murry-Tyson had been talking about how the Nitarri can assassinate people with their minds. He’s going to force Kayla to use her telepathic powers – which she doesn’t yet know she has – to kill people.

“Hang up.” Tyson opens the door to the cell. He’s looking dark and dangerous again, even though he’s using his boot to scratch his ankle again. My heart sinks.

“Geesh.” Tyson strips off his jacket and scratches his back against the wall. He’s wearing a short-sleeved tee that emphasizes solid muscles.

I sever the connection. “Leron guessed it, no? You’re planning to find a safe place by getting rid of the people who are already there. From far enough away that no one will ever guess it was you.”

The Mindhugger’s plan is brutally simple: Amplify Kayla and Stephen’s brainwaves to create enough feedback to kill every person on Evevron. And then repopulate with the hundreds of individuals Murry had already infected.