Gavyn and Demitri were waiting for us on the porch when we returned. Lena sulked in the rubble, her back turned to us and most likely the world. Other than reaching the conclusion that Liam wasn’t going to kill me, we hadn’t figured anything else out. The baddies were still coming, we were sitting ducks, and in order to end this everyone had to die.
Jeesh. No matter how you looked at it, it was capital B-A-D.
“Okay?” Demitri asked as Liam and I stepped onto the porch. His dark eyes were full of worry. I gave him a small smile and nodded. In many ways, I was not okay, but why state the obvious? We all knew we were screwed.
“So what’s the plan?” Gavyn wondered. Her eyes were red again like she’d been crying. Demitri had his arm around her and she leaned into him. I tried not to stare.
Liam lifted a shoulder. “There isn’t one.”
Lena’s scream raced across the street, followed by the tinkling of broken glass. It sounded like a tornado ripping through a fine china store. We all whirled toward the noise and Liam pushed me behind him. That was getting to be a habit. I stuck my head around his arm and we all gaped, open-mouthed.
People poured from the rubble. They were dressed in tight-fitting black leather vests and pants that matched what Lena and Demitri wore. Some carried large guns while others wielded close range items like knives and swords. They multiplied until they covered the remnants of Gavyn’s yard. Lena stood in the front, plasma gun pointed at the horde. She was small and unintimidating in comparison.
I squeaked. “What do we do?”
“Run?” Gavyn suggested.
Nobody moved.
Thus far no shots had been fired. We stood there, silently observing each other. Personally, I was too terrified to move. I couldn’t run if I wanted to. Someone broke away from the group and walked calmly to the front. I swallowed down the fear. She didn’t carry a weapon, though her demeanor was scary enough to not need one. She paused within arm’s reach of Lena.
Liam took a small step forward and I grabbed his arm. He was shaking.
“Don’t shoot her,” Liam yelled.
The girl’s eyes snapped to us. She smiled. It was feral and frightening. I gasped. Shoot her, shoot her, shoot her, I thought. I didn’t even care if I died. She was going to scare me to death anyway.
“Liam,” she purred. Her voice carried across the distance and Liam shuddered.
There was a sinking feeling in my chest. It came with the realization that this was Gavyn: The Murderer. She looked like me, of course with two arms, but there was something different about her.
With very little effort, Gavyn disarmed Lena, who hadn’t moved an inch. She handed the plasma gun to a member of the army behind her. “You’re weak,” she spat, shoving Lena to the ground. Lena, who was a humongous, frightening bitch, cowered. Gavyn stepped away from Lena, who was immediately surrounded by army people, guns pointed in her face. She didn’t move.
Gavyn, however, walked toward us with lazy steps. She held up her hand when the army tried to follow her. They stayed put.
She scared the shit out of me.
My breath came in short gasps and my heart hammered in my ears. Full-on panic attack. I was either going to puke or faint. Both were bad options. My fingers tightened on Liam’s arm. They ached.
“Don’t do or say anything,” he said to us as Gavyn approached. “Trust me.” It was loud enough for all of us to hear, but I felt like the words were directed right at me. Trust me. Gavyn and Demitri closed ranks behind us. I could feel one at each shoulder but I didn’t dare turn around. Not when Satan was approaching. I was pretty sure there was a quote about not turning your back on the enemy, but my mind was in total freak-out mode and couldn’t come up with it.
Gavyn stopped in front of us, not quite close enough to reach out and touch. She tilted her head, her long hair dipped over one shoulder. I realized what was different about her with a start. It wasn’t the second-skin black leather; it wasn’t the evil that radiated from her pale, freckled face. It wasn’t her insipid blue eyes. It was her hair. It was straight. Even facing my own destruction, I envied her perfect hair. “What’s this, Liam?” she asked. Her voice was soft, innocent even. It frightened me.
Liam didn’t answer. I wondered at that silence. Was it fear that kept him from responding? Anger? Something else?
“Are you building an army against me?” She smiled at Demitri and Gavyn. “How remarkably quaint of you.” She moved closer and Liam pressed against me. “When will you learn that people are dispensable?” She leaned around Liam until her face was close to mine. My eyes widened. “You’ve found yourself another Gavyn, have you?” She pressed her lips together like she was trying to hold back a giggle. She turned her gaze back to Liam. “Should I be offended?”
What the hell does that mean? I wondered.
She touched his arm. “Nothing to say?”
“Not to you.”
“Shame. Seems she’s missing some pieces.” She frowned at me. Gah! Stupid one-armed Ginger. “How do you want to do this? Shall we fight and die, or are you going to come willingly?” She inspected her cuticles as if bored.
Silence. No one breathed.
She looked up and grinned. “Well? I haven’t got all day.”
“We’ll go,” Liam said in a rush. I jumped at his voice. “Just don’t hurt anybody. It’s not necessary.”
Gavyn shrugged and lowered her eyebrows. “Now why would you worry about something like that?” She gave a short laugh and turned on her heel. “Come along now,” she tossed over her shoulder, her straight ponytail bobbing.
Liam grabbed my hand and pulled me forward. Demitri and Gavyn followed after a short hesitation. Lena still huddled in the dry grass, held at gunpoint. “What are we doing?” I whispered. Liam turned his eyes on me. They were vast and sad and scared. I took a breath.
Trust me, he mouthed.
He had a plan, I decided. It was the only reason he would let us follow the enemy home. The four of us crossed the street. I tried to pretend there weren’t hundreds of guns aimed in our direction. We weren’t walking to our deaths; this wasn’t an execution. This was just another day. I was just Gavyn. I was hanging out with Liam, Gavyn, Demitri, Lena and...Gavyn. This was normal. Everything was fine.
My pep talk only took me so far because the army had a lot of guns. No matter how hard I tried to pretend they were fakes, I’d witnessed the destruction they caused. It was very difficult to forget.
The murdering Gavyn addressed the restless group that filled the yard of Gavyn’s burnt house. It was hard to estimate their numbers, but I guessed it was well into the hundreds. “Let’s go home.” Gavyn looked straight at Liam and smiled. She pulled a small object out of her pocket and the army condensed in on itself. Liam and I were separated from Demitri and Gavyn. I hadn’t seen Lena since we crossed the street. I held tight to Liam’s hand. He was my lifeline and probably my only hope of surviving this mess.
As a mass horde, we shifted.
***
I felt like a honey bee in an overfull hive as we arrived in the murdering Gavyn’s home world. People milled about, people I recognized but didn’t know. Nevins, Lenas, Demitris, even more people that looked vaguely familiar but I couldn’t name. It was overwhelming and I wondered how they kept themselves straight. I also worried about the ripples of having so many of the same persons in one reality.
Liam hadn’t released my fingers. He held on just as tight as I did, as if we both knew that if we let go we’d never see each other again. And then I worried whether I’d ever see Gavyn and Demitri again. Would I even know it was them? How could I trust anyone when everyone looked the same? I tried to pick out a distinguishing feature, but they were all so similar.
The murdering Gavyn shifted right in front of us, so it was nothing for her to turn around and be in complete control once again. “How does it feel to be home?” she asked Liam with a sly smile, laying her hand on his shoulder. Her gaze wandered over me. “I thought you would be—” She gestured wildly. “Bigger?” She lifted one shoulder. “I don’t know.”
“Leave her alone,” Liam said, shifting out of her reach, his eyes narrowed to slits. His anger was a palpable force in the large room, even with so many people drifting about. It was some sort of warehouse. The floor was cement, and I could see the doors to offices on the second floor. High rafters adorned the ceiling, and one end consisted of a huge door that was rolled up, letting in dry, hot air. Outside looked like a desert and there wasn’t another building in sight—just miles and miles of sand. I couldn’t stop my head from turning in every direction to take it all in.
Gavyn slung a casual arm over my shoulder. Despite her appearance, she was soft and smelled faintly of jasmine. I tried not to shudder away. “Don’t worry; we’re going to be best friends.”
Liam bristled, but kept his mouth shut. Taking his advice I didn’t say anything either. I didn’t trust myself and I didn’t want to make it worse. Once I opened my mouth, I never knew what might come out of it.
“We’ve set up a nice place for you,” she continued, forcibly leading me with her arm. “I was worried I’d never find you, even with the bounty and all the Nevins. I should’ve known that Liam would get there first.” She winked. “He’s ever so resourceful.” She led us through a small side door and into a residence area. There were couches and an impossibly thin flat screen television. This world’s version of CNN was on. Statistics scrolled across the bottom of the screen. I only caught a glimpse of them before we turned down a hallway.
Water dimensions acquired: 5%
I wanted to ask what that meant but Gavyn ushered us into yet another room. This one had a bed, a computer desk complete with a very high tech computer, a dresser, and a small attached bathroom. The walls were white, the furniture oak. There were high-tech security cameras hanging from every corner.
“Isn’t this homey?” Gavyn opened her arms and gestured to the room. “Once I knew you were coming, I had it all arranged. Of course, I never knew you’d be together.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “Surprise, surprise. But then again, Liam never could turn down a Gavyn. Isn’t that right, sweetie?” She infused her voice with so much saccharin that I wanted to puke. She caressed Liam’s cheek and he paled. “You did tell her about us, didn’t you?” Liam glared at her and she laughed. “Don’t be such a prude, Liam. Why don’t you tell Gavyn our history?” She crossed to the bed and sat down. We remained standing, anchored together. “We’ve got nothing but time, and I just love a good story.”
Liam gritted his teeth and squeezed my fingers until they hurt. I wanted to say something, do something, but I felt powerless. I’d never gone this long without speaking before, unless I was sleeping, of course. Oh, and that one day I subjected Liam to a day of silence. He hadn’t minded that much. Maybe I talked too much anyway. Silence is golden, as they say.
“Oh come on!” Gavyn trilled. “We can’t have secrets if we’re going to be friends.”
“I’m not your friend,” Liam snarled.
Gavyn pouted. “Fine. I’ll tell her.” She patted the comforter next to her in invitation. Neither of us moved. She sighed. “Liam and I have known each other forever. Since we were little, in fact. His dad and my dad were great friends. We were inseparable, and in due time we became,” she lowered her voice, “romantically involved.”
I took in a sharp breath. How had I been so blind? Liam had been in love with the murdering Gavyn. What did he see when he looked at me? Was it me or was it her? My gaze crashed into his and he looked at the floor, his expression shamed.
“Oh, Liam, don’t look so glum. We had our good times.”
“There’s nothing good when it comes to you.”
Gavyn ignored him. “Just stop me when I say something you already know,” she said to me. I still clutched Liam’s hand, somehow remaining stoic when I was totally freaking out. “Liam’s dad was a genius, but I guess mine is smarter. He’s still alive, after all.”
Liam took an automatic step toward her but I pulled him back. His jaw clenched so tight I worried he might crush his teeth. I remembered what he said about Gavyn. God, was it just a few days ago? When I find her, I’m going to rip out her throat.
But he couldn’t. Not unless he wanted me to die, too.
“They worked together, discovering shifting and formulating the injections needed. They made trackers for government use on criminals, and created neurotoxins to treat psychopaths. They were a power team, the greatest scientists this world has ever known, and that’s saying something. Did Liam tell you that we have the most technologically advanced reality?” I stared at her but didn’t answer. I couldn’t remember if he’d mentioned that or not. What did it really matter?
“Or at least we used to. Daddy has transferred most of our assets to other worlds for the takeover,” she rambled on, waving her arm. “Eventually Dr. Jamison started creating formulas on the side, keeping things from my father. He created antibodies for the trackers. He thought he was being sneaky. But my daddy, he’s the smarter one, remember? He traced everything Dr. Jamison did. He let him have his dalliances, but my father made bigger and better things. He altered the neurotoxins to create an army. He mixed the formulas together, infusing the shifting formulas with trackers. He made plans.”
Gavyn’s eyes were far away, staring at the wall. Her expression was bored, despite the topic. She looked so much like me that it was terrifying. I could never be so calculating, so destructive.
“By that time, Liam and I were more than involved, if you know what I mean. Both of us trained under our fathers, and sometimes under each other’s. Did Liam tell you he has an IQ of one-seventy-five?” She paused for dramatic effect. I couldn’t stop myself from staring at Liam with raised eyebrows. I was seriously impressed. One-seventy-five? That number probably dwarfed my IQ by a lot. Liam lifted one shoulder and a smile teased his lips. One-seventy-five. Gah!
“Anyway, while Dr. Jamison was off playing with his antibodies, my daddy made a plan. We use a lot of resources here to fuel our technologies. We used them up, in fact. Daddy created a foolproof way for us to acquire other worlds’ resources. Water, fossil fuels, other elements that you idiots don’t even know exist. It was genius. When he brought it to Dr. Jamison, he balked. He said it wasn’t right for us to play God and kill off other worlds for our own gain, even though our resources were dwindling and society was dying off.” She rolled her eyes. “Blah, blah, blah. So I killed him.”
Liam dropped my fingers and was across the room in half a second. He held Gavyn by her throat. Her eyes rounded with surprise. Liam lifted her off the floor with one hand; her feet dangled. I squeaked and then covered my mouth. If he wanted to kill her, fine. I would die to save the world and I would do it without complaint.
“You...better...calm...down,” Gavyn rasped. “Don’t...want...to...kill...her.” For a second, I thought he was really going to choke the life out of her, but then with a disgusted sound, he dropped her back on the mattress. Liam returned to me and once again wrapped his fingers around mine.
“I’m sorry,” he said. I shook my head, at a loss for words.
Gavyn rubbed her neck, smiling. She wasn’t even mad at him! This was absolutely insane. No way around it. “So I suppose you know that if I die, you die, or vice versa?” she asked me. I nodded once, my first acknowledgement that she existed. “Good. So you see why we have to become friends, then, right? I enjoy living, don’t you?” I didn’t answer. “You enjoy Liam, at least?” Her eyes raked over him with intimate familiarity. “I enjoyed him. Thoroughly.” She stood. “I’m going to leave you two alone. Don’t try anything stupid.” She pointed to the cameras. “We’re watching you.” She paused at the doorway and let her eyes meet mine. I cringed. She scared the crap out of me. “Oh, and Gavyn, just let me know when you want to meet your daddy.” A slow grin spread across her face. “Our daddy.”
The silence of her absence consumed the small room.