Ellis’s fingers dig into my sides as his body tenses. “Oh God. Fallon,” he says.
Fallon groans. Specks of blood collect where the shards of steel pierced his body.
“I heard there was a problem,” Margaret says, nodding toward me.
“What did you do, Margaret?” Ellis says.
“What did I do?” she challenges. “I think we know perfectly well what is going on here.”
“You can’t just leave him like that.”
“I don’t see you rushing to his aid,” rebukes Margaret.
Ellis’s face is sallow. His eyes are glued to Margaret, unwavering.
“Ellis, put Kalli down and come over here and tend to your brother,” Margaret says, a note of warning in her voice. “Ellis!” Margaret repeats.
But he doesn’t move. “I’ll put her down if you give me your word that no harm will come to her. That you will leave her alone. We’ll modify her memory as planned. She won’t remember any of this.”
“Oh, I will make sure she never remembers any of this,” Margaret says.
“That’s not what I mean, Margaret. No one is supposed to get hurt. That is the most important decree,” says Ellis.
“The most important decree is to save our people!” Her voice reverberates between my ribs.
“That’s not true. You only got permission to carry out this project because you swore that none of the specimens would be harmed.”
I flinch at the word ‘specimen.’
“You didn’t even come and help us when she was bleeding. Margaret, she almost died,” Ellis says.
“We have enough specimens. She was a spare. I didn’t expect anything from her, given the state she was in when you brought her to me.”
“A spare! Does Fallon know she was a spare? Because he did everything in his power to save her. To save the ….” Ellis presses me into his body with such force that I can’t breathe.
“Enough! Those hosts mean nothing. Their only purpose is to help save our people. The Council Leaders entrusted us with this job. We must carry it out,” Margaret says.
Ellis sighs and loosens his hold on me. His voice is even again. “We will carry it out, but no one has to get hurt.”
“The discussion is over. Do as I say, Ellis, or you will suffer the same fate as Kalli and anyone else who gets in the way,” threatens Margaret.
Ellis looks from me to Margaret and with the slightest nod of his head, I know. He has made his choice, and it’s not me. It never was. I’m going to die, alone and unloved. He said he loved me, and I almost believed him in spite of everything. I needed to believe him. I needed to believe in the possibility that I could still be loved. But it’s not true, and it never will be true.
Tears stream down my cheeks as he places me on the bed. He brings his lips to my ears, but instead of whispering more meaningless lies about his love for me, he says, “Don’t move,” and then he’s gone.
Thunderous sounds envelope the house. Margaret and Ellis become blurred objects moving at such great speeds, that it is impossible to distinguish who is who.
“Enough!” Margaret’s shrill voice brings the chaos to an end.
Ellis is at the foot of the bed holding what looks like a large silver candlestick.
“No, Ellis. Don’t do it!”
All three of us turn toward the sound. It’s Fallon. He staggers toward Ellis, pulling out bits of steel lodged in his skin.
“Fallon, you’re okay,” Ellis says, relief coloring his face.
“Don’t do it,” Fallon gasps.
“She leaves me no choice. I can’t let her kill Kalli.”
“No one has to die. Margaret, we just have to inject Kalli with the amnibitor serum and she won’t remember anything. And then the three of us can leave. We have collected enough embryos. We have succeeded,” says Fallon.
“It is not that simple,” Margaret says.
“Yes, it is,” Fallon insists.
“You both have broken the rules of this assignment, and there are consequences to your betrayal. Lessons must be learned,” Margaret says, puffing herself out. “This is over. Ellis has made his choice. Fallon, take hold of your brother.”
But Fallon doesn’t move. “Margaret, just give me the bag. I’ll administer the memory modifier.”
“Not you too, Fallon?” She looks at Ellis. “I thought I had raised at least one of my sons properly. But you’re just as weak.”
Her sons?
“This mission will not fail because of either of you. The existence of our planet must remain a secret. I will not risk the chance that any of the specimens remember anything.” Margaret reaches into her bag and pulls out a large metal needle.
“Stop, Margaret! What are you talking about? The only reason we came here was to save our planet. Who cares if people know about it? It’s so far away, they’ll never find us,” Ellis says.
“You are so naïve. Of course it matters. I’ve watched these humans. They butcher everything they touch. They destroy other creatures that share this planet with them. They have a need to seek out, take over, and kill. If they found out about us, they wouldn’t stop until they annihilated us.”
“That’s not true. Kalli is human, and she’s the kindest soul I have ever met.”
“You are weak, Ellis. You disgust me.” Margaret takes a step toward us.
“Don’t make me do this,” Ellis says, brandishing the long silver object.
Margaret’s face contorts. Her nostrils flare, her lips curl. “How dare you! How dare you threaten me?”
“I don’t want to do this. Just do the right thing. No one has to get hurt. No one was supposed to get hurt,” says Ellis.
“You were supposed to do what I say and nothing else,” Margaret shouts.
Fallon walks between Margaret and Ellis. “We have what we came for. We stick to the plan. We modify the women’s memories and leave. No one has to get hurt.”
“No. It is too risky. I will not leave any loose ends.” She looks straight at me.
“You’re not a murderer,” Ellis says.
She laughs. “What do you think is going to happen to all those specimens? Once we remove the embryos, there will be no need for the hosts.”
“What? You promised the Council that no one would be harmed.”
“Ellis, do not be so naïve. Our people are depending on us. They will die if we fail. We were handpicked to do this.”
“But you said we would just modify the specimen’s memories. Killing is wrong. Please, Margaret, don’t.”
“Modification doesn’t always work. But I think you already knew that.” She raises her head toward me. “There have been some difficult cases. And we had no choice but to—”
“You’ve already killed some of them? When the Council finds out, they’ll be furious. ‘Cause no harm.’ That was the main decree.” Ellis is shaking.
“But the Council will never find out.” Margaret walks toward me, the needle held firmly between her fingers.
Ellis propels the silver candlestick toward Margaret, but Fallon snatches it. Margaret smiles. She has won. Fallon has stepped in to save her and will use the weapon against Ellis while she kills me. Fallon looks at his brother and then twists the candlestick and lunges at Margaret. Her realization comes too late. She crumples in a heap on the floor with the silver object deeply embedded into her chest.