on the lid. A few people cried,
but most were expressionless, like soldiers that knew the line of
duty. Mom was dressed in black. Her face was sallow. Eyes were sunk
in the dead zone.
A man rustled my hair. “Your father was a
good man.”
His breath was minty. My stomach was hard
and cold, that block of ice I would carry the rest of my life had
already formed.
Memories fell faster, each one stacking on
top of the next. Pike flipped through them like playing cards, each
one ripped from somewhere dark and quiet. The catalogue of my life
reeled in front of me.
I was tearing.
He was coming in. I couldn’t keep him out. I
wasn’t big enough to contain him.
The memory of the Rime appeared, fast
forwarded to the shadow. The view was fading. Pike grappled with
the memory, trying to bring it into focus. His mental fingers grew
colder. Sharper.
WHO IS THE SHADOW?
It just hurt.
Too much.
“You are not authorized to enter this room!”
Pike slithered out of my mind.
I was back in my skin, slumped in the chair.
Empty and violated. Several people entered the room, emerging from
the seemingly solid walls. Their hair was short. Their uniforms
tight and black. Two of them wore black glasses. They stepped on
each side of Pike like bookends. Pike jumped up, his chair falling
back and dissolving. Spindle wrapped his arms around me and kept me
from falling.
“You were ordered to back down twice!” Mom
shouted. “YOU WILL NOT BREAK HIM!”
“I am in charge of this preliminary!” Pike
retorted with equal venom. “You have no right to be in here!”
“He is my son!” Mom shot back. “And this has
become a psychic lynching! You were not authorized to probe
deeply!”
“There is a traitor in the Garrison. I will
use whatever methods necessary.”
“This preliminary is over. You will be
removed from this assignment.”
His face reddened. “I am primary minder. I
decide methodology. I assess traits, my decisions are final.
Understand, civilian, I will not go.”
“You can have this conversation with the
Commander, if you like, but either way, we are finished.”
Pike turned, the glasses slipped, revealing
white eyeballs. No iris. No pupil. He fixed his glasses and stared
at Mom, but she didn’t flinch. She stood in front of me, her hands
clenched. Veins pulsed in Pike’s neck. Tension hissed.
“Try it.” Mom stepped closer to him, her
nose almost touching his. “Go on, get inside me and try it.”
The room charged with static. Her hair
floated out.
“If you dare to penetrate my mind, you will
not see the outside of a prison cell for eternity, I will see to
that, personally, Agent Pike. If you do not contain yourself in the
next few moments and leave this room, I will bring a team of
minders in here to incapacitate you for the rest of your life. If
you don’t believe me, then try it.” Her lips were very thin. “Back.
Down.”
The vein throbbed on Pike’s neck. A bead of
sweat rolled down his temple. He calmly adjusted his black glasses.
He sucked air between his teeth, took his time turning and glided
through the wall. The two black glasses-wearing men followed as did
three black suits. Two men stayed in the room, hands behind their
backs. At attention.
My mind was still cleaning up the memories
Pike uncorked, trying to put them in their rightful places. They
swirled like papers finding their way back to the ground.
“Get him to the infirmary,” Mom said to
Spindle and the men. “I want a medical minder to begin
decompression wave therapy immediately. Have the medical mechs
monitor his vitals and administer sedatives but do not put him to
sleep. Once normal brain activity resumes, I want him asleep for
twenty-four hours. All activity is to be sent to my office, keep me
updated of every second, Spindle. And I mean every second.”
A stretcher floated inside the room. Servys
laid me on it, guided it down the short hall to the leaper. Mom and
Spindle walked along side.
“I will be updating Commander
but most were expressionless, like soldiers that knew the line of
duty. Mom was dressed in black. Her face was sallow. Eyes were sunk
in the dead zone.
A man rustled my hair. “Your father was a
good man.”
His breath was minty. My stomach was hard
and cold, that block of ice I would carry the rest of my life had
already formed.
Memories fell faster, each one stacking on
top of the next. Pike flipped through them like playing cards, each
one ripped from somewhere dark and quiet. The catalogue of my life
reeled in front of me.
I was tearing.
He was coming in. I couldn’t keep him out. I
wasn’t big enough to contain him.
The memory of the Rime appeared, fast
forwarded to the shadow. The view was fading. Pike grappled with
the memory, trying to bring it into focus. His mental fingers grew
colder. Sharper.
WHO IS THE SHADOW?
It just hurt.
Too much.
“You are not authorized to enter this room!”
Pike slithered out of my mind.
I was back in my skin, slumped in the chair.
Empty and violated. Several people entered the room, emerging from
the seemingly solid walls. Their hair was short. Their uniforms
tight and black. Two of them wore black glasses. They stepped on
each side of Pike like bookends. Pike jumped up, his chair falling
back and dissolving. Spindle wrapped his arms around me and kept me
from falling.
“You were ordered to back down twice!” Mom
shouted. “YOU WILL NOT BREAK HIM!”
“I am in charge of this preliminary!” Pike
retorted with equal venom. “You have no right to be in here!”
“He is my son!” Mom shot back. “And this has
become a psychic lynching! You were not authorized to probe
deeply!”
“There is a traitor in the Garrison. I will
use whatever methods necessary.”
“This preliminary is over. You will be
removed from this assignment.”
His face reddened. “I am primary minder. I
decide methodology. I assess traits, my decisions are final.
Understand, civilian, I will not go.”
“You can have this conversation with the
Commander, if you like, but either way, we are finished.”
Pike turned, the glasses slipped, revealing
white eyeballs. No iris. No pupil. He fixed his glasses and stared
at Mom, but she didn’t flinch. She stood in front of me, her hands
clenched. Veins pulsed in Pike’s neck. Tension hissed.
“Try it.” Mom stepped closer to him, her
nose almost touching his. “Go on, get inside me and try it.”
The room charged with static. Her hair
floated out.
“If you dare to penetrate my mind, you will
not see the outside of a prison cell for eternity, I will see to
that, personally, Agent Pike. If you do not contain yourself in the
next few moments and leave this room, I will bring a team of
minders in here to incapacitate you for the rest of your life. If
you don’t believe me, then try it.” Her lips were very thin. “Back.
Down.”
The vein throbbed on Pike’s neck. A bead of
sweat rolled down his temple. He calmly adjusted his black glasses.
He sucked air between his teeth, took his time turning and glided
through the wall. The two black glasses-wearing men followed as did
three black suits. Two men stayed in the room, hands behind their
backs. At attention.
My mind was still cleaning up the memories
Pike uncorked, trying to put them in their rightful places. They
swirled like papers finding their way back to the ground.
“Get him to the infirmary,” Mom said to
Spindle and the men. “I want a medical minder to begin
decompression wave therapy immediately. Have the medical mechs
monitor his vitals and administer sedatives but do not put him to
sleep. Once normal brain activity resumes, I want him asleep for
twenty-four hours. All activity is to be sent to my office, keep me
updated of every second, Spindle. And I mean every second.”
A stretcher floated inside the room. Servys
laid me on it, guided it down the short hall to the leaper. Mom and
Spindle walked along side.
“I will be updating Commander
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