Love Bug (14 page)

-33-

“It is the duty of every citizen to ensure that they have a functioning Em-Pak. It is the privilege and honor of every citizen to report those who do not. To remove one’s Em-Pak is to choose death. The Emotions Regulatory Commission will not tolerate such traitorous behavior. All citizens must adhere to the Citizens’ Safety Protocol. The virus cannot be allowed within the walls of your city. The Reds cannot be allowed to return. Emotions are weakness, flaws that lead to only one end. It is the duty of every citizen to ensure that they have a functioning Em-Pak.”

Eldritch
silently mouthed the words of the recording. He had helped the ERC Council write it, let alone had heard it enough times to know it by heart. He was sure there were probably nights that he quietly mumbled it in his sleep. But he hated it, detested what it represented. It was a constant reminder of how his plans had stagnated. What was the point of deposing the ERC Council and taking over leadership of the ERC if he was simply going to do the exact things the Council had done?

“Status quo,” Eldritch muttered as he sorted through a stack of papers.
“Everything and everyone, nothing more than status quo.” He knew nothing of interest or importance awaited him buried within the pile of papers, rather sorting through it was a habit born out of boredom. Eldritch sighed and dropped the papers onto his desk.

Everything was running
smoothly. Order had returned. Ortiz and his men periodically reminded people to stay in line and to fear the combined threat of the Reds and Emos, but still something was missing.

“Coffee, sir,” Eldritch’s aide said
flatly, as he walked into the office. He held a small gold tray. A delicate china cup and a small saucer with three cubes of sugar rattled faintly as he walked across the room. The man had become little more than a robot since Eldritch had played with the signal to his Em-Pak. Not much for conversation, but dutiful to a fault. Eldritch found that his aide was forgetting to eat and bathe, focusing instead on his administrative tasks. His aide’s dedication was admirable, but his smell was not.

Eldritch commanded him to return to his housing unit, eat something and wash up. The aide arrived back in the office in under an hour, clearly having followed through with Eldritch’s orders
, but what amazed Eldritch was the speed at which his aide had accomplished these errands. Lacking status and money meant living in one of the city’s outer housing units. Transport to his aide’s block would have taken at least fifteen minutes.

“How did you accomplish that so quickly?” Eldritch questioned as his aide set down his coffee. “There’s no way
a transport would have gotten you there and back in under an hour, let alone allowed time to shower and eat.”

“
The transport would have taken too long, sir,” his aide responded.

“So how then did you get home?” Eldritch asked.

“Ran, sir,” his aide said flatly. “Running allows for a more direct route. I ate in the shower and then ran back. I estimated that this plan would require the least amount of time away from the office and my duties, sir.”

“You ran?” Eldritch
snapped. “How is that possible? It’s miles from here. You’d be exhausted.”

“Exhaustion is simply a state of mind
, Mr. Eldritch,” his aide responded matter-of-factly. The sweat dotting his forehead spoke otherwise. “With the recent changes to my Em-Pak, I am no longer a slave to my mind and body. Now, it serves me, sir.”

“And you serve me,” Eldritch smiled, a cold predatory look settling across his gaze. Slowly
, the pieces began to fall into place and boredom no longer seemed to be an issue. “So you are able to run fast. That’s good, but can you do anything else? Any other super human feats?”

“What would you like to see
, sir?” his aide asked.

“I don’t know,” Eldritch thought for a moment. “Jump high.”

Eldritch’s aide paused for a moment, all of his muscles tensing, coiling to release in one motion. The man sprang ten feet into the air, well over what he should have been able to accomplish, before landing on the floor. “Was that acceptable, sir?” his aide asked, limping slightly.

“Are you injur
ed?” Eldritch asked, more from a stance of scientific interest as opposed to concern.

“Not sure
, Mr. Eldritch,” his aide answered as he flexed his foot. “I may have torn the tendon or perhaps a muscle, but I can try again if you would like.”

“That’s absurd,” Edlritch scoffed. “You managed to jump high enough to tear your tendon and you’re still willing to try again?” Now Eldritch’s interest was really peaked. His aide was clearly injured,
and by all accounts should be on the ground writhing in pain. Yet, all the man was doing was waiting for another order, even if it meant greater pain.

“Of
course, I will try again, sir,” his aide answered simply.

“That’s insane. Completely insane
,” Eldritch smiled, his Em-Pak trying in vain to tamper down his sudden bursts of self-satisfaction. “You’re telling me that no matter how ridiculous the command is, and that no matter what the consequences are, you’ll follow it?”

“No request should be viewed as such, sir,” the aide replied. “What command could be seen as so ridiculous that it shouldn’t be followed, Mr. Eldritch?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Eldritch thought. “Ram your head through the wall? Something like that.” Before Eldritch could stop his aide, the man broke into a sprint across the large room, gaining more and more speed with each step. A sickening
snap–crunch
echoed through the room.

Eldritch walked across his office, his eyes wide with amazement. Had his aide really just killed himself trying to run
his head through a concrete wall? Was the new program really that effective? The toe of his shoe nudged the crumpled pile that had once been his aide. The man remained still. Eldritch’s Em-Pak could barely keep the smile from stretching across his face.

Grabbing his phone from his pocket, Eldritch quickly punched the keys to call Captain Ortiz. “Ortiz?” Eldritch snapped. “I need you and fifty of your most trusted, most
dedicated soldiers at my office in twenty.”

“Understood, sir,” Ortiz’s voice chimed through the phone. “Is this another Emo excursion
to be undertaken, Mr. Eldritch, sir? Anything I need to prepare the men for, sir? Will there be anything else?”

“No on both accounts
, Captain,” Eldritch lied. “Just bring the men. That is all.” But there would be something else, something that would truly grant Eldritch the power he sought. There would be so much more to follow if his next round of experiments proved fruitful.

Eldritch r
eturned to his computer and switched off the citywide feed of the ERC recording. There would no longer be a need to remind the citizens who they served.

-34-

“Xander, get out here!” Cora’s voice barked from outside the tent. She really was so bossy. Was this what big sisters were like without an Em-Pak to correct their irrational behavior, Xander mused, as he toyed with the small radio transmitter. The battery life was limited, but it was still worth the juice to flick the switch and see the lights blink to life. Each small flashing green LED light was a beacon, a lighthouse, guiding Xander back to safe port, back to the Stele, back to his father. The few remaining red lights on the radio signaled that he needed to find an area free of those troublesome trees where the broadcast would be stronger.  Xander tucked the radio back into his sock and straightened the wrinkles in his pant leg just as Cora burst into the tent.

“Didn’t you hear me calling you?” she snapped.

“Hear you?” Xander asked flatly. “Yes, I heard you. I’m sure everyone heard that shrill banshee shriek of a voice. I just didn’t care.”

Cora flushed red and
she had to take a few deep breaths before continuing. Xander was awful. There really was no away around. Remmy had told her that other kids complained about their siblings, especially younger ones, but she suspected that Xander was easily the worst in the history of siblings.

“Get outside
, you brat,” Cora pulled aside the flaps with one hand and angrily pointed with the other. “We’re leaving.”

“Leaving?” Xander asked. Cora couldn’t help but notice the ping of her brother’s Em-Pak.

“Don’t get your hopes up,” Cora added, “it’s not what you think.”

“I don’t care where it is,” Xander answered. “Leaving is good enough.”

“We’re going to get Remmy,” Cora continued.

“Oh,” Xander mumbled as he slunk out of the tent.
“Wonderful.” His eyes bore into the man standing next to his sister.

Cora almost immediately heard Xander’s Em-Pak going into overdrive. She smiled, a sense of satisfaction at having thrown off Xander’s attempts to be so nonplussed and cold. Maybe there was still hope for her brother?

“What kind of nasty Emo trick is this?” Xander demanded. His Em-Pak chirped furiously as his fingers balled into fists and then relaxed after each mechanical chime. “Who are you? This is impossible! It’s a trick! A disgusting Emo trick!” Xander turned to storm back into the tent, but Cora blocked his escape.

“You need to hear what he has to say, Xander,” Cora said. “Please just listen to him. He really is our grandfather
and that really is Samuel Eldritch.”

Tears m
omentarily formed in the corners of Xander’s eyes and then vanished just as suddenly with one beep of his Em-Pak.

“Fine,” Xander growled
and turned to face the man who looked like his grandfather, claimed to be his grandfather, but surely was an imposter.

“Xander,” Samuel said slowly, “Cora is telling you the truth. We hid it from you because we didn’t know how you’d react, but time has forced our hand. Cora and I are going to try
to save Remmy and for your own safety, you’re coming too.”

“My own safety?” Xander scoffed. “I’m safer here where only the Emos want to kill me. Why would I risk my life for that worthless Emo, whatever his name?”

Cora’s hand moved under its own volition, as if directed by some unseen force. Xander’s head snapped violently to the side as Cora’s hand made contact with his cheek. A bright red outline glowed, as if highlighting the attack.

Xander looked momentarily shocked, but a flat expression soon returned to his face. “As I was saying,” Xander continued, “why would I risk myself for him?”

“Because he did it for you!” Cora snapped. “Or have you forgotten that Remmy was the one that pulled you from the wrecked limo? He could have just as easily left you there to be killed by the Reds.”

“He should have,” Xander shrugged. “It’s what I would have done if the roles were reversed.”

“Enough, Xander,” Samuel said, his voice strong, but not angry. Samuel knew that even with his Em-Pak in place, Xander was dealing with an overwhelming situation and couldn’t help but feel sad for his grandson. “You’re right that it’s not safe for you out there, but it’s not safe for you here either. You’re coming with us. It’s not open for discussion.”

“You think just because you look like my grandfather that you can tell me what to do
, old man?” Xander sneered. “Please, next I’ll be taking orders from Cora.”

“See,” Cora grumbled
, “I told you it wasn’t worth it. We should just leave him here and whatever happens is his own stupid fault!”

Xander opened his mouth to continue to protest, but the pressing of the radio transmitter against his leg silenced his words.
Going with them was exactly what he needed to do. Let them lead him away from the camp to somewhere he could trigger the radio signal and contact the ERC.

“Fine,” Xander seethed, playing up his disapproval.
“But how do I really know that you’re Samuel Eldritch? How can I trust you?” Xander really cared little for the answer. If this man was his grandfather, at least genetically, he was nothing like the man he had idolized, more importantly, nothing like his father.

Samuel told Xander the
abbreviated version of his story, quickly bringing the boy up to speed with Cora and leaving out the bit about hacking into ERC satellites. “You’ve got to understand, Xander that the Em-Paks were never meant to be a permanent fix,” Samuel concluded. “But you’ve got a choice. You didn’t have the choice to have the Em-Pak implanted, but you do have a choice whether or not you keep it. Cora and I cannot and will not make that decision for you.”

“Oh, here we go,” Xander rolled his eyes. “I was waiting for this to come full circle. Waiting for you to try and play my heart strings.”

“What heart?” Cora laughed. “No one is trying to make you do anything, you little monster.” She wanted to love Xander, and feel close to him, but he made it nearly impossible.

“Cora
, that’s enough,” Samuel said.

“Don’t,” Cora warned him. “You’re our grandfather and I like you, I do, but don’t try
to parent me.”

“Fair enough,” Samuel conceded, “I’ve been little more than a
shadow in your lives and you’re right, I shouldn’t try to parent you, but we’re wasting time. We need to get moving.” Samuel flipped up the screen of a small computer strapped to his wrist. It was hardly bigger than a large wristwatch, but he had programmed all of his data into it. “They’re on the move, Cora. We need to go if we’re going to stay ahead of them.”

“On the move? Who?” Xander demanded.

“The Reds,” Cora answered.

“All the groups are moving towards each other,” Samuel added. “They seem to be meeting up for some reason, so we need to go now if there’s any hope of saving Remmy.”

Xander could have cared less about saving Remmy; he was just another outlaw, another misguided, filthy Emo terrorist. But getting away from the camp and to a place where he could activate the radio was something that Xander cared about with every fiber of his being. He was willing to do anything if it held even the slightest promise of his rescue and return to the city, his father, and the way life should be.

“This just keeps getting better and better,” Xander spat acerbically. “
I can’t believe that I’m going to help you save a filthy Emo, but what choice do I really have? Let’s just get going before you tell me anything else.”

Xander’s Em-Pak beeped. Cora and Samuel wrote it off as nervousness, nothing more than fear. It was easy enough to believe that Xander would be worried about what lay before them,
because Cora was. Had they known that his Em-Pak was battling feelings of joy and excitement, they may have reconsidered their decision to take Xander with them.