Love Bug (23 page)

-54-

The woods were quiet,
except for the footsteps of Cora and Samuel. He had regained some of this strength and now walked unassisted.

“I’m sorry
, Cora,” Samuel muttered. He had failed so many people with the creation of the Em-Pak, but failing Cora hurt the most, cut him the deepest. His granddaughter had seen a future beyond anything she had ever dreamt possible and now it was gone.

“It’s not your fault,” Cora answered. It was Xander’s fault. It was her father’s fault
, but it wasn’t Samuel’s. He had tried to help, and been willing to trade his life to try to save Remmy. Cora would never have any feelings towards Samuel beyond admiration and love. Samuel was everything that a family member should be. He was everything that her father and Xander weren’t.

“But it doesn’t matter anyway,” Cora sighed. “Remmy is gone. It’s over.” Cora had experienced many emotions since her Em-Pak was removed and most were intoxicating and enjoyable. These were not. Cora felt as if she were rotting from the inside, as if she might hollow out and collapse inward. How could people survive feelings like these? How could someone feel so hopeless and yet still wake up to face
another day? Cora began to wish that she had been taken with Remmy or maybe that she had never made it out of the Red camp. Anything had to feel better than this, even death.

“No, Cora
, it still matters. What you feel for Remmy will always matter,” Samuel said. He was wrong to focus on his failures, his feelings of guilt. He had lived long enough to know that no emotion lasted forever and that nothing was forever. Cora had only recently had her Em-Pak removed. She had limited experience with emotions, especially the kind that now besieged her. “Cora, I know it feels hopeless right now, but it’s not over. It’s never over, unless you decide that it is. What you’re feeling right now will pass. There will be better days and happy memories.”

“Samuel?” Cora asked, her eyes red and watery.

“Yes?” Samuel answered.

“I love you, but please shut up,” Cora said. She had never told her grandfather that she loved him, but she did, now more than ever. It made things feel slightly less hopeless to tell Samuel that she loved him,
and to acknowledge that she was still capable of feeling something other than hopeless and to know that the feeling was returned. She still had people to love. She still could be loved. As long as she focused on that, Remmy wasn’t truly gone. Cora’s ability to feel love was rooted in Remmy. Had she never met him, she would have never known what love felt like, would have never been able to love others. As long as Cora held onto hope, held onto love, Remmy was never truly gone, but she still wanted him back.

“I never really liked those stiff upper lip speeches either,” Samuel grinned. “Must be a family trait. But seriously
, Cora, what you’re feeling now has a place. Remember it. Remember how bad it felt and then become determined not to feel that way anymore. If you hold onto those feelings, they will drag you down to depths where they are the only thing you have left.”

“I know,” Cora sighed, “but what about Remmy? What did he mean that if there was any hope that we had to get you out of there?”

“I’m not completely sure,” Samuel admitted, “but I think it has something to do with the Em-Paks.”

“Em-Paks?” Cora asked. “Why would Remmy care about Em-Paks?”

“He doesn’t,” Samuel answered. “He cares about the people they are attached to. Remmy often talked to me about disabling the Em-Paks and thereby taking away the ERC’s control over citizens. I think Remmy wants us to find a way to do that.”

“Can’t you just do that through the satellites or your computer or something?” Cora questioned.

“No, I’ve tried those routes, many times,” Samuel answered. “The ERC has updated the system since I built it. More specifically, I think your father has. Those methods are blocked.”

“But what about Remmy?” Cora demanded. The idea of disabling Em-Paks was a good one, but paled in comparison to any idea that resulted in the return of Remmy.

“Yes, well I think those two things may be connected,” Samuel smiled.

“
Connected?” Cora asked.

“If we are going to disable the Em-Paks and
I can’t do it remotely, then I have to do it directly,” Samuel said.

“Directly?” Cora almost whispered. “Like at the main server
in the Stele?”

“Yes,” Samuel nodded. “I think that might be the only way to shut down the Em-Paks
completely.”

“Won’t that leave people open to infection?” Cora asked. “A lot of people will die if you turn
their Em-Paks off.” She wanted Remmy back, more than anything. She wanted to have Remmy beside her again, but could she trade all those lives for his? Could she ask Samuel to do that when he already felt so much guilt?

“It could happen,” Samuel continued, “but it might not. You, Remmy
, and even Jessica have given me hope. Perhaps we should have never tried to control nature in the first place. Taking responsibility for our actions and emotions may have always been the best course, albeit, the most difficult for people to accept. Maybe some people are simply destined to be Reds and some aren’t? I think it’s time that we let citizens decide for themselves. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Yes,” Cora answered.
It was true that disabling the Em-Paks would result in infection for some, but not for everyone. Cora had survived it, so it stood to reason that others would as well. Then there were all of the other Emos, too. They lived every day without the ERC or an Em-Pak. People needed to be free to decide.

“So if we’re going to the
Stele anyway, we might as well find Remmy too,” Samuel said as if he were suggesting a vacation detour. As if he and Cora might just stop off in the Stele and simply pick Remmy up.

“
Samuel, you’re basically talking about a revolution. We’re going to need the other Emos to pull this off and even that might not be enough. It’s definitely not going to be easy,” Cora added, but her mind was already made up.

“Nothing worthwhile ever is,” Samuel shrugged.

-55-

What had once been a large man was now a tangled bloody heap at Jessica’s feet. His teeth were shattered and strewn across the ground. The few that remained whole had been torn out and cast aside in the dirt. Jessica looked wild, covered nearly from head to toe in blood. Her shoulders heaved with labored breaths as she glared at the circle of Reds surrounding her. Moments before, she sprang onto the man’s back, ripping into him with tooth and nail. Her pointed teeth and powerful jaws had separated limbs, disassembling his body. Jessica needed to make sure her point was made and that there were no questions about her abilities. She was daring anyone to challenge her again. Killing Hatch had given Jessica her new role as leader of the Reds, but the four challengers she had torn apart after had solidified it. No one stepped forward.

“Are we done then?” Jessica growled. “Anyone else want to challenge my position?” Her fingers curled like claws and her teeth, slick with blood, shone like polished obsidian in the moonlight. There was no question who was in charge.

“Good,” Jessica snapped. “Now we can get back to more important things. The ERC has drawn a line in the sand. They attacked us, killed countless Reds, but every day more join us. Reds are traveling from all over to unite. Our numbers are already larger than what they were before.”

“But what’s it matter? What are we going to do?” someone shouted from the safety and ambiguity of the shadows.

Jessica glared at the countless Reds gathered around her. Had she been able to see who shouted the question, she would have torn out their throat with her teeth.

“What are we going to do?” Jessica smiled.
“The ERC made that decision for us. We’re going to war!”

The Reds cheered, bar
ing toothy maws and raising weapons. Remmy told Jessica to lead her people. She would lead them into battle with the ERC.

-56-

Remmy struggled against the thick leather straps that held him to the polished steel gurney. Men in masks and matching gray uniforms buzzed around him like a swarm of angry bees. Each
had a different surgical instrument, but those were not what held Remmy’s attention.

On a s
tainless steel tray sat a small box. A row of three jointed hooks extended from each side like the delicate legs of an insect. Thin, hollow wires spiraled around each hook. The device looked like an overturned dead spider, its legs curled inward. These small hooks would be embedded into Remmy’s flesh, holding the device securely to the base of his neck. A large, delicate needle jutted from the center of the device. It was hollow and sharp. The implantation would be painful, the center needle lancing into the thick discs between Remmy’s vertebrae. This was what would deliver the chemicals into Remmy’s spine. Chemicals that would be traitorously replenished by his body, ensuring a constant supply for his Em-Pak. Chemicals that would travel to his brain and control his emotions.

The ERC doctors had explained all steps in this procedure to Remmy, but he found no comfort in this knowledge. Remmy thrashed on the gurney as the doctors tightened large straps across his chest, waist and legs. The gurney tipped forward, flipping upside down. Remmy hung from the bottom, only his shaved neck visible through the small opening in the base of the table.

Xander and his father watched from the theater seats perched high above the surgical floor. They wanted to be sure, to have first-hand knowledge that this Em-Pak implantation was successful. There were plans for Remmy and this was the first step. Remmy would be very important to Assemblyman Eldritch, very important to the ERC.

“Xander!” Remmy screamed, his body rigid with anger. “Xander
, I saved you! I saved you, damn it!”

“And now I’m saving you,” Xander whispered as he watched the doctors begin.

-57-

Though Assemblyman Eldritch had no idea, he had succeeded in far more than gaining control of the ERC. His grab for power was built upon false reports of Emos and Reds working together, something completely fabricated and created within his own imagination. Something his actions had now turned into a reality.

Miles away from the ERC and the Stele…

Something rustled in the bushes. Cora snapped around to face th
e sound, aiming her wrist gun in the direction of the sound.

“Easy
there killer,” Jessica teased as she stepped out of the undergrowth. The burns on the side of her face had healed in a twisted web of pink scars that made her appear even more dangerous and wild. The scarred flesh pulled one corner of her mouth up in a permanent half grin that exposed her vicious teeth.

Cora lowered her gun. If Jessica
were there for a fight, or more specifically a meal, she wouldn’t have made herself such an easy target. Cora never would have known she was there until it was too late. But Jessica wasn’t here for either of those reasons.

“Sorry,” Cora said
, “things have been a bit tense around here lately.”

“At least you don’t have to worry about the Reds,” Jessica shrugged. Her words were true. Since the battle with the ERC, the Emos had moved their camp
deeper into the woods. No Red attacks had occurred since.

“I’m guessing we have you to thank for that?” Cora asked.
“But why are you helping us? I don’t get it.”

“I’m not helping you,” Jessica said. “I’m helping my people. It just so happens that
you get some small benefit from me doing so.”

“Enemy of my
enemy, right?” Cora responded, though she suspected that Jessica’s motivations went deeper than a simple hatred of the ERC.

“
Yeah, something like that,” Jessica nodded and changed the subject. “I’ve moved our hunting grounds closer to the cities.” Her eyes gleamed with joyful memories of recent hunts. “Gives us a chance to prey on the ERC and everyone that stands with them. They hardly leave the cities anymore.”

“That’s good,” Cora nodded. “We keep them contained, take away the citizens
’ ability to move around freely and things will get tense inside those walls. That will make the next part a little easier.”

“Yup,” Jessica agreed, “and it’s just fun.”

The two had formed an uneasy bond based upon mutual love for Remmy. Jessica remembered him as her childhood friend, still had some small shard of fondness for him. Those feelings combined with her desire to exact revenge on the ERC had solidified Jessica’s side in the war. Cora’s feelings for Remmy, though deeper and more complex than Jessica’s, still spurred her to action. Both would lead their sides against the ERC. Both wanted Remmy free.

“Thank you,” Cora blurted ou
t, not knowing what to say next and finding the momentary silence uncomfortable.

“For what?” Jessica asked.

“Back there in the Red camp, you kept Remmy safe, at least as safe as you could,” Cora answered. “You kept him who he was. Thank you.”

“Wasn’t me,” Jessica shrugged. She began to walk away, but stopped and looked over her shoulder. “It was you. I can see that now.
Could see it the minute he looked at you.”

“Me?” Cora questioned.

“You’re why he didn’t get infected in the arena,” Jessica nodded. “He really loves you, Cora. That kept him alive, kept him who he was. I hope it still does.”

Cora blushed. It was strange, almost surreal to be discussing her feelings
for Remmy with Jessica. She was a Red, supposed to be a monster and in many ways was, but nothing was as clear-cut as the ERC had said. Nothing was as black and white as Cora had once believed. Everything that Cora had been taught was wrong. With the passage of such a small amount of time, the world had been completely stood on its head.

“Yeah,” Cora whispered
, “I hope so too.”

Jessica had already disappeared into the dense woods.