Coma (Paranormal Romance) (30 page)

“Ready?” Zack's mesmerizing eyes searched
mine for confirmation.

I smiled, “Freeze away.”

He closed the lid on my cryobox, and typed in
a code. In a second, my body wasn't visible anymore. Frost had
taken over, tinting the glass lid. Strangely, I thought I would
feel something. Instead, I was empty, as if it weren't me in
there.

Zack took out a chain with a tag hanging on
it, and put it around my neck, “Your cryo code is engraved,” he
smoothed his thumb over
my
tag. “And this below is your
personal code.”

We joined Ethan next to Sophie's cryo. Her
little body was still full of energy, obviously nowhere near total
relaxation. She squirmed, and with her eyes closed, she yelled, “I
can feel you all breathing there. Get the fuck away, or I'll never
get out!”

We chuckled, and moved away to give her
space. Twenty minutes later, we heard a thump behind our backs. She
jumped out of her cryo, grinning ear to ear.

“You're a pest, you know?” She said, walking
toward us, “I could have done this a lot sooner if it weren't for
your microscoping me.”

Ethan chuckled, “Wanna see me freeze your
ass?”

“Hell no! I'm done with that body,” she
sneered, sitting next to me on the floor.

“K,” Ethan said, and went to her cryo. A
crackling freezing sound was heard, then Ethan's footsteps back
toward us. “Done! Let's get out of this basement.”

“Do we need to lock up or something?” I
asked, getting up from the floor, dusting myself.

“I already did,” Zack draped his arm over me.
“Don't worry. This is a TGA safe-house, so your cryos will be okay
here.”

“These are Zoe's coordinates,” Ethan showed
his bracelet display to Sophie and me, “Type 'em in and see you
there.” He was gone.

“Motherfucker,” Sophie huffed, looking at the
empty spot in front of her.

“You can kick his ass when we get there,” I
chuckled.

“First, you two, and then I'll follow,” Zack
threw a glance at our coordinates to make sure we didn't miss a
number.

~*~

One nausea later, and we found ourselves in a
dome-shaped room. The wall was full of what looked like safety
deposit boxes. In the center of the room was a round, giant wooden
table, surrounded by massive leather chairs.

“Welcome,” a female voice said behind our
backs. I winced, and turned around.

“Hi,” I smiled, seeing a woman standing
between Zack and Ethan. She looked about thirty, wearing a standard
TGA uniform that perfectly fit her lean body. A black braid was
neatly falling down her left shoulder. She uncrossed her arms, and
motioned toward the table.

“Please, take a seat.”

“Thank you,” I said, pulling stiffened Sophie
along. She stumbled slightly.

“Guys,” Zoe said, “Would you give us some
privacy?”

“Sure,” Zack replied, quickly glancing my
way. His smile was supposed to signal everything was okay. I wasn't
so sure, though. A glass door dematerialized to allow them out, and
re-materialized once they were in the hall.

Zoe strode toward the head of the table, and
then reclined in a chair. Her light blue eyes examined us for a
minute, and then she said, “Don't be scared. I don't bite,” she
chuckled, leaning forward, and smoothing her hands over a shiny
table.

“Maybe scared isn't the right word,” I felt
compelled to say something, “This is all new to us, so we don't
know what to expect.”

“Understandable,” Zoe replied.

I glanced at Sophie. She was sitting quietly,
absently gazing around the room. I poked her under the table to
wake her up from her trance.

“Based on the memories I have received from
Zack and Ethan, you must be Lyra,” Zoe motioned toward me, “and you
are Sophie.”

“Yes,” I replied, hearing Sophie's yes at the
same time.

“To make a decision, I'll need all the
information I can get. Would you be willing to provide me your
memories?”

“Why?” Sophie jumped in, surprising both Zoe
and me with her tone.

Zoe smiled, “I hope you know by now that
history is not set in stone,” she raised her brows. “Your memories
are valid records of your version of history. It's the most
accurate piece of information at the moment.”

“Oh,” Sophie blushed.

“I don't mind giving you mine, but I don't
know how,” I said, raising my wrist.

“That's okay,” Zoe stood up, and started
toward me. “If you'll allow me, I'll show you what to type into
your bracelet,” she leaned over my shoulder, taking my wrist. A
smell of floral perfume spread around her. Quite pleasant, I
noticed.

“Of course,” I smiled, tilting my body to the
side, allowing her easier access to my bracelet.

“Put the date when you first saw Zack in this
field,” her eyes connected to mine. I nodded. “And here, you put
the date of your cryo freeze. Then press this, and insert my code.
This combo is my code,” she took out her tag from under her
shirt.

I did as instructed. Zoe's eyes started
moving rapidly as if she were watching it. She chuckled, and went
back to her seat. “I see Zack has omitted some private parts in his
memory transfer,” she grinned.

My cheeks started burning up. I completely
forgot she would see everything. It never crossed my silly mind.
All I was thinking about were recent events.
Oh my God!
I
bowed my head, wishing I could just disappear.

“Don't be ashamed, dear,” Zoe said, “It's
perfectly normal. You have a beautiful thing going on, and I can
only envy you on that.”

Slowly, I looked up. Her face seemed sincere.
After all, there was nothing I could do now. She saw everything,
and I could only hope she wouldn't pass it on.

“Sophie,” Zoe said, “If you don't want to
share, I'll understand.”

Sophie chuckled, “If Lyra is okay with giving
you her sex tapes, than who am I to say no.”

I glared at Sophie, ready to strangle her,
but Zoe was already by her side, ready to show her how to transfer
memories.

After a couple of minutes, Zoe said, “Thank
you, both. Sophie, you're free to go.”

“Erm,” Sophie said, pushing her chair back,
“How do I open the door.”

“Put your bracelet under that sensor,” Zoe
pointed out a square hole on the wall, and waited for Sophie to get
out. When the door re-materialized behind Sophie, she turned to me.
A fine shiver rolled down my spine in anticipation. “Now,” she
cleared her throat, “From what I've seen in your memories, I know
how much your parents mean to you. But,” she bit her lip, staring
at me. My gut clenched. “I will have to disappoint you.”

I dropped my gaze, feeling defeated.
Somewhere deep inside, I knew that was going to happen, but it
stung just the same. “I understand,” I said, deflated, “But can you
at least explain why does it have to be that way?”

“Certainly,” she smiled, folding her hands in
her lap, “With Michael dead, you lost all funding. I cannot have
Zack and Ethan running around with you looking for other options,
or allow you to do it by yourself, because I don't know if Michael
was acting alone, so you have to have someone to protect you. I
don't have to tell you what would happen to Zack if you ended up
dead,” her brows picked up.

“No,” I breathed. “He would be
devastated.”

“And that's an understatement. From a
leader's perspective, I would lose a perspective new guard. You.”
She motioned my way. “And two highly skilled guards. Zack would
lose his mind, and Ethan would go after Elders seeking revenge in
Zack's name. I would be forced to contract the Death Squad to take
them out.”

I gasped. Suddenly, being in my skin didn't
feel so good. I didn't like the sound of it all.

“Most importantly,” Zoe stood up, crossing
her hands behind her back, “If I know this, then Elders know it,
too. And they won't sit pretty, doing nothing about it.”

“Oh, dear,” I sighed. “Isn't there anything
we can do about it?”

“There might be, but not at the moment,” she
came next to me, and gripped my shoulders. “Don't worry, Lyra. I'm
not a leader for no reason. For the time being, just stay alert,
and report anything unusual to me. Zack is too––” she paused,
“––too into you. We cannot rely on him thinking straight.
Alright?”

“Okay,” I replied, looking up at her. There
was sympathy in her eyes, but truth to the matter, I couldn't trust
anyone anymore, and the least of all a stranger like her. In the
past forty-eight hours, my world stumbled over itself a couple of
times, and the biggest lesson I have learned is that I was my own
worst enemy. None of this would have happened if it weren't for my
stupid Antarctica plan. Now we've made a full circle, and haven't
even changed the outcome. It was all in vain. My parents lost a
child, Michael's life is now on my hands, and so are Zack and
Ethan's if anything happens to me. I wondered,
what did the
Grand Motherfucker want me to understand from this? When faced with
a tough choice, it's better to accept the consequences of a certain
decision, because it gets worse if you try to have it both ways?
Bullshit! I won't settle for that.

~*~

“
To know your Enemy, you must become your
Enemy.”

–– Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Zack and I went home, to his place. It would
be our place from now on; the only place I would call home since I
had no other. Exhausted, I could barely keep my eyes open, so Zack
scooped me up, and carried me to our room. As soon as he placed me
on the bed, he changed the scenery into my old room. He must have
thought it would make me feel better, but it had quite the opposite
effect. It was the final nail in my coffin, and I broke down. Tears
and heavy sobs were gushing uncontrollably out of me, shaking my
body with each outburst.

“I'm so sorry, Ly,” Zack snatched my limp
body into his embrace. “I didn't mean to make you cry,” the scenery
changed into the night sky, but nothing could stop me from sobbing.
Everything that happened resurfaced, suffocating me with its
intensity. By now, my parents must have received the message that I
was missing. They would never give up searching for me, they would
never get peace to mourn their child. I felt like a monster all
over again. “Tell me what to do, please, Ly,” Zack pleaded,
desperation coloring his voice. “Please, my love.”

I threw my arms around his neck, and snuggled
closer, “Just hold me,” I managed to squeeze out between two sobs,
“I need to cry it out.”

“Okay,” he breathed, gently stroking my hair,
“You've handled this better than anyone could have hoped,” then he
kissed my wet face.

I must have cried for hours with Zack
patiently holding me in his arms. I hated myself, I hated what I
had done to my parents, and I hated the Grand Architect for making
this choice a lose-lose situation. Somewhere between self loathing
and heavy cries, I must have fallen asleep.

~*~

My swollen eyes fluttered. The scenery in the
room was still of the starry night. Zack's arm was cradling me, his
body molded tightly around mine. I stirred, and turned around to
face him. It didn't wake him; he was sound asleep. Tears of his own
left salty traces on his face. Instinctively, at its own accord, my
hand picked up, and I found my finger tracing salty lines down his
cheek. He drew a sharp breath as if his soul had just returned into
his body from dreamland. Slowly, his eyes opened, and his pupils
narrowed. He smiled sweetly.

“Morning,” he said, his voice sultry.

“Morning,” I replied, leaning in to place a
kiss on his soft full lips. His eyes closed in response, and opened
after I moved my head back. His beautiful forest green eyes
searched mine for a couple of moments. His arm around me climbed up
my back, and then pressed me closer to his warm body.

“How do you feel?” He asked, not hiding worry
in his puffy eyes.

“Better,” I said, “Did you cry?” I asked,
smoothing my thumb under his eye. His pupils spread wide, then
narrowed back in.

“Mhm,” he said, leaning his cheek against my
palm, “I connected our hands to feel what you felt.”

My eyes widened from surprise, “Zack,” I
said, but his mouth sealed mine to stop me from talking.

“I couldn't leave you alone in all that
pain,” his thumb traced my lips, his eyes on them, as well. “I felt
it all. We share the good, and the bad,” his eyes moved back up on
mine. The magic in his gaze pushed back the monster that I was, and
reminded me why I took this path. Love for him repossessed my body,
igniting all that pain had destroyed.

“I need to brush my teeth,” I sputtered,
clumsily ruining the moment.

Zack chuckled, “Sure. I'll make some
breakfast.” He typed into his bracelet. The starry night
disappeared, replaced by the view of a highly futuristic city
skyline.

I climbed out of bed, mesmerized by the view,
“Is that the real view?” I asked, glancing through the dome.

“Uh-huh,” he said, “We're on top of the
building. You can see everything from here.” He got up, and came up
behind me, locking his arms around my waist. His one-day-old facial
hair brushed against my neck.

“It's beautiful,” I breathed, leaning my head
against his. The morning sun reflected on numerous dome shaped
glass surfaces, bouncing from one to another, creating countless
rainbows in between sky high buildings. I felt as if I were
transported into a fairy tale. I expected to see cold, stainless
steel buildings, concrete, gray skies and smog. Instead, it was a
colorful, sparkly place, with blue skies, and green gardens on
rooftops. “Can I?” I pointed at the huge balcony encompassing his
dome shaped room.

“Sure,” he smiled, placing his bracelet under
a sensor. A passage dematerialized in front of us.

Brisk, fresh air hit my nostrils. Zack strode
toward the railing, motioning for me to follow. A light breeze
wavered his boxers and a T-shirt, accenting his perfect body
underneath. I bit my lip, suddenly not that interested in the view.
He extended his arm, and I entered his embrace.