A fly buzzed around the rising plume of smoke like a vulture in the sky. Dominique Chambers swatted at it in annoyance, trying not to fall back in her precariously balanced chair.
“Since when do we have flies around here, anyway?” she asked irritably, just barely ducking yet another dive-bomb to the face. Dom pulled her boots down from the table and sat up straight, still swatting away.
“Since now, I guess,” replied Sphinx from across the table. He appeared preoccupied. “When can we expect to leave?”
“Oh, in a half-hour or so,” she replied absentmindedly, taking a long drag on her cigarette. “I’m in no hurry. This’ll be a piece of cake. They’ll be there with the cash in the morning, right?”
“Presumably,” Sphinx said simply. “Though one should never assume things in this business.”
“Yeah well it’s their job to be there, Denali. We really need to sell this stuff before we do anything else.” Dom looked away and scowled. “God damn fly.”
The two paused in their conversation, interrupted by a steadily increasing wailing sound coming from the hallway. Suddenly their young ward, Psyche, burst into the room, effortlessly slamming the double-doors behind her.
“Ah, the pitter-patter of little feet,” said Dominique with a wry smile. “What are you up to now, kiddo?”
“Denise is chasing me!” she exclaimed breathlessly. “I need to find somewhere to hide, quick. It’s this new game she’s teaching me, called hide-and-go seek.”
“You know, it might help if you didn’t scream as you were looking for a place to hide,” advised Dom.
Psyche hurried across the room to a tall, overstuffed cabinet. “Oh, really?” she asked as she opened the doors. “I didn’t think of that, but it does make sense. Anyway, don’t tell her where I am!”
“Oh…can I move this?” she asked, reaching out to grab hold of Dominique’s prize, the LSR cannon. It was taller than the girl by probably a foot.
The blonde woman leapt to her feet. “Hey, don’t mess with that. It’s dangerous. Let me move it for you.” Once Dom had taken care of it, Psyche hid in the cabinet. “Aww…my precious baby,” said Dom sarcastically, coddling the weapon. She sat down at the table with it, examining the various buttons and gizmos that adorned its surface.
“You’ve certainly been practicing enough with that thing,” remarked Sphinx. “You must have a fairly good understanding of how it works, yes?”
“Yeah, pretty much,” said Dom, still not taking her eyes off the weapon. Nearly every day, Dom had taken to the deck of Typhon, alone, so as not to hurt anyone, determined to figure out how the pulse-cannon worked. Even from deep inside the building, the noise was ear shattering. “But it keeps making this weird humming sound, which I can’t figure out. I’ve got target practice pretty much down, but the aftershock is a bitch. Still pushes me back a few feet every time. Oh hey, listen, it’s doing it again.” The two listened for a moment. The weapon was indeed humming slightly, which they could only speculate was some sort of recharge mechanism.
Just then Denise strode purposefully into the room, a wicked gleam in her eye. Several time a day, without fail, Cube and Psyche could be found causing some kind of trouble. Since the baby sitting of a few weeks ago, the two had been nearly inseparable. Psyche liked to accompany Denise on her morning jogs around Typhon, sometimes carrying her water bottle and chocolate supply.
In return, Denise was teaching Psyche several childhood games, including tag, ring-around-the rosy (which they convinced everyone to participate in, even Raven), and now this. In fact, Psyche’s presence had been a wonderfully revitalizing force in the group. Many nights, everyone could be found lolling about in the main room, pretending to have something to do, when in fact many a hope was pinned on another rousing game of Go Fish.
“I know you’re in heeeeere!” Denise called mischievously, her eyes alighting on the tall cabinet.
“I swear, you two…” said Dom shaking her head.
Stifled laughter could be heard from where the child was hiding. A moment later, Cube flung open the door and the two burst into laughter.
“TACKLE-GLOMP!” Psyche screamed, flinging herself forward into Denise’s arms.
“TICKLE ATTACK!” Denise retorted, from which Psyche tried to escape. They collapsed to the floor in struggle, shrieking with laughter. Dom and Sphinx observed for a few moments, undeniably amused.
“I would have never expected it of you, Cube,” Dom remarked, putting out her cigarette. Psyche had complained recently of the dangers of second-hand smoke, which Dom found rather annoying, but she strove to meet Psyche’s demands nonetheless.
“Ah, shut up Phoenix,” Denise said, helping the child to her feet.
“I’m just curious,” said Denali thoughtfully. “If you can read minds, my dear, don’t you know when Denise is going to find you?”
“I just shut it off,” Psyche replied quickly. “It’s more fun that way.”
“I didn’t know you could do that,” Dom said.
“I guess I can now,” said the girl, looking down at her feet. “Anyway…when are you guys leaving?”
“That’s the question of the day,” said Dom. “Which reminds me, someone needs to stay behind with you.”
Appearing crestfallen, Psyche gazed up at her mentor, who put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “I’ll stay with ya, kiddo. Don’t worry.”
“But…but I wanna go,” admitted Psyche. “We haven’t gone anywhere since I got here, and I’d really like to see London. Please, can I come with you all?”
Dom felt her heart ache for the girl. It was true that the Angels had been pretty much homebound over recent weeks because of the insanely heavy fog. Dominique had hoped that the morning jogs and games were enough to entertain the child, but she was just eleven years old, and was bound to feel isolated sooner or later.
“I’m sorry, kiddo. I know this isn’t exactly the most homey place on earth,” Dom apologized. “Fucking…God damn…”
“Language, please,” said Cube matronly.
“It’s this fly, it’s been bugging me all day,” said Dom, rolling her eyes at Cube’s unabashed conservatism. “Can you take care of it for me, Psyche?”
“Not a problem,” said the girl, who merely pointed a finger at the psychotic insect and it dropped to the floor. “Can I go with you now, please?”
“I’m sorry. That was really cool and all, but this isn’t the type of mission you take a little kid along on.”
“But…you’re just going to sell some supplies, correct?” inquired the girl, tilting her head to the side. “If that isn’t safe then what is?”
Dom sighed. The kid had a point, but…there was more to it than that. Something had been happening to Psyche. Denise was the first to notice that things were starting to randomly fly about rooms when Psyche was there, and the girl swore she wasn’t doing it on purpose. If she were allowed on an airship, the consequences could be disastrous.
“Nothing’s safe, I guess,” was Dom’s half-hearted reply. “There’s never a guarantee that you’ll be safe. Hell, there’s never a guarantee any of us will, either. We just want to do what’s best for you. Isn’t that right, Denise?”
“Can’t argue with that,” said the brunette woman. “Anyway, we’ll think of something to do, right?”
“Okay,” said Psyche, tugging on a strand of her long, wavy hair. “I guess so.” She set her violet-brown eyes on Dominique. “But I still want to come.”
“I know. You’re the determined sort. You’ll make a great pilot someday, Psyche.” Dom reached over and tousled the girl’s hair before standing up. Psyche beamed at her, appeased at least for the moment.
“Right then,” Dom said brusquely, heading toward the door with Sphinx in tow. “Denali, we’re taking the Einlanzer, the Naritus, and the Eclipse. Make sure they’re ready to go.”
“Yes ma’am,” he replied, giving a mock salute before leaving the room.
“Denise, are you all set here?”
“Sure, sure,” said Denise. She had already settled down at the table with the girl and a pack of cards. “Have a great time, eh.”
“Oh, undoubtedly,” Dom smirked, then turned to go.
* * *
‘I’m not staying here…no way. They can’t make me.’Psyche sighed, looking down at the cards in her hand, unable to concentrate.
“You all right, Psyche?” asked Cube, glancing up from behind her hand.
“I just really don’t feel like playing,” said the girl sadly. She lay her cards down, staring across the table at Denise.
“Feeling down about having to stay here?” asked Cube, laying her cards down as well. “Yeah, I understand, it’s a bummer. But it’s for your own good, you know?”
Although Psyche hadn’t had the most normal childhood ever, even she knew that ‘it’s for your own good’ was quite possibly the most annoying thing an adult could tell you.
“I know. I just wanted to see London, that’s all.” Psyche paused. “Can we play hide-and-go seek, instead?”
“We just did, but okay, sounds good to me,” said Cube.
“Okay. I’ll hide first,” said the girl, grinning. Cube dutifully lowered her head to the table and began counting to one hundred while Psyche raced out of the room.
A wicked grin spread over Psyche’s face as she stood outside the doorway. Now that Cube had been sufficiently distracted, all that she needed to do was sneak onto deck without being noticed, and then… ‘Then I can see London,’ she thought, hope rising in her heart. ‘And if I’m in London, then I can get to the mainland…to the Czech Republic…’ It was all too exciting to think about. Psyche pushed thoughts of her homeland out of her mind, focusing on the task at hand.
Peering out the main doorway, Psyche could see that everyone was quite preoccupied with readying the ships. The evening hour had blackened an already gray sky—also a plus. The child didn’t exactly have a plan for after she’d distracted Cube, and she knew that her 100 seconds or so were just about up. Just as she was about to go for it, a door could be heard opening down the hall.
“Hey Psyche, what’s up?” It was Seth, who gave her a little wave as he jogged up to meet her.
“Um…hi there,” she replied, silently cursing her luck. She suddenly felt awkward in her oversized tee shirt, overalls and floppy tennis shoes.
“We’re heading off in just a minute,” said Gryphon, seemingly oblivious to her anxiety. She found him so deliciously naïve about certain things, just like herself. “It’s too bad that you can’t come along. I’d be happy to show you around London. It’s my old stomping-ground, after all.”
“Oh…really?” Psyche replied, going completely red. “That would be…I mean…I’d like that. Thank you.”
“Sure, no problem,” said the handsome young man, smiling.
Psyche felt panicked inside. She could hear that Cube was finished counting and was looking around the room, and Seth was just about to leave, too. Her cunning plans were dissipating before her eyes…
* * *
‘Tell me your thoughts…’
‘What? No, I don’t understand.’
‘I want to know your memories, your dreams…show me.’
‘What’s going on? This hurts.’
‘I’m more than a child, you know.’
The room was dimly lit. ‘He’ stood nearby, full of alcohol and rage. “You’re useless! You’re nothing but a stupid bitch who can’t do a fucking thing!”
‘These are your parents? I didn’t know…’
‘Please, get out of my mind…this hurts.’
“No! Stop it! Not in front of Seth!” cried the woman, before she was slammed bodily against the wall. Her beautiful face went blank as she slid down the wall, a trail of blood following after.
“Mother, wake up,” said a terrified little voice, as hands reached out to grab hold of the woman. She lay unresponsive, gazing vacantly at the ceiling, as the scene went dark and hot tears rained down upon her face. “Don’t leave me…I love you, mother, wake up, please!”
‘I’m sorry. I didn’t know.’
‘ENOUGH!’
* * *
“What the hell just happened…?”
Cube gawked at the scene before her. Seth had collapsed to his knees, visibly shaken, with a mixture of shock and sadness on his face. Psyche stood in place, looking from Seth to Denise confusedly. “I…don’t know,” said her tiny, scared voice.
About one minute prior, Cube had been leaving the main room when she witnessed the extremely strange event. It appeared that Psyche and Seth had been talking, and he had been turning to leave. As he reached for the door, Ana turned as if to say something to him and they both stopped. A blank, shadowy look came over the girl’s face--her eyes, hollow. Seth appeared the same way, only his eyes were very much alive and full of pain. His body had twitched as if in minor seizure, while Ana had remained motionless.
“Did you do that on purpose?!” Seth demanded.
Ana shook her head, petrified.
“Gryphon, just calm down,” said Cube, trying to wrap her brain around this situation. “Whatever happened, I’m sure Psyche didn’t mean any harm.”
Her words seemed to have no affect on the young man. His face reddened in anger, and he got to his feet, pointing accusingly at Psyche. “Just…stay out of my mind, you little…creep!” Clearly enraged, Seth rushed past Ana and out to the deck.
Psyche looked as if she’d had the wind knocked out of her. She was too humiliated to face anyone, even Denise, and turned on heel to run back to her room, sobbing uncontrollably.
Cube stood still in the wake of the chaos. ‘Well, it can’t get much worse than this,’ she thought grimly, then headed after Psyche.
* * *
“Remember Seth…Even if the world is after you, stay calm…”
Lydia. She taught him so much, and he never seemed to keep what was most important with him. Lydia would have slapped him for what he did to Psyche, he wouldn’t blame her either. Seth felt like the weakest person on the planet at that point. How could he say something like that to a child, no less a child he actually enjoyed having around. Dominique must be furious with him, she sees Psyche like a daughter to her. He’ll have to face whatever comes, like he always does.
Seth wanted seclusion at that point, when things focus on him. He always made his way up the cold steel steps to Typhon’s highest deck whenever he felt like being alone to himself. He enjoyed it, only because you were up so high you could look out into the vast ocean. The thick, smoky clouds would slowly move overhead, and they turned the ocean into a pool of black ink. It was almost depressing, because anyone who went up there would get the sudden feeling of loneliness, there was nothing out there and you felt like the only person standing.
“I’m lucky you know…For what you’ve done for me.”
“No ones lucky anymore Seth, we’re all just here for some fucked up joke, and we haven’t hit the punch line yet.”
‘Guess you’ve hit yours then, Lydia.’ He thought to himself. He had been thinking about Lydia a lot these past few weeks. It gave him all the more reason to do what he needed to do; apologize to Psyche. Hopefully she’ll understand why he got so angry, he never wants anyone to know what he went through. That’s no excuse for what he’s done, but that’s the only reason why he snapped at her like he did.
Seth sat back down on small step and continued his stare into the nothingness that enveloped the ocean. He heard steps coming up the stairs and knew it had to be Dominique. She was on her way to talk to him about what happened, or not talk at all, she could do either of the two.
Her profile came into view, and Seth was right in assuming it was her. The look on her face was expressionless. You never knew if she was angry, sad, happy….Well, she wasn’t ever happy so Seth knew it wasn’t that one. It was because of that trait that people who didn’t know her, live with her, often found her quite intimidating. The group had gotten use to it, but to any average person who didn’t know what she was all about would much rather avoid her at all costs.
“I’m sorry, Dom, I know how you feel about Psyche and I will talk to her. I want to apologize. I just…Can’t let people know about my past.” He spoke before Dominique could say anything.
“That’s no fucking excuse for what you did. She’s just a kid Seth.”
“I know, and I said I’d apologize.”
“Well, for Psyche’s sake, I hope you do.” Seth didn’t answer, he just turned his head away from her.
“Anyway, we’re going to be leaving soon, so get your ass back down here fast.”
She left as quickly as she came, leaving Seth to himself once again. He decided that if he did want to apologize, he’d better go do it now before it’s too late.
* * *
Although Cube felt a strong maternal instinct in regards to Psyche, she still found herself slightly hesitant as she walked down the hall. Whatever had just happened was completely new and bizarre, even for a little girl who could make your internal organs explode if she got mad enough.
Denise’s care for the girl ultimately won out over her hesitation, and she pushed her worries aside along with the door covering, stepping into Psyche’s room.
It had been a sparsely furnished space to begin with, but what little there was had been completely destroyed. The desk had been blasted to hell, or so it appeared, no longer a desk but rather pieces of wood strewn about the floor. One could only tell it even had been a desk because the years of dirt and grime had exploded from its surface, creating a desk-shaped outline against the wall.
“Psyche…?” asked Cube, tearing her eyes away from the macabre sight and toward the mattress where the girl lay. “Hey, are you all right?”
Psyche responded with a short, loud, tortured sob. She was curled up at the top of the mattress near the wall, her face hidden beneath cascading waves of light brown hair, her small body trembling with each fresh onslaught of tears. It pained Denise to see her this way, and she moved to the child’s side and sat down.
“He hates me!” moaned Psyche. “I didn’t mean to do it, Denise,” she said earnestly, finally raising her head and looking at Cube in a beseeching manner.
“I know you didn’t mean to,” said Cube reassuringly, even though she hadn’t a clue what Psyche had done. “And I’m sure Seth doesn’t hate you. Um, what happened back there, anyway?”
“I don’t know!” Psyche said, pure agony shining in her eyes. Her normally pale face was covered in red streaks and moist with tears, and she furrowed her eyebrows as she spoke. “I…really don’t know. It was like I couldn’t move or control myself, like I was forcing myself into his memories. From there, I could see my own self, standing in the hall. Then suddenly I was back in my body and he was yelling at me.”
“Wow…that’s really freaky,” said Denise. “No idea why?”
“No.” Psyche sighed. “Can I tell you something, please?”
“Of course, kiddo,” replied Cube.
The child spoke with great relief. “My memories are coming back, Denise. I keep having nightmares. I can’t sleep much. I’m really scared. And there are voices in my dreams, but it’s in a different language that I can’t understand, and then something terrible happens. And now I keep making things crash without meaning to…making Dom worried, and now this…” A panicked look came over her youthful face, and Denise reached out and pulled her into a hug, which Psyche accepted.
“Well hey, it’s gonna be okay,” Denise replied, searching desperately for words. “You’re here now, and whatever happened to you before, we can work through that together.” Cube paused. “You’re Czech, so that must be the language in your dreams, right?”
“I think so.”
“How about when I’m in London, I pick up some books for you? I could get one about how to speak Czech, and maybe another with some pictures or somethin’? That way you can learn about your dreams and where you’re from.”
There was a long silence, wherein Cube worried nervously she’d said something wrong, until Psyche finally spoke. “Denise?”
“Yeah?”
“That means a lot to me. Thank you.”
Denise felt her heart crack. She immediately thought back to her own mother, so absent for most of those years, and felt a sudden opportunity to make up for it. “Yeah,” she said, running one of her work-hardened hands over Psyche’s hair. “Yeah. Anything for you, kiddo.”
* * *
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