Chapter Fourteen: Emerald Confliction

With every breath, I could taste the debris particles that lingered in the air. It took me a moment to gather my senses, but I knew I was on my side. I caught a few flashes from a flashlight several feet from where I had been lying, coughing and groaning among the thick flaps of paper gliding to the floor. There was some shuffling in the dark, red but dull emergency dimly lighting what was once the ship’s lab. I couldn’t tell how much damage had been done or what had even caused it. I had a sneaking assumption that it was probably me. 

“Is everyone okay? Sound off.” Dame said upon standing up with her flashlight.

Numerous names carried throughout the lab of the assistants who had been scattered across the floor. Abigail staggered to her feet with Dame’s help, impressed with herself that she was still alive after barely making it out of the test area. Her glasses had been busted, but this was a small price she could live with. Aside from a small cut on her cheek and the dusty coating of debris on her uniform, Dame was unharmed in the random explosion as well. Everyone had been alive and counted for, and Abigail considered it to be a fortunate result. Lucky even. 

“I can say with confidence that I did not expect that kind of reaction.” Abigail couldn’t help but take it lightly. 

Dame shined the light in her face. “You didn’t expect it? Do you know how irresponsible that is?” 

“I wasn’t aware that 32 had a suppressed emotional link to the images shown.” Abigail squinted her eyes. “It’s unlikely a clone would have such a reaction regardless of an advanced memory core. It’s hard to implant emotions. Much harder to implement them to certain images.”

“So, all of this means what exactly?” Dame asked. 

Abigail turned her head away from the light, her head aching from the blast. “What we’re all afraid of, Lieutenant.” 

I shuffled through the debris on the floor, following the voices and the light. I held my hands up above my head in fear that Dame might open fire at a first glance. Hell, it was possible that she might even open fire on me just for breathing. Any scenario was possible. The glass beneath my shoes crunched, which was what caused Dame to shine the light on me. I squeezed my eyes shut since the brightness hurt my head, but I kept my hands in the air. 

“I swear I didn’t mean to do that.” I started. “I don’t know what happened.”

Abigail glanced at me then back to Dame. “At the same time, Eden’s technology is constantly advancing. So, perhaps, this one got by us. I need more time to figure this out.”

I could feel that Dame was disgusted with me, not uttering a single word back to Abigail. I didn’t dare budge or move a single muscle. Dame moved the earpiece that hung from the band around her neck back in place inside her ear. Her left ear was filled with the cracking voices of panicked crew members all trying to determine what happened. 

“Jeremy, report.” She commanded after pressing a finger against a padded button on the band. 

There wasn’t a response from Jeremy, but the panic continued over the airwaves. 

“Jeremy, report.” Dame said again, lowering the flashlight to my feet. 

Still no answer. 

“Jerry!” Dame barked. 

The line of communication was buzzing with dozens of different voices, all of which did not belong to Jeremy. There were reports of crew members trapped behind certain doors. Others feared they had been attacked by Eden. Some even speculated that the ship somehow wandered into an area of the globe that was unstable, which only created more panic for the crew. Being in unstable space was worse than the idea of an ambush. I could see that Dame was getting nervous. Her eyes focused on the floor as she waited for a reply. The lieutenant occasionally looked at me as well with an expression that I knew meant she was getting a knot in her stomach. I was familiar with it. 

“Jerry!” Dame barked again. 

With Jeremy’s silence on the other end, I could tell that it was causing Dame to worry. I knew why she was worried about him, and I had wondered why it took me so long to figure it out before. I assumed no one else knew, but it made me want to extend any offer of comfort to her. Sadly, I kept my mouth shut. 

“Jeremy reporting! Apologies, Lieutenant. The lights went out in the bathroom, so I couldn’t find my radio.” The boy finally responded back. 

Dame breathed a heavy sigh of relief. She muttered “a*****e” to herself before replying back with, “I need a status report of the ship.”

“Yes, ma’am. Currently, we have no power up here. We lost coms with the rest of Dogma. Guidance systems are all down. Some of the automatic doors are locked. The crew is cut off from each other in different parts of the ship. They’re saying we’ve been attacked by an EMP blast.”

“No EMP blast. We had another incident with Subject 32 in the lab. It’s being contained right now, so the crew can be at ease. Inform the captain of the situation so it can be corrected.” Dame shined her light at me again. “I have to secure 32. I’ll be up there in a little bit.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Jeremy said. “Are you okay?”

Dame replied. “Everything is fine, Jerry. Inform the captain.”

Abigail took the time to dust the debris powder off her lab coat, taking her glasses off to examine the damage done to the lenses. She mumbled under her breath about how difficult it was to come across an eye doctor anymore and something about it being her last pair. I stayed quiet as Dame told Abigail that she was taking me to the holding cell at the bottom of the ship in case of an attack from Eden. The head scientist decided she would stay and help clean up the lab and provide medical attention to some of the assistance who remained in a daze. 

Dame didn’t say a word to me as she forced my hands down in front of her. She didn’t have her cuffs, so she drew her side arm instead and threatened to put one between the eyes if I tried anything. Gun pointed at my back and one hand gripping my shoulder, Dame forced me through the lab. I tried my best not to trip over anything, worried that if I did the firearm might go off. Some of Dame’s words were hard to hear over the ringing in my ears, which came and went without warning. I was uncertain if it had been the result of the explosion or something else brewing inside my head. I was worried about that, too. 

Dame pushed me through the halls lit with red emergency lights, some of the crew scrambling about to their posts in case an attack actually did happen. It would have been perfect timing for Eden to launch an assault with the defense systems offline and communications cut off. I was undecided still if I would fight against Eden to save the crew or stay out of it. Dogma had nothing good for me but cause me pain and misery. Whether I lived or died made no difference to them, so why should it make a difference to me? They said that Eden was the enemy, but I was also I on the fence about this claim as well. I had seen no signs of Eden during my time here, so for all I knew, Eden might not even exist. 

But I was here. 

That was the only proof I had, and the only evidence that Eden might still be as corrupt as I hear. Why would anyone want to create something like me? 

We made our way to the lower levels of the ship. The presence of other people began to grow vacant. It was obviously that the lower sections were older than the rest of the ship, the smooth ramps that connected the levels together turning into clunky, metal step ladders. The broad hallways became cramped passages lined with steaming pipes, footsteps clanging loudly against the rigid floor. Dame had taken her hand off my shoulder and placed her firearm back in its place after determining that I wasn’t going to fight with her. I guess it was nice to see her have that much trust in me. 

There wasn’t a word between us the entire journey to the bottom of the ship. It felt like we were walking forever, which made me question how large the ship really was. Either that or it was the silence that made the minutes drag on. The bottom accessible level was deprived of any human life aside from the two of us. It was possible that Dogma added on to what was left of the old battleships, using what remained as a starting base. I mauled it over in my head considering there wasn’t much else to do. Dame wasn’t much company. 

The lieutenant steered me down one passage that came to a heavy, steel door at the end. She commanded to stay put when we reached the end, the door having a rotating lock that looked as if it hadn’t been used in nearly a decade. The door itself showed signs of aging with the rust creeping around the frame. The smell reminded me of a damp basement, which was funny to me because I had never physically been in a basement before. I knew the scent though. It was from Desley’s memory. 

Dame struggled with turning the rotating lock. She had both hands tightly gripping the metal wheel and it appeared that she was using her whole body just to get it to budge. I offered to help her, but the lieutenant ignored me. Clearly, the door hadn’t been touched by another human in quite some time nor has the maintenance been kept up on it. I watched Dame fight with the wheel for a minute or two before it finally gave. She quickly turned around to shine the light in my face to make sure I was still behind her. As she continued rotating the wheel with little resistance, the locks that kept the door sealed pulled away. The lieutenant wrapped her fingers around a thick handle and pulled the door open with a huff and a creak that echoed down the passage. 

Using her flashlight, Dame commanded me to step through the threshold of the old holding cell. I slowly did as I was told, making it known that I wasn’t trying to be a threat to her. The holding cell was as I imagined it would be and almost made me grateful for the one Dogma usually kept me in. There was a moldy smell, again, similar to a damp basement. There were no lights. The air was cold. There was a hole in the floor from where a toilet had once been, and the bed was nothing more than a concrete block. The only positive side was that there was more space than the other cell. I was certainly surprised they didn’t keep in this one with how much everyone hated me, but security measures had to be followed. 

I took a couple steps inside. Dame ordered me to march to the concrete block, which was on the other side of the cell, and take a seat. She stood at the entrance and had no intentions of following me in. I complied with her command, but I only made it to the middle of the cell before a question in the back of my mind starting burning my insides, making me stop and hesitate to take another step. An indescribable feeling washed over me like a gentle wave, giving me clarity and the bravery to speak up to her. After all, I knew she couldn’t deny it. 

“Does he know?” I turned my head so that Dame could hear me. 

Dame didn’t respond to me. Instead, she began to turn around to leave the cell. 

“Does Jeremy know?” I asked her again. 

The name drop grabbed Dame’s attention, making her shine the light on me instead of closing the door. “Does Jeremy know what?” 

I second guessed myself for a moment trying to estimate how hostile a reaction I would receive from the woman. I had to take the risk regardless to better understand her. 

“Does Jeremy know,” I paused then pressed forward, “that you’re his sister?”

Dame was taken back by the question, her eyes becoming wide for a split second before her face cringed in utter disgust with me. 

“Does he know?” I asked once more.

“It’s none of your damn business, 32.” Dame hissed. 

I turned around to face her. “But does he know?”

“Shut up.” Dame’s voice became threatening. “I’m warning you.”

“It’s just a simple yes or no, Dame. That’s all I’m asking.” I tried to reason.

“And you’re asking too much.” Dame snapped, taking her firearm from its holster on her thigh. “Now, shut the hell up and do as you’re ordered. I swear, I’ll empty this mag if you mention his name again.”

I observed her body language and how she held the gun at her side. There was a chance that she might have been serious with her threat, but I had a hunch. A risky hunch. 

“You don’t think he deserves to know that he has at least one family member left? That he’s not alone here?” I pried knowing the type of response I was going to get. 

Dame gritted her teeth and started marching towards me as I started asking her more questions about the morality of her secret. She closed the space quickly. I wanted to back up and keep my distance from her, but it wouldn’t solve anything. I needed to face Dame head on as Desley had. I saw Dame raise the gun high above her head, cursing me as she did so. She swung the butt of the firearm down in an attempt to strike my head again as she had done before, but that dark presence swelled in my chest. It forced me to react, and I did so by grabbing her wrist, stopping the woman mid-swing. Dame gasped as she dropped her flashlight in shock. I forced her arm down to where the barrel of the gun was aimed directly at my forehead, intentionally pressing myself against it. 

“If you want me dead so badly then why don’t you skip the foreplay and pull the trigger already?” My tone changed to its more sinister side. 

From tightly grasping her wrist, I could feel the fury building up inside of Dame. Her eyes said it all anyhow.

“Let go of me!” Dame shouted at me, trying to pull her arm away. 

I refused to let go, taking one step toward her as she took a step back. As it had been the same with Desley, I could feel Dame’s emotions pouring into my body through the contact I had with her. Everything about Jeremy was becoming clearer than before. I witnessed the day she first met her youngest brother. I saw all of the times she played with him during visitation together with Lucy and Vincent. Lucy was a year or two older than Jeremy. The only reason why they even knew they had an older sister was because of Vincent. There was so much happiness in those memories. 

Then I saw Dame crying on a boat. It was a fishing boat with a harpoon gun. Demitry and Donald were with her and trying their best to provide her comfort. I saw as she desperately searched through the remains of a ravaged city. She was at her parents’ home. Vincent was already discovered to be vaporized with remnants of a couple body parts remaining, a tattoo she used to identify him with. Dame’s parents had been reduced to red stains in the rubble. Lucy had been crushed to death by the toppled buildings that had been uprooted and flung through the sky. Dame had given up hope for her family until she moved on an emotional instinct given by Demitry to dig under a collapsed wall. That’s where she discovered her youngest brother. He was barely alive, but he was breathing. She found other survivors in her search for refuge until the first forming team of Dogma took them all in. 

“There’s so much struggle. You hold so much pain from everything you went through to keep him alive. There’s anger at yourself, too. Anger. Regret. Anguish. Desperation. You’re desperate to change something. You feel responsible. That’s why you’re incapable of making a stable portal. You tried to change things. One thing in particular.” I analyzed, taking another step toward Dame. 

“Stop it, 32!” Dame pleaded, still pulling away from me. 

“But you can’t change anything. You hate yourself for that.” I continued. “And…and you’re afraid of me.” 

Dame’s demeanor changed back to hostility before I could finish. Instead of pulling away, she charged into me. Dame swung me hard into the wall to the left of us and pinned me against it, jamming her gun under my jaw. The scuffle traveled out of the doorway of the cell, but no one would have had a clue what was going on. 

“You don’t know s**t!” Dame yelled. “You don’t know s**t about me, Jeremy, or anything any of us went through! You have no idea what it’s like to lose everything! You want to know why I don’t tell Jeremy? Because he’s lucky. He’s so damn lucky to not know what he had before you…before Desley took everything away!” She pressed the barrel hard into my jaw. “And you…I am not afraid of you. I’ve killed you before, and I sure as hell will kill you right here and now if it means saving what’s left of this world.”

I strained to meet with Dame’s eyes. I could see it. With the way she looked at me, I knew what I saw in her was the core of everything. The truth Dame didn’t want to face. Out of all the anger she had, and the pain, regret, anguish, guilt, her biggest fear was that she felt conflicted. 

“But you won’t kill me, Dame.” I gazed into her eyes. “You love Desley too much to do it a second time…and that’s why you’re afraid of me.” 

Dame’s look of disgust with me intensified, but she didn’t have anything to say back. Instead, the woman turned her head away and released me. She placed her firearm back in her holster and left the cell without saying another word, slamming the door shut behind her. She had been fighting so hard to keep everyone alive and to make a new world for her brother. 

But when it came right down to it.

If Dame had to make the choice. 

She would abandon the world she was creating anew…out of love for a monster.