Betrothed Episode One

  Chapter 6

  I didn’t get long with Mark – he was called away. Unlike me, he had an important job.

  Mark had promised to sort out my betrothal contract, which left me at a loose end.

  I had nowhere to be, so with the little savings I had, I decided to travel around Central System.

  I didn’t go far, just to some of the other central planets.

  I usually liked traveling, but at the moment my mind was too distracted to take in the sights. Still, it was nice to keep moving.

  I kept nervously checking to see if Mark had left me any messages.

  Nothing.

  Slowly, the days ticked by.

  There was really only one thing to distract myself with. It appeared to be the same thing the rest of the universe was distracting itself with.

  The upcoming Illuminate wedding.

  The more I heard about Hart, the more I hated him. He seemed to embody everything that had once been wrong with Earth. Class inequality. The view that by virtue of somebody’s birth, they were better than someone else.

  I’d always despised the idea of royalty. Nobody deserves to be treated like a god among men.

  And yet it seemed that nobody else in this universe shared that particular view.

  Everyone I met was thrilled about the upcoming wedding, and they all gushed the virtues of the Illuminate family.

  I still didn’t know anything about them, and frankly, I didn’t care.

  I didn’t want to know how they justified themselves, whatever ridiculous story they spun to the rest of the universe to validate their existence.

  They were leeches, just like royalty throughout the ages, I was confident of that.

  Back on Earth, back before my virus, I’d hated sitting still. I’d always kept myself busy, learning a new language, perfecting some new skill, or just cleaning up.

  None of those skills were useful anymore: there was only one universal standard language, and there wasn’t a great deal to clean.

  Whenever I stopped for too long, my mind started imploding in on itself.

  That’s what it was doing now.

  Waiting for Mark was truly hell.

  Honestly, it was giving me a headache. An odd one. This pressure was building behind my left eye.

  Once upon a time, I’d gotten migraines, and I was sure this was just another one coming on.

  So I dismissed it.

  A mistake I would later regret.

  On the fourth day of mooching around, I found myself in a bar.

  It was mostly filled with flight crew and government workers.

  I kept to myself.

  I needed somewhere dry to sit and wait as rain pounded down outside.

  And I waited.

  I pushed my way to a corner and rested my back up against a wall.

  And I waited.

  I watched the people around me for a while.

  There was some kind of Foundation Forces Captain in the corner talking to an important looking government official. They kept shooting the holo TV above the bar excited looks.

  In fact, now I bothered to look, there were an awful lot of people in this bar. As I glanced up, more pushed their way in.

  They all shot the holo TV expectant looks.

  What was going on?

  With a cheer, the holo TV turned itself on – a ball of vibrant light slowly filtering out until it formed perfect 3D images.

  It was a broadcast of Illuminate Hart.

  I suddenly realized what was happening here. Today was the day Hart’s betrothed would be announced.

  I rolled my eyes, thankful I was far off on my own in a corner. Everyone else was thronging toward the TV.

  Though I wanted to ignore the news, I couldn’t. The audio was being broadcast throughout the bar, and it was damn loud.

  I crumpled further over my simple drink and shot the golden liquid an angry look.

  “The results are in, and the betrothed has been announced,” the news presenter said.

  The results are in? Sounded like she was reeling off the winning ticket in a lottery.

  Marrying Hart, however, didn’t sound like a lottery. It sounded like torture.

  “For the first time ever,” the news presenter got a manic grin on their face, “a newfound one will be welcomed into the Illuminate family.”

  I stiffened, my gaze swiveling to lock onto the TV.

  A newfound one?

  “A woman from old Earth, Hart’s betrothed only woke up three years ago.”

  A knot of hot-white nerves formed in my stomach.

  “She was cryogenically frozen over 400 years ago on the first of January 2020 after succumbing to a deadly virus, which at the time had no cure.”

  I couldn’t breathe.

  I couldn’t breathe.

  Everyone in the bar crowded around the TV, so there was no one to see me breakdown in the corner.

  I crumpled a sweaty hand over my chest, trying to suck in a tortured breath, but failing.

  Sweat slicked my brow, and my heart skipped every second beat.

  “Come on, tell us her name,” someone in the crowd said.

  I couldn’t breathe!

  “The wedding will be held in one year, during the alignment. It will be the biggest event the universe has seen since the last Illuminate wedding.”

  “God, they drag these things out,” someone commented.

  “Have respect,” the Foundation Captain snapped.

  “I’m sure you all want to know who this lucky earthling is,” the news presenter was clearly stringing this out.

  The crowd in the bar were still packed around the TV.

  No one even glanced my way.

  No one saw as I shook and trembled.

  “Her name is Anna Carter,” the presenter finally revealed.

  I knew that.

  I knew my own story.

  Before I could fall off my seat and tumble to the floor, the footage panned out to reveal an enormous building. It looked like some kind of palace and had massive lengths of purple fabric draped over the sides.

  The camera zoomed in to show two people standing on a huge balcony that could have fitted a small house on the smoothed white metal.

  Illuminate Hart and… a woman.

  She was standing there holding hands with Hart. He had a smile on his face. A genuine smile. It even reached his eyes.

  “Anna Carter will join the Illuminate family, and in doing so, history,” the presenter continued to waffle.

  ….

  What was going on here?

  “The next few weeks will be a whirlwind for the young Earthling. She will be introduced to the Illuminate family and its traditions before the formal engagement in three months’ time. The wedding will occur in exactly one year, during the final alignment.”

  I didn’t understand. What was being said, what was happening.

  I didn’t understand.

  “Anna’s first interview will be televised this evening. She does, however, have a few words for our captive audience.”

  The camera zoomed into the woman standing next to Hart. It lingered on a shot of the two of them staring into each other’s eyes and smiling.

  Hart looked like a different man.

  And me, I was a different woman.

  Because the lady standing next to Hart wasn’t me, even though she had my name and my exact story.

  “I don’t understand.” I crumpled a hand over my mouth and stared at the holographic TV.

  T-there had to be some kind of mistake. That woman wasn’t Anna Carter – I was.

  There couldn’t be two of us. Two Anna Carters who’d died on January 1, 2020, from an untreatable virus, only to be woken up 400 years later.

  What would the odds of that be?

  I crumpled my arms around my middle, my sweaty fingers digging into the fabric of my plain tunic.

  And I stared – stared with a wide dead gaze at the telecast.

  I’d fought to claw back my sanity
after waking up 400 years in the future. I’d fought – every day – to understand this place and to leave all memories of my past behind.

  Now my world was tumbling around me, and there was no one to turn to.

  No… no, there was Mark.

  I stumbled away from my table, knocking my drink to the floor.

  I staggered out of the bar before anyone could stop me.

  A hard, sharp sensation was building behind my left eye.

  I ignored it and ran.

  …

  I didn’t have to find Mark; he found me.

  I ran into his chest.

  Just as I was darting away from the bar, my cheeks awash with tears, I slammed into him.

  At first, I thought it was some random security officer, but when I pushed away to see Mark, I unashamedly fell forward and hugged him. “Oh my god, what the hell just happened?”

  With a firm hand on my shoulder, he pushed me back.

  I saw him glance behind me.

  “What’s going on here?” Someone asked in a curt tone as they marched up to us.

  “Sorry, sir.” Mark snapped a salute.

  I turned to see the Captain from the bar.

  He was wearing the same trim uniform Mark was, except his was embellished with three bars of alternating gold and white trimming around his cuffs and collar.

  He shot me a suspicious look. “Why did you run out of that bar?”

  I opened my mouth to answer in whatever choked tone I could manage.

  I didn’t have to.

  Mark pushed in front of me. “Sorry, sir. She’s a newfound one. Just woke up recently. She’s still quite confused. I’ve been helping her out at the institute.”

  The Captain’s suspicious gaze softened. “Oh, I see. What’s she doing off on her own if she just woke up?”

  “Our mistake, sir – we thought she was better integrated than she is. I’ll take her somewhere safe.”

  “Very well.” The Captain nodded and offered me a compressed smile. “I know this future might be confusing now, but with people here to help you, you’ll be fine.”

  I didn’t say a word.

  What was Mark doing?

  I’d woken up three years ago.

  The Captain nodded at me once more, then turned his attention to Mark. “These are confusing and dangerous times for us all, Lieutenant, I suggest you take this newfound one back to the closest institute and return to duty. We must all be vigilant in the build up to the wedding.”

  Mark snapped a salute.

  The Captain returned it, flashed me a warm smile, and walked off.

  I stared at him as he left, then, mouth still opened, turned to stare at Mark.

  He watched the Captain go, a strange expression pulling at his usually handsome features. I couldn’t place it, but there was definitely a hard edge to Mark’s usually soft gaze.

  A few seconds later, he caught me staring at him, and he lifted an eyebrow. “I got something in my teeth?”

  Mark tried to crack a joke no matter the situation. You could be running from the apocalypse, and he’d still pull you aside and try to make a funny face.

  Right now I was in no mood to laugh.

  I waited until the Captain was out of earshot, then I let my mouth drop open. “What was that?”

  “Oh him? He’s just Captain of Police. Captain Fargo. Half human, half cyborg.”

  “Mark, you know what I’m talking about.”

  Mark pressed his lips together, trying for a smile, but there was a distracted edge to it. An edge that didn’t disappear until Fargo was well out of sight.

  Mark turned to me in full, and for a few short seconds, he looked at me as if he’d never seen me before. His pale brown eyes darted left and right as if he was trying to memorize every detail of my features.

  “… Mark?”

  He shook his head. Then he leaned down and plucked up my hand.

  I spluttered. “What are you doing?”

  “Getting you off the streets, kid. Following orders and getting you someplace safe.”

  “Mark, why did you tell that guy I only woke up recently?”

  He ran a hand down his mouth, digging a thumb distractedly into his chin. “He asked, so I told him.”

  I stared at Mark as he all but dragged me along. His grip was firm around my wrist, and he kept darting his eyes left and right as if he was expecting something.

  Nerves shot through my back, and I drew to a stop, digging my feet into the smooth path before us.

  We were in a leafy, garden-like area of town. Buildings were sunk down behind alien trees, their knotted roots climbing up walls and onto roofs.

  Mark and I were now walking down a smooth metal path rimmed on both sides by golden grass.

  “Come on, kid, we need to get you someplace safe.” Mark tugged on my arm.

  His grip almost hurt as it dug into my wrist, but I didn’t yield.

  “No, Mark, tell me what the hell is going on. I-I-I saw the broadcast. And t-there—”

  Mark checked over his shoulder, apparently ignoring me.

  “Mark, what’s going on? Why did they say that woman betrothed to Illuminate Hart is Annie Carter? I’m Annie Carter. That’s my history. I’m Annie Carter.”

  Mark visibly stiffened, the muscles down his back and along his shoulders turning rigid like stone. He flicked his gaze toward me. “You’re confused, and we need to get you someplace safe.”

  “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on.”

  He wiped a sweaty hand down his mouth. I could see his fingers and palm glistening. “Just move.”

  “Mark—”

  “Listen, kid, just move. I’ll explain everything on the way. You trust me, right?”

  It was such a sudden question, and the look in his eyes was so damn intense. I couldn’t help but stand there and stare at him.

  “Do you trust me?” he repeated, his gaze somehow growing more intense, like a star ready to go nova.

  I stuttered and nodded.

  “Then come with me.” He tugged me forward.

  This time I didn’t resist.

  I let him pull me down the path and back into the city.

  There was plenty of time and opportunity for Mark to explain, yet he didn’t.

  Nor did he ever drop his grip on my wrist.

  I had no idea what was going on, and I couldn’t calm down. My heart beat so erratically, I thought I’d faint.

  The city, which had once seemed so beautiful, suddenly felt clinical and cold. All those tall white buildings and smooth walls reminded me of the room I’d woken up in three years ago.

  The day my life had changed forever.

  “Where are we going?” I asked a few times, but I never got an answer.

  As a security officer in the Foundation Forces, Mark had an implant in both his wrists. It could produce a holographic input panel just above his hand. He was now manipulating it, light from the hologram playing up under the side of his jaw and down his neck.

  He was so focused.

  “Come on, where the hell are they?” he muttered a few times.

  “M-Mark, what’s happening, where are you taking me?”

  “Don’t worry. Someplace safe,” he muttered for the tenth time.

  “D-does this have something to do with Illuminate Hart?” I couldn’t control my voice or my thoughts as I spoke.

  Had there honestly been some kind of mistake? Had the wrong woman stood on the platform beside Hart during the ceremony?

  Had Hart figured it out? Had he sent for me?

  My thoughts kept whipping around my mind like water sucking down a vortex. I thought I’d be pulled to my knees.

  I clutched my free hand to my chest, my sweaty fingers digging into the collar of my plain tunic.

  I couldn’t breathe again.

  Every time I tried to inhale, nerves drove my breath back.

  I started to wheeze.

  “Just calm down,” Mark said with a quick look my
way.

  “Calm down? H-how the hell can I calm down? I don’t know what’s happening—”

  “Just be quiet,” he snapped.

  Mark never snapped at me. No matter how much I unloaded on him, he would always take it with a smile. That’s why he’d been so brilliant. Without him, I’d never have adjusted to this future.

  “I need to concentrate,” he explained as he looked sharply over his left shoulder.

  By now it was night. The dusk on this planet was short and sharp. It was like a stage set – curtains closed. You would get a quick burst of deep purple and gold light along the horizon, then the dark would descend.

  I had no idea what section of the city we were in. Though I’d been on this particular cluster planet for a couple of days, I hadn’t explored it that much.

  Though every building we passed was new and sleek… somehow this place felt darker than the rest of the city. It wasn’t the architecture so much as the vibe. We could have easily been standing in the dingiest darkest slum of the universe.

  I shivered.

  The streets were narrower here, like labyrinths at the feet of tall towers that reached high up to the sky.

  The buildings cast long shadows, and though there was street lighting everywhere, it didn’t matter.

  It still felt cold and dark.

  There were more people hanging about. Which was unusual for the cluster planets. This may have been my first visit to the Central System, but I was starting to realize this place really was the hub of the universe. Here was where it was all run.

  Everyone I’d met so far had been rushing around with some incredibly important task to complete.

  And yet now I saw aliens leaning against walls or, for want of a better word, loitering.

  There was something in their gazes.

  “Mark,” I used my free hand to grab on his sleeve, “I don’t like it here.”

  He didn’t respond.

  “Mark, I want to go back to my hotel. I… we should call security or something. And… I should go back to the Contracts Office. Somebody there will be able to help me.”

  “That’s not going to happen, kid.”

  “Mark, just, please, tell me what’s going on?” I whimpered.

  Maybe it was something in my tone, because he finally turned to face me. With a single darting look around us, he stepped closer. “You said you trusted me.”

  “I do.”

  “Well, keep trusting me.” He tightened his grip on my wrist and tugged me forward.

  Unashamedly a few tears streaked down my cheeks.

  But I didn’t resist.

  He was the only man in the universe I trusted. It sounded grand, but it was true. I knew no one else. Sure, there were a few people from the institute, but no one like Mark.

  No one who seemed to give a damn.

  I couldn’t control myself as we continued, and I started to sob.

  As soon as I made a noise, Mark hissed at me to be quiet.

  I didn’t know what was going on. From the second I’d stepped foot in the contracts building, my life had started to break.

  Finally, we appeared to arrive somewhere.

  It was a staircase leading down. A massive staircase. It appeared to descend into a basement level, not of a building, but of the whole goddamn city.

  My eyes widened in wonder as I saw it, but the wonder couldn’t last.

  There was something ominous about that staircase.

  I didn’t know why, but a peculiar sensation started to build in my chest.

  “Mark, I don’t want to go down there,” I suddenly said, my voice firm for the first time that day.

  I stood my ground as he tried to drag me closer.

  He whirled on me, clapped his hands on my shoulders, and looked right into my eyes. “Annie, you’ve got to.”

  It was the first time he’d said my name since he’d found me.

  I swallowed at the look he shot me.

  “Annie, something’s going on, and I’ve got to get you somewhere safe.”

  “I-is it about the betrothal—” I began.

  He hushed me quiet immediately. “Just trust me, okay?” He tried to pull me toward the staircase.

  There were a lot of people using it, but none of them looked, well, savory.

  They all had a specific feel to them, the kind of feel I’d once associated with people who hung around alley mouths or loitered in the subway.

  “Just down these steps. We’ll get there soon,” he promised.

  I didn’t move.

  I couldn’t.

  I swear something locked me to the spot. It was like concrete had been poured into my legs. My knees stiffened and my feet locked into the ground.

  “Annie,” Mark hissed quietly, his frustration shaking through his voice, “come on.”

  I couldn’t move.

  What had started as a niggling pain behind my left eye now built to true agony. It felt like someone had sliced into my brain.

  Before I could let out a gasp, I got a compulsion.

  It was the only way to describe it.

  I could almost, almost see myself doing something.

  Once upon a time, I’d liked to dream. Most of all, I’d liked falling asleep and watching the hypnogogic flashes as the conscious mind slipped into sleep.

  Well, now it was like I was half falling asleep.

  I tipped back on my heels then I clutched my eye.

  Mark snapped toward me. If he’d looked frustrated before, now he looked focused.

  Mark was a funny guy, light and charming, the perfect man to rely on.

  Now he looked so different.

  Before he could say or do anything, I jerked to the left.

  Someone was coming.

  A group of people.

  It was important I got their attention.

  I stepped forward.

  I didn’t know what I was doing – I was following the compulsion building in my limbs.

  I jerked a hand up and started waving, just as a group of security officers came thundering around a corner.

  “He ran that way,” I found myself saying, copying the compulsion in my mind. “Just there.” I pointed to a random alien.

  Or at least I thought he was random.

  As soon as the security guards saw him, they took off after him, and he began to run.

  The alien – a large Borgolian warrior – pulled out a flip rifle, and started firing.

  A flip rifle was a compact weapon that could be worn on the finger like a ring until you needed it. With a flick of your hand, it would transform into a long-nosed powerful pulse rifle.

  The guy got off a shot, and a security guard slammed into my side, knocking me out of the way.

  Everything happened so fast.

  … And yet I kept up. Not because I was used to danger, but because I somehow knew what was going to happen.

  My left eye felt like it was burning.

  “Get those civilians to safety,” someone shouted.

  I recognized the voice: Captain Fargo.

  Sure enough, he came powering around the corner, a personal shield flickering over his body.

  As soon as he saw Mark, he threw him a gun and commanded him to go after the Borgolian.

  For a split second, Mark stood there and stared at me, his hand visibly twitching over his gun.

  “Move,” Fargo yelled.

  Mark darted around and followed the other security officers down the stairs.

  The security guard who’d saved me shepherded me and the other civilians to safety, then erected an emergency shield.

  I had no idea what was going on my – my body was a tangled mess of nerves.

  And yet at the same time, I knew exactly what was going on.

  In approximately 2 minutes and 45 seconds, they’d catch the Borgolian.

  Sure enough, in precisely 2 minutes and 45 seconds, there was a loud explosion and a sharp scream.

  Seconds later, Fargo walked up the now trashed
steps, the Borgolian attached to him in a containment field.

  Fargo ordered his guards around, handing the Borgolian to a fresh new detachment which came tearing around the corner.

  Then he moved to walk away, but he saw me.

  He walked over.

  I knew what he was going to say before he said it.

  He was going to thank me then question why I was here.

  It wasn’t a guess – it was… I… I didn’t know.

  I winced and clamped a hand over my left eye.

  “Thank you. My guards said you pointed out the Borgolian. Things could have gotten ugly if he’d managed to reach the basement levels.”

  I didn’t respond.

  “… What are you doing here, anyway?” Fargo’s gaze darted over my face.

  “I… where’s Mark?” I forced my hand to drop.

  “Helping clean up the mess down there. That Borgolian is not the only person we’re after. But don’t worry, I’ll have one of my guards take you some place safe. You must be very confused.”

  “I’m not confused,” I said automatically in a remarkably toneless voice.

  It wasn’t a lie, and at the same time, it was.

  The fight hadn’t befuddled me – I’d kept up with every shot and shout.

  But why I’d kept up was a mystery. Why I still knew, even know, what would happen next was terrifying.

  “You’re clutching the side of your face,” Fargo said in a kind tone, “are you in pain.”

  “I have a headache,” I said.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Anna Carter.”

  Fargo’s eyebrows crumpled, but he managed another kind smile. “You’re confused. You saw Anna Carter on the news in the bar, didn’t you?”

  I shook my head.

  “I saw you in the bar,” he continued in a patient tone. “Do you remember watching the telecast?”

  I shook my head so sharply I heard a click in my neck. “No, I’m Anna Carter. I’m betrothed.”

  “No, you’re confused. Don’t worry, I’ll get you some help. It’s normal to confuse memories when you wake up as a newfound. I’ll get you the help you need.” Fargo took a sharp step away from me and ordered one of his guards over. He explained the situation to the alien woman and directed me to be taken away.

  I didn’t resist.

  The pain behind my left eye was finally starting to subside, and it left me feeling numb.

  Before I knew it I’d been taken to a clinic, and from there to a room.

  I lay down on a bed, and I slept.

  I dreamt of a future bathed in green light.