Repossession (The Keepers Trilogy) (28 page)

“What’s the point of having us do this, then?” Lorie piped up. “I thought we were so special to you, we get special privileges or some stupid crap.”

The hum I’d come to recognize buzzed strangely from Elara’s throat, and she opened her mouth to speak. “Stand by.”

“Oh, here we go,” Lorie chided, displaying the most gigantic, overdramatic eye roll I’d ever seen.

“Clarification,” Elara finally got out, raising a pointed finger in the air. “You are important to our mission, but Skylla is privileged. She is the Seventh Shepherd. All of your recruit selections must earn her final approval before transfer to Foundation Zero.”

The suspicious glances Kale and I had witnessed before Elara entered the room were nothing now compared to the looks I was getting from the other Shepherds. “Great,” I mumbled under my breath. Just what I needed. To be singled out.

“What’s so special about being the Seventh?”

Elara looked passive as she strolled past Lorie. For a second, I thought she was going to avoid her question, but she suddenly came to a stop and her mechanical gaze shifted to me. I pressed my lips together and began to fidget, awaiting Elara’s response. I was just as curious for this information as Lorie. Likely more.

“The Seventh is sacred. Skylla comes from a lineage that means very much to us. One of her ancestors was responsible for saving our species at one point in time. We owe him a great debt.”

Everyone turned their focus on me, and I stopped fidgeting. “Wow … I …” I bit my lip and straightened, uncomfortable. It was one thing to be singled out in a group that didn’t want to be a group in the first place. It was another to have special treatment in that group. “An ancestor? Responsible for saving you? What does that have to do with me?”

“You were chosen as the Seventh long ago, during Prototype Seven’s first phase.”

“First phase?” Kale asked, his brow raising.

“What your kind knows as ancient times,” Elara replied nonchalantly, as if what she said was common knowledge. “Not long after we created your prototype, a virus infected our ships. One of them crash-landed on your planet, and one of Skylla’s family members stumbled upon it. He was exceedingly skilled in medicine practices, in healing roots and herbs. He was very intelligent, quite the scientist of his day. He provided us with a cure. To show gratitude, the Maker placed a consecration on his blood, declaring that one in his lineage would someday be deemed the Seventh Shepherd for his prototype.” Elara glided forward to meet my eyes. She studied my face, her expression thoughtful, but still cold. “She is set apart. Among what you call us—the Invaders—only the Maker and Creators have permission to speak to her, or to make any kind of physical contact with her. You will do as she says.”

Kale and I exchanged a glance at her admission, and I realized what Kale had suggested about me based on his knowledge of Keeper legends was true. Flashes of the Invader I’d shot in my backyard back in Morton rang clear in my mind. I wasn’t implanted then. It didn’t know who or what I was.

“Well, well,” Lorie singsonged, crossing her arms over her chest. “Looks like we have another set of orders to follow. Isn’t that great, guys?” She plastered on a fake smile and I glared back at her, watching the sarcasm ooze from her pores.

“I didn’t ask for this,” I hissed, not liking where this was headed.

“Whatever you say, princess.” She raised her hands and returned her attention to Elara. “Okay, so you’re one of the Creators, then, I take it? You gonna tell us when we start this thing?”

“Yes, I am. I have permission to interact with Skylla. I suppose we can begin now, if you all agree you are ready.”

All of the Shepherds looked to one another in agreement, and Elara led us from the room. First up was a massive section that looked like a factory. Humans were ushered in from a set of wide chrome doors, then guided to a stand with two long, horizontal metal poles attached. The poles formed a walkway with a clear conveyor-belt floor pad. The humans stepped on, one by one, as their hips were punched with a mechanical needle. I instantly recognized the needle device.

“This is where Prototype Seven recruits report for implantation. They arrive from your planet through there,” Elara pointed to an extended hangar deck full of Capsules, “and are implanted here, before being taken to recruitment quarters and placed into training sectors. Many of them were already implanted, for service on your planet’s training sectors. Here, we replace them with new chips, and upload them with new information for their journey to Foundation Zero.”

“So … what about all of the training camps on our planet?” I asked, studying the humans as they were herded onto the conveyer belt like animals. Invaders directed them and they obeyed, completely unarmed and at their mercy. “You select the best from those camps and then send them here, to these sectors?”

“Affirmative.”

A woman being implanted stepped down off the conveyer track, and I was stunned to stillness at the sight behind her—Hera, motionless and sullen, being guided down the belt. The girl’s cheeks were moist, her eyes red and puffy. My gaze rose to find Jet right behind her. His face was gaunt, each line around his features dry and tight, as if he were dehydrated and in sore need of sleep. My heart hurt for them both, not because I felt anything for them personally, but because they were fellow humans and they were in pain.

“Skylla,” Kale said, frantically tugging at my arm, “that’s them! Jet and Hera Phoenix.” He shot an accusatory glare at Elara. “You said we came alone. I told you about them and you denied it.”

“They’re no longer important,” I said to Kale beneath my breath. “They’re just regular recruits, like all these other humans. Calm down.”

“Calm down?” He lowered his head, his voice hushed. “But … they were our friends.”

“Can you honestly look me in the eye right now and tell me you feel anything for those strangers? They were our friends. The keyword being
were
. They’re not anymore. Simple as that.”

“No, I don’t really care about them, but I do care that Elara lied to us.”

“At the time, it was necessary,” Elara butted in. “Skylla and I have already discussed the matter. There is nothing to be concerned about. Shall we move on?” She made eye contact with the other Shepherds and resumed playing tour guide while she strolled along. Lorie and the others kept sneaking glances over their shoulders at Kale and me as we tagged behind.

“Why did they lie?” Kale asked, pulling me back a bit to create space between us and the others.

“Elara said there was already too much tension when we first arrived.”

“Yeah, I’ll give her that.”

“So she wanted to speak to me about them privately, knowing I had a history with Jet. She took me to speak with them.”

“And?”

“And that’s it. She showed me the truth, replayed my past memories. I saw them all, just like a movie. Jet was the reason I was captured. He didn’t just collect me, he led the patrol team right to me. To men like the ones who tried to rape me in the prison cell before he and I escaped.”

“Oh … sorry, Skylla.” He shrugged. “I thought he was a good guy.”

“He also messed around with someone else in that Black Hole. Some blonde. Right after I’d been with him.”

“Really?” Kale looked genuinely surprised now. “Wow. I took Jet Phoenix as a lot of things. A player wasn’t one of them.”

“Me too. Oh well.” I rolled a shoulder. “Good thing I don’t feel anything for him anymore.”

“Yeah,” Kale sent me a side-glance. “Good thing.”

Neither Jet nor Hera said a word to us as we passed by them, which was fine by me. Only feeling vague recognition for these people, even though I knew I had a past with them, was beginning to feel awkward, like having only half a memory. Steering clear of them would help ease the discomfort and allow me to focus on my new mission, my new life. I was the Seventh Shepherd now. I was a Keeper, responsible for looking out for the human race, and now the Invaders needed me, too. They wanted to live on Foundation Zero together and offer us a new planet, and I would do what I needed to do to help make that happen.

* * *

“There’s no way I’m getting on that thing,” Lorie griped. A massive round wheel that resembled something like a hamster wheel greeted us when we entered the fitness training arena. The plain walls were—surprise, surprise—white. The entire arena was clean and distraction free, and windowless, unlike many other areas I’d seen in Lucenta so far. From the sleeping quarters to the hallways, every other area seemed surrounded by at least one wall of glass with an underwater view of the Pacific Ocean.

“I second that,” I said, eyeing the treadmill device. Someone was caged inside, doing some cardio, while others were scattered around the rest of the arena using various weightlifting machines.

“Today we will begin with physical fitness. You may begin where you wish,” Elara replied, holding out her hands to show us the wealth of fitness equipment. “As you make your way from station to station, be sure to observe the others. Get a feel for those you would like to recruit. Those who do not meet expectations will be shipped back to Prototype Seven at the completion of their testing.

“Ah, before I leave you, one more thing.” Elara turned and summoned a group of Invaders. Their agile legs carried them over to us, and they presented us with weapons. Elara watched us take the guns. “For your protection. You never know when you’ll need it.”

“You …you trust us with weapons?” one of the male Shepherds asked. I’d heard Lorie call him Ray earlier. “None of the recruits seem to have them.”

Elara tilted her head to look at Ray with a smug quirk of her lips, the expression unnatural. “Of course we trust you. You have pledged your commitment to your destiny.” She was right—and smart. Entrusting us with weapons was the perfect way to put our loyalty to the test. “Recruits are permitted to carry weapons upon completion of training. Shepherds are granted the luxury immediately.”

“So … we just start working out and introducing ourselves?” Kale asked, cocking a brow.

“Affirmative.”

Elara left us to it and the seven of us stood there, shoulder to shoulder, looking out at the massive workout arena.

“Well,” Kale said, scratching his head. “This should be interesting.”

Interesting? More like … incredibly boring.

Lorie cursed under her breath and strode across the room, slinking away somewhere in the far right-hand side, near the elliptical machines. Ray and the other Shepherds slowly weaved their way around the treadmill crowd and split up into different sections throughout the arena.

“What do you say, partner?” Kale asked. “How about we take a stroll and see what catches our eye?” He extended an arm and I slipped mine through it. He extended a hand with a little fake bow, gesturing for me to lead the way.

“Sounds like a plan.”

We walked the perimeter arm in arm, checking out each workout station as we went. I sighed.

Exhilarating stuff.

I stopped when I spotted a boxing ring. Hitting stuff sounded good right about now. “How about that?” I asked.

“You ever fight?”

“I could learn, I guess.” Kale agreed, and we climbed the side of the ring to wait our turn and watch the others. We lined up behind a guy and a girl, who both were less than thrilled to see us.

“We don’t care who you are,” one of the girls said, her red curls bouncing at her shoulders as she spoke. “And we couldn’t care less about impressing you enough to let us come to Foundation Zero with you, so don’t waste your breath trying to convince us of your greatness.”

“Yeah,” the guy said, scanning our blue suits. “You might be dressed like us, but you’re not like us. We’re here to serve the Invaders, but we don’t get special privileges. We have to work for our place here.”

Kale and I snuck glances at one another. Blue text scrolled across my vision, causing me to blink.

“Andrea Adams,” a voice that sounded much like Elara’s said, then filled my ears with an entire profile rundown on the girl before me. The blue text rolled and sparked, laying out a record of everything I’d ever want to know about Andrea Adams: her old street address, number of siblings, what her college major was back on Prototype Seven. I dismissed the profiling report so I could focus on Andrea. “That’s not … impressing us isn’t necessary,” I said. “And you’re right. We do get special privileges. But we’re not here to throw that in your face. We’re all in this thing together, okay?” I extended a hand, and the redhead eyed me like I’d sprouted two heads. “Skylla. And this is my friend Kale.”

“How’s it goin’?” Kale offered his hand.

“Profiling kind of makes traditional introductions obsolete, huh?” Andrea said, a stubborn smile springing on her lips. “But what the hell. I’m Andrea.” She carefully accepted our handshakes and pointed to her guy friend. “And this is Paul.”

It was beyond weird to see a stranger’s life rolled out for you before you even met them. Yet the reality was, we
were
here to observe these people, just as much as we were here to get our bodies into shape for the journey to Foundation Zero. Andrea and Paul knew, just as Kale and I did, that there was little point in making friends with them. Eventually, as Shepherds, we’d decide who went to Foundation Zero, and who was shipped back to Prototype Seven and ultimately sentenced to death there. Thankfully, it seemed like Andrea and Paul were one step ahead of us.