Fan Fiction ❯ Dark ❯ Li ( Chapter 4 )

Weeks later, Edinger came home late and let himself into the house.  Rain and Dark were probably asleep, he thought.  They should have been, given that it was a school night.  Though for some reason, the light was on in his study.

He walked down the hall and looked inside.  It was Dark, sitting in his chair, staring at a holo of the world that sat on his desk.  She tapped the base, and the globe switched to different hues.

"Dark," he said.  She paused for a moment then looked up.  He checked the time.  It was past midnight.  "You should be in bed."

She turned back to the globe and switched it to the weather-watch setting.

"Dark," he repeated, keeping his voice firm.

"Do they know about your daughter?" she asked abruptly without looking at him.

The question caught him off guard.  "Excuse me?"

She repeated herself.  "Do they know about Rain?" 

"What about Rain?"

Her eyes met his.

That's when it hit him in the stomach. Did she mean…  Dread weighed like a hole in his gut.  He felt the warmth drain from his face.  He glanced to the computer on the desk.  The screen was dark.  It was locked and password protected.  Or it was supposed to be.

How did she know?

"Dark.  Explain to me what you mean by that."

Her voice was low, calm.  "Do they know she has the Power too?"

His breath caught in his throat.  He felt like he was falling.  How did she know?

"I spend time with her," Dark explained.  "She's different.  I know.  I feel the same about everyone, but not her.  When she's around, it feels…."  She couldn't finish that sentence.  She stared hard at the floor, teeth clenched.

Edinger decided to tread carefully.  "Listen, Dark.  What you're feeling is probably an emotion.  Rain's been tested.  The results came out negative."

Black eyes bore into him, held him in place.  Edinger realized that he had never known what it was like to be on the receiving end of Dark's power.  He could feel it, something, starting to rise in the air.  He was reminded once again that this girl wasn't exactly human.

"You're lying."  This was said with cool certainty.  "The results were positive, but you destroyed the evidence."

Edinger felt frozen in place.  He remembered, Dark could read surface thoughts.  He tried very hard to think about something else other than Rain.

Dark blinked.  She redirected her eyes to the floor.  She grimaced.  "You don't want your daughter to die."

"Can you blame me?" he asked quietly.  "Listen, please.  Rain's never been exposed to the Front.  Her abilities haven't been triggered, and she's past the critical age now.  The Power may never develop in her at this point."

Dark said nothing.

Edinger continued.  "You'll do nothing by bringing this out in the open.  Please, Dark.  Let's keep this between us.  It won't change anything."

Dark regarded him in silence.  "I won't bring it up," she said after a moment.  "That's not what I want."

Relief.  Edinger felt relief.  Until…

"I want to see my brother," Dark said.

Edinger held his breath, closed his eyes.  No, Dark…

"The news said the Front is hanging around near their settlement," she continued.  "I want him here.  Bring my aunt and uncle too.  They're not answering my calls.  The news said it isn't near a critical peak, but I just want to make sure they're okay."

The decision to leave Dark's brother behind in Li had not been Edinger's.  Dark's aunt and uncle were his legal guardians, and they had decided to keep him with them.  The law gave Edinger the right to take Dark with him no matter what they said, but that right didn't extend to her brother.  He remembered promising them both that they would see each other again.

Now he wished he hadn't made that promise.

"Dark," he said carefully.  "That's not possible."

She stared at him.

He took a breath.  "Dark, Li was hit yesterday.  It hasn't been on the news.  There's no one left."

Silence.  She blinked once.  Something flickered across her face.  Then it was gone.  She looked down, head bowed.

"I'm sorry," he said.

Strands of black hair hung in front of her eyes.  He couldn't see her face.  She didn't move for a long time.  Edinger finally took a step forward, one hand reaching for her shoulder.  But she let out a strange sound.  It was a snarl.  He withdrew his hand.

She lifted her head.  The look in her eyes was hard.  There were no tears.  But there was something else.  Edinger noticed that she was starting to shake just a little.

"You."  There was accusation in that single word.  "You let them die."

"No."  Edinger shook his head.  "No.  The Front is difficult to predict.  We had no way of knowing that it would shift trajectory--"

"You're lying."  Her brow furrowed.  She was facing him but she wasn't seeing him.  "You're thinking about it even though you don't want to.  You knew.  But you didn't evacuate them."

She stopped, looking away.  He could hide nothing.

"It wasn't my choice," he said finally.  "You can see that too, can't you?  The city made a decision."

"You didn't even warn them.  They had no clue the Front was coming."  Dark looked him in the eye.  "You're the only ones researching the Front on this whole stupid planet, and now you're not even giving people warnings?  What use are you anyway!"

"They would have all come here if they had known.  The city can only hold so many.  The council made a decision.  It wasn't me, or anyone else at the lab.

"Try to understand, Dark.  We only have one chance.  That's you.  We can save only this city, and we can only save it once."

Dark was staring wide-eyed into the corner of the room.  Edinger didn't like where this was going.  Without any of her family left, Dark had no reason to sacrifice her life for the sake of anybody else.  If the Front hit Locos, she might just ride it out.  She wouldn't call upon her powers.  She wouldn't die for any of them.

"Please--"

She surged to her feet.  The holographic world was in her hand.  She screamed and hurled it at the wall.  The base missed Edinger's head by inches before flying into the wall and shattering into pieces, leaving a dent.  The world flickered and disappeared.

"Dark--"

She looked at him.  The next thing he knew, something pushed him, and the room was reeling back away from him.  He collided with the wall in the corridor.  A sharp pain shot in from the base of his skull.  He crumpled.  The world was pain.  He tried to lift his head but couldn't.  Everything was spinning.  And that pain, so sharp and intense…

He heard footsteps, someone running.  His daughter's voice: "Oh my god."  She fell to her knees beside him.

A human tornado flew past them.  He felt it.  The air was heavy as she passed.  Then Dark was down the hall.  A door hit the wall as it was flung open.

He was in too much pain to try and stop her.  They had the monitor, at least.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.