Fragment of Destiny

A faint strip of light broke the darkness and Demetrius’s eyes fluttered open. He felt the strain of his impossibly heavy eyelids and soon they were closed again. All he had seen were white ceiling tiles. White not grey…

Forcing his neck to turn like a rusted hinge he willed his eyes open once more. The room was small and completely unfurnished. He was lying on the floor, but where? A hospital? That seemed right, but he couldn’t be sure. He felt a lurking shadow of jumbled events in the fog of his mind. Like a point of intense light, a memory flickered and he could almost remember. Slowly and with all his effort he turned his head to the other side.

A dark window with an oppressive blackness seemed to suck the very light from the room even as it sapped his remaining strength. His breathing became labored, and the very air felt thick like syrup coating his lungs. Something was beeping in the distance, but it was fading even as he faded. The last thing he saw was a woman standing over him. She was afraid he could tell that much, he wondered if he should be afraid too, but instead, all he could think about was sleep.

“How is he?”

“Better, the sedative is starting to wear off, and he should be conscious soon.”

So, I am not dead then… Demetrius could hear someone crying. Why were they crying, he was not dead, wasn’t that a good thing?

The sobbing stopped, “Thank you.” It was a woman’s voice.

“I will send out a notification when he is awake and able to have visitors.”

There were a few shuffling footsteps then a door clicked shut. Straining he rallied his strength, “Why am I not dead?” Demetrius asked in a whisper his eyes still too heavy to open.

“You’re not dead, because my employer wishes to talk to you, and he can’t do that if you’re a corpse.”

Demetrius grunted in reply, it was too much effort to form words. But after a brief rest, he tried again, “Why can’t I move?”

“You were sedated, As I hear, you have been very uncooperative so far. I am hoping that will change now that you have arrived safely.”

“Arrived where?”

“You have not fully recovered. Rest, and we can have this conversation another time.”

Demetrius felt panic begin to rise inside of him burning off the sedative like the morning sun to a cloud. Something was wrong, very wrong. He didn’t know where he was, they wouldn’t tell him, and something, something important, was missing.

“No, No!” Demetrius screamed as he bolted upright, “I have to find it!” He turned an evil glare towards the man in the room. “What did you do with it? Give it to me!” Demetrius snarled.

The man dressed in nonstandard clothing recoiled and fumbled for a com-pad along the wall. In a moment Demetrius was on his feet and had the man cornered by the door. He screamed, at the cowering man, with a rage that surprised even him. “Where is it? What did you do with it!”

The door beside them slid open and a large man more than twice his size stepped in. Demetrius fixed the intruder with feral eyes. Maybe this one knows? Clutching a fist full of the bulky man’s jacket Demetrius roared his demand. “Give it back!”

Suddenly his vision rotated and he struck the floor. He thrashed as monstrous hands held him down. In a moment all of his rage and energy faded away leaving the world in a haze.

“I’m sorry,” Demetrius muttered. He didn’t even know why he was apologizing only that it was the right thing to do. “I’m sorry.”

Demetrius opened his eyes to a bright white room with spotted ceiling tiles. He lay in a bed, and a slender woman sat beside him. Long black hair cropped a scrunched-up face that rested on an open palm. Her eyes were closed and she leaned heavily on her right arm. She emitted soft steady breathing like a baby’s snore. He felt like he knew her somehow, but her name eluded him. Despite that, she must have known him at least. Why else would she have fallen asleep at his bedside?

Demetrius tried to sit up but found his arms and legs bound by restraints and a tight strap saddled his chest. At his jostling, the woman stirred from her sleep and a beautiful smile touched her face. Yes, she definitely knew him. Surely, he could never have forgotten someone so beautiful. Yet he could not think who she was. She wiped tears from her eyes but continued to smile.

“How do you feel?” She asked.

How did he feel? Demetrius took a moment to internalize the question. “Tired and my head hurts, but I think, better than I was.” He wanted to ask why he was being restrained but didn’t. Instead, he chose to lay there drowning in the woman’s beautiful green eyes.

“I’ll go let the doctor know you’re awake.” She said giving his hand a squeeze before getting up to leave. His eyes lingered on the door after she had gone. He racked his mind for her name, nothing…

Several minutes later the woman reappeared followed by two men, a smaller nervous-looking man and the other easily twice Demetrius’s size. The larger of them looked excited as if he had been waiting for this moment. Both men looked familiar but again he could not be sure.

“Everything looks in order. It is safe to proceed,” The smaller man said examining a datapad.

The big man smiled before making his way to Demetrius. “Avery, you have done well here. Go get some rest.”

“Thank you, sir,” Avery said and quickly made his way from the room.

“Tess you look tired, you really should sleep as well.” The big man said to the woman. Tess, so that was her name. It seemed right, like the fitting of a puzzle piece in his mind.

“Can I stay? Please, I am fine really,” She pleaded softly. The man nodded then turned his attention back to Demetrius.

“It is good to finally meet the great Demetrius Cross. Though I wish it were under better conditions, for you that is.”

Demetrius Cross, yes, that name sounded right as well.

“I am Larry Renkofski, and you are lucky to be alive right now,” Larry said as he began unfastening the restraints.

Demetrius stared back unsure what to make of the situation. Though given he was in a hospital surrounded by people who he did not know, yet they clearly knew him, it lent an air of credibility to the man’s statement.

“What happened to me?” Demetrius asked.

“What do you remember?”

Demetrius tried to navigate the murky mush of his mind for an answer. Vague, obscure images of people and places faded in and out like the passing of a cloud in front of the sun. “Nothing specific, everything is jumbled up and nothing sticks.”

Larry frowned, “As I thought.”

“What is?” Demetrius asked.

“You have just survived a traumatizing event, Mr. Cross. Your brain was damaged, and we were forced to inhibit certain memories in order to keep you sane. I feared that the inhibitor would interfere with the rest of your memory and it seems that it has.”

Demetrius could see the woman, Tess, fidgeting nervously beside him. “Can you take it off?” Demetrius asked.

“Right now, no. I do not know what would happen to you if we did that. It is even possible that you might die.”

Demetrius felt a sinking weight at the man’s words. All his memories, and whoever he once was, gone. Despite the tragedy of it all, Demetrius’s heaviness was short lived. He was obviously among friends, and if his memories were too dangerous to restore, then maybe these people could fill in the gaps.

“I see. If you can’t take it off, will you answer some questions?” Demetrius asked.

“I will tell you what I can. Ask.”

“Thank you. You called me great. Who am I?” Demetrius asked. He heard a sob from Tess as she covered her mouth with both hands. Larry, however, took the question in stride.

“I called you great because until recently you were one of the foremost experts in the field of genetics and bioengineering.”

“So, what you’re saying is if I could just remember things, I would be a pretty smart guy.”

“That is quite an understatement, Mr. Cross.”

“So why am I here? What happened to me?”

“To the best of my knowledge, you discovered something in your research. Something The Overseer wanted to keep a secret. As a result, you were charged with illegal research practices and even branded a traitor. They claimed you were leaking vital Imperium information to rebel factions. And of course, the punishment for traitors is death.”

“Then why am I not dead?”

“Because lucky for you, the Imperium and I don’t exactly see eye to eye. If you know something they are willing to kill you for. Then I figured it’s worth knowing too.”

“But with my memories all locked up what good am I to you now?” Demetrius asked, fear permeating him even as the words left his mouth. What would happen when this frightening man decided he was broken beyond repair?

“I am of the firm belief that you will make a full recovery in my care. At which time you will tell me everything I wish to know. I saved your life, and in exchange, you will share with me what makes The Overseer so afraid of you that he wanted you dead. Sound like a fair trade?” Larry said an eyebrow raised in question.

Demetrius nodded, it sounded more than fare. He shifted his gaze to Tess who had fallen asleep again in a chair beside his bed. Pausing for a moment, he let his eyes linger over her.

“Who is she?”

Larry smiled, “That is the daughter of Arthur LaBou. The man who was the greatest bio-engineer and geneticist in the Imperium, until you.”

“So, her father and I, we were rivals?”

“The opposite actually. You were his protégé.”

“Then her father, what happened to him?”

“Nothing yet. It seems whatever you uncovered didn’t involve him. Though we have our eye on him just in case.”

It made Demetrius feel a little better knowing the people who had rescued him were also watching out for Tess’s father.

“Tess is doing some very important work here, and perhaps she will share it with you in the morning. But for now, we should all get some rest,” Larry said before getting up. Like a father carrying a sleeping infant, he scooped Tess into his arms and gently placed her on a second bed across the small room.

Demetrius let his eyes linger over Tess’s still form until the lights timed out. With the darkness crowding in around him he suddenly felt drained but his mind would not rest. It continued on churning through the fog of nothingness, searching in vain for the memories that had been locked away.

It felt like he had only just closed his eyes and the night was gone. Once again bright lights filled the room and he could hear footsteps approaching as his eyes fluttered open. It was Avery.

“Good morning Demetrius,” Avery said standing at the bedside.

“Already?” Demetrius said with a tired groan.

“Yes, and I have some good news. As of today, I am officially releasing you from bed rest. Your vitals are all in order. Yami here will show you to your new quarters and give you a rundown of the next step in your recovery,” Avery said with a gesture to a man by the door. Demetrius hadn’t noticed him until just then. The man had shoulder length curly black hair and he was large, but not nearly as large as Larry had been.

Demetrius carefully stood on wobbly legs. He hadn’t noticed just how sore his body had become from lying for so long. Despite the pain, it felt good to be on his feet.

“First things first why don’t you get changed,” Yami said indicating to a small pile of clothes at the foot of the bed. Demetrius looked to the other bed where Tess still slept half covered by a thin sheet, one-foot dangling off the bedside. Despite her being asleep Demetrius felt awkward changing with her in the same room.

With haste, he stripped off the covering which was nothing more than a sheet with armholes and quickly put on the loose fitting clothes. Slipping his feet into a pair of shoes at the end of his bed he stooped down to tie them. His hand hesitated a moment, then muscle memory took over.

Outside the hall was mostly a matte gray with a single strip of lights overhead. At the end of the short hallway, Yami punched a few keys on a wall terminal. There was an awkward silence of a few seconds before an elevator door slid open. Then the awkward silence resumed inside. When the elevator stopped, it opened into a small room full of cleaning supplies. Yami pushed a cart out from in front of the elevator and stepped into the cramped space. Demetrius did likewise, brushing up against Yami and racks of supplies in an attempt to find room to stand. When the Elevator door closed it drew flush with the wall and was completely invisible even before Yami pushed the cart back in front of it. Jockeying for room to maneuver Yami reached up and ran his hand along the low ceiling. There was a nearly inaudible click as Yami’s index finger sunk into the matt grey. Demetrius pressed close against the racks of supplies in an attempt to give Yami what little space he could as a hidden ladder dropped from an opening above. The mettle ladder shook as Yami began his ascent.

“Why did the elevator open into a closet?” Demetrius asked as he started his climb.

“Enforcers. The same guys who were after you, they occasionally inspect the hospital. Larry doesn’t like them snooping around in his business and Avery is Larry’s personal physician. So, he does what he can to keep him out of harm’s way.”

“Are the enforcers after Larry as well?”

“Yes and no. As you will find out, the Imperium has a lot of unfair rules. And the enforcers, of course, enforce them. I have lived in both Central and Crescent, and I can tell you, the enforcers here, they are nasty compared to the ones in Central.”

Crescent… where ever that was. “Larry said that he and the Imperium don’t see eye to eye. Does that make Larry an outlaw then?”

Yami laughed nearly losing his footing on the flimsy ladder, “I guess so. But when the law wants to have you arrested and then executed just for doing the assignment, they gave you. Then tell me who the outlaw really is.”

“Is that what happened to Larry?”

“I was talking about you.”

Demetrius nodded and followed Yami the rest of the way up to a roof landing atop a low building. A biting wind washed over them causing their breath to turn into puffs of smoke. Demetrius shuffled a few steps over the snow-covered rooftop. Looking out he took in the view from all sides. Most of the city was visible from where he stood. It looked as if a large hand had taken a chunk out of the side of an enormous mountain leaving it in the shape of a crescent. In the side of the concaved rock face was a climbing building carved from the very stone. It was the only building that went more than one level high.

“This is amazing,” Demetrius said when he found the words.

“This entire city used to be underground. Before the construction of Central, this was the great domed city. Back then many of the buildings were much taller, most reaching all the way up to the top of the dome,” Yami said pointing in the direction of the cliff overhang.

“If you look you can still see where the rest of the dome and the city used to be before it collapsed.”

“What caused it to collapse?”

“Not sure, history from that time period is sparse, but war most likely,” Yami slapped Demetrius on the back encouraging him to the edge of the roof before swinging both legs over the lip.

“Let’s go,” Yami said and pushed off. It was not far to fall yet Demetrius wondered if there was not a better way down.

With nothing else for it, so he did likewise. The drop was even shallower than it had looked Demetrius noted as he crunched down in a small puff of powdery snow. Beside him, Yami was removing a white and brown camouflaged tarp from a long mechanical contraption with two indentations that looked like they were supposed to pass as seats. Quickly Yami slipped on a helmet which he seemed to have pulled from the freezing air. In a moment he was helping Demetrius do the same. The helmet felt awkward on his head and Demetrius groaned as something pressed uncomfortably into the base of his skull.

“Sorry about that but at least you won’t have to wear it for long. The main thing is to have one on. The last thing we need is to be stopped by an enforcer for something as stupid as a helmet violation,” Yami said directing Demetrius to sit in the indentation near the rear of the craft.

Soon they were hovering above the ground and Demetrius wondered if this was another of the things he should have remembered. Exiting the narrow alley beside the hospital Yami maneuvered the craft onto an open street filled with similar vehicles. With each turn, Demetrius noticed they were getting gradually closer to the large overhang for which the city had been named.

“Are we headed to that large building in the mountain?” Demetrius asked, yelling over the noise of the busy street.

“Yes,” Yami said, his voice coming from inside the helmet. “And you don’t have to yell.”

“What kind of a place is it?”

“The name is Raiden’s Den. It is an artisan guild. It was started by Halsinion missionaries after the war. When they returned to their own country Larry took over and rebuilt most of Crescent.”

“Was that the war that destroyed the dome?”

“What? No. You really can’t remember anything can you?”

“No, I’m sorry.”

Yami sighed, “There are two major powers on this side of The Great Rift. The Imperium and the Halsinion nation. Just before you and I were born the Imperium started a war with the Halsinions. After several seasons the Halsinions pushed the Imperium back to Crescent. If you look at a grid, you will find that Crescent is near the halfway point between the two. Crescent was almost completely destroyed before the Imperium surrendered. Lucky for us the Halsinions have never been into conquering people. After the war, they went back home content to let us rebuild.”

Demetrius soaked in as much as he could but the more information he got, the more questions it raised. “But if Larry was rebuilding Crescent how come he is at odds with the Imperium and the enforcers?”

Yami barked a laughed, “That’s the Imperium for you. They left everyone for dead. They were content to leave Crescent as nothing more than a bombed-out grave site. It was not until the local economy was back on its feet that the Imperium took an interest in our city. At first, Larry tried to work with them, but instead, they just demanded control of everything he had built.”

Demetrius could tell that Yami was becoming agitated by the topic, so he decided to try and change the subject. “You mentioned the Imperium and Halsinion nation as the dominant nations on this side of The Great Rift. What is that?”

“It’s a massive valley full of water separating us from Ama-Rabbe.”

Ama-what? Demetrius was about to ask, but they were pulling into a tunnel at the base of the enormous stone building. Yami glided to a stop in an underground room filled with similar crafts. Behind them, a large metal door came down from the ceiling closing them in.

A moment later Yami was helping wriggle Demetrius free of his helmet. Demetrius groaned with relief, as the helmet was removed and the pressure to the base of his skull vanished. Without even waiting for a word of thanks Yami was ushering Demetrius on. While Yami had seemed disposed to answer questions while on the ride he now moved with agitated haste down the all but identical stone tunnels. Most people they passed paid them no mind as they went about their own business. A dark-skinned woman brushed past them and she gave Demetrius a nasty glare, hatred plain in her eyes.

“What’s her problem?” Demetrius asked jogging to catch up with Yami.

“Her name is Admeta, and she does not trust new people for one. That and two of her friends were severely injured while rescuing you. One is paralyzed from the waist down, and the other is waiting on a prosthetic leg. So naturally, she blames you.”

“What happened?” Demetrius asked, a flutter in the pit of his stomach

“We made a mistake. That’s what happens when you make a mistake. People get hurt, or people die. I just hope rescuing you wasn’t one,” Yami said slapping his palm to a panel beside a door which slid open revealing a messy room. Tools and trinkets were distributed at random amid stacks of old books and a massive sheet of grid paper along the floor. Demetrius felt hollow inside. All the effort these people went through to save him, and he couldn’t remember anything.

“Down here,” Yami said rounding a corner at the end of the room, “This is where you will be staying.”

Demetrius maneuvered around the clutter careful to avoid the stacks and piles as best he could.

“Yours will be the one on the left,” Yami said pointing down the short hall with three doors at the end forming a cross.

The room was small more of a closet really. A narrow bed was anchored into the stone wall and Demetrius’s knees would nearly brush the opposite wall if he sat on its edge.

“Like Doc Avery said I am going to be helping you with your memory recovery. Come on back out here and have a seat on the couch,” Yami said leading Demetrius back to the cluttered room. Yami brushed away papers and crumbs from the couch motioning for Demetrius to sit before taking a seat at a terminal nearby.

“Now what?” Demetrius asked as the clacking of keys filled air.

“I am going to dial back the inhibitor, and we will see what happens.”

Demetrius closed his eyes and leaned back on the rigid couch. A moment later a soft tingling like a massage danced along his scalp.

“Ok, that should do it. Can you remember anything from before you woke up?” Yami asked taking a seat on the arm of the couch.

Demetrius focused trying to draw memories from the fog but came up empty every time, “I can’t remember anything.” Demetrius said pressing his chin to his chest and let out a huff. Yami worked his jaw, eyes closed in contemplation.

“Let’s try this,” Yami said then he began searching the room for something.

“What are you looking for?”

“This,” Yami said victoriously. In his hand, he held a small black sphere with pulsing blue lines of lights. He twisted the device in his hand the outer layer moving like a shell composed of many interlocking plates.

“What is that?” Demetrius asked eyeing the device wearily when Yami handed it to him. The outer plates were cool but a mild warmth radiated from the cracks between the plates.

“This is the sensorium. It is a memory sphere. With this, we should be able to get past the inhibitor and retrieve some of your memories. With any luck, we will find something that will help you start to remember organically.”

“What do I have to do?”

“Just close your eyes and clear your mind. Almost as if you were trying to go to sleep and the device will do the rest.”