From Darkness Comes - Book 2 in The Dissonance Series

The Freak Show

Despite my reservations, I visit Wyler the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that, always cautiously keeping an emotional distance. I continue to go back, and he continues to get better. Thanks to his Mod genes, it's not long before he's back on his feet. 

We spend our days walking throughout the ship, talking, and sometimes, even laughing. My heart feels light when I'm around him. It's a welcome change and a feeling that I wasn't sure I'd ever experience again. The other passengers stare at us and keep a distance. Curious, but cautious. Wyler and I live in a protected bubble, soaking up every minute. Only my daily briefings on the logistics of locating The Snow Moon and landing, bring me back to reality. Sometimes I wish we could stay in our little bubble forever, insulated from the outside world. What awaits us out there is unknown and the unknown fills me with a sense of uneasiness.

Wyler never asks me what happened after he turned me over to Environettix and I never offer up the information. I don't think he wants to know the details, and I certainly have no desire to relive them. Over time, I actually find myself smiling again. The odd thing is that this is how I always imagined it being with Wyler and I, if we had been given the chance to actually be together, but thinking about that fills me with immense guilt. I would much rather have Lex alive and with me, then have Wyler all to myself. Some days the guilt is suffocating. It rests upon my chest like a weighted vest, making it difficult to breathe. Wyler and I never speak of Kelly or Lex. We never speak of my parents or his mother and siblings. Remembering the past is pointless and painful. I decide to take on the narrative that Environettix has written for me, at least for now. I am the Mod with the sole ability to procreate, that will save humanity from itself. I don't fully know what will await us once we arrive on The Snow Moon, nor do I know exactly what Environettix's plans are for me, but I try to change my attitude surrounding the whole experience. Still, I keep my guard up with Wyler, never letting him in more than I can comfortably shut him out. I had the situation pretty under control, until the day he asked me out.

"Hey Ever," he says, sounding slightly nervous. He stands next to me in the greenhouse as I shovel dirt into a pot, replanting some flowers. Each passenger is required to take part in a certain number of activities or "chores" within the ship. It's to prepare the wealthy clientele, who have little experience with servitude, in understanding the importance of pitching in. Things will be different on The Snow Moon. There won't be personal housekeepers or chefs where we're going.

"Hi," I smile, handing him a shovel. He grabs it reluctantly and looks up at a camera in the corner of the room, scowling in irritation. He doesn't like that Environettix tells him what to do and that they're always watching to see if he's doing it. I don't either, but it's not worth the fight.

"I was looking at the cafeteria yesterday, there's some pretty nice restaurants in there."

"Pretty nice" is an understatement and "cafeteria" is hardly the word that I would use to describe the posh restaurants housed inside the ship. Environettix included a wide variety of restaurants with five star atmosphere and food. They left innocent children behind to die, but spared room for the world's greatest chefs. Their callousness disgusts me, and I refuse to eat at any of the restaurants on principle.

"I was thinking we could give one of them a try."

"Why would we want to eat at any of those places?" I ask in irritation that he has even suggested it. "It's Environettix's way of pleasing the upper echelon, which we are neither a part of, nor do I desire to be." I stuff a flower in the pot and pat a scoop of dirt around it.

"I know, but I thought it might be fun. Mix things up. Make dinnertime a little less monotonous."

I give him my best, "you've got to be kidding me" look.