From Darkness Comes - Book 2 in The Dissonance Series

No Guarantees

As I enter the building where the celebration is being held, I can't help but audibly gasp. Even in my apathetic state, I can appreciate the beauty of this place. Vines drip from the ceiling, interwoven with some sort of wireless light source which fills the space with a soft warm glow, like fireflies twinkling in the night. Through the glass ceiling above, hues of pinks and oranges dance across the sky, like the Northern Lights of outer space. A sunset without the sun. While inside, a menagerie of humans on full display, parading around in their best attire, acting as if they're at a ball, yet trapped like animals in a cage.

I spot my brother from across the room, standing with a group of strangers all dressed in Environettix uniforms. He waves me over. I hesitate, not wanting to spend the evening surrounded by Environettix goons, but he waves me over again, more forcefully this time.

"Sister," he greets me with a head nod. "So glad you made it."

"To the party or to this planet?"

"Both," he smiles. I've missed his smile. The image of it faded after so many years without him. I barely remembered what it looked like until now.

"You look stunning," he says, taking me in. His little sister is a woman now. I'm sure it's as weird for him to see me after all this time as it is for me to see him. The general and the sole procreator: we make quite the pair.

"We need to talk," I state, skipping the pleasantries.

"I'm sure you'd rather relax and have some fun after your long journey," he says through a forced smile, looking around at watchful eyes.

"I'm sure I'd rather not."

"Come, let's take a walk," he says, grabbing me by the elbow and guiding me away from the intrusive stares of what feels like every person in the room.

"Can we go somewhere quiet?" I ask, not wanting for the entire planet's population to witness our conversation.

"Oh, I don't think that's a good idea," he chuckles lightly. "The louder the noise around us, the better. Just walk and talk and smile. Act like you're having fun. They'll ignore us soon enough."

I force a smile, which seems to appease the other party-goers. They sip their strange blue cocktails and continue their conversations as my brother and I make our way around the room, weaving in and out between groups of people, towards a section of trees with white glowing lanterns hung from the branches. Vegetation is abundant, even indoors.

"What is Environettix going to do with me? What do they want from me?" I inquire, once it seems like we are no longer the center of attention.

"Well you're certainly getting straight to it, aren't you?"

"That's why I'm here, isn't it? The reason I was saved and forced to come to this planet?"

"I can't tell you exactly what they want with you, both because it's not time yet and because I don't fully know all the details. There are things, even I, am kept in the dark about."

He smiles at a group of guests, and gives them a polite head nod as we pass, perfectly playing the role of the gallant General Attwood.

"Why are you working for them?"

"With them," he corrects me.

"Okay, with them." I roll my eyes. Semantics hardly seem important.

"To bridge the gap. Environettix learned long ago that they need us, Mods, for our genes, for our superior intellect, for many things. I convinced them that forcing us to do what they wanted wouldn't go as well as getting us to work with them willingly."