2050: The Beginning of the End

Chapter 8: Lilian

All these years, I swore Mom never told a lie; there are no words to describe the realization that most of what she told me was in fact untrue.

What am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to be angry? Am I supposed to understand that, even though she knew I was a Superior, she let me continue living in ignorance?

Am I supposed to believe the word of the ten-year-old girl, Katerina, who gave me a crash course in what my life is becoming? Am I supposed to accept without a shadow of a doubt that I have a talent, not a medical condition? Do I just accept the supposed fact that Jason doesn't have seizures after all, and that he has known more than me about this all along?

Am I supposed to take my mother's seemingly honest word, or trust these strangers who knew her from long distance communications?

What am I supposed to do when I've possibly been living a lie for years?

Logic tells me this is ridiculous, but somehow I know that what Katerina and the others have told me is true.

In a way, this all makes sense. The deadly-serious way Mom always said that if she told me about her and Dad's work, she'd have to kill me. The way she always explained things away.

Mom was an Unspeakable, and she was trying to protect me from myself in a way.

I've decided that I trust these kids, and if it keeps me and Jason safe, I swear to secrecy just like my parents.

I glance down at my breakfast, a bowl of cereal because cereal is the cheapest food to scrounge from the market. I'm not complaining; back home, Jason and I ate some form of cereal nearly every day.

Emilio sits to my right, Theo to my left. Across from me, the Russian Dimitri is glaring. Though I've stopped looking up, it feels as though the boy is trying to burn a hole through the top of my head, as though for some reason he despises my very existence.

I don't trust him, out of all six of these children. He shot me with a poisonous weapon, and I'm not getting over that any time soon.

I take another spoonful of cereal and glance down the table at Jason. He sits on the other side, next to Katerina and across from Rosalie, and seems to be deep in conversation with the French girl.

Jason has always been good at making friends.

I sigh, returning my focus to my cereal.

"So, Lilian?" I flinch slightly as Dimitri addresses me directly.

"Lili, call me Lili."

"Lilian," Dimitri continues as though I never spoke, "You're staying here?"

I decide to meet his gaze, and do so defiantly. "Umm, Jason and I don't have anywhere else to go so I guess we plan to, yeah. Do you have a problem with that?"

Dimitri narrows his eyes.

"And what if I do?"

Next to me, Emilio stiffens.

I'm slightly taken aback at the boldness of the question, though I try to hide my surprise.

"Well, what's the issue?" I ask fearlessly, "I've traveled halfway across the world, so I'm sure this isn't rocket science. We can figure it out."

"And that is where you are wrong, Messer." Dimitri declares, "There is no resolving this."

I stare at him.

Shemik, sitting next to Dimitri, studies him as though trying to understand the origin of his undesirable attitude.

"You cannot read me." Dimitri turns on her, "I am not a science experiment, Warszawski, stop analyzing me."

"Dimitri, what are you going on about?" Theo asks, returning the Russian's glare.

Dimitri takes a deep breath, looking to the younger boy with a slightly calmer expression.

"Theo, it was hard enough before, now she and her brother may be joining us. Do you know how much this will complicate things? We'll have to spend more on clothes in the market. We either have to cut rations, or spend more on food. Do you realize what a bind this will put us in? Next thing you know we'll be back to begging for money in the streets."

"We survived well enough when Milena and your uncle were with us. The Messers shouldn't cause a problem. If anything, they'll be an asset." Shemik declares.

For a split second, Dimitri's gaze is filled with what I can only call insanity.

"Don't bring my uncle into this." he snaps, his voice little more than a snarl.

"That's enough, Dimitri." Emilio interjects, but Dimitri ignores him.

"Don't talk about my uncle, Warszawski. It's your fault he's dead, and now you've replaced both him and your sister with these strangers. They knew absolutely nothing about Superiors before they came here, and I don't trust them."

"No one is being replaced." Shemik glares at Dimitri, then meets Emilio's gaze across the table, "I don't want to bring my sister into this, either, but the point is there were eight of us then and there are eight now."

Dimitri looks ready to punch someone.

I stand up, having finished my cereal and using the excuse to put my bowl in the sink as a reason to escape.

Theo follows my lead, seemingly relieved for the chance to get away.

"You know," Theo says as he places his bowl next to mine, "As my mum would say, Dimitri's gone a bit batty."

"What happened to his uncle?"

"He fell off a gate and was ripped to pieces by an Inhumane. He saved Shemik from one, but he fell in front of ten or eleven others. There were too many for us to go up against, and they moved too quickly for anyone there to kill them. Emilio said Dimitri tried to run for his uncle, but Katerina wouldn't let him. That was last winter, and he's still bitter about the whole thing. He blames Shemik for causing the Admiral to fall in the first place. It's rubbish, but no one wants to fight over it unless there's no way to avoid talking about it."

"Is he always like this?"

"No, he's actually pretty quiet most of the time. You usually can't tell what he's thinking, but I've started thinking maybe that's a good thing. Shemik hasn't been able to read him for a few months, though. That's unusual."

Theo smiles at me, revealing his adorably crooked teeth. "Don't worry, he'll never hurt you."

We walk back to the breakfast table to find Shemik and Emilio still exchanging glances. Dimitri is glowering, but appears to be keeping his mouth shut.

"Theo, do you mind not being on today's expedition?" Emilio asks,turning to the boy. Theo shakes his head.

"Dimitri, you are coming with me and Katerina today." Emilio sounds stern when he decides this, "It is a training day for those who stay behind."

Dimitri actually looks relieved at this, and I wonder if getting away for a bit won't help him to calm down.

Theo looks to me. "You ready to get started with training? It's my favorite part of the day."

I might be excited for it, I decide, if I wasn't so anxious as to what training entails. It certainly can't be that bad, I convince myself, and it won't be nearly as dangerous as the trip Jason and I have already taken. If I can make it to a foreign continent, I can survive a mysterious training session.