Asunder Chapter 53

Chapter 11.0 (53)

The Gathering

Nero

“Hello Journal. Imogene said her first word today. It was ‘Abey’. I am not sure how I feel about that, but Enver says it is natural for children to take to those who are enamored by them. I wasn’t sure if he was implying something about my mothering, but he is a hard one to read at times. He reminds me so much of Enzo. I miss Enzo. He had such a mighty heart. I think he would have liked it here. It's ocean is beautiful and endless. I’ve finally gotten used to the push and the pull of the multiple moons, as well as the greater planet we orbit. If only I could get used to the days of darkness when we crossed the planet’s dark side. If anything, I think he’d appreciate the twin suns. There is something about their light that is brilliant and wonderful. HERAa and Patrick have become quite a duo. She has learned his language quite efficiently. It's pretty adorable. Well, I have to run. Imogene is ripping the pencil from my h…” - Journal of Jane Rose - Entry 917

- 1 year later -

- The Year 2297 -

Jane stepped out onto the balcony. The ocean breeze brought with it a scent of algae. The wind rarely stopped on this end of the island. The twin suns began their descent to the horizon, and the red dwarf of the two became more visible, less harsh on the eyes. It cast an enchanting reflection across the water, which appeared to stream directly to the stone precipice she housed herself within. To the right of the setting suns sat the hazy image of a large red gas giant planet taking up nearly half of the sky. It produced a warm reflection across the ocean water, only adding to the deep red tint of the evening sky.

It had been an entire year since their escape. Jane still had trouble explaining the full details of the experience. She imagined Imogene would explain it all to her one day. The screech and laughter of the toddling one-year-old resounded from within the room that her balcony extended from as Jane turned around to see Korin wrangling Imogene. The precious child laughed along with the aunt. Swooping up the one-year-old, Korin nuzzled her cheek with her knuckle. “You little rascal.”

Playfully kissing the child’s two-toothed, grinning face, Korin glanced up to see Jane standing on the balcony and smiled as she held Imogene on her hip. Her perfectly round belly, with a babe of her own within, prevented any other arrangement of child-holding. Suddenly, Ace emerged from the relative darkness inside the residence and playfully stalked toward Imogene with fingers ready for a tickle. The action instantaneously made the little girl wriggle and scream with joy.

Smiling, Jane instinctively reached for the new stone hanging around her neck—the stone that saved them all from utter destruction. She could almost feel the hum of its pulsations—a heartbeat of sorts. Jane imagined it was the very same heart beating inside Enzo. As the memory of Enzo entered her mind, a sudden appearance slightly took her breath away and caused her heart to skip a beat. A blue, glowing machine emerged from the threshold behind her brother and Korin.

“Enzo,” the name nearly escaped her lips, but the moment passed as the realization filtered out the hope within her. She swallowed the words with remorse. The realization of who actually stood before her was not in any way a sad oversight, only that she missed her friend and savior. The man who saved her family.

“How is the weather this evening?” The mechanical voice projected from behind the couple holding her child.

“Goodness, Enver, you scared the daylights out of me?” Ace reacted, nearly jumping out of his boots.

“I didn’t even hear you!” Ace spoke with slight contempt.

“Well, you need to get your hearing checked, son, 'cause I can hear this ol’ hunk-a-bolts from a mile away, all that whirring and hissing,” the Judge sardonically answered as he emerged from the darkness in the room.

“Enver!” Jane laughed, “What kind of question is that anyway? Is the weather anything other than windy around here?”

“Well, actually, there are multiple forms of weather patterns in this area. I suppose my topical and situational questions were not up to your standards. So, I must adjust my queries and find a more suitable relational topic to create better human-like interactions with you, my friends.” Enver spoke matter-of-factly.

Exactly something Enzo would’ve said, Jane thought.

“Well, actually, Enver, my analysis indicates Jane is correct, to an extent.” HERAa swooped in from the sky, having heard the conversation from afar, and decided to join. “The most common generalized weather pattern is Windy, though there are other patterns. Thus, I propose you keep your relational topics in their current setting and focus your attention on the fact that there is no other land besides your small island, at least beyond what I can discern.” HERAa argued as she zipped overhead.

“Also, is this entire planet an ocean?” she continued.

“To be precise, this is not a planet HERAa. This world is a satellite, or rather a moon in general terms.”

Jane shook her head at the banter between the two machines. Suddenly, she felt a scurrying up the back of her collar, followed by a small squeak. Jane turned her ear toward the tiny creature.

“I know Patrick, I miss Enzo too.” She replied to the mouse’s comment.

“We all do,” the Judge reassured them as he put his arm around Jane.

“I wouldn’t say all of us… I mean, I barely knew the guy,” Ace shrugged as Korin slapped the back of his head, and Jane smirked at the wry comment.

This response caused them all to burst out laughing as they stood at the edge of the balcony overlooking the sea, taking in the new world they now inhabited.