Jack And Anna - Back To Winnipeg

2. What Becomes of Heroes-1

When the World No Longer Needs Them?

Memories of the horrible day when she had lost her family burned through Anna’s mind, memories that forced their way into her thoughts no matter how hard she tried to distract herself. And oh, how she had tried!

That was one reason why she liked going on missions. Having a job to do gave her something to focus on. Something to distract her from the long road of difficult choices that led her here. There had been thousands of Justice Keepers throughout history, and many of them had made sacrifices. But Anna was willing to bet that hers was quite possibly the weirdest, if not the biggest.

To save the people of Ezryn from total destruction, she and Jack and Desa had made a deal with a cosmic entity. A deal that required them to “give up their lives.” At the time, Anna had thought that meant dying.

Instead, the three of them woke up in a world where no one remembered them. Everything else was more or less the same, but every last trace of their existence had been erased. It was a hefty price, no doubt about that, but Anna would pay it gladly a thousand times over if it meant saving five billion lives.

She didn’t regret the bargain.

The horrible day in question was not the day when she had sacrificed her life for others; that was part of her job as a Justice Keeper. No, the pain came later, when she returned home to a family that treated her as a stranger.

It had been a warm and muggy afternoon in the city of Calisaro. A brilliant sun shone down from a cloudless sky, glinting off the solar panels that adorned her mother’s dome-like roof.

Children were playing on this quiet, residential street, running from yard to yard, giggling and shouting with excitement. One boy had discovered that his oversized, neon-green water g*n was the perfect way to make his sister squeal.

It was in this picturesque setting that Anna found her mother. Sierin was down on her knees and digging in her garden with a small shovel, a straw hat shielding her face from the sun.

Standing on the sidewalk, Anna shoved her hands into the pockets of her denim shorts and tried to work up the courage to speak. No easy task when she knew the other woman wouldn’t recognize her.

Licking her lips, Anna shut her eyes and decided that if she waited any longer, people might start to think she was a stalker. “Sierin Elana?” she called out.

Sierin dropped her shovel and rose slowly with the pain of sore joints. “Yes?” she said, shuffling through the grass of her cute, little front yard, removing her hat as she neared the sidewalk. The harsh glare of the sun made her squint. “Can I help you?”

Anna opened her mouth, but all of the speeches she had rehearsed a dozen times went flying out of her mind. She blinked once and went with the first thing that occurred to her. “This might be hard to believe…”

“Is something the matter?”

“I’m…I’m your daughter.”

Sierin’s response to that was an agonizing ten seconds of stunned silence. Someone else might have laughed or showed concern for this random stranger who had started talking nonsense, but Anna’s mother was a severe woman with little tolerance for anything that didn’t fit her definition of propriety.

Her sudden grimace made Anna want to step back. “That’s not funny,” she said coldly. “I think you should be on your way now, young lady.”

“It’s true.”

“If I have to, I will call the police.”

will“I promise I’m not making it up!” Anna blurted. “You see, I was a Justice Keeper, but I-”

At that moment, the door swung open, and her sister Alia came waddling out. Eight months pregnant and barely able to move in those bulky overalls, she looked very much like Anna. Long strawberry-blonde hair framed a face that was much rounder than it otherwise might have been. “Mom, I’m going…” Her blue eyes lit up with curiosity when they saw Anna. “Who’s this?”

“No one!” Sierin snapped. “She was just leaving.”

“Alia,” Anna breathed. “I um…I mean, you wouldn’t remember me, but-”

Seizing Anna’s arm, Sierin dragged her away from the house, toward the curb. “Enough!” she spat. “You’re not upsetting my daughter with these lies!”

“Mom, what’s going on?” Alia wailed.

Pulling free of her mother’s grip, Anna winced and strode toward her sister. “Your name is Alia Lenai,” she began. “Your father was a diplomat; your mother worked for the City Beautification Project. You’ve dabbled in a number of careers, including school teacher and professional sculptor, but your real passion is baking.”

Sierin came up behind Anna, but she ducked before the other woman could manhandle her again. Backing up to the sidewalk, she groped for some tidbit of information that would prove her identity. “Eighteen months ago, you married a man named Soral!”

“Ms. Lenai!” someone barked from the far side of the street. “That’s enough!”

She had almost failed to notice the tall, imposing man who sheltered from the sun under the branches of a maple tree. In her mind, he was nothing but a silhouette, but when she turned around – when she got a good look at him – her worst fears were confirmed.

The man was tall and broad-shouldered with tanned skin, thick, brown hair and a neatly-trimmed beard. At first glance, he appeared to be about twenty years old, but Anna was willing to bet that he was actually much older. A Keeper’s natural healing ability meant that they aged slowly. This guy could be pushing forty or even fifty.

Larani Tal, the chief director of the Justice Keepers, was having her watched. Her former colleagues no longer trusted her. Which meant that her chances of regaining her badge were pretty much non-existent. Lovely.

“If you’ll come with me,” the man said.

Closing her eyes, Anna stormed across the street with a heavy sigh. “I just want to talk to my family,” she said. “If you give me five minutes, I know I can prove who I am.”

The man thrust his chin toward the house. “I don’t think they want to talk to you.”

Anna didn’t need to look to know that her mother and sister were hurrying through the front door. Despair and frustration welled up until she had to resist the urge to scream. That certainly wouldn’t go very far toward proving that she wasn’t dangerous.

wasn’t“Director Tal would like a word,” the man said.

“Yeah, I’ll bet she would.”

She had later discovered that the agent Larani had sent to spy on her was named Ronal Saylos. And he had been hounding her ever since, showing up at cafés, art galleries and anywhere else she went just to make sure that Anna had no intention of harassing anyone. Least of all, her family.

Three weeks had passed since that awful day, and in that time, her sadness had only deepened. She needed something to take her mind off all of this. Maybe she and Jack could do something fun tonight. She didn’t know what she would do without him.

* * *

Warm sunlight came through the window of a little coffee shop with flowers painted on its blue walls. The street outside was quiet, nearly devoid of cars and busses, but there were plenty of people.

Sitting at a small table with his hands wrapped around a cup, Jack smiled faintly as he watched them shuffling past. The raspberry tea sent trails of steam wafting up to his nose, bringing with them a delicious scent. Despite the summer’s heat, he was craving a warm beverage. Maybe because it reminded him of home.

The owner of this fine establishment – a portly, pale-skinned man with thinning, brown hair – came out from behind the counter with a plate of lemon cake. Surprisingly, he set the fruity dessert down in front of Jack. “I thought you could use it.”

Jack’s eyebrows went up. “Thanks!”

Ah, the benefits of living on a world that had abandoned the use of money. People were so generous with their stuff! And that was especially true for anyone who worked in food services. Chefs and bakers were always giving out samples of their latest creations. It was a great way to generate word of mouth and bring people to their restaurants.

“It’s Ruzo, by the way,” the owner said. “My name.”

Twisting in his chair, Jack offered his hand. “Hi, Ruzo. I’m-”

“Jack. I know.” A frown appeared on the other man’s face. For a moment, it seemed as though he was working up the nerve to say something. “I hear you talking to the other customers sometimes. You’re in here at least three days a week.”

“I hope I haven’t been a nuisance.”

“Not at all! This is a restaurant! We want customers!” It dawned on him that Ruzo had a melodic accent similar to Italian people back on Earth. Odd, that. Jack was willing to bet this guy had never been to Earth. But it didn’t seem to matter where humans came from. Certain patterns showed up over and over again.

Once, a very long time ago, aliens had taken primitive people from Earth and scattered them on habitable worlds all over the galaxy. The result was a thriving interstellar civilization. Different planets had different cultures – some were more aggressive, others more diplomatic – but they all got along.

Except for those times when they didn’t.

Easing himself into the chair across from Jack, Ruzo studied him with a keen eye. “You’ll forgive me for saying so, but you always look so sad when you come in here. Was it the war?”

Just a few months ago, the major powers of this galaxy had been trying to conquer each other. Jack had played a role in ending that conflict. That was part of what led to him and Anna being erased.

With a sheepish grin, Jack stared into his lap. “No,” he said, shaking his head. “No, it’s not that.”

“Was it a lady friend then? Someone who broke your heart? Or a gentleman, perhaps? A handsome scoundrel who ran off and left you here? You are better off, my friend, believe me! It’s much too soon for you to be settling down.”

Jack opened his mouth to reply, but he had no idea where to begin. He couldn’t tell Ruzo about having been forgotten. Never mind the fact that it would sound ridiculous, some things had to remain secret.

He leaned back in his chair, tilting his head to one side as he regarded the other man. “I have a wife,” he said. “Someone I love very much.”

Ruzo squinted at him. “So soon?” he asked, shaking his head. “You are much too young for…Ah! You are a Justice Keeper!”

Jack could feel his symbiont’s mild amusement at Ruzo’s attempt to play detective. Like most Nassai, Summer was fascinated by the quirks of human behaviour. No doubt she was wondering why this man had taken such an interest in Jack’s life.

“No,” Jack replied. “Not a Justice Keeper.”

Not anymore.

“Well, then I am most perplexed.”

It was hard not to laugh. Snide comments danced on the tip of Jack’s tongue, but for once, he was wise enough to keep his mouth shut. They still rattled around in his head, though. You think you’re perplexed? Talk to me when everyone you’ve ever known has forgotten your existence.