The Cursed Luna

4

I settled in the far back booth so I could watch the clock and the entrance door. The scotch helped take the edge off my anxiety as I sipped, scrolling through my phone in a crash course study of everything mutant.

Most of it was the same old stuff we’d been taught in schools. The science experiment that had leaked into the general public and the interbreeding that followed which nearly wiped out the human population. Bio-cleansing the bloodlines by destroying anyone with tainted DNA. The nuclear detonation of infested hives leaving most of the world uninhabitable and the power of science-based cities that protected the humans left.

Just your typical dystopian based science-fiction past. Nothing new to read here.

But the information on mutants themselves was seriously lacking. Words like “blood-lust” and “werewolves” and “rapid breeding” stood out with no data to back them up. What were we really dealing with here? Was Coral going to turn into an actual beast?

I glanced up at the clock again.

Twenty-three minutes remaining.

With another sip of scotch, I rummaged through my bag for the manilla envelope that had slipped to the bottom. Now was as good a time as any to see whatever words my father had left. In truth, I didn’t want to read it. If this was some sort of apology, it was a little too late.

There was a single folded piece of paper and I held it in my hands, thinking that a last will and testament should probably have more meat to it. But I wasn’t expecting much. My father had never been the sentimental type.

Melinda Cerberus

Cerberus Clan

40.4163 N, 120.6530 W

That was it. Three nonsense lines scribbled in his atrocious handwriting. I crumpled the paper and swallowed back a wordless scream. He wasn’t going to give me anything I could use. I had my memories and the lessons he’d taught. Anything else of value went to the incinerator with him.

Get it together, Sage. I inhaled deeply and smoothed out the paper, reading it again. If this was some kind of hidden message then it had something to do with Melinda. That was important. Melinda was Coral’s mother. So, the Cerberus Clan… Might be some kind of mutant pack?

I stared at the number combination trying to figure out if it was a type of code until it dawned on me that I was looking at coordinates of some type. Since I had no freaking clue how to interpret them, I pulled up the search engine on my phone and in two minutes had a general idea on what latitude and longitude meant.

And a location.

Like you thought. Useless. I folded the paper back into the envelope, shaking my head. The coordinates pointed to a destination so far out in the toxic wastelands that we’d die before we even got there. At least the Fringes were under Ethica’s extended climate and border controls. It may not be the safest life, but we’d still be alive to, you know, live it. Thanks for nothing, Dad.

Ten minutes left on the clock.

The rest of the scotch went down my throat in a single gulp and I carried the glass back to the bar, nodding to Galen. “Thanks for this.”

He immediately whisked it away. No blemishes. No imperfections in sight. Such was the way of Ethica. The pure. The cleansed. The absolute bullshit.

“The big tournament is on Saturday,” Galen called after me as I reached the stairs that led down to the service entrance and locker rooms. “Most of us have bets on Coral. Are you coming to watch the games?”

“That was the plan.” I smiled over my shoulder, wondering if he could hear the finality in that statement. I’d miss him and his eccentric mustache too.

Galen tipped an imaginary hat as he went to wash the glass, wiping my last imprints on this place away.

3

† Sage †

Coral’s laughter echoed through the arena as the clock buzzer rang out. My heart was heavy with sadness at the sound of her carefree notes. I finally caught sight of her when she ripped off the mask and her long blond hair fell over the all black suit.

She jumped on the back of a paint splattered boy about her age and ruffled the top of his head. “You did good, Jake. We’ll get her next time.”

Jake grunted, seemingly embarrassed, but brightened under Coral’s attention. The rest of the team stayed close to her, drawn in by her praise as she ran through a series of plans.

“All of you did awesome today. We need to keep the same kind of energy this weekend. The tournament is going to have different props, but I think the layout will be mostly similar. They’ll change out the maze in the middle to confuse us like they always do, but we should start in the left back corner for the best defense.” Coral dropped down from Jake’s back and turned to point at the distant wall.

“How can you be sure?” Mia sided up next to Coral. I smirked, already knowing the answer, and wondering why her best friend was suddenly having doubts.

“It’s right under the lounge and patrons pay for the view.” Coral bumped her hip against the girl’s side. “They’ll have the props spaced out there and it’ll be the perfect place to draw Shawna’s team into the open.”

The rest of the group moved closer, joking and laughing as they surrounded my sister. I bit my lip and crossed my arms over my chest, focusing on ice water so I didn’t break down crying. I’d always known she was charismatic and people flocked to her, but now I had to wonder if it was something in her DNA.

Mutant. Tainted. The words swirled in my mind, but I forcefully pushed them away. If Ethica said there was something wrong with my sister, then they were the ones who were damaged.

“Sage?” Coral whipped her head to the side, catching sight of me in the shadows of the doorway where I waited.

I stepped into the light and shrugged like it was no big deal so I wouldn’t embarrass her in front of her friends, but hoping she could see the urgency in my eyes. “You seriously need to check your phone more often. We’ve got somewhere we need to go.”

*

“I have to talk to Dr. Bradley and see if he can fix this.” Coral paced the kitchen sucking in gulps of air as tears streaked down her red-blotched cheeks. She’d screamed so loud I was still on edge, waiting for the authorities to arrive, but this was better. At least she was forming coherent sentences again.

I leaned against the counter, wishing I had made cookies or something to help soften this blow. “He said he’ll help by getting you into one of the nicer research facilities and that’s all he can do.”

“Don’t make me go there.” The fear in her voice weighed on my heart and strengthened my resolve.

“Never.” I reached for her hand. “We’re leaving. I packed you a bag, but if there’s anything else you want to take, you need to grab it now.”

“Where are we going? When are we going?” She hiccupped as she wiped her face with her shirt. “I need to call Mia. The tournament is in three days. I have finals next week.”

“It’s going to be okay.” I pulled her close to my chest, hating that I couldn’t take this pain away. Our lives were changing so fast and I was powerless to stop the spiral. But we’d been through hard times before. I knew I could do this. I would keep her safe. “Dr. Bradley said he’d give us until the morning to submit the report so we need to leave tonight.”

A fresh round of tears misted her brown eyes, the same color we both shared with our father. “I don’t understand why he is doing this. You didn’t get reported. Why me?”

Ouch, kid. I kept my face neutral, drawing on years of experience and knowing she was lashing out in fear. “Whatever is different with me isn’t in my DNA. It was easier for Dad to cover up.”

“Because your aptitude tests aren’t a part of your chromosomes, you get a free pass?” Anger simmered beneath her skin. “Or did Dad conveniently die before he could do anything for me?”

Grief, anger, denial, blame… Those were the steps, right? I needed this to hurry toward acceptance though. I really should have made some cinnamon peanut butter cookies. It’s hard to stay angry with a mouthful of happiness.

“You don’t want to live this kind of life anyway. Always looking over your shoulder sucks. Even if this could be swept under the rug, I wouldn’t wish this burden on you. We don’t belong here.”

I left out the part where there was no way she’d be able to hide her situation for life. We’d been lucky so far, but she could never visit a medical facility again. Never have children. Even if she could continue to avoid a doctor for the rest of her life, once she reached old age and went into life extending treatment, they’d send her to the research facility then.

The girl was smart. She’d figure it out. There was already enough bad news for one day.

“Is this about you? Do you want to leave because your boyfriend cheated on you and you hate yourself? Because I have friends here and they’d never betray me.” Coral snapped and I could almost imagine that she had claws.

Wait. Do mutants get claws?

I took a steadying breath and ignored the worst of the outburst. “I want to believe that for you, but we both know the risk is too great. Sympathizers are punished. You’d be putting your friends in jeopardy.”

The memory of our father saying his goodbyes before being hauled off to the incinerator was clear in my mind, because that’s what happens when you treat patients with mutations under the table. I wonder what the punishment would be for marrying one?

It couldn’t have been much worse than the one he got.