From Darkness Comes - Book 2 in The Dissonance Series

Distractions

"Are you going to get ready for the party?" Rona asks. "It should be most pleasant."

Another party. It seems that's all they want to do on this planet or it's what they have to do to distract themselves from their boredom. There's unrest amongst the people. It has been building. I've felt it now for a while but I've been too busy with other things to care about the humans having cabin fever.

"Mr. Tarquin sent over a lovely gown for you," she adds, as if that would somehow make me excited to attend this absurd celebration.

Of course he did, I think to myself and roll my eyes.

"I've gone ahead and turned the shower on for you," Rona continues to encourage. For a minute there I thought Rona and I might actually be friends, but I'm sure she's been programmed to do whatever it is that Cassius desires. It was ridiculous anyway to think I was somehow friends with the talking robot in my ceiling, which is when I realize that I may be lonelier than I'd like to admit. I've never been a person with a lot of friends. Lex and Wyler were enough for me, although now I wonder if thinking the friendship of just two people were enough, was another trick played by my parents to make sure I didn't get close to too many people and inadvertently give our secret away. All you need in life is one or two good friends who will stick by you through anything, my mother used to say. An innocent enough comment at the time, but one with greater meaning now. She was right though, I found them: two people who would see me through anything, even the end of the world. Although, I guess Lex was my only true friend, Wyler was a paid employee. My eyes sting at the thought of Lex.

"Is everything ok Miss Attwood?" Rona inquires, having picked up on the arrhythmic pattern of my heart beating.

"Fine," I state, picking myself up off of the bed and walking to the shower to wash away my pain.

An hour later I'm ready to go. Cassius's idea of "lovely" borders more on "revealing." The sapphire-colored "gown" is shorter than my father's oversized T-shirt that I used to wear to bed back on Earth and the plunging neckline leaves very little to the imagination. I wiggle and shift, pulling at the fabric, trying to cover as much of my rear-end as possible, but as soon as I move, the fabric slips back to it's original place, stopping just short of completely exposing things that should not be exposed. The color, as always, was chosen to reflect the amber flecks in my eyes, reminding everyone that I'm not human, and the neckline was clearly chosen so that Cassius could show me off and ogle my body, reminding everyone that I belong to him. The thought of it makes me sick. I try to shift my thoughts away from the vile man I have committed myself to, and focus instead on the fact that Kelly and the others are free and safe, at least for now. I trust Cassius about as far as I can throw him.

This time the party is being held in the courtyard of the arboretum; a celebration hidden amongst the forest. I can see light shooting through the branches of the trees as I approach. Streams of yellow, pink, green and blue pulse through the leaves as the music throbs loudly in the background.

Two guards stand near a wall of vines. They look me up and down. They wave a wand with a blue light over my body, stopping at my eyes to confirm my Mod status. Then they wave for me to proceed. As I step forward, the living vines part and the party unfolds before me. The last party I attended had a classier fairytale-like feel while this party seems more like a rave.

I scan the room looking for my friends, but of course it's my foes that catch my eyes first. Cassius Tarquin sits on a platform raised above the crowd. Several high ranking Environettix employees surround him. Armed guards flank the sides of the platform, eyes scanning the room. Aero and Vega are milling around near the back of Cassius's group. My brother raises his hand, giving a slight wave. I angrily stare back at him. His hand slips down to his side. I might be aligned with Cassius right now, but at least I'm faking it. I can't say the same of my brother. He looks at me, confused, before his attention is pulled back to the group by an Environettix employee wanting to speak with him.