The Silent Guardian — Chapter 14, Part 1: The Choice
This installment continues The Silent Guardian Series. Previous: Chapter 13, Part 3: The Anchor.
This place is a prison, not a safe house. I continue to lie on the floor, powerless and unable to move. Clara bandages my arm where she carved out the anchor. The wrappings squeeze me tight as if trying to contain my anger. They do not. I don’t know who I want to hurt more: my so-called sister and her wife for violating me or the Phylax for what is becoming the worst betrayal I could imagine.
I want to let the fury rip out of me, but I don’t have a complete picture of what’s happening yet. What I do know is that Clara and Xia appeared right in the middle of all this. I don’t believe in coincidences.
Clara shifts her weight from one foot to the other. She moves into my view, opening her mouth to speak. When she looks at me, she seems to know I’m not taking this well.
I would love to yell at her, but I refuse to abandon my oath—the cursed oath that keeps my voice locked away. Right now, no one deserves my words—not Clara, Xia, or the Phylax.
Clara kneels beside me, brushing hair from my damp forehead with a foreign tenderness. A strange sentiment fills her voice. Is it warmth? Kindness? “They’ve been tracking you with this, Adam,” she says, holding the device for me to see. “As long as it was inside you, they would always know your exact location in time and space. Now that it’s gone, you can freely move through time whenever you want.”
The words land like stones in my gut. I’ve always sensed that the Phylax tracked me—they always seemed to know what I was doing, but limiting my ability? They told me it took time to recharge my power. Am I a fool?
I want to lash out, call her a liar, and tell her she’s making all of this up. Sadly, her words resonate with too many things I’ve seen, especially over the last few months.
Clara walks to the far side of the room. “I need to get rid of it properly,” she says over her shoulder as she exits the building.
I watch the empty doorway.
What is Clara doing with the anchor?
Soon, she steps back into the room, her hands empty, her shoulders loosened. A smile tugs at the corner of her lips. “It’s done,” she says. If she seemed comfortable before, she’s utterly serene now. “They won’t be able to track you.”
She returns to my line of sight, speaking directly to me. “I hid the anchor,” Clara says, her voice softer. “I buried it outside this house about two hundred million years ago. I thought seeing Merv during the Triassic Period would be fun.”
Two hundred million years? That’s as good a time as any, I suppose.
Clara adds, “If you want it back when this is over, you’ll find it waiting. Although, I suspect your Phylax friends will be searching for it.”
I’m surprised by the open invitation. Having options is not a luxury I’m familiar with. A strange combination of relief and apprehension settles within me like oil and water. Right now, I feel no freer than I did with the anchor in my arm. I remain on the ground, my body useless, while the stasis dart keeps me in chains.
Clara kneels beside me again. She is earnest. “You can travel whenever you want,” she says. Her eyes drop to the floor. “I know I shouldn’t have done it without your consent. I didn’t want to hurt you, but you wouldn’t have let me otherwise,” she says softly. “In a few minutes, I will stop the stasis dart from paralyzing you. When it stops, you can go wherever you want. We won’t try to stop you.”
She pauses, moving even closer. “I hope you come with us.” There’s a vulnerability in her words. She knows there’s a good chance I will walk away forever. “Because if you do,” her voice trembles, “I can prove who you are. I know where and when you were kidnapped. I’ve spent so long trying to piece it together, waiting to show you.” She holds hope for what I will decide.
Despite my anger with her, I have to admit I am intrigued.
If I go with them, it may lead me to many of the answers I seek. Or I could leave. Run. Test this freedom for the first time. Put as much distance between myself and everything—everyone—else as possible. It is tempting. I don’t trust the Phylax right now. I also don’t trust Clara. I need to keep my guard up.
My need for answers pulls at me with a force I can’t ignore. If she is telling the truth—if this is my chance to understand who I am—I can’t let it slip away. I let out a sharp exhale; something loosens a little.
Clara reiterates softly, “It’s your choice.” Her words are barely audible. Without another word, she pulls out the small device she used to activate the stasis dart. She deactivates it.
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Continue with Chapter 14, Part 2: The Broken Dalek. New installments publish daily at 5:00 AM.
