Half in Fire

My consciousness returned as Sentisurge’s effects dissipated. My mind still spun. Saymon’s words kept resonating within me while the memories came and went, slowly receding. Little by little, I regained control over them, though that nightmare still danced around me. Maia’s image finally began to disappear.

I breathed in relief. Saymon had given me more than a purifier or a mild anesthetic. Suddenly, a wave of dopamine seemed to fill my brain. It was an… “Did you give me an opiate?”

Saymon gave a charming smile. “Heard you like them. Personally, I prefer something stronger.” From what I had seen at the Oneiric Oasis, I imagined he meant neoheroin.

Was he waiting for me to recover? It was my first time alone with Saymon, and it unsettled me a little. Besides, I was in a deplorable state. I could barely face him. I wanted to talk but fumbled for a beginning. I bit my lips.

From Saymon, I could expect only the unpredictable. His chaotic energy unsettled my axis. He stared at the vehicle’s dashboard. Said nothing. Showed nothing.

Meanwhile, I improved, as though a heavy cloud were beginning to dissipate. My mind cleared. Finally, I was in control.

I opened and closed my hands, feeling pain in the bones. When I examined them, I found wounded, bloodied knuckles. I had hit him. Punched Riki. I fought to push the memories away. Shit.

Why did Saymon need him? Honestly, I wanted to think about something else. Wanted to forget what had happened. No. I would never forget what Riki had done to me. I clenched my fists, feeling a faint anger awaken. Inhaled deeply. Controlled my emotions.

Then Saymon’s words returned: ‘If you hadn’t performed the transfusion…’ How did he know? How… of course. How had I only thought of that now?

I rested my head against the seat, afraid to meet his golden eyes. “You know, when Maia…” My voice hesitated. “The hospital director demanded that we transfer her body to a hospital in Centrália. According to him, people from below dirty Zenith.”

Saymon’s gaze weighed on me, making me restless.

“I-I remember feeling powerless. Unable to move.” The opiate’s effect kept me calmer. Suddenly, a tear fell. “I was too weak to fight that decision. We had to perform the autopsy to issue the death report.” My throat closed. My voice caught.

I pressed my chest. My heart hurt. “The next day, still numb, I performed the autopsy. I found it strange that her veins and organs were intact. The cardiac arrest was contradictory too. She received blood, and that blood seemed to clear away whatever was making her bleed, restoring the damaged tissues inside her.”

Saymon’s expression remained unreadable. I met his deep, mysterious gaze. His features and posture concealed any glimpse of what was happening within him.

“It was your blood, wasn’t it? It has to be. It makes perfect sense. Rh-null is hereditary. When Daren mentioned an active donor, I never considered it could be someone from Maia’s family.” I watched him. “Why did you donate your blood? Did you want to help the research, or was it…”

Saymon raised a hand, rested his elbow on the steering wheel, and ran a finger over his lips. He smiled. A smile that didn’t suit him. “Maia cared little about her own safety. I knew her well enough to know that when you entered her life, everything would change.” His smile widened. “I was right.”

“What do you mean? Are you saying she did this…”

“Yeah. That’s what I’m saying. You motivated it. Actually, she did it for herself.” He paused. “What happened that day was Hikaru’s doing.” He pronounced the name with disdain.

Hikaru? What? The more Saymon explained, the more questions arose. “What do you mean?”

He glanced sideways at me. “Maia asked Hikaru to remove her ability. Only he could do it, since the ability is QN-Tec.” Saymon cleared his throat. “But something went wrong. Her q-nanites attacked the QN-Tec he connected.” His jaw tightened, and his knuckles grew taut.

Was that what lay between him and Hikaru?

After a few moments, Saymon relaxed his muscles. “That caused the source of Maia’s ability to leak. With the blood transfusion, you stopped the last nanites from leaving her and killing everyone. Including you.”

The opium’s effect enveloped me in a feeling of ecstasy. My reasoning was slower. Why would Maia ask for that? I tried fitting the puzzle pieces together. Argh. Every answer seemed to lead me to a dead end.

I gathered what little sobriety remained, struggling to keep the confusion from returning. Turned the information over. If Maia’s nanites were nanoquantum, and Saymon was her brother, then they shared almost half their DNA. During the transfusion…

“I see. Only your blood could stop it. If it had been someone else’s, the q-nanites would have destabilized from genetic incompatibility. That would also explain the tissue restoration.” I looked at him. “The q-nanites of that ability were in Maia’s bloodstream, weren’t they?”

Saymon nodded.

“Doesn’t that…” I stopped the question. Saying everything I wanted to know would strain the thin thread of his willingness to talk. My intuition said the answers would come. With or without his cooperation.

I clenched my fists. I was distressed by my desire to know more and troubled because every explanation brought new questions. His words increased my uncertainty about what had happened to Maia. What ability could kill everyone around her? Was that what kept recognition nanotechnologies from working on her? The more I tried to understand, the more disordered my thoughts became.

I felt I was missing something. So close. So far. Every piece fitted into the puzzle made room for hundreds still missing. The incomplete image tormented me. But something else troubled me. Why did Saymon seem unaffected? Why did he discuss it all so casually?

“Why do you treat this with such indifference?” The reproach in my own voice surprised me. I regretted it before finishing the last word.

The air around us changed. Saymon’s powerful, violent aura sent chills through me.

My heart raced. I swallowed, terrified to realize that hostility was directed at me.

Saymon turned my face toward him. His touch was gentle but seemed laden with malicious intent. His eyes were dark. His breath brushed my skin. “Remember, Akkie. She’s my family, and she was long before she meant anything to you.”

I remained motionless. My heart beat uncontrollably. “S-sorry. I didn’t mean…”

Saymon started the vehicle, containing the irritation that had condensed between us. “Forget it. Let’s go. You seem fine and need a bath.” He gave a mocking smile.

I looked away. I knew. He didn’t need to say it. I breathed deeply and let the tension escape. How could he go from one extreme to another in seconds?

I closed my eyes and let the euphoria spread. Then exhaustion came like a collapse. The mental, physical, and spiritual torment seemed to reach me all at once. My body sank into the seat. I relaxed completely.

And shortly afterward, I fell asleep.