Untitled Novel – Part 9 – Hope Szymanski

Read parts 1-8 first!

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8

Jason’s stomach twisted with fear as he stood, dumbfounded, watching Katrina writhe in pain on the cave floor. Her muscles were hard as iron and she was shaking and sobbing, curled up as tight as she could in the fetal position. What had happened to his best friend? He had gotten one good look in her eyes before she fell into hysterics, and it was as if she had never even known him.

Gently, Jason knelt down near her again and touched her shoulder, but she recoiled violently and started screaming.

“Don’t touch me!” she shrieked through sobs, thrashing hard at him with her hand. Jason drew his hand back quickly. He backed up till he hit the other side of the cave and sunk down to the floor, still staring at Katrina. Her eyes were wild, and she was clutching her left upper arm so tightly it started bleeding from her fingernails. Jason, although trained to stay calm under incredible pressure, was starting to panic.

“Katrina…” Jason said softly. “What happened? What have they done to you?” His voice choked slightly as he spoke. The numbness of the situation was wearing off and the terror was beginning to intensify. Of all things, he had not expected this.

Katrina had stopped sobbing, but her breathing was still irregular. She was examining him, cowering and shivering with fear. Obviously, something had gone terribly wrong.

“Katrina,” Jason started. “What do you remember?” She stiffened. Her eyes glazed over, and she let go of her arm.

“We are The Collective.” She recited. Jason’s heart dropped in his chest as she continued. “We are ONE. We are safe. We work as a unit, all for one purpose together. You do not belong among us.” She trailed off and shook her head as if it hurt, dropping her eyes. When she looked back up, the glaze was gone, replaced again with terror. “Who are you? Please leave me be!” She pleaded as the tears started rolling down her cheeks once more. Jason swallowed all the emotions that were rising within him so he could focus.

“My name is Jason.” He started. “I’m your partner. You left me about 5 months ago on a mission to infiltrate The Collective and discover its weak points. About 4 days ago, your calling pearl reached me, so I came searching for you. I’ve come to rescue you – I’m so glad you’re alive.” Jason stopped talking. Katrina looked horrified, and he was trying to stop the lump that was rising in his throat.

“My dream…” She whispered. It looked like Katrina was looking straight through him rather than at him. “You have haunted me in my dream!” She accused, pointing at him with a shaky finger. Jason’s chest tightened and he clenched his fists. Not only had The Collective apparently wiped her memories so his partner no longer remembered him, but they had also made him her enemy.

What do I do? Jason thought frantically. She had started sobbing again, curled up and clutching her head and hair. He knew from his research into The Collective that if she had been morphed into the community, they would surely notice if she went missing and that could bring on an invasion to the rest of The Resistance. This meant that until he was able to somehow get her to release herself from The Collective, he couldn’t take her home. However, he also couldn’t bear to leave her in The Collective. For the first time in his life, his training was failing him. He knew the best course of action was to leave her to her fate, consider her lost for the cause, and move on. But he knew he’d rather die than do such a thing.

One thing was for certain. For now, Katrina needed to be treated as a prisoner so he could gain as much information as possible to complete the mission – and hopefully, save her life. He stood up, took his backpack off, and rummaged around until he found a small black box. He opened it, took out a small syringe, and walked over to where Katrina was still shivering in a ball on the cave floor. Her eyes opened when she heard him coming over, and when she saw the needle, she started screaming again.

“NO!” She sobbed. “Stop it!” She picked herself up and turned to make an escape towards the cave entrance. Jason lunged quickly and grabbed her arm. She struggled violently as he stuck the needle in her arm; then the struggling stopped, and she went limp in his arms. Jason caught her as she lost consciousness and carefully set her on the ground. There wasn’t a lot of time – he’d have to get her back to her dorm before nightfall and The Collective started missing her. He placed her head in his lap and looked at her face. Peaceful in sleep, she looked like herself again. Jason finally allowed himself to realize that she was gone – potentially forever. His heart ached and he regretted ever letting her leave him. He leaned against the cave wall and closed his eyes tightly.

“Hey!” Katrina yelled in his mind. She was in a tree, and was often climbing them and finding time to be alone and to think. Often, she had used her skill to tease Jason as he was not nearly as gifted in that area. Jason looked up to see her smiling at him, the sun making her eyes sparkle. “Looking for me?” She asked, swinging herself down and leaping to the ground with ease. Jason rolled his eyes.

“Yes – You’ve only been gone for over an hour.” He said sarcastically. Shaking his head, he walked over, grabbed her satchel from under a nearby bush, and handed it to her.

“Thanks – but I can take care of myself.” She snatched her satchel away from him playfully, and slung it over her shoulder. “But you didn’t come looking for me because I disappeared – what’s up partner?” Her eyes were searching his intently. Jason grinned slightly, he couldn’t hide anything from her.

“You know me pretty well.” He admitted. “Let’s walk back and I’ll tell you.” The two agents turned together and started the trek back to the base.

“So…..?” Katrina wasn’t one to stall.

“The council decided only one of us should go on The Collective mission.” He started, frowning. “And I was thinking – If only one of us should go, it should be me, but they want you.” She raised her eyebrows.

“I know.”

“What?” Jason was stunned.

“They told me this morning.” She looked down. “That’s why I had to get away to think.”

“And what did you decide?”

“I think I’m going to do it.” She smiled at him. Jason felt disappointed.

“I’d rather go.”

“Why?”

There really wasn’t a reason…He couldn’t articulate it, he just had a feeling.

“I don’t know.”

“That’s not a good reason.” She retorted, laughing. Jason looked over at her – the sun was setting and streaks of it were shining through her hair, which temporarily mesmerized him. He was annoyed that she was taking this so lightly when he wasn’t. “Jason,” she stopped walking, her smiled faded, and she grabbed his arm. “I’ve thought about this extensively. I’ll be fine. I’m almost done training, and this is going to be an amazing opportunity for me.” It was true, of course. He couldn’t stop her from going – that would be utterly selfish.

But in hindsight, it might have also ruined everything.

Jason’s dream shattered when he opened his eyes and was back in the cave. He looked down. Katrina was still resting on his lap. He set her gently down and started packing his things. He briefly thought about trying to communicate with The Resistance, but he knew they’d just tell him to leave Katrina and get back to the base to relaunch the mission in a few months. If Katrina was in her right mind, she’d probably tell him the same thing.

However, he had thought long and hard about this in the months since Katrina left him, and he had come to one conclusion which made the course of action he knew to be right, entirely impossible to act upon. Jason couldn’t believe he had been so stupid not to notice it sooner, and that it had taken having his friend driven completely out of her mind to realize it.

Jason turned and slammed his fists on the cave wall. How could I have been so blind? I love her.

Hopefully, you enjoyed this! The plot could go a few different directions from here…stay tuned 🙂

Until next time,
Hope Frances

Photo by Bruno van der Kraan on Unsplash