“I’ve been here before,” she said, before amending, “… sort of.”
“In the Rec Room, right?” Kaiden asked. “Virtual reality?”
Alex could only nod as she stared at the abandoned castle in front of them. In the time since she’d first ‘visited’, the forest had swallowed even more of the crumbling stone ruins, with vines and moss now dominating the once strong foundation. Ice crackled under her feet, but otherwise their location seemed to be enduring a mild winter with little snow.
“How…?” she trailed off as she looked around, not even sure what to ask.
“The VR programs often use real locations as backdrops, adding in their own special effects,” Kaiden explained, leading Alex closer to the castle. “And characters.”
“So we don’t have to keep an eye out for horse-sized wolves?” Alex checked. “Or screaming, bloodied brides?”
Kaiden’s features showed his curiosity, but all he said was, “It’s just us here.”
She wanted to know how he could be so sure, but something about the way he said it made her believe him. “What is this place? And why did you bring me here?”
She glanced around, half wondering if his parents were about to pop out and yell ‘SURPRISE!’
“About fifteen years ago, this used to be a hospital,” Kaiden said.
Alex looked at the crippled architecture and simply said, “No, it didn’t.”
He vaulted over a crumbled archway, reaching back to help her. “Why do you say that?”
“Fifteen years isn’t long enough for this kind of… degradation. There’s no way—”
“Biochemical acceleration after the hospital was abandoned,” Kaiden explained. “Trust me, fifteen years was more than enough to allow for such disrepair.”
Given everything else Alex had experienced in Medora, she shouldn’t have been surprised to discover there was some kind of technology to speed up the decaying process.
“Okay, so that’s where we are,” she said, even if she was definitely getting ancient castle vibes rather than modern hospital ones. “But why?”
Kaiden halted as they stepped into a cobblestoned courtyard surrounded by pillars and more crumbling arches. A murky pond sat in the middle of the space, with the marble tiers of a fountain lying sideways in the stagnant water. The sight tugged at Alex’s heart—as did everything else around her. The scenery emanated feelings of misery, like the stones themselves were leaking melancholy.
“Kaiden?” Alex prompted when he didn’t answer. “Why are we here?”
He caught her eyes as he said, “It occurred to me tonight that we’ve spent a lot of time together, but we don’t really know each other.”
Alex fought against asking if he was feeling okay, since of all the things for him to say, that wasn’t what she’d expected.
“It makes sense that you have trouble trusting me. But I’m hoping…” He ducked his head slightly, his usual confidence wavering. “I’m hoping that getting to know me better may… help.” He looked back up, his features paler than normal but also resolute. “Very few people know about my past. I want you to be one of them.”
Alex wasn’t sure why, but her pulse began to pick up speed, sensing that whatever he was about to share was going to affect her in more ways than one.
Indicating for her to follow, Kaiden started walking slowly around the edge of the courtyard as he shared, “When I was three years old, I got sick. Really sick. Enough that my parents had to bring me here for treatment.” He looked deeper into the abandoned site, seeing much more than Alex ever would. “They diagnosed me with Sarinpox, a common illness, especially in kids. With the right meds, the usual recovery time is less than a fortnight. But that came and went for me, and if anything, I just kept getting worse.”
He kicked a large stone out of their path and continued, “A month went by with no improvement, and then suddenly my fever spiked so badly that I was at risk of brain damage—or worse. None of the usual medications were working, so all they could do was wait and see if I would pull through.” He swallowed. “My parents never left my side. Aunt Nisha took care of Jeera, both of them visiting as often as they could. But even knowing my family was with me—I remember being so scared. So tired. So weak.”
Alex could hear it in his voice. Whatever he’d been through, the memory of it still plagued him.
“My fever raged for four days before it began to ease. I was delirious that whole time, and when I finally came back to myself, the doctors were amazed that I’d survived without any permanent damage. A miracle child, they called me.”
Kaiden’s lips quirked up at the side, but there was a darkness in his eyes that clutched at Alex’s heart.
Suddenly, he changed direction, their seemingly aimless walk now purposeful as he led her to the far side of the courtyard. They stepped over and around more crumbled stone slabs before venturing away from the ruins and into the encroaching forest.
“The title didn’t stay with me for long,” Kaiden continued, “because soon enough, other people began getting sick. A localised outbreak of Sarinpox, they said, a strain that was resistant to treatment, leaving those who caught it to battle the illness without help.”
He held some branches up for Alex to duck under, her attention fixed on him and the story he was sharing.
“I was too young to understand what was happening; all I knew was that my family was no longer visiting me, even though I was on the mend. Back then, my parents were both in the military—Mum was a Warden, Dad a General—so it took days before I learned that they hadn’t just gone back to work, but instead, they were now patients as well.”
Kaiden checked to make sure Alex was travelling fine through the thickening forest before he said, “Children suffered the least, most going through similar experiences to me. But adults…” A loaded pause. “They were a different story.”
They came to a small clearing then, a misshapen patch of ground between the trees. Alex peered around Kaiden’s too-still body, her eyes settling on what rose up from the forest floor. It took her a moment to understand, for all the pieces to click together, and when they did, she stumbled back a step, her hand rising to stifle a gasp.
… Because right there in the fading dappled sunlight were two pale tombstones, their carved inscriptions telling her exactly who they belonged to.
“My parents were two of the first to die,” Kaiden said quietly, staring at their graves. “But they weren’t the last.” His haunted eyes moved to Alex. “I was Patient Zero for the worst outbreak of Sarinpox in known history. It was so bad that eventually they didn’t just quarantine the hospital, they abandoned it. And despite knowing that none of it was my fault, it’s still something I will carry with me for the rest of my life—the knowledge that my parents are dead… because of me.”
“Kaiden,” Alex breathed. She reached for his hand, but she had no idea what she could possibly say.
He looked straight at her, letting her see his pain. It was enough for tears to swim in her eyes, knowing what he’d suffered through, knowing the guilt he bore for something he’d had no control over. That was something she understood for herself, if in a wholly different way.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, knowing it wasn’t enough, but meaning it with every ounce of her being.
He inhaled deeply, the emotions on his face slowly dissolving into something more steady, something closer to how he normally looked, yet still retaining that sense of openness.
“I’ve had a long time to come to terms with it,” he told her. “I still don’t know why I survived when so many others didn’t. But with Aunt Nisha’s help, I’ve learned to accept that there was nothing I could have done. I was just a child who got sick—no one could have known what it would lead to.”
“Nisha took you in afterwards?” Alex asked, her voice still a whisper since she couldn’t manage more than that past the emotion clogging her throat.
Kaiden nodded. “She got sick, too, and so did Jeera, bu
t they both recovered, and once we were all better, we went and lived with her. Nisha’s the only family we have left.”
Alex thought of the commander, respecting her even more for opening her home—and her heart—to her niece and nephew when they’d had no one else.
“She’s… a bit protective of me now, though,” Kaiden said, using his free hand to scratch his cheek while looking partly annoyed, partly amused and mostly resigned. “You know how I disappeared for nearly two weeks after classes started back?”
As if Alex could forget. She sent him a look that said as much, and his mouth curled up at the edges. But then he sobered, the haunted look returning to his eyes before he blinked it away again.
“Over the Kaldoras holidays, I came down with a fever,” he said.
Alex’s body froze, her focus narrowing on him.
“No matter what medicine I was given, it lingered for most of that fortnight, and I only began to feel better just in time to return to the academy that first Sunday night back.”
Kaiden flexed his fingers enough for Alex to realise she had him in a death grip, and she loosened her hold—slightly.
“Since the medication had failed to heal me, Aunt Nisha forced me to have some tests, and the results only came back to us that Monday morning,” Kaiden said. “They showed some marker in my blood, some… cause for concern.”
Alex felt as if there was a hand clenching her chest, pushing all the air from her lungs.
“Sarinpox is one of those diseases that lives on in your spinal cord for the rest of your life. In rare cases, something can prompt it to rise up and attack your immune system again. And since I’d been showing the symptoms…” Kaiden shrugged. “Well, Aunt Nisha was worried and urged me to skip classes to undergo every possible test, just to make sure I was okay. That’s why I was gone for so long—because no one wanted to take any chances.”
Heart in her throat at the very idea of him relapsing with the illness that killed his parents, Alex rasped, “Are you okay?”
Seeing her concern, he was quick to reassure her. “Turns out what I caught on the holidays was just a nasty case of River Fever. It doesn’t show up unless you know to test for it specifically, but they eventually figured it out. By then, I was long since recovered and ready to get back to my life—just in time to meet you in the Library that night with Athora.”
More relieved than she cared to admit, Alex squeezed his hand before letting him go, offering a single word. “Good.”
It was an absolute understatement, but with everything Kaiden had just shared, Alex was having trouble not throwing herself into his arms and telling him how much she hated everything he’d suffered through. Everything he’d endured. Everything he’d overcome. To lose his parents at such a young age—she couldn’t imagine what that must have been like. While hers certainly weren’t going to win any ‘Parent of the Year’ awards, and while there had been times when she’d felt neglected as a child due to their work-obsessive personalities, the very idea of them dying was terrifying to her. For Kaiden to have grown up without his, and for him to still be the incredible person he was today—it said a lot about who he was. And who he would always be.
D.C. was right. He really was the stuff of fantasies.
“Come on, we have one last stop before we head back,” Kaiden said, pulling a Bubbler vial from his coat.
Alex narrowed her eyes at it. “I thought you said you didn’t have a Bubbledoor?”
“I said I didn’t have an authorised one,” he corrected, throwing it to the forest floor. “But ever since our SAS trip, I make sure to keep one on me for emergencies.”
Alex wondered why she’d never considered doing the same. “Is this an emergency?”
A quiet laugh. “That depends on what happens next.”
The mischievous look on his face brought Alex no small amount of alarm.
“I promised my parents wouldn’t say anything to embarrass you,” he answered her unspoken question. “I can’t vouch for the rest of my family.”
And with that, he grabbed her hand and tugged her through the Bubbledoor.
Tripping slightly on the other side, it took Alex a moment for her eyes to adjust to the again night-time scenery. The scent of the ocean filled her lungs as the wind whipped her hair about her face, her vision finally clearing enough to see they stood atop a cliff looking down over a small coastal town. Yellow dots of light escaped from the windows and doors of the houses, with a lanterned path leading all the way to a quaint harbour filled with fishing vessels.
Woodenly, Alex turned to Kaiden, a slew of questions on the tip of her tongue. But not a word left her mouth, since her eyes caught sight of what was resting on the grassy cliff top behind them.
It was a house. And in the light of the doorway stood a figure.
And then a second.
Both of whom were familiar.
Alex couldn’t help squeaking in distress at seeing both Nisha and Jeera standing there. They looked more casual than she had ever seen them before, neither in their black uniforms but rather household clothes—Jeera wearing jeans and a sweater, and Nisha a little more formal in slacks and a blouse. The commander was peering at them with curiosity, but Jeera had a knowing, almost smug look on her face—her gift likely having forewarned her of their arrival.
Despite the wintry coastal breeze, Alex felt a nervous sweat break out on her forehead. At Kaiden’s quiet chuckle, she turned narrowed eyes to him—eyes that slitted even further when he winked and sent her a wide, beaming grin.
“I think I hate you a little bit for this,” Alex said under her breath as he began leading her forward.
“I think we both know that’s not true,” he replied, his tone way too cheerful.
And then suddenly they were on the stairs leading up to the house, his aunt and sister only steps away.
“Fancy seeing you two here,” Jeera said, her eyes sparkling—an almost mirror image of her brother’s. Her gaze dropped to their joined hands and there was laughter in her tone as she added, “And looking so… friendly.”
Not two sentences had been spoken and already Alex was considering leaping off the cliff to save herself from what was to come.
“Dare I ask why you’re breaking school curfew, or am I better off not knowing?” Nisha asked. Despite her raised eyebrow, she held the door open for them, silently inviting them into her house.
“That depends,” Kaiden said as they moved inside.
“On?”
“Whether you’ll give us a cover story if we’re caught.”
An indulgent laugh left Nisha. “I should have known.”
Alex focused on shaking off her discomfort as the four of them travelled down a hallway, her efforts succeeding as she became distracted by the portraits on the walls. They showed mostly Jeera and Kaiden at various ages throughout their lives. Sometimes Nisha was there as well, and a few revealed a man and woman who could only be Kaiden and Jeera’s parents. It was bittersweet for Alex to look at them, knowing what had happened but also sensing the love that this small family had for each other, even in death.
The portraits came to an end when they reached a comfortable living room lit by a roaring fireplace. Toasty warm, Alex removed her coat and took a seat on the well-worn couch beside Kaiden. Part of her wanted to put distance between them, if only to be careful what message they were sending, but another part realised there was little point in doing so, not when Jeera was still looking so amused. Nisha, too, seemed to be holding back her humour by sheer willpower.
Reprieve was offered when the two women went to prepare some supper, and Alex took advantage of their absence to turn to Kaiden and hiss, “Thanks for the warning.”
“You’re very welcome,” he said, his voice bubbling with mirth. Then, seeing her glare, his face gentled and he added, “Relax, Alex. It’s not like you haven’t met them before.”
“This is different, and you know it.”
He, at least, didn’t try to deny it. But his fe
atures did gentle even more—enough that his soft, knowing expression took her breath away.
Dazed, Alex jumped slightly when Jeera and Nisha reentered the room. A moment later there was a bowl of Nisha’s ‘award-winning’ chocolate mousse on her lap—the award part making sense after Alex’s first mouthful.
Eyes drifting shut with pleasure, she only reopened them so she could turn to the commander and say, “You made this?”
Looking pleased by Alex’s reaction, Nisha said, “Secret family recipe.”
“It’s divine,” Alex said, scooping more into her mouth. There was some kind of berry complementing the dish—a hybrid Alex didn’t recognise until she popped one in her mouth. Surprised, she examined the purple star-shaped forms that were scattered within her bowl. “Are these dillyberries?”
“You’ve never seen dillyberries before?” Nisha asked.
“Not from here, remember?” Alex said, pointing to herself. It was oddly liberating, being able to speak freely about her origins. “I’ve had the juice, but never the fruit on its own.” She squinted at the star again, noting its glittery shine, and added, “It’s pretty.”
“Pretty or not, they still pack a punch,” Jeera said, her tone revealing that she was speaking from experience. “They may be smaller than a glass of juice, but they’re also more concentrated. Be careful how many you have, or Kaiden will be carrying you out of here.”
Alex, in the process of raising a second berry to her mouth, promptly placed it back in the bowl. “I think I’ll stick with the mousse.”
Quiet chuckles met her statement before Nisha asked again, “Are you two finally going to share what brings you out tonight, or do we have to guess?”
Licking her spoon, Alex looked to Kaiden, curious what he would say. She shouldn’t have been surprised when he told them the truth.
“I took Alex out to Heartstone Grove,” he said. “Told her about Mum and Dad.”