Blood Impulse

Part 3.3

Homebound Sector, Haven System, Ariea, Valkar, Lion's Den

They were following. They were following her everywhere. On the streets, it was a black sedan with tinted windows. At work, it was a strange custodian that didn't clean. In the grocery store, it was a businessman in a plain suit that wore standard-issue shoes.

They were Reeter's men, all of them. They stalked her footsteps, watched her wash her hands, and eyed her as she picked out the ripest lemons. They hadn't left her alone since Reeter had left to go plot his little holy war. She suspected they never would.

When she got home, Harrison was waiting in the kitchen for her, working on his homework. All he did was offer up a paper: an ugly message written in beautiful calligraphy. "Reeter was here."

She grabbed the note. He'd come by while her son was alone? Damn him. "Did he hurt you?"

"No," Harrison said, not looking up from his workbook. "He just sat here with me and drank the rest of the lemonade." There was a pause. "Did you know that he hates kids?"

What kind of person tells a kid that? "Well..." Amelia struggled to explain.

Harrison scribbled down an answer, sulking. "Is he going to be my new dad?"

"No!" she gasped, "Of course not!" She could never replace Jake with that self-righteous, conniving son of a bitch. Reeter was the one who had killed her husband and everyone else aboard the Ariea. "What made you think that, honey?"

"He has a house key. And he comes by to see you alone. And he leaves you love letters," Harrison sniffed, finally looking up from his homework

Love letters? The paper in her hand was not a love letter. Far from it. "I promise I won't let him become your new dad, Harry." She tussled her son's hair. "Go take a break from your homework for an hour. I'll start on dinner."

That seemed to perk him up. He darted from the kitchen and headed upstairs. It was all she could do to spare him some truth about their miserable lives.

Only once he was gone, did Amelia bother to read the note.

'My dear Amelia, I'm sure you've noticed my men. They will follow wherever you go, a simple precaution. Please, bear in mind that they will stop you before you can utter a word about what you know. I'd rather not see your beautiful face marred or young son hurt, so be a good girl. I'll visit soon. – Admiral Charleston Reeter.'

She crumpled up the paper and threw it into the nearest trashcan, nearing tears. Reeter hadn't needed to rub it in.

She was helpless, completely helpless. There was absolutely nothing she could do to protect herself or her son. Her father had been careless. He had trusted people, and for it they had killed him. It left her at the mercy of Reeter. Reeter, who had never given a damn about anyone but himself. Only he was so talented at deception, that he had tricked even himself into believing he was a selfless hero.

But the man was toxic, he was poison.

There would be no stopping someone like him. He believed blindly that the New Era Movement was the only way to save humanity, the only way to pull them out of technological stagnancy before they depleted their resources. The New Era promised change, but hid their plans to achieve that change. The masses bought into the idea of a better future, convinced by Reeter's example of success, but it was a lie. It was all a lie. Everything public about the movement was a deception. Reeter might believe in his destiny, but his allies only sought power. And yet, as she started making dinner and turned on the news, Amelia knew there was nowhere in the worlds that was completely safe from the New Era's influence. Somehow, the movement had branded itself broad enough to engulf everyone who was unsatisfied with the ways of the worlds, and that made it truly impossible to form a unified front, no matter how charismatic Reeter seemed to the rest of the worlds.