“Christian.”
Chapter 3
‘Christian’
The floor is cold against my feet as I step out of the soft bed. It’s my first time sleeping in one as a human, but I try not to feel sentimental about it as I walk quietly towards the window.
The cold air is powerful against my skin, sending small shivers across the exposed skin of my chest and arms. Humans really aren’t as resistant to the cold as cats… I can understand a little better now, why they wear so much fabric over their bodies; the moment I reach the window, I feel like some of my nerves might have already shut down.
It’s been four days since the death of the Adler Squad. One since Reuben Taiga came and threatened to whisk me off to a different state… but there’s no way I can possibly pull off being human.
There’s no way I can be Christian Adler.
Yet instead of escaping, I find myself sitting on the windowsill looking out at the night sky, digging up old memories. Insignificant ones, maybe to the Adler Squad, but the only warm ones I have.
I’m on the third floor of Dahlia’s residence by the looks of it. Her land is big compared to the other small lots cut into the city and from this height, I have a clear view of the surrounding yard, the tall black fence… yet the stars are bright out tonight, reminding me of the world I left behind.
My eyes darken when faced with those memories. Of a time long ago when I stumbled onto a human ship, abandoned beneath a red sky. Of the place where I fell in love with humans, through logs and video records and books.
Under that unchanging sky, I longed to be human. I longed for it so desperately, I fixed the ship and I never looked back at the colony I left behind. But on dark nights like this one, in my nightmares, I’m back there again, reduced to watching through a screen. Reduced to being on theoutside, never a part of the adventure, and unable to find my place in their stories.
When I woke up from those nightmares, Christian would always be rightby my side… but now he’s gone… and there’s no longer a place for me.
Because the adventure is over.
The door behind me opens but I don’t turn to see who it is, I wait until the soft footsteps walk over to me.
“You look like you’re about to make a break for it,” Dahlia swings a slender leg over the ledge and through the window to sit beside me, but I say nothing. It’s smarter for me to remain quiet, after all, Christian Adler was the first member of the Adler Squad. One mistake here will be enough for her to realize I’m a fake.
“It was your dream to work for the main family,” Dahlia reminds me and my gaze is pulled from the stars down to the city.
It wastheirdream.
Mydream was to blend in as a human. Have adventures of my own, like the ones I read about in their stories,meetpeople, makeconnections… Even though the Adler Squad didn’t know what I was, it was the closest I’d ever gotten to my dream.
Only now, I’m back at the start.Aloneagain… and even emptier than before.
“It wasourdream,” I speak Christian’s words. “What’s the point of going there now?”
What’s the point of finding a new ‘home’, doing this all over again?
“The point is you’ll be taking the team with you.”
My throat tightens. I can feel her gaze burning into the side of my head, but I still force myself to ignore it. I’m not Christian. I’m not evenpeople. How can I possibly take the team?
Who says they even want me to take them anywhere? If they’d known what I was from the start they’d have tried to kill me… right? I mean Max tried to shoot me when I was just a cat.
“I failed them, Dahlia,” the words are sour on my tongue. “I don’t have the right to take them anywhere.”
“… You’re wrong.”
I allow myself a glance but the last thing I expect is to see Dahlia’s smirk, “Do you know why, Christian Adler?” Her eyes no longer show sadness. I know it must still be there, eating away at her bones, but she’s buried it so deep inside her, that all that’s left is a stony resolve. “Because you’re the only one left who can.”
Suddenly, my eyes sting. Her words stir me, in ways they shouldn’t.
“Go to Seattle,” she orders stonily and there’s no room for argument. “Show them what happens when they fuck with you.Learnfrom this.” She huffs a laugh, “Then they’ll know it was Dahlia Taiga who recruited the best fucking men across the entire family… minus one snake.”
Dahlia, you don’t know what you’re saying.
