Free Shadow Boy by R.J. Ross Page A

didn’t remember it afterward. They didn’t remember him, either. The ones that are the most dangerous aren’t the ones you see on television, Rocco. They’re the ones working behind the scenes.”
    “Yeah, I guess,” I say, giving up. “Has anyone beaten you in the video game yet?”
    “No, but Ace and Max working together have gotten the farthest,” Nico says. “I’m just waiting for Zoe to try her hand at it.”
    “That’ll be interesting,” I say.
    “Yeah, it will.”
     
    ***
     
    *Arctic Circle*
     
    “And we will wait for the food to finish cooking!” Tatiana says cheerfully, closing the stove door and looking at Marie with a smile. “You have very much the talent for this.”
    “I didn’t when I first showed up,” Marie says, sitting at the table. “I burnt everything. I cheated for years, just changing the food so it was cooked.”
    “What changed?” Tatiana asks as she sits down across from her.
    “Cinema,” Marie says with a laugh. “Seeing those perfectly dressed women pulling the food out of the oven, it looked so… glamorous. I decided that I’d try again. I even went to a class. I wanted to be the perfect wife and mother.”
    “I am not understanding why your son hates you so,” Tatiana says finally, the words she’s been keeping down bursting to the surface. She’s never been good at keeping her nose out of things.
    “I…” Marie says slowly, leaning back in her chair. “I didn’t know what to do as Wade started getting older. I manipulated his genetics, making him live longer, but he stopped me after a while. You see… he was already in his fifties when we met. He told me…” she takes a deep, shuddering breath, “when he reached the hundreds, he told me that he was looking forward to… to meeting Jesus. I told him that Jesus could wait—that I needed him here, more, but I think he just got… tired. And I let him die,” she whispers, looking at her hands. “I let him go, like he wanted. But when he was gone, it felt like a massive part of me was gone, as well. I lost my little world, the world I clung to, hiding in while I was supposed to be saving my planet. I… I threw a fit.”
    “It is not easy, losing a loved one,” Tatiana says, reaching across the table and taking Marie’s hand. “My own Clifford, he had a very hard time when he lost me. I have been told he became quite a pain to deal with.”
    Marie stares at her for a moment, and when that doesn’t work, she points out, “He’s still a pain, you know.”
    “Oh yes!” Tatiana says, laughing. “He is very much a pain to deal with. But the new theater wing is wonderful, do you not think?”
    “We were dragging in chairs for an entire day, Tatia,” Marie says. “All for a silly sports game. There are only three of us, do we really need fifty automatic loungers?”
    “We are planning for the next World Series,” Tatiana says with a nod. “We are hoping that our home team wins yet again!”
    “Russia?”
    “Oh, no, Missouri!”
    Marie stares at her for a moment before standing. “That’s nice,” she says. “Do you mind if I go freshen up for a moment?”
    “No, of course not,” Tatiana says, waving her off.
    Marie heads down the hall, going right past the bathroom and to Nico’s massive room of technology. She looks around for a moment, a hint of confusion on her face that disappears when she sees the wall of monitors. She walks over, tapping on the controls. She knows the number by heart—
    “Do you really think we’re stupid?” She jerks and turns, looking at Superior. He’s standing in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest. “Step away from the computer, Marie.”
    “You don’t understand,” she starts out.
    “You want to call someone, probably your son,” he says, straightening casually. “But your son thinks you’re dead, and we’re going to keep it that way.”
    “I just need to see him, to hear his voice—he’s all I have left of Wade,” she says