by Eliza Green
But a part of her was glad they hadn’t made it through. Carissa hated being alone.
She tuned into the conversation between Thomas and the Inventor.
‘Is there another way past the Great Hall, I wonder?’ said the old man.
Thomas glanced between the hand-drawn map and the screen of the diagnostic machine, which still displayed the collection of Carissa’s cached maps. Thomas and Vanessa had dragged the machine off the streets and down the stairs. The Inventor didn’t want to leave it up there in the open. They’d also gone on a run to grab bags of food from the remaining trucks.
Thomas shook his head. ‘I wish there was. Only one tunnel was mentioned in Janet’s book. I doubt there’s more.’
‘How did they get past the Great Hall to reach it?’
Thomas shrugged. ‘Maybe the machines sleep.’
Carissa knew. It was mentioned in Janet’s book. It was how they’d escaped the city. ‘The system reboots periodically in downtime periods, to patch security issues.’
The Inventor’s eyes widened. ‘You mean we can get past the guards if we hit the hall at a certain time?’
Carissa shook her head. ‘It won’t work. The Copies are in sentry mode. All downtime has been suspended.’
Charlie and Vanessa rejoined the group. Vanessa had folded her arms tightly. Carissa recognised the stance; she was about to suggest something.
‘I’m sorry to sound like a broken record here, but Charlie and I think we should leave the city. For real.’
‘Leave, why?’ said the Inventor.
‘There’s no extra food here, and the Collective and its army could arrive back at any time.’ She shivered and glanced up at the hole in the roof. ‘This place gives me the creeps. The camp is our territory. We can rally more troops.’
‘What’s to say the camp isn’t riddled with Copies right now?’ said the Inventor.
‘Or the second we leave, the barriers restore around this city,’ said Thomas. ‘Then we’d struggle to get back in.’
Vanessa gestured at Carissa. ‘What about her? She got us out once before. She could get us back in.’
The Inventor rubbed his chin in thought. ‘I don’t think it would work, not without her NMC chip aligned to the system. She knew the frequency of the barrier then because she was still connected.’
Vanessa released her arms. ‘What then? We’re sitting ducks here.’
The Inventor sighed. ‘We’re sitting ducks if we go back to the camp. The Collective abandoned this city for a reason.’ He looked at Carissa. ‘Any idea why the Ten vanished and only Quintus is in touch?’
She wished she knew. Ever since Quintus had contacted her, she’d wondered if it really was just him, or if the Collective had been listening.
‘Jacob’s right,’ she announced. ‘There is no guarantee the barrier would open up for me a second time. We can’t risk leaving.’
Charlie said, ‘So what do we do? We can’t get past the army in the Great Hall. And Carissa can’t pass into the Beyond. The only way to leave is to leave her behind.’ He looked at her. ‘I’m sorry.’
Her heart sank at Charlie’s words. She’d feared this new friendship arrangement would be temporary.
‘No!’ The Inventor’s sharp voice startled her. ‘We all came here together. We all leave together. We find a way through the force field, then we disable the scanner so it can’t detect her NMC, or biogel—or whatever the Beyond has programmed it to look for.’
Both Vanessa and Charlie agreed with a reluctant nod.
Carissa’s hope lifted for the first time since arriving at this city. She needed to be—she would be—useful.
But the Collective’s absence from a city that still had guards in sentry mode bothered her.
‘I think we should search the city again,’ she said. ‘The Collective would never leave Praesidium. It’s a part of the Ten. They have nowhere else to go.’
The Inventor furrowed his brow. ‘What do you suggest?’
‘While we figure out how to get back to the tunnel and the door to the Beyond, we should do our own research. This city is empty. The Collective is apparently gone, but Quintus still talks to me so that means he’s here. He wanted to know where the Beyond was. In fact, that’s all he wanted to know.’
Charlie nodded. ‘If we search the city some more, maybe we’ll get answers.’
The Inventor frowned deeply. ‘Dom’s Copy guard is gone.’ He looked down at Carissa. ‘Can you get us into the locked buildings?’
She didn’t think so. ‘There may be other Copies who can help, others who aren’t in sentry mode.’
Vanessa paced. ‘No guns, no way for us to keep them under control.’ She stopped. ‘We can’t take the risk.’
The Inventor said, ‘You’re all we have, miss. You’ll have to talk them round.’
Thomas added, ‘I can try picking the locks or hacking the system. You know, the old fashioned way.’
Ω
They stepped over rubble in the courtyard. Rover waddled over to them as soon as they emerged, his bum wiggling with excitement. His mate, not programmed by the Inventor, cocked her head in silent wonder. The Inventor patted his nose and walked along the empty street leading from the central Zone A to Zone B.
The wolves acted like chaperones and their company settled Carissa’s pounding pulse. She glanced at Rover, who was more proof the machines could evolve beyond their original design. Maybe there was hope for her yet.
They arrived at the buildings in Zone B. Their only stop there was the school for both Copies and Originals. Classes had been conducted in separate sections of the same building. The setting sun cast an orange and red glow over the building. She walked up to the door of the school she’d been in many times. Here, her level of empathy had been tested to determine if she was becoming more than her design. This was where she’d fooled the teachers into thinking she had not developed in any meaningful way.
She tried the door to find it locked. Without a chip to open it, she couldn’t do much. Carissa looked back at Thomas. He stepped up to the door, removing what looked like a series of picks from a black sleeve of fabric.
‘I never travel without these,’ he said with a wink.
Thomas removed the panel and fiddled around with the electronics. But after ten minutes of fiddling, he couldn’t get the door open.
‘What if we break a window?’ asked Vanessa.
Carissa shook her head. ‘The glass is tempered. You’d need something with a lot of force.’
Vanessa pointed at Rover.
‘Not even him.’
‘What about one of the trucks? We could put a battering ram on the front.’
Charlie shrugged. ‘It’s worth a try.’
The group returned to Zone A while Thomas ran to get one of the trucks. Carissa helped Charlie, the Inventor and Vanessa collect one of the steel girders from the courtyard rubble that had been holding up the workshop roof. Rover pushed the girder along the ground with his nose. Thomas drove back to Zone B. Together, they popped out the window of the truck and secured the girder against one of the chairs.
Thomas lined up the truck with the front of the school and floored it. A wide-eyed Carissa chewed on her thumb. The girder hit the glass of the door but bounced the truck backwards. Carissa popped her thumb out of her mouth.
‘You okay, Thomas?’ shouted Vanessa.
Thomas shook his head in a dazed way. ‘Fine. I’m going to try again.’
He backed the truck up, then aimed for the same spot.
The edge of the girder marked the glass. He backed up again and punched a hole on his third attempt.
Carissa ran up to the door and fed her arm through. She felt for the lock and released it.
Not waiting for the others, she slipped inside the school, entering a short corridor that led to two classrooms on the left. If there were Copies here, she should greet them first. The first room was for the younger Copies, the second for the older ones. A separate structure wi
th its own controlled entrance taught the Originals next door. But if there were Copies, they would be in this part of the school.
She looked around the space as if it was her first time. She’d always headed straight for the second room. She’d never looked beyond the classroom she was in. Carissa noticed a corridor behind the two classrooms. She pressed her toes lightly into the tiled floor and found two more rooms down the new passageway.
The Inventor came to her side. ‘What’s down here?’
She didn’t know. ‘I’ve only ever seen the one classroom.’
She opened the first door and looked inside. She did a double take.
Behind her, Vanessa said, ‘What the hell...?’
Carissa widened the opening and walked into the room. It looked like a nursery, similar to the Perspex boxes in Arcis on the eighth floor. Toys dotted the floor, making it look like someone had been playing here recently. But the thin layer of dust told her whomever had been here was long gone. She backed out of the room and tried the second door. Inside was an empty room, except for a two-way mirror looking inside the first room, and a computer console.
Carissa stepped up to the console and tried it. The display sprang into life. Permutations scrolled on screen, too fast for her to read.
‘Let me see,’ said Thomas, nudging her out of the way. She stood back. Thomas nodded at the screen. ‘It’s computer code. Do you recognise any of it, Carissa?’
‘Should I?’
‘Well, yeah. It’s a part of you. This would have formed part of your original programming, I guess.’
Carissa frowned at the screen, stepping closer. She put her hand out and the words that scrolled by slowed down. She pulled her hand away and they sped up again.
She blinked. ‘Why is it doing that?’
‘It’s responding to you, miss,’ said the Inventor. ‘Try again.’
She looked back at the screen, this time holding her hand out for longer.
The words slowed until she could read them. It was a list of downloads from the Copies. Each one had a designation beside it. She recognised a few numbers, including her own—173-C. Carissa searched for other codes, namely those belonging to the Collective, one through to ten. She found nothing lower than eleven. She searched for the medics instead, focusing on data that had been created after they escaped the city.
One number stood out: 118-C. Anya’s medic, who had helped them to escape. She was still alive and, according to this, in the download room inside the Learning Centre.
Her hands shook as she checked more data on 118-C. According to the console, she’d had contact with both Jerome and Alex. Julius had been put into stasis and was currently guarding the Great Hall. Interviews had been conducted with both Alex and Jerome. Quintus was listed as having ordered them.
She searched for more details as to what happened after but none were forthcoming.
‘What does it say?’ said Charlie.
Carissa looked up at them. ‘Quintus... his name is listed here... he interviewed Alex and Jerome.’
‘What did he do to them?’ asked Vanessa.
‘It doesn’t say. Nothing possibly.’
The Inventor shook her shoulder. ‘We need more information, miss.’
‘I don’t have it.’ She glanced around at the disappointed faces. ‘But I know someone who might.’
23
Anya
The Beyond sent a deep chill through Anya. It reminded her too much of parts of Praesidium. She’d only been in this supposed sanctuary six hours and already she wanted to leave.
Three hours ago, Agatha’s soldiers had shown them to a dorm, a large space with a concrete floor and dozens of beds lining both of the rockface walls. The rebel soldiers took one side of the room while Anya, Dom, Sheila, Jerome and Imogen occupied the other side. Farther back, June, Alex and Frahlia sat huddled together, looking like the nuclear family they’d become in a matter of hours. Frahlia’s gaze scoured the room. She hadn’t said anything since she’d been born, but her eyes held a mix of confusion and fear. Anya had felt that same way when she’d woken up in Alex’s room, with no idea where she was or what had happened.
While Alex spoke to June, Frahlia looked from one guardian to the other. Anya wondered what was going through the child’s mind.
Then Alex looked around at the rebels opposite them, at the walls, at the door. His eyes narrowed slightly as if searching for something. His gaze found Anya’s. The former Breeder nodded at her and looked away.
Anya copied Alex. She studied the structure of the walls and the ceiling, looking for the telltale gap between the two that might hint this area was staged. Dom was on the bed next to her, arms resting on the tops of his legs. He was making his own assessments of the space. His brow had barely lifted since Anya had pointed out to him the similarities between this place and Arcis.
Dom looked at her suddenly and flashed her a weak smile. She wished she could do something, say something, to make that frown go away.
‘Tomorrow,’ she said.
Dom blinked. ‘What?’
‘Tomorrow. That’s when Agatha says the door will unlock. We can rescue the others then.’
He nodded, looking as if he’d forgotten about the rest of their team. Of course he hadn’t, but Dom worried too much. Over-thought everything. It was typical of him to take everything on himself.
She touched his hand. He startled and blinked again.
‘It’s going to be okay,’ she said.
‘Is it?’
‘I hope so.’ His lips thinned at her reply. ‘What is it?’
‘I can’t help thinking about what you said about Arcis. I’m seeing the similarities now. I’m worried I’ve led us all into a trap.’
‘We can’t know for sure where we are,’ said Sheila. ‘But it has to be better than where we’ve just been.’
‘We were trapped in the city and the camp,’ said Jerome. ‘We would have died.’
‘And we needed to get Frahlia to safety,’ added June.
Dom nodded hesitantly.
‘I promised to keep everyone safe.’ He looked at each of them in his row. ‘Vanessa and Charlie wanted us to return to the camp and I said no. Maybe we should have left when we had the chance.’
Anya shifted closer to him. ‘They were wrong. They were making that decision based on the fact we hadn’t found the Beyond yet. I’m guessing they’re on the other side, trying to work out how to get the door open.’
Sheila nodded in agreement and turned to Dom. ‘I’m sorry for taking their side. I should have trusted you.’
‘Should you?’
Sheila glared at him. ‘Of course, Dom. It’s always been you and me. You’ve never been wrong.’
Dom sighed heavily. ‘There’s always a first time.’
Anya worried for him and the stress he was putting himself under. She took his hand, weaving her fingers between his. ‘We’re in this together. It’s a democracy and we all made the decision to cross.’
Dom nodded tightly. He squeezed her hand in response and released a soft breath.
She looked into his eyes. ‘Okay?’
‘Okay.’
Ω
An hour later, the lights were turned off. Anya had no idea what time it was; she assumed it must be late evening. Dom crashed out on the bed next to her, exhausted. The other rebel soldiers did the same. Nobody had slept properly since the attack outside their camp. It was natural that everyone would want to sleep.
Anya managed a quick nap. She woke some time later and rubbed her eyes. The dorm was quiet, almost zen-like. She looked around her, seeing only shadows and the outline of bodies in beds. She sat up, feeling somewhat rested, but her mind still refused to settle.
With everyone else sleeping, she got out of bed. Now was the perfect time to explore this base and find out why it felt familiar to her.
She hung a left outside the door and walked along a dimly lit corridor leading farther inside the base. The corridor carried on for a whi
le before it opened into a new section that was more modern than the last. Gone were the bare, rock walls. In their place were rendered walls painted in bright colours. It looked almost homely. She looked inside one room. It had sofas and a large screen on one wall. In front of the screen was a couple of black, leather gaming chairs. A memory hit her of the fourth floor in Arcis, where the sexes had been separated. The boy’s dorm room had had a section just like this: bright and airy with a screen and an area for VR game play.
She backed out of the room and checked the other rooms in the vicinity. She found a well-stocked kitchen in one and an area with showers in another. Another memory hit her, this time of the third floor with the maze and three sections, one black with a gold door. It didn’t look exactly the same, but the place triggered enough bad feelings to unsettle her.
She crept through the section, discovering a door that said Authorised entry only. The door was open. Inside was a control room with a collection of black screens on one wall and a glossy, black console beneath it.
Worried someone might catch her, Anya hurried back the way she had come. But before she reached the door to the dorm, someone pulled her into a dark corridor.
What the—?’
A warm hand clamped over her mouth that smelled of lemons.
Sheila turned her around; she had one finger to her lips. Anya nodded and she released her.
‘What are you doing, Sheila?’ she whispered.
‘Same as you, checking this place out. I think we should do a little exploring.’
Sheila pulled her out of the corridor and dragged her back to the modern section. Anya wanted to explore more but not alone. When they heard a noise, Sheila pulled her inside the room with the sofas and the screen.
Anya peeked out to see Alex pass by the door.
She turned to tell Sheila it was only Alex, but Sheila pressed a finger to her lips. Anya tracked Alex again and saw him disappear down a corridor she hadn’t explored yet.