The Cloud

by Daniel Boshoff

  Evelyn almost laughed in relief.

  It had been a bird. It must have started shrieking when it got caught in their trap. Through the airlock she noticed Matthew's smoldering gaze watching Seren work. Evelyn couldn't understand it. Why would Seren destroy their food only to help them find more? It didn't make sense. But then, if she was an AI, maybe the normal rules and reasons didn't apply to her. Evelyn had to get to the bottom of this. She had to find out for sure.

  As Matthew came back inside the shuttle, she took his place in the airlock and pulled her helmet on. Her knife felt heavy in her hand. She'd simply walk past Seren on her way to check the traps and slip on the wet grass underfoot. Her knife would nick Seren's arm as she stumbled. And if Seren didn't bleed they would all know what she really was.

  She walked towards Seren, watching the back of her helmeted head. Seren turned and gave her a small smile. Their eyes met. She felt like Seren was looking through her, right into her mind. She kept walking.

  She couldn't do it.

  Another chance would come. She would just have to wait.

  10

  They caught another two birds, one was tiny, no larger than Evelyn's clenched fist. The other resembled a duck. Seren killed them both, seeming to feel none of the uncomfortable nausea that Evelyn got from watching the quick jerk of her fingers around their narrow necks.

  She helped pluck the birds, sickened by the blood that seeped from their torn skin onto her gloved fingers, and when Nelson offered to remove the guts she walked away, watching the birds in the sky flying free, thinking how three of them would never fly again.

  It was afternoon by the time they lit a fire with wood Clove and Kenji fetched from the woods nearby. Kenji had finally joined them outside, saying he couldn't handle another minute of listening to Holly talk about her boyfriend.

  “She's got crazy eyes, man,” he'd said to no one in particular. “It's like she still thinks she's gonna see him again. She keeps mumbling to herself.” He put on a high pitched voice, trying to imitate Holly. “We'll be together soon, my love … It's damn unsettling is what it is.”

  Clove had told him to shut up. “She's obviously in shock. Don't be so callous.”

  Nelson, who had apparently been an avid cook back home, chopped the birds into pieces and tossed them into one of the iron skillets they had found in the storage room. He covered the meat in water and let it simmer over the fire for what felt to Evelyn like an age, adding his tuber and greens near the end. When he finally declared it ready they carried the pot inside and ate from bowls they had found in the storage room.

  Evelyn was surprised how good the stew tasted, and when she complimented Nelson he looked down shyly and mumbled, “Thanks. It could use some salt.”

  As she ate she watched Seren, making sure she was really eating. She was. Would an AI eat? Probably not. But maybe. There could be a digestive system of NAMs to extract energy from the food... At this point, she'd believe almost anything.

  It was only later, as they were scraping the last of the stew from the pot, that she realized Holly had not so much as touched the food. In fact, she hadn't moved from the corner of the shuttle where she'd spent the entire day huddled on a bench. Evelyn walked over to her.

  “You didn't eat, Holly.”

  “I'm not hungry.”

  “You need to keep your strength up. Have you had any water?”

  Holly shook her head, rubbing her arms as if she was cold.

  “I'll bring you some. You need to drink.” Evelyn walked over to the water dispenser and held one of the plastic cups under the stream. It filled to about halfway, then the water sputtered out and stopped flowing completely.

  “Uh, Matthew?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Any idea how long the water's supposed to last?”

  “It's supposed to last a while, especially if we remember to recycle our … fluids.”

  “It's stopped.”

  Matthew frowned. “The purification system must be down.” He looked back at the others and she knew what he was thinking: he wanted to demand to know who it was who kept trying to sabotage them, and why. She wanted to too, but they both knew it would be pointless. Instead he said. “The computer system is still offline, too. We can't use it for anything. I don't know how much longer we can go on like this.”

  He walked off into a corner and leaned his head against the wall, thinking.

  Evelyn took the water to Holly. “Drink. It's all we have.”

  Matthew seemed to have reached some kind of decision. He turned to speak to them all. “We won't last long without water, so we'll have to go and look for some. It seems like the sun here follows a similar pattern to ours back home. There should be a few hours of daylight left. I say we use it to take a look around. There's got to be a river or lake somewhere nearby here.”

  “Good. I'll come.” Seren rose to join him.

  Evelyn didn't miss the uneasy look in Matthew's eyes when he asked, “Does anyone else want to come? It could be dangerous, and we'd be safer in a bigger group.”

  “I wouldn't mind another look around,” Nelson said.

  Kenji let out a long sigh. “Yeah, okay, I'll come. You guys might need my invaluable help this time. Seems nice out there anyway.”

  Clove frowned at him. “'Seems nice'? You're kidding, right?”

  “It's just pretty, is all I'm sayin'. I like the birds. It's like how it was back home before the Bloom.”

  “I guess ...” She shrugged. “Maybe I'll come too, then. I can't just stay in here forever.” It sounded to Evelyn like Clove was trying to convince herself.

  She stepped forward. “I'll come as well. Six of us is a good-sized group. Brenner can stay with Holly.”

  Brenner acknowledged this with a nod.

  “Alright.” Matthew said. “We'd better get going then. Everyone suit up, I know we can breathe the air here but I'd rather be safe than sorry. And grab anything you might be able to use as a weapon. Just in case, you know, something tries to eat us or something.”

  “Nice pep talk buddy.” Kenji slapped him on the shoulder.

  Ten minutes later they were all standing outside the shuttle. The air outside had already cooled. The fire they'd made for cooking had burnt out completely, though the ashes still smoldered. Evelyn looked up at the clouds that had rolled in front of the sun and hoped it wouldn't rain. Even through her insulated suit she could feel the coolness of the breeze that swayed the grass in front of them to and fro like a green tide.

  “We should head towards the high ground,” Matthew pointed to a solitary mountain that sprouted up from the forest ahead. “Mountains make rivers. And if we can gain some altitude we'll be able to take a look around, see what's around here.”

  “That's pretty far …” Kenji said uncertainly.

  “So we should get moving.”

  Kenji sighed in resignation. “Aye aye, captain.” He gave a mock salute and fell into place behind Matthew, tapping the survival knife he'd found in the storage room nervously against one thigh as he walked.

  Evelyn found herself taking up the rear as they waded through the grass in single file, following the same trail they'd taken when they followed the albino elephant, and after a few hundred meters they entered the woods. The light under the trees was dim, and the air was eerily quiet. It was as if the birds that shrieked and squawked out on the grasslands dared not venture here. The rays of light that pierced the canopy every time the sun peaked out from the clouds gave the place a mystical, dreamlike quality. No one spoke, but the two plastic water containers Nelson had found banged together loudly as he walked in front of Evelyn. She hoped the noise would keep any threatening creatures away rather than attract them.

  They passed the marshy area she remembered from the previous day as well as the clearing where the elephant had charged at her, but after that it became difficult to tell which way they were going beneath the green ceiling of trees. Every now and then they could make out the mountaintop through a br
eak in the leaves and knew they were heading in the right direction. Evelyn kept glancing over her shoulder as they walked. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was following them.

  They had been walking for about an hour when they heard it: the musical sound of running water.

  Matthew turned and grinned. “Hear that? It's close.”

  They continued excitedly, spurred on by the sound. Evelyn hadn't realized just how thirsty she was until she'd heard the water. Now she was looking forward to a drink. A few moments later they came upon a clear stream gurgling along the bottom of a small creek. The stream wound its way around mossy boulders with small white lilies growing in the loamy soil that filled the cracks between them. There was something enchanting about the scene, and the sound of the stream in the silent forest was comforting. The water looked cool and fresh.

  “Be careful on the rocks,” Matthew cautioned, stepping down. “They're extremely slippery. Pass me one of those containers, Nelson.”

  As the others began making their way down the creek Evelyn studied the woods. She couldn't shake the feeling of being observed, and the hairs on the back of her neck prickled.

  Her head jerked to the right. Was that movement? The branch of a nearby shrub was swaying as though it had just been disturbed. She began walking over to it slowly, keeping her eyes trained on the spot. The knife in her hand felt small and inadequate in the face of the fear building in her chest. She reached the shrub and extended her free hand to pull aside its branches, her knife ready to strike. In an instant she whipped the branches aside. A small squirrel dashed from the shrub, startling her, and shot up the nearest tree, vanishing into its branches.

  Evelyn chuckled in relief, lowering her blade.

  Something landed on her shoulder.

  She spun, nearly gutting Matthew with the knife in her hand. He stumbled back just in time, dropping the container of water he'd filled in the stream below. He stared at her wide-eyed.

  “Oh my God, I'm so sorry!” Evelyn quickly sheathed the weapon.

  “No, no. It's my fault. I shouldn't have startled you like that.” He broke into a sheepish grin. “You've got some pretty serious reflexes.”

  “Yeah, guess I've been on edge because of … you know.”

  “Actually I was hoping to talk to you about that.” He glanced down at the others, still in the creek. Suddenly his face went white. “Get down!” he hissed, grabbing her arm and pulling her behind a shrub.

  “What is it?” she whispered, instinctively aware of the need for silence.

  He pointed through a gap in the bushes.

  There, upon the opposite bank of the creek, a row of figures stood.

  They were unmistakably human.

  11

  There were three of them.

  In the creek below, Kenji also noticed the newcomers. “Um, guys?” he said.

  The others looked up. Evelyn could imagine their shock. She felt it too. There was human life here, on Janus – or at least something that very closely resembled it. From her hiding place she studied the figures. Two appeared to be male and one appeared female. It was hard to tell the difference for they all wore identical one-piece, body-hugging suits of a neutral gray fabric and sported androgynous buzz cuts. They also each carried what looked like some kind of weapon.

  None of them had spoken. None of them had moved.

  “H-Hello,” Kenji said nervously, waving a hand limply. “Um, we're from Earth.”

  In one fluid movement, as though all responding to some command only they could hear, the figures raised their weapons and fired simultaneously at the four teenagers in the creek. The weapons discharged some kind of shock wave. Evelyn didn't see anything leaving their barrels, but the interns in the creek were instantly knocked over as though by an invisible physical force. Nelson fell into a deep pool in the stream where he had been filling his water container. Kenji and Clove were knocked back onto the bank. Seren had been holding the ax, and Evelyn looked in horror at the blood seeping from a gash in her shin where the blade had struck her as she fell into the shallows of the stream.

  She was bleeding.

  She wasn't an AI.

  Evelyn made as if to rise but Matthew put a restraining hand on her shoulder. He shook his head, placing a finger over his lips.

  Two of the figures began descending the slope, while one remained up top, watchful. None of the interns was moving, and Evelyn feared they were all dead until she heard a groan from Kenji.

  One of the figures walked over to him and casually knelt beside him, wrapping its fingers around his neck beneath the helmet of his suit. It began to squeeze. It's partner was approaching Clove.

  “We need to do something!” Evelyn hissed.

  Matthew nodded, looking around frantically. He picked up a small rock and flung it across the creek. It struck a tree on the far bank and the figure standing guard spun around, peering into the bushes. Kenji was beginning to kick his legs limply as he had the life choked out of him. Clove was still unconscious, but even from her hiding place Evelyn could see the purple color of her face. “When I say so, you go for the one on the left, I'll get the one on the right.” Matthew flung another rock, and the figure atop the creek began creeping away from the edge.

  “Okay, go!”

  Without thinking about the danger, Evelyn sprang from the bush, dashing down the creek behind Matthew. The figures below heard them and turned their heads. They released Nelson and Clove, who both began gasping for breath, and reached for their weapons. With a roar Matthew launched himself through the air at the nearest figure, a male, slamming into him shoulder first and knocking him down into the stream. The man's head struck a rock and Evelyn heard a sound like an egg breaking. She didn't take her eyes off her own target, who had her hands on her weapon. The woman was bringing the barrel up. Evelyn was too far. Without thinking, she drew her hand back and flung her knife with all her strength. It cleared the two yards between them in an instant, the heavy handle striking the woman on the lip and giving Evelyn the time she needed to get in close. She ducked right, nearly slipping on a wet rock just as the woman discharged her weapon. Evelyn felt the pulse of energy pass her, catching her in the left arm and spinning her round. She went tumbling down, managing to grab onto the woman's sleeve with her right hand, pulling her down with her. Evelyn's helmeted head bounced off a rock as the woman landed on top of her. Her torso was in the stream, and as the woman scrabbled to get up Evelyn rolled her body, grabbing the woman's head and forcing it into the water. The woman thrashed for a moment, then relaxed. Evelyn wondered if she had drowned, then she saw the weapon in the woman's hand, coming up to point at Evelyn's head.

  A booted foot kicked the weapon from her hand. Matthew.

  “That was clo–” There was a pulsing sound from atop the creek and Matthew hurtled backwards to land in a crumpled heap in the shallows. Evelyn's eyes rolled up the far bank, where the third figure was looking at her down the length of his weapon. The woman in her arms was still struggling. She was strong. Evelyn knew that if she let go she would be overpowered. She stared into the man's eyes, black and deep like drain holes, and waited for him to shoot, knowing there was nothing more she could do.

  A shadow burst from the trees behind the man, colliding with him, and suddenly he was falling face-first down the creek. He landed with a wet sound on a large bolder and didn't get up. Evelyn looked back up the creek but the shadow had vanished.

  The woman in her arms had gone still.

  She released her and scrambled to her feet, backing away and gasping.

  She stared at her hands. She had just killed a person ... She felt sick.

  Suddenly Evelyn was aware of a faint humming sound, almost inaudible above the gurgling of the stream. She turned, looking for the source. Something was moving over the body of the woman she had killed. A black mist bubbled up through the water and began gathering above the woman's corpse. Evelyn's eyes caught more movement over to the side and she whirled around, ready
to defend herself. A similar cloud was hovering above the body of the man Matthew had attacked. She looked over at the man who had fallen into the creek. The same black mist was beginning to emerge from his mouth and nose and ears.

  Suddenly, all three clouds surged towards her. She held up her hands instinctively, but the mist only passed around her harmlessly. She watched it through her visor as it swirled around her, circling her head, then her torso. As it moved down her legs she tried to kick at it, but her legs passed through it as though through air.

  Evelyn. That voice again. Let me in.

  The mist began to slow, as if running out of energy, and like a shrugged-off robe it fell around her feet where it was washed away by the shallow stream.

  A cough drew her attention.

  She turned. Nelson was squatting in the shallows, tugging off his helmet. He lurched forward and vomited.

  The others were also getting up, and they all appeared to be in similar condition. Evelyn went over to Seren, who was staring at the ax buried in her thigh with wide eyes. It was the first time Evelyn had seen her looking concerned by any of this.

  “Can you take it out?” She said to Evelyn when she approached. “I don't think I can.”

  Evelyn nodded, already feeling nauseated by the sight of the metal blade in Seren's flesh. “This will probably hurt.”

  Seren drew a deep breath. “I'm ready.” She didn't take her eyes off the wound as Evelyn gave the ax a sharp tug. The blade came free with a sucking sound. Seren didn't utter a peep, though Evelyn did notice tears welling in the corners of her eyes. She released her breath slowly and watched the wound begin knitting itself back together, the NAMs doing their incredible work. “Thanks.”

  Evelyn nodded, feeling suddenly embarrassed. She had been so certain Seren was Reyner's AI. Now that she knew that wasn't the case, she wondered who it could be. She thought of Holly, how she hadn't eaten with the rest of them – but she seemed far to emotional to be a robot. Unless that was all a ruse... Then there was Clove, but she just seemed too normal. She thought of Brenner, who could read Reyner's code but had facial piercings and modified retinas. Somehow she doubted Reyner would make an AI that looked like a punk. She thought of herself; this was the second time she had risked her life to protect her companions, and she had done it without even thinking. She had simply … acted. What if she was programmed to protect the others? What if she was an AI? She shook the thought from her head. Of course she would know if she was. Wouldn't she?