Chasing a Familiar Shadow

by Aman Gupta

  Marie started to leave before Maia interrupted.

  “Are we the dinosaurs facing extinction?” asked Maia. “The people living in this city.”

  “No,” said Marie. “We will not go extinct. Doesn’t mean we will survive.”

  Maia sat back on her seat and had another glass of drink. Sylvia was still in shock.

  An hour later, Marie gave the final numbers to Sylvia, who gathered all her strength, and called Victor. The call didn’t last long. Maia and Marie were doing everything to stop the impending attack. Maia had ordered for preparation of all stations. They were tasked to stop falling debris from hitting the ground. All drones were called in formation to act as a shield for Sierra, while new ones were being launched to blast away the projectiles in mid-air. All the missile launchers were being prepared for launch at a moment’s notice. All security precautions outside Sierra were dropped, except the dome, which was still activated.

  After a video conversation with Victor, Maia immediately called for all ground forces to begin the evacuation process. The families were being asked to stay in their homes and buildings. The priority for evacuation was given to senior researchers, scientists, doctors, and IT professionals, who were escorted out of Sierra in cars. They weren’t willing to leave their families behind, but the armed forces didn’t offer them a choice. Some families who broke protocol and ventured of their apartment buildings were shot dead in the streets to make an example out of them. Children were crying because they had lost their mothers, cradling them in their arms. Women were crying because they lost their husbands. The husbands were crying because they had lost their family. Maia had ordered for the children to be unharmed, but the situation on the ground warranted a more stern approach. The soldiers were forced to get creative to get people to comply. Maia was overwhelmed when she saw the reports of hundreds of deaths in the city, as the news for evacuation had sent people into a state of exuberant panic.

  All junior staff and assistants was preparing for the transfer of materials created in Sierra’s labs. Jason was preparing a remote backup of the entire research of all departments. Hundreds of professionals stayed back in this operation, knowing that they were unlikely to get out of the radius in time for every minute that passed. Thousands of vehicles had been mobilized for evacuation, many of them being huge trucks and buses. The situation was crazy. It was the darkest night in Sierra’s history. And the worst was yet to come.

  Around 7 PM, evading soldiers and cars, Kate, Emma, Eric, and Joey entered Sierra through a small portion of the gate that was left open for quick evacuation via cars. At the same time, the bigger door was being used by trucks and buses.

  They gazed at the futuristic city in front of them. It looked nothing short of a dream of a world that could’ve been before 1/1. They wandered in the city, looking for road signs.

  Around 7:30 PM, Maia was conscious stricken after a call from Clay. She ordered the ground forces to open the iron gate completely and let all people escape.

  “Free for all,” said Maia, on the radio. “Stand down!”

  “Affirmative!” said the leader on the ground.

  He called his team on their radio and told them to stand down.

  The soldiers, who had put the R-1 to R-40 under quarantine, left after removing the barricades. There was a flood of citizens escaping the buildings. All of their cars had been used for evacuation. They were forced to run on foot. There were reports of stampede all over Sierra.

  Maia knew it was a matter of time before everyone died anyway. She was more concentrated on saving thousands of lives rather than hundreds.

  Emma told Eric, who was driving, to head towards the compound as she felt that Vik had been taken there. It was a gut feeling, but that’s all they had. Sierra was panicking. There were thousands of people in the streets, running aimlessly. Some even blocked the car, before Joey opened the sunroof and started firing at them with his machine gun. He hit a few people even though he didn’t want to. But that didn’t stop him. With hundreds of people still running after them, Joey knew he was the only one who could ensure the safety of his friends.

  “Go, go, go!” said Joey.

  Eric drove as fast as he could through Sierra. He kept driving straight, hoping that the road will take them out of Sierra. Around 8:15 PM, they were still somewhere in the city, looking for an exit when the sky turned red. They looked out the window and saw the first fireball in the sky as it landed miles away, somewhere in the forest. The ground shook. Everyone in Sierra lost their balance at once, even Maia, who was monitoring everything in the main operations center. She had told the ground force that they were free to leave when Marie told her that she couldn’t access the moon. The ground forces and all their troop leaders decided to stay. Maia got emotional when she heard it.

  The drones managed to take out four more fireballs in the air before one went past them and hit the dome. The dome lost its power a second later and came offline. A huge hole was visible on the south corner of the dome.

  Kate and Joey looked at the dome in amazement. Their sense of wonder soon turned into horror when they saw ten fireballs in the sky, coming right at them. The dome and its pieces came crashing down on top of Sierra, as the fireballs left huge craters in Sierra, wiping all many buildings at a time. The people running on the street, who had gathered near Central Park, died almost instantly as one of the biggest fireballs they had seen, came straight at them, blowing a huge hole where the Central Park once stood. The crater exposed Sierra’s biggest secret about the Central Park, which was acting as a lid to hide the cavity in the middle of Sierra – B. Cars and debris fell into that cavity, which went as deep as Level 4. There was a huge fire in Sierra – B, and the place looked like a volcano when Maia looked at it from the window of her operations center at Yolk.

  All the systems were down and out, as the power station got blown away when a cluster crashed on top of it. Jason estimated that only 19% of the resources had been successfully backed up to an offshore facility. The datacenters had been destroyed as the clock struck 9 PM. Jason ran into Sylvia in front of Tech One, and they shared a kiss.

  “We should’ve never left the lake,” said Jason.

  “We would’ve killed each other,” said Sylvia.

  “We still did,” said Jason. “Come with me.”

  “I have to leave with Marie,” said Sylvia. “If I don’t make it, tell him that I tried.”

  “I will,” said Jason.

  Jason left Sierra in his car around 9:15 PM, while Sylvia and Marie left together in Sylvia’s car, running over several civilians in the process who were lying on the road. But their escape was short-lived when they couldn’t outrun a fireball coming right at them. Jason saw in his rearview mirror when he got out of Sierra, as the road behind him developed a huge crater. Sierra had finally gotten its canyon.

  Maia ordered the ground forces to evacuate all posts, but many stayed back helping the people in need, crushed under debris. There weren’t many to be saved, however, as several areas inside Sierra had been blown to pieces. Massive craters could be seen, and human remains couldn’t. The trees that surrounded Sierra had caught fire, as Marie’s predictions were right. One of the fireballs landed near the compound where things had changed in the past few hours.

  Sierra was crumbling slowly. Hundreds of buildings had been swept off their foundations, crushing the civilians who had chosen to hide inside Sierra. It looked like a city on the brink of extinction. One of the fireballs took off a portion of Yolk’s top half. The building started crumbling, when Maia and the soldiers with her, ran for their lives. A brief stampede followed as all protocols were abandoned. Not all of them could make it to the ground floor. Of those who did, they couldn’t see a road they could take. Only craters, fires, debris and ashes awaited them. The ground had been caved in, while the buildings were on fire.

  Eric and his team had been fortunate to escape the rain of fire, but with huge craters ahead of them, they hadn’t found the exit to
Sierra. Eric didn’t know where he was driving; he just knew he couldn’t stop.

  Chapter 40: Envy

  At the compound, around 7 PM, Victor had been informed by Maia that the evacuation was underway. Jason had already been in touch with Victor regarding the backup operations. Victor had mentioned the priority list to him, as some of the research was unique and couldn’t be recreated without the original brain.

  Sarah had been patiently waiting in the secret room, looking at Vik, who had rightly assumed an impending catastrophe, as he could sense the panic in the atmosphere.

  Victor confronted Sarah and told her to leave while there was still time.

  “I’m not leaving,” said Sarah. “Not until he’s alive.”

  “He’s going to be alive for a long time. We’re prepping him for transport,” said Victor.

  “You’re a poor liar, father,” said Sarah. “It was him who taught me how to spot when you’re lying.”

  She pointed at Vik.

  “Then tell me if I’m lying when I say this – you’re leaving right now. If I have to sedate you, then so be it,” said Victor, with a stern look.

  “What about you?” asked Sarah.

  “I’ll follow you,” said Victor.

  “We’ll leave together, or I’m not leaving,” said Sarah.

  “This place is about to blow up. Why don’t you understand? Think about your husband,” said Victor.

  Sarah looked at Vik.

  “Not that one!” retorted Victor.

  “I know,” yelled Sarah. “I just thought I’d see him one last time before I kill him.”

  “Sorry, we can’t always have what we want. No matter how much we’re willing to pay,” said Victor.

  Sarah relented.

  A few minutes later, Victor was waiting for Sarah at the front gate. Sarah arrived and hugged Victor. They were interrupted by Clay, who informed Victor that the situation at Sierra had gotten worse.

  “People are panicking. Maia told me that some of the researchers are rebelling against the authorities. They’re demanding that the civilians be allowed to escape,” said Clay. “She is considering it.”

  “Damn it!” said Victor. “Give me the phone!”

  He tried calling Maia, but she didn’t pick up the phone. Sylvia was unreachable, so was Jason.

  “What now?” asked Sarah.

  “I’d rather not go by road if I were you,” said Clay.

  “What about the chopper?” asked Victor.

  “I tried. The lines are down,” said Clay.

  Victor smashed the phone on the ground. He was frustrated and angry.

  “Let’s go inside!” said Victor. “Looks like we’re stuck here.”

  Sarah went inside the building. She was somewhat happy.

  Clay stayed back outside with Victor.

  “What about the girl?” asked Clay.

  “It’s too big a risk,” said Victor.

  “Agreed,” said Clay.

  “Let’s hope the compound survives the rain,” said Victor.

  Clay nodded and went inside the building. Victor looked at the sky, which appeared serene.

  “Damn you!” said Victor, looking at the sky. “You won again!”

  It was 8:10 PM. Victor and Sarah were holed up in the secret room. Victor was looking at the dark ceiling, while Sarah couldn’t get her eyes off Vik. Victor’s mind wandered at the events post 1/1. His struggle to complete his mission, and a lifeline thrown by Anthony, were some of the thoughts that dominated others. A noise pulled Victor out of his trance.

  Sarah was pacing up and down the room without taking his eyes off Vik.

  “If you keep staring at him, you’ll lose your mind,” said Victor.

  “You have been looking at the ceiling for the last twenty minutes,” said Sarah.

  “I’m trying to see our future,” said Victor. “It doesn’t look good.”

  “How much are you going to lose?” asked Sarah.

  “More than I would’ve liked. It’s not about money. It’s about resources. People. Technology. Research,” said Victor. “People are dead. Intelligent people. How do you replace them?”

  “We did it before,” said Sarah. “We’ll do it again.”

  “I still can’t figure out the peripeteia,” said Victor. “Of our venture. Somehow, I missed it. I should’ve seen it coming.”

  “Did you know he used to work with Anthony?” asked Sarah. “Jay..Vik.”

  “Not at the time, but later,” said Victor.

  “Do you think Anthony knew?” asked Sarah.

  “I don’t think so,” said Victor. “Anthony didn’t know Jay that much. Jay always kept his identity secret. Only a handful of people at Verati knew that Jay was the master, not a puppet. Anthony wasn’t one of them, and he only cared about the masters. But then Anthony was an enigma himself. He played the game in his own way. You couldn’t bluff him without fearing your doom.”

  “I see,” said Sarah.

  “Why do you ask?” asked Victor.

  “Peripeteia,” said Sarah. “That was it. When you pulled Vik back into your life.”

  “I needed him,” said Victor. “Still do, if we survive this..this..apocalypse we have brought on ourselves.”

  “Why? Because of Josh?” asked Sarah. “Why can’t you think beyond that?”

  “Because I can’t afford to. It’s all I think about. And for a good reason,” said Victor.

  “What reason?” asked Sarah.

  Their conversation was interrupted by a flash of light in the sky as it travelled through the two windows on the wall behind Vik.

  Victor stood up as Clay came inside the room. “It’s time.”

  “Stay here,” said Victor, to Sarah.

  He left with Clay, as they headed to the sky room upstairs. A huge glass window in the front gave them a magnanimous view of the sky, as well as Sierra.

  Victor watched in horror and agony as tens of fireballs crashed into various parts of the region. They could feel the ripples themselves.

  Around 9 PM, one of the satellite clusters crashed half a mile away from the compound, angled away from it. The compound felt a powerful force as the entire building shook. All the glass windows were smashed into pieces. Victor was lucky to escape unhurt, while some glass shrapnel got lodged inside Clay’s flesh. He pulled out the shards from his arms and chest.

  Vik was swinging in the air due to the gush of air entering the warehouse through the shattered windows. The guards ran from the warehouse to take cover. Sarah also ran from the room, as the two-way mirror almost cracked in front of her eyes. She couldn’t see anything anymore through it.

  The final cluster dropped around 9:25 PM, destroying the final remnants of Sierra. 75% of the buildings in Sierra –A had been destroyed. Some were on fire, while others collapsed due to impact. The rest were almost ready to be swallowed by the craters nearby. The surrounding forest cover had caught fire, though it didn’t spread deep into TS – 51 before being contained by the locals living there.

  Victor’s dream had been crushed before his eyes. He knew he couldn’t let it be all for nothing. He told Clay to send few guards out to estimate the damage to Sierra. Clay volunteered to go himself too. Victor agreed when Clay insisted. He knew Clay wanted to know if Maia got out safe. Somewhere in his mind, Victor wanted to know too.

  The sky was still red around 10 PM. Perhaps, it was the fire, Victor thought. Sierra was still burning. Victor asked a couple of guards to replace the mirror in the secret room on Sarah's insistence. Sarah wanted to be there at all times, but Victor didn’t want Vik to know about Sarah.

  Past midnight, Victor went to the warehouse, while Sarah saw through the secret room. Victor told the guards to turn on all the lights but was told that the building had lost its power. Heavy winds were blowing outside, and it had even started raining. Ash rain.

  Vik was lowered manually to the ground level. A couple of guards carrying fire torches stood on either side of him as Victor entered the room.<
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  Vik was nearly exhausted. His arms and legs were hurting. The only solace he had found in the entire ordeal was seeing Victor Daulton losing everything he held precious.

  “What, you don’t have flashlights?” said Vik as he wiped the sweat on his forehead off his shoulder. “The flames are a nice touch, though. Almost poetic.”

  Victor wasn’t in a happy mood. He didn’t hide the feeling of bitterness on his face.

  “Oh, come on, smile,” said Vik. “Look at the bright side.”

  Victor didn’t say anything.

  “Now you know finding Josh is suicide. I mean, he crashed your own moon on your little project, didn’t he?” said Vik. “Do you have pictures? I never got to see Sierra. I sent my drones, but Sierra went incognito. Where did you buy that stuff? How much did it cost? Did you rob the Federal Reserve?”

  Victor looked straight into Vik’s eyes as he stepped a little closer, only a couple of feet away from him.

  “How is it that you seem to know everything?” asked Victor, perplexed.

  “I have my eyes everywhere,” said Vik. “Just like old times.”

  “Then why pretend to be a victim?” asked Victor.

  Vik raised his hands, showing the cufflinks. He was mocking Victor. He felt he had nothing to lose, that he was living his last hour. He might as well have fun at Victor’s expense, he thought.

  “Sorry, we lost the key,” said Victor. “You are never getting out of these.”

  “You got a blow torch?” joked Vik.

  Victor smiled. “See, that’s what we are missing. Get me a blow torch.”

  The guard standing at the door, immediately went looking for one.

  “You’re not serious, are you?” said Vik, after he read Victor’s mind.

  “I’m this close to dropping you a mile into the Earth’s crust,” said Victor. “Don’t push me.”

  “What? I don’t….” said Vik, before it struck him. That reference was too specific to be a metaphor.

  He had heard about this place from Clifford. A secret military base between the mountains. Vik was surprised. It brought out a smile on his face. He felt nostalgic. As if Victor and Clifford were both in the room with him.