“Don’t give up,” he whispered. I ran to him, but I was too late. He dropped to his knees, slowly, and then fell to the side, his glasses scattering across the floor. His body lay still and forever silent.
Chapter 47
The room faded in and out. My body shook uncontrollably as I dropped to my knees. I reached for Byron, but he was gone. They were all gone. Everyone around me was gone. I had no reason left to live, no one left to live for.
“You had your chance, Sawyer, but I can see you are not easily convinced. If you choose to stand against me, you will surely lose everything. This is so much bigger than you, little girl.”
A bomb exploded above us, and the whole room shook with the force of it. The guards beside Coleman jumped at the sounds and started communicating with each other. A guard whispered into Coleman’s ear, and his eyes narrowed in anger.
“Sawyer, if you can still hear me, there is another attack happening,” Sam said into my earpiece. “There is a ship on the water at the far east side of Kuros, and it’s targeting the Carbons.”
“It seems we must be going. Consider your options carefully, Sawyer.” Coleman motioned to the mainframe, the two star pendant keys still in place. “I will be seeing you.” He turned and ran out. His guards led the way as they disappeared through the back door.
Another blast rocked the warehouse.
“Sam, can you get Adam down here?” I asked.
“He’s on his way,” Sam said.
I fell slumped on the floor and leaned against the mainframe for support. I didn’t know what to do, but I knew one thing, we couldn’t leave these humans attached to this power system forever. I’d sacrifice myself to give these people a proper ending if I must. I’d join my mother, Kenzie, Kyle, and Byron in the afterlife.
~
Adam sprinted in, out of breath, accompanied by a bloodied Tenason and a few other soldiers. He knelt down beside Byron to check for a pulse, but he was gone. Sam must’ve informed them of what we learned from Coleman. Weariness and uncertainty was written across everyone’s faces as they looked at me, wondering what I was. Tenason was the only one who’d look me in the eye. He offered me a hand, and I took it.
“Is there anything we can do?” I asked Adam.
He connected his small tablet to the mainframe and punched in codes. Supply levels for each pod popped up on his screen, and he sighed. “More than half of these humans are already dead. They are only being kept alive by this mainframe. It’s feeding its power to the humans in order to keep the connection.”
“What of the other half? Can they survive?” I asked.
He tapped on the screen, opening more charts and information. “I believe they will,” he said.
“Can you tell what will happen when we turn it off? Coleman said the Carbons will still live.”
“Yes, it seems the humans are merely a transmitter for each Carbon. He would enter his codes and commands into the main system that feeds each human, and they’d in turn feed that information to the Carbons. Once the power supply is turned off, we will ultimately turn off that connection. The Carbons will still live, but they cannot be fed any new information, so they cannot evolve further. Who knows what they will do when the connection is severed.”
“Then it’s decided. We’ll save the few we can and put the rest out of their misery.” I reached for the keys still in place.
“Wait!” Adam jumped. “Sawyer, only a few will live, and your body is not one of them,” he said.
I shook my head. I had a feeling he was going to say that. “It has to be done. I’m already gone as you said, Adam.” My hands were on the keys, ready to turn.
“Wait! Wait, let me at least try to save you!” he argued. I wasn’t sure why he cared; there was no hope.
He reached into the pack he had on his back and pulled out a small portable generator. He ran over to my pod. “If I can secure your pod to its own power system, then that will give me time to try to figure this out,” he suggested. I tried to protest, but he was already connecting the generator to my pod. Carefully, he removed the main power cable, and the pod stayed lit up.
“Okay.” Adam nodded. “You can do it now.”
My hands were on the keys, yet I was having a hard time turning them. I remembered my mom, there inside the warehouse. By turning this key, I was saying goodbye to her forever. She was already gone, but this moment felt final.
Tenason was beside me and placed his hand over mine. He felt the struggle and knew my heartbreak. He nodded solemnly, and it was time. Together, we turned the keys.
The room fell quiet as the light disappeared from each pod. Everyone rushed around to the pods and opened them to see who has survived. A few people sat up, confused and weak.
I walked down the rows in a hurry, moving to the one body I knew wouldn’t sit up.
I reached her. I opened her pod, touched my hand to her cold cheek and kissed her forehead. “Goodbye, Mother,” I said. A tear dropped, and I stayed there for as long as I could, just holding her.
Chapter 48
There was a hole in the side of the warehouse, and only embers and rubble left of the tiny tech shop we entered.
I tossed aside rocks, burning my hands on the hot coals, but I didn’t care. I had to find Kenzie. I had to see him one last time.
Everything here was gone. I dug deeper and deeper, but there was nothing left to be found. All that was left of him was the tiny star pendant I clutched in my hand and a bloodied piece of gray fabric, ripped away from Kenzie’s shirt. This was all I had left of him. The rest had been blown to pieces and burnt in the explosion. Nothing else remained.
My chest tightened and ached as I stood there in shock. Tenason kept me company as he lingered nearby. He wanted to say something, to help me, but nothing could make this better.
I clutched the pendant so hard it dug into the palm of my hand. I stayed there for a long while, breathing in Kenzie’s energy that still lingered. My eyes burned like the coals I knelled down in front of. I tried to make sense of it all, tried to understand why this had happened to me, and why I had to lose him.
He was gone. He was really gone.
~
I walked in a daze as chaos continued around me. Coleman had left the city with his Carbons, and less than half of our people had survived. All around me were bodies, bloodied and torn. Those who survived rushed from body to body, checking for signs of life.
I blindly walked toward the edge of the city where the ocean lay. A large ship floated in the bay, glowing in the moonlight, and I wondered who they were and where they came from.
Murray stood with a group of people I didn’t recognize, and somehow my feet carried me over.
“Captain Lankey at your service, ma’am.” A tall man with a long black beard and shaggy black hair sprouting out from under a large hat stood before me, reaching out his hand. I took his hand, wary of who this guy was.
He was dressed in an oversized black coat, patches of multiple colors and patterns covered up the tears in the old fabric. His boots were shiny black with metal studs at the end. His face looked friendly, but his appearance was a mess.
He dropped his hand and smiled politely.
“Captain Lankey says he’s from a place called the United Isles,” Murray said. Murray was skeptical of him but grateful nonetheless. “He was the one to drive Coleman out of here. He saved us, and for that we thank him.”
Captain Lankey took off his hat with a little bow. “It be our pleasure. We’ve been trackin’ Coleman fer years. We’re happy to finally provide some assistance.”
“Why now?” I demanded, stepping forward. “Why do you just come now, after all he has done?”
“We’d have liked to have come sooner, ma’am. However, Coleman knows ‘bout us, and he’s been trackin’ our movements as well. We had to wait till our engineer was able to create this beauty for us so we could arrive unseen.” He pointed up to the big ship looming over us.
It was huge and looked almo
st like a spaceship, but it floated on the water. The silver-colored metal on the side glimmered in the moonlight. It didn’t quite look like steel but something similar.
“She’s made of pure Alatonion. A metal that can go unseen on radar, makin’ us invisible.” Captain Lankey smiled. “It also helps that she can travel above or below water,” he added.
“Well, we are in debt for your services,” Murray said, “and we invite you and your crew back to our camp for food and shelter.”
“We would be much obliged,” he said. Captain Lankey whistled to his men, who jumped off the boat and into the water. They swam up to join us. They were all dressed in shaggy, torn clothes and funny large hats. One smiled at me, but he only had two teeth remaining.
Who were these guys?
Chapter 49
It’d been three days since the attack, and I still felt like I was walking through a dream. Perhaps a nightmare would be more accurate.
Out of the over three hundred people we had at camp, only ninety-two survived. Kenzie, Kyle, and Byron were among those we lost, and my heart ached for them. I kept waiting for Kenzie to walk around the corner, his perfect smile warming my heart, but he was gone. They were all gone.
We saved about half of the citizens of Kuros, along with very few humans from the pods in the warehouse. We were stationed back at camp where everyone shuffled along, unsure of what to do with themselves.
Murray knew of a larger village south of where we were, and he was planning a move to accommodate the mass of people.
I felt I no longer belonged here. I wandered around, trying to distract myself from all that had happened, but it was impossible.
Chevy followed me around with his head hung low. He could tell something was wrong, but there was nothing he could do about it. Even Tenason came and checked on me daily. What a change I’d seen in him. He was evolving into his own identity with Ethan gone.
A large burial site was set up in the middle of Kuros for our fallen friends. Murray gave a speech, and I saw it was tearing him up inside that Kyle was gone, but he held it together.
For the people who were still here, for his men, for me. We gathered around a huge hole where we laid all those who didn’t survive. I stared at the thousands of lost souls and wondered why I was still here. I dropped to my knees, and my breath was a ragged pant as my chest tightened. I struggled to hold it all in. I never knew what love was until I met Kenzie, and in an instant, it was taken away from me. I didn’t even get to tell him that I loved him. I was so mad at him. I missed him so much, yet I understood why he did it. And I would’ve made the same choice if it were me, but that still didn’t make it fair.
Adam kept the pod with my human body intact. He still hoped there was something he could do. He was wasting his time.
I sat on the forest floor, my back against the tree I had lain under with Kenzie, back when everything felt right. Chevy was curled up at my side. I closed my eyes, and I saw Kenzie standing before me, his casual smile, his piercing blue eyes finding my own. He was the only reason I was still here. He was the only reason I forced myself to stay alive.
I heard the crunch of feet approaching behind me. Chevy perked up with a wagging tail.
Captain Lankey walked into view, patting Chevy on the head.
“Hello there, Miss Sawyer. How ye be?” he asked in a cheerful way.
I glared at him, too exhausted for words.
“Right. Well, I should expect it isn’t going that well, but that be why I’m here.” He sat on a nearby stump. “I’ve come here to offer me services.”
I raised my eyebrow but still said nothing.
“Well, ya’ see, I come from the United Isles, which is a place much different from here. We are a different kind of people,” he said. “What I mean is, I think I know someone who can help ya’ with yer situation. The not-being-totally-human part.”
As if he had to remind me of what my situation was.
“I’m not interested in fixing my situation. Once we find Coleman again and figure out a way to kill him, I’ll also be leaving,” I stated as I picked at the grass.
“I see,” he said. “Well, in the meantime, I’m not sure if yer aware of all the abilities you now have and how that could help ya’ against Coleman.”
I turned to him, paying a little attention to what he was saying.
“When a Carbon’s made, they take every part of the human host and magnify it. All humans have a bit o’ somethin’ in them. Call it what you may; magic, powers, abilities. There is somethin’ inside of ya, and if yer able to pull it out, ya’ will be more powerful than even Coleman realizes.”
“How do you know this?”
“Like I said before, we have many different people over in the United Isles. And one of those people is very much like you.” He smiled.
“You know someone else who is a Carbon? Someone not controlled by Coleman?” I asked.
“Yes, ma’am, I do. And I’m certain my people can help ya.”
I thought about this for a moment. If there was any chance I could have a slight edge against Coleman, then I had to try. If this body could give me anything back besides heartache and pain, then it was worth the risk. I had nothing to lose by trusting Lankey.
“When do we leave?” I asked.
Chapter 50
The sun was rising as the ship sailed out of the bay and into the open ocean. I stood at the railing, looking over what remained of Kuros. A few feet away stood Max, who Murray insisted join me on this journey. It was no matter to me. I didn’t need any help, and I saw he was equally thrilled to be here. His cold eyes scanned the beach where a few friends stood, saying their goodbyes. Chevy sat close at my feet. Murray lifted his hand to Max, but he turned away, not returning his father’s farewell.
“‘bout time to head down. We’re ready to go under,” Captain Lankey said behind me.
I gave one last look at the world I knew, to the land I used to call home, and then I turned and left.
I knew what I had to do.
I must become whatever it was I had to, in order to get rid of Coleman. This was my only mission, my only purpose.
I would defeat him.
I would do this for Kenzie, my parents, for Kyle, Byron, Ethan, and Kane.
I would win.
I was a Watcher.
Epilogue
Earth looked so peaceful and beautiful from up here. So quiet and calm. He stood staring out the small porthole of the space station he was aboard to the vast blue and green below. Stagnant air filled his lungs as he stood stoic and straight, like the soldier he was.
The soft clank of footsteps grew louder as the guard reached his side.
“He’s ready for you,” the guard said.
They walked down the narrow hallway and into the cold metal office where Coleman stood looking out the large window at the end of the room into the void of space beyond.
“It’s peaceful up here, isn’t it?” Coleman asked as he turned to face him.
“Yes, quite peaceful,” he answered.
Coleman took a seat behind his desk. “She was not at Kuros, nor did I really expect her to be. But we were able to find an informant who may be able to lead us to her. I need you to get some answers for me.”
He stood to leave.
“It’s good to have you back, Kenzie,” Coleman said.
“It’s good to be back.”
The Journey Continues…
Carbon - Book 2 in the Watcher Series
Read on for a sneak peek at the next book in this epic new series
Chapter 1
The idea that people could move on after they lose someone was a lie; one I’ve kept telling myself over and over again these past few weeks as we sailed from Kuros to the United Isles. Time moved slower, as if it felt my urgency and was mocking me by slowing down every minute, every hour. It left me just enough time to relive every horrible thing I’d endured, every person I lost. All gone, and yet I was expected to move on, to keep going.
It was a lie; I was a lie. And as I spent the last few weeks on this ship with nothing but time, I knew it would never end until my last breath.
My knife flew high in the air, flipping end over end as it came back down, and I caught it, hoping to avoid the blade. My eyes were closed, but I sensed the weight and felt when to grab a hold. Chevy was curled up comfortably at the end of the bed, watching the knife with lazy eyes. The room I lay in was small and stuffy. Two cots pressed against the metal walls, and there was a small porthole near my head. The space smelled of damp mold and was always a little too cold, a constant reminder of the dark ocean we traveled under.
I tossed the knife up again, this time higher and faster. As it fell, there was a click of the door opening, and for only a second, my concentration left me. When I reached for the knife, the blade sliced into my hand, and red blood dripped onto my black pants. I hissed.
“Can you not do that when I’m around?” Max Murray, Commander Murray’s son, grumbled and gave me a lazy glare as he slumped down on the cot across from me. Chevy sprang from my bed and jumped onto Max as his tail wagged happily. “Hey there, silly mutt.” Max scratched Chevy behind the ears, causing the puppy’s back leg to twitch with appreciation.
Within seconds, the bleeding on my hand had already stopped, and I used my shirt to wipe off the blood that had dripped down my palm. The wound had already healed itself and was nothing more than a faint, pink line. No matter how many times I did that, it always amazed me how quickly this new Carbon body healed. “You weren’t in the room when I threw it,” I said to Max while cleaning off the knife. He rolled his eyes at me.
My gaze fell to the small porthole above my bed, drawing me into the deep blue ocean. We hadn’t seen daylight in over two weeks as we traveled underwater to the United Isles. Max and I had to bunk together much to my dismay, but we mostly kept to ourselves. He seemed to enjoy the uncomfortable closeness as he made a point of teasing me daily and pushing every button I had.
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