A second Slider prowled the room like a cat, crouched slightly on her augmented hind legs, which resembled a tigers'. The third stood, unmoving. His entire upper body was a mesh of wires and tubing pumping a glowing neon blue liquid around his body.
"Concerned parties, and you are Sliders I presume?" Salem said, examining them.
The cat-like Slider purred as she circled behind them. Salem and Bella were surrounded, Sam was still cowering in the corner.
"We're only here for him, but if you like, we can rip your throats out in the process?" The third slider said, the liquid began to pump faster around the tubes.
"I kinda like my throat as it is," Bella replied, drawing her pistol and aiming at him.
The sound of slow clapping echoed into the room.
"Very good, it's nice to find someone with a sense of humour in these situations," a female voice called out from outside the room.
The third Slider moved aside, as a woman stepped in, wearing a full business suit. Her voice was demanding and harsh as she continued.
"But, unfortunately, your words are redundant. We don't have time for talk, we are on a schedule here."
Bella slowly lowered her gun, Salem turned to her, his eyes wide in confusion. He looked back at the new arrival and understood.
"Please, kill these two and bring Mr Underwood to me," she began to turn away.
"Kirsty?" Salem called out as she walked away, even though it had been several years since he had seen her.
The woman stopped for a moment, as if the name registered somewhere in her mind.
"There's no one here by that name," she said and then continued walking.
The three remaining Sliders dove forwards, following their orders.
Salem ducked as the cat-like Slider flew through the air, she narrowly missed his head with metallic claws which extended from her fingers. As she landed, he stomped a boot to the back of her neck, a crack echoed, the strike forcing her to crash to the ground, unconscious.
Behind him, Bella fired several shots into the tubed chest of the second Slider, he didn't flinch at first, the blue liquid pumping faster as if it was compensating for the damage. He kept moving towards her. Once he was within reach, Bella pulled a small blade from inside of her jacket, the dagger lit up with a red hot strip along its edge. She sliced upwards, catching a tube on the way, the blue liquid began to leak from the incision. The Slider didn't slow down, grabbing Bella's wrist and wrenching it backwards at an unnatural angle, the blade flying from her grip. Bella winced at the pain, then in one smooth move, cartwheeled to adjust the pressure on her wrist back to normality. Then, while the Slider was still comprehending the move, she grabbed the leaking tube, pulling it from his torso and forced it back into his face, aiming for his eyes and nose. The liquid entering his airways, he stumbled backwards, trying to avoid drowning in the liquid.
Salem glanced over at the scene, leaving his side open for an attack from the first Slider, who planted a strong headbutt to Salem's forehead. The metal of the Slider's face striking bone and causing Salem to drop to his knees, as the pain rang through his skull.
Suddenly, a signal began to force its way into Salems' mind, a strong overwhelming feeling of aggression began to take hold. He had flashes of a violent history. He saw firsthand, himself taking several lives, using his bare hands to strangle the life out of innocent people. No, not innocent, weaker people. People who deserved to die, their lives insignificant to him, for he was like a god trapped in a flesh body.
Beside him, the Slider dropped to the floor beside him, his eyes widening, darting around the room.
"Where am I? What's going on?" His voice scared.
Salem punched himself in the side of his head, fighting the thoughts coming through. As he did, the Slider on the floor bounced back to his feet.
"I don't know what you just did, but it won't work!" He shouted, in his hand the blade Bella had dropped was glowing red. Before he could act, the side of his head exploded, a shower of blood cascaded over Salem.
Bella stood, pistol still aimed at the dead Slider.
"You ok?" She called out.
"Other than being drenched in blood, I'm just fucking peachy."
"You're welcome," Bella smiled.
The two remaining Sliders were still on the ground, trying to regain their composure, when the woman returned to the room. Looking around, she shook her head.
"Fucking amateurs, they were meant to be some of the best," she looked back over to Salem and Bella who had moved over to Sam. "Guess I'll have to do this myself."
She strode over towards them, each step precise and forceful. As she got closer, Salem could feel his brain flaming up again.
This time was different, the thoughts were clearer, more specific. He could see bodies, each hanging from a butchers hook. Blood drained from them and pooled on the floor. He looked down and saw the bloodied knife in his hand. He was smiling, he could feel it on his cheeks, he took pleasure in this.
In the room, the woman was clutching her head, screaming.
"No! I just want to go home!" Her voice was higher in pitch now, sounding several years younger. Bella recognised it as Kirsty's.
"Kirsty? Can you hear me?" She put her arm around her.
"B... Bella? Is that you?" Kirsty asked, fear glowing in her eyes.
"It's me, it's ok we're here to get you home," Bella's voice softened as she consoled the girl.
A flash of anger lit up across her eyes.
"Get the fuck away from me!" Kirsty shouted, her voice had returned to its previous, deeper tone.
Then she fell to the ground, crumpling into a pile. Standing over her, Sam held a metal box, it was one of the drug simulators. He had struck Kirsty with it, and was looking between Salem and Bella who were staring back at him.
"I... I can explain!" He said defensively.
Chapter 7
Kirsty was tied to the kitchen chair in the corner of the room. Still unconscious, her head hung into her chest. The remaining two Sliders had regained their senses and scuttled out of the room before the others had stopped them.
"Ok, we've played along this far Sam, you need to explain what the fuck is going on here," Salem pulled a cigarette out of his pocket.
Sam was nervously checking the bindings around Kirsty.
"Ok, sure, yeah," he nodded. "So, you know the Blackwater prison?"
Blackwater had been the main prison complex for the Boulevard for as long as anyone could remember. It was situated some distance away, next to an old lake which had became polluted by the industries of the Boulevard.
"Sure," Bella replied, pulling up a seat.
"Well, here's the thing. A few years ago, I was contacted by someone who wanted me to help install some software at the prison. I had no idea who they were, but they offered to pay me well, something which I needed at the time because..." he glanced at Salem and decided not to finish the sentence. "Anyway, I visited the prison, and did the work. It was some basic signal relays, a communication device, so they could bounce communications to the mainland. I figured they were just updating their systems. But shortly after, I was visited by them again, asking for a second device to be set up in the centre of the city. This time it was a receiver, I was curious so I asked about it. I wish I hadn't."
Kirsty began to stir in the chair, the three of them paused and prepared for whatever they were about to encounter.
"Untie me!" She hissed, writhing against the bindings.
"I think that'll be a no," Salem replied, he stayed across the room from her, the memories of the thoughts in his head still fresh.
"Sam! You do not understand how much trouble you're in!" She smiled at him, causing a chill to roll across his body.
"I... I had to! It's gone too far. I won't be a part of this anymore!"
"Finish the story," Salem looked at Sam.
Sam glanced between the people in the room.
"The relays I set up were being used by a guard in the prison, some
one working for the Sliders," he continued, as Kirsty started to breathe heavily, her eyes burning into Sam.
"Go on," Bella said, standing between Kirsty and Sam, breaking the eye contact.
"They developed a system, a means of transmitting brainwaves, the consciousness of one person, to a signal receiver in another. Allowing a sort of remote access to another body. The relays I had installed were a means of getting the signal out of the prison and into the city. Then, they could send the signals out across the city. All the Sliders needed were host bodies, implanted with a connection device, that allowed the consciousness to take over that of the owner."
Salem took a step forward, dropping his half spent cigarette to the floor, stamping it out.
"You're telling me, that the Sliders have been kidnapping people, putting some fucking disc in their heads, and allowing prisoners to roam free in their bodies?"
"Basically, yes." Sam nodded.
"I will gut you like a fucking pig!" Kirsty spat at Sam.
"So, who is it we have the pleasure of speaking with?" Bella turned to Kirsty, still keeping the space between her and Sam blocked.
"How about you come a little closer and I'll whisper it in your ear?" Kirsty winked at Bella.
Salem took a step forward, slowly. A tingling sensation began to form in the back of his head. The strength getting stronger.
"Are you able to remove the signal receiver from the host?" He asked Sam.
"I should be able to, it's an external component attached to the central nervous system at the base of the skull. But to do it while a signal is connected could cause serious damage to the original host brain."
Salem nodded, smiling.
"Bella, you have permission to hit me," he said, raising his eyebrow to her. She looked puzzled for a moment. "Sam, you know what you need to do."
Salem took a step closer, crouching in front of Kirsty who stared him in the eyes. He held the gaze as the pain began to burn through his skull, he resisted for as long as he could. Flashes of blood began to cloud his vision, thoughts that weren't his creeping around the peripheral of his mind.
"Thomas Keller," he said out loud, as the memories of the person seeped into his own. "It's time you left this poor girl alone!"
Salem clawed at his head as the pain of resisting the thoughts became unbearable. He began to lose focus, and the world was spinning, as his vision clouded. In the background of his mind, he heard the sound of a younger voice coming from Kirsty.
"Where am I?"
Then he lost his mind, Thomas Keller was in control, Salem just a passenger in his own body. He saw Kirsty in front of him, a scared look in her eyes. He felt himself smiling, then standing up, looking round to Sam and Bella.
"Well, I'm not sure that was the smartest move," he heard himself saying, only his voice was deeper, slower.
C'mon Bella, you know what you need to do! Salem thought as he watched helplessly. He moved closer towards Bella.
"Move away!" She shouted, raising her pistol at him. He really didn't want to die like this. Concentrating, he fought back, pushing at the thoughts of Keller which dominated. The body stumbled as his attack put Keller off guard. Bella saw the hesitation and acted quickly, stepping forward and using the hilt of the pistol to smash it straight between Salems' eyes.
Then, there was nothing but darkness.
Chapter 8
Salem opened his eyes slowly.
He took a moment to move each of his limbs, making sure he was in control, relieved to find he was.
Next, he looked around the room he was in, trying to gather his senses. He realised he was laying on the floor of the kitchen.
"Thought you'd never wake up," Bella said, offering him a hand, he took it and she pulled him to his feet.
"Did it work?" He asked, rubbing the bridge of his nose. The impact of the gun hadn't broken his nose, but it felt just as painful.
"It did," a female voice came from behind him. Turning, he saw Kirsty stood there, smiling. Beside her, Sam held up a small metallic device.
"The relay device," he explained, throwing it over to him.
He caught it, turning it over in his hands as he examined it.
"Thank you," Kirsty said, walking over and hugging Salem, he stood there like a statue for a moment, then hugged back.
"You've grown so much," he said, pulling back to look at her.
"The reunion is beautiful, but we really should get going, Dramarti will want to know his daughter is safe," Bella said, gathering her things.
"And the Sliders will probably come back soon, the ones that escaped have probably alerted the others," Sam added.
They quickly exited the building, and took an AutoCab back to the Silverstone building.
"Do you think there's anywhere I could hide out?" Sam asked.
"I'm sure Mr Silverstone will be happy to sort something out for you," Bella said, smiling.
"You helped save me," Kirsty added.
"Yeah, but I kinda was part of the reason too," he replied, looking down.
"Hey, we fucked you over way before that," Salem punched him on the shoulder, "and you still helped."
The car pulled up, and they headed up to Dramarti's office.
"Oh, thank god!" Dramarti ran across the room, embracing Kirsty as they walked in.
"Safe and sound," Salem nodded as Dramarti looked over at him.
"Thank you Salem," his tone said more than any words could.
"Sam here could use an assist, he might have allowed the entire Blackwater criminal residents a free-pass out of their jail, but he's pretty good with tech," Salem looked over to Sam.
"And we couldn't have helped Kirsty without him," Bella added.
Dramarti walked over to Sam and shook his hand.
"Thank you, I could definitely use someone around here with some tech expertise, if you're willing?"
"I'd love to, as long as you can keep me off the Slider's radar," Sam smiled.
"I'll sort you out some on-site accommodation," Dramarti smiled.
Salem pulled a cigarette out of his pocket.
"Well, now that everything is..."
A pain injected itself into Salems' head, covering his entire skull. The feeling was stronger than anything he had ever felt. His whole brain felt under siege, thoughts flooding his mind.
"Salem?" He could hear Bella shouting, but the sound was like he was under water. He was mildly aware of his own voice screaming in pain.
He could hear a voice, telling him to go somewhere, or rather he felt a need to go somewhere.
CyBio. I need to go there now.
The voice was his own, only it wasn't. His mind became more clouded. Then he lost control, and he was no longer aware of anything.
Epilogue
Salem woke.
Laying on a sun lounger, he turned to see the sun setting gently on the horizon, glittering across the ocean. Taking a deep breath, he could taste the pure, unpolluted air fill his lungs.
He smiled, knowing he was in his VR simulation, but it felt like home. He sat up, looking around, he could see the surrounding balcony, his balcony.
"Wondered when you'd wake up," the voice startled him. He had always been alone in his simulation.
Bella stood behind him, wearing a light summer dress which fluttered in the cool breeze. She looked relaxed.
"I can see why you like it here," she said, taking a sip from a wine glass.
"Are you, real?" Salem asked, swinging his feet off the lounger and standing next to her. She passed him a glass of his own.
"I'm real, well as real as anyone is here, but yes, I'm connected into the Sim," she smiled, clinking her glass against his.
"What... what happened?" Salem asked, the memories of Dramartis' office coming back to him.
"You changed. At first you were babbling about CyBio and someone called Yuri. Then, you just started to walk away. We couldn't stop you, it was like you were possessed."
"I... I don't remember anything," Salem tri
ed to recall the events.
"Nothing we could do could stop you, even trying to knock you unconscious again didn't work."
Bella topped up Salems glass again as he finished it.
"I remembered what you said, about how this was the only place that could block out the signals. So we restrained you and brought you here. Once inside, you stopped resisting and became comatose. I hooked you back up, hoping that being in here would at least allow your mind to recover."
Salem looked over the ocean, feeling the heat of the sun on his face.
"Thanks," he said, looking back to Bella.
"No problem, it might be worth staying here for a while, until we can figure out what the signal was that connected to you," she said.
"Sure, I don't mind staying here," he laughed, "you staying?"
Bella looked at him, smiled, and put her glass down.
"Maybe not forever, but I can stay for a while."
The End.
Further Reading
Go back to the first Neon Universe Novel
Neon Helix
Private Investigator Xander Draven, Reporter Julian Travitz, with his A.I. companion Quartzig, and a whole cast of characters, become embroiled in a race against time to stop forces that will destroy life as they know it.
Step into the world of the Neon Boulevard, where Cybernetics and Bio-genetics collide, and nothing is quite as it seems.
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