Prometheus Wakes (The Great Insurrection Book 4)

by David Beers

  Her mother spat again. "I’ve been listening to that bullshit for years, Aurelius. I've been listening to you tell anyone who would listen about how selfless you are and how much you care. What about the cities that you claim had nuclear bombs detonated in them? Do you tell anyone what you're doing in those cities?"

  Her father stood at that. He glanced around the room as if to reassure himself that they were alone. Alex knew what her mother was talking about. The nuclear explosions had happened in major cities across the globe, right before her father had started his almost miraculous ascent. The areas were too hot for anyone to live near, let alone go into.

  "If you want to continue living, woman, shut your mouth," her father said, his voice suddenly full of simmering rage. "You speak of things you have no right to know, and you quicken the end of your life with each new syllable you utter."

  Alex's mother smiled, a cruel twist of her lips Alex had never before witnessed. "Do you think you can scare me, Aurelius? We both know you cannot harm me. Regardless of what you do to the rest of the men in this world, I am untouchable. Your life will be forfeit."

  Her father smiled back. "And what do you think killing me will do? Do you think you'll just march back upstairs and continue living?"

  "I don't care about my life, Aurelius. I've already sacrificed it by marrying you, by listening to my father, by purchasing royalty with my soul." She shook her head without taking her eyes off her husband. "No, I don't care anymore. What I do care about is you letting Alexandria out of that contraption right now. Then we'll talk about my son and what can be done there."

  "That's not your daughter. It's a clone. Your daughter is the one still asleep. The one I can't wake up."

  Alex's mother laughed. "You can lie to the rest of your flunkies, but you can't fool a mother about her daughter. The clone hasn't woken yet, and maybe it never will. It doesn't matter what you copied over; you weren't able to replicate the full being. My children woke, but the others haven't. Now, Aurelius, am I going to have to kill you for you to free her? Is that really what we've come to?"

  Alex remembered this version of her mother, but it had been so long since she’d seen her. Her father's personality and drive had almost erased this woman from existence.

  "You're not going to kill me, so put the weapon down," her father instructed.

  Her mother took five rapid steps across the room and fired the laser. She didn’t have great aim, but it seared the side of Aurelius's leg. He went down to one knee with a deep groan and looked up at his wife, rage on his face. "You fucking bitch. Put the weapon down now, or I'm going to kill you myself. The consequences be damned."

  Her mother kept a healthy distance from Aurelius, knowing how fast and strong the man could be, even weakened. "You're almost out of time. I've got an internal clock going, and it started the moment I walked into this room. I won't be here all day because I can kill you and let her go. I know that. It might cost me more in the end, but I can deal with that. So, do you want to still be here when this is all over, or would you rather me go ahead and take you out?"

  The blue tint inside the liquid was gone now. Alex could see everything clearly. Something was still blocking her from using her modifications, so she supposed it hadn't been the blue tint in the liquid. Her mother must have somehow been able to drain that, but releasing Alex was beyond her abilities.

  Alex could see part of her father's face, rage still on it, but she also saw resignation. His leg was bleeding profusely, and he couldn't reach his wife from where he knelt. Perhaps he saw something in his wife, too—a truth that meant she would kill him if he didn't do as she wanted.

  "AI," he said to the room.

  "Yes, my liege?" the computer responded.

  "Release the human who is awake." His voice shook with anger.

  "Please confirm directive," the AI responded.

  "Release the conscious human," her father said from the floor, still staring at his wife with unadulterated hatred.

  The liquid around Alex slowly started to flow downward, emptying from some unseen tube. She felt it passing over the top of her skull, then moving down her face. The clamps on her wrists and ankles released, and she found herself able to move. She was floating in the liquid but slowly moving to the bottom of the vat.

  Outside, her mother kept the weapon pointed at her father. She didn't glance at the vat, knowing that to give Aurelius a moment's inattention would surely mean death.

  Finally, Alex's feet touched the bottom. There was a painful moment as the throat and nose tubes wrenched themselves out of her face. She fell to her knees, gagging. The stalemate continued outside. Her mother still didn't glance at her.

  The vat's glass walls retracted into the platform beneath, leaving Alex naked as she stared at her parents. She remained on her knees but knew her abilities had returned.

  Her mother didn't look at her as she spoke. "Go, Alexandria. Lucia is waiting for you. Do as she says. I'll deal with your father."

  Lucia was her mother's assistant, loyal only to her mother. Alex understood she could be trusted.

  She stood up and carefully climbed off the platform. Her muscles were weak. She wasn't sure how long she'd been in the vat, but she would need to be careful when it came to moving quickly.

  She walked over to her father. He was still on the floor, though he managed to hold himself up.

  His eyes remained on her mother as he spoke to her. "You don't know what you're doing, Alexandria. You have no idea how deadly things are going to get for you if you walk out that door. Your mother doesn't know either. She's a fool, and she's been a fool most of your life. You know that. You've watched her lounge around in bed for years. Why listen to her now?"

  "Go, Alexandria," her mother instructed. "Preparations have been made, but there isn't much time. He won't follow you for a while yet."

  Alex looked at her father on the floor. She wanted to say something, but she couldn't find any words that described what she now felt toward the man. Instead, naked and still wet, she turned away and walked toward the door her mother had entered through.

  It was the last time she would see her father in person.

  Or her mother.

  Alexander watched his parents walk into the room with surprise. Minutes before, he'd been surrounded by a blue-tinted liquid that burned his eyes, although his skin felt okay. Tubes were stuffed down his throat and nose, and clamps kept his arms and legs from freeing him. He'd tried pulling against them but had gotten nowhere. To his left was the other version of himself, the one he hadn't yet killed. It still didn't seem to be awake, however.

  He remembered what had happened to bring him here, the syringes that had skewered his midsection, but nothing after that.

  At some point, the blue tint had begun to fade from the liquid surrounding Alexander. He'd forced his eyes open against the burn to see what was occurring. Minutes passed, but eventually, his father had hobbled in. A deep burn penetrated his thigh, and Alexander could see fluid still weeping from it.

  His mother came in behind him. She was holding one of the new StarBeams with both hands. She had it pointed at his father's back, although she was smart enough to remain a safe distance away. He carried no weapons, and Alexander recognized that had been his mistake, a stupid one that had cost him more than he could have imagined.

  What is it you want to do, Mother? Alexander wondered in the still-clearing vat.

  "Release him," she demanded.

  "You are a stupid, stupid woman," Aurelius responded. "Do you have any idea what you're doing right now? The girl was bad enough, but you want me to release him?"

  She fired a warning shot close to his other leg, and the laser singed his pants before it struck the floor. Aurelius quickly brushed his leg with his hand, putting out the fire. He made no noise and did not turn to look at his wife, only kept his eyes on Alexander. "AI, release the human who is awake."

  "Please confirm, my liege," the AI responded.

  "Release the human
who is awake."

  A minute or two passed while the liquid drained from the vat and the clamps released Alexander. He grunted as the tubes were pulled out of his head, but he remained standing. These two in front of him had no idea what was happening, nor what was to happen, and he understood that. He stepped down from the platform and looked at his mother. "Where is Alexandria?"

  "She's gone, Alexander. What do you want with her?"

  He hadn't seen his mother be this forceful in many years. Perhaps when he was a child, she'd been like this, but it had been a long time. "She's my sister, and I need to talk to her. Where is she, Mother?"

  "She's gone, Alexander. It's very important that you answer me honestly. What do you want with your sister?"

  Do you know, Mother? he wondered. Or do you only have your suspicions?

  He stepped slowly across the room and stopped in front of his father. Up close, he could see the pain coursing through the man. The pain was taking its toll, and Alexander wondered how long he could remain standing like this. "I need her. He has made it so that I need her." He glanced over his father's shoulder at his mother. "You know that, though, don't you? Is it your intuition, or were you in on this from the beginning?"

  "You can't have her, Alexander. Neither you nor your father. What you've both done to her is sickening beyond words, and it stops now. She's leaving, and the two of you... I don't even know where to begin."

  Alexander stepped around his father, not worried about what the old man might do to him. He was to the right of the StarBeam, which remained pointed at Aurelius, who was about a yard away from his mother. "Where did you send Alexandria?"

  "It's none of your concern. She's out of your reach now. Yours and his."

  Alexander would think back to the next moment as the years passed and his body changed. He would grow older, he and his sister both, far outliving both their parents and the descendants who would come. Indeed, the descendants who came after Alexander would only be half-bloods because of Alexander’s next action.

  He moved too fast for his mother to react. One moment she held the StarBeam, and the next, it was in her son's hand.

  She remained where she was, mouth open in shock. Her eyes were wide, and her hands remained as they’d been when she was holding the weapon.

  "Where did you send my sister?" Alexander asked.

  "I'm not going to tell you. Whatever you've become, you and your father, I'm not going to let you pull her into it any more than you already have."

  Alexander smiled. She only partly understood, but she was missing the most important piece. "Mother, Alexandria has no choice in the matter. Neither do you. Neither does my father. Everything has already been arranged."

  His mother's face twisted in confusion.

  Alexander pulled the trigger.

  The confusion turned to surprise and pain. His mother looked down at the wound in her gut. The laser had cut straight through her, leaving a cauterized hole.

  She fell to her knees, reaching out to try to stabilize herself on him. He stepped back before her hands could touch him, and she hit both knees hard. He heard his father move. Alexander swung his left hand back and grabbed him by the head, then tossed him toward the wall. The man hit the floor and skidded until he smashed into a table.

  Everything on top of it fell on his father. Alexander stared at him for a few moments while his mother gasped at his feet. Aurelius didn't move. Alexander thought he was only pretending to be unconscious. It didn't matter. He had to find Alexandria. He had to make this transition complete to fulfill what must be done.

  He looked down at his mother. She was curled in a fetal position. She was most likely in shock, unaware of her surroundings. Alexander knelt and touched her back softly. "I'm sorry. There are things that must happen, and you were in the way of them. I promise you won't be the last, and I promise your death won't be in vain."

  His mother gave another gasp as her right hand twitched involuntarily. Alexander stood up and glanced once more at his father. He should probably kill the man too, but he couldn't quite bring himself to do it. Despite the treachery, his father had made all this possible. Alexander left him under the equipment covering him and walked out of the room.

  He had to find his sister before his mother's plans got in the way.

  Lucia had given Alex a robe and wrapped it around her as they scurried away from her parents. She kept expecting to hear another shot fired or a scream, but she heard nothing of the kind—just the echo of their feet as they moved through empty hallways. Alex didn't know how they could be empty, why her father didn’t have more protection, and assumed her mother must have fixed that problem.

  "Where are we going?" she asked Lucia.

  The assistant was leading the way, draped in fear that covered her much as did her clothing. "To a ship. I'm to get you off the planet."

  Alex stopped then and took Lucia by the shoulder. "What do you mean by ‘off the planet?’ Where am I going?" She'd thought her mother would get her out of the Imperial Residence, but off Earth? That was overkill. Alex wasn't leaving.

  "I don't know where the ship is taking you. Your mother made sure no one would know. We've got to hurry." Lucia looked at both ends of the hallway, likely expecting Praetorians to arrive at any second.

  Alex loosened her grip on the woman's shoulder. "It's okay. I can sense if anyone's coming. We're alone right now. Now, why did my mother tell you I had to get off the planet?"

  Lucia finally met her gaze. "She didn't tell me why, Alexandria. She only said that was what I was to do. We must hurry. Do you understand?"

  Alex could tell that disobeying her mother's orders would cause Lucia untold mental anguish, and she didn't want that. They would go to the ship, and then Alex could find out exactly what was happening. "Okay, take me there.”

  The walk to the first transport was a long one. Alex used the time to test the talents she'd been given. She stretched her mind throughout the premises, finding that they were beneath the Imperial Residence. She spread out from there, her sight taking her down hallways. She saw a completely new “Imperial Residence.” The space beneath the ground was at least as large as the structure atop it, yet Alex had never seen it. Never heard about it.

  Another of her father's secrets.

  They arrived at the transport, and Alex felt real fear. She saw that her mother had directed her father to Alexander's place of confinement. The transport waited in front of her, ready to take her to the ship that would get her off Earth. Alex closed her eyes and watched as her mother marched her father into the room that contained Alexander.

  Why was she scared? She'd never feared Alexander before. Other people had, and for good reason, but not her. Yet, she didn't want him to get out of that vat. Whatever her mother was doing right now, Alex felt sure it was the wrong decision. She opened her eyes and found Lucia staring anxiously at her. "We have to go back."

  The assistant looked at Alex as if she'd suddenly sprouted a second head and it was speaking alien gibberish. "We can't, Alexandria. You have to get on the transport now. I can't disobey your mother. You know this. Neither of us can."

  She closed her eyes for a brief second and saw they were arguing. She could hear them if she tried, but Lucia started shaking her, pulling her from her vision. "Alexandria, we have to go now."

  Alex's face grew confused. "You're coming."

  "Yes." The assistant nodded. "I'm to go with you wherever you go."

  Alex didn't understand, but the fear inside her grew with each passing second. She could go back underground and try to stop whatever her mother was about to do, but this woman would follow her. She had served her mother loyally for too many years to disregard an order. Alex thought she could protect herself despite the increasing fear, but someone else? No.

  "Please, Alexandria," Lucia begged. "We have to go."

  Alex didn't know what else to do, so she stepped into the transport. Lucia rushed in after her and stood in front of the door until it closed. She did
n't say anything, but Alex knew the woman was ensuring that she would have to knock her over to escape.

  The transport took off, and Alex watched the Imperial Residence grow smaller as they soared into the sky. She half-expected to see attack transports chasing them in the darkness, but there were none. Just the night sky and clouds to greet them.

  Long minutes passed, then Alex felt him. She and her brother had always had a strong connection, but this was something altogether different. As the transport raced toward the ship, her ability to see inside the Residence had diminished until it disappeared.

  And yet, she felt her brother. He wasn't in a transport chasing her, but he was out of the vat.

  She closed her eyes, though she didn't want to go to him. She didn't want to see what he was doing, though she didn't know why.

  "Are you okay, Alexandria?" Lucia asked.

  Alex nodded. She kept her eyes closed, not reaching for her brother but so overwhelmed by the connection that she wasn't sure what else she could do.

  "We're almost there," the assistant said.

  Alex looked out the window at the dock. Compared to the last time she'd seen it, it was deserted. A small ship sat poised to take off, one that could only hold twenty passengers at most. Alex saw no one else around it, no dock workers, no engineers. It must have also been her mother's doing. Somehow, this had been planned in detail. Alex hadn't known her mother was capable of it.

  Their transport touched down two hundred yards from the ship. Alex had no intention of getting on it. However, there would be a pilot on board, and she could find out exactly where he planned on taking her.

  Alex stepped off the transport into the cold night air and was nearly rocked off her feet. She shut her eyes tight and grabbed the transport's side.

  Where are you going, Sister?

  She didn't know how he was speaking to her, but the force of his words had nearly brought her to her knees.

  "Alexandria!" Lucia called. Alex could only shake her head in response.

  I can't see you, Alexander continued. But I can feel you. Whatever they've done to us, they've brought us closer in that way.