“I should,” Ray said. “But for right now I’m just going to make sure you stay quiet.” He tore off a length of tape.
“You’re going to die, you know that? Nobody wins against her.”
“There’s a first time for everything,” Ray said. He wrapped the tape over Matt’s mouth, twice around his head. The young man’s eyes stayed on his, burning with anger. Then he pulled the compression sack over his head to his shoulders. The prick wasn’t going anywhere. He shut the door.
“I’m going to say goodbye to Vinod,” he said. The word goodbye seemed to hang in the air.
“Make it fast,” Burnham said.
Ray climbed into the back of the truck. Vinod was lying on his back on a makeshift bed of sleeping bags and clothing. Ray knelt next to him. The older man’s breathing was fast and shallow and his eyes were closed. Ray lowered his head and spoke quietly. “We’re leaving now. It’s time. And we couldn’t have done it without you.” He paused, trying hard not to cry. “If I never see you again, please know that I truly consider you my brother.” Despite his efforts, tears ran from his eyes.
Vinod’s eyelids fluttered open. His mouth stretched into that terribly fake smile. “Brother Ray.” His voice was thin and barely above a whisper, so Ray lowered his ear close to Vinod’s mouth. “I knew I was going to die. I dreamed about all of this.”
So that’s why you’ve been so upset and secretive. “You don’t have to die,” Ray said, and then felt stupid for lying. The man deserved honesty.
“I am not afraid,” Vinod said. He closed his eyes.
Ray wiped the tears from his eyes, turned, and left Vinod to die.
—
The sadness in Claire’s eyes when she saw him was crushing. “All right,” he said. “One more time. We need to do this fast. There are cameras everywhere, so her security will be after us the minute they realize we’re here. Don’t be afraid to shoot anyone. These are people who had no problem with killing a bunch of children. First we get Ellen. Then William and the rest of the kids. Then we take out Lily and that fucking dome and get the hell out of here.”
Claire rubbed her temples. “The artifact. It knows we’re here. It’s trying to get into my head. Can you feel it?”
Ray did. There was something deeper than the adrenaline, an uneasy gnawing at his mind. “Yes. But we need to stay focused.”
“I’ll cover on the way to get Ellen,” Burnham said. “It’s dark enough that they probably can’t see us from the tower. Ray, you’ve got the keys to the side door. Mantu, be ready when he opens the door. If Matt was telling the truth, there will be two or three armed guards in there.”
“Not for long,” Mantu said.
“Then the kids. That’s when we need to hustle and stay low. Claire and Ray, you’ll stay with the kids while Mantu and I go for Lily and blow the hell out of that dome.”
Mantu stared at Ray with his bloodshot eye. “If we don’t come back and you come under fire, or if you see the flare, you get Ellen and the kids out of here.”
Ray nodded. “We’re all getting out.” He wanted to believe it.
Burnham made the Brotherhood sign. “Let’s go.”
—
The darkness worked in their favor. Ray led the charge through the blowing snow out of the garage and past the glowing greenhouses while Burnham stayed several yards behind them, his eyes on the lights of the watchtower. The door was exactly where Matt had told them, on the side of the building facing away from the tower. Ray fumbled with the keyring while Mantu and Claire stood to the side, Mantu with his automatic shotgun pointing at the door. Ray’s fingers were already going numb from the cold. He held one of the key fobs up to the electronic lock. Nothing. Burnham appeared out of the darkness and dropped to a crouch, his rifle across his chest. Ray held another of the plastic fobs against the lock. Still nothing. What if Matt had lied to them? Maybe these keys didn’t open any of the buildings. What would they do then—just knock on the door?
“What’s happening?” Burnham asked, breathing heavily.
Ray held up another fob. And another. Again, nothing.
“Motherfucker,” Mantu whispered.
Ray held up another rectangle of plastic. On the second wave, a green light appeared on the panel and the door buzzed.
Mantu nodded. “Get ready.” Ray had been worried that Mantu’s having only one functional eye would be a problem, but when he saw the ice-cold determination in his friend’s face, he knew that was silly. The trained killer had taken over.
Mantu pushed open the door with his foot.
The small entry room was empty except for several pairs of boots on the floor and heavy coats hanging from hooks. Beyond it was a brightly lit hallway. Mantu held his fingers to his lips and waved them all inside. Claire closed the door as quietly as she could behind them but it still made a loud click as the lock engaged. She winced.
“David?” A man’s voice, tinged with an unknown accent, from down the hallway.
Burnham held his coat sleeve against his mouth. “Yeah,” he said. The coat muffled his voice.
A chair squeaked against the floor. “About fucking time,” the man said. His footsteps approached. “Let’s get this over with so I can get some—”
The butt of Mantu’s shotgun slammed into his face.
Before the stunned guard fell Mantu had pulled him into the small room. Blood poured from his nose and his eyes had rolled back. “Don’t watch,” Mantu said. Ray averted his eyes and he heard a sickening crack of metal against bone.
“Gods,” Claire moaned.
“We can’t take any chances,” Mantu said. Ray was surprised at the coldness in his friend’s voice. But it was true. This was it. Lily or them.
Mantu fished through the guard’s pants. He pulled out a pistol and a keyring and tucked them both into his jacket pocket. He stepped into the hallway, the shotgun pointing ahead. “Clear,” he whispered. They filed behind him. It was empty, just a bare hallway with several closed doors on either side and two plastic chairs near the end. Mantu slid silently along one wall while Burnham did the same on the other. He peeked through one of the windows and shook his head. Ray’s heart was thudding madly. The next two rooms were also empty. At the last room on the left, Mantu turned to Ray and spoke quietly. “I think you should have the honors.” He pulled the keyring out of his pocket and tossed it to Ray.
Ray tried to catch the keys with his maimed hand but dropped them. He picked them up with his good hand but it was shaking wildly. Mantu stepped away from the door.
When he looked through the tiny window his breath caught in his chest. She was facing away from him, sitting on a bed, her hair wild, dressed in what looked like doctor’s scrubs. Exactly like he had seen her. He picked through the electronic keys until one of them registered with a telltale click and buzz. When Ellen heard it she jumped up from the bed. The door opened and her eyes locked on to his. She stood openmouthed, frozen.
He ran into the room and held her. All of the air seemed to leave his lungs and he squeezed her so hard he worried for a moment he might break her bones. But she squeezed him back with equal intensity.
“Oh my God,” she cried over and over into his shoulder, her face buried in the thick coat. When she pulled her head away to look at his face tears were running down her cheeks. He could barely see her through his own blurred eyes. After so much time she looked different—her features drawn, her skin tight across her cheekbones. But he had never seen anyone so beautiful in his life.
She kissed him, briefly, her lips trembling. “You…Where…?”
“No time,” he said. “We’re getting you out of here.”
“Go grab a coat for her,” Mantu ordered Burnham. “And some boots.” Burnham ran into the hallway.
Ellen wiped at her tears and her expression stiffened. “We need to find William.”
Ray held her face in his hands. He was having difficulty believing it was really her. “We’re going to.”
“Yes.” She he
ld Ray’s left hand up to her eyes. Grimaced. “What happened?”
“Later,” Ray said. If there was a later, they’d have a lot of catching up to do.
Burnham entered the room with a coat and a pair of heavy boots. “Put these on,” he said.
Ellen nodded. She still seemed in shock as she sat on the bed to put on the boots. Ray sat next to her, his hands on her back. He felt like a kid holding on to a balloon in a strong breeze. Her lower lip kept quivering as she slid on the boots and then stood to put on the coat.
Mantu held out the pistol he had taken from the guard. “You know how to use this?”
“Point it and pull the trigger,” she said.
“That’s the Ellen I remember.” He smiled. “Take it.”
“The school—it’s right across from here, correct?” Burnham asked.
She nodded. “And it’s connected to that long building. That’s where they sleep, but you can’t get to their bedrooms through the school. It’s locked from the other side. But a bunch of the kids went out somewhere yesterday. A couple of the guards took them away toward the road.”
Ray swallowed. Ellen looked around at all of them but no one said anything. She caught Claire giving Ray a quick glance, and her brow furrowed.
“Not William, though,” she said. “Why?”
Ray exhaled. He could feel the tension evaporate from everyone else, too. “We’ll talk about that later.” He put his hand in her hair, behind her neck. It was really her. He wanted to bury his face in that hair and breathe her in completely. “Let’s go get William.”
—
The school building was less than a hundred feet away, but it felt like a mile as the cold air blasted them with icy snow. They were still blocked from the tower’s view, but Ray felt its presence looming in the night sky. “That way,” Ellen said. When they finally reached the door Ray gave the keys to Mantu.
“Look,” Claire said.
A spotlight moved across the snowy ground.
“Hurry!” Burnham shouted.
“I’m hurrying,” Mantu said. The door light turned green and the lock clicked. “Watch your fire in here.” He didn’t have to explain why. He ducked and gestured to Burnham and mouthed silently: one, two, three.
Burnham kicked the door open and jumped to the side. Ray squeezed Ellen tightly against the metal wall, waiting for the inevitable explosion of gunfire.
Claire gasped. The spotlight was moving toward them.
“Inside,” Burnham said, yanking Ellen’s arm. Ray nearly pushed her off her feet and stumbled through the door. Claire pulled the door shut just as the beam passed outside. She made the Brotherhood sign and collapsed against the wall.
They were in another entry room, this one larger and with a windowless door on the opposite wall. Some of the coats hanging on the walls were tiny. Children’s boots and mittens were piled haphazardly in a corner. The door opposite them had no window.
“Mantu, same as before,” Burnham said. Mantu held up a key fob and the door buzzed. He knelt and raised the shotgun to his shoulder. Burnham raised his foot.
—
A short, obese woman sat in the center of the hallway. She cowered behind her thick crossed arms when she heard the door slam against the wall. Another woman and one man lay motionless in pools of blood next to her.
“Don’t move!” Mantu shouted.
She whimpered. It was then that Ray noticed the blood on her hands.
“It’s too late,” she said. “The cat’s out of the bag. The door is open.”
Mantu held the rifle pointed at her head. “Where is Lily? Where are the children?”
She didn’t seem to hear. Her long black dress had torn, and a roll of bloody fat glistened through the opening. She was panting like a dog.
Ray moved closer. It was the teacher he’d seen in vision. “Where are the kids?”
She blinked. “It was all a trick. She tricked us. It wasn’t about contact. It was about letting them out. It was—”
Ray felt the slap reverberating up his arm. His hand stung. The woman blinked, then held her hand to her reddening face. When she looked up at Ray, she seemed confused.
Ray held the barrel of the handgun to her head. “Where are the kids? If you don’t answer, you’re going to get a bullet in your face.” And he could do it, too. Right between her eyes. His rage was like a fire.
The fat woman winced, waiting for the bullet. “She took them.”
“To the dome?”
“Yes.”
Ellen covered her mouth. “Oh, no. We need to hurry.”
The woman put her hand in the hole in her side, then held it in front of her face. “He stabbed me. Dr. Regardie stabbed me.” She coughed, fluid gurgling in her throat.
Mantu shook his head. “Looks like your time is up, sister.”
Ray squeezed Ellen’s shoulder. “Let’s go,” he said. And pray that William is alive.
Claire held out her hand. “Wait.” She knelt in front of the woman. Put her face close to hers and took her head in her hands.
Ray’s eyes widened. “Claire, we need—”
Mantu shushed him.
Claire spoke quietly but firmly. “Our lives must be laid at the altar of Justice, whose sword brings both mercy and severity.”
The fat woman’s lips quivered. Claire continued. “Do you accept your delivery to the great goddess who will weigh your actions and show you only the mercy you deserve?”
Tears ran down the woman’s face. “Yes,” she said, her eyes closed.
“So mote it be,” Claire said, making the Brotherhood sign. She stood. “Deliver her from her suffering, brother.”
Mantu pulled his knife from his pocket and unlocked the blade. “Wait outside,” he said.
—
They huddled outside the building until Mantu emerged, his expression grim. The long stretch between the school and the dome lay before them.
“That building there,” Ellen whispered. “There’s a tunnel to the dome inside.”
“Wait here,” Mantu said. “I’ll open it and wave you over.” He scurried off.
“There’s something in the dome,” Ellen said to Ray. “Something awful.”
“I know,” Ray said.
“Don’t look at it. Whatever you do. And don’t go near it.”
He pulled her tighter to reassure her: I’m not leaving you. Ever again.
Mantu emerged from the blowing snow. “No go. It’s chained and padlocked. We have to run for it.”
Ray’s heart sank. Once they got past the steel structure housing the compound’s massive generators they would be completely exposed—wide open to anyone who could see them. Especially anyone in the tower.
“We should keep our distance from one another,” Burnham shouted over the shrieking wind. “I’ll head to that generator building and cover you the best I can. The rest of you go in pairs.”
Mantu turned to Claire. “You go with me. Ray, give me the keys.”
Ray handed him the keys. “Be careful.”
Claire leaned close to Ray. “It’s drawing us. Can’t you feel it?”
“Yes.” It was more than adrenaline. He felt as if he could leap into the air and the dome would pull him like a giant magnet. His guts rattled like they were being blasted by a giant subwoofer.
“Wait until we get about halfway,” Mantu said. “By the time Claire and I get the door open you two should be just about there. Burnham, get your ass on the move as soon as Ray and Ellen get to the halfway mark.” He held out his hand. “Come on, Claire.”
The two of them started running along a path toward the dome. Burnham crouched and ran to the generator building and disappeared around its corner.
“We’re going to make it,” Ray said to Ellen.
“I know,” she said, her body shivering against his.
“I love you,” he said, just as Mantu and Claire reached the halfway point to the dome. He grabbed her hand and they began to run.
The dome was a
dark void against the swirling snow, a hemispherical window into nothingness. He couldn’t shake the memory of the weird wormy and insectoid parasites he had seen crawling all over it. He had to slow his pace to stay alongside Ellen, who was struggling to run in the heavy men’s boots. Ahead of him Mantu and Claire had almost reached the dome. When he turned to see if Burnham was following he saw the searchlight beam zigzagging across the ground, illuminating a cone of falling flakes and shards of blowing ice.
“Faster,” he huffed at Ellen.
His eyes started wiggling again, making it hard to see. It was the same thing that had happened when Jeremy had taken him to see the artifact. He glanced back. The searchlight zoomed across the ground but Burnham was gone.
Ellen yanked at his arm, her eyes wide and pleading. “Come on! We can’t stop,” she said, pulling him harder.
He turned and ran, blinding ice blowing into his face. When they got near the dome Mantu was waving the electronic key in front of the door. “None of these work,” he said. “Goddammit.” He went through the ring of plastic key fobs again. Just red lights every time he waved a key in front of the lock.
“Where’s Burnham?” Claire asked.
“I don’t know,” Ray said.
“I need to shoot this fucker open,” Mantu said.
Just then they were all illuminated in an intensely bright light. Ray shielded his eyes. An amplified voice rang out from the darkness. “Put down your weapons and put your hands above your heads or you will be shot.”
The sound of engines approaching. In the midst of the burning brightness a truck materialized and rolled to a stop. Silhouettes of men with guns.
“No,” Claire whispered.
“Weapons down!” came the amplified voice again.
Ray lowered his handgun and pulled Ellen tightly to his chest. He looked at Mantu, who still held the automatic shotgun. Was he going to shoot?
Weapons clicked as the shadow men approached. At least four of them. And it looked like there was an awfully large gun mounted on the roof of their vehicle as well.
“Fuck,” Mantu said, his voice drained of all emotion. He dropped the shotgun at his feet and put up his hands. Claire did the same, as did Ellen. The desolation on her face sapped Ray’s last bit of hope. He bent and dropped his pistol into the snow. When his hands were in the air the men approached. They were all armed with automatic rifles with large magazines. One man stepped toward them, his gun lowered. His eyes were hidden behind an enormous pair of goggles. He pulled a radio from his belt. “Mother,” he said into it.
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