by AJ Eversley
“And I fear they have found out about it,” Smith said. “We have now put the remaining humans at risk.”
“We can’t let them win. We have to rescue them,” Kyle piped up. “We can’t just surrender; that would be suicide.”
I felt Kenzie let go of my hand and make his way out the door. He must’ve needed a moment after what he’d just seen.
“I fear that is our only option,” Smith agreed although I could tell it wasn’t his first choice. “Sam is working on finding their location. We believe they are hiding out at the far north-end near Sub 9 headquarters. Our cameras can’t reach that far, but Sam has another way to track them. This will be a dangerous mission. We will take all personnel willing and able to go, but know that if you aren’t sure you want to come, we won’t force you. This is your choice, each one of you.”
“I’m in.” The words flew out of my mouth before I had even thought about it, but I didn’t regret them.
Kyle nodded. I didn’t think he’d be on the “able” list just yet, but good luck telling him that.
Smith glanced around the room as nods of agreement ran through the crowd, “Gather your things and meet in the conference room in ten minutes. Kyle and I will formulate a plan.”
Chapter 24
Kenzie
This was too early, they weren’t ready. Kenzie wasn’t ready.
He’d do his best to act quickly as he snuck out the door in the middle of Smith’s speech. Kenzie rushed to the small computer room nearby and logged in. He tried in vain to send a message to them—we aren’t ready! Abort!—but there was no connection on the other side. It was too late. He had no choice but to implement the plan. He entered the code and set the timer for sixty minutes. That should be enough time to get everyone out, he hoped. He prayed they’d been deciphering his messages as he’d intended.
Kenzie sent off one more message before he escaped. “Sixty minutes, that’s all you have.”
Chapter 25
Kenzie was outside the door as I had expected. He was breathing hard, and I wondered if he’d been crying. I didn’t ask. “Go get our packs. I’ll meet you there,” I instructed before I ran off. I needed to see Adam. I was hoping he had some solution for the Eye, anything that might help.
I blasted through the doors, startling Chevy who had taken to sleeping on Adam’s cot during the day as it was much warmer than my room.
“I know, I heard,” Adam said as he scrambled around the room. “I haven’t had a chance to test them yet. I’m not sure if they’ll even work!”
“We need something,” I said.
“Okay, you will place these electrodes across your chest, right by your heart where the most electricity is generated, I hope.” He handed me one. “I only had time to make four prototypes, and there is no guarantee these will even work.”
“They will have to,” I said, grabbing all four. “Watch Chevy for me, will you?” Chevy barked in protest. “You can’t come. It’s too dangerous!”
He whined.
I sighed and looked over to Adam for help.
“I suspected he wouldn’t let you go alone, so I had one of my assistants make him something.” Adam pulled out a black vest and placed it over Chevy’s head. “It’s bulletproof and lightweight so he can keep up.” Chevy’s tail was wagging in excitement.
“He could still get hurt,” I objected.
“So could you, but that never stopped you!” Adam retorted, patting Chevy’s head.
“Fine,” I said. There was no time to argue. “You stay behind me at all times,” I ordered him, as if he understood me, but I think he did as his eyes became focused, and I saw he was ready.
Kenzie was waiting for me in the conference room with our packs. I quickly slid on my black jacket and gloves and secured a belt around my waist, hastily placing additional guns across my back. I checked the spare clips and waited for Kyle’s orders. I took a seat as I tucked a set of knives into my long black boots and took a deep breath.
Smith stood at the front, Kyle by his side.
“Okay, we’re going in blind—” Kyle said.
“Not completely,” I stopped him, dropping the four Eyes from Adam onto the table. “Adam made some modifications. There are only four prototypes, and no guarantee they will work, but here’s hoping.”
“Excellent. Each area lead will have one. I will lead an attack to the north. We believe they are hiding indoors near Beverly—where exactly? We don’t know, so we have to keep our eyes sharp. Byron will lead the aerial assault, coming in from all angles. Sawyer and Kenzie, I want you each to lead a group that will flank around and come in from behind.” He then separated the rest into the groups we’d lead.
“Lastly, Tenason, I want you to start with Byron, but you will be our eyes in the sky. I need you to keep a look out for us and light up anything you see. Sam will also be on comms and can help point any out for you as well.”
Tenason nodded.
Smith took a deep breath. “We don’t know what tomorrow will bring. All we have is the here and now. We will not surrender. We will not back down. And we will not lose!” The room erupted in cheers. “Now, let’s go!”
The tension built as we marched down the hallway. Kenzie, on my left, squeezed my hand, and I dared to look into those piercing blue eyes for possibly the last time.
“Thank you for saving me,” he said, and I could tell he meant that in more ways than one.
“Kenzie, I—” I said, but he placed a finger on my lip and pulled me aside.
“No goodbyes! I’ll see you tonight, and we’ll pick up where we left off.” He kissed me, long and soft.
“Later,” I said with a smile.
~
We ran as one unit to the North. Byron and his crew swung gracefully from rooftop to rooftop. Kyle was in the lead, with Kenzie and I on either side of him. Chevy stayed behind me the whole way, not missing a beat.
As we near our destination, Kyle directed us to split up. I gave Kenzie a wink as I took off to the right with my crew in tow. Kenzie headed to the left.
“You should be nearing their location now,” Sam’s voice came through over the comms. “We can see what you see through the Eye, so hopefully we can be your second set of eyes.”
I directed my team to slow down and sent two across to the other side while two more swung back around covering the rear. I crouched down behind a wall and peered out around the corner. It was quiet. It shouldn't have been that quiet. We advanced slowly, staying behind the rubble and debris.
We were almost at the building when I saw it. Through the upper window of this small storehouse, something green lit up.
“I see them, top floor, west side window,” I whispered.
“Clear to engage. Tenason, cover her. Byron, get to that rooftop,” Kyle instructed.
We advanced toward the building. A window on the main floor was already broken. I cleared the shards of broken glass aside and climbed in. Chevy followed. There was no movement on the main floor, but there were over a dozen humans tied up and gagged, lying on the ground. They didn’t light up, and I prayed that meant Adam’s technology was working.
I directed two men to gather them near the window. “We have twelve humans here, unguarded. Let us know when we can send them out.”
“Hold steady, and wait for my command,” Kyle fired back.
I nodded to the stairwell, and two men flanked my side as we crept up slowly. Chevy stayed close, not making a sound.
At the top of the stairs, I peered around the corner. Still nothing, but I knew there was green—they were here somewhere. I was about to round the next corner when a blur of black flew by me, and a shot sounded. Chevy had a Carbon by the wrist, and as he clamped down harder, the Carbon’s gun rattled to the floor. I reached for it just as the Carbon regained position. He threw Chevy off of him, and Chevy smashed into the wall. The sound was deafening, and I heard a faint whimper before the dog’s body went limp. No!
Anger exploded out of me as I fired at
the green blur. The Carbon went down, but it was only then that I noticed more. Far too many to fight off. I rushed over to Chevy, but two more Carbons cut me off. My men tried in vain to fend them off, but there were too many. It was no use. We were outmanned and outgunned.
“We’ve been tricked! Get out of there now! It’s a trap!” I heard Kyle scream, but it was too late. I fired at the Carbons, who I realized weren’t firing back, not at me anyway. They overtook my men before I arrived back to the stairwell. They were dead in an instant, and I was all alone.
I fired until I heard the click—out of ammo. No more bullets, and no way out. I spotted a window. We were two stories up, but it was my only way out.
Sam’s voice screamed into my ears, “We’re under attack! We’ve gone black. I don’t know if you can hear me still, but they have taken the base. We have no control. You are alone out there!”
We’d been played. We walked right into their trap. They wanted the Watchers out of base so they could take it.
How did they find us?
How could we have been so stupid?
I took one last look at Chevy. I wished there was more I could do. This was entirely my fault. I sprinted toward the window, ready to brace myself for the impact when I was suddenly hit from behind, and the world went black.
~
I heard muffled voices, but I couldn’t see anything. I didn’t know where I was, but I could tell I was being carried.
“Leave her with me,” a voice said. It sounded familiar, but I wasn’t sure who it was. My brain was fuzzy, and my ears were ringing. It couldn’t be the voice I thought it was. “And leave the dog. It’s dead anyway.” Chevy! No! I’m so sorry.
I tried to open my eyes, but I couldn’t see anything. I’d been blindfolded. There was a faint bit of light seeping under the bottom of the blindfold, and I could just barely make out the dark jeans and gray T-shirt I knew all too well.
Then the world went black again.
Chapter 26
Kenzie
Kenzie had instructed the Watchers to take the back of the building, knowing that from there they wouldn’t be able to see the secret side door he would escape from. He feared the worst as he came up the stairs, stepping over Sawyer’s men sprawled down the steps. He knew they were instructed to keep her alive but was unsure if they secured her before she did anything stupid. Chevy lay still against the wall, a faint heartbeat sounding from the pup. He’d hoped Chevy would be safer there instead of the base, but there was no safe place anymore.
As Kenzie bent down and touched Chevy’s side, he felt a faint heartbeat still fighting but could also see Chevy was injured badly. Kenzie told the Carbons to leave him, that he was already dead, all the while hoping to return before it was too late. Right now, however, his priority was Sawyer.
They had her blindfolded, and he could see she was unconscious. There was a gash across the back of her head from where they took her out, but she was still alive. This wasn’t how the plan was to be executed. They were supposed to get the Watchers out in the open and take them in alive. More than a few have died in this battle, and Kenzie could only hope it was all worth it.
The base had been secured. Kenzie’s secret message must have been received as he was told Command was found empty and that Smith had escaped along with a few others before they blew up the place. Smoke was still rising above the city line from where the base used to be; it could been seen from the front doors of Sub 9.
He was there waiting for Kenzie, as he’d expected. “Welcome home, son!” the man said to Kenzie, opening his arms to embrace. “I have missed you dearly.”
“I have missed you too, father,” Kenzie lied.
Chapter 27
I knew I was in a dream, and yet it felt so real. I was eight years old again, and the war hadn’t yet begun. It was a Sunday morning, and I was tucked in my warm bed. I felt the sun shining through the bedroom window, but I kept my eyes shut, wanting to sleep a little longer.
I felt my dad’s hand on my shoulder gently shaking me. “Wake up, sweetheart. It’s time to get up,” he said. I was awake, but I pretended to be sleeping still. He knew my weakness though, and he poked my side. I squealed out loud and giggled. I opened my eyes barely, and the light from outside blinded me. Only the light wasn’t from outside, and this wasn’t a dream.
I scanned the room and found I wasn’t in my bed back at home. I was no longer eight years old but rather a mature eighteen-year-old living in a world of chaos. I had been stripped of my usual black attire, dressed in a white cotton shirt and pants that hung loose on my small frame. My eyes adjusted to the fluorescent lights and white walls—and then he was there. His tall, lanky body, much like my own, stood before me. His hair looked grayer than I remembered, but then again, it had been ten years.
I blinked, willing the image to go away. It wasn’t real—he wasn’t real.
“Hello, sweetheart,” my dad whispered, and I shook my head harder.
“It can’t be. You’re dead,” I said shakily.
“I’m sorry you had to believe that for so long. It was the only way to protect you.” He moved closer, and I flinched back.
“No, I saw you die,” I protested. “I saw you step out into that hallway full of Bots. I saw them shoot you.” I was shaking uncontrollably.
“You saw what your eight-year-old mind believed to be true.”
I shook my head again when I realized my legs and arms were strapped down. I pulled at them, but the bonds were too tight.
“It is for your own safety, honey,” he explained.
“Safety from what? Where am I? What is going on?” I demanded.
“From yourself, my dear. You are in Sub 9. I instructed them to bring you here to me. If you agree to cooperate, I can keep you safe. I can protect you here. We can be together again.” My dad took another step forward.
“Sub 9,” I mumbled. “You? You’re the one doing all this? You’re the one who killed so many people, so many friends—” My voice cracked as I spoke, “Mom?”
“I cannot take credit for it all, but I have assisted where I can.”
“You monster!” I spat. “I will never help you. My men will come for me. They will come for you too, and I will not stop them from tearing you apart!” Tears of anger welled up in my eyes. The man I once called father had been working with them all this time, helping them to kill us. How could he?
“Your men will not come for you. I am sorry, sweetheart. Those who survived the battle have been brought here. And those who managed to escape the base, well, they will be found, with your help,” he said calmly. He sat in the chair across from me.
“What do you mean, ‘managed to escape’?” I asked.
“Your base is gone. There is nothing left but rubble now.”
“How many?” I trembled; over six hundred people were in that base.
“Maybe half escaped, another fifty or so were taken by our people to complete the program. The rest are gone.” He said it like he was reading a newspaper, disconnected from the fact that all those lives were gone.
But why would he care when he was the one orchestrating the whole thing? My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach, and I felt hollow.
“Honey, you don’t have to join those who have died. Coleman is a reasonable man and will allow you to live if you just cooperate. You can do that, right, sweetheart?”
“So Coleman is the man you are working for?” I put the last pieces together.
“Yes,” he said. “You were too young to remember, but I was doing a research project here at Sub 9 before the Cleansing.”
“The Cleansing?” I asked.
“Phase one of our plan. Ridding the world of all the corrupt humans.”
“And what is your plan?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer, but I couldn’t resist asking the question.
His mouth moved into a smile that was foreign to me. “I think you know, sweetheart. The human race has spent over three thousand years destroying this wo
rld. Now is our chance for a better life. Now is our chance to set things right. I want you to be there with me, but we need your help.” He stepped closer, pulling a small syringe out of his pocket. “I will let you sleep on it. Sweet dreams.” He plunged the needle into my arm, and the room disappeared into darkness.
~
I woke to the sound of a steel door sliding open and then quickly closing. It took my eyes a few moments to adjust to the bright room again. I was so used to the dark concrete rooms at the base that this stark white room hurt my head. I was in a room identical to the last one, except I was lying on a small cot in a corner of the room and my arms and legs weren’t tied down. A small plate of food sat just inside the room.
I sprung up and checked the door—locked. I wasn’t hungry but decided it was best I ate something if I expected to get myself out of here. I inspected the food first before I ate it.
My brain was still reeling from everything I’d learned.
My dad was still alive, and he was working for the enemy. No, he was the enemy. They wanted to ‘cleanse the world’ as he put it although I wasn’t sure how I fit into the plan.
I closed my eyes and lay back on the pillow. I pictured Kenzie’s face. I didn’t know if he was still alive, or if he was hurt. I didn’t know the fate of any of them. My dad said a few survived and were here like me, but he didn’t say who.
I remembered seeing what I thought was Kenzie’s jeans and gray T-shirt after we were ambushed, but that must’ve been a dream. I had hit my head hard.
There was a faint click of the door as it opened. My dad walked in with a chair in his hand, clipboard in the other. He sat in the middle of the room, facing me, and smiled.
“I have missed seeing your face every morning,” he said.