by London Shah
We’re out of here very shortly, and finally I’ll have some answers. Grabbing Jojo’s Bliss-Pod, I open the door and step into the main area of the Den, where Bia’s words greet me.
“Did you really think you’d get away with it?”
My insides drop and I tighten my grip on the Bliss-Pod’s handle as
I take in the sight ahead.
Bia stands in the center, arms folded. Her expression is hard, her mouth set as she stares ahead, refusing to look at me directly. I swallow, but my throat is dry. Jas stands beside her, weapon in hand. Charlie rubs his arms as his confused gaze meets mine. Behind them several others stare accusingly in my direction. I scan the space. Those working on screens around the room keep looking over their shoulders at us to watch.
My legs quiver as my mind scrambles for what to say and do. There’s movement on the edge of my vision, and I notice the two armed guards inside the space.
Everyone turns when a door opens and Ari exits his room, his gaze meeting mine before anyone else’s. His face softens immediately, his color flushing. Then, as he reads my expression, he scans the scene. He clenches his jaw and straightens. He’s ready to fight.
“Your Bracelet.” Bia holds out her hand, her eyes focused on her palm. “Once you’ve returned what’s mine, then we can discuss how you were made welcome here, taken in, and had your vessel seen to, and the audacity of you thanking us by spying on us—stealing from us. And why you thought you would get away with this grave mistake, girl.”
I swallow again and force my voice out. “I—I only want to find my papa. Why won’t you help me, tell me everything you know? Instead you’re keeping secrets from me. I wouldn’t have had to sneak a—”
Bia nods at Jas. And then everything happens so fast.
Jas turns in my direction. I call out in protest, holding the Bliss-Pod behind me to protect Jojo. Ari reaches me before Jas does, standing in front of me and brandishing a knife out of nowhere. The two armed guards rush toward him. Jojo barks like mad from inside the Bliss-Pod. Charlie shakes his head in disbelief. “Mind you don’t hurt the dog!” he shouts.
It’s all too much. A chill sweeps over me as I back away. My brolly slips slowly from my arm into my hand.
Just as one of the guards reaches Ari and points her weapon at him, and I’m raising my brolly in her direction, a low, unmistakably urgent alarm sounds around the space. Everyone freezes. An even deeper siren follows it. Red lights flash all around the Den.
For the briefest moment, nobody speaks. And then:
“Raid!” shouts Charlie. “The Post is under attack!”
Several heads whip up in the direction of the Trading Post above us.
“Stations!” shouts Bia, hastening to a far wall. “You all know what to do. They must not discover the Den!” Everyone starts rushing around the room.
Attack. Oh my God . . . Anthropoids are attacking this place right now.
“Who did you tell?” Bia looks over her shoulder and yells at me. “Who have you informed of our location? Speak up, girl!”
“What? Nobody! I only spoke with the twins, and I never mentioned your location!”
She turns around to face me, hands on hips and her eyes penetrating. “Somebody followed you here, then . . . This raid cannot be a coincidence. It’s the Blackwatch out there.”
The Blackwatch. My stomach drops. “It’s nothing to do with me!” Was it just a coincidence the Blackwatch turned up while I was here?
She presses her lips together and shakes her head, turning back around. My legs quiver. There’s a rumbling in the background, and then a low boom.
Ari rushes over to me, his eyes blazing with urgency. “Please listen to me now. It’s a full-blown attack; I know the signs. We must get out of here. And this is our only chance. I will go check the sub; I have primary rights now, and I will make sure it’s ready. You hide somewhere safe until I tell you the vessel is all set for departure.”
A louder boom makes me jump. It’s like the attack on Brighton Pier all over again. Only worse.
“All right, but I want to come with you!”
He runs his hands through his hair, his expression conflicted. “No, Leyla. You must stay down here until we’re ready to depart. It’s too dangerous for you up there. Please.”
I nod, a feeling of nausea rising inside. “Go, then. Hurry!”
He rushes toward the door, throwing one of Bia’s guys out of the way as he does. I scan the room. All I can hear are various alarms and shouted instructions. Some people are by the armory, grabbing weapons, others frantically working away at the screens, while more are communicating via video chats. I never did find out what they do. I swing my gaze left to catch Jas hurriedly exiting an internal door. He squints at me and looks around for Ari.
The door to the Den slides open as one of Bia’s people rushes in, and I see my chance.
Charlie told us there was another way down to the Den, a way that avoided “the scenic route,” he’d said, referring to the Trading Post. I need to locate it so I’m ready to run when Ari tells me we’re good to go. I glance at Jas. Then at the door still ajar. I look at him once more, and he lurches forward just as I run.
I race through the door. When I glimpse the blue of Jas’s turban behind me, I continue running.
Everything’s louder out here: sirens, shouting, and the thud and boom of firepower. My heartbeat thrashes away in my ears, and my chest squeezes tighter and tighter.
The corridors are dimmer than they were yesterday, and the ominous red pulses through the passageways.
When it feels like I’ve been racing down the same corridors forever, I have no choice but to pause and catch my breath. “Please,” I say, turning around to face Jas, who’s still on my heels. “I only want to find my papa. Please let me go.”
His eyes flicker, softening for a moment. But then he blinks and straightens. “Look, I have my orders—you must not leave the Den.” His expression is rigid, but his tone almost pleading as he blocks my path. Despite his words, he hasn’t pulled his weapon on me.
Jojo barks nonstop from inside her pod now.
“I’m really sorry, Jas,” I say.
His bushy black eyebrows meet, and he opens his mouth. I whip the brolly up, and before he can get a single word out, press down on the button. He yelps so loud when the spray hits his eyes I almost drop the brolly. Groaning and trying to blink the substance out, he moves aside. As I push past him, Jas mumbles something. Then louder.
“Upstairs, then stay left and you’ll find the docking bay.” Tears stream down his face. “We’re on the same side; it’s not what you think. Look, just get out of here. Argh!” He rubs his fists into his increasingly red eyes.
“Oh, thank you so much, Jas! I’m really, truly sorry!” I shout as I run past him, deeply regretting my actions. At the corner, I turn right for the stairs.
I run upstairs as fast as I can. Boom. The ground shakes slightly beneath me, and it’s an effort not to stumble. Murmuring soothing words to Jojo, I do as Jas said and stay left. Finally I open a door leading to the docking bay. It’s frantic. People run and shout in every direction as they hasten to their vessels.
My hands shaking, I access the hatch to the Kabul and yell in my Bracelet for Oscar to let me in as I run through the sub’s bridge. Within moments, the hatch to the sub is released and I’m safely inside.
I let out a huge sigh of relief at the submarine’s familiar smell and thrum. I hadn’t realized until now just how much I love it, how I already think of it as home.
Jojo scrambles out of her pod as I order the bridge connecting us to the Trading Post to retract. I run to the saloon, straight into the viewing port. And stifle a cry.
It’s absolute chaos out there.
A chill comes over me as I take in the scene in the distance, hoping it remains well away from the docking bay.
All manner of submersibles light up the ashen depths, hovering and darting around. Laser beams shoot through the water. Firepo
wer on both sides bursts brilliant and bright in the gloom, before succumbing to the water and sputtering out of sight. Will everyone at the Trading Post and Den be safe?
“Oscar, what’s going on? What’s the update with the propeller? And where is Ari?”
The Navigator tilts his head. “My dear lady, the Kabul herself is ready for departure. All defense systems are running. Her propeller has been serviced back to its former glory, and we are poised for voyage. It is most tiresome, then, to reveal that we remain stationed due to the mooring equipment anchoring the vessel to the workstation. It would appear those in charge of releasing the Kabul have—rather understandably under the circumstances—absconded from the vicinity! And so the gentleman, Ari, was left with no choice but to take a gander at releasing us from the workstation himself. He left just before your good self arrived. I was to contact you in a short while to inform you of departure and beckon you on board.”
“Oh God . . .” I groan, watching the clash unfold. “What if—” An ice-cold current surges through me as the shadowy silhouettes of several submersibles involved in the attack register.
Bia was right. It’s definitely the Blackwatch.
My pulse races. What if they identify me? What if they manage to stop us? Who would search for Papa then?
The Navigator cocks his head. “I say, this Ari fellow is as masterly as he is dashing; I do believe the Kabul is moving. Take heart, my dear; we shall flee this cumbersome folly at once.”
I slump against the window in relief. “Oh, thank God! Oscar, soon as Ari’s back on board, be sure to lock the moon pool door!”
Slowly but surely the vessel starts to pull away from the hatch. A hazy form in the distance heads toward us.
“Oscar, I see our submersible! Watch the moon pool and be ready to lock up the moment Ari’s through!”
The silhouette drifts toward the submarine. Where are the craft’s lights? I can barely make anything out—Ari could be hurt! As the form draws near it becomes gradually clear I was mistaken; it isn’t our submersible, but some kind of sea creature. It comes closer.
And closer. My pulse races as the animal closes the distance between itself and the sub. My eyes widen and my mouth falls open as the realization settles. It isn’t a sea creature.
It’s one of them. An Anthropoid.
No. No, no, no. Not now.
I try to call out. Oscar. Ari. But no sound leaves my lips. I stand frozen. I close my eyes. Think. I can’t.
I start shivering as my recurring nightmare sneaks up on me now. I’m a little girl again, gazing out at the water, so carefree, happy. And then someone is in the water, suspended there. The moment is all too brief. The water clouds, the current suddenly furious and furtive. And a terrible turmoil rides in on the waves. It takes over my body, restricting my breathing, my muscles and bones. It leaves nothing but destruction and despair in its wake. And a permanent dread forever afterward. . . .
Except this isn’t my childhood nightmare—this is real.
I open my eyes and look out. I can’t spot the beast. Where is it? My breathing turns raspy. I clutch my chest, my throat. Oh my God . . . the sub. Is the sub secure? Where’s the Anthropoid got to?
A figure rises from the depths, right in front of the viewport. I scream.
Its eyes are wide, frenzied; its hair spans around its head, and the thing gestures wildly. Water flows in and out of its mouth, as if it were air. Unnatural.
I stop screaming. Then I slowly shake my head as I stare back at it. Its hair. Its face.
Its eyes.
Ari’s eyes.
Ari.
I can’t move, can’t blink. It isn’t real. This is not real. It can’t be him.
And yet it is.
I don’t understand. . . . I don’t understand it.
A thousand feet of tremendous pressure are pushing down on him, but Ari’s showing no sign of it. . . . He’s moving freely. His lungs and ribs haven’t collapsed, his bones haven’t snapped, he isn’t being crushed to death. He’s shirtless. In freezing temperatures. All he’s wearing are his usual black bottoms, no shoes, no socks. The beaded necklace hangs around his neck, the knife around his waist.
It can’t be real. It’s not true. Ari is human!
Inside, I’m sinking, slowly making my way down through an endless nothing.
Ari moves as close as possible, and places his hand on the window. His eyes search my face. Desperately searching for something. His expression pleads with me. But neither my mind nor my body will cooperate. I can think only one thing.
Ari is an Anthropoid.
I take a step back.
His lips part and anguish gushes out. Pain washes into his eyes and contorts his face.
My heart lurches then, a real physical tugging inside my chest. I can’t bear to see him in any kind of pain. But still I don’t move.
His hand comes away from the window. He stares at me.
And plummets out of sight.
A moment passes. A few more. Something shifts and stirs inside me and suddenly there are too many emotions, too many questions. I can’t breathe. Please, God, help me.
I gulp at the air and push everything deep down until only the instinct to survive remains.
“Oscar . . .” I whisper. Then louder. “Oscar.” My throat aches now.
He materializes in front of me, acknowledging my presence before turning to gaze into the water.
“The moon pool door, Oscar. Close it at once. Close it now.”
I can’t move as I peer past the Navigator and into the depths. I’m frozen, and yet I can’t stop shaking inside. The water shifts and courses around the viewport and I squint. Nothing.
“The moon pool door is now locked, my dear,” Oscar confirms. “I can assure you, the Kabul is currently quite secure in every respect.”
The vessel backs away from the chaos and starts to rise.
All ability to process the situation has abandoned me. I’m a bot.
“Oscar? Revoke Ari’s primary rights, all access—everything. Do it at once.”
The Navigator turns from the windows to face me and bows his head. His gaze then shifts past me to settle somewhere behind me.
“Sir, I’m afraid I must recall all security clearances and privileges granted to your good self.”
Oh dear God.
I turn around.
Ari stands there, his shoulders rising and falling as water drips from him, and a resentful look simmers in his eyes. My body feels heavy enough to sink the vessel.
I’m confined alone in a submarine with an Anthropoid.
But it’s Ari, my heart whispers.
Still, I take a step back.
“Please, Leyla,” Ari says, holding up a hand. “Don’t be afraid of me.”
“You’re—” I swallow and try again, my throat aching and dry. “You’re one of them.”
I have my back to the viewport, and he hasn’t moved from where he stood.
“I am. But please—think about it. Up until a few hours ago you thought humanity would be returning to the surface any day now. That is clearly a lie the government has been upholding for years. Until recently you thought your father was detained in London—another lie. Don’t you think it’s possible they might also be lying to you about us? We’re not—”
“All this time . . .” I slowly shake my head. I just can’t believe it. “All this time I was with—with—”
“A beast?” He spits the word out. Then he looks away as if regretting his words. “Leyla,” he asks quietly, his eyes clouded as he meets my gaze again, “are you afraid of me?”
I don’t know what I’m feeling. . . . “How are you one of them, though, when you’re you? How can you be an Anthropoid? It doesn’t make sense!”
He folds his arms. “What I am makes sense to me. I didn’t intend to deceive you. I wanted you to guess. Last night, in the Den, I thought you might finally realize.”
I look away, recalling the moment. We should always question every
thing, he’d said, his expression intense and full of anticipation.
He rubs his face now. “Look, I will shower and change into dry clothes—give you some time. And then can we sit and talk about this?”
I nod, but only so I can be alone for a bit. He leaves the saloon. My head is spinning as I pace the viewport.
No, the truth won’t set you free, Leyla McQueen.
Ari’s words, spoken on New Year’s Eve when he thought I couldn’t hear him. They whoosh around and around in my head now. They play over and over. Everything he ever said and did, on repeat. All the words. All the images. All the real meanings behind them.
Ari is an Anthropoid.
He’s the enemy.
I leave the viewport and curl up on the sofa, remembering his mouth, the water flowing in and out. He’d left via the moon pool door. He must’ve walked straight in there, into a pressurized chamber, uncovered a hole to the bottom of the world, and jumped in. No sub. No protection. I shudder.
Had he left the sub before? Maybe when I was asleep . . . Is that the real reason he wanted primary rights? So he could exit and enter the Kabul as he pleased? How could I spend so many days in such close proximity to an Anthropoid and not notice anything?
My heart stammers. . . . I hugged an Anthropoid. The most evil creation.
Except Ari’s not evil.
I picture his face, here, on the sub with me.
The way he moves in a room. Fluid and agile. Graceful. But of course.
So many things make sense now. . . . The guarded gaze; a solid gold secret hidden behind amber specks that spark and shimmer. And then his unbelievable strength. The Anthropoid beat him, hit him again and again, and still he fought on.
For you.
I gasp and sit up. Ari killed his own kind for us. . . .
No, dammit. No. He’s a beast. He’s an Anthropoid. They are only evil. Anthropoids are incapable of human feelings. But Ari . . . he’s shown us nothing but kindness, consideration, sympathy. He cared for us, was empathetic and brave for us. He can’t be one of them!
Oh my God—does Grandpa know? Did he knowingly place me with an Anthropoid just because they’re strong enough to protect me? Would Gramps do that?