I’d created a specter army. Ghosts, ghosts, everywhere. I had no doubt the raiders believed the area to be haunted. By the time I’d finished the show, I’d almost convinced myself it was real.
I’d rather the raiders not know the truth about the quarantine area, or anyone else for that matter, including the stranger I’d saved. If they saw me, they’d know I’d tricked them and the quarantine area held something worth protecting. Plus, I stuck out, and in no way could be mistaken for one of the primitives, the raider’s principal food and reproductive supply, and who knew what else they used them for. Not something I wanted to find out.
My new friend, well, he was no Eli, but something about him reminded me of the rebel. And perhaps that’s why I ditched common sense and brought him with me. As I ran through the open gates, the sensors picked up my movement and my solar cameras fired up. He stopped, eyed the signs on the gates, the ghostly images wandering around, and began to back up. The sun had just started to go down. If it had been twenty minutes before, he might not have seen them. They were quite faint, but there. I’d gotten so used to the illusion I hardly noticed them anymore. Clearly he had.
“It’s okay. I live here. They are not what they seem.” I walked back and grabbed his mechanical hand. “You’re going to have to trust me.” He nodded and followed, not bothering to pull free but looking everywhere as we moved through the images.
His bionic limb didn’t feel warm or soft like human flesh, even if its maker tried to mimic biological tissue and muscle. So deceptive. Still, it didn’t grip back or respond as an artificial limb of its complexity should. Not what I expected when I took hold. I’d do something about his useless hand. Having it dangling would make him a target.
Here in the ruins of Los Angeles, only the strongest survived. Call it natural selection or whatever. Fact was, his hand made him weak, when I knew in my gut, he didn’t have a wimpy bone in his body.
I thought it a shame his bio limb’s creator hadn’t visualized functionality outside the grid. Other than its uselessness, his artificial hand could be considered a thing of beauty, a metal skeleton with micro-hydraulics joints. Not an easy thing to build or create a sense of realism, as it did. But the chip in his face made him look less than human, and I saw no clear purpose for it.
I glanced down at my sun-shaped scar, reminded I too once had a chip, and to an outsider, they wouldn’t have known its use. We were in some aspects, similar.
His hand however, appeared as though he’d been born with it. The creator of the prosthesis designed it to bring independence back to the wearer without screaming it didn’t belong, and my internal engineer found it both fascinating and sexy. It gave the man wearing it a dangerous vibe, something I’d come to realize I was attracted to. I flinched when I realized what had crossed my mind and let go of his hand, picking up the pace. “This way.”
“What’s your name?”
“It doesn’t matter. You’re not staying here long enough for us to make friends.”
“Then why are you saving me?”
“I don’t know. Since I’m pretty certain the people headed this way are cannibals. I didn’t want to be on their menu. Thought you might feel the same.” I nodded to a partially collapsed building on our right. “This way if you agree.”
“I agree.”
I started across an empty lot toward the building I’d indicated, with the stranger right behind me. We ducked behind the ruins. I held up my hand and looked both ways, nodding toward the right. We jogged across four backyards, stopping outside the gate to my home.
This was it. Once I took him inside, he’d know what I protected. I chewed my lip. No way could I be sure of his intentions without interrogating him first. I didn’t have time to question him about why he and his friends had come to this bombed out city. First, I’d ensure my safety and that of my compound, leaving me one choice. We had to get out of the open and under cover. With a sigh, I shoved the gate and opened up my compound to his view, taking a chance he wasn’t the enemy.
I’d spent the last year relocating my floating field, plant by plant, tree by tree, hauling soil from the bio-mat and scavenging to find parts for the irrigation system. I’d replaced the dirt and weed lot surrounding the building, covering every square inch with food bearing plants and humus rich soil. Solar panels and irrigation systems dotted the property.
I’d transported earthworms, dug from an old stream bed miles away, unsure the population would have replenished after the bomb dropped. To further ensure the health of my gardens, I added homemade compost to the mix to nourish my micro-herd, and the results were nothing short of impressive. I couldn’t help but be filled with pride as I heard a sharp intake of breath behind me. Every time I looked at my farm, I stood in awe at what I’d accomplished. I couldn’t believe I’d built it by myself, even though I knew I alone had accomplished the feat. “Welcome to my home.”
“You’ve been here a long time.”
“Not as long as you’d think.” My robotic bees zipped in and around the plants, going about business as usual. I turned around to find him staring, his mouth hanging agape. My new acquaintance had stopped at the entrance. You’d think the guy had never seen a field before. Then again, it was impressive what a lot of ingenuity and desperation could create from little to nothing. I fought a smile, knowing it would be a mistake to gloat. I still didn’t know him. “What?”
“You did this?”
I shrugged. “There’s more on the other side, and the roof of the building. I also have a nursery with saplings and various potted plants for seed collection and propagation. Everything is completely organic. I’ve programmed my bees to eradicate pests like beetles and slugs when they come across them, and they also chase the rodents out.”
“Do you realize how incredible this is?” He looked at me, hope in his eyes. Longing.
My nervousness returned tenfold. No, he hadn’t seen a field before, or at least one like this. Shit. Too late to change things, I motioned him inside and shut the gate behind me. First order of business, find out why he and his people were here, even though I had a feeling it might have something to do with my crops—or bees. I headed for my wrist-processor and the control of my only weapon. He had some questions to answer before I’d let him leave. Whether he realized it or not, he’d become my prisoner.
“Hey,” he called out.
I looked back.
An ento zoomed in close to his nose. I knew why, but didn’t disclose, choosing instead to let him draw his own conclusion. I’d programmed them to look for advanced devices, and he had at least two installed on his body. The bee hovered at eye level. If I’d programmed it right, it measured and data-mined the chip in his face. He studied it back. “You’re not from around here, are you?”
I lifted a brow. Did he really think I looked like one of the primitives, or God forbid, like a raider? This place was so far outside normal for this area, it could very well come from another planet. With a shake of my head, I walked to my shop and stopped at the solid metal door, biting back a snappy reply. The less I told him, the better. While he hung around, I decided to do something about his useless hand. “Let’s fix your hand.” I yanked the door open and waited for him to catch up.
“I told you, it’s not broken.”
“Tell that to someone who doesn’t know better.”
11
I open my eyes and stare into the dark. My arm throbs in the spot where Axel dug the tracker out. He’s carried me to my room while I was out and set me on my bed. A bandage is wrapped around my wound, fresh and clean, not from my makeshift first aid kit which lacks a lot of the basic supplies. Probably something he’d had in his pack. I pick at the edge and decide to leave it. Better I not acquire an infection where there are no doctors to treat me. For a moment I think I’m alone, but then a chair creaks. I let my eyes adjust to the light and catch his outline in the corner. “How long was I out?”
“An hour or so.”
I nod. I was exhaust
ed before I passed out; I’m not surprised I slept for an hour. That I did it with this stranger in my home, however…
“Tell me about the military force on your islands.”
“Why?”
“It’s best to expect the unexpected and prepare for it. I have a feeling they’re on the way. Is Sententia’s military a large force?”
“I never used to think so, well not until I got a firsthand look at the underground installation. But they don’t have access to the Net, or a way to leave the islands I know of, so I seriously doubt they are on the way.”
“Do you recall seeing aircraft in the tunnel, or any unusual transports?”
I scrunch my eyes shut and focus. “Everything happened so fast. It was crazy. But yeah, I did. I don’t know if the Net powered the vehicles though.”
“You mentioned earlier the headlamps Tyler built to run off body heat. Could it be possible the government experimented with alternate power sources for other things?”
It honestly never crossed my mind. “Possibly. I mean the tunnel existed right under our noses and most had no idea it was there. The whole place shouldn’t have been called a tunnel though. That’s deceptive. More like a city.”
“Okay, so tell me about it and take your time, don’t leave anything out.”
I close my eyes and focus, bringing a world back, one I’d wanted to forget and never see again.
* * *
August 4th, 2238, Sententia, somewhere inside the main tunnel
Tunnel could describe any number of the passages I’d crawled or climbed through to get to this place. I tipped my chin back and scanned the area, quickly concluding an entire army could move through this new passage, shoulder to shoulder.
Massive couldn’t describe it. The other side sat so far away I couldn’t see where it ended. Hoovers and supply vehicles moved back and forth around several bullet-like trains operating on a reverse-magnetic-field track. They were not the same centipede-like civilian transports I’d seen traveling on the surface, with their clear dome-like bodies and plush seats. This train was sleeker, covered in armor and built for who knew what purpose, but certainly not to haul civilians from island to island like the pede. Off to the side, as far as I could see, shuttles were lined up like soldiers, an entire fleet of aircraft, again their purpose not for civilian use.
This place wasn’t a tunnel, more a base, a bunker of gigantic proportions—an underground city I’d had no idea existed, and it stood right before me. Why would our government have built a place like this?
I gasped and Eli reached around from behind me, clamping a hand over my mouth. No person could look at it and not get a sense of their insignificance in the grand scheme. I twisted to look at him, and he shook his head, slipping his palm away.
Without a word, he grabbed my wrist and tugged me toward an area behind a parked transport, where the shadows provided the perfect cover. Eli pulled me down to one knee beside where he and Akoni had dropped into a crouched position. He peeked around the front of the tactical hover.
“We should take this.” Akoni pointed at the vehicle, speaking softly.
Eli shifted back to study the giant, remaining silent, as though he actually contemplated doing it. He should’ve seen what a bad idea it was. Anyone could’ve. My gaze drifted over the transport as I thought about the warrant hanging over my head.
“Eli?” I whispered, my gaze darting from one man to the other. My throat tightened as Eli ran his hands along the side of the vehicle. I turned to give it a once over, and my stomach twisted into a knot. Heavy duty laser cannons sat on top, and special lightweight armor plating encased the cabin. We’d stick out in that thing, not to mention it didn’t belong to us. Even if I had a chip, it would take me at least twenty minutes to crack the security codes for the drive, not a risk I wanted to take. “You aren’t considering…?”
“No, not considering anything.”
“If you’ve forgotten, neither of us have a chip to start this thing, let alone the correct code,” I said, certain my argument would squash any plans to take the craft. We were already in trouble with the authorities. If captured, theft would not help our case.
“I can start any vehicle. I have a master chip,” Akoni said, seeming to take great joy in the fact he still had his—and was master to boot. I’d forgotten the rebels hadn’t technologically castrated him. Why? Who’d have thought Mister Personality had a brain? Ninety-nine percent of the people on the islands didn’t have the intelligence to carry a chip like it. He lifted his palm to display said chip, rubbing it in.
“You would, wouldn’t you? Whose dick did you suck to get that?” Only the most elite programmers had them. Three who I knew did. To have a master chip, the ability to tap into all technology on the islands, one must have a clearance and the trust of top officials, be a genius, and have more credit than God. I had fallen short in the first and third categories. Akoni didn’t appear up to muster for any of them. He certainly wasn’t trustworthy.
He glared, his mouth forming a hard line. “I could snap you in half.”
“But what fun would it be?”
“A lot.”
He reached for me. Eli grabbed the back of his jacket, pulling him back. “Enough. Just secure our transportation and ignore her.”
Why hadn’t he used his chip to help us on the surface, by procuring a place to lie low and watch traffic on the channels or jam signals? Just who the hell was this guy? As though reading my mind, Akoni spoke up. “When I use my chip, I draw a massive amount of power, something which would light up every security screen on the islands. If they open my file and see I have no official reason to use it, they’ll send a team to investigate. Since I’m going to use it now, we’ll have to move quick and block the signal in under a minute, or they’ll be on us.”
“Wait a minute. Did you say we?”
“I did. Your job will be to monitor the waves and redirect any pings while I sync the hard drive to my master chip. A first year programmer could do it, so don’t tell me you can’t.”
“I can, but I won’t. No to all of it.” I turned to the rebel to plead my case since there would be no way to sway the beast toward my line of thought, but he too seemed enamored of the idea of grand theft. Unease crept through me as Eli remained silent, skimming his palm down the vehicle’s door.
“It is only reasonable I have the ability to operate this mechanical can, since my body contains technology much more advanced than this transport. Starting this vehicle would take a mere thought from my interface to its inferior processor. It’s not complex. The transport is the best option. And since I’m the one who’s losing his cover and will be hitting the most wanted list right under your name, shut up,” Akoni snarled.
“It’s not an option,” I growled. “And just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. We have a lot of reasons to walk away from this vehicle and as quickly as possible. You yourself said you’d be wanted by the government. Isn’t your access to their systems an advantage right now? Why give it up for a trip through the tunnels. We should find another way.”
“As much as I’m touched you are worried about what happens to me, the surface is covered with police and soldiers right now. It is approximately twenty-six miles to our next destination, the sector with the main tower,” Akoni said. “Though walking is an option, only an idiot would do it.” He smiled. “Besides, once we shut the towers down, I’m not going to need access to the government’s channels.”
Eli shifted his gaze to mine and back to Akoni. “Okay, let’s steal it.”
“What?” I growled under my breath. “We can’t take it. Do you have any idea what the penalty is for grand theft, let alone for stealing a government vehicle?”
Eli snorted back a laugh. “Seriously? There’s a shoot to kill order out on you, and you’re worried about commandeering the transport?”
“It’s stealing.”
“Whatever you want to call it, this tunnel goes for miles, and this vehicle will provide th
e fastest way to navigate from one island to the next without being spotted. One way or another, we are going to have to ride. If you look around, you will see no foot traffic through the tunnel, and there is a reason for that. Everyone down here has access to transportation. Walking would only draw attention to us. The last thing we want to do.”
“Someone is going to miss the transport.” I grabbed Eli’s arm as he moved for the door. “Don’t. I refuse to help. I’m drawing the line here.”
“Then we will all get caught.” Akoni popped the door and slid behind the wheel.
“What are you doing? I told you I’m not helping.”
“Sixty seconds on my mark.” Akoni hovered his hand over the motherboard on the dash. “And now.” His palm dropped down, and the dash lit like a shuttle landing pad.
“Shit.” I jumped in the back and popped the rear access communications panel, returning to basics, something I didn’t need a chip for, as Akoni had hinted at. It took me less than thirty seconds to clear the channels and jam the security signal.
“Relax.” Eli pulled a card off the window and read the data. “No one is going to miss this. It’s parked for routine maintenance. Since somebody left it in the last space, no one will look for it until the middle of next week. You can set time by the military’s schedule.”
Akoni nodded.
I wasn’t so certain. All of this seemed too easy. I slumped down in the back and crossed my arms over my chest. If caught, I’d be party to the theft. Before I even had a chance to turn myself in, I’d have racked up charges on a rap sheet a mile long.
I couldn’t believe I now found myself in this situation. Me. The good girl, who in her youth might have challenged authority, but as an adult, hadn’t crossed the line once and had sworn to never to do it again. I’d learned the lesson the hard way when the government dragged my best friend from his home two weeks before we were to graduate, never to be seen again.
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