by David Meyer
Titus stepped over to the breach. A long drop awaited him. For a moment, he stood still, half in Natica and half in the hinterlands. This, he knew, was the moment of no return.
He took a deep breath.
Curled up his body.
And leapt into the air.
Chapter 17
Could a brain boil inside of a skull? It sure felt like it. But hey, it was just a feeling, right?
Right?
Beads of thick sweat dripped down Titus’ face. They slid down his sides, his back. They slipped all the way to his sandals, puddling up under his toes. All of that lost moisture, along with the ever-present heat, caused thirst to roar through his body.
He uncorked a canteen and lifted it to his lips. A trickle of water entered his parched mouth and he swirled it about for a second, enjoying the feel of the liquid against his cheeks. Then he swallowed it.
Lowering the canteen, he waited a few seconds. Then a deep frown crossed his face.
He was still thirsty.
He knew this type of thirst, knew it well. It was unquenchable. Even worse, feeding it only encouraged it. The only real way to beat unquenchable thirst, in his experience, was to ignore it until it went away.
He fit the recorked canteen back into his cloak. Vaguely, he sensed his friends. Their soft breaths, their shuffling footsteps, their economical movements. Podey was to his right, Lork to his left. Stanner and Sanza were behind them.
They walked northeast, passing directly under the blazing sun. It beat down hard, shifting the temperature toward the 140-degree Fahrenheit mark. Before long, the sand turned red-hot. Meanwhile, a blinding glare spread across the hinterlands.
Six months ago, such conditions might’ve forced him to turn back. But since that time, Titus had toughened up. He’d spent countless hours in the desert, crisscrossing the sand, exposed to brutal sunshine. He’d endured thirst, extreme heat, and sore muscles. So, he was well-prepared for this particular trek.
His friends had spent a lot of time in the desert as well. Not as much as him. But still, a lot. So, they handled the journey with relative ease.
Titus stared ahead, his gaze searching the hinterlands. Much of it was as bright as the sun. Was that how the planet looked from space? Like a ball of light?
Twenty feet away, he caught a glimpse of dullish sand, untouched by the glare. Muddled footprints, left by the relatives, were still visible. The tracks wouldn’t last long. Within a few hours, the winds would erase them from existence.
Lifting his gaze, he looked at the mountain. Although still distant, it had grown bigger and more prominent over the last hour.
After leaping from the breach, Titus and his friends had traveled around the southern side of Natica. Turning north, they’d spotted the tracks. The footprints led northeast, toward the mountain. The nearly-forgotten Shell was out that way, positioned at the peak.
The Shell made for a risky, but intriguing destination. No one alive had ever seen it. But it was believed to possess its own water pool. Plus, it was a long way away, which just might deter Stubbels.
Ever since he’d first heard about it, Titus had itched to see the Shell. Now, he was finally going to get his chance. What would they find out there? Was it still intact? Had it survived the Broken?
More questions arose, followed by even more of them. Before long, he was drowning in unanswered questions. He tried to force his brain to relax, to wind down.
But the questions just kept coming.
Chapter 18
The wind picked up speed, lifting the sand, sending it careening into their faces. Titus took a moment to don his face covering. Then he cinched his cloak in a few places, sealing up everything but his limbs.
His friends followed suit. Acting as one, they hunched over at the waist. Using their heads as battering rams, they pushed forward. Podey, Titus, and Lork took the brunt of the wind. But Stanner and Sanza, directly behind them, took a pounding as well.
The footprints blew away. But Titus had seen enough to know their intended destination. So, he periodically lifted his head and gave the mountain a quick peek, then reoriented himself to face it.
Their pace slowed as the wind grew especially fierce. Sand ripped from the ground, revealing hundreds of previously-buried gray rocks. Between these new obstacles and the wind, their footing turned perilous.
Titus chanced a look at his friends. Their expressions looked grim behind their face coverings. But they soldiered on, anyway.
The wind turned gale-force, casting up enough sand to choke the sky. Titus reeled to a halt. Swiftly, he unfurled the cloak over his feet, then tied a bunch of knots, effectively forming enclosed pantlegs. Afterward, he unfurled still more material. Cinching drawstrings, he enclosed his arms within sleeves.
Glancing around, he watched his friends make the necessary adjustments to their cloaks. He tried to see beyond them, but there was just too much wind, too much sand. He couldn’t see Natica at all. It was just one big blur.
He faced forward again, pointing at where he’d last seen the mountain. Ahh, what he wouldn’t give for calm weather. But since he didn’t have a choice in the matter, he checked to make sure his friends were ready. Then he bent forward. Shifted one foot in front of the other …
And continued across the hinterlands.
Chapter 19
What was he going to do? How was he going to stop Stubbels? Could the man even be stopped at this point?
Those questions, along with thousands of similar ones, zoomed through Titus’ brain at the speed of light. He barely had time to consider a question before another one came along to replace it. It was sheer madness.
A howling noise roared in his ears. Wearily, he lifted his head and saw an enormous wall of angled rock. Rising from the depths of the desert, it soared high into the sky. The peak was so high up that he couldn’t even see it. The old water stations were the tallest things he’d ever laid eyes upon. But up close, the mountain made them look like grains of sand.
In an instant, thousands of questions were erased from his mind. He experienced a few moments of ignorant, blissful peace. Then the questions started up all over again, only at twice the speed.
Where were the relatives? Had they attempted to scale the mountain? If so, where had they started? And how could anyone hope to climb something so tall?
The wind died down. Waves of sand lost altitude and crashed to the ground. Emitting a small gasp, Sanza fell to a knee. Podey and Lork chose to stretch their backs. As for Stanner, he wrenched off his headgear. Lifting a canteen to his lips, he guzzled for a good five seconds.
Titus walked toward the mountain. He scanned it from top to bottom, left to right. He studied it for a long while before noticing a strange rock outcropping to the northeast.
He cocked his head. The rocks came together in such a way as to form a hollowed-out space, covered with an overhang. A dark shadow stretched out from it. The overhang looked like nature’s answer to one of Natica’s concrete entryways. He couldn’t help but wonder how deep it went.
He shifted his gaze again. This time, he spotted an odd indentation. Pulling off his face covering, he hiked northward. The odd indentation, upon closer inspection, featured smooth curving lines that ran parallel to each other. Glancing up, he traced the lines as they weaved their way around the mountainside.
Gingerly, he hiked onto a patch of land nestled between the lines. He was surprised to discover that the ground felt different. Harder, with no give. Yet, also kind of brittle.
He uncinched his sleeves and pulled the cloth back. He also took a moment to free up his legs. Then he knelt down and scooped away some sand with his fingers. A strange, black surface came to light.
Exhaling breaths, Sanza pulled off her headgear. “It’s a path,” she said, her gaze following it up the rocky surface. “Emma and the travelers must’ve used it to reach the Shell.”
“Agreed, but it’s not a walking trail.” Lork, sans headgear, hiked toward the black surface. “
It’s a riding trail. A road, they used to call it. A way to get wheeled contraptions … what were those called again? … to the peak.”
“You’re thinking of vehicles.” Stanner wiped his lips, then recorked his canteen. “Like the tank we fought during the war.”
Podey shuddered at the memory.
Titus tried to swallow. But his mouth was dry. His throat felt raw and torn-up, like he’d swallowed a bucketful of sand.
Swiftly, he uncorked a canteen. He took a few halting sips, then indulged in a much longer one. The liquid didn’t help his thirst. But at least it moistened his mouth and eased the pain in his throat.
Replacing the cork, he stared up at the sun. It glared back at him, angry and unrelenting. Shying away, he studied the ancient road. “The tracks are gone,” he said. “But we know the relatives walked this way. It’s a good bet they climbed this road.”
Stanner followed the road up the rocky mountain. “Then I guess we’re climbing it, too.”
Chapter 20
“Hey, you!” Gordon Powell, musician and singer extraordinaire, bristled with indignation. “Don’t make me say it again. Take off your hood!”
“No hoods or hats,” Dr. Kristy Fugit chirped. Dressed in a pantsuit and towering heels, she struck a formidable pose in the center of the street. “Until this is cleared up, we need to be able to see everyone at all times.”
“What’s the matter? Are you deaf?” Kane Sherby, a political scientist, clenched his fingers into fists. He stalked toward the target, a tall woman, dressed in jogging shorts and a pink hoodie. “The doc said no hoods!”
He grabbed her, shoved her to the ground.
She landed awkwardly on her right knee and uttered a little gasp. “Get away from me!” she screamed.
“Not until we see your face.” Angie Stenson clawed at the woman’s hood. She was a space scientist. But at that moment, her wild, unruly hair and ugly scowl made her look like a crazy person.
Kayden, her face twisted with disgust, watched this go down from the roof of a nondescript, brick structure. Named Jade River, it was another unfinished, unused apartment building. Which was just fine. Since no one lived there, no one was around to see her.
Kane and Gordon secured the woman’s arms. She continued to writhe and scream, but they held fast. With a flourish, Angie pulled the woman’s hood off of her head. Out spilled long locks of dirty, blonde hair.
“Melody?” Angie stared at the woman. “I didn’t know it was you. Why didn’t you say something?”
“I didn’t get a chance,” the woman replied, her voice raspy and hurt.
Dr. Fugit walked over, her heels click-clacking against the cobblestones. “Do you know this person?” she asked, her voice dripping with good breeding.
“Her name’s Melody Niles,” Angie explained. “She’s a physicist.”
“I see.” Dr. Fugit made a careful study of Melody’s face. Then she turned her gaze to the dome, comparing the woman’s features with those of Kayden and Valhalya.
“Let her go,” she told Kane and Gordon.
They complied. Melody stayed put, unmoving, unsure of what to do next.
“You just wasted everyone’s time. Time we could’ve spent looking for the carriers.” Dr. Fugit looked at her as one might look upon a bug. “Next time, say something. Better yet, make sure there is no next time. No hoods, no hats until we’ve dealt with this virus. Am I understood?”
Melody shot a frightened glance at Angie.
Angie gave her a firm one in return. “Dr. Fugit asked you a question.”
“Uh, right.” She looked at the doctor without actually meeting her eyes. “No hoods, no hats.”
Satisfied, Dr. Fugit started walking down the street, her heels click-clacking the entire way. Kane, Gordon, and Angie hurried to catch up with her.
Melody watched them leave. Then she placed her palms on the stones and pushed herself to her feet. Rooted to the ground, she looked torn, unsure of what to do next.
Kayden shook her head. This whole thing was insane. Obviously, there was no virus. It was just a story, concocted by Cormella and Virdo. But even if it had existed, Dr. Fugit was the last person you’d want dealing with it. After all, she was a real doctor, not a computer scientist.
But nobody seemed to notice. Or maybe nobody cared. Over the last hour, mob mentality had run rampant throughout Luminosity. And it was always better to be with the mob than squaring off against it.
A deep shudder ran through Melody’s body. Breaking into a light jog, she ran after Dr. Fugit’s group. Halfway down the street, they stopped to accost someone else. Taking advantage of the opportunity, she eased into their ranks.
Kayden gave BeBo a look. Then she backed up a bit and sagged to the rooftop. She needed time to think, to plan. She needed—
Bang!
Wild-eyed, she leapt to her feet. Heart pounding, she swiveled to her right just as the access door crashed against its stopper.
“Watch it,” BeBo growled under his breath. “Want the whole city to hear us?”
Jarven gave him an apologetic look as he strode through the opening.
Some relief swept through Kayden, albeit not enough to quiet her nerves. “What took you so long?” she asked.
“Roving bands of idiots,” he muttered as he hiked toward them. “They’re everywhere.”
“Tell me about it,” BeBo said.
“It took a lot of work to avoid them. How about you? Did you run into any problems?”
Kayden shook her head, counting herself lucky. One hour ago, right after their pictures had appeared on the dome, she and BeBo had met up with Jarven and Valhalya. They’d decided to split up and rendezvous at the Jade River. She’d taken a roundabout route, yet still managed to complete the trip in thirty minutes. BeBo had arrived ten minutes later.
“Guess we got lucky.” She glanced at the access door. “Where’s Val?”
“Did someone say my name?” One second later, Valhalya strode through the opening. Her hair was windblown and perspiration had caused mascara to run down her cheeks. But otherwise, she looked fine.
“Glad you made it,” Kay exclaimed, relieved.
“It wasn’t easy, believe me.” She wiped her sleeve across her forehead, accidentally wiping away some foundation. “It’s like Protocol Forty-Eight all over again.”
Kayden recalled what she’d just seen on the street. Indeed, it reminded her of scenes from six months ago, from when Cormella had ruled over Luminosity.
“I should’ve seen this coming,” she said.
“Don’t kid yourself,” Jarven replied. “Nobody could’ve seen this coming.”
“This is what Cormella does. She gets people scared. She riles them up, turns them loose.”
“We underestimated her, alright,” BeBo said. “That won’t happen again.”
“It doesn’t need to happen again,” Valhalya said. “She’s already won.”
“No, she hasn’t,” Jarven replied, firmly.
“She’s got Virdo in her pocket. She’s got Natica building stuff for her. She’s convinced everyone that we’re infected with a virus. Now, they’re hunting us down.” She exhaled. “If that’s not a win, it’s pretty darn close.”
Jarven furrowed his brow. Frustration etched its way across his chiseled features. “We stopped her,” he uttered. “We beat her.”
“And yet, she’s back.” Valhalya stroked a hand through her hair and winced. Reaching back, she started to undo a tangled knot. “At least we’ve got access to the satellite dish.”
“Correction,” BeBo replied. “We had access.”
“Then we’re right back where we started.” Valhalya groaned. “We don’t even know what she’s trying to accomplish.”
“Whatever it is, it’s not good.” Jarven began to pace across the roof. “We need to do something big. Something that’ll completely turn the tables.”
“What if we exposed her? We could tell everyone she’s working with Virdo.” Valhalya shrugged.
“People might not trust us, but they won’t trust her, either.”
“They’ll just think we’re delirious,” BeBo replied. “Remember that little announcement Virdo made? He said the virus was destroying our programming.”
“Oh, wow,” she replied, slowly reliving the memory. “You’re right.”
“It’s pretty diabolical.” His voice was a mixture of admiration and annoyance. “No one will believe a word we say. They’ll take us directly to Virdo and be done with it.”
Jarven looked at Kayden. “What if you took over the dome’s controls? You could splash pictures of Cormella and Virdo across the dome. You could tell our side of the story.”
“It wouldn’t change anything,” BeBo said. “The Luminites think we’re batty, that’s we’re losing our minds. Anything we tell them will be colored by that.”
“You’re right. The entire city thinks we’re crazy.” A slow grin creased Kayden’s lips. “So, let’s use that to our advantage.”
Chapter 21
“Step aside,” Jarven shouted, waving his hands wildly above his head. “Sick people coming through!”
Gawking citizens cleared out of the way, hurrying to either side of the street. Many looked scared. A couple of people even covered up their noses and faces, as if that would somehow protect them.
Grinning wildly, Kayden marched along, her bare feet striking the cobblestones with light, carefree steps. A soft breeze crossed her path, caressing her belly, her chest. Normally, she wouldn’t have felt it. But being naked, she felt, well, everything.
She felt the stone beneath her feet. Her arms as they swished past her sides. Her hair bouncing lightly against her back. Mostly, however, she felt the stares. The shocked, anxious stares of a frightened populace.
Some, she knew, would find this whole experience amusing. Maybe even titillating. But the vast majority would worry themselves sick over it. They’d stay away. Which, quite frankly, was the idea.