by David Meyer
Burke issued a horrid, bloodcurdling scream.
The gold debris whirled even faster. Then the scream died off. Immediately, the grains began to retreat. And before long, Cormella was whole again.
She took a few steps forward, then glanced back. Her gaze went to the ground.
Titus felt Stanner grab him by the cloak. He felt himself pulled, yanked, and dragged across the fort. But the entire time, he kept his eyes glued to where he’d last seen Burke. The man was now gone.
Only his bones remained.
Chapter 64
Without warning, Cormella lunged toward the ramp. Settling on her next victim, she reached out her long arms, taking Private Apion into her sandy embrace. Gold sand trickled out of her form, cloaking both of them.
Knowing Apion was finished, Titus twisted around. Running fast, he followed Stanner across Natica.
The sole bright spot—if one could even call it that—was that the desiccations weren’t instantaneous. They took time, upward of a full minute apiece. Apion’s imminent death, while tragic, was a gift for Natica. One Titus didn’t intend to squander.
He picked up steam, catching up to Stanner. Occasionally, he glimpsed backward. The Naticans, by and large, had vacated the ramp. The Banished, meanwhile, were chasing after them.
Farther ahead, he saw fleeing Naticans. He expected them to head straight for the compound. But instead, they took off in different directions, screaming and tripping over each other. Some ran toward apartments, others took refuge in a variety of sheds. Still others headed for the reservoir, the galley, the solar farm, and other prominent landmarks.
“No,” he shouted. “Go to the compound.”
But amongst all of the screaming and shouting, few people heard him and even fewer listened. And really, maybe that was for the best. It wasn’t like the compound had any food or water. And while it might withstand a normal sandswarm, there was no way to know how it’d hold up against Cormella’s power. So, maybe it was better if everyone split up, found separate hiding places. Maybe, with a little luck, some of them might even survive this ordeal.
Yeah, right, he thought.
He dashed to the compound. Sanza was outside, manning the door, directing people into the interior. He shot her a look as he darted inside. “Keep that door open as long as you can,” he ordered.
She nodded. “Will do.”
He planted himself near the door. As he leaned against the wall, he felt an object push against his side. It felt like … yes, it was a canteen. Thinking back, he recalled someone offering it to him earlier, shortly after he’d done away with rationing.
His throat ached. His lips were dry and chapped. Carefully, he pulled the canteen out of his cloak. He gave it a little shake, felt the tell-tale splash of liquid. His throat, desperate for water, screamed at him.
Greedily, he uncorked the canteen, raised it to his lips. And that’s when he saw the others. Thirteen Naticans, a mix of relatives and non-relatives, were in the vicinity. Some, like Cutter, sat. Others, like Private Stubbels, stood. But all of them carried the same look, one of dull comprehension mixed with terrible thirst.
Off to the side, he spied Podey. Extending his hands, he offered her the canteen.
She made to take it, but stopped short at the last second. “What’s the point, Sir? We’ll all be dead soon.”
He thrust the canteen into her chest. “Just drink what you need, then pass it around.”
Frowning thoughtfully, she took it from him
His throat yelled at him, chewed him out. And so he hiked into the atrium, more to get his mind off of the water than anything else.
“Where are you going?” Stubbels called out, his voice gruff. “You can’t run away from this.”
“I’m not,” he replied.
Potpourri filled his nostrils with its sweet scent. The open-air design unfolded before him and his heart swelled within his chest. Even now, even with death nipping at his heels, he still appreciated the wondrous architecture.
Halting under the vaulted ceiling, he stared down, following Miot as it descended into the ground. He looked at its silver sides, its shiny bolts, and its thick cords, all illuminated by flickering torchlight.
It was a beautiful, magnificent machine. Which begged the question: How could something as awful as Cormella come from something so fantastic?
She came from Miot. More specifically, from Luminosity. The thought swirled in his brain and he furrowed his brow. Maybe Luminosity can help us stop her.
“Sanza,” he called out. “I need you.”
From her position next to the door, she gave him an exacerbated look. But she left it anyway and Private Stanner took her place.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Follow me.” He ran to a staircase and hustled down to the bottom level. Stepping off, he headed into one of several corridors, and took it straight to the communications room.
Inside, a large screen took up an entire wall. Cords connected it to machinery, all of which belonged to Miot.
He halted in front of the screen, gave Sanza an expectant look. Reading his mind, she glided to the machinery and went to work.
The screen frizzled soon after, then came to life. Kayden Kell appeared before him. He quickly observed that she wasn’t alone.
Muscles straining, Jarven, BeBo, and Virdo stood against a bunch of machinery, which was piled up against a door. Meanwhile, Valhalya stood near Kayden, gawking in his direction.
“Oh, thank God,” Kayden uttered.
“What took you so long?” BeBo growled.
“Listen, we need your help,” Titus said. “Cormella’s here and she’s—”
“Sorry,” Kayden said, cutting him off. “But our problem’s a bit more pressing.”
“I doubt that,” Sanza muttered.
“Before Cormella escaped, she infected Luminosity with a virus. It’s deleted most of the city. A lot of people, too. If this keeps up, we’ll be gone within minutes.”
Titus exhaled. “How can we help?”
“First, you’ve got to get a computer. Ideally, something you can carry around with you.”
Sanza reached inside her cloak and produced her tablet. “Will this work?”
She nodded. “Do you have a charging cord?”
“Yes.”
“Can I see it?”
Reaching into her cloak, Sanza took hold of a cord. She held it up close to the camera.
“That should do just fine. Now, I checked Miot’s schematics. There are lots of ports. In fact, there should be one in that room, along the east wall. You’ll find it on the biggest piece of machinery. Plug your tablet into there.”
Sanza scurried to the wall. Picking out the largest piece of machinery, she began to search it.
“How’s a tablet going to help you?” Titus asked.
“I’m going to download this room—and us—into it.”
He blinked, startled. “Is that even possible?”
“Theoretically, yes. But in actuality, I’m not sure. It depends on the size of the download.” She waved her hand at the room. “This place used to hold a protocol, making it pretty code-intensive. But with that gone, I suspect it’s much more basic in terms of structure.”
“But what about you guys? Aren’t you—how’d you put it?—code-intensive?”
“Yes,” she admitted. “On the bright side, there’s only five of us.”
“Just five?” Titus swept his gaze across the room for a second time. “Where’s everyone else?”
As if on cue, something rammed against the door. The jolt knocked Virdo to the ground. The machinery began to quake. Scrambling to his feet, he struggled to help BeBo and Jarven hold it in place.
“They’re outside.” Seeing Titus’ confused look, she sighed. “I’d like to save them, too. Unfortunately, they’re hell-bent on killing us.”
Sanza located an access panel. Peeling it open, she plugged her tablet into a port. “Okay,” she said. “Ready on this end.”
Kayden peered at a laptop positioned on her lap. Her fingers danced across its screen. “I’m connecting to your device. You should receive an alert.”
“Got it.” She peered closely at the screen. “It’s asking me if I want to accept the connection from ‘Protocol Forty-Eight.’ I’m hitting, ‘Yes.’”
“Good. Okay, the connection’s open.” She pressed her screen again. “Beginning download.”
“What about the virus?” Titus asked. “Won’t it come with you?”
“It depends on how long this takes,” she said. “I segmented us off from the rest of Luminosity. Added some buffer code, too. That should buy us a little time.”
“We’re going to need every second of it.” Sanza frowned. “It says here that it’ll take fourteen hours to complete the download.”
“Hopefully, that’s just a preliminary estimate. By the way, stay close to the tablet. Unplug it as soon as the download is complete.” Kayden glanced at Titus. “Now, what’s this about Cormella?”
Her words sent a bolt of lightning through his body. In all of the excitement, he’d nearly forgotten about the threat to Natica. “It seems you’re not the only one capable of leaving Luminosity. She did it, too.”
She arched an eyebrow.
“Only she didn’t go into a tablet. She downloaded herself into a sandswarm.”
She slapped her palm against her forehead. “Of course.”
He gave her an expectant look.
“First things first,” she said. “Cormella’s not a person. Not really. She’s an artificial intelligence.”
He blinked.
“She’s very similar to us. And yet, totally different.” She paused. “Now, sandswarms aren’t natural phenomena. They’re digital.”
“Yeah, I guessed as much.”
“Not only that, but I think they’re responsible for the Broken. I’ve suspected it for a while, really. After all, they suck moisture out of everything they touch, right?”
He nodded.
“So, I’m pretty sure a sandswarm is actually a pack of little machines called nanobots. Cormella must’ve uploaded herself to one such pack.”
The door behind Kayden endured another crash. One of the machines slipped off of the pile. It struck Jarven’s shoulder, then careened to the ground.
He started to reach for it. But another crash, a louder one, sent him scrambling back to the door.
“I don’t know what that means,” Titus said. “But she’s able to make the sandswarm do her bidding. She even carved her own likeness out of it.”
“I see.”
“She joined forces with my brother. As we speak, they’re assaulting Natica. They got past our wall. It’s only a matter of time before they kill us all.”
“Oh, my God.”
“Tell me how to stop her.”
She fought to control her breathing. “There’s a password system. It’s two-tiered. The first password is pack-based. The second one is molecule based.”
“The download’s picking up speed,” Sanza announced. “We’re down to four hours. Only problem is that I’m running out of room.”
“Delete your stuff,” Kayden told her. “Files, programs, documents … get rid of it all.”
As Sanza got to work, Kayden swung back toward Titus. She and her friends appeared hazy now, more like blobs than people. In addition, the surrounding room was blurry. Machines and items were still distinguishable, but just barely.
“Are you okay?” he asked. “Is the virus …?”
“It’s not the virus,” she replied. “It’s the download. It’s taking us to Sanza’s tablet a piece at a time.”
“What happens when it’s finished?”
“You’ll be able to access us via the tablet. In fact, you can do that right now if you wish.”
He found that surprising. “Really?”
“Yes. Right now, we exist in Miot as well as in Sanza’s tablet. It’s weird, I know.” She paused. “Back to the password thing. I’ve built programs for just this reason. They should allow me to connect to Cormella’s network. Then it’s a matter of cracking the pack-level password.”
“How long will that take?”
“Hours?” She shrugged. “Days?”
“We don’t have that much time.
“I’ll go as fast as I can. But no promises.”
His face grew hard. Firm lines etched their way across his chiseled features.
“It’s going even faster,” Sanza called out. “Just one hour left.”
“You don’t understand.” Titus kept his gaze locked on Kayden’s blobby features. “We don’t have hours. We’ll be lucky if we last another ten minutes.”
“Then you’ll have to make a run for it.”
“Twenty-eight minutes,” Sanza shouted. “The memory’s going to be tight, though.”
“Where are we supposed to go?” he asked.
“A place with water and other resources, I imagine. A place that can support you. A place you can defend.”
His eyes glimmered. “The Shell.”
“I remember that from Emma’s dream.” She looked thoughtful. “I’m surprised it’s still around.”
“We were actually there a few hours ago. And get this. It’s not just around. It’s being maintained. One room is kept so cool it’s like ice.”
Jarven, still guarding the door, went stiff. “Holy smokes,” he said.
“What is it?” Kayden asked. “Do you remember something about the Shell?”
He didn’t reply. In fact, he didn’t even move. His gaze drifted and he stared off into the distance.
“Wow, it just made a big jump,” Sanza said, her gaze glued to her tablet. “One-minute left.”
The large screen was now a massive blur. Titus could no longer distinguish Kayden from anything else. But her voice continued to come through, albeit with plenty of crackling.
A loud crunch filled his ears. “What was that?”
“The virus,” she replied. “It’s right outside. It’s—”
Her voice went silent. The blurred imagery vanished, replaced by static.
“Kayden?” Titus froze up. “Are you still there?”
“No, she’s here.” Unplugging her cord from the port, Sanza held up the tablet. “The download just finished.”
“Turn it on,” he said.
Wiping beads of sweat from her forehead, she clicked the screen. It lit up. She navigated to an icon labeled, Protocol Forty-Eight, and gave it a click. A black box came to life, depicting a crystal-clear image of the room.
“Hey Kay,” she said. “Can you hear me?”
“I sure can.” Kayden, looking normal now, glanced up from her laptop. A nervous grin covered her face. “I can’t believe that worked.”
“Oh, wow.” Valhalya made a face. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
As she hurried out of camera range, Titus directed his gaze toward the three men. Jarven, BeBo, and Virdo still had their backs to the piled machinery. But they were starting to turn around.
He was surprised to see Virdo with them. After all, he’d accused Kayden of causing the Broken. And his satellite dish had enabled Cormella’s escape. What could’ve caused them to put their differences aside and work together?
“Are they gone?” BeBo wondered.
“No. We’re the ones that are gone.” Kayden returned to her laptop. “They’re still back in Miot. Or rather, they were.”
Silence fell over the room.
Sanza waited a full thirty seconds before clearing her throat. “I unplugged it just like you said. But I don’t know if I did it fast enough to beat the virus.”
“That’s what I was just checking.” She waved at her device. “It looks like we’re in the clear.”
BeBo backed away from the pile. “Well, that’s good.”
“I’m glad you feel that way,” Kayden said. “Because this is our home now.”
“We’re stuck here?” Virdo frowned. “The five of us? In this tiny
space?”
She nodded.
Twisting around, he studied the door. “Well, what’s through there?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing. I imagine it looks exactly like the dome did back in Luminosity.”
“So, we’ve traded one prison for another. Awesome.”
She shrugged. “At least you’re alive.”
Sanza cleared her throat. “What happens if my battery runs out?”
“To tell you the truth, I’m not sure. But I imagine it would be like going to sleep.”
BeBo glared at Sanza. “Don’t you dare let the battery die. Or I’ll—”
She hit a button on the tablet, causing the screen to darken. Then she offered it to Titus. “You should take it.”
Reluctantly, he accepted the device.
“So, we’re going back to the Shell?” she asked.
He nodded.
“You do realize that Cormella and Dargon will try to stop us, right?”
“Yes.” He took a deep breath. “So, we’re going to have to sneak out.”
Chapter 65
As soon as he saw the door, Titus skidded to a halt. “You locked it?”
“Yes, Sir.” Stanner exhaled. “Unfortunately, I didn’t have a choice. All of a sudden, she appeared and—”
“It’s okay. I get it.” He placed his ear against the door. Through the thick metal, he heard the faint howling of wind, mixed with the occasional bloodcurdling scream.
He reached for the lock. But a hand gripped his wrist, arresting his movement.
“Where are you going?” Stubbels asked.
“Outside,” Titus replied.
“I can’t let you do that.”
“I didn’t know you cared.”
“I don’t. But what if Cormella’s out there?”
He shook his wrist loose, then brought up the tablet. Working the device, he caused it to light up. The black box, showing Kayden and her friends, still filled the screen.
“Where are we supposed to sleep?” Virdo asked. “On the floor?”
Kayden crossed her arms. “Would you rather sleep on a machine? Because that can be arranged.”
“Now, see here—”
“Hold on, guys.” BeBo nodded at Titus. “We’ve got company.”