Cynetic Wolf

by Matt Ward

  “Where’s Elly? Where is she?”

  He winced. “You don’t remember?”

  So, it was true. The bloody knife twisted in my gut. Pure guilt.

  Vynce nodded, wincing, and told me everything.

  Mom opened her eyes, noticed me, and leapt from her seat, her eyes wide. “Baby, you’re okay. I was so worried.” She flung herself at me. “Three days. Three days! What happened? Come here.”

  She pulled me tight. It felt so good. I cried.

  Wait… “You’re saying I have been out for three days?”

  Mom clenched her fists, sinewy arms bunching up. “What happened out there, baby? It looked like a warzone!”

  “I don’t remember,” I lied, not making eye contact. “They attacked Elly and I exploded. I don’t remember. Somehow they died, and I collapsed.”

  Despite gentle eyes, she raised an eyebrow. “Okay. Maybe you’ll remember later. I’m sure some of the adults will want to talk to you. I hope not the DNS. We’ll do our best to make sure that doesn’t happen. Attacking cynetics and all...” She lost her resolve and stifled a sob.

  We all grimaced. The penalty for violence against superiors was your dominant hand, no questions asked. For murder, it was death.

  “They said something about a message,” I blurted out. Should I tell her? “Before he died, the cynetic, he said he pinged someone.”

  “No!” Mom gasped as a shockwave rippled through her. “So, someone might know what happened.” She placed both hands around my head and cupped my ears, looking me in the eyes. “Are you sure you don’t remember anything else, baby?”

  I shook my head, torn. She’d be terrified of me… “No, nothing.”

  “Vynce, Raek… we never had this conversation. Raek, get your clothes, enough for a few days, and put them in your bag. Bring a mat, a blanket, and I’ll pack some dried food. Maybe I’m overreacting.”

  She took a deep breath. “In case, hide that bag somewhere, not in town. Don’t tell me where, don’t tell anyone. If anything happens, anything at all, I want you to go there and hide out. It’d only be a few days. Got it?”

  I shook my head. “No way. What about you guys? I’m staying! This is my—”

  “Damnit!” she barked. “No, you’re not. We’ll be fine. We always are.”

  Holy crap. And she didn’t even know about the blaster yet.

  What had I gotten myself into?

  The next few days passed in a blur, adults coming to offer condolences, cards, and sympathy. Lots of tears and hugs. Rumors too. A few tried questioning me. One or two got angry and started yelling. Mom kicked them out, dragging offenders to the door with an intensity none dared protest.

  By day three, I was cooped up, by day five, losing my mind. I was meant to roam and hunt and be free. I told Mom I was going for a hike and maybe hunting if I saw anything. We needed the food, so she caved.

  “Fine, but stay south of the village. And don’t go into that forest, boy! You got it?”

  A nod.

  “I’m serious, Raek!” She gave me a look I’d never forget. “I can’t lose two of my babies.”

  I hurried out the door, bag on my back. Freedom. The wind at my back, the rustling of leaves… I lost myself, lost track of time. I chased the scent of a rogue buck for a while, a twenty pointer by his hooves. The thought of meat, of juicy, non-plant-based steak for the winter drove me farther.

  At last, I found the poor guy. I wasn’t the first. A pack of wolves or wild dogs had caught it, tearing flesh from the bones and leaving behind a bloody carcass. It wasn’t worth carrying home, the good parts were gone. Plus it was getting dark.

  Time to head back. I’d been out all day, and while it was fun, pained darkness haunted me. I thought about Elly, about what was happening to me, about everything. Images of her bloodied face assaulted me. Stabbing guilt.

  Gunfire snapped me out of it. That’s odd. Why would someone hunt so close to town? Maybe a wild dog roamed a little too close, or stole one of Mr. Leot’s few chickens.

  Something wasn’t right. The streets were dead silent and empty. Was that blaster exhaust? The burnt acid stench of charred skin torched my nostrils.

  I turned onto to our street and the smell was stronger, nauseously so. The door to Ms. Ivey’s house was ajar and I ran over. She’d know what was going on.

  Ms. Ivey was tied to a chair in the middle of the room, red hot heating strips and burns covering her arms and legs. Her head was gone, blood everywhere. She was unrecognizable, except for the Moon-shaped birthmark on her right hand. Ugh… Who’d done this?

  Sick to my stomach, I backed out. Don’t touch anything. I’d seen crime holos. Fingerprints, fragments of skin, hair, bone… My DNA shouldn’t be anywhere near this.

  Someone was watching me, I could feel it.

  I spun and a tall, black-clad officer with narrow blue eyes stood on the path, eyeing me. He looked to Ms. Ivey, and back to me without a reaction. My gut told me he was an emulate, I don’t know why. What was an immortal doing here, the house of a simple teacher? Had he killed her? Why?

  “Excuse me, sir.” Walking toward him, I bent my head in an intentional timidness. “Can I help you?”

  His mouth opened, confused. “Well, I… we’re investigating two missing cynetics.” He reached for his hip holster.

  I didn’t hesitate, striking like lightning, fist pummeling his chin before surprise even registered. Landing on him, my claws ripped at his eyes, fists pounding his head and chest. Power coursed through me. If I didn’t kill him, I was dead.

  He pulled a blaster and aimed for my head. He fired, but I dodged it and horror appeared on his face, mouth hanging open. He fired again but my left hand pinned his arm to the ground.

  The man was bleeding everywhere at this point, some blue pseudo-organic mixture. Even his body’s mechanized skeleton and inhuman strength couldn’t stop me. He was losing and he knew it.

  I had to finish the fight before more officers showed. Ripping a brick from Ms. Ivey’s path, I brought it smashing onto his forehead.

  His components and memory chips exploded everywhere, blue goo gushed over the sidewalk. It was over.

  The surrogate body spasmed twice and stopped. He—or it, or whatever he was—was dead.

  Wait, what had I done? Shaking, I stood. The shock should have been crippling, or at least slowed me. Instead, I felt calm and relaxed, despite the tremors.

  Our window was dark and the place was deserted.

  Where were they? Mom had said to run. I did.

  It was light out when I reached the edge of the forest. I was lucky, no cops or townsfolk along the way. Everyone must be hiding. But what was going on?

  Despite sprinting, I was far from winded. Blood pumped through my veins, power like I’ve never felt before. In a small clearing, I shimmied a tree, and pulled the bag from my back. Thank you, Mom.

  A few sips from my canteen to quench my thirst. Now what?

  It got dark fast. A wolf howled and it hit me: I was an outlaw. What was I going to do? The DNS would find the body and know something happened. Things would get worse.

  And Ms. Ivey, that was all my fault. She died being questioned and tortured. The burn marks on her arms and legs were seared into my mind, her headless miserable body. Ugh.

  And where were Mom and Vynce? Were they okay?

  There were three possibilities where they could be: home, our old campsite west of town, or captured. As long as it wasn’t the third. I had to go see for myself.

  It took three gut-wrenching hours of sneaking to reach our street, three-to-four times longer than usual. But no one saw or followed me. Approaching from the back, I scurried through the Ivey’s and Lonet’s yards and hopped the ugly mini fence into ours. Everything was dark and deserted. Not a good sign.

  I crept to the window. The place was a mess. Tables and chairs were tossed about and glass shards blanketed everything. Even a few caved walls, like a bomb went off.

  Were they okay?

&
nbsp; Out of the corner of my eye, movement. A hand clapped my shoulder.

  7

  Home Is Where The Heart Is

  Without thinking, I dove and came up two meters away, knife in hand. I was ready to fight for my life... How do I use this damn blaster?

  The figure flicked a staff and sent my knife clattering to the ground.

  “What are you doing, Raek?”

  What the—? “Professor Fitz? What are you doing?”

  “The same as you,” he whispered. “Trying to find out what happened.”

  “But, why are you here?” Something didn’t add up.

  “I was waiting for you. Knew you’d be back.”

  I was suspicious now, angry. “Why?”

  “Shhh.” He grabbed my shoulders and pulled my face to within inches of his bitter coffee breath. “Want to live? Want to see your family again? If you do, be quiet and follow me. We haven’t got much time.”

  “But what about—”

  “That can wait. We need to get out of here. See the shadow in the corner, over by your couch?” He pointed. “That’s an enhancer from the DNS. He’s been here all night, waiting for you. There are two more like him and another team of cynetics on call five minutes away. We have to go, now!”

  A team of cynetics, for me? “Okay. But where?”

  “The last place they’d expect.”

  8

  Trust

  “School? You can’t be serious,” I said, as we rounded the corner and the outline of the rundown schoolhouse came into focus.

  “What kid would hide in a school? Or willingly go?”

  He had a point. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a large old key ring, some ten-odd bronze and silver keys jangling as he did.

  “You have a keyring?” My mouth fell into a lopsided grin. Was he serious?

  He smiled. “Of course. They can’t track the low tech stuff.”

  Again, he had a point. Who was this guy?

  Once we were in, we closed the door and descended steep concrete steps to the half-finished storage basement. Even with lights on, the space was small, damp, and not well lit, just three low tech bulbs, one flickering. If he wanted to kill me and dispose of the body, this was the perfect place.

  “Why were you at my house? What were you doing? How’d you know about those goons?” I asked, voice rising. “And why don’t you use a band? Who the heck are you?”

  He smiled. “That’s a lot of questions, son. I’ll start with the big ones.” He cleared his throat. “Why was I at your house? Like I said, I was waiting. I knew you were in trouble. Your next question: Why’d you need my help? I don’t have a good answer, other than I’ve lived an interesting life, made a lot of friends, and more than my fair share of enemies. I’ve been in your shoes before. We’ll leave it at that. What was your next question?”

  “The DNS?”

  “Simple,” he replied. “I came after I heard what happened. You’re a smart kid. I wouldn’t be able to find you unless you wanted to be found. But you’d want to see your family. I’m friends with Ms. Qin, two houses over. She’s visiting her sister so I let myself in, turned off the lights and hid. Half an hour later, twelve DNS broke into your house and searched the place.”

  Twelve? Holy cow.

  “An hour after, nine of ‘em left. That leaves three.” He must have seen the pain in my eyes because he added, “I don’t know what happened to your family.”

  I said nothing.

  “For the smartband, I already answered that. Prefer anonymity. And as for who I am, I’m your Science History teacher.”

  Thump, thump! Feet clattered and there was a rustle of leaves. Had they found us already?

  “Stay down, Raek!” Professor Fitz commanded. Scowling, he rose to his knees and crawled to one of the dirty glass windows with a view outside. Careful to not make a peep, he peered out.

  SLAM.

  My heart skipped a beat.

  9

  Flushing

  “I’ll be damned.” He chuckled. “Never thought they’d come here.”

  “What? Who?”

  “Students.” He shook his head with a smile. “Don’t they know there’s no school when cops are tearing apart their town.”

  I shuffled over to look. Basketball. It’d been forever since I played.

  Why was Fitz helping me? Something told me I could trust him... “So, what’s our plan? How do we find my family?”

  “I don’t have a plan,” Fitz answered. “Only to get you out of here and keep you safe. For now, we need to forget about your family. Hopefully they got away.”

  Forget about them? I couldn’t, but now wasn’t the time. “What about the rebels, the Resistance? They could help.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure,” he replied. “They’ve had their share of leaks. Some want to take advantage of you. The first mixed-breed human… imagine the implications, breaking the GDR’s propaganda.”

  Even the Resistance? “Are you saying they can’t help me? Am I better off alone?” Fear gripped me. Alone...

  “You’re not alone, I’m here with you.” His huge hand squeezed my shoulder. “I won’t abandon you, son.” There was deep-seated pain in his eyes as he said it. “We should go inland, away from the towns and big cities, somewhere levs don’t go. The further we are from the DNS and the rebels, the better.”

  “You’ll come with me?” I felt pathetic saying it, but I needed him.

  He smiled. “Yes. We should go tonight, though. The longer we wait, the riskier it is. And son,” he added, expression softening, “you’ll need to tell me what actually happened in the forest eventually. Okay?”

  I nodded. Could I really leave? At least I wouldn’t be alone.

  An hour later, Professor Fitz said we should get some sleep. He went to his classroom and returned with two, quarter centimeter thick sleeping pads and a tough brown backpack. Setting the bag on the floor, he spread the blue mats—some nano-layered pressure-distributing deal for a “lighter-than-air sleep”—a meter apart. “That one’s yours.” He pointed where I was sitting.

  “I could never afford this,” I stammered.

  “It’s yours, consider it a gift.” He paused. “Let’s see, sun will start to set in…” he checked his watch. Wow, a watch? “Five hours. Gives us four hours to sleep and an hour to get ready.”

  Rummaging through his bag, he grabbed a pistol-shaped gray device. “Oh, I forgot about this!”

  “What’s that?”

  He flipped a switch and pointed it toward me. “A connectivity sensor.” He sounded like a teacher as he moved it up and down my body. “Senses full-spectrum radiation to make sure we’re not emitting any trackable digital signatures.”

  It beeped, twice.

  “Shit!” he said. “Your band, quick, take it off!”

  What why? He snatched my wrist. “Raek, they can track that. They probably know you’re here. Why didn’t I think of that earlier? Hurry.”

  My fingers slipped as I ripped at the band and he said, “Quick, the bathroom. Flush it. We have to hope it goes through the pipes and still sends a signal.”

  I sprinted upstairs and into the bathroom, past the smaller stall doors and to the ‘mega-toilet’ as we called it. Myrtha had quite the rear end. The extra flush power would help here. Throwing the band in, I made a peace sign. The toilet registered a number two flush and swirling water vortexed downward, filling the bowl. My band disappeared into the bottomless pit.

  Stay down, stay down... That would be awful, grabbing it out of that sinkhole to try again.

  After a minute, it was gone for good. Phew. I raced back, taking the steps two at a time. Professor Fitz was at the window.

  “Shhh… Quiet, Raek. Cops.”

  I hurried over. Sure enough, ten cops huddled by the entrance. One was off to the side, waving busy hands and talking to a holo. It was hard to make out what they were saying because a VTOL took off somewhere nearby. They weren’t the quietest but had pretty much replaced all o
ther aircraft since they could take off or land anywhere, hence the name, VTOL—vertical takeoff and landing.

  I’d never seen a real VTOL, only holos of military ones laying waste to whole towns.

  The holographic officer threw up his hands. Something was happening. A map appeared.

  Fitz tapped my shoulder. “We need to go, son. Now!” We ran upstairs to the other side of the building. Officers there too.

  A VTOL landed and Fitz reached into his bag, grabbing two blasters.

  “Know how to use these?” he asked.

  I shook my head. He clicked a few buttons and handed it to me. Holy crap, a blaster... “Press your finger here. Good, now it’s locked to you. Here’s the trigger. Point and shoot. Follow my lead. Shoot anyone that comes in.”

  We continued down the hallway, guns in hand, until a blast shook the building. “That will be the front door,” he murmured. “Hurry. We’ll hide in my classroom.”

  Boots clattered on the stairs. “Spread out!” someone yelled. “Remember, boys, capture if you can, kill if you must. This kid doesn’t make it out!”

  Kill…?

  A flurry of, “Sir, yes, sir!”

  Professor Fitz looked at me. “Raek, are you a cynetic?”

  “Yeah. I think so.” But how’d he know?

  “Good, that will help.” He inched his door open and we slipped in. “You should be able to handle a few, right?”

  Um… I flushed. “I’m not sure how to activate things. Last time, I got lucky.”

  He swallowed hard. “Oh!” Gritting his teeth, he turned over his desk and arranged it in the corner. “Your sleeping mat!”

  I threw it to him. He draped it over the table. “These aren’t only comfy, they absorb impact too. Do the same thing, far corner.”

  I imitated him, but with a thud. Shoot, did they hear that?

  “When they come in, open fire. They might throw micronades or something bigger. Stay calm and keep shooting.”