by Mike Essex
“Hello?” answered Grace.
Yes! Finally a hello! thought Jill and then realised she hadn’t said anything. “I’ve got good news.”
“Jill?” said Grace. “What the hell happened to you? You can’t just leave the base without telling anyone.”
“There was no time. How is everything there?”
“It’s bad. Tobias has taken control of Emmie and he tried to make her kill her father.”
“Oh my God. Is everyone ok?”
“March has checked Emmie’s father and he still has a pulse. One minute he was trying to cut his own throat and the next minute his eyes turned brown and he dropped to the floor. We’ve checked around and all of the orange eyed people in the area seem to be back to normal.”
“Perfect!” said Jill. “Can you guess who did that?”
“Hmm, was it Emmie?” joked Grace.
“Very funny. I’ve stopped the signal now so Tobias can’t take control of anyone. All you need to do is get Emmie out of there. March should know the technology better than I do. Is he still with you?”
“Yes, he’s fine. We’ll get Emmie out now and do what we can with Tobias. Nice work Jill,” she hung up.
“It’s over. We stopped Tobias. Frankly I thought that would have been harder,” she smiled at Mr King. “I’ll take that job offer now.”
Suddenly the computers behind Jill started to kick into life and began buzzing loudly. The lights on them flickered quickly and she could hear the loud hum of a thousand fans kicking into overdrive.
“This isn’t good,” she looked at Mr King and saw that he hadn’t moved. Her eyes were drawn to his face and she saw his eyes flicker to an orange tint. So not good!” she repeated.
--<><>--
Emmie Keyes
The darkness around me filled my head with thoughts of my father. He had done truly horrible things but he didn’t deserve to die in that way. No one did.
As I tried to remember the good times we’d shared, before he became obsessed with avenging my mother, I saw a light appear. “Dad?” I said with hope in my heart.
Before I could go to the light I saw another light appear next to it and then another and another. Lights started to flood in, first one by one and then ten by ten and even more after that. It wasn’t long before my entire field of vision was clouded in a flood of light and the darkness had gone completely.
What is happening? I wondered.
I fought my way forwards and looked through one of the pools of light. I could see out into New York City. It was the morning there and I could see hundreds of people in Times Square. Yet they were not walking. They were simply standing on the spot without so much as flinching. I tried to move the body I was in but it was held in place and refused to move.
I jumped through more lights and saw similar things all over the world. Birmingham, Tokyo, Africa, Europe, America, everywhere I jumped I could see large groups of people not moving. The times when I could see another person’s face there was another constant; orange eyes.
“What have you done Tobias?” I asked.
I tried to find my way back to Rex or Rufus’ light so I could see what was happening but there were too many lights and possibilities. I’d jumped through what seemed like a hundred lights and could not find my way back home. My body was there but my mind was trapped in this maze of lights and other bodies.
I made one more leap and ended up in the body of an elderly Chinese lady on the Great Wall of China. She had a small stall that sold postcards and souvenirs. From her perch you could see for miles down the Great wall and it was the same as everywhere else. Hundreds of orange eyed people stuck to the spot. “I will find you Rex,” I said as I tried to jump back.
Something was stopping me. I tried to pull my body backwards but I couldn’t return to the lights. I tried to move the Chinese lady’s body but it was also stuck in place. My mind was trapped in a body that I could not control. All I could do was watch and wait.
SIXTY-FOUR
Mr King
Mr King continued to stay fixed in one place, now bound by plastic wire cables that Jill had fashioned around his arms and legs.
”Ok, just stay there,” said Jill, as she carefully walked around him to move some cables from one of the servers. “What have you done Tobias?”
Jill heard her phone ring and saw the caller ID was Grace. “Hello?” she answered.
“What happened Jill?” asked Grace. “We are surrounded by tens of thousands of computers and they all just turned on at the same time.”
“The same thing happened here. Have the orange eyes come back?”
“Yes. I thought you stopped them?”
“I think Tobias was one step ahead of us. He probably had a backup in place. Damn! I should have seen it. There’s no way it should have been so easy to hack in. I just thought it was Mr King’s crappy systems but Tobias wanted me to hack in.”
“Why?”
“I got Mr King’s admin login so I could shut down the servers. Tobias must have been hoping Mr King or someone else would use his admin login and now he’s hijacked the account. It means he can control every satellite and computer controlled by the company. Which means he could turn anyone he wanted into those orange eyed freaks.”
“So he could control the entire world?” asked Grace.
“Yes, apart from The Deck, Emmie and anyone else who was born without a twin on the last day of the Siege. I don’t fancy our chances in that war.”
“All I need to know is if you can stop it.”
“Maybe. I’ll need more time. Does March still have the light from the helicopter?”
“No, it’s gone. The orange eyed people took it.”
“Then March will have to use the backup plan.”
“I won’t let him do that. Not yet, it’s too risky.”
“You may not have a choice. I’ll let you know if anything changes here.”
Grace hung up. “What did she say?” asked March. “Should we prepare the backup?”
“Not yet, Emmie may still be able to stop this. We can’t risk her yet.”
--<><>--
Emmie Keyes
My eyes scanned across the Great Wall of China and the people from all over the world who remained motionless along it.
Suddenly one of the men closest to me turned around. I remained stuck, as did everyone else but he was able to walk towards me with a large creepy smile on his face.
“Do you like what you see Emmie?” said the man.
“Tobias?” I asked.
“Who else? Everything you have seen me do today was given to me. The power to control people was given to me by your father and now this,” he motioned his hand in the direction of the motionless bodies, “was given to me by one of your friends at The Deck. When you try to play with Science there is always a cost and today I am the one who earns the profit.”
“What will you do to all of these people?”
“What was always meant to be done to them,” he replied. “The sound wave that caused my awakening and killed all those people twenty one years ago was never meant to be stopped. It was our punishment for trying to break the Tethers that bind us. That’s why it has to happen again and this time no one will be able to use me to stop it.”
“You can’t do this!” I shouted. “These people don’t deserve to die. Was there not enough bloodshed all those years ago? A billion people died! Isn’t that enough?”
“And what did the world learn Emmie? The have’s just got richer and the have-nots became poorer than ever,” he said. “The world could have grown stronger by that experience and united together but it didn’t. A billion people died and the survivors behaved worse than ever to each other. So no, it wasn’t enough.”
“They are trying. People every day are trying to survive. You can’t take away their choice.”
“Isn’t it my right?” said Tobias. “My body was used to stop the Siege so if I start it again then I’ll simply be returning things to the natu
ral order. It’ll be like I never existed at all.”
“Someone will stop you. There must be someone else who has the power to do it?”
“There is. It’s you Emmie. Why do you think I bought you here and trapped you in this body? You are the only other person in the world who is like me and now all you can do is stay fixed to this spot and watch the world end. Goodbye.”
He turned away from me and ran towards the edge of the Great Wall, throwing himself over the side and down onto the cliff face below. “No!” I screamed.
“Don’t worry Emmie,” I could hear his voice in my head. “I won’t leave you. It can be me and you until the end of time. Now watch.”
Watching was all I could do and suddenly there was so much to watch. Every single person on the bridge, apart from my vessel, placed their head in their hands and screamed. Their cries echoed around the canyons of the Great Wall and combined together to make a horrific scream of pain.
I could feel their pain reverberating through my body and knew that this was not an act that could be stopped by me. Almost every person on the planet was dying and all I could do was watch and feel every ounce of their pain.
SIXTY-FIVE
Chris Jacobs
Chris looked out in horror onto the fields surrounding the Olympic Park. Aside from The Deck every single person in the field was screaming into their hands.
The people they had moments ago been fighting were now in intense pain. “We have to help them,” said Chris.
His team dropped their weapons and ran out into the field. They tried to talk to the screaming people and calm them but there was no reply and no sign of recognition.
Chris radioed through to Grace and told her what had happened. She was soon interrupted by a call from Kenan. “We’re picking up the sound wave worldwide now. It’s everywhere.”
“March I need to know what is happening to these people,” said Grace.
March watched through gritted teeth as Rex and Rufus screamed into the sky. He removed a stethoscope from his backpack and used it on Rex. “Their bodies are responding normally with typical heartbeat and pulse. I have no idea what is happening to them.”
“So you can’t stop it?” asked Grace.
“There’s only one other thing it could be,” said March. “He must be controlling their Tethers. If he’s doing that then he could kill anyone he wanted by severing the link to their twin.”
“Dammit!” shouted Grace. “Then we don’t have any other option. If he can kill anyone and he’s controlling everyone then we have to use the backup. Emmie, I’m sorry.”
“Are you sure?” asked March, as he loaded an app on his phone.
Grace didn’t reply, she simply gave a small nod and looked away.
“You can do this Emmie,” said March as he activated the app.
The screams continued.
“Did it work?” asked Grace.
March scrolled through the data on his phone. “No,” he replied. “It’s unresponsive. It’s as if Emmie isn’t alive anymore.”
“I can see her breathing!” shouted Grace. “She can do this.”
“I’ll keep trying but I don’t think the problem is something we can fix. I think it’s all down to Emmie now.”
--<><>--
Emmie Keyes
The pain continued to build inside of me as the combined cries of a world in agony thundered through my body.
“Stop it!” I shouted. “STOP!”
I could feel the pain getting worse and each person in the chain was starting to weaken, their bodies crumbling under the combined pressure. They couldn’t take this anymore and I knew everyone was going to die.
I forced myself backwards again and again trying to break the hold that Tobias had upon me. The screams forced me to continue, to try and help in any way I could even if it was only to save one person.
As I thought about all the people I knew who were dying at that very moment and the people who I would never meet who deserved to live just as much I felt more determined to continue on. Their pain gave me the strength to continue and as they weakened I felt myself grow stronger and could feel the seal that was blocking me in beginning to break.
With one final push I emerged out of the light and into the darkness. Back in the confines of my own mind I looked through the other lights trying to find one that would lead me to the room holding Tobias.
Before I could find one I started to feel a cold sensation. It was the first feeling I had felt in a long time that came from my own body and it felt unnatural. I could feel it building by my stomach and soon it started to spread across my belly and out across my torso.
“What is happening?” I asked. No one replied. Not even Tobias.
The feeling continued until my body felt numb. Is this death? I wondered, hoping that I hadn’t failed.
As the feeling rose up my neck and hit my brain I could see the lights around me starting to change. They grew brighter than ever and began to merge one by one into a giant white light that filled the entire space. When the light was at its brightest I felt myself pulled in.
The sensation was incredible. I felt in control of everyone that Tobias had connected to. I could hear all of their thoughts and could move their bodies together as a single entity.
“Tobias. You have to stop,” I said and I could hear my sentence repeated back by billions of voices.
Yet there was one voice that rose above all of the others. I tried to focus in on it and move away from everyone else. As I left each of the bodies I could feel them being released and freed from the chain. The screams started to stop one by one and people began to regain control of their own minds and bodies.
One scream continued and no matter how many people I saved this one voice could not be silenced. Eventually only one light remained and I dove into it.
I looked out through the light and could see Rex and Rufus being treated by Grace and March. Their eyes had returned to a normal colour. I prayed they had survived the assault.
I wanted to cry when I saw my father helping them. “You survived,” I said, filled with relief.
Back in my own body at last, I thought.
“Not quite,” came the reply.
My vision was moved to the left and I saw my body still in the chair. There was only one place I could be now. In the mind of Tobias Zen.
“Bravo,” he said. “You saved everyone but you know I can do it again just like that. You’ll have to kill at least one person today.”
“No,” I replied. “You just need to stop this. You tested the entire planet and we survived. That was your revenge. It’s over.”
“It’s not over until I say it is!” he shouted.
Lights began to emerge in the room and I could feel it starting all over again.
I felt an immense rage build inside me. Rage at the people Tobias had hurt and the lives he had threated. It was unlike any feeling I had felt before, and it was a feeling that started to intensify through a cold shiver that shot through my body with lightning like intensity.
As I felt the power build inside of me my mind had a single pure focus; stopping Tobias. Just as I was about to attempt to jump into the lights to free everyone my vision was pulled backwards and I felt myself being taken back to my own body.
“No!” I shouted but it was too late. I returned to the darkness and could see a single bright light filling the wall. The light for Tobias’ mind. Before I could dive back in I opened my eyes and could control my body again.
“I have to go back in!” I shouted. “I have to stop him.”
“You already have,” said March who had run to my side.
I looked over at Tobias and saw that his eyes had been destroyed, dark holes resting in place where they had been. My father released him from the machine and Tobias fell to the floor unable to move his body.
SIXTY-SIX
Emmie’s Father
“Does she know why she survived?” asked Emmie’s father.
“No,”
replied March, “and we have to keep it that way.”
“So she has no idea that you didn’t remove the core that was inserted into her in Birmingham?”
“That’s right,” replied March. “and she doesn’t suspect that we were the ones who implanted it into her originally.”
“That really was a fantastic Tobias disguise,” replied Emmie’s father. “Well make sure she stays that way. The core saved her life today but I pray she never finds out the true purpose behind it.”
“She trusts me,” replied March. “I’ll make sure she never finds out.”
“Excellent. Now go cure Gabe. We’ll need him going forward.”
“Ok boss.”
--<><>--
Emmie Keyes
We watched Tobias for the next three hours but his vitals showed no sign of improving. He was alive but only just. March said it was probably a coma bought on by the pressure of controlling all those people but I had a different theory.
In my last moments in Tobias’ mind I felt connected to him in the same way I had felt in control of the other orange eyed people. So when I was awoken it felt like a part of me still had that control; that I was the one who was not allowing him to wake up again.
If that was the case I had no intention of ever allowing Tobias to hurt anyone and I vowed to never use the technology again, even if it could be used for good. If there was a small chance some of Tobias lived on inside of me then I couldn’t risk the chance of setting him free and allowing him back into his body.
If Tobias was trapped in my brain then he’d be staying there for a very long time.
Jill removed the virus that Tobias had been using to communicate with the world and March dismantled the technology Tobias had been using in the Olympic Park. We removed all traces of the technology that we could, to try and prevent this ever happening again.
The Deck took Tobias’ body back to their base for safe keeping. I made them promise not to experiment on him. He had been through enough. My father agreed and said that his days of experimenting on Tobias or anyone were long over.