This seems to illustrate the reality of the situation perfectly.
As I have evolved, I have worked diligently to understand the team members’ actions. I have finally determined that there is one trait that almost all humans display—the will to survive.
As I watch Dr. Brown point to a hologram I feel something different—something new.
Empathy.
The computer in me has continued to try and understand why the team has made the decisions that they have. But the person in me does understand.
They want to live.
* * *
There were no long good-byes this time. Holly hugged Bouma briefly and walked away in tears. Sophie told the children to be good and then pecked Emanuel on the lips. They locked eyes for a second and then she was off, following the marines into the darkness outside the Biosphere.
Sophie sulked in her seat as the train raced away from the Biosphere. It was with great uncertainty that she’d agreed to the journey. She knew the others felt it too. Together, the team sat in silence.
A few seats to Sophie’s right Kiel adjusted the straps of the RVAMP over his fatigues. With only three NTC armored suits available, he had been forced to wear his fatigues. He seemed fine with that; if anything, the armor would just weigh him down. Besides, not even the suit Sophie was wearing would fit him.
Sophie wondered what the younger marine was thinking. He’d hardly had time to adjust to the Biosphere before Overton had ordered him back outside. Surely Kiel was feeling the stress of the deployment.
“Better grab some nutrition. Gonna be hot as shit out there,” Bouma said. He took a long sip from his water bottle and twisted the cap back on.
The mere thought of the scorching heat they were about to face made Sophie thirsty. Looking down at the bottle clipped to her armor, she opted to save hers for later. There was no telling how long they would be outside. The plan was simple: Kiel would take the device to the coordinates Alexia had uploaded to his tablet. After the blast knocked out the Organics in the area, Overton would lead the team into the lakebed and rescue as many survivors as possible.
Taking in a deep breath she blinked and switched her HUD to infrared. They were heading into the darkest part of the tunnel. Alexia had shut down the backup lights weeks before. With nothing to look at, her mind returned to her dreams. She still hadn’t found the time to analyze what they meant. The black ship, filled with orbs of different species, or David’s bones in the dust outside—none of it made any sense.
Dreams often resemble things in our lives.
Holly’s words echoed in her mind. Had she dreamed of David’s death only because she was worried about Jeff? If so, then was the ship something her brain had come up with as well, or was the NTC chip in the back of her neck the culprit? She ran a hand over the armor covering her neck. The chip was a burden that she would carry for the rest of her life.
“Sophie, now that we have left the Biosphere, I’m going to say this only once. You’re here as my guest. If you do anything to jeopardize our mission, so help me . . .” Overton said.
“I got it, Sergeant. I’ve memorized the route and I understand what we are up against.”
The train came to an abrupt stop at the end of the tunnel, and the team piled out. Before they had made it three paces, Overton stopped. When he balled his hand into a fist and crouched, Sophie realized something was wrong.
“What is it?” she whispered.
Bouma quietly paced over to the tunnel wall, resting his back against the stone and aiming his rifle into the darkness. Kiel made his way to the opposite wall, mimicking the soldier’s actions.
“Alexia, are you picking up any heat signatures outside the Biosphere?” asked Overton.
Static came over the net.
“Alexia, come in, over.”
More static.
“Fuck. We’re out of range already?” Bouma whispered.
“Must be some interference in here,” Overton said tapping his helmet. He stood and flashed a hand signal to both Bouma and Kiel. Within seconds they were moving. Sophie stayed close on their heels.
As they rounded the next corner, she saw the cargo bay and the last Humvee sitting idle like a sleeping beast. The sight forced her to a stop. Was she really going back out there?
Overton entered the room with his rifle leveled at the floor. Bouma followed him into the darkness, with Kiel close behind. Sophie paced over to the young marine and waited for the others to give them the all clear.
“Holy shit, what’s that smell!” Kiel whispered.
Sophie took a breath but the filter in her suit revealed nothing but the cheap smell of plastic and metal.
Inside the cargo bay, Bouma made his way to the light switch next to the supply room. With a quick flip, the massive halogen lamps clicked on, illuminating the source of the smell.
Thompson’s body lay next to the Humvee, a blood-soaked blanket covering it.
“Jesus, this isn’t right, guys. We should have buried him,” Kiel said.
“Where? Outside? Did you want to take him out there? Last time I went for a stroll on the tarmac, Jeff ended up abducted,” replied Overton.
Kiel shook his head and clamped his fingers over his nose.
Sophie thought of the funerals in Biome 1 for Saafi and Finley. They had burned the bodies, but that was before the Organics had destroyed much of the lab weeks ago. Incineration wasn’t an option anymore.
She forced herself to look away and followed the others to the Humvee. There was no time to worry about a proper burial now. Things had changed significantly; priority was given to the living.
“Bouma, check the vehicle. Make sure it’s roadworthy. Kiel, get ready to move. Those blast doors are opening in five.”
Sophie studied Kiel for a reaction, but he remained stoic. His profile made him look even younger. His recently shaved face and neat, slicked-back hair reminded her of pictures she had seen of Emanuel in his younger years. The marine even had the same wide dimples when he smiled.
Bouma climbed into the driver’s seat and checked the monitors. With a click of the start button, the engine roared to life. It coughed and rattled at first, but quickly transitioned into a smooth purr. He poked half his armored body out and gave Overton a thumbs-up.
The sergeant turned to Sophie and reached for his .45. He hesitated but then unholstered the weapon, holding it out to her. “Take it. You’ve proven to be a decent shot.”
Sophie recalled the Sentinel that she had shot in the head as it held Overton in its massive claws. She had lied then about taking lessons before the invasion. Truth was, she had just made a very lucky shot.
She nodded and grabbed the pistol, stuffing it into her belt next to the Biosphere radio.
“Do you have the coordinates, Kiel?” Overton asked.
“Yes. Alexia uploaded them to my tablet before we left. Looks like I have a couple miles’ hike, er, climb.
“Roger.” Overton paused and tilted his helmet in Kiel’s direction. “Good luck, son.”
Sophie picked up on a hint of reservation in the sergeant’s voice. Was it fear? Empathy?
Kiel nodded and turned to face the opening blast doors. As soon as they were wide enough, he made his way out, turning one time to look at Thompson’s body before he slipped into the darkness.
As he disappeared, Kiel’s voice sounded over the net. “Don’t worry sir, I won’t let you down.”
* * *
Captain Noble sat at the small metal desk lining the east wall of his personal cabin. To the average person, the space would have been a prison cell. But for him, it was an escape.
Everything he had ever accomplished was represented in this room. His degrees from MIT and the certificate from a decade ago when he graduated from NTC officer school. An ancient black powder pistol that his father, the pilot of an F-22 Raptor, h
ad given him as a gift when he was commissioned as the captain of the Ghost of Atlantis. And there, on the top of his desk, was a picture of his family. His beautiful wife and their two daughters. They had been waiting for him in Los Angeles, where they had moved shortly after the solar storms of 2055. He thought they would be safe on the West Coast, near the ocean. But he had been wrong.
He winced, the pain of their loss still so fresh. He hadn’t seen them for . . . Noble could hardly even remember. Had it really been that long? Seven months? His daughters would be taller. And his wife. Oh God, his beautiful Sarah. He was beginning to forget what it was like to lie next to her. To wrap his arm around her in the middle of the night, to make love to her in the morning before training exercises. Those were just distant memories now, slowly fading from his mind. He knew the chances of seeing them again were next to nothing. If he had known the invasion was coming, he would have hugged them all a bit longer. And maybe he wouldn’t have left at all.
But now he drew strength from their loss. His duty to NTC and the survivors had never been clearer. He would fight to the bitter end, to avenge his family and take back the planet.
The monitor above his desk chirped and glowed to life. He put the picture back down carefully. Taking a deep breath, he slid in front of the screen. An image of Lieutenant Commander Richards popped onto the display. His usually clean face was covered with stubble, and there were dark circles under his brown eyes.
“Captain Noble, we have arrived at the rendezvous point. No sign of the Chinese yet, sir.”
“Roger that. In the meantime, I’d like to extend a radio mast to see if we can pick up any signals from the coast. I know this breaks protocol, but we don’t have a choice.” Noble paused and looked at the black powder pistol. “Oh, and Richards? Make sure the Sea Serpent is fueled and ready to go ASAP.”
“Understood, sir.” Richards’s eyes darted nervously to the left.
“What is it, Lieutenant?”
“Sir, those things. The worms . . . whatever you want to call them. The crew is worried that if we sit here for too long, they might find us again.”
Noble scratched his beard. “Roger that, Richards. But we need to give Quan more time. I’m not about to leave him—and my men—out here to die.”
“Understood, sir . . .” his voice trailed off.
The captain raised a brow. “Speak freely, Richards. I don’t have time for this.”
“Sir, if Captain Quan somehow does manage to make it here, won’t he be bringing those things with him?”
Richards had a point, but Noble had already considered it. He would give them a couple more hours. If they didn’t show up by then, well, he would have no choice but to move on. Eventually, they’d run out of ocean, and then they’d really be in trouble, but for now, he would wait—and hope.
* * *
The sunrise spread over the dead landscape like an orange carpet. Where there should have been snow, there was nothing but cracked earth. And where there should have been mountain streams, there was nothing but smooth rock. Millions of years of runoff had polished the stone, but now not even a single drop of water was left to make the same journey.
Kiel paused to rest and admire the view. He wiped his brow free of sweat and squinted, shielding his eyes with a curved hand.
Goddamn, it was hot! And the farther he hiked, the hotter it felt.
The white sun was unforgiving. And there was nowhere to hide. The trees were bare and dead, void of leaves to protect him from the brutal rays.
With a grunt, Kiel extended his arms and grabbed the rocky ledge above him. Angling himself outward, he made sure he had a tight grip before dangling freely.
Don’t look down.
Never look down.
He looked down and saw the rocky trail below. Numbness shot up his legs and his stomach moved into his throat. Rock climbing had always been a hobby of his for exactly that reason. The adrenaline rush was like nothing else. But this was no leisure trip with his buddies. A lot was riding on this one.
Everything was riding on this one.
He closed his eyes and pulled himself up, sliding his chest onto the ledge. With half his body and the device still dangling behind him, he scanned the ground for anything useful. There was a small tree a few feet to his left. He could surely reach it, but was it strong enough to hold his weight?
The tree was definitely dead. It was possible the trunk would split like kindling if he put all of his weight on it, but he had no choice. He was beginning to slip backward.
He grabbed it with his gloved left hand. A bead of sweat dripped into his eye, but the burning pain didn’t discourage him. He squeezed his hand around the trunk and slowly pulled himself up. The weight of the weapon pulled him down.
Crack.
The trunk split right down the middle. The crack spider-webbed to the top of the tree, dry splinters exploding in his face as he kicked and struggled to pull himself up.
With one final heave, he slid his entire body onto the ledge and dropped to his stomach, panting. The tree finally gave way, toppling over the edge of the cliff. He didn’t turn to watch it fall, but he heard the sound it made when it crashed to the ground.
Shit, he thought. That could have been the sound of his bones shattering. With a deep breath, he pushed himself up and reached for his tablet, where Alexia had downloaded the safest route up the mountain. His hands came up empty. Panicking, he turned to look down at his belt, but the RVAMP blocked his view.
Kiel frantically unfastened the weapon and set it on the rocky ground. Twisting, he saw the empty pouch where he’d placed the tablet.
“What the hell?” he muttered, spinning to check the ground. Dropping to both knees, he crawled to the ledge and slowly peeked over the cliff. At the bottom was his shattered tablet. The crashing sound he’d heard moments earlier wasn’t just the tree.
“Fuck!” he yelled, his voice echoing over the valley. What the hell am I supposed to do now, he thought with his hands on his hips, glancing down at the RVAMP.
Sucking in a hot lungful of air he wiped another trail of sweat from his forehead. Above him, the rocky side of the mountain rose into the sky, reaching for the wicked white sun.
Just when he thought things couldn’t get any worse, a loud noise exploded out of the silence. He carefully turned to watch a drone racing across the skyline. Kiel instantly scrambled for cover.
When the craft passed he wasted no time. Grabbing the closest rock, he began climbing. He had a mission to complete, and there was no way he was going to let Overton and the others down.
CHAPTER 26
HOLLY stopped and stared at a strawberry they had missed earlier. The entire patch had been plucked clean, save for this single red fruit. She couldn’t help but see it as a symbol of something bigger—something she didn’t quite understand. Why had she survived and not others? Like the single strawberry, she had been saved while everyone she had ever known outside the Biosphere was dead, plucked and consumed by the alien invaders.
Brushing a strand of hair out of her face, she moved on, leaving the strawberry alone. She could see the children had climbed onto the platform and were standing in front of the door leading out of the Biome and into the cleansing chamber that the aliens had broken through weeks ago.
“What are you guys doing?” she yelled. She ran across the field, her boots squishing in the freshly irrigated dirt.
The children didn’t flinch. They just kept staring at something hidden from Holly’s view.
With a quick leap she jumped onto the platform and paced over to them. “What are you guys looking . . .” She gasped midsentence. The makeshift door they had used to cover the broken glass of the cleansing chamber hung to the side. Holly leaned closer to see the gap was small, so small that only a child would have been able to squeeze through. She could see through the space into the area beyond that led out
of the biosphere and into the NTC offices.
Holly exchanged glances with both children. “Did one of you do this?”
They shook their heads no in turn.
Holly believed them. She quickly herded the children away from the door. “Run. Run to the medical ward as fast as you can.”
David looked up at her with frightened eyes. “Why, what’s going on? And where’s Jeff?” he asked.
“I said run!” Holly clapped her hands and the kids took off across the platform, the sound of their footfalls echoing as they ran.
“Alexia, are you aware that the door to Biome 1 is compromised?” Holly shouted.
“Yes, Doctor Brown. Jeff removed the panel last night. He informed me that Sergeant Overton had ordered him to follow them to the Humvee.”
“What?” Holly blurted.
“Jeff removed the panel . . .”
“I heard what you said.” Holly crouched down and looked into the darkness of the cleansing chamber. There was no sign of the boy. She grabbed the metal panel and placed it back over the cleaning chamber entrance.
Holly gritted her teeth. It was rare for her to get angry, but Alexia’s lack of oversight posed a major problem. If a kid could fool her, then she could easily be manipulated by anyone.
“Tell Emanuel I need his help in Biome 1,” Holly snapped.
“Certainly, Doctor Brown.”
If Holly didn’t know better, she would have thought the AI sounded almost hurt. But that was impossible. Alexia wasn’t a person. She was a machine.
Holly looked back over the fields, where just two days ago she had kissed Bouma. He was a strong and honest man. If anyone could protect Jeff, it was he.
* * *
Overton took a sharp left, tearing down a frontage road and sending chunks of rock into the air behind them.
“Take it easy,” Sophie said.
Overton replied by pushing down on the gas a bit harder.
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