The Culling ttk-1

by Steven dos Santos

  I seize Digory’s wrists. “I’m not leaving you here! ”

  I pull with every fiber of strength I have left, dragging him across the floor toward the doorway. One of the infected springs from the ground, gripping his ankle.

  I pull Digory through the doorway and hit the button on the panel on the other side, praying it’s the locking mechanism.

  For a split second, nothing happens.

  The sickly woman opens her mouth right above Digory’s ankle …

  Then the door wooshes closed again. There’s a sharp snap as it severs the infected woman’s hand and slams shut at last. The hand’s still gripping Digory’s foot, jetting out gobs of dark blood from the jagged end with each twitch.

  Kneeling beside him, I pry it off and hurl it away from us. “It’s going to be okay now, Digory.”

  His eyes are closed, his chest bobbing up and down with each raspy breath. I touch my palm to his forehead. It’s like touching fire.

  Recruit Tycho, your actions have caused you to forfeit your participation. You must remain behind and await collection. Recruit Spark, continue now or face forfeiture as well.

  I can see a light, down the sloping path Ophelia took.

  What am I going to do? She’s going to reach Maddie before I reach Cole.

  “Lucky,” a voice whispers in the dark behind me.

  Even before I whirl to see the figure emerging from the shadows, I know who it is. That voice is branded into me forever.

  Cassius.

  thirty-eight

  I spring to my feet.

  He’s the cause of all of this. All the pain, the suffering.

  I’m so overwhelmed by rage, I’m paralyzed. I can only watch as Cassius slinks into the light. Behind him, I can see the outlines of two Imps holding weapons. Styles and Renquist. Of course the coward wouldn’t come to see me alone.

  He looks at me with shock and pity, holding out his arms. “Oh, Lucky … look at you … I … I never wanted things to be like this … ” He takes a step forward.

  I shrink from his disgusting hands. “What do you want, Cassius, huh? Killing Mrs. Bledsoe wasn’t enough for you? You need to make sure you destroy everyone I care about?” My fingernails pierce my palms.

  It doesn’t matter about the Imps protecting him. I’m going to kill him right now.

  He shakes his head, dislodging tears from those hateful eyes. “You have to listen to me, Lucky. I feel terrible about what’s happened. I’ve come to set things right between us.”

  A hollow laugh bursts from my lips. “Set things right?”

  His eyes pierce mine. “I can make sure you get Cole back.”

  The words stop me cold. “What’re you talking about?”

  He steps aside. A side door in the tunnel opens, letting in a stream of harsh artificial light that knifes through the dimness, causing me to squint against it. Beyond the door I can see a gangway leading to a Squawker.

  “That’s my private transport,” Cassius says in hushed tones. “Right now, Recruit Juniper is traversing the sea to get to the final Trial. I can fly you instead. You’ll get there ahead of her and be reunited with Cole before she even arrives.”

  His words are like hypnosis. I walk past him to the threshold, staring at the Squawker that could mean Cole’s salvation.

  “You want me to cheat,” I mutter. I search the ceiling for cameras. “Aren’t you afraid your fellow officials will find out about this?”

  He shakes his head. “I’ve risked making sure all the surveillance in this sector has been disabled, just so I could give you this chance.”

  After everything the five of us went through-all our hard work training at Infiernos, the horrors we endured. That’s what it all comes down to. Rigging the final Trial.

  He sidles up to me, but I’m too deep in thought to move. “It could all be over in a few minutes. Your brother will be safe. And all this will be over and behind us.” He rests his forehead against my shoulder. “Aren’t you tired, Lucky? Don’t you want to rest at last?”

  Everything I’ve dreamed since this whole ordeal began is right at my fingertips. How many times have I thought to myself that I’d do anything to rescue Cole from this nightmare?

  And now here’s my chance.

  If I kill Cassius now …

  I press my fingers into my throbbing temple. “Yes,” I mutter. “So tired … I can’t do this anymore … ”

  But what about-

  I run over to Digory. “I can’t leave you.”

  He’s sitting up, his eyes barely open and coated in a gray film. “There’s nothing you can do for me now,” he says, patting my hand. “Besides … I’ve gotten out of worse scrapes.” He tries to laugh but it devolves into a choking fit that takes a minute to subside. “Listen to him, Lucian. Do what he says. Your brother needs you.”

  Cassius wraps his hand around my arm and gently tugs. “For once, Tycho’s right. If you’re to beat Juniper, we have to go now.”

  As much as I’ve hated Cassius up to this point, I hate him even more now.

  Hate him for being right.

  Digory’s hand grips my shoulder and squeezes. “I’ll … be … okay. Don’t … worry.” We hold each other’s gaze for what seems like forever.

  I feel shell-shocked. I can only nod as Cassius pulls me away.

  The next few minutes are a haze. Cassius leads me through the doorway and across the gangway, leaving Digory further and further behind us with every step.

  When we reach the entrance to the Squawker, Styles and Renquist position themselves to flank the hatchway as Cassius takes a step inside.

  I freeze, gripping the handrails.

  Cassius turns to me. He smiles again and holds out his hand. “It’ll all be over soon, Lucky, you’ll see. You’ll have Cole back and we can be a family, just like we used to be.”

  The gangplank whirs to life.

  I turn to watch it slide away from the tunnel, leaving Digory cut off from everyone … awaiting death …

  Alone.

  Our eyes meet.

  Once I step into this Squawker and the hatch seals, I’ll never see him again.

  Cassius takes my hand. “I was just so angry before, Lucky, but it’s all over now. In time, you’ll forgive me, just like I’ve already forgiven you. And now that Tycho’s no longer between us, things will be different. I promise.”

  He pulls me through the Squawker’s hatch-

  Digory saved Cole’s life at a terrible cost. And here I am, wallowing in the empty promises of a liar and a murderer, leaving Digory to die all alone.

  I never even told him that I-

  The hatch starts to slide shut-

  “I can’t.” I wrench myself free of Cassius and his treachery and squeeze out what’s left of the opening, tumbling onto the rapidly shrinking gangplank.

  “What are you doing? ” Cassius yells after me.

  Then I’m dashing across the dwindling walkway, my heart thundering, away from Cassius and his toxic life of endless lies and enslavement to the depravities of the Establishment.

  I leap off the edge of the gangway, across the subterranean depths of the Skein, and crash against the tunnel door, dangling from its threshold by my fingers. I squirm upward and through the doorway-

  Into Digory’s waiting arms.

  It’s the first time I’ve seen him so utterly vulnerable. He sobs against my cheek, his massive shoulders heaving. He teeters from weakness, and I slide down to the floor with him, cradling him in my arms.

  “I couldn’t leave you, Digory. And after what you did for Cole … what it cost you … your husband … ”

  He shakes his head. “Husband in name only. Rafe was a friend and fellow resistance fighter. We married as part of our cover, should either of us ever get recruited. We knew what we were getting into, what the risks were … but Cole’s just an innocent child with his whole life ahead of him.”

  My heart thunders against my chest, and fresh tears stream down Digory’s face. His eyes
are opaque from the virus, almost every hint of blue gone. I can tell he can’t see me anymore, and I’m dying inside.

  He clutches my hand to his lips. “I couldn’t bear your heartbreak if you lost him. It was killing me more than this virus could.”

  “Shh. Don’t think about any of that. You’re gonna be fine … ” My voice chokes.

  His words are tumbling out now. “Back at school … all those times I ignored you, was never your friend … I couldn’t risk getting close to you because I was afraid one day you’d be my Incentive and I never wanted you to go through this hell.” He reaches up and caresses my cheek. “I love you, Lucky.”

  “I love you too.”

  And then we’re kissing each other, and it’s like I’ve never lived before. Warm fire feeds my entire body, growing until it’s a blaze of emotion that empowers me, gives me the strength that I need to do what I have to do.

  When we finally break free, I can barely breathe. But this time, I welcome the feeling more than anything in the world.

  Warning. The tunnel leading to the final Trial will seal in approximately one minute.

  Sirens blare.

  I look back down the passageway.

  I may already be too late to save Cole. But I have to go on.

  “Digory, I … ”

  “I know. Here … ” He pulls his ID tag from around his neck and tucks it in my palm. “Carry me with you.”

  We draw close and kiss again, a deep hunger that can never be satisfied. I finally force myself to pull away. It literally hurts my flesh, as if somehow our skin’s bonded together by the most powerful adhesive of all.

  “I’ll come back for you Digory. I promise. ”

  “Don’t worry about me.” He kisses my forehead. “Find Cole. Never give up.”

  I tear myself away and race down the passageway, sobbing, feeling like a knife’s ripping through my innards. Red warning lights twirl from the ceiling in a blurry wet haze, disorienting me, making me dizzy. Up ahead, the sliver of light coming through the opened door at the end narrows faster and faster …

  I slip through just as the door clangs shut.

  The elevator zooms upward at high speed, curling my stomach. Then it jolts to a stop and its doors swoosh open.

  I’m free of the Skein at last.

  I step out onto a small, rocky landing in the middle of the sea.

  The sky’s heavy with black clouds, like the shroud over my heart. The deep rumbling of thunder fills my ears. Before me, a dark ocean looms. White caps churn through its turbulent ripples-

  I gasp.

  Staring down at me, across those choppy waters, is the Lady. The Lady that sparked the stories I would tell Cole every night.

  The Lady of his dreams … and mine.

  She’s real and larger than life-at least one hundred feet tall.

  I hug myself. It’s too much. Emotional overload. Grief over Digory. Shock at this latest surprise. The sound of my own laughter startles me. It’s soft at first. But in moments, it’s roaring from my lips as freely as the tears cascading down my cheeks and into my open mouth, filling it with salty freshness.

  The Lady still brandishes her torch high, about one hundred and fifty feet into the sky. But there’s something different about her that shakes me out of my momentary insanity. No longer standing on a pedestal, she’s partially submerged in the waters that lap against the lower part of her gown. Her towering form lists to one side, as if standing has become a great burden. The spires of her crown are missing parts or are broken off. Her entire body’s riddled with welts and holes in the stone, like gaping wounds.

  My eyes track her gaze across the sea. There are no sparkling lights, no shimmering buildings for her to stand sentinel over. Only a thick mist that hovers over mounds of crumpled ruins.

  Despite her battered state, and everything she must have been through, the Lady still endures … standing strong, regal, and fearless, clutching her book, daring anyone to try and take it from her.

  Never give up.

  A tiny figure crawls out of the water and scales a stone fold of the Lady’s gown, disappearing inside one of the craggy openings.

  Ophelia.

  She may have gotten a head start. But she’s not as fast a swimmer as I am. I can narrow the gap.

  Attention!

  Slade’s voice cuts through the wail of the wind and echoes across the sea.

  Congratulations Recruit Spark. You have made it to your final Trial. Your task is simple. The first Recruit to find his or her respective Incentive in the ruin shall earn a place as a trainee in the Imposer Task Force. All previous restrictions, regarding the infliction of lethal force against your fellow Recruits, have been rescinded. You are free to use any means at your disposal to accomplish this task. Good luck.

  Even though the Lady’s torch is unlit, it’s a beacon that lights the way to my brother, at long last. A soothing calm comes over me. I can do this. Without Cassius’s interference, without cheating. I can do this.

  For Cole.

  For Digory.

  I dive into the cold water and swim toward whatever fate awaits me.

  thirty-nine

  I can’t feel my body.

  It’s as if I’m a spirit, gliding through the ice-cold waters. But not feeling anything is freeing. It allows me to concentrate on staying afloat, and freezes out every other thought except for my immediate goals.

  Reach the Lady. Rescue Cole.

  My arms hack their way through the water. In minutes, I’m bobbing on the surface and clinging to one of the giant stone shackles broken open at the Lady’s feet.

  Guess she doesn’t take too kindly to being anyone’s slave either.

  I spit out a mouthful of freezing water. My breath comes in short, quick bursts. I can barely feel the stone links as I grasp them and haul myself out of the sea, rolling onto my back.

  Goal One accomplished.

  But there’s no time to rest. Ophelia’s still in the lead in a trial where mere seconds will mean the difference between Cole’s life or death.

  Hauling myself to my feet, I grope the huge crumbling manacles, trying to find purchase so I can climb. A couple of times my feet dislodge weak rock and I almost topple back into the ocean. But I clutch the stone with an iron grip, wincing as it tears through the flesh of my palms.

  Just a foot or two above me looms one of the jagged holes in the stone I spotted when I exited the Skein. Trying to balance myself against a layer of the statue’s robes, I lift a trembling arm and hook it over the bottom edge, dragging myself upward until I’m scuttling through it.

  I find myself wedged in a narrow steel staircase that spirals upward like a twisted spine to dizzying heights. Handrails coil up this spine, resembling thin nerve fibers. Steel girders crisscross all around; some are torn and curled, trapping me inside a huge fractured rib cage. Everything seems held together by enormous bolts and rivets, like the ball-bearings and joints of a giant. Stale dust wafts through the dimness, clogging my nostrils with dank decay.

  I cup my hands around my mouth. “Cole, can you hear me? Where are you? It’s me, Lucky!”

  My only response is the clatter of booted heels echoing from the top of the stairs.

  Ophelia.

  Squirming out of the cramped space, I dash up the narrow, rickety stairs feeling more claustrophobic the higher I go. Below me, the hole I first crawled through is already half-submerged in the swirling waters created by the incoming storm.

  Don’t give up.

  I take a few slow, deep breaths and continue my climb.

  Creak!

  The staircase shudders. My fingers dig into the rails.

  No need to panic. These stairs have stood for hundreds of years and will probably be around for hundreds more.

  Pop! Pop! Pop!

  Several of the steel pins holding the staircase in place rip free with a terrible clang that ricochets like the sound of gunfire. The entire column of steps lists sharply. I’m thrown against the rail
s. My upper body sails over the edge and I dig my booted toes into the skeletal framework to prevent myself from toppling completely over.

  A nut and bolt the size of my head crash through the handrail, inches from my head.

  I glance at the obliterated railing, now a clump of twisted metal.

  That was no accident.

  “Stay away, Spark! ” Ophelia’s shrill cry reverberates through the Lady’s innards.

  Trying to hold my balance on the tilted stairs, I stretch my neck out and over the remaining part of the banister, centimeter by centimeter, and peer up.

  There she is, maybe seventy-five feet above me, awash in flashes of lightning that dissect her body into slivers of light and shadow.

  “There’s no way you can beat me,” she trills. “And I’ll hurt you if you try.”

  A blast of thunder rattles the staircase.

  Anger flares through me. “You mean like you tried to hurt me back at the lab by destroying Cole’s antivirus?”

  Ophelia slithers away from the railing and out of sight.

  My eyes dart from the railing to the stairs’ supports.

  Time to do a little destabilizing of my own.

  Gripping the stairs above me, I leap onto the railing. A deep groan reverberates through the murk, as if the Lady’s in pain. I rock back and forth as hard as I can, gaining speed and momentum. Years of exposure to the elements has rendered the structure unsound. Ophelia and I are probably the first people to put weight on these steps in ages.

  “Spark!” Ophelia shrieks from somewhere above. “What are you doing? You’ll kill us both! ”

  The entire staircase teeters for a moment-

  Crack!

  The whole structure lurches forward, collapsing into the dangling network of steel support girders.

  A dense haze of dislodged grit veils everything.

  The impact sends violent shudders through my body as I struggle to hold on. But these are minor compared to the spasms that rock the Lady to her very foundations. A cacophony of screeching metal, buckling walls, and exploding bolts fills the air.

  I lose my grip and dangle from the twisted metal railing by one hand. Below me, a fresh surge of seawater crashes through a new gash in the thin copper of the Lady’s skin, chilling my flesh with its icy spray.