“Then what is it?”
“Unknown,” the car repeated.
Nathan pursed his lips, attempting to be confident in the AI’s suggestion that nothing was wrong. He fumbled around on the seat for his cellphone and found it again. He lifted the transparent glass-like device and began swiping through it. As he switched from one application to another, Nathan’s gaze drifted up to the rearview mirror, which was provided in these vehicles solely for the passenger’s comfort. In it, he saw a blaze of electric-like red light fill the air, covering the street behind him from one side to the other. Nathan’s eyes shot open wide. The shockwave reached them quickly, a haze of crimson light and thin matter spreading outward at extreme velocity. It impacted the back of the taxi, washed over it, and was gone. The cab was lifted off its back wheels, rose two feet into the air, and then fell back down to the ground with a crash.
Nathan was lifted off his seat, a movement that caused him to hit his head against the ceiling. Immediately, pain throbbed there, and he reached for it, but his senses had become too alert. He kept his eyes firmly focused on the road ahead. Nathan watched as the impact from the shockwave hit the other traffic; he noticed that it had a similar effect on the other vehicles. Some cars slammed forward into each other, while others were lifted upward like his. In the distance, as the edge of the shockwave hit the road perpendicular to the one he was on, Nathan saw glass explode in the windows of the buildings lining that street. Shards fall to the ground below. For a moment, he was frozen and watched as the shimmering fragments rained onto the pavement. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
Nathan glanced over his shoulder just in time to see the diminishing red light of the blast. “What on earth was that?” he asked, his voice dripping with apprehension. He could now hear his own rapid heartbeat as it pounded in his chest.
“I am uncertain,” the AI responded. The voice was clear, but the car was no longer moving.
Nathan reached for the door lock and pulled on it, but nothing happened; the door would not open. A red light came from a small panel at the front of the ceiling.
“I have updated information. There was an of explosion of unknown origin in the vicinity of Union Square,” said the cab’s AI.
Nathan heard screaming outside the car. As he once again glanced in the rearview mirror, he saw hordes of people running from the direction of the blast. They moved around his car like a river. Then, the only thing that really mattered entered his thoughts: his daughter. Another explosion came from behind them, this one producing a rising ball of bright yellow flame that lit up the street. The taxi’s interior bloomed with an eerie glow as Nathan’s eyes dashed from one side of the vehicle to the other. Another shockwave washed over them. This one wasn’t strong enough to move the taxi more than a few inches, but dozens of people, who had been running together in a large group, were knocked off their feet as they raced in front of the car.
Nathan forced himself to take slow, deep breaths as he leaned forward and watched the people clamber to their feet, mostly unharmed. However, one woman had sustained a serious injury to her leg, and a person whom Nathan assumed to be her boyfriend or husband was lifting her and carrying her off the street toward the right, out of the reach of additional explosions that might come from behind them.
In unison then, all the cars moved, his included. The vehicle jerked forward, its tires screeching on the ground. Nathan felt his belt tighten as he was pulled back against the seat.
“What’s happening?”
“A state of emergency has been declared in the city of San Francisco. All vehicles have been directed to evacuate immediately. I am proceeding with that mandate now.”
“After I collect my daughter, though, right?”
The car’s AI system did not respond as it weaved in and out of several vehicles which had sustained heavier damage from the shockwave.
“Excuse me. I gave you an address on Bush Street. Don’t go anywhere until I—”
The car swerved violently to avoid a horde of other vehicles that were entering from the street on his left. The car’s AI system ignored his incomplete inquiry. He had started from five blocks down on Geary Boulevard, and he assumed the vehicle would turn north and head toward Bush Street. Now they had passed any obvious turn in that direction and were heading straight for the 101. Nathan’s mouth gaped open as the realization dawned on him. He remembered what the car’s AI system had told him. They were leaving the city. The street they were about to enter was the most direct route to the bridge. As they veered onto it slowly, Nathan leaned over to the window on the left side and pressed both hands against it. Looking out, he saw that the entire highway was rapidly filling with cars—hundreds of vehicles.
“Excuse me!” he yelled as he turned back to face the front of the vehicle. “I gave you an address on Bush Street.” However, as the car turned fully and entered the heavy flow of traffic on the 101, Nathan’s attention was drawn away from his own vehicle. The highway was also brimming with people, running away from Union Square and heading north. He squinted as he watched them. It felt as though he was watching a flock running away from a dangerous predator. In desperation, he squirmed and grasped the harness, trying to pry himself loose, but it was practically immovable, and he gave up after just a few seconds. Facing the front of the vehicle again, he gritted his teeth and addressed the AI once more. “You’re not to go any further until I stop to collect my daughter.”
No response.
“I’m not leaving her—”
The car swerved again to avoid another conflux of vehicles that had entered from one of the streets in front of them. The car’s motion threw Nathan sideways, and he smacked his head against the right window. He winced and placed a hand on the spot, feeling a new ache begin to creep down his jawline, radiating from his temple. He blinked a few times, dazed, but despite the pain, he knew he hadn’t hit hard, and the injury was not severe. “Are you aware that you just injured me?”
“My apologies, that was not my intent. You will receive compensation from the government for your injuries.”
“And what about my daughter?”
“This vehicle has been instructed to remove itself from the city. All other commands have been rescinded.”
Nathan groaned and reached for his cellphone, refusing to accept this simplistic AI’s response. No way was he going to be dragged from his daughter by an artificial intelligence system that he and his team had a hand in designing. He placed a call through to his brother Frank and waited for him to answer. “Come on!” Nathan said as the phone rang out. After a few more rings, Frank finally answered. Nathan immediately swiped the image upward. The phone projected a live holographic feed of the call into the air directly in front of him.
“What took you so long?”
“I’m sleeping, Nate. What do you want?”
Nathan shook his head in bewilderment. “So, you have no idea what’s going on in the city then, do you?”
Frank paused. “Uh, no. Should I?”
Nathan could hardly believe what he was hearing. For a second, he struggled to find a response. “Frank, explosions have rocked Union Square, and it wasn’t ordinary smoke and fire.” Nathan paused as he glanced out the window at the scores of running people. “They were electrical in nature. Now some kind of automated program has kicked in, and the taxi I’m in is taking me out of the city. I can’t get control of it.”
Frank sat up, his eyes opening wide. He wiped them hard. “What? Have you tried asking it?”
Nathan glared at him.
“Right, stupid question.” Frank jumped out of bed and adjusted his cellphone so that it displayed another angle in his apartment. He increased the zoom factor. In the space now displayed, a bank of advanced computers was set up, with several monitors angled next to each other on a large desk. “Give me a second,” Frank said, the weariness already disappearing from his voice as the new adrenaline of the situation kicked in and woke him up
.
“Uh, Frank, you have to hurry. I’m pretty sure this cab is headed for the bridge, and I have to stop it before it does; there’ll be too much traffic there to turn around.” Nathan paused, frowning when his brother didn’t respond. “Carly is on Bush Street!” he yelled.
Frank finally turned to the camera.
“She’s at a yoga class, and I’m supposed to be collecting her.”
Frank took another look at the monitors, one of which was showing a news feed with an overhead view of the swarms of traffic vacating the city from various directions. “Holy—” Frank said. He looked back at his brother. “This thing’s for real!”
“Yes! It’s for real. Now can you get me control of this car or not?”
“Even if I can,” Frank said as he took his seat, “how are you going to move back into the city with all traffic headed in the opposite direction?” He began typing on his virtual keyboard. One of the displays directly in front of him began showing a series of command codes lit up in green.
“I’m not sure. I’ll find a way.”
“Whoa.”
“What is it?” Nathan asked.
“Something funny is going on with the software. I’m looking at a redundancy measure written into the code.”
“Did we put it there?”
“Of course not. It was implanted after we sold the software.”
“Can you switch it off?” Nathan watched in agony, feeling as though he was going to vomit, as Frank punched a series of commands into his console.
“I think I might be able to.”
“You know I would never ask you to do something like this if it wasn’t for Carly.”
“It’s fine, bro, no worries.”
Nathan breathed a sigh of relief, though his panic abated for only a moment. When he looked through the window again, he saw that the traffic had become more coordinated. It was thinning out.
“What’s the vehicle’s registration number?”
Nathan glanced at the dashboard, where all the information was displayed on a plate. “Automated service vehicle registration four zero one five,” he read.
“OK. Hold on, it’ll take a few moments.”
Another explosion rocked the ground beneath Nathan’s taxi, though this time, he was far enough away from the epicenter that the car remained largely unaffected, save for the vibrations that came up through the chassis. Nathan glanced behind him for the source, but all he saw was a diminishing glare of light from one of the adjoining streets. Streams of vehicles were heading in the same direction he was, each of their passengers looking equally stressed. Nathan turned around and saw the tip of the bridge come into view.
“Frank, you’ve got to hurry. I have to get control of this cab before it reaches the bridge. I can see it right now. Once I cross that, I’ll never be able to get back; I’ll be gridlocked.”
“Sorry, Nate, but this kind of thing takes some time. I’m hacking a government-run system.”
Nathan took a deep breath and held onto the door handle on his right. Glancing forward, he saw the bridge come further into view. He returned his attention to the holographic display of his brother, who was quickly punching lines of code into the computer terminal in front of him. All Nathan’s hopes of getting back to his daughter rested with Frank, and there was no way Nathan was leaving her behind.
***
Carly walked out of the yoga studio and stood on the street outside. The air held a chill, and she wrapped her arms around herself, having brought only a light casual sweater. Over her shoulder she had slung the wrapper containing her yoga mat.
The ground trembled gently beneath Carly’s feet and she looked down. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary, so she ignored it and returned her attention to the street. On instinct, she glanced to her right, knowing something was about to happen. This feeling had come to her once before; she had known something was about to happen before it occurred. This time, though, the warning she received came only a few seconds before the event, as an immense flash of light poured into the street from the right, several intersections over. She gaped. When the light dimmed, she saw people running from that direction. Carly took several steps backward and glanced around, unsure of what to do. Another shockwave followed within seconds. The buildings around her trembled and the ground shook more violently.
Automatically, Carly took a few steps closer to the nearest wall and placed her hand against it. Above her, on the opposite side of the street, a window pane shattered, sending large pieces of glass to the ground.
Carly was about to return her attention to the street ahead, where she had seen the flash of light and, presumably, the source of the explosion, when she sensed something above her. She glanced up and saw probably the strangest thing she had seen in her entire life: a man flying down the street, more than a hundred feet off the ground. Despite the chaos erupting around her, Carly couldn’t help but follow him with her gaze. She remained still, watching in awe. She followed his path as he quickly drifted toward the source of the explosion. Squinting, she tried to make out his features. The most obvious thing about him was the beautiful black cloak that fluttered around him. Indeed, she could hear the sound of it as he flew, and she guessed, just by looking at it, that it was made of some exquisite material. Something told her she would never be able to find such a material, even if she were to search for it her entire life. Carly tried to make out his facial features, but before she got the chance he had moved out of sight. Of one thing she was certain: he was beautiful.
His name came to her before she had a chance to think about it. It radiated from within her like an ancient echo, something that had always been inside her and was waiting to be released. His name was Max.
Carly stepped between the parked cars just in time to see him drift to the right and turn down the street from where the flash had come. She knew which one it was, Powell, and she knew it led straight to Union Square. She shook her head in wonderment, but this emotion lasted only seconds as another explosion, this one much more violent, rocked the street down which he had flown. In the distance, she heard people screaming, and without a further thought, she turned and scrambled back into the studio, slamming her way through the double doors.
CHAPTER 11
SNAKES
Daniel tried to fight the entity’s hold over him, but control of his body switched intermittently between him and the being that was seeking control of his powerful mind and faculties. At this point, he had learned the being’s name: Zatera Stri. Although Daniel knew little else at that point, he knew the name was ancient in origin. In the moments during which he had maintained control of his body, he glimpsed the being’s thoughts, and a tremendous fear had caught hold of him, causing his chest to tighten and his eyes to well with tears. The things this entity had both caused and borne witness to frightened Daniel beyond words.
The struggle between the two minds was causing his power to leak into the city around him, and during those times when he had control over his body, Daniel was devastated at what had happened. Buildings around him were on fire, cars had been tossed aside like toys, and people had fled the scene like frightened cattle. The clash of both their wills had created a crimson glow of residual power that surrounded his body. At times, this red cloud of plasma-like energy reached a peak of intensity, and a large spark shot out from him. At one point, one of these aberrant arcs of light had struck out and impacted a tree, cleaving it in two at its center and causing it to burst into flames.
In one of these brief moments during which Daniel had control, he glanced down at his hands and saw them glow with this luminescence. He waved a palm in front of his face and watched as it left a wave of red-colored energy in its wake.
Then, he felt the Zatera’s will rushing upon him like the coming of a huge swell of water and his own essence was knocked from his body. In these instances, Daniel found himself thrown into that same unworldly place, colored with strange clouds tinted orange and bl
ue. He knew, without scanning the area or wondering (for, indeed, he was afraid to do so), that Zatera was trying to seal his mind in this other dimension. During the several struggles that had already ensued, a film of energy had grown around him in that strange place, and Daniel knew it was a prison. Zatera was attempting to seal him there so that he—or it—could retain control of his body and his powerful psychic abilities. Daniel was determined to not let that happen.
Now, as he glanced around with sight that covered the entire 360-degree spectrum, Daniel saw enormous clouds of orange, blue, and purple, as well as what looked like stars in the distance. As he focused, he saw that these were just points of light, and he understood that they represented something else; indeed, they were not stars—just otherworldly destinations, perhaps even other dimensions. He doubted his mind’s ability to fully comprehend what he was seeing.
Glancing back up from that place, he saw that the opening through which he had been thrown was closing. It appeared above him as a large window through which he saw the road ahead through his own eyes. It was just a short distance away now. Rage welled up inside him. Daniel thought of his father, struggling to keep their broken lives together, and of the damage Zatera had wreaked—had caused Daniel to wreak—upon his house. With the new surge of energy that the anger afforded him, Daniel rushed toward the opening and reached it before it closed.
As he passed through it, he took a sharp breath, realizing he was once again in control of his body. Immediately, he felt Zatera fighting him again, reaching out from and calling to him. Once more, this powerful being was trying to gain control of his mind, and Daniel found it almost impossible to resist the call of Zatera’s extremely powerful psychic voice. It was the most powerful lure to which he had ever been exposed, and for the briefest of dark, sad moments, Daniel realized he would succumb to it eventually.
For the moment, though, he was in control, and he had a chance to do some damage control. Can I get out of the city? he wondered desperately. What’s the fastest way?
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