The Girl Who Dared to Stand

by Bella Forrest

  I stopped and took a moment to compose myself. My tone had become sharp and frustrated, and it wasn’t what I wanted to sound like, especially since I had caused all of this with the mission I had created. The other stuff was important, and I would be making sure it got done, but this was every bit as important. “Look… just… help me or don’t. I’m going.”

  “Well, there’s already one entrance over there,” Quess announced, a grin coming to his face as he pointed a thumb at the hole Grey had created earlier by removing the section of wall.

  “It’s actually a service tunnel. It leads to the Menagerie directly above, but luckily for us, it opens up under a pigpen full of a bunch of mud and… other stuff, so it doesn’t get a lot of use. Part of the reason we chose this place.”

  “That explains the smell,” Zoe commented from where she and Eric were now tying ropes around the rust hawks to haul them through the vents, and I sniffed at the air. My nasal passages were still a little clogged from all the dust in the office, but I immediately detected what she was talking about—the air did stink slightly of feces.

  “If we brought any oranges, I can make candles,” Tian offered, her voice still thick with tears. “Ca—” She stopped and fidgeted, her fingers fluttering up to wipe away tears while she caught her breath. She tried again. “Cali taught me, and it makes the smell better.”

  “Thank you, Tian,” I said encouragingly, offering her a smile. “But first is the paint, okay?”

  “Okay.” She gave me a tremulous smile in return before turning back to the wall to resume painting. I watched her for a moment, glad to see at least some semblance of a smile, and then turned back to Quess and Grey.

  “So, are you two going to come with me?” I asked, trying to keep the nervousness out of my voice. I really didn’t want to drop the Scipio bomb right then and there. Everyone else might panic, and that would be… detrimental.

  “Yes,” Quess said, giving Grey a look. “I’m going to go grab my pad, though, so I can map the area.” He darted off to where they had tossed the bags we had brought with us from Sanctum during the rust hawk attack.

  I turned to Grey, and before I knew what was happening, his arms were around me and he was holding me closely, one hand pressed to the back of my head. “Are you okay?” he asked me, and I blinked, taking a moment to self-assess.

  I was, but that was only because I was trying to focus on what I could handle right then and there. To stop would be to invite the bad thoughts in. And they would be there as soon as I ran out of things to do.

  Luckily, though, there was a lot to do, so I had a while before I was left alone with the memories of what I had seen.

  “I’m not,” I admitted, knowing that it was true. “But I’m doing everything I can to try to make up for what I did. And that helps.”

  Grey pulled away, but his hands remained on my shoulders, holding me in place while he withdrew, until he was far enough away to look me in the eyes. I met his warm brown eyes, my stomach twisting and turning nervously.

  “You didn’t do anything wrong,” he said gently.

  “Yes, I did,” I said automatically. He opened his mouth to object, but I shook my head, cutting him off before he could even begin, my words pouring out before I could stop them. “Maybe I didn’t know about the trace element or whatever Devon put on his lash ends, but I knew that going after Zoe carried risks, and I did it anyway. I thought I was clever enough to keep anything from happening, and my arrogance cost Maddox, Quess, and Tian a member of their family. And you a member of your family. I have to own up to that… and I have to do everything I can to keep everyone safe.”

  Grey stared at me, and then smiled. “You’re family, too.”

  I made a face at him, and he cringed. “I didn’t mean it like that… It’s just... Roark and Cali both liked you—they thought highly of you! And we care about you… I care about you. It’s not your fault what happened with Roark, and I’m not blaming you at all. Devon Alexander chose to kill him. He could’ve tried to arrest us or anything else, but he greeted us with violence, and that makes this his fault. So… go easy on yourself, okay?”

  I nodded, unable to formulate a positive response that wouldn’t scream “I have no intention of doing that” to his face, and looked over at Quess. He was standing, his pad cradled between his hands, and I took that as our cue to leave.

  Sliding into the vent, I began to retrace my path back, moving more quickly now that I was unencumbered by the bag I had been pushing before. It took a little bit of getting used to, but I was now comfortable with how I had to move in the vent.

  I slid back around the corner and down the shaft, taking a moment to recall how many junctions I had passed on my way up earlier. It came back to me quickly, and I moved down to the third one and took a right, following it.

  I heard Grey and Quess grunt as the tunnel tightened slightly, and slowed so they could keep up.

  “We’re almost there, guys,” I called. I rounded the final turn and was rewarded with a clear view of the office through the still-open panel. As I dragged myself forward, my arms and legs beginning to ache with the unfamiliar, repetitive movement, I saw beams of light coming together to start to form the ghostly outline of Scipio. I wasn’t surprised—we weren’t exactly stealthy, with all the rattling the walls were making as we moved.

  I pushed out, and the outline—now starting to fill in—took a few steps back to avoid making contact with me. “You came back,” he said, sounding both delighted and relieved.

  I was surprised. I hadn’t told him that I wasn’t coming back, so his reaction was a bit confusing.

  Until I remembered that he’d been alone for almost three hundred years.

  “Liana! Who’s that?!” Grey shouted, and I turned to see him pulling himself out of the vent. I stepped to one side to give him room, and had a chance to see his eyes grow wide as he took in Scipio.

  “Oh, you’ve brought your—”

  Whatever he was about to say was interrupted by Grey’s body flying through Scipio’s now solid-looking form … and right into the shelf behind him.

  “Grey!” I cried, as a few books and a painting dislodged from the wall at the force of the hit. I rushed over to him, moving around Scipio, only to find him climbing back to his feet, his hand on his shoulder. I knew I should’ve given them some sort of warning in the vents, but the more I’d thought about how to present it, the more and more insane it had sounded in my head. “Are you okay?”

  He didn’t say anything as he stared at the glowing figure. “What…”

  Scipio made an act of brushing off his lapels, his blue eyes filled with disdain. “I was going to say that you’ve brought your friends, but I have to say, if that one is your friend, then I have some deep concerns about who you are as an individual.”

  “You’re a hologram,” Quess said, and I stepped around Scipio’s glowing form to see him standing in front of the vent, his eyes wide and moving up and down the image. “But you’re… unrefined. Older. Liana, what is this?”

  I nodded, my heartbeat increasing. Quess had said “older,” confirming some of what this version of Scipio had said. I remembered what Scipio had said about not being in contact with the Core, and Quess was the only person I knew who had any experience with the Core. If there was a way, he could find it, I was certain.

  “Yes. He says that he is Scipio, but when I—”

  “Did you just say ‘Scipio?’” Quess asked, alarm radiating out of his voice.

  “Scipio’s here?” Grey said in alarm, taking a step back and hitting the shelf behind him. “He’ll call the Knights and tell them where we are!”

  “We have to shut it off,” Quess added, cutting off whatever response I was trying to form. “Where is your terminal?”

  “No, wait, you can’t shut me off!” Scipio said, his eyes widening in alarm.

  I turned to the others. “I really don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said urgently. “He was really worried about this bef
ore—he sounded really scared.”

  “He’s programmed for self-preservation,” Quess said, already beginning his search. “He can lie!”

  “I’m not lying about this,” Scipio cut in, disappearing from my side and reappearing next to Quess’s. Quess jumped sideways, scattering a few objects on the desk to the ground, and gave him a glare promising death.

  Scipio ignored it. “I will die if you turn the terminal off. My programming will be eradicated.”

  “It will?” I asked, alarmed, and he nodded.

  “To the Wastes with that!” Quess exclaimed, giving me an incredulous look. “He’s a program! He won’t die if we shut him off! Liana, he’s a liar, and he’s dangerous!”

  “No, I’m not any of those things,” Scipio insisted, raising his hands peacefully. “I’ve never hurt anyone, not once. It’s against my programming. Please, Liana, don’t let them shut me off.”

  He looked at me, his eyes pleading, and I could feel his fear. “Quess, I don’t think you should do that,” I said, turning back to the man. I heard books start to hit the floor behind me, and realized Grey had joined the search for the terminal. “Please, I think he’s different than the Scipio that’s in the Core.”

  Quess paused and looked up at me. “Liana, I was in IT. There is only one Scipio in the whole Tower.”

  “No,” I said insistently. “He said he’s the first version—the one the Scipio in the Core is based on.”

  The look Quess gave me was so full of exasperation that I felt the urge to smack him before he began explaining to me exactly how wrong I was.

  “I cannot believe we are having this discussion! You defied the Tower in more ways than I can count, first by springing your boyfriend, and then your best friend and her boyfriend. You took prisoners from them who were marked for death, and you pretty much broke every rule and law in the Tower. Plus, you know things that people have died over. You’re Scipio’s enemy number one, lady, the villain of the day, and he will do anything to keep you right where he wants you so that he can kill you!”

  I clenched my fists to bite back a frustrated growl. “You don’t understand. This Scipio is different—”

  “Quess said it, and now I’m saying it,” Grey thundered angrily. “I’m not sure why you’re being so stubborn about this, but he needs to be turned off. Now.” More books hit the floor, punctuating his angry statement, and I bit back another snappish report. I needed to remain level-headed if I was going to gain control and get them to stop long enough to listen.

  “Liana, tell your friends to stop, or I will be forced to defend myself.”

  Scipio’s announcement ended with the sudden buzz of an electrical charge, and I saw threads of white power beginning to form on the floor, dancing only a few paces away from us. As one, we turned to face the glowing man, who was staring at us with deadly promise in his eyes.

  4

  “You’re bluffing,” Quess said quietly, eyeing Scipio’s glowing figure. “The floor is non-conductive. It’s covered in fabric, for God’s sake.”

  “I assure you, I am not bluffing.” Scipio met Quess’s gaze head on, his entire posture poised in challenge. “The fabric—which is called a carpet—was woven with metal filaments. Lionel wanted to make sure I could defend myself. If I activate it, I will release five thousand volts of electricity into the floor, and knock you out almost instantly. If I keep it on for too long, your heart will give out and you will die. While I am in sore need of company, I’ll not have that company murdering me.”

  There was a long pause, during which the two of them stared at each other, each daring the other to make some sort of move. I held my breath as I watched. I considered jumping in, but I had faith that Quess and Grey would start to notice the same things I had. They were both smart, both compassionate. They just had to listen. Well, had to choose to, anyway.

  “You’re being ridiculous!” Quess practically shouted. “Shutting you off won’t kill you! You’ll just be… off. You’ll come back the instant anyone turns you back on.”

  “No, I won’t. And don’t accuse me of being ridiculous just because you don’t know all the variables of the equation.”

  “What are the variables?” I interjected, forestalling whatever retort Quess was in the process of forming. I wanted to know why Scipio was so adamant about not having his power shut off, and why he thought it would kill him. But more than that, I wanted to give Quess and Grey time to see what I saw, if only so they could help me figure out what was going on here. I was certain this Scipio was different for one reason over all the others: he had given Quess the opportunity to stop before electrocuting him. The Scipio in the Core would never do that.

  Scipio finally broke his eye contact with Quess, moving his gaze to mine. “It’s easier if I just show you. But you have to promise not to shut off my main terminal.”

  “Show us?”

  He nodded, and the beams of light being emitted by the walls made his hair bounce with the movement. The level of detail in his appearance was really impressive; it was difficult to see him as a computer system half the time. I wasn’t sure how Lionel had managed to capture all of the small shifts and subtle nuances of his mannerisms that made him seem so lifelike and real. Had he programed each little detail in, or had Scipio learned them, in order to appear more human? Why had they even cared enough to give him a human exterior, anyway? It wasn’t exactly his job to be relatable to the rest of us.

  “I have video files I can play on a projector. It will… It can explain things better than I can.”

  I nodded, and then looked over at Quess. “I don’t think he means us any harm,” I said quietly. “I found him almost thirty minutes ago, and there still hasn’t been any sign of the Knights. I mean, he didn’t even know what they were. He thought I was talking about real knights. From over a thousand years ago!”

  Grey and Quess exchanged dubious looks, and I could feel their doubts starting to creep in. Still, that didn’t mean they were going to break that easily.

  “Okay,” I said, an idea coming to me. “I really want to see this video and find out whether it gives us any insight into what we’re dealing with. However, I do understand your concerns. So… what can I do that will make both of you more comfortable with that?”

  Quess considered it, then sighed, sitting down on the desk and pinching the bridge of his nose. “I’d still need to see the terminal,” he muttered. He held up his hands, forestalling Scipio’s response, and added, “I need to make sure you are in no way connected to the Core mainframe, all right? My family is in the next room, and we are all in serious danger right now. So if you’re not who—what—you claim to be, then I will shut you down.”

  Scipio’s glowing blue orbs blinked, his face instantly curious. “Why are they in danger? Has catastrophe befallen the Tower?” I stared at him, fascinated by his response. He’d completely ignored the threatening part of Quess’s statement and focused on the part where other people were in danger. He was more concerned with the welfare of others than himself. I looked over at Grey, and was pleased to see the suspicion and distrust in his expression fading, replaced by a hard and considering look. He’d picked up on that, too. He was noticing the same things I was.

  “Not… exactly.” Grey stepped forward and gave Scipio a look. “Listen, just let Quess look at your terminal to check that you are who you say you are, and then we’ll talk.”

  “If you don’t do it,” I said softly, meeting Scipio’s gaze, “I’ll assume you are with the evil Scipio and we’ll just leave you here, all alone, and seal up the vent behind us.”

  Scipio’s eyes widened, and he took a step back, his expression fluttering from alarm to anger to frustration to fear. I immediately felt bad for threatening him, but Grey and Quess were both right. I wanted to get to the bottom of this, because I knew there was something more here, but not at the expense of anyone else I cared about. Yet, if he was what he said he was, then there had to be a way to use that. Maybe…

 
I paused as something emerged from the depths of my mind—both sinister and dark with the promise of danger and death, but with a kernel of hope buried at the heart of it.

  What if we could get him into the Core?

  If we could replace the real Scipio with this more empathetic one… maybe we could get our lives back. He seemed much more understanding, and if we could somehow do it in secret, then no one would ever know! Who knew—maybe he could start fixing all the problems with the Tower!

  Scipio looked around the room, his eyes beseeching, begging us not to shut him down, or to leave him alone again, and finding no sympathy from any of us. Eventually he caved, his shoulders rounding as a click sounded at the wall by the welded-shut door. I moved around the desk to investigate, following Quess. He walked over to the door, looking at the walls on either side and running a hand along them. A moment later, he managed to get his fingers under a panel that appeared to be protruding slightly, and tugged. There was a heavy creak as it pulled out and down, revealing a screen with a built-in keyboard.

  Quess’s fingers immediately took up position and began to fly, and I looked over at Scipio to see him watching Quess, his arms wrapped around his stomach. “Don’t hurt him,” I told Quess softly. Grey stood to one side, studying the hologram, his eyes feasting on the lines and designs there.

  I was relieved—I knew that with enough time with Scipio, they’d come around. They’d see what I saw.

  “Quess?” I asked, taking a step closer. “What do you see?” I peered over his shoulder and saw several colorful lined circles on the screen—not smooth and perfectly round, but with distorted edges, sections pulled in or out.