by Ann Bakshis
“Leave her alone,” I scream, running towards her.
I’m tackled from behind by soldiers in red jackets. Caderyn picks Grainne up, tosses her over his shoulder, and walks out the gate, Grainne screaming and kicking for her freedom all the while.
CHAPTER 27
Braxton
I can’t sleep. Too many nightmarish thoughts roll around my head. I pull out the journal tucked in my satchel along with a small torch and spend the night combing through every page. Sirain doesn’t appear to be as large as we’ve all been led to believe. That could be why Vladim wants to start a war, gain more territory, and expand his power.
But why now? Why the sudden push to gain control of Sirain? He’s had years to do that. What’s making him escalate?
In studying the pages of the journal, I’m also looking for the nearest Borough we can escape to. Unfortunately, they’re all under Tyrean rule since we’re in their territory. We could try and make if for the Wasteland, but thanks to the airship destroying our carrier, it now looks to be a five-day hike just to the northern most edge. There really doesn’t appear to be any safe place for us to retreat to once we have the girls.
I toss the journal onto my satchel, turn off the torch, and close my eyes, willing for a solution to present itself.
Neo rouses me just after sunrise. He tells me four patrols consisting of six soldiers each came by the plant within an hour of each other. One went into the building, while the others patrolled the grounds. I take the goggles from him, go to where he had been sitting, and make myself comfortable.
An hour into my watch, a patrol enters the area. I look through the goggles, trying to memorize where they step. The grass in front of the building is well matted, but that directly next to the building and outside the distinct path hasn’t seen any boots for a while.
Possible traps there? More detonators?
Five soldiers spread out in a star pattern while one goes inside the structure. They watch their footing, Levin rifles raised in case they come in contact with someone. You can tell these men have had excellent training, from their perfect stances and tight formations. The sweep takes only ten minutes, then they retreat down the single path back to the Barracks.
It’s the same routine for the next four hours. Caitrin relieves me, and I get breakfast together for everyone. We discuss what we’ve seen and what our strategy could be for infiltrating. I’m adamant that it happens at night. No one disagrees.
“Where do we go once we get them?” Lehen asks, putting away our supplies.
“Anything around here would be loyal to Vladim, so we would need to get as far away from the area as possible,” Neo says.
“Yes, but without adequate transportation, that could take weeks,” Caitrin chimes in.
“I’ve got the transportation and a location,” Artemis begins. “We just need to get to a Borough so I can communicate with my men.”
“Your men?” I ask in disbelief. “Who would possible follow you?”
“It’s not just about having followers, Braxton. Wealth buys you a lot of things. Even safety. I have guards at my estate in Eretria who will come and get us. I just need to get word to them of our location.”
“I knew it!” I practically shout. “You did sell Sirain’s technology and weapons to Eretria. You’re the reason Vladim needs the Antaeans. To get past the armament surrounding the borders. You caused this war!”
Artemis sneers at me. “Don’t be so dramatic. Vladim has always wanted war with Eretria. He’s hated them since he was a child. His lies about the Hostem masked his real reasons for wanting a superior army.”
“Why?” Caitrin asks.
“His father was executed by the Eretrian government for crimes against society. They made Vladim watch as his father was shot to death by a firing squad. Afterwards, he and his mother were dropped off in the middle of Sirain. This country was still rebuilding itself. The cities had just been completed, but the High Rulers were in need of workers. His mother died a week after they were abandoned. He was collected by some of the Regulators just outside of Tyre. The High Ruler at the time, Maxis, heard his story and adopted him. Taught Vladim everything he knew about taking power and control. When Maxis died, Vladim became the High Ruler. He was only twenty.”
“So, Vladim isn’t even from Sirain,” Vier says.
We sit in silence, trying to absorb the information. I’m having a hard time believing the story, but why would Artemis lie? He knows we all hate the man, so he has nothing to gain by telling us about Vladim’s past.
Vier takes the next watch while the rest of us take another look at our supplies and weapons, getting them organized for our incursion. The sounds of shouts pulls us away from our task. We all turn towards the power plant. Neo takes the goggles from Vier, looks through them, and then passes them off to me.
A young man wearing some kind of uniform bursts out of the woods, running as fast as possible. Behind him, two soldiers emerge, wearing a different uniform. They stand at the edge of the woods, rifles drawn, but don’t fire. The teenager runs towards the cliff, perhaps hoping to jump to his freedom. He doesn’t get far. Within two feet from stepping off the path, he’s blown apart by Quantum mortars. The soldiers’ stand down and retreat, leaving the body scattered in pieces.
Just before the sun sets, Caitrin and I decide which weapons we want and slip them into Trea’s bag. I’ll be carrying the satchel, so I make sure it’s not too heavy. We decide to take one radar device, one Ammit, two Levin guns, all the detonators, and rope. The communication equipment Lehen grabbed consists of four earbuds with matching wristbands that displays the frequency being used, the time, and the direction.
I place the earbud in my ear and adjust the frequency on the band, trying to locate one not being used by the Barracks, any Regulators, or the army. It takes me almost five minutes before finding an unused one. I give a set to Caitrin, while Neo and Vier take the remaining two. We test them, and they work perfectly. Neo hands me one set of protective gear, but I pass it over to Caitrin.
“I don’t want to wear it.”
“Why not?” Neo asks. “This will protect you. You’re no good to anyone dead.”
“Fine,” I say, snatching the other set from his hands.
We both change, placing the gear under our clothes. The material is soft, but the outfit is cumbersome. I feel bulky and awkward. We eat dinner and discuss our extraction. If all goes well, we’ll meet up on the west side of the lake where it’s much shallower, because there is an actual coast along that edge. If not, then Neo is to take Vier and Lehen to Eretria for safekeeping.
Ten minutes before midnight, we make our way over to the rocky ledge. Caitrin secures one of the ropes around her waist. Lehen takes the other end and wraps it around the nearest tree. He gives her slack as she begins her climb down. I follow a minute later, satchel slung around my shoulders. Neo calls out the distance to the water below us, the goggles providing him with a digital readout of our position. The descent is slow as we can’t completely see where we’re placing our feet. It takes us over thirty minutes to reach the water’s surface.
The lake is cold. We both involuntarily gasp as we lower ourselves down. The good news is that the protective gear is surprisingly buoyant, making swimming a little easier. We cross to the boat landing in under ten minutes. I tell Neo where we are and that we’re about to make our climb.
“Hold off for the moment,” he says. “There’s a patrol coming by.”
We wait out of the water, shivering from the damp and the breeze coming off the lake.
“Something’s not right,” Neo squeaks in my ear. “The patrol isn’t leaving.”
“Are there six of them?”
“No, just two, but they’re standing outside the entrance to the building.”
I try to think of any alternatives, but nothing comes to mind.
“What do you want to do, Braxton?”
Caitrin points to the other platform, and motions climbing up.
>
I nod at her idea.
She gets back into the water, swims under the building, and over to the other side. We both begin climbing, but when we reach the top we stop a couple of rungs shy of breaching the edge. Carefully, I raise myself high enough to make a quick assessment of the soldiers’ positions.
They’re within firing range. Do we risk it, or hold off for another day?
“Braxton, there’s a surveillance camera affixed to the tree next to the path,” Vier says.
Shit.
“What’s the range on the conflagration launcher?” I whisper.
“Two hundred meters,” Neo answers, then sighs. “So much for a quiet entrance.”
The two of us hold our positions at the top of the ladders while Neo and Vier get as close as they can to the fence without contacting the detonators.
“We’re in position,” Neo says. “Launching in five.”
He counts down. When he gets to one, I crouch low on the rung and cover my head with my other arm. The blast is bright. The windows on the power plant shake only slightly. I pop my head up to see the two soldiers writhing on the ground, trying to put out the flames licking at their clothes. Caitrin is already next to one of the men in moments, shooting him. I’m planting my feet onto the ground when she shoots the other.
“We won’t have much time,” she says. “They’ll send more soldiers to see what the commotion is.”
We carefully walk the known path to the forest. Parts of the ground are burning as we walk past. I’m hoping that none of the debris sets off any mortars. Once away from the power plant, we race towards the Barracks. Caitrin is now leading the way since I’d tossed her the radar device. We hear shouting ahead of us, but not coming towards us. Yet.
A security gate swings open at the end of the path attached to a cinderblock wall topped with razor wire. Young men and women in uniform are busy trying to extinguish a three story building currently on fire. The top floor is already collapsing. Hose-lines are draped across the brick courtyard, attached to metal hydrants sticking out of the ground.
“Where is she?” I hear someone shout.
“She was heading over towards the detention facility.”
Caderyn, in singed and bloody clothes, charges away from the chaos, heading to a building in the far distance.
What’s happened here? Caderyn mentioned a ‘she’, could this have been done by Trea? Grainne? What have they done to either of them to unleash such chaos?
CHAPTER 28
Trea
“Let me go,” I shout, trying to wiggle myself out of their grasps.
Another soldier approaches me, weapon drawn, and smacks me in the head with it, knocking me out.
When I awake, I’m back in the critical ward, strapped down to my bed, the lights off, and the walls to my room black. I can’t tell what time of day it is or even what day it is. I can’t use my hands to infuse the Quantum Stream onto the metal of the bed since they’re at an awkward angle.
I need to get Grainne out of here. She’s in more danger than I am. But how?
How do I get to her? I don’t know where she is, what condition she’s in, or even if she’s still alive. If she’s with Dr. Hersher, he could be ripping her genetics apart trying to duplicate her ability.
Did the Sanar do this to her? Why would our mother inflict this on us?
My room begins to fill with gas and I pass out within seconds.
“What remarkable abilities you girls have,” I hear Vladim, as if from a distance. “Your mother gave me quite the gift with you two.”
“Where’s Grainne?” I mumble, opening my eyes.
Vladim is standing at the end of the bed, smiling. “She’s doing fine. In fact, she’s handling Dr. Hersher’s tests better than you did.”
“You’re going to kill her.”
“Why would I do that? She’s the best Antaean thus far, even without the Quantum Stream. Just think of what my new Antaeans will be like when we replicate Grainne’s power.”
“No,” I scream at him, thrashing my body. “Leave her alone.”
“You know I can’t do that,” he says, walking up towards me. “In a few days, you both will be moved to the new Dormitories, where my next generation Antaeans await to be born. Only this time, there isn’t anyone to stop me.”
“I’ll stop you,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Not likely,” he says to me, squeezing my arm.
He leaves, so I lie in the dark room, with the walls black and the lights off. Part of me wants to cry, but I’m so angry I can’t. I don’t know who I hate more.
Vladim…my mother Eunice…or myself.
I did this to Grainne. I’ve turned her into someone’s experiment. This is my fault. I’m always causing harm when I’m trying to be helpful. Everything that has transpired has been because of me. Magda should’ve left me to burn in the Dormitories with the others.
It seems like hours tick by, but I can’t be certain. It could only be minutes. I can’t take this imprisonment. I need to get to Grainne and get her away from here. An alarm begins to sound, which disengages the blackout of my walls. Soldiers fill the room, spilling into the hallway.
“Lieutenants, please perform a roll call for your sectors,” screeches through the air. “We have a possible breach. Please secure your sectors.”
“He’s heading over towards the power plant,” someone says.
My monitor is on, showing a security feed from just outside the glass building by the ravine. I glance around the entire area and see that all screens are showing the same footage. Two soldiers, with their weapons drawn, stand at the edge of the forest as a young man in a tattered Praetorian uniform stumbles around, heading for the edge. He steps two feet to his left and is blown up by hidden mortars. The soldiers retreat, leaving the body where it lands.
“Threat neutralized,” a male voice says before the displays shut-off.
The nurse reinitiates the blackout of my walls. My head begins to pound from being stationary. More hours tick by without anyone checking on me. I begin to doze off, but then my windows clear. Two of Dr. Hersher’s assistants stand opposite my door. The nurse on duty allows them access to my room.
“We need to run additional tests on you, Trea, but we have to do it here.”
“Why can’t you take me over to the research floor?”
“It’s too crowded with the additional staff that have been brought in to assess Grainne.”
The door closes behind them. The woman by my head fiddles with a tray of instruments she brought in, while the other prepares an injection.
“What’s that?” I ask, concerned about the gray-colored liquid sloshing in the tube.
“It’s a contrasting agent we need to insert directly into your stream. It’ll allow us to see the additional Quantum mapping that has occurred.” She nods to her counterpart who holds a tablet with a scanner attached.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I say.
“It’s not going to hurt,” the one by my head responds.
“That’s not what I’m talking about.”
I know what’s about to happen, as it’s happened before. But I’ve given them their warning. It’s not going to be my fault these fools are about to die. Let them try to stick that needle in me. The Quantum Stream will defend me.
The other woman approaches. I try and scoot away, but I’m too well secured. The injector is placed over the line in my left arm and the fluid introduced into my system. It takes only mere seconds for my body to react.
The stream ignites and I burn through the straps, igniting the sheets. But I don’t feel any pain. My defenses are protecting me. The women scream for the nurse to extinguish the flames, but she has her back to us, and can’t hear them through the thick glass and closed door. I get up from the bed and stand at the far end of the room. Smoke quickly fills the small space. The nurse finally turns around, notices the fire, and hits an alarm on her console.
Red lights flash as water spr
ays down from spigots in the ceiling. The assistants lay unconscious. Caderyn is the first to enter the ward. He’s yelling at the nurse, but I can’t tell what he’s saying. He grabs her, tackling her to the ground behind the station as gas begins to fill my room.
This gas is different than the sleeping gas. What is this stuff? Are they’re trying to kill me?
My protective shield is still up when the gas makes contact with it.
The room explodes.
The walls of my cell rupture outward. Shards of glass penetrate the other walls, breaking the windows, and setting small fires on the bedding in the other rooms.
I bolt out, running into soldiers as they climb the stairs. The ceiling above our heads ignites. The explosion must have pushed the fire into the line for the gas the nurse was trying to use on me. The men retreat back down. I follow them, jumping over steps to get out as quickly as possible. I reach the courtyard just as the rest of the building is being evacuated. Soldiers from the building next door are pulling open hidden panels in the bricks, retrieving hose, and attaching them to hydrants that have just popped up from the ground.
No one pays much attention to me as I run towards the detention facility. The ground I’m on is not well lit in the dark, so I stumble a few times. The smell of burning plastic and wood fill the air as the stars disappear in the smoke.
The entrance to the building is locked. The alarm must have triggered here as well. I place my palms on the glass, apply pressure, and shatter the door. I step through and walk over to the lift, which isn’t working. I force open the door, enter, and look for a way to get to the next floor. There’s an access panel in the ceiling. I have to jump several times to knock it out of place. I climb up onto the thin metal rail that lines the walls, grab the light fixture for balance, and hoist myself up through the opening.
The shaft is filled with red light. A maintenance ladder leads skyward. I pull myself up as quickly as possible. Once I reach the next floor, I attempt to push open the door. It finally budges after several minutes’ effort. I barely get it open wide enough, but manage to crawl through. The hallway is empty, but I hear panicked voices reverberate from the other side of the door. I try the knob at first, but it’s locked.