by Strauss, Lee
I looked at Anthony. “Fill him in, will you? And contact me as soon as you know what the hell’s in my neck.”
I slapped Jabez on the back. “You’re in charge while I’m gone. We’re on high alert.”
I tapped my ComRing for Zoe and frowned. She wasn’t answering. My chest burned with fear. I prayed she was all right and at the church waiting. And that she’d stay put. I wished I was already there and not just leaving. I had to make one detour first to explain things to Jonathon.
“The humanoids have gone wild?” he said, unbelieving. “Are Davis and Skye okay?”
“I’m assuming so. According to the news on the weblink, they haven’t gone after any humans. Just GAPs and borgs. So far.”
“I should go home,” he said. “Look out for them.”
I agreed. We gathered guns and ammunition, hopped into the army ATV I’d commandeered from Sly and drove west into L.A.
A snake of vehicles was heading out of the city, but only a few besides us were driving in. The residential streets we turned onto were barren, like everyone who’d remained was hiding and taking cover. I drove up the back alley to our house and pulled into the driveway by the garage. Jon and I jumped out and ran to the back door. It had been left unlocked. My pulse raced. “Davis?” I called out. “Skye?”
We scoped the place out, but it was empty and we had no way of knowing when they’d left. At least there was no sign of a scuffle. Or blood.
“They’re not here,” Jonathon said. “I’ll go to Skye’s.”
I nodded. “I’ll be at the church. Let me know when you find them.”
We stared at each other for a moment. Once again, we were in a situation where we didn’t know if we’d see each other alive again. I pulled him into an embrace and patted him three times on the back like guys do. “Love, ya, man,” I said.
“Love, ya, too, bro.”
Jonathon took off on foot, and I drove the ATV through old back roads and across the neighborhoods Anthony had taken us when Zoe and I came to the church to meet her dad. I didn’t know if there’d be check points—assuming that the borg soldiers were taken out, probably not. And the human soldiers were likely going crazy, not knowing what to do. Either that or the checkpoints would be manned more heavily than usual. I had to park the ATV on the top of the ridge. Though I hated to leave it unprotected, I had no choice. I hoped that it blended in with the surroundings enough that stragglers wouldn’t notice it, and on the fact that it was nearly impossible to start if you didn’t know how.
I eased down the embankment, creating a small avalanche of stones. The streets in L.A. were busier than the rural areas, but there were far less people around than usual. Everyone was scattering. I kept to the shadows as much as possible, and ran the last couple of blocks until I hit the alley that led to the back of the church.
I paused for a second to get my breath and regain my composure. I was about to see Zoe for the first time in half a year. I punched in the code.
There she was. She jumped off the pew and threw herself in my arms. Her lips were pressed against mine, and I didn’t hold back. I’d dreamed about this moment every day for the last six months. Her tears flowed freely, wetting my face. Her hands gripped the back of my neck and mine clasped her curves pulling her in tight.
“Zoe,” I muttered between kisses. “I’ve missed you so much.”
She pulled back and studied me, her eyes boring into mine. Outside of the fact that she’d just witnessed unbelievable horror, she looked good. I drank her in.
Then she slapped my face.
Chapter 55
ZOE
The palm of my hand stung and I blinked hard at Noah’s shocked expression. “That was for leaving me.”
A red hand print formed on his face. He reached up to rub it, his dark eyes glassy and full of emotion. “I should explain,” he said.
“Yes,” I agreed tersely. “You should.”
He pressed a hand against my lower back and led me to a pew where we sat facing each other. He looked different from the last time I’d seen him. His hair was buzzed short, military style, making his facial features look stronger. He was broader through the shoulders, and though still lean, it was the result of being fit rather than from starvation. My heart pounded at his nearness. I almost couldn’t believe we were in the same room together again.
“I didn’t know about the weblink eye enhancement,” he began. “I’d heard about the possibilities before our year in exile, but I had no way of knowing that it had become readily available to civilians and a trend among the GAPs.”
I squinted, not getting the point.
“The day I brought you back, when I promised you I wouldn’t leave, your mom was busy accessing my family files, looking for a weak link. Something she could use against me. She found it in my brother’s search history.”
I shook my head. “I don’t understand.”
“Jonathon was in a bad head space. He was considering joining the cyborg army.”
I felt my breath hitch at that.
“Your mother used that information to force me to stay away from you.”
I was confused. “What do you mean?”
“She arranged for Jonathon to be captured by guerrilla cyborg soldiers. I could get him back, but it would cost me fifty grand.”
“How do you discover this?”
“Believe me. I made it my mission to find out how she had out-maneuvered me.”
My heart sank. Alison had told me a half-truth. She’d offered him money, but made it impossible for him to reject it.
“I knew you would hate me,” Noah continued, eyeing me mournfully, “but I had to save my brother. The terms of the agreement were that I would never contact you. Otherwise, they’d go after Jonathon and Davis next time.”
I hunched over, overwhelmed by strong emotions. I was so angry with my mother. How could she do that to me?
I faced Noah sheepishly. “She’s dead now. I can’t hate her for what she did. And she did try to be a better mother. I have to give her that.”
Noah reached for me, pulling me close. “She was your mother, will always be your mother. You’re right not to hate her. She did what she did because she thought it was the best thing for you. Because she loved you.”
I pinched back tears and buried my face in his shirt.
He kissed my head. “I’m happy to hear you didn’t forget about me. I thought about you incessantly.”
He ran a rough finger along my jaw, and I tilted my head up. His eyes flashed with emotion as he stared back at me.
“Noah.” My voice was breathy, broken. “I’m sor…”
His lips pressed onto mine before I could finish. I clasped his head, pulling him closer, my body buzzing at his nearness. Noah leaned back until he lay flat on the pew, pulling me on top of his firm body. His fingers traced the waist of my jeans, lightly caressing my lower back and making me shiver. I found the bottom of his shirt and ran a palm over his chest. His heartbeat quickened under my palm.
He moaned. “I missed you so much.”
I tucked my face into his neck. It was warm and soft, and I felt safe. My heart hammered in my chest and a sob suddenly escaped my lips.
“Zoe?”
My grief was like an earthquake rumbling under a freeway at rush hour. Noah stiffened under me, and I tried to pull myself together. I couldn’t lose it now. My shoulders racked as I tried to keep my tears in check.
Noah wrapped his arms securely around me. He spoke softly into my ear. “You can cry, Zoe. You’ve lost a lot.”
His permission unleashed a torrent. I wailed into his shoulder and he held me tight, stroking my hair and rubbing my back. He didn’t ask me to stop or tell me everything would be all right.
Finally, the tears stopped, and I sat up awkwardly, using my own shirt to wipe my face. I was sure I looked horrid. I lay back down beside him and snuggled close. We held each other without speaking. The horror continued on outside of the church walls, but for a short wh
ile, we could pretend that it wasn’t. That we were fine. That everything would be fine.
Chapter 56
My eyes snapped open when I felt the buzzing of Noah’s ComRing against my back.
He let out a frustrated sigh. “I have to get this.”
I reluctantly moved off Noah so he could tap his ring. Anthony’s holographic image popped up. “Dude!” he said. “You’re not going to believe it.”
I poked my head into his perspective so he could see me. “Hi, Anthony.”
“Oh, hey, Zoe.”
“So what’s the deal?” Noah asked.
“Your desert borgs had tapped into top-secret files regarding humanoid production. The scientific community had cautioned the White House about impending singularity, and that the push to develop robotic activity would bring singularity on before we were technologically or socially prepared to deal with it or control it.”
His eyes were wide with excitement, and his shoulders jiggled. I pictured his knees bouncing up and down and his fingertips drumming the desktop.
“They created a code that would basically turn off the humanoids, every single one of them, should they ever try to usurp humans.”
“So what does this have to do with me?” Noah asked.
“The borgs figured it out. You were like insurance. They embedded a chip with the code in you, a human. In case the worst case scenario happened.” He paused. “And it did.”
“So what’s the code?” Noah asked. “And what do I do with it?”
“Well, that’s the thing,” Anthony continued. “The code’s a mile long. And from what I can figure out, it has to be electronically relayed to every weblink tower in every major city.”
Noah inhaled sharply. “That’s quite the undertaking.”
“It’s worse than that.” Anthony’s frown lines grew deeper. “It needs to happen at the exact same time.”
Noah blinked. “You mean the code has to be relayed to the weblink tower in every city at the same moment?”
“Isn’t that what I just said?”
Noah whistled. “That’s impossible.”
“Not impossible, my friend. Just hard. I’ll put out an emergency memo to all the rebel camps to enlist their help. We set the time. Get everyone into position, I’ll transmit the code. Then we play ball.”
“How long do you think we have?”
“Not long. I imagine the humanoids are currently busy taking over all electronic devices and tech. In fact, I don’t expect us to have ComRing access for long.”
“How long?” Noah asked.
“Thirty minutes. Tops.”
Noah swallowed hard. “We need to get moving then.”
“Since you’re in L.A. already,” Anthony said. “You can take the tower there. And…” He hesitated. “Maybe Zoe can do Sol City. I don’t have anyone else close enough for that one.”
Noah glanced at me, and I nodded, hoping I hid the trepidation that filled me. The last thing I wanted to do was re-enter Sol City.
Noah eyed me gently. “Are you sure?”
Like I had a choice. “I’m sure.”
The clock was ticking. Noah and I ran, hand in hand through the scattering crowds, up the overpass and along the main road to the north gate.
I remembered the first time I had ventured out of Sol City, when Liam had gone missing. How scared I was of L.A. and all the strange people in it. How all I wanted to do was run back through theses very gates to safety.
We stopped under the flickering light of the old street lamp. My knees trembled as I stared at the gated city now. I could see the humanoids moving about inside. What were they doing? Reorganizing their new territory?
Noah scowled. “This is too dangerous.”
“They’re not interested in me.”
Noah’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
I explained how, with each murderous encounter I’d had with a humanoid, they’d always left me alone. “Why do you think that is?”
He rubbed his head. “I don’t know. What makes you different than the others? You have GAP origins and you have a mechanical heart.”
It hit me. “I’m a clone,” I whispered. That must be it. “But why would that stop them?”
Noah shrugged. “You must be lower on the list of threats. Like humans. Let’s just hope it lasts.”
The weblink tower was on the roof of the Sleiman building. It was thirty-two stories high. I had to make it to the top in less than twenty minutes.
Noah bored down at me. “You can’t take the elevator. They might cut the power.”
I bit my lip. I had to leave immediately if I was going to make it. “I’ve got my cyborg heart,” I said. I can do it.
He eyed me with a tortured look, and then bent lower to kiss me, his lips moving over mine passionately, like it might be the last time. “Be careful.” His voice hitched. “I’ll meet you back at the church.”
I knew he had to make it across town, and every moment we took to say goodbye was a moment that could make us late and ruin everything. I tore away and ran headlong into my biggest fear.
I kept the laser gun Noah had given me hidden under my shirt, tucked into the front waistband of my jeans. I couldn’t let a humanoid spot it or they might decide I was a threat after all. With no GAPs moving about, it was eerily quiet, and it was dark. The humanoids had dimmed the lights. Their robotic eyes had night-vision capabilities. There wasn’t any point in staying in the shadows, but would running draw undue attention? I checked the time on my ComRing, and my pulse surged. I was taking too long. I had to get to the tower.
I broke into a jog. Just last year, I could barely walk or even barely sit up without passing out. Now, thanks to my new heart, I was sprinting. I passed a humanoid whose eyes scanned me and watched me until I turned a corner, but it didn’t follow.
I reached the front doors of the Sleiman building and pulled. They didn’t budge. Locked.
I quickly scanned my chip. I held my breath as the scanner made its decision. Did I still have authority, or had the humanoids deactivated it?
I heard the needed click and pulled the heavy door open.
“Stop!”A humanoid shouted and put out a palm. Had they decided to take on the humans now? Or did entering the Slieman tower alert them? I raced inside. I knew I’d be no match for the humanoids, even with my mechanical heart. I bolted the door from the inside.
Loud bangs reverberated against the door, and the metal encasing dented inward with the powerful kicks of the humanoid.
Noah told me not to take the elevator. He was right, they’d just trap me in there, but there was no way I could beat a humanoid to the roof if one were to chase me.
I gripped my laser gun and opened the door to the stairs taking a moment to ensure nothing was on its way down.
My pulse thumped in my ears as I took the steps two at a time. I had to hurry. If I didn’t make it, singularity wouldn’t be stopped. Within weeks, maybe even days, human life would be obliterated. Humanoids didn’t need food or oxygen or water. They just needed to destroy or make access to such human necessities impossible. If they didn’t prefer to break everyone’s neck first, that is. They could cut off power for heating or cooling. Life support for hospitals. Food preservation. The domed cities were probably already in big trouble.
I grabbed the railing and pushed myself onward. Floor twenty-two. Ten more to go.
The door to floor nineteen opened. The humanoid had made it through the steel front doors. I aimed my laser gun and fired.
Missed. I climbed faster, shooting over my shoulder. The humanoid gained on me. I had to turn and face it. I pulled the trigger, but it dove over the rail just in time. I sped forward, knowing it wouldn’t give up. I couldn’t either.
I made it to the twenty-ninth floor before it caught up to me again. I spun and shot, catching it right in the chest this time. It shivered with blue electricity and crumpled to the floor. I didn’t have time to register the close call. I had to keep going, keep pushing
to the top.
Thirty, thirty-one.
I flung open the door to the roof. The weblink tower was several feet ahead. I had minutes to spare, but before I could reach it, I spotted a humanoid sprinting toward the door. My pursuer in the stairwell had called for backup. They had deduced why I was up here. Seeing me, it spun and pointed a gun. The thing about neck breaking was that you had to be close to your target. They weren’t depending on that anymore, obviously. I dove behind an electrical box just as it fired. It turned its back to me, eager to get into the tower room. I shot it in the back, and it shorted out in a heap.
I raced to the tower room, picking up the humanoid’s gun on the way, but the door was locked. Of course. I shot the code box and the door swung open. I hopped inside the small room just as another humanoid appeared. I closed the door and looked for a way to secure the entrance. I’d killed the computerized locking system, but an old-fashioned back-up bolt was welded to the door. I shoved it closed, just as the pounding on the other side began. I didn’t know how long the bolt would hold.
I checked the time. Fifty-nine seconds. I tapped my ring, getting Anthony. “I’m here.”
“Countdown has begun,” he said. “Prepare to upload the code in twenty-eight seconds.”
The banging on the door behind me grew more violent. I didn’t think it would hold for twenty-eight seconds.
I stared at my time clock. Eighteen, seventeen. The door behind me buckled. Ten, nine, eight… The humanoid’s arm and shoulder were reaching through the crack. I shot at it, and it pulled back.
Four, three, two…
The door behind me exploded open. I had time to shoot the humanoid or upload the code but not both. I was about to die trying to save the world. I held in a sob and loaded the code. The humanoid’s firm hand clasped my neck.
Chapter 57
NOAH
“Anthony!” I shouted into my ComRing. “Did it work? Did it work?” My hands shook and I let them drop to my sides. My whole body trembled with post-trauma stress. I slid to the floor.