Tomorrow We Rise

by Daniel P. Wilde

  “How is that possible?” I asked, not really expecting an answer. Nobody had one anyway.

  “Does Anta know about this?” Street asked. “Does anyone else know about this?”

  “Nobody knows yet,” Mike said.

  “And I don’t want Anta to know,” I added. “Remember what she did last time we were close to Cain? I don’t want her acting crazy just seeing him on the screen. It freaks me out.”

  “Me too boss,” Street said.

  “Well, can we keep everyone else in the dark about this?” John asked. “If we don’t tell Anta, we can’t tell anyone else either. Otherwise, she’ll find out. Then she’ll find out that you didn’t tell her. She would be so pissed.”

  “I know. Does anyone have any suggestions?”

  “Maybe we could just tell everyone about it, but not show them,” Street offered.

  “Wouldn’t work,” John said. “They’d just want to see it. So would Anta. She knows Cain as well as the rest of you. She’ll want to see it.”

  “Yeah, she’ll want to see it,” I confirmed, reluctantly.

  “Then what if we got everyone together and showed them the video feeds, just like we’ve watched,” Mike said. “But I’ll be ready to shut them down if Anta, or anyone else, starts to freak out.”

  “But nobody else knows about Anta, right Shift?” Angel asked, obviously concerned about this.

  “Nobody knows,” I replied.

  “Then we need to show Anta first, by herself,” John said. “Then we could shut it down for her alone, if she wigs. Nobody would be the wiser. Then, while she’s in her little trance, if it comes to that, we get everybody else together to show them. We could just say she’s not feeling well or something. Would that work?”

  “That’s probably the best idea,” I replied. “Let’s do it. When does she get off watch Mike?”

  “Noon.”

  “Let’s all meet back here then. I’ll bring Anta.”

  August 10, 12:10 PM—Cabo Rojo, Mexico

  “Okay, are you ready Anta?” Mike asked.

  “Yes, but why do you all look so concerned? What are you hiding from me?”

  “It’s just very shocking, that’s all,” John lied. “We all saw it an hour ago, so we know what you’re in for.”

  “Hit it Mike,” Shift said.

  The small group watched the four monitors light up. They watched Anta from the corners of their eyes. Anta’s face twitched as Cain’s hand rose to the sky. Nothing else happened.

  When Mike stopped the feeds, all eyes turned toward Anta.

  “Wow. That was crazy. What?” she asked, suddenly suspicious.

  “We need to talk,” Shift said. He led her out of the room and down to her bedroom to have the first real conversation anybody had had with her about the way she had reacted to Cain in the past. Reactions that she wasn’t even aware of.

  “That is going to be a tough conversation,” John said as Shift and Anta walked away. “I’m glad she’s not my girlfriend.”

  “Anta’s probably happier than you are about that,” Mike joked. They laughed, but not for long.

  “At least we know that seeing a re-run of Cain on a video monitor doesn’t make her crazy,” Street said.

  “I’m relieved,” Angel said. “I wonder though . . . do we have any video feed of Anta here in the bunker at the date and time of those feeds?”

  “Maybe,” Mike replied. “Depends on where she was at 3:42 yesterday. Let me look for a minute.”

  “Got it!” Mike said, three minutes later. “Let’s take a look. I’ll start it a few minutes earlier though.”

  “What was she doing on the island yesterday? And by herself?” John asked.

  “Actually, she wasn’t by herself,” Angel replied. “She went over there yesterday with Suvan and Jon. They wanted to fish in the cave. She took them over because neither Neirioui nor Steve wants those two alone.”

  “Why aren’t the kids in the feed then?” John asked.

  “Well, the feed doesn’t cover the back wall or several meters out from the back wall,” Mike said. “Look where Anta is. She’s out there about the middle of the docks, by the boats, just walking around. The kids could be anywhere behind her really, and we wouldn’t see them.”

  “But would they see her?” Angel asked. “I mean, I guess it depends on what we see here, but if Anta goes nuts in a couple minutes, we need to talk to those two, right?”

  “Yeah, I think so,” John replied.

  “Okay, here it comes,” Mike said.

  They waited in silence as the clock on the screen ticked toward 3:42. At 3:42 and 13 seconds, Anta turned toward the southwest and dropped to her knees on the screen. Angel gasped. Moments later, she stood back up, then abruptly knelt back down. Within seconds, it was over. She stood up, turned back toward the rear of the cave, and walked out of sight.

  “What the hell is going on?” Street asked quietly, almost in a whisper.

  “Street, go get Shift and Anta,” John said.

  Street shook his head back and forth, then walked out of the room to find them.

  August 10, 12:37 PM—Cabo Rojo, Mexico

  “You’re not going to like what you see—either of you,” John said as Street, Shift and Anta walked back into the computer lab. Anta held her head high, but her checks were stained with dried tears.

  “I don’t imagine we will,” Shift replied. “I have a pretty good idea where this is going. And now, Anta does too.” Shift pulled Anta close, keeping his arm tight around her waist.

  “I’m so sorry everyone,” Anta said as fresh tears filled her eyes. The desperation in her voice was palpable. “Whatever I’ve put all of you through . . . I am so sorry. I can’t explain it. I don’t know what’s happening.”

  “You haven’t done anything to us Anta,” Street said gently.

  “We love you girl,” Angel added. “Nothing happening here is your fault. But we’ll get to the bottom of it. We’ll figure this out. Everything’s going to be okay.”

  “I hope you’re right Angel,” Anta said, trying to stifle her tears. “Let’s get this over with.”

  Two minutes later, Anta was crying again. This time though, there was fear in her eyes and her body was shaking. “How can that possibly be? I don’t remember any of that. I don’t remember anything Shift told me about either.”

  “But you should all know, if you’re okay with me talking about it Anta . . . ?” Shift looked at Anta and she nodded. “You should all know about the feelings Anta has been having lately. I hope I explain this right.”

  Nobody said a word. Nobody even looked at Anta. She was grateful.

  “It was hard for her to explain it to me,” Shift continued. “Over the past few days, or a couple of weeks maybe, Anta has felt a strong pull to the outside. That’s why she volunteered to go with Jon and Suvan yesterday. And that’s why she was walking down toward the outer wall. She wanted to be outside.”

  “But I wasn’t going out there,” Anta added quickly. “I would never go out there alone. I hoped I was just getting cabin fever. I had the same problem back in Boston the whole time we were there. That’s all I wanted it to be—just cabin fever.”

  “Of course babe,” Shift said, grasping Anta’s hand. “But she also explained to me that she feels like the Skins are calling to her. Like they want her to be with them. But, until a few minutes ago, she thought she was imagining it. It freaked her out, as you can imagine. Anta’s been living in fear for days now wondering whether she’s going crazy.”

  “That’s insane man,” Street said, then added quickly, “Not you Anta. I don’t think you’re insane. I’m sorry. I mean the whole situation is crazy weird.”

  “That’s okay Street,” Anta said with a weak, tear-streaked smile. “I know what you meant. It is insane. But maybe I’m insane too.”

  “No you’re not,” Shift said lovingly. “There’s an explanation for this. Let’s figure it out. And while we do, I’m not leaving your side.”

&
nbsp; “Oh, lucky Anta,” John said smiling.

  “Shut up dude,” Shift replied. Although he tried to look serious, it only lasted a couple moments. Then the corners of his mouth began to twitch and he could no longer repress the chuckle. Laughing, he said, “I mean it John, shut your pie hole.”

  The others joined in the laughter, although it was a tense laughter. As usual, John had attempted to break the tension. That’s why they loved him. But this time, it wasn’t quite enough.

  “Now, let’s get down to business,” John began. “Anta, can you remember anything that might shed some light on why, or how, you may have a connection to the Skins?”

  “Yeah, it’s easy,” Anta replied almost immediately. “I’ve been thinking about it for the last 20 minutes.”

  “Easy, huh?” Shift asked. “Well, let us have it.”

  “You guys remember back in Amqui, the day of that first fight with the Skins?”

  “How could we forget Street’s awesomeness!” Angel replied. Angel looked longingly at Street as she continued. “That was the day Street saved our lives. I won’t forget it.”

  Shift and Anta glanced quickly at each other, acknowledging their suspicions that they were seeing a relationship blossom between Street and Angel. Then Street coughed and the moment was over.

  “Anyway,” Anta continued, feeling the awkwardness of the situation, “Shift, you remember how I cut my finger?”

  “Yeah, you said it was no big deal. Just a little cut, right?”

  “That’s right,” Anta replied. “It wasn’t any big deal. But then, a few minutes later we burst out of the motel room and, even though Street took out about ninety percent of the Skins, the rest of us still had a little work to do. One of the Skins I shot was really close. Some of her blood sprayed out onto my arm and hand—the hand with the freshly cut finger. I didn’t pay attention to it. Just wiped it off in the Fluxor like the rest of you were doing.”

  “You think some of the Skin’s blood got in your cut?” Angel asked.

  “I wouldn’t doubt it at all,” Anta replied.

  They all sat quiet for a moment. Finally Shift broke the silence. “We need to test your blood Anta.”

  “You’re obviously not a Skin,” John said aloud. Then, under his breath, he added, “not that we’d mind seeing you naked.”

  Shift hit him. Anta laughed. Mike, Street and Angel politely attempted to repress smiles.

  “Sorry John,” Anta said. “Only one man here is that lucky.”

  “You’re talking about me, right?” Shift said hastily. More laughter.

  “Guys, let’s get our heads out of Anta’s boudoir and focus, shall we?” Angel said smiling. “Is there any possibility that Anta could have become infected with Toronto’s E-rase but not had the same symptoms?”

  “Let’s get her tested first, then we’ll worry about the ‘what-ifs’,” Shift said. “Let’s go over to the medical center now.”

  “You are all welcome to join us,” Anta added as they stood up. “I don’t want to hide this from any of you.”

  “Let’s all go then,” Shift said. “But try not to make it too conspicuous. There’s no reason anybody else outside this room needs to know about this; at least not until there’s something to worry about.”

  Mike shut down the old video feeds and the group headed out.

  August 10, 2093, 1:05 PM—Cabo Rojo, Mexico

  “Guys, come here!” Steve yelled from the security room where he was on watch.

  Anta, Shift, John, Mike, Street and Angel were all passing by the security room, having a phony conversation about chickens, trying to look inconspicuous.

  They all turned and walked back toward the security room.

  “What is it?” John asked nervously.

  “Look!” Steve said.

  On the main monitor set to display the front of the bunker where they had all first arrived, a small group of Skins was wandering around, apparently sniffing the air.

  “How long have they been there?” Shift asked nervously.

  “They’re just arriving now,” Steve replied. The skin on his arms was raised in goose-flesh. He was scared. They could all see it.

  “Steve,” Shift said, placing a hand on his shoulder, “why don’t you go and gather everyone together. Mike, let’s get this feed sent down to the meeting room.”

  “What should we do?” Street asked.

  “Obviously, we need to get everyone ready for evasive action,” Shift said. “Let’s get to the meeting room and make sure everyone is ready to put the escape plan into action. But I need someone to stay here in the security room to keep an eye on those doors. Any volunteers?”

  “Yeah, I’ll do it,” Street offered.

  “Thanks, I was hoping you would say that Street,” Shift said. “You’re the guy I can always count on.”

  “Hmmph,” Street said awkwardly, a little bashful. Angel stared at him again, reaching out her hand to touch him before abruptly pulling it away and walking out of the room.

  Outside, the Chosen sniffed and felt for vibrations in the ground. They knew the human perversions were around somewhere, but their senses were growing too powerful. It was hard to tell whether this ugly, old concrete building was where the perversions were hiding, or whether Cain had sent them on a fool’s errand. Perhaps what they smelled and felt came from somewhere else entirely. Cain controlled them, they knew, but even he was beginning to become too powerful. His senses had become too great, and less focused, and he had made mistakes.

  Several minutes later, the small group of humans met in the meeting room. Street was absent, sitting upstairs in the security room; but his back was displayed on the holo as he watched the monitors showing the outside of the bunker. The others were all in the room.

  Suvan and Jon Porter sat next to each other. Suvan’s mother watched them from across the room, nervous about their future. Steve worried whether these two children, who were obviously fond of each other, had any future worth worrying about. He prayed daily that the children would have the opportunity to grow up and live normal lives. Now, as the group met in the large room off the kitchen, his worry became intense. He had seen the Skins outside, and his body hadn’t stopped shaking since.

  “Hi everyone,” Shift began. “Thanks for coming.”

  Nobody said a word. Those that didn’t know what to expect from this meeting remained quiet, sensing a growing tension in the room.

  “Mike, turn on the screens please.” Shift said as the old screens began to flicker to life. Then a moment later, he added, “So, this is what’s happening outside our doors right now.”

  Neirioui Safar gasped, placing both arms across her belly as if to protect herself from an imminent attack. Everybody else seemed to expect it. They remained quiet.

  “You all know what this means,” Shift continued. “We may no longer be safe here. As you can see, they still appear to be wandering around out there. So they may not know we’re here. But we need to be ready to evacuate just in case.

  “I want everyone to go now and make sure your things are ready. We’ve prepared for this. We’ve run the drills. We’re ready. If they discover us, they’ll likely try to come in through the ventilator shafts. Even though we haven’t been running them for weeks, the Skins may know the shafts are there.

  “The only other way they could get in, unless their strength has multiplied exponentially, is through the cave. But we haven’t seen a single Skin enter a boat or any other motorized craft. And we haven’t seen a single Skin go in salt water. So, while the cave is being monitored, we’ll be watching the ventilation system more carefully.

  “Mike, are all of your surveillance and alarm systems working?”

  “Yeah, I checked them all this morning, just like every other morning,” Mike replied. “Everything is working fine.”

  “Good,” Shift said. “That means, everybody, that if you hear three short beeps, that will be your sign that we need to evacuate per our plan, toward the cave. If you hear
one longer siren, that will mean the Skins are coming through the cave. Either way, we’ve planned for it. We’re ready to keep them out whichever way they come in. Hopefully though, we won’t need to go either way.”

  Anta screamed. The room erupted in confusion.

  “Grab her,” John said frantically. “Don’t let her hit her head.”

  Anta dropped to the ground, convulsing, her body rolling and bending as if large hands were grasping and tugging on her limbs.

  “Check the screen Mike,” Shift said between breaths as he struggled to hold Anta still. “Is Cain out there?” These words made several of the members of the group pause.

  “Why does it matter if Cain is out there?” Andrew asked.

  “I’ll tell you later,” Shift replied.

  “Yeah Shift, he’s out there,” Mike said.

  Street’s voice came over the intercom system. “Shift, Cain’s here. Watch Anta.”

  “Thanks Street, we know,” John replied for Shift. “She’s struggling, but we’ve got her.”

  Anta continued to thrash. Shift, John, Carón, and Steve all held her. But the strength of her convulsions was wearing them out.

  “Guys,” Mike began apprehensively, looking at the monitors, “he knows we’re here.”

  The group all looked back at the screens. Cain’s face was large, filling one of the screens as he peered deep into the mechanics of a digital camera on the outside of the building. He was talking.

  “Street,” Shift said through the intercom, “Can you turn on the microphones, one way? I want to hear him, but I don’t want him to hear us.”

  “Got it boss,” Street said.

  Moments later, the deep, calm voice of Cain filled the room. Anta shook violently for a moment, then relaxed completely. Her face turned toward the screen. Cain looked at her, impossibly. It was as though he knew the exact point of the camera outside which would lead his eyes toward Anta’s eyes. Then he spoke again.