I had just entered the hallway when it happened.
There was a distant rumble from inside the building just before the lights flickered out, dropping everything into darkness. Even as I told myself to stay calm, my heart began racing. I rested my hand against the wall as I crept through the pitch-black corridor.
I found my way to the stairwell just as the Carbon soldiers did. They rushed past me and I had to flatten against the wall to avoid being trampled. Their footsteps echoed as they descended the stairs, and I followed behind. Curiosity fed my need to find out what was happening. Or maybe it was fear…I didn’t want to go back to my room alone no matter what.
I reached the main floor well behind the soldiers and completely out of breath. The crisp breeze cut through me like a knife as I felt the outside air for the first time in 6 months through the open doors. The front entrance to Sub 9 was wide-open, letting the cold winter air rush in, filling the room with the smell of smoke, dust, and what could only have been described as…death.
I stepped as close as I dared to the outside, but I did not cross the imaginary boundary. The soldiers were rushing through the streets of what was left of Cytos, and I felt the city calling my name, beckoning me to come save her. I didn’t move.
To my left I spotted Coleman, shouting orders at anyone close enough to hear him. And for the first time since I’d met him, I saw fear in his eyes.
“What happened?” I asked cautiously as I tiptoed over, ignoring the longing of the outside calling me.
“She’s gone.” Coleman’s eyes scanned the city as if looking for someone who wasn’t there.
“Who’s gone, sir?” He turned slowly toward me, and the stark expression on his face had me stumbling back, wishing I hadn’t asked. He looked like the ghost of himself.
“My life, my existence. The only reason I have come this far.” His eyes filled with glassy water and his voice caught at the end as he said, “My daughter. She’s gone.”
I thought back to the golden-eyed girl I had seen earlier today and a pang of guilt ran through me as I wondered, could I have been the reason she left?
For days, weeks even, they searched the city for her. And every time they came up empty. She was nowhere to be found.
I saw something break inside of Coleman. Something deep down that he had been holding on to was now torn in half and he was no longer the confident stern man I first remembered. He thought of nothing else during this time, and I wondered if he would ever again think of anything but her. The longing emanated from him the same way I longed for my own family. And I understood.
I wished there was a way to help him, but once again, I was useless.
With everyone focusing on the girl, I focused my energy on working harder and harder to prove my worth. If I could just show Coleman that I was useful then maybe he wouldn’t be so sad, so broken. If I could just prove my worth then maybe I could help my brother and get them all back here. Prove to Coleman that they won’t deter me or stop me from my mission.
Day after day, I worked with my nurse. I grew more and more frustrated each day that I failed, and began to feel a burning in my chest that ached for more—more power, more control, more of anything but what I felt. Useless.
My 11th birthday passed without notice. This was not a time for celebration and I knew not to expect anything, but still I longed for something other than this feeling of loneliness.
I watched on the tablet as my parents and brother went about each day as if I hadn’t even existed. Not one of them seemed to think of me that day. None of them seemed to remember it was my birthday.
I had begun to use my arm much like my regular one. I could lift and grab, move and twist. It had slowly become a part of me and I was a part of it, but this didn’t seem to change anything. I was still a boy without a mission or a purpose.
“Why am I here?” I asked Coleman one day as I followed him around his office. He had me shadow him when I wasn’t training, watching his every move. The loss of his daughter still haunted him. I could see it in his eyes.
“Why do you think you are here?”
I thought for a moment. “You told me once that I was important to your mission, but you have Bots and Carbons, so why would you need me?”
“What makes you different from the Bots and Carbons? What would a human see in you that they wouldn’t see in them?” he asked thoughtfully.
Again, I took a moment to think this through, but everything I thought of was useless traits. I was only a boy, I had no skills, no strength. I couldn’t see what he saw.
I shook my head in frustration. “I don’t know.”
He nodded to a Carbon standing in the corner of the room, a silent order for her to come over. The girl looked nearly my mother’s age, and as she walked over to him, I noted the stoic movements and calculated steps. She stopped before him, awaiting an order.
“Give me your arm,” he commanded, and she raised her arm to him without question. He took a knife from her belt and slid the blade across her forearm.
I winced at the sound of metal cutting flesh, squinting my eyes to blur the image of blood pouring out. Only there was no blood.
“You see?” Coleman asked.
I stepped forward and peered into the wound he had made. There was no blood, and the fresh wound revealed the metal structure that hid below the surface before it began to heal itself right before my eyes.
“You, my boy, they do not bleed. They are not human. But you…” He reached for my arm and I did my best not to flinch. He grazed the knife across my palm and the pain seared through me like fire. Crimson red blood flowed across the thin line the blade left. I winced in pain as I pulled my arm back and wrapped it into my shirt to stop the bleeding.
I was about to get mad at him, when it suddenly clicked.
“I’m human, and they are not.” I looked up into his eyes.
“You are both, my boy, human and not. Humans have spent years destroying themselves. Killing each other and bringing war and disease wherever they go.” He paused as a flash of anger sparked behind his eyes. “There are a few humans that we want to protect. But they are afraid of us. They do not understand what we are doing and why this is so important. They don’t see that we are trying to help them, not harm them. I will need you to convince them, to make them understand that this was a necessary process. That this is the only way.” The Carbon stepped past me, returning to her post, as Coleman walked back to the seat behind his large desk.
I stared in awe for a moment at the wound in my hand. The bleeding had already stopped and the pain was slowly subsiding.
“How am I both?” I wondered out loud.
“Blood runs through your veins and your heart pumps on its own. But this,” he pointed to my left arm, to the arm he had repaired, “this is what sets you apart. This is what you must master in order to complete your mission.”
I looked down to my hand. To the arm that was both of me and not of itself. The wound was already starting to heal itself. Whatever they had put inside me was protecting me, healing me.
“So you see, my boy, you are the most important part of this mission. You are the only one who can help me, and in turn, help them.” Coleman nodded to the city that lie outside the wide window of his office, before turning back to the papers on his desk.
I quietly excused myself and headed back to my room.
Within an hour, the wound on my hand was nothing more than a faint pink line. I had never experienced such a thing before and it had me craving more. I wanted to learn more, I wanted to be more. But most of all, I wanted to complete this mission.
Chapter Three
It had been three years since that day, since everything change. The day I finally realized why I was here and what my purpose was. The yearning to learn and be better had consumed me these past few years.
Today, as I stood in the streets of Cytos covered head to toe in my own sweat, I was putting that training to practice. A Carbon stood in front of me, only a fe
w feet away. He was my opponent for the day, and I was hell bent on winning.
I held a knife in my right hand as the Carbon began to circle me, looking for an opening. I held strong. He took a step closer, and I jabbed for his side with the blade. He spun out of the way and I lunged forward, not letting him gain a comfortable distance. Space was all he needed to get away from me, but I was determined not to let him win. I kicked at his leg as a feral growl escaped my throat, but once again he sidestepped the advance easily and threatened to spin past me to the red button in the middle of the space we occupied. That was my mission today, to protect that red button with everything I had.
I cut him off just in time, swinging a left jab at his jaw and sending him stumbling back. He was back up in an instant. My pathetic human punches did nothing to his strong Carbon body.
The Carbon stepped back and prowled with cat-like movements around me, but I didn’t leave any openings for him to find. I felt his energy radiate and knew he was about to pounce, so I lowered my stance and braced myself against the oncoming charge. He ran straight for me and even though I had braced myself, and still had my knife out, he was too fast and too strong.
Powerful shoulders barreled into my mid-section and he lifted me up and flipped me right over his shoulder. The knife went flying from my hands and the wind was knocked out of me when I landed, sprawled on my back.
As I gasped for air, I looked behind me in time to see the Carbon standing in front of the button I had been protecting. He pushed it.
The stark white room faded back into focus as the city streets disappeared from all around me.
“You are not concentrating,” he said from the screen behind me.
I let out a long sigh. “I’m trying,” I said through clenched teeth as I turned to face Coleman.
He caught my tone and with one look he had me apologizing. “I’m sorry, sir. I will try harder.” He nodded his approval as he dismissed me from the room with a lazy hand wave before the screen went black. My training day was over, me having failed repeatedly for the last 8 hours.
My feet dragged as I made my way back to my room, tossed my clothes on the floor, and stepped in to the shower, turning the water up as hot as I could. I ran my hands through my hair and clenched my fists tight, trying not to let the anger take me over.
For four years I had been patiently training, day in and day out. Trying to hone my skills. Trying to do anything I could to get better, to be better. But I was nothing compared to those Carbons. If I was one of the humans still roaming the city of Cytos, I would be dead the minute I left this building.
Frustrated, I finally shut off the water. I couldn’t remember if I had washed my hair, but I didn’t care.
I wrapped a towel around my waist and sat down at the desk, punching in the codes I now knew by heart to watch the familiar scene I had watched every day since I’d received this tablet. I had long since moved the tablet from that tiny computer room back to my own quarters. I disconnected the cameras in my own room, so I could watch them daily instead of having to sneak around. I’d had plenty of time to learn the ins and outs of this building and how to navigate the technology here, so I felt comfortable in the knowledge that my secret was safe.
My family’s faces filled the screens as I leaned back, settling in to watch them. I somehow felt like their protectors, though I had done nothing to help them over these years. But whether they knew it or not, I was there with them.
Marc had grown so fast. He was still a scrawny kid—they were all a little too thin—but he was so much taller now. He towered over my mom’s petite frame, passing her a bowl of whatever meal they had scrounged up.
She looked so fragile, like one gentle gust of wind would blow her over. Her bony shoulders jutted out of her shirt, which was now at least two sizes too big for her. She smiled weakly up at him and it was painfully obvious just how frail she really was. I feared she wouldn’t last much longer if they didn’t find more food and a better place to live. But for now, they were safely tucked away in the underground rail system, and I had Coleman to thank for that. He had promised me he would keep them safe, and so far he had been true to his word.
As I watched their methodical movements, something caught my eye. I quickly rewound the video and zoomed in to make sure I had seen it right. I leaned in closer, watching my brother sit down at the tiny table beside my mom and place his bowl full of food down in front of him. He glanced over to where my dad was putting away his tools in the little train car they had made into their house, and my mom slid half her bowl of food into my brother’s bowl. He didn’t even notice when he turned back around, grabbed a spoon, and began eating.
I shook my head and let the film go back to a live feed, watching intently while my mom pretended to eat her food. Pretended! Making a show by moving the spoon up and down, but never actually putting it into her mouth. My gut wrenched at the sight.
I stood up so fast I nearly knocked the table over as I realized what was happening. She was starving herself!
I had no idea how, but I had to get word to my brother and my dad. They had to know she was sacrificing her own life to save theirs, and they couldn’t let that happen. I had more than enough food here. I would bring them some.
I threw on my sweats and tossed a shirt over my head as I ran out the door, down the white hallways to the only man that I trusted with my secret. Peter Russo.
I burst through the doors, startling him where he sat at his computer with his white lab coat on.
“Kenzie?” His brows were knitted together.
I closed the door behind me and looked around the room to ensure we were alone. Panic was threatening to take over, but I forced myself to calm down. “I need to get to them. I have to bring them food, supplies.”
He knew who I was talking about, and when his eyes dropped I already knew what his reply would be. “I’m sorry, Kenzie, but you can’t see them. There is too much risk.” He was shaking his head as I stalked over to his desk and planted my hands firmly on it.
“She’s starving herself! They don’t see it, but I see it. I know what she is doing and she’s going to die. Please, I know you can get me to them. There has to be a way!” I pleaded with him
His face was pinched with sorrow as he shook his head. “There is no way. I am sorry.”
I tossed the books piled on his desk and let out an angry cry.
My breath quickened and my pulse raced as energy began building inside of me like a thunderstorm rumbling in the distance. My left hand shook as heat raced through it and I felt the tinge of electricity coursing through my veins.
“Kenzie, you need to calm down. You need to take a deep breath.” Peter’s eyes were wide with concern as he leaned back slowly into his chair, away from me, as if I were a monster or some vermin he was afraid of.
My eyes narrowed at him, at the fear that emanated from him, hitting my senses so strongly like I could almost taste it.
Pushing off the desk, I stalked out the room before he could say another word. Down the stairs I ran, skipping steps where I could, my pace quickened with every stride. When I reached the main level, I headed towards the front door where two Carbon guards stepped in to block my way.
“Get out of my way,” I said through clenched teeth.
“You are not permitted to leave, sir.” The one on the right put his hand up to stop me.
I took a step closer, my pulse racing and the electric current within me quickening. “Move out of the way now, before I make you.” I lifted my left hand, which had begun to burn from the inside. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, what I could possibly do against these Carbons, but when I reached the first one’s shoulder to shove him out of the way, he let out a scream laced with terror and pain.
My hand tingled where it touched his shoulder. The Carbon’s body was now stiff at my touch, as if my hand on his shoulder was the only thing keeping him standing. I blinked, and in that single second, the electricity in me shut off and the Carbon dropp
ed to the floor with a thud.
His counterpart looked down for a moment, but he did not waiver an inch to let me pass. I was ready to do the same to him, whatever it was I had done. I heard soft footsteps behind me, smooth and calculated as they drew closer.
“Where might you be going, Kenzie?”
My heart began to race uncontrollably as I realized the position I had put myself in. I couldn’t lie to him. He would know in an instant if I tried to talk my way out of this.
I turned to Coleman and spoke the truth. “I want to see my family.” Not a lie.
He nodded ever so slightly as he took another step closer. “I see. But you know that is not possible, don’t you?” He circled me, looking down to the Carbon at my feet.
My shoulders slumped as he pulled on the leash inside of me. The obedient solider replied, “Yes sir.”
He narrowed his eyes at me in a way that would have sent my body shivering if it was my own, but I was not in control of it any longer. Just like one of his mindless Carbons, Coleman had a hold of me and there was nothing I could do to fight it. This was the part of me that I hated. The thing inside of my body that betrayed me in the one moment I needed to be strong. The subconscious control he had put inside of me when he fixed my broken arm had begun revealing itself as my body grew and I became more accustom to it.
I knew I couldn’t take another step towards that door even if I tried.
He marveled down at the Carbon still unconscious at my feet. “What happened here?”
“I’m sorry, sir. I’m not sure what came over me.” I wanted to help the Carbon up, unsure if he was still alive…if Carbons were to be considered alive in the first place, that is.
“Don’t be sorry, my boy. This is a breakthrough—a show of your power. It has matured.” He looked to my hand as the reality sunk in. I had caused that. Though I didn’t know how, I could still feel the current that flowed through me, waiting to be released once again.
Untold: The Complete Watcher Series Mini Novellas (Watcher #4) Page 2