For a moment, I felt lost. What had I done to cause my daughter to want to kill herself? How could she not see that everything I had done had been for her?
I pulled her into my chest, and she melted into me, letting her body relax as I held her close. “You cannot die, you will not die. You are my daughter, and I love you.” I moved her back so I could look into her eyes. “This is all for you. You will see, one day, that everything I have done has been for you.”
She closed her eyes and shook her head slowly. “This has never been about me. This has always been about you.” She pushed away from me, shuffling her feet out of the room with slow, labored movements.
I stood there alone wondering if she was right. Could I have been fooling myself into thinking this wasn’t about me trying to right the wrongs I had felt sixteen years ago? When I lost my beloved Selena, something had changed inside of me, in my heart. All I wanted was to see my daughter live a full life, to protect her from those who would seek to destroy her one day. But in these past years, things had changed more than I had expected. I had changed…
Chapter Eleven
One last chance. I’d give them, and myself, one more opportunity to make it right. I set up the meeting as planned, only this time I’d go alone. And I’d reveal everything.
“I am not sure how much longer I can quell the masses, Ian. They want you gone, they want the Carbon project banned,” Governor Castello huffed as he sat in the chair across from me.
“This time I might have some information that will change their minds,” I said, and before I could allow them to protest anymore, I rolled up the sleeve of my jacket and slid the knife I had tucked in my pocket against my skin.
I saw Commander Murray jump first, ready to protect his governor should I choose to turn the knife on him. But I wouldn’t, not now. I wiped off the blood from the knife and stashed it safely back in my pocket while I let the blood drip from my arm onto the solid oak table we sat around.
“What is the meaning of this?” The governor’s eyes were wide in shock as he watched the blood flow.
I grabbed the cloth from my jacket pocket and placed it over the wound. It soaked up red with blood as I wiped it away. When the cloth was pulled away from my arm, there was nothing left but a faint pink scar that was already beginning to disappear.
The governor gasped. “How did you…? What did you…?”
It was Commander Murray who understood first. He was a smart man, the kind of skill I’d need to utilize in the future. “You did it to yourself too? You’re one of them…a Carbon?” he asked.
I nodded.
“But how? I thought the tests had failed,” the governor asked, his face still blanched.
“Many had, but just like my daughter I hold something inside of me that allows my human body and my Carbon body to be compatible,” I explained. “So now you see that it can work, and it has worked more than once. I am very close to solving this and just need you to make the people see this. We need more volunteers.”
The governor looked scared and ready to give me just about anything, but it was Murray who stepped in first. “They won’t listen,” he said with the firmness of the Commander he was. “They will not condone the workings of a madman. They will never support a project that could wipe out our entire population, our entire city. They have seen what the Carbons are capable of, what you are capable of and it terrifies them. You reveal this, you tell them what you are, and I guarantee there will be a mob outside of Sub 9 within minutes.”
Governor Castello looked surprised at the bluntness of his Commander, but he did not question him.
I inclined my head to him, pushing the chair back with a snide smirk. “That’s too bad. I had hoped our citizens were a little smarter. But that’s fine, we will see what these people are made of. Who can stand behind such strong bold words.” I stopped at the door and turned back one last time, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
It took less than a day to get my retribution. I watched from my office window as my bots, my creations programmed to obey every order I gave them, destroyed the city that sought to destroy me. The Carbons made swift work of securing the scientists and doctors I needed to continue my work, and they brought Commander Murray with them for good measure. I was sure I could use him somehow soon.
Within two weeks, the majority of the damage was done. I had spared those I felt worthy or useful. My daughter was kept safe in her quarters along with Sarah and her family, as well as a young boy named Kenzie, who would bridge the gaps between the humans and machines until the Carbons could take over.
And, though he ran at first, I welcomed Peter back when my bots found him a few weeks later, his near-dead wife in his arms. He’d pay for his distrust and cowardice, but for now I’d put him to use and make sure he stayed loyal.
“You may not understand now, but one day you will see why this had to happen,” I said to the young boy Kenzie as he watched out his window to the city below that was a pile of ash and ruins. Peter stood silently a few feet behind me, watching as I spoke to the boy.
Kenzie had come only weeks before the fall of Cytos. His arm had been destroyed and left useless from an accident as a little boy, but I repaired it. I created in him something not entirely human but not wholly machine. There was a powerful energy building inside of him that would one day be useful.
I couldn’t create the Carbons I needed yet, but with Kenzie as my test subject, I could still wield the power I needed.
“Why can’t you just bring them here?” he asked me with a stubborn pout. Kenzie still didn’t realize that his parents had abandoned him; they had left him. He’d understand the cold reality of life soon enough.
I saw in him something of my old self. Someone willing to see good despite all the wrongs they have felt. A person wanting to live a better life and to be a better person. But I had snubbed out that person in me a long time ago, and he would too one day.
“Your parents made a decision. You know this, Kenzie. You cannot see them again. It would be detrimental to your progress, to your mission.” I took a step toward him as I peered out the window to the crumbling screaming city below. “They left you. They do not deserve your sympathy. None of them do. You cannot trust anyone in this world now. This world is corrupt and broken, but I am going to fix it. And you will help me.”
“I don’t want to do this. I’m useless to you. How can I possibly help with your mission?” Kenzie flexed his hand again as a sob caught in his throat, but he choked it back down.
“You will soon see that you are more important than you realize. You will be needed, and I am certain you will be ready when the time comes.” I gave his shoulder a squeeze before I left, brushing past Peter who was still standing a few steps behind me.
Chapter Twelve
Six months later, my fate was sealed. That thing inside of me that had awaken over sixteen years ago when I lost Selena had come full circle and settled deep in my heart. One last event would cause it to latch into place and take up residence forever. I’d thought for a long time that my fate was already secure. I’d taken the city, I’d found my vengeance, and I was on my way to figuring out the key to creating Carbons like Lena and I. But it all meant nothing without her by my side.
I’d woken that morning to something unusual. I couldn’t explain it to anyone, but there was a dark spot inside of me that suddenly appeared. Like a cancer was growing inside of me, and that dark spot was the first of many.
Sometime in the later afternoon while I was working in my office, the power went off. I sat in darkness before the lights turned back on and the alarms sounded.
“What is it?” I asked Peter, who was still in the room with me.
He shrugged his shoulders.
I stood and hurried down the hallway toward Lena’s room to check on her. I walked into the quiet white space, filled with pink flowers on the wall and a little reading chair in the corner. At first, it didn’t look any different than usual, nothing was out of pla
ce, but the room was empty.
On her bed, I noticed a folded-up piece of paper. “Daddy” was scrawled across the outside. I opened it and began to read.
Dear Daddy,
I can no longer watch you destroy innocent lives. I cannot sit by and do nothing. And I know there is no stopping you. I know this makes me a coward, but I have to leave.
Do not try to find me. I won’t be coming back.
This was never about me, and one day you will realize that it was your selfishness that took everything away from you, not all the people you destroyed or tried to blame. You are the decider of your path. You made the decisions that shaped your journey. And you are the only one who will be held accountable for what you have done.
Lena
My hand was shaking as I finished reading the letter. Behind me, I heard Peter say something, but it was muffled by the ringing in my ears. I dropped to the bed as my world shattered around me.
“Find her,” I demanded.
The alarms sounded louder as the ringing ceased. I stormed out the room and headed back to my office. Peter was behind me yelling out orders and pulling up security camera footage from his tablet.
“There!” He caused me to stop so quick he almost bumped into my back.
The screen was black before the power went back on and the lights flickered brightly in the main foyer of Sub 9. There in the middle of the room, running toward the open entrance door, was my daughter, Lena, Sarah’s husband, Richard, and their son, Anthony.
I smashed the tablet into a million pieces. “Bring Sarah to me,” I ordered before I stepped into the elevator and took it to the ground floor.
My bots and guards scrambled out into the city in search of my daughter, but they wouldn’t find her. She was more like me than she cared to admit, and she’d have taken every precaution necessary to ensure she escaped from this place forever. I needed a different set of skills to get her back.
“What happened?” Kenzie asked cautiously as he tiptoed to my side.
“She’s gone.” My eyes scanned the city, looking for her even though it was futile.
“Who’s gone, sir?” Kenzie looked up with worried eyes.
“My life, my existence. The only reason I have come this far.” My eyes filled with glassy water, and my voice caught at the end as I said, “My daughter. She’s gone.”
Back in my office, Sarah stood before me trembling.
“Where did they go?” I asked through clenched teeth.
She shook her head. “Away from you. I don’t know, I told them not to tell me.” Though she was clearly afraid of me, she didn’t back down. She had been found coming out of the main electrical room. She was the one to cut out the power to Sub 9 so my daughter, her husband, and her son could escape.
“They won’t get far. I will find them. And your husband and son will pay for this,” I warned. She dropped her gaze as a tear rolled down her cheek.
“If she lives. If she can get away from you. Then it will be worth it.” Sarah narrowed her eyes.
I tilted my head to the side, surveying her before I pulled out my gun and put one bullet through her skull. Her body dropped limp to the ground. “Was that worth it?” I sneered.
One of my guards pulled her body away while another shoved in a familiar face. Murray was bruised, and blood spilled from his lip, he hadn’t come willingly from the cell I kept him in, waiting until he’d be needed. And now, he was needed.
“You going to kill me too, you coward?” Murray spat.
I watched him before I nodded to Peter, who stepped behind Murray. The two Carbons, who dragged him in, shoved Murray into the chair before one pushed his head forward and Peter made a small incision at the base of Murray’s skull. Murray flinched, but my Carbons held him in place.
“I’m not going to kill you, Murray.” I stepped around the desk so I was face-to-face with Murray. His chin was dropped to the ground, but his eyes followed me the whole way. “I’m going to use you.”
He grimaced, and Peter connected the microchip to the base of his skull. The microchip latched to the vertebra at the top of his neck. Like a strong magnet it clung to his spine and sent out a wave of orders and commands to his brain. Murray’s body went rigid and tense.
Peter stitched up the small incision, and the Carbons pulled Murray back up to his feet. He towered over me, glaring down at my small body.
With a smile, I said, “Find my daughter, and bring her back to me. You will report back daily, and you will obey every order I give you. Is that understood?”
Murray blinked before his head gave a nod, and he said, “Yes, sir.” He left the room.
Chapter Thirteen
It took me another three years to discover what it was inside of me that made me different. I called it the “C-Node code.” A little part hidden in the DNA of a few worthy people. This code was what allowed the Carbon to connect to the human host body. It was the key to the power and energy living inside of each Carbon, like Lena’s shield and my protective layer. This code was different in each Carbon and allowed them all to harness different abilities. Lena’s powers and my powers had been similar, but they still had a few small differences. I couldn’t project my shield out like Lena, but mine was all consuming within my body and kept me strong and immortal.
Murray had betrayed me much quicker than I had expected. His human will and strength made him an ideal ally but also allowed him to break the hold I had on him without much trouble. I’d soon find a way to make that control unbreakable. He had escaped my reaches and was collecting all the humans I was seeking to use and hiding them from me. I knew where he was hiding, I was the one to tell him about the underground bunker used back in WWIII, but I also knew he’d rather die than help me, and I had to bide my time in order to build up my regime.
I had many foot soldiers, many Carbons willing and able to kill every last human I asked them too, but I needed more of the humans with the C-Node code so I could build a new world and a new life.
There were talks of another rebel group building up near the city of Kuros, but they’d be no match against my Carbons and I once I built up an army.
So I took my time, and I waited for the enemy to make their mistake, and I’d send in my best operative to destroy them. Kenzie would be the key to winning this war.
Lena had disappeared, but I wouldn’t stop looking for her. I had a lifetime to find her, and I’d take as long if I needed to.
There was still a dark spot in my soul that was growing since the day she left me. The only way to stop that darkness from growing would be to find her. It’d be the only way to fill up that space threatening to consume me.
And I would find her.
My path was set, my journey had begun, and anyone that stood in my way would pay the ultimate price. There was nothing I wouldn’t do for my daughter. There was nothing I wouldn’t do to get her back.
Max
A Watcher Mini Novella
Chapter One
Have you ever been alone? I mean truly alone. So much so, that you thought you might be the last person on earth? Deep down inside you knew there must be someone else out there, but a part of you really wasn’t sure.
I have. And it wasn’t the eerie silence that bothered me, or the lack of warmth when I huddled alone under a tree, shivering to no end. It was the thought of dying alone. To have nobody that would mourn me, miss me … it terrified me. Dying alone could be my reality any day now.
And I knew I would die, someday, I just wasn’t prepared for how soon that day would come. I prayed every night that I wouldn’t be alone when it happened, not like I was now. Not while the living nightmares haunted my every thought, consuming every facet of my being.
The shadows of unknown creatures stalked me through this forest, hunting me. Focusing all their energy on me because I was the only one they were looking for, there was no one else to look for. They took their time, waiting for me to slip up and the opportunity to rip me to shreds presented itself.
Alone.
I would die alone.
Feet hit the ground. Harder, faster. My feet. I was pushing them as much I could but the creatures that tracked me were stronger and bigger. I dove under the low hanging brush, thorns scraping at my face, but I couldn’t stop, couldn’t slow down. Jumping back up to my feet I took off again. My breath was hot and it burned my lungs but there was no way out, no way through this dense forest I had spent the last few weeks alone in. But still I tried. I pushed myself as hard as I could so that I might survive—for him. For my dad. He’d sacrificed himself to get me out of that city and I couldn’t let that be in vain.
When I came to a stop, my feet skidded across the leaf-strewn forest floor and I nearly missed it, nearly missed my salvation. My chest loosened at the thought that I might be safe. For tonight anyways. These things were smart, cunning. They would find a way to get to me and I would be on the move again.
I climbed the tree as high as I could, my muscles protesting with every move, before I stepped on to the strong branch flexed out to the slick stone wall I now reached for. It was protruding from the rich green forest bed in one clean line straight up and straight down. My hand slipped on the smooth edge and I nearly lost my balance, but I held onto the branch and tried once more. I gripped the edge of the cliff and pulled myself into the small crevice that was just large enough for me to curl my body into if I hugged my knees in tightly.
They prowled below me. I could hear their guttural growls as I held my breath and prayed they would move on, prayed they wouldn’t catch my scent lingering on the base of that tree.
Untold: The Complete Watcher Series Mini Novellas (Watcher #4) Page 9