My mistake!
I had forgotten to tell the other Watchers about the Eye glitch! I sprinted off to Command as fast as I could.
I was out of breath by the time I arrived there, having run down a labyrinth of hallways, up and down stairs. I paused before I smashed through the doors.
“Off-duty means off everything,” Smith growled. How the hell did he get there so fast?
“Sorry, sorry. I forgot to tell everyone.” I breathed deeply as Smith taped his toe impatiently. “The Eye has a glitch, possibly. Last night, I didn’t see the Carbon light up until I was taking out her chip. Adam said it was all working normally but to inform everyone just in case,” I finished hastily.
Smith stared at me then turned to Sam beside him. “Inform them,” he commanded.
Sam frantically typed his code into the computer. We had security cameras everywhere so they could keep watch of us, and with that we had access to all security systems at our main tower posts. Each Watcher was taught that one beep meant there was a message, two beeps was an emergency, and three beeps, hopefully never heard, meant we’re under attack.
The soft beep, almost inaudible, sounded at each tower, and the Watchers make their way to the security panel on the roof of their buildings. They typed in their access pins and read the heavily coded message. One by one, they received the message and moved back to their posts. A few took off their eyepieces to examine them.
“Is that all, Sawyer?” Smith brought me back to reality.
“Yes.”
“Dismissed,” he ordered, and I left.
Chapter Five
I hated the silence. Though it had become my friend for the past ten years, I still couldn't stand the stillness that covered me inside this base. Out on the streets you could feel the wind moving, hear the darkness cover the city, and the silence there was not torture but rather a comfort. But in the privacy of my quarters, I was left to my sobering thoughts. And they were filled with both happy memories and nightmares all the same.
You would think a day off would be a good thing, but for me it was torture. I wanted to be in the action, not on the sidelines. Sure, we received time off as Watchers, but those days were spent training, not sitting around.
I plopped down on the small, unyielding bed. Closing my eyes, I let my mind wander where it always did in the quiet moments, back to before the war. Back to a time when we weren’t struggling to survive another day, and when my mom was a Human Aid first responder.
When rebel groups fought the government, as they often did back then, my mom was first on scene to go through the wreckage. Rebel groups liked to blow things up, not caring who was hurt in the process. My mom would search and rescue any humans who were trapped or injured. She had the assistance of Bots to get through the wreckage, but as she told me once, “Sometimes these situations require a softer touch.”
She had the softest touch of them all. I could still feel her warm hand against my cheek as she pushed my hair away from my face when it draped down as it often did. As much as she tried to keep me looking cute and lady-like, my rebellious side always poked out, even if just in the form of an unruly piece of hair.
Her inviting smile would draw you into her safety and put even the most panicked person at ease. She had dark hair like mine, only hers stopped at her shoulders in one perfectly straight line. She was plain and stunning all at the same time. We had the same eyes, sharp and brown with a ring of amber, though hers always looked so gentle and sympathetic; mine have become cold and uninviting. I always admired how her slim body was strong yet comforting. She was in amazing shape; it was mandatory for her job. Her smile is what I remember most. Loving, sympathetic, and understanding; that was my mom.
I’d watch her as she trained, often asking if I could join and she’d always say, “Not yet but someday.”
She was always kind. That was how she died in the end. My body flinched as I recall her trying to help a stranger who had fallen on the street as the war broke out around us. I relived it over and over, watching my mother rush to help out the lady as a nearby building exploded and came hurtling down, crushing them both like bugs. I was in my dad’s arms at the time.
He wasted no time mourning. He ran.
My dad was always a calculated man. He was a professor at the local robotics university. A tall, lanky man whose hair was gray throughout despite him not even being in his forties. He never smiled, and his eyes weren’t inviting like my mother’s. Yet I remember idolizing him as a child, wishing I could be as smart as Daddy. He wasn’t like my mom in any way. They were complete opposites, which is what made them work so well together. He was always busy, always working, and had little time for emotions or kindness for that matter, yet his unwavering love for my mother and me was evident to even my young mind. I barely saw my dad, barely knew him, to be honest, yet I owe him my life, and not in the strictly biological sense either.
He was home on the day of the attack, which always struck me as odd. I don’t recall any other time he was home on a weekday besides that day. He said once before he died that he had a feeling something was wrong that day, but I’m sure he didn’t expect this—nobody expected this.
He came home and told my mom to gather her things and leave. Like a petulant child, I remember complaining about leaving, saying I didn’t want to go anywhere and would rather stay home and play my games. It was my fault. I cost them both their lives. If we’d left earlier, they might still be here with me today.
Hastily, I wiped away the tears flowing down my cheeks. This was a torment that lived with me daily but wasn’t one I could have the luxury of letting in too often, not if I hoped to survive and keep others alive.
When the first bomb exploded, we all assumed it was the rebel groups, and many sought refuge with the very things that would kill them. The Bots turned on everyone they served and loved that day. Their switches were flipped, and we were no longer family or friends but enemies. Enemies whose existence must be terminated.
People were screaming on the streets as buildings blew up around us. It was chaos. Bots patrolled the streets, killing any humans who dared to cross their paths. Within twenty-four hours, half the city disappeared.
My dad lasted only a few weeks after my mom was killed. We were hiding in an abandoned hotel when they found us. There were so many of them that we didn’t stand a chance. He instructed me to climb out the window and down the long supply cable feeding power to the building. He said the cable would be warm, so he wrapped his sweater around my hands and told me to go. I didn’t even say goodbye. I assumed he’d be right behind me. But he sacrificed his own life so that I could live, and all I have left of him is the memory and an unspoken promise to one day pay back his life debt to someone else in need.
I was eight years old when that happened. Eight years old and an orphan. Left to fend for myself in the midst of a war with an unknown enemy. I was alone for two years before I met Smith and Kyle. I had been hiding in the sewers and any small places I could find, venturing out only once a week at night in search of food. I didn’t know whom to trust at the time. By then I’d found out about the Carbons, and I’d already witnessed what they were capable of. I didn’t know who was human anymore so when they found me, I ran. They followed me for miles until my muscles ached, and I couldn’t run any farther. It was a miracle we weren’t heard or seen by anyone else that day. They took me back to the base, and that was when I began my training.
It took six weeks before anyone took me seriously when I said I wanted to be a Watcher. What could a ten-year-old child do? They laughed at the idea.
But Kyle took me under his wing. He taught me how to blend in, how to be a shadow, and how to be invisible. He trained me just how he trained himself—hard and unyielding. Within a year, I was given a post. Two years after that and I was one of the best out there. Over the past eight years we have gone through many Watchers, Kyle and I being the only two constants for some time.
Most sacrificed themselves for the
safety of others. We have one rule—don’t get caught. If we’re caught, we have no other choice but to take our lives before the Carbons have a chance to discover where our base is and how many of us there are. They can get inside our heads, read our minds, and then take us all out one by one. This was our Plan B.
That was why I kept to myself. If you get too close to anyone, you get hurt when they’re gone. I had made this mistake one too many times, I wouldn’t let myself get hurt like that again.
I nearly fell out of bed when I heard the alarm go off. I was so wrapped up in my memories I nearly forgot where I was for a minute. Two beeps reverberated through the halls—there was an emergency somewhere.
I sprung to my feet and took off to Command. Chaos ensued as I walked in. Voices talked over each other, and nobody was making any sense.
“Quiet!” Smith yelled, and the room fell silent. “Kane has been caught. We’re unsure how, but our cameras picked up two Carbons carrying him back toward Sub 9. It seems he was unable to execute Plan B.” Smith glanced at the ground; we all knew what that meant.
“Who is nearby?” someone asked.
“Ethan and Tenason are closest, but they are still eight miles out. They may not make it in time,” Sam explained.
“I can make it from here; it’s only five miles,” I said.
Smith glared at me. “You’re off-duty. I’ll send someone else.”
“There is no one else! I’m the fastest you’ve got, and you know it!” I argued. “Please, you can continue to punish me once Kane is back.”
Smith sighed. I knew he agreed, but he hated to admit it. “Fine,” he said. “But if you cannot rescue him in time, you are Plan B.”
I understood. I ran down the hallway to my quarters and gathered my things as fast as I could. We were five miles from Sub 9. Where Kane was stationed was about seven miles from Sub 9, but they had a head start. I however had speed on my side though.
Without a glance back at the guards, I raced out the doors. Once I was at street level, I slowed my pace. I squeezed through the small crack in the wall and then stepped out into the open street. No one.
Sprinting down the streets, I was much more exposed than I'd prefer, but I had no time to be subtle so I stayed in the shadows as best I could.
My lungs burned, but I didn’t slow down. I pushed harder. This wasn’t about Kane or me. It was about the survival of the base.
As soon as I rounded the last corner, I spotted them. The two Carbons were carrying Kane with four Bots surrounding them for protection. I slowed my pace and crept through the rubble. Kane’s scent would mask mine but only for a little while. Soon I’d be discovered. I quickly took out a guard with a bullet to the chest but couldn’t get a clear shot as the others fired back. I was forced to retreat behind the rubble as sprays of concrete scattered into my hair.
They were close to the entrance of Sub 9. If they brought Kane inside, we were all lost. I waited for the pause of a reload and fired. One more Bot was down. I sprinted across the street, diving out of the way just in time. I couldn’t get close enough, and they were almost at the entrance. I moved to peer around the corner, and a chunk of concrete blasted away inches from my head as a bullet narrowly missed me.
My back rested against the wall, and I took a deep breath, blowing bits of dust off my face. There had to be a way. I had to get to him.
Desperately I aimed a few shots and sprinted to the other side, a closer location and hopefully an easier shot. If I could just take down one of those Carbons, I could stop them long enough to get the other before they enter Sub 9.
I was so close.
The Bots took up the front position, shielding the Carbons.
I took out my second gun strapped across my back and fired both in a blaze of fury. All except one Bot was out of the way, but more were coming to help.
There was only one choice. It’s the choice I had hoped not to have to make. I dove to the right and fired, hitting the last Bot in the leg so it fell. Racing after them, I dodged bullets as I ran. So close now.
I could make it.
I won’t make it.
I can’t.
They were nearly at the door, and I knew it must be done. I hid behind a pillar as more Bots came out to help. I took a deep breath in, closed my eyes, breathed out, opened, and fired. The metal reverberated in my hands, and my heart stopped beating for a second.
The sound of metal hitting skin, sickening and familiar.
It was done. The base was safe.
Kane was dead.
About the Author
AJ Eversley is the author of the Watcher Series. A true north Canadian girl, AJ currently lives in Central Alberta with her husband and dog. When she’s not writing, she can be found binge watching Harry Potter, quoting various movies in every day conversation, and eating copious amounts of candy.
www.watcherbook.com
Untold: The Complete Watcher Series Mini Novellas (Watcher #4) Page 18