“Everything I command, they do,” finished Zak.
“Why are you doing this?” Lily asked, tugging away from Zak’s grip.
“Do you really need to ask? Is it not obvious?”
Lily remained silent.
“Do I really have to spell it out for you? Fine. I’m doing it for them. For every last Gifted who’s ever been oppressed or abused because of who they are. Ordinary people fear us. They treat us badly because it keeps them on top and us too afraid to fight back. Do you know what proportion of the population is gifted? Ten percent. Can you imagine what could be done if that tenth united? I am that unity. Together, we can fight back, and put ourselves in our rightful place in society.”
“There must be a more peaceful way. They’ll never accept us if we fight with force.”
“Accept us? Our rightful place isn’t by their side; it’s standing tall with them under our heel.”
“What about the Gifteds? Do you think they’ll thank you once you’ve done this? They don’t want to be on top, they just want to be equal.”
“That’s just what the ordinary people want you to say. Their years of oppression have conditioned you to think equality is the best we can hope for. Once the Gifteds see what they can achieve, the glass ceiling will be broken and they’ll thank me for what I did.”
“You’re crazy to think that. Your power has corrupted you. They’ll never thank you for the world you want to create.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way. I’d almost forgiven you for earlier and considered still letting you live, but now I don’t feel so inclined. I’m sad it’s come to this, but I’m afraid this is where it must end for you.”
Zak lurched forwards, his hands extending for Lily’s neck. Lily leapt back, keeping out of reach. She suddenly felt awash with anguish, and at that point was reminded of the true horror of what Nicholas was doing. Zak was still in there, a back-seat driver in his own body, powerless to resist as he was forced to try and murder his old friend.
Somehow this drove Lily on, renewing her belief that what she was doing was right.
Sorry Zak, she thought as she ducked under his arms and smashed her elbow into his chest. He stumbled back, instinct making him clutch at the source of the pain. She sidestepped around him and began to run for the plane. It was at that point she noticed the horde of Gifteds and realised how hopeless her situation really was.
* * * *
11:05, The Colonies, Rete Forest
“How much further?” Damos asked.
“You see those lights?” the telekinetic Gifted said, pointing to a collection of flickering lights in the trees ahead.
“Yes.”
“It’s just beyond there.”
Good, Damos thought. I just have to follow him for… why has he stopped?
“Come on,” Damos said, overtaking the man. He looked back to see the man frozen, not even blinking.
It’s starting, Damos realised. He broke into a run, but he’d barely taken two steps before he felt an invisible force grab him. He rose off the ground and spun to see the man calmly approaching.
“You’re dumber than I imagined if you thought you could run,” Nicholas said through the man.
“You’re dumber than I imagined if you think he can hold me,” Damos mocked.
“You can escape? Go on then, show me,” the man said, taking another step forwards.
Damos angled his hand down. Sorry, he thought, followed by sword. A translucent sword materialised, appearing right through the man’s head. A moment later the man crumpled to the ground. Damos dropped a moment later. The sword vanished as Damos began sprinting for the clearing. He was panting by the time he reached the closest huts. Not too far away he could make out the plane, behind it a crowd of motionless people.
Shit, that’s a lot of them. Why doesn’t Owen take off?
Then it clicked.
Lily’s outside the plane.
He scanned the area for any sign of her. As he got closer, the people became clearer. He eventually spotted her long, blonde hair. She appeared to be talking to someone. All of a sudden the man lunged for her. She ducked and elbowed him in the ribs before running away. The crowd suddenly mobilised, beginning to shamble towards her like a group of coordinated zombies.
There’s no way she can escape without the plane, but Owen can’t open the door or they’ll get inside.
Damos was almost at the clearing now. None of the Gifteds seemed to have noticed him, but he knew once he cleared the trees that wouldn’t last long. They needed to get out now.
As he passed the tree line, Damos leant down, grabbed a stick and hurled it at the plane’s windscreen. It collided with a clunk. Owen’s head shot around, a look of panic on his face. Damos waved, then pointed up. Owen shot him a confused look.
Shitting-hell Owen, take off! Damos thought, gesticulating with equal ferocity. Owen’s face contorted in a way Damos knew meant he was about to object, but a moment later Damos heard the engines begin to start. Looking back down, Damos located Lily. He covered the remaining distance in a couple of strides and scooped her up over his shoulder.
“Let go,” she yelled, smacking his back.
“It’s me,” Damos said as he turned and ran back for the plane.
“Sorry, I-”
“Shut up and hold on,” Damos interrupted. Lily did as asked, wrapping her arms around his waist. Damos gritted his teeth as she squeezed the spot where Salamander had burned him.
“They’re following,” Lily said.
No shit, Damos thought, ignoring her. The plane had begun to lift off. A group of Gifteds were grasping at its landing skids, trying to pull it down. The jets roared in defiance, but the Gifteds’ weight was too great and the plane couldn’t rise.
Damos lowered his free shoulder and charged. He rammed the first Gifted in the chest, knocking him away, and continued down the line, smashing them off the skid. With the weight on one side gone, the plane tipped and lurched sideways. He watched as the Gifteds holding the other skid were thrown to the ground by the motion, the force from the plane tearing them off.
Keeping one hand firmly on Lily, Damos leapt up and grabbed a skid. Owen must have realised what was happening as the plane’s thrust adjusted to balance itself. It began to rise. A Gifted leapt up to grab on again. Damos kicked down, catching her in the shoulder. She tumbled back, landing sprawled in the dirt. The plane rose quicker now, and soon they were passing the canopy.
“Grab the skid,” Damos shouted over the noise from the engines.
Lily looked up to see where he meant.
“I can’t reach,” she replied.
Damos strengthened his grip on Lily and heaved her up. She swung her arm up, just managing to grab the bar.
Latch, Damos thought, imagining a frame gripping their arms and the skid. An identical frame erupted from his glove.
“Still don’t let go,” Damos said. He looked back down to see the crowd of Gifteds staring up at them, powerless to give chase. A thought suddenly occurred to him.
“Can any of them fly?” Damos asked.
“Yes,” Lily replied.
“Then why aren’t they following us?”
“Because Nicholas has already won.”
Chapter 23 - Dread
11:24, Rete Forest Outskirts
When the plane finally landed on the outskirts of the forest, Lily could not have been happier. Every muscle in her arm ached. As they touched down on the soft grass, the frame created by Damos’s glove vanished. Lily and Damos quickly moved out of the way of the descending plane. No sooner had it hit the ground than the back door opened and Lily and Damos rushed inside.
“That was too close,” Owen said as they reached the cock-pit. “If he’d had full control over the Gifteds, we’d have been finished.”
“You mean he didn’t?” Lily asked.
“No, I don’t think so. When he was controlling individuals, his control was absolute, but the way the group moved suggests he’s still mas
tering his power over such a large number of minds.”
“Can we use that to our advantage somehow?”
“Not really. To be honest, I’m not sure what we can do.”
“Kill him,” Damos said. Owen glanced at Lily.
“Maybe he’s right,” she said.
“And you’d be okay with that?” Owen asked.
“Unless there’s another way, I don’t think we have any other choice. Wait, what if we could somehow block his control?”
“How?”
“The same way I’m blocked from it. If we could somehow attach a fuzzer to him, wouldn’t it block his signal?”
“It doesn’t block the signal, it only stops ManaNet identifying you. Apparently that’s enough to stop Nicholas controlling you, but it’s too risky to assume it’ll work the other way.
“But you might be on to something here. If I remember rightly, there was a device developed as part of the supersoldier program, a failsafe in case one of them went rogue which could shut them down by reversing the flow of Mana. Instead of drawing power from ManaNet, they would become a supplier. If we could use it on him, he’d immediately lose his feedback from those he was controlling, and moments later he’d be drained, shutting down his control.”
“Screw it. We snap his neck and his power shuts off permanently,” Damos replied.
“But that would mean killing him,” Lily said.
“You were fine with that a moment ago.”
“Only because I thought there was no other way. Nicholas has done awful things, but no one deserves to die.”
“She’s right Damos, if we can do this without murdering him, we should,” Owen said.
“That’s rich coming from you. How many kills have you helped commit?” Damos replied.
“I’ll be the first to admit I’ve committed some terrible acts in my time, but now is my chance to try and atone for them. You cannot atone for a murder with more murders.”
“Fine,” Damos said.
“Where can we find this device then?” Lily asked. An intense feeling of dread overcame her. She knew it was coming from Owen, but she still felt a chill run down her spine.
“It was stored at the military base where we were producing the supersoldiers.”
A moment of silence passed before Owen started up the engines.
“You don’t have to leave the plane. Damos and I can get it,” Lily said eventually.
“No, you won’t know what to look for. I’ll have to come too.”
Resigned to his fate, Owen hit the throttle and the plane began to rise, heading for the place Lily knew Owen had hoped he’d never have to visit again.
* * * *
11:36, Approaching the Supersoldier Factory
“That’s it,” Owen said as a building came into view in the distance. Lily sat up straight and looked out over the landscape below. The grassy fields had disappeared, to be replaced with an arid landscape of dusty earth and dead trees.
“A forest fire, caused by the incident, claimed the forest which hid the encampment. The land’s never recovered,” Owen explained.
In the distance Lily could make out a small collection of buildings. As they approached, she began to be able to distinguish them. A large central building formed the main part of the complex. Several smaller buildings surrounded it. Some were connected to the central one, while others stood alone. Each was made from sheet metal, rusted and worn away, as if nature were trying to clean the blemish from its beautiful wasteland.
“Despite what you say, you don’t have to come with us. We can find the device by ourselves,” Lily said, feeling Owen’s apprehension grow as the distance to the base shrank.
“No, it’ll be far easier if I’m there. We’ve lost all our earpieces, so I’d have no way of checking what you’d found was the right thing without you returning. I also know my way around the complex. Besides, I’m more worried about you than me. Are you sure you’re prepared to see what’s inside?”
Lily remembered back to the hotel room, when Victoria had told her what had happened. The sense of dread she’d been feeling partially became her own.
Owen parked the jet just outside what Lily presumed was the main entrance, opening the hatch to face the sliding steel doors.
“Help me up,” Owen said, pushing himself up with his arms and sliding his legs out from under the control wheel. Lily grabbed under his armpits and together they got him out of the chair.
“How’s your leg?” Lily asked.
“Tolerable,” Owen replied, limping out the cockpit and joining Damos at the base of the ramp from the plane.
“How do we get inside?” Lily asked.
“Assuming the codes haven’t changed, I should be able to open the door,” Owen replied, reaching out and pressing in a long string of numbers. The machine beeped and a green light flashed on. The doors slid apart to reveal darkness inside. Lily was instantly struck by the smell of rotting flesh, trapped in the building all this time. She involuntarily gagged, turning away and coughing. After a few seconds she managed to compose herself.
The trio tentatively entered. Lily contemplated suggesting they search for a light switch but then caught herself.
Perhaps it would be best to leave some things unseen…
Before Lily could decide which she preferred, the decision was made for her as the lights flickered on. She found herself looking down a corridor lit by strip lights.
That could have been a lot worse.
Owen led the way, leading them up a staircase to the first floor.
“How accurately do you know the location of this device?” Damos asked.
“I’m almost certain it will be in the control room overlooking the main atrium. That’s where they used to watch the supersoldiers from.”
“Watch them do what?” Lily asked.
“Sleep. And if they weren’t sleeping, that’s when the device would be required.”
“Did you ever see it used?”
“No, but I’ve seen it. Its operation is very self-explanatory.”
After a couple more turns, Owen stopped outside a room and pushed the door open, holding it for them to enter. Lily was the first to go through. The lights came on as she did. The room wasn’t huge, but big enough for several people to stand around comfortably. Three of the walls were metal, like the rest of the building, but the one opposite Lily was made from glass. What lay beyond she couldn’t see as it was shrouded in darkness.
She turned her attention back to the room, scanning it for any kind of device which resembled what she expected. Nothing immediately stood out to her. She stepped further into the room, allowing Owen and Damos to enter.
“There is is,” Owen said, walking up to one of the tables at the edge of the room. Lily looked around as he reached down and picked something up. The room was suddenly filled with light. Without thinking, Lily turned to look at the source.
Owen picking up the device seemed to have triggered the lights in the room beyond the glass. Lily stared out over what looked like a huge warehouse. It spanned two stories, giving her a birds-eye view over the rows and rows of metal beds which covered its floor. Many lay on their sides, or upside-down, or torn in half, their serrated edges glinting under the strip lighting. Reddish brown marks covered the walls and floor, plastered on so thick that the paint behind was no longer visible.
All of this was nothing compared to the corpses: mangled skeletons, twisted out of shape, fused with metal strips and wires. A couple were complete, showing the full extent of the grafting the poor men and woman had undergone, but most were not.
Victoria lied. These people didn’t slit their throats; they literally tore themselves apart, piece by piece, until there wasn’t enough of them left to continue.
“Don’t look,” Owen shouted, and Lily felt someone tug her away. But it was too late. She stood there, shaking, as tears rolled down her face. She wanted to speak, to shout, to do something, but all she could do was stand.
Seconds
, minutes, hours could have passed. Lily had no idea. She stood, thinking about all the people who’d suffered and died, until eventually her mind forced her back to reality and she came to her senses, more determined than ever.
“You have the device?” she asked.
“Yes,” Owen replied.
“Then let’s go,” she said, marching towards the door. Owen followed, Damos taking up the rear. Lily led them back out into the corridor, following the route they’d taken in reverse until she reached the stairs. She took them two at a time, charging down, until she bumped into something and was forced to stop.
“Lily, get back!” Owen yelled. Something grabbed her collar and tore her away. Owen suddenly appeared in front of her, brandishing a long metal spike. He thrust it forwards. A crack echoed down the corridor, followed by a clattering sound.
It took Lily a moment to register what had made the sound: a skeleton collapsing. It lay in front of her, a spike jutting out of its sternum.
“We have to get out now. You lead the way,” Owen said, retrieving the spike and tossing it to Damos. As the spike passed her, Lily noticed that an intricate circuit coated its surface, like that on her fuzzer.
That’s the device we came here for, she realised.
“Come on,” Owen yelled, limping as fast as he could. Lily felt Damos thrust her forwards and she broke into a run, catching up with Owen. Damos quickly overtook the both of them, leading them back towards the plane.
“Where did it come from?” Lily asked.
“The atrium,” Owen replied. “Some of their grafts must still be functional. He’s controlling them too.”
Lily didn’t reply for fear of getting a stitch, instead focusing on getting out of the complex and to the plane. Another skeleton staggered out of a room in front of them. Its artificial eye rolled around the socket before falling upon Damos. Its arm activated, the tendrils expanding as a blade materialised. Damos threw himself against the wall as the skeleton lunged for him. The blade narrowly missed. Damos responded with a kick to the chest. The metal strips running along each rib bent, sending bone splinters clattering against the far wall, but they didn’t break. The skeleton swung again, catching Damos’s arm. He grunted as the blade sliced into his bicep. Blood sprayed against the wall. Lily felt a pang of rage and Damos screamed, hurling himself against the skeleton. The pair toppled to the ground. The skeleton stabbed down. Damos rolled to dodge, leaving a red smear across the concrete floor. The skeleton prepared to stab again. Damos swung the spike up with his uninjured arm and stabbed, ramming its end into the skeleton’s skull. The skeleton’s eye shut off and its whole form froze rigid. Damos tugged back on the spike, pulling it free, before tipping the skeleton off of himself and clambering to his feet.
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