by T. C. Edge
I see it all now as well, only moments after my mentor. The world filling with gunfire, coming at us from all sides. We’ve walked into a deathtrap. Athena was right. We’ve been lured right in.
As the white wisps of bullets fill the air, the world begins to roar. And suddenly, from behind doors and on the tops of buildings, soldiers appear, firing at us from cover.
Over the sudden din, Drake roars: “SPREAD OUT! TAKE THEM DOWN!”
Caught in the web of bullets, my first thought goes to avoiding death rather than inflicting it. I duck and weave through the hailstorm of lead, just as my comrades begin to return fire. With precision and skill, several of the enemy fall instantly, unable to see their death coming as we move around their bullets, aim, fire, and then continue to weave and dance.
It’s a beautiful ballet of death. We move around the central square, drawing their fire apart, giving each other space to move as dozens of soldiers empty their magazines at us. Bullets fizz into the earth at our feet and the buildings around us, but none enter our own flesh. Those that try mostly ping and bounce straight off our suits, unable to find a way through the almost impenetrable cloth.
Using the many tools on our multi faceted guns, we send explosive shells and fire at those hidden out of sight. When they upgrade their attack, we’re forced to spread wider, avoiding the grenades and rockets launched in our direction. Before long, the entire square is decimated, many of the buildings around it crumbling and on fire.
An untold number of mercenaries lie amid the rubble.
All of our people remain standing.
More enemies come, however, flooding from inside the buildings that remain intact. The fight goes on, and as it does, I feel my mind beginning to weaken with a sudden and unstoppable vision. It’s so close, so near, as if it’s a mix between a vision and my own sight into the Void. And amid the battle, I can do nothing but be drawn into it, falling into the dark pit.
I see the world below us, the lab that’s drawn us here. I see the machine, the chair, the shape of a body sitting inside it, the helmet atop its head. I see the wires going into the helmet, the computer screen around it filled with data and glowing with pale colour. And the wires, bursting with light, flashing white and shallow blue as electrical currents flow down them.
My mind twists and turns, and I feel the force of a bullet clattering into my arm, bouncing off my suit. It breaks me momentarily from the spell of the vision, and I see flashes of the battle again. I hear Drake shouting, his voice muddied, calling for me to be protected. But not just me, my mother too.
“Protect Theo…protect Cyra!” he calls.
I look through the blur and see that Cyra too is in the throes of a vision. Her eyes have gone white as bullets begin bouncing against her bodysuit, her life just as vulnerable as mine as Athena bounds towards her and Drake and Velia come at me.
Then, my mind sinks again into the vision, and the battlefield around me goes blank. Once more, the lab appears, and I feel the presence of many people in the room, standing around the machine, watching as it does its work.
But there’s a presence that feels stronger, more powerful than all the others. One I’ve never felt before, bubbling under the surface as it rises up and takes form.
I don’t understand it, can’t make it all out, as the vision blurs and fades before my eyes. With my heart racing, I feel the world taking shape around me again, and find myself lying beside my mother inside a building, hidden out of sight as the others protect us outside. Only Drake kneels above us, trying to wake us from our stupor.
My eyes flicker and open, and I turn to see that Cyra remains locked inside her mind. Drake’s eyes widen and come to me, shaking my shoulders.
“What did you see, Theo?! What’s happening?!” he shouts.
I shake my head, barely understanding what I saw myself.
“I…I don’t know. It’s happening, right now… it’s happening,” I gasp. “I saw the lab and the same machine. But, it was different from before…”
I make no sense, my words coming out all jumbled. Drake turns back to Cyra and continues to try to wrest her from her own mind.
“Cyra, Cyra, wake up!” he calls.
Shaking her violently, her eyes suddenly open, flashing wide like a ventriloquist dummy.
“Cyra!” calls Drake again. “Cyra, what have you seen?!”
Her eyes stare for a second, making eye contact with nothing but the empty space before her. Drake shakes her again, and draws her blue eyes to his.
“What have you seen Cyra!” he calls again.
“It’s him…” she whispers. “He’s back…”
“Who?!” asks Drake loudly. “Who is back?!”
My mother shakes her head, and scrunches up her eyes, as the battle outside continues to rage.
“Knight,” she says, the word coming between sharp breaths. “His mind…his consciousness. That’s what the machine is for. They’re going to put his mind into the clone’s body…they’re bringing Augustus back to life…”
26
The Final Fight
With the world outside us in turmoil, a short silence descends as my mother and grandfather stare at each other. For a second, Drake’s lips move but no words come out. And then, finally, he speaks.
“That was the special purpose for AK1 all along,” he whispers. “It’s not to give life to these clones. It’s to become the second coming of Augustus Knight. His body is just a vessel…”
“Then we have to stop this!” I shout. “We have to get down there now!”
We all stand to our feet, my mother still looking a little dazed. I ask her if she’s all right, and she nods her head quickly and tries to shake the cobwebs from her mind.
We move towards the door, and outside see that most of the mercenaries have now been dispatched, Athena, her two students, and Velia doing a great job of stymying the attack.
Athena and Velia come rushing over, leaving the others to mop up the remaining mercenaries.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” asks Athena.
“It’s hard to explain,” says Drake. “We need to get into the facility right away.”
At that moment, a fresh feeling of dread engulfs us all. We all feel it at once, and all of our eyes turn quickly towards the other end of the square, near the entrance to the facility.
As we turn and look, a cry spreads out across the air, and we look to see that the source is one of Athena’s Watchers, kneeling in the earth, his neck cut open and pouring blood.
Standing behind him, a cloaked figure awaits us, deadly dagger in hand, hood slung back and hanging down his neck.
One of the Seekers has come.
Nearby, I hear a roar from the other Watcher. Seeing his friend on his knees, he charges straight in and attacks. The Seeker casually swallows the man up in his limbs, wrapping his arms around the man’s neck.
“NO!” shouts Athena.
It’s too late. A loud crack fills the air as the Seeker twists the Watcher’s neck, turning his head backwards. And with a twisted smile, he drops him to the floor, joining his comrade, two noble warriors side by side in death.
Drake shuffles straight to Athena’s side and lays his hand on her arm. I can see her staring at her men, brimming with fury and hatred, her entire body quivering and ready to strike.
Drake turns back to us.
“We have to get down there, now,” he whispers harshly.
Still staring, Athena speaks. Her voice is low, full of suppressed rage, a strange calm to it. “Go,” she says. “I can take care of this.”
“No,” says Cyra, stepping in. “We fight together.”
“There’s no time,” says Athena, refusing to take her eyes off the Seeker. “All of you, go…NOW.”
Drake nods at us.
“She’s right…”
“NO,” says Cyra again.”
“We have no choice!” says Drake. “Now come…”
“I’ll stay.”
All eyes turn
to the petite frame of Velia, fire pouring from her own eyes. She moves up next to Athena.
“I’ll fight with you, Athena,” she says. “I’ll stay.”
Now it’s my turn to signal my doubts.
“Velia, you might…”
She turns to me with a weak smile.
“I’ll be fine, Theo,” she says.
I pour in towards her, and rush my lips onto hers.
“I…I…”
“I know, Theo. Now go, I’ll be fine with Athena.”
I stand with her hands in mine, refusing for a moment to let go. Her eyes tell me it’ll all be OK, that we have to all play our part in this now. Slowly, her fingers slip from mine, and she turns back to her foe, and together with Athena, they begin walking at the smirking Seeker, standing above the two dead Watchers.
For a moment, I just stand, unable to move, as they advance on the clone. Wanting to help. Wanting to fight. Wanting to stay and protect the girl I’m falling for.
But I know that I can’t. I know that, below us, even greater threats await. And I know, too, that with only my mother, and grandfather remaining, the odds are against us all.
With Drake calling for me to follow, I tear my eyes from Velia, just as their battle begins, and start to rush towards the building, straight at the entrance that will lead us into the depths of the cliffs.
Refusing to look back, I enter into the blackness, the three of us charging straight down a narrow corridor. With Drake leading us, we dart this way and that, through rooms and doors and towards the lifts that will take us down.
Knowing the lift might be rigged, we choose to take the stairs instead, rushing down flight after flight as we descend into the rock. It’s quiet now, the sounds from the war above muted by the layers of earth above us, the air growing close and humid before we reach the base and Drake’s eyes guide us to a door.
Through we go, the air suddenly cool once more as we enter into the air conditioned facility. Looking left and right and straight ahead, corridors stretch into the fading light, the walls slick and clean and white.
“This way,” calls Drake, urging us to follow as he takes the middle passage, leading us straight on.
We move along the corridor, past numerous rooms originally intended for the housing, training, and development of Watchers. But now, this place has been infected with an evil purpose, a purpose to grow an army of clones in the image of Augustus Knight. A purpose to bring the very man back from the dead, infuse his cloned body with his own mind.
And should they succeed, Knight will once again sit at the summit of the world, commanding a force of his own clones. Destined to live forever, with the capacity to spread his own mind and body far and wide, he’ll never be defeated.
Now, right now, is our only chance.
So on we rush, unencumbered by any guards or other opposition, the soldiers stationed here drawn up to the fight above. The place is vast, spreading deep into the cliffside, tunnels and corridors leading to various rooms and large chambers to the left and right.
But our step isn’t halted, our path led by Drake, one of the few men who knows this facility well. Through the maze of labs and research rooms and corridors we go, eventually arriving at a door marked ‘Training Bay 1’.
We pass through the security door, and beyond I see a vast open space that instantly reminds me of the Grid. Inside, the lights blaze from above, flickering every so often. The power appears to be unstable, surges of current flowing across the ceiling.
“It must be the machine,” hisses Drake. “They’re using it now...”
His words bring us back into a quick step. We charge straight onwards, panting hard now. My legs begin to burn, my heart rate climbing fast. At the back of the hall, a further door leads us on towards a series of large laboratories and training areas, places where the new breed of Watchers were set to live and eat and train and socialise. Places where they’d test their strength and see their powers unleashed by the new technologies devised by our scientists.
Now, that purpose is no more. Instead, the place has been given over to the development of a clone army of the enemy instead. In the darkest, most distant part of the facility, the latest experiment of the Baron is being put into play.
Augustus Knight is coming back to life.
The lights on the walls continue to flicker, the energy being drawn from all quarters of this place to the machine in which AK1 sits. My mind turns to him now. Surely he doesn’t know what’s happening? Surely the true purpose of his existence has been kept from him?
Is it just him who’s going to gain Knight’s consciousness? Will all of them receive the same, giving Knight total power and control over all of his forms?
I think of the connection my mother has with AK1, the same as me, only much stronger. These clones all appear connected, fighting as one organism, one being. As if they have a telepathic link to communicate, to act as one. A link, perhaps, that Cyra and I have been able to tap into…
If Knight controls all his clones, all his forms, his influence would spread far and wide. This country would never recover, never be free. And maybe the entire world would fall under his rule, leaving the fate of humankind under his thumb for the rest of time…
We reach a final door, deep now in the facility, as Drake turns to us with a scowl.
“The primary labs are beyond this door,” he says. His eyes scan his beloved daughter’s face, then do the same to mine. “We are a family, and we fight as a family,” he says, his voice quiet now. “And…if we have to die to stop this, then we die as a family too.”
He quickly pulls us into a hug, and I grip tight at them both.
“I love you both, and always will,” whispers Drake. “Now, be strong…let’s finish this.”
He releases us, and I see my mother’s eyes shining with a gloss of tears as she looks at me. With a couple of blinks, she washes away the emotion, and her eyes emerge once more with a steady stare as she turns to the door.
Drake opens it up, and before my eyes the wide open lab from my visions appears. Stretching away into the distance, and filled with equipment and machinery, we draw our gazes straight up to the far end.
Stepping in, we see the many tubes lined up at the rear, and the machine before them with the shadow sitting within. And around it, a grouping of people who have seen to this dastardly plan: the Baron, the Cabal, the scientists who have lent their brains to the task.
We move in, and all eyes begin to rise up to us. Mine turn to the Baron, dressed in his fine maroon cloak, the rest of them exquisitely adorned in their regalia as they bring in this momentous occasion.
I stare at the Baron, and see that he’s well protected. To his sides stand two Seekers, dressed in their usual cloaks, their hoods hanging over their heads. But in the flashing light, I can make out their faces, their eyes, as we advance into the pit.
I look closely at one, and see the shape of his jaw, the slight difference in his frame, the light blue mixed in with the grey of the eyes. And then I realise…
It isn’t AK1 in the machine at all.
It’s another Seeker, the top of his head hidden within a helmet, wires coiling out of it and into the machine around him. They buzz with blue and white energy, the room vibrating as the machine hums and cracks, all those around it looking on nervously to see if it works.
Then, the Baron’s voice fills the room, everyone turning to the three of us, standing in a line before them, slowly raising up our weapons.
“Well well, how wonderful for you all to make it…” he says, no fear in him at all as I guide the tip of my gun right at his heart.
I look at AK1, standing to his side, and see his eyes widening a little behind his hood, staring at me and then to Cyra. The Baron casually lifts up his hand, and extends his index finger right at us.
“Take them,” he growls. “And take them alive…there’s someone I dearly want them to meet.”
And with those words, the remaining Seeker, and AK1, begin walk
ing slowly towards us.
The final fight is on.
27
Friend or Foe
With a roar from Drake, we open fire.
Immediately, the two Seekers begin to quicken their pace, dodging round our bullets as they advance. Behind them, the Baron and his allies take cover, but only briefly. Because within seconds, a barrier rises up from the ground, protecting those behind from the oncoming barrage of bullets.
Closed off, we’re unable to inflict any damage on the men and women at the head of this plot, or the vulnerable Seeker sitting in the machine. Still, we all click to explosive rounds and send them right at the transparent wall, trying to break through and destroy the terrible machine behind it.
The rounds explode into swirls of fire and smoke, covering our view of the world beyond. But when the dust clears, the room behind remains unscathed, the barrier impossible to penetrate with the firepower at our disposal.
I turn my attention back to the two clones coming towards us, and aim my fire at the one who carries Knight’s genes alone. We all do the same, trying to cut him down as AK1 drops a little behind, his pace slowing a touch. As I shoot, and watch the other Seeker weaving towards us, I note the continued look of confusion in AK1’s eyes, the conflict still raging within as he sets his eyes on Cyra, half of what he is belonging to her.
From the back of the hall, the rest watch, now safe behind their barrier. I hear the Baron’s voice booming over a speaker, filling the room loudly as it looks to overcome the echoing gunfire.
“TAKE THEM. TAKE THEM ALIVE! AK1…FIGHT!”
AK1’s inactivity has been noticed. The other Seeker is almost upon us now, our fire only slowing him but nothing more. I see him draw his hood back as he comes, his fists clenching and preparing for battle. To my right, Cyra and Drake drop their guns to the floor, and I see knives drawn out for the attack as the three of them come together.
Beside them, AK1 advances on me. With the others engaging in hand-to-hand combat, I drop my own weapon and lift up my fists. I leave my extendable dagger in my belt, once more standing face to face with the boy I met only weeks ago, the boy who has been in my thoughts ever since.