After Darkness II
Page 28
Terra made her way towards it, keeping her head low and her back against the walls. So many drones flew across the sky, lights flashing from their bellies, searching for traitors. More of those damn camps had been built since the one Terra had tried to destroy. Every single day trucks full of people were driven off towards them.
Stopping down an alley, Terra grabbed the lid of a sewer and made her way inside. It was now the safest way to cross the city without being seen. She was sure it wouldn't take Watchers long before they discovered the tunnels, which were used by those being searched by the government.
The UnderMarket had been completely shut down, Watchers posted outside the entrances. The rules were harsher now and Watchers were much more at liberty to do whatever they wanted to.
Zacchary's home appeared in view. It was a narrow townhouse with boarded up windows. The three front steps led to a door that Terra knew held more bolts on the other side than a prison. She knocked twice and waited, glancing over her shoulder and up at the sky in case drones or Watchers passed by.
'Hurry up,' Camille muttered as soon as she opened the door.
Zacchary's home was small and cramped. On the main floor there was a tiny kitchen which barely fit four people. The living room was a mess with boxes and bottles covering every surface of furniture.
Upstairs there was a double bed in Zacchary's bedroom, which he had lent to Camille and Malcolm. Eric and Zacchary took it in turns to sleep on the sofa in the living room. The other bedroom down the narrow hall had two small single beds. Ten used one and Rife, who had refused to share it with his sister, slept peacefully beneath it in a sleeping bag Zacchary had found among all his junk.
Terra and Kalem shared the other single bed. In turns. They had arranged an uncomfortable bed on the floor beside it with thick blankets and a thin pillow. Each night they'd rotate, allowing each other the comfort of sleeping on something a bit softer than the floor.
Scarlet and Morgana were also in the house, but they didn't need to sleep so they mostly spent their nights in the kitchen, whispering to each other.
Terra didn't know where everyone else was. She didn't really care.
Rushing up the narrow staircase, she hurried into the small room she shared with the twins and Kalem. The kids were nowhere to be seen, but Kalem was sitting on their bed, glancing down at his hands.
Sighing, Terra watched him from where she stood, holding on to the doorknob.
No, she didn't care about much anymore. Her worries lay with the boy with hair as dark as the night itself, who grew more distant each day. The Destroyer, which had been given to him to save his life, was slowly taking over. His powers grew stronger each day, and sometimes when he thought Terra wasn't looking, she could see the way his steel eyes clouded, as if he were no longer there.
'Kalem,' she whispered.
The boy with eyes made of steel glanced up.
Terra would deal with the world changing at some point, but right now she needed to find a way to help Kalem. The monster inside of him was slowly gaining control. He wasn't able to hold it completely caged, and she feared of what might happen if it took over.
'You need to eat something.' She rushed forward, snatching bread out from within the pocket of her grey jacket. Her hands were filthy, but no one really cared about such things anymore.
Alarms began blaring outside and Terra hurried towards the window. Peeping through the thick blinds, she glimpsed at the bright blue lights whizzing by. The city was falling apart, and everyone along with it. Twisting away from the window, Terra concentrated on Kalem once again. Kneeling in front of him, she grabbed his hands. The bread had been left to one side on the bed, forgotten.
He was shaking.
'I can't control it,' he whispered. 'I hear it, inside of me, Terra.'
'You can. You will. And you must.' She squeezed his robotic hands harder. 'Do you hear me, Kalem? We're going to find a way to fix this.'
He nodded, but she knew he didn't quite believe her.
As soon as his gaze fixed on hers, Terra gasped softly. She did it each day now that he looked at her. It was impossible not to. Those steel eyes of his, which had been so captivating and dangerous, no longer existed.
With the little courage she had left, Terra smiled up at the red eyes that now belonged to the boy from her nightmares.
THE END
THE STORY CONTINUES IN...
AFTER DARKNESS III
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ETERNAL DARKNESS TRILOGY
The world is divided between humans and cyborgs.
Scarlet Lock is neither.
She is a soldier created to kill on command. But her memory has been erased and when she awakens in a government facility, she soon discovers that this new world is a dangerous place, full of government secrets and cruel experiments performed in the name of progress.
With the help of a group of cyborgs, Scarlet will fight to uncover the truth and transform the future of the new world she now lives in.
Sneak peek of
ETERNAL DARKNESS
Prologue
'WAKE UP!'
Scarlet watched the bird that lay on the floor. It twitched uncontrollably. She wondered how long it would take for it to die and then realised what a cruel thought she had just had. It was pitch black in the room, but the bird was illuminated from above and below, an eerie light enveloping its body.
As she approached, the larger it grew and she froze, fascinated. How was this possible? Stepping forward silently in the darkness with only a single light bulb hanging from above to guide her way, she realised the bird was a crow. The animal continued to twitch, a faint light shimmering beneath, black feathers falling around its dying body and she stood from afar, too scared now to get any closer.
'Wake up!'
Maybe she could save it? Scarlet took a step closer and then another, holding her breath until she realised it was true. The crow grew in size with every step she took. She looked around but saw nothing except darkness. The light bulb had moved, as if following her to provide some light in the shadows.
'You must wake up. Now!'
Scarlet observed the crow with fascination and moved towards it, watching as the bird grew larger and larger. A mirror emerged to her right and a girl inside the mirror waved back at Scarlet. She immediately recognised the person inside as herself. But there was something different about this other Scarlet. They looked exactly the same, long blonde wavy hair and big light blue eyes, but the way this other Scarlet was smiling haunted her. There was something wrong.
She shifted her attention back to the crow and made her way to its side, but the bird lay still on the ground. Dropping to her knees, she wondered what it would feel like to touch its feathers.
'Please, wake up!'
Scarlet's hand reached out towards the crow, her fingers outstretched, her eyes widening at the strange beauty death could cause. She eagerly wanted to feel its softness and, in a strange way, become part of its beauty.
'Wake up!'
Her fingertips brushed the soft wings and then suddenly the crow began to move. Scarlet jumped back and watched the bird fly away into the mirror where the other Scarlet was.
'Goddamn it, wake up!'
The mirror began to melt and the light bulb fell into the shadows. Scarlet stepped back, and felt the ground disappear before she dropped and continued to drop as she screamed.
Scarlet opened her eyes.
A boy was leaning over her and she yelped. His hands fell over her mouth, his touch as soft as the crow's feathers. The boy gestured for her to be quiet and she nodded. He was standing on the tip of his toes and his blonde silky hair fell in cascades over his round face.
'Where am I?' Scarlet asked.
'I don't know,' the boy said. 'We have to go before they come back.'
'Before who comes back?'
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The room was empty except for three metal counters. She had seen counters like these before in the morgue. The walls were so white they radiated light making Scarlet wince.
'Am I dead?' Scarlet asked.
'I don't think so,' he said. 'I don't feel dead.'
Scarlet jumped off the counter and looked down at the white clothes she wore. She noticed they were both dressed in the same outfits and her fingers ran down the soft sleeve before the boy grabbed her arm.
'We have to go,' he said.
'I don't understand.' Scarlet frowned. 'Do we know each other?'
The boy watched her in silence, his eyes pleading for her to understand his urgency. Scarlet guessed he was only twelve or thirteen years old as he tugged at her sleeve.
'Do we know each other?' she pressed. 'You seem so familiar.'
'My name is Vladimir,' the boy said. 'I woke up and was lying on one of those things.' He pointed his small finger at the counter. 'I heard people talking about us and what they were going to do.' His shoulders shook. 'They left, but I think they're coming back. We have to go, please.'
'Do to us?' Scarlet's frown deepened. 'What do you mean? I'm supposed to be in hospital. Is this a different department? My nurse Wendy never told me about transfer-'
'I don't think this is a hospital,' Vladimir said.
'Are you sure? Maybe you're one of the patients at my hospital. Your face is so familiar.'
'I'm not a patient. Please, let's go.'
Vladimir dragged Scarlet across the room towards the door. Outside lay a long wide hallway as brightly illuminated as the room they had just left. The smell of detergent spread through Scarlet's nostrils. Vladimir took her hand and led her down the corridor, peering around corners to check for their kidnappers. Scarlet stood as closely to him as possible, trying to keep her mind blank as she felt she would erupt with all the questions and fears forming inside her head.
'What's your name?' Vladimir whispered.
'Scarlet Lock.'
Vladimir smiled and Scarlet did so too. His hand was still holding hers and it made her feel safe. An alarm started ringing and Vladimir gasped, his grip on her tightening as they ran.
'Attention, attention,' the voice from the alarm droned. 'X-Prototypes Two and Five have escaped. Please bring them back safely and unharmed. Attention, attention-'
'Hey, you two!' a voice cried. They both turned, spotting a man in a white uniform pointing at them. Scarlet froze at the sight of the gun he held.
They rushed into another hallway and as they increased their speed, Scarlet felt as though her surroundings were beginning to blur. How fast were they moving? She had lost her sense of direction and had no idea where they were heading.
Vladimir came to a sudden halt, causing Scarlet to crash into him. She stood, splattered against him, wondering what had happened. By then, an entire group of guards were following them and she couldn't understand why Vladimir had decided to stop at such a critical moment.
She soon realised why.
The hallway had no exit except for a glass wall. Scarlet could see trees on the other side and wished she could reach out to them. The group of guards had now cornered them and a woman made her way through the crowd. She studied them intently as if they were experimental specimens that had escaped their cages.
'Get away from us,' Vladimir said.
'We won't hurt you,' the woman said in a soothing tone. 'We only wish to help you.'
'Like hell you do!'
'We mean no harm.' The woman lifted her hands up in surrender. Her mouth widened into a smile and suddenly Scarlet felt a shock wave reverberate through her body. There was something wrong. Very wrong.
'We want to go,' Scarlet said.
'You will.' The woman's eyes darted from Vladimir to Scarlet. 'But it isn't safe for you outside. We will take care of you here.'
'We don't need taking care of,' Vladimir said as they slowly began to retreat towards the glass wall.
'Oh, but you do,' the woman said. 'You certainly do.'
Vladimir suddenly shoved Scarlet towards the wall. 'Jump!' he yelled as he spun around and lunged himself at the guards. Scarlet watched in horror, her feet unable to move.
The woman had fallen against a guard due to Vladimir's sudden attack. 'Capture the girl!' she howled. Scarlet panicked and ran towards the glass wall, her chest contracted and her stomach twisted as she saw how high from the ground she was. She hesitated before breaking free. The glass cut through her skin as she jumped. For a moment, she felt as though she could fly like the crow from her dream.
Then, everything went dark.