Callista found her mind wondering, and realized the shopkeeper was starring at her with a puzzled look.
“Can I help you?” he asked. He had a slight grin on his face, knowing she’d been lost in her thoughts.
“No thank you,” she said as her face turned a little red. She turned and slowly walked back through the caverns. People were moving about in this city, and she realized it was getting more and more dense. She could see them with her mind’s eye, and was almost overwhelmed at first. All the emotions, all the souls. It was very different from the way they were when they were asleep. She knew the underground city was large, but it felt like there was nearly a million people already awakened from stasis. It was easier to focus since the unique mineral seemed to be in the walls of the caverns, blocking her from seeing everyone at once.
“Good morning,” Michael said as he met up with her. “I can see you lost in your mind’s eye.” He surprised her, and she shook her head slightly at him.
“I can see you’re still hiding yourself through the mind’s eye. You surprised me.”
“What can I say,” he replied, “its habit. It’s not that I don’t trust you; I just wonder if we’re the only ones with these abilities.” They both faced forward as they walked together.
“We shouldn’t talk about it,” Callista said, “at least, not in public.” He nodded.
“You’re right.”
“So, where were you this morning?” Callista asked. "Actually, where have you been for the past week? Every day you go off for hours, and I usually don’t see you until night time.”
“Just trying to do what I can to help the colony,” Michael said. "This morning I was at the hydrofiltration plant. We have it working finally.”
“Oh?”
“It’s really quite amazing,” Michael said, “I’ve never seen a design like it before. It’s an extension of this cavern, although it’s smaller. They designed it so it will catch all the water from the city above, and then filter it through a series of machinery and piping underneath. It’s made of a metallic stone. This metal can be found all over the planet, and it’s useful in almost every application. They could easily make this colony a ship manufacturer.”
“What’s so unique about this new mineral?" Callista asked. "I heard a geologist talking about it; he was pretty excited.” Michael was quiet for a moment.
“We’ve been testing it,” he said, “but I haven’t really had a chance to look at it closely.” Callista had come to recognize a lie using her mind’s eye, and not even Michael could hide from that. Why would he lie about that? It worried her a little, and she hoped he was not getting into trouble. “I think even you’re aware that it reacts to the mind’s eye.” She nodded thoughtfully at him.
They were walking through tunnels that were getting increasingly crowed in the morning hour. The lights above simulated morning light, which was just as well. People were used to brighter days. People were used to a sky.
They reached the fortress doorway, which was a large hydraulic door. It made her think of how a castle gate might appear. There were guards there, sentries posted at their watch. Many of the military and police professions were brought out of stasis to help maintain order while the new colony was established. They were friendly, though, and Callista felt safer with their presence around the underground city.
The guards nodded as Callista and her brother walked through the doorway, which was open. There hadn’t been any real crime yet, although Michael had said he expected some soon. People were actually shocked when they learned from Isaac what had occurred on the ship prior to the crash. The rape, murder, and suicide that had befallen the two deceased crew members were marked as a tragedy that had a big effect on everyone.
The fortress was full of tunnels and rooms made of both metal and stone. The new inhabitants had set up markers to navigate, although Callista and Michael didn’t need them. Callista had grown so accustomed to using her mind’s eye that she rarely paid attention to the environment with her actual eyes. She could move around with her eyes closed and still see her surroundings. Michael was the same.
Both of them had reached a point where they’d stopped aging. They both looked like they were in their mid-twenties, and they had stayed that way for the past few weeks. She was glad, because more people would have noticed them aging in a more populated area. Also, she worried that she was going to keep aging at the rate she had been, and in two months be an elderly woman. Fortunately, it looked like that wouldn’t be the case.
Michael let his hair grow a little longer, making it look intentionally shaggy in some ways. His eyes looked normal, and she hadn’t seen them turn back to the reptilian slits since the day of the crash. He seemed much more like he was before the tragedy, although he was still distant from her and not completely honest about everything. She wondered why the tragedy had hit him so much harder than it had her.
They were walking for a few more minutes until Michael finally stopped her, putting his hand on her arm.
“I need to tell you something," he said. "The reason I found you this morning is, well, I’ve signed up to work above on the city construction.” She was surprised.
“What, they’re moving teams up there already?”
“I’m going with a group of engineers. They’ve noticed my technical skills, and after some persuasion I was able to sign up. We’ll be the brains behind the construction. Plus, I’ll get to spend some time on the surface.”
“How long will you be gone?” she said.
“At least a year. Probably more. Don’t worry, though, I’ll be fine.”
“Will I be able to hear from you?” She suddenly felt very lonely.
“I’m not sure. Maybe once a month or so. I can’t guarantee anything.”
She tried to fight the tears. “I’m going to miss you.”
“Callie, I’m going to miss you too. You’ll be fine, though. You’ll see. Stay with the Vanguards; you’ll be safe with them.” He was quiet, and there was awkward silence. He hugged her lightly, and turned and walked back out of the fortress. “I leave tomorrow,” he said as he walked away, “I have to get ready.”
In a short time he was gone, out of the fortress. Soon he’ll be out of this city. She stood there for a moment, silent. She was alone. She leaned against one of the walls of the hallway, and slid down onto the floor. She sat there for a long time, thinking the same thing over and over again. I’m alone.
96
The first attack came when Elijah Vanguard was only a month old. Construction on the city on the surface of the planet Cirrus had been going well. Callista was working on a small data screen that was connected with the communication networks. She was the first to intercept the distress call from the surface. By this time there was no one left in any of the stasis chambers, and the majority of people were living on the surface in the city. It was still under construction, although large parts of it were functional and people were living in it. Only a small number of lives remained in the underground city. Due to lack of an official name, people were calling the large city above the ground Dirge, after the ship The White Dirge that had carried them to Cirrus. The Vanguards had remained in the undercity, allowing the new administrators and government to take care of everyone on the surface. Callista hadn’t heard from Michael since he’d left, over seven months before.
“Help,” cried out a young man’s voice from the data screen, “someone please help us.” Although Callista was somewhat startled by the beginning of the call, she remained calm. She activated the emergency signal throughout the network. Anyone on the surface or underground would be receiving it now.
“What’s wrong?” she said to the young man over the network.
“We’re, we’re being attacked,” he said with a crack in his voice. “I’m not sure what they are. Monsters. We can’t kill them.” He was in distress. She could hear screams in the back
ground, and gunshots. She’d already begun to broadcast the message over the network, overriding all other messages and conversations.
“Calm down,” she said, “the Vanguard and authorities have been notified. Where are you?”
“On 22nd Street, Lower District,” he said, “but it won’t matter. We’re being overrun.”
“You’re being overrun?”
“The entire city,” he said, “they’re taking everyone. No one knows where. They’re taking people away. Half the city’s gone. They’re taking all of us.” She started to say something, but heard the young man cry out. Then there were more gunshots, and then silence.
She sat there, quiet for a moment. Suddenly, she stood up and pulled the data screen from the terminal. She disconnected it quickly, and ran out with it under her arm. Other people were out in the hallways, alarmed and preparing for the worst. She moved up several steps, and reached the large metal doorway guarded by several soldiers. One of them looked at her and nodded, letting her enter the doorway. The doors opened with a hydraulic grind.
There was a large table, and several people were in the room. Isaac Vanguard stood over one data screen on the end of the table, his wife next to him working at another one. Several other people Callista had come to know were there, too: administrators and scientists who worked to help the progress of the colony. She heard one of the men speak up to the group.
“I’m receiving some signals from several groups that are headed back down here," he said. "The creatures seem to come in waves, taking people and going back to wherever they came from.” The man who spoke was a young man, Dr. Derek Shepherd. The man was brilliant, but Callista had fended off more than one of his advances. He was harmless enough; she just wasn’t interested in him. He smiled a little when he saw her, although her face remained serious.
“Has anyone received an image of the creatures?” she asked.
“Just before you came in the room,” Charlotte said. "I was just finishing up the dimensional analysis.” She tapped on her data screen a few more seconds, and then placed it on the table. The surface of the table began to glow, and it linked up with the data screen. A hologram of a creature they’d never seen arose from the table. It looked like a serpent, but with insect-like arms and legs. It also had a peculiar skin surface; it glimmered almost as if it were made of some sort of metal. They were all silent as they stared at the creature.
“I’ve received a report,” Dr. Shepherd said, “that these creatures can alter their shapes, almost morph when they need to.”
“What do you mean?” Isaac said as he stared at the hologram floating above the table.
“Well,” Dr. Shepherd said, “one person witnessed a creature actually growing another set of arms. Someone else saw another creature split into two. Their biology seems to consist of some sort of organic metal. They also move very fluidly, like they’re swimming through water. All the reports claim that these creature can float or glide through the air.”
“That’s quite an observation,” another person in the room said. "Are we really willing to believe that these creatures are made of metal and can fly?”
“Are you ready to not believe that there may be things out there that we can’t explain?” Isaac retorted. “Especially at the cost of all of our lives? We’re down here, not up there having to fend those things off. I’m not going to question someone who’s in the middle of combat with an unknown enemy.”
“Well, one thing makes sense," Charlotte said. "If they’re made of metal, that would explain why we never detected them during all our planetary scans we’ve been performing for the past several months. The scanners were programmed to locate biological living creatures. Not ones made of a cold metal.” The talk was interrupted by the sound of a baby crying. Charlotte turned and saw her baby Elijah, being held by Anna in a corner. Anna was a girl in her lower twenties who was quiet, and would take care of Elijah for Charlotte when she had to work. They were also close friends.
Charlotte motioned for Anna to bring Elijah to her, and she held her son for a moment, comforting him. The infant had brown hair, and cuddled up close to her. In seconds, he was asleep.
It amazed Callista, seeing the young life develop and grow. She smiled a little, despite everything that was happening. Reality seemed to close around her, though, as she heard the radio signals of hundreds of different groups trying to reach the underground city. It seemed like this was the safest place to be.
“Well,” Isaac said to everyone in the room, “now at least we know what happened to all the colonists before us.” There was a quiet pause in the room for a moment, as everyone realized this could be a repeat of what happened to the previous colony. Their movements throughout the room began again, with more furiousness and determination than ever. Callista tried to help everyone in any way she could. This won’t be the end, she thought, we won’t die here.
97
A month had passed. There were around two hundred thousand people left in the underground city. They had defended themselves from wave after wave of the enemy attack. Dr. Shepherd had given them the name xenos. In the old Latin it meant “others.” Callista thought that was a fitting enough name for a mysterious creature that was not only intelligent, but could not be beaten. Bullets only stunned them; not even fire or explosions seemed to deter them.
They had resorted to destroying all the main entrances to the underground city, caving in the tunnels. Even the entrance to the water filtration plant was heavily blocked off, with a security system that caused electrical shocks. Electricity was the only thing that seemed to deter the creatures.
Callista had found a little hope when her brother returned with one of the refugee groups. He was currently working with several scientists on a way to stop the creatures.
She headed towards them now. Michael was in one of the higher levels of the fortress, working on a machine he’d nicknamed “the scrambler.” It was supposed to use stasis technology, but as a weapon. It would freeze creatures with certain brain wave patterns -- whatever he set it for, putting them in a state of suspended animation. According to him, the machine would affect all the creatures within several miles of the cannon being activated.
Callista had been impressed by his description, and so had everyone else. They gave him a place to work, and he had been there for nearly a week. She walked up some stairs before reaching a barricaded door. The two guards nodded to her as she passed them, activating the panel that caused the door to open automatically.
Michael was working at a data screen that was wired into a large piece of machinery that had cables and wires strung all over it. There was a low hum coming from the metal. Callista stared at it, amazed.
“Well,” Michael said, “I finally found a use for that small fusion core.” She nodded as she stared at the machine. It filled the entire room. There were other men about, adjusting different dials and wiring on it.
“You really think this’ll work?” she said.
“I hope so. They’ll have to attack us, and it’ll need fifteen minutes to charge to full power. It should render them catatonic, at least for a while.”
“How do you know what brain wave patterns to which you adjust the machine?”
“I’ve been using my mind’s eye,” Michael said, “watching the creatures. I’ve been able to figure it out based on my observations.”
“So how close are you to finishing it?”
“Maybe a couple hours or less, and that’s about it.” Michael said. "Actually, can you go let the Vanguards know I’m almost finished?"
“Can’t you just radio them?”
“Not around the machine,” he said, “any radio devices near it will make it go out of whack. It’s very sensitive to pretty much everything.” She shook her head slowly at him.
“All right,” she said, “I’ll be right back.” She turned and headed out of the room, nodding to the guards
as the door closed. She walked down the stairs, smiling to herself. She was happy with her brother, happy with what he was doing. She reached one of the lower lobbies of the fortress, and was about to head over to the Vanguards when she became alarmed with what she was seeing in her mind’s eye. People were not only scared, but they were fleeing into the fortress from the tunnels.
Anna came running up to her, holding Elijah in one arm and a large bag in the other. She reached Callista, out of breath.
“Callista,” she said, “I’m glad I found you. Xenos have made it into the city. The guards are doing everything they can, but people are trying to evacuate into the tunnels behind the fortress." Callista took the bag from her, lightening the load.
“All right,” Callista said, “let me help you, but then I have to go help my brother.” Anna nodded, and the two ran into the tunnels. People were already joining behind them. Callista felt almost overwhelmed by the amount of fear and panic she saw in everyone’s auras.
They eventually reached a dead end, an unfinished tunnel. Most of the tunnels beyond the fortress were unfinished. It soon became crowded, and people were neatly standing shoulder to shoulder. Callista was thankful that at least the tunnel was lit.
“Is the scrambler working yet?” Anna asked as she looked at Callista with fear in her eyes.
“Michael was working on it,” Callista replied, “and he said...”
She was interrupted by a large hum. It was low and deep, and almost rumbled the walls. The sound was followed by what seemed to be a ripple in the air, some sort of shock wave of energy. Callista felt lightheaded as the ripple reached her, but all the people around her fell to the ground the instant the wave hit them. She caught Anna before she fell with Elijah. She gently laid Anna down with Elijah in her arms. Both of them were in some sort of sleep.
She looked out into the hallway, and extended her senses down the tunnels. Everyone was asleep. Everyone is in stasis, she realized. The lights above were flickering, sparks shooting from them in all directions as they flickered out. She could see in the darkness, her mind’s eye affording her the unique ability.
City of Twilight Part III: The New Dawn (The Vanguard Chronicles Book 3) Page 5