Brynna, you must come. We need you.
“Mother!” I called out, but there was no sound. I had no way of reaching her.
Brynna, you must come. We need you. The planet needs you. Brynna, please come.
I gasped for breath and jerked awake. I sat up, trying to recall everything before it became a misty memory.
What had she meant that the planet needed me? What had happened to change the tone of the visions? Confused by the new message, I sensed something wasn’t right. I had to get to Prima Feminary as soon as I could.
I dressed quickly, remembering to add my belt and knife.
It was dark when I went to find Trill.
22
Road to Haven
I left my gear in the passageway outside of the control room. I didn’t want Weyland to suspect my plan. I joined Trill at one of the video screens. “Any luck with the Mars shields?”
She put her finger to her lips and whispered. “Weyland’s been in contact with their station. They’ve been working on adjustments that would enhance the scope of the shield.” Trill nodded her head towards the exit. “Let’s talk in the hall.”
Her eyes flew to mine when she saw the packs and bedrolls. “If you’re ready we should go now while Weyland is up to his armpits in technical calculations. Just give me a moment.” She returned to the doorway of the control room. “Weyland, I’ll be back in a while.”
When he grunted, a soft smile bloomed on Trill’s face. She joined me, picked up the bedrolls and we headed for the elevator. We exited at the lowest level.
“I wish you didn’t have to rely on Calia,” she said as we neared the labs.
“I have no other option. I won’t have time to search for Prima Feminary on my own.”
“Don’t forget, you have the old railway track to follow. It will get you to Haven. If Calia suggests another route, I wouldn’t trust her. I’d stay by the rails. There’s nothing out there but sand and scrub. There’s a reason people call them the Deathlands.
I grabbed her shoulder. “Tell me you just made that up.”
She looked away and started to giggle. “Okay, you got me.” Her smile morphed into a thin line. “I’m just trying to emphasize that this is not a hike in the woods, especially with Calia along. You’ll have to sleep with one eye open.”
“I know it’s risky.” Even having made the decision, I had strong misgivings about taking Calia.
“Maybe I should go with you.” There was uncertainty in Trill’s voice.
I knew she’d come if I asked but this was my mission. “You’ve seen my aura. More than anyone, you know that this is something I need to do on my own.” I forced a grin. “Besides, Weyland would miss you terribly.”
She blushed. “Sometimes I don’t think he even knows I’m there.”
“You’ll be perfect together. He’s a synesthete, you read auras. You’re both a little different.”
Trill laughed. “Look who’s talking.”
I stopped before turning the final corner into the hallway where the labs were located. “We need to create a diversion so I can release Calia.”
“I’ve got an idea,” said Trill. “I’ll tell the men we’ve detected movement outside the compound and it needs to be investigated. If they resist, I’ll offer to watch Calia. Once they’re in the lift, we’ll have to hurry in case they decide to check in with Weyland. Luckily, he told me about another of Tarvek’s escape routes from the android room. We can sneak out that way.”
“Sounds good.” I picked up the bags and backtracked out of sight.
Several seconds later, pounding feet and men’s voices echoed through the hallway. The lift door opened immediately and the men disappeared inside.
After a brief wait, I ran to join Trill. “Any problem?”
She laughed. “I think they were happy to do something other than guard duty, especially for that one.” Trill poked her thumb toward the darkened interior of the lab.
At first, I couldn’t see Calia so I moved closer to the window. The chair she’d occupied was empty. She was nowhere in sight. I would have overlooked her except a small movement caught my attention. Huddled in a corner, her thin arms hugged her bent knees. I tapped on the window but there was no response.
“She’s probably drugged up,” said Trill. “We may have to drag her out.”
I grabbed the door handle. “It’s locked. The guards must have the keys with them. Now what?”
“No problem,” said Trill, as she offered her open palm.
“How did you get that?” I took the proffered key and fitted it into the lock.
“A little trick I learned in Nuvega. It comes in handy now and then, especially if you take a fancy to parrots.” She laughed when I raised my eyebrows. “But that’s a story for another time. Let’s go get the witch.” She barged past me through the open door.
I followed Trill into the room and flicked on the overhead lights. Calia’s open pouch lay discarded several feet from her side. “Get up, Calia.” When her body drooped further, I squatted in front of her. “Calia, it’s me, Brynna. You have to come with me now.”
She lifted her head. Stringy hair covered most of her face. Only one glazed, red-rimmed eye was visible.
“I’m taking you to Prima Feminary. Remember? You wanted to go there. Well, now you can.”
It took a few moments for my message to penetrate her drug-induced state, but she eventually started to move, slowly rising to her feet. She leaned against the wall and pulled at her juba. “Where is it?” She jerked her head, frantically searching around her. Finally spying the empty pouch, she slumped against the wall and slid to the floor.
“We have to go,” said Trill. “If the guards come back and find us you may not get another chance to leave the compound.” She frowned at Calia. “Looks like we’ll have to drag her out.”
“I’ll take her if you carry the bags.” I’d always been taller but thinner than Calia. I braced my legs to lift her. When I pulled her arm across my shoulder and grabbed her waist, I was surprised at how emaciated her body was. I spied the tray full of food. She’d eaten nothing. She was thoroughly dependent on the white powder.
“Follow me.” Trill sped toward the android room.
As I followed Trill across the room, the broken pieces of Tarvek’s army reminded me again of the recent battle. So much had happened.
Trill stopped near a wall and held one of Tarvek’s remotes. “The escape route is another one of those vacuum tube things. One of these should do it.”
She pressed a button. A panel slid open revealing a shimmering veil. It was still a surprising sight.
Trill moved toward it. “I’ll go first to make sure the way is cleared. If I don’t return, you’ll have to take her up the stairwell. There’s no other way to get outside.” She was gone in a flash but returned barely a minute later. “All clear.” She picked up my gear. “Take her up. I’ll follow.”
Calia was a dead weight in my arms. Straining every muscle, I maneuvered her through the shimmer and into the tunnel. Emerging at the other end, I eased her to the floor.
Trill stepped from the shimmer moments later. We were crammed inside a closet-sized hallway. There was a door on one wall with a lighted dome beside it. “I think that door leads outside.”
I pressed the dome but nothing happened.
“Oh wait.” Trill reached into her pocket for the controller. She pressed another button. The door opened slightly. She tried another switch but the narrow opening didn’t widen. “That’s weird.”
“Maybe the mechanism was damaged by the sandstorm.” I hooked my fingers into the crack and pull it wider, then looked outside. It was dark and cold with a fine drizzling mist. “Great, it’s raining and I forgot to bring rain gear.”
My packs were waterproof so the contents would be protected, but Calia and I would soon be drenched.
“Hold tight. I’ll be right back.” Trill disappeared back into the shimmer, returning moments later holding two cloaks bea
ring the Tarvek logo. “I noticed a storage cupboard when I was searching for the tunnel. These should keep you dry and warm.”
I eyed Calia’s slumped figure. How was I going to manage her and the gear?
“Calia, you have to get up,” I spoke in a commanding tone I’d never used before.
Her hand shook as she pushed back her hair and glared up at me. Her gaze appeared clearer. She swore as she struggled to her feet.
I handed her one of the cloaks. “Put this on. You’ll have to carry your share of the gear as well. Otherwise, we’ll never make it to Prima Feminary. Do you understand?”
She didn’t respond but donned the cloak and picked up two of the packs. I suspected that somewhere in her drug-addled brain she was starting to understand that this was her only means of escape. She had no other option. Neither did I.
Trill placed a cloak around my shoulders and handed me the two remaining packs. “The open door might have activated a sensor in the control room. You’d better hurry.”
We faced one another. I suspected we were thinking the same thing, but not wanting to speak the words.
“Let’s just say see you soon.” She threw her arms around me.
“You’re very special.” My voice wobbled as I hugged her. “Take care of yourself, and Weyland.” I saw tears in my friend’s eyes and I dropped my head to hide mine.
Out in the rain, Calia snarled from under her hooded cloak. “If we’re going, let’s move.”
Trill pointed to the right. “The tracks start in front of that storage shed.”
We watched Calia walk unsteadily away from us.
“Make sure you keep your knife handy,” warned Trill.
With a final hug, we parted. Trill forced the door closed. I shut my eyes, taking a moment to acknowledge another loss before refocusing on my mission.
I pulled a battery-powered light from my pack and flashed it toward Calia. She trudged between the parallel metal rails of the track. I raised my hood and followed her. How long would it be until her first outburst?
We walked in silence, but with each step, I could hear her labored breathing. The drenching rain made our progress difficult. The lights of the compound were still visible behind us when she collapsed.
I dropped my gear. “Are you hurt, Calia?” I shone my light over her figure.
Her arms wrapped her stomach. Her bent legs pulled her body into a curled position. Saliva dribbled from one corner of her mouth. Her face twisted in pain. “I need some Rac.”
“If you’re referring to your drug, there is no more.”
When she whimpered, I knelt and grasped her elbow, but she snarled like a cat and ripped her arm from my hand. “Don't touch me.”
She lay groaning for several minutes. Finally, she rolled to her hands and knees then pushed to her feet. After a few stumbling attempts, she steadied and walked forward.
I grabbed my gear and followed. Her progress was slow. I remained a couple of steps behind her for a several minutes then drew alongside. While she was still lucid, I might be able to get her talking.
“We were once good friends, Calia. Why did you betray me in Hypor City? You know I didn't say anything against you that day in Dench's office.”
Silence.
Had she heard my question? Or perhaps she didn’t want to answer.
Suddenly she stopped, her body stiffened and her head lifted. “Hypor City was my turn to be somebody. On Bokk Island, you'd been the privileged councilor's daughter. I wasn't going to let you undermine my status. I was Prince’s girlfriend. I was important. Everyone was jealous of me and my position.”
I lifted my light to see her face.
She stared into the darkness. Her look triumphant, as if reliving a victory.
“If you had everything, why turn on me?”
She snarled. “Payback for all those years that I was second best. You and your brother in your fancy house. I endured a fishing shack in the village and an aunt and uncle who never loved me. I couldn't wait to turn eighteen.”
“I remember that day on the dock.” I also remembered her anger when the boat arrived to pick her up. She resented not traveling to Hypor City in a lander. “Do you remember, Calia?”
“The day I left the Island was the happiest one of my life. I would be a star in Hypor City.” She turned to face me. “Then you arrived. That slimy Dench, kowtowing to your father. You — in your fancy juba, all bright-eyed—wanting to renew our friendship.” She took a step toward me. “Did you know your brother avoided me when I first came to the city? Standing with his friends, he brushed right past me as if I didn’t exist. One day, I saw your father in the hallway. He ignored me too.”
“Maybe he didn't see you.”
She scoffed. “He deserved what he got.” She turned away from me and started to walk.
I wondered if Calia had any humanity left.
“Does it make you happy that my father is dead and my mother has been abducted?”
She stopped again.
I lifted the light so I could see her face.
From under her hood, she stared at me with bleary eyes. Her lips twisted into a sneer. “You're still alive. So is your brother. But not for long.”
I grabbed her arm. “What do you mean?”
My pulse started to race. Until now, I had suspected that I was the target of her vitriol. If Jarryd was in danger, I had no way to warn him.
“Nowhere is safe,” she responded. “The Genetrix has assassins everywhere.”
“What about you? Are you a target or her accomplice? First, you say you’re looking for sanctuary from her. Then you tell me she has a miraculous way of keeping you young. Which is it, Calia? Are you her friend or foe?”
She shrugged from my grasp and plodded forward in silence.
I kept my light on the ground ahead of us.
After an hour, Calia started to stagger. She tripped over a rail and crashed to the ground. I pulled back her hood and flashed my light at her face. Beads of sweat covered her forehead. She was shaking and her pulse was thready. I eased up one eyelid but there was only white.
Time was important. I could leave her and follow the tracks, but that would only get me to Haven. I might not be able to find Prima Feminary on my own. More importantly, I felt a responsibility to do what I could to heal her.
The night had grown colder. I dropped my bags and secured my cloak around me before kneeling beside her inert body. I removed her pack. Turning her over, I straightened her arms and legs, and then arranged her cloak over her. I turned off my solar light and started to sing.
Her condition worsened. Spasms and jerks accompanied agonizing moans. I pressed a hand to my chest and curled my fingers around the oracle stone. As I'd done with Kaaluk, I concentrated my healing focus, hoping to ease the effects of her withdrawal.
My only experience with addiction was Ruby in the Hypor City laundry. She’d been healthy and had fought the pains of drug loss by herself. Calia had no physical resources. She had succumbed to the controlling power of the drug. The withdrawal would kill her without my intervention.
Despite what she'd done, I couldn't let her die.
23
Calia’s Escape
It was a miserable night. Rain pelted down through the dark hours. The cloaks provided some protection, but my head and feet were drenched from my attempts to keep Calia covered. The clouds cleared in the early hours of the morning. When I checked,Calia’s breathing was steady and her pulse was stronger.
I hadn’t paid much attention to our surroundings. As dawn approached, I noted we’d left behind the desert scrub. Dense grasses bordered the track. Dwarf trees dotted the plain, barely visible above the tall vegetation. In the distance, foothills darkened by forests rose toward majestic peaks. I wondered how far we still had to go to reach Haven.
Exhausted from hours of singing, I paused to rest my throat. My leg muscles protested when I stood to stretch. I sipped from my water bottle. Even though it was tepid, the water soothed my
parched throat. As I tilted my head back a second time, I spotted a familiar sight circling overhead. I waved and cried out with joy.
It was Circe.
Amazed that she’d found me, I wrapped the cloak around my arm, lifting it to beckon her.
Her glide toward me was slow and majestic. As she neared, she trimmed her wings, her claws ready to grasp the offered perch. I enjoyed the familiar weight when she landed. Once settled, her black eyes bore into mine. She tilted her head from side to side as if questioning what I was doing.
It was a relief to laugh at my silly interpretation of her postures. “I’m glad you’re here, sweet Circe. I thought you’d gone forever.” I stroked her feathers, following her distinctive white chevron across her breast. “I granted you freedom, but I hope that you will always be by my side when I need you.”
It was nonsense to think she understood when she bobbed her head, but it made me feel good. I was surprised when she suddenly swept her mighty wings forward and launched into the air. I watched her for several moments, but another black spot in the sky caught my eye. It wasn’t soaring, or gliding, but hovering in the distance. Then just as quickly, it was gone.
A drone? Who’s though? The Genetrix?
Even though we’d left the compound at night, it was possible she had found us. I couldn’t hide. Until Calia improved, I had to stay put. I pushed our gear to the edge of the grasses where Calia lay, then checked her breathing again. It was natural and slow. Confident that she would sleep for hours, I cleared a spot between the grasses and the track, and slept.
I woke abruptly, immediately sensing danger. Calia no longer lay within sight. I rubbed my numb arm and gazed down the track. Before I could turn my head to check behind me, something tightened around my neck. I couldn’t breathe.
Panicked, I flayed my arms behind me, trying to grab Calia, but she stayed out of reach. My fingers pried at the garrotte, but I couldn’t loosen the stranglehold. Suddenly remembering my knife, I stretched my hand along my thigh. I pulled it from its sheath and swung it behind me. Calia shrieked in pain. But after a momentary slackening, the pressure on my throat intensified. She kicked my hand, sending the blade into the air.
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