The mask feels horrible. It’s tight and suffocating, and it pinches my face. I can feel it pressing hard on the sides of my head. It also restricts my peripheral vision, making me more vulnerable to attacks.
I don’t know how Meira could stand to wear this thing for so long. I wonder if she ever took it off for a break. I remember that the drones are prohibited by their religion from gazing directly upon the Monk’s naked face. Maybe Meira took advantage of that rule.
“How bad is it?” I ask, staring at Liam and Gadya. “Is this even gonna work?”
Liam is resting now against a fallen tree trunk. He smiles at me. “I’ve seen better looks on you.”
Gadya stares at my masked face. She doesn’t smile. She just tilts her head, evaluating me. “You look just like Meira,” she says finally. “And Minister Harka, too.”
“Perfect,” I reply.
“All except for the eyes,” she continues. “They’re not the same color as Meira’s, but there’s nothing we can do about that.”
I nod.
“You ready?” she asks me.
“Yes,” I tell her. I feel butterflies in the pit of my stomach. “Bring down the feeler.”
I’ve already shown Gadya which switches to toggle to bring it down, and which ones to flick to send me back up to the road. We’ve figured the rest out together. Our understanding of the box is primitive. Like Liam said, we learn only through trial and error. We can’t make it do anything as specific as David could, let alone manipulate individual tentacles. But hopefully an elementary understanding of it will be enough.
I move over to Liam. His skin is even paler than before from blood loss, and he has broken out in a light sweat. “I’ll be back soon,” I tell him, running a hand over his forehead. “Do you know how much I love you?”
He grips my hand. “Of course.”
“You guys make me wanna throw up,” Gadya mutters behind me. I turn and glance at her and see her rubbing her swollen eyes. Then she looks down at the box, and starts flicking switches.
The feeler begins to descend, rotors churning noisily as it comes down into the clearing.
I take a deep breath and then exhale. The last time I was taken by one of these machines, Liam risked his life saving me. My heart is really pounding now. I can hear it loudly in my ears.
Liam struggles up. I hug him.
“I don’t know if I can do this,” I whisper. I don’t want Gadya to hear me express any doubt.
“You don’t have to,” Liam replies over the sound of the feeler. “We can find another way.”
It’s so tempting to agree with him. But I know that this is the best and fastest plan. We might never have an opportunity like this one again. I shake my head. “No, I have to go.”
Liam holds me tight for a second. Then he releases me.
“Move back!” Gadya yells at him. She’s still bringing the feeler down.
I glance up. The feeler’s tentacles are descending gently. Now they’re just ten feet above me. The noise and the wind from the rotors are nearly unbearable.
I reach up my hands, trying to grab the tentacles as they get near.
Liam steps forward again to help, as I feel the first tentacle brush across my wrist.
I recoil. I can’t help it—it’s a gut reaction. I feel another tentacle brush my shoulder.
“It’s okay,” Liam calls out, sensing my panic. “You’re gonna do great!”
He grabs one of the tentacles and puts it into my right hand. More and more tentacles are dropping down around me.
I clutch the tentacle, feeling its cold, dead surface, like a limp metal rope. But I know that soon enough, the black box will bring it back to life.
Liam puts another tentacle into my left hand. I start wrapping them around my arms to give me some support. The feeler’s rotors are thundering away above me. The blades create gusts of air that lash the tree leaves.
“Ready?” Gadya screams over the noise. “Get a good grip, okay?”
Liam moves over to her side. The whole back of his shirt is drenched with blood now. I feel a pang of fear. What if I make it, but Liam doesn’t? Maybe I’m selfish to be going. Maybe I should just let Gadya do it. But it’s too late now to change my mind.
“I’m ready!” I yell back to Gadya.
“We’ll be following you! Tracking the feeler with the box!” Liam calls out. “We’ll try to find a way up to the road to join you as soon as we can.”
I nod, wishing there was a way to communicate with them once I get on to the highway.
“Here we go!” Gadya yells, flicking more switches on the box. “Watch out!”
A second later, I feel the tentacles begin to tighten and wrap around me. They bite into my flesh through the robes. It’s like being enclosed inside a wiry, metal cocoon. I can feel my feet still on the ground. But the tentacles have wrapped themselves around my torso, as well as my arms and legs.
I clutch on to the tentacles as best as I can. They are my only lifeline now.
I stare at Liam. He’s just a few paces away. It’s too noisy to speak anymore.
Liam touches his heart with his hand, taps it twice, and points back at me. Then he steps forward and kisses me on the lips. But he’s forced to lean back pretty quickly, narrowly dodging one of the stray tentacles.
“I’m gonna start moving you up!” I faintly hear Gadya’s voice call out to me. “Liam, get out of the way! C’mon!”
Liam steps back even farther. I’m about to say more to him. To tell him that if I don’t make it back alive, he meant everything to me. That he gave my life meaning, even in an absurd and terrible universe.
But the feeler yanks me upward right at that moment. The tentacles cut deeply into my wrists, startling me. I’m pulled a couple feet off the ground.
I dangle there vertically as I let out a startled yelp.
“Sorry!” Gadya yells. “This thing is hard to operate!”
“It’s okay!” I call back, but my words get drowned out by the noise.
I start moving upward again. Faster, but more smoothly. I shut my eyes for a second. I’m scared and disoriented. I have no idea if this plan will actually work.
I open my eyes again. Trees are rushing past me. I try to look down to see Liam and Gadya in the clearing, but the tentacles are rigid, and I can’t move my head.
I continue rushing upward. Within seconds, I’m out of the trees, hovering directly above them. The feeler just pauses there for a moment.
Now I can see the forest in a panoramic view. It’s just an ocean of treetops in every direction, except for the elevated highway off to my left. I look for the gray zone, but I can’t see it from this angle. The highway isn’t far away. Maybe a quarter of a mile at most.
I gaze down at it.
The road is packed with the army of drones. The people look like specks, but I can see exactly what’s going on. The army is even larger than before. There are at least ten thousand of them here. The drones seem to have endless numbers.
Some are just standing there in the center of the highway. Some are at the edges, peering over it. But some are now looking up at me and pointing, as they hear the noise of the feeler. I don’t know if they can see my mask from here, but it’s possible.
I try to search out David, Cass, and Emma. I think I see them on the road, alive but surrounded by a large circle of armed drones.
I wish I could talk to Gadya and tell her to move me closer. But I just hang there in the sky for another long moment. I see more and more drones staring up at me and pointing. The mask feels heavy and tight on my face.
And then I start moving forward again. Air rushes across my body, and through my black robes. Gadya and Liam are steering the feeler in the direction of the highway. I cling to the tentacles as hard as they cling to me. If something happens, and the feeler malfunctions or Gadya screws up, then I’m going to have to hold on to them for my life.
I move in even closer, sweeping down toward the road.
I’
m terrified now that the drones will start peppering me with arrows. If they figure out that I’m not their Monk, it’s possible I’ll be killed before I even reach the highway. I just have to hope that I can fool them for long enough.
I get closer. Now I wish I had control of the feeler. I want to bring myself down as close to the Monk’s platform as possible. It’s vital that I get to the voice altering device, presumably hidden inside it, so that I sound like the Monk when I talk. Until then, I’ll have to rely on my silence, my mask, and my robes to play the role.
I keep moving. The road is quickly rushing up to greet me. I’m just about to cry out, when I start slowing down. The rotors churn above me, as the feeler brings me gently into position. I’m about fifteen feet above the concrete.
I stare at the drones. They cover the highway in every direction. I’m being brought down near the center of the crowd. Gadya is doing a good job navigating. Drones move back slowly to clear a space for me. Their heads tilt up in wonderment and awe.
By now they can definitely see my wooden mask. I gaze down at them, trying to cloak the fear that I feel inside.
And then the drones begin to kneel. It’s like watching a human tidal wave. They move back, falling to their knees and pressing themselves onto the concrete. Prostrating themselves in front of me.
I feel horror, and pity as well. But I also feel a huge sense of relief. At least so far, the drones think that I’m their leader. Returned from the dead to continue giving them orders.
And then, all at once, the tentacles open up. They whip out of my hands and away from my body, spiraling upward and outward much faster than I expected.
I instantly drop down onto the road, my boots slapping hard on the concrete. I bite my tongue not to cry out. I nearly fall over. But somehow I manage to keep my balance. I stand there, arms outstretched, swaying as I stare out at the army of drones.
They are silent. And they are still bowing down to me. Thousands of them. I pass my eyes over the crowd, searching for David, Cass, and Emma. I can’t see them from here. But I do see the Monk’s platform, visible over the bowing bodies. It’s parked a few hundred yards away. I need to reach it immediately.
I take a tentative step in the direction of the platform. The drones shuffle aside to make room. There’s no question that they think I’m their Monk. After all, why wouldn’t they? They’ve been drugged to accept whatever they are told. My inexplicable disappearance and reappearance doesn’t seem to trouble them. But I don’t want to do anything wrong and tip them off about my true identity.
Overhead, the feeler begins moving away. Liam and Gadya must be pulling it back over the trees so it doesn’t distract the drones.
I take another step.
Then another.
I begin to fake a deranged kind of confidence, striding forward more quickly. I can only guess how weird I look, wearing Meira’s wooden mask and her robes. I feel hot and claustrophobic inside them.
I keep walking. No drones block my path. My mask is enough to convince them. Liam—or anyone—probably could have turned up in the mask and been accepted.
I glance around as I keep walking. I notice that now the heads of a few drones are sticking up. And then a few more. They are starting to rise to their feet behind me.
I’m nearly at the platform now. At any moment, I fear that someone is going to yell out at me. Or challenge me. But no one does.
I keep thinking about what I’m going to say when I reach the microphone. I need to keep control of this army somehow. Get them to put down their spears and bows and then give them the task of finding the gray zone, and freeing everyone before it’s too late. I’ll have to put it in language that they’ll understand.
I reach the Monk’s covered platform, and climb up into it. Instantly, six drones rise up from the crowd on either side of it and lift me into the air. I’m startled, but I don’t let it show. They hoist the platform onto their shoulders.
As if on cue, the remaining drones stand up too. Everyone faces me, an entire army looking at me for direction.
I search for the microphone. I don’t see it. I feel a moment of total panic. I won’t be able to tell the drones what to do if I can’t talk to them.
But then I see a small black wire, almost hidden in the front of the platform. It sticks out, like a strange, crooked tube. This must be it. I tap the end of it once with a fingertip.
And then I flinch, as a loud booming noise explodes out of the speakers hidden beneath me. It’s so loud, I feel it vibrate the soles of my boots.
I sink down onto the silk cushions on the platform, adjusting myself. I take hold of the tube-like microphone and bend it into position.
My mind goes blank for a second. I don’t know what to say. My very first word could ruin everything. I try to think about Meira and the Monk. What would they say?
I lean forward. “Greetings . . . ,” I murmur.
I hear a voice very different from my own emanate from the speakers. It’s distorted and guttural. Just like Meira sounded. The drones stand there, watching me with their blank faces and eyes.
“I have returned . . . ,” I continue. “From the dead.” There’s no response from the drones. But I take this as a positive sign. I stare around at the masses before me.
I don’t feel happy about having this kind of power. It makes me feel sick to my stomach. If these kids weren’t susceptible to the new UNA drugs, they would never be acting like this. The power I have is just an illusion. I take a deep breath.
“We must find and travel into the gray zone at once,” I declare, struggling to imitate the cadence and speech of Meira and Minister Harka. “We will leave this road the way we came. Continue our journey into the forest.” I pause. Still no response. I keep going. “A task of great importance awaits us inside the gray zone. . . .”
I hear some shuffling sounds now. Are the drones getting uneasy? Do they even understand what I’m saying? It’s hard to tell.
“This is a task that means eternal life!” I lie.
The crowd keeps shuffling even more. I’m getting increasingly worried, until I see four robed drones dragging someone toward me. Someone with a black hood over his head, and his hands tied behind him with rope.
The crowd parts so that the four drones and their prisoner can reach me. For a second I think it’s Dr. Barrett again, but then one of the drones speaks.
“Master,” he says. “We found the heathen who fled from us into the sky.” His voice is a dull monotone.
I already know who he means.
David.
I hide my relief at the fact that he’s alive. “Bring him closer!” I instruct. The drone does as I say. “Take off his hood! Undo his hands!”
The drones around him follow my orders.
Within seconds, I’m staring right at David. He’s only ten feet away, and he doesn’t have his glasses on. His face is bruised, and there’s a swelling on his left temple, but his eyes are surprisingly alert. He stares back up at me, squinting. The drones hold him upright.
I have to find a way to let him know who I really am. “David,” I say into the microphone.
“Meira,” he snaps right back.
I’m shocked.
So he knew who the Monk was all along?
I don’t know what to say for a moment. Has he been in league with Meira and the UNA this whole time? But of course he probably isn’t on Meira’s side, or he wouldn’t be tied up right now by the drones.
“I was hoping the feeler killed you,” David says. His voice is hoarse. “Maybe it did. Maybe you’re Meira’s replacement.” He squints at me harder.
“Keep talking,” I say. I can tell that David hasn’t figured out it’s me behind the mask. I can’t believe he kept his knowledge about Meira secret from us. Why would he do that? Why wouldn’t he tell us he knew who the Monk was? Maybe he didn’t trust all of us. But yet again, his actions confuse me and make me even more suspicious of him. It’s like he’s playing the different groups on the w
heel off one another. I just don’t know why yet—or even if there is a why.
“I wanted you to find me, you know,” he continues. “That’s why I ran in the first place and left the cathedral.”
I stare at him. “ You will be punished for running,” I manage to say, trying to keep up my façade.
“No, I don’t think I will be,” he replies. “You see, I’ve led you and your drones into a trap. It’s checkmate time, Meira.”
“A trap?” I ask.
“I’m sure you’ve heard of the travelers. They’ve been building a secret nomadic army far greater than yours for years. Since kids started getting sent to the wheel. Right now, you are in the heart of their territory, and they knew you would be coming. They’ve traveled here from all over the wheel. You are completely surrounded.” His voice is calm and matter-of-fact.
I can tell that he isn’t bluffing.
I want to tear off my mask right then and there, and let him know who I really am. But I can’t do that yet—not when we’re surrounded by these drones. The mask is the key to my survival.
“Bring him closer,” I say sternly to the drones. They obey unhesitatingly. Now David is only three feet away, staring up at me from the base of the platform.
“You only have a few minutes left before the travelers begin their assault,” David continues. “You’re going to pay for betraying everyone. You’re going to—”
“Look into my eyes,” I interrupt him hastily. “Look into my eyes!”
There’s something about my tone that startles him. He stares up at me more closely, scrutinizing me.
“Look into my eyes, David,” I say softly, one final time.
He fixes his eyes on mine. He cranes forward. And then his vision slips into focus.
“Alenna!” he gasps, recognizing me despite the mask. I can see him figuring everything out within a fraction of a second. “Of course! You took Meira’s place after the feeler snatched her!”
“Can you call off this attack?” I hiss, covering the microphone with my hand.
“No, it’s too late! I had no idea.” He sounds frantic. “Make the drones surrender! Tell them not to fight!”
The Uprising: The Forsaken Trilogy Page 29