Sanctuary 2 (The Foliage Series Book 4)

by Aline Riva

  The Foliage Series : Book 4

  Sanctuary 2

  By Aline Riva

  The Foliage series Book 4 : Sanctuary : Book 2 by Aline Riva

  This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

  All Foliage characters © Nathan Ward 2016

  Sanctuary Copyright © Aline Riva 2017

  Cover Design Copyright © Nathan David Ward 2017

  The Author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

  Sanctuary 2

  Introduction:

  Joy:

  Four more years have passed since the Fourth Firelight Festival went down in the history of Cyborg Valley as being the biggest yet. It's got bigger and better every year and now the Ninth festival is almost upon us. Ash Jekel is a huge star and I'm proud to say he's the best husband to me and a fine father to Travis Storm Jekel, who has just turned nine years old.

  But he still doesn't know the truth that the child conceived by the blood of the battle field, the boy he thinks of as his son, is really the son of Captain Nathan Murdock. I want to tell him the truth, but Riley says one day that booster wire that saved his life after the fall from the tower will burn out – and he can't predict the outcome. I guess guilt and fear for my husband stops me from saying what he needs to know.

  But the Valley is thriving. We now have two fine towns – Bullet and Sanctuary, it seems as we are a growing community we are also a developed one now – we have water and electricity and the screens linked from here to Freedom are used not just for the festival but for news bulletins and entertainment shows. With the return of some basic television channels we even have our own studios – which is much more than Freedom has. Who would have thought this once war torn land would be come the entertainment centre of the new world? This is us, the new Hollywood, in the heart of Cyborg Valley where we have glamour on one side and factories on the other.

  The political situation is still in turmoil. We have tight border controls and their City Guard on our gates. Their soldiers patrolling our streets. Thanks a lot, Josh....

  But the Premier is too afraid to speak up, he's even ignored the growing threat from the terrorist group End Cyborg Life, despite many warnings from the Vice Premier and the Culture Minister that there could be dire consequences to the head in the sand attitude.

  Riley is working to liaise with Freedom to try and cut a deal to relax border control. That's been going on eight years now. And these days, the anti cyborg members of the Circle in Freedom are bring up more and more the fact that Felix Lynch is wanted on charges of terrorism. He stole life-giving cybernetic fluid to save his own life and killed no one in the process – but they are firm in their decision that the charges must stand...

  For now Felix is safe behind the barriers of Cyborg Valley because Riley won't agree to extradition treaties – they will never be allowed for those charged with 'crimes' seen as necessary actions to save cyborg lives. But the Circle in Freedom talk like they want his blood. Elise is worried. We're all worried. And the threats from End Cyborg Life come through more and more with the passing of time. It's only a matter of time before something happens. And when it does, I don't know which side the city of Freedom will choose to join...

  Chapter 1 : Valley of Broken Dreams

  The town of Sanctuary was looking glorious in the sunshine, the houses and buildings dotted about the landscape long since repaired and even the gouges left on the land from the battle years before had been filled in, and thanks to the shield system the whole area that stretched for miles was undamaged by all the planet had suffered in the days when the old world ended. Here the name Byron Leather was becoming a distant but never forgotten memory as the towns people recalled his brutality – but these were better times. Bullet was the side of the Valley where the tourists came to stay and on the other side of it, was the industrial sector. Over in Sanctuary, there was the stage in the field and the screen that linked to Freedom City. A short distance away was a studio where TV shows were made – although television had come back, it was the old fashioned kind with occasional static snow and poor reception in bad weather and often residents had to adjust the aerials on their roofs. The world was slowly clawing its way back to civilisation.

  And it would have been perfect, if not for the heavy presence of Freedom City guards on the streets of Cyborg Valley, and on the tightly controlled border. It was the Premier's way of caving in to the wishes of the majority of the Circle who wanted to keep firm the reminder that while there was a resistance to the idea of cyborgs in Freedom, they would be kept in the Valley...

  And in the Wired Circuit, as Lynch drank Valley branded beer that Flynn had long ago correctly assured him was miles better than the gnat's piss that used to be served when this place was the Grey Goose, the former General sat in silence, looking off towards the fireplace where above it, the mounted head of the giant Howler Flynn had named Angus the Fungus Head stared vacantly, as it always did.

  As Kait polished glasses and then served drinks to a couple of regulars on this quiet afternoon, Flynn pulled up a seat at the table and looked across it at Lynch.

  “Penny for 'em?”

  Lynch blinked, looked at Flynn and in that moment, every line etched on his face seemed deeper, which only indicated Lynch was worried, because heavily modified cyborgs like Lynch and Jekel were slow to age thanks to the side effects of cybernetic fluid, which was of course legally available in the Valley. But at that moment, Lynch seemed aged by worry itself.

  “What?” he asked.

  “Your thoughts...you looked a thousand miles away,” Flynn replied.

  His blue eyes shaded with concern as he looked to Flynn and kept his voice low.

  “Every time we hear news from Freedom my name gets dropped in more and more. It's like they want a witch hunt! And if they go for me, where will they stop? Sometimes I look at Elise and my daughter and I wonder if I'll be around to see Fi grow up -”

  “Stop that,” Flynn said, “I mean it, Lynch. Riley said no extradition with Freedom, ever. And he's right about that. It was wrong to ever label anyone who stole fluid or parts necessary to cyborg life as a terrorist. You were just trying to survive.”

  “And what if a war kicks off? I used to love fighting. It's different now, I've got a family. Or should that be more reason to fight? Maybe they won't make the call – maybe we will -”

  “You can stop that talk!” the Irishman said sharply, “Seriously, pack it in, Lynch! You think this can be solved by fighting it out? No, it won't. We'll end up with the Valley as a war zone all over again. Don't you learn anything from history? We're not the bad guys. They're not the bad guys either. We just have to listen and so do they. Listen to your enemy and understand your differences.”

  Lynch gave a heavy sigh.

  “I wish you would step up as a peace representative. You'd be invaluable to Riley.”

  “With my history in the days of the troubles back in the old world?” he exclaimed, “Oh, Freedom would make a huge thing out of that. And it would do your situation no good at all. No, I'll stick to helping him write his speeches, that's about all I can do. Riley is the one who needs to be seen as the strong leader of this community, he needs Freedom to give him more of the respect he deserves – he's a g
ood man. Maybe the Premier is a good man too - just misguided. We need to meet in them middle somewhere and strike a bargain – hopefully without a price attached.”

  “I keep thinking that price might end up being me,” Lynch replied as he turned his beer thoughtfully on the table, “I'm the high profile case. I'm the one the anti cyborg lot bang on about the most.”

  Flynn shook his head.

  “It won't happen, this has been dragging on for eight years now. I think the City Guard should go back to Freedom where they belong and I think our border should come down. But look at the festival – it gets bigger every year and more and more people from Freedom are coming along. We have fans of our TV broadcasts in Freedom. Maybe that's the way to go – gradual acceptance. This is a new world, its still taking shape.”

  “Maybe you're right,” Lynch agreed, then he chuckled darkly, “But since Riley took down the shields when we became unified with Bullet, I can't help but hope some of those city guards end up as Howler brunch.”

  Flynn looked down at the table as he laughed, then he met his gaze and wagged a finger at him.

  “Now Felix, that's not the way... Though it is an amusing thought...Be their fault for being here in the first place, though...Oh, you're a bad influence on me, Lynchie!”

  And as he laughed so did Felix, and for a while, the fact that he was a wanted man back in Freedom City left his thoughts as Lynch enjoyed a pint in the Wired Circuit with Flynn.

  Up the hill and past the town of Sanctuary, as Ash Jekel cut a dashing and willowy figure in his tight, dark blue suit as he headed past the mansion of Blake Riley and towards the entrance to the medical centre, he was in a rush. His son was waiting for him over at the stage, where he was going to run through a practise of his opening address to the crowd as preparations for the festival were starting – the festival was a few weeks off, but it got so much bigger every year and preparations started earlier and earlier with every passing year...

  Jekel hurried down the corridor of the white building, heading for the elevator as he ran his fingers through his dark hair and the metallic veneer on the side of his head caught the light, making the engraving upon it stand out, and it only added to his graceful style given the fact that his tie matched the pattern on the veneer. But he was still in a rush as he thought about his son waiting for him, and he got in the elevator, hit the down button and as the doors slid shut he gave a sigh.

  “Waste of time...” he muttered as the elevator descended down to the medical centre.

  As the climb stopped the doors opened, and Jekel stepped out and walked down the brightly lit corridor, the light bouncing off his shiny, polished shoes. He saw the familiar door at the end of the corridor with Riley's name on it and walked in without knocking.

  “I'm about to run through the opening speech for the festival,” he said as Riley set aside a tray of cup cakes and got up from his desk.

  “I told you three times you're due a scan,” Riley reminded him, “That power boosting line inside your head is far more important than your performance at the festival.”

  “Nothing is more important than the festival!”Jekel replied, and he reached for the tray of cakes as Riley shifted it out of his reach.

  “Sit down and let me scan you.”

  Jekel gave another sigh and went over to a reclining chair, where he sat down, leant back against the padded head rest and looked to the wall as Riley swept his hair clear of the metallic veneer and picked up a small hand held scanner that contained a miniature screen.

  “You knew right from the start I have to check you every three weeks for signs of that wire losing power.”

  “And it's always okay,” Jekel replied, sounding bored as the scanner sat lightly on the patterned veneer and Riley activated the device and then as the scan was carried out, Jekel continued to chat:

  “I've got Travis waiting for me over by the stage, he's with Fi but I promised I'd meet the kids over there and now I'll be late if you don't hurry up. And I promised Joy I'd be back after the rehearsal, its our anniversary – instead I'm in here having a scan that we both know is going to turn out fine as always -”

  “Ash...”

  He fell silent as Riley removed the scanner, placed it on the table and all the while kept his other hand on his shoulder. Jekel looked up at him, seeing a worried expression in his eyes that gave him a jolt.

  “What's wrong? There can't be anything wrong, I feel fine.”

  “I need to recline the chair and turn on the main scanner, it's just a precaution,” Riley replied, reaching up and switching on the machine above the chair as he slid the chair into a reclining position.

  Jekel's eyes widened in alarm.

  “What's going on? Why do I need this? You've never done this before!”

  “Turn your head, Ash.”

  “What's going on?” he said again in a frightened voice.

  “Just turn your head for me...won't take a second, okay?”

  Jekel blinked as the light glowed from above and he turned his head as Riley studied the screen. Then he hit a button, capturing the on screen image and shifted the chair to a sitting position once more.

  “Let me show you something,” he said, and as the grainy image printed out of the bottom of the machine, Riley tore it off and looked to Jekel, who was growing nervous.

  “What...what is it? What's wrong...tell me, what's wrong?” he stammered.

  Riley showed him the image, where the main cluster of wires were showing silver and the power boosting line showed dark tint that faded in and out like bruises.

  “Try and stay calm and listen....You've had that line almost ten years and now it's showing signs of wear and tear. I assumed at some point it's going to fail and stay as a dead wire, but its showing signs of near burn out – the wire physically burning out wasn't something I'd anticipated... If it burns here,” he indicated to a hollow area between the cluster and the place where the wires branched off into the main mesh that met with brain tissue, “It's okay... it can stay there forever and do you no damage. If it burns out anywhere else that's major life threatening injury and requires immediate surgery and I can't predict the outcome. Also of course no matter where the wire blows, that's thirty percent loss of the regained functions instantly and sharply – much worse than the wire simply failing harmlessly, although we don't know which thirty percent you will lose so worse case scenario, either could be fatal.”

  As he turned his head and looked at Riley, Ashley Jekel was in a state of shock.

  “There must be something you can do!”

  Riley placed his hand over Jekel's and looked into the eyes of his best friend.

  “There's a few options,” he promised him, “Do you want me to go and fetch Joy?”

  “No,” Jekel said as his voice trembled, “Just tell me what you can do.”

  “Replacing it is too risky,”Riley replied, “I can't take out the line and replace it because it's too much strain on the existing connections, plus you risk damage to the micro fine wires that have already taken damage. I can operate and remove the wire – which will cause the weak thirty percent of mesh to instantly fail. That's a huge gamble because it could put you back into a coma with no chance of recovery....Or, you might be lucky and find the damage you're left with is minimal. It's unknown, I can't accurately predict the outcome.”

  “What other choices do I have?” Jekel said in a hushed voice.

  “Another option is to start you on the same medication you were on when you were in the coma – I can split the dosage and combine with two other meds to keep your existing connections strong – so when the cable does go, you've less chance of the damage being fatal. It could even cushion the connections so well that the damage will be minimal – but that's an untested theory and I could be wrong. So you can have the surgery or you can start on the IV treatment – which would be Trizinaq based which means it has to go into a human vein not a machine connection. I know you had no side effects when it was used for the com
a but this time it's going to have two other drugs in the mix to speed up the delivery time and the processing time. Plus you're awake and able to feel pain. It's going to be hard going. If you choose that option you would have to have the treatment three times a week for six hours at a time and it will cause side effects - the list is endless - fatigue, dizziness, nausea, weakness -”

  Jekel blinked away tears.

  “Please stop talking like a doctor and just be my best mate?”

  “It will make you feel like shit,”Riley said honestly, “And the third option is to do nothing - but if you choose that one, the wire burn out and mesh failure will most likely cause severe damage resulting in coma or death. I'm sorry, Ash... I never wanted this day to come any more than you did, but we knew it would happen one day...But there are choices.”

  Jekel's face was wet with tears and his voice trembled as he made his decision.

  “I'll do the treatment. I'll have the Trizinaq.”

  Riley let go of his shaking hand and looked at him in surprise.

  “Ash, you need to go home and talk to Joy, you need time to think it over -”

  “No!” he said defiantly as tears shone in his eyes, “I've made my choice...and I'm not telling Joy! I don't want anyone to know until they have to...Now I need to pull myself together and get over to the stage. My son's waiting for me and I have a show to rehearse.”

  Jekel got up from the chair, stumbled as he stood up, and Riley reached out to steady him. It was clear Jekel was still in shock from the news, his face was pale and his eyes red from weeping.

  “Slow down, mate,” Riley said softly, “Take a deep breath and calm down. You can't go out there meeting your boy looking like this.”

  He led him over to a sink and turned on the tap, and as Jekel splashed his face with cold water, Riley handed him a towel then turned off the water.