Genesis

by Lara Morgan

  “Let me see it.” Pip reached for her leg and rolled her jeans up.

  “No! Don’t touch it.” She flinched as he lifted her leg up to rest it across his knees.

  “Shut up,” he said mildly, and inspected the swelling. Through half-closed eyes, Rosie saw her ankle bone had disappeared in a mass of swollen flesh. Please don’t let it be broken, she thought.

  “Right.” Pip pulled his T-shirt off.

  “What are you doing?” She tried not to stare. He was slim, but not without muscle, and his pale brown skin stretched smoothly over his well-toned torso.

  “It’s all we’ve got to strap it with – unless you want to use yours.”

  Smart-arse, Rosie thought, and didn’t bother replying. Trying not to wince or cry out, she let him tie his shirt tightly around her ankle. The pain was hard to bear and she almost bit her tongue, but after it was strapped, it did feel better. Or at least she felt like she might be able to stand on it without passing out.

  “Thanks,” she said faintly when he’d finished.

  “No worries.” He flashed a quick smile and she felt butterflies stir in her stomach.

  She looked away and levered herself up to kneel in front of the panel. “I think I can fix the cage,” she said, staring intently at it.

  He peered over her shoulder. “How?”

  “Give me some room, and I’ll show you.”

  “Okay, okay.” He backed off to sit back against the wall but she heard the amusement in his voice.

  Trying to ignore him, she checked out the simple command buttons. Open and shut for the door, and below it a voice activation slit which looked dead. “Give me that knife you had,” she said.

  He placed it in her hand. Rosie inserted the blade carefully in the narrow groove and levered the panel off. Surely this couldn’t be too complicated.

  Luckily, it wasn’t. Some parts of the wiring and chips were a mystery, but the voice and movement sectors were easy to spot. And luckily again, Pip’s kick had only knocked the connection loose. Rosie easily reconnected it. Now she just hoped their luck would hold out to get the cage moving and themselves out of it.

  “Fixed.” She turned to Pip, who barely raised an eyebrow. “So now what do we tell it? How many floors up do we go?”

  “I think there are four floors to ground level. We were at the bottom but the medibots would have passed our location on to Yuang. As soon as the cage stops, he’ll have guards waiting for us on whichever floor we get out at.”

  “So what’s our option? We have to stop the cage to get out.”

  “Yeah and when we do, we’re caught – unless.”

  Rosie got a bad feeling in her gut. “Unless what?”

  He smiled. “What if we get out while it’s still moving?”

  “Um, translation?”

  “We set it for ground level but instead of closing the door, we leave it open and when we pass the first level we jump out.”

  Rosie stared at him. “Did you not notice how fast this thing goes up?”

  “Yeah, but can’t you fix that? If you can fix the activator, can’t you make it go slower? Slow enough for us to get the outer door of the shaft open and jump out.”

  Rosie looked at the controls. It was feasible but could she jump with her sore ankle? “I don’t know if I can move fast enough to get out.”

  “That’s easy.” Pip grinned. “I’ll push you.”

  He looked worryingly pleased by the idea, but really what other option did they have? “Fine.” She began to fiddle with the wiring.

  It took her less time than she’d thought and in ten minutes it was done. Fingers crossed it would be slow enough. She got Pip to manually push the inner door open, then spoke into the voice slot.

  “Ground level,” she said quietly, and the cage began to rise. But it was faster than she would have liked. The metal of the chute seemed to fly by. Pip appeared just as apprehensive.

  Rosie held onto his waist, trying not to notice the pain that throbbed through her ankle, or that she was leaning against his naked chest. His skin was warm and the muscles hard beneath it as he shifted.

  “Ready?”

  “No.” Rosie tensed as he put an arm around her. He grinned.

  “Too late now.” He reached up for the latch of the mesh door to the next level as the cage rose rapidly towards it and, with a grunt, thrust it open.

  “Hold on!” The cage was already level and getting higher as he rolled them both out. Rosie’s foot hit the bottom of the cage and she cried out as pain shot up through her ankle. Pip took the brunt of the fall and Rosie landed half on top of him, her head smacking against his bare chest.

  He groaned and they lay there for a second, stunned, then he was rolling her off him and getting up. “Come on.” He pulled her upright. Rosie kept hold of his arm as she tentatively put her weight on her right foot. It wasn’t too bad; she seemed to be able to stand.

  Level one was a giant storehouse. Along the walls on either side, rows of rectangular metallic containers were stacked to the ceiling. They reminded Rosie of coffins, except at the end of each glowed a small green light. There were hundreds of them. They were stacked three rows deep on each side, leaving a walkway between them. Ahead, a robotic lifting machine sat dormant.

  It was chilly and a strange smell hung in the air, like the spray her dad used to keep insects out.

  “Is this the food storage?” Rosie asked.

  Pip shook his head. He stared up at the containers. “That’s above ground.”

  “There must be an exit at the end.” She began to limp forward, moving close to the containers in case anyone came in. At least they could hide among the rows.

  Pip followed. “Want a hand?”

  “No.” It hurt like hell every time she put any weight on her right foot, but she didn’t want to hang off him like some useless limpet – especially with the naked factor. She moved as quickly as she could, half walking, half hopping, and studied the containers. Next to each light was an electronic panel with letters in it. It took her a while to realise the letters were names. People’s names. She stopped at the closest container.

  M Creshaw. Male DOD 06-11-2515. Study 5468.

  Pip turned back. “What’re you doing?”

  “They’re people,” she whispered, “in the containers. It says DOD – date of death.”

  “What?” Pip came closer and peered at the small screen. In the reflected light, Rosie saw him go pale. “Bastards,” he whispered faintly, then suddenly turned and took off, running away from her through the rows coffins, reading the screens.

  Rosie was about to call out to stop him when she realised what he was doing. He was looking for his parents.

  CHAPTER 38

  Rosie limped down the narrow corridor between the stacks.

  There were so many of them: shining silver coffins full of people Helios had killed. Gritting her teeth against the pain, she shuffled around the corner of another row and found Pip at the far end, staring at two coffins above his head.

  He didn’t acknowledge her as she approached.

  “Pip …” she hesitated. She could think of nothing to say. “Sorry” was useless. People had said they were sorry when her mum died, but it hadn’t made her feel any better. It had made her angry – people trying to pretend they understood when they didn’t.

  She stood back in the shadows. It was unnaturally quiet and sharply cold. Desolate. The place was thick with emptiness and the flat light silvered everything grey, turning Pip into a half-lit statue before her.

  Time was ticking away but she didn’t hassle him. He had to be allowed to say goodbye. He stood for a while longer, then began to walk down the corridor. She hobbled after him.

  There was a lift in the wall at the end of the stacks and in the far corner, a door that looked like it led to a stairwell. Pip strode towards it.

  “Pip.” Now she did call out. He was going too fast and she had to speed up to a kind of run to catch him. Her ankle throbbed in agon
y. “Pip, wait.”

  He didn’t turn around. The muscles of his back were rigid, flexed with tension as he paused with his hand on the doorknob.

  He let go and turned to her. His breath was sharp, ragged, and his eyes dark with pain and fury as he stood motionless, watching her approach.

  “I–” She stepped towards him then stopped. This was a Pip she’d never seen – all his bravado was stripped away, leaving only the ashes of a profound anger, a desolation in his face that made her both afraid of him and for him all at once. She put a hand tentatively on the smooth skin of his shoulder, intending to comfort him, but it was as if her touch flicked a switch. He flinched and she saw something else come into his eyes and he pulled her suddenly, violently towards him and kissed her.

  His lips crushed against hers so hard, she felt his teeth through the membrane of her skin. It was almost painful. He clutched at her, one hand gripping the back of her neck, the other circling her waist and dragging her up almost off her feet.

  She didn’t fight him. Couldn’t. Didn’t want to. She kissed him back. Heat filled her skin and she pressed herself against him, touching him the way she’d been wanting to. She ran a hand over the perfect curve of his skull, the muscles of his back and at her response, his kiss softened. For a moment there was only Pip – his breath in her mouth, his lips on hers and she wanted him closer, but he pulled away abruptly and dropped her back to her feet. Pain spiked through her ankle.

  “Ow!” she hissed.

  He steadied her. He didn’t speak, only stared, breathless also. Her heart beat crazily. His gaze was intense but he looked vulnerable and closed off at the same time.

  “We have to go,” he said. “Time. You know.”

  “Yeah, right.” She swallowed, trying to slow her heart. “You okay?” It was weird to be talking like this. She could taste the salty warmth of him on her lips, as though some part of him had slipped in under her skin.

  “Yeah.” He looked like he was going to say something else, but instead he turned to the door. “Come on.”

  They climbed the stairs and barely spoke. The kiss lay between them like a dripping tap, the faucet half turned to relieve some pressure, but not enough. Rosie felt completely confused, but there was too much at stake to even try to work it out.

  It took them nearly an hour to reach the top of the stairs and by that time her ankle felt on fire. She leaned on the wall. Pip rested beside her, breathing heavily, having half carried her up the final flight.

  “Do you think he’s cleared everything out of the labs yet?” she asked.

  “Who, Yuang?” Pip said and shook his head. “No, it’ll take him longer than that. There are a lot of labs.”

  “Maybe he doesn’t care. Maybe he’ll just leave it all here to be blown up.”

  “Not likely. Besides, he wouldn’t risk anything being found.”

  Not that much would be left after the explosion. “Open the door,” she said.

  The corridor on the other side was empty, white and partly submerged below the soil; high slitted windows looked out to garden and sky. They crept towards a set of doors at the end that reminded Rosie of an airlock.

  Pip pressed his thumb to the panel and the door contracted into the frame, opening the way into a circular area with four corridors. A tall bookcase filled the wall between two corridors and in front of it three young boys were lounging on a sofa, reading. They looked up as Rosie and Pip came through and for a moment they all stared at each other in surprise, then a thin boy with a fuzz of red hair pointed at them and shouted, “It’s them, it’s them!” He dropped his book and ran towards a com in the far wall, yelling for the guards.

  Pip swore and grabbed Rosie’s hand and they ran down the closest corridor on the left.

  Pain shot up Rosie’s calf, slowing her down. From behind came the sound of booted feet. They’d never outrun them with her injury.

  “You go on ahead,” she panted. “I can’t run.”

  “No.”

  “Pip.”

  “Keep going, Rosie.” He tugged her forward.

  The corridor was short, angling right just ahead. The sound of heavy footsteps seemed to be coming from everywhere.

  “Stop!”

  Rosie looked back and saw two guards. Big men with weapons drawn.

  “In here.” Pip pushed open a door and they ran through, slamming it behind as the guards reached them. Pip turned the lock, but it was flimsy and the men kicked it, rocking it in its frame.

  They were in a dorm. Three bunks lined the walls on either side.

  “The bathroom.” Pip ran to a door. The white tiled room connected to another dorm, exactly like the first, and Rosie hobbled after him. He wrenched open the door to the corridor, but the guards were already outside waiting for them.

  “Run!” Pip pushed her back towards the bathroom but she got no further than a few steps before big hands yanked her back. She shrieked as her injured ankle twisted.

  “Let her go!” Pip shouted and the other guard backhanded him across the face. Pip hit the metal bunk face first. He dropped to the floor, blood running from a split above his eye.

  “Pip!” Rosie yelled but her cries were drowned by a sudden enormous boom. The whole room lurched and the guard holding her lost his grip as they were flung to the floor. Rosie sprawled, stunned, facedown as another boom came. The floor shuddered and she rolled out of the way just in time, as a bunk bed toppled over, narrowly missing her.

  “Rosie!” Pip was shouting, but she could barely hear him over the sound of a siren.

  The ground shook again and the guard who had been getting to his feet fell against the fallen bunk, his face smashing into the metal. He groaned and lay still.

  “Rosie, you okay?” Pip crawled towards her, blood streaking his cheek.

  “Look out!” she cried as a guard lunged for him.

  Pip turned, lashed out, and got the guard in the groin. The man fell to his knees with an agonised howl. Pip grabbed the gun from his hip holster and released a bolt of energy into his shoulder. The guard was flung backwards to the floor.

  “Get up!” Pip reached over the bunk to help Rosie to her feet. The siren was still screaming and white dust from the now half-collapsed ceiling filled the air. The guard Pip had shot was lying on the floor moaning.

  They stepped over him and stumbled into the corridor. Children and scientists in lab uniforms ran past in ragged groups, all heading one way. No one paid them any attention.

  “Was that the selfdestruct?” Rosie shouted over the alarm.

  “Can’t be – we’d be dead. Take this.” Pip shoved a com into her hand, and she saw he had another one and was listening to it. He must have stolen them from the guards.

  “What channel?” Rosie activated it but Pip wasn’t listening.

  “There was a bomb on level three,” he said. “The medibots are evacuating the testing labs.”

  “Riley?” Relief filled her. “It’s got to be him.”

  “Crazy bastard must have reset the bots by remote.” Pip grinned. “Come on.” He turned to go down the corridor, heading the opposite way to the crowd.

  “Wait,” she grabbed his arm, “is that the way back to the lab?”

  “No, it goes to Yuang’s office.”

  “Are you nuts?” Rosie held on harder as he tried to turn again. “We have to get my dad and aunt and get out of here.”

  “After we get those files on Helios.” He took her hand but she pulled away.

  “Pip, the place is falling down and we don’t even have the code key.”

  “So maybe it’s in his office, we–” They flattened themselves against the wall as part of the ceiling came down. Dust filled the air and people were shouting and calling to each other. A group of kids herded by two adults ran around the corner and past them, not even seeing them in the haze of debris.

  How many bombs did Riley have? Rosie coughed and swiped at the air trying to clear it.

  “I know you’re worried about your
aunt and dad,” Pip said, “but we’ve got this far and his office is only just along there.”

  Rosie was torn. Helios had done terrible things – killed so many – but they might not have time to get out. Should she risk sacrificing her own life and her family’s for files they might not even find?

  “We can’t stop them if we’re dead, Pip,” she said, but she could see in his face that he didn’t want to give up the chance to take Helios down.

  “I promise we’ll go back for them,” he said. “But, Rosie, this is our only chance. Remember why your mum died – and my parents?”

  That was low.

  “Please.” He slipped his hand in hers, his grip warm and firm.

  He gave her a steadfast look that was supposed to make her trust him but his need for revenge was barely concealed. He wanted to get back at Yuang more than anything else – for lying, for killing his parents. And she understood that – she wanted to punish someone too for what her family had been through – but she didn’t think she would go as far as he might. There was no getting around the fact that she needed his help. The Enclave was like a maze, and she wasn’t sure how to reach her family or, when she did, how she could get two unconscious people out on her own. Then there was the MalX cure in his blood. Both her dad and aunt were as good as dead without him.

  “All right,” she said, “but if it goes bad, I’m getting my family – and you’re coming with me.”

  “No problem.”

  He tightened his grip on her hand. Together they went back into the belly of the Enclave.

  The corridors and labs in this section appeared deserted but they kept to service accessways and out of the main corridors in case any grunts were around. They had no idea where Yuang was and Rosie just hoped he’d forgotten about them. Listening to the coms didn’t help. The grunts weren’t talking much and some of it was in a kind of code. Rosie wished desperately there was some way she could contact Riley – if it was him bombing the Enclave. Wait. The coms. She swore under her breath and Pip glanced at her.

  “What?”

  “I can’t believe I didn’t think of it,” she said. “Riley has a com.”