Liang looked at the screens again, though it was the last thing he wanted to do. He was shocked to see that the sun was already high in the sky, its harsh light streaming down over the transports and the road. The last vehicle was just breaking free of the city limits, and Liang kept his eyes resolutely fastened to its hull, lest he see any further evidence of human desperation along the roads.
"Mei, go finish packing. And try to get some sleep, if you can. It's going to be a long and grueling night," he said, somehow managing to make his voice low and gentle.
"Sleep?" she asked incredulously. "I don't think I'll ever sleep again."
Her words made him shudder, but he tried to muster some sort of a smile for her. She stared at him with a searing gaze before rising slowly from the floor and leaving the room, her shoulders hunched.
"Maybe I should stay here and…" Sylvie began, but Liang waved a hand at her.
"There's nothing more to be done here. You should all go and finish your preparations as well."
"You should also get some rest and have something to eat," Matthews added, his voice surprisingly soft. Looking up at the man's eyes, Liang realized Matthews had been more affected by what had happened than he let on. It made Liang wonder what kind of horrors the man had seen in the past, when now-defunct countries had fought over resources and fresh water, before the Creators had intervened.
Lethargically, Liang hauled himself up from the floor, walking over to Keiko and Sylvie and offering them a hand. Keiko's hand trembled, belying her controlled expression. Sylvie didn't even attempt to hide her ravaged face as she moved over to speak quietly to the other Creators. Liang's eyes returned unwillingly to the screens, looking but not seeing.
"Do you think we did the right thing?" Sylvie asked softly, her unexpected appearance at his side making him jump.
"I don't know," he sighed. "I don't know if I'll ever figure that out."
Good-bye
Dusk was beginning to settle over the seemingly interminable day when Liang went into Mei's room to see if she was almost ready. Like him, she looked as though she hadn't slept a wink, and he had never before seen his beautiful sister look so haggard. She walked around the room trailing her fingers over various objects, settling for a second in one spot and then promptly moving on to another part of the room. Liang sagged against her door frame, almost too exhausted to move.
"I just can't believe I'll never see this room again," Mei said, drifting over toward her window seat. She hadn't turned around at his entrance, and he felt uncomfortable, as if he was intruding on some private ritual of hers.
"Are you almost ready to go?" he asked, unable to conceal his awkwardness.
"It's okay, Li. It makes me feel better to have you here."
"Does it?" It was an earnest question. He felt as though the things he'd done, the decisions he'd made over the past weeks, had left a stain on him.
"It does." Walking over to him, she took him gently by the hand and coaxed him into the room. "Do you remember that time you took Princess Pig and threatened to flush her down the toilet?" She indicated a tutu-festooned, luridly pink stuffed pig sitting proudly at the apex of the excessive number of throw pillows on her bed.
He smiled in spite of himself. "I was always such a sweet older brother."
"Yeah, well, I had my moments too." She glanced at him, the corners of her mouth twitching. "Like that time I found Fatima's love message and I threatened to forward it to all of your friends."
Even now, Liang felt the familiar stab of dread at the thought of his sixteen-year-old self being humiliated in front of his friends. Once upon a time, he had thought nothing could be worse than the pain of having his earnest emotions exposed for all the world to see. Mixed with the dread was a healthy dose of regret. Though he'd tried his best to forget, he'd never truly gotten over the loss.
"What happened to Fatima?" Mei asked.
"She fell in love with a much worthier guy and moved to the Western European Alliance," Liang answered, a lump rising in his throat. The reports from that alliance had been every bit as grim, and he hoped Fatima was safely tucked in a dome somewhere over there, that she hadn't had to witness the terrible things he'd witnessed.
"Things never really work out the way you think they will, do they?" Mei's voice was soft, and her face had a far-away expression on it.
"No, they don't." Speaking those words felt like shutting the door on something not only in his own life, but that of his sister.
Drifting over to the window once more, Mei turned her back to him and stared intently through the panes. "They're out there, aren't they?"
"Yes." Though the noise couldn't be heard through the thick, soundproofed glass that insulated their home, Liang had seen vid feeds of the growing crowds. Additional security forces had been pouring into the compound in bursts throughout the day. Having discharged their duties to the civilians, they had now come to protect the Creators.
"How many?"
"Too many," Liang sighed.
"Have any of the security forces been injured?" Mei seemed to retreat within herself, her arms coming up to hug her body.
"A few minor injuries, nothing too serious." Liang tried to make this sound like great news. It was good, of course, that few of the forces had been injured, but what remained unspoken was the number of civilians whose lives had been sacrificed, though Liang knew that number paled in comparison of what was yet to come.
"I tried to rest," Mei whispered, her voice shaking. "But every time I closed my eyes, I saw them."
A shiver of horror raced up his spine. "I know. I haven't slept either."
"I never thought I'd have to see this. I was sure we'd have a breakthrough. After all the careful calculations, after the Creators uniting all nations, after the population controls and the advances in technology that allowed us to produce more food and water…" Mei crumpled, her body closing even further in upon itself. Liang moved over to her and put a hand on her shoulder.
"We all thought that. But it was always just a matter of time," he said, his voice gutteral.
Mei shuddered. "I know. We all know that now, don't we?"
"I think we all knew it all along. We were just hoping we were wrong."
"How could we have been so stupid?" Mei's voice trembled, but this time with anger.
"It's human nature, Mei. You've studied history."
"Do you honestly think things will be different now?" She whirled to face him. "Once we're in the domes, living in our happy little utopia."
It was Liang's turn to shudder. "I don't know. If I said yes, I'd be lying to you, and you know it."
"We can't forget this, Li. Ever. We can't forget what it was like to stand here and watch the world fall apart."
"I know," he said, though, in truth, he wanted nothing more than to forget.
"I mean it." Her voice was surprisingly fierce, and she grabbed his arms with both hands, forcing him to look her in the eye. He flinched. "We cannot forget what happened here. We cannot allow ourselves to become convinced that we ought to be congratulated for having saved humanity."
"I won't forget! How could you even think I could? While you've been up here wandering down memory lane, I've been in my office listening to the reports. I know how many civilians died. I know how many of the security forces were injured, what kind of injuries they suffered. I. Know. Everything."
Her face stunned and wounded, Mei took a step back from him and he instantly regretted having attacked her. She was right, they couldn't afford to forget that their victory—if they could even call it that—had been very hard won. It wasn't Mei he was angry with, nor was she truly angry with him; rather, they were both angry at the world, at the injustice of what had happened.
"I'm sorry," she said, her eyes welling up. "I had no right to imply that—"
"No, I'm sorry," he said, hugging her. "I shouldn't have attacked you. And I promise you, Mei, I won't forget. I know you won't let me, and I'm grateful for that."
The
y stood silently for a few moments, clinging to one another. He tried not to think too much about everything they were losing, tried not to imagine what it would be like to be trapped within the dome. Most of all, he tried not to think too much about everything they had lost.
"I love you, Liang," Mei said, hugging him fiercely.
"I love you, too, Mei Mei. Are you ready now? We should get downstairs. It'll be time for us to go soon."
"I'm ready," she said. She walked out of her room without taking a single thing with her.
Flight
The house was a flurry of activity as Liang and Mei descended to the first floor. Security forces walked swiftly everywhere, some carrying equipment, others engaged in intense discussion. For a moment, Liang paused on the stairs, watching in amazement. It was like some sort of chaotic ballet, and he kept expecting the forces to run into one another, but none did. Mei gave him a nervous glance, and he knew the activity worried her, as it did him.
"There you are, sir," Matthews said, hurrying into the foyer. "Transport leaves in five minutes."
"We're ready," Liang said, stunned that everything was happening so fast. He opened his mouth, but before he could say a word, Flores joined them.
"The crowds are thickening. The roadblocks along the way and the general chaos are making it difficult to get here from the city, but it's not enough to keep everyone away." Though Flores looked as coolly collected as ever, there was some urgency in her eyes.
"And the Creators who live closer to the gates?" he asked.
"They're in a secure location, but it's best to retreat from this sector as quickly as possible." She beckoned to them to follow her, and Liang took Mei's hand as they walked swiftly through the grand foyer, down a central corridor that bisected the house, and out the back. A distant roar disturbed the still of the evening as they headed out toward the transport vehicles parked in the back drive.
"How many are there?" Liang asked.
"Thousands," Flores responded tersely. She turned to an officer hurrying by and barked orders at him. Tightening his grip on Mei's hand, Liang walked faster, eager to get away. His initial regret at leaving had faded. All he could think about now was getting his sister to safety.
"See you in the domes, sir," Flores said, saluting Liang as they stopped at the closest transport.
"Thank you for everything you've done, Chief Flores."
She nodded before striding toward some forces loading equipment onto the second transport.
"Has everyone else made it okay?" Liang asked Matthews, who slid into the transport after them, the officers already on board saluting him respectfully.
"Yes, sir," Matthews responded. "I received a message from Morris about an hour ago. All staff on the roster are present and accounted for. There were no injuries."
A sickening wave of relief swept through Liang, making him glad he was sitting. He gave Mei's hand one last squeeze before attempting to get his violently trembling fingers to fasten his seat restraints.
"And the others?" Liang asked, when he'd finally managed to wrestle the buckles into place.
Matthews's expression became graver, which Liang would hardly have thought possible. "One transport was lost. Fortunately, it was mostly equipment, but a group of Biotech du Clerc scientists was on board, along with ten security officers, five of them on loan from Desai Nanotech."
Liang closed his eyes and swallowed, hard. "What…happened to them?"
"They were surrounded by hostile civilians," Matthews said, sounding reluctant to speak the words. "As far as we know, there were no survivors."
Mei let out a small cry, and her groping fingers grasped Liang's once more. He took a deep, shuddering breath and opened his eyes to find Matthews staring steadily into his face.
"And the equipment?"
"Unsalvageable."
Grimly, Liang nodded. "The route?"
"We sent in a strike team to clear the area, and tightened the checkpoints. Once we're a couple of clicks clear of the compound, we'll be relatively safe." Liang understood what lay unspoken between them: the civilians that had attacked the transport had not survived either.
The transports' engines rumbled to life and they lurched forward. Liang's stomach clenched with anxiety as he glanced around the vehicle. There were no windows, and he could not see past the jumble of security forces and equipment to look through the windshield. Matthews donned a pair of viewspecs, which would enable him to see footage from the camera mounted to the vehicle. Liang didn't like being blind to the outside world, and he clutched the edge of his seat with his free hand.
"You don't happen to have a spare pair, do you?" he asked Matthews, trying to keep his voice level.
"No, sir. Sorry," Matthews replied, glancing at Liang. Something in the man's gaze told Liang this had been done by design.
The transport was noisier than he would have expected. A constant stream of chatter was broadcast over the communications links in a military-style jargon that Liang found impossible to penetrate. Mei's head was pressed against her seat back, her eyes clamped tightly shut, and he wondered if she felt the only way she could make this trip was by blocking out everyone around her, him included.
Despite the heavy, sound-deadening armor on the vehicle, it was still possible to faintly hear the roar of the crowd as they approached the compound gates. Matthews had gone stock-still, his eyes darting around rapidly as he scanned the camera feed.
They made it through the gates without incident, and Liang wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but Matthews hadn't relaxed in the slightest. In fact, the man had tensed even more, his mouth set in a hard line, and Liang's nerves tingled with dread.
"What's going on?" Though he didn't want to interrupt Matthews's concentration, Liang simply couldn't stand the silence any longer.
"There's been an assault on the first checkpoint."
"What?" Liang asked, feeling as if the bottom had suddenly dropped out from beneath him.
"We're going to improvise a new route," Matthews replied, his jaw muscles standing out in clear relief under his taut, stubbly skin. "Please, sir. I'll have to ask you to keep quiet. I need to speak with Chief Flores."
Liang nodded, too frightened now to speak. Mei's grip had tightened on his until it felt as though she was crushing the small bones in his hand, but he didn't protest. In fact, it felt like she was the only thing keeping him grounded in what was increasingly beginning to feel like a death trap.
He could tell when they left the road and began to forge their new route, because the vehicle began to bump and sway even more vigorously, and Liang just managed to choke back the bile that rose in his throat. Matthews appeared unaffected by the rough terrain. His face was a mask of intense concentration as he and Flores exchanged cryptic information. Liang was so close to Matthews he could hear the rise and fall of Flores's voice on the other end of the comm link, but he had no idea what she was saying.
An ear-splitting explosion rent the air, rocking the transport with such force it nearly flipped onto its side. Mei screamed, the sound so piercing that Liang was sure she'd punctured his right eardrum. It took Liang a second to realize that he was yelling as well, though the sounds of his shouts were drowned out by his sister's screams. With a sickening lurch, the vehicle righted itself, but it swerved violently to the left, again threatening to topple them. The force threw Liang against his restraint, and he gasped as a sudden, searing pain lanced through the right side of his collarbone.
"We're going to die," Mei whispered. Liang looked over at her in disbelief, unable to comprehend how he could have heard her over the chaos.
The transport lurched again and swerved to the right, though less violently this time. A few seconds later the driver won the battle to regain control of the vehicle, but Liang's relief was short-lived. Careening around as they had caused the vehicle to lose acceleration, nearly bringing them to a standstill.
"What was that?" Mei shrieked, trying to jump away from the wall of the transport, cr
ying out as her restraint curtailed her movement.
"Someone's out there!" Liang said with dawning horror. Sure enough, a few seconds later, more banging sounded on the outside of the transport, which began to sway gently.
Matthews cursed loudly. His viewspecs were a twisted ruin on the floor. Tearing free of his restraints and grabbing the straps suspended from the vehicle's ceiling, Matthews hauled himself to the front of the vehicle. The way he was dragging his right leg made it obvious Matthews was injured. As he moved to the front of the vehicle, Matthews unceremoniously shoved piles of equipment and shaken security forces out of his way.
"Get us the hell outta here. Now!" he roared.
Terrified, Liang could do nothing more than hold on tight as their wild ride began anew. Matthews grunted as he was knocked off balance, his weight landing on his bad leg. A man and a woman standing nearby grabbed him and pushed him into a seat, using their bodies as shields so that the loose equipment didn't slam into him. There was a sudden jolt and a thunk as the transport hit something solid and, though he couldn't see through the windshield if he tried, Liang averted his eyes.
"Sir," the woman who'd helped Matthews into his seat said, her voice shaky. "Transport two suffered a direct hit. Should we turn around and—"
"No," Matthews barked.
"But, sir—" she began to protest.
"We are under direct orders to proceed without stopping, no matter the circumstances," Matthews shouted, his face turning red, a vein in his forehead bulging.
"Yes, sir."
Matthews opened a comm link. "Chief Flores, do you read? Chief Flores?" Uttering a sound of frustration and rage, Matthews tried hailing other contacts.
"Is she dead?" Mei whispered. Liang looked over at his sister's pale face, her eyes huge and round.
"Yes," he answered grimly. The vehicle jolted over the uneven terrain, making his collarbone burn, and he gritted his teeth.
Creators (A Contributor Trilogy prequel novella) Page 7