Thornfalcon (The ARC Legacy Book 1)

by Matthew W. Harrill

  Nina tipped her head to one side. “Nina isn't home, whore of Satan.” Her voiced was mocking, darkly sarcastic. “Nina's hidden safely away. Your sister is not long for this life.”

  On the screen, the birds began to form a familiar shape, a glyph.

  Get out of there!

  I cannot, Io replied. The reactor is still going to explode. Get to safety. Get away from your sister.

  The glyph was complete, the birds unmoving.

  Nina pressed a button on her console. “Porter, are you ready?”

  “Yes, Mistress,” came the reply. “We're in position.”

  “Mistress,” Samantha hissed.

  “Now it begins,” Nina sang in triumph.

  “What are you doing?” One of the technicians asked, attempting to access her workstation.

  Nina grabbed the technician with one hand, sneered and hurled him across the room where he slammed into the wall with the crunch of broken bones. He slid to the floor, unmoving, eyes rolled up in his head and blood running freely from his nose. Several people screamed in alarm.

  “Why?” Eva asked.

  “Because you denied my Father his return and now I'm going to use your angel to open a door to Heaven.”

  Her mother's face paled. “But Madden is … Oh my God.”

  “Your God is as good as dead,” Nina taunted them. “Once we open the doorway, eternal Crustallos will return.”

  Many of the people in the room turned to her, their faces filled with fear.

  “That's just theoretical,” said one of the technicians. “The technology doesn't exist.”

  A slow smile crept across Nina's face. “Want to know how impotent you are, Sammy? Say hello to your sister.”

  Nina's face changed as Samantha watched. It sagged, becoming flaccid as another personality took residence. Hard eyes became fearful, a confidant demeanour shrank with the weight of imprisonment.

  “Sammy? Mom?”

  Eva took a step forward. “Nina?”

  Nina began to cry. “He's got me trapped. I've been a prisoner in my own body.”

  “How long since they did this to you?”

  A haunted look came over Nina. “Forever. He was always there. Everything I've done. Everything learned. All him. He taunts me endlessly.”

  “Nina,” Samantha asked, “who is 'he'?”

  “His name's Stektes. He's a minion of Crustallos.” Nina appeared to panic. “He's coming back. Mom I can feel him. He knows what we are, Sammy. Help me. Get him out of me.”

  The frightened eyes hardened.

  “Nina,” Eva shouted into her face. “Nina, hold on!”

  “She can see you. She can feel your frustration. I promise you will never hear her words again. Don't,” Stektes said to Jim, who had moved to tackle her. “I don't want to kill you. My master has need of you. Of you all.”

  “We won't serve a demon,” Jim spat back.

  “Who said anything about servitude?” Stektes taunted. “He promises eternal glory. You just have to survive the imminent apocalypse.”

  What sounded like a jet closed in from outside, the vibration rumbling up through Samantha's feet, shaking the whole building.

  Io!

  I see him, Sammy. I'm ready.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  The roaring intensified and Samantha found her screams drowned out as she tried to protect her ears. When she thought her head was ready to explode, the roaring turned into the boom of a colossal impact.

  Thick, reinforced windows shattered, spraying those nearby with glass. Everybody was thrown to the floor by the force of the shockwave.

  Samantha was the first to her feet, helping her mother up.

  Eva mouthed some words and Samantha realised she had lost her hearing. She frowned, concentrating on her mother's mouth.

  “What happened?”

  She shrugged, then noticed one of the monitors was still functioning. Turning her mother toward the monitor she pointed.

  On the screen was the last place Io had been standing before the impact. A hole about ten feet across was filled with billowing smoke.

  Jim, now up on his feet, saw the screen. He looked up to the series of monitors above them. All were dark, many were cracked. He grabbed a keyboard and started typing. A reboot, Samantha figured.

  The screens glowed red as they came back online. In the centre, a schematic of the reactor core flashed several shades of red. Many of the fuel rods glowed yellow within the diagram. Underneath the words 'Core Breach' flashed repeatedly.

  Around them, people were stirring. As each rose, bleeding and broken, they caught sight of the screens. Many, in silence, put their hand to their mouth.

  Samantha grabbed a pen and wrote the words 'Prevailing winds. Get them out. South.' as fast as she could manage.

  He nodded and relayed the message to the screen.

  The response was immediate. Those able to move did so, at first heading for the doorway, stopping and turning.

  Samantha indicated those too injured to move and several of the group ahead of her nodded in agreement. Others began to hand out gas masks. Samantha took two, and heading to the back of the room, she tested the pulse of one unmoving technician. A steady beat gave her hope and she cleared him of debris, pulling the mask over his head. Her ministrations caused him to stir.

  Thank God.

  Get them clear, Samantha. Io's voice spoke inside her head.

  Io, are you okay? There was no response.

  A look from her mother and Jim indicated Io's message was not private. She mouthed 'Go' at them, pulling the now semi-conscious technician to his feet. He shook his head and focussed on the screen and then the slowly-moving group. It was only then Samantha realised Nina was nowhere to be seen. There were bigger concerns. The technician had a wounded leg and was leaving a trail of blood behind him. Each step was slower than the last, each moment passing making him a heavier burden despite the support of the combat suit.

  Crustallos knows what we are.

  Nina's fleeting thought was met with a feeling of wordless concern by Io.

  A boom sounded from within the nearby building, the reverberation shaking the control room. The screens flickered and began to fail once more. The last word that flashed up was 'Critical'.

  “Let's get you out of here,” Samantha said, and realised that while still muffled, she could at least partially hear her own voice.

  “Thank you,” the technician replied, leaning on her.

  Taking a deep breath, she hoisted him up, her shoulder bearing all of his weight. “We'll be fine.” This time he seemed to weigh very little. Samantha moved quickly down the stairs and out past the security gate. Up ahead, the trail of struggling wounded stretched out ahead of her as everybody fleeing the site tried to make their way south. In the distance, their helicopter was landing to transport the worst of the wounded.

  “How are you doing that?” Her mother asked, struggling to assist a woman with similar wounds.

  Samantha looked down, realising she was carrying the technician, her arm wrapped around his waist.

  “It must be the combat suit. You said it could carry great loads.” While the mysterious girl in the airport had told her to be honest, she wasn't quite ready to admit the strength came from her and her alone.

  “The smoke's worse,” Jim shouted from up ahead. “We aren't gonna be able to get far enough away to escape this.”

  “The prevailing wind's carrying the smoke north-east,” Eva shouted back. “As long as we keep walking south, we have a chance.”

  “What about all the people upwind?” Samantha asked. “There's villages, cities.”

  “Look around you, Sammy,” her mum replied. “I'm sure everybody knows by now.”

  Samantha peered skyward. Several helicopters circled the power plant from a great distance, their noise drowned out by the harrowing wail of the alarm. “Why aren't they down here rescuing us?”

  “To them, we're dead already. No sane person would risk a rescu
e. We've just got to make the best of it. Get whoever we can on our bird and get the hell out of here.”

  “We're not all fitting on that helicopter, Mom.”

  Around the helicopter, people had formed into an angry crowd. By the time Samantha reached them, they were restless, the tension threatening to teeter over into violence.

  Jim and Charlotte lifted several of the more desperately wounded aboard, strapping them into the seats, while fending off those who were simply panicking. In the pilot seat, Carrot looked ready to pull away.

  Samantha pushed through the small crowd, depositing her grateful passenger on the space in between two filled seats. “Take him, he can barely walk.”

  “Judging by your superhuman efforts he hasn't needed to,” Charlotte observed.

  “Adrenaline rush,” Samantha lied, shrugging her shoulders. “Get these people to hospital.”

  “Hey, what about the rest of us?” shouted one angry woman. Several of the crowd bayed in agreement, pushing forward.

  “The emergency services know about us. They're setting up checkpoints and a quarantine zone. Walk as fast as you can that way,” Eva pointed south, “and pray the wind doesn't change. Go. We'll be back with help.”

  Several people ignored Eva's promise, trying to climb aboard the helicopter. Charlotte didn't hesitate for a second, pulling the Helltech pistol from a holster at her hip and pointing it at them. The crowd halted. “Back, all of you. Carrot, go. We'll return. Just make your way south.”

  Samantha kept eye contact with Charlotte as long as possible, reading an apology in her eyes. She turned away from the only viable means of escape, looking back toward the reactor. Another boom sounded from within, the vibration shaking the ground. The helicopter lifted off behind her and flew south.

  “Not long now,” said another technician, an elderly man with a few wisps of hair blowing in the wind. He saw Samantha watching him and continued. “You saw the sign go critical, yes?”

  “I did.”

  “That means the fuel is ballooning and bursting, melting everything around it, steam explosions and a molten mass gathering at the bottom of the core.”

  “Corium,” Samantha said.

  “Correct. It also means radiation pouring out of that hole in the roof, flooding the entire region with air-borne poison. It means death beyond counting, cancer and a whole host of diseases for generations to come. Young lady, I saw a being drop out of the sky, hit shielding thick enough to withstand a direct impact by a plane and take your friend into the reactor core.”

  “How weren't you in agony like the rest of us?”

  He popped a piece of plastic from his ear and held it up. “Hearing aid. When that awful noise started I just removed it. I'm a pure advocate of science, but what I witnessed was an act of God, just like I witnessed two decades ago during my days in the army. This will require a similar act of God for anybody to escape alive. The quarantine zone will be at least three kilometres out. Many of these people won't even make it that far, injured as they are.”

  “We have to try. We can't just give up.”

  “If your crazy friend returns with the helicopter it will be a good start. For most, her return is our only hope.”

  The old man turned away, trudging down the coastal path.

  Samantha followed him, her mother by her side.

  Samantha. Stay.

  “Io,” Samantha gasped aloud, turning back to the burning power station.

  “Sammy, no,” her mother urged. “He's dead already.”

  “No mom, he needs me. The corium. He knows what he's doing.”

  Fear and desperation were written all over Eva's pale face. Despite all her misguided intent, her mother was trying desperately to do the right thing. In that moment, Samantha saw herself through her mother's eyes, misunderstood, well-meaning. Caring. “Sammy, I've no idea what's become of Nina. Please. Don't let me lose another daughter within minutes of the first one.”

  He knows what we are… Samantha found herself caught up on Nina's words, regretting her past behaviour. What are we? Stektes lived off her sister her entire life. It had known from the very beginning, from the moment it had slipped through the portal in Tartarus.

  “You won't, Mom. I'll survive.” Samantha removed the gas mask, dropping it to the ground. “I'm stronger than this. Io knows. Nina knows. That thing inhabiting her knows. I think the problem I've had is accepting this. Mom, I love you. Io needs me, I can feel it. Maybe I can make a difference.”

  “Between an exploding nuclear power station and a psycho angel?” Eva tried to take her gas mask off.

  Samantha reached out to stop her, realising now just how easy it was to hold her mothers' arm in place. “Don't, Mom. You're too important. When the helicopter returns, take your team to Thornfalcon. If Io fails here, you will be the only ones with a chance to stop Porter Rockwell from opening the doorway to Heaven.”

  “But how?”

  Samantha smiled, embracing her mother. When she stood back, she said, “You'll think of something. I have faith. You closed them down before. And don't give up on Nina. She's still in there. One of us needs to be here to find a way to exorcise the demon in her. Whatever it is can never be allowed to make it to the doorway. Go.”

  “I love you, Sammy,” Eva took a couple of steps backward before turning to follow the thin line of humanity fleeing south along the coast.

  “I love you too, Mom,” Samantha replied, turning back toward the power station, her fate now sealed.

  * * *

  Okay, Io. You've got me. What can I do?

  There was triumph in Io's voice as he said, I have Karael contained within the molten core. We fought and I prevailed. It's a mess in here and the whole building's melting.

  The smoke was billowing out of the hole now. Can you do anything about the smoke? The radiation's gonna kill a lot of innocent people.

  No, but you can. You know you're strong, Sammy, but you don't realise the limits of your strength. If you will your strength and believe, you could call back all of that smoke with a thought.

  Samantha watched the smoke for a second, then raised her hands. “Come back,” she shouted at the smoke.

  The only response was the continuing wail of the emergency siren. The site was free of humanity. She was alone.

  Io, it's too much. If I can lift someone, fine. But move the winds? Suck back radiation? Hang on…

  She began to pace. “Radiation is just a particular kind of particle—poisonous for sure, but still distinct.

  I have to focus on the radioactive particles, not the smoke carrying them.

  You've got it, Io's thoughts were awash with approval. You're too new to your powers yet. Do you trust me?

  “I do,” Samantha said aloud, forgetting the mental link.

  “Then allow me in,” said a voice from beside her. “Let me reside in you for a moment and your kind shall be saved.”

  Samantha turned. A fierce light radiated from where the voice emanated. “Io,” she breathed, “you're beautiful.”

  “And short on time, choose quickly.”

  “I allow you in,” Samantha said and in that instant she felt a surge of such power her knees threatened to buckle. The muscles in her shoulders tightened and she staggered, taking huge breaths. Sammy … what are you?

  She screamed. A wave of energy reached out from her, moving up through the cloud, enveloping the smoke. Further and further it reached. She could feel it gathering in all the radiation from miles away. There was no limit to the energy she expended and joyful, she erupted with radiance, her arms thrust wide. For a moment she even lifted off the ground, hovering an inch or two.

  “Pull it back, Sammy. Suck it all into the reactor. Hold it there.”

  “I can do this,” she said, confident in her newfound ability. The radiation was rushing back toward the plant. She was saving the world!

  The elation turned to sickness within her. Samantha realised the feeling came not from herself but from Io within he
r. “Io, what is it?”

  “My vessel's being ravaged without me. I must go. Also—no! Karael is breaking free! Samantha, I trust you to finish this.”

  With a rush of wind, Samantha found herself alone, her body suddenly hollow. The power she emitted began to falter.

  “It wasn't him,” she said. “This is me. If I can summon a demon I can finish this task. My God, this is me!” Guiding the stream of particles back into the core, she imagined a dome of pure energy atop the reactor chamber. No more smoke rose. She extended the dome down to encase the entire reactor building, her concentration the only requirement needed to hold herself mistress of this frightening ability.

  “They're safe,” she said aloud to the empty site. Realising she was growing very hot despite the overcast day, Samantha turned back to the reactor. Waves of heat pulsed up from the concrete casing with nowhere to go. Inside the shield the corrupted nuclear material was getting hotter and hotter.

  Io.

  There was no reply. The shield was too good. Samantha began to panic. Io was trapped inside with Karael inside a furnace thousands of degrees in temperature. Another boom and the ground shook with the nearby violence. Samantha had to save him. She poked at the shield, seeking to unravel her work. In the distance behind she could hear screams as people registered the smoke now pouring out of the superstructure. The occasional lick of flame could also be seen.

  “You don't have to go through this alone,” Samantha imagined her mother saying.

  She turned. Eva stood a few paces behind her, no protective gear on. A Geiger counter in one hand. “Mom, why? You should be safe with the rest.”

  “I was always impetuous. I'm not leaving my daughter's side, Sammy. To Hell with the consequences. Is this you?”

  “I think so. I had a bit of help from Io, but all the radioactivity is in that shell.” As if mentioning his name was a reminder, Samantha turned back to the scene unfolding in front of them. The smoke from the fire had dwindled. The plumes that escaped were caught in the shield and now drawn back in. The hole in the roof began to glow a steady white. A keening emanated from the reactor, the same sound accompanying Karael's arrival.

  “Oh, this can't be good,” Eva said.