Embattlement: The Undergrounders Series Book Two (A Young Adult Science Fiction Dystopian Novel)
Page 30
When he releases me, I turn to the crumpled figure in the Schutz Clone’s arms. Lyong’s glassy eyes latch onto me. He’s twitching, barely alive. He beckons to me, struggling to speak.
The others come alongside me as I edge closer to hear what he’s trying to say.
“I have … a confession,” Lyong rasps. He makes a gargling sound at the back of his throat. I stare in disgust at the wrinkled yellow bag of skin he has become in his dying throes. I don’t care about his confession, or any last requests he might have.
“You lost,” I say, leaning over him. “Every despicable thing you ever did dies here with you today.”
Lyong rakes his eyes over me, splits his lips in a shade of a grin before they clench in pain. “You haven’t … won … the war,” he wheezes. “Only … liberated … an outpost.” He contorts, clutches at air, then flops to one side.
My heart melts inside me. Outpost? My eyes seek out Big Ed’s for reassurance.
He furrows his brow, a flicker of fear in his face.
The Schutz Clones close in around Lyong’s body in a tight protective circle, knives glinting. The Undergrounders and Rogues train their weapons on them.
“Give us our master’s body and safe passage,” one of the Schutz Clones says, “and we will release Sven to you.”
My heart thumps in my chest. I can’t sacrifice Sven, no matter what terms we’re forced to agree to. A handful of Schutz Clones making their escape is a small price to pay. And Lyong’s body is not exactly a souvenir I care to keep.
“You have my word,” I say. “Bring Sven down here first.”
A moment later Sven is dragged down the stairs, escorted by the same two Schutz Clones who hauled him up there moments earlier. My heart thuds beneath my ribs. The Schutz Clone carrying Lyong’s shriveled frame disappears inside the ship, and the rest of them sheath their knives and file in after him. One of the Schutz Clones guarding Sven shoves him unceremoniously onto his knees, before following the others inside. I pull out my knife and free Sven’s hands.
The retractable door on the side of the Hovermedes slides shut and we watch in silence as the coffin ship bearing Lyong’s remains ascends into the air and disappears. I can’t help wondering where the Schutz Clones will take him.
I turn around and address the scientists. “What did he mean about this being only an outpost?”
The air fills with unease. A low murmuring builds.
“Someone must know what he was talking about.”
A swarthy scientist with a beaked nose and a prominent mole on his left cheek jerks his head around like a jittery bird, then takes a hesitant step forward. “I intercepted an encrypted transmission to Lyong a year ago.”
“What kind of transmission?”
The man stares straight ahead, bunching up the muscles in his jaw. “It came from a ship.”
I frown. “You mean a Hovermedes?”
He runs a hand nervously over his jaw. “No. A space ship. Big enough to house several hundred thousand people.” He wets his lips. “I tracked its magnetic path. It circles the globe monitoring outposts and clone production.”
I stare at him, my mind exploding. Surely there can’t be more places like this. But why would he lie about it? He has nothing to gain now that he’s at our mercy.
My brain pounds against my skull. If it’s true, the Sweepers’ reach goes beyond what any of us could have imagined. I thought we had saved the world tonight, but what if we only woke the dragon?
“Who was the transmission from?” I ask.
The scientist darts a glance around the transfixed faces, then locks his gaze on me. “The sovereign leader.”
END OF BOOK TWO
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. For more information about the author, please visit www.normahinkens.com
Text copyright @ 2016 Norma Hinkens
All rights reserved.
No part of the book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
Published by Dunecadia Publishing, California
ISBN 978-0-9966248-2-4
Created with Vellum
DEDICATION
For my mother
Afterword
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Parts of this novel are set in Idaho. I have taken liberties with the geography of that state, including names of places.