by Erin Grey
As we neared my chosen spot for the first step in my plan, my palms broke into a sweat.
“Oh dear,” said Gwendolyn. “I hope that won’t affect your powers.”
“Focus and determination: that is all that is required for success,” said Jasper.
“And dumb luck,” mumbled Sandy.
“Are you ready?” Charis’ voice was soft, as though she were scared of it carrying to the ears of my companions.
I tapped the translator twice, then scratched around the area to disguise the action. The minute I heard the stairwell door swing closed behind us, I reached into the ground and drew up the thickest vines I could, quickly twisting them up the legs of my two escorts.
They both managed to get a shout or two out before I got the vines around their mouths. Then I froze and listened for any footsteps hurrying towards us. There were none.
Now to get them into the room. I stiffened. The vines were anchored in the ground.
I had not thought this through as well as I thought I had.
“Charis,” I said. “I have a problem.”
“What?”
“I don’t know how to get them into the room. The vines are stuck in the floor.”
She let out a startled peep. “Can’t you cut them?”
I examined the intertwining fibres. “It might weaken their hold.”
“Leave them and run. Hopefully you’ll have enough time to get to the portal before someone discovers them.”
“Ok,” I said. I grabbed Examiner Atropus’ access card and was about to run off when the tablet in her hand caught my attention. What if it had evidence of their activities on it? It could be exactly what TRAG needed.
I grabbed it, carefully untwisting it from the vines and Examiner Atropus’ hands.
The screen was locked.
It was a fingerprint scanner; I’d seen her unlock it hundreds of times. I shoved it next to her finger and pushed it down. The lock-screen slid away.
I couldn’t understand any of the text—it was all in whatever language Examiner Atropus spoke. I swiped through files looking for something—anything—that would give me a clue as to whether this information would be at all useful.
“Jane, what are you doing? Why aren’t you moving?” asked Charis frantically.
“Just give me a second …”
“We don’t have a second! Someone could walk around the corner any moment now—”
Then I saw it. The picture of Earth. It was inside a long document which also contained pictures of people—Earth people—being tested. I wondered how many had been kidnapped over the years?
This was it: what we needed to take down the Regulators.
“I’m on my way,” I said, running back to the stairwell and heading down. “Charis, I found something—a tablet with documentation of the experiments they’re doing.”
“Jane, I’m sorry, but it’s too late,” she said in a tired voice. “Drop it and run.”
“I’ll take it with me,” I panted, speeding up my pace. “When I get through, I’ll find a way to get it back to you. Now that I know there are more portals, I can—”
“Jane, once you go through, there is no way we can communicate with you. Do you understand me? That tablet is useless to us once you’re on the other side. Drop it. You need to move faster.”
Despite what she’d said, I halted, breathing heavily. How could I just leave when I held the answer to TRAG’s campaign?
“We have come too far to abandon our course now,” said Jasper.
“This is our chance to make a real difference, to save lives,” said Gwendolyn.
“Listen to Charis and run—it’s your only hope of helping your family!” yelled Sandy.
“Too much anxiety,” howled Mitch.
“Ok people,” said Gwendolyn with uncharacteristic backbone. “We are doing the right thing here. We’re taking the tablet back to TRAG. Because, when in doubt, the kind thing is the right thing.”
“I don’t think you’re applying that correctly,” said Sandy.
“Hush!” said Gwendolyn. “Now, go to the exit.”
“But we don’t know if the exit will be—”
“GO!” shouted Gwendolyn.
I continued down the stairs to ground level and headed for the door I’d used to first get into the building. Charis shouted at me the entire time.
“You’re being ridiculous!” she cried. “We haven’t planned for this!”
“Just stay with me, and tell me where to go once I get through the service tunnel.”
“They might have changed the security since you breached it!”
“Then find me a way out using this access card.”
Silence.
“I’m not going to the portal, Charis. This is bigger than me and my family. I’m getting this tablet to you.”
She released a deep breath. “Fine. I’ll find you a way out.”
I got to the door and waited.
“Jane? I need you to turn around and head back the way you came. There’s a door to the right of the stairwell entrance you used. Go through it and straight out the exit beyond it. There’s a VIP-type gate there into the parkland beyond. I think they use it for recreational purposes. I can kill the cameras for a few seconds.”
“I’m nearly at the stairwell. Ok, I see the door.”
“Tell me when you’re at the exit.”
“I’m there.”
“I need a second to disable the surveillance. Alright, run!”
I pushed open the door and sprinted to the fence. The access card worked on the first try, and I was through the gate. Beyond lay purple lawns and scattered trees.
“Jane, you must get into that wood before the surveillance turns back on.”
I ran for all I was worth. It turned out to be not very much after all the days cooped up in the examining room or cell. But I got to the tree line just as Charis yelped that her connection had timed out.
“You made it,” she breathed. “Thank the godes.”
I leaned back against a tree and gasped for breath. “Where to now?”
“Get as far into the wood as you can. They’re going to figure out where you went eventually. Can you see the sun through the trees?”
Glinting through the thick lavender canopy, the sun was just visible. “Yes.”
“Keep it on your right, and move as fast as you can. Aidon and Quirinus are already on their way to retrieve you. We have no way of tracking your position though, so they’ll need to find you before the Regulators do.”
“Got it,” I huffed out as I tumbled over bared roots and stumps.
“And Jane? Keep moving. Don’t stop for anything.”
“Perfect,” said Sandy. “We’ll just keep going until you fall over, shall we?”
>BIOS ACTIVE_
>Adrenaline levels: Extreme
>Muscle tone: Weak
>Insufficient energy for this operation. Do you wish to terminate this operation?
“Maintain a steady pace,” advised Jasper. “You must not be caught.”
I tripped and crashed headfirst into rock-sprinkled ground. The tablet flew from my hand and landed with a tinkle of glass that immediately made Mitch nauseous. I scrambled towards it.
“Crap!” I shrieked, fumbling for the fragments of the smashed device. “Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap,” I chanted as I sifted what looked like important memory-containing bits from worms and possible decorative bits. I had nothing to put it in. Pockets were not a priority for prison garments. I pulled at the top of the overalls to make a small pouch and piled my scraps into it. Gwendolyn freaked out at the touch of the wriggling worms while Jasper shared his doubts of their continued survival. Running would be problematic, but I couldn’t leave behind the one thing that would make this whole debacle worth it.
I stumbled on as best I could, clutching my makeshift sack close.
Then I heard the snorting.
“Charis,” I panted. “Do you hear that?”
“Hephaestus’ scabs,” she swore. “You need to move faster, Jane.”
“What is it?”
“Hogs. Which means the Regulators can’t be far behind. Run.”
My pace was already sickening. I couldn’t go any faster. “Should I climb a tree or something? Find a place to hide?
“No, they’ll trace your scent, and you’ll be trapped. Keep moving. Aidon will find you.”
“Before the hogs?”
Charis didn’t respond.
“Can this get any worse?” griped Sandy.
“Can’t she use her powers?” asked Gwendolyn. “She could put a giant wall of plants between us and them.”
“A wall of a size suitable for preventing passage either through, over, or around would take hours to construct,” rejoined Jasper. “Besides, the Regulators are able to track Jane’s energy. She would simply lead them directly to her.”
“Snorting getting closer,” said Mitch.
“Piggies,” giggled Emmy.
The ground dropped away ahead of me, and I found myself scrambling down a steep descent, frantically grappling to keep my balance and precious load.
Gwendolyn cried. “Aidon? Aidon? Where are you? Rescue me!”
“He’s not a miracle worker,” said Sandy. “If I were him, I’d say good riddance to us.”
The roar of white water reached my ears. “Charis? Do you see a river next to the forest?”
“Yes,” she replied. “Have you reached it?”
“Yes,” I answered, sliding to the narrow bank that edged the rushing water. “I don’t think I can cross it.” Snorts sounded above me. “And the attack pigs are nearly on top of me.”
“Go right, and follow the bank. It will be easier for the guys to pick you up there.”
“Easier for the Regulators too,” I muttered.
“Keep going, Jane. You should see them above you any secondus.”
“Above me?” I looked up. A slim, noiseless aircraft glided into view and hovered above me. A cable dropped down. “I’m supposed to climb that? I have the biceps of a baby bird!”
The drumming of cloven hoofs sounded behind, and I caught a glimpse of the coarse-haired, heavily tusked swine bearing down on me. My hands gripped the cable, and I pulled.
And barely lifted off my toes.
“Wrap the cable around your chest,” shouted Aidon. “Twice. Then use the clip on the end to secure it. I’ll pull you up.”
With one hand, I threaded the cable under my arms twice. The clip had barely clicked into place when Aidon began to lift.
A maw closed around my foot and tugged. Aidon pulled harder, and my shoe came off in the pig’s mouth. One has not known fear until one has felt the hot breath of a hog upon one’s toes.
I collapsed on the cold metal floor of the craft and wheezed as Quirinus whooshed us away at top speed.
“Thank you,” I croaked. “Thank you.”
When I finally looked up at Aidon’s face, the sheer redness of it sent me into shock.
“Just what in Hadus do you think you’re doing?” he roared.
45
The bit where Aidon is really mad
He was furious. “I thought you’d learned your lesson. We promised to help you. Why couldn’t you trust that?”
“I’m sorry!” I cried. “I didn’t want any of you to get hurt– “
“You almost got us all killed! Besides delivering some of our best tech straight into their hands.”
I caught sight of the bandages on his arms and winced. Burns. “Charis told me about Ric. I’m really sorry. I wanted to protect you—”
“That’s not your responsibility!” Aidon leaned in closer, raising a finger to my face. “Your only job was to follow instructions and let us get you to the portal. You have now failed to do that—” he held up two fingers “—twice and put everyone around you in danger.” He fell back off his haunches and ran both hands through his hair. “The Regulators have their eye on us now. There’s a mountain of guani droppings about to hit.” His shoulders drooped, and he flung a hand over his eyes.
“The rage on his face was better than this total devastation,” said Sandy. “I can handle angry.”
“Maybe he doesn’t know about the tablet,” said Gwendolyn, wringing her hands. “Maybe it will cheer him up.”
“Wait.” I wiped my face across my shoulder to catch the tears and snot mixed with sweat. “I have something that could help you.”
He clenched his fists. “I swear to the godes, Jane—”
“Hear me out!” The muscles of my arm had fused in place in my desperation to protect the tablet remains. Painfully, I straightened out and opened up the folds of my top.
Aidon snorted. “That looks like shrapnel.”
“It’s from a tablet … a slab. From one of the Examiners. I think it holds proof of their activities with Abnormals here and the people they’ve taken from Earth.”
Aidon’s eyes flicked up to mine. “Are you sure?”
“I saw it for myself.”
He looked back at the fragments and wriggling worms in my hand. “It might be too damaged to be useful.”
“Only the cover smashed. I’m pretty sure the inside—the important parts anyway—are intact. Maybe Ric can—” I stopped myself, gulping. “How is Ric?”
“Alive.” Aidon picked through the parts I held. “The memory looks like it might still function. Charis can take a look when we get back.”
“Back where?”
“Somewhere very far from here.”
I looked out of the window of the craft. There was no sign of the Regulators’ complex, just miles and miles of indigo woods.
“Surely they can trace us in this? I thought you didn’t use any large vehicles for that reason.”
“I don’t,” he snapped. “But we needed to get here fast. Because someone couldn’t follow instructions!”
“Ok, don’t mention the war,” said Sandy.
Aidon exhaled heavily, his face contorted with his efforts to calm himself. “Our best chance is to—very quickly—put as much distance between us and them as possible. Then we go underground. Complete radio silence.”
“Underground? Literally or figuratively?”
“Both. I’m splitting up the group. We’re not making any moves until all of this dies down.”
“But … no, you can’t give up now! Not when I just brought you proof, something you can use to finally take them down.”
“It doesn’t work like that, Jane. They have far more resources than us. And from what you’ve told us, there are powerful people behind them with very, very bad agendas. I’m not risking my team careening into a losing battle.”
The pieces of my world made little tinkling sounds as they crashed down around me. “You can’t be serious. You can’t just give up. People are being kidnapped, used, maybe killed. They want to turn them into soldiers.”
“You don’t have to tell me how bad everything is. I’m aware of the situation and a damn sight more familiar with the Regulators than you are.” His jaw became a granite carving. “You can’t save the world if you’re dead, Jane. It’s better to retreat and live to fight another day.”
Anything that was still holding me up shrivelled into nothing, and I slumped forward, head in my hands. It was over. This whole ridiculous journey—coming to Eorthe, escaping the clinic, outrunning Yewnikruns (twice), discovering my powers, getting away from the Regulators—had been for nothing. I wasn’t going home. I hadn’t saved my family. They were going to suffer, maybe die. I’d done nothing to save anyone on Eorthe or Earth. I’d single-handedly disbanded the one organisation that might have made a difference.
And I was still alive to feel the pain of all of it.
46
The bit with the Dark Night of the Soul
At some point, Quirinus dropped us on the edge of a mountain-rimmed valley. I was too numb to notice how long we hiked or what direction we went, until we started a descent into a canyon that morphed seamlessl
y into a series of fluorescent caves. In the darkness, night and day disappeared. There was only forward and eat and sleep.
Something inside—something I thought was fixed—had broken, and there was no way I’d ever find all the splinters and slivers that had scattered to the four winds. The voices were silent, no longer speaking to each other, all fight gone out of them. I curled up on the floor of the cave Aidon had chosen for our rest and stared at the fire, my eyes unable to close despite the sting of smoke that forced tears and clogged my lungs.
“Jane?” Aidon’s voice was free of fury now. It was the soft tone you use on a child with a cold. “Jane, you need to eat something.”
“Why didn’t you leave me behind?” I croaked, my voice dry from the smoke and choked by despair.
Aidon sighed. “What are you talking about, Jane?”
“You could have left me to the Regulators. Then you wouldn’t have had to run. TRAG could still be fighting.”
“You keep forgetting we’re linked.”
“What does that have to do with anything? I was going to leave. In theory, I was out of your life already.”
Aidon grabbed at a neon-orange outcrop of the rock face and held on as if he needed something to steady him, hold him upright. “Letting you go home was different. I thought it would make you happy.”
A tiny sob escaped my throat.
He rubbed at the outcropping with his thumb. “There’s something about the link I didn’t tell you before.”
“Is it a good thing or a bad thing?” I muttered from my spot on the floor.
Aidon chuckled. “Depends on how you look at it, I suppose.” He cleared his throat. “Have you noticed that you … feel things you can’t explain?”
“Does he mean how I cry whenever I read Phantom of the Opera?” asked Gwendolyn.
“I don’t think that’s what he has in mind,” answered Sandy.
“Those emotions that aren’t ours,” said Mitch.
“I feel your feelings,” I said.
He nodded. “You figured it out.”
“I guessed.” I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling. “I’m used to feeling emotion I can’t explain. But this is different. And it only happens when I’m near you.”