by Matt Ryan
Copyright © 2015 by Matt Ryan
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
For information on new releases or if you want to chat with me, you can find me at:
www.facebook.com/authormattryan or www.authormattryan.com
Cover: Regina Wamba
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Editor: Victoria Schmitz | Crimson Tide Editorial
Formatting: Inkstain Interior Book Designing
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Rise of the Six
Call of the Six
Fall of the Six
Break of the Six
SAMANTHA BRUSHED HER HAIR OVER her shoulder as she walked past the metal detector. The guard eyed her up and down and she rolled her eyes. If he tried to give her another pat down, she’d be telling Zach. Her scowl must have worked because he waved her on. She couldn’t understand why so much security would be needed for a company based on medical research. Guess there were a lot of wackos in San Francisco.
The elevator took her to the sixteenth floor. Veronica, the receptionist, eyed her as she exited the elevator. The girl didn’t like her. Many of the people on the sixteenth floor didn’t like her, but who cared. She earned her way to the top, whether they believed it or not. They could be jealous if they wanted.
She strutted past Veronica and toward her corner office, pausing to admire her name etched in glass over the door. It seemed as far away from Preston as she could get and that’s exactly what she needed. It was her nineteenth birthday today and she couldn’t help but wonder if the group was meeting at Joey’s as they always had.
She flung the door open and was already mad for letting herself think about her past. She wouldn’t allow herself to think of them and the perfect couple again. Taking a deep breath, Samantha straightened her posture and marched by her desk. She ran a finger over the smooth wood top on her way to the windows. She loved the view. Not a tree in sight, only a parking lot and a grass field beyond. At night, the city lit up the horizon so it always felt like the sun might be coming over the hill at any moment.
Someone tapped on her door. She looked back at the noise and saw Zach Baker standing just outside the doorway. The man owned the entire building, yet still knocked and waited to be invited in. She motioned and he entered. She took a moment to take in his fantastic suit. The blue tie had a large tie clip with an elegant black stone in the middle.
The man was gorgeous. A lean, muscular guy, not much older than her. Well, she thought he wasn’t, she actually hadn’t asked him his age yet. She cleared her throat and kept her eyes on his. It took her months to build up to maintaining eye contact with the man.
“Doing okay? You seemed a bit upset coming in today.”
Did he miss nothing? She’d never told him anything about her past, or the Preston Six, and certainly nothing about other worlds. Talk about stuff like that and he’d surely think she was crazy and put her back on floor one. “Nothing, just thinking about my past.”
“Your past brought you here. I thank your past for that gift.”
Samantha sighed and got lost in his smile. He had such a youthful look, but his eyes held wisdom. “Well, sometimes the past sucks.”
Zach laughed. “Yes, it does.” He paused. “I came to see you because I want to show you something.”
Samantha’s curiosity piqued. He left the room and she eagerly followed him toward the elevator, making sure to share a joke as they passed by Veronica. She’d show that bitch who had his attention.
They entered the elevator and Zach put a card in a slot on the wall. “This will get us to floor seventeen.”
“So it’s real.”
“Very much so.”
Rumors swirled of a research floor, but Samantha hated rumors and wanted to deal in facts; she needed to see it before believing it. Believing in false realities is what ultimately led her to leave Preston.
The elevator doors closed and Zach turned to her. “Have you heard of the cough that’s going around?”
“Yeah, I’ve heard a few things on the news about it. Is it something we’re working on?”
“I don’t think anyone knows how dangerous it is yet.” He took on a serious tone with fire in his eyes.
She had to stop looking at him, he was the boss. He is asking about the cough, she reminded herself. “They say it isn’t fatal, just a new strain of bronchitis or something.” Samantha didn’t want to admit she barely knew anything about it.
The elevator doors slid open and Zach motioned for her to exit first. Attached to the elevator was a small glass room. “Decontamination chamber, just be a minute while it gets rid of any germs.” He winked. Normally such behavior would be a red flag, but he had such an easy way to him, as stupid as it sounds, she found it charming.
Samantha turned in a circle and felt the puffs of air pelting her body. Many people in white jumpsuits moved around in the room beyond. Spinning vials, bubbling bottles, and many white, boxy electronics scattered around the sterile looking environment.
“Have I told you what a pleasure it is to have you working for me?” Zach asked. His playful tone was back.
She almost missed the intensity he briefly showed her in the elevator. How many layers did he have behind those eyes? “Thank you, but to be honest, I’m not sure how much I’ve contributed.”
“Someone as special as you, is deserving of a special task.”
“You keep flattering me this way, Mr. Baker, and I’ll think I’m too good for this job.” He laughed. It was infectious and she laughed with him. She resisted the urge to touch his arm and held her hand tight to her side. A bell dinged and a green light lit above the glass door.
“We’re all clear.” Zach opened the door, dipping his head close to her ear. “And, when we’re alone, Samantha . . . it’s Zach.”
A shiver ran down her spine as his breath ran over her cheek. He’s your boss.
Making a quick tour of the floor, he took his time to explain the various things they were working on. She didn’t have a clue about most of what he was talking about, until he brought her to a computer displaying a twisted helix.
“As I said, I don’t think the world knows what it really is, but I can assure you, the CDC is taking this very serious. Luckily, we’ve found what the medical world is fervently searching for.” He pointed at the screen.
Samantha leaned in closer to the 3D model. “What is it?”
He brushed her arm as he typed into the keyboard. The contact sent another chill down her arm. A man hadn’t made her feel anything like that since . . . No. She wouldn’t allow herself to think about it. Never again, she was a new woman now—a businesswoman.
“The cause of the Cough.”
The news started calling it that because all the people who had it coughed, a lot. It was some kind of new virus that irritated your lungs, but most were saying it wasn’t dangerous. Just a new strain of the common cold.
Samantha raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know we were even looking into it.”
“I’ve been doing this in my spare time, but I found something—something terrible.” The fire crept back in his eyes and she froze under their glare. “I don’t want to scare you but, Samantha, this is going to be an epidemic. These people are going to die.”
She stoo
d straight up. “What?” She must’ve heard him wrong and kept shaking her head, waiting for his correction.
“The first death happened today. They’re running the story tonight.”
“How can you know this?”
He grinned, and then a dangerous look spread across his face. A look she felt could consume her whole. “I have a few contacts.”
She swallowed and wondered if she was getting in over her head with Zach. “What can we do?”
“You’ve enjoyed working here, correct?”
“Yes, very much so.” Almost as much as she enjoyed not being in Preston.
“I’m very happy to hear that because I’ve watched you over the last year. I think you’re ready to take on a big task. What do you think?”
“I...” She held her hand over her mouth. She wanted a task, an important one. Something she could shove down all the throats of floor sixteen. Maybe she could even show the remnants of Preston how far she’d come. “I’m ready.”
“Good, because I started this company to change the world and I think this is our opportunity to do exactly that. What if I told you that soon we’ll have a cure—a vaccine—for the Cough?” She began to ask a question, but he pushed forward. “And what if I wanted you to be the one to announce it to the world and see that it gets delivered?”
Samantha’s mouth hung open, fear crashing over her. She strained to get the words out, but her throat constricted. She could barely breathe.
Zach placed his soft hand on her shoulder, tracing circles along her bare skin. “Samantha, this is the special mission I have for you. You’re going to be the face of the cure. And I won’t let you fail, I’ll be right behind you the whole time.”
She closed her mouth and placed her hand on top of his. She felt strength in those hands. A new wave of fear crashed against her as the realization of what he was saying hit her full force. The world had a deadly virus attacking it and didn’t even know it yet. Preston, what would happen there? She felt her free hand touching her phone in her black slacks.
“Not yet.” He gazed at her phone. “No one can know about what we are doing until we have it ready. I’ll make sure your hometown, Preston, right?” She nodded. “We’ll make sure they are on the first delivery list.”
She tapped her phone and wanted to warn them. She hadn’t spoken to any of them in a year and she wasn’t even sure if they were even still in Preston. They could be anywhere in the worlds.
THE CROWD CHANTED POLY’S NAME. That in and of itself wasn’t the weird thing though . . . it was that she had gotten used to it. She had a few goosebumps on her arm as she stood next to Jonathan and Julie, but she didn’t feel like throwing up anymore. After two weeks of traveling around Vanar, opening orange centers and having new net centers named after them, she felt like she was becoming a pro at awkwardly accepting praise and admiration. Though, she was starting to miss Earth, and more specifically, Preston.
Walking toward the front of the stage, they cheered her name louder. Poly glanced at Travis, standing near his building with Gladius at his side. They hadn’t had a chance to discuss what Julie had found, but she knew the ceremony would be short, followed with a party. They’d talk then.
“Yes, Poly, Poly, Poly!” Jonathan chanted with the masses through his microphone. As she came up to his side, he raised his hands and settled the crowd down to silence. “I’m not going to sugar coat things, people of Sanct, we’ve been through hell over the last year. Many of us have lost loved ones, and even worse, we’ve developed wrinkles.” Jonathan pointed to the crow’s feet at the corner of his eyes.
Poly looked out as laughter spread through the crowd. Sanct had once been a playland for the rich and beautiful. Now, the shine had left the faces of its people, and the buildings wrapping around the circular city looked dull and lackluster. Only a few scattered windows had lights on and the traffic, once bustling, now halted to almost nothing but a few airships.
She and her friends stood on a stage right in front of Travis’s newly erected building. What made it stand out was the fact it didn’t. The plain beige walls with functional windows looked like an ordinary building and only reached half the height of his old one.
Jonathan grabbed Poly around the shoulders and flashed his charming smile. His teeth weren’t as shiny as before, but she preferred the natural look versus the freakishly bright white.
“It has been over a year since MM seized this city, stopped the production of orange, and took away our networks.” The crowd booed.
He let go of Poly and looked at the wooden stage below his feet. “These things seem so insignificant now,” he said. “Remember when our biggest problem was a lag on our network, or whether or not the food printer was going to give you diarrhea?” The crowd laughed again, but Jonathan didn’t perk up to the reception. He continued looking at the stage and shook his head. After a short silence, charm spread over his face as he regarded the crowd.
“In this rare day of celebration, our president opens his new building, marking a new age of ugly architecture.” He pointed at Travis and laughed. “I’m sorry, Travis, uh . . . Mr. President, but did you get a discount on beige?”
Travis laughed and rubbed a beige wall with his hand. “Its beauty will be in its function, not in its appearance.” The crowd cheered for Travis as he stepped away from the wall, waving to the crowd. “This building is but a step in getting us back to where we once were.” He shook his head. “No. Not where we were, but to even a better place, because we won’t have the noose around our neck. Marcus Malliden will play God with our lives no longer.”
Poly knew this would draw a huge reaction from the crowd and it did. She couldn’t help but smile at Travis. He seemed to have such a way with politics and crowds, it was no wonder he beat out Harris in the elections.
He walked toward Poly and she felt Joey nudging closer, even clasping her hand with his. She wanted to laugh, but knew he didn’t like Travis getting too close. Joey smiled at the crowd and she knew how he loved the reactions she got from the world of Vanar. He said they loved her and he could relate to that. She squeezed his hand and never felt happier to have him by her side, to experience life together.
“This little lady,” Travis said, squeezing her shoulder, “not to mention Joey, Lucas, Julie, and Hank, all sacrificed so much to rid us of Marcus.”
Lucas pulled the microphone. “Don’t forget about Harris.” He waved to the crowd, amused by his own comment and the crowd’s thunderous applause.
Travis pursed his lips, then smoothed out his face. “I suppose . . . Harris did his part too.” He struggled to get the words out. “Poly, would you do the honor of cutting the ceremonial ribbon?”
Gladius rushed across the stage with Gem following close behind, both wearing tiny white dresses with a thin red line right below the bust. She carried an oversized pair of scissors and smiled as she approached. “I had Douglas sharpen them up this time, should cut like razor blades.”
Poly took the scissors and walked to the large ribbon stretching past the front door. The crowd went silent with anticipation. This was her fourth ribbon cutting and she felt silly each time. Who was she to be cutting anything? But the crowd seemed to be leaning forward, waiting for the cut. It was considered bad luck if she didn’t get a clean slice on the first try. She learned this after the fiasco ribbon cutting at the last orange center opening.
With Joey and her friends at her side, she slid the ribbon between the blades and squeezed the handles in as she pushed them together. The ribbon sliced in two and floated to the ground. She giggled at the crowd’s applause. A pulse of music sounded above and the crowd continued to roar to its beat.
“Nicely done, Poly,” Jonathan yelled over the noise and then pointed to the sky. “Now, for your entertainment pleasure, we have DJ Black Hole.”
The DJ arrived from above, floating on a disc that pulsated with a deep bass beat. She knew the song from the club she and Julie had gone to with Travis. The crowd began to dance an
d rock out to the electric drive.
Travis drew them in closer. “How about I give you a tour of the new building?”
“Yes, please do,” Poly said and they all made their way toward the front doors and away from the music.
Gladius walked next to her and leaned in. “I see you still have the cute one snatched up.” She eyed Joey, lingering on his butt. “If I don’t make a pick soon, all these boys will be gobbled up by your lot.” Once she’d learned about Earth and the stones, she changed from surly to friendly. Fascinated by the knowledge of other worlds, she would grill Julie and Poly about what Earth was like. And with increasing certainty, Poly thought she even wanted an Earth boy for herself.
Laughing, Poly said, “This one’s mine.” She pulled Joey closer to her.
“Hey, Gladius.” Joey nodded his head in greeting. “I like your dress.”
“Thanks.” She winked at Poly and laughed. “If you ever get tired of this one, you let me know.” They followed Travis into the building and the sounds of DJ Black Hole were muted, falling to a continuous thud of electric music.
“I swear I am going to go crazy if I can’t figure out the compression you guys use on your digital files. There is no music that awesome on Earth,” Julie said, scanning her Panavice.
Travis showed them the bland lobby and must have seen their lack of amazement at a receptionist’s desk. Getting on the elevator, he pressed the floor thirty-two button. “Thanks for coming,” he said, looking at Poly. “All of you. I don’t think you know how much it means for the people to see your faces. Gladius even wrote up a well-written article about your importance to Vanar. It has spread over much of the world.”
Poly glanced at Gladius, who for once in her life shrunk away from the attention.
Travis laughed. “If I could, I’d have you all living here with me.”
“We’re pretty happy on Earth,” Joey said and put his arm around Poly. She loved when he pulled her close.
“What’s the status on getting your net back up?” Julie asked.