by Terina Adams
“Both Malvo and I do. It was part of the upload I made. We’re proficient with all systems and equipment on the utilities.”
Time to stand by my party and do what needed doing. “Okay then. Let’s do this.”
Holden held up his hand, indicating patience. The other teams needed to attack first, draw the diversion.
“Where are our bots? Don’t Aris have their own NPC attack to deal with?”
“Wait until the attack begins. The place will swarm with the bots from both sides. A range of factions will appear. Any faction but Persal will be our enemy. Feel free to eliminate them.”
I was about to ask another question when a skirmish broke out to the right of the plaza.
“This is it. Malvo and Sable, stick with me. The rest of you clear us a path.”
The other four moved around us and broke out into the street at a sprint. We followed in the rear. With the sudden surprise of our party, a group of bots, both warrior fighters and STU, broke away from the diversion the rest of our party had created and charged toward us. As they did, to the side of us, a wave of Persal bots appeared, keeping pace with our sprint. I’d never been so relieved to see bots appear.
Holden grabbed my hand and pulled me sideways, veering toward the skycraft, leaving the oncoming defense to our friendly bots and remaining party. We didn’t go far before he dropped my hand to fight off an attack. Malvo headed for the second skycraft but was soon halted by an unfriendly in the form of a savage-looking woman bearing a lethal-looking ball and chain.
“Sable, behind,” Holden shouted.
I ducked and spun, lashing out with my leg in a low sweep as I came around, striking a bot across the ankles, pulling him down. By the time he hit the ground, my tri-blade was embedded in his stomach. I closed my eyes for a brief moment to avoid looking at the aftermath of my strike, waited the moments before I could open my eyes and retrieve my blade, which appeared clean on the cobbles once the bot had vanished.
My kill quota flipped down one less, and my skills status bar moved up to light red. One look at the digital clock. One hour to go. We needed to be in the air.
Holden made a dash for the STU utility, enemy bots not far behind. My tri-blade and dagger flew from my hands as easily as blinking. Amazing what confidence could do for you.
Yards more and Holden would reach the utility, but he was slowed when three bots appeared from the left. He dealt with all three in one shot, clearing his way. More appeared like a relentless wave, diverging their course and aiming right for him. Too many for my weapons.
I tackled the edges of my factional nature, which danced along the seams of the bind I’d placed around it. Too many and I needed to release more destruction than I had so far. If I let that much go, I’d lose control.
The digital clock appeared to have sped up, flying through the hour and winding down to fifty minutes remaining.
If I didn’t give it a try, Holden would be slowed once more, or worse.
You can do it. Destruction wanted out. Withholding it felt as though the pressure swelled my brain to twice the size.
Wasting time.
I tried to funnel destruction out in a controlled stream but it slipped my binds and gushed forth like a tornado. In desperation, I focused on capping the onslaught, clutching my temples as I did as if that would hold it all back.
I turned my head from the impact, the immediate bots eliminated, but so too those farther behind, friendlies and not so friendly.
NPCs only, Sable. It’s okay. It’s cool.
When I turned back, I saw Holden activating the door on the closest skycraft. He’d made it that far. Adrenaline-fueled relief surged through me. The other two skycraft were hidden from my view by the first, so I couldn’t see how Malvo had fared.
I was about to run for Holden when something heavy crashed into my back, sending me to the cobbles. My back cracked and my head snapped back on the impact with the ground. No time to check my stats, I rolled just as a bot with the digital display of Aris above him mounted me, pinning me to the ground with legs splayed either side of my waist.
Bloodshot eyes, leering smirk of bloodstained teeth, he was Aris, all right. But not a PC. I attempted to buck him off as my factional nature surged through the channels of my mind like an injection of thick, hot fluid. The suddenness of it shot a searing pain through my head.
The Aris warrior placed his hand over my chest. I lifted my arm to chop his hand away when he tightened his thigh muscles around my middle and pressed his palm down firmly on my chest. Done so quickly, the surprise of his move momentarily froze me. The delay was all he needed. With his other hand, he pinned my left arm to my side, then pushed farther with his palm. Agony so great blotted out my thoughts. What was going on? I tried to lift my head to look down at his hand on my chest, but the torment was too much. My health status bar peaked at deep red. Any minute it would flash. My power status bar was also peaking, but I couldn’t gather my thoughts coherently enough to release it with enough restraint to contain its impact.
A piercing cry filled my ears, one long, drawn-out wail of agony spilling from my lips. Through the daze of pain, I lifted my head to see his hand had punctured through my chest down to his wrist, gushing blood from the raw wound. A crack of bone, a wet squelch, and agony flared. Throbbing welts of pain radiated outward from my chest to the rest of my body. Flashing red lights filled my vision. My health status bar blinked its lethal warning. So too my power status bar. Everything blinking. The digital clock ticked down. We had four-one minutes remaining, but I had only seconds.
Pain stripped my capability, my strength, my courage. Death wove a dark spell across my eyes, funneling my vision down a long, dark tunnel. Was this death? The power in my limbs drained; the fire in my mind vanished. And I’d failed at mastering my factional nature. I’d failed at saving Ajay and Mum. I’d failed. That’s all I’d done. Failed.
I couldn’t. I just could not die, could not abandon those I loved, could not let Carter win.
The red warning flashes became my vision. I focused on my power status bar. The flashes blurred, then swam back into view. My factional nature was always there. It was within me, part of me. My enemy could hold me down, take my freedom, but he could not chain the truth of who I was.
I refocused on my enemy. His face loomed close, teeth stained, mouth red like a lipstick outline, eyes the color of free-flowing blood. His hand encircled my heart. I could feel the cool of his touch, feel my heart seize and body spasm in fear. My vision blinked, faded. I bit my lip, the small sharp pain dull in comparison to the rest of my body but enough to remind me I still had to win.
I raised my free arm. His face was near. I wedged my fist into his gaping mouth and shot a rod of my factional nature down my arm and into his head. It exploded in a fine spray. I shut my eyes, shielding my face with my arm. When the pressure of his weight relented, I rolled to the side, gasping, panting, moaning the shock of being alive.
“Sable.” Someone shook my shoulder.
I glanced over my shoulder to Reg.
“Get up. We need to get in the utility.”
I looked around at the rest of the party rushing for the first skycraft. Some were racing around the first and heading for the second.
Reg pulled me to my feet and dragged me the final distance to the open door and half threw me inside once we reached it.
I tumbled in on my side, landing at the feet of one of our party. The door clicked tight with a heavy thud behind me, blackening the interior. A light flicked on as the sound of engines fired.
I rolled onto my back and spared the time to check my stats. My health status bar was on its way down, skills status bar a nice red, power status bar also red, which was all right by me. It was good to know my factional nature waited with me, just below the surface.
Chapter 34
With no windows, we were blind to what was happening outside, but with the sharp angle of the skycraft, nose high in the sky, I could imagine us racing up th
e face of the plaza. I’d scrambled to a seat and strapped in as we’d hovered off the ground, thank god, or I’d be down in the back of the skycraft pressed against the metal railings and other uncomfortable-looking equipment. Some had not been so fortunate and were slowly making their way, with the aid of others, to spare seats.
Had Malvo succeeded in taking off? If only we could see out. Maybe it was better if we didn’t.
Holden’s voice came clear through a sound system above our head. “Above the door either side of the utility, you will see a black metal bracket housing the high-tensile abseil line. I’m deactivating the lock for it now. Lift the bracket and release the line once I’ve leveled out.
“If you look now, you’ll find a chest harness on each of you. When it’s your turn to jump, you’ll hook the carabiner at the end of the line through the clasp on your chest harness. Your descent will be controlled automatically by the utilities system, but I warn you it will be fast.”
I looked down to find the harness Holden had mentioned during our briefing at HQ.
“One of you will remain onboard to secure the utility and collect the senate as we bring them up. Sort it out who that will be amongst yourselves now.”
Malvo’s voice overrode Holden’s. “We’ve got a problem.”
He’d made it, but the tension in his tone made me edgy, not something I wanted to hear on the cusp of a fight.
“What is it?” Holden said.
“The utility is not responding. It’s banking left, and I’ve got a row of warnings. Auto controls have engaged, and I can’t override them.”
“Dammit,” Holden hissed. “Aris. They’ve sabotaged one of the utilities, if not all of them.”
“Fuel’s dropping rapidly.”
“I’m coming after you,” Holden said.
The utility rolled left as Holden chased after Malvo’s skycraft.
“You’ll have to evacuate. I’ll pull us as close as I can alongside you. Everyone will have to jump across.”
I glanced around the confined space. Hopefully we weren’t about to exceed our maximum load.
The acceleration of the turn pressed me into my seat. With the strain in my fingers, I looked down to see my knuckles had turned white as I gripped hold of the seat either side of my thighs. We weren’t in the turn long before the craft dipped the other way, or so it felt. Not being able to see out any windows, I wasn’t sure if we were horizontal to the ground or still going up, and how far from the plaza we’d deviated. A quick flick to the digital clock and my pulse zoomed up to lightning speed. Thirty-three minutes left.
Heights weren’t my thing, and now we were in a chase through the sky. How air-worthy were these things? They looked sturdy enough, but what if Jax had done something to this one as well? Jax was the only other person who could control the game. This had to be his doing.
“Navigation systems down, cell pressure’s dropping, and stabilizers are malfunctioning,” Malvo said.
“I’m coming alongside you now. You need to hold it as steady as you can.”
“I’ll try, but with the stabilizers gone and the auto controls banking me in random directions, it’s going to be tough.”
I glanced to the digital clock. Thirty minutes remained. Christ, we weren’t even going to make it through the roof of Descaros at this rate.
Holden jerked the skycraft right, and I was swung forward but caught by the harness I’d flung over my head before I lost my seat. Not being able to see out and his jerking maneuvers as he tried to pull us alongside Malvo confused me as to which way was up. And we were supposed to fight after all of this.
I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate on my breath, anything to slow the beat of my heart. Had Jax sabotaged this skycraft as well? He wouldn’t, not all of them. This was not something I needed to think about right now. Would plummeting down to Earth be enough to make us all think we were dead, to end us in real life? The thought was enough to end me right now. But he wouldn’t do that. He just wouldn’t. I had to believe he wouldn’t.
Get a grip, Sable. My fingers cramped from holding the seat so tight.
I checked my stats. Everything looked good. My eyes could not help but wander to the digital clock. The sight made me feel worse. The numbers seemed to turn with rapidity. What consequence would we suffer for losing?
“Open your side door now and try and hold her steady. We’ll have to do this quick.”
There was a clunk and a metallic whirring as our own right-side door opened, the door sliding sideways to reveal the interior of Malvo’s skycraft and the rest of our party gathered at the entrance. Soon Holden’s voice disappeared under the roar of the rushing wind.
One by one, each party member leaped the short distance between us. Once onboard, hands grabbed each avatar that made it across and pulled them clear for the next to jump across.
Malvo’s skycraft jerked left and rammed into the side of our own with a horrific crunch, and I couldn’t help but shout out something nonsensical, feeling like my heart vomited out with the words as those without a seat smacked into the side of the skycraft. My grip on the seat was a vise. At any moment, my fingernails would pierce the upholstery. Holden reacted defensively, banking us hard left with a curse. Even with the roar of the wind, I heard it. Those without a seat tumbled around inside. This was all going horribly wrong.
“I’ve managed to gain control,” Malvo shouted, “but I can’t say for how long.”
Holden responded by moving us in close again and shouted for everyone to make it snappy. As close as he dared go, Holden bridged the gap to about a meter, and the rest of Persal jumped, two at a time to speed the process up.
“Malvo, your turn,” Holden yelled.
I ate my heart. How could he make it? Once he relinquished control, the skycraft would bank away, perhaps drop from the sky. God, I couldn’t think. I didn’t want to think, but I could not take my eyes from the open door.
From inside, I saw a shape, which fast turned into Malvo making a dash for the open door. Without slowing, he reached the edge and leaped at the exact moment his utility banked away. For one brief moment, which slowed to infinite time, he flew through the air, pinwheeling his arms. The distance seemed too great. The guy closest to the door was out of his seat as Malvo hit the side of the skycraft. His hands clawed the floor as he scraped to find a foothold. Unable to find that, his arms glided backward as he slid out, but the guy out of his seat latched on to one arm. Someone else leaped to the rescue, and between them they dragged Malvo onboard.
Holden banked us away as the door slid closed with a heavy suction seal and loud clunk.
Everyone was safe inside and we all glanced around at each other, but I doubted anyone, including me, pierced the avatars’ features to read the true feelings underneath.
“Twenty-seven minutes,” someone said.
I glanced at my own digital clock to confirm it. I don’t know why I bothered.
I sunk my head, followed by my shoulders, falling into the black depths of defeat. Did we have to continue? The word surrender already formed itself on my lips. Holden would never give in. Maybe most here felt the same. I said nothing because it’s not how this game worked. Play it to the end. That was the only option in Dominus.
Eyes closed, I counted to ten. When I reached it, I counted again, and again. No stopping, the loop my sedative.
“Prepare for our first drop,” Holden said over the intercom.
My eyes flung open, my heart stabbed out of my chest as again the loud clunk of the activated door pounded through my head.
Jesus, I couldn’t do this. My vise grip would see the seat coming with me.
Either side, the two closest to the door prepared the line, then hooked themselves on. The roaring wind meant I couldn’t hear what either said to each other, nor could I hear Holden through the intercom. If I couldn’t hear him, I wouldn’t know what to do.
They were gone. The two either side jumped. Coming up from down below, a roaring shatter of glas
s. The wind funneling upward around us brought with it shards that rained into the underside of the skycraft with a loud hammering as the utility rocked gently side to side. Splinters of glass shot through the air, small fragments finding their way inside, falling onto the second four lining up at the doors.
And then the next four were gone. A blink and they were over the side with the black line zooming them over the side and down.
I looked away, stared at the avatar opposite me, looked at my hands, then to my stats. My factional nature sat in the red. Once it would’ve made me panic to see it there. Now it gave me steel. The digital clock said twenty-five minutes. My pulse fled through my veins.
Another four went, and another, another, and another. There were few left inside. The wind continued to roar. I couldn’t move from my seat. I stared ahead with a lump thickening in my throat. One blink and another lot went over the edge. I forced the sting from my eyes.
Holden appeared in front of me. “Get up, Sable.”
I wanted to shake my head. I bit my lip hard enough to draw blood. Please don’t make me. I stood.
“Move to the door.” He took my arm and moved me there himself. “Look at me,” he yelled above the roaring wind.
I glued my eyes to his face. As he tied me up to the descent line, he said, “Your descent will be fast but controlled, remember that.” He squeezed my upper arms with his fingers. “Once inside, you fight. The Persal senate is your target. The Persal senate and only the Persal senate.” He slapped a hand over my heart and just about sent me out the door. “Your factional nature is in here, Sable. It’s you now. You’re destruction. Remember that.”
He spun me around, grabbed my arms, and folded my fingers around the line. “Your anchor, so hold it tight.”
Below me was space. Space, space, so much space. The wind smacked my cheeks, caught my hair and tugged it away. I couldn’t breathe. I was choking. The scream welled, clogging my throat. I closed my eyes. There is no space, there is only ground. You’re on the ground, you’re on the ground.