by C Cato
He folded his hands on the desk. “Sonya. Dearest Sonya. I’m so very sorry. If you are seeing this message then something has gone terribly wrong and I wasn’t able to get back to you. I’m sure you have so many questions. I promise I will answer them. Though you won’t like them all,” he said, turning away from the camera and back again. “I’ll have to start from the beginning. Well the beginning after your accident. On the way to meet your mom, a car hit you. The doctors didn’t think you would live through the night, so I pulled strings and had you brought to the lab. I had already started working on a solution to the instability issue with the nanobots, so I decided to use them on you.”
He paused and shook his head with a grimace on his lips. “I just couldn’t watch you die. It would have killed me too. The Halo prototype did what I wanted. It regulated the behavior of the nanobots while they replaced the dead cells in your body, but the damage was—you were so broken.” He paused to lift his glasses and wipe away the tears.
Sonya sobbed. Her mentor and friend had been in so much pain, and there was nothing she could do.
Ian composed himself again, cleared his throat. “You remained in a coma. Cole and I had known each other a long time, and when he learned about the possible attack on you, he offered to be personal security to me and the staff, but when I learned that a hostile takeover was inevitable, I took steps to protect you. I destroyed everything. Our labs, our research. All the other existing nanobots. Every single database and report. Now the only place those things exist is in your heads. I networked the Halos together and together they store our accumulated knowledge. That makes you and the other Sentinel more valuable than anything on the planet. You all hold the knowledge, but you Sonya, are the key master. You will authorize the opening of files. Everyone will see it. The keys themselves are in my notebooks.”
Rising from his chair, he crossed to stand in front of the camera and reached forward like he was going to turn it off. Pausing, he took two steps back and stared into the camera, his expression earnest. “Sonya, I know it will be hard for you, but trust Cole and his people. There are some messages, personal ones. You’ll see them. It can’t be helped. Know that he would give his life for you. They all would.”
He reached again, while whispering. “If only we had had more time—I love you so much.” The camera turned off and she was once again on the rock, sobbing. Not entirely certain what she was reacting to the most.
Seeing Ian like that was shocking, even more so to learn that he somehow managed to store fifteen years of research in their heads. But in the end, she knew what it was. His words still echoed in her head. I love you so much. The sentiment had been clear. Not the words of a father-figure, but of a man who loved a woman. In that instant, she felt her heart shatter, the pain in her chest acute. How had she not known, and why didn’t he say something? Had her defenses kept him at bay too? It was second nature to keep everyone at arm’s length. Hot tears fell, and she mourned the loss of possibilities. For Ian and for Keet.
An arm wrapped around her shoulders, and Ditre sat down next to her. She didn’t have to ask if he’d just seen the video. Sympathy was oozing from his pores. “You okay, Doc?” he said, giving her shoulders a squeeze before letting go. “I mean about everything. Cole won’t talk about what happened back at the camp, but you both were pretty shaken up.”
If she hadn’t been so miserable, she would have laughed. He just learned that his head was an electronic storage space, and he was worried about her? “I’m okay. The answers we need are here. It will just take some time to go through the books. It’s a step in the right direction.”
“You had two words, didn’t you? Are you going to play the next message?”
Was she? Emotionally wrung out from the first one, she wasn’t sure if she could handle anymore upheavals. But what if it was something important? “Okay.” She put her hand in his as it rested on his leg and pulled it to her lap, desperate for some moral support. He gave her a squeeze. Halo? Instruct.
This time as the world faded away around her, she was prepared, and the warm weight of Ditre’s hand in hers kept her grounded. Ian appeared at his desk again, cleaner than the last video, but still disheveled. His hair was in place as it always was when she saw him in the lab, but there was an obvious rumple to his baby blue button-down shirt.
“Sentinels, I’m sorry I didn’t give you more than a cursory understanding of what you could do before you went into stasis. I will do my best to ensure that these videos give you as much information as you need. To start, I want to explain more about the Halo System. Sonya, you probably aren’t going to be thrilled about this, but what you all have in your heads does control the nanobots, yes, but it’s also a weapons platform. The start of a super soldier program.”
Weapons platform? She went numb. The genesis bots existed to help eliminate cancer. How had it evolved into something destructive?
Ian sat back in his chair and rubbed his temples. “I messed up, Sonya. I think I got a little too greedy. Probably where our problems started. Military contractors are cutthroat. I had already started developing and shopping out an enhanced version of your genesis bots when we went to see the board the day you were hurt.”
Sonya clutched her stomach, the disgusting bar ready to come back up. She’d trusted him! Her research had been twisted it into something perverted.
Is that why Cole and his team were with her? Were they part of some military program and got caught up in Ian’s crazy paranoia?
“I can only apologize,” he said. “You were still going to get full credit as the creator of the nanobots, and we were going to be rich. I just wasn’t prepared for the lengths they would go to.”
He shook his head and was quiet for a full minute, according to the time stamp. “It’s all water under the bridge now, but you need to know what you can do.”
Shock became anger, and she crushed Ditre’s hand. He didn’t make a sound of protest. Would she have heard him if he had? He made no move to pull away at any rate.
“The net that makes up the system is hardwired directly into your brain.” An image of a computer simulation appeared, demonstrating the placement and connections of the device implanted in her head. “Main function is to speak to the nanobots,” he said, his face coloring. “I had the theory for it before we went to the Board.”
That asshole! He had no right to corrupt her work in such a way. To do this behind her back. What made him any different than her slimy ex-boyfriend that had gotten her fired from the hospital?
Regaining his composure quickly, he cleared his throat. “The nanobots can do more than just create new synthetic cells. Cole and the others already know they enhance speed, strength, and stamina when powered. They also can stimulate muscles. Create a kind of fake muscle memory. If you let the Halo take over, it will allow you to do things you didn’t originally know how to do. Fighting any martial arts style stored in the database. The Halo can also learn. Technically, you wouldn’t mentally know how to do it, but your body would.”
Sonya wasn’t sure she wanted to hear anymore. The man she’d thought was her friend, had turned her into a living weapon.
“It’s the best of both worlds, really. You are a deadly instrument, but you retain your autonomy.”
He ran his fingers through his hair, messing up the rest of the perfect image, and managed to appear sheepish. “There isn’t much else to say, but the schematics and information on the device are stored in your head Sonya, as are the modifications made to the nanobots. The others all have combined storage for the techniques, and the rest of the videos. If anything happens to one of you, you will lose whatever data stored with them. There isn’t a way to transfer data from one of you to another.”
The video ended abruptly.
She hissed through her teeth, and Ditre moaned next to her. His face was a mask of pain and she dropped her gaze to their joined hands. His was a deep purple and a couple of his fingers were either broken or dislocated.
&nb
sp; “Oh my god! I’m so sorry!”
Thoughts of Ian forgotten, she released him to allow the blood to flow again, and she set his fingers so they would heal properly. “I didn’t know I was doing it.”
“It’s okay,” he groaned. “I’m just never ever going to piss you off.”
CHAPTER NINE
Sonya
Camp was a quiet place when Sonya returned with a healed Ditre in tow. She didn’t have to ask to know that none of them had been aware of what Ian had done. Cole was especially moody and distant.
Since they were sitting halfway up a mountain, Cole didn’t bother with a sentry for the night and Sonya curled up into a ball in her sleeping bag, hoping for a little bit of rest. It felt like no time had passed when someone one shook her awake.
“Wake up,” said Risa. “We’re going to move. Cole wants to crest the summit and start down the other side, and there is going to be more rain soon.”
Groaning, she climbed out of the blanket and put it away. The sluggish movements and monosyllabic conversation told her, no one else had gotten much sleep either. Everyone sported drooping lids.
Cole approached her reluctantly, jaw set. “We’re going to be heading further up the mountain. I’m assuming this sort of thing is new for you?”
Embarrassment made her so hot, she thought she saw steam rising off her body in the early morning chill. That didn’t mean she was going to appear weak. Raising her chin, she said, “No. Camping trips weren’t in the cards for me and my family. I can make it work. Besides, I have a better idea of how this thing in my head functions. I can use it if I need to.”
He nodded with a grunt, already walking away. “Fine.”
Sonya wasn’t sure what she expected. Nothing had changed really. Ian had told her to trust him, but he himself wasn’t worthy of trust. What did she know about them? Once they were down off the mountain, she could try and make her own way. Find some people, like she’d originally planned.
The idea didn’t have as much appeal as it once did.
She didn’t have a backpack of her own, unlike the others. Ditre had taken the journals for her. Didn’t keep her from falling behind. Sonya had always considered herself in shape. Going to the gym religiously four days a week and eating a healthy balanced diet, but not even the nanobots’ natural boosting could keep her from sucking in air and slowing as they climbed the dangerously slanted slope. They were still far from the summit when the rains pummeled them again. It made the ground beneath her feet slick. Soon, dark mud covered every inch of her. Probably a perfect match for her skin. Crawling upward on all fours, her fingers fought for purchase in the sucking wet earth.
Cole and the others weren’t much better off. He kept glancing back, his face grim. She dug in and tried to climb faster.
The trees began to thin the closer they came to the summit and by midday, Sonya sprawled on a small flat patch at the top. Nothing between her and the open sky as it did it’s best to drown her where she lay. She didn’t care and gulped down as much water as she did air, as her lungs tried to adjust to the altitude.
“It’ll pass, Doc,” said Ditre, helping her to sit up. “We won’t be up here long, anyway. Sarge wants to follow the ridge for as long as we can to try and find a better way down.”
Sonya just wanted to lay back down and die where she was, but she allowed Ditre to help her up.
“Power up if you need to,” he said. “Do you know how?”
She shook her head, that old aggravation warming her. Not knowing something and appearing ignorant in front of others was the worst. Ditre showed no sign of judgment on his face. Only patience. Why wasn’t she attracted to him? Or even Soren. Both were equally gorgeous, and neither of them ran as hot and cold as Cole did. A thought she found ironic, considering in her time everyone had thought that of her. Karma. The rain had changed his strawberry blonde hair to wet brown, the unruly locks slicked back on his head
“Think of it like stoking a fire. It takes concentration at first to get them to respond. Despite what Ian said in the video, I don’t think he meant for the nanobots to respond the way they do when we ‘power up’,” he said, using air quotes. “I think it’s taxing on them, so we only use it sparingly. Anyway, after you’ve done it a couple of times, it won’t take as much thought. Stopping it is like turning off a light switch.” He chuckled. “That’s kind of literal since we light up like neon signs on the Vegas strip.”
Sonya laughed at the imagery. “Okay. I’ll practice a little as we go.”
“Not too much. Up here, there isn’t much cover. If someone is monitoring the area for us, it would give us away.”
Why hadn’t she thought of that? Sonya was so out of her element, she couldn’t even fathom what made logical sense and what didn’t when it came to stealth. How was she going to survive in this world?
“Can you also show me how to turn off the comm? I won’t try to run,” she said, squirming a little at her lie. She still wasn’t entirely certain staying with them was a good idea. “Sometimes a girl just wants a little privacy.”
“Press all three buttons twice fast to turn it off and once to turn it on.”
“Thanks.”
“Anytime. We really are here to help you,” he said with a soft smile.
How did he make her feel like shit without even trying?
Despite not making an uphill climb anymore, Sonya still fell behind the others as they made their way along the uppermost ridge of the mountain. The air was thin, and there was nothing her body could do to prepare her for it. Cole and the others made it appear easy. The rain hadn’t let up, and she was dirty and soaked. The others had a good fifty-foot lead on her and she grumbled to herself under her breath.
She would cut off her right hand for a shower. The ground beneath her shifted with her next step and she grabbed hold of a spindly tree. “Cole!”
As one, the Sentinels all turned to her just as the earth shifted again and then they disappeared as wall of mud dislodged from the ridge, taking rocks, trees, and Cole with it. “No!”
Her tree uprooted, and she slid downward as the world moved to catch up. She found herself tumbling and then covered as mud flowed over her like a thick tsunami. Frantically, she flapped her arms trying to get out of the dark mass threatening to steal the air in her lungs.
When she broke the surface, she sputtered and tried to exhale all the wet dirt she’d swallowed, but there was no time for it. Sucked back in, battered, and knocked around, she smashed into obstacles on her way down and collided with debris caught in the slide. Something hit her hand, and she felt the bones breaking, her scream lost in the roar of the avalanche she couldn’t escape. The bubbling mud seeped into her mouth, her nose. Rendered her blind. A knock to her head made everything go black. Things were still dark when she opened her eyes, and she couldn’t breathe.
Warning! - Oxygen low
Sonya couldn’t tell which way was up and if she was wrong, there wouldn’t be time to correct course. Digging hard, she cringed at the pain in her right hand. Something was wrong there. It could wait. Willing her body to respond, she pushed harder as the darkness around her began to lighten and glow. Suddenly she was out! She sucked in great gulps of air. Clawing at her face, she scooped away the mud covering her eyes until they were free enough to see. It was dark, and all around her was the evidence of the massive slide. In front of her was a gentle sloping valley, so she guessed the mountain was behind her, but mud trapped her from breasts down. Glowing as bright as a blue moon, it still took maximum effort to free herself. Panting hard, she rolled onto her back, staring up at the stars through a break in the clouds, until she could no longer keep her eyes open.
When she woke up, the sun was shining. Something she thought she’d never see again. The mud covering her body had dried into a hard clay. Forcing herself to move, she broke it all up enough to stand.
Doing a small 360, she took in her surroundings. The mountain resembled like a finished game of dominoes. Only a handful
of trees still stood. There was no sign of the others.
“Cole!”
Sonya groaned and grabbed her head as pain shot through her temple and then echoed in her hand. Pulling it away from her head, she found crusted blood. Her hand was a mangled mess. Thumb and index finger bent at impossible angles, and her pinky was holding on by a flap of skin, ripped off at the proximal phalanges. There was no blood; the wound had healed over. Trying to move her hand produced a series of cracks as broken carpals moved and rubbed against each other. Radio would have to wait. She needed to fix it for the nanobots to begin healing.
No weapons or tools to work with, she searched around for a rock. After an hour of searching, she was convinced that this was Mother Earth’s way of telling her she didn’t belong out in the wilderness. She agreed.
Finding a blunt rock and a larger flat one, she sat down to try and fashion a sharp edge. Her stomach was ready to eat itself and the sky had taken on the fire hues of early evening by the time she found something that would work. Not wanting to attract any unwanted attention, she grabbed a stick and shoved it in her mouth to bite down on.
This wasn’t going to be pleasant.
Starting at the worst injury, she hacked at the skin that had grown over her pinky stump until the blood was flowing. Twice, she stopped to keep from passing out. When she was satisfied that it looked open enough, she jammed her finger back in place and screamed around the gag in her mouth. There were no guarantees it would work, but she couldn’t think of anything else to do. After the initial searing pain, it dulled to a hard throbbing and then stopped. When she moved her opposite hand away, her little finger was once again attached and whole.