Redux

by S. A. Stephenson

  ‘How’s everyone doing?’ She asked on the radio.

  There were a few moments of static in reply.

  ‘We’re holding strong boss,’ one of the men responded. ‘Ready to take orders.’

  Kit hadn’t been more grateful for anything, these men and women were risking their lives for this cause, trusting her to lead and she knew what she had to do. ‘Keep a tight formation,’ she said. ‘There’s going to be a lot of jets coming our way and we need to be ready to fire. We’re going to aim for the Capitol building, but we’re not going to strike it until the moment is right. I’ll head in on foot and when the signal is given, you’ll get to blow it sky high.’

  ‘Ma’am?’ A female soldier asked. ‘Is it wise to go in on foot? You’ll be directly exposing yourself to a potential attack.’

  ‘There are civilians on the ground who need help,’ Kit told her.

  Another crackle came over the radio. ‘Kit?’ Kit’s heart leapt, it was Jack. ‘I got them,’ he said. ‘Rook and Lil, they’re a little banged up but we’re making our way to HQ to meet Evie.’

  It took all Kit had not to get distracted by the pain that radiated through her at the thought of Rook and Lil being hurt. ‘I’ll meet you there,’ she said. ‘Stay safe.’

  ‘You too Sparrow,’ she heard Lil say and there was a sudden rush of emotion well up inside her, at the nickname Lil used for her. This could be the last mission they all do together and they might not all make it out alive. They had been through so much together and Kit wanted them so desperately to be able to live a different type of life, one where they weren’t putting their lives on the line, but one where they could live freely. Every doubt Kit had seemed to go in that moment, she wasn’t just fighting for herself, she was fighting for Lil, for Rook, Caanan, Shep, Adam, Evie, Kingsley, hell even Jack. She was fighting for everyone who couldn’t be free because of the war that Galen had created. She was a weapon, and if that meant she could help the people she loved and everyone else in this country be free from an evil that had been too strong for too long, then she would do whatever she could to save them. Even if it meant the end for her.

  Dawson landed the plane just on the outskirts of HQ and Kit climbed out of the plane. ‘You sure you don’t want me to come with you?’ He asked.

  ‘Stay with the others,’ she told him. ‘We need as many good fliers as we can get out there.’

  ‘You’ll stay in contact on the radio?’

  Kit tapped the receiver that was clipped to the strap of her backpack. ‘And I’ve got my earpiece in,’ she assured him.

  Dawson replied by tapping his chest twice and raising his forefingers to her, the common salute amongst Genics that they have an allay. Kit watched as he flew away and turned her attention to the headquarters. The epicentre of Volt was a circular city that spread out from the main Capitol building, if Hawk was going to be anywhere it would be there. But Kit was outside the walls and she needed to get in. The large wired walls wrapped themselves around the circumference of the vicinity inside and ahead of her Kit saw a crowd gathered waiting to be let in. She pulled her hood up over her head and made her way to the crowd. As she neared she saw they were men, women and children. Their eyes sagged, and their faces were drawn, they moved slowly and the younger children clung to their mothers as the noise of the men were growing louder.

  ‘Let us in!’ They were calling to the Armistice Guards. ‘We were told we could claim sanctuary.’

  ‘Stay back!’ One of the Armistice Guards ordered. ‘The city is being overrun, we can’t let everyone in at once.’

  Nervous energy beat its way through Kit’s heart, she could feel the tension begin to rise, she could sense the anger was about to spill over. The faces around her were scared, they were shaking under their thin coats and huddling close to one another. They were desperate to stay alive.

  ‘For pity’s sake man,’ another man called. ‘We’ve travelled here from Baltimore, others have come further, you can’t turn us away now.’

  Kit realised the man was right, when Hawk had put out that message she should have known the city would become swamped with people ready to take the open invitation. But maybe that’s exactly what she had anticipated.

  Kit looked up as she was jostled by people trying to move forward. The clouds had darkened now and there was a chill in the air. Light rain had begun to fall and in the distance she could hear planes. She wondered at first if they were from her side, the cavalry coming in for aid. But there was no chatter on her earpiece and she knew that they wouldn’t strike without her hearing about it.

  Kit quickly remembered what she had learned in London. How the virus was dropped by planes as people tried to get help from the government. Surely they wouldn’t do the same again? Kit wouldn’t put anything past Hawk and quickly began to make her way out of the crowd, her theory was insane but if it was remotely true, she couldn’t risk being part of the moving target. She made her way down the side of the wire, she could feel eyes watching her, but she had a plan, and she wanted people to see.

  She turned back to the guards and placed two fingers between her lips and gave a loud whistle. The guards spun to her, their guns in hand as she removed her hood. Gasps spread throughout the crowd as they recognised her. ‘Remember me boys?’ She asked.

  ‘It’s her!’

  ‘Fire!’

  ‘Kill her!’

  Kit quickly scaled the wired fence and jumped over dodging every bullet that came her way. It was as though she could tell where they were going to hit before they were even fired. ‘It’s good to be home,’ she quipped dryly and as the guards launched their attack they took their eyes off the crowd in front of them, who stormed forward and into the realm of Volt.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Everything hurt. Sweat dripped down her back and her hair needed smothering in soap if she was ever going to be clean again. Evie was exhausted and miserable but was doing her best to fight through it. She wasn’t going to complain, she had no right to. She allowed herself to imagine when this was all over, being in a soap filled bath with Kit and the rest of the world being so far away.

  The rest of the squad were also flagging and she knew it would be difficult for them to attack with any force if they were tired and exhausted. ‘The men need to rest,’ Evie said to Sinclair. ‘They plane crash has probably caused more impact than we’ve realised.’

  Sinclair nodded. ‘We’ll take five,’ she said and relayed the order to the men and women who sighed in relief. They set their packs down and handed out bottles of water. Evie was grateful as she was handed one, she drank two gulps and poured water over her hands. They were still stained red with Freddie’s blood and she feared never being able to feel fully clean. She looked out to where they were going. The southern entrance to Volt lay ahead of them and they were headed straight for the gates.

  ‘We’re about an hour away,’ she said to Sinclair. ‘But we’re out in the open and it’s too risky all of us going in at once.’

  ‘They’ve already been briefed, and know they’ll need to spread themselves round the perimeter so we can keep you in our sights at all times,’ Sinclair said.

  Evie nodded. ‘Good,’ she said and looked down at her lap as she took a breath. Sinclair took her hand.

  ‘It’s natural to feel nervous,’ she said.

  Evie grimaced. ‘Kit always made this look so easy,’ she said. ‘Like she knew what she had to do and she didn’t let it bother her, I always wished I could be more like that, that I didn’t think too much.’

  ‘You know Kit better than anyone, do you really think what she does didn’t bother her?’ She asked.

  Evie realised Sinclair was right, Kit had her own way of dealing with the things they faced, she wasn’t shut off from the emotional side, she just knew how to not let it get to her when she needed to act.

  ‘Lets go,’ Evie said. ‘I’m done waiting for the future.’

  They had made it to the centre of Volt within two hours. Evie
was exhausted but energy flowed round her body in a way she hadn’t experienced before. It was like it was jumping at the thought of what they were about to do, excited almost, and it spurred her on. The others had spanned the perimeter and Evie was in the shadows of an alleyway round the corner from the Capitol Building. As Sinclair had joined the others, Evie was on her own. She braced herself, her mind was in overdrive and she had a rush of knowing that she could do what she needed to if everything went to plan. She needed to be calm if she was going to do this right, she needed her mind and body to be in sync if they were going to act the way that she needed them to. She looked over to the building, there were Armistice Guards patrolling the grounds and up in the turrets, one of them was bound to see her if she broke her cover and she didn’t know if she was fast enough to outrun their bullets.

  Evie tried to think of where Hawk would likely be, where she had last seen her, and what the lay of the building was like. She knew there was a basement, if Hawk had been told that there was going to be attacks on the city, it’s where she’d likely be. Evie quickly looked around her, trying to spot anything that could help her get inside without being seen. She saw a grate at the base of the wall and pulled out a small dial from her backpack. She pressed a few buttons on the device and a map lit up in front of her. A blue dot flashed on the screen showing her where she was and saw that there was a series of tunnels running underground towards the building. She crouched down and pulled the grate to one side and jumped down to the dark tunnel below. Her feet landed in water and the smell was overpowering. Covering her mouth she created an energy ball in her hand for light and saw the long tunnel stretch out forward in front of her. She began making her way forward, trying not to think of whatever it was she was walking through. The air began to draw close, and her breathing became laboured. She heard something move behind her, she spun round but there was nothing there. Her mind was playing tricks on her she told herself, but she knew what lived below this city. She knew she wasn’t alone.

  She kept going, praying there would be a break in the light soon, that she was coming to the end. She stopped when her pant leg snagged on something and she tried to pull it free. A screeching noise breezed past her and she whirled around, losing her footing and her energy ball extinguished, plunging her into darkness. She began to breath quickly, her chest was becoming tightened. In the dark she could see the shadows coming for her. Something swiped at her shoulder, then a sharp thud hit her on the other side. She tried to fight back, but without any light it was impossible. She was grabbed by her shoulders from behind and pulled backwards, she was being pushed under the murky water, the foul liquid rushed up her nose and she gagged as it began to consume her. Evie lashed out, trying to hit at anything as she desperately tried to fight back. She didn’t want to die, not here, not like this. A surge of strength came back to her and she pushed upwards, her attacker was sent backwards and she flipped onto her feet. Flows of energy swirled round her and she shot them out into the dark hitting whatever it had been that had tried to kill her. She heard something yelp as an energy ball made contact with what was attacking her. Evie didn’t take her time in going to find out what it was, instead she sent a ball of light down the rest of the tunnel and ran as fast as she could until she finally reached the end and saw a ladder. There were more creatures now, they and they were coming after her, she turned and saw the hybrids, screeching grey skinned creatures who were neither human, alien or Genic, but something in between. They clawed at her ankles and pulled her down. Evie desperately clung to the ladder, and grabbed for the gun in her backpack. She fired bullets at them and they howled in agony as they fell to the floor below. Evie was given seconds to regain her footing and she sprinted up the ladder as the hybrids chased. She reached the top and pulled herself out of the sewer. As she turned a hybrid had enough time to crawl half way up her, she reached for her gun, but it had fallen centimetres away from her grasp she kicked out at the hybrid and went to grab the gun but the hybrid grabbed hold of her and started pulling her back to the tunnel. She kicked furiously, she fired a ball of white light at it but it barely seemed to make an impact. Then the hybrid was flying backwards and a bullet was shot through its head. It fell backwards into the rest of the pack and the sewer lid was slammed shut. Evie scurried backwards, not knowing what this invisible force was and then she stopped.

  ‘Jack?’ She asked.

  Her brother shimmered into view. ‘Hey sis, welcome home.’

  Evie got to her feet and looked at him stunned for a moment as her mind went blank. When it clicked back she hit his chest. He grabbed her wrists and she tried to fight against him but he grabbed hold of her and pulled her into his embrace, trying to get her to become calm, the same way he had done when they were younger. It was the moment of strength Evie needed and she stopped and collapsed into his chest. ‘What are you doing here?’ Her voice was muffled against him. ‘Where’ve you been?’ She pulled away and looked up at him. She studied him for a moment, something had changed but she couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

  ‘It’s a long story,’ he said.

  ‘You betrayed us!’ Evie said and hit him again.

  Jack grabbed her fist. ‘That’s enough of that,’ he said. ‘We can’t turn on each other, not now.’

  ‘But you turned on me,’ Evie said. ‘You left!’

  ‘I left to go get help,’ Jack told her. ‘I never betrayed you, that’s what Galen wanted you to think so that she could divide us and isolate you.’

  Evie tried to catch her breath but her head was spinning. ‘You know what happened to her?’ She asked.

  Jack nodded. ‘You shouldn’t have had to do that,’ he said.

  ‘And now I have to do the same to Hawk,’ Evie told him.

  Jack didn’t seem phased by what she was telling him. ‘Then lets go find her,’ he said. ‘Kit’s on her way and we’ve got an army ready to finally end this, and I’m not going to leave you again.’

  Evie found herself coming together again, Jack always had a way of making her feel whole and centred. She looked round where they were and saw they were in some basement hallway. ‘We’re in the Capitol building aren’t we?’ She asked.

  ‘We are, Rook hacked the mainframe and has been able to track where everyone is and was able to get a pinpoint on you thanks your friends telling us where you were headed,’ Jack said.

  A rush of emotion shot through Evie as she thought of the friends she hadn’t seen in so long. ‘Rook’s here?’

  ‘So is Lil, and I last spoke to Kit just over an hour ago, there’s been a ruckus at the main gate, which I’m guessing she’ll have something to do with,’ Jack told her.

  Evie’s heart pounded at knowing Kit was close by, that they were so close to being reunited. All she wanted was to find her and never leave her again. But there was still a job to do first. ‘Have you managed to locate Hawk?’ Evie asked.

  ‘She’s in Galen’s old office,’ Jack said. ‘But we have to hurry.’

  Evie followed Jack, aware that she was soaked, smelled and ached. She found herself growing increasingly angry with Galen and Hawk for making her believe that Jack had betrayed her, that they had come between them. It had been so easy, and Evie realised that there had been part of her that hadn’t trusted him for years.

  ‘What were you and dad talking about all those years ago?’ She asked him.

  ‘What?’ Jack glanced back at her.

  ‘In the kitchen, you were looking over plans or something and whispering,’ Evie said.

  ‘You want to talk about that now?’

  ‘Yes, because there might not be another time to,’ Evie said.

  ‘I’m not doing this now,’ Jack snapped.

  Evie stopped. ‘I’m not a kid anymore!’ She told him. ‘You owe me an explanation, I need to know I can trust you.’

  Jack turned to face her and she could see the anger and pain in his eyes. ‘Trust me?’ He asked. ‘You need to know if you can trust me? You were the one who were opera
ting on dead Genics, you were the one who was publishing research on us, trying to secure funding, what do you think that was for? That was for Volt! You were raising money to keep this place going, you were finding new ways that our genome could be manipulated so Galen could create a stronger army. You were helping this place become what it is, yet here you are trying to play the hero, believing that you’re the good guy. Well just because you sleep with the one person who can free Genics, doesn’t make you a hero. It doesn’t make you innocent of everything you’ve done.’

  ‘And what have you done?’ Evie demanded. ‘You’ve played your part in this, you were Hawk’s top soldier if I remember rightly.’

  She could see Jack was getting frustrated with her and she took as step backwards as he came over to her. ‘You think I’ve had any choice in this?’ He asked. ‘I’ve done what I’ve had to so I could survive in this world, did what I had to so you and mom and dad were safe. This world is so messed up, knowing what’s right and wrong is sometimes becomes impossible. You’ve done what you’ve had to and I’ve done the same.’

  Evie frowned, it wasn’t what she wanted him to tell her but it was the truth. ‘You and dad…’ she said, her voice softer.

  ‘Dad was part of this,’ he said. ‘That’s all I have time to tell you, he didn’t want to be, but had no choice. Now it’s up to us to make up for what he did.’

  Evie nodded, that she could work with. They had both done things that weren’t admirable but she had to believe that they were both now fighting for the right cause. ‘You’re right, I’m sorry,’ she said.

  Jack placed a hand on her shoulder. ‘I promise, when this is over I’ll tell you everything you need to know,’ he said. ‘But I’m with you in this till the very end.’