Frozen World (Book 2): Silo [Hope's Return]

by Falconer, Jay J.

  “Understood, but I’m not sure you’re hearing me, sir.”

  “About what?”

  “The inherent danger of these evolutionary advances. If the intelligence level continues to accelerate like we’ve seen, we might lose containment of entire batches. Let alone keep everything on schedule. I understand your need for a superior product, sir, but this Emergence was never factored into our original plans. Some are becoming increasingly violent as a result. I’m doing my best to compensate, but I’m afraid the incubation chambers are not designed for this. Neither is the Genesis Fluid.”

  “I know what’s at stake, Rice. Just keep it together long enough for me to take care of business with Fletcher. We’ll deal with the rest later. I need sufficient numbers and I need them now. A few DOAs here and there won’t matter in the grand scheme of things.”

  “Yes, sir. Batches one-fifty-one through one-seventy-two are ready. Stipple has them trained and ready to go, as ordered.”

  CHAPTER 30

  The Nomad let the tension in his neck fade as he walked farther into the cave with Four, thankful she had taken the lead. His knees stumbled along, much like his logic at the moment, mired in a molasses of thought, everything trudging ahead in slow motion.

  The all-consuming saturation was unlike anything he’d ever experienced before, except for maybe during his days in spec-ops wilderness training, when only the most dedicated of the beaten-down and rewired would survive.

  The past week had stolen most of his energy, leaving him a shell of his former self. He’d pushed forward despite the exhaustion, hoping he’d emerge the victor, even though he knew the odds were slim his plan would come together with the precision needed for all-out success.

  Every warrior knows that most missions don’t go according to plan, usually because the intel is flawed or as a result of tactical errors. When they do proceed flawlessly, it’s called an ambush, something he hoped to avoid in reverse.

  Now that the end was near, what he wanted most was a good night’s sleep. That, and a long, hot soak in a tub. His missed the days when all that was possible, long before he became the scarred enigma he was today.

  Four tugged at his hand, taking him around an outcrop of rock and past a campfire flickering to stay alive. The light from the single log gave him a view of the smoke billowing up, its ribbons of white floating into a crevasse that split the ceiling into two sections, each with its own contours and formations.

  The cave was a true spectacle of wonder, showering his senses with an endless cascade of angles and styles. No two areas were the same, almost as if the entire cavern had been designed with that singular purpose in mind.

  If he’d been a homicide detective, he might have figured the randomness was almost too random, leading him to believe that the serial killer had gone out of his way to appear so, hoping to throw off those hot on his trail.

  Too much randomness wasn’t random at all. It was something else. Something noticeable. Something that could be identified and defeated.

  The Nomad wasn’t sure why his mind had let itself become preoccupied with these thoughts, but it had and he couldn’t stop the ideas from permeating.

  Perhaps they had something to do with the next phase of his mission, trying to uncover something he’d missed. Something he’d failed to take into account. He wasn’t sure, but he couldn’t shake the feeling. It was there, just under his skin, waiting for him to dig it free and expose its meaning.

  Four took him past a candle burning on a ledge to the left, then stopped her feet and pointed at a shadow hiding under a ridge.

  Her sudden change in momentum snapped him out of his thoughts. He paused for a beat to consider the significance of their location, then latched onto the answer. “You want me to go check on Two?”

  Four grunted twice, then squatted into her trademark commando pose, with her knees pressing into her non-existent chest.

  Her stance was a cross between a woman taking a leak and a preschooler dropping into a half-sit, half-ready to sprint away pose.

  His knees hurt just looking at her, wondering how anyone could get back up from a prolonged stance like that.

  The Nomad removed his mask and leather coat, then slipped out of his body armor and the cloth padding underneath.

  He swept his long, flowing locks from his face, then tucked them behind his ears, the dangling curls another reminder of days gone past. Sure, he could have chosen to keep his hair short like his days in the military, but preferred the extra concealment the shoulder-length locks provided. More so during a hand-to-hand skirmish, when anything can happen.

  The deep, heavy scars across his face, arms, back, and legs were now exposed, but Four didn’t react. She’d seen them all before—each night, in fact, when she crawled into bed next to him before they drifted off to sleep.

  He dropped to his knees and ventured deeper into the rock-lined section that bent to the right, its opening narrowing as he crawled. He could see a flame flickering ahead, the light dancing with its own shadows, highlighting his route.

  “Two? You all right?” he said, snatching one of the candles burning on a flat rock ahead. “I’m coming in.”

  He lowered his head and snuck the rest of his frame past a narrow shelf, taking him into the private space. It wasn’t much more than a hollowed-out recess under a boulder, but he knew she called it home.

  The Nomad brought the candle up to get a better view. Two was on her back with her eyes closed, her arms lying on her chest in a crisscross pattern. She appeared to be asleep, possibly unconscious, with her breaths short and choppy.

  The black splotches around her lips caught his attention next. Their shape was irregular, like jagged puzzle pieces. Plus, they looked to be raised above the skin, based on the depth of shadows from the candlelight.

  He brought the tip of his finger toward her mouth, planning to test if the spots were dirt or some other substance, but stopped short when the knot in his stomach tripled in size, screaming at him to keep his hand away.

  The Nomad pulled his hand back and redirected it to her arm instead, letting his fingers wrap around her wrist. Her skin was warm and moist, downright clammy, and the vein on the underside of her arm pulsated like a freight train.

  He brought his hand up and wiped the beads of sweat from her brow, pushing some of them together as they dripped down her temple. His touch was met with a temperature spike across her skin—almost hot.

  “Looks like you’re running a fever, Two. Can you open your eyes for me?”

  She turned her head toward him and cracked her eyes open. They were thin slits at first, until she moaned and opened them wider.

  He could only see a portion of her retinas, but she was there, looking back at him.

  Two had never seen him without his mask, but like Four, she didn’t react to his disfigurement. He wasn’t sure if that was because she was only half-awake or perhaps her eyes weren’t reporting the facts to her brain.

  Either way, most people would have found his lava burns revolting, thinking he was a mutant creature from some low-budget Hollywood horror movie, one that had been experimented on in the lab of Dr. Frankenstein.

  Then again, the Scabs weren’t exactly beauty queens in the traditional sense. Maybe their own horrific looks had made his disfigurement more tolerable.

  The idea had merit, even though he would still choose to keep his hair long and face covered—if not for them, for himself, wanting to avoid catching a glimpse of his own reflection.

  Nomad went to move her arms from her chest, but she held firm and let out a sharp cry, reminding him of a lamb’s scream before the slaughter.

  “Okay, okay,” he said, letting go and jerking his hand back.

  He held his position, running the facts through his head. She was obviously sick and may have eaten something toxic. That would explain the black substance on her face.

  Or she’d come into contact with a contagion and now it had spread to her face. Something bacterial or perha
ps a fungus—either might cause her symptoms.

  Then again, it may have started with an insect bite—as in mosquito. There had been a noticeable increase in the population, thanks to the melting ice from the mountain. The dripping moisture seemed to be everywhere, leeching its way through the rock and ending up as stagnant water.

  He took another few beats to think, turning his attention to the plethora of spiders. There were thousands of them, crawling in every nook and cranny, making the walls seem alive at times.

  There was nothing quiet as unnerving as when the lights went out and you could sense the walls crawling with eight-legged creatures, each one on a mission to score food for the night.

  The sheer quantity and variety meant any number of toxins could be swimming in her bloodstream. The same could be said for the diseases carried by the abundant bat population, their scat dotting the floor.

  The facts were both clear and confusing, yielding no single answer. Plus, it didn’t help that Two was the smallest of the bunch, her weight clocking in at less than eighty pounds, leaving the girl little to fight with.

  Her struggle for air and the pain across her arms could mean she was suffering from some kind of respiratory infection, or even muscular damage. Then again, it may have been neurological or even biological. He just didn’t know.

  What he needed was more medical training, other than the basic techniques he’d learned in spec-ops. He’d have to proceed on instinct, hoping to keep her comfortable until her own body took up the fight against whatever had invaded.

  The first order of business was to get her somewhere dry and warm, far away from this enclave she slept in. His chambers were at the top of that list, though he’d have to make room for a third body in the space.

  Nomad turned his neck and called out in his loudest voice, “Four, I need you in here. Now!”

  CHAPTER 31

  Summer stepped into the lime-green hallway that connected the command center to the missile bay, taking a direct path to her new best friend, Sergeant Barkley. She ran her hands through his golden fur, then gave him a two-armed snuggle.

  “Wish me luck,” she said, letting go and stepping onto the mobile platform that would serve as the podium for today’s speech. She adjusted the microphone in its stand, bringing it down a few degrees toward her mouth.

  Krista was to her left and Liz was on her right, the three women standing together in what they hoped was a show of unity.

  Everywhere Summer looked, she saw eyes and faces. Young ones, old ones, and even a few sleepy ones. Some had tears on their cheeks and others appeared to be red-faced. An odd mix, to be sure.

  Rod Zimmer was in attendance, too, standing in the back with his arms folded, looking like a Confederate soldier standing watch over the townsfolk he’d sworn to protect.

  The young pretty boy, Simmer, was next to Rod, his blonde locks and blue eyes looking more inviting than ever. His focus darted between Summer and Zimmer a few times before settling on Summer.

  She made a mental note to find a job for the gorgeous hunk, one that would allow her to be around him more. A do-over was needed because of the awkward start they’d had during their initial meeting near the hydroponics bay. Perhaps he would see her differently now that she was in charge.

  A few more citizens squeezed into the corridor, pushing and nestling into the mix. Neither Summer nor Krista had taken a count, but it appeared that most everyone had arrived.

  The neon hue from the wall paint gave her a strange sense of calm, not so much because of the striking color, but rather because of its soothing effect. A soothing effect that came in the form of a distraction, taking her mind from the butterflies pounding at the insides of her belly.

  Summer took out the paper containing her speech and put it in the center of the podium. Her hands moved to the middle of the sheet and unfolded it, pressing down on the vertical crease to make it less prominent.

  In truth, it would have been a good idea to have Liz review the speech, but Krista talked her out of it, feeling that what Summer had written was sufficient.

  It was short and sweet, just the way Edison would have wanted it. Plus, there wasn’t time to revise another draft, not with the revelation brought forth by Lipton after he revised Morse’s equations.

  Even though Nirvana’s problems were escalating, this address had to be done and done now, in order to quash some of the rumors swirling about Edison’s death. If she didn’t step up and get this over with, their concerns would fester and force morale even lower.

  Summer turned her eyes to Krista, wanting to see if the security chief needed anything before she started.

  Krista’s lips remained pressed together in a thin line as she gave Summer a head nod, then motioned with her hand to begin.

  Summer took a drink of water from the glass on the podium, then brought her eyes forward, deciding to focus on one of the massive springs lining the middle of the passageway.

  She’d read in one of her how-to books that you are supposed to picture everyone naked when giving a speech. That approach didn’t seem relevant, not with entire families standing before her with their eyes glued on all things Summer.

  Liz cleared her throat, using a sharp, triple-clucking sound. When Summer peered in her direction, Liz flared her eyes and motioned with a shoulder to get started.

  Summer nodded, reading the words from the page. “Citizens of Nirvana, my name is Summer Lane. I am the new chancellor of this facility. Some of you know me and the rest of you don’t, but Professor Edison put me in charge just before he passed away from injuries he suffered in the line of duty. We were at the Trading Post for our regular meeting with Frost when the Scabs attacked in force. It wasn’t long before we were overrun. Everyone fought as hard as they could, but unfortunately some of us didn’t make it.”

  The room erupted in a chorus of mumbles and a few cuss words, many of the faces filling with tears.

  Then a man’s comment about her being ‘a low-life opportunity seeker’ came from the back, tearing a hole in Summer’s heart. She brought her focus up from the paper, feeling the need to address the outburst.

  However, before she could set the first word loose, Krista stepped forward with her hands out wide. “Calm down, people, and let Summer continue. This isn’t easy for anyone, but we need to maintain order and get through this as a community. So let’s be civil and keep the comments to ourselves.”

  Krista paused for a few beats with her jaw jutting out farther than before. “Let me be perfectly clear. There will be order today. One way or the other. Anyone who gets out of line will be escorted to the brig and face disciplinary action. Understood?”

  Summer took a few more breaths as Krista held her position out front. A short minute later, the room found its quiet again and Krista stepped back, cueing Summer to resume.

  “I know your hearts are grieving right now, as is mine. We all loved the Professor dearly, and we will all miss him more than words can express. While this loss will sting for a long time, it’s important that we all pull together and push ahead, just as Stuart and his wonderful wife June would have wanted. We have a lot of work to do, but we will get through this as a team. I make that solemn promise to you.”

  Summer held her arms out, signaling to Krista and Liz. The women stepped closer, taking a shoulder-to-shoulder position next to her on the platform. All three locked hands and raised them in unison, before Summer continued.

  “Let me introduce to you the new Ruling Triad of this facility. Together in harmony, Liz, Krista, and I will lead this facility into the future, with compassion, concern, and a united goal—to keep everyone healthy, happy, and safe.”

  About half of the audience cheered, while the remainder pushed their eyebrows together in a squint of confusion.

  Rod Zimmer turned and stormed out of the corridor, disappearing at the far end in a flash of arms and legs. The gorgeous Simmer wasn’t far behind him, shooting Summer a momentary look before turning and vanishing in a chase afte
r Zimmer.

  Summer took an extra breath, wondering why Simmer had shot that long-distance lingering look at her. “We thought it important to change a few things in order to better protect everyone. This will also help us streamline the decision-making process going forward. I’m sure you all realize that I’m new at this, but with the help of these two fine ladies, the three of us will get the job done.”

  More applause hit the airwaves, bringing a wave of energy to Summer’s chest. She figured some of the spectators hadn’t accepted the announcement yet, but Summer was confident the last bit of her speech would take care of them.

  “Let me be the first to assure everyone that these changes are being done with everyone’s best interest at heart. No longer will one person have overriding authority over every decision, as in the past. We think this new dynamic will allow us to achieve swifter, more agile governing, bringing us into a new era of efficiency and safety. It also allows us to spread out the workload and complete important tasks faster. We hope you’ll agree and will champion this change.”

  More cheers and applause came forth. Summer took a quick visual survey and it appeared all but the one man who’d heckled her had gotten on board.

  She brought her arms down and let go of Liz and Krista’s hands. Her two co-leaders stepped off the podium and returned to their positions along the side of the platform.

  Summer closed her speech paper along the same fold as before, knowing the rest by heart. “In closing, we will be holding services for all those who have been lost. Everyone who’d like to pay their respects can do so at that time. The wall behind you has information regarding how rotations will be handled. Please keep your visitation short, as I’m sure there will be many behind you, waiting to do the same. That’s it for now. Thank you for coming.” She raised both hands in the air with closed fists; so did Krista and Liz, just as they had planned. “Long live Nirvana!”