by Harper North
“Talen X-94,” calls out an unseen female voice.
My eyes search the hall as the sound of clicking boots draws nearer. I raise my weapon in the direction of the sound. A moment later, the owner comes into view: a female Aura op, the one who died at the Telhix settlement, her hand extended.
I gasp. How? She was buried beneath the rubble, crushed by an entire building. Three armed EHC ops march beside her, guns in hand. I want to turn and run, rush back to Drape and the hillside, but there’s no escape now.
The female Aura op continues to move forward, scanning our group. We might stand a chance if it were only the ops, but there’s no chance with her leading the group. Unaffected by our raised guns, she marches straight to Talen.
“Thank you for bringing them to us,” she says in the same robotic tone Talen once used.
My heart sinks at her words as Elias flicks his gaze back to me. Jase continues writhing on the ground, convulsing wildly. White froth bubbles from the corner of his mouth as his body contorts.
“Please!” I cry out. “Don’t let our friend die!”
The female operative ignores me, examining the device attached to Talen. Her eyes go to Emma’s hand on the switch, a sly grin crossing her face. “You are foolish if you think you’d be able to control an Aura.”
“He is controlled,” she whispers, still staring at her device.
“Your ability to work with tech is impressive,” the female operative commends, “but not as good as mine.” She rips the wires right out of Talen’s skin. He doesn’t even wince.
My mind races. I glance back down the tunnel, but I’d never outrun her, and I can’t leave behind my friends. Instead, I turn to face the EHC operatives, inching ever closer.
“And so ends your resistance,” the female says to Elias.
He slowly stands, leaving Jase jerking and twisting uncontrollably on the ground. Holding up his gun, Elias prepares to shoot the first operative. Davis stands firm beside him, his hands shaking as he tries to steady his aim.
The female Aura walks toward us, raising her hand. I brace myself for possible death as Talen slowly turns around to join them. As he does, he swipes a blade from one of the ops’ belts and, in one seamless move, lunges toward the female Aura operative, slicing open her neck. Blood seeps from her throat as she reaches up, gasping. Her eyes go wide, and her guttural choking strikes fear into each of us.
Before the EHC operatives can react, all three of them collapse face first to the ground. Talen stands behind them, brows furrowed. He lowers his hand, looking back at us.
“We don’t have much time. More are coming.”
CHAPTER 24
Elias spins back to Jase and kneels at his side.
“Thank you,” I tell Talen as he bends down to pick up an operative’s blaster. I don’t stop him. “We should go,” I say, nearly breathless.
When no one responds, I turn to see Emma staring at Jase. A feeling of dread washes over me as Elias leans back on his heels.
“He’s not…” I say, darting to Jase’s side. “There’s no way he can be—”
“He’s dead,” Elias whispers.
I kneel beside Jase’s lifeless body. His eyes are open and fixed. Looking at him makes my insides feel weak and scattered. To die in such a way must have been horrible.
“How can he be dead?” Davis asks, slowly easing forward.
Talen’s eyes stare down at us. “That’s what we do,” he says. “We never waste our ability on stunning if we have the chance to kill. I’m sorry.”
I want to comfort Elias. He needs more time to grieve, but we don’t have it. He should be able to stay for a few minutes at least, but that would mean possibly losing everything, and we’ve come so far.
“We have to go, Elias,” I whisper. “There isn’t time—”
“I know,” Elias interrupts, wiping a hand over his face. He turns to Davis. “You need to take Jase’s body back to the access point.”
Davis’ eyes go to Jase. “Of course.”
“Secure the exit,” Elias orders. “Tell the team we’ve made it through.”
“I will,” Davis promises.
Elias watches him. “And tell Knuckles and the others to be ready to head back to the transporter. We won’t be long. There will be payback for all the people we’ve lost.”
Davis nods and crouches down, reaching beneath Jase’s arms to drag him back to the access point.
“We must go,” Talen says.
Elias marches forward, a determined look on his face. He waves us to follow, and we move through the tunnel faster than before. The air is still cool and clean, but my head throbs from a lack of both sleep and food.
“Up ahead,” Talen announces.
I strain to see what Talen sees, but at the end of the tunnel is only a small door.
“Got it,” Elias says. “Fin, the uplink command center.”
This time, without waiting to scope out the room, Talen rushes to the entrance and kicks open the door. The two ops revealed on the other side stare wide-eyed at us. Before they can reach for their guns, Elias holds out his weapon, shoots, and sends them crumbling to the ground.
We move forward, stepping over their bodies, but as soon as we do gunfire erupts all around us. Bullets and plasma charges ricochet off the hard tunnel walls. Emma pulls back.
My eyes lock on a third operative, standing on a second level staircase. I raise my gun, and before he can fire at me, I blast him through the chest. His body rocks backward, then forward, sending him tumbling over a railing and to the ground. The hail of gunfire continues to echo through the cavernous room, sending me flinching as every shot seems to get closer and closer.
“There!” Elias shouts, pointing to a man standing on the second level railing.
Talen does not hesitate. The man is locked in mid-stride, then falls to the ground, shaking violently.
“Go now!” Elias orders Emma.
She inches away from the wall and makes her way to the hanging staircase. Elias shoots at two men coming in through a second door on the opposite side of the ovular room. Their bodies jerk from the pummeling and collapse to the ground.
“You go,” Talen tells me and Elias. “I’ll monitor the door for more activity.”
“We only have a few minutes,” Elias shouts so we can all hear him. “The room will be swarmed with ops soon.”
I dart after Emma. Ahead of me, she swings herself over the top rung. I scale the ladder and grab hold of the topmost rung, pulling myself up. Elias is right behind me. Emma already has three screens raised. I’m hoping one of them connects to the surface people’s broadcasting channel.
“Do you have it?” Elias asks.
“Almost,” Emma says between heavy breaths. She flicks through the screens, eyes darting back and forth as she processes the information. “It’s this one—”
Suddenly, more gunfire booms from below. I gasp as two more operatives fall to the ground and begin to shake uncontrollably. Talen lifts his gaze to us and I nod my thanks.
“Done!” Emma says. “I patched you into the main speaker system off all forty of the underground dwelling facilities, too. Quick, where’s the research?”
Elias reaches inside his jacket pocket and fumbles for something, stepping up beside Emma. “This is it,” he says, pulling out the holodrive with the research I stole from the EHC med bay at the operations base. It will prove everything.
“They’ll finally know,” I say.
Elias finds the uplink, inserts the drive into the system, then steps back. After a few seconds, the words Upload Complete flash over the screen.
“Are you ready?” Emma asks.
Elis nods. Emma taps a few buttons, and Elias steps closer to the system, inhaling deeply before he begins to speak.
“I’m broadcasting this message for all the people of the world to hear. Surface civilians, as well as to my brothers and sisters in the underground settlements below.”
He pauses for a second, gathering
his thoughts.
“Since the Flip, humanity has been segregated. There’s the privileged who were lucky enough to be born into the right family, and those unworthy of modification who were dealt their hand by the EHC. You’ve been lied to. Humanity is adapting naturally, and I have the scientific evidence that proves this. Soon we can all live on the surface as one unified civilization again.”
Elias leans closer to the screen, speaking as quickly and clearly as he can.
“The EHC has been keeping this data from you in order to keep their ruthless grip on society. We’ve uploaded classified EHC data and are broadcasting it to everyone, both on the surface and underground. This is your chance to force change. We are one!”
Elias taps the screen, ending the transmission. He plants his hands on the console, head dropping as if the weight of all humanity has lifted from his shoulders. In a sense, it has.
“They have to believe us now,” I say. “This is the start of everything.”
A slow smile spreads across Elias’ face. He turns and hugs me. I cry out in joy and laugh, hugging him back.
Tears well in Emma’s eyes. “I didn’t think we’d ever get this far, but you’ve done it. Fin is right. This will make a difference.”
Elias points to the screen in front of us. “It already has.”
Bright blues and silvers bounces around, slowly connecting to each other as a map of the EHC settlements illuminate.
“They know,” I say in awe.
“There,” Elias says, pointing to the third screen. Security alerts flash across the display. “It’s already happening. The message must’ve reached the people!”
“So fast?” I ask.
Elias turns to face me. “The Dwellers were waiting for a reason to revolt. Hopefully the ones on the surface will join them.”
“And we gave it to them,” Emma says.
The screens continue to light up as reports of chaos breaking out underground fill the digital map. At this point, I don’t even know what waits for us outside. It could be death, but at least we tried to make a difference.
“We should go,” Elias says after a few long moments.
I nod and race to the ladder, Emma and Elias following behind me. At the bottom, Talen greets us.
“Is it done?”
“Done,” I say. “You’ve held up your end of the bargain.”
Elias drops down from the ladder. “Which means you’re a free man.”
Talen sighs. “There could still be EHC outside. We still need to get out of here.”
He pilots us out through the small door and back into the tunnel, but we don’t come across any EHC. I want to believe they’ve fallen back to deal with the aftereffects of what we’ve done, but I keep my gun raised just in case.
As we cross back to the access point, I spot Davis up ahead, seated against a wall. I almost yell out to him, but then notice the three operatives who Talen took out are gone.
Emma rushes to her guard. “Davis?”
My body stiffens. Davis isn’t just sitting here waiting for us… he isn’t moving. He’s dead, and beside him is Jase’s body. I scan around us for the enemy, but no one appears.
Elias reaches down. “Maybe he’s—”
“Don’t bother,” Talen says. “He’s gone.”
I take a step back and look over my shoulder. “We have to get out of here.”
I grip my gun. Elias and Emma do the same as Talen forces the heavy outer door open, a warm breeze flowing across my face. Talen, Elias, and Emma fan out. Bodies are everywhere. The transporter is burning, dark smoke billowing from every window.
My hand flies to my head.
I struggle to see through the smoke and the outline of a mob takes shape. My heart drops into my stomach as a familiar figure steps out from the group,
No… it can’t be.
Lacy stands in front of a dozen EHC ops, wearing an Aura uniform. She grips a thin, lifeless body. With a flick of her wrist, she releases it, letting it crumple to the ground.
“Drape!” I scream,
Lacy folds her arms and a scowl consumes her face. The sinister glare remains fixed on her as she slowly walks toward us.
“Lacy,” I call, tears streaming down my cheeks.
“Hello, Finley A298. Your little resistance is over. It’s time to clean up your mess.”
The End of Book Two
BOOK THREE: ASCENDED
CHAPTER 1
THERE’S NO WAY THIS IS HAPPENING.
Dust swirls around our feet. The sun blazes hot over our heads and sweat trickles down my face as I stare into Lacy’s cold, empty eyes.
“Lacy!” I scream, everything in me wanting to run to Drape. But her face remains lifeless. It’s like every part of who she once was has been stolen and replaced by EHC commands. Not once does she glance down to Drape’s body, lying limp at her feet. She’s not the best friend I’ve known since we were kids.
She’s a monster.
My heart beats rapid fire, and I run a hand through my hair as I try to figure out a way to get through to her. “You don’t have to do this.”
Her stare bores into me. “You don’t get to tell me what to do.”
Elias places his hand on my arm. His face is strained. He knows it’s useless to try and bring back some ounce of her humanity, but I have to try.
“Maybe not.” I gulp down my fear. “But Drape is your friend—he’s our friend. Not the enemy.”
I try to take a step forward, but a dozen guns raise in my direction. Elias grabs my arm and pulls me back. Emma glares, determination brimming over her face. Talen pulls back his shoulders like he’s ready to die rather than be taken by them again. The EHC soldiers aren’t going to make this easy. Just beyond them, a hovercraft waits on the ground. Another floats in the air, heat venting from its rotor blades. There has to be a way out of this.
Lacy smirks. “Don’t even think about it.”
“Just let us check on him,” Emma says in her best reassuring voice.
“I don’t think so,” Lacy growls.
My veins tingle with the adrenaline streaming through them. Bouncing my attention from Drape to Lacy, I wipe the sweat from my forehead, quickly analyzing the position of the EHC operatives. They’re scattered in V-formation in front of us. If the others from our group were still alive, maybe we could take them on, but without them, there’s no way we can get out safely. Every escape route is blocked and we’re heavily outnumbered. All the scenarios I run through in my mind show immediate death. For all of us.
Lacy tosses Drape onto his back like he’s an empty sack. Her strong muscles bulge beneath the dark, fitted, Aura operative suit, every stitch designed to enhance her movement.
“If you care so much for your friend, I suggest you listen closely. Drape’s alive for now, but soon…”
Relief fills me. That’s something. I open my mouth to speak. To remind her who she is again. Who we are.
Lacy cuts me off. “You have one choice if you want to help your friend. That’s the best deal you’re going to get, trust me.”
The weight of the situation bears down on me. So many people have died—Jase, Davis, Knuckles—it’s almost too much.
“No,” I say, refusing to accept that. “Talen was brought back, and you can be, too. It’s not too late.”
Her steely eyes remain fixed on me. It’s like she wants me to make a move, just so she can tear me apart.
Okay. New tactic, because the old one’s not working.
“What’s going to happen to us?” I demand.
Lacy shifts her gaze to Talen. “Talen will be reconditioned and once again serve the EHC.”
Talen winces. Despite his warrior’s stance, broad shoulders, and that he towers a good foot over me, there’s something vulnerable in him. He was so close to being free. He takes a moment to scan our surroundings as if he’s also trying to figure a way out. He shakes his head, shoulders dropping as a blankness washes over his face.
“Lacy, he doesn’t
want to go back,” I say. “None of us are going back.”
A smooth, deep voice sounds from behind the twelve operatives. “That’s not really up to you anymore, is it?”
There’s something calming in the voice, but beside me, Elias digs his fingers into my arm. “Stop speaking,” he hisses into my ear.
My eyes flick to the lanky man stepping out from behind the soldiers. Several red stripes run across the shoulder of his armored EHC uniform. The man, who must be in his late fifties, strides toward us without hesitation.
I lean into Elias. “Who’s that?”
“He’s an EHC commander,” he mutters. “Now shut up.”
“Yes, I am a commander,” the man says, obviously having heard my question. “I’m Commander Reinhart. You’ve caused quite a disturbance,” he continues as he scans over us, furrowing his brow. He turns to Lacy. “Thank you for your service.”
Lacy nods and steps back, the perfect Aura operative, obedient to every order.
My gaze shifts to Drape and my throat tightens. His body is limp but for the shallow lifting and falling of his chest.
“I don’t suggest you do anything foolish,” Reinhart says, as if he knows what I might do next even before I know.
“He won’t be alive much longer. He needs help,” Emma insists, her eyes fixed on Reinhart.
A slow smile spreads across his face. “That could be arranged if you agree to come with us without causing any further problems.”
I shake my head and swallow back my anger. “Everyone here knows that’s not going to happen.”
As the sun beats down on us, Reinhart looks me over, head to toe. The heartless look nearly sucks the air from my lungs.
Reinhart folds his hands behind his back and walks closer to Elias, ignoring my words. “Your uprising has created some problems for us.”
“I hope so,” Elias replies, raising his chin.
Reinhart presses his lips into a thin line. “You won’t be saying that shortly.”
“Why wouldn’t I?”