by Harper North
Talen taps her arm. The two walk together, away from the rest of us. Sky emerges from behind another rock pile and stands at the back of our group. My chest tightens at the sight of him. Sky won’t even look at me. Instead, he studies Cho.
I shift my gaze to the four survivors. All four press against the rock, waiting for their fates. The woman, a small blonde, faces me and gulps. The dead man might have given his life for the Savior, and willingly, but these four don’t have the same brainwashed look as he did.
“Now,” Cho says, speaking to the captives, “I suspect the rest of you have no loyalty to a Savior who can’t even stand by what he says. He talks about the danger of Impures, but then he wants to eliminate the most natural humans of all. I don’t blame you for keeping your secrets or staying together. I sympathize with you, despite the image I have in the SNA.”
The woman looks at the three men. Her eyes narrow in doubt, but one man, a guy with thick black hair and tan skin, shrugs.
“We are here to prevent the Savior from tapping the immense power of the mine,” Cho continues. “Do you know how close the drill is to reaching the magma plume?”
No one speaks at first. They obviously don’t believe him. Cho looks at me and Elias. So he was right about needing our help.
I step forward. “We won’t hurt you. How close is the drill to reaching the plume?”
They look at each other for what seems like a long time, then the black-haired man finally speaks. “The drill is about half a kilometer from reaching the top of the plume. Starsen expects us to break through within the week.”
“Thank you.” I face Cho, wishing he hadn’t shot the first Natural. I don’t want to admit to myself that I didn’t anticipate his actions.
Cho clears his throat. “Breaking open the plume will cause an eruption, killing everyone within kilometers.”
“Excuse me?” the blond woman blurts out.
A second man, one with brown hair, says, “The official word from Starsen is that the SNA is drilling to prevent an eruption.”
I suck in a breath. “Starsen’s lying. She gave you this story to keep you working. This area isn’t stable, and the SNA doesn’t care about blowing up the people working here. They will put a power station over this place after it calms down and then they’ll use all the energy for themselves.”
“And they’ll open the rest of the EHC perimeter by shorting out the defense network,” Cho adds. “Give us a complete tour of the area so we can assess the best way to shut down this operation and stabilize the area.”
“Only Starsen has clearance to go to the underground pumping stations,” the brown-haired man says. “I’ve seen them, so I know how it works. She arrives tonight with her private security team.”
“Maybe not now,” Elias mutters.
“How certain are you of an eruption?” the woman asks.
Cho glares at her. “Certain. We’ve found the studies.”
“I told you they’d be willing to sacrifice us,” the third man, a short guy with thin black hair, says with an accent.
“The Savior would sacrifice his own relatives,” the woman says.
Cho backs up, waving the ops away from the rock wall and back into the sun. “We need to ambush Starsen if, in fact, she is still coming. I have to make sure she doesn’t cancel her trip.”
I look to Cho and then Elias. “How would that work? If Starsen’s valuable, the Savior will warn her about us.”
Elias steps forward. “Emma can get into Starsen’s computers. We can send Starsen a message—an all-clear message. If we’re lucky, she’ll believe it’s safe to land.”
* * * * *
We trek back to the barracks. The sun crawls across the sky, a bright ball of heat and pain. The angry red burns on my arms deepen by the hour and hurt whenever I rub my skin. The same goes for my cheeks. Elias, having darker skin, gets by a little easier, but by the amount of sweat dripping off his forehead I’m pretty sure he’s suffering, too. Cho silently marches in the lead, watching the sky.
Behind us, freed EHC prisoners and ops parade blindfolded SNA prisoners. As our main group walks, Sky wedges himself between me and Elias.
“Cho’s a jerk. I heard what he did,” he says.
“We need him,” I reply, looking straight ahead. “If my family got sent to a work camp, I would’ve wanted to shoot everyone loyal to the Savior, too.”
“It’s a power struggle, and you know it.”
“Of course it is. But we can’t let this place blow”
Sky drops back, letting us walk ahead of him. The tent comes into view, resting on top of the hill. Emma stands beside it, waving with relief. Elias’s already radioed her, asking her to hack into the SNA computer system and communications devices.
The tent offers us shade as Elias, Lacy, and Talen step inside with me. Emma closes the flap behind us, blocking the view of the others milling toward the barracks.
“I hacked the password and got into the system, but to access the communications array behind the tent and speak to Sarsen, we need the fingerprint of an SNA military official or other high-ranking position,” Emma says. “Cho, yours might work.”
He steps forward and holds up his index finger like he’s done this a million times. “Give me the laptop. I’ll tell Starsen she’s safe to land tonight.”
“But will she trust you?” I ask.
Cho gives me an expressionless look. “She’ll land tonight for us to take her captive.”
“But the SNA knows there was an attack here. They won’t risk their geologist.”
“I’ll just tell her I’ve escaped and called fresh troops who took care of the problem. I’ve supplied troops to Gonglu before, so she’ll be apt to believe me.”
“I hope you’re right.” Elias shakes his canteen but finds it empty.
Emma hands Cho a laptop.
“I’ve lived my life by sneaking around,” Cho says. “When you always have a chip in you that sees and hears what you do, you either learn to become a good liar, or you die.”
CHAPTER 12
“Time to get up.”
My eyes flitter open, revealing the barrack where I rest on an old cot. The place reminds me of my old Dweller quarters—minimal and uncomfortable.
I lift my head. Sky stands in the doorway, purple twilight leaking in behind him.
“Is Starsen coming?” I ask, avoiding his eyes.
Elias lies on the next cot and groans, rolling to his side.
Sky keeps his voice neutral and lifeless. “I snooped a bit. Cho’s talking to her now. He won’t let any of us into the tent. If she hears us, she’ll know something’s wrong. But she has troops coming with her, just in case.”
“Great,” I say, rolling out of bed. “How much longer?”
“Don’t know,” Sky says, standing there with a blank expression.
Behind him, people are scrambling. Dark forms, mostly freed EHC, dart past the door. They must be preparing for Starsen’s arrival, but none of the SNA prisoners have joined them.
Lacy shoves past Sky and enters the barrack. “Emma’s cured some of the SNA prisoners. Some are still blindfolded in another barrack. Cho had to shoot two. They were too loyal to the Savior.”
“I hope he’s shooting the right people,” I sigh. I know we won’t be able to save them all, that some are too brainwashed to see daylight, but the whole thing makes me feel guilty. It’s not their fault.
“I’ll make sure Starsen doesn’t struggle,” Lacy continues, as if she didn’t hear me. “The EHC prisoners will shoot any SNA ops who come with her. Cho says they’ll send more to replace the ones who got killed.”
“Makes sense,” I say. I reach under the thin cot mattress and grab my stowed pistol. “How much longer?”
“Emma says we have half an hour before the hovers get here.”
“We have trained prisoners to help us.” Elias gets up from his cot and crosses the room, pushing past Sky to get through the door. “The odds may be in our favor.”
Sky sh
akes his head and disappears.
“We’ll see,” I mutter, heart racing.
Cho’s broken voice echoes through the tent flap. I can’t hear what he’s saying, but he raises and lowers his voice like he’s arguing.
“Come on.” Lacy waves me out of the barracks.
We join a flow of EHC prisoners, all holding automatic rifles, as they parade toward the tent that Cho has taken. Two of the Naturals, Rodriguez and Luampa, stand guard on either side of the tent. Both hold rifles. Cho has found them trustworthy.
Emma also stands outside in the deepening gloom, waiting for Cho’s word on Starsen’s arrival. The closer we get, the more silent the atmosphere becomes.
Emma holds her finger up to her mouth to tell us all to stay quiet. I motion back like I’m zipping my lips.
We wait five minutes, and at last, Cho emerges.
“Starsen arrives in twenty minutes,” he announces. “I’ll meet her. Don’t attack until she is off the hover and far enough away that she can’t escape. And do not shoot her. We need her codes to clear our way through the underground tunnel network. She will inspect the machinery after the attack. Fifty SNA ops are coming with her, and I told her we need more ops to replace the ones we’ve lost. I had to look genuine.”
“More ops?” I ask.
Cho faces me. “By the time the replacements get here, it won’t matter.”
“Okay,” Elias says, stepping to the front of us. “Here’s what we do. The prisoners hide in the barracks. We allow the SNA ops to get off and move away from the hovers. Once that happens, we attack.”
“The hovers are armed,” Cho warns him. “Once the attack starts, I’ll pretend to make an escape with Starsen into the underground. While the prisoners engage the ops, a few of you will follow me and carry explosives.”
“Explosives?” I echo.
“Starsen will know the best places to plant them and disrupt the system without making the whole site blow,” Cho explains. “The Savior directs power from the plume to keep the invasion going. We do this, we stop the assault. This will cut power to Ethos and to other EHC sites, but it should stop the Savior from taking more of your territory.” He finishes by facing Emma as she steps up beside him.
“He says Dr. Starsen has a communications relay on her hover,” Emma adds. “I’ll use it to broadcast a message to the SNA citizens to tell them the truth about their Savior. I’ll also tell them we can cure their surveillance chips and where they can download the code to break it.”
“Won’t they be too scared?” I ask. “They’re being watched.”
If millions do this at the same time, it won’t matter. He can’t go after them all. It will break the Savior’s grip on its citizens.”
“I hope.”
Cho clears his throat. “Not everyone in the SNA will revolt, but if we can remove the Savior’s greatest weapon, we take away his power. We can start a new world.”
Emma grins. While I slept, she and Cho made plans to disrupt the SNA from the inside. I grin and look at Elias. He returns it.
Can we stop the SNA forever?
And in one night?
A tingle races up my spine and I almost divert my gaze from Elias to Sky, who’s skulking around in the corner of my vision, but I won’t. We have a battle tonight.
Will we have a world to rebuild?
* * * * *
Me, Elias, Lacy, and Talen wait inside the tent with Cho. I stand beside a silver crate of explosive charges. The corners of the tent are filled with various piles of supplies.
When it’s time, Cho’s going to march out of the tent, meet Dr. Starsen, and escort her back into the tent. He’s wearing a stiff SNA military uniform he found in a crate, and he looks almost the same as he did the day I took him hostage.
Sky doesn’t show. He’s down with the prisoners. I hope he’s telling the parents of the kids they’re safe.
Emma’s waiting in the barracks for her chance. A group of Noble class prisoners will escort her to Starsen’s hover once it’s empty.
Cho eyes the laptop in front of him. “Starsen’s approaching Gonglu now and reducing speed.”
I part the tent flap enough to peek out. Night’s fallen, and an aurora dances overhead, reddish and ominous. Several lights approach from directly ahead of us, brightening by the second. Hovers. I count seven—one for Starsen, and the rest for the new ops. People are replaceable to the Savior.
The hovers approach the flat ground in front of the barracks, landing on top of where the craters must be. Dust kicks up everywhere. There are no bodies for the SNA to take home. It’s an efficient system. Cruel, but efficient.
The first hover’s engine hums. Squinting through the settling dust, I make out the outline of a small, green hover illuminated by the six larger ones behind it. The SNA insignia almost glows in their light as it powers down.
The other hovers remain powered, lights on, as their doors lift and fresh SNA ops pour out. A dozen stand at attention in front of Starsen’s hover while the others fan out to surround the landing area. She has great security.
But they’re not modified.
The green door to Starsen’s hover rises and she steps out. Dressed like Ambassador Morris, in a flowing cape and a green uniform, Dr. Starsen, a middle-aged woman with graying brown hair, steps to the ground.
Someone clamps a hand on my shoulder. “I’m off,” Cho says.
I stand aside and let him go. Down there, the prisoners wait in their barracks. There’s nothing unusual about that. I hope Starsen suspects nothing other than a squashed rebellion.
Cho’s footsteps fade as he goes. I back away, waiting for something, anything.
“I’d be more useful down there,” Lacy says.
“You’d be dead,” I reply. “Cho wasn’t kidding when he said fifty ops would come. We need to surprise them.”
But Sky’s down there, and I won’t think about him.
Except for the fact I already am.
Elias lifts his radio like he wants to say something into it but doesn’t. Instead, we remain silent. Minutes drag past and my pulse thuds in my ear. Cho must be with Starsen by now, and they must have finished their greetings. I keep my pistol raised and stand behind one of the map tables for extra cover. Lacy stands beside Talen while Elias inches toward me. I don’t mind.
At last, footsteps approach. My heart shudders.
“We threw the rebels into the pit,” Cho says. “Do you see any reason to doubt my ability?”
“I will not be satisfied until I see the bodies.” Starsen’s voice is a razor. “We’re watching you, Cho. Even your brother—”
“We’re not discussing my dear brother. My point is, do you see any sign of the rebellion?”
“That doesn’t explain the complete lack of ops here to greet me.”
“I ordered more to Gonglu.”
Cho’s floundering. Getting a limited view through a split in the tent flap, I raise my pistol, determined to end the woman who’s willing to blow up everyone in an eruption; who uses slave labor, just like the EHC.
Outside, guns cock and SNA ops raise their rifles.
“Starsen?” Cho asks, lifting his palms up.
“The Savior has reason to suspect you.”
I dart through the tent opening. The flap hits me in the face as I emerge into the night, raising my pistol at the woman who holds Cho at gunpoint. Elias bursts out on my heels, opening fire on five SNA ops standing behind her. Bangs fill the air. An op jolts, dropping dead, blood exploding from his chest.
“Ambush!” another shouts.
Cho and Starsen jump, distracted. The other four ops turn their guns on us. I look down a long, dark barrel as I listen for a hum. Nothing. But before the op fires, I pull the trigger, tightening my grip on my pistol as it jumps back. Smoke fills the air.
The dim light of the tent falls on the other three ops, now dropping their weapons and foaming at the mouth as Lacy emerges. Gagging sounds follow as the men collapse in the dust, rolling in ag
ony. One guy’s eyes roll up into his head, showing nothing but the whites.
But the bodies don’t hum or threaten to explode. These are higher-end ops, free of the explosive implants. Makes sense—Starsen is too valuable to risk getting accidently blown up.
I rush Starsen, who whirls, trying to figure out who to shoot. Raising my hand, I punch her across the face with a crack, making her drop her pistol. She grunts, stunned, and falls to the ground as I rub my burning knuckles. Her cape falls over her small form as she grasps for her weapon. Talen gets to the pistol first.
Shouts echo from downhill, from the main camp. A storm of gunfire breaks out. The prisoners are attacking the new SNA ops. Distant sparks break the darkness as both sides shoot. The ops closest to the hovers take cover behind them, the vehicles offering the only haze of light in the whole valley.
“Not good!” Elias shouts in my ear. “Grab her before they get one in the air!”
If that happens, the SNA will bomb the prisoners. But we can’t help. We have to deal with Starsen.
I grab her arm, pulling her to her feet. Starsen’s head rolls to the side and her eyes struggle to focus on me. I glare at her. “You’re taking us underground.”
Cho appears beside me. “To the MPS system.”
Starsen finally focuses, her eyes widening at Cho. “You traitor,” she says through clenched teeth.
The general leans forward, putting his face inches from hers. “The MPS system, or we cut off fingers.”
“Then do it.” Starsen glares at him with the same zeal as the loyal Natural he killed. Her eyes shine and she stands tall, getting her composure. A red welt rises on her cheek. “I’ll give my life to stop you from destroying the Savior’s world.”
“Another zealot,” Talen says. He faces her as if trying to use his ability, but nothing happens. The magnetic fields here make Talen almost useless. Another quake rips through the ground, shaking everything.
Lacy steps forward. “No fingers have to come off.”
Starsen screams and gags as Lacy stares her down. I let go of her arm, letting her fall back to the dirt. Gunshots continue down below. One of the hovers hums.