by Kevin George
The beasts turned in unison to two small children and the young woman huddled over them. Lump spotted the danger and hurried across the hangar, desperately trying to get to them first. Seeing that he’d never reach Sally, Mia and the baby in time, he turned toward the beasts, flapped his wings wildly and screeched over and over, creating a ruckus in the suddenly silent hangar. The three beasts changed course, baring their teeth as they sped toward Lump. Frightened squawks erupted from the Swarm, but Lump held his ground, not attempting to flee as certain death raced toward him.
“Stop!” a voice yelled.
Without hesitation, the beasts slid to a stop, the sharp nails on their paws slipping and sliding across the hangar floor. The beasts came up a few feet short of Lump, who stopped making a scene as the beasts growled at him. The only other noise was the distant fading of Ms. Van Horn and her followers escaping. When Mia’s baby brother began to whimper, the little girl shushed him, but not before the beasts turned their heads in unison. But they closed their mouths and the tension suddenly eased in their strangely human-like eyes.
A woman slid off the back of the largest of the three beasts, landing on the floor with a victorious thud. Pulling off her hood, Julietta elicited several gasps from the frightened crowd around her. She looked at many of their faces, finding them all staring in fear at the beasts.
“Calm,” Julietta said, taking turns patting the beasts’ backs, feeling their muscles relaxing. The largest one lowered to the floor, where it breathed deeply and looked around. The other two followed their leader. “These people are our friends.”
As Julietta turned slowly to look at the Swarmers and guards, a small group of Tunnelers nearest the stairwell—a group including Paige, Mia and the baby—took their chance to follow the Wellers. William rushed up the steps without looking back, but Martha’s brow furrowed as the voice of the beast rider echoed to her ears. She stopped suddenly, the ghost of a distant memory trying to find its way back to her mind. As other Tunnelers rushed up the stairs past her, she squinted to see the woman that had stopped the beasts from massacring anyone else.
The woman’s back remained turned to Martha, but there was still something familiar about her. When William joined his wife a moment later and tugged at her arm, he did not seem as curious as she was.
“Is it me or does that sound like—”
“I don’t care who it sounds like,” William snapped, stepping aside as Paige helped lead the two kids past. “We need to go with the others now before those beasts decide they’re hungry.”
With a frown, Martha took a final look at the beast rider and started up the steps again, just as she saw the smallest figure in the hangar stepping forward.
BabyDoll ignored pleas from the Swarmers and continued hobbling toward not just Julietta but also the three beasts. Lump chirped in warning but the smile BabyDoll gave him somehow set Lump’s mind at ease. It also eased the low growling of the beasts, who did not budge as the tiny Aviary placed a hand on each of the beasts’ heads.
“Thank you, to each of you, for what you just did,” she told Julietta. “For saving us all. . .”—BabyDoll pointed a wing at herself—“. . . and for saving this kid.”
Julietta returned the smile but could not hide the sadness in her eyes. “I was saved by a Sky Person once, but not one like those just here,” she said. Looking around at the three distinct groups, her smile faded. “Who are all of you?”
BabyDoll nodded to the guards. “Some are from here, and some are from there,” she said, gesturing toward the White Nothingness. She finally smiled at the rest of her Swarm. “Some of us came from a place in the air.”
“Many of you just arrived here, too?” Julietta asked. BabyDoll nodded. “For what reason?”
“Despite all the dangers for us and for others, my friends and I risked coming here for our mothers,” BabyDoll said. “We knew of the danger, we knew of the fight. But we accepted that all to come do what’s right.”
The largest beast stood slowly, followed by the others. They sniffed loudly, drawn to the smell of blood from so many dead. Seeing what the beasts were about to do, Julietta called out that they weren’t to eat any of these dead. The beasts took turns grunting before turning toward the open door, slowly waddling past Swarmers rushing out of their path.
“Stay,” Lump called out to the beasts. “Help us save mothers.”
The beasts gave no indication that they heard. Julietta frowned as she watched them reenter the falling snows. She slowly shook her head.
“They won’t be contained inside here, whether they think you’re friendly or not,” she explained. “They already lived that life once. Now, they want to be outside. . . they want to be free.”
“And what about you? Are you going to stay? Will you help us to make this a safe place today?” BabyDoll asked.
Julietta looked from one human face to the other. She recognized none from The Third, none from the Dome, none that she knew from the City Below. As she watched the beasts fading into the white snows, she realized if Isaac had survived the Nothingness long enough to make it here, he wouldn’t have been allowed to live. If I’m going to find him anywhere, it’s going to be out there, somewhere, she told herself, the feeling so certain that she no longer doubted what she would do.
Julietta shook her head, continuing to stare at the falling snow. “What else is out there?”
“Over The Mountain is a building alone, a place that for all of us we have called home,” BabyDoll said. “But it is not far, that you must know, to get there you must first survive all the snow.”
“I’m wondering if there’s anything else,” Julietta said.
“Love tells of city buried in snow,” Lump said. “He tells it is full of danger. Never go there.”
“A city buried in the snow,” Julietta said.
She had never heard of such a place and doubted Isaac had either, but if there was one place he might’ve ended up after leaving the Dome, it was there. She nodded to the survivors in the hangar before turning and rushing outside, racing into the snows to catch up to the beasts.
“Now what do we do?” a Tunneler asked.
Lump pointed his wing toward the stairs. “Find mothers!”
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
The entry pad flashed a red bright enough for everyone to see through the cold vapor. James tried the door handle anyway, ignoring the freezing pain in his fingers as he yanked over and over, barely able to keep his grip on the slick metal, unable to budge it an inch. Olly and Chad bumped one another, both of them trying to huddle closer to Emma as she stood in front of the DNA scanner, nursing the dot of blood on her palm.
“You have to try again,” James snapped at her, his voice quivering in the cold.
Nearby, Isaac and Carli also huddled closely, the freezing room helping them forget the discomfort of being so close to a stranger. After the vicious squawking had stopped coming from the hallway, the group of humans had walked farther into the room. Their collective adrenaline had allowed them to ignore the Nothingness-like temperatures and search the place, where they’d found malfunctioning and damaged pods. At first, none of them had known what the strange pods were for until they spotted frozen human bodies within.
Instinct had told them all to escape the strange room, but the thought of rushing into the arms of two waiting Board Aviaries convinced them to keep searching for whatever hidden entry only the true Descendant could access. When they’d found the next locked door, Emma had been rushed forward to place her hand on the strange scanner, which unexpectedly pricked her palm.
Emma pressed her same palm against the scanner, bracing for the quick stick. When the scanner whirred to life a second time and flashed red moments later, James insisted—this time with much more desperation—that Emma try a third time.
“No,” Olly said, stepping between James and Emma. “There’s no need for Emma to shed more blood.”
“He’s right,” Chad said, hurrying to Emma’s other side. “Either
the scanner is as broken as the rest of the pods, or Emma isn’t the person needed to open this door.”
“But a true Jonas has to be the one given access,” James said. “The original installer of this room would’ve wanted it that way. Unless the true savior would’ve trusted someone else.”
James crossed his arms, unable to ease his shivering. He looked away from the others, deep in thought. Chad and Olly took turns trying to dote on Emma, but she didn’t want attention from either of them. Instead, she slipped and slid back across the room, telling the others they would have to fight their way out of this room at one point.
“We tried to rescue this savior, or whatever, but it didn’t work,” she called back to them. “Now it’s time we help the others save Artie.”
Olly and Chad rushed to catch up to Emma. “I still can’t believe Artie Peters is alive,” Olly said.
When Emma stopped suddenly and glared back at him, the former prince backed off, allowing Chad a direct path to her. But Emma no sooner opened her mouth to chide Olly than James scurried forward, his eyes wide.
“Did you say Peters? As in the Peters’ Construction Company?” he asked.
Emma’s face scrunched in confusion. It was Chad who stepped forward, his arms crossed.
“I assume Artie descends from the family that did so much construction for One Corp.,” Chad said. “From what I read, the Peters family was sent to work on the storage facility—also known as the City Below—once the weather turned. I suppose they never returned to The Mountain.”
“Strange to have someone else know that much about the real history of the world,” James said, his voice lower than before, almost apologetic. “But if the Peters family was so trusted by the original One Corp. founder to help build this place, could it be their DNA to access the room?”
“Not their DNA, Artie’s DNA,” Emma said. “Which means I was right all along. We need to get to him as soon as possible.”
The group scurried across the room, bumping into one another within the shroud of freezing vapor. Emma reached for the door handle, but Isaac immediately pulled her back, quickly explaining their strategy for how to attack any enemies waiting outside. Together, the group lined up by the door with Isaac, Olly and Chad near the front, Emma and Carli right behind them and James slinking toward the back. Isaac threw open the door and rushed out first, ready to attack. Instead, he nearly tripped on the unmoving bodies sprawled across the floor.
The rest of the group emerged into the hallway, slowly walking around the corpses of both Board members, whose throats were slashed and bodies were gashed. Still, neither had suffered nearly as many horrific injuries as Quentin, who was splayed atop the other two, his body no longer bleeding and his eyes no longer seeing, his thin blue lips curled up in the slightest of grins.
Olly hurried to pick up one of the Aviaries’ dropped weapons, shoving the spear into the door jamb to keep the entrance propped open. The group hurried off as the hallway filled with cold cloudiness behind them.
The moment the Tunnelers had entered The Mountain’s hangar bay—and almost every moment since then—Isaac had wanted a fight, and preferably a fight to the death. But rescuing Emma, keeping her alive and trying to help the group discover what was hidden in the locked room kept his mind preoccupied from the fact that he’d lost Julietta forever. As the group raced up the stairwell, Isaac listened for any sign of danger from above or below. He was surprised to feel nervous about the thought of trouble, surprised to feel relieved when he heard nothing; in fact, he was surprised to feel anything at all.
He led the way up the stairwell, Emma on his heels the entire time. She only hesitated once or twice to grimace and clutch at her hip. Whenever Isaac slowed to wait for her, she waved him forward and picked up her pace. She didn’t even respond to Chad or Olly when they tried to check on her. By the time they reached the uppermost level, some in the group were exhausted by the climb, others energized to be so close to Artie’s cell.
Isaac opened the door to a hallway unlike any other he’d seen thus far in The Mountain. This one was dimmer, the rocky walls not so finely carved out or smooth, the hallway not nearly so wide. A chill filled the air, and Isaac felt the slightest of breezes cascading across his face. The space appeared especially tight the moment Isaac stepped in and found it filled with people up ahead. He reached his hand back to stop Emma from following, but she pushed him aside and scurried forward. Isaac prepared himself for a fight that was never to come.
Love stood head and shoulders above more than a dozen bedraggled women draped in little more than rags. Some of the women appeared blank-eyed and still, lost in a state of shock; others huddled closely to Love, reaching up to lovingly touch his face. Isaac was relieved to see no sign of danger, but the sound of wailing from an open door nearby was cause for concern. Isaac approached the door slowly, carefully, but Emma and the others didn’t. Their sudden appearance caused gasps from the group of women, a few of whom plastered themselves against the rocky walls, trying to hide in the shadows. Others rushed off down the hallway, ignoring Love’s pleas to come back.
“These people are with me,” Love called after them. “They mean you no harm.”
But the frightened women didn’t listen, and Love hurried after them. Those that remained backed away from Isaac, Chad and Olly, but it was Emma who they watched the entire time. Emma stared into their eyes, looking from one face to another, sensing a level of torture far beyond what she’d ever endured. Still, the other women must’ve sensed her pain because a few reached out to touch her as she walked by.
James rushed past them all without giving the women a second look. He entered the open cell door first, stopping in his tracks as he saw Billy and Will kneeling on the floor, a teenaged boy and girl huddled with them, the entire family knelt over the shredded body of what had apparently once been a human. The wailing came from the older scientist, who didn’t look up when the group entered. Billy glanced at Emma and pointed toward the corner before turning back to his family.
In the far corner of the room stood another group of women. Most of them appeared stronger than the ones outside, younger, their eyes filled with greater clarity. When Emma and the others stepped closer, the women formed a wall near the darkened corner.
“Leave us alone,” one of the women said. “Leave him alone. He’s already lost so much in his life.”
“Artie?” Emma asked.
A person stepped out of the shadows, easing his way between the women.
“Emma?” Artie asked.
The women reached out to stop him, but Artie promised that these were friends. When his eyes moved beyond Emma and spotted Olly, Artie was no longer so certain. The muscles in his face tightened in anger but gave way to confusion when he spotted another familiar face.
“Chad?”
“I’m glad to see you made it,” Chad said. “I’m sure your story’s as unlikely as mine.”
“I’m sure it is, too,” Isaac said, stepping forward.
Artie’s mouth dropped just slightly, a shocked exhale escaping his lips. But as quickly as his eyes widened in surprise, they narrowed, his lips pursing.
“You let them take me from the bunker,” Artie said.
“A lot of what happened there was regrettable, from both of us, but I didn’t let anyone do anything,” Isaac said. “It’s safe to say if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be here today; if it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t be here either. We helped each other when we could, but we’ve both done what we needed to survive. In the end, it wasn’t me that took you, it was them.”
Isaac nodded toward the scientists still grieving over their fallen family member. Having been imprisoned with the family and having watched the Board’s attack, it was hard for Artie to feel much anger for them anymore, especially now that he stood mere feet from Emma. Everything he’d done to survive had been for her, and the teary-eyed stare she gave him made Artie realize it had all been worth it.
“Julietta?” he asked
Isaac, having heard countless stories about the love of Isaac’s life. When Isaac gave a terse shake of the head, Artie found it difficult to remain upset with him. He looked to the middle-aged man and teenage girl with the group but couldn’t recall ever seeing either one. Nobody bothered to make the introductions.
“Martin LeRoque has taken over The Mountain,” Emma said.
“But there might be someone else more important that only you can access as a member of the Peters family,” the teenage girl said.
Artie looked from face to face, certain that someone else must be as confused as he was. But everyone looked at him with great anticipation, as if he were holding the key to a secret he didn’t quite understand.
“I don’t know what any of that means,” Artie said.
Emma reached out and took his hand. His skin tingled where she touched and for a moment, he wanted to close his eyes and enjoy the moment, one he’d been dreaming about for months and never expected to have again. When she pulled him, he laced his fingers more tightly with hers and allowed himself to be led out of the room.
“We’ll explain everything on the way,” Emma said.
As they hurried past the others, Artie noticed Emma’s eyes meet Olly’s. When Olly frowned at her, Emma’s hand tensed and she pulled away from Artie’s grasp. Her face reddened and she suddenly refused to make eye contact with Artie, who sensed a lingering strangeness between them.
“What is it?” Artie asked.
Emma instinctively turned her head toward him but kept her eyes looking the other way. “That’s something else I’ll need to explain later,” she said. “For now, we need to get you to the restricted room before the Board finds us.”
“I’ll come, too,” Billy said, standing up. His brother and sister did the same. Will removed his white lab coat and draped it over his fallen son, placing a hand on the young man’s chest for a moment before standing as well. “We’ll all come to help.”