“Good. They should get to know their new home.”
Violet’s eyes widen. “You can’t leave us here.”
“Watch me.”
“We don’t have the necessary resources. If you leave us here, you’ll be condemning us to death!”
I take a moment to think about this, then rocket into the sky. I stop far above the planet’s surface and survey the landscape. Satisfied, I plummet back, slowing down just before I hit the ground, and step down for a soft landing.
“There’s a lake four miles east. It’s fresh water and surrounded by vegetation as well as arable land. You chose this planet for a reason. The composition of the atmosphere, flora, and fauna is extremely similar to Earth and Volaris. You never needed Earth’s resources to colonize this planet, did you?”
“You have no idea what we do or do not need!”
“You only wanted them so you could use them to remain in power, and continue controlling everyone else. I imagine the people you’ve brought here won’t be happy when they discover the truth.”
A crowd gathers around the bottom of the ramps protruding from the ship. The Volarians are conferring with each other. They were asleep this entire time and are probably very confused.
All they know is that this wasn’t the plan they were sold. Something went drastically wrong. After some deliberation, the group approaches Violet. They’re shouting questions, but I only hear snippets, like, “Where are we?” and “What happened?” and “I demand answers immediately.” Violet has never had to deal with opposition, and the anger is plain on her face.
They can figure out what to do with her from here. It’s time for me to go home. I concentrate on the image of Earth and its placement in the galaxy. I recall the holographic map from the transmission room and work my way backward from this planet to find where Earth is in the sky. The new metabands help by enhancing my vision further than it’s ever gone before, until I can see a tiny blue marble hanging far away in the sky.
I know the way home. Once I’ve made it and recharged, I’ll return to Volaris and bring Mom home once and for all.
“Get away from me!” Violet shrieks.
I would have ignored the cry if it weren’t for the thunderclap that immediately followed. I gasp as I turn my attention back to Violet.
She’s activated a pair of metabands.
Her eyes are completely white, and her body is surrounded by an aura of red-hot energy. Her auburn hair ignites like a torch. I don’t have time to react as she barrels into me, lifting my body into the air.
“You think your mother was the only one who held on to her metabands? You’re just as stupid as her.”
I struggle to release myself from her vise-like grip. Her metabands have been dormant for a long time, and the energy they contain is immense. Not to mention the rage that’s fueling her. I pull her fingers off my arm, and I push off her shoulder with my foot.
I slam my feet back onto the ground and look up to spot Earth again, but my orientation has changed and I can’t find it. I catch a glimpse of flames and move out of the way just in time.
Violet slams face-first into the planet’s hard surface, but she doesn’t stay down long. She climbs back to her feet and contemplates her next move.
“Don’t do it, Violet. I’m still stronger than you. I can feel it. It’s over. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if that means protecting these people. Take off the metabands and give them to me.”
I don’t risk taking my eyes off her. She smirks, takes a small device from her pocket, and presses on its screen.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“Do you know what the great thing about magtonium is? It’s so elegantly simple. I’m not talking about your ridiculous suit either, I’m talking about its basic core programming. The programming is so deeply ingrained in the nanobots that you were able to turn them on the transmitter and destroy it without knowing what you were doing. Do you know why that is? Because, at their most basic level, they are programmed to do one thing and one thing only: find fuel. And if there are multiple sources of fuel? They’ll go for the biggest one first. Always.”
A strange noise comes from the ship. It sounds like an animal scratching. Then there’s another noise, a high-pitched whine.
Trillions of magtonium nanobots pour out of the ship, a writhing sea of glassy black liquid heading straight for me.
“You’ll kill us both!” I shout.
“No, I won’t. They’ll be busy making a meal out of you for a good long while. I’ll have plenty of time to power down as I watch your destruction.”
I glance back at the ship, and there are somehow even more nanobots. They’re rising like a wave, preparing to crash down on me and devour my quantum energy microscopic bit by microscopic bit.
“I tried to help you,” I say.
“I know, and that was a mistake.”
“So was telling me that they’ll go after the most powerful metabands they find.”
“And why is that?”
“Because yours are the only ones left.”
Her head tilts up as the long shadow of the nanobot wave looms over us. I take one last clean look at Earth, summon all the energy I have left, and will my metabands to teleport me there.
But between giving the command and teleporting, there’s a delay. It’s a small delay, one imperceptible to a normal human mind. It’d be difficult for someone with powers to even notice it.
But I notice it.
And during that delay, a solitary nanobot leaps onto my metaband and digs in.
Fifty-One
This teleportation is rougher than the last one. I feel the strain on my body, like every atom is being pulled in a different direction. I keep my body from disintegrating through sheer will.
It’s not instantaneous, either. In fact, I can’t tell how much time has passed. I’m disconnected from reality, existing in a void where my senses are all mixed up. There are bright lights and colors, but I can’t see my body.
Pain is the only constant sensation as reality shifts all around me. Maybe it wasn’t the nanobot. Maybe this is happening because I didn’t have enough energy to make the jump. Maybe I should have run and hidden until my metabands recharged. Maybe I would have had a better chance of making it back home in one piece.
No, that’s stupid. Who knows if my metabands would have even charged on that planet? They could have depleted over time, stranding me there with the rest of them. Without my powers, I can’t imagine I would have lasted long. There was nowhere to hide. Just flatness for miles and miles. Violet would have sent out teams to hunt me down. She would’ve used every tool at her disposal to find me.
No, the only choice I had was to teleport then and there. I just wish I knew what was happening.
Suddenly, I’m jolted back in my body. My real body, not the metaband-enhanced version, even though the metabands are still around my wrists.
The sky appears, blue and clear.
Is this Earth’s sky? Am I back?
I stare up, grateful to see it again, right before my back slams into the ground. The impact is hard. Not hard enough to cause life-threatening injuries, but enough to make my week worse.
I flip over and lift myself onto all fours, taking in a deep breath. My vision is blurry, either from the teleportation or the impact. Probably both. I struggle to make out my surroundings. There are strange sounds, but they’re all muddled like I’m underwater.
An open hand reaches down, an offer to help me onto my feet.
“That looked like some fall,” the person says.
I grunt in agreement and take his hand. He pulls me up a little too hard and my back cries out in pain. The pain subsides once I’m on my feet, but I’m still having trouble catching my breath.
The stranger claps me hard on the back, which is incredibly unhelpful.
“You’ll be fine. Where the heck did you fall from?”
He wouldn’t believe me if I told him.
“Not sur
e. My head’s a little woozy. I guess I must have slipped.”
My vision is clearer, and the man who helped me up comes into focus. He’s wearing a strange suit that almost looks Volarian. It sends a wave of panic throughout my body. But when I look up, I see a familiar sight: Earth’s moon. It’s barely visible in the early morning sky.
I’m home.
But there’s something familiar about the man, like I know him from somewhere.
“I think we should take you to a Health Kiosk, just to make sure you’re all right.”
“Health Kiosk?”
“We’ve got one right in the lobby. I’m sure you’ll be feeling as good as new in no time.”
He gestures for me to follow him, but I stop dead in my tracks.
Something isn’t right.
This building doesn’t look like anything I’ve ever seen on Volaris or Earth. It stretches high into the sky, yet parts of it aren’t even connected to each other. The exterior is transparent, but it’s not made of glass, because there are no reflections.
“We should move out of the street,” the man says, commenting on my frozen state.
I follow him to the side of the road, just as a hovering vehicle blasts past me. Through the rear window, I see that the vehicle is completely empty. It’s navigating the road on its own.
My head hurts.
“Wait a minute, what is this place?” I ask.
The man smiles at me. “It’s a research facility.”
“What kind of research?”
“Oh, we do all kinds of research here.”
“Flying cars?”
He gives me a strange look. “We should really get you into the Health Kiosk. I suspect you may have a concussion, but we can get that reversed for you in a jiffy.”
“You’re going to reverse my concussion in a jiffy?”
The man laughs. “Sorry about that. In a jiffy just means it’ll be quick, although no one’s used that phrase in about five hundred years.”
I stagger backward and stammer, “Five hundred years?”
“Give or take. Come on, though. I’ll happily discuss the ins and outs of twentieth- and twenty-first-century slang once we’ve gotten you checked out. It’s one of my fascinations, so I do have to warn you, once I get talking, it’s hard to shut me up.”
“Where am I? What is this? Who are you?”
“I’m not quite sure how to answer those first two questions, but I can help you out with the last one. My name is John, John Jones. Now let’s get you inside.”
Thank You
Thank you so much for taking the time read my book. If you enjoyed it and would like to leave a review I’d really appreciate it. Reviews help out indie authors like me immensely and make sure I’m able to keep putting out more books.
To stay in the loop on all things Meta, be sure to sign up for my mailing list at tomreynolds.com/list. Not only will you receive a FREE digital copy of the prequel novella Midnight Strikes, but you’ll also be the first to hear about new releases, sales and other fun stuff.
Also by Tom Reynolds
Midnight Strikes (A Meta Prequel Novella)
Meta (Meta: Book 1)
The Second Wave (Meta: Book 2)
Rise of The Circle (Meta: Book 3)
Omni’s Fall (Meta: Book 4)
About the Author
Tom Reynolds lives in Brooklyn, NY with a dog named Ginger who despite being illiterate proved to be a really great late night writing partner.
tomreynolds.com
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Thank You
Also by Tom Reynolds
About the Author
Meta (Book 5): New Empire Page 22
