Evolution

by R S Penney

  She cut off when someone stepped into view in the tunnel. Not one of the armoured amateur soldiers that Slade employed to do his dirty work. No, this man wore only black pants and a matching t-shirt.

  His hollow-cheeked face was frozen in an expressionless mask, and black hair fell over his shoulders. Not one of Slade's pathetic followers but Slade himself. “Oh, please,” he said, striding toward them. “Don't let me interrupt. Let's see; you were devising some strategy that is bound to get you killed.”

  Baring his teeth in a snarl, Jack shook his head. “Keep talking, asshole,” he said, moving toward the door. “It seems to me every time you come up against two Keepers, you run away, and there are two of us here.”

  Slade lifted his chin to stare down his nose at them. “That eager for another beat-down, are we?” he asked, arching one dark eyebrow. “Yes, Jack, I'm facing two Keepers, but not the right two Keepers.”

  What does that mean?

  Crossing his arms with a heavy sigh, Slade marched through the corridor with his head down. “You pathetic children,” he said. “Do you really believe that you can control the tools of your gods?”

  “I'm an atheist,” Larani said.

  The former head of the Justice Keepers looked up at her with dark eyes that blazed, and for just a second, she was tempted to step back. “Then I must question your ability to evaluate the evidence.” He paused, spreading his arms wide, gesturing to the walls. “Just look around you.”

  “I see nothing to indicate divinity.”

  “No, I suppose you wouldn't.”

  Slade stepped into the room, clasping hands together behind himself and rocking on the balls of his feet. “So, you're the first two I kill,” he said. “It's fitting, really. I've never stopped resenting you, Larani.”

  Throwing her head back, Larani rolled her eyes. “You betrayed everything that you swore to uphold,” she growled, stepping forward. “And somehow it's my fault for taking on the duties you abandoned.”

  “If you want a fight-” Jack began.

  “Yes,” Slade whispered. “I would enjoy that. Be honest with me, Jack. You know you're going to die here.”

  “I'm ready for that-”

  Larani jumped, flipping through the air and then uncurling to drop like a pin. She landed between the two men. “No,” she said, glancing over her shoulder. “This fight is mine and mine alone.”

  Jack stared at her with an open mouth, blinking. “You've gotta be kidding,” he said, taking one step forward. “You heard about what he did to me right?”

  Closing her eyes, Larani let her head hang. She touched two fingers to the bridge of her nose. “Yes, I heard.” The words came out as a breathy whisper. “Slade has convinced you that he is something larger than life.”

  “I believe the term you're looking for is Messiah,” Slade hissed.

  “I believe the term I'm looking for is 'fraud.' ”

  That made Slade's face redden, but he smothered a grimace beneath a mountain of self-control. “You truly believe that,” he said, pacing a circle around her. “You will learn the truth to your sorrow.”

  Larani spun to face him with her fists raised in a fighting stance, hissing like a cat. “Stay back, Agent Hunter,” she cautioned. “This fight is between me and the man who dishonored everything I stand for.”

  Slade spun.

  His foot whirled around in a wide arc, striking Larani across the cheek and filling her vision with stars. Everything went dark, but she was able to sense her enemy coming around to face her.

  The man jumped and kicked out.

  Larani's hands shot up, catching his shoe before it made contact with her nose. With a thought, she applied a surge of Bent Gravity.

  Slade flew backward over the rubbery cavern floor, hurled a good twenty paces before the Bending gave out. He dropped to land on his feet with a hand raised up in front of his face.

  Larani ran at him.

  She jumped and kicked low, driving one boot into the man's stomach, forcing him to double over. The man panted as he stumbled backward. Larani hit the ground and then threw a hard punch.

  Crouching down, Slade reached up to grab her wrist with one hand. He clamped the other one onto Larani's throat. The ferocity of his grip was unmistakable. Yes, he truly did loathe her.

  Bent Gravity sent them both flying upward, and then Larani grunted when the top of her head hit the ceiling. Even the soft, fleshy surface was still enough to send a jolt of pain through her. Larani fell.

  She landed face-down on the floor, groaning on impact. Bleakness take her, she was so dizzy. You have to focus! a small voice whispered in the back of her mind. She could feel her Nassai's trepidation. When she looked up, Slade was standing over her.

  A boot struck her right between the eyes, blacking out her vision. By instinct, she threw herself into a sideways roll, putting a little distance between herself and the man who wanted to kill her. “Larani!” Jack called out.

  “Stay back!” she ordered.

  Larani got up.

  Perhaps ten paces away, Grecken Slade stood in rumpled clothing, illuminated by the glowing walls, his face glistening with sweat. “It's such a shame, isn't it?” he said in mocking tones. “All that effort for nothing.”

  Larani strode toward him.

  Gritting her teeth with a soft hiss, she squinted at him. “Whatever this bloody thing does,” she whispered, shaking her head. “You're not getting your hands on it. So, yes; all your wasted effort is a shame.”

  She ran at him.

  Slade drew back his arm for a punch.

  Falling backward at the last second, Larani braced herself by slapping both hands down on the floor and brought one foot up. The tip of her boot struck the underside of Slade's chin, forcing his head backward.

  She snapped herself upright, then moved in for a hard jab. Her fist connected with Slade's nose, snapping his head back and sending blood flying from his nostrils. That is for every Keeper you've-

  The man came at her in a full-on bullrush. He wrapped both arms around Larani, lifted her clean off the ground and carried her through the chamber. The crushing force around her chest made it hard to breathe.

  Slade threw her with a surge of Bent Gravity.

  Larani went flying backward until her spine collided with the cavern wall. She fell to the ground, hunched over and dazed. Pain flared up in her back, but she had no time to indulge it.

  Slade charged in for the kill.

  Larani jumped, doing the splits in mid-air, allowing him to pass by underneath her. Half a second later, she dropped to the ground to land crouched behind him.

  She slammed her hands down on the fleshy floor, lifted her feet off the ground and kicked him right between the shoulder-blades. That was enough to send him face-first into the wall.

  When she got up and spun around, her opponent was already facing her with blood staining his bared teeth. A cut on Slade's forehead made it clear that she had done some damage, but he wasn't out of the game yet.

  The man spun for a hook-kick.

  Larani bent over backward until she was practically folded in half, watching as a black shoe passed harmlessly over her. With a growl, Slade came out of his spin, whirling around to face her again.

  He threw a punch.

  Larani's hand shot up, clamping onto his wrist, holding him tight. She straightened and used the other hand to punch him square in the face with enough force to break his nose. Rage filled her until she thought she would burst.

  Larani kicked him in the stomach, forcing him back.

  Stepping forward, she delivered a back-hand strike that took him across the cheek with a crunch. The shout he let out as he staggered backward to the glowing wall was the most satisfying thing she'd heard in a long time. “Impossible…”

  “What's the matter, Grecken?” she asked. “Too used to fighting children? Would you prefer an opponent who can't hit back? I'm sure we can find you an adorable puppy to strangle.”

  “Points for qu
ippage,” Jack said.

  Slade clutched a hand to his face, groaning as he stumbled away. He braced the other hand against the wall. “You have no idea what you're dealing with,” he snapped. “If you will not bow before a messiah, then you will cower before a god!”

  He slid one hand into his pants' pocket and pulled out something that looked like a curved knife blade. Only it was made of veiny flesh. The same kind of flesh that coated the walls and ceiling of this cavern.

  Slade dropped to one knee, driving the blade of flesh into the floor. It sank all the way down, and then the walls began to hum. Their glow intensified until Larani was surrounded by brilliant white light.

  She raised a hand to shield herself.

  As the light died down, she saw Grecken Slade leaning against the wall with a cruel grin on his face. “You're too late,” he whispered. “I wanted to present your corpses to the Inzari myself, but this will do.”

  “What was that thing?” Jack demanded.

  “Don't you know?” Slade strode forward with his arms swinging freely, ignoring her as he moved into the middle of the room. He took a deep, satisfied breath and let it out again. “It was an Overseer, Jack.”

  “An Overseer? In your pocket?”

  “Merely a vessel to store its consciousness, and now its consciousness has merged with this entire facility.” Slade giggled like a school child, covering his mouth with two fingers. “You're all going to die!”

  A new opening formed in the walls, leading into a narrow tunnel that hadn't been there before. Slade ran headlong into it, cackling with mad fury. Before she could even think to chase him, the aperture sealed itself shut again.

  Jack came stumbling forward with his pistol in both hands, casting fretful glances in all directions. “I think we're in trouble,” he whispered. “Big, big nasty trouble with a capital 'Fuck you!' ”

  “Remain calm,” Larani said. “Most situations can be resolved with-”

  The original doorway sealed itself shut as well, trapping them in this chamber, and then there was a soft hissing sound like air blowing through a vent. “Multi-tool active!” Larani shouted. “Environmental scan!”

  The readout on her multi-tool's screen confirmed her worst fears. The air pressure was slowly dropping as the walls leeched the atmosphere from this room. This place was trying to suffocate them!

  Chapter 27

  A wave of light chased them through the twisting tunnel, the walls brightening and brightening until it seemed as if they were running through the corona of a star. Jena had to cover her eyes.

  A moment later, it died down.

  Splitting her fingers apart to peek through the cracks, Jena turned her head to look for her friends. “Are you guys all right?” she asked in hushed tones. “Harry, do you have any idea what that was?”

  Her boyfriend was bent over with a hand pressed to his belly, gasping for breath. “Whatever it is,” he wheezed, “I don't think it's anything good. The Nexus is just around the next corner.”

  Melissa stood with her back pressed to the wall, her eyes shut as she tried to catch her breath. “Can you interface with it, Dad?” she squeaked. “Because I'm pretty sure this place just got a lot more-”

  She cut off when a slurping sound drew their attention to skin that rose up from the floor to make a wall that blocked the tunnel. It took only seconds, and now they were at a dead-end, cut off from the Nexus.

  Nausea twisted Jena's stomach in knots. A part of her wanted to ask if Harry had been the one to do that, but she knew better. A sudden burst of light and then the whole place started turning itself against them? She knew what that meant. “Quickly,” she said. “We'll have to double back and then find-”

  Another wall formed behind them, trapping them in a small section of tunnel. Right then she was grateful that she had never been prone to claustrophobia, but that would be of little comfort if-

  “What's that hissing sound?” Melissa asked.

  Biting her lip, Jena turned her face up to the ceiling. She blinked a few times. “The air,” she mumbled. “The walls are sucking up the air! Bleakness take me, those aliens are going to kill us without firing a shot!”

  Melissa shielded her face with both hands, stepping away from the wall with a soft groan. “No, no, no!” she squealed. “Not like this! We can't let it end like this!”

  “Harry! I need options!”

  He was still doubled over and shaking his head in frustration. “I don't know what you want me to do,” he barked. “If the walls are turning against us, it can only mean the Overseers have gained control of the Key.”

  “Think! There has to be something!”

  Harry looked up at her, blinking as if he had never seen a woman before. “No, you don't get it!” he insisted. “If the Overseers have control of this place, then that's it. We're done. Situation over.”

  Jena dropped to her knees before him, grabbing his shirt. She pulled him close until his nose almost touched hers. “I refuse to accept that,” she said in tones that made it clear she would not tolerate dissent on this point. “You have the ability to control the walls. So, use it and get us out of here.”

  “I'd be fighting an Overseer!”

  “Would you rather just die?”

  He was crying, his body shaking with every sob. “You don't get it, Jen,” he began. “We're dealing with beings that terraformed a few dozen planets like it was nothing.”

  “And you are Harry god damn Carlson!” she growled, borrowing a bit of Earth vernacular. “The best cop in the whole damn city, the best dad on the whole damn planet. That's your daughter over there! Are you just gonna let her die?”

  He studied her with tears glistening on his cheeks, and then something changed in his expression. “You're right,” he whispered. “I'm sorry.”

  Harry spun around, clapping his hand against the wall, blending the N'Jal with the organic material that made up this place.

  And then he let out a pure, feral howl.

  Anna was lying flat on her belly with her face pressed to the floor, gasping as she tried to gulp as much air into her lungs as she could manage. That was getting harder and harder as the air grew thinner and thinner. Somewhere, just a few paces away, Ben was trying to cut through the wall with his nano-blade.

  His suit was a self-contained environment that would give him twenty minutes of oxygen before he too started to suffocate. She could hear him muttering, but clearly his efforts were proving fruitless.

  They had been holding their own against Slade's pack of minions when a flash of light blinded them and brought a halt to the fighting. Seconds later, the room had sealed itself shut, trapping them in here.

  In the back of her mind, Seth was trying to be a comfort, assuring her with warm emotions that everything would be all right. She loved him for that, but she could feel the Nassai's trepidation. He tried to hide it, but it was no use.

  Her mind drifted, and she realized that what she wanted more than anything was for Jack to hold her close in these final moments. She loved him. Companion have mercy. How had she not seen it? It didn't matter. She could already feel herself beginning to slip into unconsciousness.

  The Overseer fought him at every turn.

  With the N'Jal, Harry was able to sense the neural networks that stretched through this entire facility. He tried to stimulate the neural pathways that would reconfigure the walls; the Overseer countermanded his orders. He tried to pump air back into their small section of tunnel; the Overseer blocked that too.

  It was impossible; the instant he sent a command, it was already countermanded. He had been afraid that a human using Overseer technology would bring about the alien's wrath, but the creature didn't seem annoyed. It simply responded to his every attempt to take control with appropriate action.

  Dimly, he was aware of his own lungs burning. The air was getting thin; he had to find a solution before he passed out or this was all over. Unfortunately, there was little he could do here.

  If he got to t
he Nexus, he would be able to take control of the whole facility, but from here, all he could do was affect the local area. “Keep going,” Harry told himself. “You have to keep going.”

  He tried to open the walls again.

  Nothing happened.

  It was no use! The Overseer knew this place instinctively. To Harry, the N'Jal was a tool, and through it, the rest of this facility a more elaborate tool. But to the Overseer, this whole place was an extension of its body. There was no way-

  Of course!

  Harry stimulated every pain receptor in the hallway, eliciting a high-pitched shriek from the walls. He didn't let up; he continued to torture the Overseer, flooding its mind with sensory information; the creature was off balance. He could feel it.

  Harry sent a command through the neural networks.

  One of the walls blocking the tunnel collapsed, skin melting back into the floor. Air came rushing through the gap, and suddenly he was gasping, trying to fill his lungs with every last particle of it.

  He pulled away from the wall.

  Melissa was curled up on the floor in the fetal position, hugging her knees and groaning in pain. “Dad,” she whispered. “You did it. You did it.”

  No, he hadn't. Not yet.

  Despite his fatigue, Harry got to his feet and stumbled through the tunnel toward the Nexus. He covered his eyes with one hand, moaning in pain. Can't let that god damn alien gain control again.

  Rounding a corner, he came to a place where the tunnel ended in a circular opening that looked into a wide, open chamber. It looked no different than any of the other ones he had seen on their trek through this place, but he knew through the N'Jal that this was the hub of all the neural networks.

  Harry stumbled through the aperture, bending over with his hands on his knees. “You're not gonna win,” he whispered, taking a few shaky steps forward. “Strap in for a fight, you bastard! The lab rats are taking control of the maze!”

  He thrust a hand out.

  At his command, the tissue that covered the floor began to writhe, a lump rising to form a pillar roughly as tall as his stomach. He touched it with the N'Jal, linking the two, and suddenly, he was aware of this entire facility.