Genesis Rising

by Eliza Green

  An alarmed Bill put his hands up. ‘I’m Director of the ITF, soldier. Put your weapon down.’

  ‘Sorry, no can do.’

  ‘You can, and you will. I employ you. I ordered this barricade.’

  The man gripped his Buzz Gun so tight Bill could see the whites of his knuckles.

  ‘State your business here,’ the officer said.

  ‘I need to leave the city; that’s all the business you need to know, soldier. Now, lower your weapon and allow us through.’

  The soldier stayed put. ‘Special orders. No one in or out.’

  ‘On whose authority?’

  The soldier smirked. ‘Special orders.’

  Bill had no time for games. He stepped forward and pulled back a bag of sand that formed part of the makeshift barricade. The man fired close to his hand; Bill jumped out of the line of fire.

  ‘What the fuck’s this? Stand down, soldier.’

  The man kept his gun raised.

  Bill pointed a shaky finger at him. ‘You, you’re coming with me.’

  The last thing he needed was ITF soldiers in the field who couldn’t keep their shit together.

  ‘Bill? Everything okay?’

  It was Laura.

  ‘It’s fine.’ He turned to the rogue soldier. ‘Isn’t that right?’

  The man smirked as more soldiers Bill didn’t recognise flooded the area beyond the barricade. Some had their faces partially covered, others not. They all carried weapons and they were all pointed at Bill.

  The shooter sneered at him. ‘Unless your name is Buchanan, you’re not getting out. Get it now, soldier?’

  A chill ran through him at hearing that name. Bill backed up, knowing better than to argue. He returned to the vehicle, where an agitated Laura waited inside, and slid into the driver’s seat.

  ‘What the hell was that?’ She checked his hand, his body. ‘Are you okay?’

  Bill took command of the car. The dashboard opened up and the wheel slid out. Bill stuck the car in reverse and floored it. The tyres squealed as they kicked up stones. He stuck it into first and sped away, back to the city. He glanced back at the barricade in his mirror; all eyes were on him.

  Bill looked ahead of him, gripping the wheel too tightly.

  ‘What happened back there?’ asked Laura. ‘Did I hear him right?’

  He gritted his teeth. ‘Apparently, there’s a new law in town.’

  Laura slumped into her chair. She said quietly, ‘Bill, put the car on autopilot.’

  He kept driving, not sure he could. He needed to control something.

  Laura gave a voice command and the steering wheel snapped out of Bill’s grip, then disappeared inside the dashboard.

  The car’s speed dropped back to a less frantic pace.

  ‘Belgrave Square,’ she said.

  The car followed the new command home.

  Bill stared at the dashboard. The last few weeks were finally catching up with him. It had been one drama after another. First, the Elite and their threats to take over District Three. Then the virus unleashed by Tanya into a space she never should have been inside. Added to that had been his wife’s confusion over her identity and her leaving him to live in District Three. Now, a new threat that he should have seen coming.

  The exhaustion kicked him hard and he wanted to give in, to forget about it all.

  Laura touched his arm and snapped him out of it. ‘We have to warn Stephen. What if the Indigenes are the target and Harvey’s preventing us from helping them?’

  Bill blinked and nodded. She was right. He had battled far worse people on Earth. Harvey would not get away with this—whatever this was.

  The vehicle arrived back at their apartment. Bill peered out, seeing a collection of angry residents from nearby houses and apartments gathered outside their building.

  ‘Shit, this is all I need...’

  ‘Leave the diplomacy to me,’ Laura said, opening her door. ‘We need to try Stephen again.’

  The second Bill exited the car, the residents swarmed him.

  ‘What’s happening, Bill? The power, it’s out.’

  He shifted away from the grabbier people. On the other side, Laura had her own assailants to deal with.

  She fanned her hands. ‘We are working on the problem now. Foot patrols have been deployed and will answer whatever questions you might have.’

  ‘But when will the power be back?’ said one resident.

  Another said, ‘I tried to leave the city by train, but the stations are locked down. Even the roads out are blocked.’

  Laura smiled. ‘We ask all of you to stay calm. All leave is temporarily suspended until we can get the power up and running.’

  A new string of questions hit them, but Bill had no answers. He grabbed Laura’s hand and pulled her inside the block, which was no longer secured due to the power outage. Up three flights of stairs and away from the mania outside, they both breathed out a sigh of relief.

  ‘Nothing we can do about them right now,’ Laura said, opening the door with an old-fashioned key. ‘I never thought I’d have to us this little thing.’

  Safely inside the apartment, Laura closed the door. Bill removed his DPad from his bag and fired up the device. ‘I’m going to try Stephen again. We know the private channels work.’

  ‘Good idea.’

  A knock on the door made him jump. Laura walked over to it. ‘It’s probably just one of the neighbours. I’ll get rid of them.’

  Bill concentrated on his screen, but when he heard his wife gasp and saw someone push inside, he shot to his feet and pulled out his Buzz Gun.

  The tall man had a scarf covering his face.

  ‘Who are you? What are you doing in our apartment?’

  The man loosened the scarf; it fell to his shoulders.

  Bill lowered the gun and stared at Dr Jameson.

  The former doctor to the Elite flashed a grim smile. ‘Bill, Laura. Did you know security’s lousy in these buildings?’

  6

  Marcus shivered in the back of Harvey’s vehicle. Spending that much time locked up had really done a number on him. He’d no idea he was claustrophobic until the moment he’d felt fresh air on his skin.

  That asshole Taggart had ordered the guards to keep air at a minimum—to sweat out his confession. Fuck if he was going to give up his secrets. He’d become used to fighting for air on Earth. But not having it on a planet with an abundance of it? A cruel and torturous act.

  He’d make Taggart pay.

  Harvey was sitting in the driver’s seat, checking something on his DPad. The car was on autopilot, the controls still hidden inside the dashboard.

  ‘Hey, thanks for rescuing me back there,’ he said to Buchanan.

  The man didn’t respond.

  The silence bothered Marcus, not least because Harvey had yet to explain why he’d freed him.

  ‘I said I’m glad you came back for me.’

  Harvey turned partially. ‘So you said already. Don’t make me regret it.’

  It wasn’t much of a “you’re welcome” but he’d take it. Settling back in his seat, he hoped Harvey had forgotten about his attempts to align himself with the Elite and Conditioned.

  Harvey turned again. ‘There’s something I’ve wondered about.’

  ‘Yeah?’

  ‘When Tanya and her hosted Elite crew were busy attacking the Indigenes, where were you exactly?’

  The question sounded innocent, but Marcus sensed Harvey was feeling out his loyalty.

  He shivered again. ‘I got as far as the entrance.’

  ‘Then what?’

  ‘I told you already.’ Marcus smiled. ‘Must’ve hit my head. I woke to find one of the Indigenes standing over me. He handed me over to Taggart.’

  Harvey faced the front. ‘That’s what you told me, all right.’

  Buchanan had been to visit him in prison once. They hadn’t spoken much about the events l
eading up to the infection in the district. Harvey had been more interested in telling Marcus he had a plan for the future.

  He’d been vague on the details, though.

  ‘So what’s the plan now?’

  ‘Now, we head to New Tokyo.’

  Marcus leaned forward. ‘Yeah? What’s there?’

  ‘People I know.’

  Marcus sat back with a sigh. It was like dealing with Gaetano Agostini all over again. The more time he spent with Harvey Buchanan the more trouble he was having separating their personalities. Marcus eyed his rescuer. The former geneticist must be pushing eighty now. He had light, sandy hair that had turned silvery-white in several places.

  Something big had happened while Marcus had been locked up. And he sensed something bigger was about to happen.

  He sized up the man. Marcus had youth and strength on his side. It wouldn’t take much to overpower Harvey.

  So why hadn’t he done it yet? Because Buchanan reminded him of someone, and that someone had told him once to play his cards close to his chest.

  A loud bang in the back of the vehicle startled Marcus.

  ‘Fuck!’ He pressed a fist to his chest and hissed, ‘Hey, the turd is awake.’

  Harvey focused on the road. ‘We’ll be there soon.’

  ☼

  The vehicle approached the entrance to New Tokyo. It was a differently designed city to New London and that city’s old-world architecture, green spaces and newer glass structures. High-rise buildings dominated the skyline of New Tokyo. The car approached a blockade similar to the one guarding the exit to New London. The guard peered inside the vehicle, then waved it on.

  Marcus eyed the men and women wearing ITF uniforms who protected the entrance. Were they part of Taggart’s team, or had they stolen uniforms from people they killed?

  The vehicle travelled on a central road before turning right and entering an inner ring road. The narrow street sandwiched between two rows of high rises had barely visible neon signs promoting the latest in VR tech, and food stalls. Lots and lots of food stalls. He cracked the window a little and caught the strong smell of Kung Pao Chicken. His favourite back on Earth. Whenever Enzo and the boys had planned a night of cards, it had been Marcus’ duty to replicate an array of Asian dishes.

  Trade was being done under lights stored with solar energy. Marcus had seen similar ones at the construction site where he’d worked for a time. Except for the neon signs with a scrap of power, there appeared to be a similar issue with the power that he’d seen in New London, when they’d nabbed Ben from his boarding house. This city differed to New London in that it favoured innovation over tradition. If he were being honest, he preferred New London and its lack of tech—Marcus still didn’t feel comfortable around it.

  ‘We’re going to need to enforce a curfew here. I want everyone off the streets.’ Harvey spoke into a walkie talkie and gave the command down the line.

  The car entered a weakly illuminated tunnel. The lights in the cabin dimmed while they passed through. On the other side, the car emerged and headed towards an isolated structure inside city limits that Marcus assumed was another biodome. The one inside the military hospital grounds had been his prison for a short time.

  His hands shook from excitement, or fear—he wasn’t sure. This could be his chance to make a name for himself, to put his command skills to good use. Or Harvey could lock him up again.

  Not if he had anything to say about it.

  Marcus narrowed his eyes at Harvey. He wished he knew what his end game was, and how Marcus fit into it.

  Another loud bang startled him. He beat the panel between the back and the cabin. ‘Shut the fuck up!’

  The noise dissipated.

  ‘We’re here,’ announced Harvey.

  Marcus looked outside. The car had stopped at a tall set of gates leading inside a compound.

  ‘Where’s here, exactly?’

  ‘Your new home. Yours and the boy’s.’

  Heavily armed guards opened the gates and the car travelled down a single dirt road to a corrugated-roofed building not far inside. It stopped and Harvey jumped out. He walked to the entrance of the building with no signage, leaving Marcus in the cabin with an irate prisoner.

  ‘Let me out!’ The boy banged on the partition between the boot and inside cabin.

  Marcus’ blood boiled at the demand. Nobody would push him around again. The Elite had used him and discarded him when they hadn’t needed him anymore. This time he would play his cards close to his chest. If Harvey planned to do the same, Marcus wanted to have the winning hand.

  He got out and opened the boot. Ben Watson’s hands and feet were tied, but he still managed to kick Marcus in the gut.

  Marcus fell on his ass.

  ‘Get the boy in here,’ shouted Harvey.

  He scrambled to his feet and hauled the kid out. He was strong, stronger than Marcus remembered. But then, the residents of Waverley had been living on rations. Not many of them had had the strength to fight the Agostini faction.

  He smacked the kid across the cheek with his gun. The boy yelped and shrank back from him.

  Marcus quickly untied his feet, keeping his Buzz Gun on him. No way was he carrying the little dipshit.

  ‘Move, before my itchy finger does something you won’t like. You remember how cramped my finger can get, don’t-cha?’

  With a huff, Ben shuffled on to the building where Harvey was waiting by the open door. Marcus pushed Ben inside and sniffed the air. He couldn’t detect any lingering odour of manure. This was not a biodome.

  ‘One of the old docking stations,’ said Harvey, as if he’d read his mind. ‘Too small to start up again.’

  The geneticist walked down a corridor past several doors, and crashed through a set of double doors into the next room.

  Marcus paused at the entrance to the new room. He peered inside and saw a team of men and women waiting. They carried Buzz Guns. There were also several trestle tables laden with guns of all kinds, walkie talkies and DPads.

  The room was large, but not as big as the docking station in New London. The floor was a cool grey colour, the walls a similar shade. Windows covered the upper third of the walls. A balcony, accessible by a set of stairs on either side, ran part way around the room. At the back was a separate room with a window.

  Harvey pointed to the room. ‘Put the boy in there.’

  Marcus shoved the boy on while Harvey spoke to a man with a thick neck who looked a lot like Carl, his dipshit friend who’d ratted him out on Earth to save his own ass.

  The men conversed like they trusted each other. Harvey smiled and shook his hand. Then he clapped him on the back and the Carl lookalike headed out. Seeing Harvey show respect to someone who looked like his old foe irritated the hell out of Marcus.

  He pushed the teen past the heavily armed onlookers and into the room. Inside was a single metal chair and nothing else. Marcus untied the teen’s arms and retied his legs and arms to the chair. He returned to the main room just as a sudden gust of wind picked up inside the old hangar.

  He startled at the sight of eight—no, ten—new additions. The tall Indigenes towered over the others already gathered in the middle of the hangar.

  Harvey proffered his hand to one. The Indigene shook it confidently.

  ‘Glad you could make it,’ said Harvey. ‘Welcome to the hub of my operation.’

  7

  What Serena said about things not being right up on the surface bothered Stephen. Worse, Anton hadn’t countered her opinion.

  He excused himself and returned to his and Serena’s quarters alone, to retrieve the DPad that Bill had given him. It was lying in one corner of the dark room, untouched since before the virus had ravaged his district.

  He picked up the idle device and shook it to wake it up, but nothing happened. Stephen sighed and stared at the DPad. It had been too long since he’d used it. It was probably out of charge.

&nb
sp; The door opened, and Serena walked in. Stephen jumped in surprise, but quickly shook it off. It bothered him that he hadn’t heard her approach. Or known she’d followed him back.

  ‘Anything?’ she asked.

  ‘Did you follow me?’

  ‘Sorry, I should have warned you.’ She flicked her gaze to the object in his hand. ‘Any message from Bill?’

  ‘It’s out of power.’ He faced her, needing answers more than ever. ‘What are you sensing up there, exactly?’

  She frowned at the floor a moment. ‘Erratic thoughts mostly. But that could mean anything. I’m sorry for worrying you. It’s probably nothing.’ She gestured to the device. ‘Just because that’s out of power doesn’t mean anything. Bill knows to come here if there’s trouble.’

  That’s exactly what his friend would have done. The thought relaxed his tense shoulders. He had enough to worry about with securing this place. If only the residents of District Three were physically stronger to deal with any threats.

  He eyed Serena. ‘What about the Nexus? Have you tried using it again?’

  She shook her head. ‘I don’t want it to become too familiar and safe with just my subconscious. If I visit too often, it might reject other energies when we open it up for general use.’

  ‘You’re all we have right now. How’s it reacting to you?’

  ‘Good. Normal. It’s taking a little more energy from me to heal than usual, but at least it’s not being aggressive about it.’

  His plan had been to draw up a schedule today. But maybe it was too early.

  ‘Should we delay opening up the Nexus to general use?’

  Serena leaned against the wall with a sigh. ‘I don’t know, Stephen. The Nexus might restore faster if we keep things closer to normal-level use, but at a slightly reduced scale. Then again, it could overreact the second we send too many in.’

  ‘What if we send in two at a time for a few minutes, gauge the Nexus’ reaction to them?’ He’d hoped to accelerate plans to use the Nexus again. What if using the Nexus restored all missing abilities, including his own? ‘The faster we get back to normal, the better things will be.’