by Eric Warren
“Yeah, I did a number on him alright,” Arista said. “It’s okay, you can say it. It seems none of us are immune. I can be just as horrible as the rest of the humans.” She stared at him. “Promise me, Frees. If I ever do anything like that again you will shoot me where I stand. I want these humans stopped, but not at the expense of my own soul.”
He scoffed. “Yeah, sure. I’ll shoot you in the head, how about that?”
“Sounds perfect,” she said, then turned to the Gate.
“Wait, no, I was being—”
She held up a hand cutting him off. “You already promised, can’t take it back now.”
He sighed in frustration, bringing a smile to her lips she didn’t allow him to see. It wasn’t going to be an issue. She would never act like that again, no matter what the humans threw at her. She’d been angry yes, but she hadn’t meant for Byron to die. She was going to be better about it. Better than all of them.
Frees came up beside her. “What do we do if your parents aren’t in there somewhere? Or worse, they’re in there but they’re—”
He didn’t have to finish the rest. Arista had been thinking the exact same thing ever since they’d come back from Japan. It wouldn’t matter. Because at least she would know one way or another. That was better than the constant barrage of scenarios that penetrated her brain from not knowing.
“If they’re not there we still have a job to do. Remember what Shin said?”
His eyes dropped. “I remember what you told me he said.”
“That’s right. We can’t let them expand. Whatever this is, whatever they’re doing,” Arista’s mind flashed back to the human who made a shooting gallery out of a quiet Chicago neighborhood; the brutality he’d espoused, “We need to stop them. And if destroying this colony is the only way to do it then that’s what we do.” She patted the bag on her back to make sure it was still there. To make sure she hadn’t dreamed her trip to Jill’s. To make sure she was ready to breach this gate one more time.
Frees pulled the small silver device from his pocket and approached the gate’s control panel. She couldn’t see what he was doing with it, but Arista took the opportunity to breathe deeply, to regulate her systems. It was something else she used to do all the time as well, back before. She needed to get back into her habits. They’d saved her life on numerous occasions and this was no time to get sloppy.
“Ready to go!” Frees called, walking back over to her.
She nodded, tapping the refractor on her lapel and the air in front of her shimmered in concert with the concrete wall beyond as it turned into a gray fog. “Can you still hear me?” she asked once the refractor was up. Frees just looked at her, or she presumed, where he’d last seen her standing. She reached over and tapped her comm, opening a secure link to him. “Hear me now?” she asked.
“Clear as transparent aluminum.”
“Let’s do it like last time. Let’s keep this one open between us. In case we get separated.”
Frees nodded.
She took one last deep breath. Whatever was on other side of that Gate would determine everything. Maybe she would see her parents again. Maybe they’d already be dead, and the humans would throw them in cages. But there was no turning back. They had to try.
“Let’s go,” she said and stepped forward.
Ten
There was a blinding white light, so bright Arista thought she was back on the tracks in Japan, the mag-lev bearing down on them. But no, this was something different, this light wasn’t moving and appeared softer, the lumens weren’t as high. The Device could still scan beyond the refractor.
As her eyes adjusted she took in her surroundings; a person almost ran into her and tried to enter the Gate she’d just exited.
“Hang on,” a female voice said from somewhere she couldn’t see. “Gate two is not clear. Repeat, Gate two is not clear. We have an unscheduled entry.”
The tall man now to the side of her stood in place, waiting with an impatient look on his face. He wore the same uniform Byron had worn, the same one she’d seen the man in the street wearing. Frees emerged not far behind Arista, somewhat stunned at the number of people around them.
“Peterson, prepare to jump in six seconds, waiting for realignment,” the disembodied voice said again. The man beside them blew his hair out of his eyes from his bottom lip, obviously completely bored with the whole thing.
“Clear to proceed.”
The man disappeared through the Gate.
“Reset Gate two for incoming from Manchester,” the voice said.
“What do we do?” Frees asked, his voice in her ear.
Arista glanced around. They were on a giant elevated pad, the Gate to their backs. To the right were three other identical Gates, lining the wall in one long row. To the left was one more. They had come out of two, just like the small device had indicated. They’d made it, they were in the colony.
People seemed to be coming and going from each of the Gates at will. Someone would step out, then another person would step up, and disappear into the fog without even a passing glance. The room was full of dozens of people coming and going. It reminded Arista of Chicago International Airport, all those people running for their ships, half going one way, the other half going the other.
The giant room itself was clean, white, and sported curved walls wherever she looked. There wasn’t a corner or a right angle anywhere; it was like being inside a bubble. In front of them was a long hallway leading up a ramp. On each side of the hallway were glass-partitioned rooms with people standing behind each one, all talking into a holographic device. It didn’t look to Arista like there were doors, at least not leading to the hallway. They must be accessed using a different method.
They were standing right in the middle of the colony’s transportation hub. This was how Sy had gotten to them.
“I don’t know, maybe we—”
“Abrams! Get down from the pad, you’re in the way!”
Arista almost jumped at the voice. She looked over to the left side of the partitions and saw one of the people behind them staring directly at her and Frees. She had on the same uniform as the others but also wore a red visor not to mention a giant scowl on her face.
“I think that’s you,” Arista said. “Byron Abrams?”
“Oh.” Frees stepped down the three long steps off the platform.
“Hold it right there, Abrams.”
Shit. He must have done something wrong. Maybe because they came in the Gate when it was supposed to be outgoing? But surely that happened sometimes? Humans could get in jams they couldn’t get themselves out of and had to take an emergency transport home.
“Just tell them it didn’t go as planned and you needed a quick exit,” Arista said.
“I know,” Frees whispered. “I got it.”
“Abrams, step to the side.”
Frees moved off to the left side until the woman in the booth dropped her gaze. Arista followed close behind, not wanting to bump into anyone else.
From behind them came a human in a brown uniform. He had on a cap like Arista had never seen before; it had a wide brim and the cap itself was the same height all the way around, a perfect cylinder sitting on the man’s head, but it was only about an inch high.
The man approached Frees, took his hand without warning and shined a yellow light on Frees’ fingerprints. The light turned from yellow to green. “Sorry, sir, just making sure,” the uniformed man said. “Random checks.”
“I understand,” Frees replied.
Something else beeped on the device the man held and he squinted at it, as if he didn’t quite understand what he was seeing. He lifted it and pointed it directly at Arista and the refractor dropped, revealing her.
“Ah, Ms. Barnes. Okay, good. Stay here please. I will return.”
Arista was frozen in place, looking at Frees then back at the officer. With one simple command he’d just deactivated her disguise. What was she supposed to do now? Should she toss the ene
rgy drives into the air and have Frees ignite them? Should she play dumb? Or make a break for one of the Gates? It didn’t look like they ever closed, as people were still coming and going in. She bet if she booked it she could make Gate 1, it would at least take her somewhere away from here.
The officer turned and left them, like it was every day that a human fugitive returned to destroy her own race.
She turned to Frees. “What do we do?”
He tapped his arm, cutting the comm between them. “I don’t know. You’re busted, but I’m not. They still think I’m Abrams.”
“We need to come up with a new cover, and quick,” she whispered.
“Gate four! Hold! Incoming,” a male voice boomed all around them. Further down the line two people headed into Gate four held their positions. A moment later a long, rectangular box came through the Gate three feet above the ground as if it were hovering. A person emerged shortly after and pushed the box down off the platform then up the long ramp and out of sight.
“Clear four. Proceed.”
The two people disappeared into the Gate. So it wasn’t that uncommon that people interrupted Gates, maybe they could explain all of this away.
She grabbed Frees’ sleeve. “It’s going to be up to you. I’ll be in prison. You must find my parents, get them out of here. And whatever you do, don’t come back. I’ll find a way to complete the plan.”
He shook his head. “No. No way. We’re leaving together or we’re not leaving at all.”
She dropped her gaze in frustration. “Frees, that’s sweet but we don’t have time to argue. We need to do what we came here for. You can still do that.”
“Abrams, Barnes, report to processing.” The same woman who’d ordered them down off the platform still watched them. She’d probably been watching them this entire time. What if she could read lips? Had Arista just given everything away?
“The officer told me to stay—” she said but was cut off.
“New orders. Abrams, escort her to processing.”
Arista glanced at the row of Gates, dozens of humans coming and going, completely ignoring them. Maybe she wasn’t as important as she’d built herself up to be. Regardless, she’d never have this opportunity again. She was right here within striking distance of all five of the colony’s Gates. If she did nothing else other than cut off their access with the outside world it would be a win. All she needed to do was ignite the energy drives. Frees could do it.
But what about her parents? Why did they have to go and get themselves captured here? Or if they didn’t, why did Sy have to put that doubt in her mind? If it had been up to her Arista would have tossed the energy drives through and ignited them as they entered the colony. Then she could have just shut down the Gate on her side and been done with the whole thing.
But that wasn’t an option, not when Mom and Dad were at stake. So destroying the Gates right now wasn’t an option either. She’d have to be strategic; no doubt they’d take her bag and the energy drives from her. But Frees might be able to track them, retrieve them, and plant them where they needed to go. She could be the distraction.
“Okay, I think I have a new plan,” Arista said as Frees took her by the arm, leading her up the long ramp.
“Be gentle, Abrams! Don’t bruise her!” the woman in the partition said as they passed. Arista wondered if everyone could hear her or if it was somehow just coded to them. It would be a lot more embarrassing if everyone heard, but no one responded like they did. Either they didn’t hear, or they didn’t care. Which was good for Arista.
“What are you thinking?” Frees asked.
“Track my bag, see what they do with it when they relieve it from me. Then you can plant the charges as you’re searching for my parents.”
“How am I supposed to track it?”
“Just calibrate your sensors to the energy signatures. You’ve got one inside you right now, don’t you? Lock on to that.”
Frees held a blank look; his face was slack. As if all of this was beyond his comprehension. “Yes, I suppose I can do that.”
“I need you to focus, right now!” she said in an urgent hushed tone. “They’re about to process me—whatever that means, and there is a good chance I’ll never see you again. So make sure you get them out first, then set everything off.”
Frees stopped cold. “Never…wait, no, we’re not doing this. Why am I even escorting you? We need to get you back to the Gate. We’ll figure out another way back in, now that we know what to be prepared for.”
People continued to pass them. A couple caught sight of Arista’s sleeve buttoned up high but none of them stopped. They all continued on their own ways. She had seriously overestimated her own importance here.
“Frees, we don’t have time to argue,” she said. “Just promise me you’ll—”
“There you are.” It was the same officer as before. “Thank you, Abrams.” His voice was small in this large space, but Arista didn’t detect any malice behind it. She was being handed off like a supply box. Had they been waiting, ready for her all this time? Sy had probably promised to bring her, so maybe they still suspected Sy might deliver.
“Where are you taking me?” Arista demanded. She hoped Frees had taken the time to calibrate his sensors to pick up the drives in her bag. He didn’t have time to dawdle.
“Nowhere painful, I promise,” the officer said with a smile. “Now come along. You’ve been expected.”
She was right. They had planned to receive her. It was just a matter of waiting her out, waiting for her to come to them. Arista was so stupid; she should have seen it coming. She glanced back at Frees as the officer guided her by the arm. She could still run and might be able to make it to the Gate. But there was a couple dozen humans between her and her exit, and if an alarm went off Arista had no doubt they would all draw their weapons and fire on her at once, leaving nothing but a charred, smoking rubble of nothing.
“May I accompany her?” Frees asked. “After all, I did find her.”
“If you must,” the officer called. “McCulluh may not be happy about it, though.”
McCulluh. Arista knew that name, Sy had mentioned it before. Was McCulluh the one who’d sent Sy after her? She bet he’d be the one to deliver the real punishment. That’s when all this would come crashing down, when they’d throw her into the tiny cell. Maybe they even had quantum cells down here too; they certainly had a handle on the technology.
At least Frees was still with her.
The continued down the hallway until coming to an adjacent hall, still the same white and still without right angles anywhere. The walls curved up into the ceiling and vice-versa, giving the place a very utilitarian look. The humans didn’t have much of a design sense. The one thing Arista hadn’t seen yet were windows, which meant one of two things. They were either camouflaged in some way or Byron had been telling the truth and they were deep underground. Arista bet on the latter.
“Here we are,” the chipper officer said, coming to a doorway. “He’s waiting for you.”
The door slid open to reveal an office clad in different colors, not the sparse white outside. Full of blues, greens, and whites it reminded Arista of an underground cave, like those down in Australia that were a gorgeous blue under the water. Along the back wall shelves held real books. To the side sat a dark gray leather couch and in the middle of the room sat a giant wooden desk. Behind which sat a giant man with a dark moustache and beard. The nameplate on the desk indicated this was J.E. McCulluh himself. The man stood, his six-foot-six frame towering over all three of them.
“Welcome home, Arista,” he said extending his hand. “We’ve been waiting a long time for you.”
Eleven
Arista was speechless. Was this how humans did things? Should she be defiant and slap his hand away? Accuse him of all the terrible things humans had ever done to the machines? Her thoughts returned to Byron, and that human who massacred the machines in the streets. Then there had been Sy. The one person she’d k
nown was sadistic. Sy had pretended to be her friend. Pretended like everything was fine and Arista wasn’t in any danger from her.
She wasn’t about to fall for the same trick twice.
Arista stood, resolute, not looking at McCulluh or shaking his hand. After a moment, he dropped it. “When did it happen?” he asked the officer.
“She came through seven minutes ago sir,” he said. “With him.” He pointed to Frees.
McCulluh narrowed his eyes. “Name?”
“A-Abrams, sir. Byron Abrams.” Frees seemed shaken. His posture was slumped and he wasn’t as sharp as normal. It must be all the humans around.
“Oh,” McCulluh said, as if he’d just forgotten. “Yes. Good job, Abrams. Get down to the barracks. You’ll need to be debriefed.”
Frees’ eyes moved between Arista and McCulluh; he wasn’t sure what to do. “Sir, I would prefer—”
“I’m not interested in what you prefer,” McCulluh snapped. “I’m interested in why you are arguing with me instead of following orders.”
“I never got to thank him,” Arista interjected. Frees was being given a free pass, he needed to use it. To get out of this office before McCulluh found out who he really was. “Thank you, Byron. You saved my life.”
McCulluh glanced at her. “Peacekeeper?” She nodded.
Take the hint, Frees. Get out of here.
“Dismissed, soldier,” McCulluh said. Frees took one more glance at her, then turned and left the room. She exhaled. At least he would be able to take care of things. Even if she was in prison, Frees could do it. He’d known the entire time she’d need backup. What on Earth would she have done if she’d come here by herself?
“Take a seat, won’t you?” McCulluh offered, neither friendly nor combative. He just indicated the couch off to the side while the other officer stood watch by the door. Arista wanted to sit, her feet were actually killing her, but she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction. Whatever he wanted, she would do the opposite.
He arched an eyebrow then turned to the officer. “Any word on Forsythia?”
