STASIS: Part 3: Restart

by E. W. Osborne

  She shut the door and rested her forehead against the frame. I’m so sorry…

  “How far did you have to go?”

  Penelope eased her weary body onto the thin cushions of the sofa. The cabin was meant to be used as a base, a place to sleep and eat and not much more. It was far from a home, but as tired as she was, the ratty old couch felt like a feather bed.

  “Truckee. There’s one store open holding most of the things we need.” She yawned, masking her desire to recount what happened with the old cowboy.

  Wesley looked up and over the rim of his glasses. His bushy eyebrows looked even more wild than normal. “One store?”

  She understood what he was getting at. “There’s been some obvious looting. The pharmacy was emptied and the general store had two armed guards posted.”

  “They were probably the ones who started looting in the first place,” Cameron said, sounding almost impressed.

  “I wouldn’t doubt it,” she said, remembering the cold look in the owner’s eyes. “I have to go back. They’re holding everything for me.”

  Cameron frowned, a little distracted by the cursing from Wesley as he tried to feed the data into his tablet. “What do you expect from kitchen appliances? Anyway, what do you mean they’re holding it for you?”

  “I didn’t have enough to pay,” she sighed. “I said I’d bring things to barter with.”

  He didn’t argue. He didn’t rant or rave, not that she expected him to. But something shifted under his expression that she wasn’t expecting. A hardness and acceptance settled into place. Maybe that’s how I look when I come to accept our new reality, she thought.

  “We’ll search the neighbors. People tend to leave crap in their bathrooms.” He swung his legs around and slapped his bare feet on the floor. With a low voice he continued. “You know she’s not going to live through the night, right?”

  The woman’s shallow breathing, her smoothing skin… it was a matter of time. She wiped the grime and sweat from her face using the sleeve of her shirt.

  “There’s something else. It’s either a big break or a big trap, I’m not sure which.”

  Penelope recounted her conversation with the woman who claimed to be her brother’s fiancée. There wasn’t a lot to tell specifically, but the implications were massive. It only took her a minute, but when she finished, the two men sat silently staring at the floor.

  “Well?”

  “We need more data.”

  Cameron broke the tension with a single sharp bark of laughter. “You’re obsessed with data, man.” He picked at his fingernails as he mulled over the new turn of events. “He’s right, though. I need to hear more. If it is a trap, some way to lure us out of hiding, then we need to be careful.”

  “If they were trying to track us, would they have been able to grab GPS off the call?” Penelope’s throat squeezed with guilt at not appreciating how much danger she’d put them in by simply answering a phone call.

  “I put jammers in the car. If you weren’t inside, it’d be a different story,” Cameron replied.

  “I’m impressed,” Wesley nodded.

  “Great. We can get matching tinfoil hats soon,” he laughed. “When is this girl calling?”

  “Anytime.”

  “What about her claims? Do you think Jamie is capable of it?” Cameron stood and walked to the window, speaking to her as he gazed out into the dense forest. Twenty feet away from the house were two bodies they buried as deep as the hard-packed soil would allow, marked by two stones.

  She frowned at his back. “You do. You’ve been saying it from the start.”

  “But do you?”

  It was Penelope’s turn to laugh. “We both know he is. Without a doubt, he is my father’s son.”

  “The Steele heir.”

  “If only we’d been able to stop the company back when we tried…” Her vision swam as an image of the teenage girl forced itself into her mind. Denise, she reminded herself. Her eyes blank, chin stained red, body seizing on the floor. “All those people we could’ve saved if we hadn’t—”

  “We were young and stupid.” Cameron sat on the floor beside her, wrapping a strong arm around her back.

  “But we knew,” she half-sobbed.

  “We tried.”

  “We failed.”

  “And we won’t fail again,” he said firmly.

  Chapter Twenty

  New York City, NY

  While she understood the need for caution, they were closing in on twenty minutes of questioning and she was beginning to wonder if Christopher’s sister was going to help at all.

  “For the third time, I met him through a mutual friend. We’ve been living together for a couple years now. I only learned about his real history a few days ago.”

  “He’s not that good a liar,” Penelope muttered, most likely not meant for her to hear. Yet the comment boiled her temper past control.

  “I had absolutely no idea who he really was. And apparently you don’t know your family as well as you assume you do,” she snapped. “He’s an incredible liar.” The woman hadn’t meant to, but she implied Kristine was a poor judge of character. In her world, that was about the worst insult she could’ve thrown her way. There was silence on the other end. She kicked herself for letting her anger get the better of her, so she tried to smooth the waters.

  Penelope extended the first olive branch. “Alright. What do you want from me then?”

  “You’re done vetting me? I passed your tests?”

  A new male voice replied. “Not exactly. But let’s just say you’ve moved through round one of the interview process.”

  “And to whom am I speaking now?” Kristine bristled, not liking that she didn’t have control over the situation.

  “I’m with Dr. Cameron Richards at the—”

  “The guy you were arrested with? The one who tried to take down Steele Industries?” she gasped. In such an unpredictable world, it was good to know her capacity for surprise was still intact.

  The man laughed. “The one and only. See? Told you I was famous,” he said softer. “Now, why exactly did you get in touch with Pen?”

  Kristine shifted on the bed, the springs squeaking. “Information.” She tried to wrestle back her power in the conversation, but the long silence didn’t work. For a full minute, they sat quietly waiting for the other to begin. She finally huffed and continued. “I suppose one of us has to trust the other for this to work.”

  “You’re welcome to begin at any time,” Cameron replied.

  “Is Penelope still there? What I’m about to tell you is more for her ears than yours,” she snapped.

  “I’m here. What is it?”

  Kristine pressed her lips together, nostrils flaring as she took a long breath in. As she spoke, her vision softened. Her recounting of that day was the first she’d put it all out verbally. She could’ve read from the account she wrote as soon as they returned to Neil’s house, but she thought it might come off as robotic. If they were going to trust her, they had to hear the horror in her voice.

  “A source put me in touch with someone who claimed they had a story for me. I was hoping it wasn’t at all related to the Seed shit going on, but apparently this is some kind of cursed destiny. I got dumped right into it.”

  She recounted everything, leaving out names and major details that might give any specific identities away. She struggled through, having to pause when she described watching Christopher and Jamie move the bodies to the side of the road like any other debris. After that, it was purely factual. She stopped her story at the point when the reached the cells, hoping she’d hooked them. Mallory was a bonus she wanted to keep for a rainy day.

  “So? Anything you’d like to share with me?”

  “Hold on a second,” Penelope said in a rush tone.

  Kristine smiled thinly, feeling as though she’d managed to break through finally. At least now we might get somewhere.

  She expected Penelope to reply, but instead was sadd
led speaking with Cameron again. His arrogance was bristling. “If you didn’t know anything about Chris’ past, how is it you were the first to break the Seed story?”

  Kristine remembered every instance where Christopher tried to talk her out of recording a new piece on the Seed. She wasn’t above pride. She always wanted to be a famous, authoritative journalist, but she couldn’t claim to be anything but lucky. “I was in the right place at the right time. I had a source—”

  “Another source,” he scoffed, moving away from the microphone.

  “Yes, a source. He told me some weird things were going down in Kansas City. I made a few contacts here in the city, and the rest fell into place. It was only when I spoke to Dr. Lal that I—”

  “You know Sanjay? Have you seen him?” His voice drew close, booming in her ear.

  Kristine’s skin began to buzz again, that strange floaty sensation prickling across her body. “I haven’t heard from him in weeks. He disappeared and no one at the hospital has heard from him since,” she replied numbly.

  She could barely make out Cameron and Penelope’s conversation. “This is too much. There’s no way this is all a coincidence.”

  “Why not? Stranger things have happened?”

  “Pen, I’m not getting a good feeling here…”

  “Yeah? And what was the last good feeling you had?”

  “That I didn’t pay to have?”

  Kristine broke in, her patience at an end. “I’m done proving myself to you. If I was part of some conspiracy to track you down, wherever you’re hiding, then don’t you think there’d be an easier way than this?”

  “How do you know we’re hiding?” Penelope demanded.

  “Why else would you be acting like this? Listen,” she sighed. “If you aren’t willing to help me, I’ll find another way. I just thought you’d want to know your brothers are in trouble. Or are trouble, I don’t know which…”

  There were no murmurs on the other side of the call, but she was sure they were conferring nonetheless. What originally was the most promising lead she’d had in weeks had quickly turned into a throbbing headache.

  “Maybe he’s being controlled? I don’t see Christopher getting involved in this willingly,” Penelope said.

  “We disabled his Seed,” she replied absentmindedly. There was a little murmur on the other side of the call. “What? What is it?”

  “Our father never let us get the implant,” Penelope said. “And I seriously doubt he would get it on his own.”

  Kristine rubbed her forehead, the headache like a vice around her skull. “But he… yeah, why not. He lied about everything else, why not this too?” she groaned, sinking onto her back. It seemed that it was probably better to assume everything was a lie and attempt to verify truths instead.

  “If he didn’t have the implant, then staring at some blue lights for a little while would be harmless,” another person spoke in the distance.

  Kristine chose to ignore the new voice in the room. She was too wrapped up trying to link everything together to care how many people were listening. “You said something about him being controlled?”

  Penelope cleared her throat, her voice coming out confidently clinical. “We have reason to believe everything is linked to a person or organization controlling the implants.”

  “Uh-huh,” she replied dully, like that wasn’t common knowledge now. “And?”

  “The last attack was different, more advanced. It seems the signal is now capable of being transmitted between Seeds, rather than directly from the source.”

  The scene at the facility burst from her memory, the way it spread so quickly. What she hadn’t thought of was how it explained the spread on a global scale. Densely populated areas had been hit the worst while others, like Neil and Maggie’s suburban paradise, had remained untouched. Three people in her unit had died, all found in common areas of the building. It was like a key puzzle piece slotting into place, one she felt stupid for not seeing first.

  “Whoever this is, they’re testing their limitations. If you compare the first instances to now, you can see how rudimentary they were. It’s evolving.”

  It was yet another point Kristine hadn’t consciously put together. Not only was the scope of each attack bigger and bigger, but she never considered that the actual murders were becoming more advanced. What once seemed random and chaotic was now a more frightening orchestrated terror.

  “Are you there?” Penelope asked, worried.

  “I’m here. Sorry, trying to digest this.”

  “I know. But, the silver lining in all this is the symptoms of control seem to have remained the same.”

  “Symptoms?”

  Cameron broke in. “The catatonics presented with fixed pupils and intact motor skills. When a person is under control now, you will see similar reactions. Big, black eyes, increased sweating, fast heart rate…”

  “Tell her about the authentication word,” the stranger in the background called out. “If she can get the master…”

  “Okay, okay,” Penelope hushed. There was a bustle on the other end of the call. Kristine didn’t remember moving, but she realized she was hunched over the side of the bed, her feet firmly planted on the cool floor. She thought she might throw up, either from the news or a fresh bout of morning sickness. “Are you still there?”

  “I’m here,” Kristine replied weakly.

  “It’s just you and me now.”

  “Who else is there with you? Other than Cameron?”

  She paused for a moment before answering. It was the first moment Kristine knew she’d truly gained their trust. “Wesley Reich, the co-founder of—”

  “Steele Industries,” Kristine finished. “I’m beginning to appreciate why you’re so cautious. I thought he was dead.”

  “He’d be happy to hear you say that,” she chuckled. “Cam and I were some of the first to notice something was wrong. They tried to blame it on botulism, but neither of us bought that. So along with Wesley, we’ve been working for weeks to come up with a way to fix it, but we’re not progressing fast enough. If this is really coming from the company, if my brother is genuinely behind it all, you could be our eyes inside.”

  Kristine had called not hoping for or expecting anything from the conversation. Mostly, she wanted to be able to share the burden, pass it over to another Steele who could help. Instead, she’d ended up with even more weight on top of her shoulders.

  “That’s true. It’s not like you can walk in the front door, can you?”

  “No, not exactly.”

  “Are you sure Christopher doesn’t know you know?”

  “Ninety percent sure, yes.”

  “I can’t believe I’m asking this,” she sighed, “but do you think he’s capable of hurting you? Do you feel like you’re in any danger?”

  It was her turn to show a little faith in her new friends. “I’m not sure what to think anymore, but no. I’m safe for the next five to six months at least.”

  “That’s oddly specific.”

  Kristine blew a strand of stray hair away from her face. “You’re going to be an auntie.”

  “You’re—but how? Are you sure? Even after the—”

  She grappled with the guilt she carried along with her unborn child. Admitting it to someone knew was harder than she expected. “I’m positive. At first, I thought I was one of the lucky ones, but now I know it’s probably just simple nepotism.”

  “Jesus…”

  “It’s part of the reason we’re going upstate to Jamie’s house. I’ll start showing soon and won’t be able to hide much longer in the city. Plus, you know… all the killing.”

  “I need to talk to the others about this. If it’s true, then—”

  “It verifies that they can selectively choose Seeds.” The two women sat listening to each other breath, struggling with everything they’d learned. Kristine sensed the conversation was coming to a close, for the time being. “I’m in the city for another two days and then Christopher
is sending for me. After that, I don’t know how we’ll be able to communicate, so we have to plan for that.”

  “I understand. We’ll figure something out. Wesley’s a bit of a genius.”

  “Before you go, I have one more question.” She hesitated, wondering if it was a stupid question to begin with. But when tomorrow wasn’t a promise, now was all the time she could count on. “Why do you think they’re doing this? What could they hope to gain?”

  “I have no idea.” She let out a deep, weary sigh. “I wish I did, truly. And a bit of advice, since you’re staying with Jamie?”

  Kristine’s stomach clenched at her hesitation. “Yes…”

  “Be careful with him, especially now. He’s a textbook sociopath. If you no longer serve a purpose for him, well… watch out. Stick with Christopher. I refuse to believe he’s willingly gotten himself tangled up in this. But Jamie? I wouldn’t trust him if I were you.”

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Poughkeepsie, NY

  July 18th

  Neil couldn’t believe his luck. In a full house, it was almost impossible to get a moment alone and even harder to find a chance to talk privately with someone. Every time he tried to get Mallory by herself, some interruption got in the way. So when he found the gorgeous girl on her own in the living room with no one else around, he pounced on the opportunity.

  “Why do you keep looking around like that?” The question was playful but even to his untrained ears, he could tell she was feeling insecure.

  He straightened, making sure she felt like she was the center of attention. “No reason. Go on, I’m listening.” He couldn’t exactly tell her how he was expecting Maggie to pop in and cock-block him. The woman apparently had a sixth sense for it.

  Mallory tried to tuck her nearly white-blonde hair behind her ear. It wasn’t quite long enough, so it popped free. Neil found the gesture adorable, but then again, he found everything about her adorable.