by Kory Shen
"What is it?"
"A tracker."
"Don't you already have trackers in our suits? Like how we found Kayla and Cody?"
"Those trackers have limited range. This one is a long-distance tracker."
"Like how long?"
"At least the edge of our solar system."
"What?"
Dr. Hill sat down on the edge of her desk. "The implications of your choice aren't confined to our planet, you know. But we shouldn't count our chickens before they've hatched." She gestured towards the tracker.
"It's kind of big. What if I choke?"
"Well, I'm a doctor, so you'll be in good hands. You can take as many tries as you like." She reached behind her desk and pulled out a bottle of water. "If you need it."
I stared at the oval pill. It was shiny, metallic even.
"Hunter? Alternatively, we can install it in your rectum. I can help you with that as well." She reached behind her desk again and pulled out a pair of gloves. "What will it be?"
"I'm good with the swallowing." I tossed the metallic pill into my mouth and forced myself to swallow. It stuck in my throat, and I gagged. Zoe leaped up and smacked my face with her paw. The pill went down my throat. I couldn't feel it anymore.
Thanks for the assist.
Any time.
Someone knocked on the door and came inside. It was Stella, presumably here for her injection as well.
"I'll be going now," I said, exchanging a slight nod with Stella as I left Dr. Hill's office.
"Hunter," Dr. Hill called after me. "You know what's at stake."
I returned to my room with Zoe. I stood in the middle of the room for a while, thinking about what I should pack. I realized that I didn't have much to bring with me. My combat uniforms?
Unlike the others, I had arrived at the Academy with literally nothing. No mementos from home. No personal items. Nothing.
My room was pretty simple. I didn't have any complaints, but I wouldn't miss anything. I glanced towards the showers. I hoped we would have running water. Shit, I had no idea what exactly it would be like. I should pack a toothbrush.
I fetched a few items from the bathroom, when Zoe made a startled sound.
Dustin. It's back.
I instantly knew what she meant. Where? I asked. I didn't have a computer anymore so…my eyes fell on the command console by my door. Large letters scrolled across the screen.
HI HUNTER. LET'S TRY THIS AGAIN?
CHAPTER 11
I rushed to the command console. I had been hoping for this, but I wasn't sure what to say, now that the visitor was back.
Zoe was crouched at my feet, making a low hissing sound.
Please, Zoe. We need answers. There's too much happening.
You know I don't approve.
I couldn't think of any other way to move forward, though, in a way that only put myself at risk.
What about me? Zoe whipped her tail at my side.
That's why I need you to agree. Please? I can't do this without you.
I was asking Zoe for a lot. They were her mortal enemies, after all.
Zoe stopped hissing. Fine. We need to be ready in case anything happens.
You're the best, Zoe.
I turned to the console. "Who are you?" I asked. "Are you a Mekanic?"
I waited for a reply. The command console's screen cleared. A single word appeared.
YES.
A Mekanic. Speaking to me. My heart thumped harder, a mixture of fear and excitement growing in my chest. I couldn't tell if it was all from me, or if part of it was from Zoe. I wasn't sure where to go from here. There was so much we didn't know…
Ask her what—
"What's your name?"
Zoe smacked her forehead with one of her paws.
What? It's a valid question.
VIK649.
"Uh, nice to meet you, Vik649. Can I call you Vikki?"
YES.
Zoe's head fell face forward, thumping against the floor.
Look, I don't have your interrogation training.
Ask her why she's contacting you. Get more information.
"Vikki, what do you want from me?"
TO MEET YOU.
"Why?"
TO END THE WAR.
"But how? How would I help end the War?"
I'LL TELL YOU IN PERSON.
That made me nervous. I glanced around the room. Nope, no killer robots in sight. "How do I meet you?"
Dustin, that's too risky.
I'm just finding out more information, like you suggested. In case.
I'LL COME TO YOU.
"Um, okay." I wiped the sweat from my palms on my legs, but the slick fabric didn't help. I wiped them on Zoe's back. She didn't stir. "When can I expect you?"
FIFTEEN MINUTES.
Fuck! Zoe, Zoe. Uh, what do I do?
We have to tell the others!
Right.
I tapped furiously on the command console, trying to contact Dr. Hill, but it wouldn't respond to my touch.
SEE YOU SOON.
Shit, shit, shit. What had I done?
I ran out of my room to Dr. Hill's office, sprinting as fast as my Predator Reflexes would carry me. It wasn't fast enough. I melded, bounding even faster down the narrow hallways.
"Move it!" I shouted with my gravelly voice at a group of soldiers in the way. I Phase Shifted through them when they didn't get out of the way fast enough.
I reached Dr. Hill's office and skidded to a stop, unmelding. I pounded on the door. "Dr. Hill! Dr. Hill!"
The door slid open. It looked like Dr. Hill was finishing up an injection with Kayla. "Hunter?" she asked.
"I think they're coming. Now. In less than fifteen minutes." I spit out the words as quickly as I could.
"Who, who's coming?" Dr. Hill asked. Kayla rolled her sleeve down, then scooped up her snake from the floor.
"The Mekanic. The one who was talking to me before. I think it's coming here. Now!"
To Dr. Hill's credit, she didn't question me. She immediately walked to her command console and typed away.
Kayla whispered to me. "Mekanic?"
"Some kind of hacker," I whispered back.
A voice crackled out of the console's speaker.
"Orders, ma'am?"
Dr. Hill spoke into the command console. "I need the Academy on full alert. Check the perimeter sensors, satellite imagery, everything. Is there any unusual activity?"
"On it, ma'am. Will update you immediately if we find something."
A siren started blaring, accompanied by flashing red lights.
I hoped I wasn't making a fool of myself.
Don't underestimate the Mekanics, Dustin. Better safe than sorry.
Dr. Hill tapped the command console several more times.
"What's going on, Leah?" a deep voice answered.
"Drake. We have a possible incoming security breach. Get the kids. And Hunter. I need them on the vectorjet and out within five minutes."
"I'm on it. Anything else?"
"No. Good luck, Drake." Dr. Hill looked at me. "I'm praying this is a false alarm, but I have a feeling that it's not."
"Affirmative. Over and out."
Dr. Hill tapped on the console again. "We're a mile underground. We should have plenty of warning if something comes our way." A moment later a familiar voice spoke.
"Ma'am? Everything is normal, except we're detecting a spike in seismic activity."
"Seismic?" Dr. Hill asked.
The diggers! Zoe shouted in my mind.
"Diggers!" I echoed. "We met a digger Mekanic, recently, with Drake."
"Like a giant worm," Kayla added.
Dr. Hill pounded the wall with a fist. "Damn it. Can you pinpoint the source?"
"It's coming from everywhere. We can't get a solid read on it."
Dr. Hill turned to us. "Get yourself over to the loading bay, Hunter. You, too, Fisher. Hurry!"
The voice over the microphone began talking faster and lou
der. "It's growing stronger, ma'am! Like a swarm of point sources converging on…us."
Dr. Hill opened the door and pointed at the exit. "Go!" she shouted.
I ran, melding again mid-stride. After a few steps, I skidded to a stop.
"Get on me!" I yelled to Kayla. I crouched to let Kayla scramble onto my back. Together, we raced down the hallway towards the landing bay.
***
Other than the blare of the alarms, the landing bay was mostly empty and quiet when I arrived.
"Hunter!" Drake waved at me from next to a vectorjet. It looked similar to the ones we usually took, but the outer surface was a midnight blue rather than the normal steel gray.
Kayla slipped off my back, and I unmelded. We jogged over to Drake.
"Get inside," he said.
"Is everyone here?" I asked.
"Everyone but Perkins and Richards—"
Julie appeared on the other side of the loading bay.
"Julie!" I shouted.
She nodded and began running over to us. I headed inside the vectorjet. The main cargo bay had already been modified to what looked like sparse living quarters.
"Dustin, we're going on a road trip!" Nikki squealed in greeting. "Isn't that exciting?"
"More like an air trip," Kayla said from behind me.
Nikki blew a raspberry. "Whatever. Same thing."
Kayla glanced around the cargo bay. "That's it? No separate rooms?" Her face scrunched up. "What about bathrooms—"
A door opened in the corner of the cargo bay, where a rectangular box stood. Claire emerged.
"That's the bathroom," Nikki explained.
Kayla stared at the portable bathroom for a moment, her expression unreadable. Then, she went over to a wall and sat down against it.
Mia was looking through the large footlockers built into the side of the large area. "Food. Water. Some medical supplies." She was holding a duffel bag in her right hand.
"What about laundry? And soap?" Claire asked. "I didn't have time to pack anything."
Mia shook her head. "Some basic toiletries. I brought a few spare combat uniforms, but I don't see any others."
"Oh," Nikki said, her previous enthusiasm gone.
Kayla sighed. "Shit."
Julie stepped inside. "What's the rush? I barely had time to pack anything." She had a small backpack.
"We think there's incoming Mekanics. Diggers," I said.
"Damn," Julie said. She hopped onto one of the footlockers, then took off her backpack.
Drake barged into the cargo bay. "We're leaving in sixty seconds."
"What about Stella?" I asked.
Stella rushed into the cargo bay behind Drake. "I'm here." She had a large pack.
"Stow your things, and get into your Beastforms," Drake ordered. "We don't know what we're up against."
A row of seats with straps lined one section of the walls, but melding was infinitely safer than any protective gear or buckles.
In an instant, the cargo bay was filled with giant, glowing creatures.
Drake nodded his approval, then disappeared, presumably heading to the cockpit.
"What took you so long?" Julie asked Stella, her pincers clacking together.
"Getting some extra supplies," Stella replied in a raspy tone. She bared her teeth.
Drake's voice sounded over the speaker system. "Get ready. We're taking off."
The floor rumbled as the vectorjet levitated and turned. There were no windows in the cargo bay. We waited quietly, our fate in Drake's hands.
The vectorjet suddenly jerked to a halt. I dug my claws into the ground out of reflex to keep my balance. Some of the others tumbled.
"Was that supposed to happen?" I asked.
Kayla had slid awkwardly into Mia against a wall. Mia crawled out from under Kayla. "Something's not right," Mia said.
Drake shouted over the speakers. "The seismic activity is getting stronger. There's debris blocking the launch chute's surface exit."
Shit. The launch chute was the fastest way out of the mountain sitting on top of the Academy. We'd have to make our way through the other winding routes, but there was no way we could make it before the Mekanics arrived.
"Young, I need you to run ahead and clear the exit. Jones, you're on backup duty and recovery."
"Got it," Nikki and Claire said simultaneously. For all their goofing off, they knew when it was time for business.
The cargo bay's door opened, and both immediately raced towards it, Nikki leaping and Claire flying. The cargo bay door shut behind them.
"How fast is Nikki?" I asked.
"She can hit at least 90 miles per hour," Mia said. Right, she had studied all of us.
"We're half a mile underground," Julie said.
"So under a minute?" I asked. "Then, however long to clear it."
Only if she can reach her top speed instantly.
"Not quite," Stella said. "It depends how fast she accelerates."
See.
Math was never my strong point. No one likes a smarty-pants.
The vectorjet started moving again, slowly trailing behind Nikki I assumed.
We lurched to the side, and there was the loud screech of metal ripping into metal.
"It's going to be a bumpy ride!" Drake shouted over the speakers. "If all hell breaks loose, your priority is ensuring Hunter doesn't fall into enemy hands."
"That's reassuring," Kayla muttered.
The vectorjet scraped against something else. I kept my claws out to maintain my grip on the floor. The others, especially Mia, lost their footing every time we hit another bump. I noticed Julie had used some of her webbing to keep a grip on the floor as well.
"Hold on to me," I shouted to Kayla.
Kayla wrapped half her serpentine body around me, then the other half around Stella. Julie wrapped several of her legs around Mia to keep her in place.
We clung to each other for what seemed like minutes, our glowing bodies intertwined with each other. Finally, Drake shouted over the speakers once more.
"We're clear! Get ready to receive Young and Jones!"
I dug my claws deeper into the floor as the vectorjet tilted backwards sharply and began speeding up.
The rear doors opened, and the loud roar of rushing air filled the cargo bay. Claire and Nikki, both still in their Beastforms, tumbled inside.
"They're in!" I screamed, unsure if Drake could hear me.
The cargo bay closed. Then, the vectorjet accelerated suddenly, with more force than any human could possibly stand. The whine of the jet's engines was deafening. I wondered briefly if Drake had melded or not before all seven of us tumbled backwards, landing against the closed cargo bay doors.
After a minute, the engines quieted down and we continued on a steady, smooth flight.
"Can we unmeld?" Nikki asked.
"Not a good idea," Julie said, "until we get the all clear."
We waited. Drake's voice finally crackled over the speaker. "We're deep in friendly skies. We should be safe for now." He made a strange sound. "We lost the Academy."
Nikki unmelded first. She ran over to a display, similar to a command console, but larger, embedded into the wall.
"Defense drone footage," Nikki said in somber tone that didn't suit her. A video appeared on the display. The rest of us unmelded and crowded around it.
We watched in horror as the tree-coated mountain tumbled inward. Dark clouds of dust and smoke into the sky.
"Mother," Stella whispered.
CHAPTER 12
The cargo bay was silent except for the light hum of the engines. A door opened, and Drake stepped inside. He glanced at the video of the crumbling mountain.
"How did you access the—nevermind." Drake slammed a fist into the wall. "Diggers, damn it. They never had diggers before. Until last time."
I put my hand on Stella's shoulder. "Some of them could have escaped."
The words felt hollow. It was my fault, at least partially, wasn't it?
> Dustin, they're Mekanics. They want to kill us. That's not because of you. They must have already been on the way when they contacted you.
"Her mom was there?" Claire whispered. No one answered.
Stella stepped away and looked around, as if trying to run away somewhere, but the cargo bay was one large room. Only the small bathroom offered any privacy. She went to the other side of the cargo bay by herself, huddling with her back to the wall, her ferret tight in her embrace.
"How many dead," Julie said softly. "There must have been hundreds, at least."
"Isn't it unusual?" Mia asked. "Attacking this deep within friendly territory?"
Drake shook his head. "They've never had this capability before. We've relied on establishing a perimeter. If they can just bypass our defenses…"
They're adapting. It's what they do. We evolve. They adapt.
What else do they have?
If you can think of it, they can probably build it. If the Chimerics pulled out of the War, it's more than the ground troops. The Mekanics will be free to send more resources. They can establish a fast, simple supply chain without risking losses. Bring in the heavy artillery.
Dr. Hill had said our side was desperate. I hadn't fully appreciated that until this moment.
And now she was probably dead. I shivered as I realized what that meant.
If she really was dead, her program could be gone with her. And no one would be there to block Dr. Preston and his path forward.
Fuck. We were all screwed, one way or another.
Zoe walked over to Stella and sat down in front of her. It's always been an uphill battle. We need to regroup, build on what we do have.
I joined Zoe. None of the others seemed to know about the connection between Dr. Hill and Stella.
"Stella," I said. "We're here for you. I…I'm sorry."
Stella didn't move. Her face was buried between her arms, and I couldn't hear any response over the rumble of the vectorjet.
Zoe lent me her more sensitive ears, sharing what only she could hear: the sound of someone quietly sobbing.
***
It was evening, now. Drake was back in the cockpit, trying to find out more about what had happened back at the Academy. We had eaten rations for dinner, standard military fare, and were now lounging about the cargo bay. Stella seemed mostly back to normal, although she still sat by herself.
