by Sarah Snyder
“Or, bend the bars of a cage to free one of their own?” Maverick caught onto Sawyer’s line of thought.
“Or, fly a shuttle or ship. Those infected may not even know it.” Sawyer groaned and scrubbed a hand over the rough, bristles of his unshaven chin. “No wonder the Administration was desperate to ensure nobody could get off-world.”
“But, I don’t understand.” Maverick shook his head and turned toward Verity. “Why did the Administration leave you down here? You would be the best people to continue studying the bacteria off-world in case it did escape.”
Sawyer looked at the pale, sunken faces of those surrounding them, seeing the wildness in their eyes and listening to the rough tenor of their breathing. “Because, you’re all infected.” Sawyer answered Maverick’s question before Dr. Urim could.
“Yes, we are all suffering from various stages and strains of the bacteria.” Verity confirmed.
“So, what? You have all the information you need. Work on the cure.” Maverick insisted.
“There is a lot we don’t have the equipment, power, or time to investigate.” Verity insisted. “We need better facilities; not ones ran on generators. We need more advanced equipment; not the ancient systems offered by a fading government who can barely afford to keep its citizens fed. We need more time and we simply do not have it. This entire area will be liquified soon.”
“Volcanization?” Sawyer asked.
“Yes, because of the drills.” Verity nodded her head, sitting up straighter as she noticed herself start to slouch. “They were only supposed to help in heating the immediate rocks and soil, but we didn’t account for the scope of their range.”
“What do you mean?” Sawyer prompted.
“We were able to get samples in the center of rocks and soils we wouldn’t have been able to before. We wouldn’t know as much as we do without them. We assumed, once the drill was shut down, the rocks would cool and solidify. And, in truth, some did. But, the drill is based on pulse technology. So, while we believed we were only heating the rock in front of us, we were heating much deeper into the mine. We started to feel tremors and sink holes formed where the ground should be stable.”
“Like the main mine entrance?” Sawyer questioned, watching the woman shudder with the memory he knew they shared of the smell of sulfur and rotting flesh.
“That was dreadful; so many lost lives.” Verity’s eyes welled with the thought. “That was when we destroyed the drills and moved underground, but it was too late.”
“So, now that the drills are off, won’t the rocks cool down on their own?” Maverick asked.
“We hoped that was the case, but this whole area is riddled with mines, ore deposits, and minerals we’ve never seen before on Earth. The rock that melted into magma has plenty of room to move and keep itself super-heated.” Verity shook her head. “The rocks closest to the surface are cooling, but slowly and even when cooled they are unstable and warped from their original mass. They can’t maintain the pressure of the land on top of them. The rest is looking for a vent; an opportunity to release its pressure. There’s so much of it beneath us – when it finds an outlet – this entire hemisphere will feel the effects.”
Punctuating her point, the ground reminded them of its presence, shaking and groaning as if ready to split beneath their feet. Another steam vent opened in the wall on the far side of the cavern, allowing the room to fill with humidity. Sawyer stepped closer to his brother, ready to grab him and run if necessary, but the tremors eased and allowed them to breathe easily for another moment.
“You all need to come with us.” Maverick demanded.
“I told you, we’re all infected.” Verity denied with a vehement shake of her head. “We can’t leave the planet.”
“You can find a cure.” Maverick argued. “You said it yourself; if you have better conditions, equipment, and more time, you’d be able to continue working on a cure.”
“We don’t have that kind of time.” Verity claimed. “And, where would we go? The entire planet will be affected by this geologic event.”
“We have a ship; we can get off-world and find somewhere you can work.” Maverick’s insistence was tinged with desperation as Sawyer sensed he realized the futility of his argument.
He wanted to side with his brother – to help the people who tried to help others – but knew the risks were too high. Not only would they put Wil in danger if they were on board the Anastasis, but they could put hundreds or thousands at risk if they were on any other planet. Sawyer knew, as he suspected Maverick was understanding, the medical researchers around him would never leave this mine.
“If you have a ship, then you should be leaving.” Verity smiled a sad, resigned smile. “There isn’t much time.”
“Mav.” Sawyer placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder, unsurprised when he shoved it off.
“We can’t just leave you here!” Maverick denied. “We can save you!”
“Mav, they won’t come.” Sawyer spoke softly in contrast to his brother’s impassioned plea.
“It’s better this way.” Verity assured. “We won’t spread this bacteria.”
“No, I won’t accept this. You can’t sit here and wait to die.” Maverick glared at the people around them.
“It’s for the greater good.” Verity responded.
“It’s giving up!”
“Look at us!” Verity’s ire showed her offense at Maverick’s accusation as she stood shakily and faced him down. She stared up into his eyes as if he were no bigger than the bacteria beneath her microscope, her eyes turning a deeper brown as her own passion matched and succeeded Maverick’s. “Look at me! Look in my eyes and tell me I am fit to exist in a civilized world. I can smell you; your blood flowing in your veins, your sweat and the secretions of your flesh, your breath and the remnants of your last meal. We are all angry and frustrated and hungry. We want to hurt you, and the only thing keeping us from it is our last shred of humanity.”
Sawyer stepped between them as the woman’s face contorted into something far from the humanity she boasted. His movement seemed to calm Verity Urim, as she stepped back and reclaimed her seat.
“I’m sorry, kid. I get it – what you’re trying to do and what you’re saying – I do.” Verity assured with a wry tilt to her lip. “That’s why we all came here: to save people. Take some advice from those of us who are dying from our desire to help others. You can’t save everyone. Sometimes, you run. Run as fast and as far as you can. And, stay away. If I could do it all over again, I would.”
“I’m not you.” Maverick whimpered.
“Consider yourself lucky.” Verity stated darkly.
Maverick sniffed and wiped his face with the collar of his shirt. “There has to be something we can do.”
“There is.” Verity offered after a moment of thought, rising to retrieve a small flash drive from a nearby computer monitor. “This is everything we’ve learned about the bacteria. Take it to someone who can find the cure.”
“Why? Won’t the bacteria be destroyed in the blast?” Sawyer watched Maverick cradle the drive lovingly to his chest.
“Perhaps, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t already gotten off-world somehow; or that it won’t in the future.” Verity warned. “This is a big planet to assume every microscopic bacterium won’t survive.”
“Where do we take it?” Maverick asked. “Earth?”
“No, Earth isn’t equipped if the bacteria ever reached it. It’s already a dying world.” Verity thought for a moment and then her eyes lit. “Take it to Selene.”
“Selene?” Maverick questioned.
“In the Tritons Region; The EMRC has a remote facility which operates out of their capitol. All samples are sent there for processing and testing to ensure their safety before going to Earth.” Verity nodded happily. “They know everything we knew before coming here and have some great scientific minds on their governmental councils. They will know what to do with the information. Do this for us, please.
Do it for all of us rejects here on Flamouria they left to die.”
A small tremor shook the ground, increasing the humidity and steam in the cavern by half and making Sawyer miss the dry, arid heat of day. “We need to go, Mav.”
“Are you sure?” Maverick’s question was more of a plea, looking hopefully to Dr. Verity Urim.
“Yes.” Verity smiled peacefully. “What we’ve found here – what we’ve created – it needs to die with us.”
Verity’s words remained on repeat in Sawyer’s mind as he and Maverick carefully made their way back to the surface. Once they passed the area where Sawyer was nearly crushed by falling dirt and rock, the radio crackled to life and Wil’s frantic voice could be heard. “Where the hellfire are you guys? Are you okay?”
“We’re fine, Wil.” Sawyer assured, taking the radio from Maverick’s fingers when it was offered. “We’re on our way back now.”
“Did you find any survivors?” Zander questioned hastily from the background.
Sawyer turned to see Maverick’s lip quiver in response to the question. “Only those infected with Alien Disorder. We couldn’t save them.”
Mist swirled around the brother’s feet as they crossed the abandoned mining camp. Puddles were already forming, their boot prints leaving wells which quickly filled with the nightly moisture. Moist decay floated on the breeze, more pungent its aroma clung to the fog. Sawyer longed for the simplicity of his life before chaos came from above, when the night air smelled of rust, mildew, and rain. Anger filled him – anger at the Administration for deciding his people didn’t deserve to survive; anger at the Terran Space Station for carrying out the order to annihilate a planet; and anger at the military who failed the people of his Sect, denying them the chance for self-preservation by using a prototype weapon they had no business developing. Sawyer grew anxious with the emotion swirling inside of him – one he hadn’t experienced since savages claimed his mother and sister; hatred.
By the time they reached the control bunker, Sawyer was shaking with the force of his rage. He stepped into the facility, blinking in the artificial lighting. Once his eyes adjusted, Sawyer looked at the men around him – Maverick fighting tears by his side, Wil spinning slowly on the chair, and Zander worrying over a soil sample in the chilled room beyond – and cleared his throat of the lump forming there. “Let’s go.”
“Go where?” Zander rubbed his eyes as if woken from a deep sleep.
“Anywhere but here. I want off this planet, now.” Sawyer answered.
“What about the TSS? Won’t they try to stop us from getting off-world?” Wil’s sunken eyes and pale face showed the effects of his earlier injury.
“Let them try.” Sawyer growled.
Maverick handed Zander the flash drive as the latter left the cold room to join the others. “I think you should hold onto this. It’s their research on Alien Disorder.”
“So, they were researching it. I knew Dr. Charles wouldn’t have been involved for mere ore.” Zander cradled the flash drive as Maverick had before, as though it were a precious treasure which may be ripped from him if not held tightly. “Where did you get this?”
“From a doctor in the mines; Dr. Verity Urim.” Maverick answered. “She knew your Dr. Charles.”
“Yes, I have heard that name before.” Zander blinked several times in confusion. “If she is alive, why did you not bring her back?”
“She refused.” Maverick swallowed hard and turned his face away from the rest of his companions.
“Why would she refuse?” Zander’s face contorted into a mass of wrinkled misunderstanding.
“She was infected and didn’t want the disease getting off-world. I’ll explain everything, but it will have to wait, we need to get off this planet.” Sawyer left the computer room, expecting the others to follow.
Maverick was the first to follow, disconnecting the wire connecting the Anastasis to the mining bunker and winding it into the depths of their ship. Zander and Wil trailed slowly, waiting in the cargo hold for Sawyer as he closed the bulkhead door of the ship. Sawyer placed an arm around Wil’s shoulders, giving the injured man his strength if he needed it. Zander followed them up the stairs, stopping when they did at the entrance to the bridge. Maverick sniffed from the co-pilot’s seat before rising and busying himself with a panel on a nearby wall.
“She will be ready in a minute. I had to sever the connection to the mining computers.” Maverick excused huskily.
“Connection terminated.” A disembodied female voice informed.
“ANA?! You fixed her!” Wil exclaimed with a grin, sitting at the pilot’s podium.
“Of course.” Maverick shrugged. “I figured while I was waiting for the encryption software to run, I would get her back up and running.”
“Nice, Mav.” Sawyer moved to lay a reassuring hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Is there anything on this ship you can’t fix?”
“Carl taught me everything in case I was…” Maverick shuddered and choked on his words before he managed to finish his sentence, “alone.”
“That was never going to happen.” Sawyer assured quietly.
“Right.”
Sawyer forced his brother to turn toward him, holding the fifteen-year-old by both shoulders and staring directly into his eyes to ensure he heard the words repeated. “That was never going to happen, Mav. I’m not going anywhere without you and you aren’t going anywhere without me. Got it?” Maverick nodded and wrapped his arms around Sawyer. Sawyer leaned against his brother, his arms wrapping around the shoulders he’d held a moment before.
“I’m glad you ran.” Maverick’s words were only a whisper and cryptically lacking context, but Sawyer knew their meaning. Whether it was eight years before when their mother and sister died, or a few days before when he and Wil ran from the devastation of Alpha Sect after their General tested a pulse weapon on the general population, Maverick was glad his brother survived.
“If you two are done with your touching – and slightly nauseating – moment of brotherly love, you might want to look at this.” Wil interrupted. “I don’t remember there being a mountain right there, do you?”
Sawyer pulled back from his brother and turned toward Wil, his glare lost on the back of the man’s head as he stared out the window of the bridge. He’d no sooner taken the first step than the ship started to shake; subtly at first, but with a growing intensity until Sawyer questioned if it would collapse around them. A pop and sizzle reached them over the din of the engines several stories below them, followed by a rising thunder in their ears. Sawyer fought the oppressive pressure on his body as his ribs demanded collapse.
“Another tremor.” he shouted the statement over the roar of the pressure wave, noting Wil’s nod and wince in response.
“The last ones didn’t feel like this!” Maverick complained, his palms over his ears and his eyes squinting against the heavy atmosphere.
“It’s either bigger or right beneath us.” Wil excused the difference. “Or both.”
The suffocating pressure eased, the thunder settling to a rumble before ceasing. Able to breathe easily again, Sawyer took a deep gulp of air and looked at his companions. In unison, they all turned to look out the bridge window at the plume of black smoke rising from the mountain which hadn’t existed before they entered the mines. A reddish-orange glow from the top of the ridge shifted and spewed smoke into the night sky. Sawyer’s throat dried and his chest clench at the sight.
“I am picking up incoming shuttles in the upper atmosphere.” ANA announced, drawing their attentions upward.
Several Administration shuttles circled the mountain for a closer look. A blue-gray streak lit across the darkness, striking one of the shuttles in her hull and sending her careening closer to the mountain until she disappeared into the dark. A fireball lit the smoke a moment later, telling of her fate.
“What in hellfire was that?” Wil asked dumbstruck.
“It looked like lightning.” Maverick commented.
<
br /> “I don’t think so.” Sawyer remarked as another, similar bolt lit the sky and struck the hull of another shuttle. This one managed to keep her heading but pulled up from the smoke in retreat. “This is an attack.”
“From where?” Wil questioned with a glance back at Sawyer. “We’re far from any other Sect. Beta Sect is the closest and even they are over fifty miles away.”
“Look down there.” Maverick pointed toward the far edge of the camp, nearly invisible in the billowing smoke and ash which covered the land already.
The stillness of night was tainted by the rushed movements of figures in the distance. Flares lit the dark, burning through the fog and casting shadows of their bearers into the landscape. “That’s not Beta Sect,” Wil mentioned in the silence that pervaded their posse at the sight. “It can’t be. No way do they have tech like that.”
“Who are they?” Maverick asked in a whisper, as if his voice would draw them from such a distance.
“I don’t know,” Wil shook his head with a furrowed brow. “With what the Lieutenant said about the supplies the TSS was dropping to different Sects, it could be any of them.”
“Wait, what? What was said about what supplies?” Maverick asked for clarification of Wil’s comment.
Wil looked to Sawyer in apology as the General’s words haunted him:
“How else do you wipe out a violent world? Cut supplies, give them weapons, and let human nature take its course… What did they expect? Give a bunch of Sects the materials they need to build weapons of mass destruction; it was only a matter of time until we started blowing each other up. They just didn’t expect us to be so good at it, I guess…”
Knowing the explanation would take much longer than they had – and involved revealing several truths he wasn’t prepared to share with his little brother or Zander – Sawyer sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He would simply give a noncommittal answer in response and bring it up later if Maverick persisted. An idea lit before he could speak. It sparked in the back of his mind, igniting surrounding synapses until it flared into an inferno. “Wil, what do you think the range on those weapons is?”
