by David Meyer
“This is your fault.” Podey put her hands on her hips. “If they die out there, it’s on you.”
“The only way they’ll die is if they resist.”
Titus stared at him, confused.
Stubbels raised his voice, addressing the crowd. “They’re in the hinterlands, heading northeast. Got a small lead on us, but we’ll catch them.”
Titus glanced through the bars of the one hundred-foot tall gate. To the northeast, he saw the mountain, light gray and featuring a craggy peak. Everything else was a vast expanse of sand and rock.
“You’re not going anywhere,” he said, swiveling back to face the private. “Private Stanner. Take charge of Private Stubbels. Escort him to prison.”
“Yes, Sir.” Stanner started forward. But the crowd knitted together, blocking him.
“Oh, no,” Podey said.
Sanza looked at them in disbelief. “Do you know what you’re doing?”
“They know exactly what they’re doing,” Stubbels replied.
Titus eyed the crowd, saw their dark, determined, looks. Heart sinking, he realized they were prepared to defy him. They were ready to do whatever Stubbels told them to do.
“I don’t have time for this right now.” Stubbels stared at them for a long moment. “Kew and Orro. Take charge of Titus and his cohorts.”
Kew Jonnison and Orro Laplon emerged from the crowd. Wielding swords in calloused hands, they frisked Titus, Stanner, Podey, and Sanza. They found a couple of blades, which they stored in their cloaks.
Sanza had spent the last few minutes stewing quietly. Finding her tongue, she spat venom at Stubbels. “You’re a traitor,” she said.
“Look who’s talking. You’ve sided with bloodfiends.”
“This won’t stand,” Podey said. “When the others find out about this, they’ll stop you.”
“They might. But I suspect they won’t.”
Titus winced, realizing he was probably right. Stubbels’ supporters might’ve only represented twenty-percent of Natica’s population. But he suspected that was enough to cow the rest into obedience.
“Did it ever occur to you that the relatives are innocent, Private?” Titus asked through gritted teeth.
“Innocent people don’t flee. Clearly, they’re going into the desert to find the Banished.”
Stubbels left the gate. The crowd parted ways for him and he hiked into the heart of the fort. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he lifted his voice to a shout. “This is Rohor Stubbels,” he began. “I have an announcement to make to all good and faithful Naticans.”
His allies hurried through the fort, rousting people from wherever they might be found. Hiking toward the gate, they watched Stubbels with tired, red eyes.
“The recent explosion was caused by the bloodfiends,” Stubbels told them. “Specifically, by Virda Stoychok, while attempting to dodge interrogation.”
“Now, hold on a minute—” Titus’ words ended in a wheeze, thanks to a sharp punch to the belly. Already sore and exhausted, he fell to a knee.
“Unfortunately, she took not just her own life, but those of the Lopa twins as well. In the aftermath, the rest of the bloodfiends overwhelmed some of our guards and escaped into the hinterlands.”
Absolute silence fell over the fort.
“The bloodfiends can’t be trusted,” Stubbels continued. “As such, I’ve taken the liberty of arresting Titus and his closest advisors.”
Kew stepped in front of Titus, separating him from the residents. He couldn’t see the Naticans, couldn’t tell what they were thinking.
“Very soon, I’ll be leading an army into the hinterlands, with the purpose of finding the bloodfiends. By nightfall, every last one of them will die.” He took a deep breath. “That’s all for now. Thanks for your attention.”
Titus wondered if anyone would challenge Stubbels. But no one did. Instead, sandaled feet shuffled across the sand as the residents quietly vacated the area.
Seconds later, Kew stepped aside and Stubbels appeared. Bending down, he studied Titus’ visage.
“This is crazy.” Titus met his gaze. “We’re friends.”
Stubbels shook his head, then glanced at Kew. “Escort them to prison. Keep them fed and hydrated.”
Kew scowled. “They don’t deserve our generosity.”
“True. But it’s just for today. Just until I’ve had time to interrogate them about the Banished.”
“You can’t do that now?”
He shook his head. “I need to get into the hinterlands. We’ve got to catch the bloodfiends before they can link up with the Banished.”
“They don’t want to link up with the Banished,” Titus said. “They’re just trying to stay alive.”
Stubbels gave him a withering look. “Enjoy your day, Titus.” He turned to leave. “It’ll be your last.”
Chapter 12
She’s here.
Kayden repeated the thought hundreds of times as she hurried down the street. It didn’t help. No matter how many times she thought it, she still found it impossible to believe.
Six months had passed since her last sighting of Cormella Dodge. At the time, the woman was trying to stop her from shutting down Protocol Forty-Eight. Fortunately, Kayden had won that particular battle.
In the aftermath, Cormella had vanished. Kayden had scoured the city for the woman, but came up empty. She’d tried to tell herself that Cormella was gone, deleted from the system. But deep down, she’d never really believed that.
Weaving through the streets, she ran to Garnet Farms. Climbing the front steps, she found the call button for 3-W and gave it a buzz. Then she glanced up at the camera. You’d better be there, she thought.
Her prayers were answered when the air crackled with electricity. A masculine voice screeched from the speaker. “Well, well, well,” Jarven Quint said. “Look who decided to pay us a visit.”
“Who is it?” The voice, a bit muffled, came courtesy of Bert Borden, a.k.a. BeBo.
“Ms. Steering Committee herself.”
She gritted her teeth. “Buzz me in.”
“Are you sure?” he needled her. “What if your laptop gets jealous?”
She exhaled. “I just saw Cormella.”
A moment of silence followed. Then the door buzzed. Kayden grabbed the handle and pulled it open. Inside, she found a nice sitting area, complete with couches and a self-service coffee bar. Giant letters along the left-side wall spelled out, Garnet Farms.
The name was a misnomer. No garnet, not even the coded variety, existed on the premises. And instead of a barn or stable, the place looked like a normal apartment building.
Skipping the elevator, she entered the stairwell. She darted up to the third floor, then took a left. Jarven’s front door was cracked, so she let herself in.
His apartment was slightly smaller than hers, but more creative in design. His kitchen, for instance, featured a tall island surrounded by bar stools, a wall-based brick oven, and an overhead model train track that weaved throughout the apartment.
At the moment, he, BeBo, and Valhalya Lincoln were gathered around the island. Tumbler glasses, liquor bottles, poker chips, and a deck of cards lay before them. For the last six months, the three of them had met there almost every night, drinking while Jarven taught them how to play games from the old days. Kayden joined them from time to time. But more often than not, she worked late, choosing to focus all of her energy on defeating the Broken.
Valhalya, a Nordic beauty with light skin and strawberry-blonde hair, hopped off of her stool. Her light green eyes flashed with concern. “Where is she?” she asked.
“Sapphire Place on Ash Street. But she saw me. So, I imagine she’s gone by now.”
Jarven leaned one elbow on the table and ran a hand through his short, black hair. He was a rarity in Luminosity, a real one-of-a-kind. For he was the only person in the entire city to still possess his personal memories.
Six months ago, she thought she’d lost him. While exploring an a
ncient memory together, he’d been captured by peacekeepers. Fortunately, the ending of Protocol Forty-Eight had effectively freed him.
“Start from the beginning,” he said.
She took a deep breath. “Remember how you checked into Virdo for me? How he was secretly communicating with Natica?”
He nodded.
“Well, I brought it up at the Steering Committee meeting. It turns out he’s building a satellite dish, using plans he found on his laptop.”
“Sounds innocent enough. So, why’d he keep it a secret?”
“He said it was because he didn’t trust me.” She exhaled. “Then he proceeded to tell everyone that I invented HXO.”
His jaw dropped.
“The members voted to boot me off of the Steering Committee. I stuck around to ask Virdo how he knew about it. But he got away from me before I could talk to him. When I finally saw him again, he was talking to Cormella.”
“You’re sure it was her?” BeBo asked, his voice full of gruff. Sporting a head full of curly blonde locks and a to-die-for smile, he looked like a young, flirty model. But in reality, his persona was way closer to that of a grumpy, old man.
She nodded.
Jarven stroked his jaw. “Well, at least it explains how he knew about HXO. She told him about it.”
“Why would he listen to her?” Valhalya asked. “Doesn’t he understand what she did to us?”
“He only has our word to go on,” Kayden reminded her. “And a lot of people don’t trust us.”
BeBo grunted. “Or like us.”
“You can’t blame them.” She shrugged. “They still remember how Cormella called all of you ‘terrorists.’”
“Let’s set that aside for a moment.” Jarven furrowed his brow. “Clearly, Cormella’s working with Virdo. But to what end?”
“It must have something to do with Virdo’s project,” Valhalya replied. “What was it again?”
“A satellite dish,” Kayden replied. “If you search your semantic memories, you’ll recall that satellites used to fill the sky. The dish will let us connect to them, assuming they’re still operational. Maybe even live on them.”
She arched an eyebrow.
“He says we’re too dependent on Natica,” she explained. “That we need an exit strategy if anything goes wrong.”
“He’s got a point,” BeBo said.
“Maybe,” Jarven replied. “But I’m betting Cormella’s got her own angle here.”
“Like what?” Valhalya asked.
“That’s what we need to figure out.” Jarven looked at Kayden. “What can you tell us about Virdo?”
“Not much,” she admitted. “He’s a likable guy. Charismatic, too. He had no trouble convincing the other representatives to support his satellite dish.”
“I see.” His lips twisted in thought. “I wonder why he waited so long to tell them about HXO?”
“Maybe he just learned about it.” She shrugged. “Or maybe he was waiting for the right time to bring it up.”
“Possibly. But it’s also possible that Cormella told him when to do it.” He studied her visage. “Is there any reason she’d choose this particular moment to come after you?”
It took her a moment to respond. “I finally made a breakthrough. I’m close to ending the Broken.”
They gaped at her.
“First, some background,” she said. “It’s based primarily on conversations with people from Natural Sciences as well as some of the research I found on my laptop. The way I see it, oceans played at least two vital roles in maintaining a stable, vibrant Earth. First, they absorbed and distributed heat from the sun. Second, they sent water into the clouds, which then distributed that water to other places.”
“I’m with you so far,” Jarven said.
“After the oceans disappeared, the sun proceeded to boil the equator, or Earth’s middle section. Rainwater—or skywater to the Naticans—dried up. I suspect far-flung water sources—lakes and rivers—were safe at first. But the rising heat started to dry them up as well. Glaciers and ice caps began to melt. Once fertile land transformed into desert.”
BeBo rubbed his jaw. “That must be when the Great Fires broke out.”
She nodded. “According to Natica’s oral tradition, the fires raged across the globe, wiping out cities and driving most of Earth’s remaining lifeforms to extinction. I also suspect they released huge quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. That gas trapped heat close to Earth, which sent the warming into overdrive.”
“Interesting,” Valhalya commented. “So, how do we reverse it?”
“We know the Broken was caused by HXO,” she replied. “According to my research, HXO is actually a tiny, self-replicating machine, once referred to as a nanobot. There are tons of these nanobots and they travel in packs.”
Jarven leaned forward. “Go on.”
“The nanobots, it seems, can be programmed to go after a wide variety of molecules. Obviously, water was the main target.” She took a breath. “Water molecules consist of two oxygen atoms bonded to a single hydrogen atom. Now, the nanobots don’t actually break those bonds. Instead, they add themselves to the mix. In other words, a single nanobot attaches itself to a water molecule. This forms a heavy, new solid, which falls to the ground.”
“So, HXO isn’t the most accurate name, then.” Valhalya looked puzzled. “H—or hydrogen—is still bonded to o—or oxygen.”
“Yeah, I don’t get it, either.” She shrugged. “It’s not just regular water, by the way. There used to be other types of water. Heavy water and light water, for instance. HXO can attach itself to both.”
“So, an HXO pack would come across some water,” Jarven said. “Then the nanobots would bond themselves to the molecules.”
She nodded. “That’s right.”
“So, why didn’t the packs just peter out? Shouldn’t they have run out of nanobots a long time ago?”
She shook her head. “If you recall, I said the nanobots were self-replicating.”
BeBo blinked. “Wow.”
“The process is a bit of a mystery to me. But an HXO nanobot self-replicates upon contact with a water molecule. So, a pack never gets any bigger or smaller.”
“I just realized something. Earth’s water didn’t vanish.” Valhalya’s eyes bulged. “It’s still here.”
Kayden nodded. “Essentially, that’s true. The Naticans are walking around on corrupted molecules.”
“So, the trick is to get rid of the nanobots,” Jarven said.
“Is it really that simple?” BeBo asked.
“Not exactly.” Kayden sighed. “Unfortunately, I’ve got a bit of a password problem.”
“Oh?”
“An active pack is relatively easy to disable. A single password will get me into its network. From there, I can access a deactivation switch.” She paused. “The problem lies with the already-corrupted water molecules.”
He arched an eyebrow.
“They require two passwords. The first one is based on its original pack. The second one is molecule-based. Complicating matters is the wind.” She exhaled. “I’ve made slight adjustments to Natica’s intranet, enabling me to search for foreign networks. In this fort alone, there are billions of them and they’re all protected by two unique passwords. It’ll take a while to tackle them all.”
“Aren’t the passwords on your laptop?” Jarven asked.
She shook her head.
“Oh.”
“Exactly. Honestly, I’d prefer to start with the packs, which only require a single password. By disabling them, I’d build up a database. I could use it to go after the already-corrupted molecules.”
“But how would you figure out the passwords?” Valhalya asked.
“I already built a password cracker. I’ve used it to fix a few corrupted molecules. But like I said, it’ll take time to get them all.”
“Have you cracked any packs yet?”
She shook her head. “I haven’t located one yet.”
Jarven frowned. “That’s odd.”
“It’s a problem of range, I suspect. The intranet doesn’t extend past Natica’s walls.”
“It occurs to me that Virdo’s satellite dish might correct that problem.”
She nodded. “Possibly.”
“Maybe that’s why he ratted you out,” BeBo said. “To destroy your credibility. So, you wouldn’t be able to use the dish.”
Valhalya nodded. “That makes sense.”
Kayden furrowed her brow. “He gave a big speech about how we shouldn’t stop the Broken. He said Natica would just abandon us. I wonder if he really believes that.”
“It’s not what he’s thinking that worries me. It’s what Cormella’s thinking.” Jarven glanced at Kayden. “She must be watching you. She probably knows you’re close to a solution and wants to stop you.”
“But why?” Valhalya asked.
“It can’t be good. She pretty much told us she wanted everyone here to die.”
BeBo sat back, looking exhausted. “Well, what now?”
“I’d like to get access to that dish.” Clearing her mind, Kayden mulled over a few options. An idea occurred to her. “Clearly, they invaded my privacy,” she said, a smile dancing across her lips. “So, I’ll invade theirs.”
Chapter 13
Donning her hood, Kayden opened the door and walked outside. Stifling a yawn, she paused at the top of the steps and peered in all directions. It had taken a few hours to plot out their next couple of moves. As a result, it was now morning. A couple of early-risers walked past her, heading in either direction, off to their respective departments.
Tossing a small backpack over her shoulder, she slipped into the foot traffic. She hiked to an intersection and took a left. Peeking out from under her hood, she saw a few people she recognized. To her left was Dan Skye, a sculptor from Humanities. Tyrese Wenom, a chemist and thus, part of Natural Sciences, walked a few feet over on her right. Had they heard the news about her? Did they know about her role in the Broken? Did they know she’d been kicked off of the Steering Committee?
Her palms started to sweat. Glancing ahead, she saw Jill Pox, an engineer with Applied Sciences, heading straight for her. Swiftly, she ducked out of the woman’s way. Applied Sciences, after all, was Virdo’s sector.
