by David Meyer
He reached for the wall-mounted torch. At the last second, he thought better of it. Instead, he crept down the hallway, following it to the very brink of the circular room.
For the first time, he noticed four other hallways. Three of them shot into total darkness. But the fourth one, positioned to his left, contained the faintest of lights.
Holding his breath, he entered the lit hallway. The voices grew a bit louder, a bit clearer. Emboldened, he kept going, passing by a few doors. Some were closed, some opened up to still other rooms. The size of the space impressed him and he realized it was much larger than it appeared from the outside. The only explanation was that the building didn’t just abut the massive boulders, it actually went through them.
He tracked the dim light to a door. A simple metal sign, tarnished and covered with dust, hung from it. Gently, Titus scraped his sleeve across the surface.
“Danger,” he read aloud. “Liquid Nitrogen. Do not touch.”
The word, Liquid, filled his mouth with anticipatory saliva. But the attached warning left him dry. Whatever liquid nitrogen was, he wasn’t going to risk drinking it.
Lork opened the door and they saw a concrete stairwell. Silently, they snuck to a lower landing. Turning the corner, they headed down another flight of stairs. It led through the floor and when they emerged, they found themselves in an enormous room.
Titus reared up, overwhelmed by the sheer size of the space. It was the single largest room he’d ever seen in his life.
It was also, by far, the coldest one. At first, his body sagged with pleasure. But soon, his teeth started to chatter. Uncontrollable shivers ripped through his body. Most disturbing, he could see his breath, could see it wafting through the air.
Hugging his shoulders, he glanced at the floor. Thanks to flickering torches, he saw long rows of giant, silver capsules. Each capsule was roughly the height of two men, the width of four. Signs posted upon the capsules read, Natica: Shell Unit. Below that was a black circle, filled with a yellow, stylized N.
These days, ‘Natica’ referred to the fort he called home. But back then, it had served as a name for Emma’s corporation, whatever that was.
Amongst the capsules, he spotted the relatives. Roughly forty in number, they sported fearful expressions. A few of them were spread out, torches in hand, exploring the space. The rest huddled together in tight groups.
Quietly, he followed Lork down the steps, passing three more landings, before finally stepping off onto the floor. Looking around, he spotted tables against a wall. Old computers, tablets, and laptops covered them. The devices looked exactly like the ones back at Natica.
Shifting his gaze, he glanced at a capsule. It was positioned on four sturdy metal legs, which were cocked outward. A series of blinking lights, originating from all around the exterior surface, made him frown.
First, the machinery in the circular room. Now, these capsules. How was all of this stuff still operational?
Even as he asked the question, he became aware of the fact that others had questions of their own. Listening carefully, he heard nervous voices, all from different conversations, all belonging to the relatives.
“… creep you out?” Cutter asked.
“What is this place?” Renda wondered.
“How is everything so clean?” Lima said.
That last question caused him to furrow his brow. Indeed, the room was quite clean. There was no real dust to speak of and the silver capsules looked freshly polished.
Hunching down, he led Lork to one of the capsules. A bit of torchlight flicked across its surface. Glancing around, he searched for a way to examine its contents. But there were no windows, no doors. No visible way to open the silvery container.
Reaching out, he touched the capsule. Immediately, he yanked his hand back. Even in that room, it felt bone-chilling. It was easily the coldest thing he’d ever felt in his life.
He sensed a nearby presence. His body tightened up and his heart started to pound against his chest.
Abruptly, a fist flew out, socking Lork in the back of the head. Slowly, the private slumped to the floor.
Titus started to whirl around. But just then, a big, hairy arm snaked out from his right side. It slithered around his neck, choking off his windpipe.
“You shouldn’t have followed us,” Yerdon whispered in his ear. “Now, you’ll have to die.”
Chapter 24
Titus wheezed, gasping for air. Lurching sideways, he tried to get free. But Yerdon refused to let go.
Goosebumps appeared on his arms. Despite the chilly room, sweat bubbled up on his forehead.
Lips puckered, he tried to suck in some oxygen. But his lungs came up empty. Slowly, blackness began to slide into his field of vision.
Can’t get away, Titus told himself. You’ve got to fight.
His hands flew to his neck. His fingernails dug into Yerdon’s arm and he clawed at it.
The man grunted. His grip loosened just a bit.
Titus twisted his neck to the side, then wrenched his body toward the floor. Sliding out of the chokehold, he inhaled as much oxygen as his lungs could manage.
“Hey,” Yerdon said. “What do you think you’re—?”
Before he could finish the thought, Titus jabbed an elbow at the man’s left knee. It struck pay dirt, clunking solidly against flesh and bone.
“Ouch!” Instinctively, Yerdon grabbed his knee, clutching it tightly. Thrown off balance, he stumbled back a step, crashing into a capsule. It didn’t budge.
By that time, Lork had regained his footing. Lashing out, he caught Yerdon with a shot to the belly. The man groaned and doubled over.
Titus scanned the area, saw plenty of relatives looking his way.
“Get them,” Cutter shouted.
Shuffling noises rang out as the relatives went for their swords. Then they rushed at Titus and Lork.
Titus considered retreat, but quickly discarded the idea. The relatives would cut them off before they even reached the stairs. No, their best bet was to slow things down, force everyone to take a breather.
He glided backward, came up behind Yerdon. Before the dazed solar farmer knew what was happening, Titus had him in a chokehold.
Red-faced, the man tried to stamp on his foot. But Titus dodged it. At the same time, he delivered a strike to the guy’s side. Yerdon grunted.
Titus dragged the man backward until they were up against the capsule. He produced a dagger as the relatives ground to a halt. “Lose your weapons.” Gently, he touched his blade to the man’s neck. “Or he loses his life.”
Chapter 25
Everyone looked at Cutter. Cutter, in turn, stared into his eyes. “Didn’t expect to see you here, Titus. Hope you don’t mind if I call you that, by the way. The Code of Conduct is obviously dead. Might as well kill off the formalities, too.”
Titus pressed his blade against Yerdon’ neck, nicking it. The man groaned as a trickle of blood oozed down his skin. “Fine by me. Now, place your blades on the floor or I’ll kill him.”
“And then we’ll kill you, plus Lork there. In case you haven’t noticed, we’ve got numbers on our side. At least for now.” He glanced at the steps. “So, where are they?”
“Who?”
“Stubbels and his goons.”
“We’re not with them.”
“Don’t lie to me. You’re scouting for him.”
“Generals don’t scout.”
He frowned. “If that’s true, then why are you here?”
“Stubbels imprisoned us after you fled. We got free, ran for it.”
“Is that so?”
Titus nodded. “We followed your footprints long enough to realize you were coming here.”
He cocked his head, then nodded. “Weapons down, everyone,” he called out, sheathing his sword.
The relatives lowered their weapons. Blades were sheathed or tucked into the folds of cloaks.
Cutter looked around, making sure everyone had complied with his order.
Then he glanced at Titus. “Your turn.”
Titus studied him for a moment. The guy stood still, relaxed. His hands were empty. He wasn’t a threat. None of them were.
He relaxed. Still holding Yerdon in a chokehold, he pulled the blade back a few inches.
This was it, the moment of truth. Once Titus released the solar farmer, he’d lose his leverage. If Cutter wished it, he and Lork would be dead within a minute.
Finally, he let go. Yerdon fell to the floor. Coughing and choking, he scrambled away.
Titus made no sudden moves. Instead, he slowly sheathed his dagger and rose to his full height.
The relatives started forward.
Instinctively, he reached to his cloak.
But Cutter held up a hand. “Stop,” he commanded. “Back up, everyone. Give them space.”
The relatives frowned, but did as he said.
Cutter went to Yerdon. Checked his wound, then helped him to his feet. “Stubbels has lost his mind,” he told Titus.
“I know.”
“He means to kills us.”
“Us too.”
“So, I guess that puts us on the same side.”
Titus was quiet for a few moments. “This is my fault,” he said at last. “I thought Natica would be better off without the Code, without banishments. But all that did was give Stubbels and his people free reign to attack you guys.”
“It’s my fault, too. After all, I supported you at the time.” Cutter made a wistful face. “Truthfully, I hated the Code. I was always worried I’d make a mistake and get thrown out into the hinterlands for it.”
“When this is all over, I’m going to get a bunch of people together and spend a few days looking over the Code. Try to figure out what works and what doesn’t. Who knows?” He shrugged. “Maybe we can improve it.”
“Maybe.” Cutter looked around. “In the meantime, at least Stubbels won’t find us here.”
“He might,” Titus replied. “When we left, he was in the process of prepping an army. I don’t know where they are now, but there’s a good chance they picked up your trail.”
Cutter exhaled. “I should post lookouts.”
“I already did,” Titus said. “Sanza, Podey, and Private Stanner are outside.”
“So, just five of you in total?” Cutter shook his head. “That’s pretty disappointing, considering you’re the closest thing we’ve got to a king.”
Lork frowned. “He has more support than that. But Stubbels locked everyone away in the compound.”
He arched an eyebrow. “How many people are with Stubbels?”
“About one hundred-and-twenty diehard loyalists,” Lork replied.
“Well, we number forty. Forty-five, including you guys.”
“We can’t fight,” Titus said.
“We don’t want to,” Cutter replied. “Unfortunately, we might not have a choice.”
“We need a bigger army. One that’ll deter Stubbels.” Lork glanced at the capsules, at the blinking, buzzing machinery. “Maybe we can recruit one.”
Cutter gave him a questioning look.
“Think about it,” Lork said. “People must live here. Fixing the machines, maintaining everything. Maybe they can help us.”
“We figured the same thing,” Renda piped in, her voice hesitant. “We were just starting to search the place when you arrived.”
Titus glanced around the room. Natica possessed a certain undeniable scent to it. One of sweat and body odor. But this place, well, it smelled weirdly mechanical. Like no one actually lived there. But if that was the case, then how were the machines still operational?
“Why’d you come here, anyway?” he asked.
“Where else could we go?” She shrugged. “The stations have water and resources. But they’re too close to Natica. Stubbels would have no problem finding us.”
“We remembered what you told us about the Shell.” Yerdon touched a hand to his neck. “That it had its own water source and was high up on the mountain. We figured we might die getting here. But if we made it, we stood a decent chance of survival.”
“We even stole some cell material from the galley,” Lima said. “I’ve fixed up enough rasco machines that I could build one in my sleep.”
Titus shifted his gaze, looked at the many faces. Resignation was etched in their features. They’d come here hoping to start over. To build new lives for themselves, ones free of abuse. But deep down, they knew that was impossible.
“We need to keep up our search,” Cutter said at last. “We could use the extra hands if you want to help.”
Titus shook his head. “There’s no time. Stubbels could be here at any second.”
His frown deepened.
“Our best bet is to defend this place, to make Stubbels think twice about what he’s doing.” He thought for a moment. “First, we should return to the front door, set up some explosives. Then we should set more traps in the hallway.”
“Sounds good to me,” Cutter replied.
He walked to the steps. The relatives, along with Titus and Lork, did the same.
Once upstairs, Worac Naddler, a slim, unassuming reverse-engineer, threw open the door. Without pause, he led everyone into the connecting hallway.
Abruptly, the procession came to a halt. Angry shouts rang out.
Titus elbowed his way through the crowd. Upon reaching the circular room, he spied dozens of battle-hardened men and women. Wielding torches and swords, they extended down the entry hallway and all the way outside.
“So, you’re here, too?” Stubbels smiled at Titus. “Excellent.”
Chapter 26
The wind picked up, sending grains of sand scurrying through the open door. Skittering to the opposite end of the circular room, they collided with the silver machinery.
But Titus didn’t see this. All he could see at that moment were the two sides, glaring at each other. The relatives, mostly civilians, looked tired and thirsty. While they all carried weapons, few of them looked happy about it.
On the other hand, Stubbels’ side consisted largely of soldiers. Approximately one-hundred in total, they were well-armed. Well-supplied, too.
One thing confused Titus. Stanner, Sanza, and Podey were supposed to be outside, keeping a lookout. Why hadn’t they alerted him to Stubbels’ arrival? Had they been captured?
Briefly, he searched Stubbels’ ranks, looking for prisoners. He didn’t see his friends. But that didn’t mean anything. For all he knew, they were being held captive outside.
Or maybe they were already dead.
“Pretty impressive escape.” Stubbels stared at Titus. “How’d you get free anyway?”
Lork appeared at Titus’ side. “I helped him.”
He glanced at the man. “You’re a bloodfiend, too?”
“He’s not—” Titus stopped in mid-sentence. He’d intended to say, ‘He’s not a bloodfiend.’ But that implied bloodfiends were real, rather than a figment of the guy’s paranoia. “There are no bloodfiends,” he finally said. “Just Naticans.”
“That’s right,” Yerdon shouted. “We’re the same.”
Stubbels regarded him with cold callousness. “No, we’re not.”
“This is crazy.” Cutter looked at Stubbels’ allies. “We know you. We grew up with you.”
“Yeah? Well, we thought we knew you.” Private Apion scowled. “Turns out, we were wrong.”
Renda clenched her fingers into fists. “Why would we support the Banished?” she said. “They tried to kill us, too, you know.”
“Renda’s right,” Titus said. “There’s no room for family in the Banished. They want to kill everyone.”
“Forget it,” Cutter seethed. “They’re way past listening to reason.”
Titus hiked into the circular room. Lork and Cutter went with him. Stubbels, meanwhile, fell back a few feet.
Titus shot a glimpse at the open door. Despite all of the people, he had a pretty good view of the fort’s exterior. Unfortunately, he saw no sign of his fri
ends.
“Looking for someone?” Stubbels furrowed his brow. “Your fellow escapees, perhaps?”
Titus gritted his teeth.
“Are they out there?” He turned toward the door. “Show yourself, Lunit. You too, Podey and Sanza.”
There was no response.
“Fine. Stay hidden.” He shrugged. “We’ll find you soon enough.”
“I’m your general and one ceremony away from succeeding my father, Jayter Foster, as the rightful king of Natica.” Titus focused in on the opposing soldiers. “And that makes this treason.”
They shuffled their feet. Studiously they avoided his gaze, clearly uncomfortable.
“Sheathe your blades,” he ordered. “Take charge of Private Stubbels and I promise your crimes will be forgiven.”
The soldiers shifted their gazes elsewhere, everywhere but at him.
“I’ll do it.” Lork stepped forward. “Private Rohor Stubbels, it is my duty to—” The words caught in his throat. He gurgled loudly, stumbled backward.
No …
A series of images flashed before Titus’ eyes. He saw Lork fall. Saw a sword buried in his chest. Saw the man’s eyes, their vacant, lifeless look.
As everyone gawked, Stubbels hiked to the body. Kneeling down, he yanked his blade out. “Now, we can do this one of two ways. First, you surrender your weapons. Lay face down and stay there until we come to collect you. Second, you fight us and we kill you.” He looked at Titus, then at everyone else. “Which is it going to be?”
Chapter 27
Titus stood stock still, his gaze locked on Lork’s corpse. He could scarcely believe what he’d just seen.
“You … killed him,” Cutter said.
“Last chance,” Stubbels said. “Surrender or die.”
Titus had no illusions about their predicament. Stubbels saw them as a threat, one that had to be extinguished. But fighting wasn’t an option either, given the fact that they were severely outnumbered. Somehow, he had to stop this before it got any worse.
