Sophie smiled. “The bunker and train aren’t really that different from the Biosphere. They were both built so humanity could survive a post-apocalyptic event.”
Bouma shook his head. “Doesn’t mean they work. We’d be traveling on a gamble.”
“Not entirely true,” Emanuel added. “I once dated a woman who was stationed at the Denver NTC headquarters. Apparently, the tunnels are still operational.”
“And how’d you convince her to tell you that?” Sophie said with a raised brow.
Emanuel looked at the ground and then back at the group. “If we can just reach Denver, I’m sure the train will work too.”
“Sounds like a suicide mission,” Overton drawled. “Count me in.”
CHAPTER 25
BOUMA had scooped out the entire contents of the orb in the medical ward. It didn’t make much difference; Saafi’s body had been liquefied. There wasn’t anything recognizable left. Not even his clothes remained.
He sighed, watching as Overton placed the container with Saafi’s remains next to a makeshift box containing Private Finley’s body.
Sniffles and the occasional whimper echoed off the massive walls of Biome 1 as the team prepared the two men for cremation. Emanuel had suggested their remains be burned, and the ashes used to help fertilize the garden. Considering there was nowhere to actually bury them, Sophie had agreed.
“Would anyone like to say anything?” Sophie asked.
Overton stepped forward. He stared ahead at the remains for several minutes, his back stiff and his posture straight.
“I didn’t have the chance to get to know Mr. Yool, but based on what you all said about him, he was a good man.” Overton stepped closer to the small container with Saafi’s remains. “I promise you one thing, Mr. Yool—your death will not be in vain,” he said. Then he turned to Finley’s coffin.
“Finley was a good Marine. The best. I was hard on the kid only because I knew it’s what he needed to be successful. In the few months he was with my squad, I got to know him as more than just the goofball with jumbo ears—more than the high school wrestler who liked fast cars and country music. Private Finley’s life was just beginning, but it was cut short by those monsters. I swear to you, Finley, we’ll make ’em pay.” Overton ran his hand over the stubble growing on his head. “He was a good kid. A good man.”
Overton bowed his head and closed his eyes. If Sophie didn’t know better, she’d think he was praying. She gave him a moment and then patted him on the back. “Thank you, Sergeant. Private Finley was a respectful and capable Marine, one we will certainly miss. I did not know him well, but from what I saw he served his country admirably.” She paused and looked over at the smaller box that held Saafi’s remnants.
“Today we also remember Saafi Yool. He was one of the finest gentlemen I’d ever met. Saafi was a fighter. After he escaped his war-torn homeland of Somalia and made his way to the United States, he obtained an advanced degree in engineering, quickly rising to the top of his field. His life was truly remarkable, and ended too soon.”
She stepped aside and slid back into the group. A small hand gripped hers, and she looked down to see Owen’s wide eyes staring up at her.
“Are they going where my mommy and daddy are?” he asked.
“Yes, honey, they are.”
Holly glanced over at her, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. Then she bent down in front of the children and said, “Jamie, Owen, I’m going to tell you something now that may be hard, but you’re both brave kids and will understand. Okay?”
The two children looked up at her, their eyes wide and full of innocence.
Holly knew that no matter what she said, the kids would likely not understand what had happened to their parents, Saafi, or Finley. But she was from the school of thought that the best explanation for a child experiencing loss was a simple one.
“Sometimes we have to deal with losing those we love and care about. Now is one of those times,” she said. “Your parents, your families, and Mr. Yool and Mr. Finley—they’re in a good place now. It’s a safe place, a happy place. They can’t be with you right now, but you always have your memories.” Sophie looked over at her and offered a short reassuring nod, but Holly quickly saw a sad little frown dawn across Owen’s face.
“They’re in heaven with my grandma and grandpa and Sam,” he said, as if repeating something he’d been told before.
Jamie looked down at the ground and began to whimper. “I wanna see my mom and dad.”
Holly crouched to the girl’s level and put two fingers under her chin, tilting her face up so she could look at her.
“Your parents would want you to be here now, Jamie. They’d want you to live your life.”
Jamie pulled away. “But I want to be with them now!” she cried.
Holly pulled Jamie to her, letting the little girl cry into her side.
Overton lit a match and placed it under the makeshift caskets. The boxes burst into flames, the scent of gasoline filling the room.
Deep within the computer system, Alexia watched with her artificial lenses, controlling the air ducts so the smoke was filtered and sucked away. A sensor went off and she checked a line of data running across her display.
The team’s survival rate had been updated earlier, and somehow she had managed to overlook it. With the recent losses of Mr. Yool and Private Finley, the group’s chances of survival had decreased to 15 percent.
* * *
Emanuel waded through the lush crops in the garden biome. The scent of ripe tomatoes filled his nostrils, and for the first time he felt like he was actually doing what he had been hired to do.
He checked one of the cornstalks, which were already over three and a half feet tall. Peeling back the tassel, he examined the ear. Several kernels were turning brown. He had foreseen this and grabbed his tablet. With the swipe of his finger he pulled up a list of possible maize diseases that could have this effect. He selected a chemical that would control the blight and made a note to add it to the irrigation supply for this row.
Next on his tour of the crops were the cucumbers. He paused to stare at the area where just a few days earlier they had laid Finley and Saafi to rest. The vines were out of control and jutting out in all directions. He sighed and made note of another chemical he would need.
Overall, the garden was doing well. Even with the introduction of foreign toxins, he would be able to salvage at least 80 percent of the harvest. The food would last them months, but eventually it would run out.
The thought was sobering, but he pushed on. All that mattered now was survival. If what Sophie had dreamed was true, then they were all on borrowed time anyway.
He pushed the thoughts from his mind and made his way past the control room, where Timothy sat in front of one of the monitors playing a game of solitaire to keep his mind occupied. Emanuel chuckled under his breath and continued to the mess hall. Holly was teaching Jamie and Owen basic math on a tablet. Alexia’s hologram watched from the console behind them, occasionally offering suggestions or corrections to Holly’s instruction.
In the med ward, Sophie and Overton were hard at work retrieving supplies for the anti-Organic shield generator. He paused to watch them strip the panels of the cryo chambers so they could get at the guts of the machine. Alexia had provided them a list of all the items they would need to create a second RVM similar to the one Luke had built. They’d been on a scavenger hunt all over the Biosphere.
“Need something?” Bouma asked from the corner of the room. He sat patiently on a bench, playing on his tablet while waiting to be summoned for a task.
“Just came to get a chemical for Biome 1,” Emanuel said.
Bouma nodded and returned to the blue glow of his device.
A few hours later Overton was in possession of a hunk of metal that looked like a greasy turtle shell. The veins in his forearms b
ulged as he dropped it on one of the tables in the mess hall where the team had gathered.
Sophie followed him, a wide smile on her face. “It’s done,” she said. “Alexia has already confirmed it works. The only thing we need now is a power source to keep it running on the trip to the Denver Airport.”
“That’s not the only thing, Dr. Winston,” Overton said, stretching his sore arms. Pain raced down his shoulder, which still hadn’t healed completely.
“Transportation to the airport?” Sophie asked, beaming. “Don’t worry, I’m already ahead of you on that.”
“What’s your plan, Doc?”
Sophie strolled over to the table, staring at the device. She knew they needed something with an energy source powerful enough to sustain it for the duration of the trip. There was one Humvee left on the tarmac, but unless they could find a way to hook it up to the engine without draining juice from the rest of the vehicle, it probably wouldn’t work.
Ideas raced through her head. Even with a cloudless sky, solar power wouldn’t be potent enough. It would also fail as soon as they entered the tunnels under the airport.
She frowned and glanced over at the console where Alexia’s hologram was glowing brightly. “Alexia, what’s the most powerful energy source in the Biosphere?”
“That would be my fuel source, Dr. Winston.”
“Really? Is it portable?”
“Protocol is to stay with the facility, but I was designed to travel in cases of emergency.”
“I’d consider this an emergency,” Overton chuckled.
A grin streaked across Sophie’s face. “How would you feel about a road trip?”
“That would be acceptable,” said Alexia.
“Corporal Bouma, you’ll be in charge of security, and Emanuel will assist with all Biosphere operations while we’re gone. Holly, look after the children, and . . .” Sophie paused. “Look after Timothy, too.”
The man scowled from his wheelchair, holding an ice pack tightly to his jaw. “Good luck,” he mumbled.
Sophie decided to assume he was being sincere for once and thanked him. She turned back to Alexia’s hologram. “We’ll leave as soon as it gets dark. In the meantime, I’m going to need your assistance with removing your fuel cell and hooking it up to the device.”
Alexia smiled for the first time in her existence. It was something she had been saving for the right time, a human reaction she had studied for years. She considered the moment a perfect time to test her hypothesis.
It worked; Sophie returned the smile before pacing over to the children, mussing Owen’s hair with a swift pat on his head. For less than a millisecond Alexia felt a strange reaction trickle through her system. She scanned the constant line of data running across her display. The code was odd, unlike anything she had seen before. It wasn’t full of symbols and numbers—it was a statement that repeatedly scrolled across the bottom of her consciousness:
You are feeling happiness. You are feeling happiness. You are feeling happiness.
She was, by every indication, evolving.
CHAPTER 26
EMANUEL leaned over in the cramped bed and brushed his fingers across Sophie’s face, catching her gaze. “I really wish you would reconsider this.”
“No,” she said, pulling away.
Her monosyllabic response took Emanuel by surprise. He was used to her drawn-out sentences, often finding himself listening rather than contributing to their “discussions.”
With a sudden burst of confidence he wrapped his arms around her and leaned in to kiss her. Sophie closed her eyes and surrendered to the feelings racing through her body. She needed a break from reality—a break from the truth of what the world had become. A break from thoughts of death and loss.
“I have to go. You know I do,” she said between kisses. “If Secundo Casu is operational, then it may be humanity’s only hope.”
“That’s my girl,” he said. Emanuel pulled her closer, kissing her deeper. “You always have to be everything to everyone,” he whispered, pausing to take a breath. “But what about me? What about us?”
There was that word again. It was more than just a pronoun. To Emanuel, it meant a future together—a future she’d denied him before. Apparently, it had taken the end of the world to make her reconsider.
“There will always be an us,” she said, climbing on top of him and unfastening her bra. “There always has been, and there always will be, no matter what happens.”
Emanuel felt a tingle race down his legs. He brushed a strand of blond hair from Sophie’s face and held her gaze for several seconds. “You better fucking come back to me,” he said.
“We don’t have long,” she said, pulling her shirt over her head.
Emanuel didn’t respond. He knew the reality of the situation. This could very well be the last time he ever felt her touch. He pulled her down on top of him, crushing their bodies together. If this was to be the last time they ever made love, he wanted it to be the best time, too.
Alexia’s voice erupted over the intercom. “Sergeant Overton has ordered all hands to Biome 4.”
“No, no, no!” Emanuel cried as Sophie rolled off of him and pulled her shirt back on. He grabbed her hand and said, “I love you.”
Sophie hesitated. She had a responsibility to her team, but a few more seconds wasn’t going to matter. She leaned down and kissed him. “I love you too, Emanuel, and I will return to you.”
He smiled grimly, letting go of her hand. Deep down he wanted to believe her, but he was a scientist. Even with Sergeant Overton’s protection, he knew the chances of their return were limited.
“Well, you heard her. Are you going to see me off or what?”
He couldn’t help but smile. No matter what adversity she faced—no matter what the odds of success—she gave 100 percent. It was what made her a leader, and it was, he hoped, the one thing that would help her stay alive on her mission to Secundo Casu.
* * *
The blast doors hissed open. A wave of adrenaline emptied into Sophie’s system as the dark summer night stretched out before her. Wiped clean of clouds, the sky had become an endless blanket of sparkling stars. In a way, it reminded her of what she had seen in Colorado Springs that first, horrible night, with the countless orbs glowing throughout the city.
“Let’s move,” Overton’s voice said over the com.
Sophie took off in a sprint toward the outline of a single Humvee at the edge of the tarmac. She blinked and her night vision powered on, spreading its eerie green over her display. A few paces behind her, Overton struggled. The metal device clanged loudly on his armored back.
“This thing better fucking work. It weighs a ton,” he grunted.
“It is functioning at 100 percent,” Alexia’s voice said over the com.
They had inserted her fuel cell into a small interface at the bottom of the RVM and uploaded her consciousness so she could connect to the wireless links in their helmet. While she didn’t have access to her mainframe, she could still operate at almost full capacity. Sophie had to marvel at NTC’s ingenuity.
Overton halted when he got to the Humvee, scanning the tarmac for any heat signatures before opening the door. “Gimme a hand with this, Doc.”
Sophie unclipped the cords holding the second and more powerful RVM, and he heaved it onto the seat of the vehicle.
“I’m driving,” he said, jumping into the front seat.
Sophie took one last look at the blast doors and climbed into the Humvee. “Good-bye,” she said under her breath as Overton punched the gas.
* * *
Sophie stared out the window, her eyes fixed on a crater to the east. She could see the outlines of dozens of boats lying sideways in the dirt of what had been a lake bottom weeks before. The sight disappeared as the truck raced on, zipping between the empty vehicles lining I-25.
“Where are all the orbs?” Overton asked.
“I was just wondering the same thing. My guess is the Organics have already processed them.”
Sophie knew that the skin sacks of the deceased were probably littered across the highway, and was grateful she couldn’t see them through the darkness. In a way it was a relief, knowing the Organics had already moved on to a different location.
She turned back to the window and watched the dry landscape pass by. The temperature on her HUD read ninety degrees. It was unseasonably high, which could only mean one thing—the Organics were in fact draining the oceans at an alarming rate. There was no way to know how much longer the Earth had left. All she could do was move forward and try to survive.
A deafening boom echoed through the night. She froze, too petrified to look out the rear window, but the blue glow racing toward them was impossible to ignore.
Sure enough, the outline of a drone appeared behind them. In seconds it had reached the Humvee and slowed effortlessly to match the truck’s speed.
“I thought this fucking thing was supposed to keep them away!” Overton shouted.
Sophie clenched her pistol and sank in her seat, as if she could hide from the aliens by making herself smaller.
“Dr. Winston, check the machine!”
Alexia’s voice broke over the channel. “The RVM is operating at 100 percent efficiency. The Organics must be drawn to our movement. If we—”
Overton threw on the brakes before Alexia could finish her statement. The smell of burning rubber quickly filtered through their helmets.
“Quiet,” Sophie whispered, bringing a single finger to her helmet where her lips would be.
The drone hovered over the truck. The blue sides pulsated and rippled. Inside, a bright glow throbbed and the belly of the craft opened, spreading a radiant blue light over the truck.
Sophie cringed, holding her breath. It was scanning them. Days before, during their first ill-fated trip outside, the drone had used a beam to not only disable the electronics of the truck but to capture Saafi and Emanuel. This time was different; the drone kept scanning them, over and over again. It seemed almost confused.
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