The Preston Six Collection: (Book 1, 2 and 3)

by Ryan, Matt

  Joey sighed and took the gun in his hands. Heavier than the one he picked out with his dad. He turned it over and studied the air fins on the backside of the barrel. “Can you keep this one safe for me?” He handed Harris one of his guns and stuffed the railgun into his holster, pulling his jacket over them.

  Harris nodded and turned to the group. “Everyone ready?”

  They said their goodbyes and Lucas and Julie stepped out of the circle. Joey shook his head and felt the paper on the inside pocket of his jacket. Samantha and Poly stood on either side of him while Hank paced near the edge.

  He wanted to push them all out of the circle and force Harris to take him alone, but he knew it would only cause a massive uproar. He kept his head low and waited for the darkness coming. Samantha grabbed his arm and then he heard Poly’s voice.

  “Julie, say hi to Travis for me.”

  WHAT AN IDIOT. POLY COULDN’T see Joey in the darkness, but at this moment, that was for the best. She folded her arms and waited for Harris’s light. He lifted his Panavice and lit the room. She stepped toward the door and caught another glimpse of Samantha’s arm around Joey. Pursing her lips, she pushed the steel door open. The stone steps led up and she remembered them from last time. She stared at the top of the stairs and grabbed where Simon had shot her arm.

  She was annoyed at being there. It was bad enough to land on Arrack by accident, but choosing to be there seemed idiotic. She glanced at Joey and saw his somber look. He probably felt the same way she did, and she hated seeing his beautiful face marred by sadness. She closed her eyes and shook her head. She had to stop looking at him that way, he’d made his choice. She gripped her dagger at her hip and squeezed the handle.

  “I can’t thank you four enough for taking on this task. This is going to save more lives than you know,” Harris said.

  “Sharati said Marcus made a deal with them. You think what they are doing is this deal?” Joey asked.

  “It would make sense. I never knew what the deal consisted of. If you can find out that info, it could help as well.”

  Poly turned her head so Harris couldn’t see her rolling her eyes. Did the man have no ends to his requests? Perhaps she could find an Arrack pastry of his liking and keep it warm for him on the trip back.

  “We’ll do what we can,” Joey brooded.

  Poly wanted to slap the sulk out of him. The only reason she even considered coming to Arrack was for him. She knew if she didn’t go, he’d sneak off into the night and go without her. Then he’d bungle the whole thing for sure. “Let’s just get this over with,” she blurted.

  Samantha frowned at her. Good, let her frown. She was tired of playing the edges of politeness. If it wasn’t for Samantha, her parking at the lake with Joey would have ended very different.

  “How far is Sharati from here?” Harris asked.

  “Last we saw, she was in this village.” Joey pointed up the stairs. “She was in the military. I bet she can help us get this paper to the right person.”

  They’d lost so many Arracks during that escape. It happened so fast, Poly never fully understood why they were dedicated to helping them so much. They said it was because they wanted Marcus to fall, but with Marcus gone, would they still feel that way? Would Sharati want to help them now that they had free run over Vanar?

  “Well, let’s find Sharati,” Poly said.

  “Do we even know where to start?” Hank asked.

  “Past this door is a start.” She walked up the ramp and turned the handle of the wooden door. It swung open and in front of her stood a regiment. Standing in groups of maybe twenty, they turned to face her and the sound of conversations stopped.

  Her chest thumped and she searched for Sharati’s face but came up empty, they all looked so similar.

  “We’re looking for Sharati.” Joey stepped past her and raised his hands in the air. This question started a rumbling of conversations.

  An Arrack stepped forward. He wore a decorated necklace that covered much of his chest. “Who are you?” The Arrack hissed out and put a hand on his dagger.

  “We are friends. She helped us not long ago.” Joey kept his hands up and spoke loud enough that his voice echoed through the hall. Poly eyed this new Joey and moved closer to him. The sulk was completely gone, replaced with supreme confidence.

  “Friends?” The necklace Arrack pulled his dagger out. Poly placed her hand on Joey and pushed him back toward the door. They might have a chance to get back to the stone if they timed it right.

  The large front doors of the building flung open and light flooded in. Murmurs spread through the Arracks and Poly stood on her tiptoes to see who was working their way through the crowd. Finally the person emerged from the front row of Arracks. Sharati, eyebrow raised, stared at Joey and Poly.

  Poly looked back at the stone door to see Hank and Samantha peeking out. Did Harris already scoot?

  Sharati said a few words in her native tongue and the reaction to the rest of the Arracks was mixed with gasps and a lot of chatter. Many sniffed the air. The necklace man looked with an open mouth from Sharati to them.

  “I didn’t expect to see you again.” She kept her eyes on Joey, and Poly kept her eyes on Sharati’s hands. She could tell from her movements that she had a skill for steel, but so did Poly. Sharati shot her a glance and a quick nod.

  “We didn’t expect to be back, but we have an urgent message for your leader.” Joey lowered his hands.

  Poly squinted at him. When did he become a diplomat?

  “Our leader?” Sharati turned and said something, laughter spreading through the crowd.

  Poly eyed them, looking for hints of aggression. They still had a chance to get back to the stone if things got ugly.

  “Yes, this message is to be only opened by him or her.”

  “I’m sure they’ll be happy to receive it. What is it about?”

  “It’s a peace offering for you and Vanar. I come as a neutral party to deliver this message.” Joey reached into his jacket and lifted the white envelope above his head. Sharati eyed the message.

  “We aren’t ruled by one person anymore. Marcus’s agreement is over, we rule ourselves now.” Sharati beamed with pride.

  “And what was this agreement?”

  “You don’t know?”

  “No.”

  “This planet is dying and for our services, he agreed to give us Vanar.”

  Joey stumbled back and Poly’s eyes went wide. They were promised Harris’s planet? Joey recovered quickly and looked down at the envelope in his hands. He was sure she was thinking the same thing. What kind of leverage did he have now?

  “That’s going to end in many deaths on both sides.”

  “You don’t think we know about death? We have died ten thousand to one for Marcus. The deal with him is unbreakable. We will wash over Vanar and claim it as our own.”

  Joey let out a long sigh and the tone in Sharati’s voice made Poly reach for her knife. Sharati gave her another glance and scowled.

  “This can be a new deal, one where you don’t have to keep dying.” Joey held the envelope up again.

  Sharati’s eyes stayed on the paper as he moved it. “I’ll read it.”

  “No, sorry. Only the leader can read this.”

  “We don’t have a leader anymore.”

  Joey turned to Poly with a raised eyebrow.

  “You have a council of some sort, correct?” Poly asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Then take us to this council.” As quick as possible, Poly wanted to add. Being on a planet with Arracks unsettled her like being in a pit with rattle snakes—one wrong step and they’d strike.

  Sharati narrowed her eyes on Poly but she didn’t break eye contact. She’d seen worse from less. Sharati turned her attention back to Joey. “We have a meeting soon, but it’s a journey from here.”

  “That’s fine, how far?”

  “We should be able to make it by tomorrow by wagon.” Sharati yelled in her Arrack tong
ue, the words hissed out and then said, “I will take you to them, come on.”

  Poly turned to Hank and Samantha and motioned for them to come out. Samantha’s gaze darted around the room filled with armed Arracks and rushed to Joey. Close enough to count the hairs on his arm. Poly rolled her eyes and walked on the other side of Joey, but at a reasonable distance.

  The Arracks chattered as they made a wide path for them to the front door. Poly watched for motion she’d been trained to see in the many simulations with Compry. She hated being in the middle of them, they had no chance if they decided to attack. She might have been able to take out a few, but the body weight alone would overwhelm them.

  A few Arracks sneered and snarled as they passed, many with scars over their silver bodies and faces. One with three yellow stripes on its shoulder stood still, smelling the air and then its face changed to an expression of wonder. Poly locked eyes with it and an unblinking stare followed her as she walked by.

  “We’ve got to get out of here,” Samantha whispered to Joey. She had even wrapped her arm around his.

  Poly shook her head but would forgive her this one time, because this was scary as hell and the girl couldn’t protect herself. She was dead weight as far as Poly was concerned. What was she even doing on this trip? She should have gone with Julie and Lucas.

  The large doors opened and they walked down the front steps. Parked on the dirt road was a large coach wagon with four horses tied to the front. Sharati opened the doors to the coach and the other Arrack jumped to the top where it sat on a perched seat with a set of reigns. Sharati climbed into the coach. Joey, with Samantha in tow, followed her inside.

  Hank climbed in next and it rocked from side to side. “I sure feel sorry for these horses,” he said and smiled. Poly looked at him sideways and Hank added, “It’s just something Lucas would have said.”

  She shook her head and grabbed the wooden handle next to the door, stepping into the coach. Hank sat on the same side with Sharati which left an open seat next to Joey. Poly sighed. Did it really have to work out that she would have to sit by the happy couple?

  She plopped down on the purple velvet seat and adjusted her dagger and sword. Sharati reached over and closed the door. The coach lurched forward and the bouncing began.

  “That’s a lovely bracelet, Sharati,” Samantha said and pointed at her wrist.

  Sharati’s face crunched up in confusion and raised her wrist near her face. “This is a death bracelet, it means my parents were killed.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

  “This is an honor, they died in battle, I was but seven when they wrapped this around my wrist.”

  Samantha leaned back and kept a weak smile on her face. Poly rolled her eyes. She never felt the need to make conversation. She would be fine with a silent trip to this council.

  “You have an interesting sword.”

  Poly perked up and stopped watching the town pass by the window. “Would you like to look at it?”

  “You’d hand your weapon over to me?”

  “You’re not going to use it against me, are you?”

  “Not at the moment.” Poly handed Sharati her sword. She examined it and handed it back. “It’s quite a sword. Do you know how to use a weapon like that?”

  “I do.”

  “I would very much like to see that.”

  “You should hope never to see it.”

  Sharati laughed as if this was the funniest thing. Her laugh hissed through her teeth and then fell silent. That was what Poly hated, the awkward silence after small talk.

  “I might have my chance, if the council decides to kill you,” Sharati said.

  LUCAS PACED THE COMPUTER ROOM. This was Julie’s training center. He hadn’t been in this room before and was glad. Recognizable area’s flooded his head with memories of Nathen.

  Julie stood in front of the computer with Jack on one side and Harris on the other. They’d been discussing how to connect the computer with minimal risk of Alice finding them.

  “It’s just about hardwiring. We’ve cut off all other wireless connections,” Jack said.

  “My Panavice still has the same software I used to get to her last time, but I wasn’t anywhere near killing her off. I just brushed up against her system.”

  They all stared at the black screen like at any second it might come to life and they’d have to battle it with finger clicks and button pushing. Lucas couldn’t help but chuckle at the whole scenario. Fighting a computer program seemed so ludicrous. “Why can’t you just go to where this computer lives and unplug it?”

  “That’s actually not a bad idea,” Jack said.

  “Except when Emmett melted the city, we don’t know if their stone is still open. It could have been filled with melted steel or the room may be flooded. We could jump right into our deaths,” Harris said.

  Lucas continued his pacing. He tapped his fingers on the string of his bow. If only he could shoot this Alice thing in the hard drive, shut it down. Anything would be better than watching nerds stare at a blank screen for hours. Too bad he’d already done his part, the doctors had already taken a healthy dose of his blood, and now . . . he was just a spectator.

  “Well, I think there’s only one way to find out.” Jack crawled under the desk and picked up a wire. “Ready?”

  Julie’s hand shook as she swiped her fingers across her Panavice screen. She sat down on the chair in front of the large screen mounted to the wall. “Yes.”

  Jack plugged the cable into the wall. The screen on the wall flicked and then showed a solid blue screen.

  Julie placed her Panavice on the desk and a holographic display of a keyboard and small screen projected out from it. She placed her fingers on the keyboard and began to type. “I tweaked the program quite a bit, hopefully concealing it. I’ve actually been working on it in my spare time for a while now. This Alice program is fascinating.”

  Harris leaned closer and Jack scurried to his feet and hovered over Julie’s shoulder. Harris’s brow furrowed, like he was at maximum concentration. Jack, mouth open, shook his head in disbelief.

  “You wrote that by yourself?” he said in awe.

  Julie bounced on her seat under the admiration. “Yes.”

  It looked like a bunch of sentences scrolling over the screen. Lucas tried to muster up some appreciation for the code, but it was just a jumbled mess of symbols.

  “We’re in.” Julie leaned back in her chair and clapped.

  “Okay, now see if you can nuke her system.”

  “Almadon gave me a centipede to inject her with.”

  Lucas stopped pacing and moved closer to the screen. Still nothing but digits, but he was interested now. It wasn’t like Julie could get hurt hacking.

  “Loading the program now.” She pressed one finger on the keyboard. The screen flickered and turned off. She glanced to Jack who shrugged. A face popped on the screen. Julie screamed and pushed backward. “Alice.”

  The digital face flickered and jerked. “Julie?” Alice’s voice warbled and crackled. “What have you done?”

  Julie leaned forward in her chair. “We’re stopping you.”

  The face stopped jerking and became clear. “Amateur attempt.” Alice’s head turned in the direction of Harris. “Kill her now and I’ll allow you, and you alone, to control the grid.”

  Harris crossed his arms. “No.”

  The face flickered and distorted again.

  “It’s working through your systems isn’t it?” Julie taunted. “Hard to catch it, everything you do only makes it bigger.”

  “You have just made a big mistake,” Alice’s voice cracked. “To think I was going to allow so many of you to live. I do not need maintenance. I do not need any of you.” Her head popped in and out of the screen. “You brought this on yourself.” The screen turned black.

  The lights in the room brightened and a few of the other monitors flickered to life.

  “Whoa, our nets are back up and my Pana is working.�
� Jack grasped his Panavice. “Look.” He held the screen toward Julie. “You did it!”

  Julie picked up her Panavice and gazed at the screen. “He’s right, the whole region is back up.” Joy filled her voice. “Well, that wasn’t too bad.”

  “Hell yeah,” Jack exclaimed. “You freaking killed her.”

  Harris shook his head. “Something’s not right.”

  Lucas adjusted his bow. He didn’t have a good feeling about it either. He kept an eye on the screen. The last thing Alice said was “you brought this on yourself.”

  Julie’s finger flew over the screen. “Look at the connected number, it’s over a nine thousand already.”

  “Maybe she’s gone and the systems are restoring, one at a time.” Jack was almost giddy.

  “At this pace, we might have the whole world back on by tomorrow.” Her Panavice began to vibrate. “What the . . .” Julie set her device on the table. It rattled, then fell to the floor.

  Jack’s Panavice shook violently in his hands and he dropped it on the floor. “Turn the com off!” he yelled, jumping under the desk and yanking the cord out of the wall.

  Lucas backed away from the two shaking objects on the floor. They clattered like two jumping beans gone haywire. He took another step back. “Why are they doing that?”

  “I don’t know,” Julie said.

  “We need to get out of here,” Harris warned. Julie reached for the Panavice. “Leave them,” he said.

  Her face filled with panic and she hesitated. The Panavice began to squeal and shake hard. Tendrils of smoke rose from one. “I have to get it, I have so much work stored on it.”

  “Julie, out of here. Now.” Lucas grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the room.

  Harris led the way down the hallway.

  “What’s going on?” she asked.

  “Just wait for it.” Harris turned and pointed down the hallway.

  Lucas stared at the door. He heard the devices clanking around on the floor. Then silence. “Was something supposed to happen?”

  The two doors blew open from an explosion. Lucas covered his face from the blast wave passing by them. A second later and another boom, with the door open, he saw the flash of light in the room as the Panavice exploded.