The Ghost and the Machine

by L B Garrison

  Mandy frowned. There was a grid-like pattern to the spheres’ placement, like a game of Battleship. Could it be a search pattern? That seemed right, but how did she know that? She reached out to the nearest black sphere, but then she remembered not to touch Bailey’s images. “These voids are places you can’t see with your little bugs, but how could that be? They would have to be solid or places the bugs couldn’t go.”

  Bailey collapsed the map and crept forward. ”Let’s hope they’re just tangible.”

  Mandy followed with Cisco beside her. An area of purple mist sat among the trees like a solid thing, unaffected by the wind. Shapes writhed inside. Mandy paused, drawing looks from the other two. “I think this is close enough.”

  “We shouldn’t stay much longer anyway,” Cisco said.

  Bailey traced a rectangle with her finger. A floating lens condensed from the air, magnifying the area inside the mist. “Agreed. Let’s just take a peek, shall we.”

  The lens flexed, changing shape and magnifying the view of the purple fog. Wherever mist touched the trees, the slimy bark dissolved and trickled to the ground. Rivulets of melted tree goop gathered into twitching piles that looked like inside out animals. The larger masses had limbs and partly formed bodies. Hunters.

  “Nanomechs,” Cisco breathed.

  “What?” Mandy asked.

  “The mist is composed of microscopic machines, like the ones I use to create the images," Bailey explained. “However, these nanomechs are taking apart the forest to create hunters. The nearsighted RS70s, the bug cameras, are disassembled when they enter the space. That’s causing the voids.”

  One pile of hunter parts was nearly complete. The angular head swung around to watch Mandy with its black eyes.

  Bailey stiffened. “Something has changed. The hunters in the woods are coming our way.”

  Cisco drew his gun and aimed through the lens at the hunter. “The other machines seemed to prefer Mandy too.”

  Mandy took a step back from the lens. The hunter’s head pivoted to follow her movement. “Why is it always about me?”

  Cisco fired, sending ripples through Bailey’s lens. The machine’s head popped in a spray of parts and goo.

  “Shall we run, then?” Bailey tugged Mandy’s arm and headed deeper into the forest, where the gloom drank the light.

  “What’s happening?” Mandy asked.

  They had only moved at a trotting pace for a few moments and already, Bailey huffed on the verge of being out of breath. “Hang on. Alex, hunters are pouring out of the voids. Lots of them and they’re coming our direction.”

  “I’ve sighted the second target. Taking the shot,” came Alex’s disembodied voice. A pop echoed around them.

  The dark forest returned to silence. Without the symbols and pictures swirling around Bailey, Mandy had no idea what lurked in the darkness. Not knowing was the worst part.

  Bailey squeezed her lips together. “Alex. It didn’t work. We’re still their focus. I’m sending you the T30’s location.”

  “I’ll meet you there,” Alex said.

  “Acknowledged.” Bailey stopped panting and mumbled. “I don’t know.”

  Bailey’s indecision sent a shiver through Mandy. They must be surrounded, if she couldn’t find a clear path. “Bailey, we could take on a small group, if we’ve got to.”

  Cisco pointed his gun skyward and watched the night. “We did it before.”

  “There are no small groups,” Bailey wheezed. She stumbled off in a different direction.

  Lightning flared, sending shafts of orange light through the trees. Thunder echoed through the forest and rain pelted against the leaves, sizzling like frying bacon. A cold wind blew in with the rain. Mandy shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. She was soaked and Cisco was close by. Hopefully, nothing untoward showed through her shirt. The thought was foolishly trivial, but Mandy couldn’t quite dismiss it.

  Bailey led them along a twisting path through the dark woods. She didn’t have the endurance of either Mandy or Cisco and they often had to slow so Bailey could catch her breath. Cisco helped wherever he could, clearing a path and lifting her over fallen trees. They anticipated each other like ballet dancers, who had done this many times before. Mandy felt a twinge of loss and, maybe a little jealousy too. She didn’t have that kind of connection with anyone here, and she missed Sage so.

  The slow progress was torture. Mandy had to balance her breathless need to run with her determination not to make Bailey feel like a burden.

  “Sorry, I’m holding you back,” Bailey puffed. She clasped her ring necklace tightly.

  Mandy pulled her along. “Hey, without you, we’d be lost. We’re all in it together.”

  They came to a fast- moving stream. Its surface danced with a rippling reflection of the cloudy, orange sky. Mandy cringed at the thought of the water, but splashed into the stream anyway. The frigid water was waist high and she had to lean into the swift current to keep her balance. The water sparkled blue wherever it pushed against her. She took Bailey’s hand and moved alongside her to block the worst of the rushing water. Cisco helped Bailey balance. The chill wind picked up.

  Bailey looked back. “They’ll be here shortly.”

  Mandy pulled Bailey along, sliding on the muddy river bed. “How far to the T30?”

  Bailey shuddered. “A thousand feet, or there about.”

  Mandy squeezed her shoulder. “We’re nearly there.”

  Cisco splashed out of the river on the far side and climbed up the embankment, scanning the woods.

  Bailey squeezed Mandy’s hand. “I’m forwarding all this to Alex, but I doubt she can help.”

  “Don’t give up on her or us, just yet.” The words sounded hollow to Mandy, but what else could she say?

  The opposite river bank was slick with icy mud covering sharp stones. The cold soaked into Mandy’s wet jeans as she scrambled to the top. Together, she and Cisco help pulled Bailey up. They ran the final distance to the vehicle.

  Bailey stopped and whirled around, scanning the woods. “They’re here. Fifteen—no, eighteen of them.”

  Several forms leaped through the shadows ahead, blocking their path, while others prowled on either side. The undergrowth rustled and twigs snapped in the darkness. Cisco fired at one of the fleeting forms, but missed.

  There were no rocks or thick branches lying nearby that Mandy could use as a weapon. She stepped in front of Bailey anyway to shield her, though it was a useless gesture.

  Silently, the hunters moved out of the mist with the slow strides of a predator approaching cornered prey. They stayed in two groups and spiraled in, forcing Cisco to shift his position. Mandy clenched her fists. Her heart bumped in her chest like an out of balance washing machine.

  The hunters rushed. Cisco took one down with a head shot. It dropped to slide in the mud. The others flowed like water around it. Cisco crippled another, but the rest closed in.

  White light flooded the forest. A black and chrome rover came bouncing into the clearing, snapping small trees and slinging mud. Its six wheels locked and it fishtailed, cutting furrows in the soft ground. It slammed into a pack of hunters, cracking glass and denting one door. The hunters tumbled like bowling pins.

  The side doors popped open.

  “Get in!” Alex yelled.

  Mandy pushed Bailey towards the T30, while Cisco took advantage of the enemy’s confusion to fire at the hunters. What was he doing? Getting away was more important than reducing their numbers. Mandy grabbed Cisco by the collar. Though he struggled, she hauled him back to the T30 and shoved him inside. It must have been the adrenaline, because it was much easier than she expected.

  The hunters had recovered and leaped towards the T30. Mandy jumped into the back seat and Alex hit the accelerator. The T30 spun, slamming the back door shut and throwing Mandy onto Cisco. The cabin rocked violently as they bounded through the woods. With a crunch they hit a smooth surface and sped into the night.

  Mandy was squis
hed against Cisco and laying eye to eye. He smelled of musk and cardamom. “This is completely by accident,” she said. “You know that, right?”

  “I know you’re on my spleen. I’m not complaining and you’re not moving.”

  Mandy frowned. That might be true, but he didn’t have to notice.

  The fracture lines in the windows crackled and disappeared. The metal around them popped and groaned. It was as if the machine was healing.

  Bailey peered over the top of the front seat and watched Mandy and Cisco. “If you lot stay like that much longer, it could be awkward.”

  It was already awkward. Mandy pressed her hand on the door to push herself away, which pulled her sleeve up exposing her arm. She was certain now. The blank space on her wrist shouldn’t be there.

  Mandy gasped and rubbed her wrist, sitting back on the seat beside Cisco. “I remember. What the hell? Seriously, what the hell?”

  The strangeness of her situation fell on Mandy anew. She clenched her hands into tight fists. She was dizzy and little stars swam at the edge of her vision. Was she hyperventilating again? She didn’t know.

  “Mandy?” Cisco had his arms on her shoulders, gently shaking her. Alex and Bailey had turned their seats around and were staring. How much time had passed? Mandy peeked around Alex to see the steering wheel moving on its own. Really? Of course it could drive itself.

  Mandy pulled up her sleeve, pointing to her wrist. “I should have a permanent tattoo right here. I don’t. It was the last thing Daddy gave me. Mom was so mad.” She giggled and snorted. A floating sensation caused turmoil in her stomach. “Even in dreams, it’s always there. How can that be? I feel like me, but I’m not me.”

  Alex nodded to Cisco. “Get something to calm her.”

  Cisco reached behind the backseat and held his hand over the floor of the cargo space that made up the back half of the T30. A cup bloomed from the metal and filled with a fawn colored liquid. Steam rose, filling the cabin with the aroma of honey and lime. The cup separated from the metal with a faint snap and he handed Mandy the freshly-minted drink.

  Mandy mechanically accepted the magical cup. It was warm in her cold hands and she cradled it, feeling the weight. It took concentration just to hold it steady enough to take a cautious taste. Hot tea with bright citrus notes washed over her tongue.

  Apparently, Cisco knew what the others preferred and created more drinks, hot chocolate for Bailey, black coffee for Alex and some milky cinnamon drink for himself. Soon everyone was sipping beverages and giving Mandy cautious glances as rain splattered the windows and the dark forest flashed by.

  Mandy took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

  “Feel better?” Alex asked.

  “No, it’s just tea.” Mandy watched the expectant faces around her for a moment and cleared her throat. “I don’t understand, but I am here, wherever this is. I have a life somewhere else. People who will worry. I have to get back there. Somehow.”

  Alex balanced her cup on her armrest. The cup sunk into the fabric as the armrest formed a slot to hold the drink. “I don’t know what’s happening, Mandy, but there is more at stake than just us. There hasn’t been a war for over five hundred years, not since the Enforcer Core was formed to prevent it, but this looks like an invasion. We need to get back to Skylax camp and contact the outside world. The authorities need to know what’s going on here, but I haven’t been able to make any connection beyond the local area.”

  “That’s because the towers are gone,” Bailey said.

  Alex scowled. “What?”

  Bailey opened her hands and a large scale map swirled into place before her. “With all this busyness, there hasn’t been time to tell you. The voids have wrecked all the relay towers. I’m afraid we can’t call for help.”

  The numbness grew inside Mandy as she stared at the map. It was shot through with black spheres and they were growing. New voids dotted the forest. She didn’t know how she knew, but the pattern and the purpose of the arrangement had changed. It wasn’t a search anymore.

  Mandy took a sip of tea. “Containment. Definitely containment.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  A

  s it turned out, Alex wasn’t very trusting. Mandy’s cage measured twenty feet by thirty feet, with gray metal sidewalls. A window formed one end, while a tough, soap-bubble like membrane formed the other. She touched her forehead to the cold window and swirled the lukewarm coffee in her cup. Her breath fogged the rain-freckled glass.

  Beyond the second floor window, Skylax camp spread out like a college campus, with eclectic style buildings, dark green lawns and winding paths lit by tall lampposts. It could have been a view of Texas Tech, but a close look broke the illusion. A woven metal fence shimmered in the night at the camp’s border and spider-like machines wove a new building across the street with threads that dried into taupe brick walls.

  Someone in the real world must be looking for her by now, but could she be found?

  “You’ve gone missing again,” Cisco said from behind her.

  “Have I?” She placed her cup on the ledge by the window. “I’m usually a great conversationalist. Well, what people actually say is that I won’t shut up.”

  “You’ve been quiet enough here. Thinking about home again?”

  Mandy turned to Cisco, who leaned against the wall beyond the soap bubble, arms crossed and looking handsome in the low lighting. “You shouldn’t read a strange girl’s mind. It’s not all sunshine and caffeine, you know. There are dark secrets too.”

  A smile crawled across his face and looked so natural, it must be his default expression. “Caffeine, I don’t doubt, but dark secrets aren’t likely.”

  “Well, there are some medium grays, and one really murky pink.

  “So, what’s it like?”

  “My mind?”

  “Your home. I don’t think I could handle your mind.”

  Mandy grinned. It was always a nice ego boost to have the attention of a cute guy, and right now, she wanted a diversion. She walked over to the membrane. Rainbow colors played across its surface.

  She leaned against the wall and crossed her arms, mirroring his stance. “West Texas is windy, flat and the skies are not cloudy all day. Not a thrilling description, I know, but I like it. Of course, it’s the people I really miss. That’s what makes it home.” Mandy stared at the gray wall and tried not to imagine what everyone was doing. She cleared her throat. “Okay, enough of my soliloquy. What’s your story?”

  “I’d rather hear about this Texas of yours.”

  “Oh, no. I showed you mine.”

  “True,” Cisco said, pausing for a few breaths, as if organizing his thoughts, or deciding how much to tell. “I come from an Orion Union world called Billy Bob III.”

  “Billy Bob . . . the third? Really?”

  “It’s the third planet from our sun. Legend says a ten-year-old girl paid a great fortune to buy the right to name our star after her father. For his birthday, or so the story goes. We’re petitioning to have it changed to Glint.”

  “Naming stars? Oh, I’ve heard the ads.”

  Cisco cocked an eyebrow at Mandy.

  “Like I said, I don’t shut up—but continue.”

  “My family had a lot of land and a mega-fauna safari company. Most of the family land is covered with thick jungles, but they’re hot, not like the cold forest here.”

  Mandy planted her elbow against the wall and rested her cheek in her palm. “Mega-fauna? Like dinosaurs? Don’t think I’d want to hunt them, but wouldn’t that be something to see?”

  Cisco rubbed the back of his neck and turn his body away, just slightly. “It’s not just hunting, there are sightseeing expeditions too. You might like that. The animals can be unpredictable. It’s all potentially dangerous.”

  His movement read as uneasy about the topic.

  “Cisco?”

  He glanced at Mandy and then down the oak paneled hallway. “I think dinner should be ready by now.”

&nb
sp; Yes, definitely uncomfortable. Mandy put her hand on the membrane between them, causing rings of pink and turquoise to creep across its surface. It was dry and taut as a trampoline. “So, what’s for supper?”

  “Hopefully, not blood pudding. With Bailey cooking, you never know.” He stroked a couple of fingers across the membrane, directly opposite Mandy’s hand. Only the heat transferred through. “What I really wanted to say is, we know a little of what you’re going through. Bailey and I can’t go home. Not yet, at least”

  Mandy stared at the wall. “I guess we’re stuck together. I’ll be here for sure until I figure out which way Texas is, and until I earn Alex’s trust so she’ll let me go. How am I supposed to do that?”

  He relaxed and chuckled. “I don’t know where your home is, but from what I’ve seen, just be yourself and Alex will come around.”

  “Really? You think?”

  Cisco’s eyes shifted to look down the hall.

  Bailey stood in the middle of the corridor, a whisk of a smile on her face. “You two are getting on. Didn’t mean to interrupt, but grub’s up.”

  “Maybe a little social interaction with Alex would help,” Mandy mumbled. “I’m pretty irresistible, you know.”

  Cisco’s ready smile returned. “We’ve all noticed.”

  Mandy crossed her arms and feigned displeasure. “Hey, that better not be sarcasm. And we better not all be eating in my cage. I haven’t had time to tidy up.”

  Cisco slid his arm through the membrane, sending ripples across it.

  Mandy stared at his open hand, “How did you do that?”

  Bailey peeked over Cisco’ shoulder. “The membrane is selectively permeable to stop specimens from escaping. You’re the only person in the universe it won’t allow past.”

  “Specimen? Well, don’t I feel special.”

  “Take my hand and I’ll pull you through,” Cisco said.