The Awakening
Page 45
abouttochange.
“Itworks?”
“Yes,Eve!”Sanchoyankedherfromthemattressandtrippedoverthesheets thathadspilledontothefloor.“That’swhyyouneedtogetup!We’vegotwork
todo!”
“Allright,allright,butcanIatleastbrushmyteeth?”
“No.”
Shefoldedherarms.“CanIgetdressed?”
Sanchopaused,eyeingherflannelpajamabottomsandfadedt-shirt.“Yeah,
okay,Iguessyoushouldprobablydothat.”
Evewaitedinsilence,impatientlytappingherbarefootagainstthefloor.
“Canyouturnaround,please?”
“Oh,sorry.”Hespunaround,staringatthedoorinfrontofhim.“It’sjust,I’m
—”
“Soexcited?”
“How’dyouknow?”HeglancedatthesideoftheroomandeyedMadison’s
emptybed.“Hey,whereis,”hehesitated,“youknow.”
Everolledhereyes.“She’savoidingme.Hasbeenforweeks.”Shehastily
tuggedonapairofbluejeansandtossedawhitecottontanktopoverherhead
beforekickingonhercombatboots.“Whereto?”
“Mydorm.Everyone’swaiting.”
Thetwosomescurriedthroughthehallway,anxiouslyglancingdownthe line of doors to make sure no one was watching them. Sancho and Jason’s roomwasjustashortdistanceaway,convenientlysituatedacrossfromthe
washrooms,butthesecretivenatureoftheiroperationmadethejourneyseem
long and precarious. As Eve tiptoed past the showers, Sancho flung open his dormroomdoorandpulledherinside,eagertoshowhertheirlatest
breakthrough.
Theroomwascozyandcarelesslydecoratedinamannerthatonlyyoung
mencouldgetawaywith.Sancho’sbedwasunmade,hiswallscoveredin
postersofhologamesandbig-breastedwomen,whileJason’ssideoftheroom
wassimple,monochrome,andmostlybare.PercyandJasonhoveredoverJJ,
whosatatJason’sdeskwiththreebrightscratchpadscreensproppedinfrontof
her.
EvehurriedtotheirsideandpeeredoverJJ’sshoulder.Thefarleftscreen
wascoveredinrowsofblueaudiowaves,streamingacrossthemonitoralmost
endlessly.Themiddlemonitordisplayedlinesoftext,appearingwordbyword
justasquicklyasthesoundwavesformed.Thefinalandmostlifelessscreen
showedamapofBillingtonandthesurroundingneighborhoods.
“Prettydynamic,isn’tit?”JJboasted.“Thisbeaconisamilliontimesmore
advancedthananythingwehaveonthisplanet.”Shepickedupthedevice,
which was now dismantled and linked to her scratchpads through a tangle of wires.“ThisthingallowstheInterloperstotransmitverbalcommandsdirectly
tooneanother’s minds.Someonespeaksononeend,andtheotherInterloper hearsitinhisthoughts.”
“That’sincredible,”Jasonmurmured,watchingthesoundwavesinawe.
“Andit’snotjustcommands.Theycantransmitpictures,maps,instructions
—anything—andthereceivingpartywillseeitasifit’srightthereinfrontof
them.”
“Fascinating,”Percymuttered.“ButamItheonlyoneherewhodoesn’t
knowwhatthehellwe’relookingat?”
“Thewavesarethedifferentverbalcommandsbeingsenttothebeacon.
Eachwaverepresentsadifferentvoice—adifferentInterloper—who’s
transmittingsometypeofinformation.Ofcourse,they’reallinsomestrange,
alienlanguage,whichwould’vebeenabitchtotranslate”—JJturnedtoEve
andwinked—“soIjuststoletheShelter’stranslationsystem.”
“Great,”Evemuttered.“Nowwe’reaccessoriestotheft.”
“That’swhatthemiddlescreenis,”JJcontinued,ignoringEve’sremark.
“AllofthewavesarerenderedandconvertedtotheEnglishlanguagehere.”
“Isthereadelay?”Jasonasked.
“Secondsatmost.”
“Andthethirdscreen?”
JJrolledhereyes.“Thatone’sabigfatwasteoftime.It’smyglobaltracking
system.Iwashopingtolocatewherethevoiceswerecomingfrom,butsofar,
nodice.Instead,I’vebeenusingittouploadthepicturesthey’retransmitting.”
Evefoldedherarmsasshewatchedthetextshootacrossthemiddlescreen.
Arandomflurryofwordscaughtherattention— campus,chimera, and target
—
andshegrimacedatthesightofit.
“So,nowthatwe’vegottheircommunications,whatthehellarethey
saying?”
“Lotsofcrap.Andletmetellyou,thoseshit-sacks hate you guys. Especially you,Eve.”
“Shocking.”
“ButI havepickedupafewsignalsthatwereparticularlyinteresting.”
JJfiddledwithherscratchpads,slidingherfingersacrossthescreensuntila
single picture appeared. It was a silver, cylindrical rod, long and lean with a curvedhead,apparentlyconstructedofthesamemetallichardwareasthe
beacon.Athingroovewrappeditselfaroundthedevice,andasmall,spherical
knobsatatthebase.Acrossitsentireshaftwererowsandrowsofbluebuttons,
glowingandflickeringseeminglyatrandom.
“ThebestEnglishtranslationIcouldgetforthisthingwas torq,althoughI’m prettysuretheysaiditwithsomesortofclickingnoise.”
Percywrinkledhisnose.“Doesanyoneelsethinkthisthinglookssortof…”
“Phallic?”Evescoffed.
“Iwasgoingtosaycock-like,butI’mgladwe’reonthesamepage.”
“HOLYBALLS,”Sanchogasped.“It’sa probe.”
Jasonlaughed.“TheInterlopersdon’tprobepeople. God.”
“Maybetheydo.”
“Well,theydidn’tprobeme.”
“Howwouldyouknow?Youwereinandoutofconsciousness.”
“It’snota probe,”JJsaid.“It’sapersonalcomputerofsorts—ascratchpad, if you will. Each Interloper has one, and it carries all of their data and missions.”
“Soifwehadaccesstooneofthose,wecouldgetaninsidelookatthelife
ofanInterloper?”
JJflashedasmugsmileatEve.“Darlin’,yousetyoursightstoolow.”She
enlarged the image of the torq, pulling it from the screen until it hovered in frontofherinholographicform.“FromwhatI’veread,there’sahubintheir
lair—a mainframe that holds all of their intelligence. They use their torqs to gatherinformationandthendownloadtheirfindingstothemainframe.”She
turnedtofacethegroup.“Thathubispivotaltothem:it’stheirlifeline.”
Eve’seyeslitup.“Weneedtodestroyit.”
“Bingo,princess.”JJturnedbacktothehologramandranherfingers
through it, sending it spinning in a circle. “If we had a torq, I could try to booby-trapitwithavirus.Then,oncewefindthelair,allwe’dhavetodois
locatethemainframe,attachthetorq,andactivatethevirus.Wecouldwipeout
everything.”
“Includingthelist?”Eveasked.
“Especiallythelist.”
“Greatnews!”Percysang,slappingJasonandEveacrosstheirbacks.“We just need to nab ourselves one of those schlong-a-dongs and we’ll be on our way.”
JJhesitated,glancingawkwardlyathercomputers.“There’sonemore
thing.”
“Well,judgingbyyourtone,itisn’tgood,”Evesighed.“So,layitonus.”
“It’sFairon.”JJpaused.“He’soncampus.”
“Sonofabitch,”Jasongrowled.
“Wait,buthe’stheleader,”Percysaid.“Doesn’thehavemoreimportant
thingstodo?Likeactually leading?”
“Apparently this leaderlikestobeonthefrontlinesofthebattlefield.”
“Howlonghashebeenhere?”Jasonasked.
“Months.Probablytheentiresemester,ifnotlonger.”
Eve folded her arms almost defensively. “Well, it was to be expected. If he wantsmesobadly,hecanfindmehimself.”
“Oh,he’sfoundyouallright.”
JJminimizedtheholographictorqandsweptherfingersacrossthethird
monitor,pullingupafileofphotosstoredinherscratchpad’sarchive.Oneby
one,aseriesofimagesfloodedthescreen—imagesofEvewalkingtoand
fromherclasses,sittinginthevariouslecturehalls,toyingwithherscratchpad.
Someofthepicturesweredistantandblurry,whileotherswerestraightonas
ifFaironhadbeenstandingrightinfrontofher,closeenoughtoreachoutand
touchherface.
Jason’seyeswidened.“He’s followingyou?”
“Idon’tunderstand,”Evestammered.“Ifhe’sgottensoclosetome,why
hasn’themadeamoveyet?”
“Maybeheknowsyou’retoostrong,”Jasonreasoned.
JJsanklowerinherchair.“Ormaybehehasaplan.”
Evestaredatthelastremainingimage.Itwasatightlycroppedpictureofher
face,hereyesfocusedonwhoeveritwasthatstoodbeforeher.OnFairon.
Before she could react, a tiny siren blared through the speakers of JJ’s scratchpads.
“What’sthat?”Eveasked.
“I’mmonitoringforpivotalkeywords.Wheneveroneofthemismentioned,
ittriggersanoisealert.Thename‘Fairon’triggersachimingsound,‘abduct’
triggersabell—”
“Andwhichkeywordsoundsoffthesiren?”
JJglancedupatEve,hereyeslargeandfearful.“Kill.”
Herfingersflutteredacrossthescratchpads,draggingtextboxestothe
foregroundasshefranticallyreadthelatesttransmissions.Suddenly,she
stopped; her body was still, practically frozen as she stared at her brightly lit screen.
“Theyhavesomeoneincustody.Afemale…”Shehesitated.“Human.”
“Shitballs,”Sanchogasped.
“Theyabductedher”—JJpaused,stillreadingthetextasitappearedonher screen—“Christ,nearly threehours ago.”
“Whowasit?”Eveaskedfrantically.
“They’resendinganimageofherrightnow.”
JJpulledthescreenclosertoher,impatientlywaitingfortheimageto
appear,andwhenitdid,herhandsdroppedtohersidesandherjawfellopen.
“Oh,God.”
“What?Whoisit?”
JJturnedthethirdmonitortowardthegroup,displayingaphotoofawarm,
smilingface.Thegirlhadlargeteeththatseemedtooverpowerhermouthand
perfectlystraight,honey-brownhairthatfelllimplyacrosshershoulders.She
wasvaguelyfamiliar,asifEvehadseenherbeforeonce,maybetwice,andas
she studied the girl’s lightly freckled nose and bright hazel-green eyes, her mindbecamefloodedwithvisionsofherscreamingintorturousagony.
JJpointedherfingeratthescreen.“They’vegotFlorenzaGallo.”
“Florenza?” Percyscoffed.“Soundslikesomesortofvirus.”
Sanchoshrugged.“Neverheardofher.”
“Well,ifyoupaidanyattentiontothenews,you’dknowthat Galloisthename oftheItalianpresident,”JJgroused,“whichmeansFlorenza—”
“Ishisdaughter,”Evesaid.
“Sheoptedtostudyabroad.”JJfrowned.“Betshe’sregrettingthatdecision
rightaboutnow.”
“Ididn’tevenknowshegoestoschoolhere.”
“Iusedtoseeherinthepoliticalsciencebuildingallthetime,”Jasonsaid.
“She’shardtomiss.Doesn’tspeakmuchEnglish,soshe’sgotateamof
translators with her at all times. Not to mention a ton of security, just like Woodgate.”
“OhmyGod,”Evesaid,herbodysuddenlycold.“They’redoingitagain—
anotherMarshallWoodgate.She’sthenexthumanvictim.”Shegrimaced.
”They’ve already gotten the United States to turn against chimeras, and now they’retryingtodothesamethingwithItaly.They’restartingaworldwar.”
“So,what’stheplan?”Sanchoasked.“DowetellFurst?”
“Um,guys,Ihavea tonofillegalshitonmyscratchpads,”JJprotested.
“You’renottelling anyoneaboutthis. Ever.”
“There’snotimeforthatanyway,”Everationalized.“Somethinghastobe
done now. She was abducted three hours ago. They’re not going to keep her alivemuchlonger.”
“Iftheyhaven’tkilledheralready,”Jasonmumbled.
Percysighed.“Allrightthen,whatdoyouwanttodo?”
Theroombecamequiet.Evecouldfeeleveryone’swide,anxiouseyes
staringather,waitingforhertoformulatetheplan,toissuetheorders.Itwas all on her shoulders. For whatever reason, it was her decision to make, and hersalone.
EveglancedatthephotoofFlorenza,tryingtoavoidthepiercinggazesof
hercomrades;shehadtoconcentrate,to think,andGod,didtheyhavetostare
atherlikethat?Thepressurewasoverwhelming,andthoughherthoughts racedineverydirection,theyalwaysseemedtocomebacktothesame
uncomplicatedconclusion.
SheturnedtoJJ.“Didtheylistherlocation?”
JJnodded.“Aboutahalfhourfromhere.”
“Canyoutellushowtogetthere?”
“Absolutely.”
“Percy,canweborrowyourcar?Andyourguns?”
Percygrinned.“Yesand hellyes.”
Evetookadeepbreath.“ThenIguesswe’regoingtogetherourselves.”
Theroomeruptedintoapplause,thoughEvedidn’tknowwhatfor.The
enthusiasmwasinvigoratingandeventheslightestbitencouraging,butshe
couldn’thelpbutrememberGary,andtheInterloperattheMeltdown—their
exceptionalstrength,theirvastwings,theirbayonet-liketeeth—andwondered
ifanyoneelserememberedthem,too.
Eveglancedattheclock.“Ifwe’regoingtodothis,wehavetogo now.”
“Butwait,”Sanchosquealed,scurryingacrosstheroom.“Wecan’t,notyet!”
“Sancho,thereisn’tanytime—”
“Oh,you’regoingtowanttoseethis.”Hehurriedtohiswardrobeand
swungthedoorsopen.“YouhavenoideahowlongI’vebeenwaitingforthis
moment.”
Jasonwrinkledhisbrow.“Areyougoingtotelluswhat’sgoingon?”
“ThatprojectI’vebeenworkingon?”heanswered,flippingthroughamessy
pileofclothes.“It’sfinished!”
Percygroaned.“Look,Sanch,noonecaresaboutyourproject—”
“It’sa weapon.”Withagrunt,heyankedatasheet-coveredobject,dragging it from his wardrobe and onto the floor. “And not just any weapon: it’s a trailblazing,alien-killing machine.Inspiredbymyfavoritehologame—”
“OhGod,herewego…”Percymuttered.
“It’scalculated,
it’sprecise,it’sbrutalanddownright filthy.It’s—”
“Getonwithit. ”
SanchoglaredatPercybeforecontinuing.“Ladiesandgentlemen,”he
announced, ripping the sheet from his prized creation, “I call it the Dirty Sanchez.”
ItwasthemostunusualcontraptionEvehadeverseen—aclutteredmessof
cords,bolts,androds,practicallyroboticinappearance,thoughitincludedone
keycomponentthatwasentirelyrecognizable:guns.Severalguns,infact,each
oneattachedtoaretractablearmthatwasinturnattachedtoasingle,wheeled
platform. To the side of the device was a small controller lined with buttons and knobs, which Sancho plucked from its resting place and tossed back and forthbetweenhisnimblehands.
“Holyhell,”Evemurmured,“howmany—”
“Guns?Thereareten,allofthemcontrolledbyasingleremotedevice.”He
beamedwithpride.“Icanload,aim,andshooteachandeveryoneofthemwith
thiscontroller.It’slikeareal-lifehologame.”
Percy stepped closer to the Dirty Sanchez, inspecting the creation. “Wait a second—arethese myguns?”
“Well,I’dliketothinkofthemas ourgunsnow…”
“Youlittledick-squeeze,youstolemyguns!”
“Enough.Weneedtogetmoving.”Evestormedpastthegroupandheadedfor
thedoor.“Percy,grabwhatever’sleftofyourguns.Sancho,packyourDirty
Sanchez.We’releaving,andwe’releaving now.”
JJreachedintoherpocketandpulledoutahandfulofwhatappearedtobe
smallplasticbuttons.“Here,”sheordered,tossingonetoeachofher
comrades.“Takethese.”
Eveheldtheobjectuptothelight:itwasatinycleardisc,aboutthesizeofa dime,butflexibleinherhand.Ared,thread-likecordwascurledinsideofit,
andasshecradledthedeviceinherpalm,shecouldfeelaslightprickling
sensation.
“They’recommunicationdevices—earpieces.Notasadvancedasthe
beacon,butatleastwecankeeptabsononeanother.”
Eve’sstomachchurnedatthethoughtoftrustingthehacker,butshepushed
asideherreservationsandreluctantlypressedthediscintoherear.Shenodded
atJJ.“Stayhere.UseyourtrackingsystemtotellushowtogettoFlorenza.”
SheopenedthedoorandwaitedasJason,Sancho,andPercyfiledoutintothe