The Purification: Book 3 of the Evaran Chronicles

by Adair Hart

  By the fifth mile, the tunnel had become dimly lit. Her breathing staggered a bit as she turned on her light beacon. The shadows played tricks on her mind for the next several miles. It was still eerily quiet. She did not want to sleep in total darkness but kept an eye out for a place to bed down for the night. One thing she noticed was that every fifth mile, there was a small room off to the side that acted as a passage to a smaller tunnel. She suspected it was an access room for maintenance. It had doors that could be manually locked from the inside. The room was small, but large enough she could lie down. The window facing the tunnel was a bit unnerving to her, but it would have to do. She took a quick break.

  At the tenth mile, she took another rest. Her legs were a bit sore, and her feet were starting to hurt. She locked herself into the side room. Turning off the light beacon caused goose bumps to appear on her arm. It was much darker and took a while for her eyes to adjust. She laid her backpack on the ground and pulled out the fur rug she had taken from Kazaal’s. She doubled it over as she lay down and rested her head on the backpack. With a quick check of her PSD, she noted it was about twelve in the afternoon. She figured she would stay for the night at the next stop, but for now, she just needed to rest her legs. After two hours of relaxing peacefully, she packed up and continued forward.

  She got to the fifteen-mile marker and settled into the side room. Her legs were pulsing, and her feet were pounding. Before locking the doors, she used the rail line area to relieve herself. Being half naked in the now almost pitch-black tunnel was something that did not scare her. Kazaal’s cave had removed that fear. After locking up, she watched training videos until she fell asleep several hours later.

  She awoke mid sleep to the sound of the door handle shaking. Her heart froze and her breathing staggered as she reached for her PSD. Focusing on her nanobots caused tingling sensations to resonate throughout her body. She lay as still as possible with her eyes fixated on the window. Although it was pitch-black, she had the feeling something was watching her through the window. Her face turned red. Whoever or whatever it was on the other side of the door was making a mistake in thinking she would be easy prey. After a few minutes, the door handle shaking stopped. She jumped as she thought she saw a shape move past the window.

  She repositioned so that her feet were against the door. If something did come through, at least it would physically wake her. It took a bit for her to relax. Exhaustion had set in, and she closed her eyes as she thought about Dr. Snowden, Evaran, and V.

  The next morning, she surveyed her surroundings upon waking up. She was still in the same position, and her bowels demanded her attention. Relieving herself outside the room would expose her, so she did her business in a corner and used the paper she had stowed away from the facility to clean herself. After checking everything, she made sure her PSD had both the stun and repulsion set. With a tap of her light beacon, digestion of some of the facility food she had stored, and a quick sip of water she had brought, she was prepared to leave.

  She paused as she peered at the window. Her heart raced as the greasy imprint of two hands and a drawn-out face became visible.

  Dr. Snowden looked out at space through the left front screen of the Torvatta. His nerves were pulsating at the thought of finally finding Emily. It seemed like ages to get to this point, and he understood the steps were necessary. They had left Atlantis only minutes ago and were preparing to jump to the parallel timeline that the Purifiers sent Emily to.

  “V, status,” said Evaran.

  “Analysis. Dimensional location acquired. Portal configuration is complete.”

  Evaran nodded.

  Dr. Snowden glanced at Lord Vygon. “Just like old times?”

  Lord Vygon shook his head. “Never done a parallel timeline jump before. This is new to me.”

  Dr. Snowden caught Evaran giving Lord Vygon a sidelong glance. It would seem then that most of Lord Vygon’s travels with Evaran took place in the same timeline. The Azoculus planet they were going to would be a parallel Earth. Since they did not time travel, it would be in the same time period. A thought brushed his mind that he wished Emily could see it, and then he realized she had seen it, albeit through force.

  His attention focused on the silver beam that shot out from the front of the Torvatta. Usually it was a golden beam. The portal that formed was not the silver border and light-blue surface he had come to expect. The border was blue, and the interior surface of the portal was red. He wondered how many different types of portals there were.

  The Torvatta flew through the portal and exited above Azoculus. The right front screen lit up with an image of the planet. Dr. Snowden noted that it looked just like Earth. A red dot pulsated around where New York would be.

  “The quantum beacon is no longer active, so I suspect the rift door was either shielded as John mentioned earlier or it was destroyed upon arrival by other means,” said Evaran.

  Dr. Snowden sighed. “And I bet Emily is not down there either.”

  “Probably not if she went through to the prison planet, but we will check. V, attempt to contact Emily.”

  “Acknowledged.”

  V’s hands flew over the console. A static image of Emily appeared on the front right screen with a border that pulsated. Dr. Snowden’s heart raced as he held his breath. After a moment, the screen went black.

  V faced Evaran. “No PSD signal was found.”

  Dr. Snowden sighed.

  “V, put us in stealth mode and scan the surrounding area when we get there.”

  “Acknowledged.”

  The Torvatta descended through the atmosphere toward the pulsating red dot. As it got closer, Dr. Snowden began to see the outline of familiar places. The North American continent looked a little different in that the land bridge to South America was much larger. This planet was not exactly like Earth. The Appalachian Mountains came into view as the Torvatta got closer. When it had descended to a mile above the ground, he noticed that where there should be cities, it was just the natural environment. “Where is everything …”

  “Preliminary scans show no civilization,” said Evaran. He raised a finger. “Perhaps in this timeline, humanity never evolved.”

  Lord Vygon cocked his head. “Wonder what did evolve then …”

  “I do not know.”

  “Structure detected,” said V.

  Dr. Snowden studied the visual on the left screen. It appeared to be a small, low-tech, triangular fort with a stone wall surrounding it. He counted three buildings around a larger one. It was the corpses impaled on spikes that caught his attention.

  “What in the world happened here … ,” said Dr. Snowden. It did not look good, and the fact Emily might have been tossed into this made his stomach churn.

  Evaran studied the left and right front screens. “V, analysis.”

  V interacted with the front console. After a moment, he said, “No life-forms detected outside the buildings. Structural damage is present on all buildings.”

  “I see. Land us inside the walls just past the entrance door.”

  “Acknowledged.”

  The Torvatta descended to just inside the walls behind a sealed door and landed.

  Dr. Snowden’s eyes popped open as he got a better view of the impaled corpses from the ground. Most of the bodies wore similar clothing to the guards from the Purifier base, while others had on similar outfits to John and Leah. He rubbed the goose bumps on his arms.

  Evaran stood and gestured toward the Torvatta entrance. “This could be dangerous. I was expecting some resistance, but it appears something has already taken care of that part. Dr. Snowden, you may want to put on a survival suit.” He glanced at Lord Vygon. “There are additional suits should you want one.”

  Lord Vygon tapped his chest as he stood. “This light armor is special. It’s all I need.”

  “Very well.”

  Dr. Snowden hustled into the research lab and slipped into the oversized survival suit. Once he zipped it up, it shrank dow
n to be formfitting. He liked using the suit. Its usefulness had been made clear when helping the Fredorians achieve their destiny. He tested the right repulsor blast on his right hand and the shield on the left forearm. With a brief tap at a small device on his chest, he verified that the suit interface appeared as a hologram in front of him. He pressed the left button on his neck guard, causing the familiar transparent helmet to shoot over his head. With a few tweaks on the suit interface, the heads-up display, or HUD as he had to come to know it, appeared inside the helmet. He adjusted the internal temperature and then joined Evaran and Lord Vygon outside the ship.

  Evaran and Lord Vygon stood next to a corpse. V flew around in orb mode, scanning the surrounding area.

  Evaran scanned the corpse. “Interesting. This spike formed from the ground, yet it appears as a smooth continuation of the ground, like it was always here. That is unusual.”

  Lord Vygon rubbed his chin. “A matter mage? I don’t sense one.”

  Evaran shook his head. “I do not sense one either.”

  “So … you’re saying these spikes were always here, and these people just impaled themselves?” asked Dr. Snowden.

  “It would seem that way, but I do not suspect that is what happened.”

  “Uhh … you think this area … is alive?”

  “No. I believe something morphed the matter under the person, then formed a spike. This was recent. There must be another party here we are unaware of. And a powerful one at that, although I do not sense anything.”

  Dr. Snowden sighed. “That’s just what we need.”

  Lord Vygon chuckled as he slapped Dr. Snowden on the back. “Whoever or whatever it is, we can handle it. We are a powerful group as well.”

  Dr. Snowden admired Lord Vygon’s easygoing nature. Even when surrounded by death, he had a positive outlook.

  Evaran gestured toward the main entrance of the central building. “Come.”

  Dr. Snowden surveyed the surrounding area as they walked. The facial expressions on the corpses indicated surprise. He could not imagine trying to run and having a huge spike form under him. If it was not a matter mage, then it must be something on par. He was glad to have on his survival suit, the smell of the rotting corpses would have been powerful. He activated his repulsor on his right hand and the left forearm shield.

  “Expecting trouble, are we?” asked Lord Vygon.

  “Doesn’t hurt to be prepared. I’m almost hoping Emily isn’t here.”

  Lord Vygon smirked. “With you there.”

  When they reached the door, Evaran indicated for Lord Vygon to help him move the massive split stone doors.

  Dr. Snowden noticed that the doors must be opened and closed internally. This would be so much easier if they had a console that Evaran could override, but even then, the technology at the Purifier base had stumped even the UIC. He joined the effort and worked on helping push the right part of the door into the building.

  It took ten minutes, but they were able to open it enough to slip into the building. They entered a large, open room with stone tunnels and ramps leading off in different directions.

  “V, scout mode,” said Evaran, gesturing forward.

  “Acknowledged. Scout mode engaged,” said V. He shimmered out of view as he flew off.

  The one aspect of the HUD that Dr. Snowden enjoyed was the real-time visual display from V. Without the helmet, he would have no idea, but with it, he could see what V saw, along with his scanning results. He knew Evaran could see it in his ARI without a helmet. The images V was showing made Dr. Snowden’s palms sweat. Dead bodies everywhere, and a misty cloud seemed to hang in the dimly lit corridors. “Seems more of the same from outside.”

  Evaran nodded. “Yes, and the technology level here is consistent with what we saw at the Purifier base. I suspect it is low-tech and rift based as well.”

  They searched the main room and did not find anything of interest.

  Dr. Snowden jerked his head back as V scanned a shielded door deeper in the structure. “You seeing this, Evaran? That looks way more advanced than anything up here.”

  Evaran studied his ARI. “It would appear there are two levels of technology here. It may be possible my UIC can interact with that. We should proceed cautiously. V, hold position.”

  “Acknowledged,” said V.

  They proceeded through one of the ramps leading off to the side. V had mapped out the area, which turned out to be a maze of tunnels, ramps, and small rooms. It did not surprise Dr. Snowden that they were headed underground. It seemed the Purifiers liked that type of design. Evaran had tossed out his illumination orbs to light the way since the torches on the wall were burned out.

  After twenty minutes of traversing, they met up with V. The light from the shielded door merged with the orb’s illuminations and lit up the surrounding area.

  Evaran scanned the shielded door with his ring. A small line appeared off to the side to a console. He placed his UIC on it, and after it stabilized, the shield shut down. He tilted his head.

  “I sense it too,” said Lord Vygon.

  Dr. Snowden raised his eyebrows. “Sense … what exactly?”

  “Movement consistent with a humanoid. It is a bit away, though,” said Evaran. He waved for Dr. Snowden and Lord Vygon to follow him into the small room.

  A side room contained several advanced workstations and an impaled corpse. This one had a metal spike through it.

  Evaran scanned the corpse and then placed his UIC on the still-powered screens embedded into the steel desk. “This technology is not rift based. Intriguing. I will need some time to analyze this.” He swiped his hand across his ARI, causing the door to close and lock. “You two relax while I go through this, then we will investigate the movement detected earlier.”

  Dr. Snowden slumped against the wall next to Lord Vygon. They were getting closer, or so he thought. He was not sure what Evaran would find, but the thought of Emily being impaled on a spike flickered through his mind. He grimaced as he drooped his head.

  After thirty minutes, Evaran turned to face Dr. Snowden and Lord Vygon. “It would appear this technology is from a civilization that went extinct. They were the originators of the rift technology. The Purifiers did not understand it, but were able to use it. I suspect that is due to its ability to bind with living matter, like we saw in the sentinels.”

  “That would explain the technology differences, but not these impaled corpses,” said Lord Vygon.

  “I concur,” said Evaran. “However, there is a significant portion of the facility I could not interact with or get information on. It seems some parts of this technology has rift components. The UIC cannot work on those hybrid pieces.”

  “Means it’s not from this universe, right?” asked Dr. Snowden.

  Evaran nodded. “I am unsure of how it got here, but given that the rift doors can cross timelines, I am going to guess their origin was from a pocket universe ejected from another universe.”

  Dr. Snowden shook his head. “Wait … so this pocket universe was in another universe, got kicked out, landed in this universe, somehow got discovered by the Purifiers, and they adapted what they found for their use. That about right?”

  Lord Vygon smirked. “Yeah … that sounds kinda crazy to me too.”

  “Perhaps,” said Evaran, raising a finger. “The part I am unsure of is how the Purifiers gained access to a pocket universe. I suspect this Purifier overlord has something to do with that, and the list of other beings who might be able to do it is quite extensive.”

  “Great,” said Dr. Snowden. “Did you find anything on Emily?”

  “Just that she arrived here. The visual feed on the rift room is missing for her arrival, yet others are not.”

  Dr. Snowden snorted. There always had to be something. His blood began to simmer.

  “This is a large facility. We should see what else we can find,” said Evaran. He exited the room with Dr. Snowden and Lord Vygon in tow.

  They navigated the myriad of
metallic hallways and rooms. Dr. Snowden’s breathing went uneven as each room came up empty. He knew Emily was not here, but the thought that maybe V’s scans were wrong and Emily would be waiting in one of the rooms pervaded his thoughts. The sound of footsteps ahead made him perk his head up.

  Evaran gestured forward to V, who shimmered and flew ahead.

  Dr. Snowden watched through V as he approached a bend in the corridor they were in. As V flew around the corner, Dr. Snowden’s heart pumped furiously.

  Emily’s head peeked out of one of the doors, and then disappeared into a side room.

  Dr. Snowden tore off running toward V.

  “Dr. Snowden, wait!” said Evaran.

  Dr. Snowden felt a tingling sensation flow over him. Time seemed to slow down as he burst around the corner. He ran up to the room he saw Emily duck into and activated his hand light. Shining it into the room showed Emily cowering in a corner. She still had on her jeans, comfortable shoes, and T-shirt from when she disappeared. “Emily!” He pressed the button on his neck guard, causing his helmet to drop.

  “Unc … Uncle Albert?” asked Emily as she looked up with wide eyes. She jumped and ran out of the room, hugging Dr. Snowden tightly.

  “I thought you were gone,” said Dr. Snowden as tears rolled down his cheeks. He squinted and trembled as he held on to Emily. She would never be out of his sight again. He felt Emily shake as she cried into his chest.

  “Dr. Snowden … ,” said Evaran as he stood a few feet away with Lord Vygon.

  Dr. Snowden turned his head toward Evaran. “We found her! I can’t believe it!” It took a moment for his smile to wind down as he saw Lord Vygon had extended his arm blades and Evaran had his baton and shield out. “What’s … going on …”

  “Please step away from her.”

  Emily looked at Evaran and ran toward him.