Vita Aeterna

by Jay Allan Storey

“No way,” I said. “If he knew, why wouldn’t he tell me?”

  “He’s afraid of us,” Zack answered. “He told you some bullshit story about me, didn’t he. About how I betrayed them — about how you shouldn’t trust me?”

  I stared at my hands on the table.

  “He’s not your friend,” Zack continued, “no matter what you think. He’s out to get us — all of us.”

  “But you and them have almost the same agenda,” I said, looking up.

  He laughed. “Only our plan actually has a chance of succeeding.” He stared at the wall behind me, like he was mulling something over.

  The door opened. I turned to see Connor poke his head in. He nodded at Zack, who pushed himself up and headed toward him.

  “I’ve got some business to take care of,” Zack said, reaching the door, opening it and stepping out. “Connor will look after you, and set you up with a place to sleep.”

  Connor came over and sat across from me. So far the only people I’d seen were him and Zack. The thought occurred to me that maybe there was actually only the two of them.

  “How many people are there in the Dead Shift?” I asked.

  “Right now?” he answered. He looked a little embarrassed. “Only twelve. Remember, it’s made up of people who’ve escaped from SecureCorp. You know from experience how hard that is.”

  “I’m surprised there’s that many,” I said.

  “Escapes only happen every few years,” he said, “but we’ve been around for decades.”

  “So where are the others?”

  He smiled. “You’ll meet them soon enough. We have to be pretty careful about these things.”

  Connor talked for a while about how he got to be part of the Dead Shift. His story sounded a lot like mine. I guess all of them probably went through something similar. I got a positive vibe from him — a better one than I got from my own uncle. He helped me program a contact for the Dead Shift into the crypted phone, in case I was ever in trouble or got lost.

  Finally, he rose from his chair. “You must be tired.”

  I followed him out of room, into the area we’d felt our way through when I first arrived. Now, the lights were on. I’d been right earlier; we’d actually driven inside a building. I was facing a wide-open space that looked like it was probably once a warehouse. Unlike most of the places I’d been lately, there was no garbage or debris lying around. The floor was spotless and all the lights worked — they must have been here for a while.

  The stealth vehicle I’d ridden in was parked in one corner, just inside a sliding steel garage door. There was also a couple of motorcycles, and a large cabinet with shelves full of equipment. These guys were way more organized than the Rebels.

  “Not all our setups are this sophisticated,” Connor smiled, noticing me staring. “This is a special one. That’s why you were kept in the dark on the way here. No one can know about this place.”

  There were doors around the perimeter. Connor led me to one of them in a distant corner. Behind it was a small room with a bed, a chair, and even a tiny desk, a step up from sleeping in the dorm-like arrangement at the Rebel hideout.

  “Get some rest,” Connor said, standing by the open door. “You’re safe here. Somebody will contact you in a few hours.”

  Connor took off and I lay down on the bed. At first I couldn’t sleep. So much had happened so fast. It was like some kind of accelerated nightmare. I thought back on my Appraisal. I’d been looking forward to it since I was old enough to know what it was. Everybody did. You basically put your life on hold until you got it, because everything you did after that would depend on how long you were going to live. I had all these dreams of somehow snagging a Corp job, having a career, getting past Cindy’s dad and marrying her, having a family. If I had a good Appraisal I’d have lots of time to make enough money to enjoy my life…

  I had to laugh. Now, in some twisted, cruel version of my dreams, I had the ultimate Appraisal. And here I was, running for my life. Cindy was dead, I might have killed her father, I’d broken out of a SecureCorp prison, and the whole world was after me. Two people, one of them my own father, had died trying to help me. I was destined to spend my life alone, outliving everybody on the planet. And I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t dodge the cameras forever. Eventually I’d make a mistake and they’d catch up with me.

  Finally, exhausted, I fell asleep. I woke to a knock at the door. I got up and opened it.

  It was Zack.

  He walked in and sat on the end of the bed.

  “I’ve been thinking about what you said earlier,” he said. “You know, about us and the Rebels being after the same thing. You might have a point there.” He smiled. “What if I was to set up a meeting with Travis? Maybe if the Rebels and the Dead Shift were to join forces we could actually accomplish something.”

  I was confused. Zack would reconsider working with the Rebels just because I suggested it? It didn’t make sense.

  “Travis would never go for that,” I said. “Anyway, why now? You’ve had years to get together with them.”

  He put a hand on my shoulder. “You’ve added a whole new dimension to the equation. You’ve got a relationship with Travis and me. You can act as sort a liaison, the ‘glue’ that holds us together.”

  His eyes went wide, as if he’d had an idea. “You came here from the Rebel stronghold, right? You could take me to see them.”

  The hair rose at the back of my neck. I didn’t like where the conversation was headed. Travis wouldn’t want me leading anybody, even an ally, to their location. As far as that went, they’d probably moved by now. And Travis had made it clear how he felt about Zack.

  “No way,” I said.

  “I don’t suppose I blame you for not trusting me,” Zack said. “It’ll take longer, but we have ways of contacting them. If I set up a meeting with Travis, will you come?”

  I studied him. He was my flesh and blood — my father’s brother. I hadn’t heard much about him growing up, but what I had heard had always been positive. His request made sense.

  “I guess,” I said.

  The barest hint of a smile formed on Zack’s lips. He got up and stood with his back to me for a few seconds.

  Finally he turned again to face me. “We’ll talk about it again soon. Meanwhile, let’s keep this between us. Don’t tell Connor or any of the others about it.”

  “Why not?”

  “Some of them don’t trust the Rebels. They don’t want to have anything to do with them. If they found out we were trying to contact them, it might be a problem.”

  It sounded logical, especially after the way Travis had talked about Zack and the Dead Shift.

  So why did my gut seem to have a problem with it?

  CHAPTER 27

  Betrayal

  After a couple of days, Connor took me in the stealth vehicle to another hideout. He never said why. Like the Rebels, the Dead Shift seemed to have an endless supply of them. Once again, I had to wear the bag over my head. His claim that the first one was special appeared to be true. This new one looked more like the Rebel hideouts I was used to.

  It took a few days for Zack to make contact with the Rebels. I think he was pissed with me, knowing that I could tell him where they were, but wouldn’t. I didn’t care. If he wanted to contact them he’d have to find them himself.

  In the meantime, I was relieved when I finally met a couple of other Dead Shift people. A guy named Rick, and a woman named Monica. I talked to them both and they seemed great — we had a lot in common. I felt a little better about being there. I followed Zack’s instructions and didn’t tell any of them about the planned meeting with Travis, even though I wasn’t sure I bought Zack’s explanation of why that was necessary.

  One morning Zack came and told me he’d contacted the Rebels, and set up a meeting for the afternoon of the next day.

  I slept badly that night. I had doubts about Travis and the other Rebels, especially after what Rolf had done, and what Zack had
said about them. But at least I knew Travis. I’d spent enough time with him to be convinced he was a good guy. But I believed what Zack said — that Travis knew my Appraisal. If he could lie about that, he could be lying about other things as well.

  Zack was my uncle, I had no doubt. But I’d just met him. Our family had never been that close, but I’d always been raised to believe that family ties were important.

  A gut instinct told me something was wrong. I was surprised that Travis had agreed to the meeting. He’d seemed pretty down on Zack when I talked to him. One thing was crystal clear: either Zack or Travis was lying to me. The question was — which one? Or was it both? And if they were lying, what did it mean?

  The next day, early in the afternoon, Zack came and told me it was time. We snuck out of the Dead Shift hideout, and walked for an hour to what I assumed was the meeting place, a small square in the middle of nowhere. We waited about twenty minutes, hiding in an alcove of an abandoned building.

  Finally, we heard movement. Zack gestured for me to be quiet, and peeked around the corner. A few seconds later, he turned back to me, smiling.

  “It’s Travis,” he whispered. “Stay where you are.”

  I didn’t understand what he was up to, but I went along.

  He stepped out from the corner with his hands up. But when his jacket shifted I saw that he had a gun stuffed in the back of his pants.

  “You were supposed to be alone,” I heard Zack’s voice say.

  “You can understand why I still don’t completely trust you,” Travis’ voice answered. “Bailey’s only here for insurance. If you’re being straight with me, you’ve got nothing to worry about.”

  I felt relieved at hearing Travis’ voice, and I was surprised and pleased to hear that Bailey had made it back and was okay. Maybe this get together could actually come off.

  “Where’s Alex?” Travis asked.

  “He’s right here,” Zack answered.

  He turned his head and motioned to me, and I came out to join him. Travis was standing about ten meters away. Bailey was standing to his left. He had a bandage around his stomach, but otherwise he looked okay.

  I thought they’d be glad to see me, but as soon as I showed myself they tensed up and raised their rifles.

  “I thought you said he was injured,” Travis said.

  Before I knew what was happening, Zack had wrapped an arm around my neck and held me like a shield in front of him. He pulled out the gun and held it against my head. I couldn’t believe what was happening.

  “A little white lie,” Zack said. “Otherwise you wouldn’t have come.”

  I struggled against Zack, but he was a lot bigger and stronger. I couldn’t breathe.

  “If you want the kid to live,” Zack said, pressing the barrel of his gun against my temple, “You better come with me. I have some friends who want to talk to you.”

  “Friends in SecureCorp?” Travis said. “You know I can’t do that.”

  Zack working with SecureCorp? I thought. How was that possible?

  “You think I’m bluffing?” Zack yelled, and cocked the trigger, ready to fire.

  Travis shook his head. “The movement is more important than any one person’s life — even his. I’m sorry, Alex.” He stood with his rifle trained on us, his expression a blend of horror and determination.

  “That’s what I thought you’d say,” Zack said.

  I felt the gun barrel move away from my head. Before the others could react, Zack turned the gun and shot Travis in the chest.

  “No!” I screamed.

  Bailey hesitated. I guess he was worried about hitting me. Zack fired another shot and Bailey went down. Zack grabbed me by the arm and started dragging me off.

  I glanced back. Travis and Bailey were lying on the pavement. Two other Rebels came running from the shadows. One knelt over their bodies. The other ran after us, firing now, not even caring whether he hit me. Zack dragged me behind the corner of a building. He locked my head in the crook of his left arm while he fired at our pursuer with his right. After a few minutes I heard a grunt and the Rebel’s firing stopped.

  Zack let go of my neck and jammed his gun between my shoulder blades.

  “Move it!” he said.

  We ran through a network of alleyways. There was no sign of the Rebels. Zack didn’t say a word. Tears welled in my eyes. What the hell was going on? Was Travis dead? What had I done? Twenty minutes later we stopped at a door in one of the buildings. Something smashed against my skull and everything went black.

  CHAPTER 28

  The Hand Off

  When I woke up, I was in a room I’d never seen before, sitting in a chair with my hands tied behind me and my feet bound. It felt like a pile driver was slamming against the inside of my skull. It took a few seconds for my eyes to focus. When they finally did, Zack was standing in front of me.

  “You fucking bastard!” I screamed. The sound and exertion made my head explode. I closed my eyes and clenched my fists against the pain. I thought again of Travis and what I’d done, and felt tears running down my cheeks. “Do you know what you’ve done?”

  “Sorry, nephew,” he grinned, in a way that made me want to smash his face in.

  “Why?” I said, still choked with tears.

  “The deal was you and Travis,” he said. “They would have preferred him alive, but they’d accept him dead, and that was easier anyway. I don’t think they really care that much about the Rebels. You’re my ace in the hole. I want to keep you to myself until I’m sure they’re going to fulfill their end of the bargain.”

  “Who’s they?”

  “Guess.”

  “So Travis was right about you,” I said. “You led SecureCorp to the Rebel hideout.”

  “That was a dry run,” he said. “To convince them I was serious. Turned out the Rebels weren’t important enough for them to give me what I wanted. Then you came along, like a gift from heaven. I decided a long time ago that I was going to get out of this. I’m going to need a lot of money to live on once that happens. After all,” he smiled, “I’m planning to live another hundred and fifty years.”

  “You’ve made some kind of deal with the Vita Aeterna?”

  “I’d been thinking about it since we first hooked up,” Zack said, “but couldn’t decide whether to go through with it.”

  He paced along the wall beside me.

  “But now you’ve accepted that you’re a complete asshole,” I said, “so you’re okay with it.”

  He stopped and sneered down at me. “You’re still a stupid kid. You haven’t got a clue.” He smashed his fist against the wall. “Don’t you get it? We’re going to lose. Look what we’re up against.”

  “So you’re just going to give me up? Your own flesh and blood?”

  “You know how old I am?” he asked.

  I twisted at the ropes binding my hands. “My only interest in your age is that you don’t get the chance to get any older.”

  “I’m fifty-six,” he said. “You hate what you’ve been going through for the past couple of months? Well I’ve been dealing with it since I was your age, forty years ago.”

  I shuddered, considering what might be in store for me. It was hard to imagine. I’d barely been able to cope for the few weeks I’d been on the run. Forty years? Fifty? One Hundred? But nothing excused what Zack was doing.

  I struggled, trying to free my hands. “I’m your brother’s only son,” I said, my voice breaking. “I’m the only family you’ve got in the world.”

  He shrugged. “I’ll get over it. You’ll be better off anyway. You said so yourself. What kind of life would you have — outliving everybody you ever knew or loved.”

  “I won’t miss you.”

  He snorted and turned away. He started pacing again.

  “Years ago,” he said, “many years ago now, there was enough of everything to go around. Even back then the majority of the population were poor. The wealth wasn’t distributed equally, but in theory it could have be
en.

  “That option ended forty years ago, about the time I went on the run. Now, there’s resources for about one percent of Humanity to live in luxury. The rest are screwed. In order for somebody to join that one percent, somebody already in it has to leave voluntarily.”

  Zack stopped pacing and stared down at me. “What do you think the chances are of that happening?”

  Again I thought of Travis, whose death I probably caused. Again tears welled in my eyes.

  Zack continued. “Since then, the Elite and the Corps have taken every opportunity to eliminate people they don’t think are of any use to society — which basically means the rest of us.”

  I stared up at him.

  “Why do you think there’s so many abandoned buildings?” he sneered. “Didn’t you wonder where everybody went?” He shook his head. “Natural death from squalid living conditions and lack of heath care, elimination of anyone they’ve determined won’t be missed, and regular sweeps of death-squads through the Dregs have helped. But the process has been too slow for their taste. I have it on good authority that there’s an ‘ultimate solution’ in the works — a plan to ‘cull’ huge numbers of the population.”

  I swallowed hard.

  “Robots do almost all the factory work,” he continued. “The ruling class need a certain number of human drones around to do what’s left — and a minimum gene pool as test subjects until they learn to control the Appraisal. The rest are a liability. Every body removed means one less HUD to be installed, and one less potential threat to deal with. The only question is how? How to do it without causing a revolution. Maybe a plague — but then there’s a chance everybody, even the Elite, could get it.”

  “They’re monsters,” I said.

  Zack shrugged. “They’ll come up with something, don’t worry. Probably some kind of poison. It’ll look natural. They’ll spin something out on people’s HUDs — nobody will question it.”

  He moved in front of me and stopped. “They said if I got rid of Travis and delivered you, they’d move me out of the danger zone and leave me in peace. I’ve got a chance to finally have a life. I’m gonna take it. Can you blame me?”