The Girl in the Machine (Leah King Book 3)

by Philip Harris

  “Where are they?” Westler was screaming now, her rage rendering the words almost incoherent.

  There was the cracking of bone. Leah felt the sides of her skull begin to give way. The taste of blood filled her mouth. Terror welled up inside her, overwhelming her senses.

  “A power station! They’re in a power station!”

  25

  The pressure on Leah’s skull vanished. She felt her muscles relax. The agony rushing through her body subsided slightly. A deep, tingling sensation ran up her arm, like pins and needles.

  She looked up at Westler. “Th-Thank you.”

  A look of smug satisfaction appeared on Westler’s face. “Where is the power station?”

  Leah shook her head slightly, wincing as the movement triggered a flash of pain at the base of her neck. “I don’t know.”

  Westler’s smugness disappeared, replaced by a rapidly growing rage.

  “But I can describe it,” said Leah, rushing the words out. “You’ll be able to find it.”

  “I hope so—for your sake.”

  A high-pitched chirp interrupted them. Doctor Summers appeared beside Westler. He held a tablet in his hand, and his fingers were darting over the surface.

  “Captain, the interior countermeasures have been activated.”

  “Well, can’t you just shut them back down again?”

  The doctor tapped the screen. “No, I’m locked out, but…”

  Westler raised her eyebrows. “But?”

  The doctor looked up, his forehead creased in puzzlement. “The activation codes are coming from inside the system.”

  Westler turned her attention to Leah. “Your contact inside Transport. Who is it?”

  The thought that Westler had promised to let her go after one question and that this was the second drifted at the edges of Leah’s pain-addled mind. She ignored it. “I don’t know. I never met him in person, only his avatar.”

  “What did the avatar look like?”

  “He was an Amish man.”

  “Like—”

  “Captain, the zone one daemons have been triggered.”

  Westler waved her hand at the doctor dismissively. “Lock them down.”

  Hope gripped Leah. It’s Alice.

  The doctor’s tablet buzzed, the sound low pitched and ominous.

  “Dammit!” said Westler. “Lock them down!”

  Leah could see the panic in the doctor’s eyes as he poked at the tablet. It buzzed again. “I can’t, Captain. The best I can do is bring up the walls here, but that will mean—”

  “I know what it will mean; do it!”

  The doctor nodded and tapped the tablet’s screen. A wave of cyan light rolled across the floor. As the light washed over the robot, it flickered and vanished. The wave rose up hitherto unseen walls and across the ceiling then died away. It left behind a pale-blue grid that glowed softly. The grid wavered slightly, and Leah couldn’t focus on it properly.

  They were inside an octagonal room, maybe forty feet across. The overhead cluster of lights was gone. The entire room was illuminated by the blue grid. It gave everyone an eerie blue cast.

  The pain in Leah’s arms and legs dropped to a steady burning sensation. Already, her mind was convincing her Westler’s torture hadn’t been that bad, that she could have held on longer. If she could stall the captain, Alice would break through whatever defenses the doctor had put in place. Or maybe she’d rescue Leah in the real world.

  “Leah,” said the captain. Her voice was cold and hard. “Who is your contact?”

  “I-I don’t know. He looked like a man I knew in Columbia, Isaac. But it couldn’t be him; he’s dead.”

  The gridded walls around them pulsed then turned red.

  “They’ve reached the inner firewall,” said the doctor.

  Westler raised her hand to silence him. “When did you last see him?”

  Leah shook her head and braced herself for the onslaught of pain, but it never came. She could feel Westler’s frustration mounting, but something was preventing her from lashing out.

  The pain in Leah’s arm and leg had all but gone now. Her head was still pounding, but even that had dulled to a bearable level. Whatever the doctor had done, Westler didn’t seem to be able to hurt her. Even the straps around her wrists seemed looser.

  A sharp crack echoed through the room. The grid at one of the corners glowed a bright orange then began to split apart. White light flooded the room through the opening.

  “Summers!” said Westler.

  “There’s nothing I can do.”

  A cold trickling sensation worked its way into the base of Leah’s skull. The feeling grew, worming its way into her body and wrapping itself around her chest. A shiver ran down her arms. Leah thought it must be Westler, but she was looking at the ever-widening split in the wall and the dark shadows moving in the light beyond it.

  Leah tried to force the sensations away, but the feeling intensified. Her fingers were numb, and that same numbness was spreading through the rest of her limbs.

  Another split appeared in the wall, opposite the first. More light flooded the room. It was so bright Leah had to squeeze her eyes closed. She heard the whine of a drone, but it sounded ragged and distorted.

  A shard of ice pierced Leah’s chest. Every muscle in her body tensed. She felt her lungs collapse as the air was forced out of them. She tried to scream, but when she opened her mouth, ice crystals formed around her lips and across her tongue.

  Leah pulled in another breath, and ice filled her throat, choking her, suffocating her. The chair beneath her shifted and then seemed to evaporate. Instead of falling to the floor, she felt her feet touch the ground, and she was standing.

  Warm air brushed across her skin. The ice crystals turned to cold liquid, then warm liquid, then boiled away. Her throat unclenched. The smell of hot iron filled her nostrils. The feeling returned to her limbs, and she could breathe. The room had grown silent. The hot iron smell faded until there was nothing—a complete absence of smell. It was almost as though there were no air at all.

  Summoning all her will, Leah forced her eyelids open. She was standing in the middle of a road junction in a city filled with towering skyscrapers.

  26

  It was warm. There was no sun, but everything was lit with a bright, diffuse light. Streets stretched away in front and behind and to the left and right. They were empty of both pedestrians and vehicles. The surface of the road was unmarred by the passage of traffic or time. It might have been laid just minutes before Leah arrived. Each of the buildings that lined the street was different, but none of them was less than ten stories high. Some looked modern—all gleaming steel and glass. Others were built from crisp, clean brick.

  A sound echoed down the street. It was doglike, almost a bark, but there was something odd about it. It came again. Leah suppressed a shudder. The sound had an artificial, almost mechanical quality. It was subtle but enough to set her nerves on edge. She had to get back to reality. Whatever that reality was now. It was impossible to ignore the idea that escaping the virtual world would just plunge her into some fresh hell.

  Taking a deep breath, she imagined the streets around her dissolving to nothing as she exited the simulation. Nothing happened. She frowned. Leaving the simulation had been the first thing Alice taught her. It was the easiest part of this. She willed her body to relax and her heart to slow. Again, she envisaged the city falling away. Again, it remained as it was.

  Leah turned slowly around, looking for some sort of indication of how she was supposed to navigate this world and find a way back to reality.

  Three of the buildings that sat at the corners of the junction were almost identical—huge bland skyscrapers with curved balconies clinging to one corner. The fourth building was older and smaller, although it was still twelve or thirteen stories tall. There were a few windows, but for the most part, the outer wall was solid brownstone.

  The strange barking sound came again, closer. Leah froze. S
he searched the shadows for whatever was making the sound. Across the street stood a huge metallic building that looked like a silver spike at least fifty stories high. Shadows clustered around the building’s base, but one of them was moving. With a growing sense of dread, Leah started backing toward the brownstone building.

  Three short yips cut through the air. The shadows moved again, and this time a creature stepped out of them. Leah had time to take in the gray, shaggy bulk of a dog charging across the street before she turned and ran toward the brownstone.

  27

  Leah threw herself against the building’s wooden doors. They crashed open, and she stumbled inside. She hauled the doors closed behind her. There was a metal handle connected to a locking mechanism, and she twisted it. Vertical metal bars clicked into place. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and the adrenaline coursing through her system had set her senses alight.

  A dozen lamps were scattered around the space—little more than glass bowls set on top of steel poles—provided just enough light for her to see she was in the lobby of an office building. An O-shaped reception desk stood in the middle of the space, guarding a pair of elevator doors. The floor was a patchwork of white and gray tiles of varying sizes. The light from the lamps reflected in the gleaming floor.

  A weight slammed into the doors behind Leah and knocked her forward. The wood groaned and creaked. She spun and threw her body weight against the doors. Another impact, followed by a growling, snuffling sound as something, presumably the dog, jammed its face against the gap beneath the doors.

  “Go away!”

  The words echoed dully around the lobby.

  Leah kicked the base of the door. The snuffling stopped.

  She kicked again. “Go on!”

  When the sound didn’t resume, she slowly eased off the doors. They gave slightly but seemed secure enough. Slowly, with her blood rushing in her ears, she walked across to the reception desk. The countertop was made from a cold, hard substance, not marble but something close. It was thick, too, and with no sign of any seams, it must have been extremely heavy.

  Or would if it was real.

  She needed to remember that everything here was an illusion.

  A howl laced with that strange mechanical undertone cut through the air. A fraction of a second later, one of the windows in the front of the building exploded, and the creature crashed through into the lobby. It landed in a half crouch among the fragments of the shattered window and launched itself toward her.

  She ran past the reception desk, trying to at least put something between her and the creature. It was huge, more wolf than dog. Thick muscles rippled beneath its fur as it ran. Bared teeth flashed silver.

  The wolf reached the reception desk and leaped. It landed on the countertop. It slid for a moment then pushed off with its hind legs, launching itself with unexpected grace toward Leah. In desperation, she threw herself left and out of its path. It cleared the rear of the reception desk but landed heavily. Its paws struggled for purchase on the slick tiles. The wolf fell and slid sideways into the elevator doors. It collided with one of the lamps and knocked it over. The glass bowl shattered as it hit the tiles.

  Leah rolled and tried to stand, but the wolf made it to its feet before she did. It leaped at her. She threw up her arms, but the impact knocked her onto her back. The wolf’s jaws snapped shut inches from her face. She landed hard, and her head cracked against tile. Her teeth clacked together, and she tasted blood.

  The wolf’s lips curled up in an animalistic smile. Silver glinted inside its mouth.

  She reached around beside her, searching for a weapon.

  Something cracked as the wolf stretched opened its jaw.

  Leah’s fingers brushed against the metal base of the broken lamp.

  The wolf’s jaw elongated, and the harsh, metallic cracking sound came again. Its skin started to peel back, revealing a metal skull. The wolf lowered its head toward Leah’s face.

  She grabbed the base and slammed it into the side of the wolf’s head. The creature let out a metallic yelp. The blow knocked the wolf sideways. She swung again and felt something give way as the base collided with its skull.

  The wolf scrambled backward, off Leah. She kicked out and caught it on the side of its body. It fell, legs kicking. She could see a deep gash in the side of its head. There was no blood, but white fluid ran from the wound and spattered the floor as the wolf twisted and writhed. It swiped a paw in Leah’s direction, but the movement just unleashed a fresh torrent of the white liquid.

  Leah slid backward along the floor until she was pressed against the wall. The wolf had no interest in her now. It bucked and twisted, flinging its head from side to side. Its claws clattered against the floor, but otherwise the creature was eerily quiet.

  The tiles were slick with the white fluid. The wolf struggled to stand, but whatever was driving its movements was losing power. It managed to get halfway up then collapsed again.

  Leah raised the lamp’s base. White fluid spattered the dark metal. The creature’s movements slowed. It tried to snap at her but barely managed to raise its head. There was a brief hiss, and the wolf fell back. The flow of liquid from the wound pulsed, then slowed, then stopped.

  The wolf fell still.

  Leah blinked twice. Her hands were shaking, her breath coming in quick, sharp gasps. She willed her body to move. Her limbs felt sluggish and weak. She wanted to stand and get away from this monster, but her legs refused.

  When her body finally did respond, she felt a wave of dizziness, and her stomach clenched. She rolled onto her side as it tried to expel her last meal.

  Nothing came.

  She lay there, making small choking sounds as her gut spasmed. Her vision blurred, and the dizziness hit her again. She closed her eyes and groaned.

  A low-pitched buzz came from somewhere inside the wolf. Leah shoved herself away, terrified it was coming back to life like some horror-movie killer. The buzzing turned to crackling then died away.

  The sudden burst of adrenaline had stopped her stomach’s rebellion. Her hands were still shaking, and the pounding of her heart in her ears was thunderous. The smell of burning plastic reached her nose, and she had to battle the urge to start dry heaving again. Her eyes began to water.

  Come on, pull yourself together.

  She wiped the tears from her face, pressed her hands against the floor, and got unsteadily to her feet. The lobby wavered around her, but she stayed upright. Resisting the urge to run from the room, she walked hesitantly across to the wolf.

  Up close, it was even bigger than she’d thought. It would have had difficulty fitting in her bed back in the house in Columbia. The wolf’s eyes were silver orbs, staring blankly up at the ceiling. Its mouth was open slightly. She could see two rows of triangular metal teeth on both its upper and lower jaw.

  Leah watched the wolf for a couple of minutes before she plucked up the courage to reach down and run her fingers through its fur. It was thick and wiry, the fur of a monster—one that wasn’t real but could hurt her nonetheless.

  A ragged, distorted howl sent a shudder down Leah’s spine and kicked her adrenaline into overdrive again. Through the shattered window, she could see two more of the wolves pacing along the street. One saw her and ran toward the building. The second tipped its head back and let out another terror-inspiring howl.

  28

  Leah ran around the side of the elevators to the nearest emergency exit and rammed her hands against the locking bar. The door crashed open, revealing a parking area dotted with concrete pillars supporting a metal roof. A brick wall ran around the space, casting dark wolf-size shadows.

  Behind her, something heavy landed on broken glass. She swung the door shut. Pausing only to check it really was closed, she turned and ran across the parking area. A gap in the wall led to a narrow garbage-strewn lane. Leah ran toward it, trying not to picture the pack of wolves her mind was convinced was about to come bearing down on her out of the shadows.
r />   The lane continued for a couple hundred yards in either direction, ending in the wide thoroughfare of a main street. Leah started to run left but then changed direction toward a doorway in a large warehouse. Every cell in her body screamed at her that this was the right direction to go. The door would lead her out of this hell and back to the real world.

  Leah yanked the door open, dived inside, then slammed it shut behind her. The door was solid—reinforced with metal. There were steel bolts on the top and bottom. She slid them closed then rested her forehead against the door’s cool metal surface. Her breath came in ragged gasps.

  She listened for signs of the wolves. When none came, she turned around to look at the warehouse. It was clearly far bigger than the building that contained it. The walls seemed to stretch endlessly off into the distance until they were swallowed up by darkness.

  A lake of black liquid filled the vast space. Streams of light cut through dozens of skylights that ran across the ceiling, creating bright pools on the obsidian surface. The inconsistent light made it hard to be sure, but Leah thought she could see a shape out in the lake. Something like an island.

  She was standing at the top of a set of concrete steps. They went down about twenty feet, ending at the lake. Black waves lapped thickly against the bottom step. There was an octagonal platform at the base of the steps. It was white and glowed so brightly it was hard to see the edges, even against the inky liquid around it.

  Fragments of concrete were littered across the steps. Leah picked one up and dropped it over the side, into the lake. It disappeared instantly, but the black surface broke apart. Dozens of cubes appeared at the point where the fragment entered the liquid. They flared red then blue, flowing outward like ripples before finally fading away.

  Leah walked slowly down the steps, keeping close to the wall. The platform was made of a slick, plastic-like substance. Tentatively, she reached out her foot and touched the platform with the tip of her boot. It was solid, but a pulse of blue light radiated out from where she’d touched the platform before it quickly faded back to white. The surface of the lake bubbled. A second octagonal platform rose up out of the liquid, creating a sort of jetty.