But there was nothing to be done about it. He could not bring the Regina back to life. And if he wanted to survive, he must leave the world of the Conexus and return to his own time.
“We must hurry. All of their systems draw power from the bioenergy of the Conexus. If they die, we will be stranded here,” Tex said.
Ian got in Tex’s face. His eyes were dark with anger. “Why didn’t you tell us that before we gunned down their leader? Now you’re saying we shot ourselves in the foot and may be stuck here?”
Ian towered over Tex. Even though the human male had lost weight and muscle, he was still nearly twice the size of Tex and intimidating.
And Ian’s accusation stung Tex’s pride. The truth was that he had not thought it through. He should have foreseen all of the ripple effects of terminating the Regina, including the effect it would have on their ability to power their world. But he had not foreseen it. The nagging worry playing at the back of his mind grew that his brain was no longer whole.
Erika stepped between Ian and Tex. “There’s no use talking about it or blaming. What’s done is done. Let’s haul ass and get to the pool room.” Erika marched forward, the butt of her rifle pressed to her shoulder.
Tex took Xenos’ hand. He had to practically pull her to get her to come with him. He reached out to her again with his mind, trying to comfort her. We must go too or we will die. She did not resist coming with him but continued to silently cry.
They had only gone a few paces when a Conexus nearly ran into Erika. Startled, she used her rifle like a staff and swung at it wildly. She missed and was thrown off balance, nearly falling. She dropped her rifle. The Conexus shook off her attempted assault and came at her, its hands around her throat as she gasped for air.
Tex attempted to telepathically communicate with it, but the being’s mind was a fractured jumble. It was a mindless automaton. Without the Regina to guide its thoughts, the being acted on a primordial instinct level.
Tex did not sift through the detritus of moral reasoning. He, too, felt as though he was acting on instinct, and his instinct was to protect Erika. He pulled the trigger without hesitation. He fired three rounds in quick succession, and they all missed wide to the left.
More shots rang out to match his. Ian’s bullets did not miss. The Conexus that had attacked Erika fell in a heap onto the crumbly path. Its luminescent silver tunic was soaked in purply-red blood.
Erika coughed and gasped as she sucked in air. “Thanks.”
Ian held out a hand to her and helped her up.
It seemed that each time Tex tried to prove himself to her, he ended up looking less and less worthy of her attention. Ian took point with Erika. Tex stayed behind them, Xenos still at his side like a barnacle stuck to a boat.
The Conexus presented no defensive strategy. But whenever a Conexus got close to them, it attacked and had to be put down. Erika and Ian killed about a half dozen more Conexus on their way to the pool room. Tex shot at one that assailed Xenos, but his bullets missed. Erika took it down, emasculating him further. He felt as effective as a blob of Jell-O.
The lights overhead continued to flicker on and off, though with each of the Conexus they killed, the lights dimmed even further. They finally got to the room that used to house a deep pool of crystal-blue water. Ian opened the doors, and though the smell of chlorine no longer wafted out, Tex’s heart still raced at the memory of how he had nearly drowned the last time he had been in the room.
The water had been drained from the pool. The shining silver orb stood in the deep end and took up nearly the entire pool bed. It was still and entirely smooth. There was no hint of a doorway or windows. Their trip back to their own time would end before it began if they could not find a mechanism to open the craft.
Where there had been row after row of bleachers was now empty space save for a large dark, grey console made of the same molded plastic that the Conexus used to manufacture most things. There was no reclining chair like he had seen Conexus in when they interfaced with machines. The console itself had no buttons, switches or computer screens. It was a control console with no controls.
Ian and Erika both searched the top of the smooth plastic with their hands while Dr. Randall knelt and looked underneath. Ian pushed as if he would find a hidden button or mechanism. But nothing happened.
Erika directed her question to Tex. “Got any idea how to operate this thing?”
Xenos answered, “Telepathic interface.”
Dr. Randall stood up and dusted off his knees. Tex thought it a peculiar thing to do, seeing as how Dr. Randall’s clothes were filthy. “Then we are of no use,” Dr. Randall said. His eyes were puffy and rimmed in red.
“Can either of you operate it?” Erika asked.
Xenos shook her head. “I am Infractus.”
Though Tex shuddered at the label ‘Infractus’ in the same way that he had always abhorred being referred to as ‘H.A.L.F.’, the truth was that Xenos was not capable of the complex telepathic interface required to communicate with Conexus machines. She could hear some Conexus thoughts and receive telepathic directives from them, but she could not sync her mind with their computers. I am not sure I will be able to either.
“I will attempt it,” Tex said. “I suggest you go down the stairs and get under the orb, as you did in Aphthartos. That way you will be able to enter the ship.” That is, if I can ascertain how to open the door.
Neither Xenos nor Erika moved toward the orb.
“I said go,” Tex said.
Xenos cried fresh tears and twisted her tunic in her hands. “I will stay with you, Tex.”
“And I’ll stand guard,” Erika said.
The idea that he needed Erika – or anyone – to guard him raised his ire. He had once killed nearly six men at one time. In truth, he doubted he had the strength to take out even one person with his telekinesis now. But he could not bring himself to admit how weak he was. “No, you must go,” Tex said.
“Look, I’m not going to argue about it. In order to interface, you’ll need to be focused. You won’t be able to keep track of what’s going on around you. I’ll protect you from any Conexus that try to disrupt you.”
Her reasoning was correct, and he opted not to argue with her further. She turned her back to him and stood a few feet away, her rifle in her hands. Ian was already to the stairs leading down into the pool bottom, and Dr. Randall was nearly there. Xenos stood only a foot away from Tex.
Tex put his hands on the console, closed his eyes and cleared his mind of thoughts. He meditated and relaxed, and as he did, the molded plastic console beneath his fingers began to glow as if lighted from within. Tex’s voice was a monotone. “Both of you must go. Now. Before she gets here.”
“She? What are you talking about?” Erika asked.
But her voice sounded as if far off. Tex was already deep within and had established a link. It was as if he was connected by a cable to the Conexus machine. Numbers, phrases and equations tumbled about in his mind. He sank deeper still and melded with the machine. He understood what he needed to do.
He gave a command to open the door and to actuate the receptor beam. The focused beam of energy that looked like a light was actually an actuator that briefly magnetized the blood of biological entities that were in its path. The magnetization allowed them to be pulled into the ship by a strong magnet inside.
He came up from his deep trance long enough to say, “Hurry. Get under the beam so it will pull you aboard.” But though he gave the command, he sensed two beings still nearby him.
Tex ignored the sensations of the physical world and sank back into a deep trance. He was once again in unison with the computer. The Conexus energy was alive, a constant thrum. And at the core of it all was a consistent thumping, the beat of a heart.
The Regina.
Though he knew it was impossible, he felt her. There were two heartbeats within him, as if her heart was conjoined with his own.
Tex pulled his thoughts away from her
so he could focus on the machine. Though he was deep in a trance and unobstructed in his interface with the computer, a part of his consciousness monitored his surroundings. There was a commotion. The humans were under attack.
If he brought himself out of the trance now, he would never find his way back in. His energy was waning. It took all that he had to stay locked in coherence with the computer that operated the orb. I cannot help them. They will have to defend themselves.
Tex did not have the ability to perform the complicated calculations required to fix the orb’s coordinates in time and space then calculate what must be done to command it to travel to their time and place. It likely required the entire collective to achieve such a complex command. But at last he happened upon a workaround. If he commanded the orb to execute its last command, it would go to the time and place it last went. He had no idea where – or when – that would be. But it was the best he could do.
There were fingers at him, pulling him away. He remained firmly planted. Almost there.
Thin, bony arms wound around his waist, tugging at him. He ignored the attempts to move him and the sense of chaos that buzzed at the periphery of his mind. He completed the last of the sequential commands. The countdown had begun. They had five minutes to get on the ship or it would leave them behind.
Tex opened his eyes, breaking the interface with the computer. His eyes were bleary. Xenos’ arms were wrapped around him. Her large head was against him, her angular cheek to his chest. He did not know the protocol for how he should respond. It seemed he should offer her comfort, as she was clearly frightened, though of what specifically, he did not know. He awkwardly put his arms around her. Her body was frail but warm next to his.
“Come. We must go before it is too late,” he whispered.
Before he could move from the spot, Xenos’ arms were gone and pain exploded in his head. The agony dropped him to his knees and he choked as he tried to pull air into his starving lungs.
The Regina’s voice was low in his ear. “Do you enjoy the sensation of struggling for air? I thought you should experience your signature move.”
He raised his head in an attempt to see her. Is it really you? His vision was blurry. A shadowy figure loomed over him. As he peered at the silhouette, he saw that it wore a silvery tunic covered in blood. “How?” he asked. His voice was raspy, a barely audible whisper.
“I thought we shared something – special.” Her finger traced a line down his cheek. Her fingernail was long and pointy like a claw. It scratched his papery-thin, delicate skin. A trickle of blood rolled down his cheek. The Regina wiped the blood with her leathery-skinned thumb then crooked her finger under his chin and forced his head up.
The two black orbs in her head were mirrors. In them he saw himself cowering before her as he had once cringed from Commander Sturgis.
The virulent buzz suddenly ceased. A pleasant warmth began in his chest and spread to his stomach then outward to his limbs.
An unbidden image formed in his mind. It was as complete a thought as any of his memories, filled with physical sensations and emotional connection. He embraced Xenos as he had before. But this time, he bent his head and kissed her. His thin lips met her full ones, warm and moist. His hands found the small of her back. He pressed her closer until her body was molded to his. She was so small and fragile in his arms. I will protect you. Her arms wound around him and her hands found his neck. She gently pulled his head down and kissed him more deeply, their limbs entwined.
The gentle warmth became an inferno that spread from his stomach to his loins. He wanted the feeling to last forever. We are the same. I love her.
“You can love her forever.”
I can have what I always wanted.
The Regina held him entranced by the vision. And because she implanted it directly into his mind, it felt as real as anything he had ever experienced. In a few moments, he loved Xenos as greatly as if they had spent a lifetime together. He was oblivious to all that happened around him, caught up entirely in the virtual reality the Regina fed him.
“You can have this for all of the rest of your days.” The Regina’s clawlike hand snaked up his back and caressed the sore spot on the back of his head where he had once been wired directly into the Conexus collective. At first her touch brought torment, but with a thought, his pain evaporated.
“Yes,” she whispered. “You shall know discomfort no more. Submit to me. Become one with me and I will give you the Infractus. You will know only pleasure. Protect me, and you will have her always. Forever.” Her thin, dry lips were at his ear, her voice dry and raspy.
For the life of him, Tex could not recall why he had ever fought against her. The warm glow of the feelings she evoked in him by the vision she implanted filled him. The searing heat of his incisions was gone. His lungs no longer ached for oxygen. His head was clear. He was whole again.
I am yours.
The heady visions abruptly ended. Xenos’ arms were gone. The Regina’s warm breath a memory. He was cold and shivering as the loud crack of gunfire shook the air.
40
ERIKA
Erika stood in front of the console that controlled the Conexus ship. Not long after Tex began his meditation, two Conexus ambled into the pool room. Ian had been nearly to the ship and Dr. Randall had begun his descent down the ladder.
“You guys better get back up here. We’ve got company,” Erika called.
These Conexus were less clumsy than the ones they’d seen in the streets of Tro. She felt a twinge of irritation in her skull, but she was able to ignore it. The Conexus were advancing toward Tex. It seemed like they were intent on stopping him.
Erika put her rifle to her shoulder, looked through the sights and fired. Most of her bullets missed and a few were duds, but she kept firing until the two Conexus finally fell. She called back over her shoulder to Xenos, “Get to the ship. The doors are opening. Go now before it’s too late.”
“I cannot leave him,” she said.
Xenos had her arms wrapped around his waist like Tex was a life preserver keeping her afloat in rough seas. Erika was about to run around the console and peel the girl’s hands off him and carry her onto the ship, but three more Conexus poured through the door.
Ian and Dr. Randall stood at the edge of the pool and fired on them. They, too, had to fire several rounds to put them down.
Tex stared ahead unflinchingly, as still as a statue. His hands were splayed on the plastic console that now glowed, giving the appearance that his hands were part of the control panel.
A low hum filled the air. The orb has turned on. A bright beam of light shot out of the bottom of it, lighting the pool with an eerie blue glow. The metal of the orb shimmered like hot pavement on a summer day. The silver appeared liquid as the hum grew louder.
“You two better get to the ship. I’ll cover you,” Erika shouted.
“Come on, Erika. You go aboard. I’ll cover you,” Ian shouted back.
It wasn’t the time for them to argue over who was going to do what. She was in the best position to guard Tex, and if he was taken out, they were all stuck there. Forever.
“I need to guard Tex so he can control the ship. Now go,” Erika said.
Xenos’ voice was weak and shaky. “Erika, you go. I will protect Tex. Go, before it is too late for you.”
“No offense, but I don’t think you can protect him,” Erika said.
Xenos unwound her arms from around Tex and pulled a grenade from the ammo belt Erika had insisted she wear. It kept sliding off her tiny waist, so Ian had shown her how to wear it slung across her body. “I will not let her harm him. Not again.”
Xenos’ eyes were puffy from crying and her hand shook as she held the grenade. But her voice had more conviction in it than Erika had ever heard from her.
Gunfire erupted again near the entrance. Leaving Xenos in charge of defense was less than ideal, but they were running out of time. The ship was vibrating faster and faster.
Te
x’s voice rose softly but insistently. “Go.”
Erika nodded once at Xenos and edged closer to the ladder that led down into the pool. “As soon as he’s finished, bring him and get on the ship,” she said.
Erika gunned down a Conexus that stood between herself and the way to the ship. No sooner had its limp body fallen, Erika was brought to her knees by a white-hot poker through her skull.
That was what it felt like, anyway. She peered to her right, and Dr. Randall and Ian were writhing on the ground in pain. She looked back and Xenos had been flung away from Tex. The Infractus, too, lay on the floor, gasping for breath.
A shadowy figure advanced toward Tex. It moved as if on rollers, and Erika watched helplessly as the Regina placed her hands at his temples and squeezed.
The low, steady thrum of the orb grew louder and more insistent. It began to phase in and out, there one minute and nearly gone the next.
It seemed impossible that the Regina could survive the fatal gunshot wounds she’d received. She had not only survived, she seemed none the worse for wear.
Erika concentrated on fighting her off and getting the wench’s mind out of her brain. Her efforts paid off. The throbbing receded only slightly, but it was enough to clear her vision. Erika raised her gun. Her hands shook and the barrel jiggled up and down. She took a breath to steady herself and blew a stray, sweaty strand of hair out of her eye. You can do this, Erika. She remembered her dad’s hands, strong and weathered by the sun, helping her steady her gun when he’d taught her to shoot. She imagined him helping her now.
The Regina was so close to Tex, Erika was afraid she’d miss and shoot him. She took another steadying breath and lined up the sights. She aimed for the Regina’s heart and pressed the trigger. The rat-a-tat-tat of automatic gunfire could barely be heard over the loud hum of the ship.
At least one bullet hit the Regina. Fresh blood bloomed on her right shoulder. She let loose her grip on Tex and turned her attention toward Erika.
Erika didn’t wait for her to recover. She fired again, this time hitting her more squarely in the chest. The shot must have been enough to take the Regina’s focus away from Dr. Randall and Ian.
H.A.L.F.: The Makers Page 25
