H.A.L.F.: The Makers

by Natalie Wright

  “Erika, we’re almost out of time. We’ve got to get everyone on that ship!” Dr. Randall said.

  “Go,” she screamed. “I’ll finish her. Get Xenos aboard.”

  Before she had a chance to turn and see if Dr. Randall and Ian had made any progress toward the ship, gunfire erupted behind her. The Regina glowered at her but returned her attention to Tex, her thin, bony fingers again snaking their way toward his temples.

  Erika was about to fire again, but before she got the shot lined up, Xenos let go a few rounds of her own. The Regina’s head spun around, her eyes wide with surprise. She let out a loud, feral screech as she moved toward Xenos.

  “Take him, Erika. Take him home,” Xenos shouted. She threw her rifle to the ground and held a grenade in her hand.

  Erika ran to Tex. He stood stone still, his eyes in a catatonic gaze as if he was intently watching a movie that no one else could see. Erika grabbed him around the waist with one arm and slung his arm around her shoulder. “Come on, Xenos. Run,” Erika called as she dragged Tex away from the console.

  “Promise me that you will take care of him.” Xenos ran to the control panel, the Regina advancing on her. The Regina was missing one eye, and her right arm dangled like a rag-doll arm from her shoulder. Her tunic was now more blood than fabric.

  Erika planned to get Tex on board the ship then go back for Xenos. She was at the stairs and Dr. Randall was there waiting.

  He took Tex from her. “Hurry,” he shouted.

  Ian was under the ship, the bright light making him look like a ghost image of himself. She could see his lips move but couldn’t hear what he said. Then he was gone, sucked up into the orb. At least he’ll get home.

  Erika turned back toward the console and was ready to run and grab Xenos. But she watched in horror as Xenos held the grenade above her head and pulled the pin. She put the grenade tight to her chest with her right hand as she grabbed the Regina around the neck with her left. She flung both of their bodies on top of the console.

  Erika took the stairs by twos and jumped the last couple of feet. She nearly fell but got herself up and ran as fast as her legs would take her to the bright light that was still a column under the ship.

  The beam of light enveloped her, and within seconds she was inside with Dr. Randall, Ian and Tex. The orb looked like it was made of solid metal, but when inside she could see out of it as though looking through water. Everything was shimmery, and it would have been beautiful if it weren’t for the fact that they gazed out on a horrific scene.

  The Regina had her long thin fingers wound around Xenos’ neck like the tendrils of a poisonous vine. Xenos still held the grenade in her hand and across her chest, right next to the ammo belt slung across her body.

  Erika could do nothing but stare in silence as the grenade exploded. The control panel erupted in flame. The explosion sparked the ammo that Xenos had strapped across her body. It blew the Regina, the console and Xenos into many pieces.

  The hand that had held the pin was blown from her body. The orb fluxed in and out of phase, causing time to slow. They watched helplessly as Xenos’ disembodied arm flew into the air and slowly arched upward then down toward the ground in a long, slow, agonizing trajectory.

  Erika should have been crying, but the image was so surreal – the whole damned thing so like a dream – that her eyes remained dry, her rifle still gripped in her hands. Over the sound of the loud, steady hum of the oscillating orb was the sound of Tex’s one-word scream.

  “No!” Out of the corner of her eye she saw him crumple to the floor, his mouth open in a soundless scream, his eyes wide with terror.

  The future version of the pool room blinked in and out of existence before their eyes. It was there and ablaze, the control panel obliterated, the lights now dim and nearly out entirely. The next instant they were in the quantum realm, silent and cold and black. Then they were back in the realm of the Conexus. They spilled into the pool room, screeching and holding their heads, slamming into each other and running about as if all of them had lost their minds.

  It went on like that, back and forth between the bloody, crazy scene and the emptiness of the quantum vacuum for what seemed like endless time. At last, Aphthartos future was a memory.

  Xenos had sacrificed herself not only to save Tex, but to prevent the suffering of countless people. She’d destroyed the Regina and the Conexus’ ability to spread the virus. Xenos made it a one-way trip. Erika remembered the precious antiviral wedged between her breasts. She hoped the Conexus had not yet released the deadly virus. She touched her hand to her chest. Just in case …

  Erika’s body was squeezed as she was forced, atom by atom, into the size of a brick. In the next instant she was stretched like taffy to the size of a semitruck. The blood and screams were behind her. She had no idea where they were going. Erika knew only the dark, cold vacuum of space as she was pulled apart, atom by atom, with only the vaguest hope that she would one day be put back together again.

  41

  JACK

  Despite Thomas’ amateur driving, they finally made it to Croft’s building. They had no issues getting past the doorman. A security officer at the desk checked a list on the computer.

  “Ah, Schaeffer Plumbing. Just two guys, right?”

  Thomas nodded.

  “And right on time. Go on up. Top floor. Hell of a view up there.” The man smiled and showed them to a private elevator that went only to the penthouse. The security guard turned a key and called the elevator.

  Jack’s pits were soaked before they even stepped into the elevator. “Got past the first layer. That’s a good sign, right?”

  Thomas stared at him through the clear glass of his dark-rimmed glasses.

  Jack wished that Ian were there. Ian always diffused tense situations with humor. If Ian had been there, no doubt he’d rib Jack about his ridiculous new hair color and make a crack about his uniform. Or maybe he’d joke about how he liked a man in uniform, and that would’ve made Jack blush, but at least the tension would have moved away from the fact he was unlikely to see tomorrow.

  The elevator sped smoothly and quickly to the twentieth floor. It opened to a small vestibule where another security guard dressed in a Makers’ uniform sat reading the paper. The man quickly put the paper down when he noticed them coming toward him.

  “Ah, sprinkler system guys, right?”

  “Yes,” Thomas said.

  The man checked a printed list on a clipboard. The move was redundant seeing as how the security guy in the lobby had done the same thing. But Jack didn’t question it.

  “Ed Schaeffer and Steve Harper. Mr. Schaeffer, I need to see your ID.”

  Thomas pulled his freshly minted ID out of his thin wallet and handed it to the guard. He compared Thomas’ ID to the computerized list. “You’re all set, Mr. Schaeffer. Wait here for Mr. Harris, our chief of security. He’ll show you where you’ll be working today.”

  There was no place to sit, so they stood and waited, staring at marble-clad walls and mosaic-tiled double doors. As seconds became minutes, sweat beaded on Jack’s brow. What if the security chief found out that our credentials are fake? It wouldn’t take much digging to find out Steve Harper recently died in Arizona.

  The door opened and a grey-haired man in a navy-blue suit greeted them. “Thank you for arriving on time, gentlemen. I’m Mr. Harris, chief of security for the Croft residence. Please follow me and we’ll go over the work orders and protocols.” His voice was courteous and his welcome delivered with the kind of false smile one gives to strangers.

  They entered a wide foyer tiled in cream-colored marble. It gleamed in the morning light that poured in from a wall of windows with a view of Central Park below. The immaculate room was decorated with tasteful antiques mixed with elegant modern touches. It glowed a pale, lemon yellow. There was no one in the main living area to enjoy the gorgeous morning.

  Jack had never been in a penthouse. Curiosity made him want to wander the halls and see
how the superrich lived. But they were escorted away from the central living area and down a more narrow hallway to the left.

  “Please, gentlemen, stay with me. You will be working in two areas only. Stay in your designated work space.”

  There were so many things that could go wrong with their plan. Each piece hinged on the perfect execution of the thing that came before it. They’d tested the microphones and earpieces that morning. They worked then, but will they work now? Earpiece failure. One more thing to add to the list of ways this could all go horribly wrong and end in their deaths.

  “Which of you will be installing the switch?”

  Jack tried to speak, but his throat was so dry, nothing came out. He coughed, a true sign of nervousness. He hoped it didn’t send up a red flag. “Uh, me, sir. I’ll be, um, installing the – switch.”

  Thomas looked back at him and glared.

  The silver-haired man glanced at Jack over his shoulder but kept walking. He took a right turn down yet another narrow hallway. He stopped at the last door on the left and put his whole hand on a pad that scanned it. The lock clicked and he opened the door. “You, sir – Ed, is it? Please remain here while I show Steve his work area.”

  ‘Ed’s’ pits were dark with sweat. Thomas’ glasses had slipped down his nose and Jack wanted to push them up his face.

  Jack was more than a little nervous about leaving Thomas on his own. Thomas was older than Jack but even less worldly, spending most of his time in his small apartment glued to computer screens. Their entire plan hinged on Thomas not only pulling off being a highly skilled business owner, but also his ability to hack, monitor and override the security system with the precision of a skilled operative. But it had to be that way. Thomas had to use his computer skills to manipulate the security system from the inside, so he had to be the one to be taken to the computer mainframe.

  Jack followed the security chief into a room that was small compared to the expansive space of the main living area. And it was wholly unlike the front rooms or the halls they’d come through.

  The room was dimly lit with low-wattage overhead pot lights. There were no windows.

  The walls in the corridors were tastefully decorated with a lustrous wood paneling on the bottom and creamy wallpaper with swirls of gold above. The floors were carpeted with a thick pad underneath so that they were nearly silent as they walked.

  But this room’s floor was a smooth, polished grey concrete, the walls were shiny grey plaster. The room was nearly empty except for a glass-topped desk, a few metal chairs and a wall of opaque glass with a single door. Two men in Makers’ uniforms stood at the door, one on each side. They straightened up and stopped talking when the suit walked in.

  “Mr. Harris, sir,” one said and nodded at him.

  “Mr. Davis,” the security chief said and nodded back. “This is Mr. Harper. He will be working on an installation of some equipment in here this morning. He is to stay in this room. If you need to use the restroom, Mr. Harper, please let them know and one will escort you to the facilities you may use.”

  “I can probably find the john on my own,” Jack said with a smile.

  The security chief did not look amused. His voice was low. “I’m sure you can. But you wouldn’t want to take a wrong turn and end up lost, would you?”

  Jack’s smile vanished. His face was hot and he had to work hard not to puke on the guy’s shoes. “Okay, got it. If I need to piss, I’ll ask for an escort.”

  The security chief nodded curtly. “I suggest you get to work. This is a busy household and we must keep to our schedule. Your boss indicated you would be finished by noon.” He checked his watch. “That leaves you a little more than two hours. I will collect you at that time whether you are finished or not.”

  When Thomas had been hired for the job, they’d let him know he had until noon that day to complete the work. Jack and Thomas had run through their plan and had gotten it down to just over an hour and thirty minutes. A little leeway for unforeseens but not much.

  Harris gave a quick nod to the two guards and left the room. Until Thomas got into position in the computer control room, Jack was on his own and incommunicado.

  He’d watched the YouTube videos Thomas had bookmarked for him on how to cut into the plaster wall, pull wires and jury-rig a switch so that it at least looked wired up properly. Thomas had made him practice on his wall at home, hovering over him and critiquing his work until Jack was able to install what would look like a proper switch mounted in the wall.

  It was, in truth, a fairly simple task, and any electrician would have been able to do it in thirty minutes, tops. But Jack had to draw the process out. He needed to give Thomas enough time to hack the system and create a loop of video from the room Jack worked in and install it so it played in the feed being monitored.

  Jack looked about the room and knocked on the wall as if searching for a stud. He knocked and listened as he moved ever closer to the guards and the glassed-in room within a room. Alecto had to be behind the glass, though he didn’t see even a shadow behind the opaque glass.

  It made sense to him now that he saw the setup. Croft wanted them to replumb and rewire the overhead sprinkler system for this room only. That way, if Alecto got out of control, they could simply flip a switch or push a button on a remote and douse her.

  “Whach’ya guarding in there, the Queen of England?” Jack asked.

  The guards glared at him. “Just get to work doing what you’re here to do. Don’t worry about what we’re doing. Got it?” one of the guards said. A name tag pinned to his chest said ‘R. Price’. Poor bastard. He’s the guy responsible for getting us in here. Price put a hand on the hilt of the pistol at his waist.

  “All right, all right. You guys get the humor zapped out of you or something?” Jack joked. “It’s just that this switch will activate the overhead sprinkler, which means all wet all over the room, see? So if the guy who owns this place has priceless art or something in there, he’s not goin’ ta want it all wet. We’ll have to test it before we leave, so I’m just sayin’ …”

  “Mr. Croft knows what he’s doing. Get with it or we’ll toss you out and get someone in here who isn’t so full of questions. You see?”

  Jack shrugged his shoulders. “Suit yourself. Just don’t blame me when Mr. – Croft, did you say? Don’t blame me when his priceless shit gets soaked is all I’m sayin’.”

  Price shifted his feet and the other guard gave Price an inquisitive look, but they weren’t about to discuss the issue further with Jack.

  It didn’t really matter where Jack put the switch. It wasn’t going to operate anything anyway. But Jack had to make his work look convincing to keep the guards from nosing in what he was doing.

  He finally decided to put the switch by a bank of light switches near the door. It made sense and would make it easier for him to grab wires. He made a production of opening the toolbox and he leisurely pulled out the tools he needed, one by one.

  He had begun sawing through the plaster where he marked the spot for his switch when his earpiece crackled. “I’m in position, Steve. Can you hear me?”

  Jack had a wire running down his sleeve with a small mic tucked into the buttonhole at his cuff. He put it to his mouth, “Oh yeah, hi, um, Ed. I haven’t pulled wires yet. I’ll let you know when it’s ready for the test.”

  “Are there guards there like I thought there’d be?” Thomas’ voice crackled in Jack’s ear.

  “Double grounded? Yes, sir, will do.”

  “Two guards, then? And Alecto is there?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Okay. You know what to do. I’ll let you know when I’ve uploaded the false feed. Let me know when you’ve secured our package.”

  Jack was glad to have something to do with his hands while he waited. It wasn’t a guitar, but at least the busywork helped keep his mind off what was going to happen. If all went as planned, the Zissnine would put Price and Davis into a deep sleep. Thomas had said they’d wa
ke feeling like they had the worst hangover of their lives. Jack was glad the Zissnine was sleeping gas and not poison. He wasn’t opposed to using deadly force if he had to protect himself or someone on his team, but he’d rather avoid bloodshed if possible.

  Jack was ready to pull wires. He almost reached his grabbing tool into the hole in the wall when he remembered that he had to make sure power was cut to the circuits he was working on or he’d get a nasty jolt. When he’d practiced this step in Thomas’ house he’d just gone to the circuit-breaker panel and shut off the correct circuits. He couldn’t do that here.

  He tried to reach Thomas on the intercom link. “Ed? Come in, Ed.”

  No reply.

  “Ed? I need you to cut power to this circuit so I can pull wires.”

  Nothing.

  The twitchy stomach was back.

  42

  ERIKA

  Erika hoped that without the Conexus in charge of their journey, the trip home would be more pleasant than the trip to the future had been. She got no such luck. If anything, it was worse. She now understood why the Conexus had put them to sleep for their first time travel.

  Time was stretched and compressed, as they were. Though it might have lasted only a few seconds, it was also eternal. Are we going to end up in an even more distant future Earth, more desolate than the last? As the dark and cold of the quantum vacuum enveloped her, Erika passed out.

  A loud pop roused her from the sleep imposed on her by lack of oxygen. Her head felt like it was in a vice. Her ears rang. There were sounds, but of what she did not know. Sounds were muffled and gurgly as if she were under water.

  The pressure eased. The stretching ended and she was once again ensconced in a bright light.

  Erika closed her eyes to shield them from the blinding light. Her neck dripped with sweat though her arms were prickled from the cold. She wanted to open her eyes – to see what place the orb had taken them. But she was afraid to look. This trip was a one-way journey. If they ended up anywhere other than Earth in their own time, they were hosed.