As stewards of this planet, it is not only our responsibility to respect the native sentient beings, but also to protect them.
I call on you to reconfirm you pledge to NCAAR. A species depends on it now more than ever.
Sincerely,
NCAAR President
Year 75, Month 6, Day 7, mid-day
ara’s shirt was too baggy and her jeans too short. The cuffs barely touched the tops of her two-sizes-too-big boots. Her hair had started to get greasy around the edges from the lack of regular access to a shower. Smudges of dirt marred her cheek and forehead. Just enough grime for her to pass as an Anemie. The only thing missing was the anemia-induced dark under eye circles.
She walked between Anna and me while Keith and Ben followed. Oh yeah, Ben had returned just as we were leaving. Fantastic timing. He’d sputtered over Anna, asking for forgiveness. Of course, she gave it. It creeped me out, having him behind me. I had no defense if he decided to crack my skull open like an egg.
We made our way as quickly as possible to the distribution just north of midtown, avoiding the more crowded places. The truck was there, but no Anemies hung around. The engine rumbled to life as the human slaves rolling down the door.
“We missed it.” Anna jogged ahead. “Wait! Please! Is there anything left?”
Cara and I caught up to her. Keith and Ben’s footsteps clopped along a moment later.
One of the slaves greeted us. “Sorry, kids. Our supplies keep dwindling.” He ducked his head inside. “Chris, anything left?”
A shadow moved inside. “Yeah, here.”
The slave caught something in his hand. A package of pellets and some batteries. “It’s all we’ve got.”
He tossed it to Anna.
She squinted up at him, unused to the bright daylight after spending so much time underground in the tunnels. “Thanks.”
The slave bent down. “You guys have a safe place to bunker down?”
“Yeah, why?” Anna handed Ben the package, and he stuffed it in his pocket.
“Abarron has finally done it. He overrode the NCAAR and issued a final order to exterminate all Anemies. We can’t do distributions anymore. The guards will attack us, and you’ll be easy targets.” He gave Anna a gentle pat. His face tightened with fear… and pity. The kind of pity someone shows when they know another human being is going to suffer or die. “Good luck.”
He dragged the door shut, clicking the latch in place from inside. A moment later, the truck jerked into gear and sped off, leaving a plume of smoke in its wake.
“Did he really say what I thought he said?” Cara hugged herself, eyeing the street, no doubt expecting a throng of guards to descend upon us any second.
“Yeah, he did.” Anna tugged on her elbow. “Which means we have to get to the pier fast.”
A master at hiding, Anna led us down side streets, alleys, and along levies constructed to keep the ocean’s waters at bay until the underwater portion of the biodome was more fortified. In the daylight, the pier seemed bigger, but also more benign. Hard to believe Alex had brought me here just a few nights ago.
The memory of his lighthearted whistling grated on me. He was so proud of what he’d done.
“We met them on the top level.” I headed toward the stairs as soon as we got inside. “Think they hideout there all the time?”
“Good place as any.” Anna followed without hesitation. So did Cara.
“We’ll keep watch down here.” Ben sat on a stair.
Keith paced, restless. “Just hurry up.” He tightened the tie holding his low ponytail in place. I couldn’t tell if he swayed more to Ben’s side or Anna’s. He’d raised his hand at the vote, so that had to count for something. But he also wore the same constipated expression as Ben.
Progress on the biodome was obvious from the upper deck. Once the last third of panes were laid in place, the cap would be done, and New City would be an island in more ways than one.
I almost couldn’t blame Abarron for wanting to exterminate us Anemies completely. We had no place in his world. Dad was such a fool to think he could negotiate with Vie. Alex was a fool for thinking he could do the same with Abarron. After all his centuries as an immortal, he should’ve been old enough to know better.
“Hello?” Cara called, peeking around thick tree trunks and overgrown brush. “Anyone here?”
Anna circled left. “We have a safe place for you to go. Please come out. The guards will find you if you stay here.”
I trailed behind Cara. “Alex sent us.”
That did it. One head popped up about halfway down the pier. Soon, a dozen others sprung out of the bushes. Without a sound, the group emerged from their cover. Slowly, they walked our way, wary but curious.
Anna handed them a food pellet each as she explained Abarron’s decree. “Come with us. We’ll keep you safe.”
Our fairly large group would draw attention. In the lobby, we decided to divide into three groups. Keith would lead a few, so would Ben and Anna, and Cara and I would lead the rest.
Keith’s group left first. The more we staggered timing and routes, the less likely we’d be to draw attention.
Half an hour later, Ben and Anna headed out.
At the designated time, Cara and I herded the four remaining Anemies uptown. Anna and Ben had planned on taking the levy path while Keith took his kids underground as soon as possible.
Guards knew Anemies tended to crowd parks, so we couldn’t go there. Indecision clogged my brain and weighed down my feet.
“Which way?” Cara nudged me with an elbow.
If I was by myself, I’d duck and dive between alleys. But I had five other people to watch out for.
“Anna and Ben should be long gone. Let’s take the levy route.”
We huddled together, moving quickly and quietly. Alex’s Anemies were used to silence, thank goodness. Just as we closed in on the old Lincoln Tunnel, my worst fears congealed into reality.
Under the wide arch, bordered by a row of molded concrete barriers, five sizeable, dark red stains splotched the ground. A sneaker lay on its side next to a torn jacket, equally painted crimson. They’d made a run for the darkened tunnel, no doubt, but they’d also bottled themselves in between the high walls flanking the entrance.
Blazes. I swallowed the acid rising from my gut. We were too late to help. Not that we could’ve done anything except add more to the dead-body count.
I scanned the top edge for any signs the guards remained on watch. Empty.
Cara knelt down to one of the drying puddles and touched it with her fingertips. “It’s blood.” Her hand shook as she withdrew it. “Do you think they’re dead?” Her gaze drifted to the Anemies.
“We have to assume yes,” I replied.
The group huddled by the nearest concrete barrier, eyes darting as they held onto one another. They’d been relatively safe at the pier, and we’d just led some of them directly to their deaths.
I wouldn’t let anything happen to them. “We’ve got to get out of here.” I jerked my head to the kids. “Come on. We have to hurry.”
“Justin!” Anna limped out of the tunnel’s darkness, her pant leg torn and soaked in blood.
“You’re hurt.”
She launched herself into my arms. “What’re you doing here?”
“What happened?” I steadied her and then glanced at Cara. “Keep an eye out, will you?”
Cara nodded, gathering the four Anemies to her. “Let’s hide in the tunnel.”
I half-carried Anna to the entrance’s shadow. “It was awful. We were ambushed. Ben tried to fight off the guards, but there were too many. They zapped the kids, then… then…” She dissolved into sobs.
“Shh, we need to be quiet.” I covered her mouth lightly. Her tears slicked my hand.
She buried her face into my chest, sucking in shaky gulps of air. “They shot the kids and B-Ben made me hide. He made sure I was safe before he went back to try and stop them. Then they
shot Ben. They threw the bodies in a dump truck and drove off. They took Ben. My Ben. He’s… gone.”
Cara gasped.
I chewed my cheek until I tasted blood.
Cara tensed. “Justin—” she whispered. “Someone’s coming.”
“Shit.” What have we done? Whathavewedone!
Several sets of footsteps marched along the very same stretch of sidewalk we’d just been. I held my breath, praying they’d keep going right on past us.
They were less than a hundred yards away. Fifty yards. Twenty-five.
They slowed.
“It’s guards,” Cara said.
Clots!
“No one’s here, boss. I told you,” one of them complained.
Twenty yards.
“We’ve already cleaned this section. Let’s move on,” another guard barked.
Their speed increased, and their synchronized noise faded.
Cara laid her head on my chest.
I exhaled, slowly. Oh, sweet relief.
I was safer in Alex’s apartment. With Margaret.
n our cozy subway hideout, Cara made sure the four kids we rescued were settled before she sat next to me on our mat. We cuddled, holding onto one another like anchors. Luck had guided us “home.” Who knew how much longer it would last?
Something buzzed.
“What the?” Cara pulled out the communicator. Alex’s face appeared on the screen.
My stomach dropped. “Another message? Tell me it’s a recording.”
“No, this is real time. Where are you?” Alex said, gaze sharp and piercing.
He spoke fast. Like really fast. Like so fast I almost couldn’t tell where one word ended and the next started. He was pissed.
PS: The clotsucker had survived.
PPS: Again.
“Like I’m going to tell you,” I replied.
“Who’s that?” Anna asked, on her hands and knees, ready to pounce. Or run.
Cara held a finger to her lips.
“Hold up the communicator so I can see you,” Alex said.
Alex’s face seemed much thinner than before, more angular and ashen. Maybe I’d done more damage than I thought.
Cara tilted the device toward me.
“You didn’t heal. How can you…” I drew my fingers across my forehead.
“Be alive?” He smirked. “I hope you’ve found a suitable hiding place.”
“Nowhere is safe for long. Abarron has made sure of that.”
“Which is precisely why we need to meet.”
“Ready to turn me in?”
“Cara, would you talk some sense into this boy?” Alex complained.
Cara flipped the communicator toward her. “Yes, sir.” She shifted so we were both visible to him. “Please, Justin. Listen to what he has to say.”
The trance worked via vidscreen?
Alex actually chuckled. “You see, Justin? She’s much more agreeable than you. Makes things so much easier.”
“What do you want?”
“I want you to be successful.”
“If that’s true, then it means you want your own kind—and maybe even yourself—to die. That doesn’t make any sense.”
“You seem to be giving me a good bit of practice at it.” His stone-hard gaze struck me through the screen. “Abarron needs to be stopped. So far, you’re the only means we’ve got.”
“Not this again,” I whined.
“Shut up and listen. He’s developed the next phase of the vaccine. The NCAAR won’t stand for it, especially not after his death decree. If I’m able to multiply the protein I found in your blood… well, let’s just say the time for revolution is nigh.” Excitement rang through his words.
“Revolution?”
“If NCAAR brings Abarron down, a new order will take over. A peaceful one.”
“You’re really buying your own bullshit, aren’t you? And what happens when your NCAAR is destroyed? Then what? You’ll say it was what God wanted anyway?” I stuffed my hands into my armpits. It was that, or chuck the communicator against the wall—I’d call it a cathartic exercise.
“Nathan is continually manufacturing new ways to keep his flock satisfied. Drinking live slaves worked for a while. Then getting high off Anemie blood provided some with enough distraction—”
“Works well for you,” I interrupted.
Alex narrowed his eyes. “But it is not a lasting diversion, and this time he’s gone too far. Once it’s unveiled, I’m sure the NCAAR movement will regain momentum and—”
“So, what’s the next phase?” If I let him keep talking he’d disintegrate into a river of ideas and phrases no one in their right mind could follow.
“The newest version of the vaccine—VitaInfantus—is meant for children. Abarron thinks it will create more stability for immortals to raise a family.”
His confession rang in my ears like the intense silence after a loud bang.
“Is it your project?” I asked.
“Absolutely not. I find it abhorrent.”
“Did he use Sammie as a subject?” I forced the question out instead of a scream.
“No.” Alex glared at me like he wanted to trance me and was miffed that he couldn’t.
“You swear?” If only I could hold a stake to his heart whenever he talked. To nudge the truth out of him.
“Upon my grave.” He kept eye contact with me for several seconds.
At the rate we were going, he’d never need his grave. “So, what does this have to do with me?”
“To damn a child in this way is unconscionable.”
“Again, I’ll ask. What am I supposed to do about it? I have no control over Abarron.”
“Even so, he fears you.”
“Me?” I laughed at the absurdity of the statement.
“Well, he certainly fears what you represent. It may be enough to distract him from fully rolling out his plan. As such, I will do anything in my power to keep you alive.”
“Gee, thanks.” I couldn’t hold back the sarcasm. “What happened after we escaped The Spencer Building, anyway? Bet he was pissed with you.”
The corners of his mouth turned down. “I need to get you out of the city.”
Cara gasped.
“What? That’s impossible.”
“Haven’t we discussed any number of impossible things that I’ve done, you’ve done—that we’ve done?” he asked.
The ache in my chest spread to my gut then twisted through my intestines. If I put my trust in Alex, a Vie, I might escape the city and be free.
“Cara’s coming with me.”
Alex nodded. “She has to for her survival.”
“What about the rest of us?” Anna broke her silence. Her wide eyes were glossy with tears.
Alex’s gaze darted in her direction. “How many are with you?”
“We…” I almost said rescued, but that wasn’t the right word, not for everyone. “We met the Anemies at the pier and brought some of them with us.”
“Some of them?”
“I thought you were dead. Then we heard about the extermination campaign, and I couldn’t leave them there. We split up in smaller groups, and five of them were killed.”
“So was my boyfriend, Ben. He died protecting them,” Anna added.
He closed his eyes for a moment, like the news truly pained him. “I’m sorry for your loss. Though I am glad you saved who you could. Ben was very brave and should be remembered as a hero. Abarron’s been watching me closely, and I wasn’t able to get to them. They’d have been slaughtered had they remained. The safe house idea has been abandoned for now. Thank you, Justin, for collecting them.”
I fought my own tears. What we’d done wasn’t enough. Too many had died. I didn’t deserve his thanks.
“We must continue to spread the word about you. Deliver hope. That’s all we have left.” Alex’s brow furrowed.
“What’s hope worth? We can’t fight Vie. We’ll all die.”
He nodded. “Many will be slain,
but there will be survivors. Wherever you are now, you’ll be found eventually. Where else can you go?”
My brain whirred with thoughts. Or lack thereof. No place in the city was safe. “I have no idea.”
Cara touched my arm so lightly I barely felt it.
“Precisely. Which is why you must meet me at the Fifty-Ninth Street Bridge Gate tonight. I’ll get you out of the city. You’ll be free.”
“You’ll be able to sneak away from Abarron?”
He nodded. “I’ll find a way.”
“And what about everyone else?”
“Word will spread. If anything, you’ll become a legend… until I can make your gift a reality for the masses.”
“You’re delusional.”
“It’s the only thing we’ve got.” He sighed. “What do you say? Deal?”
I searched Cara’s face, searching to her for an answer. She simply nodded. “There’s forest communities, but they aren’t friendly. It’ll be hard,” I said.
“If we have a bunch of people, it’ll be easier.” Cara lifted her chin. “With Keith’s group and ours, we’ll have about ten Anemies. Safety in numbers, right?”
“How do I know Abarron isn’t making you set a trap for us?”
Alex rubbed his chin. “If I’m lying, I’ll let you stake me again. You’re getting pretty good at it. My heart almost didn’t regenerate this last time I bled so much.” He glanced somewhere off screen. “I have to go. See you soon.” The screen went black. We were immersed in total darkness once again.
“What do we do now?” I asked.
Tomorrow night stretched forever away.
“We should tell the others,” Cara said.
“She’s right,” Anna agreed. “You two go and bring the others. I need some time alone.”
Cara and I led our rescued pier Anemies to another safe room. Keith had taken his group there directly so they could find better clothes, some shoes, and food. He still didn’t know about Ben.
The blue-white glow of fluorescent lanterns slipped under the door and into the tunnel. So did the hum of the generator.
I knocked on the door.
Keith answered. “They’re freezing. Thought I’d let them have some heat for a little while.”
Cara and I joined the kids sitting in a semi-circle. None of them made any noise. Maybe they were all mute from whatever the scientist Vie did to them. I held my hands out toward the heater, basking in the warmth. The tunnels stayed damp and cool one hundred percent of the time.
Dawn of the Vie (Immortal Aliens Book 1) Page 25
