by Stefan Bolz
Aries feels as if something inside her is about to break. The realization that she has to leave Kiire behind is almost too much for her to bear.
We should go. She hears Max in her thoughts. Who knows when the guard makes his rounds?
Aries nods. "We need to get rid of the pad," she says. "It's traceable and if they find it in here, they can figure out where we went."
"Give it to me," Seth says. Aries hands him the pad. He twists it until it bends and then snaps into two parts. He hands it back to Aries, who separates the screen layer from the chassis and takes out the battery.
"That should do it," she says, and sticks the parts into a narrow gap between two small heating units in the corner of the room.
Max opens the center access panel while Seth gets up.
"I'm Seth," he says, and stretches out his hand.
Max takes it.
"I know you can't hear me, but I can kind of guess that you understand. Thank you for getting me out."
Max nods. They enter the shaft and he closes the hatch behind them.
* * *
Pulled from Mainframe **S-0t9nn_nf315.445. Recording 5_11100_9883 1 A.R.C//
- We found a door. It was inside a shaft that could be reached from
the lower levels of the prison. It was cut out of a wall.
- And?
- We went inside. There were strange symbols on the walls of some of the rooms. Mathematical formulas, drawings and such.
- What else?
- Nothing. It was empty.
**S-0t9nn_nf315.445. End of Recording 5_11100_9883 1 A.R.C//
Chapter 14 — Claudia Jean (C.J.)
"And let me remember the powers that sleep within me."
[The Book of Croix — Vol.7]
Each time the drugs lost their potency, she was injected again. She could see the man approach her. He was different from the others that came to her. He wasn't like them. He didn't touch her like they did. He didn't make her feel as if her insides would turn upside down. She didn't have to smell his breath on her face or hear him moan. He just came, syringe in hand, took her arm and almost gently inserted the needle into her vein.
Most of the time, she spent in a place at the edge of reality. She was lucid enough to realize what was happening. Part of her knew that the real pain would most likely come later, once it was all over. On the night she tried to escape, they didn't tie her hands to the bedposts like they had done before. When one of the men came into her room and held her down with one hand while loosening his belt with the other, she felt something that she had never felt before. Like a surge of power. It came from inside, streamed from her feet up her legs and into her belly. She didn't know why, but she placed her hands in front of her shoulders, palms facing him. And when he tried to climb on top of her, she repelled him.
It was as if the power surge left her at once, causing her to black out for a few seconds. When she opened her eyes, the man lay in the corner, whimpering in pain. Her heart raced when she opened the door and ran down the corridor. She didn't get any further than the next room. It seemed to be some kind of a storage area. In a corner, she saw a pile of what she thought were the other girls’ belongings. A backpack, shoes, and a few other items. Trying to focus her eyes, and fighting against the waves of dizziness that threatened to overtake her, she found her pad. The moment she sent the message to Aries, the guards came in and she was overpowered.
When she woke up later, they told her that the message never went through, that nobody knew where she was, and that nobody would ever find her. She didn't believe them. She held on to the one hope she could bear to hold on to. It was the hope that her friend would come for her, somehow. That she would find a way to get to her and untie her from the filthy bed she had lived in for the last day, month, or year. That she would take her and wash her and bring her new, fresh clothes.
Sometimes she could hold on to the thought, even through the drug-induced haze, even through the heavy breathing on her face and the stench of alcohol and cigarettes. She held it like a mother held her newborn child. She took the thought and went to a place where she felt safe, a place inside where she could nurture it and hold it and be at peace. And when she lay awake at night, she promised herself that she would not give up, and that she would be ready. She just hoped she would make it until then.
* * *
The city lies far below—a mere shadow within shadows. No lights illuminate the pavement; the structures bear silent witness to its eerie stillness. In the distance, Aries can see the dim contours of the four other high-rises against the night sky. The shape of the bridges, connecting each building with the next, reminds her of a bird in flight, maybe a seagull. Wings stretched out on either side, with the relatively small body in the center.
The ledge below her drops away and she is in the air. Back in one of the maintenance shafts in Tier Six, Aries gasps. She sits with Seth and Max, huddled together in the small space. They made surprisingly good time, crawling their way through the labyrinth of maintenance shafts and ducts to a place, Max thought, that should be close.
Born-of-Night approaches the bridge and flies alongside its exterior.
"The sides are made of glass," Aries says. "There's nobody in there."
"They must have cameras," Seth replies.
Maybe there are guards that patrol it on a schedule, Max thinks.
When Aries repeats this to Seth, he nods. "How long do you think it is?"
"Six hundred meters, roughly." Aries repeats Max's thoughts.
Born-of-Night flies along the bridge, so close to the glass at times that Aries is afraid one of her wings will graze it. Then she lands next to a window, before the bridge connects to the next building.
"It doesn't look like there’s a door," Aries says. "It's all open. It just turns into some kind of foyer—"
The guard appears out of nowhere and walks along the window, not more than two feet from Born-of-Night's location. He is dressed in all black, with the S.S.U. emblem on his upper arm.
"S.S.U. Guard," Aries says.
"That's not good," Seth says. "If there's one here, there might be one on the other side as well."
Born-of-Night lifts off and flies along the windows and toward the other building.
Hold it, what's that? Max thinks, as the hawk passes the center of the bridge. Can you stop there?
Where Born-of-Night lands, the windows are darkened, impossible to see through.
"Some kind of checkpoint, maybe?" Aries says.
Guards’ quarters? Max asks. Born-of-Night, can you fly out so we can see the whole bridge?
The hawk jumps off and flies outward, away from the structure. Then she turns, hovering between the two buildings. From here the bridge looks even more imposing. Like a huge bird in flight coming toward them.
"There's the other guard, on the left," Aries says.
"So, two guards," Seth says. "How we can make it through there?"
"We can use the curved shape," Aries replies. "The floor bows and we might be able to hide somewhere."
Eventually, they'll see us, Max thinks.
"I know," Aries says. Their chances of getting to the other side seem to decrease by the minute.
Look at how they walk. She hears Born-of-Night in her thoughts.
What do you mean? Aries replies, as she watches the guards through the hawk's eyes. I can't see anything out of the ordinary.
It wouldn't be out of the ordinary, if it were one of them moving like this. But as they are two, it is, in fact—
They walk in unison. Aries interrupts the hawk's thought.
"What?" Seth says out loud.
"They walk in unison. I can see it now. Their movement is... identical, synchronized."
"Androids!" Max thinks it at the same time Seth says it.
For a moment there is silence between them.
"The question is, do they have cameras or sensors? Or both?" Aries says.
"Why is that important?" Seth asks.
> "Because we have an AI/RSC chip."
"A what?"
"We have a chip that makes us invisible to cameras, or at least blurs us enough not to be recognized. If they don't use other sensors, we can sneak by," Aries says. The thought creates more than mere discomfort in her.
They won't see us if we stay together, Max thinks.
You have about an hour before the sun rises, Aries hears the hawk think.
What happens when the sun rises? Aries asks.
Once the building awakens, your chances of getting back safely become very slim.
"What's the plan?" Seth asks.
"We walk past the guards and to the other side," Aries says. "Then we'll get C.J. out and come back, ideally without being detected."
"That's it?" Seth replies.
"That's it."
"What if any of those things won't work?"
"If they see us, it'll most likely happen right away." She repeats Max's thoughts. "We can make it back here and regroup."
"By then it'll be swarming here with guards," Seth says.
"I know."
They exchange a glance.
"Let's do this," Seth says.
Aries takes a deep breath. They open the hatch.
* * *
Twenty minutes later, they cower before a wall panel that, according to Max, should lead them into a hallway and from there directly to the sky bridge. The knot in Aries’s stomach has slowly increased during the last ten minutes. She can't shake the feeling that they have taken on too much in trying to cross the bridge; it seems an impossible task. While she tries to loosen the bolts in the panel, her hands are shaking. Several times she loses her grip on the bolt she’s working on.
Let me get this for you, she hears Max think.
He takes the small wrench from her and loosens the bolts. Then he pushes the panel outward and it snaps out of its position.
"Magnets," Seth says. "They don't bother with those where we are. The bolts just stop someone from removing it. The magnets hold it in place."
They peer through the gap into a deserted hallway. Good to go, Max thinks.
They move the panel to the side and crawl through. Seth places it back where it was. It snaps into its original position, impossible to distinguish from the other panels. Aries takes her screwdriver and carves a small line into the lower right corner. Very hard to see if you weren’t looking for it. From there, they walk slowly down the hallway. The floor is made of ivory-colored stone, smooth and polished. The walls are darker colored, with intricate patterns woven through the surface.
"Stay close together," Aries says. "Try to keep me in the middle. The radius of the chip is five feet."
The door is now about ten meters in front of them. Until now, Aries hasn't thought about the possibility that the entrance might be locked and not passable. She closes her eyes, looking at the bridge from Born-of-Night’s perspective. The sky above has a slight glow to it and is no longer completely dark.
"The guards are approaching the center of the bridge from both sides," she says quietly. "That should give us enough time to get through the door and orient ourselves."
Fifteen feet to go. Now she knows that the guards are on the other end, the knot in her stomach has eased a bit. The hissing sound reaches them at the same time as the door slides open. The guard stands about twenty feet away, looking straight in their direction. He is huge, about the size of Sam. Aries stops breathing. Any second now, she thinks, he's going to lift his rifle and shoot them. One second stretches out into two, three. Then, after an eternity, the guard turns, punches some kind of code into a keypad, turns around and moves in the opposite direction. Android. No sensors.
Max is the first to react. We have to follow him now, otherwise the doors will close.
Aries nods, signaling Seth to follow. As they move toward the doorway, Aries is fully aware of her schizophrenic urge to get closer to the guard yet simultaneously run in the opposite direction. They pass through the door, about ten feet behind the guard. It closes as quickly as it opened. The android, without another look, continues with his round.
We should stay close to him, Max suggests in her thoughts.
What? Aries replies silently.
We should stay behind him, a few meters away, but follow closely. If there's another door, we want to pass through it with him.
I know what you mean. It's just... the mere thought of it...
Born-of-Night, we're in, Max thinks.
I can see you. The other guard is about six hundred feet out. He will be passing you on your right.
Okay, we'll stay to the left.
Aries can't help thinking that she's going to stumble and crash to the ground at any moment, thereby alerting the guard to their presence. She's also concerned that the batteries in the AI/RSC chip will run out of juice, rendering them visible to the cameras. When the other guard appears and finally passes them, he seems to look straight at them.
Breathe, Max thinks. Don't forget to breathe.
She watches Seth in her peripheral vision. His face is a mask. Sweat is building on his brow. In the distance, the center of the bridge comes into view. The wide hallway begins to narrow gradually. There are black columns, about one foot apart, lining either side of the narrowing hallway.
What are those? she thinks.
I don't know, Max answers, when Seth's eyes widen.
Look! Max exclaims in his thoughts. And then she sees it as well. The pillars on both sides of the hallway are androids. They seem to be inactive. Aries guesses that there are about a hundred of them on either side. As they walk past row after row of them, the gap between both sides narrows. And when it's only ten feet wide, the guard in front of them stops and turns around to face them. The three of them move slowly to the side. Aries is afraid that she is going to touch the inactive androids and thereby awaken them. The guard passes them and walks in the other direction. From now on, the gap between the two sides increases again as they make their way carefully past the remainder of the androids and into the wider part. Then they see the windows again.
I hope we can make our way back through here, Aries thinks. I don't know in what shape C.J.'s going to be in.
I wonder what the purpose of the androids on the bridge is, Max asks. And why are there so many of them?
I have no idea, Aries answers. But I hope they stay asleep.
We can't give them a reason to wake up, Max replies.
The other end of the bridge comes into view over the curved walkway. At its end, they see the guard turn around and walk toward them again. They quietly move to the other side of the hallway. When they are about to pass him, he slows down and stops. His head follows their movements.
He's seen us. The chip has stopped working, Aries thinks. Panic begins to build inside her. She notices that she has to actively stop herself from running.
Just keep walking, Max thinks. Don't go any faster. Steady but slow.
When Aries turns her head, the guard seems to look straight at her. Then he abruptly turns away from them and continues in the opposite direction.
In here. Max opens the door to a utility room and they slip inside.
"That was close," Seth says.
"I thought it saw us," Aries replies.
Aries can see the relief on Seth's face. The horror still lingers underneath. Max points to a cover in the corner of the ceiling. There is nothing to stand on to reach the opening.
"I can lift you up there," Seth says quietly.
"You should go first," Aries replies. "You're in no shape to pull yourself into the duct. And we won't be able to help you much while we're in there.”
With that, she leans against the wall, folding her hands into each other. Max stands next to her, doing the same. He nods to Seth who places his foot into her hands, holding onto her shoulders. Then he does the same with Max. He pulls the cover of the duct, slides it inside.
"Step on my shoulder," Aries says.
"I don't want to hurt you," S
eth replies.
"I can take it."
Seth pushes off Aries’s shoulder and seconds later disappears into the duct.
You go next, Aries thinks to Max.
I'm not sure how much I can pull you once I'm in, Max replies.
Don't worry about me. I'll be fine.
Max climbs up, pushing off her shoulder that by now hurts like hell. When he is in the duct, Aries calculates the distance from the floor to the hatch, then moves back. She runs a few steps, jumps, pushes off from the wall with one foot, and grabs on to the inside of the hatch. She hangs there, hoping they didn't make too much noise. Then she pulls herself up and into the duct. When she's inside, she uses her feet to move the cover back and over the opening. As long as nobody looks up and sees that it's in there the wrong way, they should be okay. It takes them forty-five minutes to get to the general area where Max believes C.J. is being held.
"We should split up and go into each of the secondary ducts to see if we can find her in one of the rooms," she says.
"I'll take the first one," Seth says, and disappears around a corner.
Max crawls into the next one and Aries into the one after. She figures that there are about ten of those leading off into the respective rooms. When she peers through the cover into the first room, she has to stop herself from letting out a scream. The room holds a bed and a small dresser. A girl, no older than herself, is curled up in a fetal position, sleeping. There are handcuffs with chains on all four corners of the bed, mounted to posts. The room is filthy.
This is horrible. She hears Max's thoughts. When she closes her eyes, she can see what he sees. The same set up with a girl sleeping on the bed. Aries crawls backward and out of the duct to the larger one.
What does C.J. look like? Max asks.
She has long, blonde hair. She's very pretty. Aries doesn't know where the tears come from. I'm so sorry, she thinks as she crawls into the next duct. I'm so sorry.
The next room shows the same image, except there are two girls sleeping on one bed, curled up with each other. One is stroking the other's hair. The other weeps softly. When she crawls back to the secondary duct, Seth is there.
