by Stefan Bolz
"See for yourself," Seth replies.
As they come closer, they see a mound of sand, about eight feet long. Some areas are caved in as if parts of the mound are hollow.
"It's a skeleton." Tevis translates Max's signing.
"A skeleton?" Ty asks. "What... is it a skeleton of?"
There’s no answer. They all stare at the remains.
"I know what it is," Seth says.
"That can't be possible," C.J. replies.
"I'm sorry. But it is. I've seen these before. Many times. Only much, much smaller."
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Ty asks.
"Yes." Seth answers.
"Rats?" Ty says.
"Are you sure?" Tevis says quietly.
"I'm sure. As I said, I have seen many of them. They have a distinct body shape. But that's not the most worrisome part," Seth replies.
"What do you mean?" Mila asks.
"Yes, they are big and I don't want to encounter one or run from one, but what's more frightening is what did this."
Seth points to the neck. It half disappears into the sand. He lifts the carcass up and out of the sand. On the lower part where it was buried in the sand, the fur is still attached, completely flattened and dried up, but there.
"Look at its head," he says. "Its spine was severed. And crushed. You see here?"
Seth points at the spine below the head.
"Dammit," Ty says. "We need to find shelter."
"Shelter from the rats, or shelter from whatever’s eating them?" Seth asks.
"Ideally from both," Ty replies. "Until we can come up with a plan."
"I'm going to assume that whatever eats r-r-rats is airborne," Jeremiah says. "Which will make it more difficult to find shelter that provides p-p-protection against both."
There is a moment of silence.
"It's not all bad,” C.J. says.
"What?" Ty replies.
"We found water."
"You did? Where?"
"Just over there." C.J. points at a small indentation in the ground, about a hundred feet away.
When they reach it, they see that it's a mere trickle over a flat rock.
"Most of it must be underground," Tevis translates for Max.
"Is it drinkable?" she asks.
"So far I feel okay," C.J. says.
One by one, they quench their thirst with the small spring.
"I saw something when we came down here," Sam says. "Looked like buildings. Ruins or something."
"I saw them, too," Mila says.
"Where did you see them?" Ty asks.
"That way." Sam points toward a large wall of stone a few miles away. Halfway between their location and the wall, a few low structures are visible. "Maybe we can make it there."
"That's a long way," Seth says.
"Aries is moving in the same direction. We're following her path if we go this way," Tevis translates for Max.
"Let's do it then," Ty says. "Sam, why don't you go last and watch our backs. Seth, you go first and the rest of us can watch the sides."
"Sounds good. But one of us should be watching above," Seth says. "I just wish our feathered friend could be here to scout the air."
"Let's get going" Sam says.
Besides the sound of the sand under their feet, it is eerily quiet. They all watch their surroundings while moving toward the structures in the distance. About a half hour later they see that they aren't structures as such, but rather ruins of buildings long since gone.
"We must be below Aries right now," Tevis translates for Max. "At least I think that's where she is."
"Look at t-t-this," Jeremiah says, pointing at a thin beam of light coming from the center of the small enclave of ruins. The beam reaches high up to the ceiling. "This must be connected to one of those p-p-platforms. Maybe there's a way for you to get this down here, Amber?"
"I don't know how I'd do that," she replies.
"Maybe there's some kind of control panel somewhere that can call it down?" Ty asks.
They pass the first ruin. The stone the structure is built from is black, similar to the walls of the tunnel.
"Look at the surface of the stone," Tevis translates for Max. "It's very rough. The edges are round."
"That's strange," Ty says. "It looks like it has been sandblasted."
Everyone gets quiet. Then they look from the building to the opposite side of the cave and far into the distance.
"Can there be wind inside a cave?" Mila asks.
"Sure," Ty answers. "A heat source and temperature fluctuations is all you need. Then it just depends on how big the fluctuations are."
"There is no shelter here," Seth says. "We need something to climb onto."
They all look toward a tower a little further in the distance. The front is fallen in, but the back seems intact.
"I have lost Aries," Tevis translates for Max.
"What do you mean?" Amber asks.
"It's hard for Born-of-Night to follow them through the tunnels."
"The first question would be, where are they t-t-taking her," Jeremiah says. "If we knew that, we could figure out where they are g-g-going."
"Back to the core and up into the building?" Seth asks.
"If that's the case, we'll have to somehow get through that wall," Tevis translates. "The core should be behind it, this way." Max points past the large tower to the wall in the distance. It reaches all the way to the ceiling. With the light source behind, it seems almost transparent.
"We can only speculate right now," Ty says.
The light beam is about a foot in diameter. It reaches straight up and all the way to the ceiling. Where it meets the sand is a circular hole in the ground, as if the sand can't penetrate the light. Amber stretches out her hand to touch it.
"No!" Ty cries out.
But her hand has already touched the beam. They all fully expect her to be blown backward in an explosion of some kind. But Amber stands there, her hands slightly moving over the beam.
"It feels cold to the touch," she says. "A little tingly. And it's solid."
C.J., standing next to Amber, stretches out her hand. When she touches it she cries out, more in surprise than anything else.
"Are you okay?" Amber asks.
"Yes." C.J. replies. "I was just... a bit startled."
This time she stretches out both hands. Before they touch the beam, she closes her eyes. First, her face shows no emotion. Then after a while tears begin to stream down her cheeks. One hand goes to her lower abdomen as if she has a cramp.
"Are you in pain?" Tevis asks, while walking toward her, ready to disconnect her from the beam. Ty gently holds her back.
"She's alright," he says. "Give her a minute."
C.J. moans in pain but keeps one hand on the beam. She begins to sob. The others stand around her, not quite sure what to do. Seth lays one hand on C.J.'s back. After a while, Amber steps back from the beam, so does C.J. They embrace each other quietly.
"Can I?" Seth says.
He touches the beam for a few moments. Then he pulls back. Mila and Sam are next.
"So beautiful," Mila says. "Look at all the colors inside."
Max steps toward it and reluctantly touches it with one hand.
"Don't be afraid," Amber says.
After a few moments he pulls his hands back and covers his ears. He cries out but no sound escapes his mouth. Tevis goes to him and holds him, rocks him gently back and forth. Mila takes his hand.
"It must have h-h-healing properties, somehow," Jeremiah says. "But it doesn't p-p-provoke the same reaction in all of us."
When Jeremiah touches the beam, his eyes light up and a wide smile crosses his face.
"It's mathematical," he says in wonderment.
The others laugh.
"I'm scared," Tevis says, half smiling when she realizes that she and Ty are the only ones left.
Ty smiles, then he lays his hands on the beam. Tevis does the same.
"It's energy," Ty
says, without taking his hands away.
"I thought the same thing," Jeremiah replies.
"But it's also strong enough to hold a two-thousand-pound platform with nine people on it," Ty continues. "I really would like to know what generates it."
"And how to control it," Amber adds.
"There must be a panel around here somewhere," Ty replies.
"I looked but I can't find anything."
"Wait," Seth says. "If there are sandstorms here, it might be buried."
Max has already started digging.
"It could be several feet deep," Seth says, as he begins to push the sand to the side.
Now they all start digging.
After a few minutes, Sam stops. He stands up and looks past them into the cave. The others don't become aware of it at first.
"Sam," Tevis says. "What is it?"
He kneels down again, touches the sand with his hands ever so slightly.
"Do you feel that?" he says.
The others shake their heads.
"No," Amber says.
They get up and turn in the direction he’s facing.
"If you had a vivid imagination, you could think this is a dust cloud forming," Tevis says.
"You might be right," Ty says. "How far?"
Sam shrugs.
"We need to find shelter," Ty says.
"If we don't find the control panel now, it might be gone by the time the storm has passed," Amber says. "We should try to find it now."
"You have seen the walls of the buildings," Ty says. "The sand can take your skin right off."
"With an approximately hundred km/h wind, we have about t-t-ten minutes," Jeremiah says.
Max begins to sign something.
"Aries is awake," Tevis translates.
"Keep digging," Ty says.
* * *
Aries awakes from a piercing pain in her stomach. At first, she can't pinpoint its origin—a rhythmic, repetitive push into her abdomen. When she opens her eyes, she sees the blurry image of arms dangling next to her head; it takes her a while to realize they are her own. The rhythmic pounding is generated by the android's shoulders, over which she’s draped. They must still be going through one of the tunnels.
Born-of-Night, where are you?
Ahead.
With her answer, Aries gets an image of another domelike cave. This one, slightly smaller in size than the previous one, has about a dozen large rectangular stone plates arranged in a circle. The center is left empty. The piercing pain in her stomach and chest is only overshadowed by the pain in the right side of her neck, where the needle had penetrated her artery. It feels hot, infected, and like a patch of dead flesh, disconnected from the rest of her body.
We are all okay. She hears Max in her thoughts. Relief floods through her. We followed your path and should be below your location.
The androids enter the cave and spread out in a circle. The one carrying Aries moves toward the center and drops her onto the floor where she lands hard on the stone. She is having difficulty controlling her arms and legs. When she tries to move her fingers, they twitch uncontrollably. Whatever the android injected into her must be some kind of a paralyzing nerve agent.
Can you stand? she hears Max.
I doubt it.
From the opposite side, a few dozen androids pour into the cave. They are being followed by two of the E-9s. But where the androids move to the outer wall of the cave, the two E-9s take up positions next to one of the stone tables. Then a man walks through the opening and toward them. Aries can see right away that he is human. He's not that much taller than her, maybe even equal in height. A bit stocky, the top of his head is bald. He wears a black suit with no buttons in front, and is holding a file under his arm. He stops between the two E-9s at the table. Two androids bring a chair and place it behind him. He sits and places the file in front of him. Throughout this, he hasn’t taken his eyes off her. For a while, there is silence. Aries can see Born-of-Night sitting on a small ledge far up under the ceiling, looking down.
"The charges against you are manifold," the man begins. The tone of his voice could almost be conversational, were it not for an undercurrent of malice. "You have violated several laws, the most severe among them being the conspiracy against the greater good of the people."
Aries realizes that she tries to smile at the preposterousness of this statement, but has trouble moving her face muscles. Her hands and arms feel like knotted branches in a dead tree, crumpled up and cold.
We found another platform, she hears Max. We hope it works the same way the other one did but we can't find the control panel.
Where is the platform? she asks in her thoughts, without taking her eyes off the man.
From what I can see, it should be right behind the man with the weirdly shaped head, Max replies.
There's no way I can get there.
You have to try, Max replies.
"Let me tell you what's going to happen to you," the man says, while opening the file. "Your case falls into the RED category. The RED category is comprised of not just regular criminal cases and misconduct. No, the RED category describes cases that have penetrated deep into the core of what makes us function as a society. It is considered the ultimate crime, as it is a crime against each and every one of its members. Every child, every woman, and every man who lives with us, who is part of us as the large family that we are, has directly been affected by your actions. Trust that has taken years to build has been broken, and it will take time and effort to rebuild it. You must realize that your actions have penetrated the very fabric of our basic existential premise. The greater good of the people stands above all else. You have violated not only us but each member of your own people, including your friends and parents, whose honor you have betrayed with your actions. You have nullified your father's dedicated work. You have brought great hardship to your people, as we now have to remove certain privileges from them as a result of what you did. The freedom they previously experienced now has to be curtailed until the trust is rebuilt and we can function again together, as a united people. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"
Could it be true? Could what he told her be the truth? Had she acted against her people?
You can't listen to what he says. Max's thoughts cut through hers. He's manipulating you.
But what if he's not? she replies. I have been acting against the greater good and now everyone has to suffer because of me.
You have to fight it, Aries.
I don't know how. And I don't know if I want to.
You have to try, Max answers. She can hear the desperation in his thoughts.
How? she asks.
At that moment, she becomes aware of the depth of her despair. She has betrayed them, betrayed her friends, and left them to die. She has led them all to the edge of a precipice where they will be pushed into the abyss. It's on her. The man turns to the E-9 next to him. "Bring the boy," he says.
Aries can hear the words over the pounding of her heart. What boy? Then she hears footsteps on the stone floor. Through Born-of-Night's eyes she sees the red-striped uniform of another E-9. He carries someone on his shoulders. Aries recognizes him right away. His curly dark hair, the hooded sweater. She watches in horror as the E-9 drops Kiire onto the stone floor, a few feet behind the man. Aries tries to move toward him but can only manage to roll to her side.
"You and your co-conspirator will be brought before the high court and your sentence will be carried out immediately thereafter." The man closes the file. "Is there anything you wish to say in your defense?"
Is that Kiire? She hears Max in her thoughts.
I think so! Aries can see Kiire's limp body behind the man. I have to get to him.
She pushes off with her foot, slides forward a few inches. Another push. She jerks her body in his direction. Half a foot. Everything around her begins to spin.
We found it. Max's thoughts reach her. Amber found the control panel. She thinks she can get the platf
orm down but you have to be on it.
I won't leave without Kiire.
He's not that far away from it. Maybe ten feet to his left.
Another push, another six inches. She can see Kiire's blurry outline. He's so far away.
Kiire, I'm sorry! she thinks. Her tears come and blur her vision. I'm coming. This time I'm coming for you.
Her legs feel like they are being penetrated by a thousand needles at once. Good. Good. Wake up, I need you!
Another push and she is close to the table.
She can see the man's expression through Born-of-Night's eyes. There is amusement. One rodent crawls toward another in a final attempt to save both lives. Pathetic. She moves past the table. She can see Kiire's face. One eye is completely shut. There are bruises on his cheeks. The left side of his mouth is swollen.
I'm coming for you.
She can now feel her hands and arms. She is almost thankful for the pain, reassuring her that she has control over them again. Then she reaches him, wraps her arms around him, whispers in his ear.
"Come with me."
She pulls him. Or tries to. He's too heavy.
"Come with me!" she says, louder this time.
The man, still amused by the scene that unfolds before him, gets up, moves toward them.
"What are you whispering in his traitor’s ear, huh, you little filth?"
Slowly, too slowly, she moves Kiire's body.
Only a few more feet, says Max in her thoughts. Your legs have to clear the force field before we can do anything.
Aries begins to cry, then scream. First they are only short yelps each time she pulls Kiire's body closer to the platform. Then they become longer.
Almost there, she hears.
High up in the ceiling, she sees the hawk lift off the ledge and dive toward her. Through her tears she sees the man. He is close now, like a coach inciting the athlete to give it her all.
Now! she hears from Max.
She looks up at the man, holds out her hand to him. He takes it. A final gesture of kindness for the unworthy. She pulls him toward her. Born-of-Night swoops in and lands on his head. The E-9 turns and takes a step forward. The force field shoots up at the same time the platform drops down.
* * *
