The Shadow Connection

by Adair Hart

  Lee cried out initially, but his voice began to gargle. After a moment, everything went quiet.

  Dr. Snowden’s throat constricted as his eyes misted. Lee was a father, and now his son would be fatherless. Dr. Snowden took a seat on the cell’s slab. This was worse than he had thought it would be. Lee had been like Lord Vygon, a friend who helped those in need. Dr. Snowden had begun to really like Lee, and now he was dead. Just like that.

  Emily banged her head against the cell door as she screamed at Count Boris.

  Jake had also sat down on his bed. He trembled as he tried to breathe.

  Count Boris walked over to their cells with Ramos. “You know the plan. Have fun.”

  Ramos smiled, baring his fangs. “I plan on it.”

  Count Boris did a final look over the cells, and then exited the room.

  Ramos rubbed his hands together. “So … my new projects. So many things to do … and all the time in the world to do it.”

  The other three guards joined Ramos.

  One of the guards said, “So what do you want to do first?”

  Ramos walked in front of Jake’s cell. “This one is Jake Melkins. He lives at Lord Noskov’s base.”

  “Ancient vampire filth,” said one of the guards as he spit on the ground.

  “He’s human. Pure … human,” said Ramos, raising a finger. “That means we can feed on him safely, but we need to keep him healthy.”

  One of the guards grinned. “We can make him drink some of our blood for those lonely nights.”

  “I think we have some dresses that might fit him for that occasion,” said another guard.

  “To hell with you!” said Jake.

  Ramos and the guards laughed as they walked in front of Emily’s cell. “Can’t do that with her, though. Nanobots. Deadly to us. A shame, really. You would’ve been a lot more fun without them, especially since part of me is willing to take the chance.” He walked in front of Dr. Snowden’s cell. “And finally, the old man. The last one standing.” Ramos put his ear out with a hand behind it. “What’s that? You volunteer to be the first to be tortured?”

  Dr. Snowden gritted his teeth as his gaze bored a hole through Ramos.

  Ramos wagged a finger as he stepped back. “You know … you knocked Caltorus down. Touched a god. Embarrassed him.” He swung his head from side to side. “You being the first to be tortured was a personal request from him.”

  “Leave them alone,” said Evaran from across the room.

  “And you … can shut the hell up!” said Ramos in a raised voice as he spun to point at Evaran. He turned back toward Dr. Snowden. “I’m going to let you all relax. Torture is best done when you’re feeling rested.” He snapped his fingers. “Bring Lee’s chair over here. They can soak in his death while they rest.”

  Dr. Snowden narrowed his eyes as the guards brought Lee and the chair over. Lee’s lifeless eyes and hanging head caused Dr. Snowden to sniffle. Lee’s chest was opened, and a gooey substance oozed out.

  “That’s right,” said Ramos. “Enjoy your break. You still have hope. I will break that. Count on it.” He exited the room with the others.

  Emily sat down on her bed and squinted hard. “Lee didn’t deserve this.”

  “He didn’t,” said Jake, breathing hard. “What’re we going to do?”

  “Survive,” said Evaran.

  “How?” asked Dr. Snowden. “It sounds like we’re going to be here for a long time. There’s nothing we can do. We’re restrained in cells, you’re locked up, Lee is dead, the rift door is secured, the Torvatta’s missing, and Count Boris has hundreds of guards around. And now we have a psychopath lieutenant to deal with.”

  “Breathe,” said Evaran. “One challenge at a time.”

  “And where’s V in all this?” asked Dr. Snowden. “I didn’t see him anywhere.” He paused and looked at Emily. In a moment of realization, he said, “Oh … I didn’t see him anywhere …”

  Emily smiled as Jake’s eyes widened.

  “Be patient. I had V remove himself from battle in case of this situation. He was chased away but is on his way back,” said Evaran.

  “This one’s going to be a challenge,” said Dr. Snowden.

  “I know, and he is aware of everything going on here. You just need to hang in there.”

  Dr. Snowden licked his lips as he looked at Jake and Emily. He raised his head a bit. “We’ll try.”

  Several hours later, Ramos returned with his guards. Dr. Snowden knew if Emily could get out of her restraints and her cell, they would all fall by her hand. Lee’s death by Count Boris and his guards had crossed Emily’s line. Having Lee’s corpse staring at them for the last few hours just made things worse.

  Ramos walked up to the cells. “Well … you’ve had a small break. How are my pets?”

  “Take off my restraints and I’ll show you,” said Emily through gritted teeth.

  “Will you now?” asked Ramos, glancing at his guards. “It’s a pity you have nanobots. We’ll have to do with Jake. We’ll let you watch, though.”

  She glowered at them.

  “No matter,” said Ramos. “I promised Caltorus that the old man would suffer first.” He snapped his fingers. “Bring the fool out.”

  Dr. Snowden squirmed as the guards opened the door and rushed in.

  “Stop it! Take me!” said Emily as she banged against the bars separating their cells.

  Dr. Snowden struggled, but the restraints were too strong to do much of anything. Even with his nanobots kicking into gear, he could not break out of them.

  Ramos and the guards brought Dr. Snowden before Evaran. One of the guards kicked Dr. Snowden in the back of the legs, causing him to fall to his knees.

  “Leave him alone!” said Emily.

  “Bastards!” said Jake.

  Ramos shook a finger at Emily. “The more you talk, the worse this will be. So go ahead. Your actions will determine how severe this is.”

  Emily’s breathing intensified as she stepped back and looked away for a moment.

  “Much better,” said Ramos. He eyed Dr. Snowden. “Those restraints were built with your nanobots’ strength boosting in mind. Count Boris took that into consideration when designing them. It’s useless to struggle.”

  “You do not need to do this,” said Evaran.

  “Oh, really?” asked Ramos, turning to focus on Evaran. “You know … Count Boris was right. He said that without your ship, you’re just so much trash. You can thank him for filling Caltorus in. Ares helped some, and the now-gone Helian council members, but it was mostly Count Boris. Caltorus didn’t believe in you at first. He does now.”

  “So that you understand, anyone associated with Caltorus is my top priority. That includes you,” said Evaran.

  Ramos shook his head. “You’re threatening me?” He walked up and punched Evaran in the stomach. “Like that? I can’t kill you … but that doesn’t mean I can’t hurt those nearest to you.”

  Evaran cast a sidelong glance at Dr. Snowden. “I see. What are your next steps?”

  “There we go. A rational question. The next step is we start with the old man.” He walked over and stood in front of Dr. Snowden. “Your nanobots can heal, at least from the report I read. So yes, you will live. However, I can break a bone and let you suffer while it heals. When it does, I break another. And then another. We keep going until you die of old age. I’ll make sure that Emily gets the same treatment, and there is nothing you can do about it.”

  “Leave them alone. If you want to take out your aggression, do it on me,” said Dr. Snowden.

  “Ahh. Noble just like Lee. We’ll figure out what causes the most pain and how long things take to heal. It’ll be a game.”

  “To heck with you,” said Dr. Snowden as his face turned red. His nanobots started to tingle.

  “Insolent old man,” said Ramos. He reared back and slapped Dr. Snowden hard enough to send him sprawling to the side.

  Blood began to fill Dr. Snowden’s mouth. His nanobots
began to pulse as he struggled to breathe.

  “Set him back up,” said Ramos.

  The guards complied.

  Evaran shook his head. “You are just like a Time Warden commander from a dream. I suspect the same action would have the same consequence.” He winked at Dr. Snowden.

  “What are you babbling about?” asked Ramos, focusing on Evaran.

  Dr. Snowden’s eyes flared. He was not sure what spitting on Ramos would accomplish, but he hoped that was what Evaran was referring to. He gathered as much blood as he could in his mouth.

  Ramos faced Dr. Snowden. “Your defiance won’t get you anywhere.”

  Dr. Snowden spit on Ramos, covering his chest and face.

  The guards laughed but went silent with a look from Ramos.

  Ramos wiped the mess from his face. “Evaran … you shouldn’t encourage the old man. He’s brave, but stupid.” He took a step back and then stepped forward and slapped Dr. Snowden hard.

  As Dr. Snowden began to fall over, he focused on spewing blood and spit onto the three guards.

  Ramos pointed at the guards. “Now it’s funny.”

  The guards wiped the spit and blood off their faces. One of them kicked Dr. Snowden in the back, causing him to grunt.

  “That was foolish,” said Ramos.

  Dr. Snowden stared at the ground while on his side. The hit had caused his vision to go blurry for a moment. His nanobots were going full tilt, and he could feel them trying to repair him. He was not sure how many of those hits he could take or if he would eventually pass out from them. All he knew at the moment was that it was hard to concentrate. He understood that Evaran wanted him to spit on the guards, but now he was not so sure that it was a good idea.

  “Slapping Dr. Snowden … was a mistake,” said Evaran. “I am surprised.”

  Ramos pivoted around. “You talk a lot. I think for our next session, we’re going to bring a muzzle to keep you quiet. As a matter of fact, I’ll bring them for everyone. Then no more spitting or talking.”

  “It is obvious you do not understand.”

  Ramos narrowed his eyes. “What are you talking about?”

  “You miscalculated. Perhaps you were tired, or you did not care. Either way, the result will not be denied.”

  Ramos glanced at the guards, then back at Evaran. “What are these riddles?”

  Evaran smiled. “You will understand shortly.”

  “Okay, whatever. I have a—” His eyes widened and he tilted his head. He clutched his hands to his chest as he staggered forward.

  “Intriguing,” said Evaran.

  “What … what did … you do … ,” said Ramos.

  The guards began to stumble around, trying to breathe.

  Dr. Snowden rolled onto his stomach, then pulled up so he was on his knees. He was not sure what Evaran was talking about or why Ramos and the guards were staggering around gasping for air.

  “I did nothing,” said Evaran. He glanced at Dr. Snowden. “Do you remember what Hermes said about being protected?”

  Dr. Snowden’s eyes widened. He remembered that the Greek god Hermes had said he and Emily were protected from vampires because of their nanobots. They were meant to heal a human, and they would kill a vampire, but only if they drank blood with them in it. “I … I do.”

  “What is happening is similar to that. It is also like in your dream.”

  “Hermes … what?” asked Ramos as he fell to his knees. His head trembled as he stared at Evaran. “What’s going on?”

  Evaran’s gaze bore a hole through Ramos. “You are about to die a very painful death, as will your guards. As I said, I am surprised. You should have known nanobots do not mix with vampires.”

  “That’s … that’s only if we … we … we drink it,” said Ramos, who was now bent over and using his arms to keep from crashing to the ground.

  One of the guards had stopped moving, and the other two were on their sides, clutching their heads.

  “As far as you know,” said Evaran. “They do not have normal nanobots anymore. That could have been tested, but was not due to your eagerness to inflict pain on others. As for their nanobots, contact is all that is needed now. Apparently that was not in the reports, or if it was, you ignored it. You should have muzzled everyone as a safety precaution. Your lack of preparation is your undoing.”

  Dr. Snowden sighed in relief. He was not sure if Evaran knew all along or if it was something he just figured out. Ramos and the guards would have covered everyone’s mouths on the next visit, making this approach not viable. Once again, Evaran had a plan, even when locked up.

  Ramos crumpled to the ground. The other guards had stopped moving.

  Dr. Snowden looked up at Evaran. “How did you know?”

  “The first hit,” said Evaran. “Normally, your nanobots would be impossible for me to see without a scan. However, because they are now transformed, I can see them since they possess cosmic energy at some level. They were swarming around your lips and on the droplets on the ground. That was unusual.”

  “So you figured that if they were visible outside, they would swarm on Ramos and the guards just with contact.”

  “I did, and it appears my hunch was correct.”

  “Wouldn’t the nanobots have done that before being enhanced?” asked Dr. Snowden.

  Evaran shook his head. “The nanobots were meant to cease functioning if outside the body. It seems they can sustain themselves now. Now, can you stand?”

  Dr. Snowden exhaled from his mouth. He focused for a moment, then jumped up and landed on his feet. After wobbling for a moment, he stood straight and said, “Still got these restraints on.”

  “But you can move, even if it is a shuffle,” said Evaran. “Come over to me, and walk backward until your hands can reach my belt.”

  Dr. Snowden complied.

  “Now, grab my UIC and place it so that it is near your restraints.”

  Dr. Snowden backed up and reached out.

  “That is not my belt you grabbed,” said Evaran.

  Dr. Snowden sighed. “Sorry.” It took some effort, but he was able to get the UIC. He flipped it around in his hands so that the flat part of the UIC was a few inches from the restraints.

  Evaran moved his fingers around, and Dr. Snowden’s restraints unlocked.

  Dr. Snowden stepped out of his ankle cuffs and then freed and rubbed his wrists. “Oh, that feels good.”

  “They used electronically managed restraints. This would have been more difficult if they had used mechanical ones.”

  Dr. Snowden raised a hand toward Emily and Jake. “Hold on.”

  Evaran used his head to point at a console that stood out from the wall near the exit door. “Place my UIC on that console.”

  Dr. Snowden complied.

  After a moment, Evaran’s restraints opened. He stepped forward and took a few seconds to stretch. “Now for Emily and Jake.”

  After five minutes, Emily and Jake had their restraints removed and cell doors unlocked.

  Emily hugged Dr. Snowden.

  He held her as emotions surged through him.

  Jake joined them.

  Evaran smiled. “As V would say, a hugging session.” He joined in the embrace. After a moment, he stepped back and gestured at a cabinet near the console. “Your PSDs and gear are there.”

  Dr. Snowden hustled over to the cabinet and sprung it open. As he grabbed his PSD, he smiled at Emily and Jake. They were not out of the situation yet, but now they had a much better chance. A strange feeling made him focus on the guards. He walked over to them and extended his hand.

  “What are you doing?” asked Emily.

  “I’m … I’m not sure. I can … feel something.”

  Nanobots in the form of thin filaments broke through the guards’ skin and began to stretch out to Dr. Snowden’s hand. As they moved through the air, they vibrated, causing the blood on them to fall off.

  “Evaran?” asked Dr. Snowden as he took a step back.

  “
It is okay,” said Evaran. “They are returning home. That is also unusual.”

  Dr. Snowden gulped when the first strands reached his hand. They swarmed over it for a moment, then merged into his skin. Another sensation emanated from Ramos’s corpse. He walked over to Ramos and extended his hand. The nanobot strands broke through Ramos’s skin and converged on Dr. Snowden’s hands. “That’s remarkable.”

  “It is, and something we will explore in a safer environment,” said Evaran. “As for our situation, I have V scouting around. Caltorus and his group are gone, and a majority of the Raskarian soldiers have departed. Count Boris has not left yet and is in the control center with his Bugodas and a few soldiers.”

  “What do we do about Lee’s body?” asked Dr. Snowden.

  “We will take it back with us. For now, it will remain here,” said Evaran. He went to the cabinet and pulled out the wrist and ankle restraints that had been used to constrain him after the battle. Unlike the ones used on Dr. Snowden and Emily, the wrist and ankle restraints were separate. Evaran handed them to Dr. Snowden. “We may have use of these. I believe it is time we pay Count Boris a visit.”

  Jake gulped as he followed Evaran and the others out into the hallway. Being restrained and put into a cell was not how he envisioned the trip going. Seeing Dr. Snowden’s nanobots kill Ramos and the guards made Jake wish he had nanobots even more. He was not sure he fully understood how theirs were different, but the effect was noticeable. He sighed as he contemplated his performance. If he had done nothing, it would have been more useful. Emily fell to his hand. Although it seemed like she was past it, he was not. He could see everything, but not control himself. It was an experience that he would not soon forget.

  Emily lightly squeezed his arm. “You okay?”

  He looked down. “Yeah. I just feel … I dunno. I’m really sorry about shooting you.”

  “Don’t worry about it. You were under Psyotica’s control.”

  He shook his head. “I know. I just … I was weak. She didn’t go for you or the others. She chose me.”

  “You don’t have nanobots,” said Dr. Snowden, peering back at Jake.

  “Yeah, I know. I wish I did.”