Stimulus (Arc Gap Trilogy Book 1)

by Ryan Burnett

  technological curve.” I giggled a little, amazed once again by the depths of Tommy's nerdiness. I didn't quite agree with Tommy's assessment though .The world of Iron Man was entertaining but didn't quite hold true to reality. Without a competing product what company would take such a

  drastic move as this? What would they truly have to gain? A smart businessman would either wait for a way around the patent, refocus their resources to a different market or simply invest in technology that was compatible with the VRN…. Besides corporate espionage was mostly about the covert theft of secrets and shady backroom deals. Wanton destruction like this

  was hardly part of a spies M.O.

  As Tyra and Tommy chattered on and I mused privately I could that we were swiftly approaching the Auxiliary Security building and I did not like what I saw. The station looked empty. The lobby lights were turned off. I quickened my place to get to the front door but it was locked. I shook the handle and heard the hard plastic and glass rattle roughly but there was no give and no response.

  “HELLO!” I called out but there was no answer. I pressed the intercom button but swiftly took my finger off as an abrasive cackle of static pierced the air. Tyra and Tommy exchanged confused glances with each other. I tried staring through the window and was able to see nothing besides an empty and abandoned interior with no clues as to what was happening.

  Tommy tapped me on the shoulder and wordlessly pointed to a blue campus emergency beacon that was flashing in the distance. They were much less noticeable during the day time but now that I could see it. It made the empty security facility even more worrisome.

  “Maybe there was another emergency on the other side of campus? Or the security detail are all working with the police right now at the station analyzing any evidence of arson? Oh! I know! We should just all go to the student union. We can probably get all the information we need at the student union. We should be able to connect to a VRN network there too and check the web for any updates. Should be pretty easy to figure out what’s going on.” Tyra said her natural enthusiasm completely unaffected by the circumstances at the auxiliary station.

  I let out a deep breath and nodded my head. The absence of campus security was disquieting but I shouldn't let that rattle me. We just needed to figure out what was going on. I would probably be able to think a whole lot clearer with a solid meal in my stomach as well. It

  saddened me to admit that I couldn't remember the last time I had sat down and ate a full and proper meal. The student union food would be simple and cheap fried and flavored protein slabs with nutrient vegi-paste but it would put some much needed fuel in my body. After the stress of last night and this morning a little bit of comfort from junk food would be therapeutic.

  “You're right. Let's go.” I said quietly and began to briskly walk the remainder of the way towards campus with my two friends easily falling into step on either side of me. I think the sudden quiet that had overtaken the demeanor around campus had finally managed to stifle the conversation because even Tyra had stopped trying to make conversation as we walked. About half way there I noticed another flashing blue campus security beacon was activated and I was tempted to see if I could get the group head to the main security complex instead of the student union; but I convinced myself that was just the edges of paranoia trying to cut into me. I wanted to keep my mind black and thought back to the meditative exercises they taught at the photographist centers.

  The mind is a sacred lens and microphone.

  An intricate device to capture the video and the audio of the world,

  Immerse yourself in the scene of reality and let the static of judgment and analysis

  Lose focus and slowly slip away,

  1, 2, 3……

  Just remembering those guided sessions left my mind blank and banished my apprehension as I set one foot in front of the other. I could take a small bit of additional comfort in the fact that I was surrounded by my friends. As we approached the student union, that comfort proved to be an ephemeral thing.

  Campus was the least busy on a Sunday. So there usually were relatively few students hanging around for study. More often than the Sunday crowd met up for more social purposes lounging near the steps and talking over recently purchased slabs. Things looked very different today though, the students were literally swarming across the building in some kind of incomprehensible frenzy.

  I honestly did not know what to make of the scene at all. People were climbing

  in and out of recently busted windows and running around the building with arms full of food, bottled water, and different technical apparatus. I wanted to get closer to the building to figure out what the commotion was about but honestly I was frightened…. And it wasn’t just the agoraphobia it was the desperation with which these people moved. They were scrambling and in some cases actually fighting as if their life depended on it. I scanned the scene for the presence of campus security and was shocked to see that several were participating in the mayhem using Tasers and riot gear to indiscriminately beat down those carrying the most. It took a moment

  to realize that they were merely trying to get the situation under control but the rest of the student body paid no attention to those who were brought down by the security force. What had happened here? Was it actually a student riot? Mass hysteria? Some manner of attack? I noticed that a small knot of security force had clustered around the main entrance and had made a wall blocking entry or exit. They had arranged riot shields in a semi-circle reminiscent of roman centurions guarding against an aerial attack. I could see why as debris lay littered about the squad. Broken chairs, and TVs, lobbed out of windows as makeshift weapons.

  “Oh my god” Tyra gasped, for once at a loss for words.

  “Something big has happened” I said, my breath unconsciously coming out in quick panting gasps.

  “We need to get close enough to log onto the student VRN network” Tommy said in a surprisingly determined voice. Tyra and I looked at him incredulously.

  “You can't be serious Tommy look at all those people! It's a mad house down there!” Tyra said her voice an octave or two higher than normal.

  “Yeah but we have no guarantee that out here is any safer. Have you noticed how quiet campus was? We need to know exactly what’s going on and what's out there. It is a long walk back the way we came, we're unarmed, and campus security obviously has their hands too full to

  help us if there's a problem...”

  As much as I hated to admit it Tommy was right. The walk back to the monorail seemed terrifying at the moment. The danger of the unknown made the path seem sinister even in the broad day light. I wouldn't be able to pass between the campus buildings with any sense of safety

  but still walking a single step closer to that chaos seemed like suicide.

  “

  Listen I don't pack much muscle but you girls just stay close to me, see where campus security has things mostly clear towards the front? We approach from there make sure they can tell that we are friendly and we stay just long enough to get some info and then we can figure out the best way to get out of here. Security may even be able to give us an escort. I mean they are here to protect us right?” Tyra and I exchanged glances loaded with tension but slowly we both shook our heads and agreed to go along with Tommy’s plan. His simple logic was reassuring and as desperate as things seemed to be down there the safest place we could possibly be is in the custody of trained professionals. I had never seen this “take-charge” side of Tommy before. I couldn’t help but admire the leadership concealed beneath the folds of his lipids. Both of

  us stayed close to his bulk as he jogged with a surprising amount of athleticism over to the front with both his hands held up and his palms spread open. Tyra and I followed suit trying our best to show that we were unarmed and were not dangerous, however once we came within twenty feet one of the entrance one of the security force screamed “HALT!” and simultaneously the three of us froze in our tracks.

  �
�OK! We mean no harm. We just got here! What the hell is going on?” Tommy yelled back not moving a muscle. Out of the corner of my eyes I noticed Tyra eyelids flicker. She was wasting no time, in trying to log into the network to try and gather info. I wanted to follow suit but the present situation was far too chaotic. I was too afraid to take my eyes off of what was going on in the present moment. “You three need to leave immediately! It is not safe here I repeat it is not safe! We’re going to have to call in the public order drones soon and you don’t want to be here when that happens” The helmeted officer screamed at us. His words were stiff and mechanical even though his voice clearly conveyed a level of panic, like a frantic person hurriedly reading from a low quality sales script.

  Tommy was doing a good job at trying to remain calm. He seemed sure that if he kept calm and used reason he could defuse the situation and help everyone get back some measure of control and safety..

  “I appreciate that it is not safe sir. I just want to know what’s going on! We have to get back out of campus and how are we going to do that safely if we do not understand what is going on? I just need to know what is happening so my friends and I can figure out how to leave.”

  Tyra's eyes started to flicker in a pattern that was much much faster than normal. It was something I had never seen anyone do once they entered the VRN trance, and something I know I had never seen Tyra do before. I wanted to shake her and snap her back to the present reality

  but I didn’t dare to make a move with the loaded Taser and riot gear yelling at us. Especially since at the present moment he and his colleagues seemed to be the only thing separating us from the utter mayhem within the student union.

  “Can't you fucking understand me? Get out of here NOW! Before it is too late!” At that moment the glass doors they had been guarding shattered and I could hear a second smaller clash as if china had been violently thrown against the ground. A grey fog began to billow up around the crew’s feet. Many of the guards were wearing gas masks but the clearly overwhelmed security force broke formation as the vapor billowed all around them. As soon as the front line of shields were broken I could hear another sound this was of the sound of metal hitting concrete and I caught a quick metallic glint as something rolled into the middle of the formation.

  Everything was happening so fast I didn't know whether to run violently the other

  way or if I should stay frozen. Tommy began backpedalling away as the gas began to

  drift in our direction and I tried to stay with him. Grabbing Tyra's sleeve and yanking roughly practically dragging her along with Tommy and I and out of harm’s way.

  Tommy opened his mouth to call out again but before he could say a

  word one of the guards screamed out

  “SHITTTTTTTTT!” and all of a sudden the world boomed and went red, orange, and black. My face was pressed against concrete until I was yanked to my feet roughly. I whipped around violently to see Tommy's pudgy face and wide features looking down at me, concern stamped across the face as strange sounds dimly echoed overhead.

  Some kind of homemade explosive had been set off in the midst of the security force and

  now their defensive formation had been completely destroyed. Tyra had been a bit further away from the blast than I had been. She had a gash along the side of her face but she seemed ok. The same could not be said of the security guards. All were along the ground a few were groaning and bleeding from a variety of wounds. A few were completely unconscious. Several were unmistakably dead, the awkward angle of their necks and limbs along with the rapidly expanding pools of blood clearly proclaiming they were no longer among the living.

  “This was a bad idea. I had no idea things were this bad. We need to go!!!” Tommy yelled at Tyra and I. We began to run as fast as we could the other way, trying to keep pace with each other. However we only got a few steps before Tommy pushed me to the ground and I heard a

  sickening thud and crunch. The fall badly scraped my elbows but all thought of my superficial wounds were violently ejected from my mind when I looked over to Tommy. He laid on the group collapsed and completely unconscious. His face was a bloody red ruin and a brick lay a short distance away, parts of it painted with the deep crimson of Tommy’s blood. Someone had thrown it from the building ahead of us. The building that was directly in the path of the route we were planning to go back through. It took me a moment to realize that there was a sound that I had been blocking out. It was the sound of Tyra screaming.

  “Oh my god! Oh my god! Tommy! Tommy!” Tyra yelled, tears streaming down her cheeks and ruining her makeup. I didn't know what to do. Should I touch him? Could he be moved? Was he even still alive? Tyra bent over him and listened to the chipped and broken tooth filled hole that used to be a plump and well-formed mouth.

  “He is still breathing. We have to help him!” Tyra shouted at me. Before I could say anything back a cinder block fell with a large crash right next to us. None of us were hit but it sprayed the three of us with stinging pebbles.

  “Angela you have to help me drag him somewhere safe.” She said, still crying. Numbly I nodded my brain just now processing the fact that the brick had been headed for me. Tommy had pushed me down and taken the blow. Why would he waste a heroic gesture on someone like me!?! I bent down and grabbed an arm as Tyra took his other. More bricks and a small TV

  rained down upon us. All of them missing the now moving targets as we moved Tommy’s body with a strength that I had not known that either of us had possessed. Now that we were aware of

  that we were surrounded I could feel my own panic beginning to ramp back up. My mind couldn’t make up its mind on whether to disconnect in shock or shutdown in fear. For the time being it was all I could do was think about Tommy and harness whatever little bit of muscle and adrenaline I had to get him out of danger. Before long both Tyra and I were panting and tired and so we had to settle for stashing Tommy deep in some secluded bushes behind the natural science building. I had stayed with him while Tyra went to go and grab one of the riot shields that had been propelled out near this path. With a hollow heart I laid the clear shield on top of him. Tyra and I crouched next to his body cowering in fear. I tried to connect to the VRN network but simply couldn't find the clarity to allow myself to do so. Panic had taken root and it was all I could do to keep myself from curling up into a

  ball and shaking like I had done last night at club Pangea..

  “Tyra you have to connect. I can't. We have to get Tommy some help. He

  might die.” I spurted out my voice trembling.

  “I can't either. I mean I can connect but something is wrong with the network it's all screwy. After I connect anytime I try to activate a program or retrieve information I get this weird staticy sensation that goes all through my body. Angela. My phone can’t get a signal either and the VRNs are useless. I'm scared.” I looked at Tyra and I can see a new batch of tears further streaking her face with mascara. The three of us could die here. This could be how it all ends.

  “Is there... Maybe we can use one of the private class networks? I am

  a TA for Professor Yodson maybe we can connect through there?” I said tentatively. I was trying desperately to look for a way out of this trap I had found myself in. Tyra nodded but she was still in the midst of crying and I couldn't tell if she really heard me or was just agreeing

  with anything at this point having completely relinquished control.

  “We're going to have to go inside to get there though. It's on the third floor. Can you do that I think....I think if we don't get in anyone's way and stay inconspicuous we may be ok. From what we saw from before it was mostly looting in there right? They'll be too busy

  stealing stuff to bother us.”

  Tyra absently shook her head no “But what if you’re wrong. We didn’t do anything to get attacked, tommy didn’t do anything to deserve getting hurt” I thought back to the timing of the attack and the order of events. They had come so swiftly but I had a certain sp
ark of insight.

  “No, we made ourselves targets by trying to join the security force, until then everyone completely ignored us…” I thought about my own words as they left my mouth. For her part Tyra merely nodded weakly.

  “Either way, I think now that we are out of the line of fire we need to keep moving. We can’t move quickly over here behind these bushes, I don’t want to be caught here if any of those psycho brick throwing bastards decides to come after us. You should follow me…Unless you want to wait here with Tommy”

  “NO! I mean please...no....don't leave me alone...” Tyra finally spoke the fear in her eyes mirrored by the tone of her voice.

  “Ok….Listen Tyra….I have no clue at all what I am doing right now….but I promise I won’t leave you… I promise” I spoke, not quite sure myself where my words were coming from. It was as if a part of me had recoiled from the fresh trauma the day had brought, and another part had assumed control. The part of me who was afraid,..no the part of me that was petrified with fear had receded into the back of my mind and latched on to the Photographist mantra. She was observing the world for what it was, and now only the survivor in me was left to look for a way to save the three of us. I took a breath and looked out from our position crouched down behind the thick shrubs.

  The building that had been throwing projectiles was now host to even more people. I could see some of them through the clear green tinted glass; running through rooms, pulling cameras off the walls, and tearing down the display projectors. The people on the top floors seemed to still be throwing things down around the perimeter of the building discouraging

  looters from taking a share of the spoils. Two more people had been knocked unconscious by the barrage, one of which upper torso was completely crushed by a desk that had been shoved out the window. As horrifying as that scene was, my attention was grabbed by a piercing scream as one of the buildings occupants got shoved off of a 5th floor ledge. Quickly I turned away and covered my ears before I could see or hear the impact. After a brief pause to pull myself together once more I began looking back over to where the security team had taken their last stand. I could see that the gas seemed to have just about completely cleared out around the student union main entrance and people had not yet come to investigate the results of the blast. I grabbed Tyra's head and sprinted inside the rabbling chaos of the building.