The Sentient Corruption (The Sentient Trilogy Book 3)

by Ian Williams

  “Allow me to apologise, G, on behalf of our new friend,” another said.

  You’re fucking kidding me. There’s two of you now? Graham thought, but neither of the other voices replied. His smile of before had evaporated entirely with the quick realisation that his mind had just fractured again.

  Things were getting worse.

  “So, how do we fight them?”

  Graham snapped back to Susan. For now, he could only ignore the two chatting casually in his head and focus on the conversation he had temporarily left. Unfortunately, he could only guess at an answer to her question. The truth of the matter remained a distant friend to him, and would always be while his mind continued to play tricks. “I’ve no idea, yet. But there’s something I’ve got to do that might give us a way, other than killing them all. To find that out I need to leave here for a bit. That’s why I'm going on this morning’s supply run.”

  The quick response in Susan’s eyes, the way the pupils dilated as a thought hit her, gave Graham a hint of the next question she would ask before she had even opened her mouth. “Mind if I tag along, for support?” She patted the tablets beside her to show her real meaning. She wanted to record the whole thing.

  “Say yes, G,” the younger sounding him said.

  The other voice, the one he had been with the longest, chimed in again with its own opinion too. “Captain Rigs can’t ignore you if you have video proof of what’s really going on.”

  I was thinking the exact same thing, Graham thought in reply, followed shortly after with a sigh at having just engaged in the madness inside his head. “Sure,” he said. “I need to find Phoenix first, any idea where she sleeps?”

  Susan turned her head toward the door at the end of the room, where Jack had been working the day before, and bit her top lip. “She’s, erm, a little busy, I think.”

  “With Jack?” Graham stood.

  After running her hand through her long white hair, Susan finally answered, but with the same hesitance as before. “No, Rhys.”

  “I’m sure they won’t mind if I interrupt them. We need to get ready to leave. I want to be off soon, so get your stuff ready and I’ll come find you.”

  Graham walked away a moment later, eager to get things underway, and went straight for Jack’s work room. Inside he expected Phoenix was again helping Jack with his tools or keeping him fed. He certainly did not expect to hear a moan from someone on the other side. He knocked lightly on the door, only to be told to, “Come back in half an hour”.

  “Phoenix, are you OK in there?” With a short look around, Graham then landed his eyes on Jack tucking in to his own breakfast on the floor by the stairs. He quickly realised what Susan had tried to allude to a second ago. “Shit, I'll come back later, sorry,” he said as he backed away from the door.

  “Ha, it’s like living in a dormitory again,” the younger voice said to him. “She should have put a tie on the door handle.”

  The door opened as he turned away. In the sliver of a gap stood Rhys, his belt loose around his jeans and his hair entirely out of place. Not meaning to, Graham leant to the side to find Phoenix inside. She was also in a state of unkemptness akin to a short moment of closeness. Embarrassed and obviously a little flustered, she faced away from the open door while she reset her clothes.

  “Graham,” Rhys said with a less than friendly glare.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t…”

  Phoenix spoke to him with a sidelong look. “We’ll be ready to go in a few minutes.”

  “Oh, sure, that’s fine, I’ll just…”

  Before Graham could finish speaking, Rhys slowly shut the door in his face to make it quite clear his presence had been an intrusion. It left Graham with nothing to do but look away. To his bitter disappointment he spotted Captain Rigs and Gregson heading straight for him. He quickly prepared himself.

  “What’s this I hear about you going out on a supply run?” the Captain asked Graham.

  “I’m just trying to help these people.”

  “Goddammit, will you stop lying and for once tell the truth. You’ve been holding back on me since we set off from the Ring. What’s really going on with you? It’s clear you didn’t come to help.”

  Graham chose not to answer, which only infuriated Captain Rigs more.

  “So that’s how you want to play it. Fine, then we’re done here. Do what you want, go out and get yourself killed for all I care. Just don’t come to me, begging for my help, when whatever you’re doing goes wrong. I won’t be around to save you again.”

  “I’m sorry,” Graham said, almost to himself, as Captain Rigs went to leave.

  Gregson remained behind. “Sir,” she said.

  “What is it?”

  “I’ll go with him. He’s still our responsibility, sir.”

  “If that’s what you want to do, go right ahead.” The Captain then walked away finally.

  Graham had to ask, “What are you doing?”

  “I’m keeping you alive. I’m not sure you really understand how dangerous it is out there. Besides, our orders were to protect you, even if you’ve lied to us about everything so far. So get your protective vest back on and let’s get this over with.”

  Captain Rigs was already heading up to the control room as Graham watched on.

  “It’s not over, you know that right?” Gregson said in response to seeing the same herself.

  “What’s not over?”

  “Our mission. Just because there’s only a few of us left doesn’t mean we’re giving up. Captain Rigs has been putting some feelers out around the group, to find out their opinion without Clement hovering over them.”

  “And?”

  “And some of them agree we should be fighting rather than hiding down here. If he gets enough support, he’ll be able to come up with a new plan. If you know anything that could help convince these people, then you need to tell us. Otherwise you’re just making things worse.”

  Graham arched his head up to see the tips of the heads in the control room and found Captain Rigs soon after. Clement was seeing to an incident by the food pile, giving the Captain a chance to speak with people alone. The tactic seemed a little underhanded to Graham, but then Clement had made his dislike of the captain loud and clear. It was surely going to lead to another round of sizing up between them, one that would become messy once the lines were drawn.

  “I need to get going,” Graham said.

  A shake of the head was all Gregson gave him in reply.

  * * *

  Phoenix led their group of five through the tunnels once more, this time detouring off in another direction to that of before. It was a requirement for each of the supply runs to take a different route to the last. If one was caught it at least prevented the others being hit straight after. This way meant the odds against that happening were in their favour.

  Along for the trip out were Rhys, Gregson and Susan, with Graham being the second in line behind Phoenix. Jack had stayed behind this time, to his utter disappointment. Instead he had been given the task of covering for them when anyone asked why they were taking so long to find supplies. The real purpose of their excursion was set to keep them away for a suspicious amount of time.

  With Jack left behind it also meant a warm jacket was going spare. Now out in the abrasive winter winds and the odd downpour, Graham was thankful he had chosen to accept it. Even if it and the ballistic vest were squeezing him like an unbreakable bear hug. His leather jacket was still somewhere aboard the Ring.

  At an opening in the tunnel they stopped and waited for any sign of a passing patrol. In the distance the popping of gunfire and the occasional dull thump of small explosions held them back for a short while. When ready, Phoenix then ran out for the nearest cover and surveyed the area. Once she gave the all clear, the next did the same. They were to move in short, but quick leapfrog type movements.

  A few minutes into their journey they came across a patrol wandering in the other direction – it was inevitable that they
would. Thankfully the patrol route took the trouble away from them. To avoid being spotted they hid inside the broken ruins of a corner shop. The shelves had been forced up against the front door at some point. But a large hole where the window had once been suggested those who had tried to hide there did not last long in that endeavour.

  The break from sneaking around gave Phoenix the opportunity to speak with Graham. “So, what’s the plan here then?” she asked with her back against the edge of what used to be the window frame.

  “So Captain Rigs was right, you have another agenda. What’s this all about then?” Gregson said.

  “Look, Gregson, I’m sorry, OK?” Graham deliberated as the face looking back at him hardened in reply. “I didn’t come here to help your captain. I came here to speak with someone. There’s something wrong with me, with my head. It’s getting worse too.” Graham sent a short look to Phoenix to make this clear to her. “To speak to the people that can help me, I need to find a special device first.”

  “Awesome. Can these people help us fight back?” Susan went on to ask. She folded over the torn left cuff of her jacket to reveal a fully charged wrist computer ready and recording.

  “Let’s just take it one step at a time, shall we? First we have to find a Conduit.”

  Gregson became quiet, choosing to focus on checking the area around them now.

  “I wanted to ask you about that, Graham. How exactly are we going to find another Conduit?” Phoenix said, doing her best to push through the uncomfortably tense atmosphere.

  Graham unwrapped his bandaged hand. When they all saw the flashing diamond embedded in his skin they gasped.

  “What the…” Susan said, her wrist screen raised and its camera aimed at the strange object. She had not wasted any time in making herself useful, Graham noted of the permanent record of events she was taking.

  “What the hell is that thing?” Rhys was suddenly compelled to say, after not saying much more than a few words along their journey.

  To see a bit closer, Phoenix grabbed his hand and pulled it towards herself. “Was that there when the others found you?”

  “I assume so. Although no-one mentioned it, not even the doctor. So I’m not really sure. I’m hoping Luke might know.” Graham held his hand out in front of himself. “If what the voice in my head has told me is correct, then this should…” The others reacted again when the diamond shaped object did its thing. The top left corner flashed repeatedly to give Graham a direction of travel. “The nearest Conduit should be that way,” he said.

  When he went to lead them away Phoenix stood in his path, her eyes studying the object in his hand with obvious worry. “What if it’s taking us to the enemy?”

  The question knocked Graham back a step or two, like she had delivered it with a knife to his chest. Was she really asking him if he could be trusted?

  “I’ve not been compromised, Phoenix, it’s still me.”

  “I know. But can we trust these voices you’re hearing? How can you be sure they’re telling the truth?”

  “Voices?” Gregson added.

  “We don’t have time to argue about this,” Graham snapped. “I can go on alone if I have to.”

  Phoenix chose not to reply to that and instead turned Graham’s hand around to have another look. “That way will take us to the public library. If there’s something that shouldn’t be there, then we’ll see it pretty soon. I just hope this doesn’t walk us straight into trouble. Come on, this way.”

  She followed the same routine as before and was the first to step out into the street, her weapon never far from her reach. The others were close behind and proceeded out into daylight too. Their tiny group were alone among the devastated streets from then onwards. The patrols were avoidable with a little care and a whole lot of attention on Phoenix’s part.

  They ventured deep into the bowels of each building stood in their path, most of which had been hit with multiple enemy bombardments. During the early months there had been a period of heavy bombing. Now it seemed that side of the battle was over. It was wasted energy on Isaac’s part as he already had most of the people inside the city under his control.

  It had been fierce, though, with hardly any structure within the shielded area left unblemished and unscathed in some way. In places entire skyscrapers had fallen to the ground and covered the streets as giant steel skeletons. The steel girders had overhung and interlocked to form what resembled an enormous ribcage above their heads.

  They sky was not without its threats, however. They could only move a hundred yards or so each time before the whizzing sound of a passing drone sent them all racing for cover. These were the real worry for their group. With these drones, Isaac had picked out most of those still scurrying around the streets searching for somewhere to hide. They remained the most feared of the enemy forces too, as at any moment they could come sweeping down upon people. Standing against a small patrol was one thing, but facing off against the drones amounted to nothing less than suicide. Phoenix was careful when choosing where to walk, she knew the best path to avoid the flying spies.

  A handful of streets later and the diamond object on Graham’s hand stopped blinking and became a solid block of white light. They had reached the right place; the public library.

  “I had a feeling it would be here,” Phoenix said as she peeked around the side of the crumbling wall they stood behind.

  “Why?” Gregson asked. She took a look too, but through the magnified sight of her own weapon.

  “Because this place is always busy.”

  “I don’t see anything.” Graham stepped out to see more and was then shoved back into cover as what he missed strolled out through the front door of the library.

  “Stay back.” Phoenix ordered. She and Gregson then spoke. “So, what’s your call on this one?”

  Gregson swung her rifle up to the roof of the library and followed a route with her gun sight. She searched out each of the enemy soldiers she saw, calling them each out to the rest of the group. In her quick inspection she found seven enemies wandering around the site. “Well,” she began, “I can take at most three of them before the others realise what’s going on. The rest will call for help, so I suggest you and… Rhys is it?” She continued after Rhys nodded his confirmation. “Cool, you and Rhys will have to take them out. Graham, take my pistol and, when you hear the signal, bring Susan straight in, OK?”

  “OK, but shouldn’t I help deal with some of them?” Graham replied as he took the weapon handed to him.

  “No, I’m here to keep you safe. If going in there is what we have to do, then we do it my way. I’m the only one here trained for this kind of thing anyway.”

  “Fine, but do we have to kill them?” Graham said. “Couldn’t we just knock them out?”

  “It’s too risky. If we don’t deal with them quickly, they’ll soon turn on us instead, and I guarantee you they won’t hesitate. I’ll be as quiet as I… hey, what are you two doing?” Gregson said suddenly.

  To Graham’s surprise, Phoenix and Rhys were already standing out in the open and aiming at the Sentient guards. The weapons they had brought were oddly shaped with a black orb where the barrel should have been. Neither of them were looking down the sight either, and were simply holding their guns roughly in the correct direction.

  “We got this,” Phoenix said as she pulled the trigger. Rhys did the same, and within barely a second all seven of the enemy soldiers fell to the floor. She then turned back and spoke. “Gregson is right. We can’t afford to be caught out, not while the enemy are still in charge. We spare the enemy only when it’s safe for us to do.”

  Gregson was the first of them to react to what had just happened. “Fucking awesome!” she said. “OK then, let’s get inside. Stay sharp, though, there may be more. Graham, take the rear and watch our six.”

  They proceeded up the stone steps to the front entrance of the library and stopped by the glass doors to assess the lobby area. The ground floor appeared open for thei
r intrusion, a little too open in fact.

  “This seems too easy, doesn’t it?” Susan asked Graham, who was last through the doors.

  “She has a point, G,” one of the voices inside his head said.

  The other, as usual, was not far behind. “You think it's a trap?”

  “They probably just don’t see the need to protect the Conduits anymore,” Graham said, his answer intended for both Susan and the voices in his head.

  “Yeah, no-one else would be crazy enough to try and use one,” the younger voice chimed in with.

  The real reason for such a tiny protective force became clear to Graham as they entered the main part of the library. With the book cases all scattered about or piled up at the sides of the immense room, it gave enough space for something truly incredible to hover in the middle. It was not, as Graham had hoped, a Conduit at all. This object was of no obvious use to their little group.

  “What the fuck is that?” Rhys said, deep ridges forming between his eyebrows.

  The diamond had led them there not to find a Conduit, as Graham had believed, but to find something even more remarkable. A glowing sphere as high as the ceiling levitated in place. It spun slowly in the air, like a tiny sun suspended in place.

  Not even the extra personalities inside Graham’s head knew what they were all seeing.

  “Right, we got a problem here,” the younger of the two said.

  “Don’t panic, we just need to figure the thing out,” the other replied. They were holding a conversation inside Graham’s head without him actually having any part of it.

  “This isn’t a Conduit.” Phoenix turned to Graham. “Wanna explain?”

  He could not.

  Chapter 18

  The road not taken

  Each member of the group walked around the edge of the sphere, studying its surface and trying to work out what it was. There appeared nothing to it but a smooth, glowing shell with an oddly flowing liquid contained within. Its purpose for being there remained a tantalising mystery. For whatever reason the enemy used it for, there was clearly something for them there too. The diamond object in Graham’s hand had to have known this somehow.