by M. R. Forbes
Instead, there was nothing but flat skin that faded into dark metal.
Isabelle was a robot?
“Pick him up,” Loki said.
She leaned over, grabbing him by the neck before stepping off him. She dragged him back to his feet.
“Nobody touches Father,” she said. She looked so real. So human.
He struggled to breathe. Loki walked over to him, raising his hand and slapping him in the face. His strike was weak. At least he was human.
“That’s for almost choking me,” Loki said. “Mother, don’t kill him. He can still be useful.”
“But he touched you.”
“I said don’t kill him.”
She let go of his neck. He breathed in hard, gasping for air.
“Lane, why are you still standing there? Take that one away.”
“Yes, Father,” Lane said.
Rhonna started screaming as Lane’s hand came down on her wrist.
“Sheriff, don’t let them take me. Sheriff, please.”
Hayden straightened up, but Isabelle moved in front of him. There was nothing he could do.
“Sheriff!”
Lane shoved his gun into her side, and she quieted down. He started walking her away.
“You think you’re a tough guy, Sheriff?” Loki said. “You think you can make your own rules? Your own laws? I’ve got the perfect job for you. What do you think, Mother?”
“Yes, Father. I agree.”
Hayden looked at them both. They hadn’t said what it was. He didn’t care what it was. He couldn’t stay here.
He lunged forward again, throwing a punch at Isabelle’s face. She stepped lithely around it, grabbing his arm and twisting, turning him over and throwing him to the ground.
Loki stood over him, laughing. “This is going to be fun.”
Isabelle’s foot came down on the side of his temple, and everything went dark.
Chapter 35
“There’s the ship,” Nathan said, coming to a stop and pointing east.
The Navy vessel was visible between buildings, stuck aground and motionless at the side of the river. Even from here he could see the trife climbing around on the decks, looking for dry ground to escape onto and coming up empty.
“Finally,” Doc said.
It had only taken about twenty minutes to run from the crash site to their current position, a haul that had left Doc winded and leaning over, hands on her hips and breathing hard.
“It wasn’t that far,” Nathan said, smiling.
“Maybe not for a fucking replica,” she replied, glancing up at him. “This is why we have vehicles.” She stood up straight and huffed out. “You want to head down to the shore? Maybe they’re still there.”
“I doubt they’re hanging out waiting for us. But it might be helpful to find their tracks.”
“It’ll be helpful to know if they survived the impact,” Doc said. “A couple of broken legs would sure slow them down. We know about the Spacer. I wonder who the woman is?”
Nathan shrugged. He wasn’t about to tell her about Rhonna. “I don’t know. I’ve been thinking. I’m not convinced Sheriff is a Spacer. I think he may be from Earth.”
“What makes you say that?”
“The way he used the trife against us. The fact that he knows how to ride a motorcycle. We have scooters on Proxima, but it isn’t the same thing.”
“We don’t have proof he knows how to ride a motorcycle. Anybody can go fifty meters in a straight line.”
“Fine. I talked to him, at the hospital and in the subway tunnels. He has a strange accent I’ve never heard on Proxima. It doesn’t match yours either, though.”
Doc considered for a moment. “Okay. So he’s from Earth. Does it matter?”
“It might. Proxima isn’t supposed to be communicating with Earthers. Then I find out the Trust has a deal with Tinker. And now I think Command is working with someone here too. If he is from Earth, that’s the only thing that explains it.”
“Okay. Again, does it matter?”
“Why wouldn’t it?”
“Because it doesn’t change anything for you, Colonel. It doesn’t change the path we’re on. The Liberators work for Tinker. Tinker is trying to create a future for this planet. A real future independent from the trife and the Centurions. He’s going to help us forge our own path forward.”
“You really believe that?”
“The man is a genius. Yes, he has a bit of a messiah-complex, but maybe he has the right? He’s going to do a lot of good for a lot of people. The forgotten Earth will fall, and Eden will rise.”
“Edenrise. Right. I get it.”
“You get to be part of it.”
They started walking, south along the street toward the Navy ship. Nathan kept his rifle in his arms, scanning both sides of the road for signs of enemies, human or otherwise. He didn’t know what to expect out here. How far could a person walk on this planet without coming under attack from one direction or another? So far, the answer had been not very.
“General Stacker went a little off the hook back there, didn’t he?” Nathan said.
He was still trying to get a feel for James, to figure out if he really could trust him or not. He expected a Stacker to have a short fuse, but the display had been bordering on childish.
“He gets that way,” Doc said. “I know it seems a little crazy. Hell, he knows it seems a little crazy. The original James Stacker had a few, let’s say, eccentricities, that seem to have been passed on down the line. But then, you should know about that, right?” She glanced over at him. “Or no?”
“Yeah,” Nathan admitted. “I spent fifty years on an asteroid mining rig for killing one of my squadmates. He was being too aggressive with a girl at a bar, and I tried to stop him. Things got a little out of hand. Before I even realized what was happening, he was dead and I was in restraints.”
Doc stopped walking, staring at him. She wasn’t afraid. It was something else. Compassion? He hadn’t seen it enough to recognize it easily.
“I’m sorry, Nathan,” she said. “That must have been hard.”
“That’s the thing. It was so fucking easy. One punch, with my strength. All it took was for that switch to flip. So I did a bunch of time on a rig. I would still be there, but Command realized the Stackers had a glitch. They brought me in for reprogramming and then overturned my conviction.” He started them moving again. “Reprogramming to Command meant beating the shit out of me and pissing me off until they thought I could control myself. It was a fucking joke. I don’t know if there was supposed to be a genetic component, but if there was they didn’t pass it on to me.”
“They sound like assholes.”
He laughed. “I don’t get it. They abandon Earth and the people on it. Then they came back and traded for human replication technology. But then when they use it, they treat the product of it like shit and use us like we’re one step above slaves. And those are the so-called good guys, not the Trust.”
“People do a lot of things that don’t make sense when they’re afraid.”
“Afraid? What does Command have to fear? They aren’t down here. They aren’t living with the trife. I’ve got a lot of respect for anyone who lives out here. Who survives this every day.”
“I can’t answer that, other than knowing somebody dropped the trife here, and nobody knows if or when they might come back. That’s a terrifying thought for anybody.”
“We might be better off if they do come back.”
“I don’t think so. Tinker is going to change a lot of lives. He’s going to change the world.”
“The trials?”
“Yes.”
“James said you’ve been testing something on the trife. What is it?”
“A virus. It causes a genetic mutation that makes radiation poison to them. Results so far have been good, but Tinker has been playing with the ratios. The last trial killed eighty percent of the bastards, but you know trife. Unless you get a hundred percent, you mi
ght as well not bother killing any of them.”
“It sounds like a promising start.”
“It is. Anyway, I know James got a little nuts. But he’s a good man. Loyal and honest. If you’re looking for confirmation that you’re following the right path, I can tell you that you are. If he said he wouldn’t turn you over to the Trust, he won’t. You can bet your life on that.”
Nathan locked eyes with her for a moment and then nodded.
They covered the last two streets to the riverfront. There was no sign of Sheriff or Rhonna, but Nathan didn’t expect there would be. Twenty minutes was more than enough time for them to get away from the shore and find somewhere to hide.
He turned in a circle, looking out at the hundreds of ruined buildings that surrounded them. It was like trying to pick out an individual star from the galaxy.
“I’m going to check on the shore,” he said, and then immediately started jogging to where the cement met the water.
He hopped onto the cracked stone barrier, gazing out over the line of rocks that lead into the water. His eyes landed on a small piece of discarded rope almost immediately.
“There,” he said, pointing to it. Doc caught up to him, looking to where he was gesturing.
“Rope?” Doc said. “What would they take out rope for?”
He jumped onto the rocks, navigating to the bit of bundled fibers. He picked it up, noticing a small, dark scuff on one side. He carried it back to Doc.
“It has a mark on it. Does it mean anything to you?”
She took the rope, examining it. “Shit,” she cursed.
“What is it?”
“I think this is a scrape of old rubber. Like from the tire of a motorcycle.”
“Do you think they dragged it out of the water?”
“It sure seems that way. If the bike was still functional, they could be ten klicks away from here by now at least.”
Nathan sat down on the barrier, staring out at the city ahead of them. Sheriff could be ten klicks away, but would he? He was human, not a replica. He had to be tired. And Nathan had noticed how his right arm was hanging from the elbow. He was down one of his replacements. Would he aim to get as far away from the area as he could? Or would he try to find help for his immediate needs?
“Do you know if there are any communities in the area?” Nathan asked.
“I don’t know. I know there’s a trife nest to the west of here, at one of the old power stations. And there are horse nomads that roam the area nearby. I think James mentioned another community in the area once.” She paused, shaking her head. “Damned if I can remember the name.”
“Horse nomads?” Nathan said. “Is that as crazy as it sounds?”
“Horses are a lot easier to maintain out here than cars,” Doc said. “Just look at all the grass.”
“I’m not sure what you mean. I don’t know what a horse is.”
She looked at him like that was the funniest thing she had ever heard. “You don’t know what a horse is?”
“I’m not from this planet, remember? I never entered ‘horse’ into the Central Datastore.”
She started laughing. “Fair enough. Come on.”
“Where are we going?”
“To find you a horse.”
Chapter 36
“It isn’t a horse, but it’s a start.”
Doc knelt down beside something in the street. Nathan leaned over her, peering down at it.
“Is that shit?” he asked.
“When it comes from a horse, it’s called manure,” she replied. “But yes.” She pulled her knife from its sheath and dug it into the pile, lifting the blade back out. “It’s still moist. Fresh.”
“So our horse people are in the area?”
“Or were within the last couple of hours.”
“You have experience with horses?”
“I grew up in Edenrise. Tinker keeps a large stable. I was trained in general medicine, which means humans and animals. I’ve delivered foals.”
“Foals?”
“Baby horses.”
“How did you wind up out here, carrying a gun?”
“James. He needed a medic, and I needed him.”
“You two…”
“On and off. More when we were younger. Now, every once in a while. But his mind is fully on the mission these days. The closer we get to perfecting the virus. Tinker’s spent his life on it. His mother spent her life on it before that, and so on all the way back to Mary Stacker. I don’t know if James explained about trife immunity?”
“Yeah. He said you only get one shot and then the next generation is resistant.”
“Exactly. So we have to be completely sure it’s right.”
“And now you’re a babysitter.”
“James didn’t send me with you to babysit. It’s more likely he trusts you to keep me safe. Besides, I know how to set up the portable.” She tapped the backpack she was carrying.
“Comms?” he asked.
She nodded. “It’s an antique.”
“Isn’t everything on Earth?”
“Not in Edenrise. Out here? For the most part.”
“I hope I get to see Edenrise. It sounds amazing.”
“I hope so too.”
They continued from the manure, tracking northwest, covering another dozen streets and keeping a sharp eye out for trife, people, and horses. Nathan was surprised how suddenly difficult it had become to find any of the three, especially after how chaotic things were when he arrived. It seemed almost as if the world was trying to hide from them.
They walked for another hour, coming across another pile of manure, even fresher than the first. It didn’t lead to any horse sightings, but Doc insisted they were on the right path.
A third hour brought them to the corner of a wide street. Nathan could make out a fence up ahead, rusted and collapsed in a few areas, leading into what appeared to be an overgrown field. He pulled back as he rounded the crumbled edge of a low slung building, putting his hand out to lead Doc back with him.
She knew better than to make any sound. She looked over at him, and he pointed ahead.
She traced his finger across to the field. There was something in it, large and brown and standing on four legs.
“Horse?” he mouthed.
She nodded. Then she pointed to an old car a few meters ahead. He raised his rifle, staying low and aiming out toward the horse while she crossed to the vehicle. Then she prepped her rifle and covered him while he joined her.
“I don’t see any of the nomads,” she said. “But they wouldn’t go far from their animals.”
“Wait here,” Nathan said.
He stayed low, heading around the back of the car and across the street, getting closer. He crouched behind an old bus, looking out to the field from beside one of its flat wheels. He found the horse again, and now he saw there was a second animal further back, next to a chunk of stone rising from the grass.
Where were the nomads?
He started past the rear of the bus, creeping to the edge and peering around, finding the horses again. There was an open storefront beside the fence leading into the field, next to a narrow alley. He checked his surroundings and then dashed across to it, climbing two steps and ducking inside behind an empty shelf.
He leaned out past it. He had a better angle on the field now, though he could still only see the horses.
He shifted his jaw, activating his comm. “Doc, you see anything?”
“Negative,” she replied. “You?”
“Negative. Just the—”
A dark blur to his left caught his attention. He swung the rifle toward it, pivoting on his knee.
The trife slapped the end of the gun, knocking it aside as the plasma bolt sizzled out of it, powerful enough to blast right through the plaster and cement of the rear wall.
It followed up with a hard slash that Nathan barely avoided, letting go of the gun and rolling backward. He came up with a knife in hand and he lunged at the creature
, wrapping a large arm around its chest and throwing it against the shelves. He jabbed the knife into its chest, turning it and yanking it out.
The trife collapsed.
“Relentless, what’s going on?” Doc asked.
“Trife scout,” he replied. “Caught me off-guard.” He picked up the rifle.
“I’ve got movement,” Doc said. “Second floor of the building on the corner.”
Nathan heard footsteps over his head. At least three pairs. The nomads above had heard the commotion. Were they running or planning to attack?
He spun around, looking for the stairwell. The storefront connected to a corridor that led into the rest of the building.
“Doc, hold your position,” he said. “Cover the field.”
“Roger.”
He moved to the corner, staying low. He heard their feet hit the ground floor, and then the tapping of their shoes on the broken tile in the hallway. They appeared a moment later, two adults and a child, all dressed in faded shirts and jeans and worn-out shoes. The man carried a shotgun. The other two were unarmed.
“Doc, hold your fire. Do not shoot.”
“Roger. Is that a kid?”
The three nomads rushed out into the field, heading for the mounts.
“Relentless, I’ve got trife, breaking from the opposite side of the field.”
Toward the nomads.
Nathan stood up, moving out from behind the shelves to where he could see the backs of the nomads as they ran for their horses. He could see the trife further ahead, a dozen of them rushing toward the people. The damn demons had to know that horses meant humans.
“Doc, take out the trife. Fire at will.”
“Roger.”
He heard the first bursts of her rifle a moment later and watched two of the trife collapse. He brought his plasma rifle up, trying to aim past the nomads without burning them. He wasted two seconds trying to get a clean shot, and then charged ahead, leaping through the empty window frame and out into the alley. The metal railing surrounding the field was in his path, and he didn’t have time to go around. He took two long strides and bent his legs, pushing himself up. He caught the edge of the cement holding the railing and pushed again, rising up and over and then tucking into a roll as he came down. He barely slowed as he popped back to his feet, charging at the trife from behind the nomads.
