“Then why are we confined to the valley?” she asked him.
“Because Hound said so, and Keller is a boot-licking SOB, that’s why,” Andrew replied.
“Why do you hate everyone so much?” she asked.
He stopped walking, holding a thin tree branch, and turned to her. “I’ve dealt with people like Morris and Keller my whole life—whether it was in school, the Corps, or at every job since. They treat others like they’re superior, and I hate them for it. What makes Keller any better than me or you? Why does the reverend claim to be Mother Mary?”
“Because she’s gone insane?” Kendra laughed, and Andrew finally broke a genuine smile in the dark night. It made him seem five years younger.
“You understand my point, though. I’ve always been the kid getting in trouble at school because I wasn’t the fastest learner, or I was reprimanded in the Corps because some asshole ranked a fraction above me knew I was better suited for their job, and it scared them. They’re all the same,” he said.
While Kendra hadn’t dealt with those exact things, she’d been through her own fair share of struggles working towards becoming a female FBI agent. Now she was on another planet, and some things hadn’t changed.
“How about we find out what’s across the ridge, seal it off if possible, and we work on our instant distaste for all authority figures and make this work?” she told him.
“This?” He pointed to her, then over to himself.
She grinned again, shoving him forward. “Come on. We have a red dot to catch.”
Her legs were feeling stronger as the blood flowed once again, and soon they were halfway to the target, which had stopped right along the valley wall.
“What do you think it’s doing?” she asked.
Andrew stared at the tablet, then met her stare. “Waiting for us.”
* * *
Roland
The colony had grown much quieter. The mist and rain were gone, the sky once again clear, as if the storm had never existed. His feet squished into the damp grass, reminding him it really had occurred, and that none of this was a dream.
“Where is this armory?” Roland asked Harper, wondering when their journey would finally end. It had been a good hour since they’d met up, and she was taking him the entire distance around camp.
“We have a secret one stashed away in Eden Twelve. The one Morris found is only the half of it,” she told him.
“But she’s armed to the teeth regardless, right?” Roland asked.
Harper nodded her agreement. “She is. Damn it, how did we let this happen? Everyone on the list was accounted for. Over the years Hound ran personality quizzes, and recorded their movements, calls, emails, texts. The group was supposed to be copacetic.”
“You’re forgetting one thing,” Roland said.
“What?” she asked, finally turning in to head into the colony boundaries. They were at a far corner of camp that Roland rarely saw. No one was around, the wind the only noise as it whistled through the nearby structure. Roland noticed that the drones and robots charged with constructing the residences were tucked away inside.
“Reverend Morris wasn’t on the list. We’ve added an unknown variable to the mixture. She’s a cancer, destroying the colony from the inside. We have to take her out,” Roland said with finality. He stared at the drones, and ran to the shelter.
“What are you doing? Eden Twelve is this way,” she said.
“I have an idea.” There were numerous robots, their bodies thick and squat, with rolling treads to move through rough terrain if necessary. Some of them had four arms, mounted with different types of manufacturing tools: torches, soldering irons, cutting blades; everything needed to move girders, and construct buildings. The drones were smaller, and at least a dozen of them lined shelves. They carried supplies throughout the work sites, welding the high seams and doing countless other tasks.
“What are you going to do? Build a fort?” Harper’s patience was clearly wearing thin.
“Just one… minute.” Roland’s tongue stuck out as he searched for the controls. “Gotcha.” The tablet was in a desk near the far end of the shelter, away from the entrance, where it would stay safe from the rain. He tapped it on, seeing the various options for controlling the machines around him. With a satisfied grin, he shoved it into the back of his pants. “Lead the way, boss.”
Harper rolled her eyes at him, and in a few minutes they were at the edge of Eden Twelve. Something snapped behind them, and Harper swung around, ready to fire, when Roland saw the boy’s long hair flap over his eyes as he raised his arms in panic. Roland struck out, knocking Harper’s aim off Tony.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Roland asked the kid.
Tony’s eyes were wide, and he glanced around, his hands raised in the air. “I wanted to help. I’ve searched everywhere for you.”
“Shhh. Keep it down.” Harper turned to the door of the Eden section and tapped in a code. It buzzed red. She tried it again, and a series of colorful expletives left her mouth. “She’s smarter than I thought.”
“Why, what’s the matter?” Roland asked.
“She’s blocked me out. She must have known about this and changed the access codes.” Harper slammed a palm into the side of the building.
“Mind if I have a try at it?” Roland asked, his eyebrows raised high. He scratched his stubble, and Harper stared at him, looking like she was about to berate him.
Instead she stepped aside, watching for incoming enemies. “Be my guest.”
Roland jammed his nails along the underside of the panel, and pried it open with a grunt. The controls were bare beneath the screen, and he searched over the wires, struggling to see their colors in the dark. He ran his fingers over them, instead opting for where they came from and where they went as his guide.
With a hope and a prayer, he pulled two of the wires, peeled away the plastic casing, and tapped them together. The door hissed open.
Harper grabbed his face with two hands. “I could kiss you,” she said.
“I won’t stop you,” Roland said, and she laughed, racing past him into Eden Twelve.
The lights blinked on, and she headed across the molded white plastic flooring, stopping at a panel along the far wall. There were only a few crates inside the open space, and Roland recognized the spare parts of their mess hall and kitchen in here. Harper pressed the corner of the panel and it popped open, revealing a black cabinet.
It opened for her, and she began pulling weapons from inside. “Take this.” She tossed a dark duffel bag at Roland, and he held it open while she shoved everything she could inside it. There were night vision goggles, handguns, even grenades of some kind.
Roland nervously watched as they clinked loosely in the pack. “These aren’t going to go off, are they?” he asked.
Harper watched him with a wry grin. “Never change, Roland. Would you do that for me?”
Tony was at the door, standing guard, and he waved them over. “Guys. I think someone’s coming,” he said.
They all moved for the exit and listened. “Damn it,” Harper said quietly.
Roland heard the voices, and a chill ran over him.
“Mary said to check Eden Twelve,” a woman’s voice said.
He spotted the two shadows approaching, and he shoved the pack of weapons into Tony’s hands. “Go. Hide these.” The kid was a fast runner, and he had the best chance of evading the usurpers.
Tony didn’t wait to be told again. He silently raced away, the heavy sack in his arms.
Harper held a hand up, and pushed Roland out the door and to the right. The access to Eden Twelve was wide open, and they didn’t have time to shut it. Soon they were on the opposite end of the structure, and Roland heard the same voice call out again.
“Circle around. They’re close by. She wants them alive,” the woman said.
“We have to go,” Harper said, turning to run. Roland was right behind her, and he tripped as she slammed into somethi
ng stepping out from the dark night. The huge man laughed as Harper tumbled to the ground, and Roland’s gun flew from his grip.
“Are you sure we have to let them live?” the man asked with a sickening grin.
THIRTY-NINE
Val
“What’s wrong with him?” Keller asked.
Carrie shook her head, too shocked for words.
Val couldn’t look away. Her eyes were fixed on the bundle of wires trailing from the back of Lewis Hound’s head. She pointed to it with a shaking hand. “What is that?”
She looked to Carrie. The older woman frowned and took a hesitant step toward Hound. “It’s...” She touched the bundle of wires where they disappeared into Hound’s thick, wavy hair—
And withdrew her hand sharply, as if she’d been electrocuted.
“Are you okay?” Val asked.
Carrie nodded. “I’m fine. It’s... those wires are plugged into his skull.”
“What?” Keller sounded annoyed. “How is that possible?”
Val had a few ideas, but she was too afraid to utter them aloud. Hound’s head turned toward them, and his eyes blinked into focus. Val flinched and took a quick step back. Keller’s rifle snapped up to aim at Hound’s head. The billionaire’s lips began to move, but no sound was coming out.
“What’s going on here, Lewis?” Keller demanded. “You better explain yourself before I put a bullet between your eyes.”
Hound’s hands came up from the reclining chair, and he began reaching around for the bundle of wires snaking into the base of his head.
“Last warning!” Keller screamed.
This time Carrie was the one pulling Val away. They stumbled back a few steps together before Keller squeezed the trigger. The report of the rifle was deafening. A metallic plink sounded, followed by the sound of shattering glass as the bullet ricocheted and struck something else. For a moment Val thought he’d missed and hit some of the equipment in the room, but then she noticed the dime-sized silver dent on Hound’s forehead. She blinked in shock: not a bloody hole—a dent—and the bullet had bounced off.
“What in the name of...” Keller’s rifle slowly dropped from his shoulder.
Hound began sitting up, swinging his feet over the side of the chair as his hands closed around the bundle of wires at his head.
“We have to go,” Carrie whispered.
Val nodded once, and Keller whirled away, his gaze darting quickly.
“Over there!” He pointed to a nearby door and took off at a run. Carrie sprinted after him, and Val followed. It wasn’t the way they’d come in, but they didn’t have time to run up that endless staircase. Especially not with those creatures waiting for them at the top.
Keller grabbed the door handle and turned it. Val’s heart fluttered. She glanced over her shoulder to see Hound walking slowly after them.
“There’s no way out!” he said. “Let’s all calm down for a minute and talk about this rationally.”
Keller yanked the door open, they ran in, and he slammed it behind them. Val searched around frantically while Carrie held the door shut.
“I can’t lock it!” Val cried.
“It doesn’t matter,” Keller said. “Look!”
They turned to see him pointing to the shadowy chamber where they now found themselves. There were four vehicles in here with them, all identical, all sleek and streamlined like fighter jets, but these fighters were like nothing Val had ever seen before. They had strange mirror-smooth plating, and she couldn’t see any kind of cockpit. No windows at all. Something told Val that these ships would be equally at home in space as in planetary atmospheres. This was an underground hangar.
“Come on!” Keller urged, and ran for the nearest vehicle.
“Go!” Carrie cried, still holding the door handle and bracing the door with all of her weight.
“Not without you,” Val said, shaking her head. “You can’t fight him alone.”
Carrie grimaced and released the door handle. They tore after Keller and reached the side of the nearest spacecraft together. Keller was running his hands along the mirror-smooth hull, checking for any seams that might conceal a door.
“Work!” he cried, banging on the side of the craft.
Somehow the side of the craft opened up from the middle. The bottom half opened to form a boarding ramp, and the top half angled up, revealing a cramped interior space.
“You won’t make it far!” Hound’s voice boomed out, echoing through the hangar.
Not wasting time with a backward glance, Val ducked inside the spacecraft, with Carrie right behind her. Keller was standing just inside the entrance, fiddling with a touchscreen control pad.
“None of this makes any sense!” he said.
That was when Val noticed that the words on the screen weren’t written in English, or any alphabet she recognized. “What language is that?”
“The hell if I know!” Keller cried, stabbing buttons at random.
Hound was walking casually across the hangar, smiling. “It’s a pity you had to find me,” he said. “I really did like you, Carrie. And you, Val. You will be missed.”
The implications of what Hound was saying shot through Val like a lightning bolt. “He’s going to kill us!” she cried.
Carrie drew her sidearm, and stood in the opening of the ship with the gun in a two-handed grip.
Bang!
She shot Hound in the chest. He staggered from the impact, and the bullet went ricocheting loudly through the hangar.
Carrie shot him three more times, yet Hound remained standing. He started walking again. Smiling anew, he said, “Your pathetic weapons can’t hurt me.”
A mechanical groaning started up, and the side of the ship clamped shut.
“Got it,” Keller said. He was looking around, blinking quickly. The corridor where they stood was lined with pipes and vented panels in the bulkheads and floors. It was shaped like a hexagon. Dimly glowing light strips ran along the floors and ceiling.
“Time to leave,” Keller said as he turned and hurried down the passageway. Recessed doors appeared to the left and right. Val counted four of them. Dead ahead, she saw what looked like a cockpit with a wraparound glass canopy that she’d somehow missed seeing from the outside. They emerged inside that cockpit to find four different seats. Keller sat in the front left one and glowing screens snapped on all around him, some built into the sloping dash, others projected from slender frames hanging above and around his seat.
Val dropped into the seat next to his, and more glowing screens appeared around her. Carrie stopped in the entrance of the cockpit, standing with her feet parted and pistol aimed in the direction they’d come. “You’d better figure out how this thing works, and fast,” she muttered.
“You want to try?” Keller shrieked, his eyes flicking over the glowing displays.
Carrie didn’t reply.
Val watched him stab a likely-looking button, and the craft shivered to life. Keller grabbed some kind of control yoke in front of him, and then the ship jumped up a couple of feet. Val fumbled around for a safety harness. She found a set of springy black straps and clipped them over her chest. Everything about the settings was familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. It was like something people might make a few hundred years into the future.
Keller tipped the nose of the ship up, and they saw a narrow slice of light beaming directly from the cavernous ceiling.
“Looks like an exit,” Keller said, and then he turned his attention to studying the controls arrayed around him. “Thruster controls... throttle...” He began touching buttons and sliders at random. “Something has to—”
The ship catapulted forward, and Carrie screamed. Val heard her go tumbling into the corridor, but couldn’t turn to look, because she was pinned to her seat by the sudden acceleration.
Keller’s teeth were gritted, his knuckles turning white on the flight yoke as the gleaming white rectangle above them grew rapidly larger and closer. The opening was surrounded
with light strips just like the ones inside the ship.
Val couldn’t tell if it was a door or a solid black ceiling. The lights made it impossible to pick out any details.
“Keller, are you sure about this?” Val asked, her voice rising in alarm.
“No!” he cried.
And then they slammed into it—
—and burst free into the night. A dazzling dome of stars enveloped them, and crisscrossing spear-topped trees fell away to both sides. Keller leveled out just above the treetops, and dark clouds appeared, hulking above a jagged black line of mountains. The ridge.
The sensation of acceleration eased now that they weren’t flying straight up, and Val twisted around to see Carrie peeling herself off the deck at the far end of the corridor behind the cockpit. She came clomping toward them, limping.
“Now what?” she asked.
Keller turned from the controls, his face pale in the starlight streaming through the canopy. He slowly shook his head, eyes wide and staring.
“Snap out of it, Keller! What are we dealing with?” Carrie pleaded.
“He’s a machine,” Val offered. “Some kind of android or cyborg.”
“We don’t have that kind of technology.”
“Or this kind,” Keller added, motioning to indicate the spaceship they’d just stolen.
“What does it mean?” Carrie all but shrieked at them.
“It’s all made for humans,” Val said, looking around. “The controls are made for our hands. The seats. The safety harnesses.” She tugged at hers for emphasis.
“Humans, or androids?” Carrie asked as she eased into the chair behind Keller’s. More glowing screens swirled to life around her.
“Maybe Hound is from the future,” Val suggested. “Maybe he came back in time to save us from extinction.”
“Could be,” Keller added. He sounded far away. “Or he’s an alien.”
“An alien?” Val asked. That was a much scarier thought.
“They could have used an android to infiltrate us.”
“But then why is this ship built for humans?” Val asked.
“Maybe it’s not,” Eric said. “Could be convergent evolution. A similar environment to Earth’s might lead to the evolution of a species of humanoid aliens.”
Final Days: Colony Page 28