Elemental Origins: The Complete Series

by A. L. Knorr

  "TNC?" I'd begun to feel faintly ill.

  Jesse nodded. "A child-company of TNC's called Soren-Tech, based in Sweden. Forty-four people died and seventy were injured. Again, evidence was buried and links to TNC disappeared."

  "So…what? They are accident prone? Don't do their research? Really bad at planning?"

  "I don't know, but aside from its illegal and immoral behavior, it’s weird. I mean, no other huge corporations have such a diverse portfolio of industries and companies. Most big companies still specialize, but TNC is all over the place, like they're ADD and can't decide where to spend their money or something. It goes beyond disasters. If they were focused on just making money, they would become experts in a few linked industries, dominating and even making moves to monopolize. That's not what they're doing." Jesse raked both his hands through his hair, making it spike out in all directions. "It's like their business is causing and hiding disasters!"

  "Why would they do that?" A chill had crept into my bones. Fury was winding its way through my incredulity and disgust. This was no longer about me, my offense, my family, the deceptions they had rained down on me. This was much, much bigger.

  He let out a long, frustrated exhale. "At this point, your guess is as good as mine. I've been digging up story after story, project after wildly diverse and disastrous project, buried evidence. They're the corporate equivalent of a serial killer but for the life of me I cannot find any motivation for them to do so because every disaster costs them money. Which led me to dig into their investments, and the picture gets even weirder."

  "What do you mean?"

  "They own stocks in all kinds of diverse companies, and all of them are winners. TNC makes as much, and in some years, more money on the stock market than they do from their technology. It's like they can't make a wrong move."

  "All of them are winners?"

  "Every single one. Do you know what the odds of that are?"

  "I don't know much about the stock market, but that sounds impossible." I shivered and zippered Jesse’s hoodie up tighter to my throat. This company was scary.

  "It is. Unless you have a Magic 8-Ball or a clairvoyant who knows the future, it is." Jesse's brow wrinkled.

  "Clairvoyant." We both said at the same time.

  "That's not outside the realm of possibility," I said, straightening. "TNC collects supernaturals like other people collect fridge magnets. Right?"

  "Maybe…" Jesse pinched his bottom lip between a thumb and forefinger, meditating.

  "Maybe?"

  "Well, they do hire supernaturals, but I think they lead their employees to think that there are more of them on staff than there actually are."

  "Why would they do that?"

  "To keep you in line," Jesse proposed. "To keep you guessing if you step out or rebel, thinking they might have someone more powerful than you on staff who could kick your teeth in."

  "Hiroki told me I was the most powerful supernatural he's ever worked with," I said, softly. Given that I could put up an indestructible field of energy and destroy anything I wanted to just by touching it, I didn't think he'd been lying. Which led me to another question—just how much did Hiroki know about all of this?

  "Then he made a mistake by talking to you,” Jesse said. “Listen, this facility they take you to, north of the city…"

  "Field Station Eleven?"

  Jesse nodded. "What's it like?"

  "Seems pretty high-tech."

  "Have you ever actually seen anyone else displaying supernatural abilities there?"

  "Just the Elemental girls, earlier today."

  "Hmmm." Jesse grunted thoughtfully and went quiet, thinking.

  Were Jesse's insinuations right? Was I the only supernatural at FS11? Hiroki had revealed ignorance when Georjayna had told him she needed to have her feet in the soil to be able to move earth. And he’d then assumed Targa needed to be in water, and that had been a mistake, too. Maybe he hadn’t worked with as many supernaturals as he wanted me to think.

  I couldn't believe anything TNC told me. They'd proven themselves to be a corporation of lies. But the question remained…why?

  The corporate equivalent of a serial killer, Jesse had said.

  I shuddered, feeling numb and sick. I picked up more of the file folders and flipped through them. This one documented the development of a vaccine that had killed and maimed tens of thousands in Bolivia, the next one detailed toxic piping developed and sold to unknowing contractors who then used it to build whole suburbs. Over a period of years, residents became ill and many of them died before it was ever linked to the metals which had leached into the water.

  As I looked over the documents, a thread began to appear.

  "All of these lead to human death and suffering," I said, shoving another folder away from me. "None of them are purely environmental or limited to disasters where no one got hurt. Someone always gets hurt." A vitriolic wrath was seething under the surface of my calm.

  Jesse looked thoughtful. "Yes. You're right. They all hurt people. None of these incidents happen in remote regions or have zero human casualties. Still, the question is why."

  It didn’t matter how great Project Expansion looked, I was certain it had invisible fangs. It was no longer enough to get myself out of TNC and keep the Elemental girls out too, someone had to stop TNC for good.

  I looked at my watch. It was nearly midnight. I got to my feet. "Have you got anything else I should see?"

  He splayed his hands at the mess on the floor. "Just more of the same, but no real answers. What are you doing?"

  I grabbed my car keys and headed for the door when a thought struck.

  "Petra?" Jesse sounded nervous. He got to his feet. "Where are you going?"

  "Can you make copies of all of TNC's data?"

  "I already have," he said, then shrugged one shoulder. "Well, not all of it because the company is massive and has servers all over the world."

  "Start with Field Station Eleven," I said. "Make copies of everything you find there. I want to know what's behind Project Expansion. Are you able to make all this information public?"

  "I can, but it'll take time."

  "Good." I headed down the stairs.

  "Petra, wait." Jesse scrambled to his feet. "I'm coming with you."

  "No.” I turned back to him as I snagged his coat from its hook. It would be too big but at least it was dry. “Can I borrow this?”

  “Oh…kay.” He looked confused.

  “I have to do this alone,” I explained, pulling his coat on. “If you want to help, do what you're good at. Make a virus that will handicap their technology or better yet, bring their whole system down. Bring them down from the inside."

  "What are you going to do?"

  I barely paused to answer as I headed out the door. "I’m going to bring them down from the outside."

  Saxony

  My phone buzzed against my side on my bed where I lay with my laptop, scrolling through UK government pages and making notes on everything I needed to gather for my student visa application. I still hadn't made a decision about TNC's Project, but I thought it smart to apply for my visa so that there would be no delay if we decided against the job.

  Feeling sleepy and only half paying attention to what I was reading, my brain was still in the wilderness, replaying the events of the time at the field station over and over. I picked up my phone and answered it absently.

  "Hello?"

  "Saxony?"

  "Petra?" I sat up quickly, alarmed. "Are you all right? You sound upset." She'd only said my name but her voice was saturated with something…something not good. Anger? Panic? I didn't know her well enough to guess.

  "I'm fine. Listen." Her voice was so flinty, so determined.

  My skin prickled. "I'm listening."

  "Tell the other girls I'm really sorry, but the whole thing is off."

  "Off? What do you mean?"

  "Project Expansion. It’s not happening anymore. I can't talk now but I learned
some things about TNC." Petra sucked in a breath. "Let's just say they don't play well with others. We should not only not trust them, we should trust that they have nasty intentions."

  "What do you mean? Like what?"

  "I can't go into it right now, and honestly, you'd be better off just going back to your original plans, whatever they were, before we met. Just move on with your life. Forget about TNC."

  How was I supposed to forget about the incredible experience of creating a viable place to live out of nonviable land? What was it Petra had learned? Whatever it was, it sounded bad. "You're scaring me, Petra. What can I do? Do you want to meet and we can talk this through? I want to help."

  "That's very sweet of you, but I have to deal with them on my own, my way. Pass on my apologies to the other girls. I'm really sorry I dragged you guys into this mess."

  Mess? "What mess?"

  I heard a car door slam. "I gotta go, Saxony. I wish you the best, I really do. Maybe one day we can meet up and I'll be able to explain it better."

  Why did she sound like she was certain that day would never come? Curiosity and concern surged like waves inside of me. "Petra, wait! Where are you? I'll come to you!"

  The phone went dead.

  "Ugh." I let out a frustrated sigh. Chewing my lip with frustration, I hit dial and hoped to get her back on the line. Her ringtone just droned on without answer.

  I pounded out a text: What's going on, Petra? I want to help. Please.

  I waited, but there was no response.

  I checked the time. It was almost midnight. But I couldn't wait to tell my friends what had just happened so I sent the group an SOS.

  I just got the weirdest call from Petra. Either the Project is off, or Petra just made our decisions for us.

  Georjie wrote back immediately. What do you mean?

  Me: She didn't say, but she sounded upset. She's not picking up or answering my texts. Something has gone horribly wrong. I have to submit my application tomorrow, but meet you guys at school at mid-morning break?

  Georjie: No prob, see you then.

  Targa: I'll be there.

  Akiko chimed in with: I'm doing a little work at the library in the morning but I'll meet you at lunch hour.

  Me: Sounds good. See you guys tomorrow.

  Petra

  I turned my car down an unmarked road thickly lined with pines. I looked at my phone and watched the blinking light that represented me and how I was drawing closer and closer to the GPS coordinates for FS11 I'd taken from Jesse's notes. It was just shy of four a.m.

  I'd had several calls from Saxony when I'd first left Saltford, but when I didn't answer, she'd given up. I would call her when I was done with FS11, as I knew she'd told the others right away and they'd be dying of curiosity. It was better not to tell them any more until I'd executed my plan.

  I tossed my phone into the glove compartment and went on without it. It would be no good to me anyway, from the first moment I threw out an EMP.

  The forest was familiar, the same kind that we had driven through to get to the plot of clear cut land where the Elemental girls and I had built the prototype.

  As a clearing along the side of the road came into view, I pulled my car off the double track and parked it. After killing the engine, I got out, closed the door, and took a deep breath of the fresh night air. I continued down the road on foot.

  I felt something in the pocket of the coat I’d borrowed from Jesse and pulled out a pair of sunglasses. I tucked them into a chest pocket inside the coat so I didn't lose them, then pulled up the zipper against the bite in the air.

  It had not rained here the way it had in Saltford. It was cold and humid, but the ground was dry.

  It was the darkest part of night, the time of night when sleep was deepest, when even dreams had ceased and the weary drew renewal from profound slumber.

  Though the world was asleep, I was wide awake and I expected TNC's security would be wide awake as well.

  I expected I'd meet someone soon.

  A tall and solid wall came into view, running through the trees to my left and right, cutting off the rest of the world from FS11. I'd reached the compound proper, but I had never approached it from the ground before. Every time I'd come here I had been flown in by helicopter.

  My sneakers were silent on the needle-carpeted road but as I rounded a gentle curve, a bright coin of light came on and threw a beam which swung from side to side. It fell on me, paused, then passed back and forth over me as though determining I was alone. It settled on me again.

  "Miss Kara?!"

  The voice was not familiar to me, and it sounded both surprised and relieved.

  "What are you doing out here? You'd better stop there and let me check with Miss Marks. I don't have any intel that you're due to enter this side of the station, or even due here at all this morning."

  I continued to walk until the light was so bright it made me squint. I waved a hand and the beam of light moved off to the side and out of my eyes. I'd given the light a gentle mental shove, but there was a thud and the sound of thick plastic breaking.

  "Hey!" the voice protested. "Was that…was that you?" There was indiscernible muttering, probably cursing supernaturals…unless he was one, of course.

  Like Jesse had implied, Ibby and I could be the only supernaturals in the whole corporation, or this compound could be riddled with them. Whatever was on the other side of these gates, I wouldn't be letting it stand in my way.

  The booth and gate sharpened in my vision, also the single guard they'd stationed at this entrance. Even in the short time I had worked for TNC, I had learned that they were anything but slack on security. I could only see one guard, but others would not be far away.

  There was the sound of footsteps on metallic stairs as the guard descended from the booth to the ground.

  The hum in my cortex began as I threw my force-field out around me in a bubble wide enough that if something incendiary hit, I wouldn't be totally blinded by the blast.

  The guard came to stand in front of me on the other side of the gate, which was a grid of thick, welded wire. He had a weapon in a holster at his hip, but he'd not drawn it. I was an employee, after all, and that knowledge gave me some benefit of the doubt. His face was a pale apparition in the darkness of the night.

  "What's going on? Why are you here?"

  "What's your name?" I asked calmly.

  "Pete." He seemed to take some comfort from this familiar interaction. Some of the anxiety went out of his eyes.

  "Pete, I've terminated my contract with TNC and you should do the same. Please open the gate. I'll only ask once."

  His eyes widened and he lifted the radio in his hand to his mouth. "Requesting backup at—"

  I flicked my fingers and the radio flew sideways. It landed out of sight behind the wall.

  Pete stared at me, wide-eyed, before saying, "Oh, boy."

  Allowing the gate to pass through my force-field, I stepped up and put my hand on the metal. I had allowed the gate to pass through the force-field without really thinking about it, and as I did, a realization struck which both amazed and delighted me. I could fracture my own force-field into sections without compromising the strength of the pieces I wanted to keep working. I could move the fractured pieces about as I wished, and the sections were just as strong as the bubble when it was whole.

  "…not without losing my job…" Pete was saying.

  I had been so startled by the revelation about my force-field that I'd missed part of what he'd said. It didn't matter, he wasn't going to open the gate, and I hadn’t expected him to.

  "Stand back, please."

  Pete put up a hand, palm out, while the other went half-heartedly to the weapon at his hip. I felt sorry for him. He didn't want any trouble. "Please, don't,” he said. “Whatever you're doing, don't—"

  With a flick of my fingers, I sent a piece of the field up to protect Pete from shrapnel, and with the other hand I sent a wave of energy through the gate. />
  With a loud crack, the gate shattered into millions of metal fragments which should have seriously injured if not killed both of us. I heard the spray skitter across the fields in front of Pete and me. The multitude of blue ripples, like freckles, illustrated exactly where the fields began and ended.

  Pete had crouched and brought his hands up when the gate exploded, but was now peeking out from between his arms, focused on the diminishing ripples in the air in front of his face. His expression was one of amazement. The blue ripples revealed an invisible oval barrier between his flesh and the deadly slivers of metal. It was just the same as the oval barrier in front of me.

  I walked by him, letting the field in front of Pete vanish. I sealed myself in, closing the field behind me.

  "Send instructions to evacuate," I said over my shoulder as I continued down the double track, "and then go home."

  Without waiting for his response, I began to jog through the trees.

  There was silence behind me, and then footsteps pounding on the stairs. I could hear the urgent drone of Pete's voice through the glass of the booth. He wasn't going to listen to me. Of course, he wasn't. There was nothing I could do about that.

  What I hadn't expected was for him to fire at my back.

  When the barks of his weapon came, they made me jump with surprise. I turned as the first bullet ricocheted and the second and third shattered in two bright pulses of light. Blue ripples crisscrossed over me, cross-hatching and revealing my field momentarily.

  I heard Pete calling for backup, sounding more frantic than ever. I turned my back and kept jogging as he fired more bullets. Underneath my calm and rational words, rage seethed like an angry bear. I kept it caged. What I was doing needed to be calculated, not emotional. I had to keep my wits about me.