by Loki Renard
“Orders from who?” He didn’t really even need to ask the question, and Isri didn’t need to answer—just as well, as she didn’t bother.
He’d left it too late. Been too smug and certain of his own abilities. Of course Centillion would betray them. There was no loyalty in the collective.
“Going to have to manually override the door,” he muttered, handing Sabine the bag. “Hold this.”
“Manually override? What does that mean?”
“It means this,” he said, drawing back his foot. He slammed it forward, the flat of his boot catching the door dead center. It did not stand up to violence very well, flying from its hinges and skidding across the hall.
“That was ill-advised, Mr. Monterey. Your accounts will be debited accordingly.”
He was almost certain that his accounts would already have been frozen. Having gotten through his door didn’t mean anything either. Unless he was prepared to kick in every door and tear through every wall between here and the river, they were done for.
From being the king of his castle, to finding himself trapped like a rat, Maxim despaired as he turned and looked at Sabine. She was staring at him with wide eyes, expecting him to know what to do. Expecting him to be able to keep her safe.
He had failed her.
Centillion had been watching his every move from the beginning, knew his every sin, his every thought. If Isodor asked, they would answer. Soon, nothing would be hidden from the vile general.
Escaping the clutches of Centillion’s sphere of influence was Maxim’s first priority. The one thing he had to his advantage was the height of their tower block. They were fifteen hundred feet in the air. That no doubt caused Centillion command to believe that they were trapped, but they were about to be proved very, very wrong.
“Remember when you said people shouldn’t live up this high because they can’t fly?”
“Yes…”
“We’re about to. Come here.”
She followed him back into the apartment, looking confused, and then scared as he took out a weapon and pointed it at the bank of windows that looked out over the finest real estate in the world.
“Cover your ears,” he said a second before pulling the trigger. Glass shattered in a grand cascade, shards gleaming in the light as they arced outward in a parabola of sharp chaos. Maxim made sure his bag was fastened securely over his shoulders and across his waist, then he grabbed Sabine in the tightest grip he could and threw both her and himself out the window.
Sabine screamed in terror, and well she might because for a full second they did nothing but plummet. That second may as well have been an eternity before the wings on his back unfolded from the pack and their descent gave them enough uplift to glide away from the tower and out toward the river.
They zipped between buildings, catching updrafts the nearer they got to the taller structures. It was a dangerous flight with very little power. The wings had the capacity to rise a mile or two on their own, but only a handful of times. It took skill to use the natural currents, ride the eddies, and trust the technology even as Sabine was stiff with fear in his grasp, his grip the only thing between her and the ground.
There was no pursuit. Not yet. Centillion technology meant no pursuit was really necessary, the moment they made land, every bit of security would rush to their location. He knew their paths were being tracked, probably calculated before they even took them.
A gust of wind blew them toward a building and Maxim struggled to control their trajectory. These wings were of a basic metal and foil construction, powered by a simple battery. There was very little to them and that was both their downfall and their saving grace. He could have taken Sabine up to the roof and taken one of the private helicopters up there, but that was too high tech. It would have been like sealing themselves inside a flying cell that would no doubt be taken over just like Isri had been and used to transport them directly to Isodor.
From here on out, he would have to resort to simple low-tech methods of survival. He was going to have to go back to his roots, the way he had been trained as a boy in Ere.
He had hoped to make it across the vast gleaming waters of the Hudson, but there just wasn’t enough power in the wings. They had started a gentle descent from which he could not recover, and though it was happening slowly and gracefully, that did not make it any less dangerous as they headed toward the toxic waters.
“We’re going into the river,” he shouted to Sabine, struggling to have his voice heard over the wind. “Don’t panic!”
“I can’t swim!”
Her panicked cry almost came too late. As they splashed into the Hudson’s flow, Maxim jettisoned the wings and turned over onto his back to keep Sabine atop him and out of the water, which was contaminated with every kind of runoff imaginable. He kicked for all he was worth, swimming his hardest toward the opposite bank. There were water drones capable of capturing them and in the sky above the water he could see the familiar specks of surveillance craft watching them. Their escape was far from perfect, and it was far from over.
Every kick propelled them a foot closer to the bank, even as the flow swept them downstream. His legs were working full force to try to prevent them from drifting too far, he could see the sparking lines of Centillion’s electrocharging water gates not half a mile off, and if they hit them, then there wouldn’t be anything left of them to either rescue or capture.
By some miracle, they managed to make it to the far shore. He was exhausted and Sabine was shivering with wet and cold and probably shock. He’d put the princess through more in the last half hour than she’d been put through in her entire life, and he wasn’t sure she had the constitution to take it.
He picked her up and carried her again, running from the riverbank toward a series of old buildings, crumbling into themselves. They needed to get under cover and away from any surveillance. He had no doubt that Centillion would betray their location all over again, though he was holding onto the hope that they would not go so far as to actually allow his horde passage through their territory. Odds were, if Isodor wanted them, he was going to have to go around the river, and that would take time. Enough time for them to dry off and warm up and eat something, at least. Maybe more.
Pulling off his clothes, he wrung them out and draped them over a warm rock. Sabine was watching him with wide eyes that were glazed with a reaction he knew was probably shock. He reached for her and gently pulled her clothing from her body. They needed to dry off as quickly as possible before the sun went down and the evening grew cold.
She was already shivering even though it was warm, goosebumps raised across her skin as he drew her close to his body and held her as tight as possible while still allowing her to breathe.
“It’s okay, pet,” he soothed. “I know it’s been frightening. But we’re okay. You’re okay. Talk to me, Sabine.”
Her teeth were chattering, and as he looked down and pushed the hair out of her eyes, he saw that she was looking ever more faint. The cumulative stress had been too much for the princess’ delicate nerves and her mind and body were starting to shut down as a result. He had to keep her warm and he had to settle her nerves. Quickly.
Sitting down, he cradled her in his lap and began to hum a soothing tune while reaching for the bag of supplies. There was clean water in it, and he managed to get her to drink a few sips before she shook her head and refused to take more.
“Hungry?”
She shook her head again.
“You have to talk to me, Sabine. Come on.” He bounced her gently. “Tell me what’s going on.”
She looked at him properly, her eyes focusing on his for the first time since their escape. Her blue gaze was cool and collected in a thoroughly eerie way, and when she spoke her voice was high and thin, as if she was very far away.
“He’s coming for me, and he’s going to get me.”
“No,” Maxim repeated. “He’s not going to get you.”
“There’s no escaping him,�
�� she said, speaking with a strange lilt that he found quite unsettling. “He’ll pursue me through one world and into the next. There’s no escaping him, even if I die. There’s no escape.”
“Sabine!” He snapped her name harshly. “That’s enough!”
She blinked and looked at him and for a second, she seemed like her old self.
“Why are you yelling at me?” Her lower lip began to tremble.
“You have to keep the faith, Sabine. You have to want to escape him. If you give up and give in, he’ll win. I’ll fight for you with everything I have. But you have to fight for yourself too. Understand?”
She nodded, a little half-gesture that did not inspire him with much confidence. From the moment they had seen Isodor’s face on the screen, she had been like a shadow of herself. Gone was the brave, bold princess who had fled between worlds. In her place was this timid creature who seemed all too ready to give up.
He had to find some way to get her out of this mental state. He’d never figured he’d be trying to make her more rebellious and hard to handle, but that was what they needed now.
“Remember how you felt when you first came through the gate?”
“I was stupid,” she shivered against him, her knees drawn up. “I should have known it would never work. You caught me in less than an hour. And now he’s come for me with an army. How can I escape him?”
“With me,” Maxim reminded her. “I’m on your side, Princess.”
“What can you do against an army?”
He smiled at her and dropped a kiss on her forehead. “They don’t have you yet, do they, Sabine? And they won’t get you either. Not as long as I’m breathing.”
* * *
Sabine wanted to believe him. It was not for lack of faith in his strength that she was so uncertain. It was the horrible sense of dark fate that she could not shake and that only grew stronger with every feat of escape Maxim performed. How much longer could they continue to cheat destiny? How many more near-misses could they scrape through? The experience of being thrown from a tall building was one that would stay with her for a long time, the wind rushing by, nothing to stop her from a deadly fall but the arms of the man who had sworn to protect her. Everything seemed to be against them.
She rested her head on his shoulder and nuzzled under his neck, letting his hands roam her naked form. For once, there was nothing carnal about his touch. It was soothing and loving and she couldn’t resist it for long. The tension that had frozen her and left her feeling dizzy and distant started to dissipate and she felt as though she was coming back to her body, taking full possession of her own flesh again.
Golden sunlight filtered through the trees above their heads and slowly but surely, she started to feel better. Maxim hadn’t let her down yet. Not once.
She tipped her head to look up at him. “You’re sure they can’t get us here?”
“We’ve landed in M-Space,” he murmured.
“Your space?”
“No, that’s the name, it refers to an ancient social company. One of the first. It’s defunct now, but the other corporations recognize this territory as both sovereign and holy. Isodor will receive no help to come here. This is a place of refuge.”
“So we can stay here and be safe?”
“We can move through here,” he said. “It’s still too close to the gate for my liking, but for the moment, we are safe. Just without any of the luxuries. We’ll have to survive the in the old ways. I’m going to make a fire. If your clothes are dry, put them back on. It’s going to get cold.”
Over the next hour or so, he built a fire and they clothed themselves again and she started to feel a little better as she finally got some food down. Maxim sat with his back against a rock and she sat between his legs, her head resting on his chest, his arms wrapped around her. It wasn’t as comfortable as their Centillion bed had been, but she felt safe and secure enough to drift off to sleep.
When she woke up again, she was curled up against his side, his arms still around her. The embers of the fire were glowing but the fire itself had died down and there was a fresh smell of morning that seemed to bring hope with it.
“Morning,” he rumbled.
“You’re awake.”
“Have been for a while,” Maxim said. “I didn’t want to move and wake you up.”
She smiled and squirmed up to kiss him. “You’re sweet.”
“Mhm, real sweet,” he said, patting her butt. “Time to get up now. We’ve got ground to cover today. I’m hoping to put some real miles between us and Isodor.”
Sabine felt the internal shiver she always did whenever that name was mentioned, but she tried to hide it and be brave. At least they weren’t trapped in a tower anymore. At least there was some chance of escape.
Breakfast was dried meat substitute and some fresh water, hardly delicious by any world’s standards, but it was going to have to do.
They were sitting and chewing beside the fire when the stranger came.
“Quiet,” Maxim hissed as the bushes rustled. A moment later a man stepped out. He was about twenty-five years of age with dark hair and dark eyes and a happy, if not somewhat internally disconnected smile.
“Hi,” he said with a lopsided grin. “I’m Tim. Nice to see you, friends.”
Maxim breathed an audible sigh of relief.
“Do you know him?” Sabine whispered curiously. “Is he a friend?”
“Nobody knows him,” Maxim replied. “This is just what he does. He’s a specter of old tech, a figment of AI. A bit like Isri, if Isri was defunct. He’s not really here. Just ignore him.”
Tim settled down next to them, smiling merrily. “It’s been a while since I made any new friends,” he said. “Been a while since anyone came around here.”
“That sounds lonely,” Sabine sympathized. Unlike Isri, this man did the courtesy of actually being there to be looked at, and as far as she could tell, he was a real person just like her. The difference between man and machine really still wasn’t entirely clear to her. Maxim said machines did as they were told and didn’t have emotions, but Isri had betrayed them and that seemed like an emotional choice as far as Sabine was concerned. She’d never liked that woman in the wall. But this man, he seemed much more friendly and genuine.
“It is lonely,” Tim agreed. “But now I have you two. Two new friends!”
“We have to go,” Maxim said. “Can’t stay here. They’ll have eyes on us soon enough, assuming there aren’t already a pack of nano-drones clinging to us.”
“Maybe Tim could help us?”
“Sure!” Tim beamed. “I love to help my friends. Especially the new ones.”
“Sabine, stop talking to it,” Maxim growled. “It’ll follow us.”
“He’s grumpy,” Sabine explained to Tim. “Because we’re being chased by very bad people.”
“Why don’t you just block them?”
“Block them?”
“Choose your settings so you can’t see what they have to say.”
“It’s not what they say. It’s what they do,” Sabine tried to explain. “It’s… hey!”
Maxim had grabbed her by the hand and was pulling her away from the AI.
“I told you,” he growled at her. “We don’t have time to waste talking to ghosts. You’re not going to get any sense out of that thing.”
If Tim was a ghost, he was the nicest ghost Sabine could have imagined. He followed them for hours, chatting away merrily about various bands and book readings and other interesting events that didn’t seem to be actually taking place amid the rubble of what had presumably once been a civilization of some kind. Sabine liked his prattling, it kept her mind off the seriousness of their situation, and after a while Maxim gave up trying to dissuade her from chatting with Tim and instead concentrated on clearing the path they were to take.
The old streets and sidewalks and buildings were still there, but in dusty crumbled form, taken over by trees and vines and grasses. It was actually quite a b
eautiful place, very different from the busy Nile and Centillion enclaves. For the first time, Sabine had some sense of space and the kind of solitude that comes from being away from civilization. The simple act of walking was helping her to calm down too, and now that she could no longer see a rolling news feed of her imminent capture, she was starting to feel much more hopeful about everything.
“You’re sure we can’t just stay here?” She tugged at Maxim’s arm. “We can’t just hide out and make a little house and live in these ruins?”
“Not here,” he insisted. “But there are other places you’ll like, I promise. Safer places.”
“But it’s nice here.”
“It’s not,” Maxim said. “Really, Sabine, it isn’t. These are haunted lands.”
“He’s not in a good mood, is he?” Tim whispered.
“He hardly ever is,” she giggled back.
“Why are you in such a hurry?”
“We’re being chased,” Sabine reminded Tim. “By someone who wants me to marry him.”
“Ah, a love triangle,” Tim said understandingly.
“No, not a love triangle. Just us and a horrible monster who thinks he owns me.”
“So not a friend,” Tim said sadly.
“No. Definitely not a friend.”
“Hurry up, Sabine!” Maxim snapped at her. “If we don’t make good time, we’ll find ourselves with a whole lot of new friends. Hundreds, maybe thousands of them.”
Tim’s eyes lit up. “Hundreds of friends!”
“They’re not really friends,” Maxim warned. “If they come this way, you should avoid them. They’ll hurt you if they can.”
“But I’m everyone’s friend,” Tim said, sounding terribly forlorn.
* * *
This was getting beyond a joke. The AI was a distraction that they didn’t have time for. They needed to be making their way out of M-Space and into one of the other friendly territories where he would have a chance to stock up on supplies and engage real transport. While they were still on foot, they were easy targets. Their heat signatures would be lighting the area like Christmas tree baubles.
