All Light Will Fall (12 page)

Niaysia was magnificent. The land was rich with beauty.
Golden falls stretched for miles across the plains. Fresh water lagoons and
crystal monuments of stone rolled into the skyline. Creatures of all kinds
roamed the forests. Bushy tails scurried in the underbrush. Scaly reptiles
disappeared underground. Other creatures took flight. Their chrome wings
glistened in the daylight. They glided together, forming tornadoes in the air.

By the time I reached the rendezvous point, the night had
settled. A stream of stars lit the sky. They were in motion, gliding into a
spiral of light.

When the sun faded, the darkness never came. A bright energy
rose from the ground. They looked like small heart beats of light. I watched in
fascination as they disappeared into the trees, and the flowers, and every
living thing that surround me. Once inside, the energy began to pulse. Bright
ribbons branched out from that concentrated energy, bringing light to the dark
around me.

The light followed me. Wherever I stepped, the plants and
trees would glow. When I passed them by, their light died out. The energy was a
beacon, sensing the movement of all that stirred in the forest.

My halo-com blinked. “You are arriving at your destination,”
it said. The ocean was just ahead. I could feel the wind of the sea, hear it
whispering into the night.

A gold flicker of light highlighted the wood line. Soft
voices echoed in the quiet. “I know you’re behind me,” I said. “It’s Celeste.”

“You’re late, 2102,” Raine smirked. “I’m sure you know what
that means.” I ignored him. Regardless of my returned memories, Raine was still
a pain. But I had to be careful. If I acted suspicious in any way, he would be
the first to notice.

“The rest of us are on the beach,” Raine said. He brushed
passed me and disappeared into the trees. I followed him to the beach. The sand
was crystal blue, as if it wasn’t sand at all. The ocean waves were a frothy
red, crashing against the shore. It was beautiful the way the sea rolled in,
the ruby waters and sands of sapphire blending together, turning the beach to
violet.

“I’ve seen that look,” Raine said. “Don’t let the dazzle of
this place fool you,” he warned.

When we joined with the others, they were stunned by my
appearance. Kitty gasped and threw her arms around me. “Oh, Celeste I was so
worried about you!” she squealed. “I thought that maybe you wouldn’t make it
and leave me all alone, but then I thought wouldn’t it be nice if Celeste did
die because then I’d have Tank all to myself. Then I started feeling bad about
getting jealous like a pathetic little girl and decided that I did want you to
be safe since I can always fight you for my love later when we’re not trying
to...”

“Kitty,” I interrupted tenderly, “I’m happy to see you too.”

She smiled. “Come sit next to me. We’re doing a recall.”

We sat side-by-side on a tree stump. The Alamo team was all
present. Luke was laying in the sand with his head propped against a log. West
sat with his elbows resting atop his knees. He looked irritated. Urban, on the
other hand, was busy scratching the side of his neck. It looked like something
had stung him.

Together, we looked defenseless and completely off guard.
But that wasn’t the case, however. Everyone was tense. I could feel it.

“I’ll begin,” Raine said. West straightened up and Urban
stropped his scratching.

“Just to be sure,” Luke said, “no one has a problem with
Raine leading this group, do they?” Everyone looked my way. I stared right back
at them, saying nothing.

Raine grinned, giving me a look. “Let’s get started,” he
said. He lit his halo-com, expanding the image for us all to see. “As we all
know, we’ve been assigned to zone-13. About an hour ago, New Eden scheduled us
for a group add on. Zone-13 is just outside the charted zone, so they want more
arsenals to go in and clear the area. They also sent a satellite scan of the
area. It’s located near a mountain range eighty miles to the west. We need to get
there as fast as possible, so I don’t want anyone lagging behind. When we
travel, we stay together. But if anyone gets separated, remember that the
mission comes first,” he paused. “Any questions?”

We were silent. Raine nodded. “Good. Let’s move out.”

We followed his order, making our way across the sand. Kitty
stayed beside me. She stared at me for a while as if she wanted to say
something. “Celeste,” she whispered. Her voice was so quiet, so fragile.

“Fear does not exist, because fear is not in my mind,” I
told her. “Say it.”

“Fear does not exist, because fear is not in my mind,” she
repeated.

“Don’t forget it,” I said. She nodded then faced forward.

Those words were all I gave her. Whether I was Corrine or
Celeste, this was all I could say. Whether I was Corrine or Celeste, her fear
did not matter to me. Nothing mattered to me but the Ellis I could not leave
behind, and the home I would risk everything to return to.

The morning light gently woke the planet. I almost didn’t want
the light to come, not wanting to see the day. If I saw the sunrise, it would
all be too real. What ARTIKA had done to me, how they mutated me, how they
corrupted me—everything would come spiraling back.

“You’re lagging, 2102!” Raine said from behind. He gave me a
shove forward. I grabbed him suddenly and yanked him down into the sand, and
before I knew it, before I could even think, I was on top of him, holding a
knife to his throat. There was a dark shine in his eyes. I knew that look. He
was challenging me. “You want to kindly lower that thing?” he hissed.

I gripped the knife. My breaths were heavy. I didn’t know
what I was doing. My instincts just reacted. I couldn’t control it. “That’s
enough,” West said. “Let it go, Celeste.”

My hand shook. I didn’t understand it. Why couldn’t I just
let it go? Why did I want to rip his throat apart so much? The urge was
incredible. “I won’t warn you again,” I said. “Watch yourself.” Raine smirked,
forcing me off of him. I stood up and dusted the sand from my suit.

“What were they thinking putting the two of them on the same
team?” Luke said.

West shrugged. “I don’t know, but it’s way too early for all
this.”

“Celeste,” Kitty called. She hurried over to me, looking me
up and down. “Are you alright? Do you feel unstable?” she asked.

I shooed her away. “Stop it. I’m fine.”

“Hey, look who’s back,” Luke said. We all looked north of
the beach. It was Urban. He was coming out of the tree line carrying something
odd.

“Look at this,” he said.

“What is that?” Kitty asked.

“It’s a fruit. The natives call it
gupa
.”

“It could be poisonous,” Luke said.

“It shouldn’t be. The native’s eat it often enough.”

“I don’t think I’ll risk it,” West commented.

“Me either,” Kitty agreed.

“Just cut the damn thing open already,” Raine ordered. We
looked at him. It seemed he was as impatient as he was arrogant.

“Alright,” Urban said. He drew a knife, pressing the blade
against the fruit. We waited. “Well,” he said, “here it goes.”

Just as he was about to start, I heard a noise. “Hold it,” I
said. They looked up at me.

“What is it?” West asked.

I looked to the trees. There was a strange humming sound
coming from the woods. “Something’s headed this way,” I said.

Raine and West picked up their weapons. “I hear it too,”
Kitty said. “What is that?”

The hiss grew louder. “I don’t know, but let’s get a move on
before we find out,” Raine ordered. I picked up my life pack and readied the
mr2. “Let’s go,” Raine said.

From a distance, I saw someone break from the trees. He was
running, shooting wildly into the wood line.

“Who the hell is that?” West asked.

As the figure neared, I recognized exactly who it was. “Is
that...”

“Tank!” Kitty shouted. She tried running after him, but I
held her back.

A red mist drifted over the beach, swallowing the four
arsenals behind Tank. “Run!” he shouted. “Run!” Raine and I took the lead,
racing through the sand. Screams filled the air. The dark cloud grew louder and
louder, rising high above us.

Something hissed in my ear. I looked to the left. It was an
insect, and there were thousands of them all around us. One of them landed on
my shoulder and bit into my skin. I caught it in my hand and crushed it.

They came one after the other, latching onto my arms and
legs. I tried fending them off, but there were too many. The swarm thickened. I
saw only red, and the flutter of a million papery wings. Over the shrill
buzzing, someone screamed my name.

Glancing back, I saw Kitty turn and race over to Tank. He
was kneeling in the sand with his hands to his throat. I turned and chased
after her.

“Tank, get up!” she cried.

There was no way he could. The bite wounds he suffered were
a fleshy red, the skin bubbling all around his neck. “He can’t breathe,” I
said.

“Do something!” Kitty screamed, shooting into the swarm. I
moved behind him, searching his gear until I found his case of halos. “What are
you doing?” Kitty shouted. “Those are...”

“I know what they are,” I said. I uncapped the vial and
stuck him with it. He inhaled, choking on the blood in his throat.

“Tank,” Kitty shouted.

He waved his hand. “I’m good,” he said heavily.

“Let’s move,” I told him.

He nodded. I helped him up, and the three of us were running
again. Tank couldn’t keep up. The longer we ran, the farther behind he became.
Kitty looked back, ready to stop again.

“Go!” he snapped.

I held Kitty by the arm. “Come on!” I ordered.

“We can’t leave him!” she screamed.

I looked back. Tank was gone. He had been swallowed by the
swarm. I felt another sting against my neck. “He’s gone,” I said. Kitty turned.
I pulled at her again, forcing her to keep moving.

Suddenly, the world began to slow. I could hear my heart
beating. I felt the earth turn. Then I saw Kitty. She was ahead of me. She was
moving so fast—too fast. Then she was falling, sinking deep underground. It
must have been an illusion, but when I heard her scream, everything became
real.

I was quick, skidding in the sand to catch her. “Celeste!”

“I have you,” I said. Our fingers brushed and then she fell.
The sand closed in around her and then she was gone. “Kitty!” I clawed at the ground.
Where did she go? “Kitty!” I dug deep. “Kitty!” I dug deeper. There was only
sand.

I tried to move, but my legs were caught. The ground was
pulling at me. I was sinking. The sand sucked me in and I fell into the dark,
tumbling through a tunnel of rock. My body beat hard against the walls, ripping
and rolling until I hit the ground.

All was quiet. I sat up with a dull pain in my side. The air
was thick and smelled of rot. Even the darkness was heavy, so physical I felt
it creeping all around me. I lit my halo-com to brighten the way. The cave
walls were long and narrow, branching into several different channels. They
were smooth too, perfectly circular. These walls were not made by water.

I took the first tunnel on the right. My halo-com couldn’t catch
a signal. I was blind. Eerie sounds came from the dark. These sounds, they were
following me. There was something living down here, and as the sounds came
closer, I finally realized it: I was being hunted.

I picked up my pace, reaching the end of the tunnel. The
cave stood tall in the dark, but still there was light. I looked up, searching
for that wink of sun. But it wasn’t the daylight. It was something else, and
there were hundreds of them, thousands of bright cocoons clinging to the walls.

Then I heard it. It was behind me. I turned, aiming the mr2.
The creature coiled out from the dark. It hissed, rising high into the air. I
stood my ground and I fired. The creature retaliated. Six powerful limbs shot
from its body. I dogged the first and ducked beneath the second arm of muscle.
A smaller tentacle sprung from the left, crashing into my side. I flew and hit
the wall. The pain was bearable, but I couldn’t move my arm. My shoulder was
out of place.