Human Again: A Dystopian Sci-Fi Novel (Cryonemesis Book 1) (13 page)

“I'll kill you. I'll fucking kill you,” I heard Bahomi shout.

Bahomi stood above me, kicking my ribs. I heard one of them crack. Dev came to my aid and was strong in comparison to someone just waking up from assimilated sleep.

“Don't you see what he has done?” Bahomi shouted while Dev held him against the wall.

“It's not his fault, he got caught too,” Shanta said to my defense.

“He brought her to us!”

Shanta and the rest looked at me.

“I didn't.”

I was in so much pain that I couldn't speak much.

“He just freed you from assimilation you idiot!” Shanta shouted.

“We don't…have time,” I said in pain.

Toya helped me up. It was a weird picture. Dev was retraining an enraged Bahomi while Toya was holding me up, with Shanta standing in the middle.

“Let me go!” Bahomi shook Dev off and stood next to the door facing us.

“I'm sick of your stupid plans over plans and never-ending contemplation,” Bahomi erupted with anger. “If it wasn't for him we'd be still on our original course!"

He swung his right arm at my face, but I pulled back.

“If it wasn’t for you we’d actually have a course!” He yelled.

He swung his fist again and I ducked under it, trying to make him angrier so he’d lose focus.

“You rat! You sold us out!”

This time he caught me with a kick to the ribs. I held on to his leg and punched his throat.  He caved in and started coughing. Then I tried to grab him by the neck and push him to the floor but he released himself with an elbow to my ribs. I heard another rib crack, or maybe it was the same one.

He stood up, still coughing. He looked at Shanta and said. “Is this what you want, this pacifist peace of shit? You know he let the Purist go? He just let him go.”

“How do you know that?” I asked. “You were out on the ground.”

“I should have left you there,” Bahomi said.

I lunged at him, shooting my fists at his face, trying to hold his neck. He got me in the ribs over and over again. The pain was almost stunning but my rage and adrenalin soothed it from paralyzing my body. I grabbed his neck and started to strangle him.

“I should have let him bash your head on the ground,” I said through clenched teeth.

In that moment, that’s exactly what I did. I pulled Bahomi’s neck and pushed it back into the wall behind him. Before I knew it, his face was turning blue.

“Stop! You’re killing him!” Shanta yelled.

She stopped me at the last moment, pulling at my arms.

She unclenched my hands, freeing Bahomi. He was almost unable to breath. I was furious and I tried to get back in position but Shanta was in my way.

“Both of you stop!” She said.

“Enjoy your last minutes of peace, “Bahomi laboredly whispered.

Then he ran away.

“Where does he think he can go?” I asked. “They will catch him and find us.”

“I don’t know,” Shanta replied.

My rib was pulsing with pain. It hurt every time I took a breath.

“Find him before he does something stupid,” Shanta commanded Dev, who then rushed out the room. “Make sure no one sees you!”

Dr. Manu looked at me and smiled.

“Glad you didn't take the janitor job.”

He knew. That son of a bitch knew. He drilled me hard to tip me to the resistance’s side.

“We can't all go out like nothing happened,” he said.

“We can't stay here either,” Shanta said.

Was Manu the one pulling her strings?

“We can go to the gun room,” I advised.

“And then what? We're trapped again with no water or food,” said Toya.

“Food and water are no problem,” said Dr. Manu, “I can reroute the pipes.”

“They will search for us there,” added Shanta.

The alarm was still blaring. They could’ve come at any moment. We were all looking at each other, clueless. What could we do next? Bahomi was on the loose with crazy eyes, and we were exposed. All our plans had turned to garbage, and we knew it.

Then the power dropped entirely. No light, no air conditioning, not even the emergency lighting kicked on. Complete silence and blackness.

“That's odd,” said Dr. Manu, “It doesn’t look like the backup generators are working.”

Chapter 16

The power was still down and the air was getting heavy and sticky.

“If the backup generators don’t start in a minute, it's going to get really hot in here,” said Dr. Manu.

“Purists, I’m assuming. Great timing,” I said.

Suddenly Shanta snapped.

“It's Bahomi. He's waking everyone up and disconnecting the simulators’ backup generators. This is the old plan.”

“If he disconnected the wrong ones it means there aren't backup generators for security either,” said Dr. Manu. “I have to go.”

Who knew how many of these people had actually left the simulation to walk around Knaan in the past week, month or even a year? Now they’d wake up in complete darkness and almost definitely panic. The silence and confusion would turn into frustration, which would quickly turn into panic and angry screams and demands for answers.

We started hearing the commotion through the pipes and air tunnels. The bursts of sounds became more frequent, yet after a few moments the AC started working again. So did the emergency lights. The PA system rattled.

“
This is president Padma. We’re fixing this problem. Please remain calm and stay in your rooms
.”

I was sure Padma's attempt to sooth the panic wouldn’t work. Predictably, we started hearing muffled explosions from above, like a fireworks show in a nearby city. I looked at Shanta.

“The invasion,” I said, “they waited for the moment our systems break.”

“We're not ready,” she said.

“We need guns.”

“I can get you guns.”

“I need you with me. We need to talk to your mom right now.”

I looked at Toya.

“Get us as many guns and as many magazines as you can carry, and meet us at the security room.”

They took off. Shanta and I sprinted to the security room. I could tell she had difficulty grasping the concept of her plan going south thanks to Bahomi. We ran up the stairs amidst the sounds of explosions and panicked shouting.

“People of Knaan. Please remain calm. Our security system is handling the situation.”

Thank you, Bahomi, for rushing the apocalypse.

We came next to the security room. There were many other people there, all dressed in white overalls. They were pale, skinny and some were hairless. They were looking for answers. The door was shut and two guards with guns stood by it. We pushed through the crowd until we reached the door.

“
Mom
!” Shanta shouted.

“
You need us!
”

The guards looked baffled. They probably didn't know about the resistance. That was something Padma would never share in a PA announcement.

“
Let us in!
”

She demanded one of the guards open the door, and although he recognized her he didn't know what to do.

“
I'm sorry. President's orders.
”

The other talked into his comm device, and the door soon opened and Padma emerged. She looked at us raging.

“
Catch them
!” She commanded.

We couldn't escape because the crowd was pushing against us, and the guards held us with their guns against our chests.

“
You need us. We're the only ones that know how to fight,
” Shanta said.

Then a voice from the inside reported: “
All sentinels down. Ten cameras down.
”

I said to Padma, “You can't let them near the openings.”

“
Take them back to assimilation and make sure they're locked this time.
”

Toya and Dev rushed in with guns, and pointed them at Padma.

“
Release them!
” Dev said.

Looking furious, Padma briefly paused, but then ordered them to let us go.

Toya and Dev handed us guns.

“
What do you want?
” Padma asked.

“
President Padma we need you here,
” a voice from inside the security room demanded.

“You must fire at a higher rate to keep them away from the hatch openings!” I shouted.

Padma reluctantly listened. She looked like she knew she was running out of options.

“
We're already doing that…what else?
”

“Give people guns,” I said.

“
Out of the question.
”

The muffled explosions sounded louder and nearer.

“You want it to be like twenty years ago? The people MUST defend themselves.”

“
President Padma we need you here, now!
”

A loud alarm sounded.

“
This is a security announcement, please remain in your beds and close the doors.
”

The people of the crowd ran away amok. Padma's face was white. She went inside and closed the door. I looked at Shanta for a clue.

“We've been breached.”

Before I managed to say anything else shots rang out from below, so we ran downstairs. In the main street people were screaming and trying to run for cover, pushing each other and falling over. But the shots didn't stop. We followed the noise and I finally saw two men with guns shooting at people. They were dressed in something that looked like a cactus suit but lighter, like it was made out of shiny silk. They looked like they had gas masks on, at least from what I could tell since they were facing the opposite direction. I aimed my gun at them and shot two bullets, one in each of their heads. They collapsed. The dead bodies of the city’s guards were strewn out in front of them, and there was blood everywhere. The room went silent for a second as people didn't understand who was firing at whom.

Then the chaos rose again.

“
Doctors! Where are the doctors?!
” Someone shouted.

I took a quick look, and there were about twenty dead bodies on the ground, and even more wounded. Then the smoke started rolling in. It burned. It was tear gas being piped in from the AC system.

“Shanta, they’re trying to scare us out.”

I coughed, and my eyes and nose ran. My vision blurred.

“Tell them to ask for whoever shot a gun in the simulation to report to the ammo room. Go!”

Shanta, Dev and Toya ran back to where we came from. I hoped she could convince her mom to listen.

The AC fans stopped and then started to work in reserve direction, sucking the tear gas out. I heard more gunshots from two different directions, then explosions.

I started running in the direction of the explosions, and then realized the zip lines on the ceiling could get me there faster. I grabbed a handle. A line on the floor became red and I swung through the main street and raised my gun. Four Purists came into my field of view. They were breaking down doors and shooting everyone inside the rooms. I shot them while swinging by. Blood splattered everywhere. I swung all the way around; take the Purists by surprise and shooting them in the back. The magazine ran empty.

People started carrying the wounded to the clinic. More tear gas poured in. The AC wasn't strong enough to suck everything out. I needed more ammo, so I went through the inner circle to the ammo room. Shanta, Dev and Toya were there handing guns to a crowd of kids. I looked at Shanta and she flashed a grin seeing that I was alive.

“How many guns do we have?” I asked Shanta.

“About a hundred.”

“That's all? What about magazines?”

She pointed at four crates of loaded magazines and more crates of bullets and empty magazines. It wasn't enough. I took five teens with me and showed them in which direction to load the bullet into the magazine.

“Don't stop until you can't push it down anymore. Load these as fast as you can.”

“All of you listen! We might not have another chance to reload, so listen carefully!”

All the teens looked at me with puppy eyes, young and innocent. Yet, full of adrenaline and hormones, ready to prove themselves.

“Save your bullets. Only one shot to the chest. When you aim, stay still and exhale.”

It didn't seem real at all but that's all we had; teenagers defending the underground city.

Purists were coming in by the dozens.

“I have an idea,” I said to Shanta, grabbing her by the hand. The teens would buy us the time.

“Where are we going?” She shouted.

“To the clinic, I need Viti's help.”

We ran like crazy. The sound of gunfire was constant by now. When we reached the door to the main street we kneeled and looked at each other.

“You can do it,” I said as we pushed the door and aimed at both directions.

Bullets whizzed past so we immediately closed the door.

“Shit shit shit.”

“Let's find another way,” she said.

I nodded.

She turned around but I kept my eyes on the door. She helped guide me as I walked backwards. Then the door cracked open and a grenade rolled in.

“GRENADE!” I shouted.

We ran past a corner and ducked behind it. The grenade exploded and the echo from the corridor made our ears ring. I lunged out from behind the corner, but there was no one there. Then the door opened and I shot a Purist right in the heart. Another one came through whom I shot in the head.

“Come!” I told Shanta but she didn’t listen. She was petrified.

I pulled her over and we went back again to the main street, stepping on the Purists' bodies. We took their gas masks and continued to the clinic. The clinic was guarded heavily by ten teenagers and two guards. They had turned the cryo cylinders into shields. I hoped those were thick enough.

They let us inside the clinic. It was chaotic. I only saw about eight doctors and there were more than fifty people stacked inside. Wounded people lay on the floor waiting for care. I went to Viti’s room. She was by now eight months pregnant. She was standing there trying to calm down another pregnant woman who’d been shot in the leg.

“Viti!”

“Roy! Are you hurt?”

“No I’m fine. I need your help.”

“Sure.” Her eyes lit up.

“Can you plug a laser gun inside the main street?”

“Technically yes…depends on the voltage.”

“Will it connect to the emergency zip line?”

She took a moment to calculate it all in her head.

“I can do it but it won’t shoot as strong as it normally shoots.”

“Laser shot to the head from 10 feet away isn’t strong enough?”

She smiled. “That would do.”

We walked as fast as we could with a pregnant woman on board. Two more kids escorted us through the inner corridors of the city. The kids were close to Viti, helping her walk. I was at the front and Shanta held up the rear. We reached the gunroom and locked the door behind us. Viti immediately got to work. There was a functional gun on the table. Viti tore the lid from the gun and started pulling some wires and electric boards. She worked so fast. She cut away some plugs. Then she was left with two exposed wires and a loose electric circuit in her hand.

“Let’s go,” she said.

“I don’t remember where I left the zip line,” I said.

“Don’t worry.”

I was again in the front and Shanta again in the rear. One boy carried the laser gun and the other helped Viti. We reached the main street. It smelled like drying blood and burned flesh. Shot were fired every few seconds. Screams of pain pierced our ears. Shanta approached the wall and pressed on a button, and the handle for the zip line came flying in.

“Open the box,” Viti said, grabbing the handle.

I took the end of a gun and busted opened the handle’s electric box.

“See the red and black wires? Expose them right in the middle. Don’t touch anything else.”

I was taller than she was so I had to do it myself. She handed me the cutter and I trusted her I that wouldn’t get electrocuted.

“Good, now attach it with this one,” she said, handing me the laser gun’s exposed wire. I crossed all three wire ends together.

Shots were fired at us and we all ducked to the floor. Viti Landed on her belly and screeched in pain. I shot back but there was no one standing there. The boy who held the laser gun had been shot in the chest. His blood was all over the floor. And then they came back, so Shanta, the other kid and I fired back. We took down five of them. I looked at Viti. She was terrified. She stood up and her belly was all red.

“Is it my blood?” She asked, panicked.

“I don’t know,” I answered and I looked at the floor in order to trace the blood from the boy’s chest to her stomach. But it was indeed hers. They had shot her right in the belly.

She burst into tears. She became hysterical.

“Take her to the clinic!” I ordered Shanta and the kid.