Implanted (The Ascension Series Book 2) (13 page)

Chapter 26

RETTER

Ret rushed back down the moving stairs, back to his original mission.
Too many detours.

Jamie needed water.

He merged into the flow of pedestrians and nudged his way to the inside of the circle. A water hut rested just a few steps away with only six residents ahead of him. Ret moved to the end of the line and waited for his turn. The line shuffled forward every minute or so and eventually, a solitary Eastsider stood between him and the water source. After filling two large containers, the young man hefted his weighty water packs and nodded to Ret as he moved away from the station.

Just as he’d watched the resident before him do, Ret stood on the opaque circle and held his satchel at arm’s length. A blue luminescence engulfed his hands and satchel before a lever emerged from the small hut and water flowed from its spigot, right into the mouth opening of the satchel.
Brilliant
.

As his satchel filled, Ret gazed at the surrounding huts. In full swing, dispensing container after container of the Council’s liquid labeling system. How much longer could humanity survive the torment? He felt the swelling of the same impatience he’d noticed in Wolf.

He wanted to shout out warnings and topple every container, but knew it would be received as the ramblings of a crazy man. He clamped his teeth and set his jaw.

With the satchel filled, he moved back into the throng of pedestrians. He moved with the flow and sidled to the periphery until expelled from the current, almost careening into a potted plant. The shimmering presence of security marked the vent opening. Ret moved unrestricted and peered into the vent.

Where’s Pete?

He blew out a ragged breath, and with arms crossed, leaned against the wall. Tapping his boot, he observed the circus-like atmosphere. Although he could no longer see through each of the concentric circles into the hub’s nucleus, the mammoth platform rose high above the heads of the residents. Visible from just about any spot in the hub, it shuddered with excitement as glittery dancers leapt in unison. A barely visible screen hung suspended over the platform rolling with moving images of his home. Drawn into the familiar landscape of trees, grass, and even a flowing river, he longed to taste the fresh air on his lips. A soothing melody emitted from somewhere in the walls as hundreds of images melded, one right into another.

He glanced around at the thousands crowding the hub and realized no one paid attention. Rather, the screen acted as a simple backdrop to another busy day. Again, he felt consumed with the desire to shout out to them all, “Stop! Look around. See what you’re missing!” as they blindly bumped along.

He puffed out a frustrated breath and returned his gaze to the screen. The pace of the music increased and the pictures of blue skies mutated into a stormy grey. He stepped away from the wall with eyes fixed on the moving pictures.

Fire exploded.

A bird’s-eye view showed a globe dotted with ferocious clouds of smoke covering the entire surface.

Finally, the camera panned mountains of grey ash heaped upon a desolate landscape. A dark voice dubbed over the music, “You’re here because we care. Be the bold, new generation. Be accountable.”

As the pictures disappeared, two words took their place:
ACCOUNTABILITY = LIFE.

Ret looked around. Still, no one seemed to notice.

Probably for the best.

Then again, the lie probably still found its way into their distracted minds. He eased back against the wall and closed his eyes. It had been a long day—or two. His eyes felt as dry as a tanned hide and his mouth, like sticky sap. He lifted the newly-filled satchel. The liquid sloshed around, eliciting an even greater thirst. Ret licked his lips.

Soft, lilting music rang out from the walls and Ret felt the pull of sleep. He shook his head to rid the desire. As his eyes reopened, the screen over the stage became filled with images. Of trees, and grass, and flowing rivers.

Chapter 27

FRAN

Flowing and shadowed, warm and soft.

Is this a dream?

His cool fingers brushed Fran’s hot cheek, and his breath tickled her ear as he whispered her name. A tear winked in the corner of his eye, hovering as if unsure whether to depart from the warm confines of its creator. This momentary world existed of swishes of whispers and warmth of breath. His hand moved to the back of her head. Would he rub small circles with his thumb like before?  He pressed a cheek to hers and his lips sat so close to her ear, she could feel them move as he spoke her name.

A giggle broke through the thickness of the moment and Fran resurfaced from the dream. She opened her eyes to the reality of the tunnel and the whisper morphed into several separate voices.

Pete pulled away. “I think a few introductions are in order.” He pushed against the side of the tunnel and waved his hand. “Arnold, Adam, Josiah, Erin, and Jamie, I’d like you to meet Wolf.”

A chubby-cheeked girl with wavy locks crawled forward and nestled against Pete. She looked up at Fran and gnawed on the ends of her hair. “Is she your wife?”

Fran snorted and Pete chuckled.

“No. Not my wife, but she’s very special. She’s been to the place where the mommies are.”

The rest of the posse shuffled forward with a collective, “
whoa
,” and Fran noticed the fresh glimmer of four additional sets of eyes.

“We’re on our way to the Agora to pick up Ret.”

Fran’s heart stopped. “Retter? You know Ret?”

Pete laughed. “
You
know Ret?”

“Well, of course.” It felt weird to talk about him with Pete. Ret and Pete had been separate entities.
Forever.
Like when one existed, the other didn’t … and vice-versa. She hadn’t considered being with both at the same time. Too weird.

Fran scanned the little faces and upturned noses as they looked on with interest. For a quick moment, she wondered why a litter of cubs followed Pete, but then it dawned on her.

“ICS?” she asked.

Pete nodded.

“Good.”

“And no Graphies, right?”

Just like in the days of old, Pete responded with an inquisitive lift of his brow before adding, “Sure, in
here
. But Graphies are guarding most every vent.”

“Well, right, but—” Fran paused. She examined Pete’s lighthearted expression.

Retter hadn’t told him yet.

“I’m still thirsty.” The little girl put her head onto Pete’s chest. Pete smiled and untangled the little one from his fold.

A throbbing in Fran’s head reminded her of her own fevered thirst. She pat the satchel at her side. The extra one she’d brought for Ret. As she gazed at Pete and the little girl they seemed more shadowed, and everything began to feel a little fuzzy around the edges. It must have been the adrenaline that had cleared her brain, because now, her head felt heavy. While five sets of eyes watched and waited for her to do something heroic like reunite them with their mommies, she paused and rubbed her forehead. The picture felt disjointed—the pieces jumbled.

“Pete, you said that Graphies are at each exit, but I didn’t see any in the PPA when I entered.” The shadowy light seemed to be dimming and Fran felt the same dizzying vertigo of earlier. She pressed a hand against the metal to try and stop the movement.

“Right, but they always show up right after I arrive. It’s like they know when I’m coming.”

Pete’s voice sounded far away. The shadows of Pete and the kids grew longer.

We’ll never be able to get Pete out.

She pressed a cheek into the coolness of the metallic wall and closed her eyes. She wanted to warn him that the Council had tagged him—branded him like cattle—but as another state of consciousness pulled her into its realm, her fevered brain moved in its own odd circle of logic.

She licked dry lips and murmured, “I guess I’m finally off their grid,” before she drifted into a dark and comfortable silence.

Chapter 28

RETTER

A hiss of a whisper, a rattling of a grating, and the rippling of the nearby Graphie alerted Ret to Pete’s proximity. He stepped away from the wall to face the opening and found Pete’s face pressed against the grating. 

“Move back, Pete. The Graphie is at the ready.”

“Hurry,” Ret noted Pete’s contorted, worried expression before he disappeared again out of sight. Ret waited until the shimmering holograph faded in brilliance before moving to the vent and swiping in the code.

As soon as his heel cleared the opening and the entry hummed to a close, Pete launched at him. “It’s Wolf. She’s passed out and burning with fever.”

“
Wolf
? What are you talking about, Pete? Where are the kids?”

Pete chirped like a frightened squirrel, his voice rising on each word.  “I left them there … with Wolf. She just showed up, man. Right there in the tunnel. I was leading them here, just like we agreed, and all of a sudden she was just
there
.”

“There?”

“In the tunnel, man. She was just there. Like she’d never even left.” Pete choked on his own breath and began to cough.

“Why? Did she say why she came?”

“No. She—” Pete lifted a shaking hand to his head and pushed back his unruly hair. “She just closed her eyes and passed out.”

Ret felt alarm slither through his veins. Why had Wolf come? Could there be trouble outside? He tied the satchel to his waist. “Lead me there.”

He noticed Pete didn’t carry the Light Ninja with him. “Pete, where’s the light?”

“I left it with the kids. No worries, I can get us there in the dark. Just stay close.”

Pete scurried off and they moved in unison away from the opening. The tunnel swallowed them into its belly of darkness and the void filled the nooks and crannies around them. Ret’s eyes fought for light, needing to focus in on something.
Anything
. Unable to withstand the battle, he lowered his lids. The dry air sucked the meager amount of lubricant remaining in his mouth and nose. His aching head—another telltale sign of imminent dehydration—seemed to bark at him,
“Get back outside and quench your thirst, dummy!”
Ret patted the satchel at his side as he considered the two tasks of greatest importance: Get water to the kids and then proceed with the mission.

After a few more minutes of aching thirst and blinding darkness, Ret sensed a subtle brightening around him. Though still dark, he thought he could make out a faint outline of Pete’s crazy hair in front of him. As they trekked forward the shadows became more pronounced and soon they were upon the group of children huddled around the dimming Light Ninja.

Like a sixth child, Wolf lay on her side, knees to chest, emitting a wheezy breath. Ret unhooked the satchel and handed it to Pete. “Give this to Jamie.”

He moved to Wolf. Her eyes fluttered open.

“Ret?” She croaked.  She patted her side. “Water.”

Ret looked down and saw a bloated satchel tied to her side. Why hadn’t she drank? Frustration warred with humility. She’d brought it for him. Water from outside.

He untied the cords that held the satchel closed and put it to her lips. She accepted a few sips before her eyes closed again. Ret lifted the satchel to his own mouth. Water.

He closed his eyes for the briefest moment as he poured back a mouthful. When they reopened, his hand stopped mid-air.

Pete had moved up next to Wolf. Her head lay in his lap. And she quietly sipped from his satchel.

Chapter 29

                          
 
FRAN

Fran awoke to the sensation of cool water dancing on her lips. She opened her mouth, eager to drink in the liquid. A gentle circle on the back of her head felt nice and she opened her eyes to Pete.

“It’s okay. Drink up, Wolf.”

Fran swallowed another mouthful, until a rush of air and a blur of movement exploded around her. The container fell from her mouth and landed with a thud a few feet away. She rolled onto her side and tried to rise. A dizzying sensation sent her back into a fetal position, but a hand gripped her shoulder and rolled her onto her back. She saw his eyes, rimmed with black and reflecting a light.

“Ret?”

“Tell me you didn’t drink any.”

“I …” Fran tried to make sense of the blurred picture.

Pete moved up behind Ret and shoved him aside. “Hands off, man.” He reached over Fran and grabbed the water satchel. “She needs this.”

Pete held the satchel to Fran’s lips. She tasted metal and felt the sting of chemicals as they trailed down her throat. Her neurons began to fire, and as if the fevered veil had been yanked from her eyes, she saw a clear picture of the situation. With lips held tight, she shook her head, desperate to escape the sack of poison. She wiggled until Pete lightened his grip and used the opportunity to roll onto her side and away from his valiant attempt to feed her thirst.

She choked on her own breath as she barked, “No, Pete!” 

His silhouette rose from a crouch and his shoulders rounded in defeat. Although she couldn’t see more than his gray outline, she felt the arc of his brow knowing he didn’t understand.

Panic raced through her body as images of security’s screen lighting up with her stats rolled through her brain. She wanted to share with Pete the details of the Council’s manipulation, but the idea that they could be rounding up holographic troops to drag her back into their sick web of submission filled her with terror. While gulping back sobs, she scrambled into the darkness.