Shudder (Stitch Trilogy, Book 2)

Shudder

Samantha Durante

Copyright © 2013 Samantha Durante

All rights reserved.

ISBN-13: 978-1-3013212-2-3 (Smashwords
Edition)

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of this author.

To Deep, for always supporting me in pursuing
my dreams, no matter how crazy they may be.

Table of Contents

Preface:
Fury

1.
Manipulation

2.
Disquiet

3.
Clatter

4.
Dash

5.
Confederates

6.
Phoenix

7.
Dream

8.
Evasion

9.
Composure

10.
Waiting

11.
Philosophy

12.
Journey

13.
Comprehension

14.
Chronicles

15.
Turmoil

16.
Infirmity

17.
Brink

18.
Defense

19.
Logistics

20.
Release

21.
Contact

22.
Jackpot

23.
Exploration

24.
Hesitation

25.
Botch

26.
Intentions

27.
Approach

28.
Homecoming

29.
Reunion

30.
Lull

31.
R
eveal

32.
Breakout

33.
Power

34.
Closure

35.
Flight

36.
Resolve

37.
Briefing

38.
Scheme

39.
Stowaway

A Note
to Readers

Acknowledgments

About
the Author

Epilogue: Traitor

PREFACE: FURY

The General slammed his fist on the
table, the noise reverberating through the large room. “This is
completely unacceptable.”

The Developer rested his elbows on the
table, one lanky arm bending as he closed his eyes and pinched the
bridge of his nose between his fingers. He let out a long sigh
before leaning back in his chair, tossing his shaggy, unkempt hair
back in an awkward motion. He waited for the grumbling to subside
before he spoke – as the youngest billionaire on the planet, he’d
grown used to having a captive audience.

“
This rebellion has become
more than a headache; it’s putting our plans for Paragon at risk,
and it’s time we take more drastic measures to resolve the problem.
We should never have let it get this far.” His whiny voice and
slouching shoulders didn’t command much in the way of esteem, but
the four other men in the room – the Engineers, as they liked to
call themselves – sat rapt nevertheless. They had quickly learned
that what the Developer lacked in presence and age, he made up for
with brilliance and guile.

“
If I may…” The Economist
cleared his throat. Though this was technically a group of equals,
he often found himself deferring to the others, being more
comfortable with books than he ever was with people. But if their
plans for Paragon were ever to succeed, this group above all else
needed to keep their focus on the end game, instead of allowing
themselves to be sidetracked by minor setbacks.

He continued. “It’s only two people,
and given the weather forecast, it’s unlikely that they’ll even
make it through the week. How much trouble could they cause? I vote
that we let them go and focus our efforts instead on reaching our
goals for the collective. It’s been years since the deliberations
have made any real progress and –”

The Doctor cut off his
remarks with one biting look. “Only two people? And what
traits
might those two
people be carrying that are essential to our race? Do you
presume
to know why they
were chosen for Paragon? Presume to
decide
who here is
expendable?”

“
N-n-no… I just…” He took
a moment to compose himself. “We’re supposed to be working toward a
true communist society, and every day that the Ruling Class remains
in power, we are one more step away from achieving that goal. The
only reason the rebellion thrives today is due to the continued
existence of the Ruling Class, so to me it seems that recapturing a
couple of rebels is treating the symptom, not the cause. Let them
go, and instead let’s put our energies towards facilitating the
deliberation process, thereby hastening the birth of the ideal
society that was the entire
reason
for this whole undertaking.”

The Doctor’s silver hair
glinted in the sharp artificial light as he devoted his entire head
to the effort of rolling his eyes. “Save your pretty rhetoric, Ben.
There won’t
be
any society if we don’t have the genes to support
one.”

The Developer nodded vigorously in
agreement. “He’s right. The algorithm was very specific in who was
selected, and we need to trust that everyone here deserved to be
chosen. Otherwise, what was the point of everything we
did?”

Everyone took a moment to digest his
last comment. They had agreed from the beginning that sacrifices
would be needed to make this work, and indeed those sacrifices had
been huge – the biggest the world had ever seen. But they had only
agreed to the plan knowing that it was the only way to do this
right, and that everyone would benefit in the end. Everyone who was
left, anyway.

“
So what are you
suggesting?” The Draftsman – the oldest and most levelheaded of the
group – spoke, as always, in a steady, reasoned tone,
absentmindedly stroking his paunch.

Before the Developer could respond,
the General chimed in with a suggestion of his own, his raspy voice
filled with retribution. “We have the girl, the one that helped
them escape. I say we make an example of her, send a message to the
rebels that we won’t tolerate their insubordination any longer.” As
he rubbed the scar across his lips, he muttered, “Stupid
bitch.”

The Draftsman wondered if
he was referring to the girl or to the rebel leader, but either
way, he dismissed his comments as bluster. Over the years he’d come
to despise the General’s deep insecurities, and his resulting
tendency to overcompensate. It was a shame, really – the man had a
magnificent reserve of military knowledge, but his personal flaws
marred his usefulness considerably. And at least the rest of them
had actually
achieved
the titles they’d chosen for themselves – the General had
never earned that rank at all, he’d just christened himself upon
finding that he had the power to do so. To say that the Draftsman
found the General trying was an understatement indeed. But much to
the Draftsman’s chagrin, the others had not yet come to the same
conclusion.

The Developer, in fact, seemed to be
seriously considering a show of force. Shaking his head, he
reflected, “If only we knew where Regina Green were hiding… we
could drop the girl’s head right at her front door.”

“
That’s sick!” the
Economist blurted, appalled.

The Doctor once again shot him down.
“Oh, please. Like you haven’t agreed to worse.”

As barbaric as it was, the
Draftsman had to admit that the Doctor spoke the truth. “Eugene has
a point there – we’ve
all
agreed to worse. ‘The ends justify the means’ has
been a de facto tenet of our philosophy…”

“
Thank you, Pascal.” The
withering glare subsided from the Doctor’s face. “Now, as I said
before, I don’t like the idea of tinkering with the algorithm’s
selections, but in this one case, I suppose we could make an
exception. After all, she wasn’t part of the original results set
to begin with.”

Chastised, the Economist held his
tongue while the others nodded in agreement.

The Developer stood,
signaling that the meeting had come to a close. “Then it’s decided.
We’ll use the girl to send a message. Given that we
don’t
know Regina’s
location, everyone think about what might be our most effective
strategy and we’ll reconvene in the morning to finalize the plan.
And remember, as distasteful as this might be, the rebels haven’t
left us much choice.”

He held his right fist at his shoulder
in the customary gesture, and the others stood and followed suit.
“For Paragon,” he stated, accompanying the sentiment with an almost
imperceptible nod of the head.

The room echoed in unison as the men
added their response, each earnestly believing the mantra in his
own way. “For Paragon, always.”

1. MANIPULATION

Hundreds of acid voices swarmed about
her, their derisive gibes poking at her ears as she shuffled her
way through the crowd. Stumbling over a loose rock, she caught
herself, steadying her breath as it dawned on her that they’d all
been gathered here for one purpose: to kill her.

She couldn’t see where they were
taking her with the thick canvas bag slung over her head, and even
if she managed to shirk the binds holding her wrists, she doubted
she’d have anywhere to run. The rebels couldn’t possibly risk a
rescue; there were just too many people. And with this damn bag
over her head, her allies probably didn’t even realize it was
her.

Resigned, she did her best to hold her
head high through the mob’s suffocating contempt, fighting the tug
of the rope around her neck that propelled her ever forward. She
knew he was enjoying this, having her on a leash. After all they’d
done to her, everything they’d put her through, it was this one
last indignity that stung the most. She’d almost rather die than
suffer their abuse again. Almost.

All too soon her feet ceased scraping
against gravel and landed on wood. His footsteps ahead of her beat
in time with her stock-still heart – thump, thump, thump – and she
slowly ascended the stairs behind him, determined not to fall. He
could drag her to her death like a dog, but she would follow with
grace. That much she was determined to do.

As they mounted the platform, a heavy
silence cascaded through the crowd. She straightened her spine and
threw back her shoulders as the ominous hush threatened to crush
her chest. For a moment, the world stood still and her only
sensation was that of snow flurries drifting onto her clasped
fingers where they rested behind her back. For a moment, the
serenity took her breath away.

And then the peace was broken by the
rasp of his voice, and she shot straight back to reality. That
voice rang larger than life in her ears, and his face burned in her
memory – a handsome face, if not for the cold, black eyes betraying
the ugliness inside him. But she had done her best to mar that
visage, to make his outside match the monster within. And the
memory of the scar steeled her – she would face whatever he had in
store with strength, never fear.

“
People of Paragon,” he
began. “You have been gathered here today to serve justice to one
of your own.”

His words cut through the cool winter
air, stirring the rancor of the mob into an audible hum. She braced
herself for whatever lies came next.

“
As a society of equals,
we
all
have a
responsibility to keep our community safe from the ravages of the
outside world. As you know, the deadly virus that put us here still
lurks beyond our gates. We are under constant attack from a vicious
plague that would claim us all if given the chance. And this woman
–” She felt him drop the rope and take a step away from her. “This
woman would let it in!”