Hunger: The Complete Trilogy, page 74
Jakob sighed. “Fine.” But he was too late. Before he could lower his zipper, the sound of breaking glass filled the apartment.
40
“This is never going to work,” Ella said over her shoulder as she led the way through the facility’s hallways. The layout was similar to the ExoGen headquarters in San Francisco. Kerrigan’s instructions were easy enough to follow—first left, second left, stairwell on the right, up four flights and voila, they were in the laboratory. That was just the first step, though, as the lab itself occupied two levels of the entire facility. What they really needed was a sub-lab. Someplace private. That was a roll of the dice, but still easy compared to the hurdles they needed to leap every time they passed someone.
Ella’s hair was still shaved, like Peter’s and Anne’s, and anyone else concerned about contaminating a biodome. That helped, since people at ExoGen would remember her with long, straight brown hair. But her face was recognizable to everyone on the planet. Rather than make eye contact, she kept her eyes on the floor and rubbed her temples like she had the mother of all headaches.
Peter walked just behind her and to the right. Unlike Ella, no one would know who he was at first glance, and since Peter made very direct and aggressive eye contact, they all just looked away. Peter insisted it would work. That people would assume he belonged, that they would believe they knew him, but didn’t recognize him after his time crossing the country. “Human psychology is predictable,” he said. “They’ll wonder who I am but will be too embarrassed to ask.”
So far, he’d been right.
But the moment just one person looked back and spotted the pint-sized commando wedged in the blind spot created by their bodies, the ruse would be exposed.
They successfully passed five people. Ella had no idea who they were because she never saw their faces. Just kept her head down and plodded forward like she knew exactly where she was headed, and why. Just another day at the post-apocalyptic office.
When they entered the empty stairwell, Peter said, “You’re doing great. Both of you. Just keep doing what you’ve been doing, and we’ll be fine.”
Ella nodded. “Four flights up.”
They started up the stairs in the same triangular position, but the staircase was narrow. If someone came down the other direction, Peter would have to shift to the left.
Three flights later, the door above opened. Someone was exiting the lab, and that increased the odds of Ella being recognized. Whoever it was started down the steps, meaning Peter would have to move.
He shifted inward, but there still wasn’t enough room for someone to get by. The newcomer thumped his way down the stairs and bounded around the landing ahead. He swung around the bend, hand on the rail, and said, “Whoa there!” when he narrowly avoided barreling into Ella. He bumped her arm away from her face for a moment—just enough to make eye contact.
It was just a moment, but a moment too long.
He stopped beside them. “Ella?” His eyes flicked to Peter and then down to Anne. He was putting the pieces together, eyes widening.
“Hello, Dr. Norris,” she said, trying to sound casual. Ryan Norris was a kind man. Had been a friend in the lab—not the close type you tell your life story to, but always cheerful, always hardworking, and never one to argue. “Good to see you again.”
“I didn’t know you were back…”
“Just arrived,” she said.
“That’s…great. But I thought… Never mind.” He looked at Anne again. “Your daughter is still alive. That’s great.” His brows furrowed. “Why is she dressed like a ninja?”
“Ninja?” Anne said. “I guess that’s cool, but I was going for Mission Impossible saboteur. Not that I’ve seen Mission Impossible. I just remember her seeing it. You know, because we share the same memories. But you didn’t even know that, did you? And yeah, none of this matters, but I’m adorable, right? And you just can’t take your eyes off me. That’s called a distraction.”
“A distraction?” He looked to Ella. “What are you—”
“Sorry, Ryan,” Ella said just before Peter punched the side of his head.
Norris’s body went limp, like he’d been shot.
Peter stopped him from toppling over the rail. “Seemed like a nice guy.”
Ella nodded. “He is, but…I don’t know what he really thinks about all this.”
“He’s a lemming,” Anne said. “A happy-go-lucky lemming.”
“Should we have asked for his help before knocking him unconscious?” Peter asked.
“We can ask him when he comes to,” Ella said, and then motioned for them to follow.
Peter hoisted Norris over his shoulder and started up the stairs behind Ella and Anne. If anyone spotted them now, the jig was up. Peter might be able to subdue one or two more, but there was a limit to how many unconscious people they could drag around.
Below them, a stairwell door clunked open, and three voices echoed up.
Ella double-timed it up the last steps, opened the door, and peeked through. The hallway on the other end was brightly lit, maroon, and completely empty. She waved the others through and closed the door behind them.
The hallway ahead was full of long windows. Some were clear, others were dark, like the glass itself had changed colors.
“What’s with the dark glass?” Peter asked.
“Electrochromic,” Ella said. “The glass turns dark when a voltage is applied. The technical explanation, which involves things like lithium cobalt oxide and polycrystalline tungsten oxide will put you to sleep.”
“Got it,” Peter said. “Fancy shades.”
Anne snapped and pointed at him. “You see, Mom, he’s not as dumb as you said.”
Peter nearly laughed but contained it and stayed focused.
Ella took a slight lead as they approached the first window that wasn’t shaded. Three scientists were hard at work, their backs to the window, but there was no reason to take chances. “Three inside.”
Anne dove to the floor and crawled beneath the window. Peter lowered Norris to the floor, held his hands and dragged him just below the glass. If the scientists glanced out, he’d look funny, but equipment was moved around the lab all the time. They’d think nothing of it.
Ella saw one of their computer screens and did a double take, pausing in the hallway. “What the hell…”
The display showed familiar work.
Her work.
Or at least a crude reproduction of it. But they were missing pieces, like a color printer that had yellow and magenta but was missing cyan.
Why are they working on it now?
It was still early morning.
In fact, they’d seen far more people at this hour than they should have.
Ella sucked in a breath and whispered. “They know we’re here.”
Peter paused. “What?”
“There’s no other reason they’d be working at this hour unless it was in preparation for something.”
“For us,” Anne said.
“I don’t think they know we’re here,” Peter said.
Ella agreed. Everyone they’d encountered had been subdued, and she hadn’t seen any security cameras or security personnel.
“But they know we’re nearby,” Ella said.
Peter grimaced. “We need to warn Jakob.”
Ella took the lead again, moving quickly. They passed several more labs, some blacked out, some lit up. All of them occupied. The science department was burning the midnight oil.
Toward the end of the long hall, Ella spotted a laboratory that was dark, but had not blacked out. The lights were just off. “Here,” she said, headed for the door. She paused at a keypad beside the door. “Moment of truth.”
They hadn’t been able to get Sexton’s keycard from Jakob, so rather than using the scanner, she just punched in her old security code on the adjacent keys and nearly shouted with joy when the light turned green, and the door unlocked.
They slipped inside the room. Ella turned on the light with the push of a button and then darkened the glass with the push of another. The door locked behind them when it closed.
Peter lowered Norris to the ground and carefully bound him with zip-ties. While Anne inspected the computers, Ella moved around the room, looking at what they had to work with—centrifuge, raw refrigerated elements, gene sequencers, and more.
She turned at the sound of Anne tapping keys, bringing up the software they’d need to get the job done. “Good to go over here.”
Ella’s hands were shaking. Life had been so hard for so long, and she was out of practice. The fate of humanity—and her family—rested on what she did next, and it terrified her. Feeling jittery, she searched through a line of drawers looking for the last thing they needed.
“I can do it,” Anne said. She was holding a USB cable already plugged into the computer. “I’m not afraid.”
“Anne,” Ella said, unsure. She didn’t know what would happen when her daughter plugged in. The USB embedded in her body and mind was meant to be a haven for Ella’s own memories. But they had leached out into Anne. There was no telling what would happen to her when the information was accessed again.
Would it be removed? Deleted? Duplicated?
Would Anne’s mind be left intact?
This had never been done before, and now that their goal was finally within reach, she wasn’t sure she could go through with it. Wasn’t sure if saving the world was worth losing Anne.
She looked at Peter, but he was equally concerned. They’d all talked about the big picture but had avoided discussing what sacrifices might need to be made.
“Ugh,” Anne said with a roll of her eyes. “You two are wimps.” Then she plugged herself in, said, “You see?” and collapsed to the floor.
41
Jakob didn’t pee. He should have. Now he’d be uncomfortable and afraid at the same time. And that meant he wouldn’t be able to think clearly.
Val, on the other hand, felt like she was thinking clearly for the first time in many years. And not just because thoughts were complete sentences, but because she could remember who she was, as well as who she wanted to be in the changed world.
And it wasn’t a singer.
As much as she loved music, and would continue to, belting out a tune wouldn’t help anyone survive. Raw strength, speed, and killer instincts on the other hand… She’d retained all of that from her time as Feesa. Remembered how to hunt and kill as much as she did the lyrics to her hit single: ‘Bold.’
Muffled voices inside the apartment shouted, “Clear!” one after the other. The men were sweeping through each room, searching for their prey. They were easy to imagine, dressed in black, armored, carrying assault rifles. Professional killers.
But not predators.
Not like her.
A man shouted, his voice closer. “Search everywhere! They’re here somewhere.”
The men weren’t quiet now. They pounded through the apartment, overturning furniture, kicking open doors, breaking just about everything in a primitive display of machismo probably meant to intimidate.
“We should move away from the hole,” Jakob whispered. “Just in case they—”
“In here!” a man shouted, his voice clear and just outside the closet, which he’d opened without them hearing.
“What is it?” another man asked.
“Drywall dust. Beneath that suitcase. You see it?”
“They’re in the walls…”
Val’s eyes widened. She sensed what was about to happen.
“They’re in the walls!” the man shouted so everyone could hear. “Light ’em up!”
Val dashed toward Jakob, scooped him up, and charged down the dark tunnel as gunfire erupted from the bedroom, punching holes in the wall where they’d been just a moment before. Other men, spread around the apartment, opened fire on the interior walls, some of them distant, some much closer.
A fusillade of bullets tore through the wall in front of Val. To stop in time, she was forced to punch a hand through the wall and hold on.
The gunfire stopped for a moment.
“Here!” a man shouted. “They’re here!”
Val dove forward, clutching Jakob in her arms. Bullets chewed through the wall all around them as she ran toward a junction. Left or right? She was trying to remember the apartment’s layout when bullets slipped through the wall and then the meat of her shoulder. The insertion did minimal damage, but then the round exited and it took a chunk of flesh with it.
Val roared in pain and fell forward.
She hit the dusty floor hard, but kept her body rigid, both protecting Jakob from the impact and preventing herself from crushing him.
“Uhh,” a man said from the far side of the bullet ridden wall. “Manke! You sure these are people? Sounded more like an Exo.”
“Jake,” Val whispered. “Are you okay?”
He didn’t respond.
His body was limp. His eyes closed.
She checked his body for bullet wounds and found none. Must have struck his head while they were running. Knocked him unconscious. She checked his pulse and confirmed it. Not dead.
But he would be soon, if she didn’t do something.
Boots clomped over the floor as Val pushed herself back to her good foot and her nearly fully regrown new foot, leaving Jakob lying on the floor. So far, the men had been firing at waist level. She hoped he’d be safe down there, but she also intended to give them something else to shoot at.
Val bounded away from Jakob, landing ten feet away with a purposeful thump that shook the floor. She let out an inhuman shriek at the same time.
“You see?” the man said. “I think it’s one of them sea-people.”
“They don’t breathe air,” another argued.
“They’re Exos, asshole. They can breathe whatever they want!”
One of the men fired into the wall, and the rest joined in, forcing Val to turn right at the T junction, putting her in the wall of another room. She wasn’t sure which.
The men, realizing she’d gone deeper into the maze of walls, stopped firing, and spread out, searching for signs of her passage.
Val moved on all fours, disbursing her weight, and reducing the impact she had on surfaces, allowing her to move silently. She could hear them nearby, in the doorways of rooms she was passing, breathing heavily, weapons raised, just waiting for the slightest hint of her location.
She rounded another corner and saw something ahead. A weapon. A…sword? She crouched over it and searched the area. The wall here wasn’t ruined. Whoever had left the weapon behind had moved through the wall’s tunnels, entering from some other location.
A handwritten note lay atop the sheath.
To whomsoever finds this, I wish you good tidings. Though I do not think human eyes will ever gaze upon these words, I feel compelled to write them. The world is beyond saving. I and my kind will return to our home. Humanity must find its own path to survival. May this faithful blade serve you well, as it has those who wielded it before.
—Helen
The note didn’t make much sense to Val, but she knew what to do with a sword.
Only, it wasn’t a sword. She drew the blade, revealing a black machete with a partially serrated edge and the word ‘Faithful’ laser etched into the metal near the handle.
She smiled.
Val didn’t need a sword, or a gun, to kill. She had her strength, speed, claws, and teeth. But she understood the visceral intimidation a blade imparted on the human psyche. No one wanted to be cleaved apart. It was debasing. Reminded the victim that they were just another animal, easily slaughtered.
Val had no idea who Helen was, or where she’d gone, but she assumed the penthouse had been hers. An eccentric rich woman with an escape plan, maybe sipping hot chocolate in some secret Antarctic base where there were no animals to mutate into killing machines, waiting for the world to sort itself out.
She couldn’t guess.
Also, she didn’t care. She’d use the weapon and hopefully do its previous owners proud.
Val closed her eyes and listened. Some of the men were getting close. Others were distant, randomly shooting into walls, trying to flush her out. But she would exit the wall on her own terms, not as prey, but as a hunter.
“I’m a beast,” she told herself. “Ruthless. These men don’t stand a chance.”
Footsteps on the far side of the wall triggered a nearly automatic response. She sprang forward, crashing through drywall.
The man in front of her spun around, trigger already held down, spraying an arc of bullets in her direction.
He stopped firing when his head came off and his limp body collapsed to the floor.
“Who’s firing?!” another man shouted. The moment he stepped into the room, looking down his rifle’s sights, the first man’s head collided with the barrel, knocking it up. Then the weapon toppled to the floor, along with the man’s severed hands and forearms.
He tried to scream, but the machete’s blade slid through his open mouth, the back of his throat, and up through his skull before any sound escaped. She flung him back into the room and scrambled out into the hall, clawing her way up the wall to the ceiling. When a third soldier emerged from a room, she split his head down the middle, from above.
He toppled forward, faceplanting on the hard floor. His already split skull cracked open, and his brain spilled out. It was…revolting. But Val didn’t give the gory sight a second thought as she leapt forward and—
A bullet ripped through the air, striking her thigh, and throwing off her trajectory. With a shout of pain, she fell to the floor, sliding on her back before rolling to her feet.
Beside her, a shotgun roared. The pellets struck her side, pocking her arm, leg, and ribs. Before she could get back up, three men stood over her, weapons trained on her skull. She was lit up by their flashlights, exposed, wounded, and at the mercy of the men sent to kill her family.
“What the hell are you supposed to be?” a man asked.
