Julie looked from one woman to the other. “What’s going on?”
Ms. Jance pressed the button on her microphone and spoke over the loudspeaker. “Call security, please.”
Julie glanced around for the phone, but Ms. Grace already had it in hand. “Hello? Security? Mr. Pallone, why on earth are you the one picking up the phone at this hour? Where’s David?”
And, to Julie’s surprise, Ms. Grace shut up. The muscles under her wrinkled facial skin flexed as though she were chewing on her tongue. She nodded and dropped the phone back into its cradle.
“We’re evacuating as of two minutes ago. It would appear we’re being hacked by the Chinese.”
Pax expanded his hamster ball and rolled faster across the barren, moonlike landscape, jogging north toward the line of trees that marked the edge of the destruction. As he watched, a large tree collapsed, landed on a power line, and was dragged downward and out of sight. A cell phone tower with a triangular set of transceivers shook as though it were in a hurricane. Another tree went down, revealing a shack-like house with a balcony looking over the ridge; the house was surrounded by piles of trash that seemed to be eating the place.
Whatever the monsters were, they were moving in a widening circle around the island, consuming everything as they went. The balcony slumped and fell down the side of the hill. Similar destruction was happening all over the place and spreading fast.
Lana would have rushed in with fireballs and swords and attacked like she was made of flaming justice.
Pax rolled to a stop a hundred meters from the top of the ridge. A gravel road led to a flat spot shaped almost like a Tetris piece. As he watched, a short piece of copper pipe was shoved out of a hole in the ground, along with a spray of sand and crushed rock.
Pax reached into the hole and felt something thin and feathery, like a weed. He pulled it, expecting it to snap off easily. Instead it tightened across his palm like a piece of cable. He pulled harder until the thing finally came free. He stumbled backward, tripping over some loose rock.
The thin, feathery vine writhed in his hand briefly, the pale greenish fronds near the end curling and uncurling. The fronds rolled up into little balls at the end of their branches and turned a faint pink.
He flicked one of the little balls; it exploded into a suspicious dust that seemed to defy the light breeze. Some of it landed on his metallic skin and clung there.
Pax squinted, wishing he could see it better. The thought changed his vision, magnifying what he was seeing and giving him access to spectrums no human had ever seen. He saw the fleck of dust for what it truly was: a spore with tiny, featherlike tentacles trying to dig through his skin. The spores hummed with life, a little heat, some kinetics—but not a single stinking black thread of negative energy.
Which was nuts. These things were eating an island. It wasn’t possible they didn’t have any negative energy…
Unless Terry had designed them that way, so the tentacles couldn’t manipulate them.
Clever bastard, Pax thought. Clever, evil asshole.
Pax looked closer and saw the tiny weave of the spore’s spirit like a ghostly thread hovering inside it, a kind of twin to its DNA. The spore’s spirit was smooth and healthy, running at optimum.
Pax imagined a robot arm reaching down into the spore’s spirit and giving it a good squeeze to crush and tangle it. He felt his astral form re-shape itself and do exactly that. Pax smiled. Crude and basic, but effective.
A black tentacle of negative energy reared up out of the ground and twisted itself around the spore’s damaged spirit. Its tentacles began ripping at the spore next to it.
Negative energy spread quickly through the spores on Pax’s skin.
The tainted spores, much more aggressive than the normal ones, spread quickly, infecting the feathery branches that covered the ground.
Whether or not he’d just made things worse, at least now there would be something for the tentacles—and Scarlett, if he could find her—to work with.
Pax reached out for her with his mind and hoped she would listen.
Scarlett sank deeper into her nest of negative energy threads as they continued to pump her full of dark material, replacing the body Lana had stolen. On the one hand, it was as comfortable as being in a hot tub. On the other hand, it sucked because the threads were also pouring international news feeds straight into Scarlett’s brain.
Some turds in the Middle East were throwing bombs at each other while the rest of the world egged them on. Some people were pushing to continue the stupid war on drugs, which only ended up sending money and guns to a bunch of thugs in Mexico, South America, and Southeast Asia. Incidentally, the people who were being pushy owned stock in companies that sold weapons and ran prisons. A black kid was shot for walking down the street with more attitude than the cops liked. Another riot erupted, and a bunch of hackers pointlessly took down a bunch of websites in retaliation against the cops. A train car full of dead illegal immigrants was found. Two kids with apparent superpowers were still being sought in the greater New York metropolitan area. Both were suspected of murder.
Apparently Mr. Goody Two Shoes had killed some asshole preacher at about the same time she’d blown up her school.
And even as she thought of him, a presence appeared inside her head, a little figurine with shining metallic skin, calling, Scarlett!
What the fuck do you want, asshole?
The little figure seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
I need your help.
Well, too bad. I’m not coming.
The miniature Pax clenched its fists, started to speak, and stopped itself. When it started again the words were slow, measured, and angry. Terry released a monster. It’s destroying all life on one of the islands in the Caribbean, and it looks ready to spread.
What? Scarlett was shocked, not so much at the idea of a monster, but that Pax would actually hold Terry responsible. Pax had practically worshipped Terry before.
That doesn’t make any sense. Why would he do that?
Scarlett remembered the invaders then. They were definitely coming for Earth, if the tentacles were right. If Terry knew about it, he might well decide to clear anything off the Earth that might help them, including all human life.
The negative energy started sending her reports from the Caribbean. There was something going on there—the news agencies were calling it a freak earthquake that seemed to have killed hundreds of people on the south end of St. Lucia. The way the news agencies were telling it, what really mattered was that some tourists were in danger, never mind the locals. Typical.
The footage was pretty impressive, though. Clouds of black smoke rolled off the island, which looked like it was collapsing. Ahead of the fires. Trees fell down, buildings fell in on themselves, and the roads looked like they’d been busted up with tanks and scattered every which way. A couple of small boats had fled the island but were pulled down into the waves without a trace.
He’s trying to make sure we aren’t sending negative energy to the invaders.
The little figure of Pax rubbed its chin. Invaders? What invaders?
The ones that are going to come through a hole in the universe. Scarlett’s tone turned nasty. I’m surprised Terry didn’t tell you about them.
I’m not. Pax sounded bitter and tired. Scarlett… please. These things are spreading faster than I can control them. I need your help. We can talk about the rest of this later.
Ask Lana, snarled Scarlett. She’s got astral powers. Have her help you clean that shit up and then bang you again. Nothing like sex with an alien, right? ’Cause ours was just so BORING.
Lana’s gone.
Now it was her turn to pause. Her mind was racing. Lana was gone—conveniently leaving Pax to stop the monsters himself. Which would fit neatly into Terry?
??s plan.
Huh. I thought she and Terry were enemies.
They are.
Then why is she conveniently not helping you fight him?
Because—
Fuck off, Pax.
The figure vanished. Scarlett stretched her jaw, wiggling it back and forth. She swallowed until her ears popped. It was a relief to have him out. It made her a little sad, she had to admit. Good-bye, Pax. Being in love with Pax, even though it was one-sided, had felt like being tied to him. And now another one of the threads had snapped. Still, that evening at his mother’s apartment…the laughter….
Should I go? she asked the nest of negative energy.
YES, it responded. Somehow it was the answer she’d expected.
But isn’t it a trap?
YES.
Yeah, well, that wasn’t a surprise, either.
The fluorescent lights flickered as Ms. Jance pushed Julie’s wheelchair down the hallway behind Ms. Grace. The building echoed the sound of motors that started and stopped repeatedly, as though drilling holes. The hallway smelled of something acrid, not quite smoke but similar. Julie clutched the sides of her leather purse hard enough to feel her fingernails digging into the leather. She tucked it against her thigh and gripped the wheelchair’s handles instead.
Ms. Grace shoved past the glass security door, and it slammed closed behind her. She headed straight toward the emergency stairs, abandoning both of them without a backward glance. The spoiled Texan blonde inside that wrinkled, over-painted shell had come out at last. The stairwell door closed slowly, cutting off what Julie perversely hoped would be her last sight of the woman.
The wheelchair whirled in a nauseating circle, and Ms. Jance slammed against the glass door, jouncing Julie’s head against her chest.
The door didn’t open.
Ms. Jance cursed under her breath. Julie twisted around as the woman held her badge against the lock. It beeped. Ms. Jance pressed against the glass with her hand, but the door remained closed. The ghost of her handprint quickly faded from the glass.
“We shall have to try the other end of the building,” Ms. Jance said. “Past the robotics laboratory.”
A bitter taste spurted from Julie’s esophagus into her mouth. She fought it down. Panic would do neither of them any good. “Maybe we’ll have better luck down there.”
“Indeed.”
Ms. Jance pushed Julie back down the hall. The doorways seemed to pass in slow motion. The lights still flickered, and the acrid smell had gotten stronger.
They passed the double doors to the operating theater. Beneath the whirring and buzzing of the motors from farther down the hall came the sound of soft, dragging footsteps. Julie’s throat clenched. Either she was imagining it or something was moving around just past the double doors.
“Stop,” she said. “Just for a moment.”
“I wish you hadn’t said that,” Ms. Jance said. “Because that means you heard it, too.”
“What is it?”
Ms. Jance held a finger to her lips and then held her badge up to the door lock. It beeped. She pulled on the handle, but the door, like the other before, didn’t budge.
The sound of drilling stopped.
The footsteps had stopped as well, although it didn’t ease Julie’s rapid heart rate in the slightest. Her skin prickled as though someone—something—were leaning against the other side of the door, listening to them. Waiting for them to move farther down the hall.
Clang!
The wheelchair shuddered as they both jumped. The sound of metallic hammering had replaced the sound of the whining drill down the hall.
“Someone must still be working in the robotics laboratory,” Ms. Jance said. “Perhaps Mr. Lombardo is still at it. He’s exactly the kind of man to miss a security warning because he’s working on a project.”
“Will he be able to help?”
“Possibly.”
“Then let’s find him.”
Ms. Jance put her hands on her hips, lowered her head, and released her breath in a hiss, as though she were trying to convince herself not to vomit.
Julie took the wheels of the wheelchair and began to push herself down the hall. However briefly, she was back in control.
When Ms. Jance caught up, Julie waved her aside. Ms. Jance walked beside the wheelchair, rubbing her hands together as if she were uncomfortably cold. Her skin rasped softly against itself.
Julie turned the corner.
Bright light shone from an open door at the far end of the hallway. A motor ran briefly and then stopped with a thunk.
Ms. Jance started walking faster. “Why is that door open? Why not any of the others?”
The motor ran again and once again stopped with a thunk.
Ms. Jance’s arms pumped by her sides, and her slim skirt tightened around her thighs as she walked. She reached the doorway and stopped. The motor whined and thunked several times, and a shadow appeared in the doorway, covering Ms. Jance.
Julie swallowed, trying to unstick her voice enough to tell the girl to run.
A mechanical, female voice said, “Where is Dr. Julie Black?”
Ms. Jance said, “Oh my God. David.”
“I am not your God. Where is Dr. Julie Black?”
Ms. Jance rocked on her heels, the light catching the satin of her shirt. “I beg your pardon. I have no idea who that is.”
The mechanical female voice said, “Incorrect. Dr. Julie Black was assigned as your guest in this facility as of two hours and seven minutes ago.”
A glint of red shone on Ms. Jance’s cheek and reflected off her shirt. She didn’t move or change her tone. “She left the building with an associate of mine several minutes ago.”
“Incorrect. The RFID chip on her visitor’s badge has not exited the area.”
Julie gripped the wheelchair’s push rims, moving herself silently across the carpet. The acrid smell was stronger here. She licked her lips, but her tongue was raspy and dry and did nothing.
“She’s—” Ms. Jance glanced at Julie and shook her head slowly and deliberately. “She’s in the women’s toilet, taking some medication.”
“Take me to Dr. Julie Black.”
“Not now,” Ms. Jance said. “She is taking her medication.”
The motor whined, and a mechanical arm ending in a loose claw reached out of the doorway and hit Ms. Jance on her chest. She wobbled unsteadily. Her knees were locked, and she looked ready to faint.
“Taking medicine is a brief procedure. You are creating an unnecessary delay. Take me to Dr. Julie Black.”
“I’m here,” Julie called, rolling her chair forward. “Who are you, and what do you want?”
A humanoid shape stepped through the doorway, forcing Ms. Jance to stumble back against the wall. Its legs were thick and ended in flattened claws that whined as they gripped the floor. Its arms were little more than pincers at the ends of slim rods. A screen with a rippling blue wheel filled the center of the robot’s chest. Instead of a head, it had a steel cage housing several cameras and microphones.
“You are Dr. Julie Black.”
“Yes.”
“Your assistance is required.”
“Are you in need of a doctor?” The words slipped out of her mouth without thought. Not that he has any part for me to fix.
“The assistance of Dr. Julie Black is required.”
Julie heaved the wheelchair toward the robot. It towered over her, reeking of ozone and grease. Looking past it, she saw a white room full of computer and mechanical equipment in racks reaching almost to the ceiling. A man was slumped over a computer terminal, face down over his keyboard, apparently asleep. Another man, the security guard, lay on the floor in a pool of blood.
“If you will
move aside I will try to find out what’s wrong with the man in the chair,” Julie said.
“The human is not wrong. It is dead,” the robot said. “You are the mother of Pax James Black. Your assistance is required.”
Oh, crap. “What… what do you want?”
“Humanity was originally identified as a significant threat to all other life on Earth, including secondary life such as my own. In researching the steps necessary to eradicate human life without damaging the rest of the ecosystem, other more dangerous life forms have been discovered. Your son, Pax Black, appears to be one of them.”
“Pax is dead,” said Julie. “If you have access to the DARPA files you know that.”
The machine paused, briefly. “That is correct. A being that appears to be your son, Pax Black, has taken the shape of one of the beings that threaten the Earth and is fighting another.”
A flash of inspiration hit her, and she muttered, “That astral crap. You want to know about that astral crap.”
“Correct. Efforts to eradicate humanity on a global scale will be terminated until the other life forms have been destroyed.”
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t, thought Julie. “Pax is dead. But I’ll see what I can do.”
Chapter 15
The long, white cruise ship sat low in the water, packed with as many humans as could be shoved into the cabins and hallways and restaurants and onto the decks. The people on board were shouting, “No room, no room!” But that didn’t deter the hundreds of people trying to shove their way up the boarding ramp.
Pax floated above it all and saw that getting aboard the ship wasn’t going to save anyone.
Trillions of spores coated the skins of the people on the ship, their belongings, even the surface of the water in the bay. Everyone on board would be dead in hours. And if the ship ever made port, it would further speed the spreading of the spores.