CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Jesse never slept that night. Abbas and Bell both tried, but Jesse doubted they slept any more than he did. All night, he paced his tiny cell; he would sit down on the edge of the cot, then get up and walk around, sit down again, and repeat the process endlessly, hardly aware of what he was doing. Min-Hee had told them what happened to Mackenzie last night, and it wasn't until early the following morning that anyone approached their cells again.
Before any of them heard footsteps, they heard someone yelling. Jesse, Abbas and Bell all pressed their noses against the plexiglass wall of their cells to see who was coming, but Jesse already knew who was screaming.
Mackenzie was being dragged along, both of her arms pinned behind her back as she kicked and writhed to break free of Boroslav's hold. She squirmed like a fish on a hook and was carried more than she walked as she fought to harm Boroslav any way that she could. Jesse was amazed to see her try turning her head enough to bite Boroslav, gnashing her teeth like a hyena. It was a side of her he had never seen and, for a moment, Jesse was afraid. Not of Mackenzie, but of what might have happened to make her behave this way.
"Hey!" Jesse shouted at Boroslav as he approached. "Let her go!"
"What are you doing?" Abbas demanded of Boroslav.
"I'll kill you!" Mackenzie roared, her voice breaking with the strain of how loud she screamed. "You sick bastard, I'll kill you!"
"HEY!" Jesse shouted again, punching the plexiglass wall. "Get your hands off her! Mackenzie, what happened?"
"Mackenzie, what did he do?" Abbas asked, fear in his voice.
"Did he hurt you?" Bell asked.
"If he did, I'll knock his teeth out the back of his skull!" Jesse growled.
Boroslav ignored Jesse and dragged Mackenzie to the nearest empty cell, beside Abbas'. He swiped a blank card against a small panel on the wall and a section of the plexiglass wall melted away, like ice under a heater. Boroslav shoved the still kicking and screaming Mackenzie into the cell, where she fell off balance and tumbled to the floor. She instantly pushed herself up to her feet and rushed at Boroslav, but he had already swiped his card again and the wall closed, locking Mackenzie away.
Mackenzie pounded her hands on the plexiglass as she glared at Boroslav, who stared blankly back at her. To Jesse's surprise, Mackenzie pulled back her arm and began repeatedly punching the place where the door had opened with her bionic fist.
"Stop that," Boroslav said flatly. "You have work to do soon. Scylla will come for you in a couple of hours."
"Screw that bitch and screw you!" Mackenzie roared, punching the plexiglass again.
"I do not take kindly to people speaking about Scylla in such a way," Boroslav growled. "You should take care to remember this. Or else you will repeat the lesson you already had."
When Mackenzie bared her teeth in fury, Jesse actually felt compelled to take a step back from her, so ferocious and murder-filled her gaze was. Mackenzie punched the plexiglass one last time, the echoing boom resounding off the walls. Boroslav simply sneered at her, then turned and walked away, leaving Mackenzie panting in her cell, worn out by her struggle and anger.
"Mackenzie!" Abbas called out to her from the neighboring cell. "What happened? Where have you been?"
Mackenzie didn't answer at once. Jesse could see her clearly from his cell and watched fearfully as Mackenzie paced around her cell once, raking her fingers through her hair, still breathing heavily. She looked lost, like she didn't know what to do next. She glanced helplessly around her cell, her chest quickly rising and falling as she began to hyperventilate. Then, to Jesse's horror, Mackenzie collapsed to her knees, buried her face in her hands, and started to cry uncontrollably.
"Oh God," Jesse whispered, too afraid of the answer to ask what had happened.
Eventually, Mackenzie was able to calm down enough to tell the others everything. First, she had to constantly reassure them all that she was fine, that no one had done her any lasting damage. Once everyone was satisfied she was unharmed, Mackenzie was able to explain what it was that Scylla wanted her to do. She explained everything, from the enormous VTOL that flew them out over the desert, to the wreckage of the Panspermia. She told them about SALINA, about how Joseph Miller had genetically locked the room to prevent Scylla from getting in there, about the file that Scylla wanted. Mackenzie also explained how she had found the file, but lied and told Scylla it wasn't there. Then she came to the part about the mother and son. How she had tried to stop Boroslav from executing them. How Vasilii had attacked her to defend Boroslav. And then she told them everything that had happened in the infirmary.
"Holy shit," Bell cursed under her breath. "Just when I thought Boroslav couldn't be any more psychotic..."
"He... made you watch?" Abbas asked, mortified.
"Yes," Mackenzie whispered, unable to look up from the floor. She was still on her knees, feeling too weak from fighting and too nauseated to stand just yet. "I couldn't do anything."
"That's sick," Jesse hissed, his tone halfway between livid and horrified.
"That poor woman," Bell said. "I can't even imagine. How long did you say she's been here?"
"Around twenty years, she thinks," Mackenzie said quietly.
"My God," Bell sighed.
"Did she say how she got here?" Abbas asked. "How Scylla caught her?"
Mackenzie hesitated before answering. She thought about what Ileana had told her about Joseph Miller, about how he betrayed her and traded her to Scylla. How, because of that act, she had suffered a life not worth living. Mackenzie still didn't believe it, couldn't believe it. That her father would do such a thing? No. No, never. He couldn't have done.
Could he?
"No," Mackenzie lied. "No, she didn't say."
Everyone fell silent, but as Mackenzie glanced up, she saw Jesse staring at her thoughtfully and, for a moment, she wondered if he knew she was lying.
"We need to get out of this place," Jesse said firmly, finally breaking eye contact with Mackenzie.
"That's a great idea and all," Bell began sarcastically, "but in case you didn't notice, we're locked in bloody aquariums! It's not like we can just walk out."
"I know that," Jesse replied calmly, shrugging off Bell's scathing sarcasm. "But we still need to get out of here."
"We need a plan," Abbas said thoughtfully, stroking his beard. "Ideally, we get our hands on that card Boroslav uses to open our cells. Maybe then we can find a way out and go home."
"Oh, well, if it's that easy, let's go!" Bell scoffed. "I don't want to be a pessimistic bitch, but how exactly are we supposed to do all of that?"
"I know how," Mackenzie said.
Everyone fell silent and just stared at her.
"You do?" Abbas asked, sounding surprised and amazed.
"Well, I didn't spend my time with Scylla becoming BFF's," Mackenzie smirked. "I was checking things out."
"What do you know?" Jesse asked, taking a step closer towards Mackenzie, placing his hands against the plexiglass.
Mackenzie considered her reply for a moment, both to straighten out her thoughts and also to calm herself down from everything that had just happened. When she spoke, it was calm and direct, like she was giving a report in school.
"You're right in saying we need Boroslav's key card," she began. "It's the only way to open our cells. Obviously we can't get the key card while we're in our cells, but luckily Scylla is coming to take me back out to the Panspermia soon. Once I'm out, I can try and find a way to swipe Boroslav's card, even if I have to take a beating from Vasilii again."
"That punk," Jesse growled. Mackenzie couldn't help but smile at him, but continued as though he hadn't spoken.
"I won't try for the key card until after I've been in the bridge again. If Boroslav busts me for stealing it from him, they might figure out what I'm up to, then maybe realize I lied about not being able to find the files. For this to work, I need to be able to go back into the bridge without anyone suspecting I'm up t
o something. That's why I pretended I couldn't find the files. And why I told SALINA to pretend she doesn't remember me when I go back, so Scylla doesn't get suspicious."
"Why'd you tell her SALINA hid the files?" Bell asked.
"Because when I go back, I need time," Mackenzie explained. "Pretending to look for hidden documents will give me that time. Scylla told me that she's mapped out every location for hundreds of miles that holds a water supply. We need that information. I figure SALINA should be able to access Scylla's data files through her tablet and I can copy the information so we know where to find a new water supply. I also want to try and work out what those files are for, and download them to something we can take with us. I don't know what they are, but I don't think it's a good idea to let Scylla have them. Scylla will take her tablet back as soon as I leave the bridge, but if I can get SALINA to put the files on something else, something Scylla doesn't even know I have, then maybe we can steal them."
"What could you download the files to?" Abbas asked. "Boroslav confiscated all our gear."
"No one has been in the bridge for decades," Mackenzie began. "When the Panspermia was operational, it would have been full of officers and personnel, all with devices that might be used for storing data. When Scylla accessed the bridge before, it was only brief, so she might not have been able to scavenge much gear, if anything. If anything has survived, I might be able to use it."
"What about when you give the information to Scylla?" Jesse asked. "What if she just decides to kill you then and there? You will have done what she wanted, she wouldn't need you anymore."
"There was a lot of stuff in that file," Mackenzie began, already knowing what to say. The same thought had occurred to her earlier. "Pages and pages of data. I'd say it's all pretty important, but if I can find something that's absolutely vital to whatever that file is talking about, I can keep that out of the copy I give Scylla. I saw a lot of math equations and stuff. I can memorise the most important-looking one I can find and delete it. I can use it as a bargaining chip. That way, she won't just shoot me in the face the second I hand over the tablet."
"So let's say you pull all that off," Bell began. "How do we get out of here? Boroslav will notice his card is missing. How will you get back here to let us out?"
"I'll have to ditch him somewhere," Mackenzie shrugged. "I figure if I can get away from him before he brings me back to my cell, I can lose him in the corridors, then make my way to you guys. I'll let you out and we can head down to the garage they brought us through when they captured us, steal a truck or something, and take off."
"Getting away from Boroslav will be difficult," Jesse pointed out. "And dangerous. What if you can't get away from him?"
"I'll have backup," Mackenzie grinned. "One of you can come with me."
"What?" Bell asked in surprise. "How?"
"Scylla thinks SALINA is malfunctioning," Mackenzie explained. "That the files she wants are hidden away somewhere in a computer that's been buried in the sand for almost fifty years. All I have to do is convince her I need help to dig through all the data and she'll let me take one of you with me. SALINA won't let her or any of her men in, so she won't have a choice. Two against one are always better odds."
"Hmm," Abbas said. "It's risky. But I don't see any other option, to be honest. It's worth a try."
"Who goes with you?" Bell asked.
"I think Abbas," Mackenzie replied. "He's the mechanic, he knows technology. Scylla won't think twice about him helping me with computer stuff."
"Good idea, but no," Abbas said firmly, shaking his head. "Take Jesse."
"Jesse?" Mackenzie repeated, surprised. "Why?"
"First of all, you don't actually need someone good with computers," Abbas said. "You already know where the files are. Secondly, Jesse is better at hand-to-hand combat. If ditching Boroslav comes down to a fight, you'll need him with you more than me."
"He's right," Bell nodded.
"And Scylla doesn't know our specialties," Abbas added. "No one ever asked our roles in the team, just our names. Scylla won't know the difference. You okay with that, Jesse?"
"No problem," Jesse nodded, folding his arms over his chest.
"I'd take all of you if I could," Mackenzie admitted. "But I don't think Scylla will like that idea."
"No, I wouldn't think so," Abbas agreed. "But just the two of you should be fine. As long as you both remain calm and don't fly off the handle. I'm looking at you, Jesse. I know how much you want to get Boroslav for what he did to Lowe, and what Mackenzie told us about last night makes me like the guy even less, but we have to be clever here, and very careful. They might not hurt Mackenzie because they need her for now, but you? You're expendable. I doubt Scylla or Boroslav would hesitate to kill you if you give them a reason."
"Got it," Jesse said. "Trust me, I'll play nice."
"Is there anything else?" Abbas asked. "Any other ideas? Anything we haven't thought of yet? We can't afford for anything to go wrong with this, or we're all dead. And remember, if we die, so does everyone back in Town. They're counting on us to bring them water."
Everyone was quiet as this detail sunk in. With everything that had happened, Mackenzie had almost forgotten that there were more lives at stake than just their own.
"There's one more thing," she said. "We need to take Ileana with us."
Jesse and Bell both nodded at once, but Abbas frowned. "Mackenzie, I want to get her out of this hell-hole as much as the rest of you, but can we risk everything for just one person?"
"You didn't see what Vasilii did to her," Mackenzie said softly, her voice quivering with barely contained rage. "I won't make her live like this. Not for one more day."
"I get it, I do," Abbas insisted. "If things were different, she'd be my first priority. But we need to think of the big picture. What if you're captured trying to free her? You could be wasting precious time, or undermine the entire operation."
"Abbas, come on," Jesse interrupted. "Don't you think that's a bit harsh?"
"Harsh?" Bell repeated. "Cold is what it is."
"You think I like suggesting we leave her?" Abbas snapped. "Of course I don't! What Boroslav and Vasilii and Scylla have done to her makes me sick! But the priority is that we all get out of here with that water map. Without that, everyone we know is dead. Including my children. I'm the Commander after Vasseur's death and it's my job to put forward the hard choices. We need to consider if saving this one woman is worth putting everything else on the line."
"With all due respect, sir," Mackenzie glowered, "I'm not actually asking for permission. I am going to save her."
"Abbas," Jesse began before Abbas could respond. "How about this? Once we get away from Boroslav, one of us can go get Ileana and the other can come back here with the water map. That way there's less risk of losing the data if anyone tries to stop us taking Ileana. We can regroup in the garage. Whoever gets there first can find a truck and hot wire it, then signal whoever comes after by flashing the headlights twice. Then we book it and never look back."
Abbas sighed pensively as he thought it over.
"Okay," he finally nodded. "It's a plan. A really dangerous, risky, possibly suicidal plan, but that's what we'll do. Bell and I will sit tight until you come back and let us out."
"That's all we can do?" Bell asked, disappointed. "We just sit cozy while Mackenzie and Jesse risk their lives?"
"I'm afraid so, Bell," Abbas sighed. "We just have to wait and hope this all works out."
"Don't worry," Mackenzie said firmly. "It will."
When Scylla came to collect Mackenzie, she did so without speaking. She scowled at Mackenzie and ignored all of the others. Boroslav was with her and she waited silently, her hands clasped behind her back, while he opened Mackenzie's cell.
"Time to go, Mackenzie," Scylla said flatly, finally speaking. "I trust today that you will be more respectful of my laws?"
"Yes," Mackenzie said begrudgingly.
"Good," Scylla nodded.
"Let's go."
"Wait," Mackenzie said quickly as Scylla began to turn away.
"Excuse me?" Scylla asked quietly, bristling with anger.
"I was thinking," Mackenzie began. "I'm gonna have some trouble finding this file for you if the AI has hidden it. I might need some help, someone who knows how to navigate a computer."
"SALINA will not allow my men into the bridge," Scylla scowled.
"No, but maybe she'll let in one of mine," Mackenzie replied. "Jesse is computer proficient, he could help speed things up."
Scylla turned and glared at Jesse, who was standing in the center of his cell, arms folded over his chest, glaring at Scylla and Boroslav with equal loathing.
"This one?" Boroslav sneered. "He's a vyrodok. A brainless foot-soldier."
Jesse didn't reply, but gave Boroslav one of his most burning glares, as though he was silently willing Boroslav to burst into flames.
"If you know as much about us as you say you do," Mackenzie began, hoping Scylla wouldn't see through the bluff, "then you know that each Diviner has a minimum of one specialty. Jesse's skills are weaponry and coding. He maintains all the equipment on our truck, guns and computers. If anyone can help me find what you're looking for, it's him."
Scylla glared scrupulously at Jesse, who glared right back at her. Scylla then turned and studied Mackenzie's face. Mackenzie tried to stay impassive, as though Scylla's decision didn't make a difference to her.
"Fine," Scylla said, snapping her reply. "Boroslav, let him out."
Boroslav looked less than pleased by this development, but he dutifully retrieved his key card from his pocket again and opened Jesse's cell.
As Jesse and Mackenzie were led away, Abbas and Bell watched in silence from within their cells.
Before long, Jesse was standing beside Mackenzie outside, staring in amazement as the VTOL settled down before them.
"Get in," Scylla snapped as the stairs began to lower.
Mackenzie noted that Scylla seemed in no mood for delays today, so began towards the VTOL. She needed Scylla to stay on side if this was going to work. And Mackenzie needed to play the part of the broken prisoner. Last night's "lesson" was meant to break her spirit and make her more cooperative. Instead, Mackenzie longed to see Scylla's face when she found out her prisoners had escaped.
Aboard the VTOL, Vasilii was waiting for them. He grinned at Boroslav and took a seat beside him. Vasilii then noticed Mackenzie sitting across from him and seemed to grin even wider.
"Hi, Mackenzie!" he said brightly.
Mackenzie just glared back at him, holding back all the things she wanted to say. Boroslav cleared his throat, glaring warningly at Mackenzie.
"Vasilii said hello," Boroslav said slowly. "You don't want to be rude, do you?"
Swallowing her rage, Mackenzie forced herself to nod at Vasilii and say, "Hello Vasilii."
"We're prepped for take-off, Scylla," said the pilot. Looking up, Mackenzie saw it was Min-Hee again. "Whenever you're ready."
Min-Hee then looked at Jesse, who sat beside Scylla, and her eyes widened in surprise. She opened her mouth to say something, but Mackenzie saw Jesse give her a tiny shake of the head and a steely glare, silencing her at once. Min-Hee immediately closed her mouth and ignored Jesse, waiting for Scylla's orders. When Scylla told her to take off, Min-Hee nodded once and retreated back to the cockpit without looking at Jesse again.
"What was that?" Mackenzie breathed to Jesse as the VTOL's engines powered up noisily, masking the sound of her voice.
"Later," Jesse breathed back, barely moving his lips.
During the flight, Mackenzie struggled to keep her emotions in check. Vasilii was speaking animatedly to Boroslav, smiling cheerfully, as though last night had never happened. Mackenzie told herself to stay calm, that after today, Vasilii and Boroslav and Scylla would never be able to harm Ileana again.
Finally, they arrived at the Panspermia wreck and disembarked the VTOL. It was the same as Mackenzie remembered it. Thousands of people still worked around and within the wreckage of the ship, all looking far too weak and starved to be able to stand, let alone work so hard. Beside her, Mackenzie could feel the rage radiating from Jesse as he took in the sight. She had explained it to him and the others, but words couldn't do this inhumanity justice. Only by seeing the misery and torment could one understand the horrors these people went through.
"Before we get started," Scylla suddenly began, "I want you to see something."
Jesse and Mackenzie glanced at one another, then followed Scylla as she made her way towards the workers.
"I thought you wanted me to find those files?" Mackenzie said, anxious to start her plan, and feeling apprehensive about whatever Scylla wanted her to see.
"And you will," Scylla said assuringly. "But first you should see this."
Scylla came to a stop beside one of the many armored trucks that drove around the area. Even from up close, Mackenzie couldn't see the driver, but the man in the turret on top was clearly visible, both hands holding on to the controls of the gun he manned.
"Do you know what this is?" Scylla asked Mackenzie, gesturing to the large gun on top of the vehicle.
Mackenzie shrugged. "A big gun."
"How observant," Scylla sneered sarcastically. Then, to Jesse, she said, "Supposedly you're an expert in weaponry. Tell me what this is."
Jesse narrowed his eyes as he looked the large gun up and down, then turned his gaze back to Scylla as he replied.
"That's a TG-X9," Jesse began. "A thunder generator weapon. First developed by the Israeli military back in the 21st century."
"And for those of us who don't understand what any of that means," Scylla smiled, glancing at Mackenzie, "please enlighten us."
Jesse huffed in annoyance, clearly as impatient as Mackenzie.
"It's a crowd control armament," Jesse explained. "It uses pulse detonation technology to funnel an explosion into the barrel, where it releases high-velocity shockwaves powerful enough to knock down and temporarily deafen targets up to a hundred feet away."
"So you do know your stuff," Scylla observed, sounding as though she was impressed.
"I've only read about it," Jesse admitted begrudgingly. "From my understanding, the armory on the Panspermia was at the rear of the ship, where your predecessors were before being evacuated. So you got all the guns while we got everything else. We have people who could have probably built stuff like that, but water was the first concern the last generation had. Unlike you." Jesse narrowed his eyes at Scylla and he bristled with anger. "Seeing as you had access to a water supply, I suppose you kept all of your weaponry and equipment to impose your little dictatorship over these people, am I right?"
"Close," Scylla grinned sweetly. "There were others in charge before me. They wanted to find the rest of the Panspermia survivors and establish a strong colony by the river, so that we can flourish and maybe even populate the planet. Of course, they didn't succeed in finding your Town, as you kept moving in your constant search for water, but they poured so much time and energy and resources into finding you, they were ignoring greater concerns. A lot of our VTOLs had to be decommissioned because of being exposed to the elements of this planet far longer than they should have been. We lost a lot of people on search parties, many people simply vanishing in the deserts. Many people weren't happy about that."
"You being one of them?" Jesse accused.
"That's right," Scylla nodded. "But we're not here to talk about my life story. No, I wanted to show you the TG-X9. Or the Thunder Gun, as many people call it. Mikhail, please bring me a volunteer."
"Who?" Boroslav asked.
"It doesn't matter," Scylla replied coldly.
Boroslav snapped his fingers at a soldier nearby and then pointed at a random man from a passing line of workers who were carrying bags of harvested parts to a truck. The soldier immediately grabbed the man and, despite his screams, dragged him towards the truck that carried the Thunder Gun. br />
"What are you doing?" Mackenzie demanded, suddenly worried.
"I want to show you something," Scylla said sweetly.
As Mackenzie and Jesse watched helplessly, the soldier tied the poor man's arms behind his back, then shoved him down to his knees. The fight seemed to have gone out of the man. He didn't shout, he didn't try to get back to his knees. He simply remained motionless, staring up at the large gun that was now starting to tilt down towards him, only a few feet away.
"Jesse, is it?" Scylla asked. Jesse didn't respond, but Scylla continued anyway. "Since you're the expert, why don't you tell us what kind of damage the Thunder Gun can do at close range?"
"Don't do this," Jesse growled.
"Scylla, please," Mackenzie begged. "Let's just go get those files. We don't need to see the gun."
"What's wrong?" Scylla asked Jesse, ignoring Mackenzie completely. "Don't you know?"
"Let that man go," Jesse said.
Jesse took a step towards Scylla, but froze when half a dozen soldiers around them moved simultaneously and levelled their rifles at his chest. Jesse remained motionless, keeping his hands half-raised, but kept his glare locked on Scylla.
"Well, if you don't want to tell us," Scylla shrugged, "I suppose we should just see for ourselves."
Scylla turned her head towards the soldier in the turret who controlled the Thunder Gun, then uttered just a single word.
"Fire."
Mackenzie and Jesse both moved as though to try and stop the man in the truck from firing the gun, but a wall of armed soldiers blocked their path. There was no time for them to do anything regardless, because the moment Scylla said to fire, that's what the soldier on the Thunder Gun did.
The gun boomed loudly, sounding exactly like thunder, rattling Mackenzie's teeth as the pulse shook the air. The force of the shock wave was so powerful, it was like firing a cannonball through wet papier-mâché. The man literally split open and his insides were spread across the ground for a hundred feet. There was nothing left that looked remotely human, save for a pair of legs, which lay twitching on the ground.
As Mackenzie stared in horror and disgust at the sight of the man's remains, she couldn't hear the screams of the workers who had seen this gruesome, senseless, murder. Her ears were ringing loudly, so she couldn't hear the desperate wails, the hopeless cries, nor could she hear the sound of a young boy screaming for his father.
"Why!?" Jesse roared, his voice only a distant echo to Mackenzie, despite the fact he was standing right beside her. "Why did you do that!?"
"To illustrate a point," Scylla snapped. Mackenzie was slowly regaining her hearing and was able to make out what Scylla was saying now. "Yesterday, Mackenzie Miller interfered with our laws and threatened one of my men. I'm told that you, Jesse Greaves, are prone to acts of defiance and stupidity in equal measure. I want you to know, here and now, that I will not abide it! You will do as you are told and nothing more! You will enter the bridge, you will find those files, and you will walk out with those files and hand them to me."
"You didn't need to kill that man to tell us that!" Mackenzie shouted.
"No, but I did so to prove my resolve," Scylla snapped, her voice growing louder and angrier as she spoke. "So that you will not doubt for even a moment that I will kill every last person here to get what I want. Now, we've wasted enough time and I'm growing impatient! The both of you, follow me and get into the bridge right now! I want those files quickly! And, to make sure neither of you get any ideas of betraying me, or wasting any more of my time, for every thirty minutes that those files are not in my hands, I will subject another slave to what you just witnessed."
Without needing to be told, Boroslav snatched a random worker from the watching crowd, this time a young girl, no older than thirteen. She screamed in a panic as Boroslav dragged her away, reaching out to two older people in the crowd who must have been her parents. They both were also screaming, attempting to grab her before Boroslav dragged her out of reach, but two soldiers appeared and quickly forced them back into line with threats of death.
"Mama!" the girl shrieked, tears leaving long streaks down her dirt-covered face. "Papa!"
"Let her go!" Mackenzie shouted.
"Do as I say and you have my word, she won't be harmed," Scylla replied acidly. "You have thirty minutes to get me those files, or else she will suffer the same fate as the man before her. Your time starts now!"
"Come on, let's move," Jesse whispered, ushering Mackenzie towards the ship as Scylla stormed off in that direction, not looking back, as though she didn't care if they followed or not.
Mackenzie seemed reluctant to move, though, staring at the little girl as soldiers tied her arms and forced her to kneel before the giant gun. The girl was crying uncontrollably, screaming for her parents.
"Miller!" Jesse barked in Mackenzie's ear.
Mackenzie started with a jump, then followed Jesse's lead towards the ship, both of them walking in Scylla's wake, Mackenzie praying that she was able to pull off the first part of her plan within the next half an hour.