CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
"This is some heavy stuff, Mackenzie."
Ethan was at his workstation in the shop, examining the data Mackenzie had brought him on the hard drive. He had his hand placed on a mouse-like device, but it was essentially just a large ball that rolled within a cradle. Each roll of the ball controlled the movement of the holographic images that now hovered over his desk. Three-dimensional images of documents, schematics, blueprints and countless other things floated before Ethan and Mackenzie, who stood watching over Ethan's shoulder.
"Any idea what it means?" Mackenzie asked.
"Well..." Ethan began, speaking slowly. "I could guess, but I won't know for sure until I look through everything here. It looks massively complicated. And there's a lot of math and theoretical physics used here. A lot of talk about something called exotic matter."
"Do you think we could build whatever it is?" Mackenzie asked, thinking about how long they might have before the mystery doomsday occurred.
"Not likely," Ethan frowned. "This is really complex stuff, way more complicated than anything I've seen before. I'm not sure we have the materials. Even if we melted down every scrap of steel we had in Town, I don't think it would be enough. Then there's all this other stuff to worry about. I don't even know what exotic matter is."
Ethan turned away from the images and spun on his stool to face Mackenzie.
"Give me some time to look over this stuff," he said. "I'll see if I can figure it out."
Mackenzie nodded. "I know you will. Thanks, Ethan."
Ethan pressed his lips tightly together, looking concerned. "You know your head is covered in blood, right?" he asked. "You should really see a doctor."
Mackenzie touched her forehead where blood had dried and begun to crack against her skin. She had completely forgotten about her injuries.
"I'm fine," Mackenzie said shortly.
"Are you?" Ethan asked doubtfully. "What the hell happened out there?"
"I'll tell you another time," Mackenzie replied, not meeting Ethan's eyes.
"You looked pretty mad with your dad when you talked to him," Ethan pressed. "What's wrong?"
"Just-nothing, don't worry about it," Mackenzie said evasively.
Ethan narrowed his eyes and seemed to examine Mackenzie like she was one of his projects.
"You seem... different," Ethan said. "I don't know how, but you do."
"I'm still me," Mackenzie said, but a part of her wondered how true that was.
"You can tell me anything, you know," Ethan said. "Was it the kiss?"
"Huh?" Mackenzie asked, not sure what Ethan was talking about. Then she remembered the last time she had seen him. "Oh!"
"I'm sorry if that was wrong," Ethan began. "But I'm also not sorry at all. I've been trying to work up the courage to tell you how I feel for years. The thought of you leaving and maybe never coming back, I had to take a chance."
Ethan stood up and took Mackenzie's hands in his. Mackenzie felt nervous, but didn't pull away. She met Ethan's gaze as he looked down into her eyes.
"Mackenzie... do you think that there's any way we could..." Ethan left the remainder of his question unspoken, but his meaning was clear.
Unsure of what she was going to say, Mackenzie opened her mouth to speak, her hands still in Ethan's.
"I-" she began.
Suddenly the door behind them burst open and a figure walked in. Mackenzie saw Jesse approaching, still limping, but his leg otherwise okay. As soon as she recognized him, Mackenzie dropped Ethan's hands and took a step away from him. The disappointment and hurt was painfully clear on Ethan's face and Mackenzie felt like the worst person in the world.
"Jesse," Mackenzie said, somewhat flustered. "How's your leg?"
"Not too bad," Jesse replied, smiling slightly, but glancing suspiciously between Mackenzie and Ethan. "Am I interrupting?"
"No, no, we were just going over the data on the hard drive," Mackenzie said quickly.
"Yeah," Ethan said, sounding bitter as he turned back to his workstation and sat down. He began flipping through the 3D documents once more, only too quickly to really be looking at them. "I'll learn what I can from this, see if there's anything useful. I'll talk to you later, Mackenzie."
Mackenzie stared sadly at Ethan's back as he pretended to read the documents in front of him. She wasn't sure how she felt in that moment, but it wasn't a good feeling. She felt alone, and guilty. She knew she hadn't done anything wrong by Ethan, it was him who kissed her, after all. Still, his feelings were hurt and, even though it was unintentional, Mackenzie knew she had made him feel that pain.
Turning to Jesse, Mackenzie said abruptly, "We should go."
His brow creasing in confusion as he glanced at Ethan, Jesse nodded once. "Sure. If you say so."
Together, Mackenzie and Jesse walked out of the shop, leaving Ethan to his own devices. Outside, they walked together silently, heading in the direction of the town center, where the VTOL was still parked. A large crowd of people had gathered around and, as they drew nearer, Mackenzie could see Min-Hee, Bell, and a dozen other people passing large jugs of water out to people. Min-Hee had suggested they empty the water contents of the VTOL to ease the community's trepidation towards her and the machine.
"It was a good idea," Mackenzie said aloud to Jesse. "Min-Hee saying to pass out the water. Looks like most people aren't so worried about her and the VTOL anymore."
Jesse nodded, watching the smiling faces of the people they passed as they made their way to their respective homes with their fresh supply of water.
"There's not enough for everyone, though," Jesse pointed out. "The VTOL holds thirty thousand litres. We have one hundred thousand people who need water. Even half a litre each won't be enough for everyone."
"Well, we'll just have to get more then, won't we?" Mackenzie replied slyly.
"Another mission?" Jesse asked, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.
"Not just for water, though," Mackenzie added. "Scylla is still out there. She'll be wanting that metric more than ever."
"So what do you suggest we do about her?" Jesse asked cautiously.
"Right now? Nothing," Mackenzie shrugged. "We're far away and she took a big hit today. She lost vehicles, two VTOLs, a bunch of soldiers, Boroslav... She'll likely want to regroup before she pulls anything. We'll just worry about ourselves for now, then figure her out later."
Jesse nodded approvingly. "What'd I tell you?" he asked, grinning sideways at Mackenzie. "You've got damn good potential."
Mackenzie returned Jesse's grin, but she didn't feel like smiling. After everything they had just been through, after the loss of good friends, Mackenzie felt drained. Like she had lost a large piece of herself out in the desert. For now, everyone was safe, but there were still a lot of dangers lurking in unseen places. How long could they stay safe?
"Things might just get harder from here," Mackenzie said, thinking aloud. "We can get water now, but with Scylla still out there... What's going to happen to us all now, Jesse?"
Jesse was silent for a few seconds as he considered Mackenzie's question. Then he looked sideways at her, slipping his hand into hers and squeezing her fingers comfortingly.
"Only time will tell."
EPILOGUE
Scylla scowled and folded her arms over her chest as she watched her men bring in the pathetic lump on a stretcher. He was moaning like a dying animal, one that needed to be put down for mercy's sake.
Or at least to just shut him up, Scylla thought, grinding her teeth in annoyance at his wailing.
The men carefully placed the stretcher on the infirmary bed, but even though they took enormous care to not harm him, the creature shrieked in agony the moment his back touched the mattress.
"How is he still alive?" one of the men whispered to another.
"Because he's too stubborn to die," the other soldier replied. "He probably tried to kill Death himself."
Scylla stood ove
r the creature that had once been her loyal comrade, silencing the two soldiers with a cold glance. Then she returned her gaze to what had once been a man.
Boroslav barely resembled a human being anymore. His skin was charred and burned, exposing the raw flesh, which was cracked and weeping. Both of his legs were gone from the knees down, burned away or blown off in the explosion, as was his entire left arm. One eye was burned closed and his lips no longer existed, exposing his teeth in a terrifying skeletal scream.
At least I don't have to look at that cleft lip anymore, Scylla thought.
"Silver linings," she muttered to herself.
"Beg your pardon, Miss?" the nearest soldier asked, straightening his posture as though he though Scylla was giving him an order.
"Nothing, nothing," Scylla replied.
Boroslav wailed hideously on the bed, making Scylla sigh with annoyance.
"What can we do for him?" Scylla asked.
The man who called himself a doctor appeared at her side, staring at Boroslav in repulsion.
"I don't know," he replied, looking as though he didn't want to go anywhere near the screaming and wailing Boroslav. "The Rivera woman might have known, with her medical training, but this is far beyond my experience."
"Your best guess, then," Scylla growled impatiently.
"Put him down," the doctor admitted. "Just shoot him."
"Watch your mouth!" one of the soldiers snapped.
Scylla silenced everyone with only a raised hand, but noted how all of the soldiers present had tensed up and bristled at the doctor's suggestion.
They are loyal to Boroslav, Scylla reminded herself. If he were to die, would they remain loyal to me? Certainly not if I order he be put down. No, that will not do.
"There's something else we can do," Scylla began, speaking slowly, as if she was weighing her words carefully as she spoke. Truthfully, though, she had already decided what to do. "We can place him in the mech."
The doctor gasped in apparent shock. "We can't do that!"
"Of course we can," Scylla countered calmly. "The spinal and membrane inserts will prevent him from feeling the pain of his wounds. The suit itself will give him a new body, so that he can carry out his duties with the same skill he always has."
"But... but it's too dangerous!" the doctor argued. "The mechs were designed for only short-term use. What you're talking about will be for the remainder of his life! The inserts... we don't know what they might do to him with that level of long-term exposure. The chemicals coursing through his veins and into his brain, the artificial intelligence of the suit may not be compatible with his cognition... it may drive him mad!"
"He was already mad," Scylla said flatly. "But he was also useful. This... I can't use him like this. And he'd rather die than not be a soldier for a single day. Put him in the mech."
And when he is back on his feet, Scylla thought, we will end this.
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