“He was begging me to tell him so he wouldn’t have to hurt me,” Tegan said; it sounded as if she was forcing her voice to work.
Aari scowled. “Who? Tony?”
“Yeah. He said he likes us all and doesn’t want to put us through pain, but whatever he’s part of is bigger than any of us.”
“That’s a load of bull. What
is
he a part of, anyway?”
“He didn’t say. All we know is what Dr. Nate told Mariah and me.”
Aari kicked one of the table legs. “Are they going to come back for us?”
“Doubt it. When they left, Tony said that we should be expecting a visitor tomorrow evening.”
“
Tomorrow evening?
”
“Yes, Aari,” she replied, impatient. “That’s exactly what he said. And I feel that our visitor might be Dr. Nate.”
“For what? More interrogation?”
“Probably. He’s not going to play as nice this time around, I don’t think.”
“Then we’d better get out of here. Doesn’t matter if it’s really him coming or someone else; either way, I’m not keen on finding out.”
“You do know we’re being kept behind a solid metal door that is most likely guarded, yeah? And that we have no idea what or where this place is?”
“Can you find a creature, some animal to be your eyes like you did at the cavern?”
“I tried. There aren’t any close enough.”
Aari rested his head on the table again. “Ugh . . . How long was the drive from St. Thomas to here? That might give us a general idea of our location.”
Tegan coughed. “Actually, I may have an idea. They took the sack off my head for a bit when we were in the car. I saw the name of a street we passed.”
“Great. Now what we need is to find a way to get that information out.”
“I think I can try something. Remember when we were at Joshua’s lab, and you stayed outside to take a call from Kody?”
“Yes . . . ?”
“Jag took the phone from Kody for a moment, didn’t he?”
Aari inched upright and scrutinized her. “I thought Kode-man was the only one with super hearing.”
“He is,” she said. “But what I heard—or what I think I heard—were Jag’s thoughts.”
“No way.”
“It was like a badly-tuned radio, with words cutting in and out, but it was his voice. This is a long shot, but maybe I can reach out to him.”
“How is it you could hear him?”
“Most of my training with Elder Tikina was spent in the novasphere, remember? That’s how I locate the animals I take control of. Maybe telepathic communication is just the next step in the development of my abilities. Marshall did say it could happen to us.”
Aari was too excited to sit. He hopped up and walked around the table. “If you can reach him and get him to tell Marshall about the street you saw . . . ”
“ . . . Then we can still try to escape,” Tegan finished, grinning.
“Precisely.” Aari sat on the edge of the table and winked at her. “And I think I’ve got an idea how we can go about doing that.”
D
espite his diminutive stature, Dr. Nate enjoyed driving big cars. His Chevy Suburban trailed easily over the dirt roads that led to the mine site in New Mexico. He’d just finished a call with Tony and now spoke to the boss to relay the good news. “Tony recaptured two of the five!” he said gleefully. “And ’is men are working to locate the other three.”
“It’s a start.” The boss’s voice carried the characteristic unemotional tones of a voice distorter. “Are all sites ready for the speech in a couple of hours?”
“They are all ’ooked up and ready to go, just like you wanted.”
“Good. I want you to call Tony back.”
“And tell him . . . what?”
“I want the two young ones to watch my address to the Sanctuaries. Have him arrange for that.”
Dr. Nate admired the boss’s perceptiveness. “I see . . . I will inform him of this right away.”
“Thank you. I hope you enjoy tonight’s speech, Doctor.”
“I’m sure I will, Boss. I’m sure I will.”
* * *
The view was nothing to be sneezed at. Snowcapped peaks glistened in the setting orange sun. One mountain stood taller than its brothers to the right. Though stunning, it felt ancient, as if it had watched the world since its beginning.
A warning buzz sounded.
Kenzo Igarashi sighed.
Looks like it’s time.
He clicked the remote he was holding and the striking scenery in front of him vanished. Most of the living quarters weren’t properly set up yet, but he was one of the lucky few in the New Mexico Sanctuary who’d gotten a functioning ultra-high-definition LED screen.
He pushed off from his bed and checked himself in the mirror. His silver hair was sticking up at the back so he combed it down, then left his room to walk along a hallway lined with doors behind which other workers of the Sanctuary resided. A few others, dressed as he was in bright orange coveralls, were making their way out of the honeycomb-shaped dormitories at the eastern corner of the cavern. Most of the other occupants were already assembled.
A black-haired girl, Igarashi’s cousin, caught up with him and linked her arm through his. Her coveralls were dirty and she had dust all over her face but she still smiled radiantly. “Ken! Where were you?”
“Taking my break in my room,” he said, patting her hand.
“This is so exciting!” she gushed. “We’re finally going to hear from the boss! I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time!”
“You sound like we’ve been here for years, Ren.”
She laughed. “Eleven months. It does feel like it’s been ages, though. It’s been an incredible ride, hasn’t it? Eye-opening, even. Thank goodness we were found—we’ve been given a new chance.”
Ken patted her hand again and forced a laugh.
Found? New chance? We were kidnapped, Ren. And now we’re nothing but slaves.
He could never understand how it was that he was the only one, or so it seemed to him, who was able to resist Dr. Nate’s cerebral reprogramming. For nearly a year he’d had to pretend that he was one of the youths who’d been inducted into the organization.
A twinge of sadness pierced his heart as he gazed at Ren. The cheery demeanor was but a shell. She had been transformed into a drone for the cause and was completely unaware of the chain that had been wrapped around her soul.
His cousin pulled him into the amassing crowd and he found himself at the center, staring at a massive screen that had been erected. Most of the lights in the cavern had been turned off with the exception of a few at the outer edges of the work area, and those were dimmed.
Ken saw Dr. Nate sitting up front with Vladimir Ajajdif, facing the crowd and looking proud of himself.
Mind warper
, he thought disgustedly. He’d trained himself to plaster on a neutral expression to blend in with the others who seemed so keen on their cause. For the billionth time, he found himself wondering if there were any others who’d managed to fool Dr. Nate and were playing possum, pretending to be one of the masses to save their neck.
Everyone knew the consequences of trying to escape the Sanctuary. They’d seen it. When Ken and his cousin were first plunked into the Sanctuary with a batch of other kids, a few had tried to escape but were taken down by the Marauders and ripped apart. Gruesome photos of their remnants were circulated and videos depicting the attacks were on loop for weeks. Ken had heard what the other youths had to say about the would-be escapees—stupid, idiots, why would anyone even want to go back to the atrocious world they’d been saved from? He hoped the two girls who escaped a few days ago managed to survive the beasts that had been unleashed on them, and wished he could have done more than just stepping aside and letting them past him.
A crackle from the speakers behind the big screen quieted the crowd. The screen flickered for a few seconds before an image appeared of a figure with a golden hood pulled down over its face. A ripple of whispers traveled through the ranks.
“Greetings.” The voice was digitally distorted and pitched low. “I’m pleased to speak to all of you tonight. Thank you for joining me from different time zones across the planet. This is my first address to you since we began building our future together. As such, not only is this moment special—it is historic.”
Ken risked a quick glance around him. Every other youth present had their attention fixed on the boss.
“As you have learned in the time you’ve been at your respective Sanctuaries, the cause we stand for is nothing short of the salvation of our planet. Your unwavering commitment to our purpose is the foundation for a new world, a new future. You are the precious pioneers who will lead the way.
“Since the dawn of our species, humanity has possessed the freedom of choice—the choice to live in accord with the planet or not.
“But the choices that were made over the last few centuries have led us down a path of destruction fed by greed, corruption and arrogance. Mankind has taken the planet and all that she has to offer for granted, and this has led us to where we are today.
“Soulless corporations and spineless politicians have duped the mindless masses to voraciously consume resources without a thought to what their self-indulgence can lead to. Sadly, this abuse is not the sole domain of the rich nations of the world. This greed and venality is prevalent across the globe, driven by a sense of entitlement.” The metallic voice grew coarse with disgust. “Popular culture and its vile disregard for human decency. Its obscene self-obsession and exploitation of young minds. You have all seen this. The
garbage
that pollutes human consciousness.
“With haughtiness they have trampled under their feet the values that have been the safeguard of our species and the planet. This breakdown of society began long before you and I came into the picture. Day by day, it worsens.”
Whispers broke through the crowd again before being subdued.
“As the world outside collapses into a heap of dust, the world you have begun to build will rise in its stead. The Sanctuaries you are constructing are in anticipation of the coming downfall and the evisceration of humanity.
“The end for the old world is close at hand, my friends, and what I am doing in hastening its demise is simply a matter of mercy. Soon enough, we will replace it with a new order.
“Though we may be confined here for a time, we will patiently wait for the day where we can return to the surface. That day will mark the birth of a new Earth and a new race of man, shorn of the imperfections of our forefathers.”
A rousing cheer shot up from the massed youths. Ken joined in, howling and clapping, but he wanted to smite them all.
Hastening humanity’s demise? No sane person would follow a leader who’s bent on burning the world. Why won’t these guys
wake up
?
When the cheering died down, the boss continued, abstractedly rolling a small violet sphere in one hand. “Stewards of the New Earth. Most of you have grown up being told that the way to govern ourselves is through self-determination and a government that serves its people through the separation of powers between law of the state and the law of morality. How has that worked out?”
The crowd jeered and catcalled.
“When you learn to be in tune with your new purpose, you will free yourselves from the strangling grip of the old ways. In the coming weeks, I will be revealing to you how we’ll organize ourselves as curators of the new future. With that, I call upon each and every one of you to redouble your efforts in building what must be built right here, right now, for the world that we will soon hail. To you, and to New Earth.”
The crowd roared as the screen went blank. “New Earth! New Earth! New Earth!”
* * *
Tegan and Aari were dumbstruck at what they’d just witnessed on Tony’s tablet.
Tony grinned broadly as he pulled the device away from them. “Hope you enjoyed that crash course on our cause,” he said reverently. “And I know what you’re thinking. However, what we’re doing to speed up the end of the old world is not for you to be concerned with.” As he walked out of the room, he added, “I’m looking forward to welcoming the five of you into our fold. You will help create a new and lasting future for the betterment of both mankind and the planet.”
W
ith a population of thirteen million, Mumbai is by far the largest city in India and probably its most westernized. It amalgamates flavors from the bygone British Era with twenty-first century trappings—lavish hotels and a booming film industry. Yet this is a place where one can find wealth and extreme poverty co-existing in relative peace; it isn’t uncommon to find tin-roofed shacks erected haphazardly beside opulent mansions.
A Sentry was perched at the top of a radio tower, granting him an ample view of the bustling city below. He’d been restless since the night before. It was as if his spirit sensed an impending disturbance. Listening to his intuition, he’d let his feet guide him to a street with closely-packed shops on either side and scaled the communication tower at its center. Strange looks were initially thrown his way but people soon moved on, busy as they were with their own problems and trying to make a living. The chatter of Hindi and occasional English fell away as the disconcerted Sentry waited for a sign that, in spite of him wishing otherwise, might prove his hunch right. With his heightened senses, he began scanning below for potential trouble.
At a large grocery store nearby, dozens of customers waited restlessly in a long line under the sweltering heat of the midday sun. Several other stores that sold food had similar lines of shoppers waiting impatiently to get their hands on essential items such as rice and wheat.
Security guards were posted at the doors of the shops and policemen patrolled the neighborhood, watching for signs of unrest. Imposing green military trucks chugged along their designated routes, belching black smoke into the already polluted air. It appeared that the presence of police and armed troops was succeeding at keeping potential troublemakers at bay.
A thought crossed the Sentry’s mind:
What if the agitators have it all planned? What if all they’re waiting for is a distraction—