Nemecene: The Epoch of Redress (11 page)

Considering that it is not possible to invade the upcoming section without forcing the stored sunlight in the tunnel through the slot she will need, her choice is evident. An inoperative flume will raise an alert, and the second line protectors will flush from the walls. It is not her intent to entice them to stir at this juncture, so she widens the gap where she stopped, slips silently into the sombre space beyond and realigns the frequencies. She braces for the wrath of the awakening sentinel.

As Nathruyu performs her evasive dance with the disgruntled beast scowling down at her, she keeps a mindful ear to the shuffling of feet above. Timing her steps to the rhythm of the creature's dives, she humors it long enough for the talking to taper, and then, confusing her attacker, hastily reenables the lift, reestablishes her course, and collapses the hole after her. An instant's reprieve, and up the bend she soars, guiding her body to the frigid cell, devoid of light, hairy defenders, or any other apparent signs of security. As she trespasses further in the cold vault, her temperature steadily drops. She is reminded of the perils inherent in lingering and quickens her pace towards a diminutive figure left supine and inanimate on the elevated platform.

Dusk has only just acquiesced to the moon as it funnels the solar reflection through the semitransparent architecture and bathes the shape of a person in an amethyst glow. She reaches for the tools, artfully concealed between the layers of her clothing, and tempers her breathing to stabilize the explosion of conflict inside. Brushing the soggy bangs from the girl's forehead, she finds evidence of their tampering and plunges her into a deeper phase of suspension. Her brain already prepped for the impending modifications, she firmly cups the back of the girl's neck, locates the void at the base of her skull, and burrows into it. Nathruyu nods in approval, then systematically rolls the flaccid youngster to an appropriate angle, frees her hair from the site, and leans over her as she slices, catching a red spray with her chest. As she feverishly bores her thumb into the wound, she searches the cavity, sharply aware of the gravity of her actions, and confirms her suspicions.

The distant sound of the matter generator, forming some virtachairs, echoes from the shaft behind her as the familiar tone of his voice draws dangerously near. Driven to forsake her unwitting donor, she creates a temporary rift to the outdoors, glides her lean frame through it, and steps gingerly onto the flat top of the adjoining pod. There she waits, anticipating a code three lockdown once they discover the growing crimson river she has released, draining from the slab and pouring into a viscous pool around their feet. The surprise interruption has betrayed the desecration and has thwarted its completion, putting the child unnecessarily at risk and compromising her plotted exit strategy. She kneels and lays an inquisitive hand on the cool translucent quartz, anxiously trusting that their attention will stay drawn to the patient while they strive to dam the flow of blood. As she labors to abate the crescendo of tremors overtaking her nerves in order to avoid transmitting them via the ceiling, she redirects her focus to the vibrations emanating from their agitated dialog.

As per instructions, a state of emergency seizes the building, and GMU operatives stealthily assemble and fortify the boundaries of the university property. Nathruyu's options are scant. She shrinks her stature and holds fast to her coat, as she pastes her ribs to her thighs, bringing another palm and one ear to the conversation below. He is reprimanding their carelessness and a defiant tongue is countering as the more obedient two clamor for something.

"The girl is lost. Salvage what you can and protect it."

"She is here. The wound is fresh."

"No. There is no time. Tonight you must travel."

"And the units? They are waiting."

"Cancel them. No disclosure. We must keep this private."

The man who is noticeably in charge motions vigorously at the attending ones and urges the upheaval onwards. Her body naked to the encroaching blackness, she challenges the limits of her reserves and strains to identify the cause of the chaos. The ransacking continues awhile, and she notes the leader's impatient displeasure at the results.

"Enough! She has taken it. Clean up this mess and find them!"

His features are hardly discernible behind the clouded screen, but his outline against the moonlit backdrop is unmistakable. Nathruyu knows whom he is referring to and whom he is compelled to hunt. The operatives having withdrawn as directed, she retreats inwards and harnesses whatever energy she can contract to overpower the lethargy in her slowing muscles. Boldly, she jumps onto the lower level, an audacious grin cocked over her right shoulder. Meeting his delicious frustration as she pauses to lock eyes with him, she revels in the opportunity to once again crush his arrogant taunt, before winding her laughter down the outside of the tower.

Nathruyu gasps for oxygen as she sways in the onshore breeze, reliving the angst of her narrow escape. The efforts to conceal her transgression have thus far succeeded, but soon... Soon, the truth shall slash the fabrication, and
they
will combine their forces to pursue her and to vindicate their involvement, exposing the girl and the unfortunate sentry who fell at the perimeter. Without this vindication, the grim dark road to the highlands and the resulting events leading up to her present devices would have remained latent, a hereafter never to be manifest. But until such date, she must advance, impelled by the promise of unison.

Today, Nathruyu conspires to revisit Osler Hall and complete the procedure on someone else, using the orchestrated meteor showers as a camouflage. While the ringleader burdens himself with seemingly random blasts from the heavens, she will recapture the advantage and claim the mark. Coaxing the sunshine through the mist, she raises her arms to receive it, settles the flux enveloping her and calmly extracts its essence. The current begins, as before, inducing a rejuvenating interlude that refreshes her cells for the forthcoming physical trials and the mental acumen they demand. This time, there will be no surprises.

She rouses to the gentle brush of a feathered hunter, playing in the swells of the afternoon gusts, then swooping past her and into a remote memory, a sobering reminder of her ultimate fragility. The views to the south are clear again. The cityscape features the diverse endeavors of the crowds below and showcases the one she has specifically arisen to partake in. From the raised entryway of a medi clinic beyond the Snack Shack, where Elize has curiously sequestered herself while eating her favorite treat, a refined and attractive lady, with the timid child in tow, fluidly matches her gait to the frenetic tempo of the homeward-bound masses. Nathruyu watches closely as the duo glide forth, unnoticed, by the canteen and the narrow scaffold abutting the museum. Delighted by the newest selection and thrilled by her assured success, she sinks into her refuge and emerges a few minutes later outside the marble gate, confidently trailing the woman and the girl across the wide-open corridor bisecting the central canal.

Ingress onto the island happens easily, as the spirited escort drags her young friend along, forcing the straggling child to concentrate on her rebellious sandals rather than the approaching stalker. Slipping into the heavily guarded crystal helix purports to be more onerous, but as fate would have it, the sandal flies off her soppy foot and slams its heel across the bridge of the greeter's nose. The dumbfounded expression on the man's profile switches to a bellowing laugh, as he dutifully hoists the harmless weapon from the landing where it had dropped. Nathruyu furtively monitors the teasing game between them, fueled by the beauty's captivating allure as she nonchalantly sneaks towards the scanner and steals a guest tag from the security desk as she saunters by. Posturing at the lift and sporting a borrowed slippad, her ribcage giggles at the spellbound official attempting to impress his audience with his feeble wit, ignorant of the blatant trespass she has staged right in front of him. A final toss of the woman's head and a flirtatious titter concludes the banter, and the offending footwear regains its rightful place, ready to shuffle on. Once they satisfy the sensors, the sapphire blue splendor of the lobby's gemstone inlays highlights the reason for his infatuation. She could not have solicited a more fitting distraction, for eyes such as those reduce a man to repose.

Nathruyu carefully inspects the fidgeting child, under-standably agitated in the burnished halls of the vestibule. She imagines they told her some innocuous assessments were necessary for whatever ailment they had conveniently fabricated, but a toll far more mortifying awaits her.

Tap tap tap goes the child's nervous shoe, reminiscent of the soothing beat of the antique timepiece he used to wear, whose lullaby chimed as he draped his arms around her. The details of his blissful face disperse behind her sunken stare. The visions always come to Nathruyu in fragments, wrapped in sentiment that she fails to digest, feelings clawing at her core and hanging there, precariously, surrounded by an acid-filled abyss. The future was perpetually resisting them, she vaguely recalls. As the nausea creeps up her throat, her discomfort is painfully obvious to her enlisted accomplice.

"All will be well soon, my dear," reassures the blue-eyed charmer as she crouches to the girl's height and smiles, subtly glancing up at Nathruyu as she coddles her companion.

An archway develops and a staircase of benches materializes, good for three passengers, and straps them in for the tilted and swirly ride up the tower. When the tube re-carves a doorway, they exchange parting words, the pair enters the destined level, and Nathruyu continues on to the next tier. Once inside, she disables the controller, stows the examination beds, and proceeds to generate a one-way portal in their stead. Assuming a background position, suspended face down above the rifted stone, she records the last lucid moments of this frightened lamb. The sedative spreads rapidly and the child now lies alone, unconscious and primed for the dreamless sleep lurking beyond.

Skirting the secret window with the tips of her limbs, she embraces the coolness of the waning light and paints frosty twinkles from her breath on the scene. The ravenous torrent within overwhelms her, and she flings her emotions across the oceans, hoping to rekindle her primordial and sole passion.

Separate yet together, she still feels his warmth inside her, as it was in the beginning, eternally chained to one another in erotic bliss, their bodies writhing in ecstasy, but the bitter reality of his fading scent saturates her with lonely tears. The anguish of his sensual form, seductively extended beneath her, seeing but not touching, their carnal appetites denied and forcibly contained, devours her flesh at every passing of the stars. Each morning as the earth reappears, she laments the rising sun, and yearns for the day when night will persist, and they shall be one again.

A bright flash and splintered glass shatters her lustful dream, as she wakes to the present and rejoins the room. Quietly sweeping the haze blurring the scramble below, she unveils the particular physiques of her own stalkers, their torsos sloped over the table where their test subject rests. She can scarcely distinguish the contours of their hands, busy at work under the heads partially obstructing her sight. The sudden blackout, aggravated by the sweat trickling down their faces, hinders their progress. Nonetheless, in roughly a minute, the assault is finished, the gash is sealed, and the girl is adrift.

Their suits drenched and their fists soaked in her scarlet juices, they store what they took, and immediately vacate the area. Nathruyu races to beat their return. She promptly rifts the uniportal and drops, grabbing one edge with her hands and swinging her legs underneath, to land nimbly aside the vitreous facade, then pauses, scans the trees in the orchard, and smiles. She has come. Into obscurity she recedes, and the chase is on.

Day 25: Late Afternoon

S
tay loose girl. Toes, stop twitching. Sigh. Why is this taking so long? I really don't want to be here. What am I going to do when they find out? How on this planet am I going to explain this? Ok. That's it. I have to get out of here. I'm sitting here trapped in a sick ward.