CAZADO: BOOK ONE (WATTYS 2023)

Chapter 24

"Hey! Hey Jared! Run this way!" Shaki cried.

I did not even think twice. My legs moved swiftly as I ran with Maverick behind me towards the building that we had just escaped. Once inside, we found the other scientists tied up in groups, not with rope but with long strips of a yellowish-red fire. I noticed one trying to escape as Shaki turned her attention towards us and the strip of fire grew, leaving him grimacing in pain. He immediately fell back to the floor and sat there, glaring at us with a murderous hate. I turned towards the closing door and watched as Maverick covered the door in a thick, impenetrable ice. He then came and stood with us as Carlos caught his breath, then began to speak.

"Alright...so...hold on...!" Carlos said frantically.

"Just calm down. Take some deep breaths. Then speak," Shaki said calmly.

"Thank you...1...2...3...10," Carlos whispered to himself. "Alright. Like I was saying."

"Ummm...you didn't really say anything," Maverick replied with a scowl as Shaki punched him on his arm.

"Just listen for a second, Maverick," Shaki said calmly.

Carlos began again, "Well, the information that we found on the machines has all been obliterated. We set some bombs up in the area that can only be set off using fire. Once everyone is out safe from the building, Shaki will use her link with the fire in each bomb to detonate them, destroying this facility. We do not need anyone recreating what was made here." He gestured to Shaki as he was speaking and continued.

"I did some extensive research on the chemical compound of the drugs they used as well. It seems the drugs are indeed a way to control emotions, but not only that. Once inside the bloodstream, they somehow can make a tracer of the output of Ether in the body of the Pariah. I tried testing it on Shaki and myself and we were able to notice large amounts of Ether coming from her using our machines. It is no wonder the Garwayway find it so easy to search and find even a weaker Pariah. I still wonder how they are unable to recognize you, Jared." Carlos looked over at me as I shrugged. I did not fully understand that either.

Carlos went on, "Anyways, we also discovered in Dredge's notes that the chemicals first used in the bombing years ago are now in our system as a mutation, and they are not at all in the atmosphere. They dispersed hundreds of years ago. All of this has been a lie, but we have to be very careful about sharing that with anyone. If anyone asks questions, we will just have to tell them that we were all exposed to things here that made us allergic to the drugs." Carlos finished speaking and turned his attention back to Shaki.

"Thanks Carlos. This was all quite the shock - I did not know any of this, not even through my father. It bothers me, but I will not mention it to him. We will have to mention everything else, even the human-cyborgs that Dredge was creating. It seems they were created by him to take over my father's kingdom. Dredge wants to be a god like my father. Another thing — the cyborgs that you were fighting before? The humans inside are still very aware of what is going on but are being controlled by the machine part of them. They can see, hear and think, but their motor functions are all directly controlled by something else remotely. Most likely another machine, and it seems that they learn from each other through wired connection. I noticed it the second time we fought them as I was able to cut the wires from their heads, but I let them escape. I did not want to kill them when they did not know what they were doing. But now I am not sure if I made the right decision," Shaki shook her head, remembering the battle with the trapped cyborgs.

"Wait! These machines have people inside who are very much alive and do not have control over their own bodies? That's why they were crying?" Maverick said, puzzled. "Why would they do this?"