Genesis Code, (Book 1, Genesis Series)

Chapter 15

Stephen bolted for the eastern exit to Belgrave Square Gardens. His speed worked to his advantage but not the terrain as he stumbled in his efforts to distance himself from the military. With the exit in sight, he pushed for the gate, just as a group of men entered. He twisted away at the last second, barely making it past without colliding with the men. A slow burn began in his lungs as the time on his air filtration device drew shorter. He needed to get back to District Three's controlled environment.

The crowds around New Westminster forced Stephen to slow down. He could hear the whine of the Maglev train below his feet. It battled with the thundering sound of his pulse. The train station in the New Victoria district was up ahead. He might escape if he could make it to the station before the military did.

Human. The old word for Indigenes. Pierre and Elise wouldn't believe him when he told them it was also the name for the Surface Creatures. In the human literature he'd read, other words had described their race: people, dreamers, philosophers, engineers.

The dense crowd slowed him down. At a much slower pace, his movements felt clunky and uncoordinated. He pressed on, careful to avoid the uneven parts of the footpath.

Attract as little attention as possible.

The humans walked on, oblivious to the Indigene who moved among them. Being this close to them made Stephen's clammy skin feel tight.

At the end of the road, he took a sharp left. He picked up the scent of the military pair in pursuit and gaining on his position. A group of humans on the approach road to the station queued for a replication terminal. He ran past them only to find the area ahead was even more crowded.

The military pair's scents came through much stronger now. He turned to see them arrive at the replication terminal he had just passed. Eyes forward, he kept moving.

The crowd hindered his attempts to inject new pace into his step. But the sight of the Maglev station gave him hope. Just metres from the entrance, a mass exit of humans from the station blocked his path to safety. Fear froze him to the spot as they knocked and jostled him about. Against every natural instinct, he burrowed in deeper, right into the core of the swell. Tears formed, making his eye lenses slide with every blink.

Stephen battled his fear that the crowd could overpower him. He was used to hunting animals, not getting trapped like one. The train tunnelled through the dark pits below, and the familiar low whirring as it rode the Maglev rail gave him the strength to continue. The hunter inside him woke up and he pushed on, faster than before.

He made it inside the station without knowing the exact location of his pursuers, and headed for the tunnels. A queue had formed at the gate. He leapt over the turnstile. Alarms shrilled and people yelled.

Stephen strode towards the tunnels heading west and arrived on an almost-empty platform; a train had just passed. The elevated voices of the military pair approached from the level above him. With no doubts they would follow this time, Stephen leapt off the end of the platform onto the tracks, and hit the ground running. He followed the train tunnel for about a mile in a westerly direction until he reached a section that split off into two routes. He took the left tunnel and carried on for another two miles. To the right was a wall. He felt around for the opening he couldn't see with the brown lenses still in his eyes. Locating it with his fingers, he squeezed through a narrow gap; one of many almost invisible entry points the Indigenes had created across the railway network. He popped both lenses out and placed them in his pocket to return to Anton later.

The narrow gap took him to linked passageways that led to the core of his district, each protected by a false wall. In the low oxygen and pitch-black environment where only small insects survived, he took solace that the military would be unequipped to follow him. Without the lenses to hinder him, Stephen could make out the subtle markers carved into the false walls. There were hundreds of dead ends across the New Victoria passageways and only twenty that led to District Three.

His lungs blazed suddenly, forcing him to slow down. Stephen jammed his fist against his breastbone and checked the time. He'd spent over an hour on the surface, longer than the air filtration device was supposed to work. The dense crowds had lost him time. If he didn't hurry, he would suffocate.

Stephen stumbled over the familiar terrain while his breaths shortened with each new step. Where markers appeared he took left and right turns, then activated false doors hidden inside the false walls to close behind him. But with little air, the endless miles of tunnels became increasingly difficult to navigate.

He dropped to his knees when the last tunnel came into sight. With the device barely functioning, he scrabbled towards the impenetrable door that led into the sealed environment. Recognition software scanned his genetic code and authorised his entry. The door slid back into the rock face and he crawled inside a vestibule.

The outer door sealed shut, while a smaller one leading into the inner sanctum remained closed. He could hear the air pumps as they whirred into action. He closed his eyes and lay on the floor of the vestibule. Edging closer to unconsciousness, he willed the pumps to work faster and clear the contaminated air from the space.

The inner door released and he pulled himself inside District Three's environment. He yanked the pieces of the air filtration device out of his throat and nose. As soon as they were gone, he snatched at air and pulled it deep into his lungs.

He had no idea how long he lay on the floor before he got to his feet. Ignoring the dizziness, he felt his way along the tunnel to find Pierre and Elise. They had so little time to figure out their next move against the humans.