To Be A Leader

Chapter 30: Catch Us If You Can

"Put your helmet on now, Runner Five," Janine commands, and I do so. The helmet beeps when it seals iself to the rest of my suit, locking out everything like protective armor. "And now the air lock."

My gloved fingers shakily press the button, and the steel doors hiss open. For a brief moment my fear of this bio dome is replaced by awe at the sight of lush foliage and brightly colored birds and flowers that are almost as tall as I am.

It's gorgeous.

"Wow," Sam laughs, awestruck. "It's like a dense jungle. Do you see that, Five, on the jungle floor? Those spiders are enormous."

I cringe at the sight of them, but thankfully they make no move towards me. "Yeah..."

"But they're so beautiful. They've got blue carapaces and their eyes look like jewels."

One of them turns to me, and I cringe again. The red eyes staring back at me reminds me more of a demon than a ruby, but to each their own, I suppose.

"It's beautiful but deadly, Mr. Yao," Janine says stiffly. "Runner Five, make no mistake: you must not take off your European Rescue Force suit. That biosphere can kill you in a dozen different ways before you can take a single step."

"And you've got to take a few more than that," Sam says, and I laugh despite the current situation.

"I'm sorry we can't come with you, but we cannot draw more attention than necessary to your mission." As she says that I think about how Veronica predicted it last night. "Bounty hunters are already on Miss Stein's trail, and a large contingent entering the Paradise Project bio dome would certainly be noticed. It's all up to you.

"Selma, the heroic woman who allowed herself to be taken in by the Minister's breeding program, is hiding in the center of that dome, several kilometers in from where you are. She must know the dangers. She must have taken an ERF suit herself, and be hiding in there because no one else will dare to follow."

I take a tentative step, my feet leaving the metal floor and onto dark green grass. I hear the grass and dirt shift under my feet, and feel the heat of faux sunlight. It's so bright. It reminds me almost of home. I watch the spiders, but they scatter even with my small movement. I find myself thankful they decided not to try to eat me. I already have enough things trying to do that as it is.

"Now, I get that there are probably deadly spiders, and snakes, and scorpions and stuff, but..." He pauses for a moment, "is it so deadly that not even paid bounty hunters would follow?"

"This place was an experiment that went wrong, Mr. Yao. There are... creatures in this dome. Bio-engineered larvae. Minute, but deadly. If there is a singly crack in your suit, Five, they will crawl in, burrow into your skin, lay their eggs and emerge as six-inch-long maggots."

Sam chokes, and my stomach churns at the image she just put in my head. "What the... what?"

"I suggest you get moving. Head towards the center of the done. Now, Five. Run!"

I sprint off, knowing that staying still for too long might let creatures like those larvae know I'm here. Why would someone bioengineer larvae to do this? This seems like the stuff you would unleash if you wanted to destroy a country. I mean, that does seem like something Sigrid would do. I mean, why stop with England? Sure, it's a decent size... ish, but the state of Alaska is bigger than the entire country, so expanding or destroying everyone who might pose a threat to you would probably be something that would cross Sigrid's mind. After all, she'd been planning the apocalyspe years before it happened. I wouldn't be surprised if this was something she looked into or helped engineer this kind of stuff herself.