~Chapter Twenty Four: Protector~
Lanni cut a path through Chinatown, straight back toward the MPC. Even at the end of the world, bright banners and colorful art clung to walls and awnings. In most places, the shops and restaurants butted up to one another, forcing her out of her way to a distant street corner, only to double back on the next street. To save time, she cut through the buildings.
They all smelled of dirty bodies and human waste, a sign that husks were using a building as a home, or at least a toilet. She charged through them so quickly that most of the husks had too little time to decide if she was a threat, a potential meal, or simply another husk on the run. Still naked except for a thick coat of mud and her underwear, she looked enough the part to make them hesitate. By the time they decided she was worth chasing, she had already left them behind.
Junior shadowed her most of the way, sometimes leaping and climbing onto rooftops, sometimes following her through the buildings. By the sounds accompanying him, he must have stopped a few times to snack on an easy catch.
She hoped the little monster would survive until she could observe it some more. It followed her around like a lost duckling now that Big Daddy was gone, but she didn't want to foster the thing. Her interest in this second generation mutant was strictly in finding more efficient ways to destroy others like him.
She came out of yet another Chinese restaurant near the northeast end of a playground called Columbus Park, wearing a way-too-big chef's shirt. It was white, with the red star of China on its sleeves and the word "Ping" on the lapel. She had also salvaged a three-foot steel pole from a collapsed storage shelf, and a utility belt with a chef's knife and sharpening rod.
Junior might or might not have followed her into that restaurant, but Lanni emerged on the Columbus Park side alone. Her hasty run through the city had taken her farther north than she intended, but she was still only a quarter mile or so from the MPC.
Junior chose a good time to become scarce. Only the District Court building and the park's trees shielded her from the snipers on the prison roof. He would have made an easy target for them at this range. Maybe she'd find him at the Starbucks once the chaos of the collapsed safe zone settled.
A few paces around the corner of the District Court, and she would be just one more husk to the rooftop marksmen. She had no intention of sprinting across the yard under their noses if she didn't have to. And in this case, she didn't have to.
She jogged to the parking garage entrance and ducked under the red-and-white-striped arm at the guard station. Her footfalls echoed in the cavernous garage, and she was pleased to see that the ramp descending to the sub-levels was still dry. Outside the safe zone, everything below street level had become a giant, filthy fishbowl.
The small tunnel she made in the western corner was on a lower level. Unless it flooded when the safe zone fell, it would take her to the prison laundry not far from the room she and Alex shared.
Halfway down the ramp to sub-level one, someone ran out from behind a minivan near the bottom and stopped to stare at her. Unsure if it was human or husk, she stopped and stared back. She didn't need to see the glint in the stranger's eyes to know it could see her.
It stepped closer, a few tentative paces turning into a confident jog. Two others fell into position behind it, all of them increasing their pace with each stride until they reached a full sprint. Their numbers grew with each vehicle they passed, others stepping out from between cars to join the race before Lanni even knew she was in one.
She had never seen husks in here before. They must have fled the slaughter up on the streets. Hoping to avoid more killing, she ran back toward the entrance. The door to the security station between the garage and the ground floor was always unlocked. She could duck inside, bolt it behind her, and then take the service stairs back down to her tunnel.
She hit the door hard and stumbled back. It didn't budge.
Who locked my door?
"And are they still inside?" Rumiko wondered. Close quarter combat techniques cycled through her memory like a slide show on fast-forward.
"Let's find out," Lanni said aloud. Pulling her aura in, she touched the handle and let her energy soften the steel bolt. The charging husks covered a lot of ground in the three seconds it took for the bolt to snap. Lanni pushed through as the door swung open and threw her weight against it. It slammed shut as the lead husk hit the other side like a growling wrecking ball.
The impact flung them both back from the door, leaving it swinging lazily. Lanni regained her balance first, and hurled herself backwards. The door banged shut with a sickening crunch and an angry wail from the other side. Three severed fingers plopped to the floor, crushed and cut off by the closing door as the husk tugged its hand free.
It bought her enough time to rejoin the two halves of the lock's bolt. She breathed a relieved sigh as the other husks pounded on the door and it held fast. A growing crowd hammered against it. The glass was reinforced, but with some persistence, they would eventually break through.
#
She navigated the maze-like private offices of judges and attorneys on autopilot, thinking through some contingencies. What would she do if she couldn't find Alex? What if she did find him? What if Tina wasn't ready to travel? What if the colonists rejected her?
She hoped Mitch had been able to convince them to evacuate. Their chance of success dwindled each minute, as mutants settled into the former safe zone. They needed to get Tina and son far away from the city as quickly as possible.
An uneasy feeling sank its tendrils into her. This wasn't how she had imagined this moment. Something spectacular should accompany the birth of mankind's only living infant. Where were the fireworks? Where were the beams of light and the booming voice from heaven, proclaiming their victory and promising a hopeful future? She had worked hard, sacrificed, and suffered for this anticlimactic triumph, and the few things that actually changed had gone from bad to worse.
The safe zone was gone. The Con had consumed her brother's mind and turned him into a monster. The colonists were fleeing their safe refuge in favor of the dangerous unknown, without Lanni or Alex to protect them. They didn't even know she existed, let alone the dangers she routinely faced and deflected on their behalf.
She soon left the office maze behind for the grand, wide halls of the public area at the building's west end. Dim artificial light stained the floor ahead, spilling around the corner from the sitting area by the stairs.
Humans.
She had a laundry list of things to do before she'd be ready to face any colonists, the very first of which was bathing and changing into some clean clothes. Sneaking past them would be easy enough, but neither John nor Rumiko liked the idea of leaving potential enemies at her back. Sure, the people in her head made her feel a bit insane, but they usually gave sound tactical and strategic advice.
The distinct blue-white tint of the illumination marked its source as an LED emergency lantern, the kind favored by colonists who couldn't yet see in the dark. She crept to the sitting area and risked a quick peek around the wall.
A thin, scantily-clad black woman sat facing her on the floor, cranking the lantern's charger. A battered Latino man rested his head on her leg, twitching in an uneasy sleep. Their names were Toya and Rico, and things must have gone very wrong in the MPC for them to be here.
Bloody scratches and bruises made a surreal painting of Rico's face, framed by his filthy, ragged clothes. He could almost pass for a husk, too. The left leg of his jeans had been torn away, exposing the purple, swollen flesh of his thigh and ankle. It had all the earmarks of a nasty compound fracture.
The physician in Lanni felt compelled to help him. Toya was in better shape, but not by much. Her skimpy clothes were torn and stained, too, maybe with her own blood, maybe not. They both clearly needed help.
It took her a moment to realize that she wasn't actually a physician, but with Dr. Harris's medical knowledge and experience in her head, she was as much a doctor as she was a ninja.
"Toya," Lanni said softly. She wasn't about to show herself until she knew her appearance wouldn't buy her a bullet.
"Who's there?" Toya said. Her voice quavered. She was scared. This was no place for a normal, especially with the safe zone gone, but it looked like they had already learned that lesson.
"My name's Lanni. You don't know me, but I know you. I'm a friend. I'm going to step around so you can see me. I look pretty rough, but please don't shoot me, okay? I just want to help."
"No promises, Lanni. Just don't give me a reason, and I'll see what I can do."
Lanni stepped into view, leaning her steel rod against the wall, out of sight. "I think I can help Rico, and you, too, if you need it. I have to get back into the prison. Y'all should get there, too, or they'll evacuate without you. How about we help each other and go back home together where it's safer?"
Toya looked her over and nodded. Either the filthy teenage chef-girl didn't seem like a threat, or she was all out of other options.
Toya explained how Rico had seen the ghost and went after it, and that Denise went out to find him, but neither came back.
She kept talking while Lanni sat beside Rico and put her hands on his wounded leg. She asked Lanni questions and offered bits of her own story as her friend's wounds closed and his flesh took on a healthy tone.
Rico opened his eyes and cast his hazy gaze at Lanni and Toya. He jolted upright and scooted back into Toya as he apparently recognized Lanni as the Ghost. Toya threw her arms around him, trying to calm him with soothing words.
"It's all right, Rico. It's all right. She's not a ghost. She's like them, like Diane."
That wasn't exactly right, but Lanni saw no point in disputing Toya's choice of words. Rico was already calming down, and Lanni could feel the sand slipping through a giant hourglass, like the one in The Wizard of Oz. She didn't know what, if anything, would change once her time ran out, but she'd worry about it less if they were far from the city with other colonists.
#
Rico's strength returned as they walked, and they were soon sneaking around the corner to Lanni's formerly hidden loading dock where she had seen Leonard and Mitch not very long ago.
"I don't remember this entrance," Rico said. "Where is everyone?" He hadn't shown any hostility towards Lanni, but he watched her with obvious suspicion.
"Good question," Lanni said. She was glad that the snipers, if they were still on the roof, were no longer trying to aerate her head. The walk from the courthouse had been a quick one, and frequent, but distant shrieks were the only signs they'd had of baddies they'd noticed. She assumed—and hoped—those were the sounds of exterminators driving stragglers away from the MPC. If not, they probably meant the colonists were trying to fight their way out of the city. If Mitch had done as she'd asked, the colonists would already be well away from this place.
The prison halls were just as deserted as the streets. Lanni worked up a short-term plan on her way to the laundry room to accommodate her new friends. Since their people had apparently left them behind, she'd have to help them reach the spot outside the city where they would wait for stragglers. That meant loading up on as many supplies and tools as they could carry, and of course, clean clothes. Once they left the city behind, there would be no Macy's, Banana Republic, or even a Gap to raid for new outfits.
Leading strangers to the sanctuary she and Alex had taken such pains to conceal made her uncomfortable. It didn't matter that she would never return, or that Alex no longer needed a place to hide. Anxiety still tightened her chest, accusing her of breaking the rules, making her vulnerable. Rico and Toya remained blessedly silent. Did they sense her unease?
Not likely. They were scared and keeping a low profile, probably hoping that she would scare up and handle any dangers in their path. She wondered why some of them were more susceptible to changes the plague imposed on humanity, and why these two were still unable to see their own fingers wiggling in front of their noses without a floodlight. Did clinging to their human frailties somehow mean they were special? Did their innate weakness make them more worthy of life than an exterminator? More than she?
She shook off the gloomy line of thought as they reached the secret washing machine entrance to her lair. Her role was to keep them alive, to protect them. No good could come from questioning whether or not they deserved her efforts.
She went alone into her room and passed items and supplies through the tunnel: an extra backpack, blankets, bottles of water. Before crawling out for the last time, she leaned against the back of her sofa and looked at Alex's corner.
How many hours had she spent sitting in this exact spot, staring at Alex? Often she would watch his eyes roll behind their lids like he was dreaming, ignoring their dark, sunken sockets. Sometimes they talked about their old lives. Sometimes he told her things about the Con or nanites, and how they worked. It's technology, not magic. It's just a better iPhone.
"Alex? Big brother?" They used to wrestle when they were younger. Any time Alex pinned her, he would sit on her chest and refuse to let her up until she called him "Big Brother." They were twins, fraternal, of course, but Alex was born first. In his eyes that made it an accurate title.
No answer. He was gone. If they ever saw each other again, which wasn't likely, they would be enemies. Unless he saw her first. In that case, she'd probably never see what killed her. Would she still be aware when he drained her from her body and added her to the Con, or would she just be dead? What about John and Rumiko? Did they really exist within her, or were the thoughts and conversations they shared nothing more than lifeless snapshots of their memories?
Once more, Lanni forcefully abandoned that line of thought. What difference could the answers possibly make in the real world, where people—real people—needed her?
She didn't have the same sense of urgency that drove her to seek out and destroy the host. It had either vanished or morphed into something else. Now it was a low, black storm cloud rolling overhead, pregnant with rain and lightning. It wasn't an urge to act but a warning of impending danger.
"Good-bye, Al. I hope we never meet again." She already missed him to point of physical pain, but that would fade eventually.
Crawling out of the washing machine, she handed two more sacks of supplies to Rico. She decided not to go back for her comic books.
"Here," Lanni said, handing the metal rod to Rico and the chef's knife to Toya. "What was the evacuation plan? How did the others intend to leave the city?"
They looked at each other's lamp-lit faces, clearly trying to decide how much they were willing to trust her. She didn't blame them, but their hesitation annoyed her.
"You are welcome to go anytime you want," Lanni added. "I've already saved your lives, healed your wounds, and given you my weapons and supplies. I'm sure you'll be fine the rest of the way on your own."
Toya spoke up first. "Probably the tunnels. We don't... I don't know the way, but I know where we are supposed to meet."
Rico shook his head and looked away from Toya, clearly less than pleased by her decision.
"There's one more thing I need to do before we go after them. I can do it on my own if y'all would rather head out now."
"Okay," Rico said. "Good luck to you. And thanks for your help. We appreciate it."
"What's the matter with you?" Toya snapped. "We are not going off and leaving this little girl behind. From now on, we stick together. If that doesn't suit you, then too bad. Your ass has just been overruled."
"You can't just..." Rico began.
"Good luck to you, too," Lanni said. She dropped her backpack into a laundry cart and walked towards the door. "Follow me or not; it's up to you. I'm not waiting around for you to finish arguing, though."
"Already changing your mind about being around other people, eh?"
The voice caught Lanni off guard, but by the third word she realized it was John's voice in her head. She smiled and kept walking. He was right. It wasn't all she had hoped it would be. Maybe they annoyed her because they were adults.
The globe of light caught up to her as the so-called grown-ups followed her out. Lanni wasn't completely sure the other colonists had already left. The prison was a big place, and they might be gathered somewhere in preparation to leave. Groups always took longer than individuals to do anything, even, perhaps, fleeing for their lives. If any were still in the building, she had a good idea where at least one or two of them might be.
#
Lanni pushed through the doors to the long, cell-lined room with rows of green boxes. The last time she was here, Mitch was beating a husk woman with a police baton. She hoped to find him or Leonard here, but she didn't expect to. They wouldn't want to be left behind by the evacuating colonists, so they would surely be with the others.
So many unanswered questions worried her. Leonard and Mitch could answer most of them, but if she didn't find them, she might at least find some clues about what they were really doing here. What was her role in all of this mess, and why had Alex hidden the truth by altering her memories?
The electric lights that had flooded every corner of the room were now dead and dark. The three doors nearest to the entrance were open, including the one that had held her, but the rest were closed.
Toya made disgusted noise and Rico covered his mouth and nose.
"Ugh. What is that?" Toya asked.
"You know what it is," Rico said, his soft voice projecting clearly through the silent room.
He was right. None of them were strangers to the reek of death.
Lanni heard a scuffling noise and turned to see Mitch jump onto one of the boxes. He landed with an agility that his unwieldy figure shouldn't have possessed and crouched in the wild pose of a husk. Wet blood glistened on his face, but open hunger and fear were there, too. He dropped a bloody hunk of meat to a grisly pile of red scraps and bone.
"Shit," Toya hissed. "They got Mitch."
"They?" Rico asked. "You mean 'she.' She led us into this trap." He hefted the pipe Lanni gave him, stepping back from her and looking around the room for more threats.
"Shut up, Rico," Lanni said. "If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't have given you weapons first. Stay close, and we might live through this. Leave Mitch to me and watch out for others." She supposed it was a just end for Mitchell, but she didn't like it. He had almost certainly been duped into this enterprise by Leonard. He hadn't been so far gone that he couldn't have redeemed himself. There weren't enough humans to spare, anyway. Alex had gone too far.
"Alex," she shouted. "What have you done? After all we've been through to protect them, it comes to this?"
Mitch's wild, darting eyes narrowed into a steady gaze, and his dull face tightened. His lips stretched into the faintest hint of a thin smile. The expression he wore had never graced the face of a vacant-minded husk, and the old Mitch had certainly never adopted a look of such evil cunning. It had to be Alex.
Lanni turned to tell Rico and Toya to run, barely in time to see Rico's attack coming.
Too late to avoid being hit, she stepped inside the arc of his swing to minimize the impact. She rolled with the momentum, taking the hit in her ribs and pinning the pole under her arm. Spinning back the opposite direction with her elbow hooked around the rod, she wrenched it from his grasp.
He recovered without missing a beat, and came at her with his fists as Toya charged from behind with the knife. Mitch stood tall on his green box, no longer in the pose of a wild thing. At a glance, he looked more like a music conductor than a wild man.
Lanni stood her ground, letting Rico and Toya close in for their attacks. She ducked a couple of Rico's punches but kept her hands close to her core until Toya moved in for the stab. When they were both within reach, she grabbed them and expanded her aura around them, severing the flow of nanites to their brains. They would be in control of their own bodies again, but not in time to stop their attacks against her.
Rico landed a solid blow to her ribs, in roughly the same spot struck by the rod. She'd taken worse hits before, but this one landed just right. Keeping her knees from buckling took a herculean effort. It was her own fault for not even trying to block or dodge the attack. She figured the woman charging at her with a knife over her head deserved the bulk of her attention.
Toya was in mid-thrust when Lanni grabbed her. Even though she was no longer under enemy control, she was totally committed. The cut she gave Lanni on her shoulder and back would have been serious or even fatal if Toya hadn't found the presence of mind to let go of the knife.
Lanni stood straight, trying not to show pain or weakness. She was amazed that she had maintained the protective nanite barrier through the attack. Without it, they wouldn't stand a chance. The barrier did nothing to stop physical attacks, but if it came down to it, she liked her odds in melee against Mitch, even a Mitch controlled by her brother.
"You can't have them, Alex," Lanni said. "I see what you've done, and I know what you are. You're not my brother anymore. You're a monster. These people are my family now. They have my protection."
Mitch hopped down from the box and took a step closer. Nanites bombarded her aura like she hadn't seen since the pyramid of bones.
"Alex?" Mitch asked. "He sounds like someone I should meet." The voice belonged to Mitch, but Lanni knew that the last chubby man on earth no longer existed, except, perhaps, as a collection of data in a tiny particle of the Con. "I want to hear all about him. But you intrigue me most of all, Lisa Ann Driggers."
"Don't move," Lanni said to Rico and Toya as they recovered from being human puppets. "No matter what happens, stay by my side."
It wasn't Alex. She was so relieved to know he hadn't done this, she could have cried. If not Alex, this would be the host he'd been worried about. This must be the host she saw at the Red Hook terminal. The battle out on the streets had been a distraction. That host had been powerful, but it should have been a more efficient killer. In hindsight, Alex could have toyed with that one before annihilating it.
This one was already proving more resourceful. Using Mitch's body, it didn't even have to put itself in harm's way.
"Imagine my surprise when I found you in that warehouse," host-Mitch said.
The box Mitch had been sitting on exploded. A piece of shrapnel the size of a dinner plate embedded in his back, knocking him forward to his knees.
A child, about the size of a nine- or ten-year-old hopped out. Naked, androgynous, and totally hairless, its unnaturally pale skin was almost silver with traces of blue. Darker blue oval depressions gave the illusion of eyes, but the sockets were completely flat and seemed to lack eyeballs.
"I've got this now, Lanni," it said. "Keep your friends shielded until I say otherwise."
It spoke with the haunting, ethereal voice of the Con, but the words were her brother's. It was about time. The pressure of holding her expanded aura in place bore down on her. Stretching it this far and maintaining it was like lifting weights after a long day of manual labor.
Lanni focused her internal energy on bolstering her aura. If it collapsed, Rico and Toya could be hurt or killed. Even if they survived, they would be defenseless against the host.
"I was right about you, Alex," Mitch said. "You are worth meeting. Your mastery of the Con is unrefined but effective. With your intuitive control and proper guidance, you could eventually rival one of the Core. I am here to help you. All of you. I want to show you the world we can build together as allies."
"I've seen enough of the world you want to build," Alex said. "I'm ready to find out what I can do on my own."
"On your own? The very concept is false. The Con is everywhere. Even in the coldest, deadest corners of this world, it lies dormant and ready to be activated. I was in the Con while your ancestors used rocks and sticks as tools. Come, and I will teach you its true nature. Lisa Ann and her humans should come, too. You belong with us."
The building shuddered, and dust fell from the ceiling.
Rico looked eager to attack Mitch, but Toya held him back.
Lanni put every bit of strength she could summon into holding her aura, and she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep it up. If Alex kept chatting with the host, she'd have to let her aura fall back into place.
"The real battle, such as it is, has begun out there," Mitch continued. "Xipe's exterminators will fall to the hoard of offspring closing in around them. Your humans are fleeing the city through tunnels, but they will soon find themselves wishing for gills. Even Xipe's favorite dog, Crane, will run out of strength before the first part of the first wave of offspring reach him."
"Xipe's protégé might surprise you. He might surprise us all," Alex said, positioning himself between Lanni and Mitch.
Mitch got back to his feet as he spoke and shrugged. "Ah, surprise. That would be a treat. I haven't experienced surprise for centuries. If you are implying that he will use Xipe's weapon, then your surprise will be a sad one. The boy is no threat. He lacks the courage and the conviction to use it. "
"Alex," Lanni whispered. She couldn't spare the concentration to say any more. She hoped he would recognize that she was struggling.
"Hold on, Lanni."
Mitch's face took on the distant expression Alex always wore when he was "out" in the Con. He smiled at Lanni.
"Alex is wrong, Lisa Ann. Xipe's weapon would trigger a chain reaction in the Con, spreading across the planet to neutralize every nanite it touched. It requires a strength of character and force of will that Crane does not possess, or he would have done it long ago. Now, wounded and fatigued, he couldn't summon the energy to activate it if he wanted to. In his condition, he could do more damage throwing rocks. Less than a dozen offspring have brought him down, and hundreds more are coming. Hosts, too."
Lanni clung to the very edge of her strength. Her aura slipped, shrinking slowly but inevitably toward her. All she could do now was slow its progress. If Alex and the host would just stop gabbing, it might be good enough.
"You are right," Alex said. "Crane doesn't want to use the weapon. I have seen enough of his thoughts to know that. Yet, he has willingly entered a city overrun with enemies. He is here with a purpose and may possess a strength we haven't seen."
The host waved the idea away like it was a buzzing mosquito. "Imagine if Crane succeeds, and nanites and the Con are no more. Imagine if mankind is fully restored. Will you call that victory? If you save a few human lives, will the dregs of that race thank you for preserving their frailties?
"Humans with the gift of nanites don't die of cancer," the host continued. "They don't starve. They recover from all but the most grievous wounds. Some, like Xipe's exterminators, are so attuned that they can turn nanites into weapons or tools with a thought."
Seeds of panic bloomed in Lanni as the host's words continued. She didn't fear what they meant, only that they wouldn't stop before the weight of her aura crushed her mind. She assumed her aura wouldn't actually harm her, but she had never struggled to hold it for so long or felt such pressure. She was sure it would snap tight around her at any moment, but a comforting presence came to her, and the pressure lessened.
"You will always insist on distracting yourself from the task at hand, won't you?" Rumiko asked. For a figment of her imagination, the woman had impeccable timing and a knack for knowing just what to say. "You have the strength to hold this aura all day unless you let doubt and worry sap it from you. Remember your Ki breathing."
She did. In the early days of her martial arts classes, she'd had trouble practicing techniques because she'd kept her muscles flexed. With the Ki breathing exercises and some special instruction from Sensei Rumiko, she'd defeated her tense muscles and reached new levels of strength and speed. With Rumiko's thoughts and memories mingling with her own, it came back to her like flipping a switch.
"But you, Alex," the host continued as if chunks of its body hadn't recently been blasted away. "You are different. You exist within the Con, yet you are not subject to the currents that guide the rest of us. Lisa Ann is... well, let's just say she's different, too. I was going to say unique, but since there is at least one other being just like her..."
"We are twins, not clones," Alex said. He gave Lanni a quick wink. "I made this place, you know? Not the buildings, of course, but this place the humans called the MPC is here because I wanted it to be. Lanni calls it the Safe Zone, because nothing can come in unless I allow it. She doesn't know, but she helped me create the safe zone. I've tinkered with it some and have even isolated the con inside the safe zone from the Con outside is borders. Once you stepped onto my turf, you severed all connection with the real Con."
A stone spike burst up from the floor beside Alex. "These nanites seem to work just fine," the host said. A foot to the left, and the spike would have skewered Alex. "I can still see the battle, and you know, as I do, that Crane's wounds are fatal. It will all be over soon. The offspring will finish the exterminators and then come here for you. Crane has failed. Xipe has failed. You have failed."
"Crane hasn't failed. He isn't Xipe's chosen warrior. He's just a well-armed delivery driver. Xipe never intended for the boy to use the weapon. He was only supposed to share his knowledge with the right person so they could do what needed to be done. And he has just given that knowledge to a remarkable woman. Diane understands what it means, and with that knowledge she will cleanse the world.
He turned his back to the host, and Lanni saw Alex's face. He grinned at her like he used to before the end of the world. "Good-bye."
A pulse of energy swept the room with a faint glow and tiny sparkling arcs like blue lightning. Lanni had never sensed its like, either in strength or its utterly destructive nature. It battered against her aura, eroding it like the dunes on the Isle of Palms. Unlike every other occasion when nanites impacted it, this time her nerves were on fire.
Outside her protective sphere, the Alex-boy dissolved like sand in the wind. Mitch writhed on the ground, bleeding from his eyes and through every pore in his skin.
Then it ended.