Chapter 5 – Coming Home
1st Sep 1:07 AM
I looked in the rear-view mirror, waiting for the Scorpion to come barrelling around the corner. Instead, I saw one of my brothers sprinting at top speed. He was moving almost as fast as we were, and he was drawing back his arm to strike.
“Turn!” I shouted, cranking the window’s handle as fast as I could.
Gallagher obliged as I vaulted out of the window, catching my hands on the top rim to send myself onto the Humvee’s roof. I took a moment to gain my balance, standing at my full height and drawing the Gladius. The crimson blade shot out of the handle as my brother’s blast of energy raced by us, missing us by a metre. A repetitive set of vibrations was drawing closer, and I barely had time to turn my eyes skyward as the monstrous Scorpion shot over the top of a low building. It had bypassed the corner, intent on cutting us off before our escape got any traction.
In the millisecond I had to react I threw my hand towards it, sending a hail of parked cars in its direction. They slammed into the hull in rapid succession, knocking it backwards through the air. One remained perched on the top, sending a powerful wave of energy directly at us as the Scorpion landed. I drew black the Gladius, parting his blast with a more focused one of my own.
The road exploded on either side of us, obliterated by the attack and leaving a narrow strip for us to drive along. The visor paused momentarily as he looked at the Gladius, and I could tell that a memory was being triggered. The Humvee shot forward while he was distracted, giving me time to tear the road underneath them to pieces. The Scorpion’s mechanical feet sank in the churned roadside, working to get free as my other brothers advanced. I could make out the numerals of Two and Four as they sprinted along parallel rooftops, and I prepared myself for a combined assault.
Wielding the Gladius in my right hand, I reached my left out to a car by the side of the road. One of the doors ripped itself free and rocketed to my hand, where I held it by the handgrip. The door formed a makeshift shield as my brothers launched themselves at me, and I braced myself to weather the coming attack. I pointed the Gladius at the airborne Four, and he blasted back into the old brick of an apartment building. I made sure the impact wasn’t enough to kill him, but it would still hurt like a bitch. Two landed on the Humvee beside me, grabbing the shield with both hands and trying to wrench it out of my hands.
“Five!” he shouted, “Just stop! Come back and we can sort out this mess!”
“I can’t do that,” I shook my head, pulling back on the door as we struggled, “They’ll kill me, you know that!”
“Did you kill that kid?” he asked, studying my face.
My eyes flickered away, unable to meet the visor he wore. It gave him all the answer he needed. While he was still reeling from the shock of the answer I drew back the shield, barging it forward to knock him from the roof of the Humvee. He fell, landing roughly on his feet as we pulled away.
I shot my hand towards the Scorpion as it clambered free, directing a powerful blast of energy that would take it out of the fight. The black metal vibrated as the wave of energy connected, but it advanced as if nothing had hit it.
“Gallagher,” I yelled, “I need you up here!”
There was a commotion in the driver’s seat as he changed with the geek, climbing out of the window to meet me on the roof. I held on tight as the car swerved waiting for Gallagher to gain his footing.
“I need some help taking out the Scorpion,” I called, “There’s something about that metal it’s made of that’s affecting my powers.”
“Energy absorbent?” I heard my own voice call, followed by spectral gunfire. I snapped out of the vision before I could get too distracted.
“It’s absorbing the energy I throw at it,” I added, “This could be a problem.”
“Let me handle it,” Gallagher said evenly, drawing both of his railguns.
I held a hand in front of him as he lined up to shoot. “Don’t kill them.”
“You just love making this harder for me, don’t you?” he muttered, firing both of the railguns simultaneously.
The bolts thundered across the street as the Humvee raced on, slamming into two of the Scorpion’s front-mounted cameras. Gallagher quickly cracked open both of the guns to reload, calling to the geek as he did so.
“Take a left here!” he shouted through the window as the all of the Scorpion’s cannons started to fire.
The slow, heavy chugging of the Scorpion’s cannons echoed through the streets; the few pedestrians scattered as the chase moved further into the city. I brought my hands up, tearing the road apart as the Scorpion scuttled around the corner. The debris that flew into the air formed a loose shield that caught the flak shells, letting us gain more ground. Using one hand to maintain the destruction, I threw one hand to the side to collect as many empty cars from the sidewalk as possible. They scattered themselves along the road, obstacles to slow the Scorpion’s progress as much as possible.
“Five, get your head down!” Gallagher shouted, falling to his knees.
I wordlessly obeyed, crouching just moments before the Humvee burst through a personnel barrier and entered a tunnel. The ceiling of the tunnel whizzed overhead, and the Scorpion crouched to continue its pursuit. It stepped effortlessly between the cars I had thrown in front of it, not even slowing down.
“We can’t manoeuvre much in here,” I yelled to Gallagher as we raced past abandoned cars, “You’d better have a plan!”
“I do,” he yelled back, “Just keep that thing off us for a bit.”
I nodded, throwing cars as fast as I could to stop the Scorpion from targeting us. My brothers ran alongside it, pursuing us deeper into the tunnel as Gallagher started to shoot again. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him lying forward, aiming at a point about half a mile in front of us.
“Mind giving me a hand?” I shouted, “You’re shooting the wrong way!”
“It’s part of the plan, just fucking slow that thing down!”
I returned to staving off the attackers, sending as much energy as I could spare forward to try and keep them off us. No matter how much I threw at them, my brothers tore through it without much effort. Combined, their power made mine look pitiful. My only hope was speed, where I wouldn’t have to face them head-on.
“What are you doing?” I shouted as I shielded myself from a prolonged burst from the Scorpion’s tail-mounted turret. Normally my shield would have been ripped apart, but when I supercharged it with energy it stood up to the assault. It wouldn’t last long.
“What do you think?” he snapped back, “Taking out the fucking roof! Come on, give me a hand!”
I turned to see the area he was shooting at, now riddled with holes from his rails. All of the shots had been evenly spaced mere feet from each other, and in a line that stretched horizontally across the tunnel’s roof. It was barely a hundred metres away, and we were closing the gap fast. I dropped the shield, pushing both hands towards the weakened section of roof. I trusted in the few seconds I had bought with my distractions, pulling down on the weakened ceiling as we shot underneath.
The Scorpion slowed its pace as the ceiling cracked, seeing stream of water entering the tunnel through the rift. We must be underneath a river. One held up both hands, calling my brothers to a stop. All of them did, except for Two. He continued to race forward, bounding between the ruined cars with a speed I thought was beyond him.
“Please brother,” I whispered, “Turn back.”
He didn’t.
Two kept coming, intent on beating the falling roof and slipping through. Despite One’s vague shouting, my brother pressed on towards out Humvee. He wasn’t going to make it, the tunnel was collapsing too fast. Huge pieces of the roof began to cave in, letting the water pour in and starting a chain reaction that would bring the whole place down.
Two dodged around a falling chunk of concrete that would have easily weighed a ton, racing against the wall of water that now raged behind him. My other brothers would be fine on the other side, using their collective power to stop the flood, but Two was not. He was cut off from the others, and already out of their reach.
I froze as the water caught up with him, throwing him off his feet and against the rough ground. His head hit the concrete and he went limp; I saw a crack in his visor just before we was dragged underneath a ton of rock and water. Without thinking I shot both hands forward, blasting the wreckage back in an attempt to dig him free. The water parted to either side, and I caught a glimpse of his armour for a bare moment. It was all that I needed.
I pulled him free, dragging the limp body at speed through the air as we outran the floodwater. The Gladius deactivated as he drew close, leaving both of my hands free to catch him. One of Gallagher’s geeks opened the door as we exploded out of the tunnel, followed by a powerful spout of water that sprayed high into the air.
I passed Two in first, using my power to steady him as he was deposited in the back seat. Gallagher went next, and I followed both of them once they were all in safely. Two was propped up in the back, dripping wet as Gallagher clambered into the driver’s seat. I gently removed the helmet, seeing a thin line of blood running down from his temple.
“He’ll live,” Gallagher grunted, pulling over. “Come on, put him on the sidewalk. We need to get out of here.”
I hesitated, we wouldn’t have long before the rest of them caught up. The steady rise and fall of his chest made me feel a little better.
“Shouldn’t we take him with us?” I asked, not wanting to part with my brother so soon.
“No. You only have enough I.D for one, and travelling as a pair would only attract attention. That’s not even going into what happens when he wakes up. Leave him where they’ll find him. It’d save you a lot of trouble to kill him now, just saying.”
“No,” I snapped, “Nobody touches him.”
I got out of the open door, carrying Two with me. I leaned him against the side of a building, checking his head again before lying his helmet net to him. His eyes flickered open momentarily, but he was too stunned to do anything.
“I’m not crazy,” I said desperately, walking back to the car, “I just need time. Charlemagne is lying to you. And I’m going to prove it.”
I stepped back into the Humvee as Gallagher drove off, leaving the wreckage behind.
Water was what woke Two; a gentle flow that lapped at his legs. His head hurt, and the cool night air pricked at his scalp. He reached up to touch the source of the pain, and his fingers touched blood. Five. Five had been here. He leaned forward, grabbing the helmet that lay by his side and getting to his knees. The visor was cracked, and a thin coating of blood layered the inside. He must have hit his head inside the tunnel, but how had he escaped? It was all too hazy to make sense of. How long had he been out, a few minutes? It was impossible to tell.
A steady drumming was drawing closer; one that Two recognised. The Scorpion clambered over the top of a low-set building, with all of his brothers on top. He weakly waved them down, getting to his feet as the Scorpion descended. Three, Four and Six leapt off the hulking mechanical beast, rushing to support Two as he staggered forward. One set the scorpion down close by, walking towards Two only when the crowd that had gathered was at an agreeable distance.
“Put your helmet back on,” he said lowly when he was close.
Two did as he was told, cursing his own stupidity. People must have seen his face by now, the exact thing Charlemagne wanted to avoid. He lowered the helmet over his bleeding head, standing free of his brothers as he did so. As soon as the helmet was on One drew back his fist, punching Two so hard that he was thrown off his feet. The crack in his visor widened, letting a gentle stream of air in. The others reeled, but didn’t move to intervene.
“What were you thinking?” One snarled, “You almost died! I told you to fall back, but you almost got yourself killed going after him!”
“I know,” Two muttered back.
“I won’t lose another brother to this mission,” he continued, “I won’t. You either stop with all of this crap, or I’ll have you pulled from the team. Am I clear?”
“Yes.”
“Damn fucking right. Epimetheus is beyond saving, don’t forget that.”
“He pulled me out of the water,” Two said without thinking.
“What?”
“He pulled me out. The last thing I remember was going under and hitting my head, and then I woke up here. He saved me.”
“That’s crazy.”
“Is it? He obviously still has some kind of conscience, or I wouldn’t be here. I didn’t drag myself through a hundred metres of water and rubble, so it must have been him.”
“He killed a civilian,” One said evenly, “He slaughtered god knows how many guards on the way out of Lazarus Station, and he almost killed you in that tunnel. I don’t know what he did in there and if he actually did pull you out, but it doesn’t matter. We still have to do our jobs.”
One turned, walking back to the Scorpion as the crowd parted. Four and Three walked forward, helping Two to his feet. Five was long gone by now, and the chances of finding him again were slim.
Gallagher finally pulled over once he was convinced we weren’t being followed. We had been driving for almost an hour since giving my brothers the slip, but he was still cautious. The Humvee pulled into the garage of an unassuming suburban house; the lights were off.
“That was freaking wicked!” The green-haired geek squealed for the umpteenth time, “There were explosions and cars flying all over the place, and then the tunnel! The scorpion was just running along like a badass!” she mimicked the turrets firing with her arms, “I loved it! Can we go again?”
Gallagher grunted, opening the door. “If it wasn’t so costly I might be laughing. I just lost a small empire, not to mention a ton of money.”
“Oh stop being such a sourpuss,” she pouted, “Look what we got!”
The other geek pulled a pair of large duffel bags from the back seat of the Humvee, both were filed to the brim with cash.
“And you just happened to save it for me?” he smirked, picking up the bags.
She nodded sweetly. “Totally honey. We were just keeping an eye on it, knowing you’d jump in and take us for a joyride and all. Aren’t you glad you lived with thieves now?”
“Yeah, you’re a saint.”
“Well I guess I should go,” I said awkwardly, “I have a plane to catch. Thanks for everything guys.”
“You sure you don’t wanna stay?” she frowned, “You people are so much fun!”
“How about no,” Gallagher cut her off. “I think we’ve had enough fun for one day. If you ever need help, kindly fuck right off in the other direction to where I am. Pleasure doing business with you Five.”
He carried both duffel bags inside, closing the door behind him.
“He’s just saying that,” she grinned, “but he likes you. I can tell. He’s like a smore; hard on the outside and soft and gooey on the inside. Give us a holler if you’re ever in the neighbourhood and we can do brunch, kay?”
“Will do,” I smiled in return, “Thanks.”
“Fuck no,” Gallagher called from inside, “We’re laying low here until the heat dies off, then we’re gone.”
She looked behind her before handing me a small wad of cash, pecking me on the cheek before hurrying inside after Gallagher. “Ta ta lovely!”
I tucked the extra cash into my jacket pocket with a grin, flicking up the hood and paper mask as I stepped outside. The airport was a few hours walk from here, and I would need to get there early to get in line for a ticket. The Automatons would still be searching for me, so I was restricted to a walking pace for the meantime.
A steady stream of refugees helped to mask my movements, and set a steady pace as they all moved towards the airport. Clearly I wasn’t the only one who wanted out of Brisbane. How many of these people had fake I.D? There had to be at least a few.
It only occurred to me now to check my refugee papers. I hadn’t even given them a second glance when I had been handed them, and I had been fairly preoccupied ever since. They were tucked away in my chest pocket, so I pulled them out and held them in front of the streetlight. The first thing I saw was the picture; a spitting image of what I would have looked like a year or two ago. As they had said, it was different enough to avoid facial recognition, but similar enough to pass as mine.
I read through the brief spiel of information listed below; basic details of my status as a refugee. I got to the name, and almost tore the papers in half. Charlie Maine. Charlie Fucking Maine. If I by some miracle managed to pass through security with a name like that, I was coming back and killing them when this was over. The geeks had a twisted sense of humour; one that was likely to get me shot. This had better fucking work.
“You struck too soon,” Charlemagne said evenly, keeping her tone flat. Her fingers drummed on the metal desk, speeding up and betraying her nerves.
“-I apologise,-” Helios’s voice came over the comms device, “-I know we’ve let you down.-”
“You should have waited for at least five Automaton squadrons and ground troops; you were too eager.”
“I know.”
Charlemagne was silent for a long moment, speaking only when she was sure her words had sunk in. “Was there any injury on your team?”
“-Perses suffered a mild concussion, he barely managed to escape the collapse of a tunnel. There’s considerable damage to the Scorpion as well.-”
“The Scorpion can be replaced,” she waved it off, “But what of Perses? Is he alright?”
“-He’ll be fine. We’ll find Epimetheus commander, I swear it.-”
“No you won’t. You’re all too valuable to risk at this point; we’ve lost enough members of your team already. Other units will handle the manhunt for now, you are to be reassigned.”
“-With all due respect, I think we can handle it.-”
“No. You are to return to the forward base and take orders directly from Major DeWitt, is that clear?”
“-Yes commander.-”
“Good. We’ll take care of things for now, be ready for your next assignment.”
She severed the connection.
“He’ll go for the planes,” her associate said from behind her. He sat in a rotating chair, resting his chin in his hands as he stared out of the observatory window.
“I know. All the preparations have been made.”
“So you’re going to kill him when he arrives?”
She frowned. “No, of course not. Helios came too close for comfort. We’ve made enough of a display of trying to get him back. The Archaeans are bound to have noticed by now, and they’ll be waiting.”
“And you’re confident this plan will work? What if they kill him instead?”
“They won’t. They may be desperate, but they’re not foolish. They’ll see a fugitive and take him in.”
“And they’ll have an Ergokinetic again.”
“Yes, they’ll have one. We’ll have five others. The threat is minimal, and well worth the rewards. Besides, do you actually think they’ll trust him? They’ll take one look at his face and know what he is; after that it doesn’t matter. We’ll have what we need, and it’ll all be over.”
“It’s risky. What about the infiltrator? Epimetheus must have had help escaping the facility.”
“It’s already been taken care of. The personnel were rotated back to the planet yesterday, and the traitor will have run off to his friends with everything he saw. It will add weight to Epimetheus’s story, and make them more desperate when they learn we have five more Ergokinetics up our sleeve. All that’s left is to set up a convincing show, and make Epimetheus believe he’s escaping to them under his own power.”
“You’ll need a few hundred men, enough to draw the Archaeans’ attention when he lands.”
“They’re deployed and waiting, we’ve already set up measures to bring him to them.”
“Good. This may just work.”
“It will,” she smiled, “have faith Israfel.”
The queue was long even as the sun began to rise. I had managed to get near the front, but I was struggling to stay awake. Two days of no sleep was wearing me thin, and I was almost there. As soon as I was on the plane I could sleep to my heart’s content. The line shuffled forward, and I moved closer to the check-in window. There were only two people between me and my ticket.
The papers were clutched tightly in my hand, and I started to sweat. I couldn’t blow this now. My other hand was in my pocket, clutching the money I had accumulated. There must have been a few hundred; plenty for a ticket and maybe a hot meal. The line shifted again. One place to go.
I tried to breathe deeply to dispel the nerves, shaking off the sweat before my hands got too clammy. I scanned over the papers again, memorising as much of it as possible. This would be over in a minute or two, and I would need to be ready. As a camera banked over the line I looked away, keeping my head under the hood and out of sight. Silverlight soldiers were crawling all over the airport, and there was always a chance I would be recognised. The man in front of me moved, and I stepped up to the ticket booth.
“I.D?” the clerk asked lazily, rolling a pencil between her fingers.
I passed her the papers, and she flicked through them briefly. Tapping a few lines of information into the computer, I saw a digital copy of the registration come up on the database. Gallagher’s geeks had outdone themselves. The clerk nodded, passing the I.D back through the small window.
“Thanks,” I muttered, tucking them back into my pocket.
“Where do you want to go?” she asked, leaning back in the chair.
“America.”
“Very specific.”
Someone pushed me on the shoulder, and I almost jumped out of my skin. “Oregon,” a familiar voice told the clerk, “We’re going to Oregon.”
I turned to see Hannah standing beside me, a ticket already in her hand. I nodded to the clerk, who rummaged through the ticket pile for the appropriate one.
“What are you doing here?” I whispered as the clerk searched.
“Going home,” Hannah replied quietly, “When you left… some stuff happened. I decided to catch a plane and head back to the states. I thought you’d turn up sooner or later.”
“Give me your finger,” the clerk held out her hand, and a small device the size of a peanut.
“Excuse me?”
“Your finger, give it to me. Blood test time.”
“Umm, why?”
“Just procedure, to make sure you’re nice and human. Now come on, you’re holding up the line.”
I reluctantly held my hand out, thinking as fast as my heart was racing. This was bad. This was very bad. A yellow bin was on the counter next to the clerk, with a biohazard symbol on the front. A vague plan started to form in my mind as the disposable tester pricked my finger and collected a small sample of blood. When she was looking the other way I used my ability, picking one of the used slides out of the bin. It rose in the air as the ticket pile slipped off the counter and to her feet.
She groaned, placing the slide with my blood onto the counter as she reached down to pick them up. With a flick of my finger my slide flew into the bin, and was replaced by the slide that I had stolen. It rested on the counter just as she got back to her seat, and I stared forward innocently. She picked up the used tester, sliding it into the appropriate spot in a small machine in front of her. The light went green, followed by a gentle tone. I breathed a sigh of relief as I exchanged money for the ticket.
“You okay?” she frowned, “You look nervous.”
“I’m not great around blood,” I shrugged with a weak smile, “Sorry, can’t help it.”
“Whatever. You got luggage, or are you travelling light?”
“Just what I’m carrying.”
“Smart move, makes for a cheaper ticket.”
I smiled faintly, shrugging as I slid a few hundreds across the counter. She took enough for the ticket, giving me the change as well as the ticket.
“Your plane leaves in fifteen minutes, so get to your waiting area and stick to it like a limpet. Next!”
I nodded my thanks, tucking the ticket into my pocket as we moved on.
“Our flight lands in the Portland International Airport,” Hannah explained quickly, “When we get off there it’ll all be fine. We can relax for the whole flight there, no problems.”
“I hope so,” I swallowed as we joined the group to wait for our plane. “It’s nice to see a friendly face, thank you.”
She smiled weakly in return, tightening the straps of her backpack. “Happy to help.”
“How are the others?”
“Not bad,” she shrugged, “They’re all catching flights up and down the coast. They’ve all left by now, but I was waiting behind for you to show up.”
“Thanks.”
I touched my hand to the Gladius in my back pocket. There were too many people to shepherd through the metal detectors, so it wouldn’t be a problem. Now that Silverlight was certain that there were only humans in the airport security was fairly lax.
“I guess that was you on the news before?” she asked quietly, making sure nobody else was listening.
“Yeah. Someone found out and reported it to Silverlight. How much did you see?”
“Enough. Who was the other guy?”
“That was Gallagher,” I explained, “He got me the I.D and helped me escape.”
“Where is he now?”
“Hiding until Silverlight stops hunting him.”
“Oh. Did you really have to destroy the tunnel?”
“It wasn’t my idea, but at least it stopped my brothers from following us. Did the reports mention if anybody was hurt?”
“A few people. Some criminals that tried to put up a fight died, but no civilians as far as they can tell. At the most there are some injuries, broken bones and that sort of stuff, but they’re alive at least.”
I cursed under my breath. “Fuck. I got lucky that time.”
The group shifted forward, narrowing until it was single file through a terminal lined with security rope. Two guards flanked what could only be the entrance to the plane, holding rifles lazily by their side as they checked each ticket. I held up mine as the line moved forward, keeping my head forward to avoid suspicion.
“I guess I’ll see you soon, hey kid?” a phantom voice whispered in my ear. I looked around momentarily, spotting a familiar form out of the corner of my eye. The redheaded woman from my earlier visions had reappeared, and now stood just behind the security rope. She smiled at me sadly, waving before walking back and disappearing through the wall.
I shook off the vision, trying to act normal as I boarded the plane. The guards payed me little attention as I passed on, shooting Hannah a cautious glance as I stepped aboard the plane. I followed the line of passengers down the aisle, where I scanned for seat marked by my ticket. While other passengers packed their bags into the overhead storage I took my place, sitting right be the window. Hannah tucked a small carry bag into the storage space above us, and took the aisle seat.
The runway stretched out beyond the window, and I saw the dozens of other planes all parked across the airport. They were all leaving with apiece, and the flights were just beginning. Who knows how many people would eventually join the exodus from Brisbane. All of this was done under the watchful eye of Silverlight soldiers, and the completely uniform rows of Automatons that were on standby across the airport. I would never have stood a chance trying to sneak aboard or by fighting my way in.
“Ready?” Hannah muttered as the flight attendant finished up with the safety instructions. The airliner started to taxi down the runway as I breathed deeply.
“As I’ll ever be.”
I was torn about the plane. On one hand, I hated the cramped metal tube. I would be confined to a small space for hours on end, constantly worrying about being discovered by the Silverlight guardsmen aboard to keep the peace. I could easily overpower them, but not without causing a panic and probably getting the plane shot down. I shivered, pushing off a vision of a burning plane and hoping it was just my imagination.
On the other hand, flying made me feel alive. True, this might not be exactly the same as in my dream, but it was close enough to satisfy my yearning for a time. What I really wanted was to feel the wind rushing through my hair and the absolute feeling of weightlessness as I raced across the skyline. My freefalling into orbit was a bad first attempt, and I was reluctant to try again so soon.
I fastened the seatbelt as the plane started to accelerate, looking out of the window the whole time. The world raced by outside, and the road of the massive engines took over as we left the ground. It was strange; in some part of my brain I was expecting a vertical take-off. This plane seemed oddly outdated compared to the picture I had in my head, and entirely the wrong colour. Black would have been better.
“Will we be going directly to Portland?” I asked, watching Brisbane grow ever smaller.
“No. We have to stop in Hawaii to refuel and drop off a lot of passengers. Most of the people on this plane aren’t going the whole way; they still think the states are too dangerous. Hawaii is a safer option to them, but if you ask me it’s even worse.”
“Why do you say that?”
“It’s a small group of islands in the middle of the ocean. If the rebels come knocking and decide to bring the war there, the people have nowhere to run. Anyway, in a few weeks it’ll be just as overcrowded as Brisbane. Maybe worse.”
“Oh. I guess you’re right.”
“I’m always right.”
I smiled as the plane banked wide over the ocean, thinking back to Lazarus station. What had happened to Lieutenant Smith? He said he would tell his people to look out for me, but so far I hadn’t seen hide or hair of any of the terrorists Charlemagne had described. Maybe they were waiting in America, but it was impossible to be certain. He had probably been discovered and killed after I escaped; it would explain the distinct lack of help.
I pushed the thought back down as the plane continued on towards the horizon. Brisbane faded into a small bump in the distance, growing even smaller as we flew. Soon I would be able to find the Archaeans, and some answers.
“I’m running on empty,” I yawned to Hannah as I leaned back in my chair, “I need to get some sleep before I burn out. Wake me before we arrive, okay?”
“Will do,” she nodded, a strange look in her eye. Was it guilt?
I was too tired to look into it any deeper, and I crashed unceremoniously on the seat within a minute.