Chapter 3
My eyes feel like they are glued shut. Arms support my weight, and for a second I rest. I feel like I could sleep forever. My eyes slide open to see Pythia's face. That's been happening a lot lately. I suppose it's not the worst view in the world. I linger on a curl of hair that has fallen in her face.
Voices make me lose my concentration. "We need to find a good room. Spread out!" A man speaks with an accent I can't place. He walks with six others who rapidly spread out down the door lined hallway. As I take in the hallway a feeling somewhere between awe and horror fills me. If chaos was a color this would be what it would look like. A mish-mash of dark blue uniformed bodies litter the walkway in every possible direction. There is even one or two speared into the ceiling by some kind of magic spike of ice. Blood, and more gruesome things coat every surface like a new coat of paint. Some of that same magic leaves ice, and burned patches cutting and mixing with the gore. The sight is almost picture perfect in a way. The randomness and chaos is awesome in the truest sense of the word.
Jane walks over to one of the bodies. The man who spoke follows her. They murmur together kneeling over the body. I realize it looks different from the others. I only have to glance at the man to realize they are wearing the same grey uniform. The man wraps his arm around Jane's shoulders, and takes something from their dead friend.
"Cass." Pythia whispers. I look up at her again grateful to take my eyes from the scene. Her face is troubled more than I've ever seen it. She gazes at battlefield. "We have to get out of here. We have to go back. You're hurt. We need to get help." She stares at me now.
"What if they blame us for what happened here, P?" I reply. My voice is unsure. "What if- They send me back to that place."
"I won't let them do that." Pythia runs her hand through my hair. "What if these people are just as worse? I've heard things about these Americans..."
"I've heard those same things. I-I don't think it's good to stay here, Pythia." Pythia's face is very concerned. I know that feeling is more for me than for herself. She'll do anything to save me at the expense of herself. When we first met I know that feeling was all programming from the scientists. Now, I know it is all Pythia.
The man interrupts our conversation. "Hi." We both jump and look at him. I'd forgotten about him. "I'm Richard. We're here to get you safely out of Erudite. I'll introduce the others later. Reinforcements will be on the way." His voice is gentle, almost a drawl on some of the words, and something about him seems easygoing. Pythia and I glance at each other.
Pythia speaks up. "What if we don't want to go?"
Richard looks between our two faces. I'm sure we have the same wary look. "I don't know what you've been through here, but I can assure you what America can offer you is far better than anything you'll get with Erudite." Richard stares down the hall where faint booted footsteps can be heard. "I know that is not much assurance. I only urge you to come with us. You may leave later if that is what you really want. If you won't come with us we won't stop you." Richard's face hardens, and he stares back at his dead friend. The sting of guilt shoots through me at the thought that they came all this way for nothing. The sincerity in his voice is strong. I look at Pythia. The footsteps are closer.
"We have orders, Richard." Jane exclaims. I glance at her. She doesn't look happy with whatever those orders are. This choice is next to impossible. Stay with the group who made my life a living hell, or walk into the unknown with the Americans who may use me for the exact same thing. Still, I dwell sometimes on the life I could've had and I know Pythia dreams of the outside world as well. The thought is too enticing.
"We can always escape later, P." I give her a small grin. She shares one with me as well. "Like we escaped from this hellhole?" Pythia doesn't often curse and neither do I. I give a small laugh. Excitement fills me, making me jittery, and I can see Pythia feels the same.
We both smile widely at Richard. "Let's go!" We say simultaneously. Boots pound around the corner. Gunfire sounds. I feel a bullet whip past my face. Jane screams as one of the bullets hit her. "In here!" A female voice shouts.
We all rush toward her, Richard helping Jane limp forward, to an open doorway. A couple men run out the door to provide covering fire for us. One of them is gunned down instantly. The other is hit a couple times, but makes it inside with us.
The room is dark. The furniture in the room has been pushed against the walls. As sound as everyone us in the room the group doesn't stand idle. They start to tend to Jane, who has fallen to the floor, and the other wounded man. They also rapidly start pushing furniture against the door. Already there is pounding. I'm glad the door is reinforced. "How's it going, Jim?" Richard asks a man drawing in chalk on the floor. He makes precise lines scribbling unfamiliar symbols. Jim doesn't glance up when he answers. "I'm not as fast as Rhelnan, and my magic isn't as powerful. Give me a few more minutes." His voice is strained at these last words. Rhelnan must be the dead man from earlier, or he would've been the one doing this. Whatever it is.
Richard turns to Pythia and I. His face no longer holds any aspect of the lightheartedness from earlier. "You two." He points. "Inside the circle." Pythia walks closer and carefully steps over the layered chalk line. I peer closer at the confusing mess of symbols. It's hard to see in the dark. The scattered image resolves itself into neat and intricately layered circles. Sandwiched between these circles lies innumerable symbols each distinct. I see the pattern repeat multiple times.
Pythia and I observe the ordered chaos enveloping the room. "I need your help with the box, Quen." The woman from before stands in the corner. A huge bag sits in the corner around a cube like object. A man I assume is Quen walks quickly up to the woman. He glances at us and his nose flares. I stare into his eyes and gasp. They glow an amber yellow. He's a werewolf. I've only seen a few before.
Pythia speaks. "Hey... Jim." He grunts focused on his task. "How are we getting out of here?" Jim glances up at her once before going back to work. A large bang fills the room echoing off the walls. "We are going up to the roof. You'll see."
Pythia asks another question. "How will we get up there? We're on floor 80B."
"Magic." He replies. "A loooot of magic."
"But that won't work on me. I'm an android." Pythia sounds worried as she should be. A touch of fear reaches my otherwise calm heart. Magic doesn't work at all on creatures of pure tech.
A new voice speaks behind us. "It's not just magic. It's tech. We thought of everything before going in." The werewolf, Quen, steps over the chalk line carrying an enormous silver box. I guess I know why we needed such a big room. It must not be real silver either or the werewolf wouldn't be able to hold it. The box is completely covered in the same symbols as the circle around us. As Quen steps closer I see it isn't just covered in them. Each symbol is painstakingly enlaid with gems of all types. I know that magic travels easier in real crystal, so I know the box must have cost a fortune to make. How much do the Americans want my dreams?
Jim finally stops writing. He looks up at all of us grinning. "Done!"
The door smashes open. Bullets start to whip around us once again. The others hold them off, shooting around the barricade, as Quen quickly sets the box down in the very center of the circle. I hadn't noticed a big red button at the top of it. I suppose they couldn't resist.
The others jump into the circle. One of the men dies holding them off. I watch the light in his eyes go out. The others don't hesitate. Jane is carried in, looking half dead, her eyes closed. Jim is muttering foreign words with his eyes closed. The circle around us begins to glow. What looks like a field of light rises from the circle slowly. Richard shouts. "Nyress!" He holds out his hand and the woman jumps over the line taking it. Quen snarls and I whip my head around. He clutches his arm, his face twisted, and yanks the bullet out of the wound. Jim mutters louder. The Vigil are almost fully in the room now. They ram the barricade. The last man runs for the circle as they burst in opening fire. The man's body jerks like a puppet. He doesn't even have time to scream. "PUNCH IT!" Jim screams. Nyress slams her hand on the red button. Before my eyes the field absorbs dozens of bullets as a whirring sound starts around us.
The sound gets louder and louder. I feel it vibrating in my bones. It becomes almost painful and I cry out. Soldiers bombard the barrier, but the entire group is beyond noticing.
A sudden nausea takes hold of me. The world around me twists. It's the same feeling from my dream! My eyes fly open. I didn't realize I closed them.
A feeling punches me, hard. I fall on top of something soft, bouncing off, onto the hard ground. My wound spears my side and a scream is pulled out of me. I force my eyes open. My ears are ringing. An insanely bright light blinds me and I squeeze them shut again. "Cassandra!" Pythias voice. I slowly open my eyes. Pythia is blocking the light. She looks like an angel. The light shines directly behind her giving her a beautiful halo. My hand shakes as I touch Pythia's face. Is this real? I sit up. "Did we make it?" My voice sounds hoarse. Pythia lifts me up.
I'm speechless. I can't believe what I'm seeing. I have to be dreaming. How could reality be as breathtaking as this. A sunset greets my eyes, and tears start to form. An old friend, lost once, but found again. Even the city looks sleek. I don't know what I imagined, but the city of Erudite looks like a utopia. I've seen old videos from the United States of America of what people thought the future would look like. How could those long lost generations ever have pictured something as full of splendor as this? Their images pale in comparison to this.
"Sorry to interrupt." Richard says gently stepping up to Pythia and I. "We have to go now. It's best not to lose this lead." He gestures and I don't know how I could've missed the efficient looking HeliPlane sitting on the roof. It shines in the light of the setting sun.
Pythia rushes with me to the HeliPlane. We climb inside. The sides of the vehicle are open to the air. Richard goes to the front. "Strap in everyone!" He orders.
Jane is already laid on a stretcher and strapped down in the center of the bay. A man hovers over her with a scalpel and a host of other medical supplies. His face is strained as he works on saving Jane's life. The bullet must have hit something vital in her leg.
Jim is already strapped in. He looks like he is about to fall asleep. The magic must have taken a lot out of him. Quen comes over and helps Pythia and I strap into our seats opposite Jim. I suck is a breath as Pythia sets me down. The HeliPlane begins to take off with a gentle hum. I relax into my seat closing my eyes. Its been a long day.
Shouts reach my ears, as does the sounds of gunfire, and a sharp cry. My eyes fly open. Quen has been hit again rushing to his seat. The bullet went clean through his abdomen this time. The other wound in his arm is already healed. I watch in amazement as only a few seconds pass by and the next wound is already starting to close. "Get to a seat, Asclepius." Quen warns.
The man hover over Jane glances up. "Almost done." The engine suddenly roars and the entire vehicle rolls to the side. Asclepius falls grabbing onto a strap attached to the floor at the last second. His eyes are wide. Mine grow as well as a missile zips past the HeliPlane. "Pythia." I whimper. She looks into my eyes grabbing hold of my hand.
We level out again. Asclepius hurriedly finishes what he was doing and dashes to a seat strapping in. I didn't think it was possible to race any faster but the HelliPlane manages it. Out the empty sides, an impressive looking fleet chases after us. Many of them fire bullets, missiles, or even magic at us. The pilots manage to avoid it all. "We're almost there!" Richard says after a few minutes of this. I feel sick to my stomach. There has been way too many close calls today. "We just have to reach the edge of the Buffer Zone!"
I've heard of these zones. The Corps are ever expanding their sphere of influence. These buffer zones are places with only occasional Corp patrols. They are places where it was agreed that Corp espionage will be excluded. Farmers and ordinary citizens occupy these Buffer Zones, and it's ironic that the most vulnerable receive the least protection from the Corps they live next to.
A loud whistling sound roars through the air. Terror grips me and I scream as an explosion rocks the HeliPlane. Jim has his hands in the air, and he shouts a few words. Fire ripples around the craft expanding, but not coming into the cabin. A barrier blocks it. The flame dissipates and Jim slumps over knocked out cold.
"Everyone okay back there? That was a close one." Nyress comes over the comms. Her voice is concerned. "We're all good!" Asclepius exclaims. "Jim's out cold."
"Only a little longer and we'll be out of the Zone." Richard says.
The ground looks peaceful. Farms dot the landscape of hills, and as we grow further from the city, I stare back. A few of the faster planes continue to try to keep up with us, but many are heading back, calling it a loss. It was a very close escape.
I can only feel exhausted as the night extends. Mountains rise in the direction of the city, and a great lake fills most of the area behind us. The land around the lake is rocky and devoid of trees. As me move ever onward the trees become more numerous, and the last of the fleet drops off.
"All clear, everyone." Richard's voice consoles. He sounds as drained as I feel. "A few more hours, and we'll be in the Capitol." My eyes droop.
I hear footsteps, and whispering voices. They don't disturb me. I am already halfway off to the world of dreams.
The straps around me go slack, and arms lift my body. My eyes slide open as I am placed on another stretcher. Asclepius crouches down next to me lifting my shirt. "I'm going to take a look at your wound. The bullet didn't go all the way through. I'll have to dig it out, okay." He stares at my face.
I'm wary and not sure what to think. I've never been hurt this badly before. Not quite this badly anyway. My thoughts stray to uncomfortable territory and I quickly answer. "Alright." I pause. He starts to clean the blood off of the area. "W-will it hurt?"
Asclepius and Pythia smile at me. Pythia holds my hand. "Don't worry, Cassandra, is it? I'm going to put you to sleep. You won't feel a thing."
I tug Pythia closer. I'm suddenly afraid to go back to sleep. What if I dream that something bad is going to happen. The fear that something will ruin the pattern of good events of the past day shadows me. "What if I dream... something horrible?"
Pythia's eyes fill with tears. We have this discussion every once in a while. I know Pythia wishes she could take this burden from me. But that isn't possible. Both she and I have to come to terms with that. "Everything will be fine." Her hand brushes my hair. "We'll get through it together like we always do." Pythia's words have always held the power to comfort me no matter what I am feeling. I sigh shutting my eyes for a second. When I open them again I nod at Asclepius. "Go ahead." He efficiently prepares a needle, and the next thing I know is the heaviness of sleep.
The soft rumbling of the HeliPlane lulls me from sleep. I wake feeling more rested than I have in a long while. I open my eyes and sit up slowly putting a hand to my freshly bandaged abdomen. "Try not to move." Pythia's voice murmurs next to me. I look over at her. She looks better now. More relaxed. But there is something behind her eyes. What is it? Pythia moves her hand to my shoulder at a snails pace. It's still covered in blood.... mine or Vindhlér's? "We are close to the Capitol. It's a hidden place, and the headquarters of America. The HeliPlane had to cloak because of nearby aircraft. We aren't supposed to move very much. How do you feel?"
"I feel... great. Better than I have in a long time. I didn't dream at all Pythia." My heart grows full with a tentative hope. "That's never happened before."
Pythia reaches out and draws me into a hug. "That's good. I hope it lasts. I don't know what we will be met with in the Capitol. These American's seem all well and good, but the future is enticing. They will want to use you no matter their good intentions. We can't trust them, Cass."
"I know, P. We'll be careful like always. There is one thing I can't wait for Pythia."
"What's that?"
"To see what we become. This new world is so full of possibility. I can feel it."
Pythia gives a soft chuckle. "You scare me sometimes with your wisdom. I thought I was supposed to be the wise one. The Teacher." Her voice is teasing.
"You are that and so much more."
Pythia makes a warm hum of agreement. "Thanks." Her voice become more serious. "You were never just a Seer to me, Cassandra. I hope you know that."
"You're right. We've always been a team."
We hug each other tighter. "Yes. A team."
ns 15.158.61.17da2
