EHuman Dawn (29 page)

“Ah, my son, there are rats everywhere. You of all people should know that!”

Neither Adam nor Dawn could speak.

“You shouldn’t be surprised,” Edgar taunted them, “I’m a man of many plans.”

Suddenly the doors to the ballroom opened and two huge, bald eBots, wearing dark tailored suits, entered the room. They made their way directly towards Adam and Dawn, ElectroShock guns pointed right at the couple. Adam readied himself to fight and turned to Dawn. She raised her arms out in front of her and Adam could see what looked like bolts of lightning flying from her fingers. The two eBots fell to the floor in what seemed an instant.

“What the hell was that?” he asked her as the crowd around them began to panic.

“I have an ElectroShock generator inside my body,” she explained, “Resistance enhancement.”

Adam smiled. He wanted to kiss her, but at that moment, dozens more eBots entered the room. Adam didn’t hesitate. He attacked Edgar, pushing him down on top of the table and causing chairs—as well as Edgar’s cronies—to scatter. Dawn reloaded and took out several more eBots before dropping her arms to her sides.

“Keep firing!” Adam cried out to Dawn.

“There are too many,” she replied desperately as she began to fight with brute force, “I’m all out of ElectroShock!”

Most of the guests cleared the room as eBots continued pouring in from the doors, surrounding and attacking the couple. Only Edgar remained, with Morgan reluctantly at his side. Edgar calmly watched as his eBot brute squad engulfed Dawn and his son. A mixture of relief and sadness passed over him. Deep down, he knew that Elijah hadn’t returned to his side to reunite with him, but Edgar had hoped that maybe Elijah could be saved and accept his true destiny as his heir. It was obvious that the boy could never truly understand what it meant to be a Prince. As Adam and Dawn fell to his forces, Edgar shrugged his shoulders and shook his head to clear it. Elijah had always been a pain in the ass. He was too much like his mother really. And just like her, Elijah was lost to him. It was better to have Elijah out of the way, to prevent him from doing anything rash. Edgar forced a smile as the couple was dragged from the ballroom, kicking and screaming.

“Where do you want them held?” Morgan asked, interrupting Edgar’s reverie.

“Throw them in cell block D. We’ll deal with them later,” Edgar replied.

“The World Leader’s HyperJet has landed,” Morgan informed him, “She’ll arrive at the estate in ten minutes.”

“Perfect. Get the rest of New Caledonia to the theater. We have a war to enjoy,” Edgar replied.

As the eBots dragged them down into the depths of the mansion, Adam and Dawn continued resisting, but they knew they were outnumbered. Their captors stopped before an iron door that opened for them without command, and tossed Adam and Dawn into a windowless cell. The door closed with a thud that echoed throughout the cement room. There was no way
out. Dawn began to move about the room, looking for any weakness. Adam, dispirited, slid to the floor, watching Dawn frantically test the walls, her white dress ripped at the knees and blond hair falling in disarray around her face.

“He’s going to let us die here,” he finally spoke, “In seven days, when our Chi-Regulators run out, they’ll drag us out of here and throw us in the dump!”

Dawn paused her movements. She had somehow retained her composure through it all. Now she stared at him with wild eyes.

“No!” she screamed, “Not now! Not when we are so close to winning!”

“Dawn,” Adam whispered as he slowly resigned to his fate, “We were never winning. It was only a dream.”

Dawn slid down the wall, falling into his arms.

The room was pitch black, but neither of them turned on their night vision. There was nothing they could do but wait to power down and die.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

“Nuclear drones,” Cane declared in a trembling voice, “Hundreds of them. They’re slowly moving this way at about forty mph. They’ll be in range in two hours.”

“Hundreds?” Origen asked.

“Affirmative,” Cane answered.

“Why hundreds when one bomb is enough to destroy this city—and everything else within one hundred miles?” Origen mused. He couldn’t believe this was happening. The entire operation had been a trap, and he had fallen for it. His anger and embarrassment were almost too much to handle.

“For effect?” Cane said bitterly.

Origen stood solidly still, listening to all his troop leaders confirm the worst: nuclear drones were slowly surrounding all 167 hard won cities. The WG was closing in.

“We have nothing to counter this firepower! All our cities will be blown off the map!” Cane continued.

“And every single one of us as well!” a soldier exclaimed.

“It’s hopeless,” yet another commander complained.

Origen stared at his warriors. He was well aware that they were waiting for him to respond. What were his options? How could he counsel them? What would he tell the citizens whom he’d sworn to protect? Was there any way to save them?

If the cities were under siege, it meant the worst had happened. Dawn and Adam had failed. Their mission must have been compromised. The pair would never gain control of Archion now.

“Man your posts!” Origen called out to the troops, “Let’s take a few down before we’re destroyed!”

Dawn was forever lost to him. And it was his own fault. He never should have let her get on the HyperPlane to New Caledonia. How could he have been so blind?

There was nothing left for Origen to do but prepare to die.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

When the door to the cell opened, Adam and Dawn didn’t even look up to see who had entered. They both assumed the time had come for Edgar’s Guardians to plug them in. When that happened, their memories would auto-erase.

Once again, the love story of Adam and Dawn would fade away into oblivion.

“They’re coming for you soon,” a woman’s voice called out, “To plug you into Neuro and gain information about your Resistance.”

Adam switched on his night vision and glanced up from his place on the floor. It wasn’t a red-robed Guardian who stood before him.

“Oksana?” he asked weakly, “What are you doing here?”

“Please get up!” she whispered, “I’ve come to help you. Quickly—there’s little time. They’re coming for you!”

Adam and Dawn instantly jumped up from the floor. Dawn immediately hugged Oksana, who seemed quite taken aback by the gesture.

“Please,” Oksana continued, “We don’t have much time. There’s a tunnel that leads from the basement to the harbor. We can make our way to Guardian Enterprise Headquarters from there.”

“Why are you helping us?” Adam asked her.

“Because I hate him!” she answered defiantly.

“Edgar Prince?” he clarified.

“Yes,” she replied, looking at him with the saddest eyes he had ever seen, “Before the Great Shift, I was a young and talented movie star. Naturally, Edgar took a liking to me. When the time came for society to Jump, he demanded that I Jump into a Pleasure Zone enhanced body, to provide him entertainment for life! He even forced me to have the MindScrape procedure, so that I would always know how I had once been famous and loved by everyone before the Great Shift. But since then, he’s dominated me, forcing me to provide him—and his disgusting friends—pleasure!”

“That’s terrible,” Adam began.

“No,” Oksana said with a wave of her hand, “The worst part is that Edgar’s true love, the World Leader, knows all about it—and mocks me when she comes to visit! Only an hour ago she arrived on the island to watch the nuclear drones bomb the cities in Edgar’s private theater, and of course greeted me in her usual cruel way.”

“And that would be?” Adam probed.

Oksana cocked her head and began to imitate Rosario Donahi, “While I’m here, we can put you away in your little box. Edgar can take out his sex toy when I leave for Gemetria tomorrow!”

Dawn looked at Oksana. “I’m so sorry,” she began.

“It matters not,” Oksana cut her off, “I decided at that moment that rather than go to my room, I would come here, and help you escape! I’ve jammed the lock on Edgar’s recharge room, where he’s currently busy fucking the World Leader. Even though he enjoys long orgasms, we still have to hurry.”

“But you’ll be punished,” Dawn explained.

“I know, but what could be worse than the life I lead now? Death would be a blessing,” Oksana countered, “Besides, if you succeed, then I’m free to get the hell out of here and start over.”

“Thank you for your courage, Oksana,” Adam replied.

“Let me get you out of here,” she said, pulling out two ElectroShock guns from her purse. She handed one to each of them.

“Follow me.”

They followed her out into the hallway. Instantly three eBot guards arrived, but Oksana used her status within the system and lightly touched a button on their right shoulder to shut them down them on the spot.

“Such simpletons,” she muttered as she deactivated another eBot in the next corridor.

They continued deeper into the basement until they arrived at a door. Oksana touched it gently and it opened, revealing the moonlit sky. Adam could hear the low rumble of the ocean breaking on the shore.

“The harbor?” he asked.

“Yes,” Oksana nodded, “It’ll be easiest to swim. Guardian Enterprises is located on the shore only one mile east.”

Adam shook his head. “No,” he explained. “We aren’t waterproof.”

“That’s unfortunate,” the beautiful woman muttered, “Then we follow the shoreline. Keep to the reeds and shadows so we aren’t noticed.”

They made their way for a mile along the sandy coast, hiding behind rocks and low brush. Fortunately, the moon had begun to set, and things were becoming darker just before the dawn.

“We’re here,” Oksana whispered as she held up her hand to stop them. She pushed aside the brush to give them a clearer view.

An empty parking lot spread out before a large, elegant steel building. The Guardian Enterprises logo glowed starkly above the front entrance.

“I can’t help you get in,” Oksana continued, “I don’t have any clearance here. But soon there will be a shift change. The night guards will leave and the day guards will arrive. That will be your chance.”

“Thank you Oksana. You may have saved the lives of millions,” Adam spoke.

Oksana looked up into his face. Her sadness and pain was clearly visible. Adam reached forward and kissed her on the forehead. She gasped in surprise.

“Yes,” Dawn continued, placing a hand on Oksana’s shoulder, “Thank you very much. We owe you our lives.”

“I hope you are successful,” Oksana whispered and then she disappeared in the bushes. Adam detected a gentle splash and knew that Oksana had dove into the water to swim her way back to Edgar’s lair.

Dawn surveyed the scene. Through the glass doors, she could see four eHumans standing guard. She knew that there must be several more beyond that. And Alrisha had already told them there were twelve Guardians surrounding the actual Archion machine. Dawn hoped that the power in their guns, combined with their fighting skills, would be enough. She ripped a bit more off of her dress, giving herself more freedom to kick and spin as needed.

Adam pulled off his tuxedo jacket, which suddenly seemed ridiculous.

A white van with the Guardian Enterprises logo pulled into the parking lot. Five eHumans wearing white Guardian Enterprises uniforms exited the van.

Adam nodded to Dawn.

The pair sprang into action, quickly deactivating the guards and dragging them back into the van. Adam verified that the guards inside of the building hadn’t noticed the ambush. Dawn began removing the clothes from one of the victims.

“What are you doing?” Adam asked.

“She looks about my size,” she answered, pointing to an unconscious guard to Adam’s left. “That guy over there will do for you. Let’s get dressed in their uniforms and use their identification.”

Adam nodded in agreement. As they opened the door to the van, Dawn grabbed his arm and pulled him close, kissing him—perhaps for the last time.

“That’s for good luck,” she smiled.

As Adam confidently opened the front door to the lobby of Guardian Networks, the guards in the room looked up at them in confusion.

“You’re late,” one of them drawled.

“No, they’re early,” a second one argued.

“Who the hell are you?” the third one demanded.

Dawn aimed her ElectroShock gun and shot all three. Only one more remained. Unfortunately for him, he had left his gun on the table and now Adam had it in his hand. Taking aim himself, Adam shot the startled man—killing yet another.

“Let’s go!” Dawn called and he followed her out of the room. She led him to an elevator. “We need to get to the tenth floor,” she said.

The elevator doors opened and five more guards piled out. Dawn and Adam quickly sprung at them, fighting so fiercely they tore several limbs from their adversaries before overtaking
them. Leaping over the bodies strewn on the floor, Adam and Dawn entered the elevator, immediately punching the number ten on the keypad. They stood quietly by one another’s side as the machine ascended, beeping as it passed each floor. When the elevator stopped, Adam readied for the attack that had to be waiting for them once the doors opened.

But the hallway was empty.

They stepped out of the elevator and scanned the room. There was no sign of the Guardians that should have been there. The only sound was the hum of the consoles, ECs and terminals that dotted the room. Obviously, they had found the control center. Yet where were the red-robed Guardians?

Before them rose a glass wall, behind which stood the largest supercomputer either of them had ever seen. The LEDs on the MICE Tower blinked next to it, like a hundred pairs of eyes, all glowing and taunting them to come forward and try to claim their master. Adam stared at Archion in all its glory.

“The glass must protect it,” he mumbled.

“It’s a trap Adam. It has to be,” Dawn whispered.

“I know—but what else can we do? Look, I can see the plug,” he exclaimed, pointing to an indentation in the wall beside the machine where the golden plug waited for him, just on the other side of the glass.