Stones: Experiment (Stones #3) (53 page)

Long experience has taught her many things, but the most important of them has become her motto.

Don’t trust anyone.

Be careful with mutually profitable alliances. They must be temporary. And terminable at will.
Her
will. Jhata has no illusions. The time will come, sooner or later, when Ryzaard will no longer be a profitable investment. It will be imperative to have a quick and efficient way to shut him down.

That’s what the kill switch is for.

She places it carefully in the architecture of Ryzaard’s mind, taking its shape from a common object on his world. A Shinto torii gate. Only she knows its location. When the time is right, she can slip into his mind. By the simple motion of stepping through the gate, she can bring instant death to him.

One structure remains to be placed on him. Skin.

The bio-lab is already creating it, using the fragments of his prior skin as a start, just like all the other organs, but making improvements. And the upgrade to be made here is obvious.

Ryzaard needs the same embedded armor in his skin that she had mistakenly conferred upon Matt.

The new outer covering comes out in pieces. Fine sensors on the fingers of the arms attach the skin to Ryzaard’s body, forming a flexible seal over the muscles.

The last task remaining is to cross-check and test the many systems, comparing them with the original, insuring that it all comes together. Poring over his body, the instruments poke and prod, measure and analyze, pausing to render minute electrical impulses or chemical injections. Working without sleep and altering her own body chemistry to keep her alert and awake, Jhata spends hours insuring that her work is perfection.

Of course, perfection is impossible. There will be quirks here and there. But Ryzaard can fix the problems himself, fine-tuning his own body from the inside like an exquisite instrument.

Like Matt, he has been unmade and remade.

Now it is time to wake him up.

She adjusts the chemical composition of the liquid bath, making it more viscous. It takes on a pink color and will taste sweet in Ryzaard’s mouth.

His new eyelids flutter open, revealing new eyes with miniature telescopic lenses. Rising above his head, the arms reach up. Other muscles in the body react, flexing, stretching, tightening, contracting.

She lets him look himself over for a few minutes.

He finally stares at her. “What have you done to me?”

“You should be pleased. You’re still the same person. Same DNA. No change in memories or sense of self. But I made a few upgrades.” Jhata lets a half smile snake across her perfect lips. “I couldn’t help myself.”

“When can I leave?”

“You’re free to go.”

Swimming in the viscous liquid, Ryzaard moves forward, thrusting his fingers through the soft outer membrane of the tank, making an opening and stepping out onto the floor. After crouching to cough the liquid out of his lungs and throat, he stands up and walks to a mirror.

The image that stares back at him is the same man, with one small change.

He has the body of an ultra-fit thirty-year-old, muscular and chiseled to perfection.

Jhata walks to his side, sliding her fingers across the broad shoulders. “What do you think?”

“Not bad.” He turns to the side and admires his own bulging biceps. “But I’ll need more time to understand what you’ve done to me.”

“The one gift I can’t give you is time.” She walks behind him to the opposite side and gazes in the mirror. “I suggest you get back to work as soon as you can.”

“My Stones?” Ryzaard says.

“Use this.” Jhata reaches up and drapes a platinum chain on his neck. All six of the Stones float weightlessly in the chain on his bare chest. “There’s something else you might enjoy.” She brushes a finger across his sternum and presses.

Blue color flows through his skin from the spot she pressed until it covers his entire body. Even his eyeballs have a transparent blue coating.

“I’ve seen this before,” he says. “Skin armor. On the boy.”

“Forgive me. That was my mistake. But this should rectify it.”

“Can I make a suggestion?”

Jhata turns her head. “What kind of suggestion?”

“Can you make the skin armor transparent?”

Pursing her lips, Jhata walks to Ryzaard and puts her palms on his bare chest. The blue color fades away.

“Done.” She turns and walks away. “Call me when you want to talk.”

“About what?” Ryzaard says.

Jhata has already vanished.

J
essica, where are you?

Matt searches the freedom camp, afraid he might find Jessica’s body among the dead. Gratefully, he doesn’t.

But with no living souls left at the camp and no trace of where the survivors might have gone, Matt is left with no choice but to walk across the bridge to the City of Vancouver and look for Jessica among the hundreds of faces on the sidewalk.

On the way to the city, he tries some quick meditating with the Stone to find Jessica’s location, knowing it’s risky to take the Stone out of the cloaking box. But all he finds is silence. Not a word from the Allehonen.

“I’m still hungry.”

Yarah pulls on Matt’s hand as they walk through the city streets. Unlike Manhattan, young people still venture outside the buildings in the open air.

Masses walk on the sidewalks, eyes on transparent holoscreens floating in front of their eyes. From the look of the dancing text in the holos, most of them are from China, a few from Japan.

Vancouver always was an Asian city. Now that China and Japan have joined forces to control all of Asia, Vancouver is their stomping ground.

Matt remembers hearing that China was purposely flooding major cities in Canada with its own nationals. Part of a strategy to acquire the country and its resources from the inside. Without a war.

That gives Matt an idea.

“Let’s go to Chinatown. That’s where the best food will be. But we need money.” Glancing up, his eyes fall on a large red gate with Chinese characters painted gold. “This must be the place. Let’s have a look.”

As they walk under the gate, the first thing Matt notices is the smell of barbeque pork. It makes his stomach yearn even more for food. The walk from the Stanley Park freedom camp took more than three hours. Now they need food in a bad way.

Time to figure out something fast.

“Can’t we just use the Stones to stop time and grab some food?” Yarah licks her lips.

The thought
had
crossed his mind.

It’s dangerous. Assuming Ryzaard is still alive, he has a way to track the Stones. If they take them out of the cloaking box, they’ll be exposed. Anything could happen. Soldiers dropping out of heli-transports from the sky. Spies watching from the shadows. Ryzaard himself might suddenly show up.

If he’s still alive.

They left Ryzaard on Matt’s dying world, lying on the sand, covered in red hot magma just seconds before jumping away.

Maybe Ryzaard is dead.

The smell of pork is too strong to resist.

“OK,” Matt says. “Let’s stop time and grab some food. Just this once. But we’ll need to be quick.” The fragrance of pork buns and sesame seed rolls is almost overpowering his ability to reason.

“Got it.” With longing on her face, Yarah eyes a man chewing on bun wrapped in paper.

Looking for a bag, Matt finds one that’s had been discarded in the trash nearby. He pulls it out of the garbage can, trying to be as discreet as possible. With a wave of his hand, he beckons for Yarah to come close, positioning them squarely in front of an open door.

He reads the sign.

New Town Bakery.

They both gaze inside, waiting for a fresh stack of steaming buns to make its way to the counter. It doesn’t take long.

“OK. Here’s what we do. You hold the bag, and I’ll dump in the buns. Ten seconds or less. Then we get out.” His eyes move to Yarah, looking up with a big smile on her face. “Ready?”

“Ready,” she says.

Matt reaches into his pocket and pulls out the cloaking box. Leaning up against the side of the entrance, he opens the lid and empties the contents into his hand, keeping his Stone and handing the other one to Yarah. Letting his eyes close, he searches for the present moment and quickly finds it, letting it settle into his grasp.

The air turns sepia yellow.

“Go.”

They both rush past the motionless customers to the counter. Matt picks off the top steamer and plucks off the lid while Yarah holds the plastic bag open. He dumps the contents into the bag, spilling two or three buns on the floor.

The bag is half full.

“One more.” He grabs the next steamer and empties the contents. Then he puts the lids back on and restacks the steamers, one on top of the other.

“Let’s go,” he says.

They rush out the door and run a full block until they find a deserted alley.

“OK, give me your Stone.”

Yarah’s goes into the cloaking box first, and then Matt presses his on top and snaps the lid shut.

As the world comes to life, Matt finds an empty bench, and they sit to enjoy the feast. Yarah hands one of the hot buns to Matt. He poses his nose over its white surface, exhales, and prepares to inhale.

Then he breaks it open.

Steam bursts from its interior, carrying the overpowering aroma of fresh barbeque. He fills his lungs and waits to enjoy the full effect. When he can stand it no longer, he bites through the soft bread into its heart.

Closing his eyes, he lets the flavor spread through his mouth before chewing slowly.

He eats three more before looking at Yarah. “You like?”

“Love.” Yarah smiles with brown sauce spread from cheek to cheek. “I want to stay here forever.”

Of course, they can’t. But it is a good place to get outfitted while Matt tries to figure out their next move.

That’s always the big question. What to do next?

Ryzaard always has a master plan.

Matt has nothing. He rolls with the punches, doing the best he can. Improvising. Running. Always running and hiding. As they eat, three words float into his mind.

Save the people.

Is that the answer? The new plan? What does it even mean?

Later that night, they find rest under the stars in an old homeless camp outside the city. An overstuffed backpack lays beside Matt on the grass, full of supplies and equipment, everything they will need to live off-grid for a while.

Chewing on chocolate, Yarah gazes up the moon. “It’s so peaceful here. Can we stay?”

Matt sighs. “I don’t think she’s here.”

“Jessica?” Yarah reaches a small hand up and wipes a tear from her eye. “I wish I knew where she was.”

Matt traces the lines of a shooting star. “So do I. We’ll just have to find her.” He looks sideways at Yarah. “Any ideas where she might be?”

“Sometimes I know where people are, even when I can’t see them. But only when I have my Stone.”

“Really?” Matt’s eyebrows lift. “Tell me how that works.”

“Minds are all different, like people’s faces.” Yarah sits up.

Matt puts his hands together under his head. “What do you mean? Some happy, some sad?”

Yarah shakes her head. “More like flavors of ice cream. Or the smells of flowers. It doesn’t change whether they’re happy or sad.” She shrugs her shoulders. “It just
is
.”

Nodding his head, Matt spies a red dot in the sky. “And you can tell who it is and where they are just by the flavor?”

“Yep. You and Jessica are easy. And—” She stops and drops her gaze to the grass.

“Leo?”

Her little chest goes in and out. “I miss him
so much
.” She sniffs and wipes her nose with the back of her hand.

“So do I.” Matt puts his hand on the small back. “If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t be here. But I promise you, he’s just moved on to a different world. Like my mom and dad. We’ll see him again.” After a long silence, Matt looks back up at Mars in the night sky. “How far away can you sense people’s minds?”

“I don’t know.” Yarah cocks her head to the side. “I don’t think it really matters how far away someone is. Back when we were all on my world, I knew when you were in the castle or outside, even when I was far away.”

“So.” Matt’s pulse makes a sudden jump. “You could find Jessica with your Stone?”

“Maybe,” Yarah says. “But it might take a while. When I have my Stone, tons of minds float near me. It’s like walking into a kitchen full of smells and trying to find just the right one.”

“It’s risky to have the Stones out of the cloaking box for more than a few seconds. But I’ll take that risk if you can find Jessica.”

Yarah suddenly looks at Matt. “If we found her, then we could leave together and just be a happy family, right?”

“Leave? You mean like
leave the Earth
?”

“Yeah, just like before. Go somewhere far, far away.”

Matt smiles. “Where would we go? Your world is gone. So is mine.” He pulls a long blade of grass and slips it between his lips, running his tongue over the rough texture. Biting on the white root at the bottom, a hint of sweet juice touches his tongue. “Then there’s Jhata’s world. If we go there, she’ll come after us for sure. We don’t have much choice. We have to stay here.”