All Light Will Fall (13 page)

Suddenly, I was being dragged. The creature caught me by the
leg, and with a single pull, lifted me into the air. Everything was moving. I
couldn’t get loose. The creature moaned. Its flesh was dilating, layers of
slavering skin peeling back over a grisly pit of teeth. I screamed, and out of
nowhere, my terror was heard. From down below, someone was shooting.

The worm shrieked and threw me to the side. I fell. And just
as I neared the ground, someone caught me.

We hit the ground, sliding through a slush of mud. “On your
feet, Red.” It was Tank. I was shocked. Back on the beach, I thought he’d been
lost.

He pulled me up and snapped my shoulder into place. I
stumbled, trying to collect myself through the pain. “Red!” Tank shouted.

“I hear you,” I said.

“I’ll distract it from the front. You attack from the rear.”
He ripped a laser grenade from his life pack. “Get going!”

I did as I was told. The creature turned to me, lashing its
limbs. I fired, barely escaping beneath the next twisty arm. A fourth tentacle
swept low to the ground, speeding forward. It came too fast. I jumped, landing
on top of the arm of muscle, then sprinted up the spine of the beast. It
thrashed, arching his back to shake me.

Then I jumped, turning in the air with the mr2 at aim. I
fired, sniping the beast in the eye. The creature howled. I flipped again and
met the ground with a firm landing. “Let’s go!” Tank ordered.

I followed him back into the tunnels. The creature’s howls
echoed deep in the caves. They faded slowly, and once they had gone, there was
nothing but the silence again.

“You good, Red?” Tank asked.

“Could be better,” I murmured, messaging my shoulder.

“I see that. You seem a little off your game.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I assured. I wondered if he had
noticed, somehow, that I was different.

“What happened to Kitty?”

“I don’t know. She fell just like we did,” I said.

Tank looked to the ceiling. “What the hell was that anyway?
Everything started slowing down all of a sudden.”

“I have no idea. I felt the same thing.”

“This place is crazy as shit,” Tank uttered. He was right.
Nothing made sense. This world, we weren’t ready for it. Regardless of all our
training, nothing we learned had prepared us for this.

Tank whistled all of a sudden. “We’ve hit the end of the
road, Red.” He shined his halo-com back and forth. It was true. We had come to
a dead end. I pressed my hand against the wall. It was mud, unlike the rest of
rocky tunnel.

“It’s warm,” I whispered.

“Is it?”

I scratched at the soil, and tiny crumbs of rock fell to the
ground. “We’re near the surface,” I said.

“Stand back,” Tank ordered. I moved aside. He gave his
shoulders a roll then blasted his fist through the dirt wall. Light soared into
the tunnel. Tank kicked down the remaining soil and stepped into the forest.
“Red, check this out,” he called.

I stepped into the open, inhaling the fresh air. Tank was
right. This sight was something to see. The forest was full of sand, large blue
dunes of sand. “Where in the world are we?” Tank said. He brought up a map on
his halo-com.

I sat in the sand. The woods were beautiful. The tall grasses
budded with flowers and the trees were bright with color. “Here,” Tank offered.
He handed me his canteen.

“I have my own,” I told him. He shrugged.

“Don’t worry about it. Just take it.” I relented and took a
long drink of water. “It looks like we’re still in the charted area,” Tank
said, sitting beside me.

“That’s good. Did you pick up where the others went?”

“I couldn’t get anything. It’s just you and me for now.” My
stomach churned as he spoke. “Haven’t eaten?” Tank asked. He pulled his pack
from over his shoulder. “I have some fruit. It’s damn good.”

“I would have, if those things hadn’t attacked.”

Tank fished the fruit from his pack and tossed it to me. It
looked like
gupa
, the fruit Urban had found. The inside was like a
pomegranate, but the beads of juice were blue and far larger. I took a bite. It
was sweet and smooth as velvet. “You like it?” Tank asked.

I nodded. “I’ve never eaten anything this good before.”

Tank chuckled. “You’re telling me.”

“What happened with your team anyway?”

Tank leaned back against the sand, gazing toward the sky.
“Ah, man. It was nuts. All five of us finally hooked up. We ended up losing a
member. She never landed. Anyway, after we rested, we started east. We came
across these flowers hanging down from the trees. They were massive. All of a
sudden, the flowers opened up, thousands of them, and then those things started
flying out. They were some mean sons of guns. We were running like mad men
trying to get away. Then we came across you guys.”

I took a glance at his bite wounds. “You skin looks better.”

“Thanks to you. That shot of halos worked like magic. I
didn’t think it could do that.”

“We’re not supposed to know,” I uttered.

Tank sat up. “What do you mean?”

I finished the fruit and tossed the rind into the sand.
“Never mind.”

“Don’t keep things from me, Red. It doesn’t sit well with
me.”

I looked at him. He was serious, his eyes stern and focused.
I wondered for a moment if I could reveal my past to him. Tank trusted me to
some degree, or rather, he trusted Celeste. Perhaps not with his life, but he
did trust her with the truth. Celeste didn’t lie. She had no fear of telling
the truth. But things were different. I was different.

“I need to find Elric.”

Tank gave me a confused look. “What do you mean?”

“You were thinking of reporting to New Eden,” I said. “Well
don’t.”

Tank stood up. “Why the hell not? Our mission’s been
delayed. We don’t have a choice.”

I got to my feet. “I have nothing to do with this mission,”
I told him. “Not anymore.”

Tank froze. He stood there for a moment, unable to move. He
looked shocked. He looked betrayed. He didn’t accept nor believe what I had
just said. But I couldn’t run anymore, not from him, and not from the truth.

“So what are you saying? You’re abandoning everything?
You’re going rogue?”

“Even if I explained it, you wouldn’t understand.”

“What does Elric have to do with it?” he snapped. His eyes
narrowed. I could see his thoughts spinning in the hard of his glare. “You want
him to follow you? Are you out of your mind?” he hissed.

Tank thought I wouldn’t notice, but I did. His right hand
was steadily moving, reaching back for his mr2. I didn’t want to fight him. If
I did, I would kill him. There was no way he could win against me. “We made a
pact, Red. Tell me you’re not going back on your word.”

“Come with me,” I said.

Tank was silent for a moment. “You’ve really lost your shit
haven’t you? I heard about what happens to those who go rogue. They don’t kill
them, not at first. They take them back to humanization. They cut their brains
open. Then they go in and get their hands all nice and dirty. And that’s just
the beginning. Well I’ve been through that, Red. And I’m sure as hell am not
going back. Not for anyone.”

I understood. There were things more frightening than this
mission, more frightening than death. Tank feared ARTIKA. Nothing could make
him betray them. They owned more than his body. They owned his mind. And with
it, they could do anything. “You’ve changed, Celeste.” His hand was close now.
He would draw the mr2 any second.

I stepped back. “I get it,” I said. “I’ll go.”

Tank shook his head. “I can’t let you do that.” He drew his
weapon and fired.

I ducked behind the trees and dashed into the thicket. He
followed me, shooting wildly. I leapt across the sand. The bullets came flying
and there wasn’t much cover. I used the trees as best I could to dodge the whiz
of fire.

I climbed the sand, skidding and sliding up and down the
hills. Tank was relentless. He chased me over the dunes, shooting, the bullets
cutting quick through the air. Some of the trees caught fire, caving in around
me. I dodged the burning timbers, the sand slipping fast beneath my feet. There
was nothing to grab, nothing to hold on to, and I slid, rolling into the
underbrush.

Something caught my ankle on the way down and jerked me into
the air. I found myself upside down, hanging back and forth above the ground.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I growled. I heard Tank moving through the
trees. He stood directly below me, scanning the area with his weapon. He
couldn’t see me. I was too high up.

Moments later, he gave up and disappeared into the jungle.
As soon as he left, I tried to free myself. I reached up, curling at the waist
to grab my ankles, but the attempt was futile. I was moving too much.

I took another approach, swinging back and forth until I
caught the trunk of the tree. I began to climb, all the way up to the sling of
the trap. Once I reached it, I cut myself loose.

I rested.

I realized then how large the trees were. Most of them were
so tall they disappeared into the heavens. I wished Mother could see this
world, and Fern too. In Helio Tellus, there was nothing. There were no trees,
no flowers, no wind, no sun. That empire I once thought as brilliant and mighty
was dead. It wasn’t just a grave. It was a world of suffering. But even still,
it was my world. It was home.

Tank would never understand. I wanted him to know the truth,
to be free of ARTIKA. But I was alone. For some reason only my memories had
returned. And it made me wonder about the others, their lives, their beliefs
before they were taken. ARTIKA was too cruel. What they did to us, it wasn’t
just our memories they took. They took our souls. That’s why Tank was afraid. A
man without a soul had everything to fear.

I pulled my canteen from my pack and took a drink. The wind
was picking up, stirring the wildlife of the forest. Everything was moving, and
in between the sounds of nature, I heard a noise. It was a soft noise, like a
tender knocking. I looked around, and then I saw it. An arrow had been fired, the
tip of it blinking red.

I threw myself from the tree a second before the arrow
exploded. I landed on the next branch, almost tumbling over the edge. Smoke
clouded the forest. I drew my weapon. My enemies were close. There were several
of them, and they had me surrounded.

As the dust cleared, I could see them leaping through the
trees. They were fast, incredibly fast. One of them leapt from above me. The
creature landed with power, a rush of energy rippling through the air. I
wouldn’t fire just yet. I was too outnumbered.

The creature sailed from the fog. Shape by shape, I watched
it appear, and when I finally saw it, I lowered the mr2. I was lost, as if I
had fallen out of myself. This creature was a native. It was a Meridian, and
the beauty of him stunned me.

He looked like the lavender white of the moon. His skin was
bright and smooth, marked with these elegant symbols. The markings were made of
scales, and each small ribbon glistened down the length of his body. His hair
was like lightning, running long over his shoulders. But it was his eyes that
held me. I couldn’t look away. They were fierce and narrow like the eyes of a
wolf. I saw a whole other world in those eyes, an ancient and secret world.

The native drew his sword. “Speak them now,
hai’ek
,”
he demanded, “your final words before death.” His voice was like the wind,
sharp and powerful. I couldn’t speak. I didn’t dare to. The presence of this
creature overpowered me.

Rustling sounded in the trees. The natives were all around
me, at least fifty of them. Some were male, others female. Their beauty amazed
me. Everything about them came in color. They were even clothed in beauty;
colorful sashes and bright beaded shawls. Their armor was light and delicately
crafted. They were warriors. And just like the Meridian before me, their eyes
were on fire. It was a tender light, but still seeable from the distance.

“Have you nothing to say?” The Meridian ordered.

“Who are you?” I asked.

Several other Meridians suddenly landed on the tree. “It
seems to be alone,” one said. He had spoken in Hedai. “We should slay it now,
Aieti
.”

Aieti
—I remembered it from one of Styler’s briefings.
It was a powerful title, a name only a superior few could carry. Whoever this
Meridian was, he was of great nobility. And when he spoke, he answered in
Hedai. He looked at me a moment longer, like he was searching for something.
“Patience, Zurel. There is something I must see first.”

“What is it,
Aieti
?”

“There is something about this one,” the Meridian answered.
“I must see it.” He took a step forward, and I raised the mr2. The natives
behind him stood still, but they were anxious I could tell. “You have no power,
hai’ek
.”

The Meridian raised his hand. A wind of energy burst from
his open palm. All of a sudden, I couldn’t move. My body was stuck stiff.
“Kneel,” the Meridian ordered. I did, against my will. My knees bent, inch by
inch, until they touched the ground. The Meridian raised his other hand. I
tried to hold tight, but the mr2 slipped from my grasp and settled into his
hand. The power this being possessed was unfathomable. “Zurel,” he ordered. The
subordinate nodded, taking hold of the mr2.

I was powerless, weak against the might of this creature. He
came to me and knelt to the ground. Seeing him up close terrified me. His eyes
were glowing. And among them, there were shapes, rings of blue and bright
angles of gold, moving with a majestic rhythm. The Meridian pulled me in so
that our temples touched.

I stared in his eyes. I could look nowhere else, and as I
did, the world began to fade. I followed the shapes, watching them tessellate,
my thoughts winding around that never-ending dance of light. He was in my mind.
I could feel him there, trying to force himself into my memories. I fought him.
Those memories were buried so deep in the tombs of my heart that they would
never return. If he wanted them, he would have to cut me open and take them by
hand.