Chaos Theory (27 page)

23.

It was a dystopian HoloVid come to life. Kali contritely
acknowledged what was fun as a VirtuaGame was brutal as
reality.

They were not allowed to save all the prisoners.

Blue had been firm on that point. He’d made it clear there was
not enough resources to take care of that many people, and his
ability to fight the Novae would be markedly diminished if he was
worried about hundreds people rather than the small group he
already had to protect.

Commanding regimented Hybrids of superior intelligence was
easier than managing a large group of dangerous and frenzied
Humans, apparently.

At first she had been horrified, the thought of extracting her
parents, a few others, and leaving the rest to their fate left her
sour, but the short look Blue sent her way was a reminder his
people risked their lives on this rescue. She was grateful for what
they were doing, and questioning him on whether it was morally
right to be so selective on who they saved would add more strain to
an already precarious situation.

It still felt wrong.

The plan was straightforward; she was on Igor’s team, and they
were to sneak into the encampment. Zeke was there to identify
Valiant, and she was there to point out her parents and Madeleine.
If they were found, Igor would pretend to randomly select
“prisoners” and demand they come with him. Kali had been dubious on
that aspect, and asked what his excuse would be for taking them.
The Hybrids were confident he would not be questioned as long as he
did not act in an illogical manner. Blue was adamant there would be
no suspicion at the encampment, as long as they all did their part.
Once they were all out of sight, they’d return the way they came
then run like hell. Blue’s team was up on the roof to provide a
distraction if anything went wrong during the breakout. When he was
happy they were clear, his team would rendezvous with theirs and
meet Kenshin who was waiting in reserve with Natalya, Baby and
Howl. They’d boost the first FloVes they could find, something Max
was tremendously excited to be a part of, and make a straight shot
for the bunker as long as they were not followed. If they were
chased, Igor and Blue would, “deal with it.”

What could go wrong? They’d go in, take their people then get
out before anything seemed amiss.

The slave encampment used to be the Alliance Supreme Court.
Zeke knew his way around from before his official capacity as a
Starless Operative. That made things easier. He had transported
high profile criminals in through a rarely used side door and knew
where the holding cells were.

He estimated no more than five hundred people could be kept in
the cells, more if they were given no room to move.

Igor hissed an order for them to freeze.

Kali held her breath.

It didn’t take long to hear what alarmed him. There was
shouting, the sounds of feet stomping, screams, and weapons
firing.

Expression curdled, Igor ran through multiple scenarios in his
mind and could only come up with one that seemed likely. “Your
comrade started a riot, didn’t he?” he asked Zeke.

The soldier’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “I wish I could answer no
to that question.”

Igor cursed. “How would he get out of his cell?”

Zeke hesitated then held up his wrist when he remembered
Caesar’s warning about the mind reading. “The men in my unit were
injected with an OmniLock chip that acts as a skeleton
key.”

The muscle in Igor’s eye spasmed crazily. “We shall discuss
this with the Omicron.”

Without further comment, he motioned them to
follow.

Zeke looked peaky.

They reached the cells, and they were empty, the doors
swinging. A few people had been trampled in what seemed to be a
frantic mass exodus.

Heart plummeting, Kali stood in the door of the empty cell and
shook the bars. Sad, mad and all the emotions between she welled up
when she recognised the battered young man whose bones were broken
and jutted at a funny angle. She knelt down to close Christian’s
bulging eyes.

“
What now?” she asked.

There had been no guarantee all the people they sought were
held there, but she still suffered a wicked stab of
disappointment.

“
We leave,” Igor replied, turning on his heel.

They retraced their steps with an air of the
dejected.

Slipping outside, Igor made a hand motion towards the roof off
the building opposite them, and navigated them into the shadows
edging the brightly lit open space, so they could leave as
undetected as they entered.

The door they’d come from slammed open and a redheaded terror
stuck her head out, thumb firmly lodged between pouty lips. Dress
raggedy, bare feet dirty, Madeleine ambled across the open space in
their direction, her eyes fixed on Kali, someone she recognised,
someone who she associated with her older brother.

She didn’t see the creature that rounded building behind
her.

Horror at what unfolded had Igor swearing virulently in his
native tongue. Zeke sighted his weapon on the alien, trying to keep
his hands from shaking.

Sensing the noxious tension, Maddie glanced over her shoulder
and spotted the alien standing in the middle of the courtyard. She
froze mid stride as if caught in a suspension beam. Her small body
quivered with fear as the towering being advanced.

She burst into tears, not understanding what else to do in her
predicament.

Spurred into action by the petrified sobs, Kali was sprinting
towards her before she consciously made the decision. Skidding to a
stop she dropped to her knees and grabbed Madeleine’s small
shoulders, touched her chubby cheeks, and rubbed her speckled arms
to shush her.

Giving into the urge to see if the Novan was headed towards
them was a serious lapse in common sense. Kali met the alien’s gaze
and got tangled, stuck in a mental trap with biting teeth that had
no intention of letting go.

She stood and stared. Her lips parted, mind blank.

Kali had to move. She knew she should be screaming, running,
and crying, and bumping into things in a rush to flee, but
she couldn’t move
. Her
eyes were deadlocked on the alien looming not five feet from her.
Madeleine had fainted what seemed an age ago. She could feel the
little girl draped over her moon boots.

The Novan’s nostril slits flared and contracted, and its
pointed jaw worked. Thin eyelids slid over inky pools of black,
shuttering like a camera lens and making the surface even shiner
with iridescent liquid when they pulled back.

Madeleine snuffled and pushed herself up, frizzy red hair all
over the place. She stilled like a frightened bunny when she caught
sight of the alien’s feet. Her freckled nose twitched, and her eyes
widened until they swallowed her doll-like face.

She whimpered, and pushed back into Kali’s legs.

Protective instinct roared to life. Though the laser knife
she’d eased from her pocket shook in her fist, Kali lifted it
warningly, and did so with the intention of using it if that thing
came any closer to the child.

“
Throw it
,”
Max hollered from what seemed miles away. “Kali,
throw
.”

She knew how to do that, how to throw a knife.

Kali fumbled with the hilt and began to hyperventilate when
her body didn’t respond the way she expected to. She knew
this,
remembered
learning it, so why wasn’t it working?

The Novan’s head whipped round, and glared towards Max’s
voice. The seam of its mouth appeared, the lipless hole parting
wetly. It hissed, baring row upon row of lucent fangs.

Madeleine fainted again.

Igor cocked his head. “The Creator is surprised. No wait.” An
odd expression passed his face, surprise mixed with uncertainty.
“Not the Creator, this Novan is surprised to see you here. Use his
distraction, Kali, shuffle towards me.”

“
I–I–” Kali shook her head when she couldn’t get past that
first word. Sucking in a breath she managed, “Take her.”

“
It might startle him.”

“
Do it.”

Focusing his energy, Igor yanked on Madeleine and she flew
towards him as if fish hooked by the middle.

The Novan didn’t advance or make any kind of movement. It
stared at Kali, inquisitive.

What is it?

Not real.

Unstable.

How has this happened?

Demanding voices swirled around Kali, making her
dizzy.

Destroy it.

They cannot find out.

Destroy it now.

‘
You do not
belong
,’ a reedy voice whispered in her
mind, separating from the rest. ‘
You
should not exist
.’ The Novan reached out
long, sinuous fingers that curled oddly. ‘
Go back to what you are
.’

Kali felt funny, unhinged. Her skin crawled, and her muscles
became liquid-like. Stranger, she could feel some distant part of
herself fighting back, refusing to let whatever bonds he was trying
to break within her snap.

Kali watched dumbly as the slimy finger drew closer to her
forehead. Move. Burrowing deep and clasping something inside, she
found the strength to stagger back.

Power shot through the air and thumped into the distracted
alien.

The mental shriek from the Novan was deafening as it took a
halting step back.

Kali clamped her hands over her ears as her eyes watered. Blue
appeared from nowhere and grabbed her tunic to drag her back. He
pushed her towards Igor and reached for Lara.

The moment her fingers touched his they froze in motion, she
with one heel lifted off the floor, his stance off-kilter,
reaching. Their pupils contracted until they were black pinpricks
in the centre of stark white. To the Hybrids their auras
intensified and pulsed, coalescing to shoot up into the sky and
spread over their heads in a vast rainbow of psychic
energy.

Small lines of strain appeared around Lara’s eyes.

Blue looked impatient.

“
Your weave is strong, but you’re too slow,” he said in a
monotone. “Speed up or the whole web will falter.”

“
I’m nearly done,” Lara panted. “There.”

They let go and the Novan screeched, making them wince and
back away as it tilted its head and wobbled violently in
anger.

Max snatched Madeleine from Igor and buried his nose in her
hair, rocking her gently. “Why didn’t you throw,” he demanded of
Kali. “I’ve seen you do it.”

She covered her mouth with a trembling hand. “I’m not the
same,” she whispered. “I– Papa!”

Frazzled, Creighton burst from of the door Madeleine appeared
from. His eyes immediately zeroed in on Kali. He ran to her,
sweeping her up in a crushing hug as she wrapped her arms around
his shoulders and squeezed.

Free of the burden of a child to protect, Igor planted himself
in front of the group protectively. “Time to leave.” He backed
away, forcing those behind him to retreat.

Zeke spotted Valiant, and bobbed his head in
greeting.

Valiant strode over and hauled him into a one armed hug,
thumping his back hard. “Knew I’d find you.”

“
You owe me for rescuing you,” Zeke protested.

“
Rescue?” Valiant shoved him away and snorted. “Can’t you see
me working here? I’m in the middle of an escape.”

Zeke swept out an arm. “How’s that going for you?”

“
Don’t make me hurt you.”

It was the only time for reunion they got. Both soldiers fell
into line, and covered each other’s back. Weapons sighted and ready
to fire.

“
We must leave,” Igor repeated firmly, his head swinging from
side to side. A sensation unlike any he’d known crept over him. His
chest tightened. “Bella?”

Lara waved a hand over her shoulder.

Igor was relieved when he spotted Christabella struggling to
clamber from the slanted roof Lara, Max and Blue had jumped off
when they’d seen the trouble brewing.

Host appeared out of the shadows. Drifting forward, a few of
the larger bodies hovered in front of the Novan, but no order to
attack was given. They seemed to be waiting for
something.

The alien was focused on Kali, its fluid swaying taking on a
defensive rather than offensive tone.

Valerie stormed out of the side door holding a canister filled
with red mist.

“
They have Crimzon,” Lara warned.

She picked up her duffel, and shouted at Christabella to run
when the girl finally managed to scramble down, dirtied and beaming
victory.

Max looked fierce as he glared at the enemy that surrounded
them. He’d die before any of them got their hands on his sister
again. “What do we do?”