The Purification: Book 3 of the Evaran Chronicles (31 page)

Evaran perched his chin on his left hand as he eyed Lord Vygon. “I have the feeling we will cross paths many times.”

“That we do,” said Lord Vygon with a smile.

They finished their food, and after an hour of light discussion, V poked his head into the room. “We have arrived.”

Evaran stood. “It is time to navigate V to the portal room then. Come.” He waved for everyone to follow him.

They assembled in the command area as V went into the research lab. He came back out in orb mode and hovered near the front console. “I am ready.”

Dr. Snowden looked out the left screen. It showed the same base as the other one, except this one did not have spikes. He could see the guards outlined in green walking around the perimeter and the towers. He noted that the Torvatta was just inside the main gate and slightly above the main building entrance.

“V, scout mode,” said Evaran as he interacted with his chair console. The front right screen switched to a visual of what V saw.

“Acknowledged. Scout mode engaged,” said V. He shimmered for a moment and then disappeared.

Dr. Snowden studied the right screen as it showed V exit the Torvatta and fly toward the main doors.

When V scanned the door, it showed the stone composition as well as handprints and other organic residue on the doors. He flew off toward one of the towers and, after a moment, had passed through the top open part where two guards stood.

Dr. Snowden grinned as he watched V’s scans of the guards. It outlined them with multiple labels indicating everything from body temperature to breathing as a sound graph. He appreciated the glimpses into how V viewed things.

It did not take long for V to descend from the tower via an internal ramp to the inside of the side building. He twisted and turned through the tunnels, flying above the guards, until he located a shielded door similar to the one in the first base. After scanning it, V flew back toward a room where two guards were resting. He projected a hologram of Evaran running past the room and imitated the sound of hurried footsteps. Flying back to the shield, he disabled the hologram but kept the sounds up until the guards reached the shielded door.

“I know I saw something,” said one of the guards.

The other guard accessed the door console, dissipating the shield. “Check inside. I’ll check out here.”

The first guard nodded and passed through the doorway, with V in tow. The door shielded back up once they were through.

Dr. Snowden gestured at the right screen. “That was pretty good.”

Evaran nodded. “V is quite resourceful.”

“How would U4 have handled that?”

Evaran snapped his head toward Dr. Snowden. “I have never mentioned U4 to you before.”

Dr. Snowden’s eyes popped open. “Ohh … uhh …” He gestured at the right screen. “V mentioned her to me earlier … umm … before the timeline change when you were up on the roof.”

“I see,” said Evaran with narrowed eyes. He clenched his jaw for a moment. “U4 was not equipped with stealth. She could not have done this.”

Dr. Snowden glanced at Lord Vygon, whose eyebrows were raised, then focused back on the right screen. Evaran did not show emotion well, but Dr. Snowden knew the small movements and facial gestures that acted as proxies. He concluded that this was still a sensitive subject.

V had reached the portal room and hovered in the corner of the room above the podium. The angle showed the Purifier operator standing at the rift controller as well as a good view of the rift room. “Destination reached.”

Evaran tapped at his chair console. “Very good. Hold position and record all that you can. We will be back in a bit.”

“Acknowledged.”

The front right screen switched to an outside view as the Torvatta ascended.

“Back to our timeline,” said Evaran.

17

E
mily walked for several miles through the forest without incident. It was dense, with large trees surrounded by smaller ones that looked like they were competing for space. She shook her head at the thought that the trees would be sentient, although she had seen stranger things.

The smell of the wood caressed her nose. It reminded her of camping with her dad and Dr. Snowden. Her eyes softened as she recalled her favorite part about camping, the stories around the campfire. With a sigh, she trudged on.

It was about thirty miles until the next facility. She could make it with one overnight stop, maybe two if there was trouble. Places to rest with defensive capability were on her mind. She knew how hard it was find anything like that out here.

Five miles later, she took a break near a large tree. The forest had gotten darker, mainly due to the trees around the path extending overhead. Normally she would have found this ominous, but with recent events, it did not register with her. She sat against a tree on the side and pulled out her PSD. After chewing on a piece of dried meat, she took a small sip from her water container. She let her legs rest and stared up. It was peaceful, and the ambient noise of the forest almost lulled her to sleep.

She jumped when a pang shot through her leg. Reaching down, she pulled out what looked like a sharp pine needle. Her PSD vibrated on her leg. Could it be? A jolt of excitement coursed through her. She pulled her PSD out and opened it. The outline around the communications icon pulsated. Her breath went haphazard as she pressed it.

“Emily!” said Dr. Snowden.

Emily paused for a moment as she studied it. “Unc … Uncle Albert?”

“We’re on our way! Stay where you are!” said Dr. Snowden.

The PSD went blank.

Emily shuddered as tears ran down her face. It was finally over. She slumped back down against the tree. No more trying to survive in this hellhole. She smiled as she thought of figuring out what she would do back on the ship.

After a few minutes, the Torvatta landed on the path. Dr. Snowden burst out of it with Evaran and V in tow.

Emily jumped up, ran over to Dr. Snowden, and hugged him tightly. She trembled as Evaran reached them and put his arms around her.

“It’s good to see you,” said Evaran.

Emily narrowed her eyes. Her nanobots were at full throttle when they should not have been. Her focus became pinpoint. Something was off. She stepped back and studied Evaran. “You sound different.”

“What’re you talking about?” asked Evaran.

Emily’s eyes narrowed. “You never talk like that.”

“I’ve always talked like this.”

“No … you haven’t,” said Emily. She looked around. “This isn’t real.”

“You’ve been here a long time, but you’re free now. No more Kazaal, shadowy presences, or weird creatures,” said Dr. Snowden.

Emily frowned as she shook her head. She slumped to the ground.

“Emily?” asked Dr. Snowden.

“I never told you of those things. I haven’t even seen you yet. This isn’t real.”

“Of course it’s real,” said Evaran. “Ezekial is on board the Torvatta. We were able to save him.”

“Ezekial’s dead!”
said Emily as she stood and balled her fists. Her nanobots pulsed wildly. A sharp pain on the side of her stomach made her eyes pop. Another pang traveled up from her leg. Blood spots appeared on her clothing as the environment began to shake violently.

Dr. Snowden ran over and put his hands on Emily’s shoulders. “Emily! Stay with us!”

“Get away from me!”

The environment shuddered, then stopped. The Torvatta, Evaran, and Dr. Snowden were gone.

Emily looked down and saw blood soaking her shirt. A small spear stuck out of her leg.

Two humanoids standing three feet tall with dark skin stood before her. They were covered in some type of white dried substance that looked like caked mud. Dome-shaped helmets that also seemed to be made out of mud covered their heads. One had a spear and was approaching her. The other was behind the first and reaching for the spear in her leg.

She pulled the spear out and shouted in pain, startling the two humanoids. With a quick glance, she tossed the spear at the nearest humanoid. It busted through its helmet and into its head as it went down.

The second one yelled and pulled out a large knife. It charged her. When it got close, she knocked its arm down and hit it on top of the head, shattering the helmet. She could feel bones breaking from her hit.

The humanoid walked around for a moment in a stupor, then collapsed.

Her breathing went all over the place as her vision flickered on and off. She cursed herself for not bringing any medicine. Hopefully the nanobots would be able to cure this much damage. The smell of blood permeated the air. The decision to head back the way she came was an easy one. If she was going to pass out, better there than here.

With her hands applying pressure to her stomach and upper leg area, she limped back toward the air pod facility. Maybe she could use the air pod itself to rest in. Although it crashed, it was still intact, and more importantly, it had a door she could lock. It took her three pain-filled hours to cover the seven miles. She figured her injuries must not have been too critical; otherwise she would have passed out much earlier. When she reached it, the familiar skittering sounds broke the silence, but she did not care.

She found the air pod and climbed in. The door slid shut. Her eyes widened as it lifted, spun around 180 degrees, and began to fly over the chasm. Even better, she thought. At least the other air pod warehouse was secure. When it arrived, she crawled out and crashed to the ground.

Her eyes closed.

Four hours later, she awoke. She lifted her head and got up on all fours. Vomit flowed from her lips. Her body shook. The nanobots were trying to help her, but whatever was in her system was not going down without a fight. She decided to head back to the third facility. There was a medical station there and hopefully something to help. She stood while using the air pod as a brace. Her breathing was shallow, and nausea rocked her body, but the drive to get to the facility overpowered that.

It was dark when she hobbled out of the warehouse. The bright moonlight was her companion as she trudged back to the facility. It was only three miles away and a predator-free path with grasslands all around. Several times along the path, she thought she was going to pass out. Her eyes fluttered as the facility came within reach.

A brief thought of the creature she killed in the tunnels ran through her mind. If she had let it live and it caught her in this condition, she would have been easy prey. She smirked despite her pain. The lesson learned there was to end the threat or it could be a problem later. The pillars scanned her, and the mini pyramid slid back. She used the wall of the ramp as support as she entered. The pyramid above her closed.

“Kal! Activate!”

Kal shimmered into view. “Good evening. How may I be of service?”

“Something’s wrong with me.”

A beam scanned her as she entered the main room and headed to the medical area in the living quarters.

“You have the mimecan trail parasite inside you.”

“What is that?”

“The mimecan trail parasite is an organism that lives symbiotically on the mimecan trees. It ingests the seeds of the tree, then infects a living host. The death of the host signals the parasite to expel the seeds. The decomposing body then serves as nutrients for the seeds.”

She grunted in pain. “How do I kill it?”

“Antiparasitic medicine specific to the mimecan trail parasite is available in the medical station. You will also need antivenom.”

“What?”

“The mimecan trail parasite uses venom to paralyze its host.”

She reached the medical room. “Well … I’m not paralyzed.”

“That is not possible.”

“I’d say otherwise! Where is the antiparasitic?”

Kal walked over to a cabinet. “It is here.”

She limped over to the cabinet and tapped it. It slid to the side, revealing a host of metallic containers, syringes, and plastic pouches.
“Which one!”

Kal pointed to a container. “This is the mimecan antiparasitic.” Kal pointed to a plastic pouch. “These pills are the antivenom.”

She grabbed both and leaned against the wall. She pressed the top of the container, which popped out a pill. “How many of each?”

“Two of each, given your body size.”

She popped the container again and then swallowed both pills. The antivenom pouch opened with ease as she gobbled two pills. She slipped off her clothing and assessed her damage. “Is there anything I can cover these wounds with?”

“You have internal bleeding,” said Kal. He walked over to another cabinet. “Pads, sealants, and recovery gel are here.”

She sighed as she used the counters to walk over. Opening the cabinet revealed a bevy of various-sized white pads, translucent blue pads, and a container that reminded her of a whipped cream can. “What do I need to do?”

“Apply the gel to the wound, then seal it.”

With a quick motion, she grabbed the can and applied the gel as it oozed out across her puncture wound on her stomach and leg. The pads had a sticky substance on their edges, and when applied, they seemed to form a fit that still allowed breathing via the small holes scattered around it. She eyed a bed in the corner and walked over to it. Once she was settled in, she looked at Kal. “Lock the door.”