The Purification: Book 3 of the Evaran Chronicles (33 page)

Emily’s eyes popped open as a squealing noise rang out nearby. She swallowed hard and checked her PSD. It was 9:00 p.m., meaning she was out for five and a half hours. Fatigue seemed to be hard for her to judge. Sleeping was almost on command. She did not know if it was because she was just tired all the time and not aware of it or if her body just responded on demand. These trips screwed with her sleeping cycle.

She held her breath as she focused on the squealing sound. From the intensity of it, she guessed it was about half a mile away. After unsealing the sleeping bag, she pushed it to the side and scanned in the direction of the sound. Whatever was going on was getting closer. She jumped up, grabbed her sleeping bag, folded it up, and slipped it into her backpack. The tree she had scouted earlier was nearby, and after climbing it, she accessed the forearm interface. The light from the screen was bright, so she tapped the helmet option, then closed the interface as quickly as possible.

When the helmet slid over her head and snapped into place, she scanned below and around the tree. The outlining ability of the helmet was in full effect as it showed a boar-like creature running in the distance. The red outline showed this creature was in a hurry. She glanced a bit behind the animal and saw five shapes chasing after it. Focusing on them made her stomach tie up in knots. It was the humanoids she had seen earlier. Apparently, they were also nocturnal hunters.

She held as still as she could when the creature passed with the humanoids in hot pursuit. When the humanoids ran by where she had slept, one of them paused. She cursed herself for not activating the camouflage ability, but doing it now would definitely draw their attention.

The humanoid sniffed her sleeping area, then looked around. Its eyes traveled up the tree, and it scrutinized the branch she was on. Its eyes popped open as it screamed out.

She slid down the tree and shot her stun beam out. The humanoid crumpled. The rustling of the other humanoids approached. She gritted her teeth. Running away was getting old, and she was tired of being a victim. Respect had to be earned out here. She knew if she was going to be crossing their territory, they needed to stay away from her, or it would be a perpetual chase.

After opening her interface and camouflaging herself, she slipped behind the tree and aimed at the stunned humanoid. It did not take long for the others to surround their fallen member. She aimed just left of the group and then swept her stun beam to the right, knocking out three of them. The last one she hit with a repulsion blast, which knocked it into the fallen tree. She disabled her camouflage and extended her PSD into a staff and approached the startled and trembling humanoid.

It raised its hands and turned its head to the side. She cocked her head at it and extended the staff forward. The humanoid whimpered.

“Stay away from me,” she said.

The humanoid looked up at her with parted lips.

She was not sure if it understood her, but it seemed surprised. With one final stare at the humanoid, she walked north. She did not want to kill the humanoids, and had some regret for killing the previous ones, but this environment did not favor mercy. Letting the environment define her was something she fought. She showed mercy because that is who she was at heart. Maybe in this setting, being human was an anomaly.

Putting distance between her and where the incident occurred was her top priority. Moving through the forest at night was not as bad as she thought. She angled her walking so it coincided with the path northwest from where she started. The ambient noise of the forest was soothing. It reminded her again of camping with Dr. Snowden and her dad. She sighed and then swallowed hard. Although she did not want to give up hope of being rescued, the thought that this would be her new home was becoming more and more real to her.

After going another five miles, she paused to take a break. She was halfway to the next facility, about twenty miles away, and making good time. Her legs had adjusted to the walking, and going an additional mile or two more than her daily average was no longer out of the question. One more break around the ten-mile mark and she could make it there by the next day.

She scanned the trees for a safe spot and, after finding one, slumped down against it. The power indicator bar on her HUD showed she had quite a bit of power left. The Coraanan field guards must have been formidable, even though they were half her size. She had seen images of them with weapons, but Kal had stated that no weapons were able to be created or stored in the facility, except for visiting field guards. Central Command had been their base, and the tunnel system maintenance one of their tasks, along with escorting researchers out into the field.

She could not imagine anyone wanting to come here, but if they had a way to get back out, it would not be as foreboding to them as it was to her. Hopefully the rift door was still operational, because if it was not, that would be it. Just her and this world. Her new home.

She pulled out her PSD and studied the overland map. The third facility was a straight shot from where she was. With renewed vigor, she rose and continued forward. It got colder the farther north she journeyed. Even though the suit kept her warm, she could feel it in her hands. It also seem to coincide with less and less animal life, something she was not going to complain about. The terrain around her had become rocky. The path went up and around hills, and there was even a river where she was able to refill her water container.

It took her four hours to reach the point just ten miles shy of the third facility. She decided to break for the day. It was still dark at 4:00 a.m., and her feet were starting to throb. The rougher path had taken its toll. It had been another seventeen-mile trip for her, and the thought of reaching the next facility gave her purpose.

A nagging doubt about having to use the tunnel to get to Central Command crept into her mind. There was a mountain range ahead, similar to the one between the second and third facility. Although the path seemed to go through it, she was not sure if she wanted to try that.

After taking care of her basic needs, she set up her sleeping bag, crawled in, and then nodded off with thoughts of reaching the next facility.

After a solid eight-hour rest, she awoke to the sound of wind whistling by. She checked her PSD, which showed it was noon. With a shake of her head, she unsealed the sleeping bag. A burst of cool air slapped her in the face. She jerked her head back as she resealed the sleeping bag. It was helmet time. The one thing she would look for upon reaching the next facility was gloves. The thought she would need them did not occur to her in the warmer climate she had seen so far. Even more puzzling to her was why it was not a part of the suit to begin with.

She braced herself as she exited the sleeping bag. Her hands let her know it was not going to be a comfortable ten-mile hike. After folding and packing her sleeping bag, she had a small bite and drink, then headed back onto the path.

As she progressed toward the new facility, she noted that the trees had colorful leaves. The animals she did see were small relative to her. She chuckled when she saw a squirrel-like creature running around a tree. It reminded her a bit of the information broker that she had met on a previous adventure with Evaran.

Her eyes softened as she thought of the training videos. Although they were only videos of Evaran, they continued to be her lifeline of hope. She knew that Evaran was not one to give up, and even if it took him a long time, he would still come, even if she was not alive. Dr. Snowden would be right there with him. Even if they did come late, they could always just travel back to when she arrived and pick her up, she hoped anyways. She smiled for a brief moment. All of this could be wiped out, like it never happened. Regardless, she was living it whether they came or not. It reminded her of the question Hermes and John had asked Evaran. Even if the timeline changed, from their perspective, they would live out the rest of their lives. She focused on the path ahead.

Ten miles went by quickly as she mused on the next big part of her journey. She wished the paths between the facilities had been more like this than the ones filled with wild creatures. The cool air had not been kind to her hands, and she resorted to tucking them in her armpits to stay warm. Her mind cleared of those thoughts when she saw the familiar stepped pyramid surrounded by crystal pillars. She rushed up to the pyramid and exhaled from her nose as the familiar scans enveloped her and the pyramid slid back.

She ran her hands along the metallic walls before exiting the ramp into the main entry room. “Kal. Activate.”

Kal shimmered into view. “Good morning. Welcome to Coraanan research facility number ten. How may I be of service?”

“Any living beings other than myself here?”

“There are no other living beings here.”

She sighed and looked down. Maybe it was too much to hope that somewhere on this planet was a sentient being that was not a murderer. “Let me guess, the communications and transportation system are down too, right?”

“The communication system is not functioning. The transportation system is functional.”

Her eyes perked up. “Functional … you mean … it can be used?”

“Yes.”

She circled a hand. “And … where can it go?”

“The only destination available is Central Command.”

She let out a deep breath, then headed to the transportation hub. When she got there, she saw three box-shaped transportation units. They reminded her of air pods, but fitted to work on the rail in the transportation system. Peeking into the first one, she saw the similar featureless interior, with the exception of a small console jutting out before the front window. Her eyes misted as she smiled. Finally, something was going her way.

After restocking supplies, deactivating Kal, and making sure to pick up gloves, she entered the first unit. The console lit up with an overland map. Most of the green dots were dimmed, but the blue dot was lit. She pressed the blue dot, and after the door sealed shut, it began to move.

The space was cramped, just like the air pod. Watching the platform go by as the unit shot down the rail made her appreciate not having to walk fifty miles. The side rooms brought back memories of tangling with the creature that stalked her between the first and second facilities. At least she would not have to sleep or take breaks down here.

As the unit neared Central Command, the tunnel ascended and came to a stop at a massive circular transportation hub. Her eyes widened as she looked around and saw at least forty units ringing it. Her unit rotated ninety degrees, and the door lifted. She hopped out onto the circular platform and surveyed the environment. The smell of feces wafted past her nose. She tightened up as she pulled out her PSD.

“Kal. Activate.”

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

“Is there anything alive here other than myself?”

“Yes.”

18

D
r. Snowden pondered what Organic Emily must be up to. It had been roughly three days since she had been teleported, but it felt like a lifetime just trying to figure out where she was. Three days was not too long, and he was sure she could survive for that time. She had her PSD, and knowing her, he was certain she would not go down easily, if at all.

The parallel timeline intrigued him. Azoculus was Earth, just different. He was glad to be back in what he termed the original timeline. The information on the right screen showed that they had only been gone an hour from the timeline’s perspective, even though they had been in the parallel timeline much longer. He concluded that the Torvatta’s ability to jump to any point in space and time must not be restricted by what timeline they were in or going to. He imagined it as an unclosed triangle. Leave at one point in the timeline, arrive at another point in the parallel timeline, spend a long time there, then come back to the original timeline just one hour after the initial departure.

“We are here,” said Evaran.

Dr. Snowden studied the left screen. It showed a pyramid deep in a jungle, similar to the one in Egypt. The right screen indicated the shielding was down. Two life-forms appeared as red dots in front of the pyramid. “Why do I sense a trap …”