Reunification (29 page)

And then there was the texture of the
keyboard itself. It was clearly not solid, but when my fingers
awkwardly danced over its surface, I had no problem whatsoever with
touching the keys. I kept expecting my fingers to pass through it
with every stroke, but they never did, for which I was thankful, as
this was mine only way of escape.

But every time I entered in what I thought
was the correct word and hit the large button that I had learned
through trial-and-error to be the enter key, a red 'X' would appear
in front of me. There was no doubting what that meant, which is why
I kept typing away anyway, hoping that the luck of Walnak would
save me.

Yet as the red 'X' came up again and
again, I began to lose hope. Especially when the doors were almost
knocked inwards; the chair holding them back almost crunched under
that blow. All Kiriah and her robot friend needed was one more blow
like that, and then I would truly be dead.

That thought was by itself almost enough
for me to cease typing and simply accept my fate. Yet I did not,
because I was still a Knight of Se-Dela, and Knights of Se-Dela did
not give up no matter how grim the situation was.

Then the doors burst open. Their sudden
opening sent the chair flying over my head, striking the camera and
sending it crashing to the floor near my feet. I paid it little
attention, however, because I was still pecking my way across the
keyboard, still hoping that Walnak would bless me.

Nonetheless, I looked up anyway, just in
time to see Kiriah and her robot friend enter. Their combined bulk
blocked off the doorway, so there was no way I could run around
them if I wished. Not that I had ever seriously considered that
plan; I noted it only because I now had one less way of escaping
this place alive.

The robot that had entered with Kiriah was
not as slim as Assassin. It was shorter and bulkier, built more
like a battle ax than a rapier. It had round fists like boulders,
with pistons behind them that were clearly what gave its attacks
their punch.

“
Rii,” said Kiriah, her
voice far deadlier—and hurt—than it had been before. “Why did you
run? I thought you were loyal to Reunification.”

I did not answer, because I was still
typing madly across the holographic keyboard before me. Besides, I
knew that Kiriah already knew why I had run; she was no idiot, even
now, after having her personality irrevocably altered by that
hateful machine, that machine I would someday destroy, assuming I
lived long enough to do that.

“
I guess I forgot to
tell you what happens to people who try to back out of
Reunification at the last second,” said Kiriah. She gestured at her
robot. “Usually, they wind up broken and in pieces across the Dead
Lands, generally by Guard here. We can't have any flip-floppers on
our team running around telling everyone who we are and what we're
up to.”

“
But I am your brother,”
I said, briefly glancing at Kiriah before looking back down at the
meaningless gibberish I typed away in a fury in order to strike
gold. “Does this organization and its secrets matter more to you
than the life of your own brother?”

As I suspected, Kiriah hesitated. Perhaps
her personality had been rewritten by the Brain Editor, but she
still seemed to care about me. If I could just take advantage of
that for a little while longer, then I would be fine.

But then Kiriah stepped aside and said,
addressing her robot companion, “Guard, teach my brother what
happens when he tries to trick his sister.”

Guard slammed his round fists together and
ran at me much faster than a robot of his size should have been
able to. He swung his fists through the air like the wrecking balls
of a Xeeonite crane.

I should have run, but what good would
that have done me? After all, there was nowhere to run to. Still my
best hope lay in deciphering the secrets of this accursed
teleporter, which now seemed to be intentionally keeping me from
discovering the code word I needed to escape.

But I had little time in which to do so,
because Guard was rapidly approaching. I estimated I had less than
six seconds before it smashed its fists into my skull, which
prompted me to type faster and faster, even though my increased
speed did not help me find the password any more quickly than
before. All I succeeded in doing was making the large red 'X'
appear again and again, without any indication, not even a slight
one, to let me know if I was any closer to escaping this place
alive.

Guard's fists were so close now that I
could feel the wind that followed them, like the strong gusts of
the Cyclone Mountains. I had no more time. This was it. I was going
to die, and all of my striving would be for naught.

Just as Guard's fists came within range of
my face, just when I was absolutely certain that I was going to
die, I inputted the last word I knew I would ever get to type.

And rather than another wicked red 'X'
appearing to steal away mine hope, the entire keyboard glowed a
bright blue, followed by a dinging sound that even I, someone who
knew virtually nothing about Xeeonite technology, understood to
mean that I had successfully found the right password.

As before, the world shifted around me.
Guard's flying fists slowed down and became like mud, but soon they
faded away and I found myself standing alone in a room identical to
the one I had just been standing in moments before.

Still, mine heart raced, for I understood
that I had just narrowly avoided death itself. 'Twas such a
shocking feeling that I merely stood there, unable to comprehend
completely my own success and the magnitude of that action, not
even thanking the Old Gods for their help. I almost wanted to
scream, even though I was currently in danger from nothing at the
moment.

Then a loud beeping noise, like a siren's
wail, made me jump. I tripped over my feet before regaining my
balance and looking down at whatever had made that siren.

It was that security camera from before,
the cur, its awful smoke filling my nostrils, the one that had
chased me down and annoyed me with its loud alarm. I assumed it
must have teleported with me, likely because it had been lying in
the teleporter when I had teleported, but that did not make me at
all happy about it.

Instead, I kicked the damn thing, but
'twas much heavier than it appeared, for as soon as I did, pain
exploded in my toes. I grabbed my foot and hopped around, shouting
a thousand different curses, whilst the camera continued to lie
there as if I had not touched it at all.

The pain in mine toes subsided quickly,
however, allowing me to lower my foot back onto the teleporter I
stood upon. Nonetheless, I glared at the smoking, wreck of a
machine, but shook my head and turned away. 'Twas no threat to me
anymore; for what purpose, then, did I have to waste time punishing
it, even though, were it a human being, I would say that it
rightfully deserved to be punished, in accordance with the Six Laws
of Justice laid down by Jakonal, the Old God of Justice, at the
beginning of time?

So I stepped off the platform and walked
over to the double doors. I hoped that these next few floors would
offer even less of a challenge, even though I knew that that was
naught but wishful thinking of the highest order. Still, perhaps
Walnak's luck would strike again, and I would face no obstacles on
my way out of here. Stranger things had happened, after all.

Thus, I pushed open the double doors,
confident that I could handle whatever lay beyond … and then a
sword flew from the opened doors and slashed across mine chest.

***

Chapter
Thirteen

B
y all that was heavenly! My chest
burned as blood poured forth, staining my clothes and spilling all
over the floor, though I managed to step backwards in time to avoid
getting a much deeper and far worse cut.

Still, the pain was so awful that I had to
grasp my chest, feeling the hot blood that flowed like a river.
Then I looked up at my assailant, who now stood in the doorway
holding one of the double doors open with one hand, the other hand
holding a bloodied silver sword with blinking lights running down
its length.

“
Apakerec,” said
Assassin, its harsh, grating metallic voice sending shivers up my
spine. “Long time, no see. I received the Leader's message that our
newest recruit had gotten yellow-bellied and wanted to drop out at
the last minute. I am guessing that
you
are that newest
recruit?”

I grit my teeth, mostly because I knew
that if I spoke, I would scream. All I did was nod and continue to
walk backwards until I was back on the platform, leaving a trail of
blood along my path as I did so.

“
I see,” said Assassin.
“Well, I'm glad you confirmed that for me, even though I already
suspected it would be you. Let me guess, are you going to try to
throw another trash can lid at me again? Then again, there aren't
any trash can lids around here, so I guess you'll just have to make
do with nothing, huh?”

Assassin spoke far too casually for a
robot, made even more disturbing by his featureless face. Not that
I focused much on that, however. Instead, I began praying fervently
to the Old Gods for their aid, though I knew not if I would get
it.

“
Anyway, I can see
you're in no mood for conversation,” said Assassin. He raised his
sword, my blood dripping from its blade onto the floor below. “Why
don't we pick up where we left off? I've since recovered from that
nasty little electromagnetic shock that those idiotic Foundation
members used on me. Indeed, I even studied the technique and
figured out how to use it to my advantage.”

Assassin took his other hand off the
door—which swung closed behind him as he did so—and aimed it at
me.

A lightning bolt lanced from his finger
tips toward me. I ducked to avoid it, but the action caused me to
slip on my own blood and fall flat on my back. The lightning bolt
struck the wall behind me, leaving a sizzling black crater that
smoked as much as the camera.

“
Do you like it?” asked
Assassin, lowering his hand. “I developed the Touch of Zaunas all
on my own.”

Hearing the name of the Old God of
Lightning uttered forth from this obvious heathen's lips gave me
enough strength to gasp, “How dare ye use Zaunas's name like that!
The Names of the Old Gods are not for us mortals to toss around so
lightly.”

“
Good thing I'm not a
mortal, then,” said Assassin. He began walking toward me, looking
as terrifying as a lion about to devour its prey.

Normally, I would have stood up and
fought, but mine chest still bled without end, which sapped my
strength as rapidly as a sponge wiped across a wet surface. Of
course, what also took away my strength was the knowledge that I
could not defeat Assassin, at least on my own and in this terrible
condition.

But I did not wish to give up, even though
that would have been the most logical and rational course of action
to take in this situation. For I was a Knight of Se-Dela, which
meant that I would have to get back up and fight to the bitterest
of ends. 'Twas better to die standing on one's feet than to die
lying in one's own blood.

Yet how was I supposed to fight? I had no
weapons; not even my energy knife, which likely had been taken away
from me after Resita and I had been captured. I did not have even
the tiniest of weapons—nay, not so much as a rock—to defend myself
from this evil machine.

Then my eyes flickered over to the
destroyed camera which lay on the teleporter next to me. It smoked
and was clearly in no condition to fly anywhere, but it was the
only thing around that I could possibly use as a weapon. I was no
great improviser, but even I knew the importance of making do with
what one has on hand, rather than crying that ye do not have what
ye wanted or needed.

Hence, I grasped the security camera,
which was hot to the touch but thankfully not as heavy as it
appeared. I pushed myself to a sitting up position, but gritted my
teeth when more blood poured from my chest, though I told myself to
ignore it for as long as it took me to defeat Assassin (though
whether I would be able to summon that much willpower, I did not
know, though I was determined to try).

“
Is that one of our
flying security cameras?” said Assassin, watching as I staggered to
my feet. “Well, that's an unusual weapon, I will admit, but hardly
a threatening one. What, do you think I'm camera-shy or
something?”

In truth, I had no idea what I could do
with this smoking, wrecked machine. 'Twas nothing like any weapon I
had used before; indeed, I doubted there was any way I could use it
as a weapon. It had no blades, nor did it appear to have any lasers
or projectiles to fire at Assassin. The best I could hope to do
with it was to perhaps throw it, but even if it hit Assassin dead
on, I doubted it would hurt him very much.

Nonetheless, I held the security camera
with one hand, gripping my bloodied chest with the other, and tried
to look as threatening as I could, even though I knew I looked more
pathetic than anything. Assassin did not seem impressed or
frightened, for he kept walking toward me, holding his sword at his
side as if he was taking a nice stroll through the Fertile
Plains.

“
Well, it was nice
knowing you while you lived,” said Assassin. “I thought you might
put up an actual fight, but if your best weapon is nothing more
than a silly little broken security camera, then I can see I will
not be getting the fight that I expected.”

I prayed to the Old Gods, as I always did,
for guidance. That they would show me how to use this camera,
though I was beginning to think that perhaps the reason that the
Old Gods hadn't listened to my prayers recently was because this
was how I was destined to die.