Rifter (The Survival Project Duology Book 1) (26 page)
Read Rifter (The Survival Project Duology Book 1) Online
Authors: Juliet Boyd
He kept turning his head from side-to-side at every slight movement as they shuffled along. He wasn’t even sure what he was looking at were movements. He knew he was jumpy. But he was surrounded and an attack could come from any direction. The only ones with guns, as far as he could see, were those by the cars.
Had Mara told them about the dangers of gunfire close to the rift? Or rather, the supposed danger. Nobody knew for sure.
This was taking too long.
They couldn’t move any faster.
He’d been through the possible scenarios in his mind so many times in the past few hours and concluded that the most likely outcome was that Debra would let him go through. She had enough people there to stop a mouse from escaping after he’d gone, so she’d have her rifter. It might even be better for her to let him go. No deaths to explain to the authorities, or anyone who happened to have a camera trained on the event. A different person to work for her, with a different perspective, might be the best outcome. Possibly more up-to-date information on technology would be available. She might even end up with someone who wouldn’t lie to her, or hide some of the truth, because they thought it would benefit them in the future.
That had been fun.
As they moved closer to the disruption his confidence began to return. And his strength. Every step became easier. The shaking subsided. He even smiled, not that anyone could see it.
“You’ve lost, Mara,” he said.
She didn’t reply, but he could feel the tension as the woman in front stumbled slightly. He planted his feet firmly. In front. She was in front.
He shouldn’t have said anything.
He edged them so close to the disruption that you could almost feel the energy pulsating. He took one last look around. No one was moving forward. Or moving at all. He lowered his free hand to the first clip on the belt, and then the second, releasing the woman behind him. Mayra. He twisted round so his back was to the disruption, keeping a shield in front of him.
Even if Mara tried to stop him, she wouldn’t be able to now. The precious seconds she’d take to remove the t-shirt from her head would waste too much time and he’d already be through.
“See you,” he said, and pressed the catches on both the remaining clips simultaneously. He tensed, ready to push her away.
Thirty-four
Mara knew she only had a split second in which to act. She flexed her fingers as he released the clips from his belt, and the moment she was free, she spun round and grabbed at the fabric of his clothes. She caught him right at the trouser line just as he began to move. She screamed in pain as her arms were wrenched in the wrong direction. He tried to push her away, but she didn’t let go, she hooked her fingers in further, so much so that it felt like the bones in her fingers were going to break with the pressure. She set her jaw hard, waiting for the crack. It didn’t come.
The pressure slackened for a moment. He kicked at her, hard, then tried to prise her fingers free one-by-one, but it was like she’d been imbued with a powerful energy that enabled her to keep hold and even though her body crumpled to the ground from the pressure of the kicks to the back of her knees, still she held on, almost hanging from him. She kept on thinking, ‘I’m saving lives by doing this,’ and that was all she needed to keep her grip tight.
She felt another hand beside hers grabbing onto Leo. Mayra had taken her lead. She must have managed to remove the t-shirt from her head. Even though Mara had attacked the woman when they first met, she was helping. She probably had no idea what she was doing, other than stopping Leo, but that didn’t matter.
The words that came out of Leo’s mouth were not kind.
He frantically tossed and turned trying to break away. She knew he’d succeed eventually, but every second was precious. She willed Gordon to notice the two different signals.
When she’d counted to thirty, she let go and dropped to the ground in agony. She heard a loud thwack and Mayra fell on top of her, knocking the air from her lungs. She moaned as she struggled to breathe.
The swoosh of air behind her told her that he’d gone and seconds later there was an almost silent tack as the disruption disappeared.
She lay there breathless and scared, until Mayra rolled off her body and someone gently removed the t-shirt from her head. Atwood’s eyes met hers and he lifted her so that she could sit.
Debra stood over them. Rifles were still pointed at them. There was no escape. Not that she wanted to run.
“So, which one of you two is the traveller?” she said.
Wasn’t it obvious? Perhaps, it was the dark. Still, Mara couldn’t help herself. “We’re called rifters, not travellers.”
Atwood helped her to her feet and removed the rope from around her ankles, while others assisted Mayra. The handcuffs would take longer. He brushed the matted hair back from her face.
“Why don’t we go and get you two cleaned up?” he said, “You’ve had a hell of a day.”
“What’s a rifter?” said Mayra, “Where did Leo go? He just disappeared.”
No one answered her.
She could see Kerry standing over by the edge of the assembled forces. He waved weakly. She didn’t suppose they’d let him get any closer. She sighed. There were no constants in her world any more, but he was the nearest thing she had.
“Is Kerry coming with us?” she said.
“Oh, yes,” said Debra, “I want to know exactly what you two have been getting up to.”
Mara’s heart sank.
“He’s not one of us,” she said, “He was only trying to help me.”
“Yes, well, we’ll see about that.”
Not another word was spoken as she was marched away to discover her new future. It was a future that she’d told herself not to think about less than three days ago, before she travelled through the rift. A future that meant living in a new world. Getting to know new people — some friendly, some not.
Now, it was a reality.
And one she wasn’t sure she wanted.
Epilogue
Leo coughed out as he stumbled through to the other side of the rift and out through the disruption. He leaned against the wall of the tunnel. He’d hardly managed to take a proper breath since Mara had released her grip on him and he’d thrust Mayra down on the ground. He staggered to a stop and the disruption whooshed closed behind him. The security doors slid back into place with a heavy, metallic thunk, making sure that nothing else could come through. He half expected to hear Mara’s body thump against the hard metal, but all he heard was the silence of the sealed area where he now stood.
He stepped down into the chamber and leaned over with his hands rested on his knees trying to catch his breath. His lack of oxygen wasn’t just from the exertion of getting free, his forward movement had propelled him so fast through the rift that his lungs had been stripped of anything to breathe. The force had also ripped the gun from his hands, leaving it to float into whatever it was that existed between the worlds. He’d meant to drop it before he travelled, but in the confusion, he’d forgotten he was holding it.
He heard the door to the chamber’s airlock hiss as it released. The door led to the decontamination chamber, which separated him from The Facility. Slowly, he pushed his body up straight. He forced himself to be calm. He fixed a suitable expression onto his face. Not too pleased. A level of distress, anguish and relief suitable to his supposed predicament. He turned.
Before him, on the other side of the two reinforced glass doors, stood Gordon. The man’s expression was inscrutable. As always.
“Leo?” he said questioningly through the intercom. Of course, Leo’s face had changed somewhat, but he wasn’t unrecognisable. Eight years didn’t alter you that much.
“Gordon,” he replied.
There was a long pause.
Gordon’s expression didn’t change.
Leo stepped into the decontamination chamber and submitted to the safety procedures. A disinfectant air surge blasted him as he removed his clothing. A set of overalls was presented to him through a small side door. He put them on, and put his own clothes in their place. He waited for the outer door light to go green. He pushed the door open.
Gordon had moved back. He was still right in front of him, but at what might be considered a safe distance.
“I wasn’t expecting you,” said Gordon, in his most accusing tone.
“No, I—”
There was no time for Leo to attempt an explanation. Two tutors, armed as security guards, walked into the room.
“If you don’t mind,” said Gordon, “We can’t be too careful.” Leo lifted his hands up. As if he had a choice.
“What? You don’t believe it’s me?” he said.
“Oh no, I believe it all right.” Gordon took a couple of steps closer now he was secured. Leo let him study his face close-up, even though it made him feel uncomfortable, as if Gordon could see into his mind. Into his soul. “And Mara?” he asked. And there it was. The big question. It was inevitable. He’d expected it to be the first thing Gordon said.
“She didn’t make it,” said Leo.
“Clearly. I’d like to know why.”
Leo pushed the sob up his throat and let it puncture his words, “No, I mean, she died.”
“Died, heh? Isn’t that convenient?” Gordon turned away. “Take him to a cell,” he barked.
“But—”
“Now.”
As the tutors took him by the arms and began to lead him away, Gordon moved over to one of the screens and started to study it closely, scratching at his chin.
Leo had the unnerving thought that there was something vitally important that he’d missed.
Dear Reader
Thank you for reading this book. If you enjoyed it, I’d really appreciate it if you could write a review on the website where you bought it, because reviews help other readers decide if they might like to read a particular book.
Juliet Boyd
Buy Book Two Now
TRAITOR
Revenge can take many forms.
Leo has returned home, but he
’
s far from free. Luckily, when it comes to taking revenge on the man who runs The Survival Project for the wrong done to him, he
’
s prepared to play the long game. He has the knowledge, he has the means. All he needs is the access.
Mara has no way of knowing whether Leo
’
s plan to exact revenge has succeeded, but she is not able to dwell on the subject for long. She thought she had come to this world to find solutions for her own, but her new world has taken the same disastrous path. Those who work for The Department are keen to know everything she can tell them about travelling through rifts.
Can she steel herself to do this over again?
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Meet the Author
I live in Somerset in the south-west of England. I used to work in office administration, but now I write full time. My main writing interests are fantasy, science fiction, weird fiction, horror and flash fiction. You’ll find details of all my work on my website at:
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Other Novels by the Same Author
The Rag & Bones Vampire Series
Trapped (Book One)
Concealed (Book Two)
Secrets (Book Three)
Kindred (Book Four)
Death (Book Five)
Allies (Book Six)
Conflict (Book Seven)