The Exodus Towers (34 page)

“I think it’s time we finished our talk,” the man said, his meaning plain. “Tania does, too.”

Skyler looked him up and down. His bruises had faded. A few scabs remained. “Finally,” Skyler replied. He grabbed a few more items from his tent: pocket utility knife, a watch with a built-in compass, and two pairs of compact binoculars. All went into pockets on his vest or pants, except one of the binoculars, which he handed to Karl. “Let’s go talk to Tania.”

The man nodded and led the way.

Tania leaned against the wall of the steel room, next to the tourist map of Belém. She had her head down against her chest, her arms folded across her stomach, and one leg tucked up behind her.

For a second Skyler thought she slept there, on her feet, but when the door closed behind Karl, Tania said. “They’re here, Zane.”

Skyler looked to the sat-comm unit on the table. On the screen were the faces of Zane and Tim, and Skyler felt as if he’d not seen them in months. It had been weeks, in truth. Both the older man and the younger looked tired.

“Good morning, gentlemen,” Zane said. “Tania has filled us in.”

Tim leaned in toward the camera. “Thanks for the supply delivery, by the way. It’ll buy a bit of time, at least.”

“More will be on the way soon,” Tania said. She hadn’t budged from her place against the wall, and hadn’t looked up at Skyler, either.

Christ, I should have kept my damned mouth shut
. Skyler had an urge to cross the room and take her hands in his, tell her not to blame herself. But deep down he wasn’t sure he’d mean it. What good was a lie to comfort a liar?

With the thought came a deep and twisted stab of guilt, as if he’d wronged her instead of the other way around.

“Tania says you found something in the rainforest?” Zane prompted.

“I did,” Skyler replied, grateful for the shift in focus. He crossed to the map, aware of Tania as she moved a few steps away, presumably to give him space. At least, the others would think that. “Here,” he said, drawing a circle on the laminated chart with a dry-erase pen. “If I had to guess, I’d say it’s one of the pieces Tania saw approaching with the shell ship above us.”

“There were five, right?” Tim asked.

“Five that I could see,” Tania said.

Skyler tapped the circle he’d drawn. “It carved a long, shallow tunnel when it landed, and sits half-submerged at the far end. There were, well, a number of subhumans surrounding the area. Humming some kind of chant.”

“Singing,” Karl muttered. “A chorus.”

“Half-submerged?” Tania asked. Her gaze fell on the map now, her sulking mood forgotten with the news of a discovery. “So you entered the tunnel?”

Skyler nodded. “What I saw in there has given me nightmares since,” he told them all. The silence that followed was absolute. “The side of the vehicle has a hole in it, or some kind of door. Point being, it’s open. The whole place is shrouded in some kind of haze, but I managed to get close enough to see inside.”

“What was in there?” Karl asked, his voice a gruff whisper.

“A subhuman. Kneeling in front of some kind of … altar, I guess. Hexagonal in shape, and lit from within in red.”

“Red?” Tim asked. “The tower groups that left last night were lit as well, we’re told. Was the color the same?”

“The same as one group,” Skyler said. “Each group had a different coloration, but the red group went to this place, from what we can see.”

“Four groups,” Tania said, almost to herself. “I saw five ships, but only four groups of towers departed. Maybe they’re not connected?”

“Or maybe one ship didn’t make it to the surface,” Tim said, his excitement palpable.

Zane put a hand on the youngster’s shoulder to quiet him. “What do you mean, the subhuman was kneeling?”

“On its knees,” Skyler answered. He held up a hand before anyone balked at his sarcasm. “On its knees, with its hands outstretched. Grasping that hexagon thing with both hands.”

“Weird,” Karl said.

“There’s more. The subhuman was being coated with some kind of …” He inwardly recalled the scene, as he searched for the right words. “Some kind of armor, or second skin. I can’t explain. All I can tell you is, the subhuman was already half-covered when I found it, and when it turned to me …” He shivered.

Tania asked the question. “What did you see?”

Skyler looked at each of them in turn. “That red laser
light, coming from within. Where eyes should have been.” Even describing it made him shudder. The creature had only looked at him, and yet it filled him with more dread than any subhuman encounter he’d had before.

“Do you think it was—”

Skyler held up a hand. “I’m not going to speculate; it’d be a waste of our time. My advice? We go out there, in force, and make a judgment based on what we find. Maybe get those towers back so the camp can keep progressing.”

No one spoke.

“It’s been almost a week since I saw the damn thing,” Skyler added. “The only rampant speculation I’ll make is that there may be more of them, these transformed subs, and now aura towers have moved into the area as well. What that means is anyone’s guess. My gut tells me the longer we wait the harder it will be to do anything about it.”

“No,” Tim said. “Not necessarily. If we wait a month maybe the towers will run out of power, or these beings will die off, or leave. There’s no way you can know—”

“Right,” Skyler said. “That’s the reaction I expected. Let me know when you’ve all finished debating.” He turned for the door.

“Wait,” Tania said.

When he stopped, she moved to the map and studied the spot he’d marked, as if it allowed her to see the place. “Skyler’s right. Karl, open the gun locker, and put out a call for volunteers. As many as want to go and that we have environment suits for. We’ll bring one tower. I don’t want to risk more than that.”

Karl’s eyes darted between her, Skyler, and the screen. “You sure?”

Tania nodded once, her mouth a hard, thin line. Skyler guessed she was anything but close to sure, but he wasn’t going to argue. He couldn’t help but wonder, though, if her unilateral action was really a peace offering to him. Either way, it signaled a change in her, a flash of decisive leadership, and he’d take it.

“Okay then,” Karl said.

Elias approached Skyler as he cleaned his sidearm. Skyler greeted the man with a friendly wave, and in answer the immune only managed a slight smile.

“You’re leaving, aren’t you?” Skyler asked, setting the weapon aside.

“It’s that obvious?”

The man offered his left hand to shake, the right being in a spray-on cast, and Skyler clasped it. “Thanks for your help,” he said. “I’m sorry about Davi and Wilson.”

Elias kicked the dirt around his feet. “You rescued us; it’s you who deserves thanks.” He spoke so softly Skyler had to lean in to hear the words. “All this fighting, it’s not in me.…”

“I understand,” Skyler said. He gripped the man’s shoulder. “Where will you go?”

Elias ran a hand across his scalp, smoothing strands of hair across the bald space. “Home,” he replied. “It may seem stupid, but I wish to bury my family, to live somewhere I had happy memories.”

“Not stupid,” Skyler said. “I wish you well. You’re welcome back here any time.”

He lingered. “I wondered if I might take one of Gabriel’s trucks. It’s a long way.”

Skyler winced, internally. Only four of the vehicles remained in functional shape. And though the colony now had nine motor homes, and an entire city to pick through for more, Gabriel’s leftovers were armored, fast, and known to be reliable.

Elias sensed the hesitation. “A motorcycle would be better on these roads, but beggars can’t be choosers.”

At that Skyler grinned. “Actually, a bike I can help you with. Fully charged, even.” Skyler provided him with a description of where he’d left it.

The quiet man thanked him again and wandered off. Skyler finished strapping on his gear and walked across camp toward the tower yard.

He took a route that brought him near the black vehicles Gabriel’s people had left behind. Without a word, the other immunes fell in with him, as if they had some silent agreement. Ana, Vanessa, and Pablo were all decked out in scavenged
combat gear, and Skyler couldn’t help but feel a rush of pride.

Not a word passed between them. Skyler walked on, with the three immunes on either side of him. Everyone they passed stopped their work to wave, or simply stare.
We must look like quite the badasses
, Skyler thought. He fought to keep a smile off his lips. People had died here, less than a week ago. Many of the colonists had lost friends, or even loved ones. And then there was Ana.…

She walked in lockstep with Skyler, at his right. Her face and posture exuded grim determination, as if the prospect of more combat could keep her brother’s death from her mind. Maybe it could. Skyler feared the loss might only continue to increase her reckless behavior. For the immediate future, he thought the best place for her was right next to him.

Twenty people had gathered by the tower yard, looking every bit the ragtag posse they were. About half of them wore environment suits, but Tania he saw had opted for plain clothes. It surprised him that she’d eschew the extra protection of the suit, and he wondered if it was just a show of solidarity for the rest of those going without. More surprising was the handgun she wore in a shoulder holster. He resisted the urge to ask her where she’d gotten it, or when she’d learned to fire it.

The mood of the crowd changed, flickers of hope or concern, perhaps both, as he strode up with his three armed-and-outfitted immune friends in tow.

A large water pail sat in the dirt near the group. Skyler flipped it over with one foot, then stood on top of it.

“You’ve all heard by now, I’m sure,” he said. “We’ve seen scant few subhumans since arriving, and now we may know why. I found something in the forest, past the reservoir. A crashed Builder ship, we think. And it seems to have drawn the creatures to it. It’s tempting to just let them be, but with a good portion of our missing towers now there, we need to go find out what we’re dealing with. If possible, we’ll bring those towers back.”

Grim faces stared at him. Grim, tired, and yet amazingly determined.

“The camp’s success depends on it,” Tania added.

Skyler went on. “Form two groups. Those with suits in one, the rest with the tower. These people with me are immunes, former captives of Gabriel. Some of you may have met them over the last few days. They’ll be with me, scouting ahead, roving between groups as needed.”

Some in the group offered waves and nods to the newcomers.

“Bring a little food, but don’t go overboard. We’ll have to come back by evening since the suits are air-limited.”

He gave them all a long, deliberate look. “Remember, subhumans or not, the rainforest has plenty of dangers. Snakes, jaguars, and so on. Keep alert, and keep quiet when possible. We’ll leave in five minutes.”

A few of the volunteers darted off toward their tents, presumably to fetch more supplies. The rest shuffled into two groups, one designating members to handle the movement of the aura tower.

Exactly five minutes later, Skyler turned and began their march. The rest of Camp Exodus came out to watch, forming lines along either side of their path. Some offered words of encouragement, but most were silent. They simply stared, their expressions a blend of gravity and hope.