Which was exactly why I wasn’t slipping away this time.
Enduring the bumpy landing was like standing on a volcano while it erupted. However, it was pain rather than heat that overwhelmed me. I was shaken around like a doll, but at least I didn’t get knocked out. I refused to let it happen because I was stronger than that. I wouldn’t be an easy target ever again no matter how many ship crashes I had to suffer.
When the ship slowed to a stop, I didn’t even notice. The ghosts of the vibrations were still rumbling through me. I had to raise my head to see that the walls had stopped moving. Only then was I convinced. However, it didn’t help that my vision was hazy.
“Off. Please.”
I looked down and saw that I was still shielding Laura. Well, “crushing” her now. I rolled off though it hurt so much to move. When I realized that her helmet was on, I heaved a sigh of relief. That might have saved her life. If I hadn’t given that order in time…
The rest of the cockpit looked as bad as I felt. Beth’s medic bracelets were scattered across the floor. The ceiling’s blue lights were cracked and flickering. The windshield…was intact. It had better be. If it had broken, we’d have been without a ship. Now that I thought about it, Beth’s sturdy ship had saved us too. If it had exploded, or fallen apart in any way, I’d definitely have been unconscious.
Anderson and Manning’s eyes were closed, but their helmets were on too. I pushed Anderson’s shoulder, but he just groaned in response. These guys were fine, they just needed a minute. I reached for the bracelets on the floor before realizing that they were useless. If the interference could bring down a ship, it could disable a medic bracelet. We had to avoid getting hurt while we were here. I had to limit my power usage…again. God, this weakness was annoying.
I decided to give my friends time to heal and headed outside. Maybe I could find someone and ask about the blackout that had taken down the ship. I’d be surprised if I wasn’t met by a concerned crowd. A crashed ship in New Selene would be the top news story for months.
The Moon’s shining surface stung my eyes. It was a stark contrast to the amber sky that was shining golden light down on us. The Sun was still setting over here. That meant that the gremlins’ planet was ahead of the Moon. Useless trivia, but it calmed my nerves.
“You’re up.” Beth appeared to my right. Her helmet was down, and if I ignored the bruises she already had, she seemed unharmed by the crash. Her armor wasn’t just for show. “Good. I can’t let you die until I deliver you to Lord Exo.”
“I’m glad you’re okay too, sis. Any idea what’s causing the interference?”
“I imagine it’s the same reason why no one’s batting an eye at the crashed ship. Look around.”
The first thing I looked at was the ship. It was embedded in the lunar soil, but that was the extent of the damage. There were barely any scratches. However, we couldn’t take off with all the interference. We would be stuck here until we got rid of it.
The next thing I noticed was that the ship was between two sidewalks. That meant we had crashed in the middle of the road. We were surrounded by buildings and neighborhoods, but there were no humming cruisers, no civilians going for a jog, no…sound.
New Selene was dead.
“I get what you’re saying,” I said. “Something’s seriously wrong with our town. Where is everyone?”
“Maybe Frost dropped a bomb that only affected humans. Wouldn’t surprise me…what?!”
I shook my head. “Nothing. Actually, it’s weird to see you back here. I used to dream about bringing you back, but I never thought it’d be under these conditions.”
Beth raised an eyebrow. “Well, I did come back when I attacked you and Gamma at the park.”
“You should probably apologize for that.”
“Perhaps I should…anyway, this town is no bigger than my pinky, so we should locate the source of the disappearances in no time. Go check on your friends, and see if they’re ready to move.” Beth’s expression softened. “God, does this place ever change? I bet that street light still flickers three times in a row. Every single night.”
She totally missed this place. Not that I’d point that out and risk ruining the moment.
I stepped back onto the ship, where Anderson was groaning his mouth off. How much pain could he be in? Hadn’t he ever survived a crash before? Manning immediately looked up at me, and his golden eyes were blinking. I was glad he was awake. I couldn’t wait to hear all the theories that head of his was generating.
“Damage report, please?” Laura called as she stared out the window. “I don’t see robots or explosions, but I don’t see much of anything. Where’s the concerned crowd?”
“I don’t hear anything,” Manning said. “That’s concerning. When I called Rebecca and asked her to protect New Selene, I imagined that President Frost had sent some Black Dwarfs here. But the silence leads me to wonder if I made the correct call. There would be more screaming if she had invaded.”
“There’s another reason why no one’s screaming. Care to see for yourselves?”
Manning stood up as though he had no injuries at all. As usual. Laura and Anderson were limping, but they were fine. We had to be, because nothing would save us from another hit like that. As long as I didn’t think about the immense pain, it wouldn’t bother me. That was a lie, but it was all I had.
We went back outside, where the silence greeted us. Still no crowd, still nothing at all. Beth’s crossed arms told me that she hadn’t stumbled upon any good news.
“Frost really had the nerve to turn our home into a ghost town.” Laura clenched her hands as she scanned the area. Little embers were drifting off her knuckles. That was new. “If she hurt anyone, I’ll—wait, did she do something to my parents? I guess there really is a bright side to everything.”
“I just hope that Shawn’s okay.” Anderson wore a mixture of a frown and a grimace. Everyone gazed at him in confusion. Who was Shawn? He noticed our looks and shrugged. “Shawn’s my godfather. Shawn Oak. He’s the only one I got left in this town. If I lost him and Ben…”
“Boo hoo! Am I supposed to feel sorry for the guy who caused my friend to get paralyzed?” Laura rolled her eyes. “Wander said you’re here because you want to change, but I don’t buy it. Once you save your brother, you’ll betray us at the first opportunity. I don’t even get why you were Wander’s first choice. I’d trust a mercenary hired off the Internet more than you.”
“Genki, I’m here because I thought you were in trouble!” He marched up to her. He may have been taller, but I thought Laura’s glare was the more intimidating one. “Then it turns out you were fine all along, and we were just idiots for worrying. While my brother was being kidnapped by the lady he swore to serve, you were off sipping tea with the aliens who started all this. You and Locke’s psycho sister, who you’re suddenly best pals with.”
“She’s not my friend, and neither are you!” Laura spat. Now there were embers trailing off her hair. I didn’t like the looks of this. “You had your chance, and you threw it away. Then you stomped on it by terrorizing us throughout school even though we wanted nothing more to do with you! Then there was all that crap a month ago. Have you even apologized?”
“Would you accept it if I did, or are you just determined to be pissed?”
“I’ll burn more than your cheek—”
“Stop!” I shouted. Both of them turned toward me, their common ally. “Oh sorry, did I interrupt something? You can keep going if you think it’s gonna save the town.”
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That sure widened their eyes. I wasn’t opposed to letting feelings be heard, but this wasn’t the time. Something had happened to New Selene, and, until we figured it out, I’d appreciate it if the members of my team could at least cooperate.
Laura looked me straight in the eyes. “How can you expect me to work with him?”
“It’s more like ‘hope’ than expectation. I know this team doesn’t have the greatest composition. We don’t even have the same goals. All we share is a mutual desire to take Frost down. Let’s put aside our differences until we can make that happen. Otherwise, we’re just wasting time.”
Laura’s eyes glimmered, but not in the Hybrid way. It was like she was seeing me clearly for the first time. I must have been a pretty cruddy leader when we had last been together. Something about losing everything and coming back from it made for pretty good experience.
“Okay.” Laura’s hair ceased its ember generation. Now I could relax again. “Wander’s got a point, big surprise. As unbelievable as it sounds, I’ll try to be welcoming to our new pal. Let’s see how long that title lasts this time…”
Anderson crossed his arms. “Yeah, whatever. Let’s just find Ben and Frost. Pick a direction and start walking, Locke. We’ll follow.”
That was all I wanted to hear. Beth and Manning hadn’t said anything during that exchange, but they seemed ready to move.
The five of us marched down the middle of the street. No cruisers threated to flatten us. No one was around to question how weird our group looked. There wasn’t even a sound in the air besides our footsteps. Frost had to be behind this. I just had to figure out how she’d pulled it off. She couldn’t snap her fingers and empty an entire town, could she? Maybe a Hybrid could, but not her.
I pointed out a small peach house with an open door. It looked like someone had broken in and hadn’t bothered closing the door behind them. There was a cruiser in the driveway, so someone should have been home. It felt like trespassing (and it was), but this was the perfect way to confirm our suspicions.
I led everyone inside. The house’s carpet crunched beneath my feet. The air was fresh on account of the open door, but I detected a hint of newly done laundry. A green couch was soaking in the Sun’s evening rays in the living room—the vacant living room.
Laura cupped her hands around her mouth. “Hello? Anyone here? If so, then we’re really sorry about breaking in!”
“Speak for yourself.” Anderson opened a door and peered into the room. It was dark, so I assumed it led to the garage. “Nothing. There’s no one here, Locke.”
“President Frost has been quite thorough with this place.” Manning inspected a framed picture in the kitchen. It was right across from the garage. “I think I know what happened here. The Black Dwarfs were built to abduct, correct? Then—”
There was an explosion in the back of the living room. Beth flew through the air and landed against a kitchen counter. Her armor clacked as she fell to the floor. Laura’s scream followed as another explosion went off, tinting the room white.
Once the white faded, I saw a Black Dwarf march out of an open door. Its eyes were red instead of white. Its arm barrel was primed, and I guessed that Beth had been the target. The evening rays I’d been admiring bathed the robot in warm light.
I electrified my hand. “Aim for the head and joints. Those are its weak spots.”
“Don’t tell me how to fight!” Beth climbed to her feet and raised her rifle. “Just give me two minutes, and stay out of my way.”
She rushed forward like the brat she was and slashed at it. Her blade sank into the Dwarf’s chest, but it immediately smacked her away. She fell backward again, arriving at a familiar result. So much for two minutes. The Dwarf charged white energy as it aimed at Beth’s fallen body.
“Laura, blast its head! I’ll handle the arm.”
I shot a stream at the arm, bathing the room in blue. The Dwarf’s white energy had dwindled down to nothing. Laura’s fists ignited with dancing flames, which she sprayed at the Dwarf’s head. The intention was for the heat to fry its circuits like it had the other ones’. Sure enough, the Dwarf twitched, illustrating my point. I stopped my stream and sprinted toward the robot. It’d take more than electricity and fire to beat these things.
I slapped my hand against the robot’s chest and willed it to deactivate. My hand crackled as its eyes flickered then went dim a second later. It fell backwards, crashing against a wall. Powdered cement and dust trickled from the wall as more of it crumbled. I covered my mouth and nose as I inspected the robot. Its eyes were still dim. We’d won.
“Yeah!” Laura cheered. “That was some awesome Hybrid teamwork. This is exactly why I wanted these abilities. Imagine how useful I’ll be once I master them. Up top.”
Laura held her hand up for a high five, which I almost supplied. Then I felt the warm aura surrounding her. Her hand was just shrouded in fire. If I touched it now, would it burn me? I guessed not. Because of my suit. I slowly met her hand with my own and pulled back immediately. It didn’t sting or anything, but…I had to be sure.
Laura furrowed her brow out of confusion. “You call that a high five? What, is your left arm weaker than your right was?”
“Something like that.” I cleared my throat and faced the fallen Dwarf. “Now, there’s something I need to check.”
I placed my hand on the Dwarf’s arm and shut my eyes. I’d already shut the Dwarf off, so I felt resistance within it. It was like a piece of myself was fighting to keep me out of the robot. Hacking things more than once was difficult. More than I’d expected it to be.
After another second of struggling with myself, I watched as the Dwarf’s chest popped open. Finally. I took a peek at the robot’s contents. A man with short black hair and ruffled clothing was curled up inside. His eyes were shut and blood was trailing down his face. A lump had formed on his head.
Laura gasped. “Get him out of there!”
Anderson and I grabbed hold of the guy and pulled him from his metal prison. We lay him down on the floor. He was still warm, so at least he hadn’t died in there. But the scenario gave us a pretty good idea of what had happened. I looked at Manning for confirmation and saw my own dread reflected in his expression.
“This is exactly what I had feared,” Manning said, shaking his head with sadness. “President Frost sent her Dwarfs to capture every New Selene citizen. The town may be empty, but the robots are full.
In order to free everyone, we’d have to hunt down every Dwarf and take them all down. I would do it if it were possible. But, after about fifteen or twenty Dwarfs, we’d be done. We couldn’t possibly defeat that many Dwarfs, so what were we going to do?
“Those things can capture people?” Beth stood in the corner of the room. I was guessing she’d backed down to protect what was left of her pride. “For what purpose?”
Manning frowned. “They’re deliverymen. President Frost mentioned that White Dwarfs were powered by human brains. No one has a surplus of those lying around. If she truly wants an army of White Dwarfs, she’ll need an army of humans to power them. What better way to secure them than through mass abduction?”
“Frost kidnapped everyone in New Selene to power her stupid robots?” Laura clenched her teeth as embers drifted off her hair again. “Let me guess: it’s so she can have an army worthy of beating the AI. How sick can one person be? We need to find her before she takes off like the coward she is. Wander, can you track her down with your powers?”
I glanced at the Dwarf. “Maybe. It’s not like I can scan all of New Selene, but I might be able to jump start this guy. If I can use it to make contact with a White Dwarf, I can figure out where it is. Everyone stand back. This is my third time hacking this robot, and I dunno what’s about to happen.”
I took a quick breath as I knelt down. I couldn’t believe I was about to hack this guy again. Doing it twice had been hard enough, so this would be like pushing against a brick wall. Plus I’d never used a military robot as an antenna before. I hated everything about this.
I placed my hand on the rigid metal and closed my eyes for the final time. Immediately, I felt the barrier. It was stronger than before but more vulnerable too. It knew that I’d broken through once, and it didn’t want to let me do it again. I felt my own electricity squirming around my hand as if it were annoyed. I was right there with it. I had to break down my own firewall.
I pushed against the barrier as hard as I could. Just touching it diminished my stamina. Eventually, it snapped and I fell into a sea of data. Given how tired I felt, I could easily have sunk to the bottom. Data flooded my mind, offering the help I needed, but I didn’t have the energy to accept it. My eyes were already closed, so it was easy to doze off. Maybe I could do this after a little nap…
Did leaders take naps? Only when their missions were over, and mine was far from it. My eyes snapped open as I pressed my hand against the metal. The Dwarf’s eyes blinked red, signaling its reactivation. My hand crackled as I swam to the surface of the data sea. It felt like the Dwarf (as well as my own lethargy) was dragging me down, so I kicked harder. Information flooded my brain as I emerged.
Found it.
The robot’s eyes became white as I contacted the second presence. It was as if I was making eye contact with the White Dwarf itself. Just by exchanging looks, I knew everything. I saw the parking lot they were in and the starry building before which they stood. I recognized that building. It was where everything had changed…
I screamed as I was expelled from the Dwarf’s head for good. Light faded from its eyes. I would never be able to hack it again, but I didn’t need to. I knew enough; this mission had been a success. My body didn’t agree. I fell onto my hand then tipped over when that failed to hold me.
“Wander?” Laura rushed to my side like she always did. “Are you—”
“I got it!” I cried out as I struggled to stay conscious. “The EEC. That’s where the White Dwarfs are. We have to hurry. They can’t get away with any of this.”
The EEC, or the Exploration Exam Center, was where I had taken the explorer’s exam. President Frost was the one who had administered it to me. During the virtual reality part of the exam, AI had boarded my ship. An imaginary representation of Beth had protected me. It had been so distressing that I had unknowingly used my Hybrid abilities to shut the whole thing down. Now that I thought about it, it was obvious that Frost had added the AI to my exam. She had made me fail just so that she could send me on the Red City mission.
She had been manipulating everything since the beginning. That would stop today. We were going to the EEC, and we would make that woman pay.