“It’s a huge reactor. Actually, it works on the same principal as the sun but smaller, of course. Let’s explore a bit. Etch will be calling us back soon.”
Bets and Minns vanish over a small hill in a grove of trees, which look like live oaks. Theo and I are left alone, standing in awkward silence. This is the first time the two of us have been alone since I kissed him in the lodge. “Amy, it’s fine if you want to walk on your own.”
“No, Theo. Let’s talk. We need to clear things between us.”
We walk the opposite direction from our companions toward a placid, turquoise lake. I throw a stick from a strange willow tree in the water, watching it ripple away.
He takes off his boots and wades in. “We’ve been looking up here at the moon our whole lives, wondering what those lights were. Now we know. Gods, how things have changed.”
“Theo, about that night at the lodge. I was confused. Then Wenn came back and he changed. I don’t know what I want anymore.”
“Sprouter, you were right about us. We can’t be running behind Wenn’s back. He’s my brother.”
“So, you don’t feel the same way?”
“Wenn’s had a hard time, but that doesn’t mean we can ignore him. He’s out there looking for Eliza right now.”
“Theo, Wenn’s trying to save his honor. His pride’s more important to him than she — or me for that matter.”
“You’re not being fair. That Fromer fellow’s pretty convincing. Wenn had to do what needed to be done.” He steps out of the water and wiggles his toes in the unnaturally perfect blades of grass.
“Fromer’s manipulating all of this. We’re following some script he has written for us. I don’t believe for a minute that father and Wenn leaving us had anything to do with our safety. Fromer needed them to arm the villagers at Yellow Stone in preparation for a battle. I’m afraid we’re going to be at the center of it all.”
“Amy, have some faith that a higher purpose’s behind this. It’ll all work out. I promise.”
I want to believe him, but I’ve seen and felt too much. I’ve dabbled in the realm of gods and found that they are as flawed and vulnerable as we are. Theo plops down next to me, very close. I swear that I can feel his pulse vibrating through the air. His hand brushes against my knee and my breath catches in my throat. All my doubt and worry channel into something warm, fluid, and so very hungry. I’m kissing him and pushing him into the soft grass. His breath, his skin, his sweat is so real in this artificial place. I submerge myself in him — briefly escaping this reality and finding my way back to the garden of my youth.
After we’ve landed back firmly on the ground, we lounge in the grass. Theo runs his fingers through my hair. “Things, they’ve changed now, haven’t they?”
I smile effortlessly. “Yes, Theo. For the first time in a very long while, I feel hopeful.”
Our peace is short-lived. We hear scuffling in the distance and Bets shouts to us, “Stay down.”
We turn to see Minns and Bets crouched behind a mossy oak tree, with an ominous grey, metallic orb floating above them. My thought turns to Troll. Minns and Etch were wrong. We are not alone in Farmington — the artificial ones who think remain around us, watching and wondering. The pilot within me reaches out. I feel Etch in the Fuerst. And I know he senses me as well. I send one word: danger.
Three more orbs appear from a garden of vines with bright yellow blooms. Another group of orbs approaches purposefully toward us from the lake.
“What the hell are these things?” Bets exclaims, more annoyed than frightened.
Minns sighs with frustration rather than fear. “The FRT left these drones to look for stragglers or squatters. We’ve been tagged. There’s no sense in running. They’ll stick to us like stink on a skunk.”
I laugh. What I would give to smell one of my stubborn black and white friends right now.
Theo’s less amused. “Do these things carry weapons?”
Minns stands up. “Only defensive. If we were to try to disable a drone, it’d give you a nasty shock. The FRT has been alerted and ships are assuredly on their way.”
I see a faint image of Etch or perhaps Fromer in my mind. It says, “Whack them.” I think this is strange and then I imagine swatting an annoying fly. Three of the drones drop into the lake.
“What on mars?” Minns asks.
I start swatting away in my mind and the drones drop — like flies. “Let’s run,” Bets shouts.
We’re speeding in the car toward the Fuerst through the city streets when two FRT vessels descend between two arched buildings, heading directly at us. For some reason, I know these are short-distance cruisers, built for speed and agility. They’ll overcome us easily. “Turn left and then right,” I yell to Minns. She hesitates for a moment and then complies, our heads nearly snapping off their necks. We descend into another tunnel, which descends deep below the surface. The voice in my head says, “Find the elevator. Rise to the roof top.”
Minns stops the car at my urging. We’re in a spacious storage facility, full of boxes and dusty vehicles. The only light comes from our car. “Where to now, Amy?” Theo asks.
“We’re to find something called an elevator. Minns, do you know what that is?”
“Yup. There are signs leading to one straight ahead.”
I turn to hear voices and see flashes of yellow light down the passageway from which we just emerged. “Let’s hustle. They’ll be here in a minute.” Minns gestures for us to follow her.
We enter a door marked with the words: air lock. I’m surprised that I can read them, although I’m unsure of their meaning. Minns searches the wall for something. “Look for a metal box full of buttons.”
“Is this it?” Bets asks.
“Good job my sweet,” Minns exclaims. With the flip of a lever, white light washes over us. She hits a red button on the door and it whines. “Stand back and watch the fun. The entire city is sectioned into air-tight compartments, in case the atmospheric containment field over us fails.” Minns looks at our blank faces. “You have no idea what I’m talking about, do you? Anyway, here we go. Our pursuers are going to experience some pain. We’re safe in this control room.”
The light turns red and a Troll-like voice says, “Air purge from storage compartment imminent. Take cover.” Four FRT soldiers arrive just as the air is sucked out of the space with a hiss. They fall to their knees, holding their ears and their throats. Within a minute, they’ve collapsed. Strange plastic bubbles grow around their heads.
“Those things on their heads are emergency breathing devices. Their suits will automatically recover them,” Minns remarks. “However, they’ll need some serious medical treatment for pressure sickness. We won’t be worrying about them anytime soon. Let’s look for our lift.”
We find the elevator in no time and ascend. At the top of the building, we gaze in dismay through a window at the scene before us. Five enormous Fuerst-like ships hover over the city, gleaming in the sun rising at the moon’s horizon. If Etch tries to launch, he’ll be pummeled.
“Those are definitely pirate, I mean, FRT ships.” Minns groans.
The roof of the room is a clear, glass-like substance, with a ladder leading to its surface. Beyond the ships I can see the sky in its glory. I think of Wenn and Eliza far away. Deep inside, I know they haven’t connected yet. I fear they’re both lost.
On earth spinning below us, Thresh moves deliberately toward the portal at Yellow Stone. I have no idea what I’m going to do if we make it there. All I want is my daughter back and to go home. Or do I? I’ve seen so many horrors and wonders recently. The universe has opened itself to me. And this thing called technology is complicated. Just like people, it seems to have captured the struggle between good and evil — something that the plants and soil in my garden never cared much about.