Sophia’s tiny glowing red eyes never seemed to blink or move from the fixed position on the infected woman.
“Impact and detonation in eleven minutes. Uninfected personnel need to be approximately eighty feet over the rim to guarantee safe shielding from percussive heat blast.”
“This is bullshit,” said Monroe. “We all go, or none of us go.”
“That is your choice.” Sophia remained implacable. “Please be aware that I am authorized to use extreme force to protect the global population.”
“Yeah, well we don’t take threats too well, get it?” Casey snarled and squared her shoulders.
“Stand down, soldier.” Sam stared at Casey for a moment, before turning away.
“Listen everyone; she, the robot, is right,” Russell said softly. He looked to Morag. “Sorry Morag, but if this thing escaped, then everyone is dead. And I mean, everyone.” He shrugged.
Morag slumped. “Oh fuck.” The thing was she did feel kinda headachy, a little dizzy, and had a crap taste in her mouth now. She had been telling herself it was just dehydration, fatigue and perhaps her oxygen running low. But now she knew it was something far worse.
She hugged herself, still feeling the throb from her seared shoulder and looked out over the fog. It boiled and swirled, like a turbulent ocean, and she saw that it was now a lot higher than when they first arrived.
This was why they needed to bomb the mountaintop. If not, then the entire nightmare would soon rise then cascade over the crater rim. She knew what they meant — following that came the slime, then more mist and the hellish abominations hiding within it.
She clenched her jaw to stop it from trembling and turned to Sam Reid.
“I don’t want to…”
Die, she finished the sentence only as a thought, not wanting to say it out loud. She looked away from the stinking smog and carefully undid the top of her suit, pulling the visored-hood from her head.
Morag closed her eyes and sucked in a huge draft of the most beautiful air she had ever smelled in her life.
She opened her eyes and craned her neck to look up at the clear, star-lit sky above her. After the suffocating, soupy atmosphere in the crater basin, it felt like looking at the difference between heaven and hell.
She spoke without turning. “Where’s Alex Hunter? He’ll know what to do.”
“Impact and detonation now in nine minutes, twelve seconds,” was Sophia response.
Morag hated the sound of the android’s voice. “What am I supposed to do?” she asked. “Just sit here?”
“Please, Morag.” Russell’s eyebrows sloped behind his mask. “You saw what happened to the others. Think of your family and friends back home… if this stuff ever got there…”
“Yes.” She titled her head back and looked up at the stars again. “This was going to be the greatest story ever written — a prize winner.”
If Alex Hunter were here now, he might be forced into a dilemma that could slow him down from saving his team… and the world.
“There’s no cure,” Russell whispered.
Morag looked to him, remembering Anne’s words. “How do you cure evolution, right?”
“You don’t have to… just sit here and wait for it to happen to you.” Russell looked away quickly.
“You fucking asshole,” Casey spat. The tough female HAWC’s teeth were bared.
Morag stared at him for a moment. Only Casey Franks returned her gaze as she looked between the two.
Casey’s brutal gaze softened, and her shoulders seemed to slump. “Hey babe, remember what you said your mom used to say to you?”
Morag nodded and said the words with her. “Fly free, girl.” The corners of her mouth twitched up.
Coming, Mom.
Morag ran at the cliff edge, shut her eyes, and launched herself out over the boiling sea of mist.
CHAPTER 47
Alex held the photograph of the Russian woman as he watched the horrifying thing that was once a man vanish into the night-thick gloom. He looked down at her one last time, and then tucked both the picture and image chip into a pouch at his waist and turned to the sheer wall.
He began to sprint, launching himself up the near-vertical incline to begin the clamber hundreds of feet to the rim. About half way up, he felt the presence of something coming at him and he clung to the rock face as it shot past. He swung his head, however it had already disappeared into the fog.
But he didn’t need to see it to sense it had been a human being; something was happening topside. And someone was now dead. He threw himself up to the next handhold, climbing so fast now he was almost running up the sheer rock face.
In another few minutes, he came up over the edge and saw his three remaining HAWCs, Sophia, and Russell Burrows. As he suspected, he was one short. Their faces were grim.
“Why?”
Sophia turned her glowing eyes on him. “There was a breach in Ms. O’Sullivan’s suit — she was informed she was infected. She chose to remove herself.”
Franks pointed. “Yeah, coz this metal bitch was going to kill her anyway.”
“Incorrect.” Sophia's eyes remained on Alex. “Contamination protection protocols demand no infected personnel be evacuated. I only informed Ms. O’Sullivan that she was to remain behind.”
Alex exhaled and turned to look out over the crater. “How long?”
Sophia’s tiny glowing red eyes never wavered. “Impact and detonation in four minutes, two seconds, and counting. Uninfected personnel need to be approximately eighty feet over the rim to guarantee safe shielding from initial heat blast.” She opened the small panel on her chest, showing the glowing red rector. “You need to be scanned and decontaminated, Captain Hunter. There are no exceptions.”
Casey pointed. “And what happens if the boss is infected, will you…”
“Shut it, Franks. It’s just a robot doing what it’s programmed to do.” Alex turned to Sophia. “Proceed with immediate decon, now.”
Sophia reignited the wall of flame, and Alex didn’t hesitate to step into it. He felt the searing heat, opened his arms wide and angled his head back. He stayed there and let the fire scald him and blister him, cleanse him, and sear away the frustration and anger rising within him.
Everyone dies, everything changes.
He tried to take his mind to Aimee and Joshua, but something overrode his thoughts.
“I’m not just a robot,” the female voice whispered.
From within the flames, Alex turned to stare at the twin lights glowing from Sophia’s face. Her head was tilted, almost questioning. Alex didn’t step free, but Sophia closed the fire down herself. “Decontamination successful. Impact in T-minus fifty-eight seconds and counting.”
Smoke rose from his seared body. He ignored the pain and the rawness, and instead set the timer on his wrist and it began to countdown.
Fifty-seven, fifty-six, fifty-five…
Alex turned, yelling. “Get to the ropes.” He started to run to the outer cliff edge, where their climbing lines were still tied off.
Forty-five, forty-four, forty-three…
Sam was first and grabbed Russell. “Don’t look down, focus on the rope — go!”
Monroe and Casey took the next ropes, literally picking them up and leaping.
Thirty-eight, thirty-seven, thirty-six…
“Go, Sam.” Alex waited until Sam went over the edge, and then grasped the last line.
Who?
Alex turned.
Twenty-five, twenty-four, twenty-three…
The word had been in his head. Alex looked up and Sophia stood staring at him.