Awoken (19 page)

“Who are you?” Michael demanded as Smiley and the white-coated man approached. “What do you want?”

“You may call me Doctor Equinox,” the man in white answered. “And what I desire should be obvious at this point. I want the earthbone. Not for myself, you understand, but for the betterment of all mankind. You may be too young to fully comprehend the gravity of our situation, but this world is crumbling beneath the crushing weight of war, disease, famine, and poverty. Humanity is suffering, and I believe earthbone to be the key that will deliver us from our torment.”

“Your VEN buddies are the only ‘torment’ I’m worried about right now, Dr. Frankenstein,” said Michael, clenching his teeth. “Don’t come any closer.”

A heavy thumping filled the air. Three helicopters cleared the tree line above the hill, their engines kicking up cyclones of grey dust as they descended toward the creek bed.

“Come now,” said Equinox, spreading his arms as if to encompass everything around them. “I intend to save the world from itself. A grand ambition perhaps, but one I am convinced is quite possible. And you, my young friend, can help me to do it.”

Equinox crossed the creek, followed, a step behind, by Smiley and another belua.

Michael’s eyes blazed silver. “That’s far enough. Don’t come any closer. I don’t want to hurt you.”

Equinox halted a dozen yards short of the cliff. His belua guards stopped with him. “Very well, Michael. I dislike raising my voice in conversation, but this will suffice.”

“What are you doing, Mike?” Lina hissed. “Let’s get out of here.”

“They would follow us,” Michael whispered back. “I think I can close the entrance, but I need a few minutes for the stonesong to recharge. I need to keep this guy talking until I’m ready.”

The three helicopters landed and killed their engines. The men in grey coats began unloading boxed equipment from two of them. The last opened its doors to let out a group of black-suited belua and more camouflaged personnel.

“I see Melina is still with you, Michael,” Equinox observed. “Although, I dare say, I scarcely recognized her. Her transformation has certainly progressed quickly. Incidentally, one of my men made a tape of your performance, Melina.” He applauded lightly. “Absolutely breathtaking. Bravo, my dear.”

Lina’s eyes grew cold. “Oh please, please, hurt him, Mike.”

“Shush,” Michael admonished. “You’re not helping.”

“Sorry.”

Equinox clucked his tongue. “Playful banter under duress? How typical of your generation. Seriously, children, have you not grown tired of running? Have you even considered why you
are
running? You should. I only want to help you. Indeed, that was my wish from the very beginning of this ridiculous chase. Come with me now, and I promise you will not regret the decision.”

Michael laughed. “You mean we should give up? No thanks. We’d rather not spend the rest of our lives as prisoners in some laboratory.” He breathed deeply of the earthbone-saturated air. He could feel the stonesong getting stronger. It wouldn’t be long now.

Equinox raised an eyebrow. “Prisoners? My dear boy, look at the men beside me. They are as much children of the earthbone as you. I see no chains upon them. Indeed, I reward them based upon their potential—their uniqueness, if you will. Both of you have such incredible potential, more than even you can possibly imagine. Why on earth would I lock you away?”

Lina snorted. “What a load of crap. Your people have been trying to kill us for weeks.”

Equinox smiled disarmingly. “Ah, Melina, you are too cynical. I never wanted you dead. I am not a monster. I only wanted you brought in so that I could monitor your metamorphosis. You are a marvel, Melina, a sparking jewel of scientific wonder. I would never hurt you willingly. I only want to help you.”

“You lie.”

“To what purpose, Melina?” Equinox asked. “I have the technology, the expertise to analyze what’s occurring inside you. More importantly, I have a vested interest in discovering the secrets of the earthbone mutation. Or didn’t Dr. Curtis tell you of the earthbone’s invasion of our atmosphere?” He gestured at the trees, many of which bore fantastic signs of mutation, like giant fruit or crystalline leaves. “Like this valley, our world will soon change. You two are merely the forerunners, the first shadows of the dawning future. You must see that by now. Only I can help you unlock your full potential. I have dedicated my life to bettering the wretched condition of humankind. I am on the cusp of achieving that goal. And you can both play very important roles in the new world I intend to create. Think carefully, children. Is that not something you wish to be a part of?”

“I’m with Lina on this one, doc,” Michael said. The stonesong swelled, and he felt it reaching for the rocky walls of the tunnel. “The grinning wolfman behind you tried to kill us more than once. That kind of help we can do without.”

Smiley took a menacing step forward. “You’ve got a big mouth, amigo. How about I make it a little bigger?”

Lina growled and moved up next to Michael. “Come and try it, dogface.”

Smiley pulled off his glasses.

“That’s enough,” Equinox snapped. “I’ve had about enough of your insubordination, Belua Nabal. On your knees.”

Smiley flinched back. “Doctor, I—”

“Your knees,” Equinox repeated coldly. “Do not make me ask a third time.”

Smiley reddened. Bowing his head, he knelt on the broken gravel.

“Very good, Nabal,” Equinox said, turning his attention back to Michael and Lina. “Now, where were we? Ah, yes, the matter of Nabal’s trying to kill you. As you can see, I’ve had some disciplinary issues with him of late. The result of a few too many animalistic traits left over in his psychological makeup, I believe. I only recently became aware of Nabal’s disobedience. Please, accept my apologies.”

Michael simply stared at the man, forgetting, for a moment, the stonesong and the hum of the tunnel. “Your apologies?” he echoed, his voice shaking with rage. “Diggs is probably dead because of that animal! How can you apologize for that?”

Equinox tapped a finger to his chin. “So, our friend Dr. Curtis is missing. How unfortunate.” He sounded genuinely disappointed. “He was the first, you know. The first success in obtaining a human meld. What a waste.”

“Diggs was more than that,” Lina interjected. “He was our friend!”

Equinox frowned. “I can see that, Melina. Well, this certainly complicates matters.” He scowled at Smiley. “Tell me, children, if I were to kill Nabal, would that convince you of my good intentions?”

Smiley stiffened, but said nothing, remaining on his knees.

Michael’s jaw dropped. Equinox might have been asking if they’d care for a glass of lemonade for all the emotion in his voice. “What?”

“Belua Nabal,” Equinox clarified. “If I eliminate him, would you consent to join me? Or, if you like, one of you may kill him. Make no mistake, a belua is a valuable asset. Lately, however, as in the case of Dr. Curtis, Nabal has made a habit of exceeding his authority. I could confine him if you prefer. But if it will win your trust, I will put him down.”

“He’s bluffing, Mike,” Lina accused. “He wouldn’t kill one of his own.”

Equinox folded his hands behind his back. “I never bluff, Melina. I take no joy in this sort of thing. As I said before, I am not a monster. Still, I understand your desire to see justice done on Dr. Curtis’s behalf. I’m offering you a life for a life. In addition, I am offering you both the chance to play a part in the remaking of this planet, in the recreation of our species. What do you say?”

“What if I don’t want to live in a world full of mutants?” Michael asked.

“Don’t think of it as mutation. Think of it as evolution,” Equinox said. “I understand your misgivings. Fear always accompanies the unknown, but earthbone is the Holy Grail of medical and biological research. Bonded correctly, it has cured every disease I’ve been able to culture. It can make us faster, stronger, and virtually invulnerable to infection of any kind.”

“It turned me into a monster!” Lina cried.

Equinox shook his head. “Such lack of vision. Look in the mirror, Melina. There are millions of young girls across this planet, but none like you. The earthbone has made you unique, better than before. It cured Dr. Curtis’s cancer. It can do so for others.” His expression turned wistful, almost rapturous. “Think of it. In a few years, every known disease shall have a cure. Famine will disappear, and deserts will flourish with healthy melded fauna. In time, death, itself, will retreat before the miracle of the melding.”

“He’s crazy,” Lina said quietly. “Come on, Mike. Let’s go.”

Michael nodded. Smiley was a psycho, but Equinox made him look as harmless as an eight-year-old Girl Scout. The stonesong was ready. It was time to end this.

“I’m going to knock them back before I close the tunnel,” he whispered. “Get ready to run.”

Lina tensed.

“Now!”

Bright bands of silver light exploded from Michael’s hands, merging with the tunnel floor. The earth heaved, and a two-foot wave of broken rock surged out from the cliff toward Equinox and his belua guards.

Michael was careful to keep the wave from growing too high as he turned his attention to the walls. He didn’t want to kill anyone, only knock them down long enough for him to close the entrance to the tunnel. The walls cracked and shifted, and he backed deeper into the passage, keeping one eye on the VEN army outside.

Equinox observed the approaching wave dispassionately until it was almost upon him. Then he lifted his hand and made a shooing gesture. The wave of earth collapsed. “You think to stop me with the stonesong, Michael Stevens? Oh, how little you understand.”

A dagger of pain jabbed Michael’s skull, and he staggered as he felt the stonesong’s connection with the stones around him suddenly snap.

“Your power is yet new,” Equinox continued. “You still have much to learn.”

Gritting his teeth, Michael pushed the stonesong back into the rock. Cracks appeared in the walls and loose stone began to rain down from the ceiling. But try as he might, he couldn’t collapse the tunnel. Something was pushing against him, holding his power at bay, like a brick wall standing firm against a hard rain. Try as he might, he couldn’t punch through the obstruction.

Equinox cocked his head questioningly. “Do you begin to comprehend, Michael Stevens? Must I explain it to you?”

Michael ignored the man and pressed deeper into the stone, feeling out the dimensions of force working against him with the power of the stonesong. The barrier seemed to be focused in the first few inches of the tunnel walls, a long cylinder of binding energy that held the rock together against his best efforts.

“You cannot win, Michael. You are not strong enough.”

Equinox was right, Michael realized. Whatever was holding back his power, he couldn’t seem to break through. But then, maybe he didn’t have to.

Abandoning his efforts to collapse the tunnel, Michael sent the stonesong arching up through the rock, pushing around and above the power holding the tunnel together. High on the cliff, he found what he sought—a fault line. Knowing he had to work quickly, he focused his will, striking the fault with a wedge of the stonesong’s power.

Equinox smiled, and his eyes flooded with silver. “You are not the only Awoken.”

Michael had just enough time to gasp. Then, a sheet of rock the size of a football field sheared free of the cliff, sliding down and burying the tunnel entrance with a rumbling crash.

Michael kept his fingers pressed against the wall as he made his way deeper into the passage. The rockslide had filled the tunnel with a cloud of choking dust, making it difficult to breathe and harder to see. Spitting out the grainy powder, he covered his mouth with his shirt while calling, “Lina! Jericho! Can you hear me? Where are you?”

Somewhere in the haze ahead, Lina replied, “Over here, Mike!”

“Have you seen Jericho?” Michael asked, moving a little faster along the wall.

“He’s right here with me,” Lina answered. “Keep moving. After a while, the dust isn’t so bad.”

Michael kept going. The dust in the air thinned quickly, and he was able to take his sleeve from his mouth. Just ahead, Lina and Jericho waited for him beside a three-pronged fork in the tunnel. Grey dust covered them both from head to toe.

“That was noisier than I thought it would be,” Lina said. “I was worried you got carried away and crushed yourself.”

“Equinox can use the stonesong,” Michael said. “He was fighting me, holding the tunnel open. I had to bring half the cliff down to seal up the entrance.”

Lina’s eyes widened. “That skinny old man can use the stonesong? How’s that possible?”

Michael sagged against the wall. He was dead tired. “I don’t know. But he said I wasn’t the only Awoken.”

“No longer,” Jericho said, shaking his head.

“What?” Michael asked.

“He is Awoken no longer,” said Jericho. “The People offered him the water of earth and bone. Now, he uses the stonesong to steal the life of the People. He raids the paths of earth and bone. He is Awoken no longer. He is the Betrayer.”

Michael sat down. “Well, that’s just super.”

Lina looked confused. “I don’t understand. The dollmen gave Equinox the stonesong? Why would they do that?”

“Because that’s what they do,” Michael replied with disgust. “Equinox is like me. He could only hear the music in the rocks before the dollmen had him drink a cup of earthbone-tainted water. Now, he can use the stonesong.”

“The Betrayer was once the sleeping,” Jericho went on. “The People heard his call in the stone and came to awake him. Then the Betrayer fell, demanding the power of earth and bone all for himself. This the People would not allow, and so many died. Behold, Awoken.” Scrambling up the tunnel wall like a spider, he broke away a small section of silver-streaked rock. “Do you see what the Betrayer has done?”

The stonesong swelled in Michael, pushing out toward the fragment. “That’s earthbone,” he breathed. Thin veins of earthbone covered the entire roof of the passage. “How can that be?”