Shudder (Stitch Trilogy, Book 2) (32 page)

Isaac let out a sigh of
relief.

Lizzie shook her head.
“It-it’s not okay,” she stuttered. “You
killed
all those people. You
killed
everyone
.”

“
No, no, no,” the
Developer insisted. “Don’t you see? They killed
themselves
. We were
all
going to die, the
way things were headed.” He ticked off his fingers. “Nuclear war,
crop failure, all of our natural resources depleted. We at least
made it so we could save
some
of them, and we ensured the survival of our
entire
species
in
the process. If we’d waited any longer – if we’d done it any other
way – there would have been no planet left for us to live on. They
would have destroyed everything.” He stopped moving and looked
Lizzie in the eyes. “
We
stopped them.
We
saved the world.”

That was certainly a
different way of looking at things, Isaac thought sardonically. To
his mind, they were murderers – slaughterers of his family, his
friends, and everyone he’d ever known. The Developer was freely
admitting having committed
genocide
– of almost the entire human race – and Isaac
could never get on board with that, no matter how supposedly
altruistic their motives.

But Lizzie… Lizzie seemed
almost convinced. Isaac could only guess that she was playing
along. After all, if this Developer was willing to massacre
billions of innocent people, there was no telling what he might do
to
her
.

She shook her head slowly, processing
all he’d said. “But what about your families? Your friends? Did you
spare them at least?”

The Developer sighed deeply. He looked
more pained than Isaac could have expected of him. “How could we,
Elizabeth? The algorithm didn’t choose them; it wouldn’t have been
fair. How could we ask this sacrifice of the world and not make it
ourselves?”

He ran a twitchy hand
through his greasy hair. “I had someone once, you know. A fiancée.
She was… just stunning. A part of me always wondered if she
truly
loved me, or if
she just loved my success. After all, girls like you never paid me
any mind until I was rich.” He shrugged. “But I thought – I thought
I saw something different in her eyes. I held her hand as the virus
took her. And now I have no one, and probably won’t have anyone
again. But that was the sacrifice we made. It was the only choice –
the right thing to do. We certainly didn’t take this responsibility
lightly, any of us.”

“
I’m sorry,” Lizzie
acquiesced. She looked up at him. “But I still don’t understand –
what does this all have to do with the rebels?”

The Developer sat down
again and took in Lizzie’s face earnestly. “That’s the key,
Elizabeth.
You were all
chosen
. Everyone here, rebel or not, was
selected by the algorithm. We have a duty to our people – to our
entire race – to carry on. If we lose the rebels, there’s no
telling what that could do to the future population, what important
genes and characteristics will go with you. So we need the rebels
to come back and reintegrate with society, for
all
of our sakes. Otherwise
everything we did – all the sacrifices we made – will be for
naught.”

Lizzie took a deep breath. “I don’t
think my mother – or any of the other rebels – will react well to
this. I can try to explain… but there’s no guarantee they’ll come
back.”

He nodded. “I know that.
All we ask is that you try. It would probably be best if you didn’t
tell them,” he shrugged, “you know, the full story. Maybe just the
parts they need to hear. Obviously we know how it sounds, but I
hope
you
at least
understand that we did it with the best of intentions.” He sighed.
“It wasn’t an easy decision to make – remember that we all lost our
loved ones as well, just like everyone else. But we tried to do
what was best for humanity as a whole. That’s really the only
defense I can offer.”

Lizzie nodded. “So you’ll send me
back? To the rebels? You’ll let me go?”

He shook his head eagerly in
affirmation. “Now that you’re healthy, we’d send you back right
this moment, if we could. The only problem is that we don’t know
where they’re hiding.”

“
Oh.” Lizzie
deflated.

“
But they’re sure to come
for you sometime,” the Developer reassured her. “And when they do,
we won’t stand in your way. Just promise me you’ll deliver our
message.”

“
I will,” Lizzie
vowed.

“
Then take this.” He
pressed into her hand a small device, a thick piece of glass the
size of a coin with wires embedded throughout its interior. “If
Regina is willing to meet, this button will send us a signal, and
we’ll gather in the center of the city to parley with her. If we
don’t hear from you, I’ll assume she rejected our pleas. In that
case… well, I’m not sure what we’ll do.” He closed Lizzie’s fingers
around the transmitter and gripped her hand. “You’re our last hope,
Phoenix.”

“
I’ll do what I can,” she
whispered.

He released her and turned to go. “I
know you will. Thank you.”

The door whooshed open, but before he
passed through, he added, “I’m removing the guard from your door,
now that you know the truth. You’re free to go if you’d like, but
if you’d prefer to finish recuperating here, you’re welcome to. I
know it’s been a hectic evening, so at least rest up and stay the
remainder of the night – I’ll check back with you on your plans in
the morning.” And then he was gone.

Isaac wasted no time before knocking
the grate from the wall and jumping down beside Lizzie’s
bed.

“
Isaac!” she cried,
incredulous. “What are you doing here?”

“
Good timing, I guess.” He
grinned, but his smile soon faded into concern as he took in the
full extent of the bandages covering Lizzie’s face. “Lizzie, what
did they do to you?”

She shook her head. “How much of that
did you hear? It wasn’t them – it was Paragon.” She sighed. “I’ll
explain later, just help me get these things off so we can get out
of here.”

Isaac grabbed the knife from his
pocket and deftly cut away the gauze looped around her head. It was
definitely Lizzie underneath, but not the Lizzie he remembered. She
was scarred and skeletal, her skin pale and clammy. But
perseverance still burned in her eyes – she was ready to
go.

Isaac made to climb back into the
ventilation shaft, but Lizzie placed a gentle hand on his
shoulder.

“
The Developer said I was
free to go.” She motioned towards the door.

Isaac pursed his lips, unsure of how
much he should tell Lizzie – after all, this mission was supposed
to be top secret. But he didn’t see a way around it. He couldn’t
take the chance of leaving her, and the rebels couldn’t escape
unless he got that power cell. She was going to have to come with
him.

“
They may not feel the
same once they realize what I’m here for,” he smirked. “We’re
getting out of here, Lizzie.
Out
of here, out of here, I mean. We’re leaving
Paragon.”

Lizzie’s mouthed dropped, but he shook
his head. He didn’t know who else might be listening in this
hospital, and he wasn’t about to risk revealing their plans.
Regardless of whatever the Developer said, Isaac simply did not
believe that Paragon would let the rebels go without a fight –
especially now that he knew how much they meant to the Engineers’
plans.

“
I’ll take you with me. I
just need to grab something first. Come on, we need to find the
utility room.”

A few quick turns down the deserted
hallway, and Isaac had found the stairwell he was looking for. Next
to it was an open supply closet where Lizzie had been able to pull
on some scrubs and sneakers.

Isaac peeked into the hallway before
giving the signal to move to the stairs.

“
I don’t know why you
insist on sneaking around like this,” Lizzie carped. “He said they
wouldn’t stop me from leaving.”

“
Maybe they won’t
stop
you
,” Isaac
hissed back, “but they didn’t say anything about
me
. Plus, your mom sent
me here to retrieve something. This wasn’t a rescue mission – I
just got lucky stumbling across your room. So stay quiet and keep
hidden,” he ordered.

He’d entered the building
on ground level, so the basement was only one quick turn of the
stairs below. Again, the hallway seemed deserted – it was
almost
too
quiet.

Just as Isaac finished the thought, a
distant wailing rang through the walls.

“
Is that –” Lizzie looked
around, “– a siren?”

“
It sounds like someone
tripped the alarm in the prison,” Isaac confirmed. In the back of
his mind, a surge of panic flashed, fearing for Alessa. But he
brushed it aside – he needed to finish what he’d come here to do,
otherwise there was no hope for Alessa, or anyone else, for that
matter.

“
That,” he pointed towards
the heavy doors at the end of the hall where the sound was coming
from, “means we don’t have much time. The guards will come
searching here next. Come on.”

He guided Lizzie through the thick
door labeled Utility Room at the other end of the corridor. Inside,
the room glowed a faint purplish blue and hummed with a quiet purr.
Isaac and Lizzie circled past some large control equipment to a
tall sleek machine standing in the center of a wide clearing,
running thick power cables into the ceiling – the
generator.

Behind a clear glass panel in the
center of the power source, a shining blue-violet tube flanked in
silver metal glowed brightly, casting periwinkle shadows in all
directions. Isaac stepped forward and popped the latch on the
panel.

He locked eyes with Lizzie. “Once I
grab this, we’ll need to run.” He placed his hand over the fuel
cell. “Ready?”

Lizzie took a deep breath and nodded,
and Isaac pulled the battery out. They were plunged into darkness
but for the nuclear amethyst radiating from Isaac’s
hand.

“
Follow me,” Isaac called,
heading toward the door. The basement hall was pitch black and
empty, but already he could hear footsteps sprinting down the
stairs. He tucked the battery into his pocket to dim the glow, but
it shone straight through his pants. It looked like hiding wasn’t
going to be an option…

Isaac thrust the battery into Lizzie’s
hand and pushed her deeper into the room. “Go to the far corner,”
he directed.

“
Are you crazy?” Lizzie
objected. “I’ll be trapped!”

“
I’ll get you out, just
go.”

Lizzie trudged off begrudgingly,
taking the beaming light with her, and Isaac slunk back into the
shadows, waiting.

Within moments, the guards were
outside the door. Isaac flattened himself against the wall and
sucked in his breath as the first guard stepped tentatively into
the room. Isaac waited for the guard to pass by him unseen, and
when a second guard drew even with Isaac’s position, he threw a
fist up into his face, knocking him down with a crack.

The first guard spun at the noise, but
it was too late – Isaac was already swinging an elbow at his head,
and half a second later, he heard the thud of the guard’s body
hitting the floor.

“
Time to go,” he called to
Lizzie. She raced to join him at the door and the two of them crept
into the hallway, Isaac shielding the light of the battery behind
his body as best he could.

They’d just reached the stairwell when
they heard shouting from the floor above.

Isaac cursed. “That’s not good –
that’s our only way out.”

“
What about the prison?”
Lizzie pointed towards the doors at the end of the hall.

“
Good idea.”

They sprinted to the prison entrance
as the clunk of heavy boots descending the steps rang down the
stairwell, the wailing of the alarm growing ever louder in Isaac’s
ears as he and Lizzie approached.

But just as Isaac reached for the
door, a voice behind him shouted, “Freeze!”

Isaac stiffened, one hand still
outstretched, and swung his eyes towards Lizzie, then slowly onto
the weapon-clad assemblage of men at the base of the
stairs.

His
men, Isaac realized with a sigh.

“
We heard the sirens –
thought you might need some assistance.” The leader smirked, then
motioned over his shoulder with his head. “Ready to get out of
here?”

“
You bet,” Isaac
smiled.

34. CLOSURE

Janie’s weight slumped against Alessa
as they made their way toward the cell where Nikhil had last seen
Joe.

“
Number 116 you said,
right?” Alessa asked.

Janie nodded weakly. The brush with
the creature – and the disappointment of leaving Nikhil behind –
seemed to have taken it out of her. “I think that’s what he said,”
Janie mumbled.