The Purification: Book 3 of the Evaran Chronicles (27 page)

After thirty minutes, Evaran turned to face Dr. Snowden and Lord Vygon. “It would appear this technology is from a civilization that went extinct. They were the originators of the rift technology. The Purifiers did not understand it, but were able to use it. I suspect that is due to its ability to bind with living matter, like we saw in the sentinels.”

“That would explain the technology differences, but not these impaled corpses,” said Lord Vygon.

“I concur,” said Evaran. “However, there is a significant portion of the facility I could not interact with or get information on. It seems some parts of this technology has rift components. The UIC cannot work on those hybrid pieces.”

“Means it’s not from this universe, right?” asked Dr. Snowden.

Evaran nodded. “I am unsure of how it got here, but given that the rift doors can cross timelines, I am going to guess their origin was from a pocket universe ejected from another universe.”

Dr. Snowden shook his head. “Wait … so this pocket universe was in another universe, got kicked out, landed in this universe, somehow got discovered by the Purifiers, and they adapted what they found for their use. That about right?”

Lord Vygon smirked. “Yeah … that sounds kinda crazy to me too.”

“Perhaps,” said Evaran, raising a finger. “The part I am unsure of is how the Purifiers gained access to a pocket universe. I suspect this Purifier overlord has something to do with that, and the list of other beings who might be able to do it is quite extensive.”

“Great,” said Dr. Snowden. “Did you find anything on Emily?”

“Just that she arrived here. The visual feed on the rift room is missing for her arrival, yet others are not.”

Dr. Snowden snorted. There always had to be something. His blood began to simmer.

“This is a large facility. We should see what else we can find,” said Evaran. He exited the room with Dr. Snowden and Lord Vygon in tow.

They navigated the myriad of metallic hallways and rooms. Dr. Snowden’s breathing went uneven as each room came up empty. He knew Emily was not here, but the thought that maybe V’s scans were wrong and Emily would be waiting in one of the rooms pervaded his thoughts. The sound of footsteps ahead made him perk his head up.

Evaran gestured forward to V, who shimmered and flew ahead.

Dr. Snowden watched through V as he approached a bend in the corridor they were in. As V flew around the corner, Dr. Snowden’s heart pumped furiously.

Emily’s head peeked out of one of the doors, and then disappeared into a side room.

Dr. Snowden tore off running toward V.

“Dr. Snowden, wait!” said Evaran.

Dr. Snowden felt a tingling sensation flow over him. Time seemed to slow down as he burst around the corner. He ran up to the room he saw Emily duck into and activated his hand light. Shining it into the room showed Emily cowering in a corner. She still had on her jeans, comfortable shoes, and T-shirt from when she disappeared. “Emily!” He pressed the button on his neck guard, causing his helmet to drop.

“Unc … Uncle Albert?” asked Emily as she looked up with wide eyes. She jumped and ran out of the room, hugging Dr. Snowden tightly.

“I thought you were gone,” said Dr. Snowden as tears rolled down his cheeks. He squinted and trembled as he held on to Emily. She would never be out of his sight again. He felt Emily shake as she cried into his chest.

“Dr. Snowden … ,” said Evaran as he stood a few feet away with Lord Vygon.

Dr. Snowden turned his head toward Evaran. “We found her! I can’t believe it!” It took a moment for his smile to wind down as he saw Lord Vygon had extended his arm blades and Evaran had his baton and shield out. “What’s … going on …”

“Please step away from her.”

Emily looked at Evaran and ran toward him.

“Do not come any closer,” said Evaran as the end of his baton intensified its glow.

Emily’s eyebrows wrinkled as she grimaced. “Evaran?”

“What are you?”

“I’m Emily!”

“Emily was organic.”

Dr. Snowden jerked his head back. He circled around Emily and stood at Lord Vygon’s side.

“It’s me. What are you talking about?”

Evaran tossed out an orb. It shot up an image of Emily, with various labels off to the side.

Dr. Snowden swallowed hard as he stared at the projection. Emily was ninety percent metal. His eyes bulged as veins popped out on his neck. “What did you do with Emily!”

“Uncle Albert?” said Emily as she staggered toward Dr. Snowden, tears flowing freely onto her face.

“Get
away
from me! Whatever you are!” said Dr. Snowden with balled fists. “Where’s Emily!”

Emily frowned as she turned and ran down the hallway.

Lord Vygon put a hand on Dr. Snowden’s shoulder, then went flying as Dr. Snowden lashed out.

Dr. Snowden glared at Evaran. “What did they do to Emily!” After a moment, he walked a bit back the way they had come and slumped against the wall. He clenched his jaw as his throat constricted.

Evaran approached Dr. Snowden and faced him on the opposite side of the corridor. He slid down and sat cross-legged. Staring at Dr. Snowden, he said, “Dr. Snowden. Look at me.”

Dr. Snowden looked down and flung a hand in the air.

“Look at me. In my eyes. Now.”

Dr. Snowden bored a hole through Evaran with his eyes. His breathing went haphazard, and a rising warmth was beginning to swarm his body.

“Breathe.”

“Not in the mood for that right now.”

“Unacceptable. Breathe.”

Dr. Snowden sighed and focused on breathing. His mind was a jumble of thoughts flickering through his mind like lightning bolts, and he knew Evaran would not let him be.

“I am not going to suggest you say the word
relax
in your head,” said Evaran. “That does not seem to work with you. I want to try something else. You are a scientist. You use logic in your day-to-day job. Ask yourself this one question. How does losing control help the situation?”

Dr. Snowden’s nostrils flared as his breathing came under control. “It doesn’t.”

“Correct. Now, do you feel a tingling sensation anywhere on your body?”

Dr. Snowden nodded.

“Good. Imagine a wave of relaxation sweeping over the tingling sensations. Focus on the wave increasing until it is sweeping across your whole body. While this is occurring, rationalize your current state to yourself. Does it make sense to be in the state you are in?”

Dr. Snowden concentrated on the waves coursing through his left arm. The tingling sensation began to amplify. He focused on his right arm, and where there had been no tingling, it matched his left arm. After a few moments of moving the wave over every part of his body, he felt he could do a full wave from top to bottom. While this was occurring, he tried to rationalize losing control, but every answer was illogical to him. After a moment, he hopped up and gave Evaran a quizzical look. “The tingling. It’s … it’s everywhere.”

Evaran scanned Dr. Snowden with his ring, then looked at Lord Vygon.

Dr. Snowden looked at Lord Vygon. The usual odd movements that he had come to associate with Daedroulds, and vampires in particular, were gone. It was like Lord Vygon had normal movement. Dr. Snowden cocked his head. “What in the world …”

“Your senses are heightened,” said Evaran. “I suspect your focus is as well. Are you still angry?”

Dr. Snowden wrinkled his eyebrows as he looked at his hands. “No, and there was no reason to be. Whatever it is we saw sounded and looked like Emily, but was not her. The Emily we know is still out there somewhere, and we will continue looking for her.”

Lord Vygon smirked. “And we’ll find her, assuming you don’t knock me around again.”

Dr. Snowden extended a hand toward Lord Vygon. “Oh … sorry about that. I … I wasn’t thinking right. I am now, though.” He looked at Evaran. “I can’t believe that worked.”

Evaran nodded. “Oddly enough, I cannot either. It seems you have gained some ability to call upon your nanobots. Take solace in the knowledge that if you can do it, then Emily probably can too. It would give her an edge.”

Dr. Snowden let out a deep breath. “So what do we do about this other Emily?”

“That’s simple,” said Lord Vygon with a smile. “We find her and figure out what she is.”

Evaran nodded. He put a hand on Dr. Snowden’s shoulder and squeezed, then headed off down the hallway.

Lord Vygon gave Dr. Snowden a quick look, then followed Evaran.

Dr. Snowden followed Evaran while looking at his hands. He could feel the nanobots. The strength, speed, focus, and clarity he felt was intoxicating. There was probably a downside to being amped like this, but it took him from a blind rage to calm in an instant. He was not sure how long it would last, but it would be something he would practice when he had time.

His thoughts turned to the Emily he had seen. It was an exact replica of her, even down to the smell of her perfume. Was it a robot with her consciousness? Could it be that her consciousness was downloaded somehow into this new body? He shook his head as various thoughts and ideas of her origin bounced around in his head. Several times Lord Vygon had to tap his arm to get him to focus on where he was walking. One thing that bothered him was that if that was some clone or duplicate of Emily with her consciousness and thoughts, his and Evaran’s rebuff would have had a devastating impact on her. The guilt of that weighed on his mind. Emily was still his niece, in whatever form she was in.

Finding this new Emily and figuring out her origin was his new goal.

15

E
mily continued her journey to the second research facility with sore muscles. The position she had slept in had been uncomfortable, even if it gave her peace of mind. The first breach came at about the eighteenth mile. The side had caved in, and a massive hole leading away from the tunnel became visible. An odd light danced inside the hole, giving the breach an unusual appearance against the darkness. The hairs on her neck rose. Skittering sounds echoed around the breach, punctuated by loud shrieks. They reminded her somewhat of the creatures near the pyramid.

She moved to the platform opposite the breach and tapped her light beacon off. As she crossed past the rail line, she sensed the presence that she had been feeling all along nearby. It seemed to be getting closer but at a slow pace. She wondered if it was responsible for shaking the door handle the previous night. The wall was her guide as she crept forward, and after a few moments, she had crossed past the breach. She snapped her head forward at the sound of something shuffling along the ground.

At a tap of her light beacon, several slug-like creatures the size of a small cat appeared. Their legless, ringed, plump white bodies had a black beaded head with antennae hanging off of it. Massive mandibles and a short tube above them rounded out the face. Her heart raced as she hit her light beacon and froze. Maybe they could not see. One thing she was certain of was the foul odor they seemed to emanate. She took exaggerated steps back to the side of the tunnel where the breach was.

When she was past the breach area, she let out a deep breath. The light from the breach she had passed did not filter down this far. She looked back and tapped her light beacon on and then off. In the brief moment it was on, she saw that the creatures had changed course and were slithering over to her. They must either have good smell or hearing, but she doubted the latter. Maybe they sensed vibrations. She took off running down the tunnel and jumped when she heard the shrieks intensify. It also coincided with the feeling that the presence was trying to keep pace with her. Maybe it got the slug-like creatures’ attention. It certainly had hers.

She turned on her light beacon and surveyed the environment. The noises from the creature were falling off as she distanced herself from the breach. She wondered if the breach was active when the Coraanan were around, or sometime after their departure. The breach would have been fixed, she figured, if they were still around.

The side room at the twenty-mile mark came and went. She had taken a break in it with a locked door. Hopefully she would not have to revisit the rooms anytime soon. When she approached the twenty-five-mile mark, she took another rest. Her legs were throbbing from their previous soreness, and walking long distances was not something she did on a regular basis.

She moved her mouth around as she contemplated going to the next side room. It would put her within five miles, but if that presence decided to make itself felt, she might need her energy. Her face grew hot at the concept that something was stalking her. It was not enough that she was in an abandoned tunnel with unsafe areas in pitch-black conditions. There had to be something determined to follow her. She shook her head. This presence would know her wrath if it made a move.

She settled on the safer approach and decided to rest before continuing on. The next push would be to the second research station’s hub. It would be ten miles, and she would be tired and sore, but the thought of reaching it kept her focused. Although the trip so far had the presence and the breach, she felt better about it than if she had to go through the mountains. She could only imagine what creatures and terrain issues she would have had to deal with. She closed her eyes.