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The hammering stopped. Right above the door a small panel lit up and bathed the room in a dim red light. Everything was painted in blood, and shards of pain stabbed at my temples. Ward’s hand found my shoulder. ‘Did it work, son?’
I couldn’t look away from Corina, but I nodded and heard him let out a whoosh of air. His hand tightened briefly before he lifted it away. The halo was loose on my head and I slipped it into a pocket. It was useless now.
I tried to take Corina out of the clips, but as soon as I touched her my hand jerked away and I hissed. She was too hot. I felt fabric touch my hand. It was one of Tara’s gloves; too small for me to wear, but I could still use it to pull Corina free. I was as careful as I could be. The crack ran from one end to the other, and I didn’t want to do her any more damage.
‘Is she... was she still functioning, Jax.’ Tara asked.
I shook my head, disturbing the tears that had been collecting in my eyes and waiting to run down my cheeks. Tara wrapped her arms around me. It felt good to be hugged, but it didn’t take away the numbness. I lightly brushed Corina with the fingers of my other hand. She had cooled now, so I slipped her into her cover and handed Tara back her glove. We still had to get out of this.
‘The last thing she said was not to resist them when they come for us. She didn’t explain.’
‘What will they do to us?’ Tara asked.
‘I’ve no idea. Neither did she.’
There was more noise outside the door, muffled voices, then a loud, dull thump. A moment later the door slid back, the narrow strip of sudden light a blinding glare. Hooks appeared around the open edge, then the door shot back into the wall with an angry screech. Outside was a small crowd of mixed Dagashi and humans. We walked out, proud and tall, into the middle of them.
The human proctors grabbed us and threw us against the corridor wall. Our breathing tubes and belt packs were ripped off, then we were turned around. A human proctor stood in front of each of us, the glowing tip of a wand held an inch away from each throat. One of the Dags stood in front of us, glaring, then he caught site of Corina in my hand. He reached forward and snatched her away from me. When he saw the crack running along the length of the crystal, he threw her back to me, and that told me more than I wanted to know.
The Dag muttered to one of the human proctor’s and we were marched off. I didn’t pay any attention to where we were going, but I was at the back and could see Ward and Tara craning their necks to take in as much as they could. I didn’t blame them; they wouldn’t get another chance and, after all, I had been here before.
We were ushered into a room, and found ourselves reunited with the rest of the assault team. Everybody had survived, although there were some bruised faces and Newton cradled his arm in a makeshift sling. None of them had breathing kits. As soon as the Dags and proctors left the room, the raiding party gathered around us, all shouting questions at me until Ward raised his hands and pushed me behind him to protect me.
‘The AI said the mission was a success,’ he said. ‘Other than that we don’t know much. In the course of the mission, it seems the AI was critically damaged, and no longer functions.’
‘But what’s going to happen to us,’ a voice shouted from the back. Ward opened his mouth as if to answer, then closed it and shrugged. The room fell silent after that. They backed away and gave me some space. I sat on a couch in the corner, pulled my knees up and hid my face. Corina was gone, and without the breather tubes we — I — would die. They had beaten us. I couldn’t stop the tears any more, and I didn’t want these people to see me cry.
It sunk through my head that the noise level had gone up. I don’t know how long I’d been wrapped in my own thoughts, but it couldn’t have been more than five minutes. When I raised my head, I found a thumping pressure behind my eyes. People were clustered around Ward and Newton.
‘... say we need to act. The air is foul. The boy said we can’t breathe it. Everybody already feels sick. We just going to sit here and die?’
A swell of voices supported Newton. Ward raised his hand, and for the first time I saw cracks in his confidence. I didn’t blame him.
‘The AI said not to resist.’
‘Why not?’
And neither Ward, nor I, had an answer. ‘I don’t know, but think it through. Without the help of the AI, or the cooperation of the Dagashi, what chance do you think we would have of fighting our way out? How would be get through the perimeter field? This could just be a punishment. Playing with us before they throw us out.’
The grumbling died down but people didn't drift away. ‘At least we should go out fighting.’ Newton tried one more pitch, and a lot of people agreed with him. Ideas were shouted out, but everything degenerated into cacophony until Tara screamed for silence. The majority found themselves somewhere to sit, or lie, and concentrated on making the best use of each breath. I did the same.
‘If we run around and get crazy we just kill ourselves quicker. Newton, help me with that wall panel over there, by the door. If I get too crazy to work, someone can take over from me. We have to try to get out, even if we don't make it.’
‘These bastards are going to leave us here to die,’ Newton announced to the room. ‘And I am not going quietly.’ Ward said nothing, but looked uncomfortable. Newton and Tara turned away and searched along the walls, looking for anything they could use or get access to.
Newton found a panel. Somebody else provided a belt buckle that fit into the fastenings. Tara got the cover off and reached inside. I didn’t see the point. She didn’t know enough about things around here to do any good. But if it made them feel happy, then maybe it didn’t hurt. My mind was fuzzy now. Reality slipped through my fingers whenever I tried to get a grip on it, just as it had in the cabin on my first trip. Keeping my eyes open was like lifting boulders. I found myself hoping that I would fall asleep, even if it was a sleep I wasn’t going to wake from.
Noise disturbed me again, muffled and outside the room. There was the crackle of Proctor wands, and a louder whine that grated on my ears. Someone hammered on the door. They were trying to get in. Where was Corina? I had to keep her plugged in to the panel. Wait, hadn’t that already happened. Didn’t Corina die? Grief welled up in me all over again and closed my throat.
Something made a loud crash as it collided with the door, and a moment later, screeching in protest, the doors edged open. Dagashi flooded into the room. I wrapped my arms around my head, waiting for a baton to shock me. Tara’s tampering had been discovered and they were going to punish us. Hands clawed at my arms, trying to pull them from around my head. I was too weak, and couldn’t resist. Slowly, my arms were pulled open.
And then there was a mask on my face, and cool air in my nose, and I took deep shuddering breaths, gulping the air into my lungs. Somebody shook my shoulder and I opened my eyes. A Dagashi female squatted in front of me, holding the mask to my face with one hand, and making a gesture with the other I thought meant to slow down. I tried to control my breathing, and looked around. Everybody had a mask on their face, and two people were being carried out on stretchers. A Dagashi walked into the room, but there were no guards with him. His only company was an Aide. They both looked as though they were in charge, like Ward, but much more so. The Dagashi spoke, and the Aide translated for him so smoothly you couldn’t see the join.
‘We apologise. This was not appropriate treatment despite your actions. We were aware of your capture, but had no idea of where you were being held. Fortunately, somebody was ingenious enough to cause damage to some systems routing through this room, and from that we were able to find you.’
Newton shot Ward an ‘I told you so’ look, and there were others looking questions at Ward, too. He looked awkward, and ignored everyone.
Another Aide walked in, this time with a dozen proctors. A murmur of alarm rippled around the room even though the proctors were unarmed. The Head Dagashi muttered and his personal Aide raised his hands peaceably. ‘If you will follow these gentlemen, you will be escorted to an exit point. Where would you prefer to leave the ship?’
‘Near the Tate Modern, if that’s possible?’ Ward asked.
The other Aide consulted a tablet he was carrying and nodded. One of the Proctors nodded to indicate he knew where that was. ‘Then whenever you are ready, ladies and gentlemen?’
We followed the proctors through the ship and down to a vehicle bay like the one I had slipped in through. I’d no idea what time of day or night it was, but the bay was deserted. The proctors stopped us next to a table on which were a dozen bags like the one I held Corina in. ‘Take one of these. There may be... disruptions, to the availability of food and water. These are emergency rations to get you through the next three or four days. You can leave your breather tubes here too. The air in this chamber is safe for the brief time you will be here.’
There was a shuffle while everybody made the changeover, then we were herded into a transport. It was no more than a chassis with wheels and seats, but everything was enclosed by a thin metal mesh. ‘This will take you outside the perimeter field,’ said the proctor. ‘Any attempt to leave the vehicle will most likely kill all of you.’ It seemed that everybody froze for a second, then looked up at the proctor who had made the announcement. As soon as everybody was in the transport, it moved off with a soft whir of tyres.
There was a tingle as we passed under the field, nothing like as distressing as my previous trips, and the buggy rolled to a halt at the Tate food station. There was quite a crowd, and a moment later I saw someone walking away from the mass with a ration bag. So the problem was outside as well.
As soon as we were out of the buggy it turned back towards the ship and made off. I looked out of the shadow of the dome and made a guess that it was mid-morning, and for some reason that surprised me.
‘What are your plans, Jax?’ asked Ward. The others were already wandering off, mixing with the dispersing crowd as though they still needed to hide, but he and Tara were still standing with me. I didn’t answer right away, because I hadn’t given it any thought. Doing anything seemed pointless at the moment. I had no idea how the Dags were going to react, or if there would be any help from outside. I shrugged.
‘Go home, I guess. Or see if I still have one at least.’
‘You know you are welcome to come with us, or find us if things don’t work out.’ Ward held out his hand. I took it, and nodded as we shook. He held it a long time, and as soon as he let go, Tara was hugging me. ‘Visit us anyway, someday.’
‘I will.’ I was surprised how thick my voice sounded, and at the new tears in my eyes. The three of us stood, awkwardly, waiting for someone to make the first move, and I decided it might as well be me. I backed off a couple of steps, waved, then turned and walked away. When I looked back over my shoulder, they were following their own people, looking like they were deep in conversation. I started the journey back to Tower 42.