Stephen ran as hard as he could, which, given his reduced abilities, wasn’t nearly as fast as Serena. While he blamed the virus, he couldn’t help wondering if he was also the problem. He’d doubted so much for so long. The virus had stolen something from him.
But maybe it hadn’t. Elise had told him once that severe stress brought about evolution. Anton had been trapped on Earth and Stephen had been going through a change at the time.
Anton, Arianna and Margaux kept up with his slower pace while Serena became a blur in the distance. The rising sun warmed the hard edges of the night. And for that he was grateful. The weak sunlight gave him the confidence to run faster without the risk of tripping over anything.
But he slowed down when Serena returned as fast as she had left.
She stopped, out of breath. ‘There’s a group loitering at the entrance to District Three.’
Fear made his hands shake. ‘Near our new way inside?’
‘No.’ She glanced back. ‘At the main entrance.’
‘Humans or Indigenes?’
‘Indigenes. I can’t tell if they’re friendly or not.’
‘Could be some of your charges,’ suggested Anton. ‘They could have left through the new exit.’
‘Could be.’ But he didn’t want to take the chance. ‘Someone could have seen us inside the city. Harvey might have sent out renegades to stop us from getting back inside.’
Margaux glanced up at the sun, casting its warm orange glow across the blue and grey landscape. ‘But we’ll bake out here.’
Serena patted the former elder on the arm. ‘It won’t come to that.’ To Stephen, she said, ‘I can try to influence them.’
‘Your skill worked with a few humans, but it’s harder where Indigenes are concerned.’ He walked towards the main entry point. ‘I’ll talk to them first, see what they want.’
‘Or we could just sneak to the hole,’ suggested Arianna. ‘If they’re not from our district, they won’t know it exists.’
‘Or they’re waiting to see how we got out.’ He picked up the pace. ‘No, I should speak with them.’
It didn’t take long before he came upon a group of eight Indigenes waiting near the electrified, metal balls. Some he recognised, some he didn’t. He expected some might have come from Emile’s district. He considered the idea that Emile could have orchestrated this move. He’d been there when Clement made the hole. He could have told them exactly where to look.
But they weren’t at the hole.
‘What are you doing here?’ he demanded, keeping a few feet between him and the strangers.
Heads whipped round in surprise, as if they hadn’t detected him. More victims of the virus. Others seemed less surprised.
‘We’re here to stop you from getting back inside your district,’ said a tall male that Stephen didn’t recognise.
‘Who sent you?’
One snarled, ‘Who do you think?’
He wished he knew. These days it seemed that Stephen had many enemies.
He stepped closer to them. ‘You need to leave this area, now.’
‘Or what?’
‘Or we’ll make you.’
A whoosh of air chilled his skin as Serena came to his side.
‘Two of you?’ one of the Indigenes said, laughing.
‘There are more of us and I know some of you can sense them.’
The strangers faced him and Serena.
The male said, ‘Give up this fight, Stephen. A new world is coming and you need to be ready for it.’
‘It is, but it won’t be the one you envision.’
Anton and Arianna arrived next. Margaux was last. He caught her squinting at the group.
The male laughed. ‘An elder? You expect to fight with her?’
He hadn’t but it was the best he could manage.
‘Leave here,’ he repeated.
‘Or what?’ said the male.
‘Or somebody gets hurt.’
Stephen pitched one foot in front of the other and tightened his hands into fists. The Indigenes laughed at his attempt to bring order.
‘They can’t be reasoned with,’ whispered Serena.
‘Listen to your mate,’ the male said. ‘This world does not work with the rules that are in place. This hierarchy no longer serves a purpose. Elders have no further place in our society.’
Stephen growled. ‘And what would you replace it with instead?’
‘Let everyone live as they wish. No rules imposed upon us by the humans.’
A libertarian society? He couldn’t see how that would work. ‘If you allow Harvey and his men to get their way, what makes you think their rules will be better?’
The male smirked. ‘We are pretending to go along with their plans. The humans are simply a means to an end.’
‘Dangerous talk.’
‘True talk.’
But what about the humans who have fought for you? Bill Taggart, Laura O’Halloran?’
‘They are fooling themselves. Clinging to the past. Their ways allowed the Elite to become something they shouldn’t have. Their rules gave Elite One the power to enter our domain. To almost kill us. We are better off without them. Without you.’
Stephen caught the glance Margaux gave Serena. The elder nodded almost imperceptibly at her.
The visiting Indigenes clutched their heads suddenly, just as Margaux intensified her focus on them.
‘Get out of my head!’ said one.
Margaux muttered back, as if under a trance. ‘They plan to take over the district, as soon as they find out how you get in. They’ve tried to move the metal balls but the electricity is too powerful.’
One of the Indigenes shifted out of line. He turned his back to the group and got on his knees. Another Indigene followed, then two more.
‘Hurry,’ said Serena, her gaze fixed on the group. She was sweating and straining against the power her influence clearly needed to work.
Stephen nodded to Anton and Arianna but they were already on the move. Together they restrained the four on their knees. As soon as they did, Serena appeared to shift her attention to the remaining four, who were clutching their heads, already confused by Margaux’s mind invasion. He still didn’t know how Margaux had escaped the after-effects of the virus, why her senses worked as well as they had before. Maybe it had to do with her telepathy existing on a plane different to the rest of theirs.
Whatever the reason, none of it mattered. It was working.
‘I can’t keep this up for long,’ muttered Serena.
‘I can keep this up for as long as I want,’ said a smiling Margaux.
‘We need more help,’ said Stephen. ‘Anton, can you get help from the district?’ He glanced up at the rising sun. ‘The sooner the better.’
Anton ran off while the visiting Indigenes tried to fight off Margaux and Serena’s combined influence.
‘I have an idea,’ said Stephen. He nodded to the electrified wrecking ball. ‘Over there.’
A panting Serena shifted the ones not being held by Stephen and Arianna over to the ball. The closer the Indigenes got to the electrified barrier, the more sluggish their movements became, until the energy grounded them in the same way a blast from a Buzz Gun would.
Serena released her mind hold on the visitors with a loud, sharp exhale just as Anton returned with help.
‘What happened?’ said one of those brought to help.
‘They were attempting to take over the district,’ Stephen explained quickly. ‘We need to get everyone inside. The sun’s heating up. Lock them up for now. I’ll decide what to do with them later.’
The volunteers dragged half the unwelcome visitors off. When Serena engaged her influence once more and shifted the remaining four away from the electricity, they were taken too.
‘Come on, let’s get inside,’ said Stephen.
They entered the district through their only active entry and exit point.
Safely inside, Stephen snatched at the cool air. He pulled the air-filtration device from his throat. It had been starting to pinch. The device had been in all night. The others removed theirs, looking equally relieved to do so.
But this mess was far from over. More would surely come, and unless Stephen helped Bill to deal with Harvey once and for all, this would keep happening. They needed to show these rogue Indigenes and renegade humans that Harvey had no power.
Serena slumped against the wall, exhausted.
He supported her. ‘The Nexus, now.’ To Anton and Arianna, he said, ‘You too.’
‘I don’t need it,’ said Anton, watching the volunteers lead the prisoners away.
‘That’s an order.’
‘Neither do I,’ said Margaux, chuckling. ‘I quite enjoy being a nuisance.’
Stephen shook his head and smiled. Margaux might be odd but her heart was in the right place.
He waited until all three left for the nearest tranquillity cave, glad now they’d helped the Nexus to heal first.
‘What now?’ asked Margaux.
‘Now we fight back.’
He took long strides to the Central Core. Along the way, he asked those whose paths he crossed to spread the word and meet him there.
By the time he arrived, a sizeable group had already gathered. His charges looked stronger, healthier. The Nexus must be stronger too.
Stephen forewent his usual platform and stood in the middle of the space alongside Margaux. Male and female Indigenes of all ages surrounded him.
He filled them in on the activity of the last twelve hours. ‘We’ve just returned from New Tokyo, where we discovered a severely split population. One side is being led by Harvey Buchanan, the man who cured you, the other by Bill Taggart, the man who has protected you. I’m not telling you to join in the fight against Harvey, but asking you to follow your hearts. Serena and I are going back out there because the wrong man is trying to take over. Indigenes follow him, the same ones who walked out of here not that long ago. I fear the world that is being promised is not the world they’ll be delivered. And the world Harvey wants is not the world we want.’
‘The world we have does not serve us,’ one said.
Stephen nodded. ‘Bill Taggart knows this and he wants change.’
‘But he hasn’t done anything about it.’
‘The existence of the Elite prevented him from doing anything. But now they’re gone, he is coming around to the idea of a new world, a better one where we may all live as we need to.’
‘What happened out there?’ another asked.
‘We successfully rescued a boy who has been a friend to me, to this district. But I fear something is coming, a bigger fight that will require a human-Indigene effort to push it back. We need to fight for this world—our world—and we must have faith that what emerges will be better for everyone.’
Some Indigenes puffed out their chests, as if they believed Stephen. Others regarded him with scepticism.
‘I’m not asking that everyone join us, only those who were not affected by the virus. We need your skills. We need your strength. Some of you won’t come back from this, but I will fight by your side until the end. As will Serena. I don’t expect an answer now, but if you wish to help, meet us by the unfinished tunnels this evening. And if you don’t, all I ask is that you help to keep this district safe.’
A chorus of mumbles rang out and the crowd dispersed. Stephen let out a sigh.
‘They’re thinking about it,’ said Margaux. ‘But you can count on me to help up there.’
He couldn’t risk the life of an elder. He and Serena, elders in name only, had youth on their side.
‘No, this is not your district. It’s not your responsibility.’
‘I disagree.’ Margaux pursed her lips. ‘This has felt like home since Gabriel died. Gabriel loved it here, more than he did District Eight.’
‘You’ve done more than enough.’
Margaux stomped her foot like a child. ‘I want to do more, to help you realise this vision. If I wish to go, you can’t stop me.’
Vision. If only he still had his envisioning skill, he could see how this might play out.
Margaux touched his arm. ‘It will come back, I promise.’
‘I hope so.’
He walked away and pulled the communication stone out of a hidden pocket in his tunic. He sent a brief message to Bill. Help coming this evening. Stay put.
☼
The time to leave had come. A nervous Stephen left Council Chambers and walked in the direction of the unfinished tunnels and Clement’s new entry and exit point. Serena had spent much of the day with him after using the Nexus. She’d reported a lively Nexus, not quite healed but getting there.
‘What if they don’t come?’
‘Then we will venture out alone.’
His doubts crept into his mind once more as he navigated the uneven floor. ‘What if we can’t stop Harvey?’
She linked her arm in his. ‘Then we will have fought for what we believe in.’
They arrived at the start of the tunnels. A small group had gathered there, far fewer than he’d hoped.
His hope sank. ‘Is this it?’
He looked at the group. Only Anton, Arianna and Margaux had shown up. They had dressed in their black hunting gear.
‘Seems like it.’ Anton shrugged. ‘We don’t need them anyway.’
Perhaps his speech had not resonated in the way Margaux had predicted—in the way he had hoped. When this was all done, he would call an election, vote in a new leader.
‘How much longer should we wait?’ asked Arianna.
He didn’t see the point. His charges had made their feelings clear. ‘We should leave now.’
Serena touched his arm and smiled. ‘Maybe just wait a little longer.’
The sound of footsteps reached Stephen’s ears. They were coming from a nearby tunnel. Indigenes young and old—but mostly young—streamed out of the tunnel. He counted thirty. They were dressed in black and looked ready for a fight.
He swallowed back his emotions, not quite believing they had come.
‘Are you sure?’ he asked them.
One Indigene nodded. ‘If you fight, we fight. This is our world, our future.’
It was. And Stephen would fight for it until the bitter end.
His mouth curled up. ‘Let’s go.’