ProGenesis, the modified artificial Quasing atmosphere, is a breakthrough because it not only allows us to reproduce, but also allows us to reconnect our thoughts. However, for many of the Quasing who call Earth home, it has a price that we are not willing to pay. There is a secret regarding my people that very few humans will ever be aware of, one that will change the way humanity views the Quasing forever.
Tao
Cameron and Alex scoped out the local bus station from across the street. There were seven cars parked in the lot and two buses with their engines on. The bus on the left would take them south to Fort Bragg. The question was, how would they get on it? Was it safe to even try? Cameron studied the faces of each person who walked to and from the station. He recognized some of them; it was hard not to when you lived in a small town. However, he wasn’t prepared to make a trip across the street to buy a ticket, especially after what had happened at the school the day before. There was only one bus station in town, so it made coming here especially perilous. There was a high likelihood of either the Genjix or the police waiting for them. Or both.
Police car a hundred meters up the street. There is someone sitting in the blue sedan on the right. He has been there for thirty-five minutes.
“We’ll never learn anything by just sitting here,” Alex said. “Besides, the police are not going to watch the station just because a few kids got beat up.”
“You don’t know small towns, then,” he said. “This is probably the biggest thing to happen to Eureka in years.” He turned to her. “Besides, you didn’t just beat them up; you brutalized them. We’re just lucky you didn’t kill anyone.”
She rolled her eyes. “That is the Hatchery way. If you show compassion to your enemy, you only invite them to return twice as determined. Those kids will never try to stop us again.”
She also got every parent and cop in this small town on alert for a blonde psychopath.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Cameron muttered. “It’s made our escape much more difficult with everyone looking for us.”
Unfortunately, Cameron’s words probably weren’t too far off. News in the small town had spread like wildfire that a bunch of students at the local high school got their asses kicked by a Russian teenager. As they are wont to do in a place as small as Eureka, the rumors had taken a life of their own. Right now, half the population probably thought there was a vixen serial killer in their midst, while the other probably thought they were being invaded by the Red Army, and were forming up as if they were in the movie Red Dawn.
Technically, there hasn’t been a Red Army since World War II.
“Not very helpful right now, Tao.”
Alex, who was wearing a beanie to hide her now-very-publicized blonde hair, stood up from their hiding spot. “We’re not going to figure anything out hiding behind this garbage can. Go buy bus tickets. I’ll meet you at the south end of the parking lot. We can hide in the crowd.”
That sounded as good a plan as any. They weren’t going to get any closer to Jill by staying here. He couldn’t wait any longer, anyway. The bus was leaving in twenty minutes. If they wanted to be on it, he had to go now. He pulled his cap down on his head and shouldered his pack.
Get a contingency plan in place first.
Cameron pointed to an alley down the street. “If things go wrong, rendezvous there.”
She nodded, and they split up. She circled around the back while Cameron braved the bus station. They had just enough to buy one-way tickets, though not enough for lunch. Cameron cursed those two video games. Food would have been nice. Or another set of clothing, or even a couple of bottles of water. One of the damn games wasn’t even any good either.
I will not say I told you so.
“About spending the money or buying that game?”
Both. I mean, you already had the previous version of that game. Is it that much different?
“It had new decals to download.”
You, somehow, have the greatest potential of all my hosts, and are one of the dumbest, at the same time.
“Gee, thanks for the confidence booster.”
On the contrary, it is brave stupid people who change the world. The smart ones are usually too smart to even try.
Cameron made it three quarters of the way across the lot when he was accosted by Officer Underwood. Cameron groaned, partially because he had naively hoped that it might actually be that easy to get away, but mostly because he knew Underwood. The man lived a couple of farms down from the Tans and had once sheltered him when he got caught in a rainstorm biking home. Underwood even fed him dinner while they waited for his dad to pick him up.
Sometimes, we have to do unpleasant things. Be ready.
“Hello, Cameron,” Underwood said, extending his hand out.
Crap. Underwood was shaking his hand. What did his dad say about men shaking hands? Something about how it’s wrong to fight someone who shakes your hand, or some sort of man-code that has to be followed. He couldn’t quite remember. Roen often spouted wisdoms that Cameron found wisest to ignore. For some reason, this one came back to him as he shook the policeman’s hand.
“Hi, Mr Underwood,” he said.
“Listen, son,” Underwood said. “A lot of kids got hurt yesterday. I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to come with me to the station to explain a few things. Also, I need to ask you if you know what happened to your family’s house.”
“What happened to my house?” Cameron asked, stunned.
Underwood looked concerned, which just made Cameron feel even guiltier. “You don’t know? The house is gone. Bulldozed over. Yours and three others in your area. Everyone’s baffled by how it could have happened.”
Genjix cleaning team. You need to get out of here. Now!
Cameron stood frozen while the words sunk in. Everything was gone. For some reason, he had assumed that once he found Mom, everything would go back to normal. Now, he realized there was no going back. The Genjix had come and wiped away his entire life in a matter of days. He slowly backed away.
“Come on, son,” Underwood said, putting a hand on his elbow. He tugged, but Cameron wouldn’t move, the shock numbing his entire body. Underwood tugged again. This time, Cameron tried to snatch his arm out of his grasp. The police officer reached into his side pouch for his handcuffs.
Cameron. Snap out of it. Remember, your parents are still alive. Everything else is just stuff. You need to get moving if you want to see your mother again. I cannot move you on my own. Your mind is not opened to me. Get moving!
“I’m… I’m sorry, Mr Underwood,” Cameron said as the officer tried to cuff his wrist. He twisted away until he had reversed Underwood’s grip on his elbow. Cameron snatched the handcuffs from Underwood and cuffed the officer’s left wrist. Then he yanked down on the chain until the older man bent over. Then Cameron cuffed the officer’s right ankle with the other end of the handcuff. Underwood hopped comically, twisted around like a pretzel, his right arm waving wildly around for balance. He considered taking Underwood’s handgun. After all, they only had the assault rifle and the pistol. They could use another. The rifle was too unwieldy.
Leave it. No one knows you are armed at the moment. If you take Underwood’s firearm, then they will list you as armed and dangerous. Leave the scene now. Head in the opposite direction and then circle around.
In one smooth motion, Cameron unhooked the deputy’s belt and tossed it to the side. “I’m sorry,” he said again and fled the scene. He sprinted north, knocking people over as he crossed the used car dealership’s lot, around the back of the pizzeria, and then turned left down California Street. He ran halfway down the block before jumping over a wooden fence.
Cameron wasn’t sure if anyone was in pursuit, but he didn’t look back to find out. Now, as he hopped fences, benches, and hurdled over picnic tables, he was grateful for all the free-running practices his mom had put him through. He was putting them to good use crossing yard after yard until he reached the alley he had told Alex to hide in. Cameron spun around the deserted street, looking between garages as he continued jogging.
“Alex,” he called in a whisper, “it’s me.”
She jumped out from behind a car inside a garage, pistol in hand, just as he passed. She looked to both sides and then pulled him toward her. Their bodies bumped together in the narrow pathway between the car and the wall. He felt his heart beat faster as she slipped her arm around his waist and pushed him into the car.
They lay down across the two front seats of an old Mustang. Cameron had his back toward the backrest while Alex lay with hers toward the steering wheel. The stick shift stuck up between them. She had to grab onto his arm in order to not fall off the leather seats.
A few seconds later, they heard the chirp of sirens as a police car drove through the alley. The low rumble of a car passed by, the tires crackled on the rough uneven road. All he could hear was his heart slamming against his chest as he pulled Alex closer. He felt her breath next to his. She turned her head to look up, and strands of her hair whipped against his face gently.
To be honest, after a humid day of hiding out in the alleys, she didn’t smell that great. Heck, neither did he, for that matter. Coupled with the musty old scent from the leather chairs and their sweat in such a close space, it was actually pretty rank, but to Cameron that very moment, it was the most intoxicating feeling in the world.
Good grief.
She looked back at him, and Cameron could have sworn for a brief moment, their lips brushed against each other. He inhaled again. Then she lifted her head up past the back of the seat and stared out the back.
“I think they’re gone,” she said, sitting up.
Cameron followed suit, kicking himself a little for not being brave enough to actually just stick his lips out and complete the motion. Funny how he had experienced firefights, but couldn’t work up the courage to kiss a girl.
“I’ve been working on this car,” she said, pointing at the wires sticking out from below the steering wheel. “I haven’t had a lot of practice with this.”
“Let me,” he said. “Trade me places.”
He hopped into the driver’s side as she moved across the seats. Again, their bodies brushed against each other. Her closeness distracted him as he began to work on jump starting the car.
Can I tell you that puberty is my most hated stage in humans?
“I thought dying was.”
Sometimes, it is a relief.
“Come on, what would you do without me?”
Maybe have a host who does not blow a fuse every time a female gets within his airspace?
“I don’t know, Tao. I think I’m in –”
I swear by the Eternal Sea, if you say “love,” I will sleepwalk you off a cliff. Now focus on hot-wiring that car. You are all thumbs right now.
While he worked, another squad car drove by. Cameron was already lying on his side, but Alex had to lie on top of him again to avoid being seen. Again, he felt his heart thud in his chest as her hair draped over him.
“The humans will never stop hunting us,” she said, raising her head again once the noise had passed. “Why do the Prophus still work so hard to protect them?”
“Because it’s the right thing to do. Because the Quasing are the aliens on this planet. The least we all can do is try to live together in peace. Besides, if the Genjix succeed in Quasiform, it will lead to the extinction of humanity.” Cameron talked through Tao’s words, though he found himself having trouble understanding that logic sometimes as well.
No matter what, you are a human first, a host second.
“But I will never be just human again. I will be a host until I die.”
Say that to your father.
“What if there’s a way to live as a vessel,” she said suddenly. Urgently even. “We have loyalty havens all over the world. The closest one is not too far, by Great Slave Lake. You can come with me. My father is very important. I’m sure he can arrange for all of us to survive there during the Great Quasiforming.”
“Quasiform isn’t going to happen,” Cameron said. “The Prophus won’t let it.”
Alex shook her head. “You don’t understand. It will happen no matter what the Prophus or the humans do. Once the Genjix finish all the catalyst facilities, it will happen. This is the last step. No one can stop them. The least you can do is survive. With me.”
It was tempting. Cameron could think of many worse ways to experience the end of the world than with Alex, but if they could actually survive it…
I cannot believe you are even entertaining this.
“I’m just thinking out loud, Tao!”
Thinking of turning your back on billions of people just because you are crushing on a girl.
“All right, thought police. Sheesh. Sorry for thinking.”
The car rumbled to life. Alex squealed in delight and clapped her hands. Cameron wore a wide grin as he smacked the steering wheel, as proud as if he had just slayed a dragon. He wasn’t a hundred percent sure he could hotwire the car; he had only done it twice before. He fiddled with the manual shift and put his seatbelt on. It was a good thing Roen had taught him how to drive a car in their open field when he was eight years old.
Alex threw her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his mouth. “About what we talked about. Just think it over, all right?”
Cameron froze and suppressed the urge to dance.
No. No we are not thinking it over.
He nodded. “Sure thing. Come on, buckle up. Let’s go see our parents.”
He pulled the Mustang out of the garage into the alley and headed south toward the main street.
It should be a few hours to Fort Bragg. I want you to drive slow and not attract attention.
“Come on, let’s go fast!” Alex said, putting her legs up on the dashboard of their stolen car.
Cameron punched the accelerator.