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  I sprung to my feet and took off to Command. Chaos ensued as I walked in. Voices talked over each other, and nobody was making any sense.

  “Quiet!” Smith yelled, and the room fell silent. “Kane has been caught. We’re unsure how, but our cameras picked up two Carbons carrying him back toward Sub 9. It seems he was unable to execute Plan B.” Smith glanced at the ground; we all knew what that meant.

  “Who is nearby?” someone asked.

  “Ethan and Tenason are closest, but they are still eight miles out. They may not make it in time,” Sam explained.

  “I can make it from here; it’s only five miles,” I said.

  Smith glared at me. “You’re off-duty. I’ll send someone else.”

  “There is no one else! I’m the fastest you’ve got, and you know it!” I argued. “Please, you can continue to punish me once Kane is back.”

  Smith sighed. I knew he agreed, but he hated to admit it. “Fine,” he said. “But if you cannot rescue him in time, you are Plan B.”

  I understood. I ran down the hallway to my quarters and gathered my things as fast as I could. We were five miles from Sub 9. Where Kane was stationed was about seven miles from Sub 9, but they had a head start. I however had speed on my side though.

  Without a glance back at the guards, I raced out the doors. Once I was at street level, I slowed my pace. I squeezed through the small crack in the wall and then stepped out into the open street. No one.

  Sprinting down the streets, I was much more exposed than I'd prefer, but I had no time to be subtle so I stayed in the shadows as best I could.

  My lungs burned, but I didn’t slow down. I pushed harder. This wasn’t about Kane or me. It was about the survival of the base.

  As soon as I rounded the last corner, I spotted them. The two Carbons were carrying Kane with four Bots surrounding them for protection. I slowed my pace and crept through the rubble. Kane’s scent would mask mine but only for a little while. Soon I’d be discovered. I quickly took out a guard with a bullet to the chest but couldn’t get a clear shot as the others fired back. I was forced to retreat behind the rubble as sprays of concrete scattered into my hair.

  They were close to the entrance of Sub 9. If they brought Kane inside, we were all lost. I waited for the pause of a reload and fired. One more Bot was down. I sprinted across the street, diving out of the way just in time. I couldn’t get close enough, and they were almost at the entrance. I moved to peer around the corner, and a chunk of concrete blasted away inches from my head as a bullet narrowly missed me.

  My back rested against the wall, and I took a deep breath, blowing bits of dust off my face. There had to be a way. I had to get to him.

  Desperately I aimed a few shots and sprinted to the other side, a closer location and hopefully an easier shot. If I could just take down one of those Carbons, I could stop them long enough to get the other before they enter Sub 9.

  I was so close.

  The Bots took up the front position, shielding the Carbons.

  I took out my second gun strapped across my back and fired both in a blaze of fury. All except one Bot was out of the way, but more were coming to help.

  There was only one choice. It’s the choice I had hoped not to have to make. I dove to the right and fired, hitting the last Bot in the leg so it fell. Racing after them, I dodged bullets as I ran. So close now.

  I could make it.

  I won’t make it.

  I can’t.

  They were nearly at the door, and I knew it must be done. I hid behind a pillar as more Bots came out to help. I took a deep breath in, closed my eyes, breathed out, opened, and fired. The metal reverberated in my hands, and my heart stopped beating for a second.

  The sound of metal hitting skin, sickening and familiar.

  It was done. The base was safe.

  Kane was dead.

  Chapter 6

  Kenzie

  Kenzie watched from the safety of the window high above the city as a young girl killed her own comrade. His body flinched as if the bullet had hit him, feeling the scar that bullet would leave.

  She couldn’t see him from above as she lowered her gun and shook her head. The wind blew a few stray strands of hair from her braid. She whispered the words “I’m sorry” as she turned her back to the dead body that lay on the pavement outside Sub 9. The Carbons had retreated to the safety of the entrance and waited for orders to attack. Kenzie leaned against the window. He had the weird feeling that he’d seen her before. She looked familiar, but couldn’t place where he would’ve met her. Her long black hair and those brown eyes; even from high above the city he saw they were full of warmth despite the hard expression she wore. Her friends arrived, and as she dove into the alley away from Sub 9, he watched her for one last moment before she sprinted out of view. Her long lean legs pumped hard as she moved with such grace and ease it was a wonder if her feet even touched the ground. And then she was gone.

  “You see what they do to themselves?” a voice spoke softly from behind Kenzie. He nodded. “They’re willing to kill their own kind instead of seeing what is right, what is necessary. We can’t let them continue to destroy themselves like this. That is why we need you.”

  Kenzie knew what was right. He knew what he must do to save them, to protect them all from themselves. “I will do what I am called upon to do,” he responded as he turned away from the window.

  Chapter 7

  Ethan and Tenason arrived moments later. With their covering fire, I retreated. We ran back to base together, but nobody spoke. I liked it that way.

  Once we reached Command, the room fell quiet. Everyone filtered out, clasping my shoulder as they passed, saying, “Thank you.” They all recognized the sacrifice I made for them and were likely glad they weren’t the ones who had to pull the trigger.

  Then it was just Smith, Ethan, Tenason, and I alone in the room with Sam, who sat at his computer station.

  “We all thank you for your sacrifice, Sawyer,” Smith lamented.

  “I know,” I replied quickly, fidgeting with my pant leg and desperately wanting to change the topic. “Do we know how he was caught?”

  “The Eye won’t sync for another twelve hours at least,” Sam explained.

  Each Watcher’s eyepiece had a recording mechanism in it that synced to the main server daily at midnight. We had to wait.

  My body slumped into the uncomfortable metal chair as the weight of everything hit me, and I was suddenly exhausted. My gut churned with guilt and acceptance for what I had just done. By taking one life, I had saved hundreds more, yet I longed to save them all.

  There wasn’t much any of us could do, so we sat and waited in silence.

  Theresa arrived a few hours later with food and coffee. She always seemed aware of what was happening on this base, even if she wasn’t authorized to know. We all appreciated it when she knew what we needed even when we didn’t know ourselves.

  “This doesn’t make sense,” Ethan said, breaking the silence. “I mean, Kane was one of our sharpest Watchers. They should’ve never gotten that close to him without him knowing.” Tenason was nodding beside him, his white hair bobbing up and down.

  The rest of the Watchers filtered in as the night watch headed out. Nobody said a word, but they all clasped my shoulder as they passed.

  Midnight arrived, and the server kicked to life. Codes streamed across the main screen as Sam pulled up Kane’s information. The video popped up.

  It played like a video game in first person. We saw what Kane had seen from his own point of view.

  We saw him running out to his post and then perched atop the Metro Hotel, scanning the area. Sam forwarded through the video until we were at the point where four Bots lit up on Kane’s screen. He climbed down unnoticed by the Bots and moved behind them. They didn’t sense or see him at all. Kane was always a picture of stealth with his small, lean frame and careful movements.

  That was when it happened. We all heard the thud to the back of his he
ad and saw him fall face first onto the pavement, knocked out cold. For a moment, all we saw was the ground, and then Kane was turned around onto his back. Two Carbons stared back before they quickly removed his eyepiece and left it on the concrete as they walked away. The video went blank.

  “Wait—” I mumbled.

  “How did they sneak up on him like that?” Kyle asked.

  “Wait, no!” I said again, standing. “He didn’t see them!” I looked around at everyone, expecting someone to understand.

  “Yeah, we noticed.” Ethan rolled his eyes.

  “No! They didn’t light up! He didn’t see them light up!” I exclaimed. There was silence as the news sunk in.

  ~

  Adam was standing before us. We watched and rewatched the video, and every time we saw the same thing—the Carbons didn’t light up. And every time Adam was baffled.

  “But that shouldn’t have happened,” Adam mumbled.

  “Could there be something wrong with the eyepiece?” Smith asked.

  “No, I mean—I don’t know for sure, but,” Adam rambled, “when I checked Sawyer’s, there was nothing wrong with it. I will check and recheck everyone’s, but this doesn’t make sense. Unless—”

  “Unless what?” Smith demanded.

  “Well, we haven’t seen many Carbons in over a month, right?” Adam paced the small room. “What if, during that time, they made some modifications to the Carbons? What if they found out how we were identifying them, and they fixed the problem?”

  “Then we’re sitting ducks now, that’s what we are,” Ethan sneered, voicing what we were all thinking. “We’re out there blind.”

  “You can fix this, right, Adam?” I moved closer to him, pleading almost.

  “Yes. Maybe. I don’t know.” He shook his head. “I’d need one of them to study, to see what they did exactly in order to fix it.”

  “Let’s go get one then,” Kyle stood eagerly.

  “No.” Smith pushed Kyle back into his seat. “We don’t actively search for them. That’s exactly what they want. We stay on post, and we double up at each location so we have two sets of eyes.”

  “That still won’t solve the problem,” Kyle argued as he pushed his way back up. “The only way for Adam to fix this is for us to get him a Carbon. You heard him.”

  “I will not risk any more lives!” Smith yelled, nose to nose with Kyle. Neither man was willing to back down. “You will double up. Only engage from long range, and you will not under any circumstances search out any Carbons. Is that clear?”

  “Yes, sir!” Kyle spit through clenched teeth and turned on his heels before Smith dismissed him.

  Smith turned to the rest of us, still sitting around waiting for an answer we wouldn’t get. “You are all dismissed. I will update the board on your new postings.”

  We all jumped up slowly. We were tired. I found my way back to my quarters, wanting to sleep, but my mind wouldn’t let me. They were changing and adapting so they couldn’t be detected. And now they were quicker than us. We couldn’t keep up with something that wasn’t even human.

  Closing my eyes, all I saw was Kane’s cold, dead body on the ground. I didn’t make that sacrifice just to sit around and wait to be slaughtered one by one. Kane didn’t die to see the rest of us join him.

  We had to do something.

  We had to do more.

  Chapter 8

  My legs moved, but I wasn’t getting anywhere. The Carbons were right behind me. Their breath tickled my neck, but I couldn’t turn around; I wouldn’t turn around. They were going to get me. There was no way out. I turned a corner and saw a wall. “No!” I tried to scream, but nothing came out. My hands scanned the walls for a door or a way out, but there was none so I dropped to my knees and closed my eyes. When I opened them again, I was in a field of green. Kane was walking toward me, but he looked different. I couldn’t put my finger on it until he was closer, and I noticed the bullet hole in his forehead.

  “Why didn’t you save me?” he asked.

  “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, Kane! I tried. I couldn’t; you know I had no choice! I’m so sorry.” My hand reached for him, but his face shifted so I was staring at my mother’s face.

  “You could’ve saved me,” she said.

  My mouth opened to respond, but nothing came out. I tried to reach for her, but she was so far away. I tried to stand, but my legs wouldn’t move. Her body turned to flames, and I screamed out for her, but it was too late.

  Bolting upright, I woke covered in my sweat. My heart was racing, and it took me a few minutes to realize that it was all just a dream.

  An extra ten minutes in the shower was needed to compose myself before I headed out.

  Byron and I were matched for the day. We sat on top of Aon Center in silence, and I was thankful for the quiet on a day like this. Byron methodically kicked his feet like a child sitting over the edge of the tall building, adjusting his glasses every time they slid down his nose as he looked over the city.

  Each group was paired up and given a five mile radius to make up for our missing posts. We’d seen two Bots so far but hadn’t engaged. We’d been instructed to wait and see if they came to us, and then we could pick them off from above.

  We were safe up high. The security system at each location would sound if anybody unauthorized stepped through the front door. And with only one door to the roof, we’d merely have to sit and wait for them to come to us.

  When the war began, the SPAC—Single Person Aircrafts—systems were destroyed., They ran off the magnetic roadways, but they were useless which was why we all traveled by foot and felt safe perched on the rooftops. We weren’t sure why the enemy hadn’t reactivated the system since we knew they had the technology to do so. We figured that by turning the system back on they’d be aiding the remaining humans, and they didn’t want to help us in any way. Adam said the same thing when we suggested he turn it on, he was against the idea. Plus with Cytos being the last remaining city on the west coast still standing after WWIII, we had nowhere else to go. There was only one spaceship we had ever seen leaving the city, and that was stationed on top of Sub 9 and guarded heavily. It came and went every few months, but we couldn’t ever see who piloted it, nor get near enough to shoot it down.

  The nuclear war had blown the entire continent apart, leaving us with two cities—Cytos and Kuros. In between the two was what we call the Wastelands. A barren desert still filled with nuclear fumes, rendering it uninhabitable. We were forbidden to enter the Wastelands. Kuros was only accessible by spaceships, and we had no way of communicating with them. We were alone. The remainder of the world had gone black. Almost everything was destroyed in World War Three. Many of the people who survived died soon after from disease or at the hands of their fellow survivors. We were all that was left of Earth.

  We sat for hours in silence, picking off a Bot as it moved closer, but the second Bot backed out of range. We were about to call it a day when we heard it. A loud blast echoed off in the distance. We could tell something wasn’t right. That wasn’t a normal sound around here.

  Byron and I jumped to our feet. The sound came from the west. We both knew we were supposed to stay put until instructed to help, but neither of us planned to do that. Byron took out his bow and strung a cable to the end. He shot it down to a lower building to the west of us. From there, we could stay high, moving across the building tops. I gripped the cable loosely with my gloved hands and wrapped my legs around the other end. I glided down swiftly to the attached building, letting go at the right moment to tumble gracefully onto the roof.

  Byron was right behind me, and we took off, leaping from rooftop to rooftop with ease, and climbing down the side when we could go up no further. We sprinted the whole way, not stopping to let our bodies feel tired.

  Once we were near, we scaled a neighboring building to get a better view of what was going on. Ethan and Tenason were supposed to be at Figueroa Tower. We were directly across from the tower, and Bots gathered at t
he bottom. There was no sign of Ethan and Tenason.

  And then I saw it, and so did Byron. I took a sharp breath in and had to cover my mouth to stifle a scream. The Bots shifted to one side barely, and I saw Ethan’s body sprawled across the pavement. He had either jumped or fallen.

  Tenason was nowhere to be found, and I prayed he hadn’t been captured like Kane. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Ethan’s body, only recognizable by his clothing and white hair soaked in his own blood.

  “There!” Byron whispered, pointing to the top of an adjacent skyscraper next to the Figueroa Tower. Tenason was there, peering over the edge at his brother’s broken body.

  We wasted no time, knowing Tenason could not, would not, move without our help. We moved around the back of his tower and began to climb. It was only then that I noticed them. The same two Carbons who apprehended Kane were walking out the front door of Figueroa.

  I started to climb down, but Byron grabbed my wrist. “Tenason first!” he said.

  Reluctantly I continued back up. We were outnumbered and emotional—a bad combination.

  We reached the top and found Tenason squatted down with his back to the wall, his horror-stricken face staring blankly at his feet. We stooped down beside him. “Tenason, what happened?” I asked.

  He stared back at me; no words came out. He rarely spoke at the best of times so I wasn’t expecting much. The remnants of the kid I knew back in First Year were staring back at me, only his brother wasn’t here to protect him, and the fear was ready to take over him. “We have to get out of here now,” I ordered, but he didn’t move. “Please, don’t let Ethan’s sacrifice be in vain.”

  His eyes moved to my face and tears threatened to spill over. “It was no sacrifice—they did this.” His voice was barely audible.