Victernus - Chapter 23
It wasn't until a few hours after
Mahalia had come home from the School with Athius that she realized that Namara
still hadn't made it back yet. She switched on the small computer in her room
upstairs and sat on her bland, grey bed. As she waited for it to load, the bed
reminded her of why she never really personalized her belongings. She sighed.
The screen lit up, and she quickly
launched the tracking program. It had a green, three-dimensional wireframe map
of the city and a small blue dot for the signal that was being generated by
Namara's implants. It took a moment to find him, but when it did, she narrowed
her eyes and zoomed in on him, turning the map around to get a better look.
Darn
it, he's in the palace... Something must have gone wrong.
She shook her head and closed the
computer. I guess it's finally time to
leave... Setting her computer aside, she let her hands touch the bed one last
time. The thought of how long she waited nearly overwhelmed her, and she
realized that she never actually tried living her own life. Her room was a
testament to that. She simply waited, hoping that her friend would return, and
took on a nomadic lifestyle.
Mahalia got to her feet and decided
against these thoughts. I can't think
this way anymore... Namara is here. He's in trouble, but he's here. I will let
the past be the past, and now I will live. She left the room and ran
downstairs, grabbing her shoes from beside the door. She sat down on the floor to
put them on.
Theo, who was at his computer
working on the weapons for Namara, smiled and asked, "Gotta go fast?"
She smacked her palm on her forehead
and slipped her feet into her sneakers. "Theo!"
Athius, who was sitting at the table reading an old
book, was clueless. He asked, "What?
Ignoring Theo's previous comment, she began to issue
orders. "Never mind. Namara's in the palace and we need to go get him. Athius -
you're coming with me. Theo - get Kyon and head to the tunnels. Wait just
outside of the forest. I'll take what you have for the weapon system now and
give it to Namara. He can use it if he feels it is necessary when he finds what's
generating the power here."
Theo scratched his head, "It might be a little bit
unstable... he might not be able to use his implants after he uses it."
She nodded and then beckoned Athius to come
upstairs. "That is why you are going to find a way to get him his hand and foot
back after we leave here. Athius - come. We're going to need a little bit of
firepower ourselves."
Athius put his book down and then followed her
upstairs. He raised an eyebrow as he asked, "Firepower?"
Mahalia sighed and said, "Guns and stuff," and then reached
the top of the stairs. To the left was a metal door that was locked tight, and
it had a hand scanner attached to it. She placed her hand there and watched as
it shined a dark blue. When it faded, the door unlocked and cracked open. She
pushed it open and set her eyes upon the stash of weapons that they had
salvaged from the Collapse. They were organized on three tables that were
spread evenly about the room.
Athius stood behind her and asked, "Where did you
get those?!"
She shrugged and picked up a shiny grey laser rifle.
"It's not important now. Just grab something and go - we're not really going to
need much, honestly. Nobody in your city really has weapons."
He nodded and picked up a rifle similar to Mahalia's.
He looked down its sights and started, "So how do I use-" and then accidentally
pulled the trigger. A pulse of light shot across the room and burnt the wall.
Both he and Mahalia jumped, startled by the sudden
blast. Mahalia rolled her eyes and scolded, "Not in here! You'll burn a hole into
the next house and expose us!"
"Sorry about that." He blushed and attached a strap
to the gun, letting it hang across his back.
Mahalia did likewise and then picked up a thick
wristband. "Hold out your arm, Athius."
He held his arm out and asked, "What's that?"
She strapped it onto his wrist and said, "It's a shield,"
before aiming her rifle at his chest and firing.
Athius jumped when the blast reflected
off of the shield and hit the floor. He scowled, "You could have warned me
before doing that!"
Mahalia chuckled, "Sorry. The main thing
to know is that any force as powerful as someone throwing a punch at you or
greater will be deflected. Just don't fall too far - I've heard stories..."
He looked down at it and asked, "What
happens if I punch someone else?"
She smiled and took two more of the
bands, putting one on herself. "They'll feel it pretty hard, and they'll
probably get burned too."
He grinned. "That's awesome!"
Mahalia rested the rifle on her back
again and then directed Athius downstairs, "Let's go now - I don't want to
waste time here."
Athius turned back out of the room, but he stopped at
the stairs. He asked, "Wait, what about Gala? If we're leaving today..."
She thought for a moment before answering, "Oh right...
Don't worry about it. Once we get Namara, we'll gather the people in the city and
tell them of what's going to happen. I know you told your friend to meet you
tomorrow night, but we might not have that much time. She will hear us though.
Everyone will have a chance to leave."
He nodded, "Oh, alright. That'll be
fine, I guess."
Mahalia prodded him to move down the
stairs and then followed when he went. When she reached the bottom, she asked
Theo, "Hey, is it ready?"
Theo squirmed in his chair briefly
as if he was uncomfortable with her rushing. But, before he could say anything,
he unplugged a tablet from the computer and nodded, "Yes, I just finished
compiling it. Just give it to Namara, and he can upload it wirelessly onto his
implants straight from there."
She held out her hand, "Great!
Athius and I are going to head out now, so why don't you go get Kyon and leave
too?"
He nodded and handed the tablet to
her. "Okay. I'll meet you near the forest. Just don't get yourself into too
much trouble."
Mahalia laughed, "Theo, this is New
Selania. A bunch of scientists who've never seen a gun in their entire lives
aren't going to mount much of a resistance."
Theo shrugged, "You never know."