The Eye of Minds Page 22

  Up again, coughing from the dust, running.

  The hall opened into a large chamber, where a bonfire roared in the center; armor and swords and battle-axes lined the walls. Michael saw an exit on the far side of the room and went for it. Halfway across, the ground abruptly lurched beneath him, throwing him forward. The whole building seemed to blow apart at once as he slid onto his stomach, huge pieces of rock crashing to the ground all around—one burst into stony splinters right by his head. He rolled onto his back and saw another coming right at his face, spun out of the way just in time. And then the whole world was falling.

  Michael scrambled forward on his hands and knees, trying to avoid the raining stones as he did. They exploded as they hit the ground, cutting his face, filling his lungs with dust, but he kept going. He reached the exit and he was back to his feet, sprinting down another long hallway. This structure was more stable, but dust fell from above as the explosions continued. Rumbles of thunder in the distance. He met up with another group of fleeing soldiers and pressed his back against the wall, watched them pass. They eyed him but didn’t stop.

  Another fifty feet farther down he passed three VNS agents. One of them nodded as they ran by. Michael didn’t understand why no one was stopping him. It seemed like Kaine’s people would want him dead and the VNS would want to protect the kid who’d found a way in for them. But they were all ignoring him.

  He kept going, following the descending pathway. Left, right, hallway after hallway, running. Explosions and shouts. Soldiers and agents. Dust and crumbling rocks. Shots of blinding lasers and screams. The smells of ozone and burning flesh. Somehow Michael slipped past all of it, no one stopping or attacking him. One more corridor, then a grand staircase leading down toward another cavernous hall. Taking three steps at a time, he leaped toward the bottom floor, reached it, and ran for a huge arch with two great wooden doors pulled open, revealing darkness beyond.

  All around the huge chamber, soldiers fought with agents—Kaine seemed to have conjured up weapons for his minions to match those of the intruders. Wide beams and thin arrows of light shot through the air, blasting into walls and disintegrating bodies. Shrieks of pain and roars of battle. Michael ran through it all, picking his way along, ducking, rolling, jumping back to his feet, dodging.

  He reached the massive arch of the exit and sprinted into the night.

  4

  The moon shone down and reflected off the helmets of countless VNS agents. They were lined up like chess pieces, ready to join the attack on the castle walls that loomed up behind Michael. The agents parted as he neared and formed a path to let him pass. There was something strange about the whole situation, something off. All these agents on the outside while battles raged inside. Kaine and his fellow AIs, powerful entities of the Sleep—completely surprised by their arrival.

  It wasn’t right. Kaine seemed too advanced to let this happen. But Michael didn’t know what to do about it.

  He kept running, leaving them all behind, across a clearing toward a forest with tall trees that rose up to the stars. He just wanted to find a place to hide. He’d collapse at the foot of a massive oak, gather his thoughts. Rest and think, sort it all out.

  He stopped at the forest line, turned around to take a long look at the attack on the castle. Streaks of lasers pummeled the walls of the huge stone structure. Fires raged and bodies fell. Agents continued to storm inside, but there was still something wrong about it all.

  Catching his breath, Michael turned away from the mayhem and crept into the forest until he found the big tree he’d been hoping for—a thick trunk that was five or six times wider than his body. He put it between himself and the castle, sinking to the ground. He closed his eyes.

  Pure exhaustion took him, and he fell asleep.

  5

  There was no telling how much time passed. Twenty minutes, an hour, maybe two. He dreamed of things so bizarre his mind couldn’t wrap itself around them. He was in a haze of delirium from the madness he’d seen over the past few days.

  He was awakened from sleep in an instant.

  Someone grabbed him by the collar, yanked him up so powerfully that Michael’s body flew into the air. Then he was being dragged through the pine straw that lined the forest floor. Michael kicked out, trying to get his feet under him, twisting to free himself. But it was no good.

  Past countless trees they went, his captor showing no intention of slowing. Michael went limp; it was no use struggling—he simply waited for it to end.

  6

  It felt as if he’d been dragged for a mile, at least. His body ached, but he closed his eyes and hoped it would be over soon.

  Finally the person dropped him to the ground without warning. Michael curled into a ball, sucking in deep breaths and coughing them back out. There was the sound of a door creaking open, footsteps on a wooden floor, murmurs of conversation that Michael couldn’t make out. He twisted to look for the source of the voices and saw a small cottage of stone with a massively huge man standing on the porch, his back to him.

  The man turned toward Michael, his face in shadow, and stomped over to where he lay. Before he could say a word, the man yanked him to his feet and pulled him to the cottage. They reached the door, and he pushed Michael through it so that he tripped and crashed to the floor. He’d barely landed before the man grabbed him by the back of his shirt and lifted him up again, then slammed him into a chair that faced a roaring fire in a redbrick hearth.

  Michael was in a panic, unable to form any sort of rational thought. But his eyes immediately found another chair by the fire. An old man was sitting there, his legs crossed and his arms folded. A smile on his wrinkled face, a glare that didn’t match it.

  It was Kaine.

  “You made it, Michael,” the Tangent said. “I can’t believe you actually made it.”

  CHAPTER 24

  WORTHY

  1

  Michael didn’t respond. Couldn’t. His mind tried to spin all the threads of what he’d experienced along the Path into something that made sense, but it wasn’t coming together. His body hurt from being dragged through the forest, and the short nap had done nothing to relieve his exhaustion. All he could do was stare at the withered form of Kaine, wonder what he was talking about, and wait for him to explain it.

  It took every ounce of his will, but Michael’s eyes stayed glued to the Tangent.

  “You have no idea of the magnitude of what you’ve been involved in,” Kaine said. “Everything has been designed to lead those like you here. You were one of many chosen, but the first to make it. Every step of the way, you’ve been studied. Your intelligence, your cleverness, your bravery. Tested.”

  Michael finally found his voice. “For what? So you can use me to break into more programs?”

  “No.” Kaine laughed, a low chortle that seemed to loosen Michael’s spine. “I’ve tested far, far more than just your hacking skills. That will only take you so far in life. You won’t understand the magnitude of what I’ve set in motion until you experience it for yourself. It can’t possibly be explained with words alone.”

  It was weird, but Michael felt as if Kaine was almost talking to him like an equal. He’d expected a madman—and the Path only seemed to ensure it—but this man seemed perfectly sane. Even respectful. “The VNS is here. It’s over.”

  Kaine shook his head. “If only you had any idea, Michael.”

  Michael opened his mouth to speak but was stopped with a word from the older man.

  “Silence!” Kaine barked, and leaned forward in a flash. He was so close that his face seemed to fill Michael’s vision, his gaze fierce. It was a sudden reminder of what this man represented. Supposedly the most dangerous thing to ever hit the VirtNet.

  Kaine sat back in his chair, calm once more. “There are things at play here that you don’t understand. Not yet.”

  “What’s the point of all this?” Michael asked timidly. “Why were you testing me?”

  “You’re about to find
out,” Kaine said. “And then, with your … impressive bravery, intelligence, and skills at code-breaking, you’re going to help me crush the world in my fist.”

  2

  “Help you do what?” Michael asked. “You really think I’d help you?”

  Kaine nodded matter-of-factly, as if the question was nonsense. “Absolutely. You’ve already done it by making it this far. You have no choice in the matter.”

  “I came here to stop you!” Michael was shouting now. “Lead the VNS to you!”

  Kaine looked amused, if anything, but didn’t respond. His silence was maddening—all Michael could hear was the crackle of the fire, and it made him even angrier.

  “What is it?” Michael yelled, standing up. “Tell me what’s going on!”

  The Tangent’s smile seemed carved into his face. “I told you—there’s no way you’ll understand until you experience it for yourself. Which is about to happen, very soon. There’s nothing you can do to stop it, Michael.”

  “I should hack into your coding,” Michael answered. “I could do it. I could shut you down. Stop you forever.”

  “You just continue to prove why I’ve deemed you worthy, boy. You are a perfect candidate indeed. Would you like to know something else?”

  Michael was seething—he refused to answer.

  Kaine shrugged his frail shoulders, then kept talking. “Your parents, Michael. They’re … gone. I’ve wiped them from existence. You’ll never see them again. I’ve done the same with your poor, poor Helga. Gone, Michael.”

  Michael’s hands were shaking, his blood boiling, a rushing sound in his ears.

  Kaine grinned so widely his teeth showed. “They’re all dead.”

  3

  Michael’s insides had felt as if they’d been strung with tight wire, cinched to the breaking point. At Kaine’s last words, they all snapped.

  He ran forward and grabbed the Tangent’s shirt, jerked him out of his chair, and threw him to the floor. The chair flew back, hit the stone hearth, and tipped into the fire, sending sparks and ash everywhere. Kaine was on his back, staring at Michael, a huge smile still plastered on his face. Then Michael noticed the Tangent shaking. Kaine was laughing at him.

  Michael’s hatred erupted.

  He jumped onto Kaine’s chest and pinned the old man to the ground. But the Tangent wouldn’t stop laughing. Michael pulled back a fist, but it hung there—he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t punch someone who looked so old and frail, simulated or not.

  Kaine stared back at him, smiling, revealing those ancient teeth. “I like your spirit,” he said. “I love how you keep proving me right.”

  Whatever spirit he was talking about drained right out of Michael. He pushed himself off of the Tangent’s body and stood up, breathing heavily as he glared down at him. Kaine put his hands behind his head and crossed one ankle over the other, as if he was just lying on the ground, taking in the stars.

  “This is pointless,” Michael said. “I’ll let the VNS take care of you. And if they don’t, I’ll figure out something else. I’m done.”

  Michael turned and headed for the door.

  “Just proving my point over and over,” the Tangent called from behind him. “Too smart, too grounded, to let your rage control you for longer than a moment. Go on, Michael. Go out there and fulfill your new role in the world. You’ll understand soon.”

  Michael refused to look back. He walked through the door and slammed it behind him.

  4

  Michael’s first thought was that he needed to find a VNS agent, ask for help getting back to the Wake. Roaming the forest to look for a Portal—risking who knew what—sounded like a very bad idea. He needed to head for the castle and hope that the good guys had won.

  The path away from the cottage was easy to follow even in the darkness. He could feel his way along it if nothing else. He headed down the trail, wondering if Kaine was going to follow him—try to hurt him somehow.

  The VNS. They were Michael’s only choice.

  He broke into a jog.

  5

  As Michael approached the edge of the forest, he started to hear the sounds of battle, and light from the fires ahead began to illuminate his path, but the closer he got, the darker his thoughts became. He’d hoped that the VNS would win swiftly—it had seemed to be going that way when he left. But the tide must have turned if things weren’t over by now.

  Finally he could see where the trees ended, and he ducked behind an enormous oak to get a better look at the situation.

  It was chaos. Pure, disastrous chaos.

  The castle itself was almost in ruins. Entire sections had crumbled into piles of rubble. Fires burned everywhere—flames blazed and sent sparks dancing into the sky. Bodies littered the ground, along with broken stone—and there were just as many VNS agents as Tangents. Michael gaped as the bodies disappeared before his eyes.

  Michael didn’t know what to do. How could he possibly expect to survive in such a mess?

  Despite wanting to return to the woods, he ran forward, heading for the closest VNS agent, about twenty feet away. A woman, who seemed to have just finished off one of Kaine’s soldiers.

  “Hey!” Michael shouted. “Hey! I need to talk to you!”

  She spun to face him, raising her weapon. Michael immediately dropped to his knees and held up his hands.

  “I work for you! My name is Michael, I’m the one you sent in here!”

  The woman didn’t lower her laser gun, but she didn’t fire it, either. She walked over to him, everything about her stance defensive.

  “What kind of trick is this?” she asked when she reached the spot in front of him. The sounds of battle still thumped the air all around them, screams and explosions.

  “Trick? No trick.” Michael had to keep shouting, still didn’t know if she could hear him. His heart banged in his chest. “Agent Weber … sent me here. To break into the Hallowed Ravine. To stop the Mortality Doctrine program!”

  The agent stared at him through her shield of protective glass. Michael hated not being able to see her eyes.

  “You really don’t understand, do you?” she finally said. “Amazing.”

  He couldn’t answer. She was right—he didn’t understand. But he had no idea what it was that he didn’t know.

  A commotion pulled away his attention. Beyond the VNS agent in front of him, across the field of battle, Michael saw people running from the entrance of the castle, frantically trying to escape … something.

  Then he saw what it was. They’d been hard to make out in the darkness.

  KillSims. Dozens of them. Bounding out of the broken stone fortress and attacking anything that moved.

  6

  Michael jumped to his feet just as the agent turned around and realized what was happening. She dropped her weapon, then sprinted toward the forest.

  A million thoughts flew through Michael’s mind, the biggest one being that there’d be no outrunning these creatures. Black and enormous, they pounced forward in impossible bursts of speed, covering the field and heading straight for him. So he stood there, waiting, wondering if there was some way out of this. He closed his eyes and scanned the code, but there was nothing.

  Surely, if Michael was so special, Kaine wouldn’t sit and allow him to die now. His Core had been removed. This was it. But why? What was he supposed to do?

  He opened his eyes. One of the creatures loped across the ground, then jumped a pile of debris and came directly at him, black jaws gaping to reveal that dark abyss that had almost sucked Michael’s mind out at the dance club. For a half second he remained still, wondering for that briefest of moments what might happen if he didn’t move, if he let fate take him. Could it be so bad? But the sight of that thing rushing in snapped him out of it. He bent down, grabbed the weapon the VNS agent had dropped, and saw the first KillSim just a few feet away out of the corner of his eye.

  He felt for the trigger, pointed its muzzle at the creature. It leaped into the air, that familia
r earth-shattering scream erupting from its throat. Michael fired the weapon, stumbling as a beam of pure energy shot out and slammed into the KillSim’s body, igniting the creature into heat and light before it completely disintegrated, nothing left but the glow of its afterimage.

  Several others were right behind it. Dozens behind that. Michael planted his feet more firmly and fired, shooting the laser in one long burst as he swept the gun back and forth, obliterating any KillSim that crossed the beam’s path. Each one exploded in blinding light, then vanished, but more kept coming. An army of creatures, most of them screaming, converged on him, black shadows of movement that blurred into one mass of darkness. Sweat broke out on Michael’s forehead as he squeezed the trigger and tried to cut down the monsters one by one. But with every death, more came, and they were only getting closer.

  He aimed his weapon and fired again, the beam cutting down the approaching monsters.

  Then the weapon died.

  An instant later three KillSims were on Michael, tackling him to the ground.

  7

  They knocked the breath from Michael’s lungs—he struggled to keep the snapping jaws of the creatures away from his face. Their huge paws pinned his arms and legs to the ground, and the weight of two of them pressed into his chest. They continued to scream their banshee wail, piercing his ears. He knew any effort to fight them off was pointless now. He stopped, stared up in horror as the closest KillSim opened its mouth wide—Michael could hear the creaking of its jaws, like a rusty door hinge. It slowly moved toward his face as countless of its brothers and sisters gathered around them, forming a circle of black shapes. They all melded into one, cutting off the light from the burning castle’s flames.