Kharon Chapter 41
Emma and Jacob are sneaking past drones flying through the air as they make their way in-between the gigantic stark buildings on the island. “So what’s our plan?”, asks Emma.
“Why you asking me? I thought this was your idea?”
“I know nothing about this island.”
“Great! We’re screwed.”
“Tell me what we’re up against and maybe I can think of something. I am handy with yard implements.”
Jacob rolls his eyes. “Their security here is actually pretty low. That’s because no one bothers with them so maybe that can work in our favor.”
“Why does no one bother with them?”
“Everyone on this island is networked into a vast virtual interconnected world. The inhabitants just lay in pods on life support. Everything is virtual here.”
“Then let’s just find her pod and get her out of here.”
“That’s not easy. There are thousands of pods and no real way to find her’s. However, and I’m probably going to regret saying this, I may be able to hack into their network and track her down that way.”
“I didn’t know you knew computers.”
“How do you think I knew about the Kharon? I did hacks into the Metron databanks for this guy back home. But even if I locate her and we get her out of her pod she's still tagged. The robots will just hone in on her and bring her back before we can get out of range.”
“Hmmm….so what we need is a diversion. Does this place burn?”
“Really? We’re going to set fire to another island.”
“What can I say? I’m a bit of a pyro. Maybe that’s why I never fit in on this ball of water.”
“You sound like Luke when he was a kid.”
“That’s why we hooked up originally but now he….he’s just mean.”
“He was always like that when he wanted something.”
“So you two grew up together?”
Jacob turns away without answering Emma and points to a large tower in the middle of the island. “My guess is that the servers are in that tower so let’s move before Kiarah leaves our asses on this hunk of land.”
Kharon Chapter 42
Kiarah sits on the rails of the top deck of the Kharon looking up at the hazy dark sky. Luke walks up to her carrying a bag. “I grabbed some weapons for my trouble.” Kiarah does not stir but continues to stare out at the blackness of the night. Luke sits down next to her. “Are you really going to leave if they don’t return in time.”
Kiarah does not turn away from the darkness. “I told you. I always keep my word.”
“They’ll never make it. Me I got my map and I’ll find The Gardens one day. How about you? What are your plans?”
“Sail until I find the edge of the world then jump off it.”
“Because of your tribe? Because of your Fronzo?” Kiarah responds with silence. “At least you had something to lose. I never had anybody but Jacob till he got a big head and betrayed me.”
“You don’t want this kind of pain.”
“Lady I’d give anything to trade the sharp pain of losing where I belong with the dull pain of never having found it. But you never understood that did you? You never understood my quest for The Gardens. I thought for a while Emma understood but she got distracted.”
“Maybe she knows it’s not a place where you belong but instead in the hearts of others who understand you.”
Luke pauses for a moment and then says, “Then why are you letting them go?”
“They are not my tribe.”
“Exactly. Why would I risk my ass for a conniving thief, a backstabbing asshole, and a manipulative bitch.”
“Maybe because you’re an irritable bastard which makes them your tribe.”
“Fuck you.” Luke and Kiarah both stare in silence at the black sea in front of them for a few moments. “Even if they are my tribe that’s all the more reason I’m better off alone.”
Kiarah turns towards Luke for the first time to look him in the eyes. Luke notices that Kiarah’s eyes are wet and glassy as she speaks to him. “It is hard to find your place in life without others to light the way. You should always try and find your tribe.”
Luke gets up off the rail and goes to walk away with his duffel bag. He stops after a few steps and says, “That would be a lot more convincing if you weren’t always sitting alone sulking.” Luke then walks away leaving Kiarah alone on the rail.
Kharon Chapter 43
Emma and Jacob are sneaking past drones and robots as they make their way through a huge warehouse filled with computer servers. They eventually stop a few feet from a robot standing at a computer terminal. “Damn I need to get to a terminal but they all have bots at them”, says Jacob.
Emma unslings her crossbow and fires it at the robot destroying it. “Why didn’t you say so.”
Jacob runs over to the terminal and starts using its holographic interface. “Don’t blow shit up like that! Now I gotta turn off the alert that just got sent out on the network.”
Emma shrugs. “When something’s in my way I just get rid of it.”
“I’ve noticed. That’s what I like about you.”
“Awww….I didn’t know you cared.”
“Calm down. I’m just observant. That’s how I stay alive.” Jacob's hands fly through the holographic interface as he says, “I think I deactivated the alarm and accessed the personal records so it should just be a matter of running a search on Simone if I can remember her full name.” Jacob concentrates on the interface for a few moments. “Bingo! I know where she is.”
“Can you deactivate her pod?”
“That’s a negative. The only way to do it is by physically cutting the power source”. Suddenly they hear a whirring sound that is quickly growing louder. “Look out!” Jacob grabs Emma and pulls her into a gap in the server shelves. The drones fly by them without taking notice. Jacob and Emma stare at each other as they are smushed in-between the servers with their faces inches apart.
“We should probably….”
“Right let’s hurry.”
Kharon Chapter 44
Emma and Jacob run through the aisles of people in pods until they get to Simone’s. Jacob points at two large fortified boxes. One on top of the pod and one to the side of it. “Ok these boxes contain the power source and back up generator. You’re going to need to hit them both in quick succession and multiple times each because they are protected by a thick alloy.”
Emma takes aim with her cross bow. “Here goes nothing.” She starts firing her arrows rapidly. She has only been blasting for a few moments when robots and drones begin descending on them.
“Fuck! Keep going!”, says Jacob as he tries using his wind gun to fight them off. It keeps them at bay for a small time frame but more and more keep pouring in.
“Almost got it!” A robot takes aim at Emma from a distance as she is concentrating on destroying the power boxes. Jacob sees this and dives to push her out of the way in the nick of time just as a laser hits where she once stood.
“Thanks! Did I do it?”
“You only knocked out the primary not the back-up”, says Jacob as he and Emma try to fight off all the robots and drones. It does not take long for the two to be overwhelmed and captured. Several of the robots drag Emma and Jacob down the rows of pods immune to their struggling while the remainder stay behind to repair the damage done to Simone's pod.
“Where are they taking us?”
“To pods.”
“They’re putting us in The Colony?”
“The robots are just running response programs. Our fates will be decided in the VR world.”
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