Cut

Epilogue

My tongue is still a little swollen. Gingerly, I push it around in my mouth and let the bead click against my teeth. I like it, this oyster pearl on a steel stud impaling my tongue. When I bite down hard on it, a liquified gas will be released from the hollow pearl. I can choose to either die alone, or take someone with me. The toxic kiss. There's something magic and sexy about it.

The intrauterine implant sits silently in my teenaged womb, ready to poison whatever might lodge in there. I told them I don't plan to get pregnant anyway. All male Sequencers have an implant, so there seemed to be no need for me to get one, too. They said it didn't matter. They said that sometimes, it's not the woman's choice with whom she has sex. I told them my toxic oyster pearl will take care of rapists. The white-coats shook their heads no. 'If all raped women killed themselves, there wouldn't be any women left,' they said. 'You keep the pearl intact until you are captured by the BSA. Then you take down as many of them as you can.'

With that, the topic was closed.

I press my forehead against the window while watching the Tibetan Plateau slip past. It's so near, I feel as if we could touch down softly any moment now. The rising sun paints the snow orange. I wish I could walk there forever, eating snow and sunshine.

Runner believes that whatever awaits us in Taiwan will decide our species' survival. If the Taiwanese were able to kill the BSA's troops in such a short time, we could learn from them. But he's not sure why they would be hiding now. They might still be fighting, concealed by the dense jungle. Ever since he spoke about the prospect of a good fight, his eyes shine clearer and his body stands taller. Runner is itching for battle.

But chances are that it was disease killing everyone in only a few days. Soon, birds will transmit the pathogens to the continent and an epidemic will spread like fire through the whole of Asia. He's told me of the Black Death, and how it travelled along trading routes from Asia into Europe. It happened in the fourteenth century, killing one-third of the European population. But the remaining two-thirds did not murder each other. 'Our ancestors must have been nicer people,' I said.

'Unlikely,' he'd answered. 'They had primitive weapons, and killed each other in hand-to-hand combat mostly. Their witch-hunts were disorganised. We, on the other hand, are extraordinarily effective killers. Push a button and end millions of lives.' Then he gave me a single nod and stuck a pin the size of a fruit fly to the cockpit door while I walked to the back of the aircraft.

With my left fist tucked under the stock of his unloaded .50 calibre highly accurised rifle, I gazed through the scope, taking aim at the tiny target only thirty metres away from me. I exhaled, emptying my lungs of air, and curled my right pinky, the next finger and the next, and — in one smooth move — the index finger, too. The trigger produced a click. The green laser dot didn't stray from the pin.

'Good. But this rifle is made for long-range shooting. Once we arrive, you'll need to learn triangulation and the effects of gravity, spin drift, and wind force on the bullet's path. I'll teach you how to hit a target from a great distance. And we'll not be using the laser pointer.'

'Okay,' I said.

My indifferent answer gave him a pause. He took the pin from the door and stood. 'The muzzle velocity is one thousand metres per second. This rifle doesn't punch holes into people; it rips them apart. Whoever shows up in your finder, Micka, you own them. You own their lives.'

I remember how cold my face felt when Runner finished speaking.

It was as cold as it is now. With my cheek pressed against the icy plastic window, I try to catch a last glimpse of the Tibetan Plateau. After a short moment, it's gone.

Is this how it ends? I wanted to take my own life and now I'll take the lives of others.

The complete series is available at all major retailers. Find them through my website: anneliewendeberg.com