Cloaked Heart (Silent Moments Series: Book 3)

Chapter 25

Raven, with a mix of awe and gravitas, recounted her findings from Becca's journal. "Becca's journal is amazing. At 26, she found a pathway to access the human mind. That same year, she had to lock up ALIE because her answer to what was wrong with the world was too many people. She was 27 when it launched the bombs," she marveled, her words painting the picture of a genius grappling with the consequences of her creation.

Intrigued, I leaned in closer. "What did she write about the flame?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.

"ALIE 2.0. She saw it as a way to atone for her sins. It was designed to not just access the human mind but to merge with one. It could never wipe us out because it would be one of us. She first implanted it in herself, altering her genes so her body wouldn't reject the implant," Raven explained, her tone a blend of admiration and concern.

"Bekka Pramheda, the first commander. The gene therapy made her blood black, didn't it?" I asked, connecting the dots.

"Yeah," Raven confirmed, nodding.

Octavia, intrigued, turned to me. "How did you know that?"

"Nightblood. That's where it came from. Somehow it became hereditary. Luna has it, that's why we need to find her. If she can access ALIE 2.0..." I trailed off, the implications of this discovery dawning on me.

"Then she can tell us how to stop ALIE 1," Octavia finished, understanding the gravity of the situation.

"Bekka Pramheda gets her second chance at atonement," Sinclair added, his voice tinged with a hint of hope.

Monty, caught up in the discussion, interjected urgently. "Get back to the mind pathway. If ALIE uses it to upload our minds to the City of Light, then there's still a chance that my mom's still alive," he said, his voice laced with desperation.

"That would depend on your definition of alive," Raven sighed, a note of realism in her voice.

Bellamy, ever vigilant, brought us back to the present. "Eyes sharp. Weapons high. We're almost home everyone," he announced.

As we neared our destination, Bellamy tried to contact Miller and Harper over the radio, but there was only a crackling silence in response.

"Let's start," Jasper said, hopping out of the rover and opening the gate. We all followed suit, stepping out into the eerily quiet camp.

"We left two days ago, why haven't they fixed the gate?" I wondered aloud, sensing something amiss.

"Maybe because there's no one here to fix it," Jasper pointed out, his tone somber.

"It's like a ghost town here," Raven added, her observation heightening the sense of unease.

Bellamy continued his attempts to reach Miller through the radio, his voice growing more assertive. "Miller, I don't like this. Where the hell are you?"

Jasper speculated, "Maybe they got chipped."

"If they got chipped they'd have been waiting for us at the cave," Bellamy reasoned, his strategic mind working through the possibilities.

Octavia, her instincts sharp, kneeled to the ground, surveying the area. She then stood up abruptly, her expression resolute. "Let's get his book and get the hell out of here," she growled, striding away with a sense of urgency.

"That's a plan I can support," Jasper agreed, quickly following Octavia.

We exchanged looks, a silent agreement passing between us. With caution and readiness, we walked into the ark, each step heavy with the unknown. The camp, once a hub of activity and life, now felt abandoned, its silence a foreboding sign of what might have transpired in our absence. The air was thick with tension as we prepared to search for Lincoln's book, aware that every moment counted. The possibility that ALIE might already be on her way added a layer of urgency to our actions. We were walking into a situation fraught with danger and uncertainty, but the need to find answers and a way to stop ALIE propelled us forward.