Lazarus Rising

1.34 The Battle for New Europa III

Cheyenne's mouth tasted bitter, her nose filled with the metallic spoor of ozone, her skin felt numbed, as if the prick of a pin or the tip of a wavering flame would bring no reaction. Was this what the Risers felt when they were reanimated, what the storm of light in the chamber did to them- turned them into traumatized vessels, somehow in this world but at the same time distant and detached from it? It felt like watching yourself in a film fogged with age, in a place far off, distinct from current reality.

Huddled against the broken wall with her arms wrapped tightly around herself, her mind filled with the emotions of every Riser in Europa, it was as if a switch on a circuit in her head that had always been there had been thrown. And now she was drowning in a sea of feelings that threw themselves upon her in their attempt to find a release. It felt if every Riser on Earth had found her and sensed something in her that would relieve their sufferings. Driven into inertia by their desperation and fear she moved her hands up to her head, covered her face and attempted to shut everything out.

"What's happening to her, Charisa?" Jamek slid down beside Cheyenne. "What's going on?"

"Help her up, Jamek, gently," Charisa took Cheyenne by one arm and lifted her to her feet. Looking around her through the screaming flashes and bangs she spied an escape. "Lazarus move, there! Toward that gap in the wall!"

Half carrying Cheyenne they edged along the wall. Stumbling over a low mound of bricks they entered a room exposed to the exterior by the punch of a projectile. Its mouth already filling with the steadily falling snow.

In the greying innards of the building Cheyenne slumped to the floor and stared unseeing into the darkness. "Cheyenne, are you alright, can you move?" In the semi darkness Charisa's face, covered in powered brick dust appeared strange and momentarily unrecognisable. In panic Cheyenne shied away. Jamek leaned over her. "Is she hurt?"

"She's not hurt." Charisa responded. 'Wait a moment, Jamek.''

Nearby a thunder grenade exploded. An intense blast of hot air filled the room, singeing their clothes and reddened their faces. The shock of the blast kicked Cheyenne's head back into the wall bringing a ringing pain into the back of her skull and a stinging sense of awareness with it. Uncertainly she reached up and curled her fingers around the tactile skin of the synthiod's arm and squeezed it hard. "Yes, yes. I can hear you." Her voice sounded weak, pathetic as if its essence had been stolen from it.

Charisa looked up sharply as another projectile bounced off the building and moved to cover Cheyenne's body with her own. "Take control," she whispered. "Remember you are in control. You are a Lylac, these things are coming to you as they do to all Lylacs, you must take control of your feelings and master them. Think of Hayden's and his need for you now, think of your aunt who Urbaine took from you.. ...think of Jamek... Take control!"

As if emerging from the depths of a bottomless lake Cheyenne's mind rallied to her. As it rose the Risers minds retreated giving her space to govern her facilities. Jamek helped her to her feet his face written with concern. She took his hand from her arm, "I'm alright Jamek, really. "

She stepped back, into an unexpectedly soft surface that shifted under her weight. Instinctively she span around and grabbed at the rough cloth. A sweat filled face of a man, smeared with burnt charcoal, appeared in front of her. A Metro man had been in the room all along, concealed against the wall, hidden by the gloom and his camo suit.

"What's happening?" instantly Jamek stepped forward and took command. "Report!"

For a second the trooper stood uncertainly assessing Jamek's faded uniform before speaking. "We just lost Metro Center, Captain," he tapped the receiver in his ear. "They are saying it was hit by a Frag and destroyed." He eyes wondered to Cheyenne and eyebrows arched in surprise.