Encephalon: Emergent

Chapter 8

The helicopter came in to land back at the airfield a short distance from the warehouse, Elena looking out lost in thought as it touched down. She was a soldier now, once a barista and now a stone-cold killer in training, shot at, hunted, a fugitive from some unseen, unknown leviathan. She could hardly believe it. Her eyesight had improved, it was remarkable, but was it enough to risk life and limb to bring down a hidden sect more powerful than any government? The hidden city, the prisoners, the guards, it was overwhelming, undeniable, unjust; they had tried to kill her just for having seen a glimpse of it. They fight and they kill and they destroy lives like yours to keep this in place. Justin's words echoed in her head. Anything to hide what's beneath the surface and protect their knowledge.

It finally hit her; they knew she knew now. Her old life was closed off to her. Missy, her cafe, her apartment, all her old customers. It may not have been much of a life, but it was hers. The grief welled inside and she sank into her seat. How could she defend herself against this? She took a quick glance at Justin; even he had shown fear when he first talked of them and again when he knew they had been spotted. Though he had kept a strategic calm throughout their attack, it had thrown him.

But he had kept them alive; he had kept her alive, she reassured herself. She had a chance if only she could learn as much as he knew. He had shown her mind tricks, an ability to remember everything he saw, but yet to teach her how. What's more, she had seen augmented technology: screens that crystallized the very particles of air in front of them, putty that molded to your face and changed your identity, a hidden city with unknown stores of knowledge. There were so many more questions. How did they rise to power? Why hide under the city? They had been such an unseen but dominant force in Elena's recent history. They had to have a weakness or else they would not keep themselves so secretive.

Her thoughts were interrupted as she caught sight of the young boy and his father across the field packing up their toy plane into the truck. She watched in wonder as the father rubbed the boy's head, the boy smiled and they got in to drive off down a dusty track, the toy plane sticking out the back from under a cover. There was something about the enjoyment on the boy's face that stayed with her, the care and attention the father paid the son that made Elena nostalgic for a past that never was, and a future that now seemed less and less likely. The rotors sputtered and powered down giving her an excuse to look away. Justin played with the instruments then took off his headphones, and she did likewise, sitting in silence a moment.

"What about Missy?" She finally asked, her thoughts coming back to what she had lost.

"They'll be watching. Any contact could get her killed."

Elena nodded. It had already been over a month. She screwed up her eyes realizing how much she had let down her friend, disappearing from her life and now the sudden loss of knowing she could not make it up to her, not now, maybe never. It was like a punch to the stomach.

She made a move to get out.

"I want you to know how brave you are for coming this far," He said looking at her earnestly, stopping her in her tracks. "I mean it."

But she could not let him get away with it, "I know you and your office buddies think I'm a retard, Justin. At least, in comparison, I must seem that way to you."

It took him by surprise, "Don't put yourself down. I'm not sure I'd have come as far, if I were in your position."

She smiled defensively, Justin aware he had added insult to the day's injury. "I'm sorry they got a look at your face," She said as she stepped out, shutting down the conversation. He knew better than to try and contradict her.

He got out and gestured gentlemanly to a different entrance round an unfamiliar side of the building. She followed him inside into a bare kitchen common room where a thick aroma of coffee hit her, warm and inviting, taking her back momentarily to her cafe in Brooklyn and making her think once more of Missy; surely she would have filed a police report. That would be the overriding memory Missy would be left with, Elena there one minute then gone, kidnapped, disappeared, maybe left for dead in a ditch somewhere, the police unable to find a body. Her heart sank.