The Implant Variable

Prologue

Are you sure you know the words?

            Aris skidded to a stop, his skates sending little ice shavings flying into the air as he glided around to face her. It was amazing how quickly the two of them had both picked up skating so naturally, given their mere few days in the Spring.

            Nearly glaring at her now, he spoke out loud in reply. "I'm not an idiot, Rach. Yes, I'm perfectly capable of remembering-"

            A bloodcurdling screech from above made both of them go rigid, a terrifying reminder that there were more important things than bickering at the moment. That their friends were out there, risking their lives holding the Shades back with nothing but spears, all so the two of them could get into The Hole and end the monsters' reign once and for all.

            "Hurry!!" Rachel emphasized, whirling back towards the entrance to The Hole and away from her closest friend, ready to attempt to hold off one of the creatures should it pursue them down here.

            Aris glided over to the computer console as fast as he could, digging the jagged fronts of his skates into the ice for some stability as he feverishly jabbed in the code he and Rachel had discovered from the maze's patterns.

            F-L-O-A-T, C-A-T-C-H, B-L-E-E-D, D-E-A-T-H, S-T-I-F-F. That's all the machine would take, no space for the last four letters.

            It won't let me type the last word! He called out to Rachel mentally, clearing the screen and typing it all again in case he'd done something wrong. But the second attempt yielded the same results: four letters short.

            Rachel ditched her spot and skated over to Aris with such a force that her momentum almost drove her into the wall. Her eyes flickering around for an answer, the girl let out a puff of cloudy breath into the cold and stale air, muttering. "Push, Push THIS." She crouched and slammed the heel of her hand into a red button underneath the screen and by the floor that was labeled 'KILL THE MAZE.' A howl from behind them cut off abruptly as a Shade crashed into the ground, having been plucked out of mid-air by the sudden deactivation. It lay limp, not so much as a twitch of the wings of movement. Where are the others? The girl asked, looking over at Aris with her lips pressed flat in concern.

            Before he could even respond, as if to answer her question, another body fell onto to turned-off monster with an "OOF!" Aris and Rachel's heads both instinctively snapped in that direction, where Miyoko was jerking her leg upward in attempt to free her foot; one of the blades of her skates had pierced the Shade's skin and wedged itself into its flesh. Finally ripping it free, albeit with some residual Shade-guts still on the silver metal blade, the black haired girl scrunched her nose. "Nasty," she muttered to herself, before sliding off of the creature and finding her footing on the ice once more.

            "Miyoko!" Rachel shouted, filled with relief. "Are you okay? What about everybody else?"

            The girl didn't answer at first, but rather looked up the tunnel she'd fallen down and cupped her hands around her mouth in attempt to call out to her best friend. "Sonya! There's a dead Shade down here; don't get your skates stuck like I did!"

            As if on cue, the blonde haired girl came plummeting down next, her fishtail braid whipping over her face as she landed equally as ungraceful as Miyoko had. "It's a mess up there," the dark haired girl finally addressed Rachel, heaving deep breaths now that the adrenaline had worn off some. "I can't believe it actually worked." Sonya rolled off the Shade's leathery skin, making way for Alejandra to land on it next, then the rest of the surviving girls, followed up in the rear by Harriet, who'd taken up the leadership position of the Icers ever since Ximena was killed by a Shade during their first attempt at escape.