The Phantom City

Chapter 10

I staggered to my feet. The heat had entirely left my body, and despite the blazing sun above us, a chill clung to my bones. I leaned against Dana's wheelchair for support, though I made sure to put myself between him and Asha's prone body.

Willowy and grave, Abel extended a hand to me. He wore the same sleek suit that he'd appeared with in my mind. "Hello. It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person. And you, Ms. Williams."

"Don't talk to her," I snarled. "Don't you dare say a word to any of us. You have no right!" Even the exertion of spitting the words felt tiresome. I struggled to stay standing.

He dipped his head. "True enough." Clasping his hands behind his back, he stared up at the bright sky. "I've put you all through enough, haven't I? A kidnapping, a few unpleasant weeks in a hospital, a stressful afternoon today." He nodded thoughtfully. "No, it can't have been easy. And now you've seen Gaza, had your first Surge... unpleasant indeed."

Dana had dragged herself besides Asha. She now held him tenderly in her lap, and stroked the hair out of his face. I watched her and Abel's gazes meet, like two swords touching at their points. A shiver ran down my spine at the shards of ice in her usually warm, brown eyes. "Sinclair. You would have had him die."

He said nothing for a long moment. In the end, he looked away first. "Yes. And many others, if it meant fully integrating Owen's nanoware." Stepping past her, he came to stand before me. "I've waited a long, long time for an opportunity like this. Indeed, there are few things I wouldn't do at this point."

"Why?" I wet my dry lips. "What do you want from us?"

The gray-skinned man extended his hand again. "You're exhausted. A Surge devours the energy in your system, and you almost overdid it. You're likely at least a few pounds lighter for it. Come with me, you can rest while we talk."

I stared at him with pure disgust. "You just admitted you'd happily kill my friends, and now you want to chat?"

He lowered his hand. The smallest sliver of hurt flashed in his eyes before his expression smoothed out. "The choice is yours, Owen." He turned and walked to the center of the lot, and pressed his foot into a small, irregularly raised square of dirt. The ground beneath began to rotate, a tiny hole widening out until a cellar door sized gap appeared. "But I imagine the authorities won't want to see you at a crime scene, yet again."

As if on cue, the wail of ambulance sirens started up in the distance. I gritted my teeth. "I'll take my chances. I'm not going anywhere with you, especially not down there." 

He sighed. "Really now, you're quite unreasonable." In a swift movement, he hoisted Asha's body up threw it over his shoulder, fireman style. Dana made a grab for his ankle, but he quickly stepped out of reach. "Come along now, both of you. Your friend shouldn't stay out in the heat for long." With that he started down the steps, until he, Asha, and our options disappeared in its depths.

"And what am I supposed to do? Crawl?" Dana sneered. She hurled a rock at the street, and it clattered far. "Tell that gutless swine that he can come back up and carry me himself if he wants me to 'come along'."

I almost offered to do it myself, but that was a joke. My arms felt ready to fall off even without an added weight on them. "Keep a lookout, please," I said, starting towards the gap in the ground. The wind swirled sand and grit around it. This, I noted, is how people die in horror movies.

At the lip of the little chasm, I took a long look down, and paused. There was nothing but gaping darkness below. "Uh, Dana? Small problem."

Twigs snapped as she wheeled towards me. When she saw what I did, she pursed her lips. "Oh. Yeah, that's an issue."