Ouroboros

The Real Thing (Part Two)

     Coda-9994's inner earpieces started buzzing so fiercely that it jarred him from his sleep. He paused Jim's story recording and opened his messages. Immediate confusion filled his head. How had the NG dolphins managed to hack into the ICA's line of communication with him?

     NG02: Hey Coda. I hope you're still alive, because you won't believe this. Several hundred humans have invaded the facility. We and Zi'Zi leaked your findings to the public. We think they're here because of you.

     For the first time in a while, Coda's heartbeat quickened with excitement.

     - Where is Jim? Is he okay? –

     NG02: More than okay. Ready to change the world. Never thought he had it in him.

     - I knew he had it in him. I just had to give him a little push. –

     NG02: Reasonable. How is Ouroboros?

      Coda stared up at the shining surface of the water and the shadows of alien animals darting and dancing around him.

      - It's beautiful. You would all love it here. –

      NG02 didn't respond. Filled with sudden joy, Coda charged through the surface and leaped high into the air, spinning like a dolphin before crashing back down with a heavy splash. The animals all darted away. He breached again. And again. And again. Nothing could contain his jollity.

      Regardless of whether or not he got to see Earth again, he had saved it. All with a single lie to help humans understand the truth. He knew they had the power to change things, and for the first time in his entire life, he had absolute faith that they would.

.........

     Amelia jumped up from her desk at the sound of the fire alarm. Immediately, her thoughts went to the animals. If the building was really on fire, what would happen to them? They had to get them out. But first, she had to get out.

     She opened her office door just as someone else opened it from the other side. A second later, she found herself standing face-to-face with Ice Five. "Time's up, Sullman," they growled.

     Amelia swallowed hard. "How did you...?"

     "I'm not alone," they said, "so we might as well make this quick."

     As they yanked a combat knife from a sheath on their belt, Amelia grabbed the electric pencil sharpener off her desk and threw it at them. It collided with their helmet, knocking them sideways for a split second. She bolted out of her office without looking back. This was no fire. It was an invasion.

     Ice Five's boots thudded behind her in hot pursuit. She turned a corner and raced down the stairs. Others darted out of their offices and followed her, out of the frying pan and straight into the fire. On the ground floor were hundreds, if not thousands of people charging in through the broken-down doors. She turned in a frantic circle as they started grabbing her colleagues and throwing them to their knees. Not only an invasion. A coup.

     She bolted down a side corridor. When she heard Ice Five behind her, she opened the first door she could get her hands on and ran inside. She realized a second later that it was the men's bathroom, but she was too panicked to be embarrassed. A red-haired man in a suit came out of one of the stalls and stared at her for a second. "Amy?"

     "What the fuck are you doing here, Harry?" she demanded.

      "I know we haven't been on the best terms, but I thought..." he started.

     "I don't care! You have to get out of here. Now! Don't you hear the damn alarm?"

     "It's just a drill, right?" he asked as Amelia locked herself in the big stall.

     Ice Five burst through the bathroom door. Harry screamed as if he were about to be eaten alive, but his cry was cut short. A few seconds later, she heard his body fall to the floor. Thinking quickly, she stood up on top of the toilet, slid aside one of the ceiling panels, and hoisted herself up before putting the panel back in place. Below, she heard Ice Five slam each stall door open and snarl her name. Unable to stand or even to see where she was going, Amelia crawled through the ceiling until she hit a wall. She moved another panel and jumped down.

     She landed on the concrete floor of a huge mechanical room. Knowing there was no point in running, she crouched down behind a water heater. Barely two minutes passed before her pursuer stormed into the room. She flattened herself against the gritty concrete floor, hoping beyond reason that she wouldn't be seen.

     Ice Five's voice rose above the dull roar of the mechanical room. "Where are you, Sullman?"

     Not daring to even breathe too loudly, Amelia pulled her phone out, sent a message, and willed for someone to come.

.........

      Fiver's heart pounded with fury. Years and years of long-suppressed rage choked their mind like a constricting snake and squeezed out every last shred of conscience. They were done holding back. Finished. Once they got their hands on Amelia Sullman, they would break her.

     They knew in their gut that she was probably behind the water heater. Fiver clenched their hand around the knife. The ICA, Sullman's brainchild, had enslaved Earth for quite long enough. The whales, the humans, the dying seas, all of it. Killing her would move the mountains that walled everyone in. They took a few steps closer.

      Time to stop humanity's self-destruction, they thought. Time to break the ouroboros. They peeked behind the water heater.

      Amelia Sullman sat up and made eye contact. Fiver glared at her, and tears welled in their eyes. Had it not been for her, it never would have been this way.

     "Show me your face, coward," she hissed.

     Fiver pulled their mask off and tossed it aside. The tears blurred their vision. They didn't even hear the door open and close.

      With a deep, shuddering breath, they raised their knife. "If I'm a coward," they said, "then what the hell are you?"

      As Fiver brought the knife down, a barbed projectile burst through the front of their chest. Their knees slammed against the floor, and the knife slipped from their hand. Fiver tried to speak, but managed only a blood-strangled cough.

      Matthew set the crossbow down. "Shot down like a fucking deer," he said. "This is what you get for killing my brother, Payne."

      Fiver gasped, and blood trickled from their mouth. Pain shot through their chest. The bolt had gone straight through the bulletproof vest and into their lung. From their time as a veterinarian ages ago, they knew exactly what was happening, and it took every fiber of their being not to panic.

      Dr. Sullman stood up. Fiver stiffened and glared at her. Calmly, she put her hand on their shoulder. "I don't doubt you were a good person once, Alex."

      Fiver wanted to scream at her. To tell her she had no right to call them that. But all they managed was a question. "Gregor...Linda...are they alive?"

      "Does it matter?" she asked. "I don't think it does." She pulled away and tapped Matthew on the shoulder. "Let's get out of here before the rest of them find us."

      As they left the room, Fiver reached pointlessly in their direction. They had to know whether or not everyone was safe. They had to. But their question stayed unanswered, and beneath the roar of the water heater, they heard a lock click. Fiver's arm dropped. They closed their eyes and waited...