Author's Note - Sorry for the wait, but here it is, Chapter 8 (Finally!) I have to issue a warning for this chapter. Don't worry, its nothing explicit. If you are a bit squeamish, you might want to just skim over the middle section, between the horizontal lines. Like I said, nothing really, just kinda gross. Thank you to those who have reviewed, you are the life's blood of this story. I hope you enjoy the latest chapter! As always, please read and review.
Many thanks,
Gayle
PS - If you have already read chapter 7, you might want to go back and read it again. I changed the ending a bit. I hope you like it.
Chapter 8
Striya looked nervously over her shoulder for the hundredth time. Atlas held her hand in his and propelled her quickly through the darkened streets of London.
"Stop that," he hissed, "you'll attract attention!" She faced forward, gnawing at her bottom lip. Every second, she expected alarms to blare out their presence; she expected a multitude of red clad security officers to descend on them, shouting for them to halt. Nothing happened; the night remained calm, cool, and quiet.
"Atlas, what about Eric?" She whispered, terrified of the answer. Atlas didn't answer right away.
"Let's get you back underground. It's not safe for you on the street."
"That's not an answer... "Striya murmured, her voice breaking, tears threatening to fill her eyes. Her limbs felt like jelly. Her chest constricted as horrible thoughts flooded her mind.
"If he's been hurt because of me... "
Atlas stopped suddenly and faced her. He reached out with his hand and grasped the back of her head, tilting her face up so he could look into her eyes.
"Don't do this, Striya. Eric is smart and resourceful. I'm sure he's fine. Just waiting on word from us. Now let's get you back into the safety of the tunnels." She nodded, comforted by his words and his presence. Taking her hand again, he led her down into the Labyrinth.
In a darkened alley beneath a burnt out street light, a tiny red light glowed. The man took a long slow drag on his cigarette, blowing the thin smoke out a nose disfigured by scars. He grinned maliciously, consulting a first generation data pad. His grin widened, revealing black rotten teeth. He watched Striya disappear underground, followed by her gargantuan protector. He flicked his cigarette end into the street, where it continued to glow. Pulling the hood of his long coat further over his face, he melted into the darkness, chuckling to himself.
At first it had been dark, a cool delicious darkness that wrapped him in its cocoon and protected him and held him safe. But all too soon, the darkness shredded, harsh white lights invaded his mind through his bloodshot eyes. His limbs felt numb and cold. His chest felt tight, a steel band pressed into his belly. It hurt, it hurt so much. His head felt as if it was split open. He tried to raise his hand, to probe his throbbing head, to see if it was, in fact split. His hands wouldn't move. He tried again, he couldn't lift his arms. He started to struggle, a fear he hadn't felt since he was a child, swelling in his chest, threatening to choke him. Every movement caused new explosions of stars to burst behind his eyes. He felt nauseous and suddenly, it wasn't fear that threatened to choke him, it was bile. Climbing up his throat like a living monster, tearing its way past his epiglottis, spilling over his dry, cracked lips, burning them, the vomit spewed out of his mouth. He gagged violently and tried to turn his head to the side. More suns went supernova in his head at the movement, and he suffered the pain for nothing, he couldn't even turn his head. He sputtered as the thick slimy substance dripped into his airway, effectively cutting off his supply of oxygen. He felt the pressure build behind his eyes as he strained to take another breath. His mouth opened and closed spasmodically, finally stilling as his eyes glazed over and the light left them.
Atlas dropped the steel girder back into place, locking the door in a way. Striya raced across the room and stopped breathlessly at the computer. She turned it on and waited impatiently for it to run its standard diagnostics. Atlas came up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Calm down Striya. Why don't you go get us something to eat? I'll deal with this."
Striya nodded mulishly. Walking to the replicator, she programmed two bowls of Goeshiu soup, the only thing this particular replicator could make. When they were ready, she carried one to Atlas. He set it down, close to hand and continued to stare at the computer screen. Striya pulled up a stool and sat close by, watching the information flit across the screen faster than she could register it. Atlas had plugged himself directly into the computer console. The fingers of his hand twitched as if he were typing. She ate automatically, her mind dazed and confused.
"See," Atlas said, picking up his bowl and digging into his food. "A message from Eric."
He opened the message, frowning as he concentrated on reading it. It was a short message with a massive amount of encrypted data attached. His frown deepened as he read the few lines from his friend.
"I got the Admiral's data pad. Here is the data. She knows. Must run. Meet where we met, when we met. Good luck, and tell Striya I'll be fine." He read the message aloud. Striya's heart stopped beating. Eric, on the run! If they caught him…She didn't want to think about that. To distract herself she asked,
"What does that mean? Where you met, when you met?" Atlas explained.
"We met at the scrap processing plant off Prince Street. I was looking for replacement parts not long after I arrived and he was looking for the parts to repair an antique Harley. We ran into each other near the remnants of ancient clockworks. They were no longer functional but the hands of the clock read 11:57. I was wanted, then, still am actually. But he decided not to turn me in. His kindness is the reason I decided to help you."
"We'll go tomorrow night. "We'll meet Eric and bring him back here. I'm sure he can manage to stay out of trouble for one day. The sun is already up. It's been a long night. Let's get some rest." Atlas said, plugging himself into the power grid to recharge his depleted power cells. He opened the encryption program on his computer and set it to work breaking the encrypted file he had gotten from Coulter's office and the ones sent by Eric. He lowered his huge bulk into an armchair and nodded at Striya. "We should know more by tonight." He mumbled sleepily.
She gave his hand a squeeze and wandered into his bedroom. She stretched out on his cot and thought of Eric. Was he really going to be ok? Atlas seemed confident that he would, but she wasn't so sure…She rolled herself up in the blankets and lay awake until dusk.
