2 I Can Feel It Humming
"I Can Feel It Humming by The Flashbulb"
I'm running as hard as I can. The walls of the cargo units surround me as I feel the sweat on the back of my neck slip down my back. It's cold and makes my hair standing on end even more sensitive. My lungs are dry and I can taste blood in my mouth, but I need to keep running.
I can't let the Black Guards catch me. They cannot find out about Tron, Able, or worse, Mara and Zed. I can feel them getting closer, and these damn cargo units don't have a cut through. Just one long corridor with no end in sight.
A blinding light from above stops me. I skid to a halt and see the outlines of a recognizer coming down. I turn and see the mass of black bodies rushing to me. The thrusters of the recognizer came closer and closer, the sound bouncing off the cargo walls and drowning out all other noises. I blink and feel the black bodies overtake me, wrapping themselves around my body, and everything's dark. I'm trapped.
I open my eyes and see the ceiling of my apartment. The sheets are sticky with sweat and cling to my legs as I untangle the disturbed sheets.
The patrol's already past and I curse the Occupation once again. The nightmares started when Bodhi was killed. They're infrequent, but I'm not surprised by today's. I am surprised it didn't feature Mara and Zed, but I'll appreciate the silver lining.
This morning it's my turn to stand out on the balcony. I need it, just like I need a reprieve from the Renegade, but I know I won't get one. I can feel it all about to collapse, that one cycle soon it'll all come to a point and everything will change.
Her blinds are completely shut as I step out. That's good, I can't think of… whatever it is she makes me feel.
My eyes widen a little at the chilling rails and unexpected zephyr. Both refreshing against my still flush body. It's a warm and dense wind that lifts me. I look out to the sea, following the storm of large anvil-shaped clouds and know it'll be here by tonight.
Good, it'll help cover my escape.
After I got done with what was a short shift, I returned to Tron. He had found Keller, and tonight we'll be picking her up.
She's hiding in Purgos with a Reforger named Gorn. How he got that information is beyond me, but I look forward to finding out. And having Keller on our side could show us how to reverse Repurposing.
I shut my eyes and feel the wind rise around me. It's morning, and I take what feels like the first breath since I woke. It's dense but fills my body with levity.
Stretching feels amazing and I only stop when I realize I'm not exactly in private. I peek out the corner of my eye to see if anything is out of place. I see the blinds of the medic's apartment are slightly open, they weren't open earlier. I feel my blood run hot with embarrassment. Surely it's just coincidence? Yeah, I can believe that. Weirder circumstances have happened… like me finding the portal that trapped the first Renegade and ultimately letting him escape… right.
I exhale and release my troubling thoughts, refocusing on enjoying my perch. I have a long cycle ahead and something tells me I won't be back to my balcony for some time.
"Are you sure this is the right way?" I ask.
The sharp edges of Tron's helmet glance back at me.
"Yes," his voice is disguised and comes out similar to a sentry's.
We're ten pectrocycles into our walk through the maze that is Purgos's underground. It's cold, stale, and just as uninviting as I remember it. I stick close to Tron as we take more turns into darker and tighter alleys.
The streets look so worn, yet they're completely devoid of Programs. I look up to the sky as we get more into claustrophobic areas, every so often I look through the barrier of buildings and walls and see dark clouds.
"Renegade."
I snap my head back to Tron. He's standing next to a very narrow split between two buildings. It's completely dark and we go single file, the first place for an ambush.
The path opens to the left and we turn to find a door with a single faded light above it. Tron doesn't hesitate and knocks.
A small panel slides back on the door, it's only feature, as a red eyecover peers at Tron then me.
"You're early," a grovely woman announces.
"Is that a problem?" Tron responds, his mood unreadable with the distortion.
"...not for this occasion. In," she curtly commands as the door opens.
We slip in and I'm greeted with a slender woman who appears to be Able's age.
"Good to see you Gorn," Tron speaks without his voice altered.
"Good to see you're still alive," Gorn responds with a pat on his shoulder and the smallest of dry smiles.
"I'm sure you've heard of the Renegade," he gestures to me.
Gorn turns to me with an expressionless face. Her red implant shifts and adjusts and she stares me down, and I can't help but feel she's looking at what's beyond the surface.
She nods at me before turning and marching further inside her place.
There are smooth, not fully rendered abstract shapes hanging from the surprisingly high ceiling. Their smooth, flat transparency catches the light and causes them to shimmer like diamonds. There's three on each side, one pair of blue, green, and purple.
We enter a much colder and darker room. Tubes with thick dark green vines growing on and in them decorate the area around a work table. The tubes look about three discs wide, two are indigo with frost, the other two are seafoam green with vines overtaking the top and bottom. They seem to go up into the darkness of what feels like a four-story-high ceiling.
Adorning the green tubes are glowing opaque glass flowers hanging off optical fiber stems. The flowers are a consistent size around the size of Bit with pale blues, purples, and pink colors. They either have five or six petals that curve at the tips inward toward the stem.
Looking back down at the only brightly light area, one Program sits at the table in a furnished low cut barrel chair.
Keller is sipping from a teacup as steam is rising up from it. She swivels her chair as we approach.
"Keller, these are my associates," Gorn introduces without any flare, stepping behind the desk to her chair.
"The Renegade and… who are you?" Keller asks as she lands her gaze on Tron.
"I'm with a resistance movement against Tesler and Clu's army,"
"Oh," she sounds distinctly disappointed and disgusted, "I thought we were clear I was looking for transport out of Argon," the scientist shoots a glare at her host.
"I'm aware of the reasons you agreed to this meeting. We will transport you safely out of the city," Tron continues, "As a sign of good faith."
Keller raises her eyebrow at that.
"Is that so? And what do you want from me?" Keller says as she curls snuggly into the chair and holds the smoldering brew still in her hands.
"Any information on Repurposing," I answer noting the chill against my fingertips.
Keller's silent as she works over our words.
"Where are you willing to take me?"
"Gallium-"
"Is worse than Argon. If I'm found there I will have no escape options," Keller interrupts sternly.
"-is where Tesler is going to expect you to go. We'll have a decoy prepared for him to follow. We take you to Bismuth where we can secure a free ticket to any city you want," I continue unperturbed.
She pauses a moment before a smile is creeping on her face.
"Wow. Hard seller," Keller sits back in her seat with a self-satisfied smug smile, and as if in victory takes a sip of the brew, "I can't give you any information, but I can tell you where it is and give you access."
I want to sprint over and hug the Program.
"Sounds like we have a deal."
"Good. We're even then," Gorn states to Tron.
"Since when do you have furniture?" He asks curiously, ignoring her.
"I do have clients, some are very powerful," she taunts lightly.
"We know-" Tron stops when all the lights shut off.
Everyone's quiet as the darkness consumes us.
"Tron, we need to get the power back on," Gorn says stiffly and I can feel Tron and I freeze at the slip.
"Tron?" Keller echoes inquisitively.
"I'm on it," I supply, slipping into character, "Where's the shutoff switch Gorn?"
"There's two, one on the fifth floor up, one in the basement,"
"I'll head up, you all head down," I activate my helmet lights to illuminate the dark ceiling.
At the top, next to one of the power tubes is a black figure that moves when my light touches it. I blink and focus on the spot, not sure if it was really there or a trick of the shadows.
"Go!" I yell as I start climbing some of the thicker vines around the power cells.
I balance on the first-floor support beam and feel a cold dampness press into my suit.
"Feels like the outlands in here…" I utter as I grab onto another vine.
I'm halfway up when I hear a small buzzing noise. I frantically try to spot it but in the midst of panic my grip fails and I slide back down. I look up and see the disc slice the vine where my head was a moment ago. I slide to the frozen cooling cells for cover and find that they're perfect for climbing. Brittle snow had formed on the vines providing great grip.
My disc is ignited as I throw it up in an arc to reach the highest level. I race up the vines and stop on the third level, grabbing my disc when it arcs back. I throw it again and bolt for the vines. This time I almost run my face directly into my own disc as I step onto the fifth floor. It shoots over my head and imbeds itself into one of the frozen vines.
Before I can grab it, I see the furious light of another disc coming and roll out of the way. I get on my feet before another strike has me jumping away. I manage to get a target on the assailant and recognize the woman who ambushed the tanks at Argon Square.
When she goes for another large swipe, I whip my foot out to meet her open side and catch her off guard. The strength of my attack sends her flailing into a wall which she does not gracefully come into contact with if the large smacking of her helmet is any indication.
I run over to my disc and ignite it while she's preoccupied picking herself up from the floor. My disc at the ready, I approach.
"Who are you?" I ask.
She dusts herself off in response, and I realize that she's not using her helmet lights. She must have some other way to see in the dark.
"Who. Are. You?" I repeat, and this time she launches her disc at me. I rotate my right shoulder back and dodge it easily only to be hit with a pair of boots on the left arm. As I'm flying through the air I reach out and grab a hanging vine. It slows me just as my feet reach the edge of the floor. I look over my shoulder and see the drop of five stories.
I swallow and turn back to see her running at full speed. She's charging with her shoulder out, head down. Whoever this is, they're determined but not experienced. I sidestep just as they rush by and I manage to grab their cloak as they start to drop.
She realizes faster than normal as her hands find the cape as we both hold on to keep her from falling. We're at an angle so her landing on one of the support beams would be lucky at best. I pull up her before she can get hold of a vine.
When the woman reaches the edge of the floor, she grabs hold and I let the cloak fall. She's blinded by it as it lays over her head. Perfect. I find her wrists and grab them through the cloak. A quick haul with my superior grip and I have her captured.
"Who are you?" I ask one last time.
"No one," she rebukes with a foot lashing out.
I swing her bodily around and pin her against the wall as I find her wrists to cuff.
"You're certainly someone, you destroyed a tank patrol and took out the Black Guards without a fight," I growl back, she grunts as I press her harder into the wall.
"Saw that did you?" She sounds pleased, almost proud.
"Impressive, for a novice."
"Flattery will get you everywhere," she remarks with sarcasm.
"Anything for your name," I reply.
"Guess you should have kept looking in those files for the Commanders. Maybe you would have found it," she bites back. Her hand slips out of my grip and shoots for my dock on my back.
"Nice try," I taunt as her searching hand slows and it dawns on her she won't be using my disc against me.
"Don't flatter yourself," she drones on as her hand slips down my side, and I find the gesture oddly arousing and I'm thrown by the gesture. It must be her intent, when my guard is down she aims a quick jab at the muscles I've relaxed and I tumble away from her.
"You're not that tough Renegade. We all have weak points," her gloating lights a fire in me as I cough away the critical hit. It takes me a moment to catch my breath.
"Tell me… what's yours?" I ask, my voice husky from the short coughing fit.
"Wouldn't you like to know," she needles with clear smugness. She makes to move around me to her disc at its position next to the edge of the floor.
"Yes I would," I sidestep in front of her.
"Enough Renegade. My fight isn't with you. I'm here for Keller," she snarls pushing me out of the way. I'm right behind her as she picks up her disc and I grab mine.
"As of a few micros ago, Keller's under our protection," I counter as we both look back at each other.
"I just want to ask her a few questions," the cloaked Program states.
"About what?"
"Reversing repurposing."
I narrow my eyes at her as I think.
Whoever this is, she's not with the Occupation.
I give her a critical look over. The circuits of her cloak are white, but the reduced circuits of her body are medic green.
"What are you looking at," she prods.
"Your colors, you're a medic."
"Brilliant deduction Renegade."
Users she's infuriating.
"Can you not act like I'm a grid bug?"
"Maybe when you stop posing as the savior of the Grid I will!" She snarls again and this time it is filled with venom.
I involuntarily step back as she presses a finger into my chest.
"You are nothing more than a boy playing dress-up in the boots of a man who risked everything for us!" She berates.
"How do you know I'm not Tron?" I speak for myself, feeling my ire rise.
"You're too short! And you definitely don't fight like him," she shakes her head.
"What makes you such an expert? You're just a medic."
"I'm in General Tesler's army," she says with frost.
That frost reaches into my heart and circulates through my body. I immediately stand at the ready and she mirrors me.
"Listen!" She barks, "I'm not with Tesler to help him. I work for him to keep my friends alive."
"Are you on Clu's side or against him?" I ask, this time I step forward and crowd her space. She doesn't back down.
"I'm on my own. That okay with you?" She hisses.
Our helmets are less than an inch apart and I can feel my angry breath against my face. I take a deep breath and take a half step back.
"You're the one who turned off the lights. I can only imagine your intentions were less than flattery," I accuse, "And throwing a disc aimed to take off my head isn't exactly a friendly introduction either," I remark bitterly.
My eyebrows rise when I hear her growl.
"I couldn't trust you to be so… open to negotiations," she informs me reluctantly.
"So your goal was to decapitate me?"
She pauses and her helmet tilts away.
"... I don't always have the best aim,"
At first, I'm speechless, but then I crack up and let out a laugh from deep within my stomach.
"I guess you really are just a medic," I tease.
Her helmet snaps back in my direction. I can't tell her expression, but based on her tense shoulders she's not exactly jumping for joy at my comment.
Good, taste of your own medicine. I smirk.
"Sorry for… aggressive introductions. I've had to do some awful things to Programs for and against Tesler's army," she admits, her head turning away looking at the soft glow of the power cells.
'Aggressive introductions' Huh? I can't help my small smile, she's an interesting program, I'll give her that.
Without warning, the lights on the exterior walls came on.
"There's that. Come on, let's have a chat with my associates."