Chapter 8

Many an Anxious Night

Lucas readjusted the battered purple box on his knees, tilting it as he tried to make the most of the soft glow of the nearby touch lamp. He was sitting up in bed tinkering, as had become his habit lately, once the monotony of trying to get to sleep overcame the desire for sleep itself. The process never took as long as it should have.

Lucas reached out and pulled the lamp a little closer to the edge of the bedside table, pausing as it teetered precariously on the edge. Then it turned off. Sighing noisily to himself in the darkness, Lucas tapped it again. The lamp sputtered back to life, looking as though it had been rudely awakened from its own dreams. Lucas returned to his previous occupation. He had never had an ideal sleep schedule - after living in the jungle for years, constantly having to keep one eye open for hints of looming death, one rarely did - but since the nightly attacks on the colony had started, it had been especially hard to sleep. While the soldiers took shifts to push back the threats that came out of the darkness, the colonists had been instructed to get what rest they could. There was nothing else they could do. They had taken the order under advisement, though judging by the amount of houses that still had a gentle glow emanating from their shuttered windows in spite of the early hour, Lucas wasn't the only one struggling a little with the execution.

He winced automatically as he moved his arm, a hot prickle brushing across his grazed elbow as it slid against the material of the blanket. Despite almost being crushed by the raging stampede the day before, the small group that had ventured to the quarry had returned with more questions than injuries. Questions were another thing that wasn't really conducive to sleep.

Forgetting about the whole thing half a second later, he stroked a thumb over the chipped exterior of the box. He could never reverse the hands of time and return it to the glistening, sleek piece of machinery it had once been, but he found tinkering with it was therapeutic, and so, he kept at it. The damaged box would probably never come back to life again. Its glory days were over. It had been used for evil and destruction, and so perhaps it was appropriate that it sat as it did now - scuffed and dented and broken, probably beyond repair. Nevertheless, he tinkered.

He didn't own many physical possessions. A set of little electronics tools that Malcolm had deposited on his desk last Christmas, a blue blanket that was currently tucked over his knees to keep out the cold, a small clock that sat on his bedside table, along with an assortment of other nicknacks brought home from the Lab. And amongst them, the EyeCD - his Eye comms device. Lucas' gaze rested on it for a moment, picking the familiar shape out of the garble of junk littered around the base of his lamp, some of which was now adorning the floor as well. The little device had been his method for contacting his former future employers. It probably still worked. The Eye was still intact, and despite the electromagnetic blackout shield over the surrounding jungle, the colony hadn't lost power except for a few scattered incidents. But what would be the point of contacting them now? His master's last move had been to try to have him killed. They all knew where they stood. The man probably wouldn't even take his call.

And then there was Simon. Lucas snorted to himself as an image of the Administrator's gangly "right hand" flew into his head. Poor Simon. They'd come up through the ranks together, so to speak, attended the same college as young teenagers, but even so, he'd barely said a word to him. Simon was the type of person that you could exist in close proximity with for years and still never find the inspiration required to actually engage with. Still, Lucas thought he understood him pretty well despite the fact. Simon had about as much depth as a flattened box. An awkward shy little thing, he had mostly kept to himself. Never excelled at anything. The fact that his father was a high-ranking member of the council was probably the only reason he'd managed to stay in the university in the first place. When the government had come searching for brilliant young minds to help accomplish their goals, Lucas had left college early. As far as he knew, Simon hadn't even been acknowledged. The last anyone had heard, his father had died, leaving him a large inheritance, and Simon had disappeared, presumably to live a life of luxury now that he didn't have to struggle to stretch his underdeveloped brain anymore. Lucas had quickly forgotten he'd ever existed. Yet here he was, working for the Administrator, the head of the merged government and military and as such, the most powerful man in all of the state, if not the country. Evidently money did buy one's way up the ladder. Lucas tapped at the casing absently, allowing his mind to wander. Did Simon know how quickly he would be disposed of, should the necessity arrive? Was he aware of his precarious state of existence, or did he consider himself to be an invaluable asset to his master? The man he worked for had almost unfathomably deep pockets and unlimited resources. Why had he kept Simon around? Surely not because of some familiar attachment on the Administrator's part. Who could love Simon?! Lucas laughed softly to himself as he pried the lower casing off the Box. Still, everyone needed a pet-

A loud crash from nearby nearly made him drop his screwdriver as he put a fresh scratch in the purple surface, cursing his own nerves. The tags that hung around his neck beneath his shirt responded to the abrupt movement by swinging back and colliding with his chest. He put a hand up to steady them automatically and continued working. They resided there permanently, he never took them off except to examine them if he was in a particularly nostalgic mood. Then they went straight back on again. Made of stainless steel with coloured patterns etched in, there were two of them - one with red designs and one blue. Appearing ordinary on the outside, the tags were surprisingly complex internally. Equipped with wireless transmitters and button triggers, their use had once been significantly less .. decorative. The corner of Lucas' mouth curled upward as he reattached one of the Box's internal pieces. Those two small slices of metal had once represented his prison. Now he wore them to remind himself that he was free. As another crash rattled his windows, he looked up from his work with a frown. Well, more or less.

He turned his attention back to the bits and pieces of the object balanced on his knees. He'd taken it apart and put it back together again so many times he could probably have done it with his eyes closed, but despite the fact that the scuffed iridescent purple and silver exterior had been gently coerced back into a somewhat familiar shape, the electronics simply wouldn't cooperate. They had spluttered out signs of life a couple of times only to collapse under the weight of their previous trauma. Lucas shook the casing a couple of times before dropping it into the blanket, pulling his tags out from under his shirt and holding one to his mouth thoughtfully. The electronics appeared to be in decent order. But something was obviously not firing on all cylinders .. he paused and stared at the slice of metal in his hand, holding it in front of his face as a small light of inspiration began to dawn. Maybe .. just maybe ..

"Sorry, Malcolm .."

Pulling the necklace over his head, he used a small tool to pry apart the two sides of the tag casing. A tiny chip board with whispery wires lay inside. Lucas thought back to the numerous times he had managed to get the poor devices wet and hoped they hadn't suffered any water damage over the years. Malcolm had originally built them to withstand a decent amount of abuse, but Lucas hadn't always shown them the respect he ought to have. He clipped the metallic casing back together and dropped it, turning his attention to the other one. They were a set of two small silver plates that had once been connected wirelessly to a parallel pair of wrist cuffs - cuffs which had long since been lost and probably now lay buried somewhere in the desert sands of the Badlands. Lucas let the second tag drop as he turned back to the Box. For an invaluable supercomputer, it was currently serving little more purpose than a pretty rock. Hopefully this modification would change that. With the pieces all collected, he set to work ..

The flickering light was the first sign of life. Lucas held his breath as the holographic screen stuttered, then faded away .. before glowing brightly in front of him, dancing in the air above the purple brain in his lap. He stared mesmerised as the swirling blue shapes reflected in his eyes. It worked. He slowly took in a disbelieving breath, afraid to look away for fear of losing the precious image, but now that the imagination of the machine had been reawakened, it showed no signs of going anywhere. After staring at it for another few minutes, Lucas held his breath again, easing the Box shut. The hologram disappeared. His stomach dropped nauseatingly. His heart seemed to have stopped beating as he slowly slid it open again. For a moment, there was no response, then the atmosphere sprang to life as the whirling formations burst out to greet him once more. Lucas flicked the air above him and the shapes danced wildly, almost as though he'd splashed a pond, sending glowing ripples across the surface. Lucas blinked, not even aware of the crash this time as another shudder from outside rattled the windows. He ran a delirious hand through his hair.

It worked.

Lucas may not have noticed the crash. There were others, however, who didn't have the luxury of being as disconnected from reality. Elisabeth threw her feet off the edge of the bed wearily as a terrified shriek from the youngest member of her family rang out through the house. Truth be told, she hadn't been sleeping either, despite the exhaustion of just having completed yet another 14 hour shift. She smiled a little as her oldest son's frantic shushing followed shortly on the heels of the cry. Brushing the remaining tears from her face, Elisabeth reluctantly left the comfort of her blankets. They were no substitute for Jim's reassuring presence, but somehow hugging the thick material tightly to herself made her missing family members seem just a little bit closer. In years past, Zoe would often seek refuge in her mother's bed on a night like this. Elisabeth could only hope that wherever her little girl was, she was safe, far away from the growing conflict besieging the colony.

She crossed the small hallway that divided the two rooms, and found herself momentarily lit up by a blast from outside, a cloud of light leaking through the tinted window panes as the walls shuddered again. That one had been closer. The houses had been reinforced after the floods, but who knew how they'd hold up against a direct cannonball strike. Unbeknownst to Elisabeth at the time, she wouldn't have to wait long for the answer to her question. The next morning would reveal several splintered roofs and blackened walls. The walls, made of carbon nanotubing, were strong and could probably withstand several close calls - the roof, not so much.

She entered the room her sons shared to find a disheveled Josh standing in the centre, bouncing his trembling younger brother up and down on his hip as Vaughn buried his curly head deeper into the older boy's neck. Inky - the family Ovosaur - was standing beside them and bouncing his own head up and down in time with Josh's movements. As a sequence of searchlights and sirens blared to life outside, Josh turned to greet his mother.

"Night-time attacks now? Have they no manners?" He frowned a little, pausing to study his mother's face in the weird patterns of light reflecting in from the window. "Hey, Mom, are you okay?"

"Yeah, sweetie, I'm fine."

Vaughn had turned quickly at the implication of Elisabeth's arrival and now reached his arms out for her. Josh eyed her closely as he handed the boy over, but some of the lingering pain had faded from her face as she refocused her attention on the child. He decided to let the matter drop.

"Sienna picked one monster of a night to stay at the ratbag's place, huh?"

Mira's daughter had been left in the care of the Shannons while she accompanied Jim to the future. It was the day their two families seemed to have been thrown together out of necessity. Not that Elisabeth minded. The girl was well-mannered, and it was reassuring to have someone occupying the deserted room her two daughters had once shared. Sienna's presence helped fill the hole that had been left.

Elisabeth threw her eldest child a look.

"You shouldn't call her that, you know."

"Why not?" He grinned back. "Leah doesn't mind."

"Have you asked her?"

"Nope!"

As his mother snorted, Josh ran a hand through his hair, turning his attention to the window. He stared at the pulsating lights for a moment before glancing back at her with a smile.

"He'll be back, remember? He always is."

Elisabeth looked at him, understanding immediately. It had become something of a tradition between the two of them, reminding each other at various times to keep up hope, to never give up.

"You're right." She nodded, rubbing Vaughn's back gently as she rested her cheek against his hair. "You kids are so brave, you know that?"

Including Zoe, her mind continued, but somehow she couldn't force her youngest daughter's name out of her mouth. Josh hugged himself and watched as she talked softly to Vaughn. After a few more minutes with no other noise save the ear-pulsing sirens, he patted Inky's head decisively.

"Looks like it's over for tonight. We should probably head to the Infirmary and make sure no one was injured in that crash."

Elisabeth looked up at him and nodded.

"I suppose you're right .. although .." She bit her lip, casting an uncertain glance at Vaughn. "I don't like to wake Maddy and ask her to look after him. She babysits so much already."

"Aw, Maddy likes it." Josh stroked his Ovosaur's head affectionately as the animal nudged his hand for more. "Besides, who's going to be sleeping now? I'm sure she's already awake. I'll duck over and drop him off. You go on ahead."

"Alright .." Elisabeth gave the little boy in her arms a tight squeeze. He threw his own arms around her and hugged her back before relenting as she handed him back to Josh. "I'll just go get dressed."

"Guess we better make ourselves decent as well, huh?"

Elisabeth's heart stopped for a moment as she watched Josh swing his arms back and throw Vaughn into the air. The little boy came down to bounce jarringly onto the bed, but the when the breath returned to him, he was laughing.

"Again!"

"Again after you get your baby jacket on." Josh commanded, pulling his own shirt off and replacing it with a new one. Vaughn stared at him with curiosity from the bed, but made no move to get up. Josh grinned and started moving toward him.

"Come on, lazy .. or do you need some motivation .. ?"

Elisabeth smiled to herself as Josh pounced, moving quickly back to her own room to get changed, accompanied by the sound of Vaughn squealing with laughter across the hall.

Skye peered into her mother's dark room. Deborah seemed to be fast asleep. Skye waited, holding her breath, refusing to breathe until the other woman did. The game was a far cry from cheerful, but it was one she played so often, it had become a subconscious habit. 1 .. 2 .. Her mother's chest rose and fell gently. Satisfied, the observer moved back to her own room and lay down in her bed, staring at the ceiling thoughtfully. When she had first moved to Terra Nova, the whole place had seemed huge and terrifying. She had been afraid to sleep in her own bed, feeling as though nowhere would ever be safe again. And then gradually, things had changed. She'd settled in, grown accustomed to the place. Her internal idea of home had merged with the colony so completely that Terra Nova had eventually been all she could see. Her bed had simply become an extension of the rest of her house, which in itself was an extension of the colony. A refuge, a safe place, separated from the dangerous world outside by some invisible barrier of protection. As she had grown older, she had ventured further and further outside of that barrier, curious about what lay beyond the gates, but she always returned to that safe place. Then it had crumbled.

The sincyllic outbreak had shaken the colony to its core. No household had been unaffected, and her own two parents had been taken ill. Her father had died. Realising that her mother was about to follow in his footsteps, the young girl had turned desperately to other means, no longer caring what she had to risk to save her. Her old home was abandoned almost in a day. Her safe place was shattered, and the rest was history. Skye watched as the horizontal curtains on the ceiling moved slightly, though there was no breeze in the room. In the past few years, her bed had changed several times, but it had never regained the same comforting sense of safety it had once been able to offer her. There were times she was able to sleep peacefully, but these days those times were few and far between. Was this what it was like to grow older? To live in constant fear of disaster striking at any moment? In the past, she had jumped off waterfalls, she had been face to face with creatures that wanted nothing more than to rip her throat out, but this wasn't like that. This was the curtain of dread that had haunted her for years. The one that never seemed to leave. The one that waited with her, peering over her shoulder as she stood in the darkness, praying for her mother to take one more breath.

Don't get too comfortable, the voice in her head seemed to whisper as she finally fell asleep. It's only a matter of time. The storm is closing in now. You haven't saved her yet. None of them are safe yet ..