In a moment, it relaxed and fell into my arms. I plucked it up and held it close, allowing its purr to grow. A minute passed, and it fell asleep against my chest.
I turned back to Blip, tears blurring my vision. I tried to speak, and the words choked as they came out. “We saved it.”
We searched around for other survivors but found none. We left and barred the door shut until we could send a cleaning crew of bots in here to remove the remains and bodies to the body farms below.
That night we searched the stores for milk and found a baby bottle in one of the settlements. For the next few weeks, the little tiger didn’t leave my side. I nursed it to strength—although it was fat enough that it would’ve done fine for a while without. It slept with me at night. It followed along during the day.
Blip pointed out that the little furball was a “she” and that we needed a name. We chose the name Eku.
Since then, she has been a part of our odd little family—always beside Blip and myself.
37
ASCENT
“When your rage is choking you, it is best to say nothing.”
The Jacob lift was cramped. Neci had directed them to one of the larger freight compartments that opened on the side of the standard personal Jacob lift that Syn was used to. The final push toward the Jacob was hurried but not in a dead rush. The concern that had propelled Neci forward in a sprint as they left the city had faded.
They stood shoulder to shoulder in the cramped Jacob lift, the walls dented and scuffed. Taji’s tapping of Syn’s spear against the floor interrupted the hushed space.
Perhaps it was the sense of dismay after the destruction of Zondon. Perhaps it was their relief at having survived the onslaught of the bots. Perhaps it was the shock of the explosion that leveled the city. Or maybe all three and more. Whatever it was, they all stood quiet, no one meeting each other’s gaze. They rode silent and still up the pillar toward the needle. This was a trip that Syn had made countless times before but never with others. Everything she did now was a shared experience. It was, in a way, a dream come true. But she had not ever dreamed it would be this horrific. Pigeon had said it. They were evil. Neci twisted everything she touched. And Syn had seen it with her own eyes.
Now they were racing toward the needle to open the gate. Syn shuddered at the thought of Neci unleashed upon her Disc. She saw the birds twirling through the air. She imagined the lazy animals sleeping under the shade of the forest. The fish darting through the great river. All was pristine and raw and untouched. Syn had lived with her world as if it was immovable and should not be altered. Below them, Neci’s work blazed out: a desert on fire spilling dark smoke into the already polluted air.
The bright flames glowed. Syn stared at the burning remains. A large dark circle to the side of town caught her eyes. It was a huge and flat against the ground, outside the gates. Oh, Syn thought as she recognized it. It had been where the great tree in her Disc would’ve been. It was just a stump. They had cut down their tree.
Neci smiled, “These are the leftovers I was handed.”
“You did this.” Syn leaned closer and kept her words quiet. Perhaps only Neci herself might hear. She didn’t mean the phrase for anyone else.
“Let me remind me you. I was left with nothing else. Leftovers. Mobs of insane colonists rampaging and killing their own.”
“You burned this world. You made it—” Syn said, but she stopped when Neci spun on her.
Neci breathed, “Who told you?” She eyed each of the others in the Jacob. Taji. Kerwen. Pigeon.
None of them responded. Syn avoided looking toward Pigeon. She avoided looking anywhere but ahead.
Neci sighed. “Fine, fine, fine. The cowards are hungry for another friend. They yap and yap and yap.” She slapped Pigeon’s cheek lightly then turned and glared at Kerwen. “She’s not one of us. We tried but she isn’t. She wasn’t here. You may think she can be a part, but she’ll never understand the choices we’ve had to make. All we’ve done to survive. All we’ve been forced to do to survive.”
The room felt cold and frozen in time. Syn stood tense waiting for Neci’s explosion. But instead of erupting, Neci continued, her voice low, calm, and controlled, “You see, I’ve done the math. There were far too many of the colonists on this Disc. I believe they came over here in droves. I think the chaos started on your side. Or perhaps there was a war between them. Perhaps one Disc was jealous of the other. Whatever the reason, this Disc was crowded. Was yours empty? You’re like a kitten—innocent. You haven’t seen any of the Madness, have you? Knowing how many we killed over here convinced me that your Disc must be pristine. How do I know? Puck told me.”
“Puck?” Syn asked. She had heard the name before but could not remember where.
Kerwen muttered, “Neci’s companion.”
“That’s correct.” Neci pulled open the bag that Taji was carrying and lifted Blip out. She seemed to lift him. Syn assumed this was because he was supported by several circular grav plates they had slapped onto him. She held it between her hands and stared at it. “Puck was a brilliant little thing. He was there the moment we moved out into the Disc. After everything had gone wrong, he was the one who told me about your Disc. Told me to take all of the Sisters and go over there. He said there wasn’t any fighting there. It was what he shouted just before we beat him to death—he pleaded and pleaded and poured out little secrets. He had known all along but kept Eden a secret until he needed to bargain for his life. But he had to die—couldn’t have him telling the bitch above all about our plans. Cracked him open like an egg. The little liars have such a soft spot when you hit them from behind. They squeal, too. You’d almost think they were alive.”
Neci held out Blip to Syn. Syn raised her arms and carefully grabbed ahold of the bot. Eyeing Neci, she took Blip’s weight into her arms. He was so heavy, even with the grav plates.
Neci smiled. “But when we all got to the gate, it was closed. Locked tight. All of the colonists from your Disc had been streaming through it, but somehow, someone had shut it. We returned to the Disc, but they pursued. Everywhere we went, they chased us. They attacked over and over. We lived months in fear. So what choice did we have? We torched this place to eliminate the mad set of them.”
“And you’ll come to my world and do the same.” Syn examined Blip. There were scuff marks and chunks of dirt on him, and there appeared to be some chips near the back of his body, but as a whole, he was untouched. The companion bots were nearly unbreakable. Neci and the others must have been brutal to destroy theirs.
“Are there threats there?”
Syn shook her head. Yet, she wondered how the Sisters would perceive the bots on her side? And what of Eku?
“Then why would I?”
Syn frowned. She and Neci were similar. Syn was scared just then. She wanted to barrel past them and run away. She wanted to run far away. “You’re scared.”
Neci pretended to either not hear that comment or ignored it. “So, here’s the plan for now. I know you don’t want me over there, but I want to give you one more chance. I want you to wake your companion up. I know they’re triggered by the Eve they’re assigned to. So you just stand there and think nice thoughts and get him to open his eyes. We need him to open the gate.”
Stay quiet, Blip, Syn thought. Then, on the heels of that thought came another, wake up soon, Blip. She ran her fingertips across his surface. Smooth. Cold.