Her heart raced. Be ready for what?
She tapped Blip again. He vibrated in reply—a short burst. A “leave me alone, let me think” response. Did they know each other that well? He didn’t speak to her, but words weren’t needed.
The Crimson Queen held her shoulders back—a prideful stance. She was in control, even in chaos. In that confident look, Syn caught a glimpse of Neci’s train of thought and understood the logic that had taken her there. Perhaps it was a larger plan than anything Syn had dreamed of, but it was a plan, and Neci’s thought process did not seem foreign at all. Every piece of the puzzle seemed to proceed naturally from the one before. Crazy. Grandiose. But it made sense.
Kerwen pressed her palms together in front of her face. “Can someone tell me?”
“I’m making the princess open the gate. That’s my first goal,” Neci said.
Taji picked up the line of thought, “That’s why we’re flooding this Disc.” She gestured out the window with the point of the spear, just as Syn used to.
Neci nodded. “That’s why we’re flooding it. This was my backup plan. If you refuse and that thing in your hands doesn’t wake up and the bitch above doesn’t respond, I’ll force your hand. This world is going to drown. Burning it didn’t work.” She looked at Syn. “And then?”
The entire plan formed in Syn’s mind. Perhaps, had she been in Neci’s place, she would have crafted it herself. Syn whispered, “Then you release this Disc from the needle to reduce weight. The remaining fuel should be enough to get us to our destination.” She took a step closer to Neci. “You don’t have a companion. Are you sure you solved it right?”
“Oh, I’ve had my numbers checked and rechecked.” She gave a thin grin to Pigeon. “But not just the water. This Disc. We’re going to eject the Disc.”
Pigeon allowed a small smile in return but quickly extinguished it and stared at the ground.
“How?” Syn asked.
Neci avoided the question, “We now have a deadline.”
“This has been our entire life,” Kerwen said, “I don’t want it…” She stumbled on the words, emotion welling up inside her. Tears filled her eyes.
“How do you release the Disc?” Syn asked.
“That’s the question!” Neci said. “How do we get rid of the Disc? It’s easy. Once we’re through the gate, all we have to do—” She cut off her words sharply. She narrowed her eyes at Syn. “No, no, no. I don’t think you need to know everything. You have one job. Just do your job.”
“Screw you,” Syn said.
Blip’s skin vibrated, and Syn’s finger followed the sensation. It led her back to the area where the words had last flashed. This time, briefly it said: HOLD YOUR BREATH.
What? Syn wanted to dart away. What was Blip doing? Instead, she froze and stood motionless, a statue in fear that the others would detect a change.
Neci smiled, “Oh, be kind. We have to spend the rest of our lives together.” She flashed a smile at Syn. “Besides, you know it’s a good plan. I can see the wheels turning. When I think of all of us, you’re the one most like me.”
The gravity in the Jacob had shifted, and Syn could feel the lack of it tangibly. Every limb moved with greater ease. They were racing high up, and gravity’s decline was an exponential difference. Every moment significantly reduced the overall pull. In a few seconds, they would be floating.
In blue, Blip flashed: 10.
A moment later, a second later, he flashed: 9. Her heart rate slowed.
A countdown. He was counting down to something. She would have to hold her breath in nine seconds. Yet, even with that expectation, her anxiety ebbed away—it always did when he did his counting trick. Ever since she was little, this stupid stunt would focus her racing mind and bring her back down.
Syn said, “No.”
8.
Now, eight seconds. She was going to have to hold her breath in eight seconds.
7.
Then, right after, it flashed, HOLD TIGHT.
Pigeon’s eyes glanced down at the bot. Had she seen what Blip was writing? Or just the flash of light? Would she say something?
Neci said, “We’re the decision makers. We had the tough job. Made us different. We were born cauterized. We were designed for the extreme environment of other worlds. And the best of us only grow stronger with each moment.”
5.
Syn’s palms were sweating. Again, she muttered, “No.”
“Keep saying it, but it doesn’t change a thing,” Neci said. She turned to look out the window. “Blasted near identical.”
3.
And again, in quick flashes, HOLD TIGHT and HOLD YOUR BREATH.
Pigeon’s eyes again glanced down at Blip. She looked up at Syn, her eyes wide with horror. Pigeon breathed, “No—”
Syn took a deep breath. An action that caused Neci to turn in her direction.
2.
Neci narrowed her eyes, glancing between Syn and Pigeon. Pigeon pushed herself back against the wall and muttered again, “Stop.”
But the warning came too late.
Blip’s skin vibrated, and Syn gripped him tight. She crouched as well, knowing what Blip was doing. Her heart was slamming against her chest. He had warned against this very thing so many times before.
1.
The Jacob control panel beeped loudly. The doors slid open and the air inside the Jacob rushed out into the thinner atmosphere outside.
Syn pushed off the floor to propel herself through the door. She did not need to. Blip came alive, full lights glowing, and sped off through the open doors with Syn holding on tight.
Neci roared behind her, “No!” and scrambled for the racing two.
38
ABOVE IT ALL
“Once Lilith saw this, she uttered the special name of God, flew off into the air, and escaped…”
As she clung to Blip speeding out of the Jacob, she felt fingertips on her heel. Syn glanced back. Kerwen had leaped after, her hand dangling, her fingers waggling to grip onto Syn’s heel. Kerwen shouted, “Don’t leave me!”
She was above it all. Flying through the air, high above the rolling dark clouds, under the scattered glare of the sunstrips. Behind her, she could hear the screams of rage and surprise.
Syn yelled to Blip, “Stop!” But he didn’t hear her. Or pretended not to. Instead, the companion bot flew out and then took a sharp left, careening toward the next closest Jacob, standing just a few hundred meters away at this height.
As Syn yelled, she gasped for air; she had been warned. There was little atmosphere at this height. There was little gravity—although there was some. She glanced back once more to Kerwen. What she saw made her heart race. She tried to yell again at Blip, but there was not enough air in her lungs to make words.
Kerwen was already drifting down. Taji was leaning over the edge of the Jacob, arm extended to reach Kerwen and drag her back to the safety of the lift. There was no chance. She had jumped too far. She was aimless, and the slight gravity was already doing its work. It was an exponential force, and with each inch lower she drifted, the pull of gravity grew stronger. She would soon fall to her death, if she did not die of suffocation first. Syn tried to do the math. How fast would Kerwen plummet? Would she hit the ground in four minutes? Syn knew she could hold her breath for four minutes.
Would they reach the other Jacob in four minutes? Yes—but unconsciousness was already pressing in. She was starting to black out. Her field of vision had narrowed. A haze of streaking violet occluded her peripheral. The stress and strain of holding onto Blip’s smooth surface had reduced her strength. She could hold her breath for over four minutes in perfect conditions—without pressure. Those were not the conditions she faced. She already saw spots.