Terranovus

I was silent on the way home and after a while, it was clear my parents suspected I wasn’t ill and my plea to leave perhaps had something more to do with Philon than my stomach.

I didn’t care about them though, all I cared about was getting home as fast as possible to tell the resistance the Sectors were the next target. We travelled in silence and as soon as we arrived home I jumped out of the vehicle and through the front door to head towards my bedroom.

“Wait, Tabitha,” called my mother. I stopped where I was and turned around to see my parents standing by the kitchen looking at me sternly. “Care to explain why your stomach appears much better?”

I bit down on my lip and remembered the resistance told me not to tell anyone, but what use was that if the resistance wouldn’t even exist by tomorrow evening? I looked up at Dad who was looking at me worried and I thought back to all the stressful days he’d had at work recently.

“Ask Dad,” I said. Mum looked confused and turned to Dad. Dad looked bewildered.

“Tilly, I don’t understand,” he said. I scoffed at that.

“Yes you do,” I stated firmly, “would you like to share with us why you’ve been so stressed at work recently?”

“Tilly, I still don’t-”

“Yes you do,” I interrupted, surprised by my own confidence, “please, tell Mum why you’ve been feeling so guilty recently.” My dad’s face paled and I turned to Mum and blurted the truth, “the land we live on is not new. It was never new. Terranovus’s previous tenants were brutally murdered and disposed of off to make room for the Sector’s elite.” My mum’s jaw dropped.

“Paul, is that true?” she asked. Guilt and shame spread across Dad’s face and I looked away from him disgusted.

“Tabitha, please,” begged Dad, “I didn’t know until my second day of work-”

“So it’s true?” demanded Mum, horrified.

“Vaish-” started Dad.

“Don’t, you, Vaish me,” I heard my mum argue back. Knowing that was my queue, I turned around and made my way to my bedroom. Once through the doorway, I slammed the door shut and closed my ears to my parents shouts. It hurt to hear them argue, they never argued. But Mum deserved to know the truth, and Dad deserved to be yelled at.

The resistance, I remembered. I had to warn them. I sat on the edge of my bed and looked down at my Ingo scared for them. Once I told them this news their world was going to shatter. I took a deep breath and started typing.

I overheard the Major speaking with his son. The missiles are ready. They’re going to attack the Sectors tomorrow evening. You need to run and find shelter underground. Please, find Tommy, Jack and Simon and take them with you too.

I waited nervously for a few minutes until.

You need to destroy the missiles.

I re-read the message over and over again. Destroy the missiles? Was that even possible? I quickly typed back.

How?

The missiles will be already programmed and are controlled by a server located in the server room on level -30 of the Army Base. Server number 72. Destroy the server and you will destroy the missiles.

Panic washed over me. The resistance couldn’t be serious? I was only sixteen years old, I couldn’t break into Army headquarters and destroy a server. My Ingo buzzed again.

The fate of the Sectors resides in you. Do it.

Destroying the servers and coming back out alive, nevermind unnoticed, was near impossible. But it was true, the fate of the Sectors did reside in me. Only I had the power to do something, anything, to save the millions of people back at home, the families in need shelter and Tommy, Simon and Jack. I furiously typed back.

Only if you find Tommy and Simon and Jack and protect them. In case I don’t succeed.

Deal.

And so it was decided. I took a deep breath and thought it over. I had to attack the servers tonight. Any later would be too risky. And there would probably be less guards during the night too. I realised I couldn’t do this alone though, the task was too great. I scrolled through my contacts and came to rest on Hyun’s name. I needed help.

***

Just after ten o’clock at night, I stood in front of the mirror and watched myself tie my hair into a top bun. My parents mistook my silence as anger, and knowing what I was about to commit myself to, had not made my goodnights any easier. I tugged on the black jacket I was wearing and thanked the Army for the black trousers I had found in my wardrobe too. I felt like a spy. A spy about to be executed, I thought. I glanced up at Iris’s pod and smiled at my handiwork - a towel tied around it. No spying tonight Army. My Ingo buzzed and I glanced down to see Hyun was ready and in position. He had agreed to help without hesitation.

I made my way to over to the window and unlocked the latch. With the curfew approaching, it was impractical for me to leave home using the front door. I couldn’t risk my parents finding out. I opened the window and saw Hyun sitting in his dad’s Army issued vehicle ready. As I went to raise my knee to climb out, my Ingo buzzed again. I looked at it expecting to see a message from Hyun telling me to hurry up but another name appeared. Philon.

Don’t do it.

I gasped. How did he know? I glanced up at Iris and saw the towel was still secure. In that case, had he hacked into my communications? Most likely since he seemed to know how to hack into the Sector’s communications. Was he going to tell his Dad and get me arrested? My Ingo buzzed again with another message from Philon.

You will be caught and killed.

I scoffed at that. So he cared about me but not the millions of other humans about to die in the Sectors? Another message came through.

I told you, I’m taking care of this.

I lowered my knee and furiously typed back.

Just like how you took care of the communication towers? Go to hell Philon, and take everyone in the Army with you.

I raised my knee again and climbed out of the window and over the flower bed. I just hoped Philon cared about me enough not to tell his father what I was planning to do. I silently made my way over to Hyun and climbed into the passenger’s seat.

“Thanks for helping me,” I said. Hyun nodded and started the engine. We drove in silence for a few moments, ever so aware of the task that lay ahead.

“You got the pass?” asked Hyun. I nodded and pulled out my dad’s work pass from my jacket pocket.

“Yup,” I said.

“Nice,” smirked Hyun. As we closed the distance between ourselves and the Army Base, I debated telling Hyun about Philon but decided against it. We had to stay clear and focused.

Before we knew it, the Army Base rolled into sight and we were driving up the driveway.

“Stick to the plan,” Hyun reminded me and he parked the vehicle outside of the main entrance. I saw the guards stationed at the security entrance glance at us curiously. Hyun stepped out of the vehicle and I followed suit.

“Hyun?” one of the guards asked.

“What brings you to work this late hour?” another asked. Hyun forced himself to look a little embarrassed.

“I forgot my tablet, my homework is due Monday,” said Hyun. It was the best excuse we thought of. The first guy chuckled.

“The joys of mandatory education,” he said. The second guy beckoned at me.

“Who’s this?” I smiled and stood there awkwardly.

“This is Tabitha,” said Hyun and he wrapped an arm around me, “we were sort of on a date before I realised I left my homework here.” The two men howled with laughter and waved us through around the security scanner and straight into the building. Hyun kept his arms around me until we turned out of sight down a corridor and we couldn’t hear the sound of their laughter anymore. Hyun and I looked at each uneasy.

“That was easy,” I said. I looked down the long corridor and shivered. It was eerily quiet here at night.

“It would take ten minutes to reach the staff room, grab my laptop then come back. Any later the guards will be suspicious. We need to hurry,” said Hyun.

“Then lead the way,” I said and gulped. The realisation of this task just kicking in. We opened the side fire exit door and started our descent down the stairs, taking two or three at a time. We were on level G and the servers were located on level -30.

“If anyone raises the alarm, just run as fast as you can, okay? If we’re separated don’t turn back. Focus on yourself. Understand?” said Hyun.

“I understand,” I said. We reached level -30 in five minutes and stared at the electronic swipe pad next to the lock.

“Here,” said Hyun and he swiped his security pass but the reader flashed red. I pulled my dad’s pass out of my jacket and swiped it instead. The reader successfully flashed green.

“What’s your dad’s position in the Army?” asked Hyun as he pushed the door open.

“Senior Engineer Officer,” I replied and peered down the new corridor. It was dark and had many doors leading off to the left and right.

“Do you know the way?” I asked.

“Nope,” admitted Hyun, “but it can’t be that hard. Room 23, right?” I nodded and together we stepped forward. The door on the left was marked with a number one. We hurriedly set off in a quick march and counted the doors. Eight ... ten ... thirteen ... sixteen ... I paused and stared at door sixteen. The plaque on the door read “weaponry room”.

“Wait!” I called out to Hyun and immediately pulled out my dad’s pass again and swiped it against the card reader. It successfully lit green.

“An interesting engineer your dad is,” whispered Hyun and I paused for a moment as a memory of missiles sitting in Dad’s engineering hall came to me. Immediately my mood lowered and I kicked the door forward with renewed hatred and determination.

Every weapon you could think of was stacked upon shelves on shelves. Assault rifles, snipers, machine guns, handguns, grenades, stun guns ... you name it.

“Wow,” said Hyun and he stepped forward and took an assault rifle down from a shelf and admired it. “Here, take this,” he said and passed it to me. He then reached for a second assault rifle and pocketed a few grenades.

We quickly exited the room and found the server room a few doors down. I swiped my dad’s pass again and pushed the door forward as the reader flashed green. We stepped inside and felt our jaws drop in awe. The room was huge, and strangely tranquil, blue and white lights dimly flashed from the servers and lit the room in a calm cool blue hue.

“Which server number was it?” asked Hyun. I flicked through my Ingo and double checked.

“Server number seventy-two,” I read out. We read the number on the nearest columns of servers, forty. They seemed to jump in tens.

“This way,” said Hyun and we veered right. I read the labels, fifty ... sixty ... seventy ...

We raced down the row and found server seventy-two. It was huge, at least two metres wide, and enclosed in a steel and glass door. I saw another card reader on the server’s enclosed case and I swiped my dad’s pass but it flashed red. Our luck had run out. I turned to Hyun who was loading the assault rifles with bullets. I didn’t even want to ask how he knew to load that thing!

“Once I shoot,” began Hyun, “the alarms will set off and we’ll perhaps only have a minute or so until guards will find us.”

“Right,” I said and took a deep breath. Hyun passed me his rifles and I passed him mine. I turned the rifle around in my hands and looked for where the trigger button was. Hyun finished cocking the second rifle.

“Ready?” he asked and took a step back and aimed the rifle at the server’s case. I nodded and took position too. “Three,” he said, “two ... one!” I closed my eyes and squeezed the trigger.

The glass instantly shattered and an ear piercing siren blasted through the room. Warning lights near the door flashed red.

“Breach in server room, level -30. Breach in server room, level -30,” a voice sounded through the room.

Hyun and I kept firing. Our bullets punctured the machine boards, hard drives and intricate wires. Sparks flew out of the server and it started to smoke. We fired and fired and imagined every piece of machinery was the Commander of the Army.

“Stop,” said Hyun and he lowered his rifle. I stopped and stared at our handiwork breathless. Now only a handful of lights pathetically flashed blue. Hyun carefully pulled the grenades out of his pocket. I looked up at him with wide eyes, he couldn’t be serious?

“Once I pull the pins, we’ll have three seconds to run. Do you understand?”

I nodded speechlessly.

“Good. Start running now, I’ll catch up-”

“Hyun-”

“No! This is for the Sectors. We need to make sure there’s nothing remaining of these servers. For your Tommy, for my friend,” he said determinedly. I bit down on my lip and glanced up at the sirens that wailed loudly. “Now go!” yelled Hyun.

I wasn’t going to be told twice. I spun around and sprinted back to the exit. The Sectors were depending on us. I shoved the door open and bolted back towards the fire exit as fast I could.

Bang!

The sheer force of the blast threw me forward and into the wall. I fell backwards and groaned. I glanced back at the server room and peered through the dust to see a figure running towards me. It was Hyun.

“Get up!” he shouted. The dust behind him swirled and twenty guards were visible, armed with guns, and were running towards us.

The chase was on.

I jumped to my feet and yanked the fire exit door open. Hyun was at my heels. We leapt up the stairs and made it two floors up when the guards burst through and fired their guns at us. Bullets rocketed off the wall.

“Faster!” screamed Hyun so I forced more speed into my legs. Suddenly my Ingo buzzed and I glanced at it to see a message from Philon.

You fucking idiot. I told you I was taking care of it. Where are you?

I smirked and flung myself up the next staircase. We were now on level -15. Like hell I was telling the traitor where I was. The door two levels above flung open and more guards entered the stairwell.

“Quick, this way,” said Hyun and he swiped his pass against the door next to us. The reader flashed green and as we quickly passed through and slammed the door behind us, Hyun aimed his assault rifle and fired a few rounds at the card reader. The cover flew off and the lock mechanism sparked and started to smoke. The guards on the other side swore and banged on the door.

“Let us in!” they shouted.

“Come on,” said Hyun and he started to run down the new corridor. I followed him already out of breath. My Ingo buzzed again.

Damn it, Tilly. Ditch Hyun and hide somewhere. I’ll come and find you.

I laughed as the realisation hit me. Philon actually had a thing for me.

“This way!” said Hyun and he ran through a door marked “vehicles”. I grinned. Now we were talking.

I followed him and felt my jaw drop. The room was a large underground warehouse filled with every vehicle you could think of ... 4x4s, quadbikes, motorbikes and even tanks. I beelined for the nearest tank-

“Are you crazy?” shouted Hyun and I turned to see him on the other side of the room swiping his security pass against the windscreen of a 4x4, similar to the one he had driven in the wastelands. The reader flashed green.

I rolled my eyes and ran over to him but quickly leapt for cover as bullets pierced through the air. I yelped and ducked behind a mini bus. Damn it! I peered behind the front wheels and cursed. A dozen armed men were positioned at the warehouse’s exit.

What was I going to do now?

I peered under the bus and saw the guards only had their attention on me. They hadn’t seen Hyun. I glanced at the 4x4 Hyun had been standing next to and saw the top of his head poking out from behind the steering wheel and looking at me fearfully. The jeep was at least 15 metres away, I had no chance joining him. I glanced down at the rifle in my hands and knew I wasn’t capable of using it against real people.

My heart was jumping through my chest and as I glanced from Hyun and back to the guards, I knew I had only one option. I turned to my Ingo and messaged Hyun.

When I say go, get out of here. I’ll distract the guards.

No, just wait. We can both get out of here.

I glanced back at the guards and saw they were advancing.

No. You said it yourself. We can’t wait for each other.

I turned my attention back onto the guards and held my breath. I waited. The timing had to be perfect. Then-

Go!

I sprinted out from behind the mini bus and bolted towards the nearest exit. I screamed as a torrent of bullets followed my trail.

Hyun reeved his vehicle’s engine and I heard a skid of tyres behind me. I risked a glance and saw Hyun racing towards the exit ramp and knocking down a few of the guards in the process. Some guards tried to fire their weapons but the bullets rebounded off the vehicle’s shell and the soldiers were forced to duck for cover. I panicked as Hyun’s car swerved a little.

“Oi!” I screamed, whilst my mind screamed, are you crazy Tilly? The guards turned their attention back to me.

Go! Go! Go!

With renewed strength, I pushed my legs forward and ran as fast as I could. My muscles strained and my lungs felt as though they were at their maximum capacity, but I forced myself forward and hoped I had granted Hyun enough time to escape. I was the one who had invited him here, none of this was his fault.

More bullets rained down on me and I screamed as one slammed into my shoulder. I stumbled and blindingly grasped a door handle of a random door as my vision flashed white. I clenched my teeth and clumsily threw my dad’s pass against the card reader and fell through the doorway and collapsed on the other side. I gasped and clutched my shoulder, only to nearly faint at the sight of blood flowing freely.

I groaned and climbed unsteadily to my feet, clutching the wall to keep me steady. I was in an office, which perhaps belonged to an army mechanic because there were tools lying everywhere. I glanced down at my hands but realised I was no longer holding the rifle. Where had it gone? I grabbed a wrench that was within arms reach and paused as a wave of dizziness washed over me. I breathed in and slowly out. My Ingo buzzed and I looked down at it but realised my vision was now blurred.

Was I dying? Surprisingly I didn’t feel pain anymore.

I heard guards approaching so I ducked behind the door.

“Search the rooms!” someone shouted. Footsteps neared and I raised my wrench, ready to fight until my last breath.

A figure, I couldn’t make out if it was a man or women, appeared in front of me and I swung the wrench forward towards their head.

“For the Sectors!” I yelled. The person yelped and I heard my wrench clatter on the ground. I took a step backwards and stumbled into the wall behind me.

“Please,” I went to beg.

I felt dizzy, the room was spinning and I felt as though I was going to vomit. The person laughed and laughed again as their fist swung down and connected with head and everything went black.