Beneath the Fallen City - Jamie A. Waters (large ebook reader .txt) 📗
- Author: Jamie A. Waters
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“As a precaution, yes.”
“That’s probably wise,” Seara admitted. “It can’t hurt anyway.”
Kayla looked at Seara. “From what I’ve seen, everyone seems to have specific talents. What’s yours?”
Seara smiled and walked across the room to stand next to one of the plants. She held out her hand toward the plant. Nothing happened right away. After a moment, the plant began to grow and blossom. “I can connect with plant energy. It’s one of my passions. We have a garden room, if you’d like to see it sometime.”
Kayla’s jaw dropped. The implications of such an ability were extraordinary. No wonder they were able to grow their own food to feed all of OmniLab. “That’s freaking amazing. How did you do that?”
“I’ll show you,” Seara offered and took Kayla’s hand. “You’ll need to go ahead and create a small connection with me.”
Kayla used one of her threads to create a small connection with Seara and was surprised at the feeling. The connection between Seara felt distinctly different than the one she shared with Alec. A flash of a memory crept into Kayla’s mind and she gasped, remembering a large room filled with plants and Seara’s smiling face.
Seara looked hopeful. “You remembered something, didn’t you?”
“I think so,” Kayla whispered. “The garden room, I think. Did you take me there when I was little?”
Seara nodded. “You used to play in there while I was gardening.”
More memories and faces flooded Kayla’s mind. The suddenness of the images was disorienting. She dropped Seara’s hand and stepped back. “Are you doing that?”
Seara shook her head. “No. It might be the connection.”
Kayla frowned. Alec walked over to her, a look of concern on his face. “Are you all right?”
She was quiet for a moment. “Yeah, I think I started remembering little flashes.” She looked up at him and cocked her head. “Did I… push you into a fountain?”
Seara burst into laughter. Alec gave a wry smile and nodded. “Yes. You were a rather precocious nuisance even at five years old.”
“Actually, it was well-deserved if I recall correctly,” Seara added. “You were teasing her.”
Alec chuckled. “Yes, well, I was apparently a rather precocious nuisance too.”
The door beeped, and Seara headed to the door. Alec looked down at Kayla. “I expect those are your friends. I doubt they’ll appreciate my presence. I should probably take my leave, but I’ll be back in the morning.”
He took Kayla’s hand and kissed the top of it gently. She felt him send a slight trickle of energy over her. She raised an eyebrow. “Not that I’m complaining, but what was that for?”
“So when you’re with Carl, you’ll remember what I can offer you,” he said in a low voice.
Oh crap. He’s doing it again. He’s too damn sexy for his own good.
Alec smiled at her knowingly and Kayla muttered, “I don’t know why I even bother thinking anymore. Go. Get out of here. You’re nothing but trouble.”
Seara led Veridian and Carl into the room, followed by Cruncher and Xantham. Cruncher let out a low whistle. “Damn, Kayla, you’ve got a nice place here.”
Alec turned to look at the newcomers. “You’ll be expected to take your leave the day after tomorrow. Your entrance to this area will only be authorized until then.” He turned to Kayla and said more warmly, “If you need me for anything, please call. I’m right down the hall.”
With a brief nod at Carl’s crew, Alec bowed to Seara and left their quarters.
Crossing his arms, Carl was glad to see him go. It hadn’t escaped his attention that Alec seemed to take every opportunity to touch Kayla in some way. He didn’t consider himself to be a jealous man, but there were limits. He just wished he could get a read on Kayla’s feelings.
Xantham leaned toward Carl. “I don’t like that guy.”
Carl nodded and muttered, “You’re not the only one.”
“Let me show you to your rooms,” Seara offered.
They followed her down the hallway, and she showed them to each of the prepared rooms. After putting their things down, Seara opened up the safe room for them. “I know you have things you want to do so I’ll get out of your way. I’ll have some food out in the living area whenever you get hungry.”
Kayla set up one of the computer terminals and glanced over at them. “How far did you guys get with the program?”
Cruncher linked his terminal connection with hers and said, “We were able to get into the system easily enough with Alec’s access codes, but their monitoring system is pretty complex. There are a few loopholes we discovered, though, and I started coding a few things. We could definitely use your help in exploiting them.”
Once their systems were up and running, Kayla set to work reading Cruncher’s code and making modifications. Carl watched as Cruncher began debating back and forth with her about possible changes. Her adeptness with technology continued to impress him, especially given her camp’s limited resources. Xantham occasionally threw in a few comments but primarily amused himself by reading through OmniLab’s sensitive data with Alec’s passcodes.
Once he was confident they were engrossed in their project, Carl headed back into the living room with Veridian. Seara looked up from placing a tray of food on a table and smiled at them. “Please help yourself. If Kayla’s anything like her father, she’ll end up immersed in whatever she’s doing and forget to eat.”
Veridian laughed and reached for a plate. “Yep, that’s her. Kayla forgets everything when she gets started on a project.”
Carl looked at the expanse of food. “I’ll take something to her.”
“Thank you, Carl,” Seara said, handing him an empty plate. She looked at him, her gaze hesitant. “I know it’s none of my business, but most people wouldn’t have gone to the lengths you have for my daughter. You jeopardized your entire future. You care about her, don’t you?”
Carl paused, assessing Seara carefully to gauge her reaction to his words. He was well aware that many Inner Circle members didn’t care much for outsiders. He wasn’t sure if she was one of those who harbored conventional views but decided it best to keep his answer conservative. “Your daughter is an incredible woman. I’ve never met anyone like her.”
Seemingly unaware of his concerns, Seara smiled happily. “She is, isn’t she? The more time I spend with her the more she reminds me of her father. I wish she’d been able to get to know him.”
Relaxing somewhat, Carl began making up a plate of food. “I can’t help but wonder how different her life would have been if she had grown up here instead. But I’m glad I’ve had the opportunity to get to know her.”
Seara studied him thoughtfully for a long moment, but she didn’t say anything more. Instead, she handed Carl a fork and napkin to take to Kayla. Armed with a plate of food, Carl carried it to the safe room while Veridian stayed behind with Seara.
Xantham’s eyes widened when he saw the plate. “Real food? I’ll be back.” He jumped up and ran out of the room.
Carl chuckled and put the plate down next to Kayla. “You need to eat something.”
Kayla nodded absently and took a bite without bothering to look away from the screen. She continued working, and Carl waited patiently for her to resume eating. When she continued to ignore him, he cleared his throat to get her attention. “One bite isn’t going to cut it, Kayla. Have you eaten anything today?”
“Huh? What?” Kayla blinked at him, her confusion evident.
“You need to eat something,” he reminded her.
“Oh, right.” She glanced down at the plate as though seeing it for the first time. She dutifully took another bite before turning back to the computer.
Carl stopped her. “If I have to physically remove you from the computer, I will. Take a short break, Kayla.”
She scowled. “You’re a pain in the ass.”
“So you’ve said,” he agreed. “Repeatedly.”
Cruncher looked up, pretending to be affronted. “What? You didn’t bring me a plate?”
Carl raised an eyebrow. “Next time you’re locked up against your will, I’ll consider it. In the meantime, though, you can get off your ass and get yourself something.”
Cruncher chuckled, stood, and headed out of the room. Kayla ate a few more bites before pushing the plate away. She looked at Carl expectantly, and he sighed in resignation. He took her plate while she turned back to the computer. Within a few minutes, she was back to being totally engrossed in her computer.
He shook his head, heading back into the common area.
“Well, she ate a few bites,” Carl informed Seara. The woman took the plate from Carl and gestured to the table. “Why don’t you have a seat and fix yourself something?”
He obliged and sat with the rest of his crew. When they finished eating, Cruncher and Xantham headed back to the safe room while Carl, Veridian, and Seara remained behind, talking. After several hours, Veridian and Seara headed to their respective rooms to get some rest.
Carl walked back into the safe room. It appeared Cruncher and Xantham
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