The Beyond: Dystopian Survival Fiction (The Breeder Files Book 4) by Eliza Green (most popular novels TXT) 📗

‘Shit, where?’

‘Through that door.’ She pointed. When Dom went to follow, she stopped him with a hand. He stared down at her. ‘He’s gone. I checked.’

Jacob entered the foyer. ‘What’s going on?’

‘The prisoner escaped,’ said Dom.

Carissa appeared next, hugging her middle, her wide eyes combing the space. This place must have meant more to her than it had to the humans who lived in this city.

Anya pointed at the room. ‘What’s in there?’

‘The Great Hall.’ Her voice was barely a whisper. ‘It’s where the Collective lives. Or lived.’

‘Not anymore.’

Dom focused on her. ‘What did you see?’

‘About a hundred inactive Copies, but looking like they could be activated at any time.’

Dom dragged a hand down his face and looked around. ‘We should search every inch of this place, leaving that room till last.’

He nodded at the Great Hall.

The Learning Centre wasn’t big. In fact, they checked it in five minutes flat. All they found were a few empty rooms, none of which led to the back of the Great Hall and the supposed corridor. Otherwise, there was just a locked door one down from the hall. Carissa confirmed it was a download room and likely to have Copies inside.

They approached the Great Hall with caution. It was the only place left to try. Dom opened the door to reveal the scene that had stolen Anya’s breath away. The Copies were all in sentry mode, eyes open, as if waiting for a command. Anya spotted Julius and one of the blank-newborn foot soldiers who’d kidnapped Jerome and Alex.

She nudged Dom and pointed.

‘At least we know where they are,’ he said softly. ‘Okay, let’s see what happens when I enter the room.’

Her breathing turned shallow when Dom stepped inside. The second he did, the Copies activated. Their eyes trained on him. He stumbled back out of the room. The Copies went into deactivated mode.

‘We can’t go in there.’

Jacob looked down at Carissa. ‘Can you try?’ He explained to the others. ‘They may be programmed to keep humans out, but they might not react to one of their own.’

Carissa nodded once. She licked her lips and opened the door, then stepped inside. The Copies didn’t activate. She hesitated, looking at Jacob.

He encouraged her with a nod. ‘Check the room, Carissa. Check for panels. You know it well.’

She looked unsure. ‘I’ve only ever stood before the screens. I’ve never been allowed to do more than that.’

‘Now’s your chance.’

The girl turned back, her borrowed military boots squeaking on the white-tiled floor. She froze when she reached the first Copy, checked it visually, then walked the perimeter of the room. The taller Copies made keeping a visual on her small frame impossible. Anya heard the girl knock on the walls and press panels.

A hidden panel. Could that be their way out? Carissa arrived at a door, the one Anya had seen Dom’s Copy guard leave through. She opened it, then closed it. She continued her search, arriving back at the screens, where she became visible once more. She hurried past the Copies to return to the start.

‘There’s a door, Jacob,’ she breathed out. ‘It leads to the outside. But there is another way out. I almost didn’t see the panel. It’s to the left of the screen. It appears to lead down.’

‘That must be it!’ said Dom. ‘The way out of this city and to the Beyond.’

But Anya saw one hundred problems with that prospect. And they were all staring ahead of them.

18

Dom

Anya thumbed inside the room. ‘How do we get past them?’

Dom studied the Copies, who were focusing ahead of them. He entered the room a second time, putting one foot inside the space. The second he did, the Copies blinked and refocused on him. He stepped back out and their faces and stares returned to their vacant state.

Their response to him lifted tightness in his chest that had been lodged there for days. He carried tech inside him belonging to the city, but it wasn’t enough to trigger a response. That small test gave him hope that he was still human.

He pushed past the others in the corridor and returned to the foyer. The farther away from the room he got, the better. He turned to see all eyes were on him to solve another problem.

So far, he’d been useless as a leader.

Both Vanessa and Charlie looked concerned and he considered handing the reins over to them. They had more experience than him.

‘Let’s talk through the options,’ said Anya.

Her soft voice snapped his focus to her. He noticed the group had gathered loosely around her. Carissa was sticking close to Jacob. Rover and his mate sat outside, their tongues lolling to one side as they watched the gathering inside.

‘Can we destroy them?’ asked one soldier.

Carissa shifted nervously, then drew nearer to Jacob.

‘Can they be destroyed, Jacob?’ Dom asked.

The old man rubbed his chin. ‘I suppose so. I’ve never looked into it.’

Carissa fidgeted with the hem of her top. ‘There’s another way.’ All eyes were on her. ‘We can disable them.’

Thomas nodded. ‘Of course. The Copies are basically computer programs. We might be able to hack them, disturb their most recent command somehow.’

Anya asked Carissa, ‘Do you think they know about the secret passage?’

Carissa shook her head. ‘The exit isn’t on any maps I have—or had—access to.’

‘So, why is there an army in that room?’ asked Anya.

Carissa glanced back at the space. ‘The Copies might be there in case of an attack. It’s hardwired into all Copy programming that the Collective must be protected at all costs.’

That gave Dom some encouragement. ‘So we might be on the right track with disabling them?’

Carissa nodded.

Their priority was getting inside that