Page 105 of Call of the Fathoms

Mixed emotions boiled through her. She was so glad no one else would get hurt. Thrilled that the reborns and genetically enhanced children would now have a chance to live a real life, one where they weren’t changed or tormented or torn apart for research. But this building, full of all its secrets and horrible endings, had been her home. It was the place where every childhood memory had been built, good or bad. And now, everything was going to change. All because of what she had chosen.

It was the right thing to do, and she was thrilled to have won. But that didn’t mean there wasn’t some part of her that was a little sad too. Not for herself, but for the future that could have been. The future that should have been, if this place had beenfilled with good intentions and not people who wanted to tear apart the world to satisfy their own curiosity.

Gently, she pushed herself upright. She had to grab onto Fortis’s arm to steady herself, but she could already walk without feeling like she was going to fall over.

She nodded at Doctor Barker. “I’m fine. Thank you. I think you should stay here while we meet with the others, though. Just in case. I’ll explain who you are and all the things you could help them with, but... You know.”

“I appreciate any kind word you can put in for me.”

Alexia wasn’t all that certain her word would mean that much to these folks. They barely knew her. Yes, she had helped them take down their enemy and perhaps a little easier than they had expected. But at the end of the day, their bond was just as weak as with anyone else in Tau.

As she walked out into the hallway with Fortis yanking himself across the floor beside her, she looked at him and said, “You know they all owe you their lives, right?”

He seemed confused. “Who?”

“Your people. The humans that were helping you. All of them. They owe you their lives.”

He shook his head as they turned a corner. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Alexia. They don’t owe me anything.”

“You were the one to convince me that this life was worth living, even if it was hard to shake off what they had trained me to be. You were the one who proved everything to me was worthwhile. And if they didn’t have me, they never would have gotten into Tau. This city would have ruled for another two hundred years while the Originals lived an unnaturally long time. Nothing would have ended. It would have been countless years of fighting until all of our kind was entirely wiped out. All of that changed because of you and no one else, Fortis.”

He didn’t have time to answer her, because they rounded a corner to see the others gathered together. All were faces she now recognized. Mira, Arges, Anya, Daios, Ace, Maketes, even Aulax who had somehow joined the battle, even though she was sure Fortis would be angry about that.

Glancing over at the massive undine beside her, she was pleased to see she was right. His face had warped into an expression of rage as he glared at his son.

Aulax just grinned and waved at him. “Sorry, Father. You were supposed to be dead.”

“That excuses your choices, how?”

“I am an adult now.”

“And I’m still bigger than you,” Fortis snarled. “We will have words about this soon enough.”

Right, they were going to get into a bigger argument if she didn’t step in. So she strode between them, toward Mira and Ace, who were both still muttering together in front of a large glass window.

Alexia knew where they were. The window looked down into the lower level where the mess hall was. The Originals had likely never been in it before, but there were plenty of guards who knew how fortified it was. There was food as well, and that would give them time to negotiate.

Ace said, “It doesn’t look like there’s an exit from the room, but I wouldn’t put it past them to be figuring out how to make one. I know they aren’t going to give up easily, so we need to consider that this room may have an exit.”

“Let them run! Where are they going to go?”

“Beta. There is a section underneath it that we discovered where people from Tau were working, remember? The same with Gamma. They could disappear and then take over another city. It’s a goose chase we don’t want to get into, Mira. Whatif they survive? What if they convince others to follow them again?”

Alexia stood beside them, crossed her arms over her chest, and surveyed the room beyond. There were around fifty people in there. Some of them were more familiar than others. It appeared they had taken quite a few scientists and guards with them, but not as many as she’d thought. Really only one guard for each of the twenty-four Originals, and then a handful of extra scientists. They had run, but they hadn’t been able to gather as many people as they expected.

“This whole city is a blood bath,” Alexia murmured. “We’re going to have to clean the whole thing up for months to get it working properly.”

The two women behind her paused, but it was Mira who said, “Excuse me?”

“The city. You're going to take it as your main base, I assume. Your village will remain standing, of course, for those of you who want to be closer to the sun and the storms. But this city has everything you need. It has contact with all the other cities, and can control nearly everything that they get from a resource standpoint. All the programs here are how we get food and where it comes from. Not to mention you can work with the leaders of the other two cities much easier from here and could force them with the direct threat of the weapons that are stored in Tau.” She took a deep breath, her lips pressed into a firm line as she caught sight of Harlow down there. “Ace, hit that button on the wall beside you.”

Though there was a small amount of hesitancy, Ace did exactly that. She hit the button, and Alexia knew the people down below would hear her.

“It’s like shooting fish in a barrel. Which one of you should I kill first?” she snarled.

“Alexia?” Harlow’s voice echoed through the speakers on the upper portions of the walls. “Alexia, how are you up there? Did you trick them? Kill them all and release us.”

“I’m not going to do that.”

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