Chapter One

The old woman burst from the elevator, careening toward the growing mass of people hemmed in by the Vanguard. The rest of the passengers followed, but stopped when a reaping vulture snatched a Guardian and dragged him into the smoke. There was more screaming as the Vanguard began firing. The Guardians towards the rear were trying to usher the frantic crowd away, but their orders were drowned out by the horrid wailing of the dying Infected. Someone was crawling out of the smoke, but the Vanguard couldn’t see her. I ran toward the woman and reached to try and pull her to her feet.

“Get back, son!” one of the Guardians shouted.

If I did, she was as good as dead. I stayed, but as my hands closed around hers, the shriek of a reaping vulture split my ears and the two of us were pulled into the smoke. My grip on the woman’s hands slipped and then she was gone, her screams replaced by the thunder of gunshots.

Sticking close to the ground and trying not to breathe the smoke in, I looked for a way out. Through the smoke, the armor of the Vanguards glinted and the muzzles of their guns flashed like lightning as they fired at the intruders. A sulfurous stench stalked through the air, and I couldn’t tell if the debris on my hands was shards of glass or something else. I heard the scream of a vulture and then felt it slam into the ground beside me. Before its blood could spread across the floor and possibly infect me, I rolled further into the smoke. I bumped into something and immediately kicked it. If it wasn’t dead or healthy, I had to get away. Someone yelped, but not like an Infected. High pitched. A young woman’s voice.

“I’m not Infected!” I screamed, reaching out to grab them. We had a better chance surviving together than if the vultures found us apart.

She flinched beneath my grip.

“Let go of me!”

“I’m trying to help!”

A vulture screeched above us and I rolled into her, pushing her out of the way of the wicked claws that sent sparks into the darkness. Its shriek split my being and for a moment, I was unable to move. Then the wall of wind tore at me as the reaping vulture moved on to an easier target.

I grabbed the girl’s shoulder and hissed, “Be quiet! They can hear us.”

“I told you to let go of me,” she hissed back.

Her voice was drowned out by another volley of shots. I turned towards the source of the muzzle flashes and began to crawl, tugging her along. Then again came the shrieking of the reaping vulture and I rolled into the smoke. The claws screeched against the metal floor and the wings beat again, carrying the vulture away. For a second, I was tempted to leave her, but I wouldn’t do that, especially after trying to save someone else.

I rolled backwards, landing next to the girl again.

“Follow me and we’ll crawl out.”

“I can’t see you!”

This time, when I grabbed her upper arm, she didn’t protest.

We emerged from the smoke and began to gulp for air. In front of us, a group of screaming citizens was being corralled by Vanguards within one of the Agora shops. As more people ran up to the group, the Vanguards turned and grabbed them before they could get too close. They tossed the newcomers like they were half-finished droids to the shop next door. The entrance was barricaded with the Vanguards’ folding barriers. Inside were a small group of people screaming and clawing to get out. But the armored figures kept them contained, occasionally throwing one in and then quickly closing the breach.

One of the Vanguards saw us and shouted, “Come here!”

Something howled behind us.

A man stood wreathed in smoke, trembling. There was a gash on his arm where another Infected had gotten him. His body swelled, outlining his veins. It was only an instant more before he ran towards us. The girl screamed as she backpedaled; I was only seconds ahead of her. Behind us, the Vanguard opened fire, riddling the man’s body with bullets. He fell, fixing his black marble eyes on us and grabbing at the girl. A few swift kicks from her and he was far enough away for the Vanguard to resume fire. He thrashed this way and that as bullets tore at his flesh and blood began to pool on the floor. Two Vanguards ran out and grabbed me and the girl just as the Infected laid still.

With that, the sounds of death receded, replaced by the repetition of the alarms and the low crackling of the fires. Most of the smoke in the Grand Agora had risen far above us, revealing the patch the Vanguard had made out of the same barriers that were holding in the people waiting for testing. More of the Vanguard had arrived and extinguished the fire with retardant grenades. Others were ushering the Arcology’s inhabitants away while keeping in a crowd of possible Infected. My vision was blocked by the gleaming helmet of a Vanguard Guardian.

“Did it scratch you?”

Both of us were too stunned to respond.

“Did it scratch you?” The Vanguard asked.

“No.” I shook my head, holding up my arms as evidence.

He grabbed one of my wrists and twisted it painfully so that he could see the underside. When he deduced that my arms were covered in debris and not scratch marks, he let it go and then turned to the girl. Now that we were out of the smoke, I could see what she looked like. She stood defiantly, like a bolt that refused to go into its girder. Stony eyes framed by short raven hair glared at me.

The Vanguard repeated the question to the girl. She was holding her sleeve, but shook her head. He examined her arms with a dubious look.

“You two stay here.” He turned and his audio amplifiers kicked in as he bellowed, “We need the detector over here!”

A white face turned towards us with a sudden, jerky movement. It had a long, white beak and two round, black eyes. Its body was the same pearly white as its face and thin as bones. It hobbled over to us, pistons whirring with each calculated step. Two Vanguards came up behind us and grabbed the tops of our arms. We didn’t struggle; they’d shoot us if we did.

The detector stopped in front of us with a heavy footstep. It looked at me with those black eyes and they whirred for a moment. After it identified my face, the whirring stopped.

“Put out your arm,” the Guardian ordered.

I reached my arm out and the detector leaned itself forward as smoothly as its joints could manage. The curved beak popped and a needle emerged. The Vanguard grabbed my arm to steady it as the detector slipped the needle into my vein. I hissed, almost inaudibly.

The tip of its beak turned crimson and then it was done. It slipped backward and rose to its full height, slightly shorter than most grown men. The needle slipped back into the beak and the detector stood still, processing the sample. If I was Infected, it would buzz and the Vanguard would shoot me. If not, it would only beep and I would be free to go. I didn’t think that there was any chance that I had been infected, but then, no one did. Even if I was, saving someone was a good last act for the grandson of a war hero.

The thought only loosened terror’s grip by an inch.

After a long moment, the detector beeped and turned to examine the girl. Immediately, I could breathe easier. The Vanguard behind me let go, but I stayed to see what would happen. I wanted to know if going back into the smoke to get her would end in death. The small cylinder hidden within the detector’s beak whirred and a new needle popped into place. The girl didn’t even breathe when the needle went in, nor when it slipped out again. Her face was stoic as she watched the detector calculate her fate.

There was more whirring in the detector as it processed. Then it turned its head towards the Vanguard standing beside us and beeped.

The Vanguard, a Guardian, let go of her and went off to process the rest of the potential Infected. The detector swiveled its head and shoulders so that it was in alignment and then made its way over to the group of people behind the barrier. Their screaming had gone quiet, now replaced by crying. Above us, the Reader on the intercom was saying, “The breach has been sealed. Processing is underway. Remain where you are. Submit to testing by the detectors.”

I turned to look at the girl.

“Are you okay?”

“No thanks to you.”

She would have stalked off, but as it was, we had to stay still until processing was complete. Behind us, the Vanguards were zipping the Infected into a body-bag while others were testing the rest of the survivors.

“What do you mean? If I hadn’t pulled you out, the Infected would have gotten you.”

“I can take care of myself,” she snapped.

“That’s not how it looked to me.” Her eyes were loaded pistols aiming for the best shot to maximize blood loss. I bristled under her gaze. “Look, I could have died or gotten infected pulling you out of there. A ‘thank you’ would be nice.”

The Reader’s voice spoke. “Processing complete. Return to your activities. Glory to the Archon Lord Avintus.”

“You know what? Fine. Thank you, featherbrain, for never seeing me again.”

With that, she turned and walked over the field of broken glass, being sure to avoid the bloodstains that the stout janitorial droids were already beginning to clean up.

I had apparently saved someone who didn’t want help. But, at least I was alive. And the clouds outside had parted just enough to see the stars. It was almost enough for me to forget the blood, carnage, and death that surrounded me. Things like this had happened in my grandfather’s generation, but those times were supposed to be over. We were assured that the Arcology was safe: immortal like her People and her ruler. But something had gone wrong, the Infected had breached the Arcology, and now it was all too clear that we were anything but safe.