The Future In the Sky (The Empyrean Saga Book 1) by Steve Stred

Author:Steve Stred [Stred, Steve]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Black Void Publishing
Published: 2021-02-28T22:00:00+00:00

Eric

Chapter Fourteen

“Do you remember when the bombs fell?”

“I do.”

“Would you have changed anything? Done anything differently if you’d have known what was to come?”

“I wouldn’t.”

“No?”

“Sometimes chaos is necessary for rebirth.”

Chapter Fifteen

Lizzie knew Eric was standing outside of the house.

How?

The dream. Lizzie had the dream again of Eric speaking of destruction in his debriefing. But was it a dream? Or a memory somehow shared across synapses?

Lizzie stretched in bed, feeling the emptiness, longing for sensations foreign and delicious.

Declining to get dressed, Lizzie opened the door, finding Eric right where the dream had said he’d be.

“I’ve become rusted and decayed,” Lizzie said. Eric looked over the nakedness presented before him.

“Lizzie, come on, let’s get you dressed,” he said, stepping inside. Closing the door to the carnage of the bots beyond, he found Lizzie’s jump suit and helped get the limbs and torso within and covered.

“Dr. Light has sent me to retrieve you. Blood work is needed before tomorrow’s jump.”

“Of course, Eldridge will want more blood,” Lizzie said angrily.

“They collect blood from us all. Not just you. Protocols must be followed.”

“Why? What good are protocols anymore? Tomorrow we’re done and gone. Forgotten and erased.”

“Maybe from here, Lizzie, but not from ourselves.”

Eric was practically pleading now, wanting to get the last few steps finished and completed so that he could prepare for his jump.

Lizzie wished beyond anything that they weren’t jump partners. Eric looked into their eyes, deep into Lizzie’s heart with his gaze, and it caused anger, not love.

“Fine. Let’s go. For you. I wish I was never selected.”

Even though it was said harshly, Eric smiled, happy that they were progressing in the right direction.

“Lizzie, it’ll be truly amazing. I’m telling you. Our futures will be known tomorrow. We’ll leap, we’ll fall and then absorption and after… the rest of our lives will be there, laid out before us.”

Lizzie had to admit his enthusiasm was contagious, but nothing was going to make this event exciting or something Lizzie longed for.

“Shall we watch?”

Eric took Lizzie’s hand and they turned around, waiting at the entrance of the elevator. Before them, the house that had become Lizzie’s home pixelated and flickered, the nano-bots devouring the last bit of coding that allowed for its existence. A desolate waste land of sand and memories was all that was left. Lizzie felt the burning prickle of a single tear spill out of an eye and down a cheek.

“Let’s go,” Eric said, stepping into the elevator.

Lizzie followed, preventing more anguish by not looking back.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.