Page 189 of Everdoll

Yet amid all that chaotic fury, a few men hovered in the sky on flying-scooters. Looking closely, I realized they were wandering around something.

They were circling a single, motionless figure in the sky.

A shimmering blue shield encased him. Transparent, threaded with vein-like surges of blue electricity… I narrowed my eyes, peering through the glare. The silhouette resolved into a hauntingly familiar face. His long black hair was wild with static, yet he looked breathtaking as always.

“Raymond!”

My voice rose without a second thought. Eleanor, or rather, her clone, hissed. “What are you doing? Quiet!” as several eyes snapped in our direction.

“Fuck.” I breathed, taking a step back. But in an instant, the thin wisps of fog surrounding us whipped across the ground with a thud and dispersed. Then glowing electrical wires coiled around my back.

I tore a scream from my throat at sudden violence.

The white soldiers had been around ever since humanity first set foot on Mars. They existed to squash any potential rebellion or tyrannical surge. They were the true rulers of this planet, answerable to no master. Their sole directive was to protect this world for eternity; they held no beliefs, no political stances.

Some even whispered that they were an ancient tribe native to Mars.

And in all twenty-three years of my life, I had never done a single thing to draw their wrath. Even when I was swimming in treacherous waters, broadcasting high-risk news.

Apparently, approaching Raymond Loxton—or Kern—was the ultimate crime.

“Mina Olind.” The robotic voice hailed as the soldier ripped the mask from my face and hoisted me into the air.

I was suspended at almost the exact same level as Raymond. He was floating inside a colossal circle, his eyes unfocused, staring blankly into the distance. I, on the other hand, was lifted high in the iron grip of soldiers whose arms resembled toilet pipes, coiling around my body like an octopus. They held me like a toy a spoiled child might hurl to the ground at any second.

From up here, everyone below looked like ants. Anxiety broke through the usual impassive facade on Eleanor’s face. Krivan, hunched over one of the headstones, looked stressed and exhausted. Unlike the white soldiers, his eyes remained glued to Raymond.

“Unauthorized departure from Mars. Unauthorized entry to Mars.” The soldier’s gray-visor helmet turned toward me, a red light blinking near its ear. “Unauthorized access to the Buzz. Forty-seven counts. Unauthorized access to Lesse. Three counts.”

“I’m a reporter, I have rights!” I shouted immediately, but another electrical shock to my back twisted my voice into a high-pitched scream once again.

I closed my eyes against the agonizing pain, opening them only when the wind whipping around me intensified.

The clouds, which had been pitch-black just moments ago, had darkened into a deep, volatile navy, moving at a speed far greater than before. And the person steering all of this was the man trapped inside the bubble. His eyes were no longer unfocused like a moment ago. Even though he wasn’t looking directly at us yet, he gained his consciousness.

Had my scream awakened him?

I tried to shout his name again, but one of the soldiers clapped a heavy hand over my mouth, stripping me of that tiny luxury.

“Dispose of the girl.”

“You can’t!”

This time, it was Eleanor’s clone who intervened. She had been furious with me just a moment ago for drawing attention, but now she showed no trace of fear.

“Can’t you see? The host cannot control the energy. The Umbra cells are tearing him apart instead of binding together. We need her!”

“What does this have to do with Mina Olind?”

One of the soldiers demanded. I noticed how accustomed they were to her presence; they didn’t treat her with the same hostility they showed me.

Eleanor’s clone tilted her head and took a deep breath. “She has the regulator.”

“What?”

I wasn’t sure if that breathless exclamation came from me or the white soldiers. I just stared at her in shock. The regulator… She had mentioned it back at the table, but if I had it, why hadn’t she said anything then?

“Then take it from her.” The cables tightened their crush around my ribs, but Eleanor shouted instantly, commanding them to stop.