We need to reach Perri before his captors are stupid enough to get him killed.
7
A creature of metal and wires.
“You would think that at the end of the world, all religions would disappear. After all, where are all the deities, angels, and saints when you need them the most? But no. Often, disaster enhances beliefs. The Rise must be the long-awaited judgment, the punishment for all our sins. Most religions survived the end of the world, like rodents during a flood. They gather, all teeth and claws, and they bite.”
Extract from a handwritten journal by James MacKoy, 2056.
PERRI
The carriage sways with every rock and pothole we hit. Nausea rises, and I breathe slowly through my nose. We’ve beenlocked in the dark for hours; the sunbeam shining through the doorframe is the only sign that it’s still daylight outside. My hands and feet are going numb—the ropes are too tight, and they’re cutting the blood flow.
Vex is at my side. They bundled her up like luggage, her limbs twisted at unnatural angles. I freed her from the darkness of the underground lab just to deliver her to another lightless prison.
“I’m so sorry,” I say again, voice raw from crying for hours.
I should have brought her back to the Market without delay. I should never have left without Stellan. Now I might never see him again.
“Perri, stop,” Vex says. “I’m the one who’s sorry for not being able to protect you. I fear they captured us because of me.” Their disdain of her has been quite obvious. “How is your leg?”
I sigh. “It stopped bleeding.”
Our captors pulled the arrow out of my calf with no care that it ripped skin and flesh. But the wound isn’t too deep, and I didn’t lose enough blood for it to be dangerous. My biggest fear is infection. They haven’t cleaned it. Which means they don’t intend for me to survive long enough for it to matter. They keep calling us ‘the sacrifices’. I have my suspicions on why, and they’re not comforting.
The air smells damp and earthy. We’re still close to the bay.
Shouts erupt outside, and the carriage stops. Then light blinds me as the door opens. I blink away tears. Marcus, our captors’ leader, gestures, and two of his men grab me. They drag me kicking out of our prison on wheels.
“Perri!” Vex screams. “Let him go, please!” She’s crawling in my clotting blood, her hands and feet twisted behind her back. She looks like a human-sized broken doll. But her blue eyes full of anguish appear painfully human as the door closes and I lose sight of her.
They drop me on the floor without care, and the impact knocks the air out of my lungs.
When I’ve finally come to my senses, I realize that we’re at the beginning of a pier, the kind that was used to anchor small boats. A few of the planks have rotted away after thirty-years left unattended, but the concrete parts still hold.
They carry me to the end of the pier and tie me to a hook before hoisting me up between two metallic rods. My feet leave the ground and in a matter of seconds, I’m dangling in the air. I’m strung up like a fish in those old pictures from before the Rise.
“Why are you doing this?” I cry out.
My question remains unanswered. The men and women bring bloody bags out of the carriage. I know what’s inside; I’ve seen them cut the dead horse’s flesh.
I whimper as they place the bloody meat around me and throw some more into the water.
“Fuuuuuuuck…” I say.
“Do scream. It’ll be over quicker,” says Marcus with a little smile.
“Why are you doing this?” Nothing makes sense.
This time, he answers me. “Sacrifices have to be made to appease the old gods. They’re the planet’s retribution, and we have to make amends.” He bows his head towards the bay.
I knew they were zealots out there; I’ve heard the merchants’ tales. There are entire communities who worship the giant creatures. But I didn’t think they would go that far.
“Then make amends yourself and keep me out of this!” I shout.
He sighs. “We’re already on the right path. But people like you, worshippers of technology who hold on to the old ways, are the reason we haven’t fully entered the new age yet. The godswill receive you as a sacrifice. And your robot—the abomination—will be the ultimate sacrifice. We’re bringing it home.”
“Shit, shit, shit…” I kick my legs in the air, trying to hit him. It’s a desperate attempt to do something—anything!—but I only manage to swivel.
