The Shadow in My Hand

The Fall of the Sky Grid

The roof of the train flies off into the dark. Cold wind rushes into the small room. I throw my arm up to block my face from the flying pieces of iron. Beside me, Elena drops to one knee. Her hand moves to her empty belt before she remembers her rifle is out of power.

Four massive shapes drop down from the open roof into the dark cabin. They are heavy combat units in dark armor. Their chests glow with blue light. Their red eyes lock straight onto me.

"Target confirmed," a deep voice says from the lead unit. "Project Seven is secure. Prepare for extraction."

I clench my right hand into a fist. The barcode on my skin burns with a hot, blinding light. I am not going back to the lab. I am not letting them put me back in a cage.

"Not today," I say.

I lunge forward and slam my glowing fist directly into the lead unit's chest plate. A loud shockwave blasts outward. The armor shatters instantly. The heavy unit flies backward out through the open roof and crashes hard against the tunnel wall.

The remaining three units raise their heavy plasma rifles, aiming straight at my head.

"Caleb, watch out!" Elena shouts.

She leaps across the cabin, tackling me to the floor just as a wave of blue plasma beams melts the metal bench where I was standing a second before. Heat washes over our backs.

I push myself up off the floor and grab a heavy piece of the torn roof. With a sharp grunt, I throw the jagged sheet of iron like a spinning blade. It strikes the two closest units and knocks their weapons wide.

Before they can recover, Elena is already moving. She springs off the metal console, kicks the third unit square in the visor, and grabs its sidearm before flipping backward onto the floor.

"Catch!" Elena says, tossing the heavy military pistol to me.

I catch the weapon out of the air and turn to face the final unit standing inside the cabin. I do not bother aiming down the sights. I pull the trigger three times in a row. Bright energy bolts slam into the helmet and short out the visual sensors in a shower of sparks. The heavy soldier stumbles backward and collapses onto the floor.

We stand side by side in the middle of the ruined cabin, breathing heavily, surrounded by smoke and broken metal.

"That was too close," I say, lowering the smoking pistol.

"We are still in the middle of their primary transit grid," Elena replies, keeping her eyes fixed on the open roof above. "When those units went offline, the upper command tower received the signal. More are coming."

She is right. A low, rumbling vibration begins to shake the tracks beneath our feet, heavier than before.

I look up through the torn roof. Far above, the tunnel ceiling parts open, revealing the massive neon towers of District 3 stretching up into the night sky. A fleet of black military gunships hovers above the opening, their searchlights sweeping down across the tracks.

"They brought the air fleet," I say, my jaw tightening.

"Sloan must have tipped off the high command," Elena says, her expression turning hard. "She wants us cornered so she can pick up the pieces after the military clears the tunnels."

"Then we do not use the train anymore," I say, stepping toward the edge of the broken roof.

"What are you planning to do?" Elena asks, watching me closely. "Jump up to the upper towers?"

"Why not?" I hold up my right hand, letting the white energy spark across my knuckles until the air around my fingers warps. "We broke their core and their containment cells. Let us see how they handle us in their own backyard."

Elena looks at me for a long second, then a slow, dangerous smile spreads across her face.

"Alright, Project Seven," she says, cocking her head toward the hovering gunships above. "Let us show them what happens when the test subjects fight back."

I bend my knees, gathering all the raw energy from my wrist down into my legs, and launch us both straight up out of the ruined train toward the sky.

The air turns freezing cold as we blast upward. My boots leave a crater in the metal roof as I launch us straight toward the open sky of District 3. The wind screams past our ears, tearing at our jackets and blurring the towering skyscrapers that loom above us like giant pillars of glass and steel.

Far above, three black military gunships hover in a tight circle, their searchlights painting the smoke-filled air with harsh white beams.

"They see us!" Elena shouts over the roaring wind, her arms locked tight around my waist as we soar through the gap in the tunnel ceiling.

"Good," I say. "Save us the trip of looking for them."

I flick my right wrist. The barcode on my skin flares with intense white heat. I thrust my hand forward, and a massive wave of energy shoots out like a bolt of lightning, striking the lead gunship square in its belly plates.

The heavy aircraft shudders violently. Sparks rain down from its thrusters as it loses control, spinning out of formation and smashing hard into the side of a nearby skyscraper.

The remaining two gunships instantly shift their heavy cannons toward us, opening fire with a furious barrage of red plasma bolts.

"Hard left!" Elena warns, twisting her body to help steer us through the air.

We corkscrew through the storm of fire, plasma bolts melting the steel ledges and glass panels inches from our faces. We land with a loud crash on a wide landing pad near the top of a towering communications tower.

I roll across the metal floor, coming up on one knee with my fists glowing. Beside me, Elena springs up instantly, drawing her combat knife from her boot.

Before we can catch our breath, the heavy steel doors at the back of the landing pad slide open with a hiss.

A dozen heavily armored enforcers march out onto the platform, led by a tall figure in a dark trench coat. The man stops, looking at us with cold eyes.

"Project Seven," Commander Vesper says, his voice mechanical and heavy. He pulls a massive plasma blade from his belt, the edge humming with deadly blue light. "You should have stayed in the core. Now, there is nowhere left to run."

I stand up slowly, letting the white energy crawl up my arms.

"I am not running anymore, Vesper," I say, a dangerous smile touching my lips. "Let us finish this."

The blue glow of Commander Vesper's plasma blade casts long, jagged shadows across the metal landing pad.

I do not wait for him to make the first move. I kick off the grated floor, my boots leaving a dent in the steel as I launch myself straight at him. The white energy on my wrist flares hot and bright, cutting through the smoky air of the District 3 skyline.

Vesper brings his blade down in a heavy, sweeping arc meant to cut me in half.

I duck under the swing at the last second, sliding across the slick metal surface, and slam my fist directly into his armored side.

A loud metallic crunch echoes across the rooftop. Vesper stumbles backward three steps, his heavy boots scraping against the edge of the precipice, but he catches his balance before falling off the ledge.

"You think brute force will save you, boy?" Vesper rasps, his single glowing eye narrowing behind his mask. "The Council built you. Every drop of energy in your veins belongs to us."

"Then come and take it back," I snap.

Beside me, Elena moves like a ghost. She darts past the line of advancing enforcers, her combat knife flashing in the neon light. She slices through the control cables on the back of the nearest guard's armor, dropping him instantly before he can raise his rifle.

"Do not let them flank us!" Elena calls out, ducking under a barrage of plasma fire as the remaining enforcers open up.

The landing pad turns into a war zone. Red and blue energy bolts flash through the air, melting the railings and shattering the glass panels of the communications tower. We are outnumbered, outgunned, and standing on top of a mile-high tower with no way down except through an army of elite soldiers.

And yet, for the first time since I woke up in that fake tavern, I feel completely alive.

"Vesper is mine," I say, locking eyes with the massive commander.

I charge forward again. Vesper swings his plasma blade with terrifying speed, but I use my agility to dodge every strike, closing the distance between us until I am right inside his guard.

I grab the heavy steel collar of his armor with both hands. The white energy from my wrists floods into his suit, overloading his internal systems in a shower of brilliant blue sparks.

Vesper gasps, his robotic eye flickering wildly before going completely black. His massive frame goes rigid, and he crashes hard onto the metal deck, motionless.

The remaining enforcers hesitate for a fraction of a second, shocked to see their commander defeated so fast.

"Now!" Elena shouts, tossing me an empty energy canister she picked up from a fallen guard.

I catch it, channel my remaining power into it, and hurl it directly into the main control console of the communications tower.

The canister explodes on impact, sending a massive shockwave of light and sound through the entire array. Across District 3, every neon billboard, every street screen, and every Council broadcast terminal flickers, turns black, and then flashes a single, bold message in bright red letters:

THE SYSTEM IS DEAD. WAKE UP.

Silence falls over the landing pad as the hum of the city's central control grid dies away forever.

Elena walks over to my side, her chest heaving as she catches her breath. She looks out over the vast, sprawling expanse of Neo-Eden as thousands of lights begin to blink on in the lower districts where people are finally opening their doors and stepping out into the real world.

"You actually broke the whole thing," Elena says softly, turning her head to look at me. Her usual cold mask is completely gone, replaced by a raw, genuine look I have never seen on her face before.

"We broke it," I correct her, letting the white energy fade from my hands.

Before she can answer, the ground beneath our feet gives a violent shudder. The communications tower groans, its internal supports snapping under the weight of the core overload.

The entire platform begins to tilt toward the abyss.

"Hold on!" I yell, wrapping my arms tight around Elena's waist just as the floor drops out from beneath us into empty space.