When The World Ended, I Stole Tomorrow

Chapter 9: The Severed Tether

Fifty-nine seconds.

The automated warning system in the silo was speaking in a voice. It was echoing through the room. Ronan was feeling panic. It was tearing through his chest. The voice was completely calm.

The violet shard in Leo's neck started to pulse fast. It was emitting a high-frequency whine. The sound was vibrating in Ronan's teeth.

Hold his head Ronan yelled. He dropped his rifle on the floor. Then he took out his knife from his belt.

Elias was standing frozen in the doorway. His eyes were wide with horror. He was staring at the glowing metal stuck to Leo's spine. You can't cut that out, Ronan, Elias said. I told you it's connected to his nervous system. If you cut the nerve, his heart will stop. If you don't turn it off with a computer, the bio-explosive will blow up.

I don't have a computer, and we don't have time Ronan shouted. He grabbed Elias by his jacket. Pulled him into the room. Put your hands on his shoulders. Don't let him move. If he moves, I will hurt his brain.

Forty-five seconds.

Elias fell to his knees. He was shaking hard. He put his hands on Leo's shoulders.

Ronan stood behind the metal chair. He looked at the technology stuck in Leo's flesh. The skin around it was black and dead. It had veins spreading out like a spider's web.

The special forces training was not helping. Ronan had to do this on his own.

He put the knife against Leo's neck.

Leo's head snapped back. His eyes locked onto Ronan. They were glowing purple. The voice coming out of his throat was not human. It was a mix of echoes.

You can't save him the voice said. In the timeline, he died of hunger. In the fiftieth, you killed him to save him from monsters. He is supposed to die because of your failure. We are just making it happen faster.

Shut up Ronan said. He pushed the knife into Leo's flesh.

Thirty seconds.

Leo screamed. His body was shaking hard. Elias was struggling to hold him down. Blood was pouring out of the wound. It was boiling.

Ronan ignored the screams. He ignored the smell of burning blood. He kept cutting. He was hurting his brother to save him.

The computer system in the silo was warning them. The future interface was flashing in Ronan's vision. It was red and scary. Temporal contamination was coming. The artifact was unstable.

Hold him down, Elias, Ronan said. His voice was cracking.

I'm trying, Elias said. He was crying. His hands were white as he struggled to hold Leo.

Fifteen seconds.

The bio-explosive was making a loud noise. The purple light was so bright. It was lighting up the room. Ronan's knife finally found the root of the shard. It was a synthetic tether stuck to the spinal cord.

He didn't hesitate. He twisted the knife. He sawed through the alien tether.

Ten seconds.

Leo's back arched hard. A surge of energy erupted from the severed connection. It threw Ronan backward. He hit the wall hard. He dropped the knife. He was holding the pulsating shard.

Five seconds.

Ronan got up. He was ignoring the pain in his ribs. He ran out of the cell. He sprinted across the hallway. He was heading to a containment door.

Four seconds.

He threw the shard into the room. He grabbed the iron lever. He slammed the door shut. He locked it fast.

Two seconds.

Get down, Ronan yelled. He threw himself on the floor.

Zero.

The explosion was contained. It still shook the whole mountain. The sound of buckling steel was scary. Gray dust was falling from the ceiling. The containment door was bulging outward. It was red and hot.

It held.

Ronan lay on the floor. His ears were ringing. He was gasping for air. He had beaten the clock.

He got up. He ran back into the cell.

Elias was sitting in the corner. He was rocking back and forth. He was in shock.

Leo was slumped forward in the chair. He was not shaking anymore. The purple light in his eyes was gone. It was replaced by his scared eyes. Blood was pouring out of the wound on his neck.

Leo Ronan whispered. He fell to his knees. He put his hands on the wound. He was trying to stop the bleeding. Leo looked at me. Stay with me.

Leo slowly raised his head. He was breathing slowly. It was a rattling sound. He looked at Ronan. A tear was falling down his face.

I don't feel my legs, bro Leo whispered. I don't feel my arms.

Ronan's heart broke. He had removed the explosive. He had hurt Leo's spinal cord. He had paralyzed his brother.

I'm sorry Ronan said. He was crying. He put his forehead on Leo's shoulder. I thought I could protect you. I thought I could change it.

Leo coughed. He spat out blood. It wasn't your fault, he said. Clara... She didn't just sell us for money.

What are you talking about Ronan asked.

The aliens, Leo said. They made a deal with her. They promised her a future. A future where the world didn't end. A future where she was a queen. There was a price.

What price? Ronan asked.

She had to erase you, Leo whispered. She gave them my blood. They needed my DNA to find your timeline. They are going to erase you from existence before you were born.

There was a silence. The betrayal was complete. Clara was not just trying to survive. She was trying to change history. She wanted to make sure Ronan never existed.

Before Ronan could understand what was happening, the emergency lights went out.

The whole area was plunged into darkness.

A heavy mechanical sound was coming from the hallway.

Elias stopped rocking. He looked toward the door. Ronan... He whispered. The explosion... It broke the power conduits. The locks on the cells are dead.

Ronan slowly turned his head toward the hallway.

The iron doors were grinding open. They were freed from their locks.

A low wet growl was coming from the hallway. It was the sound of flesh tearing, bones shifting, and claws clicking on the floor.

The aliens had been breeding monsters in the silo. Now they were loose.