Chapter 81: Flesh and Steel

 

The Yukon Territory, Canada. An Abandoned Mining Town. Two Days After Deepwater 9.

The heavy-lift helicopter sat smoking in the snow. Its fuel tanks were dry. Jack had piloted them to the only place he knew in this sector: Silver Creek, a ghost town from the Gold Rush era.

Inside the dilapidated Saloon (which still had a roof and a wood stove), the air smelled of burning flesh and ozone.

Sebastian sat on a sturdy oak table. He was conscious, but barely. The Ratnik-3 Exoskeleton was dead. The battle with the Warden and the explosion had fused parts of the metal chassis to his underlying tactical suit, and in some places, through to his skin. He was trapped in his own armor.

"The servos are locked," Dr. Braun said, his hands shaking as he held an industrial angle grinder (found in the town's workshop). "I can't unclasp it. I have to cut it off." "And I have no anesthesia."

Sebastian gripped the edge of the table. His face was pale, sweat dripping down his nose. "Just do it, Doc," he gritted out. "Before gangrene sets in."

"Harper," Braun looked at her. "Hold him down. If he moves while I'm cutting, I might take an artery."

---

[The Extraction]

Harper climbed onto the table behind Sebastian. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his chest, pinning him. "Look at me," she whispered into his ear. "Focus on my voice."

ZZZZZZZZT. The grinder hit the metal. Sparks flew in a shower of gold. The heat conducted instantly through the armor. Sebastian roared. His body arched, straining against Harper’s hold.

"It's okay, it's okay," Harper cried, kissing his sweaty neck. "I'm here. I've got you."

Braun worked fast. Clang. The chest plate fell off. Clang. The arm guards. Finally, the leg braces.

When the last piece of metal hit the floor, Sebastian slumped back against Harper, gasping for air. His body was a map of bruises and burns. The skin where the ports had connected was raw and bloody. But he was free.

Braun quickly dressed the wounds with the last of their medical supplies. "He needs antibiotics," Braun wiped his forehead. "But he is strong. The serum is already knitting the tissue back together."

Sebastian looked at the pile of twisted black metal on the floor. The armor that made him a god. The armor that almost became his coffin. "Burn it," Sebastian rasped. "Bury it."

---

[The Prophet]

In the corner of the room, sitting in a rocking chair by the fire, was Catherine. She had been silent for two days. Just watching. But now, as the fire crackled, she began to hum again.

Sur le pont d'Avignon, On y danse, on y danse...

Sebastian sat up, wincing. He looked at the woman who had started it all. "Catherine," he said softly. "Why that song?"

Catherine stopped rocking. She looked at Sebastian with clear, violet eyes. "Because Arthur didn't understand French," she whispered. "He thought it was just a nursery rhyme. He let me sing it to Harper every night."

"What does it mean, Mom?" Harper walked over to her.

Catherine took Harper’s hand. She traced the lines of her palm. "Arthur Sterling found the virus in 1985. In a drilling core in the Arctic. That's what the official records say, right?"

"Yes," Sebastian nodded. "Ancient bacteria trapped in the permafrost."

"Lies," Catherine shook her head. "The virus didn't come from the ice. It came from a Tomb." "The Sterling family... they are not inventors. They are Keepers."

She looked into the fire. "The Crusaders brought it back from Jerusalem in the 12th Century. They called it 'The Blood of Angels'. It could heal any wound. But it drove men mad." "They hid it. Buried it deep. Under a bridge where no one would look."

"Avignon," Sebastian realized. "The bridge of Avignon."

"Not on the bridge," Catherine corrected. "Sous le pont. Under the bridge." "There is a crypt. Sealed by the Templars." "Arthur found the map in his grandfather's journals. He went there. He took a sample. That was Helios Alpha."

"But he couldn't control it," Harper realized. "That's why he needed you."

"He needed a Genetic Key," Catherine touched Harper’s face. "The virus kills anyone who isn't... compatible. Arthur forced me to splice the compatibility gene into an embryo." "You, Harper." "You are not just his daughter. You are the Key." "Your blood opens the Tomb. Your blood controls the virus."

---

[The New Mission]

Silence filled the room. Sebastian looked at Harper. The woman he loved wasn't just a bystander. She was the center of the maze. If the Syndicate found out... they wouldn't just kill her. They would dissect her.

"The Warden said they are launching Helios-B," Sebastian said, his mind racing. "But if the original source is in Avignon..." "Then the Warden's version is a copy. A flaw copy."

"Yes," Catherine nodded. "The copy degrades. That's why they need a subscription model. The cure wears off." "But the Original Source... the pure strain in the Tomb..." "It is permanent."

"If we find the pure strain," Sebastian stood up, ignoring the pain in his legs. "We can synthesize a permanent cure. For me. For everyone." "And we can destroy the Syndicate's monopoly before it even starts."

Jack walked in from outside, shaking snow off his boots. "Helicopter is dead," Jack grunted. "But I found an old bush plane in the hangar. Needs work, but it might fly."

Sebastian looked at the map on the wall. Canada. Atlantic Ocean. France. "Can it get us to Montreal?"

"Maybe," Jack shrugged. "If we don't crash."

Sebastian turned to the group. "We are done running." "We are going to France."

He looked at Harper. "We are going to finish what the Templars started."

(End of Chapter 81)