PART 23
We collapsed onto the rocky beach just as the water slammed shut behind us,
a massive wave washing over the stones and soaking us to the bone.
The truck was gone,
swallowed by the sudden rise in the tide,
leaving us stranded on the edge of the wilderness with nothing but our soaked clothes and the journals.
"We can't keep doing this,"
Daniel gasped,
lying on his back on the cold pebbles,
his chest heaving as he stared up at the gray sky.
"Look at you,
Amelia,
you are dying out here,
piece by piece,
the machine is eating you alive."
"I'm not dying,"
I said,
though my voice sounded hollow,
lacking the warmth and emotion it used to carry.
"I am being integrated,
Daniel,
there is a difference."
"Not to me there isn't,"
he said,
sitting up and looking at me with eyes that were red from salt and tears.
"To me,
you are disappearing,
and I am just standing here watching it happen,
carrying the bags for your executioner."
I didn't know how to comfort him,
because the part of my brain that understood human sorrow was being crowded out by the vast data streams of the network.
I could feel the temperature of the desert in New Mexico,
I could feel the pressure of the fourth node buried beneath the sand,
and I could feel the countdown ticking away in my head.
A car horn honked from the tree line,
and we both turned to see a sleek,
black sedan idling on the dirt road that led to the beach.
The door opened,
and Arthur stepped out,
holding a clean,
dry towel and a thermos of hot coffee as if he were an old friend waiting for us.
"Excellent work with the aquatic node,"
he said,
walking down to the rocks with an easy,
graceful stride that seemed entirely out of place in the wilderness.
"Most administrators fail at the third level because they underestimate the psychological weight of the deep files."
Daniel stood up,
his fists clenched,
ready to strike the man who had set us on this path of destruction.
"You knew she would be hurt,"
Daniel spat,
his voice shaking with rage.
"You knew what the machine would take from her."
"The system takes what it requires to maintain the boundary,"
Arthur said calmly,
handing the thermos to me,
ignoring Daniel's aggressive posture entirely.
"And right now,
it requires Amelia to reach the desert node before the sandstorms uncover the broadcast array."
I took the thermos,
my marble-like fingers barely able to grip the plastic cup,
knowing that Arthur was our only way to get to New Mexico in time.
"Get in the car,"
I told Daniel,
my voice flat and commanding,
leaving no room for argument or discussion.
He looked at me for a long moment,
May you like
a look of profound betrayal and heartbreak in his eyes,
before turning and walking toward the sedan.
