Orchid District

Marbella, Spain

Kate followed Martin through the burning kitchen into the open dining room-what had been the main hospital wing. The devastation was more vast than she could have imagined. Half of the far wall had been blown away, and people were pouring out of the building, dodging falling debris and trampling the sick and the slow-moving.

Martin dashed into the throngs of people and elbowed his way forward. Kate fought to keep up. She was shocked at Martin's agility, especially given his head wound.

They cleared the building, and Kate got her first look at the camp-or what was left of it. Ma.s.sive fires burned along the fence where the guard towers had stood. The fleet of trucks and jeeps spewed thick columns of white and black smoke, a toxic brew of rubber and plastic burning that made Kate choke and cover her nose and mouth with her shirt. The white hotel towers seemed untouched, but at the base of each, an endless flow of people poured out.

The resort grounds were covered. Hordes of people flowed in every direction, frantically searching for an exit, or for safety from the explosions that seemed to go off every few seconds. They almost looked like herds on the savanna, running from an unseen predator, each member simply reacting to the motion beside them.

Martin scanned the perimeter, looking for a way out.

Kate rushed past him and made a beeline for the lead-encased spa building. A small fire burned at one end, but it was otherwise untouched in the a.s.sault. Behind her, she heard the explosion from what had been Martin's office.

Kate reached the door to the spa building and raised her gun to shoot the lock, but Martin was beside her. "Save your bullets." He swiped his badge at the door and the lock popped open. They raced down the corridors. Kate threw the door to Adi and Surya's room open, and relief washed over her when she saw the two boys sitting at their desks on opposite sides of the room, writing on their legal pads without a care in the world.

"Boys, we have to go."

Both ignored her.

She walked to Adi and picked him up. He was thin, but still weighed probably forty-five pounds. Kate strained to hold him up, and he struggled in her arms, reaching desperately for his writing pad. She set him down, handed him the pad, and he settled down considerably. Across the room, she saw Martin following suit with Surya.

They practically dragged the boys out of the building, and this time Martin led Kate across the camp, into the swarming ma.s.s of people. Up ahead, a gun battle erupted, scattering the crowd. Through the fleeing people, Kate could see the Spanish troops fighting the group of survivors-a mix of the faces she had seen in the prison cell and the new people that had been brought in. The light blue Orchid flag curled and blew in the wind as it burned above them.

Martin reached into the backpack and handed Kate a green egg with a handle. "Your arm is better than mine," he said. "If the Spanish lose, we won't get out." He pulled the pin, and when Kate realized what it was, she almost dropped it. Martin cupped her hand. "Throw it."

The stampede around her grew more intense as people slammed into her, tearing Adi's hand from hers and forcing the small boy to the ground. They would trample him. Kate launched the grenade toward the gate and the sound of the gunfire, then waded into the mob. She pulled Adi into her arms as the heat and sound of the explosion tore through the crowd.

As the smoke went up, the ma.s.s of people reversed course, flowing toward the gate. Kate, Martin and the boys fell in and managed to clear the gate just as the sound of gunfire resumed again-this time behind them.

The back of the resort opened onto a small road that joined the main highway. Kate stopped at the sight-it was amazing. Abandoned cars filled the freeway as far as she could see. On both lanes, the cars abruptly stopped near the entrance to the Orchid District. Doors stood open and the streets were strewn with garments, rotten food, and objects Kate couldn't make out. People had driven here for safety, for the life-saving drug. If Kate, Martin, and the boys could get in one of the first cars, they could get away quickly.

Martin seemed to read her mind. He shook his head. "They siphoned all the gas weeks ago. We need to get to the Old Town. It's our only chance."

They continued moving with the crowd, but with each step the concentrated ma.s.s got thinner as families and loners broke off, taking their own course away from the coast and the death in the Orchid District. Martin continued to lead as he and Kate tugged the boys along by their hands.

Beyond the freeway, the streets were lined with the hallmarks of any Spanish resort town: beach shops, chain retailers, and hotels. All were empty, and most of the windows had been shattered. The sun had almost set now and the gunfire in the distance still raged, but it had slowed.

As Kate walked, a new sensation gripped her: a smell, slightly sweet yet putrid. Dead bodies. How many would there be out here? Martin's earlier words echoed through her head: ninety percent die within seventy-two hours. How many had died before the Orchid District had been established here? And what would they find beyond its fence?

They walked a few more blocks in silence, and the streets changed. Asphalt gave way to cobblestones, and the buildings were different too. The shops were smaller and quaint. Art houses, cafes, and gift shops that had sold handmade trinkets dotted the streets. They had fared better than the stores along the main thoroughfare, but there were still signs of the mayhem here: burned-out buildings, abandoned cars, and trash.

Martin stopped to catch his breath at a white plaster wall that held an iron gate-presumably the gate to the Old Town. The rush of adrenaline that had propelled him in the camp seemed to have left him, and Kate thought he looked more haggard than ever-like a drunk the morning after a bender. He put his hands on his knees and drew long breaths.

Kate turned and surveyed the coastline behind them. Marbella's Old Town sat on a hill, and the vantage point was incredible. Without the columns of smoke, the view of the sun setting over the Mediterranean and the white sand coast would have been breathtaking. Through the smoke, a dozen black objects emerged: a fleet of helicopters. Kate saw them a few seconds before she heard the thump-thump-thump.

She grabbed Adi's and Surya's hands and turned to run, but Martin stopped her with an outstretched arm, practically clotheslining her. He wrapped his fingers around her shoulder and corralled her and the boys behind him, putting his body between them and something. Kate peered over his shoulder and saw what it was.

At the cross street ahead, two wolves wandered into the intersection. The animals stood still for a moment, listening, then slowly turned their heads toward Kate, Martin, and the boys. A still, quiet moment seemed to stretch on forever. Then Kate heard the soft sound of paws padding across the stone street. Two more wolves joined the first two, then another joined them, and then three more, making eight in total, all standing in the street, staring.

The largest wolf broke from the pack and strode toward them, never taking his eyes off Martin. A second mangy animal followed close on his heels.

They stopped a few feet from Martin, studying him. Kate's hands started to shake, and she knew the boys could feel it. Moisture filled the s.p.a.ce where their hands met.

Behind them, the thump-thump-thump of the helicopters grew louder.

CHAPTER 11.

Two Miles Below Immari Operations Base Prism

Antarctica

Dorian held his arms up, letting the case crash into the hard snow below. What did he expect his Immari comrades to do? He had just walked out wearing an Atlantean suit, holding a mysterious case. He would have already thrown the switch on the nukes.

The visor in the helmet was mirrored-they couldn't see Dorian's face inside. He needed some way to communicate with them, some method of sending a message. He scanned the ice room for something he could use. He couldn't scratch a message in the ice-it was frozen solid. With his hand, he began motioning in the air, writing the letters: D - O - R - I - A - N. A second set of lights on the nukes came on. He traced the letters again. It wasn't working. He cast a glance around the room, desperately trying to find anything that could- A body, almost buried in ice, lay against the wall. Dorian rushed to it and punched the ice around it, trying to dig it out. Maybe he could activate the suit's radio. He wiped the ice from the helmet and instantly reeled back in shock. His father. Rivers of frozen blood framed the face. The cold had preserved him perfectly. They had killed him-left him here to the Bell. Why? Who? Dorian sat there, staring at his father's dead body. He didn't care about the bombs anymore.

At the end of the corridor, the sound of steel slamming into ice echoed through the chamber. Dorian turned. Beside the bombs, an iron cage sat waiting for him. The lights on the bombs stayed active, but they didn't advance.

Dorian freed the rest of his father's body from the ice, hoisted him up in his arms, and walked to the basket. He set his father down gently and stood over him. The basket began rising to the surface.

CHAPTER 12.

Old Town District

Marbella, Spain

Kate could see it now: the eight animals weren't wolves, they were dogs-mangy, emaciated, desperate...

Kate released her trembling hand from Adi's and reached for the gun in her pocket. As she drew it out, first the larger dog, then its feral companion, bared his teeth and growled. Both dogs' fur rose as they crouched to spring.

Martin's hand went to Kate's, and he slowly forced her to return the gun to her pocket, out of sight. He stared forward, but he didn't make eye contact with either dog.

Slowly, the air seemed to flow out of the dogs. Their fur collapsed back into matted mounds on their backs, their white foaming teeth disappeared, and they began blinking again. Then they turned and traipsed back to the pack, and they swept out of the street without a sound.

Martin shook his head. "They're forming packs, but they're just out here looking for food." He glanced around, trying to decide which way to go. "And there's food here they can eat that we won't."

The sound of the helicopters was almost upon them now, and Kate saw a single spotlight carving into the sky above. What were they looking for?

Martin took Surya by the hand, and Kate and Adi chased after them. "There's a church a few blocks from here. It's close to our rendezvous point," he said. "If we can last til morning, we can meet the SAS team at the extraction point."

Kate pumped her legs faster, keeping pace with Martin. With every step, the last vestiges of daylight faded. Above, three lights now carved into the night.

Kate stopped in the street. The helicopters were dropping something. She and Martin practically dove into the nearest alley as the bombs descended. A large one exploded forty feet above them, raining down... sheets of paper all around them. Kate grabbed one. A flyer. The helicopters were dropping pamphlets. The page was in Spanish, but she turned it over and found an English translation.

To the People and Prisoners of Andalusia: We have heard your call.

Freedom is at hand.

Immari International has come for you, to give you back the basic human right to liberty the Orchid Bloc has denied you.

Stand with us and reclaim your right to live and die as you choose.

Your dictators have revoked your right to select your own government.

Place bedsheets upon your roofs and show the world your choice.

We come in peace, but we will not turn away from war.

Kate scanned the horizon. White sheets drifted down from the helicopters, blanketing the city. The Immari were apparently rigging the "vote." What would they do? Take satellite photos and show the world, justifying their invasion?

Kate realized Martin was already back in the street, pushing as hard as he could toward the church. Kate stuffed the page in her pocket and rushed after him.

Behind her, the thump-thump-thump of another group of helicopters filled the air. They were dropping something different this time. Parachutes attached to... soldiers? Paratroopers?

Martin glanced back at the helicopters, and for a brief flash, Kate saw the fear in his eyes.

Their heart-pounding escape from the coast and their pace since then had no doubt sent his blood pressure through the roof-not exactly ideal for anyone with a head wound. Kate could see the blood seeping from the gash at the back of his head. She would need to close the wound, and soon.

But they charged on. Block after block of the Old Town district pa.s.sed, almost in a blur.

Up ahead, a parachute drifted down, silently swaying back and forth.

Martin and Kate stopped, bringing the boys to a halt beside them. They had nowhere to go, but... the pa.s.senger at the end of the parachute's strings wasn't a person. It was a metal barrel.

The barrel clanged onto the cobblestone street, rolled around for a second, and then a plug at the end popped off and it began spinning wildly as green gas spewed into the street.

Martin motioned for Kate to retreat. "They're ga.s.sing the city. Come on, we have to get inside."

They searched every building on the block for a store without broken windows, but every storefront was the same: chains around the door and plate-gla.s.s windows that had long since been broken out. Adi was slowing down, and Kate pulled at his arm. Both boys were tired. Kate stopped and picked Adi up. She saw Martin do the same with Surya. How far could they carry them? Ahead, a cloud of green gas flowed out of the intersection.

Kate needed to buy some time. She set Adi down and scrambled over to one of the sheets that lay in the street. She tore off four strips. She wrapped the boys' noses and mouths and handed Martin a piece of cloth. The gas, whatever it was, would affect the boys more than Martin and Kate because they had less body weight.

In the alleys to their right and left, clouds of gas emerged. The scene was the same at the intersections ahead and behind. She lifted Adi and followed Martin into the gas.

CHAPTER 13.

Outside Operations Base Prism

Antarctica