Neon Blood (Neon Helix Universe Book 3) Read online

  Since helping Prime escape to the Boulevard by using her favour from Vladamir, she had unbalanced the books with him, which meant she was in his debt once more. It had been several years since the last time she was in his debt, and she had vowed never to go back. It was too late now though, she’d managed to fend it off for six months, but she knew she wouldn’t last much longer. Soon she would have to satisfy the blood lust, and every time she used any of the powers that came with it, the clock ticked ever closer.

  She refocused on the present. Her problems would have to wait; she needed to get moving. The ladder went down for several meters before the floor became visible below. Reaching the bottom, she peered down what appeared to be a tunnel, she wasn’t sure where it headed, but she hoped she could get away from the gunfire and send a signal for help.

  Making her way down the tunnel, she kept an eye out for other exits, but none came in sight, but a faint light ahead gave her hope. As she walked, the glowing red light seemed to be increasing in visibility and brightness. She squinted and realised the light was actually made up of six horizontal beams, and they were moving towards her faster than she was walking towards them. Security lasers.

  “Frak!” she shouted, the lights seeming to pick up speed towards her.

  Security lasers were an antique system but still highly effective, especially in close-quarters such as the tunnels. Mollie knew this, as they were quite common defences in the Underpass, she also knew that they could slice through most metals like butter, and flesh was no different. As they got closer, she saw the small devices that emitted the laser beams, which were attached to the walls. She looked back to the ladder she’d come down but knew she wouldn’t make it back in time.

  As the lasers got closer, she walked backward, watching them, judging the distance between the beams. Each space was only a couple of inches, and even if she lay down, the bottom laser would still hit her, but the next one up wouldn’t. If she could just disable the lowest beam somehow, she would be able to avoid the rest by staying on the ground.

  Mollie ran back a short distance to give herself a little time, and lay on the ground close to the side of the wall with her head towards the lasers. Wishing she had brought a gun along with her, she raised her metal hand and tilted her head up to watch the beams. Doubt began to creep into her mind. She really didn’t want to die down in these tunnels.

  She didn’t have long to think as the beams approached and she slammed her fist into the emitter just as it was at arm's length, smashing the metal. It was a perfect hit, and the beam stuttered then vanished instantly just as the others passed above her. She lay there, motionless with her arm stretched above her for a moment, hardly believing that the plan had worked. Taking a breath, she jumped to her feet and hurried to move down the tunnel again.

  A noise caught her attention, a fast whirling as if a motor was working at full speed.

  Before she could react, a red laser beam flew past at ankle level, the same height as the one she had just destroyed. Having been taking a step, Mollie had one foot in the air, but the other was directly in its path. It sliced through her flesh without hesitation as it joined the wall of lasers further down. A replacement for the broken emitter. Mollie looked down, surprise in her mind at the lack of pain. The cut had been so fast and clean it took a second for her body to even react. As her weight shifted forwards, the dismembered foot slid from under her, and she crumbled to the floor, only just managing to break her fall with her hands. The wound seeped a small amount of blood, but the heat of the laser had cauterised the flesh as it cut, the charred wound on both the end of her leg and the top of the foot, which was still standing on the ground behind her.

  Looking back, she saw that the lasers had reached the end of the tunnel and were beginning a return journey. She needed to get out of the tunnel before they reached her. She pulled herself up on her good foot and leaning on the wall for support she half dragged and half hopped forwards. A ladder came into view, a subtle white light beam illuminating it from above.

  The beams were gaining on her just as she thrust a hand out and grabbed the bottom rung of the ladder. She wrapped her arm around the next rung up and heaved her body up. Getting a foothold on the lower rung, she grabbed the next one up, pulling with all her strength, placing the stump of her other leg onto the next rung, and a blistering pain shot up her body, causing her to grip to the rungs. Fighting through, she pulled herself up. Her body was just out of the tunnel as the beams swept beneath.

  She breathed a sigh of relief, then continued her climb.

  The top of the ladder opened into what appeared to be a cellar, a single fluorescent light illuminated from above. It was seemingly unused, with a layer of dust coating the assortment of tools, equipment, and boxes that cluttered the space. Mollie lay on the floor for a moment, staring up at the ceiling as she got her breath back, the dust kicking up around her.

  “Damnit!” she cursed, as her mind recalled the gunfight. Pulling up her PDA, she tried to call the others. A warning light was on the device; ‘Signal Blocked’ flashed on the display.

  Mollie sighed. She thought they had an unblockable system. Getting to her feet, she hobbled towards the door of the cellar, kicking up dust as she went. She needed to stop what was blocking the signal or get out of its range. She wouldn’t get far fast on one foot though. She needed to sort it before she could help anyone else, and that meant going a step further than she had been willing to take before.

  Cracking open the door, she peered out into a corridor beyond. There didn’t seem to be anyone around, so she took a small shuffle out into the corridor. Voices echoed towards her as she peered left and right, the sounds coming from her left. Moving back into the cellar, she pushed the door until it was almost closed, leaving a small gap so she could see.

  A Slider came into view, talking on a radio. He looked more casual than the usual Sliders, with fewer augmentations. Probably another lower recruit working up the ranks.

  “Yeah, I’m coming,” he said into his radio.

  Mollie waited until the man was adjacent to the door before swinging it open quickly. The guard paused as his mind processed, staring at Mollie. Without a second thought, she dived forwards, stumbling more than she’d hoped, and fell into the man, grabbing at his shirt with her hands to pull herself closer to him.

  “Sorry about this,” she said before reaching a hand to his head and pulling it forcefully to the side. The Slider, in shock, felt his head rock to the side, the strength of Mollie taking him by surprise. The next thing he felt was a warmth coming from the side of his neck, like water from a showerhead pouring onto his skin. A warm, wet sensation ran down his neck and to his collarbone. Then he began to drift away, his world fading from view.

  Mollie’s teeth sunk into the man’s throat, the blood filling her mouth beyond its capacity and leaking out of her lips and down the man’s neck. Must have caught an artery, she thought as she gulped down mouthfuls of blood, feeling the warming liquid as it flowed down her throat. Her veins felt like they were on fire. Every ounce of her was more alive. It had been so long since she had felt this, resisting it since her deal with Vladimir. Now, she wondered why she had ever waited. The power flowing through her was an ecstasy. She swallowed a few more mouthfuls of the thick liquid. A part of her had sympathy for the dead Slider, but another felt he would have killed her just as quickly, and she needed the blood.

  She glanced down at the stump on her leg and began to imagine her fully fleshed foot in its place.

  It took a second, but the exposed and cauterised skin began to stretch and contort from her ankle. Red sinews and veins were extending like growing vines. A basic shape formed, the veins becoming the outlined structure of a foot around bone that extended from her toes to her ankle. Then the muscles started to develop around them, consolidating the shape and form. Finally, a layer of skin spread across the muscular structure that had grown.

  Once fully formed, Mollie rotated it a couple of times and wiggl
ed her toes, checking the feel. It had been so long since she had succumbed to the bloodlust she had forgotten the power it entailed. Drinking the blood of another gave her regenerative system a boost, allowing it to restore damaged tissue and lost limbs the same way most people’s systems could repair a cut or bruise. How it worked, she had no idea and had never asked. She put weight on the foot. It felt good. Checking her foot size against the now-dead Slider, she found they were slightly too big, but she could manage with that and took his shoes off and changed into them.

  After changing, she moved further along the corridor, checking her PDA constantly until it suddenly lit up. She quickly tapped in a call to Ally.

  “Hello?” the sound of Ally’s voice rang out.

  “Ally!? Is that you? We need help, like NOW!” Mollies’ voice shouted through the unit.

  “Mollie? Where are you?”

  “I’m sending you the location,” she wanted them to get to Xander and Ava first and sent the location of the apartment complex. “Please hurry! Xander and Ava are in trouble. We need back up!” Halfway through her sentence, she realised the signal had dropped again. She only hoped that the location had gone through and that they would be on their way. Until then, she needed to work out where she was and began to walk towards the centre of the building.

  Chapter Ten

  Prime

  The two Sliders charged at Prime and Bella.

  Don’t let me down, Prime! Peter’s voice hissed in his mind.

  The hammer-fisted Slider moved first, swinging wildly at Prime, who leaned back to avoid the strike. Just as his other skills had, his fighting skills had vastly improved after merging his mind with Peter’s, learning everything Peter had acquired. Taking a step back, Prime executed a roundhouse kick, the impact connecting directly with the Slider’s skull. Stunned for a moment, the Slider quickly shook off the feeling and began swinging his fist with anger, causing Prime to once again make an evasive move to avoid the attack. The hammerfist smashed into the shop's counter, causing it to shatter, the fist becoming jammed inside the broken metal and glass. The owner ran through a door behind him and into a back room. A heavyset metal security door dropped, locking him away from the fight.

  The cat-like Slider pounced at Bella, fingers extending into claws that swiped at her face. A claw sliced her cheek, drawing blood as Bella spun aside to avoid a full face of lacerations. Feeling the warm trickle of blood running down her face, her anger flared up.

  “Bitch,” she hissed and fired several shots towards the Slider. With smooth agility, the woman avoided the shots, twisting in the air like a ballerina each bullet lodging into the surrounding walls.

  Prime had struck a mule kick into the crook of hammer-fists’ knee as he had tried to free his fist from the wreckage of the counter. The kick caused him to buckle and fall to his knees. Prime stood behind him, placing one hand under the man’s chin, the other across the top of his forehead. He was bracing himself to twist the man’s neck.

  Do it! Kill him!

  Prime paused, he could feel the fury inside him. Snapping the man’s neck would be a peaceful release, like slipping into a comfortable coat, but it was also a step he wasn’t willing to take. The thought gave him long enough to fight the urge, and he let go of the man’s head, delivering a hard chop to his temple, making the Slider lose consciousness.

  “Stay out of my head!” Prime whispered.

  Bella had been tracking the prowling feline Slider with her pistol, who was managing to stay just ahead of her movement. Suddenly, Bella fired a shot, missing the Slider.

  “You need to work on your aim,” the Slider mocked.

  “I wasn’t aiming at you,” Bella smiled.

  Behind the Slider, a glass panel cracked, then shattered. The water from the fish tank cascading over the Slider, along with several robotic fish that flopped in the air and across the floor. The water covered the Slider completely. In her shock she got a throat-full of water, choking and spluttering as she fell to the floor.

  Bella walked towards her, raising the pistol to take a kill shot.

  “Wait!” Prime shouted, “we need them. They must know something.”

  Bella looked back at Prime, rolling her eyes.

  “Fine,” she turned back to the woman. As she did, the Slider pounced upwards, taking a swipe at Bella’s hand, cutting it, and causing the gun to fall from her grip.

  You spoil all the fun!

  The Slider looked behind Prime, seeing Hammerfist on the ground, then turned and leaped across the length of the room and threw herself out the door.

  “Damn it!” Bella shouted, kicking a fish that was flip-flopping on the floor. It smashed into the door as it closed.

  “At least we have this one,” Prime said, rolling Hammerfist over.

  Bella turned and glared at Prime before retrieving her gun from the ground.

  “That’s the second time that bitch has gotten away from me,” she glared. “Let me see him,” she marched over to the unconscious body.

  She turned him over. A small metal disc was attached to the base of his neck.

  “Fuck! I’ve seen this before,” she pointed at the disc.

  “Where?”

  “About six months ago, something Sam had been involved in,” she explained. “These people are prisoners from Blackwater, sort of. The Sliders discovered a way to transmit their minds into the bodies of people on the mainland. These discs allow them to take over bodies, like a remote control.”

  “What?” Prime said, trying to follow.

  “Yeah, I couldn’t get my head around it either at first. Basically, the Sliders kidnap innocent people and cyber jack their bodies with these discs for the Blackwater prisoners to take them over.”

  I heard of this tech before, though I never thought it was in active use. Peter’s voice sounded more curious than usual.

  “Right, so this guy isn’t technically a Slider? He’s been taken over?”

  “Exactly, though that woman wasn’t. She’s in her original body,” Bella said with bitterness.

  Prime felt sick for a moment. He’d nearly killed the man. An innocent caught up in whatever mess was going on in the city. The man groaned as he began to regain his senses, shifting to lean against the remnants of the counter.

  “Oh, hello Prime,” the man said, smiling.

  Prime hesitated, looking at Bella, who in turn was staring at him.

  “Prime?” She said accusingly, “as in the Prime Killer?”

  “No, that’s not...” Prime began to explain.

  “Oh, he’s a killer, alright,” Hammerfist said. His voice was different than it had been before, the pitch slightly higher.

  “And who the fuck are you?” Bella asked, her hand flexing around her gun.

  “Call me Persephone; nice to meet you. It’s nice to know my brother is making new friends with some grit. His old ones were so...righteous. He’s going to need some new ones soon as well, such a shame, really.”

  That doesn’t sound good.

  “What do you mean?” Prime said, his heart stopped at the mention of the others.

  “Oh, well, you see, while you’ve been distracted here, my new friends have been paying some visits to your old ones. I’m sure they’ll all be getting along just fine,” Persephone laughed, a strange twisted sound coming from the large man’s body.

  “Shit,” Prime said, pulling out his PAD, calling Mollie as fast as he could.

  “What’s he talking about? And why did he call you Prime?” Bella demanded.

  “Just... Just keep an eye on him, please,” Prime said, “I’ll explain everything, I promise.”

  There was no answer from Mollie, so he tried Ally.

  “Hello?” the voice came through.

  “Ally! Where are you? Where is everyone?”

  “Prime? Is that you? Where have you been? Nevermind, we might need your help. We’re heading to find Mollie, Xander, and Ava. We aren’t sure what’s happened, but we had a distress call from Mollie
just a few minutes ago.”

  “Who’s with you?”

  “Quartzig, he’s trying to get through to Mollie after our signal dropped. Why? Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. Send me the location you’re heading towards. I’ll meet you there. Something big is happening. I don’t have time to explain.”

  Bella was listening to the conversation, putting the names together. She tried to work out if she knew them. Hammerfist was watching her carefully, and when her guard was down just enough, he jumped to his feet, grabbed her, and pushed his fist to her throat, blocking her airways. Prime spun around, seeing Bella grasping in vain to pull the fist away.

  If Persephone’s as ruthless as I think she is, you best not try anything, Prime! There’s something different about her. She’s not just a copy of me. There's something broken.

  “Prime, we’ll be leaving now, catch you soon,” Persephone laughed as she backed out the door, Bella held hostage.

  Prime could only watch as they left the BodyShop, frozen on the spot, with no idea what to do next. Bella seemed to be a fighter, but he knew what Persephone was capable of. If the others were part of some plan Persephone had concocted they could be in trouble too.

  Prime! You need to get a grip! Find a way to track them!

  He snapped out of the haze, his mind kicking into gear. Persephone has taken over the body of the Hammerfist Slider. He might not have a way to trace her, but maybe he could track Hammerfist. Prime ran over to the Pod that the Slider had been in before they attacked. The system was still online and relatively undamaged in the fight. Luckily, the Slider had emerged from the Pod in such a rush he hadn’t logged out. The display still had the complete scan of augmentations and diagnosis.

  Scrolling through the list, Prime found what he was looking for; the PDA data for the Slider. Each one had a unique code that was used for the geosynchronous integrations the PDAs used for navigation and services. Prime quickly loaded up the coding information into his PAD and waited as it brought up a location. A location pinged up on the PAD’s digital map, the signal moving fast down the Boulevard.