For Sarah. For reassuring me that it really isn’t the end of the world . . .
By Mark Walden
In the Earthfall series
Earthfall
Earthfall Retribution
In the H.I.V.E. series
Higher Institute of Villainous Education
Overlord Protocol
Escape Velocity
Dreadnought
Rogue
Zero Hour
Aftershock
Deadlock
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
1
Just beyond the orbit of the Earth’s moon, a massive black vessel hung in the darkness of space, its segmented superstructure pulsing with blood-red light as coronas of crimson lightning danced over the giant curved pylons that spread out from its hull. The colossal structures moved in a rhythmic pattern, giving the enormous ship the appearance of something mechanical and yet alive. Somewhere within the vast superstructure, a consciousness quite unlike any other began to stir, sensing that the moment it had so often dreamt about during its long, cold journey was at hand. The moment was coming very soon, the mind trapped within the vessel told itself, a moment for which it had waited an eternity. Soon, the cursed Illuminate would die screaming and take the planet below with them.
The Primarch had arrived.
Sam ran between the abandoned vehicles, the sharp coldness of the early spring air filling his lungs. In the pre-dawn gloom the buildings that loomed over him on either side of the street were little more than dark shapes in the mist. Sam began to run faster, pushing himself harder and harder, searching for the limits of his endurance. He felt an unnerving crawling sensation in his legs as the alien nanites deep inside him reconfigured his musculature to match the demands that he was putting on his body. He pulled to a halt. He had been running as fast as he could for the best part of an hour and, while he wasn’t short of breath, he couldn’t get used to the strange feeling in his legs.
‘This isn’t going to stop feeling weird any time soon,’ Sam muttered to himself under his breath.
There was no doubt that he was in better physical condition than he had ever been before the Voidborn invasion, but that did not begin to explain the feats of superhuman endurance he now seemed capable of. He had no real comprehension of how he could do these unbelievable things, but he knew exactly what had happened to make him like this. It had been three months since his father, Suran, one of the last survivors of the Illuminate, had died. The Voidborn’s most ancient enemy had, in his final moments, passed something on to Sam, something that Sam still did not properly understand.
He stood there for a moment, listening to the sounds of the city. Just a couple of years ago there would have been a non-stop barrage of noise in this part of London. Now all he could hear was the dawn chorus as the birds that roosted unmolested in the abandoned buildings around him began to stir. It was strange to think that you could actually miss traffic noise, Sam thought to himself. Suddenly, he heard the crunch of gravel underfoot from somewhere behind him. He froze, and listening more carefully, he quickly realised that someone or something was moving nearby. The rest of the audible world seemed to drop away as he slowly turned and focused on the sound, which stopped abruptly, as if in response. He could just make out faint, short, controlled breaths. His heart beat rapidly and his eyes narrowed as he peered into the gloom, trying to spot whoever it was that was following him. He sniffed the air, the lining of his nose tingling as his senses were assaulted by the scents all around him. He sniffed again and a crooked smile slowly spread across his face.
‘You can come out, Mag,’ Sam said. ‘I know you’re there.’
A small figure detached itself from the shadows behind one of the vehicles fifty metres away and walked towards him.
‘Getting hard to sneak up on you, Riley,’ Mag said, pulling her hood back to reveal the long white hair underneath. The skin of her face was unnaturally pale and a branching network of dark veins ran back from the corners of her jet-black eyes and into her hairline. At the ends of her fingers were inch-long, translucent crystalline talons that she flexed unconsciously as she walked. These strange deformities were relics of her exposure to the alien bio-weapon that had been released in Edinburgh and had subsequently given birth to the horrifying hybrid creatures they now knew as the Vore. She was one of a handful of the city’s sleeping inhabitants who had been only partially transformed by the weapon; the rest had not been so lucky.
‘Yeah, well you taught me everything I know,’ Sam said with a grin as she approached.
‘You do realise there’s no one else around,’ Mag said, gesturing towards Sam’s face. ‘Why don’t you cut yourself some slack and relax for once?’
Sam sighed and then gave a quick nod, his features shifting as his skin turned paper white. Glowing blue lines started spreading back over his skull as his hair disappeared, replaced by a series of bony, crested ridges.
‘Now you look a bit more yourself,’ Mag said with a smile. ‘Are you still getting the headaches?’
‘No, they’re pretty much gone,’ Sam said. ‘I hardly even need to focus any more.’
‘You’re getting a lot faster too,’ Mag replied. ‘To the point where I can’t keep up with you. Do you feel like you’ve got any more control of it?’
‘Not really, to be honest,’ Sam said, shaking his head. ‘It just seems to kick in when I need it. If I am controlling it, I don’t know how. I still don’t understand exactly what it was that my dad . . . what Suran did to me. I spend most of my time just wishing I could turn it off.’
‘Aye, well, tell me about it,’ Mag said. ‘At least you actually have the option of looking normal.’
‘Yeah, you’re right. Sorry, poor me,’ Sam said.
‘It’s OK. I got used to this eventually,’ Mag replied, raising one of her clawed hands. ‘So will you. At least I’ll never need to pay for a manicure.’
‘Guess I’ll be needing fewer trips to the hairdresser too,’ Sam said, running his fingers over the ridges on the top of his skull.
‘I still think you should tell the others, you know,’ Mag said, sitting down on the bonnet of one of the abandoned cars that littered the road.
‘Look, we’ve already been over this,’ Sam said, with a slightly exasperated sigh. ‘I’ll tell everyone what’s happened to me when I’m ready.’
It had not actually been his choice to tell Mag about his bizarre transformation. She’d smelt the change on him. He had made her swear a solemn vow not to tell anyone else about it. Since then she had respected his wishes, despite making it very clear that she didn’t agree with his decision.
‘If they can see past all this,’ she said, gesturing towards her own face, ‘and see the person underneath, surely they’ll be able to understand what’s happened to you. They’ll understand that this wasn’t your choice. Perhaps you don’t give them enough credit. I mean, let’s face it: we’ve all seen our fair share of weird over the past couple of years.’
‘I know all that, but . . . they’ve got enough to worry about without me telling them that I’m not even sure if I’m fully human any more. And do you think they’re going to trust me if they find out that I’ve been hiding what I really am from them?’
‘They see you as their leader, Sam,’ Mag said, frowning and shaking her head. ‘You owe them the truth. You might not want to tell them, but it’s going to be a lot worse if they find out some other way.’
&
nbsp; ‘I said I’d tell them when I’m ready!’ Sam snapped, before turning and walking away.
‘Hey!’ Mag said, following him. ‘I get it, all right? How do you think I felt the first time I looked in a mirror after waking up in Edinburgh? The thing you need to remember is that you have something I didn’t back then, Sam. You have friends. People you can lean on. People who care about you. You talk about trust – well, they already trust you. Now you have to trust them.’
‘I know. Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bite your head off,’ Sam said quietly, ‘I just don’t know how much more of this I can take. We’ve all lost so much over the past couple of years and for what? We’re no nearer to defeating the Voidborn than we were a year ago, we have way more questions than answers and the price we’ve already paid in blood is too damn high. I’ve watched friends die. I’ve held them as . . .’ He paused, taking a deep breath and then looking her straight in the eye. ‘How can I lead anyone, Mag? How can I ask anyone to follow me when I don’t even know what I am any more?’
‘You’re Sam Riley, that’s all I care about. That’s all your friends care about. That’s all that really matters.’
Sam looked at her for a moment, seeing his own reflection in Mag’s dark eyes.
‘You’re right,’ he replied with a sigh, nodding.
‘Always,’ Mag said. ‘Have you seriously not figured that out yet?’
‘Oh, it’s definitely starting to become clearer,’ Sam replied, smiling. ‘Come on, let’s head back to camp.’
‘Race?’ Mag asked with a grin, not waiting for his reply before she turned and sprinted away down the street.
‘Hey, guys.’ Jay put down the welding torch he’d been setting up next to the military four-by-four parked just behind him and waved as he saw Sam and Mag walking across the compound towards him.
‘You still wasting your time on that thing?’ Mag asked, shaking her head.
‘This thing is going to be the sweetest ride in London by the time I’ve finished with her,’ Jay said, patting the hulking vehicle on one of its armoured panels. ‘You’ll see.’
‘Didn’t we go over the whole “no petrol” thing?’ Sam asked, looking confused. The fuel in the vehicles that still lay scattered around the city had long since decayed to the point of uselessness.
‘Yeah, but the Servant’s been helping me out with an alternative power source.’ Jay felt under the edge of the bonnet for the release catch before lifting the hood to reveal a glowing Voidborn power unit mounted to the engine block. ‘So, as you can see, in actual fact this beauty is the only fully working set of wheels in London. You may submit your begging requests for a ride in her in writing.’
‘Great, Jay at the wheel of a Voidborn-powered vehicle,’ Sam said, a mischievous smile playing across his lips. ‘What could possibly go wrong?’
‘Also, I don’t know if you’d noticed or not, but the roads are a little . . . congested around here,’ Mag said.
‘Which is exactly why I need to reinforce her bumper,’ Jay said, gesturing to the welding kit.
‘Listen, do you think you could give me a hand getting everyone together in the common room?’ Sam said. ‘There’s something I’ve got to tell you.’
‘Everything OK?’ Jay frowned.
‘Yeah . . . no . . . sort of,’ Sam replied, looking slightly uncomfortable.
‘I knew it,’ Jay said. ‘There’s been something bothering you ever since we got back from Tokyo. I kinda just assumed it was to do with . . .’ He glanced over at the wooden crosses that marked the row of graves on the other side of the compound.
‘No, it’s something else,’ Sam replied. ‘Something’s happened and . . .’ His voice trailed off.
‘Come on, man, tell me. What is it? What’s wrong?’
‘It’ll be easier if I speak to all of you together,’ Sam said.
‘OK, I’ll go round people up, but you’re starting to seriously worry me,’ Jay said, his frown deepening.
‘I promise I’ll explain everything. I just don’t really want to have to do it more than once.’
‘Do you know what this is about?’ Jay asked Mag. She glanced at Sam and he gave her a nod.
‘Yeah, I do,’ Mag said.
‘So whatever this is, you could tell Mag but you couldn’t tell me?’ Jay asked Sam. ‘Great, thanks, man.’
‘Come on, Jay, it wasn’t like that . . .’ Mag said.
‘Yeah, whatever,’ Jay replied, his irritation abundantly clear. ‘Look, don’t worry about it. I’ll go get the others. See you inside in ten.’
Sam went to follow Jay as he strode away, but Mag stopped him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
‘Let him go,’ she said. ‘He’ll understand when you explain what’s happened. They all will.’
‘I hope you’re right.’ Sam watched Jay march towards the buildings on the other side of the compound. ‘I’m going to get Stirling. He needs to be there to hear this too.’
‘OK, I’ll see you inside,’ Mag said. ‘Don’t worry, it’s going to be fine.’
Sam walked towards Dr Stirling’s lab. He glanced up at the two Voidborn Motherships that hovered above the city. The undersides of the enormous circular vessels were occasionally lit up by bright flashes of light as teams of Voidborn drones worked to repair the damage that had been caused to both ships during their cataclysmic battle over Tokyo just a few months before. Both of these vessels were now under the control of the former Voidborn entity known as the Servant, and she in turn took her orders from Sam. It was strange to think that he, a fairly unremarkable teenage boy before the Voidborn invasion, now had total command of enough firepower to wipe out any of Earth’s once mighty armed forces in a matter of hours. Not that the Voidborn had needed any of that weaponry when they had arrived on Earth. They had simply activated a control signal that instantly reduced people across the planet into nothing more than mindless slaves. Sam and his friends were still no closer to figuring out how to reverse that process and deep down Sam was beginning to doubt that they ever would. Despite the intensity with which they had fought the Voidborn, they all knew their victories amounted to little more than pinpricks as far as the Voidborn fleet that controlled the rest of the planet was concerned. They may have won a couple of battles, but it felt like they were still a very long way from winning the war.
As Sam approached the entrance to the lab, Dr Stirling suddenly came dashing through the door with a deep frown on his face. He caught sight of Sam and hurried over to him.
‘Sam, I need to speak to the Servant immediately. Could you summon her for me?’
‘Of course,’ Sam replied, ‘what’s wrong?’
‘It’s probably easier if I just show you,’ Stirling said. ‘Come with me.’
‘I was actually just trying to get everyone together,’ Sam said. ‘There’s something I need to tell you all. Can it wait?’
‘No,’ Stirling said, his frown growing deeper, ‘I don’t think it can.’
Sam saw something he had never seen in Stirling’s eyes before, something that suddenly made him very nervous indeed.
Stirling headed back inside the lab, beckoning for Sam to follow. Sam gave a silent mental command as he headed into the brightly lit interior and a moment later a shimmering cloud of glowing golden dust appeared in the air beside him. Within seconds, the swirling vortex solidified into the shape of a tall woman with metallic skin and glowing yellow eyes.
‘How may I assist you, Illuminate?’ the Servant asked, falling into step beside Sam as they both followed Stirling through the lab towards an area of the room that was curtained off.
‘It’s Doctor Stirling,’ Sam replied as the old man pushed the curtain aside and stepped through into the area beyond. ‘He needs your help with something.’
‘What is the nature of his problem?’ the Servant asked calmly.
‘I’ve got no idea,’ Sam said, heading through the curtains, ‘but I think we’re about to find out,’
Lying on beds
along the far wall were four enslaved humans that had been brought there from one of the countless thousands of buildings around London that now served as dormitories – or perhaps, more accurately, storage facilities – for the dormant masses. They were cared for and fed by the Voidborn under Sam’s control, only rousing from their unconscious state to carry out the bidding of their alien masters. The rest of the time they remained in a comatose state, lying in endless rows, awaiting the next command. Stirling had never stopped working on a way to try to reverse the process and free them from Voidborn control, but he had made no real progress. Whatever it was that the aliens had done to take control of people all over the globe, it was beyond the capacity of human technology to understand it, let alone fix it.
The four enslaved people were secured by waist straps to the beds, and they writhed and twisted slowly and silently, as if in the grasp of some agonising torture.
‘What’s happening to them?’ Sam asked Stirling quietly, deeply disturbed by the unsettling way the people in front of him were moving. Their hands clawed at the air above their beds, their backs arching against their restraints and their legs slowly kicking under the sheets, almost as if they were trying to fight off some invisible attacker in slow motion.
‘I have no idea,’ Stirling said, shaking his head. ‘It started a few minutes ago. Here, look at their faces.’
Sam moved nearer to the closest victim, a young woman, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as he looked down at her face. He was met with a gaze of pure, undiluted terror, her mouth fixed in a silent scream. Her wide-open eyes were a perfect jet black.
‘Is this happening everywhere?’ Sam asked. ‘Are all the Sleepers like this?’
‘That was exactly my question for the Servant,’ Stirling replied.
Sam glanced over at the Servant, who stood in silence for a moment before speaking.
‘Drone interface complete. This phenomenon is spreading across the city,’ the Servant announced. ‘At current rates the entire human population under my care will be affected within seven minutes.’