Get The Girl

Get The Girl
Gatrina's POV...

For several seconds, none of us spoke. Abigail was gone. We had searched every corner of the lab, but there was nothing. No sign that she had packed anything. No indication that she had been taken. She had simply disappeared.

Amara finally broke the silence. "Let's check outside."

I looked at her. "The back?"

"That's where she usually goes."

We hurried outside. The cold night air hit us immediately. I looked around the wrecked ship and the surrounding wasteland, hoping to see the girl sitting somewhere nearby. Nothing.

We searched behind the wreck. Nothing. Amara crouched near the ground.

"Wait."

I walked over. "What?"

She brushed some sand aside. "Tracks."

I looked down. Small footprints led away from the lab. "Are those hers?"

Amara studied them. "They're fresh."

Morgan stepped closer. "So we can follow them?"

Amara stood. "That's exactly what we're going to do."

We returned inside. Morgan immediately picked up her jacket. "I'm coming."

"No."

Gati looked at her sister. "Morgan, stay here."

"But—"

"When the guys come back, somebody needs to be here to tell them what happened."

Morgan frowned. "I can come and still tell them."

Amara shook her head. "No. This isn't safe for you "

Morgan looked at her. "I'm not helpless."

"I didn't say you were."

Amara pointed toward the tracks outside. "We don't know where they lead but it's already pointing at the direction of the city. We're going into New Lagos at night, and if something happens, Gati and I can handle ourselves."

She glanced at Gati's glowing pendant. "She's got the necklace."

Then she looked at Morgan. "You're not armed or trained to fight, and you don't have anything like that."

Morgan's expression hardened, but she knew Amara was right. After a moment, she sighed. "Bring my daughter back."

Gati walked over and hugged her. "I will."

Amara was already heading outside. "Come on."

Gati followed. They picked up Abigail's trail and began following it. The footprints carried them farther from the lab. Past the abandoned outskirts. Toward the lights. Toward the city.

Eventually, the towering skyline of New Lagos appeared ahead of them. The city was alive. Hover vehicles moved through the streets. There were several neon advertisements boards illuminated on top enormous buildings. Crowds filled the sidewalks, moving beneath the glow of countless signs.

Gati pulled her hood over her head. Amara did the same. Gati nodded. Then the two women disappeared into the bustling streets of New Lagos.

Somewhere ahead was Abigail. And they were going to find her.

.

.

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Trix's POV...

The palace felt strangely empty. Jarox was gone. For the first time in weeks, there was nobody in the laboratory asking questions, interrupting my work or reminding me that there might still be another way.

I sat alone before Abigail's genome. I had already accepted the truth. She was a false Bridge. And I had created her.

That meant the responsibility belonged to me. If I had created the problem, then perhaps I could create the solution. I pulled up the genome again.

"Let's see what we can do."

Nyx sat on the workstation beside me. The cybertronic cat simply stared at the holographic display. I began modifying the sequence. One compound. Then another. Then another.

Every time I attempted to stabilize the deterioration, the same result appeared. Failure. I tried suppressing the unstable regions. The cells adapted. I tried disrupting their regenerative capacity. The cells adapted. I tried targeting their molecular structure. The cells adapted again.

I leaned back. "You're getting stronger."

Nyx purred. I looked at her. "You know, I still love that I took your AI away."

Nyx blinked. I smiled faintly.

"When you could speak, you never stopped talking."

The cat purred again. "Now you're just a cat."

She rubbed her head against my arm. I scratched beneath her chin.

"Having you like this reminds me that I don't need something constantly feeding my ego."

Nyx closed her eyes. I turned back toward the genome. My expression hardened. "I need to stay vigilant."

I continued working. Hours passed like they were absolutely nothing and I just kept at it. Then I saw something. A pattern. One that had not been there before, but was now in full effect. I isolated it.

The system immediately generated a warning: CELLULAR FAILURE: IRREVERSIBLE.

I stared at the result. It was the only solution that worked. And it killed the cells. I tried again. Same result. There was no way around it. I couldn't stabilize Abigail without destroying her. And it was becoming worse.

I checked the evolutionary projection. My eyes widened. "One month."

That was all the time I had. Within approximately a month, Abigail's DNA would evolve again.

After that, conventional biological agents might not be capable of breaking down her molecular structure. I stood.

"Then we don't have a month."

I moved toward the biology wing. If the Keepers only needed one vital organ to access her genetic potential to perfect my father's hybrid army, killing Abigail wouldn't be enough.

Her brain. Her heart. Either could potentially provide what they needed. She couldn't simply die. Her biological material had to become useless. Completely useless.

I needed something that would shut down her cells before her DNA could be harvested. Something that would destroy the molecular structure itself. I entered the biology wing and activated the fabrication system.

The 3D printer hummed to life. I transferred the code. The machine began processing the design. I watched the first components take shape behind the transparent shield. A biological pathogen. Something designed specifically for Abigail. Something that could penetrate her cells, shut them down and prevent the regeneration that made her so difficult to destroy.

Nyx followed me into the room. She sat near my feet. I looked down at her.

"I know what you're thinking."

Nyx purred. I looked back at the machine. "She shouldn't have existed."

The printer continued working. Layer by layer. Component by component. The only thing I believed could completely destroy the false Bridge was slowly taking shape before me. I watched it emerge.

And for the first time, I understood the true horror of what I was doing. I wasn't trying to save Abigail anymore. I was trying to erase her... Completely, if the need were to arise. And judging from how things were beginning to unfold, it was starting to seem like the need would surely arise.