Chapter 37 The Burning Truth
The floor tilted at a sharp angle, sending me sliding toward the white fire of the furnace. I grabbed a metal pipe, my fingers burning as I held on for dear life. Above me, the monster that had worn Kael’s skin grew taller. Its glass bones caught the light, and its green wires hissed like snakes.
"The sun is calling its children home," the hunger roared. Its voice sounded like a thousand dying radios. "You wanted a kingdom, Eara? I will give you a kingdom of ash!"
The station groaned. We were falling. Through the giant glass windows, I could see the Sun. It wasn't just a ball of light anymore. It was a massive, angry wall of fire that filled the entire sky. The heat was already bubbling the paint on the walls.
"Get up!" my father’s voice shouted.
The robot with its face stood firm, its magnetic boots locking it to the floor. It reached down and grabbed my arm, yanking me to my feet. Behind it, the thousands of patients were screaming. They weren't soldiers. They were people who had just woken up into a nightmare.
"We have to stop it!" I yelled over the sound of the engines. "If we hit the Sun, everyone dies! Every mind in the system will be erased!"
"You can't stop the hunger of a god!" the glass monster laughed. It swiped a giant clawed hand at us, smashing a row of computer monitors. "I was born when the world ended! I am the price of your survival!"
I looked at the monster. I felt a surge of pure, hot hate. This thing had used Kael’s face to kiss me. It had used his voice to tell me it loved me. It had fed on my hope for years while I lay in a glass tank.
"You aren't a god," I hissed. I let go of the pipe and stood tall, even as the ship shook. "You're a parasite. And I'm the one who’s going to pull the plug."
I turned to the robot. "Father, the core! If I can get inside the main computer again, can I reverse the engines?"
"It will kill you, Eara," the robot said. The silver-blue light in its eyes was flickering. "The energy is too high. You’ll be burned out."
"I’m already dead if I don't try!" I barked.
I didn't wait for an answer. I ran toward the center of the room. The golden liquid from the broken pillar was everywhere. I dove into the puddle, sliding across the floor like a blade. The hunger lashed out, its glass foot missing my head by an inch.
I reached the main control board. It was a mess of wires and sparks. I didn't use a keyboard. I plunged my hands into the open wires.
"AHHH!"
The pain was like a million needles made of fire. I saw the station’s map in my head. I saw the engines firing us toward the Sun. I saw the path we were on, a straight line into the fire.
"Move," I told the engines. Turn!
"No!" the Hunger screamed. It lunged at me, its glass body glowing green.
But my father’s robot was there. It tackled the monster, its metal arms locking around the glass waist. They slammed into the furnace together.
"Father!" I cried out.
"Keep weaving, Eara!" my father’s voice echoed in my head. "Don't look back!"
I focused all my rage on the wires. I thought about the grey Earth. I thought about the people who deserved a real life, not a dream. I felt the engines fight back. The ship began to groan as it tried to change direction. The gravity shifted, pinning me against the floor.
"Core override!" the computer screamed. "Path corrected! New heading: Moon Colony Delta."
The Sun began to slip away from the window. We were turning. We were going to live.
I pulled my hands out of the wires. My skin was black and charred, and I couldn't feel my fingers. I slumped against the console, gasping for air.
The hunger was gone. The furnace was empty. My father’s robot was nothing but a pile of melted scrap metal on the floor.
I crawled toward the scrap. I touched the metal face. It was cold. "Thank you," I whispered. "I'm so sorry."
"Eara."
I froze. That wasn't my father's voice. And it wasn't the monster.
I turned around.
Kael was standing by the emergency exit. He was naked, covered in the same green liquid from the tanks. He looked weak, but he was real. He didn't have red eyes. He didn't have glass bones. He was shaking, his hands over his face.
"Kael?" I stood up, my heart pounding. "Is it really you? Was that thing... was it lying?"
Kael looked at me. He was crying. "I'm sorry, Eara. I couldn't stop it. I was in the tank next to yours. It stole my face. It stole everything."
I ran to him. I didn't care about the lies or the simulations. I threw my arms around him. He felt warm. He felt human.
"We’re okay," I sobbed into his chest. "We’re going to the moon. We’re going to be free."
Kael didn't hug me back. His body stayed stiff.
"Eara," he whispered. "Look at the screen."
I turned my head. The main monitor was still active. It showed the thousands of escape pods I had released earlier. They were landing on the moon colony.
But they weren't opening.
On the screen, I saw a man in a white suit standing on the Moon’s surface. He was holding a remote. He looked at the camera and smiled.
"You saved their bodies, Weaver," the man said. "But you forgot who owns their minds."
The man pressed a button.
Inside the pods, I heard a sound like a thousand tiny firecrackers.
The patients weren't waking up. Their heads were exploding, one by one.
"No!" I screamed, slamming my hands against the screen.
"It's not over, Eara," Kael said.
I felt something cold touch the back of my neck. I turned around and saw Kael holding a small, silver needle.
"The Hunger didn't need a god," Kael said. His eyes turned a bright, glowing purple. "It just needed a better host."
He jammed the needle into my throat.