The God Codex

26.Disengage

BOOK OF MIA: 2081

Chapter 26: Disengage

The jet lands on the white burning sand with a low growl, and we flinch at its size.

The boat that had looked like a tiny thing a minute ago is, in fact, a hulking figure, from which several men jump off and land on their feet — planted perfectly on the sand. They hold ominous-looking guns in hand.

I grab Nate by the arm and my voice hitches higher in my throat than I am used to as I ask him, "Survival Mode?"

Nate nods and murmurs, "Survival Mode on standby." He slowly takes a step ahead of Dev, as if protecting the man.

"Would you like Survival mode on?" the voice comes alive again in my head — I'm still not used to hearing it. "Twelve armed men detected. Would you like to engage now or engage upon attack?"

"Engage upon attack!" Nate chimes in, and my spine tingles. I had almost forgotten he has the mode too — perhaps the result of my upgrade on him — and he is on standby, too.

"What?" He shrugs when he sees me throwing a glance his way.

"Are you sure we shouldn't engage?" I sound nervous, even to myself.

"We don't know who they are," he says, but I can see his jaws clench. He's not sure about his decision either.

"They could be Hill," I add, eyeing Dev standing behind Nate, looking very nervous.

"Or they could be Mother." Nate draws a breath in, watching the men surrounding us — at a safe distance.

My brows furrow. "Mother?" I ask before I realise. Mother — the woman who guided me during the massacre a couple of weeks ago, the one who told us the thing, the thing I'm still struggling to accept. But I don't have time for my bile to rise again.

The men flank us, their guns pointed somewhere near our shins.

Dev mumbles something about feeling exposed when the Leader takes a hesitant step towards us, his gun rising a little higher than before. Alert.

"Danger detected. Heart rate elevated. Rapid eye movement, breathing controlled. Eminent attack predicted in thirty seconds. Permission to engage."

I swallow. "Are you hearing this, Nate?" I ask from the corner of my mouth. I see his response — a head shake. Shit. He better be right.

"Your Survival Mode is engaged, I assume?" the Leader of the group asks, holding his position, scanning us cautiously.

My instinct is to fist my hands and shift my footing so I am ready to launch — or is that the mode overtaking? Nate, beside me, does something similar and I am certain it's not my instinct per se.

The man glares at both of us and gives a curt nod, lets his gun fall to the side of his body, and stands ramrod straight. "Disengage Survival Mode protocol on subjects, under the authority of ShahAmour Industries. Authorisation number: 742726687, initiated by Captain Charlie Light."

"What's he doing?" I ask, confused, when a code flashes in front of my eyes.

A long code that trills along, and by its end, the automated voice in my head says, "Survival Mode Disengage authorized. Shut down in thirty seconds."

Okay, officially freaked out. What the fudge? How do these people know about Survival Mode? And how in the world are they able to disengage it?

"Nate," I whisper, bringing my fists up, ready for a fight.