Chapter 9
420words
The "Ark" hid in a cave behind an ice waterfall. Kay repaired the windshield with a welding torch while Lila bandaged the girl's frostbitten hands. Her name was Amy, seven years old. After her parents were "warmed away" by the glowing moss, she'd survived by licking spores.
"Symbiote." Lila collected Amy's saliva with a cotton swab and dropped it onto the fungal sample. The mycelium quickly withered. "She has antibodies... or something far more terrifying."
Buck dismantled the fan motor at the vehicle's rear, neodymium magnets piled beside him. Blood seeped through the bandage at his prosthetic interface, yet he waved off Lila's offers to help.
"Care to discuss the 82nd Airborne?" Kay asked casually. The welding torch's blue light highlighted the jagged scars on his left cheek.
Buck's hands froze momentarily. "Ancient history," he muttered, shoving magnets into the generator. "It's fixed, but we need initial power."
Kay pointed to the vehicle's roof. "Use the solar panels to attract lightning."
"Are you out of your mind? Lightning will split this rig in half!"
"Use fish as conductors." Lila suddenly interrupted. She pointed at the three remaining mutated tilapia, their scales glowing faintly blue in the darkness. "Amy's blood might enhance their conductivity."
Amy shrank into the corner in terror. Buck shot to his feet. "She's just a goddamn child!"
"One drop of blood." Lila's voice trembled. "Just one drop, and we can reach Zone 36..."
Kay's welding torch hung suspended. The flame danced in his pupils.
Amy suddenly extended her scarred finger toward Lila.
"Warm," she whispered. "Like seed bank."
Lila froze. She remembered the USB drive she'd kept warm against her skin day and night, recalled her parents' final words before the gene lab explosion: [Lila, seeds matter more than human lives].
She stumbled backward, colliding with the hydroponic rack. Lettuce leaves rustled in protest.
"No blood needed." Kay suddenly declared. He yanked the electrodes from the car battery and strode toward the fish tank. "Let's gamble differently."
The moment electrodes touched water, the tilapia scales erupted with blue light! Current surged through the water into the vehicle's body, making the entire "Ark" hum and vibrate. Headlights blazed to life as the dashboard flickered back online.
Buck suddenly lunged for the driver's seat. "Move it!"
Outside the cave, countless golden points dotted the snow. A parasitized wolf pack silently surrounded them, golden threads in their eye sockets forming a flowing network of light in the darkness.
