The Extinction Trials(80)

“That’s the thing. There isn’t a difference anymore. Whoever controls the survivors wins the future. That’s what we’re fighting over at this point: people.”

“So, you were out there looking for us?” Owen asked.

“Not you specifically. Just survivors. And Aldridge’s daughter, in particular. That was the deal I made. They would keep Carmen in a stasis chamber if I joined that scouting team. There were three of us. We went out on the boat searching for that Extinction Trials station. We had the location. As you know, ARC Technologies was once part of The Union. They betrayed the group when The Extinction Trials went dark.”

Cara held up a hand. “You said there were three of you?”

“You saw the other two,” Alister replied. “The dead man and woman on the boat.”

“What happened to them?” Owen asked.

“When we arrived at the island, we began exploring. I stayed on the boat—my shift was ending, and I wanted to get some rest. I used the mesh to notify The Colony that we had a lead.”

“The mesh?” Owen asked.

“Yes. You almost caught me using it once.” Alister held up his forearm and pressed two fingers into the area just below his palm. An image appeared on the hairless skin of his forearm—an interface similar to an operating system on a computer. He tapped on his forearm and the interface changed, menus opening and words printing on the skin.

“You were using it on the boat,” Owen said. “In your stateroom.”

“Yes. I was sending The Colony an update. Specifically, I was informing them that I believe the mesh is what summons the storms.”

That caught Maya off guard. “How do you know?”

“Experience. As I said, there were three of us when we landed on that small island where we found Station 17. Two went out to search the island. I sent a message via the mesh and then laid down to rest. I was sleeping on the boat when the storm came. The others radioed back and said they were sick. I put on one of the environmental suits and survived.”

Alister paced the room. “I used the mesh and asked for instructions from The Colony. They said not to come back without people or answers about the storms—and preferably both. They told me if I came back empty-handed, I wouldn’t be admitted. At that time, I didn’t know that the storms were connected to the mesh. That’s new. The working theory is that the storms are created by high-altitude drones searching for mesh signals. They create the storms and release something or modify the air to kill anyone with the mesh.”

“So that’s what really happened to the older man who woke up in Station 17?” Cara asked.

Alister nodded. “I think it’s safe to say that he was a member of The Union who was enmeshed. I don’t know when he entered the trials, but it must’ve been at a point after ARC had betrayed The Union. He was probably trying to get to the surface to use the mesh to contact The Union. I only realized that it was the mesh causing the storms after I used it on the boat and the storm began following us and converged on the cargo ship. I didn’t use it after until we reached the city out there.”

“So, the storms were never any threat to us?” Owen asked.

“No. Not to you all. I was fairly certain about that, but not absolutely certain.”

“They were only a threat to you because of the mesh,” Maya said. “But you let us believe they could harm us.”

“As I said, I wasn’t certain that they couldn’t. And they provided a good reason for you to get out of that station and get to The Colony. The old man who died inadvertently made the argument I had planned on making—that we needed to find safety.”

Owen shook his head. “But the proctor—Bryce—knew the storms were deadly.”

“Yes. I think ARC must have had sensors on the surface that picked up the anomalies in the storm. That’s the only thing that makes sense.”

“And the mesh is why the robots attacked you as well?” Owen asked.

“Yes. They attacked Will and me because they’re programmed to attack ARC proctors and the enmeshed—The Alliance considers itself at war with both ARC and The Union. I knew about the robots, but I was hoping we would get by them before they converged on us.”

“It was you,” Maya said, realization dawning on her. “You sabotaged Station 17, didn’t you, Alister?

He swallowed. “Yes.”

“How?”

“I had a way to get into the station—the thumb of another proctor The Union had captured. I used it to enter, and I found the whole place shut down. Most of the chambers were empty. As I said, there was a deceased participant in one of the chambers. I can’t tell if it had failed, or if he had simply passed away from whatever intervention they had given him. His name was Alister. I found the only proctor in his alcove in sleep mode. I found the man’s folder and threw it away. I figured I would never be able to explain what was inside—and I doubted it would matter.”

Alister spread his hands. “I did what I had to do, what The Colony required me to do. You heard what it was like for me and my cohort out there. I couldn’t return empty-handed. I put the other two members of the team in suits and placed them on the ship. I left my journal there because it talks about The Colony, and I believed that after reading it, you all would be convinced to come here. I disabled the boat so that none of you could board it and leave the island without me. Then I entered the station and damaged the power plant, ensuring that it was in a terminal state of decline. I entered the chamber of the person named Alister and waited. I woke up, just like you all. At that point, the proctor knew I wasn’t in the original cohort. I think he was probably about to expose me in the observation room when the other man did what I was going to do anyway—destroy the proctor.”