Lessons in Smoke

One Year Earlier

“Hadley, what’s happening?”

Hadley looked at her not-so-little brother. His eyes were wide with dismay.

There had been a sudden blast of thick, warm air. Everything around them felt… different.

She felt at odds with herself.

“I’m not sure, Ian,” she replied truthfully, hugging him closer.

“I don’t feel so good.” He fell limp in her lap.

Cradling him to her chest, she saw his eyes were closed and his chest moving less with each moment.

Dread filled her.

Setting him down gently, she quickly thought through her training. Check breathing and pulse. Both were there—though weak.

The earth shuddered. The air grew thick with the smell of rot. Hadley started to choke on its horridness, unable to take full breaths.

Ian began to convulse. She turned him onto his side and protected his head with one hand, the other acting as a mask to filter the putrid air.

I don’t know what to do, she thought, panic rising.

Pulling herself together, she looked around. Nothing looked different. Everything was the same. Everything but the unseen air—and the state of herself and her brother.

Movement caught the corner of her vision. She turned just in time to catch the tail end of something.

Black rain? That can’t be right.

The lack of adequate oxygen must be affecting me.

Somehow, the smell intensified.

Turning her attention back to Ian, with her remaining strength she dragged his—six foot three two hundred pound—body toward the basement door.

A screeching noise echoed through the house. Piercing pain rang through her skull. Her hands flew to her ears in a failed attempt to stop it.

In less than a second, a stream of dense smoke floated before her, the stench intensifying with its proximity. Black ichor trickled onto the floor.

The smell was overwhelming. She gagged as darkness crept in at the edges of her vision.

Everything went black.

***

Eight Months Earlier

“Easy,” said a melodic voice.

Hadley felt gentle but firm hands on her shoulders. She didn’t have the strength to fight or even sit up.

Light slowly entered her heavy eyes. She tried to focus on her surroundings. All she could see was the familiar face of a total stranger.

“I know this must be confusing, but before you do anything, please let me explain.” He looked concerned, as though he were caring for a lost lover.

“You have been in a coma for the last five months. We have our best specialists—who survived—taking care of you. It’s going to be rough, but you'll have a quick and full recovery if we do this right. Now, I know you have no reason to trust me, but as scary and strange as it might be, I know you feel that pull toward me.”

He paused, cheeks turning beet red. “That came out wrong… see, something has happened that—”

“Who are you?” Hadley croaked, reaching a trembling hand to his face. “How do I know you so well?”

He took her hand in his. She was so cold.

He smiled. “I’m James. It’s nice to finally meet you officially, Hadley.” He took both her hands in his now. “Put simply—but bluntly—the earth was impacted by a meteor, causing an earthquake with enough magnitude to split it open. Something ancient resurfaced from those depths; a monster with only the urge to kill.”

He took a breath before continuing.

“That surge you probably felt was not only the earthquake, but also the release of the monster—and something else that changed us humans. Some people died from it. Some became unconscious. For some, nothing happened at all. Any survivors in the area are here, underground. I was part of the search and rescue. I found you myself.”

“My brother,” Hadley said hoarsely, suddenly filled with sadness as the memories slowly returned. “Oh, God.”

James pulled her toward him and wrapped his arms around her, cradling her as she sobbed into his chest.

***

Seven Months Earlier

“You’ve been carrying that day with you. Do you want to talk about it?” James asked.

They were sitting at the east end of the sanctuary. She played with a rock lost in her thoughts.

It was amazing how much had happened—not only in the five months of her coma, but in the month since her recovery.

James had trained her in the ways of medics. Marq, she now knew, was the leader of this group of survivalists—but also the trainer in fighting tactics, his previous profession a Military Tactical Expert.

James had been right about her recovery. She had made progress very quickly. There was still pain in her head, though the doctors said migraines would be part of her life now.

Focusing on training kept the memories at bay. The momentary injuries and exhaustion that came with it dulled the pain of losing her brother—and the life she’d had before the Surge.

Ian, I’m so sorry.

His death gave her the anger and motivation to train every day. Those emotions rose to the surface now, as she recalled the day that changed everything.

“Hadley?”

“If I control my body, nothing like that will ever happen again.” Was all she said. She touched his arm, smiled, and headed towards her quarters.

***

Six Months Earlier

James side-eyed Hadley. With a smile, he asked, “Are you going to ask?”

A laugh escaped her. “I think I can put the pieces together about our Bond.” With an eye roll, she sat up straighter and explained with heavy sarcasm, “The Surge created Bonds between certain individuals. You and I are Bonded. It’s not that crazy. Besides, it could have been so much worse.”

“You’re no fun,” he huffed. “There’s far more to it than that.”

Hadley rolled her eyes. “Okay, James. Please tell me the science. I need to know why I’m stuck with you—I mean, so attracted to you.” She gave him a playful shove. The Bond seemed to thrive on any kind of closeness, especially physical touch.

It was strange—this familiarity with someone who used to be a stranger. They’d only known each other a couple of months. He had known her longer, of course, taking care of her while she lay in a coma. He’d felt the full force of the Bond since the Surge. That pull had helped him locate her easily. Still, the state he’d found her in must have been unbearable.

She imagined finding him the same way. A shudder ran through her at the thought.

During training, they’d seen each other beaten, bruised, and exhausted. That was nothing compared to his first encounter with her unconscious, bloodied body. The first time he told her the story, tears had filled his eyes, and he couldn’t look at her. He still woke from nightmares—always too late, always losing her—and coping with that fear was like trying to fill the ocean with scoops of sand.

Her thoughts drifted to her brother.

“—see, it’s all in the cells,” James concluded. “Like soulmates.”

“Hadley?”

“It’s all in the cells. Yeah, I heard you.” She smiled.

He rolled his eyes, tugged her off the jump box they were sitting on, and pulled her toward the obstacle course.

“Bet you can’t keep up.”

Before he could blink, Hadley leapt onto the first platform, suspended five feet in the air. James knew there wasn’t a chance he could beat her. But that was why they were Bonded. Her weaknesses were his strengths. Together, they were meant to fight as one unit.

The cellular alteration had done more than bind her to James and saddle her with migraines. She used her newfound abilities to work toward her true goal—

killing the creature that had brutally murdered her brother.

***

Four Months Earlier

“The answer is no, Hadley. You may be setting course records, but your hand-to-hand combat still needs work. You are not ready for the sim. That’s final.”

Hadley burned with humiliation. She knew she was ready. They didn’t. They didn’t see what advantage her abilities gave her against the monster. She had been observing it for the past three and a half months.

Only elites were granted access to the sim. Fighting in it was step one of her plan. What would it take for her to prove herself to these people?

James reached for her. It pained her, but she brushed his hand away and left the office.

***

Three Weeks Earlier

“Hadley, you’ve been on the sim twice today and nearly died. I can’t let you back on.”

The lab technician was a six-foot-tall, lean-muscled nerd. Her five foot ten stature had no intimidation factor, but the fear in his eyes reminded her why she was the best warrior in the sanctuary.

She said nothing.

She was determined to beat the sim monster. But it wasn’t enough. This thing she’d been fighting was only a coded interpretation of the real one haunting them. Sent into hiding a year ago, their resources were limited. Going outside was out of the question.

She broke eye contact. He let loose the breath he’d been holding in anticipation.

“Well done, Reeves,” said a booming voice. “Hadley, stop intimidating the lab rats. I need to talk to you. Now.”

Hadley turned to see Marq filling the doorway with his unnatural amount of mass. James said it was still strange seeing him this way. Apparently he was never a small being, but since the Surge, his bulk was unparalleled.

Storming out wasn’t an option. So she walked over quietly, raised her chin, and locked eyes with the large, dark-skinned man. He puffed out his chest at the look.

She smiled.

He frowned even more, smacked her across the back of the head, and turned to lead them to the debrief room.

The others were waiting. Glancing at the clock, she tried not to flinch. Late again.

Her attention was pulled toward bright gold, concerned eyes. All thoughts of what her punishment might be faded away. The comfort of seeing her Bonded One made everything okay again.

***

Debrief wasn’t Hadley’s favorite. It was the same message every time—for the past four months.

Resources were low. No soldier had beaten the sim. No survivors had been found. Going above ground was dangerous.

“—prohibited,” Marq finished, his gaze fixed on Hadley.

Wait. What did he just say?

“Yes, you heard me correctly, Hadley. No more sneaking out the east wing. The Sanctuary is now on full lockdown,” Marq said, replying to the astonished look on her face.

She sank lower in her seat. If he had known she’d been going above ground at night, why hadn’t he scolded her before now?

She’d been slipping through the east end’s smallest exit. The first time she noticed it was while exploring with James. She hadn’t planned on running away—but she craved fresh air, needed to get her bearings, to see what the world looked like now.

Awe had dropped her jaw at what she’d climbed out into.

The land was scarred—massive rifts split the crust. Deep chasms yawned open, swallowing light into blackness.

Movement had caught her eye in the valley below.

It can’t be.

It was.

Not more than three hundred yards from where she sat, the smoke glided through the valley. Searching.

Since that discovery, Hadley had returned to the east end exit every night to observe the creature. It searched the valley as though it knew they were close. Its position shifted each night, but it was always nearby.

They were running out of time.

***

One Week Earlier

The fight went on.

The smoke—if that’s what she was—fought with the ferocity of something tangible. How, in the Creator’s name, was this possible? It had no body, no face, no mind or eyes. It moved like water and vapor, but with the strength of a monster armored in flesh.

Droplets of who-knew-what landed all over her body, stinging with the intensity of acid, threatening to eat straight through her. As though it were a trap the thing had set, she fell right into it, taking her eyes off the transparent darkness to wipe away the burning liquid.

Wrong move.

One lunge and it was at her throat—the mist somehow sharp enough to nick the delicate skin at her neck, endangering the life-giving blood of the carotid artery. She sucked in as much air as her lungs would allow. Droplets slid into her airways, mixing with her cells.

The smell was foul. Putrid. Worse than rot. Worse than death. Memories started to resurface. Her brother. Their home. So much blood.

Focus, Hadley.

Little did this suspension of carbon know, she was not entirely reliant on brute tactics. The cells in her body began to morph. The creature’s liquid particles started to amalgamate. Controlling the substance, she drew it out of her system and pulled more from the air, surrounding the creature in a liquid bubble.

A screech tore from the thing, threatening to break her concentration with the urge to cover her now-bleeding ears.

And then it was gone.

The world resolved slowly as the simulation rebooted, dragging her back to reality. Exhaustion crashed into her. She fell heavily toward the ground. Before she could hit, strong hands caught her and pulled her into familiar arms.

“You did it,” he whispered. “You actually did it, you insane, beautiful idiot.”

Looking up, he called for a medic, his voice cracking with concern.

***

Two Days Earlier

“Hadley, you were given direct orders not to go above ground. Your bravado is going to get us all killed,” Marq warned.

“There’s a reason you’re all so scared. You know something isn’t right. You can see its patterns—it’s not random. We need to take action. Now.”

“Patterns emerge when you want them to,” one of the scientists commented.

Hadley recoiled.

They didn’t believe her.

They wouldn’t.

Marq moved to place a hand on her shoulder and said quietly, “Hope is fragile. Don’t take it from them.”

Hadley’s eyes burned. She looked up at Marq. He looked empathetic. She saw shame.

With defiance reflected in her eyes, she walked away, her head held high.

Marq nodded at James to follow her.

In the hall, James called for Hadley to stop.

She did—without turning to face him.

He hesitated before saying, “If you’re right… you don’t go alone.”

***

Present

The exit.

This was it.

Hadley had found a way above ground, James at her heels.

Before their eyes could even adjust to the light, the smell of rot hit her nostrils. Instant regret flooded her.

The smoke was right there. An arm’s reach away.

It didn’t attack, but mirrored her movements.

The realization hit hard. It hadn’t been searching—it had been tapping in and learning. Circling like a vulture, waiting for the right moment.

Hope had come at a cost no one calculated.

She hadn’t beaten it in the sim.

She had taught it.

The thing she had trained against was already obsolete.

THE END