trust you.”
Elias shoves a desk lamp, sending it crashing to the floor. “Do you think this is a game ?!” he roars. “God’s Hand is not concerned with your superficial moral high ground! I will not justify my actions to you or anyone else!”
An unnerving silence follows, save for the patter of rain on the sill. Elias rises again and begins to pace. “I can’t let you stand in the way. You’re as lost as Worthington.”
“Whoa,” I say. “I’m trying to get out of this. I just want to find someone who I can talk sense to.”
Elias stops and turns to face me. “Talk sense to me.”
“How about we call the police? That’s a good place to start.”
Elias shakes his head in denial. “No, that doesn’t solve the larger problem. The machines will be returned to Redd Research, which means they’ll remain on Worthington’s hands, or the Illuma Corp will eventually find a way to acquire them if not the technology behind them.”
I roll my eyes in frustration at not being able to reason with Elias. “That’s not my problem!”
“It is your problem! Mankind is on the verge of a paradigm shift, one that will likely usher in the end times, and you are content to remain apathetic!”
Standing, I point an accusing finger. “You’re just as crazy as the rest of them. You, Worthington, the Illuma Corp, Ray—I haven’t talked to a sane person in the last twelve hours.”
Elias sighs and runs his fingers through his hair. “Let me make it plain for you,” he says, stepping toward me. His mouth quivers as he grips my arm. “There is but one God and His will be done. God’s Hand will make manifest His wrath, punishing the evildoer.”
24
Does Elias mean to stop me—kill me, even?
His grip tightens as though he senses my urge to twist away from him. “You can’t leave. Not now—not when we’re so close.”
I jerk my shoulder, trying to wrangle free. A rush of body heat flashes beneath my collar. Spurts of new energy streak through muscle strands now awake. I coil and wind my way out of Elias’s slipping grasp.
He leans forward, having lost his balance, clutching at the edge of my shirt.
I slide my chair in between us, hoping to slow him enough that I can make a break for the window. I’m sprinting the next ten feet before I think the rest of my idea through.
Once I crash into the glass, and I intend to blast through it in a flurry of shards, will I have enough momentum to clear the gap between the building and ADS02? Even if I make it, will the slick armor prove too much for my shaking grip?
I connect with the pane before answers scare themselves into my mind. Leading with my left shoulder, I heave all one hundred fifty pounds into the window’s immovable thickness before bouncing backward to the floor.
Elias is on top of me without hesitation, pinning my arms down with his knees. He produces a folding knife from his denim pocket. Flicking it open with his thumb, he presses four inches of steel against my neck.
I strain my head back and away, my line of sight fixed on the outside world now so far away.
“Stop fidgeting!” Elias demands.
I thrust my torso as much as Elias’s weight will allow. Will he slice across my throat? Or will he only try to detain me? The blood in my jugular doesn’t want to find out.
Heaving with all the strength in my legs, I manage to lift Elias a few inches from the ground when the awesome sight of ADS02 fills my peripheral vision.
Its right arm reaches up and sends massive digits crashing into the office, erasing the glass. The monstrous hand remains fixed onto the ledge, forming a bridge with its outstretched arm.
Elias stumbles away several feet, a pale, blank look of shock on his gawking features. It’s clear he’s never seen the machine in action.
I waste no time in mounting one of the armored fingers and racing along the gauntlet and upper arm. The pitch of my climb increases as I reach the shoulder, rain now barely a drizzle. I work my way
Elias shoves a desk lamp, sending it crashing to the floor. “Do you think this is a game ?!” he roars. “God’s Hand is not concerned with your superficial moral high ground! I will not justify my actions to you or anyone else!”
An unnerving silence follows, save for the patter of rain on the sill. Elias rises again and begins to pace. “I can’t let you stand in the way. You’re as lost as Worthington.”
“Whoa,” I say. “I’m trying to get out of this. I just want to find someone who I can talk sense to.”
Elias stops and turns to face me. “Talk sense to me.”
“How about we call the police? That’s a good place to start.”
Elias shakes his head in denial. “No, that doesn’t solve the larger problem. The machines will be returned to Redd Research, which means they’ll remain on Worthington’s hands, or the Illuma Corp will eventually find a way to acquire them if not the technology behind them.”
I roll my eyes in frustration at not being able to reason with Elias. “That’s not my problem!”
“It is your problem! Mankind is on the verge of a paradigm shift, one that will likely usher in the end times, and you are content to remain apathetic!”
Standing, I point an accusing finger. “You’re just as crazy as the rest of them. You, Worthington, the Illuma Corp, Ray—I haven’t talked to a sane person in the last twelve hours.”
Elias sighs and runs his fingers through his hair. “Let me make it plain for you,” he says, stepping toward me. His mouth quivers as he grips my arm. “There is but one God and His will be done. God’s Hand will make manifest His wrath, punishing the evildoer.”
24
Does Elias mean to stop me—kill me, even?
His grip tightens as though he senses my urge to twist away from him. “You can’t leave. Not now—not when we’re so close.”
I jerk my shoulder, trying to wrangle free. A rush of body heat flashes beneath my collar. Spurts of new energy streak through muscle strands now awake. I coil and wind my way out of Elias’s slipping grasp.
He leans forward, having lost his balance, clutching at the edge of my shirt.
I slide my chair in between us, hoping to slow him enough that I can make a break for the window. I’m sprinting the next ten feet before I think the rest of my idea through.
Once I crash into the glass, and I intend to blast through it in a flurry of shards, will I have enough momentum to clear the gap between the building and ADS02? Even if I make it, will the slick armor prove too much for my shaking grip?
I connect with the pane before answers scare themselves into my mind. Leading with my left shoulder, I heave all one hundred fifty pounds into the window’s immovable thickness before bouncing backward to the floor.
Elias is on top of me without hesitation, pinning my arms down with his knees. He produces a folding knife from his denim pocket. Flicking it open with his thumb, he presses four inches of steel against my neck.
I strain my head back and away, my line of sight fixed on the outside world now so far away.
“Stop fidgeting!” Elias demands.
I thrust my torso as much as Elias’s weight will allow. Will he slice across my throat? Or will he only try to detain me? The blood in my jugular doesn’t want to find out.
Heaving with all the strength in my legs, I manage to lift Elias a few inches from the ground when the awesome sight of ADS02 fills my peripheral vision.
Its right arm reaches up and sends massive digits crashing into the office, erasing the glass. The monstrous hand remains fixed onto the ledge, forming a bridge with its outstretched arm.
Elias stumbles away several feet, a pale, blank look of shock on his gawking features. It’s clear he’s never seen the machine in action.
I waste no time in mounting one of the armored fingers and racing along the gauntlet and upper arm. The pitch of my climb increases as I reach the shoulder, rain now barely a drizzle. I work my way
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