CHAPTER 5: ABOVE GROUND

Wiping ash and grit out of her burning eyes, Eva Nine stumbled away from the Sanctuary’s underground exhaust vent and into the surrounding wood. She knelt down next to the thick trunk of the nearest tree to catch her breath.

“C-cold,” she stuttered. “I c-can see my breath.” Eva wriggled her fingers through the mist coming from her mouth and watched it dissipate as it drifted away above her. She fell backward and looked up through the boughs of the trees and saw stars, millions of them, speckling between the patches of thick clouds in the night sky. The soft glow of the moon permeated through the cloud cover as Eva absorbed the utter enormity of the evening sky stretched over her. She was witnessing it all for the first time.

“It’s so big!” She gaped in astonishment. “And brighter than I thought it would be.”

The crisp night air smelled moist and mysterious. Eva felt the climatefibers in her clothing tighten to warm her body as her tunic announced the outdoor temperature and her body temperature. She ignored the report and peered into the woods that surrounded her.

Huge wide, squat trees—almost as big as her Sanctuary—grew in broad clusters. Their cup-shaped branches swayed and creaked in rhythm with sounds of odd chortles and burbles coming from deep within the dense undergrowth. Spindly bulb-tipped plants had sprung up in the spaces in between the trees and were swaying gently in unison as if moved by a midnight breeze.

A familiar booming sound rocked the forest, causing the unseen residents to squawk and croak in fright. The shadowy creatures rustled about all around the girl. Eva crawled behind the trunk of the tree and hid. She jumped when she heard the muffled chirp of her Omnipod. With jittery hands she rummaged through her satchel and pulled the device out. Risking a peek around the trunk of the tree, Eva whispered into the Omnipod, “This is Eva Nine. Proceed.”

The device whispered back, “Greetings, Eva Nine. You have one unplayed message from Multi-Utility Task Help Robot zero-six. Sent twelve minutes ago. Shall I play recorded message?”

“Yes.” Eva felt loneliness creep into her being.

A three-dimensional image of Muthr projected over the device. “Eva, dear,” the hologram said, “this message was recorded on the chance that you have successfully escaped the Sanctuary. I know you have yet to explore the surface, but you need to listen very carefully: Get as far away from the Sanctuary as possible and hide for the night. Once you find shelter, begin signaling to the nearest settlement, HRP underground facility fifty-one. I need you to remain hidden and wait for either a live message from me or a return message from those coordinates. Remember, your Omnipod will help you in the interim. Eva, stay strong.”

“End of message,” finished the Omnipod.