Binary Cycle - (Part 1: Disruption) by WJ Davies Read Free Book Online Page B

moment? When was that time where everything came together in one’s life so perfectly? When you realized that even if death found you, you could die with a smile on your face, having accomplished all your dreams? Reggie had never experienced that moment, and wondered how much more he would have to accomplish to feel that. Would it ever happen?
    His eyes rested on a group photo, everyone on the research team young and jubilant, all smiling like they shared some secret triumph that only they were privy to. Reggie brushed his hand slowly over the prints, feeling the grain, his fingers resting on one sandy-haired girl a little longer than the rest. He frowned, realizing there was room for a few more photos in the second row. If only he had pictures of children to fill the empty spaces. But he had neither children nor wife. 
    Sometimes he wondered whether he had anything at all. Did memories count? Money? He sighed and turned away from all the could-have-beens of his youth and set his attention back to the task at hand.
    He felt better as he packed, as his blood began to flow. His pulse thrummed in his veins and excitement flooded his body. Had preparing for adventures always felt so good? The same adrenaline that fuelled his passions as a young man now brought him renewed strength. He floated around the room, the ghosts of past achievements nudging him onward.
    Reggie’s heart swelled with each item crossed off the list. Every scratch of his pencil opened up more and more possibilities in his mind. He propped the bursting yellow travel pack up on a table, smiling as his cherished belongings breathed new life into old bones.

• Aporia •

Chapter 9
    The large titanium door made an upward path impossible, so Jonathas had no choice but to head back down the tunnel from which he and Linsya had ascended. How long had he been out? He wasn’t sure…
    To Jonathas, it seemed only moments ago that he and Linsya had been together, about to step through the security door. When the disruption struck, it had blasted shut, locking them in. After he’d passed out, he supposed Linsya had set off to search for another way to the surface, probably trying to find help for him. He felt guilty, knowing she was in danger because he couldn’t stay conscious. He should be the one getting help.
    He looked down at the small, luminescent hair band that she had secured to his wrist. He didn’t know why she’d left it with him, but he hoped it meant that she was ok. 
    As he started downward, his footsteps echoed against the hard granite floor and arched ceilings. The oppressive silence around him magnified the sound even more, making him feel self-conscious as he walked, like he was disturbing spirits as he kicked up dust behind him.
    Emergency lights flashed orange alert, signifying a level-four orbital disruption. 
    Damn
, he thought. If this had been a simple Earthquake it would be over quickly: one or two main shocks followed by a series of aftershocks, each one less powerful than the one that came before. But the orbital disruptions could last much longer—sometimes hours, sometimes days. When they had first begun nearly twenty years ago, Jonathas was just a kid. Most people had dismissed them at first, until
OD1
, the first truly devastating disruption. Buildings and bridges had collapsed, entire sections of cities had tumbled into the planet’s exposed depths, and thousands of colonists had died. 
    Amazing how death and destruction can turn skeptics into believers.
    Hoping the worst of this disruption was behind them, he continued on, following the tracks of lights overhead, their luminous glow alerting him to any sharp corners or alternate passages that snaked through the catacombs. Without the lights, he would be walking blind.
    The sound of thudding footsteps replaced the lonely silence of the corridor. Jonathas turned his head as a shadowy figure approached from one of the side passageways. It was hard to make out any features in