The Exodus Towers by Jason M. Hough Read Free Book Online Page A

Skyler mentally plotted his course. His duty to return the aura tower prevented him from reclaiming his motorcycle, so he saw no need to return via the reservoir and Water Road. Besides, he thought it best to keep the bike secret as long as he could. Instead he decided to take a shorter path to Belém’s edge, then return to camp via the straight and wide city streets, which were somewhat easier to navigate with a giant alien device.
    Skyler took some time cleaning up the camp. He found the breakaway colonists’ backpacks and piled them neatly together under an awning. With no way to carry them all,Skyler figured they were safe enough after he draped a parka over them. Next he searched the bodies, finding only a few useful items: a pocketknife, a flashlight, and two compasses. Bloody amateurs . He made a mental note to prescribe a standard kit for any “away team” traveling beyond the established perimeter. The adventure travel store he’d found three weeks back would provide all the gear necessary and could be emptied out with one well-staffed mission.
    He tried and failed again to contact Karl with his radio, then dashed the useless thing against a brick wall.
    Belatedly he remembered it might be Karl’s radio on the fritz.
    By the time he’d dislodged the aura tower and started to guide it back toward the Elevator, Skyler had begun to dread the colony’s reaction to what he’d found. They would probably debate it for a week, if not two.
    So it had been with every topic in the last two months. He imagined that even the sighting of an actual Builder would be unlikely to change that.
    Back during those first few exciting days he’d pictured himself in lockstep with Tania, working side by side with intelligent, highly motivated scientists and techs. Good people making good decisions, all under a clearly defined goal of building a colony worthy of the price they’d all paid to leave.
    Bollocks.
    Skyler paused to take a drink of water. The liquid came out warm and tasted of minerals. He twisted the bulky cap back onto his canteen, but the threads didn’t line up. He tried again, gritting his teeth. The cap slipped again, and Skyler threw it in frustration before catching himself. He stood there in the muddy road, breathing evenly and unclenching his fists, until the emotion passed.
    “Let it go,” he whispered to himself. “They’re doing the best they can.”
    The truth was, most of the colonists in Belém hadn’t asked to leave their previous situation, in orbit around the Darwin Elevator. Tania had taken them when she detached Black Level. There’d been no time to explain, and most thought itwas simply a temporary measure to escape the heavy-handed guards of Nightcliff. In the afterglow of their escape, they were seduced by the news of a fresh elevator. Another gift from the Builders.
    And then came the aura towers. The scientists were in nirvana, for a time.
    Less than two weeks later, the grumbling started. Scratching out an existence was hard enough. Add to that the grueling work of loading climbers to get supplies on the cord before the farms began to fail. With astonishing speed, questions were raised about societal structure. Who put Tania in charge? When will we have an election, a constitution? Who gets to live in orbit? Who is this dirty scavenger from Darwin and why isn’t he out finding us some meat?
    Most Orbitals were used to buying their survival.
    Rock bottom was reached, in Skyler’s opinion, when the first shuttle load of colonists arrived from Darwin. Tania and the others had really botched this part. Skyler found himself shaking his head even now, two weeks on.
    Blackfield sent over an even mix of Cro-Magnon rejects from Nightcliff security and coughing swagmen from some forgotten corner of the Maze. The ones who showed any intelligence at all were so obviously spies that Skyler found himself chuckling about it right in front of them. “Back inside, mate, and give Russell our