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  Luminescence

  Threshold Series Book III

  Finley Morrow

  Copyright © 2019 by Finley Morrow

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Afterword

  About the Author

  Also by Finley Morrow

  One

  I trampled along the overgrown path to the city. It had almost been a year since the battle against the Alliance. I had taken this way so many times, but the heavy rains and ever-present heat had allowed the weeds to spring up. The Resistance encampment was not as deep in the jungle as my base back in Sector 4, the Shell. However, it was far enough in the jungle to be a pain in the ass. I pulled out a machete and began to hack away the vines that blocked my path, not the vines containing Spiraling flowers, just regular old jungle vines. I beat them back with relish, feeling my own strength. I had been training with Adam, Diego, and Lucia for the past few months and I was really starting to notice some progress. I was stronger than I had ever been before.

  The City had changed too, in the last few months. While I had grown stronger, the devastation to the city only became more apparent. Miraculously the Reliance had driven the Global Peace Alliance out of the City altogether, but without the infrastructure, they brought life was hard. As soon as I reached the Section of town with the housing developments, I had to resist the urge to breathe through my nose. The stench was hard to bare. It was the smell of decaying garbage and a rotting city. These buildings weren't meant to really be lived in, they were sterile and unnatural. So without the Alliance Sanitation, they became noxious with filth. Diseases were spreading like wildfire, that much was certain.

  I tried to pass quickly through the streets, heading toward Adam. He was working in the clinic he'd set up in one of the old somnolence centers. Some of the equipment was destroyed in the Battle for the City, but a lot of it still worked. He'd been treating people there for nearly a year now, and he even recruited some trainees from the city. I had supplies for the clinic, which I knew he'd be thrilled about. It was nearly impossible to get enough medical supplies these days. The Alliance still had control of most of the regions outside the city.

  When I finally got to the Clinic, I was pleasantly surprised to see Carrie out front. She and Ellis had both joined the resistance after finding out what happened to Adam and I. It worked out sort of perfectly. Carrie hadn't wanted to be in the International Peace Army anymore, but Ellis was a soldier. So they both joined up and now they're here.

  "Is that a flower bed?" I asked, eyeing the delicate shoots of green coming up out the rich brown soil in front of Carrie.

  "Why do you sound so shocked?" she laughed.

  "I guess I'm not used to seeing anything growing around here."

  "Well, get used to it. I'm planting all over the city - Mostly medicinal herbs, but some flowers too." She nodded, surveying her work.

  I held up my hands in surrender, "I'm not complaining."

  She continued on with her work, then without looking up, "Are you going in to drop off supplies? I can take them if you want."

  I sidestepped her suggestion awkwardly, "um, that's okay. I wanted to go in and say hi to Max anyway." Of course, I did want to say hi to Max, but he wasn't the only one. Adam and I had been dancing circles around each other for weeks. It seemed like we were always on different pages somehow.

  I heard Carrie mumble something along the lines of, "Or something like that." I tried pushed open the door to the Center before she could see the blush that had risen in my cheeks.

  The Clinic smelled slightly better than the streets, but only very slightly. There were sick people in most of the beds and others waiting, leaning against the walls. I could see Adam from across the room. I'd known he had medical training, of course, but when we were back in Sector 4 he didn't often have a reason to use it. Now I could see that he was in his element. He'd been growing his dark hair out and had it tied up to keep it out of his face as he worked. He looked so peaceful and at ease. I was envious of him in a way. I watched him take an elderly gentleman's vital signs. The clinic was the only place in the whole city currently operating on electricity since it had a back-up generator. Before I stood and admired Adam for too long, I sensed a presence beside me. Max bounded over to me and instantly wrapped me in a tight hug.

  "Just the person I wanted to see." I laughed joyfully at the boy's embrace. He was like a younger brother to us all and he had enough energy for three people.

  "Look," He pointed excitedly to his chest where an old-fashioned stethoscope was hanging around his neck. "Adam is letting me learn first aid."

  "That's awesome," I replied, feeling energized by his excitement. It seemed like something Adam would do, putting him to work when he hadn't even been here a full day. "When did you get here?" I asked. Max had been out on a supply gathering mission. They had gone to Resistance bases in other Sector 5 cities hoping to find food and other necessities. They had been the ones to bring back the Medical supplies.

  "We got back this morning," he said. I could see in his posture that he was already desperate to get back to work. He was swaying from side to side restlessly.

  "Well, you did good work out there." I patted him on the shoulder, giving him permission to race back into the fray.

  When I looked around, I realized that Adam was out of sight. Perhaps in the control room? I walked across the room, weaving between the healing pods and the overflowing crowd of sick and injured. The control was dark and quiet compared to the chaos in the clinic. I found Adam at a desk, staring at a list of datapoint on a computer and mumbling quietly to himself. I suddenly worried that I was intruding at a bad time.

  "Hey," I said softly.

  He looked up, and my worry dissolved when I saw the relief in his eyes. "You have got absolutely perfect timing, do you know that?"

  "Is that so?" I joked. "Because here I was thinking I was late for the reunion."

  "No, you're right on time as usual. I was just thinking about how I wished somebody would come in here and distract me for a while." He moved his chair away from the computer and turned to face me.

  "At your service." I bowed before a felt an involuntary smile come to my face. Dang. I guess I was incapable of playing it cool around him. "And I brought you something I think you're going to like." I set the bag of supplies down in front of him.

  "You mean you didn't just come to see me?" He smiled back.

  "Of course, I did," I said, "but I can multi-task." I pulled up a chair. It felt good to sit in a real chair. We mostly sat on the ground on mats back at the base. I pulled out my water- bottle and drank deeply, hoping I could clear my head. The tension between us was undeniable. I knew the others felt it, but I'll admit to being scared. Scared that he would reject me, or that it was all in my mind, even when I felt certain that it wasn't, the nagging doubt was there.

  He opened up the bag of supplies, and the reaction on his face was instantaneous. "Anti-biotics...." He nearly moaned the words. "Oh, you shouldn't have." His words made me feel giddy. I knew I hadn't had anything to do with the procurement of these supplies, but the look on his face
made me glad I was the messenger.

  "This is Max's doing," I assured him smoothly, but it didn't matter. I still got to bask in his delight.

  "Well then, I'll have to thank him extra for this... He's been working very hard out there too. He's a natural." Adam added, still browsing through the piles of gauze and bottles of medications.

  "I can see that," I added. "I'm glad he's taken to it so well." I tried to keep the slight jealous tone out of my voice. It seemed like everyone had found their niche. Ellis had the Resistance militia, Adam with his clinic, even Carrie, with her planting project. It felt like I was the only one who didn't quite have a place just yet. The only thing I had was messages from some sort of Universal Consciousness and unfortunately, Lucia and Diego, the leaders of the Resistance, didn't quite believe me yet. Which made me think of the other reason I was here. Adam was the only one who really knew what was going on in my head with Vos.

  Despite my best efforts, it seemed that Adam still caught the look in my eye. His grey eyes gazed into mine for just a moment and it felt like an understanding passed between us. If I could just tell him how I really felt. I broke the eye contact quickly.

  "So what else is new?" He asked. I knew he was asking if I was okay, but he had gracefully given me an out. I could answer the question however I chose.

  "Well, that's another thing," I sighed getting ready to start my explanations. "I had another flash of something, like a vision I think"

  "How much spiraling did you take?" he asked, now the corners of his mouth turning down in concern.

  "That's the thing, I haven't actually taken any, in a while," I answered him, feeling both annoyed by his concern and flattered that he cared enough about me to worry. "It was in a dream, but it felt the same as my visions on the spiraline." I had been having dreams for a while actually. Vos was coming to me in my sleep, but this was the first time it had been more than just a presence. This time was a message.

  He seemed to set his worry aside momentarily, shrugging his shoulders, "So what was it about?" He asked.

  "I think there are going to be more storms. Bad ones." I said quickly. "But there's more. I saw a series of chambers, underground. They looked like they were in the caves that are by the Resistance Base. I think if we can find the chambers we'll be safe."

  "Hold on," He said pulling out a notebook and beginning to write. "When is this going to happen? and how big are these chambers? I need details here," He muttered.

  "I'm not sure exactly, but I think soon. Maybe in the next couple weeks," I hazarded a guess. The dream had felt urgent, "Maybe even sooner."

  "And the chambers?" He pressed for more details.

  I tried to visualize the details of my dream. "They were huge, probably 15 different cathedral-sized chambers. I think big enough for everyone in the city." I made calculations in my head. "It would be hard to get everyone there though. We'd have to start right away because the tunnels were very narrow. I continued, trying to make sense of everything. "And we'd have to have enough food and supplies for the whole city. I don't see how that's going to happen." We didn't have enough for everyone as it currently stood.

  "We'll get to that when and if we have to." He said, still scribbling. "Did you see anything that would give you a sense of the structural integrity?"

  I hesitated, "Well not exactly..."

  "So what makes you think we'd be safe there?" He stared at me, granting me the space to continue.

  "I think, I know what this sounds like, but I think Vos wants us to go there. I think she... or it or whatever... is trying to help us." I exhaled and he nodded.

  "Yeah, that doesn't sound good." He looked like he was trying to hold back a grimace.

  "I know," I groaned.

  He grabbed my hand, and my heart started pounding again before he said, "Look, we will get through this, one way or another." It didn't escape my attention that he said we. It was nice.

  "Diego and Lucia aren't going to like it," I responded, hoping that he wouldn't let go of my hand.

  "You're right about that." He said, frowning. "You have to see what they see, though, Lane." His words hurt.

  "Which is what?"

  "Let's think about Vos. How do we know Vos is on our side? And that's assuming she's even real. What if she is trying to lead us into a particular location to be able to more efficiently kill us. Isn't she the one causing the Threshold crisis?"

  I tried to think through his questions carefully, one by one.

  "First of all, I believe Vos is indeed on our side. She helped us back during the Battle and she helped us in Sector 4. And she already has us. People are living on top of each other out here, trying to battle for food and water. If she wanted everyone dead, I believe she could've already done it." I paused to think about his last question. Was Vos causing the Threshold crisis? I had begun to think it was more complicated than that.

  "I'm on your side Lane," He moved his hand onto my forearm, and his thumb brushed against my skin.

  "I've got a theory about the Threshold Crisis," I said desperately trying to keep my voice even, but secretly hoping he would notice my reaction to him. It was painful trying to hide my feelings.

  "Really?" He turned back to his notes. I sensed a hopeful note in his tone.

  "Yeah. I think Vos is sort of causing the Threshold, but not the way you think." I said. His eyes showed confusion. "Let me explain. What is Vos?"

  "Wow, okay. I guess Vos is some sort of manifestation of Emergent consciousness." He raised his tone at the end as if to ask me if that was the answer I was looking for.

  "Right, an emergent consciousness. So Vos is composed of who knows how many individual components and systems. Each one by itself doesn't do much, but together they create something bigger than the sum of their parts. So imagine it like the human body." I tried to make a medical comparison so he would understand better. "Our bodies are made up of cells, which combine to form tissues, which combine to form organs, and so on." I felt my voice grow surer.

  "Okay, I follow that so far." He nodded, still absentmindedly brushing against my arm. It felt like fire on my skin.

  "Then, think about, What happens when you get sick. Imagine a virus is attacking your immune system. So what does your body do?"

  "It fights the infection." He said. I saw the realization in his eyes as he figured out where I was going with this."

  "Yes, so, for example, you might get a fever or begin vomiting as your body tries to rid itself of the infection. I think the Threshold crisis is something like this. I don't think Vos can control it, just like humans can't control whether they develop a fever."

  "So you think Vos is fighting an infection?" He clarified.

  "Of sorts. I just haven't figured out what is triggering the episodes yet." I said.

  "Well, that's a start anyway." He said. "You might actually be able to get through to Diego and Lucia if we can prove it."

  "That's going to be a problem." I sighed, but he already knew and didn't seem to be bothered.

  "If this storm of yours happens as you say, and these chambers really are there, then I think that will go pretty far." His lips turned up into a satisfied smile.

  "Maybe you're right," I let him believe that he'd convinced me for the moment. I wasn't sure if he believed me, but it was enough for now.

  Two

  Adam walked with me back to the compound. Carrie noticed as we left together and had the gall to wink at me as we walked past. I couldn't tell if Adam had noticed, but he didn't give any indication that he had so I let it go. Maybe the walk would give me a way to introduce the topic. It made me feel nauseous just thinking about it, but doing nothing felt worse. Maybe he felt the same way. We walked side by side in silence for a while. He seemed to have something on his mind as well. Could it be the same thing?

  "I've been thinking-" I started before he began speaking at the same time. "Oh, go ahead," I said breathlessly.

  "I've been thinking too." He started slowly. He grabbed my hand a
gain, and I nearly lost it.

  "Yes?" I pressed, hoping he couldn't tell that my palms were sweating.

  "I'm glad that we have each other, you know. There's a lot of uncertainty, but it feels like we at least have each other." He took care with each word. It was infuriating. That could mean anything.

  "Are you saying that you're glad we're friends?" I asked. I needed him to say it, even though I was certain I was going to throw up. He stopped walking and dropped my hand. His eyes were intense.

  "I think you know that's not what I'm saying." Could he be any more mysterious? Before I knew what was happening, he pulled me towards him and pressed his lips against mine. I was ready for it now, not like when we were in Sector 4. I kissed him back eagerly, wrapping my arms around his neck. He was unbelievably warm and I breathed in the heady smell of him.

  "What took you so long?" I whispered holding back a hysterical giggle.

  "I guess I had to wait for the end of the world." He actually blushed as the cheesy line left his lips.

  "Well I can't say I'm glad for that exactly, but I..." I was lost in his gaze for a moment before he leaned in to kiss me again. I was dizzy from his lips when I heard clapping and several whoops and cheers behind me. I pulled away from his embrace quickly and saw Carrie and Max about a hundred yards behind us.

  "Have mercy," I whispered, my face turning beet red. Adam looked disappointed that I'd pulled away from him, but he had a chagrined look on his face.

  "It's about time!" One of them shouted, and I hid my face.

  "I may have mentioned to Carrie that I was planning on talking to you today." He said carefully. He knew I was a private person, but I couldn't fault him for needing to talk to someone.