Spirits of the Earth: The Complete Series: (A Post-Apocalyptic Series Box Set: Books 1-3) Milo Fowler (different e readers TXT) 📖

are chauffeuring you around?" He shrugs like it's all a bit much to process. He'd be right about that. "Not sure what to think here, Chen."

I can't tell him the truth. Not until I know what it is.

"I'll explain everything once this is over, I promise." I backpedal toward the waiting aerocar.

He crosses his arms and watches me leave, a frown of what could be concern across his brow. I jump inside, and D1-436 fires up the engines, sending a burst of air outward as the aerocar rises. The side door seals itself shut behind me, but not before I hear Drasko call out,

"Watch your six, Chen!"

I give him a nod through the porthole. Then we're off, soaring toward the Dome 10 maglev tunnel. All nine of the outer domes are connected to Dome 1, but none of them are connected to each other. The only way to visit Domes 2 through 10 is right here, via the central maglev station. Just another way the Governors designed our society to keep all of the outlying domes reliant on central authority.

"He seemed nice," Erik says. "Boyfriend?"

Drasko? "He's my father's age."

"Maybe not." Erik winks. "You haven't met your biological father."

Can somebody please explain what's happening to me? Arienna interjects, thinking at us with her newfound telepathic ability. How is this possible?

Erik gives her an understanding smile and dives in, explaining our situation with as much enthusiasm as when he introduced me to life as I now know it. I turn my attention to D1-436 and the mute clone beside it.

"You're sure this unit's comms are down?"

Without turning my way, D1-436 replies, "Yes, Enforcer Chen. Like the rest of us. It will not be able to notify anyone of our intended destination."

First: Dome 10. Then: wherever D1-436 found out the Twenty are being taken. I could have asked, and I'm sure D1-436 would have told me, but for some reason—call it instinct—I think it's best I don't know until it's too late to turn back. Maybe because I have a feeling I won't like where we'll be going.

As if anyplace could be worse than Dome 10.

The aerocar glides through the tunnel with enough room on all sides to keep from bumping into the walls, ceiling, or maglev rail below. The neon green overlay on the windscreen maps out our trajectory, and D1-436 keeps us on track without a single wiggle in the wrong direction. Would Drasko, the best pilot I know, be able to fly us through at this velocity without shearing off even a smidge of the aerocar's paint? Tough call.

Part of me really wanted to invite him along. But the last thing I wanted to do was pull him into whatever maelstrom I've fallen into. His conspiracy theory gave me pause—the idea that the terrorist attack on Hawthorne Tower might have been staged by someone intending to take over while the Chancellor is indisposed.

I shake my head. Drasko's always been a fan of those Linkstream conspiracy theorists. I've chalked it up to life in Dome 1 being too safe and perfect at times. A man like Drasko was bred for adventure. I'm surprised he didn't ask to accompany me on my secret mission. Maybe he could tell I wanted to invite him but couldn't. Obviously, I appreciate the work he did on Wink and Blink, not to mention my exo-suit. He's one of the good guys.

I pat the drones absently, belted in beside me, as the aerocar leaves the maglev tunnel and passes the guards stationed at the Dome 10 terminal. D1-436 flashes the emergency lights, and we soar over the locked gate without incident, heading into the dingy cityscape beyond.

This is the only dome with access to the Mediterranean, since the primary responsibility of Dome 10 is waste management and water reclamation. All of the plumbing from Domes 1 through 9 leads here, and all of the saltwater captured for desalination starts here, where it's purified and pumped into the rest of Eurasia to flow through our sinks, showers, and toilets.

Unlike Domes 1 and 2 where the streets were devoid of life, Dome 10 is bustling with vehicular and foot traffic, everybody headed somewhere in an orderly yet congested manner. As far as I can tell, ours is the only aerocar currently airborne, yet it receives no attention from the citizens walking below. They all seem to have someplace to be but aren't in much of a hurry to get there.

While Dome 1 is a crystal metropolis of light and Dome 2 is a lush forest, Dome 10 appears dilapidated: grimy, polluted, and listless. The transparent plexicon of the dome itself hasn't been cleaned in ages, lending a rust-colored hue to the subdued sunlight streaming through.

Erik leans over D1-436's shoulder and points. "There," he says, and the clone takes us toward the rooftop of a tall building identical to the ones beside it.

All of these structures would have looked out of place in Dome 1. They're half the height of a domescraper and a hundred times grungier. Instead of mirrored glass covering the buildings from top to bottom, there are stripes of black-tinted windows surrounding each floor, while the rest of the exterior walls are simply exposed brick.

Arienna leans toward me while staring out the windscreen. "Have you ever been outside your dome before?"

"First time." Admitting that aloud, it sounds strange. Why haven't I taken the time to visit other domes before now? "You?"

She shakes her head. "So…" she hesitates, not sure how to phrase what she wants to ask. "You remember...not being born yet?"

I note the lost expression on her face. She's mulling over everything Erik told her about us. About herself.

"Give it a few hours. You might, too."

Erik said the memories would come back, and they have. I remember Margo now, how much she loved us. I remember Tucker, how he risked his life to take us home to our biological parents—but I don't remember ever meeting them.

"It's a lot to process."

I nod. Then I switch to telepathic