Chapter 5 THE ECHO INSTINCT

Dark and quiet, the Lower Ducts of New Kyoto smelled of wet iron and had the hum of lost technology.

Riko followed Kael across the darkened maze, moving with deliberate accuracy; her boots soft against the concrete floor.

He had followed the erratic biosignal, directing them to Vent 19-A, a territory no drones would roam. Something lived down here. Something dangerous. She first heard it-a low, raspy breathing-before she saw it. Not human, but near. The sound originated in a shadowy corner.

Then Riko saw her-a youngster-in the faint light.

The young lady was thin and shoeless; her skin bore bizarre markings. Her eyes shimmered somewhat amber. She sniffed the air, her mouth twisting in a snarl.

"You don't belong here," the youngster murmured, a hoarse but distinct voice. "But you're like me."

Riko gulped fiercely. "What is your name?"

The girl hesitated. "Unit 7, but I like Hana."

Hana was not your typical child. Her limbs were overly long. Her teeth were overly sharp. Her intelligence, though, was indisputable. She surpassed humanity.

Riko wondered, "How long have you lived down here?"

Hana murmured, "Since the scream," "since my bones stopped fitting."

Riko bent down, sensing their relationship. "During the blackout, do you know what happened?"

Hana nodded, her golden brown eyes filled with a weird melancholy. "The machine voice vanished. In addition, something within me woke up."

Riko came to see then that Hana was not only impacted by the Lupomorph gene. There were others. "Do you know others like you?"

Hana looked up, her eyes fluttering. "They locate us, but they don't last."

A hiss sliced the air. An approaching patrol drone was one thought among many.

Riko whispered fervently, "Get down!"

Hana, though, responded slowly.

A beam shot out to hit her in the shoulder.

Hana howled; her call spread via the vents.

Riko's Intuitive Beginnings Established Her eyes focused. Her claws fled from her fingertips. She moved faster than she had ever imagined possible, her body morphing into something more than a human.

She leaped, shredding the drone with one swipe.

Riko turned to the shivering youngster beneath her as it dropped.

"Alpha," Hana murmured, gazing up at her in wonder.