Infinity Cage Read Online Free PDF Page B

her spirits. She suspected Liam was not only trying to keep her mind off grieving but also trying to show her that an exciting world lay out there beyond the soot-filled skies of London. That there was a life to be lived beyond the burden of what they knew about the future. If the end of mankind was just shy of two hundred years away from now, all three of them could still live out their natural lives, even find partners and, perhaps, if their engineered bodies allowed it, maybe even have children. And their children would have time to have children and grandchildren. Five, perhaps six, generations could live out their lives before the end of humanity finally arrived. That was a future worth living for, wasn’t it?
    But, since they’d returned from their travels, this place hadn’t once felt like a home. With Sal gone, it seemed different. It wasno longer some thrilling twilight Batcave from which the six of them could plan their next exciting adventure. Instead it felt like a truly melancholic place; like a party where too few guests arrive, shuffle their feet and mutter niceties before excusing themselves early. Maddy noted Sal’s few possessions lying around: her diary (that Liam seemed to have taken over), a loose folder of pencil sketches she’d made of them – some of them pretty good – and there was her hoody, still hanging over the side of her hammock, and a pair of her trainers tucked side by side beneath it.
    She sensed the loss of Sal like she now felt the creeping damp in here. It no longer seemed like their home, more like a dark and dank prison cell. A place to escape from.
    SpongeBubba sat inert in the corner beside the computer bench like a broken toy. Rashim had flipped his power over-ride switch so that he was properly off and not just in a dormant low-charge state that he could emerge from at will. There was no knowing for sure when they were all going to be returning.
    ‘Why the hell does this feel like a goodbye, Liam?’
    ‘No reason why it should. You’re seeking answers, I’m seeking answers. We’ll be back here comparing notes before you can say “Tawamattawockymickytata”.’
    She smiled. ‘Oh yeah, that “Bend in the River” place in the jungle? I see you’ve been practising.’
    ‘Aye. Stupid name for a village, anyway.’
    She stepped towards the desk and threw an arm round him, hugging him tightly. ‘Just you be very careful back there.’
    ‘Are you kidding? I’ve got Bob. He’s a one-man Roman legion. It’s you that needs to be careful, Mads. The future? Well, you know what I think about heading there.’
    ‘I can’t ignore the invitation. That’s the first and only timeWaldstein has ever attempted direct contact with us. I have to go … I need this. You know that.’
    He looked at her for a moment, then nodded. ‘Aye. But it’s stupid.’
    ‘It’s necessary.’ She stepped back and smiled. ‘A few days or weeks from now, we’ll all be back here. We’ll know everything there is to know.’ She shrugged. ‘And maybe then we can make an informed decision for once … instead of winging it.’
    ‘Decision? About what?’
    ‘Whether we go on. Go our separate ways. Whatever … At least we’ll be free to go about our lives without having to look over our shoulders all the time.’
    ‘Go separate ways?’ Liam looked down at his hands. ‘Is that what this is?’
    ‘What?’
    ‘This … going to speak to Waldstein –’ he stroked the bristles on his chin – ‘is this you looking for a way to leave? Is this you asking his permission to cut free …? To go your own way and know he won’t be hunting you down?’
    ‘I’m after some answers, Liam. That’s all.’
    ‘Aye, and when you’ve got them?’
    ‘I don’t know. Who knows what the hell we’re going to find out? What that might change about us?’
    ‘I’m after answers too, Maddy. We’re here for a purpose.’
    She glanced at Bob. ‘A mission?’
    ‘Aye. A mission. Maybe it’s