Becoming (Core Series Book 1) Read online

  “I need to close my eyes for a while—this headache is killing me,” he complained to Core. “The fall down the chute did not do me any good.” He leaned back, sliding as far down the station bunk as it would allow.

  “I will wake you when the train arrives,” Core said quietly. “I will watch over you on the station cameras.” If he only knew that I always watch over him.

  Jason looked around lazily to find the nearest camera. “Smile...you’re on candid camera,” she said, sounding joyful. The camera was located halfway down the platform, and was currently turned his way.

  He looked at the camera and waved. “Ha ha ha...good girl!” He giggled. “Thank you....” Then he closed his eyes with a sigh and pulled the collar of the white doctor’s coat up as high as it would go. He felt his body relax, finding comfortable ways to sink into the hard bench. After a while, the headache seemed to subside a bit, and Jason felt a glimmer of hope.

  “The train is close by,” Core whispered softly in his ear. He opened his eyes, stood up, and waited among the others for the train to arrive. The doors slid open and people began to stream out. He waited for the herd to clear before he stepped inside and took a seat in the corner of the car. He folded his arms on the seatback in front of him and rested his head on his forearms, listening for the door to close.

  “They are here!” she said. Her voice was like graphite. He felt the cold fingers of fear creep slowly up his body as the doors closed. He watched anxiously as the train pulled away from the platform, accelerating as fast as transportation laws would allow.

  “Did anyone get on the train?” Jason asked frantically. He concentrated on breathing slowly, trying not to give into his panic. There was only so long that a man could handle the pressure of running for his life.

  “No! They are leaving the station...it looks like you are safe, for now,” she said, and blew out a sigh of relief.

  “This has truly been a bizarre day,” he said, lifting his head from his arms. The other passengers suddenly moved their heads quickly in the other direction, and he realized that they had been watching him. “Why are some people staring at me?” he asked, his forehead creased in a frown.

  “Have you seen what you look like? You have a patch on your left eye, your lips are swollen and filled with stitches, and your good eye is swollen. Basically, you look like crap.” She giggled uncontrollably.

  “Well! This was your idea....” He tried to cover his ego while Core laughed from deep within. Jason felt a rush of...what? Gratitude? Her voice was so inviting and friendly. He thought that no one had ever been so kind. And Core always seemed to see the bright side of the situation and could make him laugh even when his life was at stake. Just the sound of her voice made him feel warm and scared and safe, all at once. When silence fell between them, he asked, “Why do you wear a hood whenever you talk to me?”

  He heard nothing but silence for awhile. When she spoke, he heard a hesitation in her voice. “I would rather not discuss it on the phone. When you are here, we can discuss it...or rather, I will show you, and explain,” she said softly, hating every moment that brought them closer to the truth.

  God, she is so alluring... Jason thought. He had to remind himself that she was just a machine. But was she, really?

  “Okay, it’s a date.” He smiled, and felt the stitches pull at his lip.

  “A date...? You sure don’t waste any time,” she mocked, her voice subtle, and filled with honey tones.

  “I have my moments.” Jason leaned back and looked out the window next to him. He ignored the stares from the other passengers. The train smelled of many bodies mixed with sweat, perfume, and deodorant. Slowly the landscape started to move, and the buildings flew by faster and faster as the train picked up speed. In the distance, the mountains stood still over trees that barrelled by outside the window, interspersed with power lines and houses. Outside, the rain stopped falling and the sky seemed brighter. The window had almost been blown free of rain drops—tiny droplets wiggled in the wind, before rolling backwards and to the bottom of the window. Jason closed his eyes and let himself relax, feeling sleep approach once more. “Will you wake me when we get close?” he asked slowly.

  “Of course.” There was quiet for a moment. Then she spoke once more. “They stole an SUV from the parking lot of the hospital and are heading north. I will try and track them using the traffic cameras.”

  “Thanks again. It is becoming a pleasant habit for me to...have you watching over me.” He smiled, and felt her mood change, although she didn’t say a word. What an amazing feat of programming, he thought. Being with Core was like talking to a human being—but she had been created by man, not a natural thing.

  She seemed natural, though. And she had saved his life a couple of times today. When it came down to it, isn’t that what really matters?

  Soon, the rocking of the train soothed his agitating and restless mind. Moments later, he was asleep.

  Chase

  The rocking of the train and the constant droning kept him in a slumber as the train headed towards the south. He jerked alive to her voice in his ear. “Jason, Jason! Wake up! I spotted the SUV on the Centenary highway, and now it has pulled in at your next stop. You need to get off the train now!”

  “Wh...what? How?” he said, forcing himself to wake up. The train wasn’t going to stop until the next station.... He stood up feeling stiff, his muscles protesting against the movement. “How did they find me?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe they are better-connected than we know...we will find out later. I tried to contact Susan, but she and William are unavailable. Her phone just rings and goes over to voicemail. I left a message and tried to track her down, but she is not in the facility...for now, you have to get off. The train will slow down as it approaches the next stop. Jump off the back of the train before it stops at the station.”

  Jason nodded dumbly to himself.

  “Go now, you don’t have much time!” she shouted, feeling hopeless at not being able to assist. She felt the cold hand of fear grip her mind, forcing its hideous self onto her fragile hope.

  Jason jumped, and then made his way past the people standing in the aisles to the end of the carriage. His heart pounded in his chest. The door was unlocked. He pulled the door open and stepped out on the small platform that joined the two train cars.

  Jason shrugged out of the white doctor’s coat and left it on the railing of the platform. Then he stepped across the gap and entered the next car.

  This one was fairly empty, with only a small group of school kids talking and laughing. They looked up when he entered—he heard gasps and whispered talking as they stared at his face. Jason walked past feeling self-conscious. He awkwardly made his way to the back of the car, trying desperately to ignore the children.

  “Okay, I’m almost to the last car,” he said, and tried to open the door.

  It was locked. He peered through the windows, and realized that no one was in the next carriage. It must be broken...that’s why they locked the door, he thought. “Damn! The door is locked. It looks like the next carriage is out of order,” he informed Core.

  “That’s okay...get back to the last coupling available and get off there. Please hurry, the train is already slowing down,” she said, anxiety building in her voice.

  He quickly made his way back, past the babbling kids. He ignored them flat—he could not care less what they said about him or how loud they said it. He needed to get off this train. Jason could feel the adrenaline starting to course through his veins as the train slowed down. Looking out of the car windows, he watched the forward cars speeding past the platform.

  Then he had reached the door and opened it, bracing against the slowing of the train and stepping out quickly onto the platform. He climbed down the steps that led to the ground, which was still passing by at a somewhat alarming rate.

  A locked chain barred his way. He quickly scrambled over it, placing his heels carefully on the edge of the last metal step. />
  He had just enough time to jump off before the train car entered the building. He pushed off from the step and felt weightless for a second—his stomach flip-flopped and clenched, and his head felt almost like it would float right off—before gravity took hold and the ground approached at an alarming speed. When his feet hit the ground, he had to run or else fall. He felt a dull pain in his ankle as he landed and almost ran himself, face first, into the extended overhang of the platform. But he ducked and slammed into the wall, instead. Looking up dizzily, he saw that all the children had their faces pressed flat against the windows, and were staring at him. He got up and started running away from the platform, peering back to see if anyone was following him. The clouds hung over the platform, dark purple.

  Yesterday he thought that the universe was finally on his side—today, if anything, was proof that the opposite was the case. He laughed.

  “Are you okay, Jason?” Core asked. Her voice was rough as she struggled to control her runaway fears. It was torture to be apart from him when he was in need.

  “Yes!” he breathed, trying not to slow although his left leg hurt terribly. “I am just tired, and hurt my ankle in the jump.” He struggled for air. “What’s next?” he asked.

  “Is your ankle swollen?” Her voice was filled with concern. “They are looking for you on the train. I saw two of them getting on...you need to get out of sight.” Exasperation was in her voice as she searched for his next move.

  “There is a bicycle path next to the railway line. Follow that, and head towards the city. They will not expect you to be heading back the way you came.” Her logic seemed solid, and Core had not misled him thus far. A warm feeling flowed through his bones. He put his life in her hands and climbed over the low fence of the bike path.

  “My ankle will be fine, thanks, as long as I get off it soon,” he said, breathing hard as he limped along. He struggled for words, only half-running. Every stride began to strike him with a dull, throbbing thud. “I won’t make it on foot,” he gasped. No doubt the children would be talking about his escape. If someone asked, they would tell about the crazy man who jumped off the train. So Jason had very little time to get away, and he was injured, to top it off.

  “The children on the train are going to give me away. They all stared as I jumped off,” he said to Core, fighting exhaustion. His surrounds, luckily, were high grass and thick fencing.

  Then he remembered that he had seen houses next to the station. If he could get to one of them, maybe he could find transport. He detested the idea of stealing, but desperate times....

  “Can you make it to the junction at the end of the street?” Core asked.

  “No...” he groaned. “But I have another idea.” He limped to the fence. “There are houses here. I am going to see if I can jack a car....” He shook his head at the idea “I don’t know how to do that,” he admitted. “Can you help?” He started to climb the fence, cringing in pain as he put weight on his left foot.

  “I can help, but do it quickly,” she urged him.

  “I am going as fast as I can,” he wheezed.

  There was a moment of silence on Core’s end. Then she screamed.

  “They know!” Core shouted. “They’re running in your direction. Whatever your plan is, you must do it now.” Jason leaped to the top of the fence and fell down the small incline, rolling to the bottom. He scrambled to his feet and crossed the open area between the bicycle track and the first row of houses, his limp becoming less noticeable as he picked up speed. The terrain was uneven and puckered full of holes, and small, water-eroded ditches were hidden among the grasses.

  Finally he reached the fence enclosing one of the houses.

  He heard the men shriek at him from a distance. Wood splinters exploded off the fence and whizzed to the left of his head—then he heard the dull thuds of shots fired.

  “They are shooting at me!” Jason shouted and jumped over the property fence, crawling and running at the same time to get away. His heart-rate shot through the roof and his laboured breathing accelerated. Adrenaline fed his tired muscles, forcing them to work harder. Jason looked over his shoulder at the three men pursuing him. They disappeared in a puff of black smoke, and three wolves dashed towards him.

  Jason’s eyes stretched wide as fear griped his insides.

  The house was an old Queenslander, built on stilts. The grass had not been cut in a long time, and there were baby clothes on the line. Inside, Elvis was blaring “Jailhouse Rock”. And there, in the driveway....

  “I still can’t get hold of Susan, her phone remains engaged!” Core said, exasperation in her voice.

  “Don’t worry for now...there is a Holden Commodore. It looks a few years old, but it will do!” Jason screamed in triumph. “How do I get it running? I have two or three minutes at most,” he shouted as he crawled to the back door of the house.

  “The quickest way would be to get hold of the keys,” she reminded him.

  “I will try. If this does not work, I am done for.” Panic made his voice screech hoarsely.

  “Don’t say that! You will get out,” Core said, anger flaring in her voice.

  Jason clambered the stairs to the back door. It was unlocked. Flinging the screen door open, he crashed through the door and into the house. The kitchen was to his left—within, a large woman, in her thirties, dropped the plate she was washing and looked at him with big eyes. She cowered away from the door.

  “Give me the keys to your car...now!” Jason shouted, broadening his shoulders and hating himself for acting the bully. He walked slowly towards her.

  “Don’t kill me!” she shouted, cringing away from him as fast as her jiggling body could muster. She tripped over her own feet, hitting her head on the side of the kitchen table as she tried to turn around to prevent her fall. Her large body broke most of the impact of her fall, but the knock to her head caused her to black out.

  Jason had no time to help her. In fact, it would be better for her if she seemed unconscious or dead when the wolves came.

  He searched through the kitchen, opening drawers and knocking mugs onto the counter in his rush to find the keys. A cold sweat ran down his face, and goose bumps fizzled up his spine. He saw two wolves leaping over the fence. “I only see two of them, where is the third?” he shouted, and fear turned to hysteria. He watched, mesmerized, as they fell and rolled down the incline in a scurry of dust.

  “Jason, move!” Core shouted in his ear, jolting him out of his stupor.

  He turned his attention to the living area and found the keys on a hook near the front door. He grabbed them and ran out, almost tripping on the loose doormat in his haste. The gate to the property was closed. He pressed the button on the remote and heard a click as the car unlocked. He scampered into the driver seat, dropping the keys in the process. “Fuck!” he yelled in frustration as he, with one motion, picked up the key and jammed it into the ignition. The V8 cranked to life and a smile spread across his face. “Yes!” Jason shouted. A feeling of joy bubbled through his veins.

  He put the hand break down, shoved the car in reverse, and floored the petrol. For a moment the car lingered motionless...then it leaped backward. He held on for dear life as the car tore towards the gate at the bottom of the drive, which was closed. No time for that, Jason thought..

  The two-ton fury destroyed the gate, and rocketed through to the road. The road was lower than the driveway, and the car was airborne for a second before the back wheels touched the tar. He slammed on the brakes while turning the wheel to the left. The front of the car skidded left, leaving him pointing down the street.

  The passenger and driver windows exploded as an orange-red light grazed the tip of his nose. Jason felt an excruciating pain, and immediately his eyes filled with water. With one hand he grabbed his nose while with the other he jammed the car into drive and stomped on the petrol. This time there was no mistake; he was going places...and going fast. The acceleration pushed him back into the seat so hard that for a mo
ment he could not breathe. The street, all of a sudden, became very short, but he did not care. He turned into the corner and pushed the petrol all the way down.

  The back window exploded into a billion pieces and a perfectly-round hole was burned into the roof near his head from another shot. He kept his head down, unable to concentrate on anything but keeping this monster on the road. The car skidded into the corner at 90 kph, and Jason pulled the hand break up for a split second. When the rear started to slide, he stepped on the petrol. The screaming tires and revving engine resonated through the neighbourhood, sounding like a train running off its track. He felt the massive torque from the V8 generate the momentum that thrust the car out of the turn, leaving white plumes of smoke in its wake. The smell of burning tires mixed with the scented car refresher, which swung merrily from the rear-view mirror.

  Jason thanked God for the narrow escape.

  “What now!” he shouted over the sound of the engine. The next corner was coming up fast. This time, he slowed down and took the corner with screaming tires but no break out, narrowly missing a Dodge Viper that came round in the opposite lane. He heard the blaring sound of the car’s horn and saw the guy throwing signs and screaming himself red in the face, but he was all right.

  Jason looked in the rear view mirror, but did not see anyone following, although he was sure they would be there soon.

  “Turn left at the traffic light. Don’t stop if it’s red—just go. Stay on the road until it takes you over the Ipswich highway. After the bridge, take the next exit right. There is a roundabout a couple of hundred meters ahead with an onramp onto the highway.”

  “Okay!” The traffic light was fast approaching; Jason was already doing a hundred and thirty. He’d had no time to fasten his safety belt during the mad dash, but that did not stop him from slamming on the brakes when the corner approached. The back of the car started skidding on the slippery road. “Oops!” he shouted.