THE DEAD COPY

THE RESURGENCE

The message was short, but the meaning was clear.

Elliot read it three times, then handed the tablet to Frank. "They're not going to stop."

Frank studied the screen. "Neither are we."

"But they have resources we don't. Soldiers. Weapons. Technology."

"We have something they don't."

"What?"

"Experience. We've been fighting longer than they have."

Elliot looked at the mining town. At the copies moving among the crumbling buildings. "Experience doesn't stop bullets."

"No. But it helps you dodge them."

Adam set up a command center in the old sheriff's office.

Monitors lined the walls. Antennas sprouted from the roof. The copies gathered around, watching the screens.

"The military is mobilizing," Adam said. "Troops are moving toward our position."

"How long until they get here?"

"Two days. Maybe less."

Frank studied the map. "We need to slow them down."

"How?"

"There's a pass through the mountains. Narrow. Easy to defend."

Marcus nodded. "I can take a team. Hold them off."

"How many people?"

"A dozen. Enough to make them think twice."

Elliot shook his head. "They'll send helicopters. You'll be surrounded."

"Then we'll fight from the caves."

"The caves?"

Adam pulled up a map. "There's a network of caves beneath the mountain. Old mining tunnels. The copies can hide there."

"How many can they hold?"

"Hundreds. Maybe more."

Elliot looked at Frank. "We move the copies into the caves. Today."

The evacuation took the rest of the day.

Copies gathered their belongings and descended into the darkness. Flashlights flickered. Children cried. Adults whispered.

Elliot stood at the entrance, watching them go.

Daphne joined him. "You're not coming?"

"I'll be there soon."

"Don't be a hero."

"I'm not a hero. I'm a distraction."

Frank and Marcus took their teams to the pass.

Elliot stayed behind, watching the road. The military would come from the east, through the narrow canyon.

"They'll be here by morning," Adam said through the earpiece.

"Then we'll be ready."

The night was cold and dark.

Elliot lay behind a ridge of rocks, his rifle trained on the road. The stars were bright, the sky clear.

Frank's voice came through. "We've got movement. East of the pass."

"How many?"

"Dozens. Maybe more."

"Engage at your discretion."

The battle began at midnight.

Gunfire echoed through the canyon. Frank's team held the high ground, picking off soldiers as they advanced.

Marcus's team covered the rear, preventing flanking maneuvers.

Elliot watched from the ridge, his heart pounding.

"Adam, status?"

"The military is bringing in reinforcements. ETA twenty minutes."

"We need more time."

"I'm sending David's team to the south ridge."

"Do it."

The second wave hit at 1 AM.

Soldiers poured from the canyon, their weapons blazing. David's team engaged from the south, drawing fire.

Elliot raised his rifle and fired.

"Frank, fall back to the secondary position."

"We can hold."

"Fall back."

Frank's team retreated. Marcus's team covered them.

Elliot fired until his rifle clicked empty.

The caves were dark and damp.

Elliot stumbled through the tunnels, his flashlight flickering. Copies huddled in side passages, their eyes wide.

Daphne grabbed his arm. "You're bleeding."

"It's not mine."

She pulled him into a side passage and bandaged his arm.

"Stay here," she said.

"I can't."

"You can."

She pushed him down on a cot.

Elliot closed his eyes.

When he woke, the battle was over.

Frank sat beside him, his face bruised, his arm bandaged.

"We held them."

"How many did we lose?"

"Seven. Plus a dozen wounded."

Elliot's heart sank.

"The copies?"

"Safe. Hidden."

"The military?"

"Retreated. For now."

Elliot sat up. "They'll be back."

"I know."

"Then we need a new plan."

Adam gathered the leadership team in a side tunnel.

"The military knows where we are. They'll bring more troops. More weapons. We can't hold them forever."

"Then we find a new place."

"There is no new place. The military has satellites. Drones. They'll find us wherever we go."

Elliot looked at the map. "Then we stop running."

"And do what?"

"We fight back."

The plan was risky.

Elliot would lead a team to the military's command center. Disable their communications. Disrupt their operations.

Frank shook his head. "That's suicide."

"Maybe. But it's the only chance we have."

"I'm coming with you."

"No. You're staying here. Protecting the copies."

Frank grabbed his arm. "If you die—"

"Then you take over."

Elliot gathered his team.

David. Maria. Lily. Marcus. Five people against an army.

"We're not going to win," Elliot said. "But we're going to make them hurt."

David nodded. "That's enough."

They moved through the mountains at night.

The command center was in a valley, hidden beneath a camouflage net. Soldiers patrolled the perimeter. Drones circled overhead.

Adam's voice came through the earpiece. "There's a weakness in the net. On the north side."

"How long?"

"Ten minutes. Maybe less."

Elliot raised his hand. "Move."

They reached the net.

Elliot cut through the fabric and crawled underneath.

The command center was ahead—a cluster of tents, antennas, and armored vehicles.

"Adam, where's the mainframe?"

"Center tent. Red stripe."

Elliot ran.

The guard saw him too late.

Elliot dropped him with a knife to the throat. David covered the entrance. Maria disabled the generator.

Lily found the mainframe.

"Elliot, I need five minutes."

"You have three."

The alarm blared at two minutes.

Guards poured from the tents. Marcus engaged from the east. David held the center.

"Lily, how much longer?"

"One minute."

A guard broke through. Elliot dropped him.

"Thirty seconds."

"Done."

Lily pulled the drive. "Let's go."

They ran.

Bullets whizzed past. Marcus took a bullet to the arm but kept moving.

Elliot reached the net. He cut through and climbed out.

The others followed.

"Adam, we need extraction."

"Helicopter is on its way. ETA five minutes."

"We don't have five minutes."

The helicopter appeared over the ridge.

Elliot climbed aboard, pulling Lily after him. David helped Maria. Marcus covered the rear.

"Go," Elliot shouted.

The helicopter lifted.

The base was quiet when they returned.

Elliot stood in the command center, watching the monitors.

"The military's communications are down," Adam said. "They're in chaos."

"For how long?"

"A few hours. Maybe a day."

"Then we use that time."

The copies gathered in the main cavern.

"We have a window," Elliot said. "The military is disorganized. We can hit them before they regroup."

David spoke. "Where?"

"Their main facility. Where they're holding the copies."

"How many?"

"Hundreds. Maybe more."

Maria shook her head. "We can't take on their main facility."

"We can. With the right plan."

Adam pulled up the schematics.

"The facility is in the desert. Fortified. Heavily guarded."

"But there's a weakness."

"What?"

"The power grid. It's old. If we can shut it down, the security systems will fail."

"How?"

"There's a substation three miles from the facility. If we hit it, the whole grid goes down."

Elliot studied the map. "Then that's our target."

The mission took three days to plan.

Elliot led the team to the substation. Frank covered the rear. Marcus handled security.

The substation was guarded, but lightly.

Elliot disabled the guards. Marcus planted the explosives.

"Adam, we're ready."

"Do it."

The explosion lit up the night.

The facility went dark.

Elliot ran toward the entrance, his rifle raised. Guards stumbled in the darkness.

Frank dropped them.

They reached the sub-basement. The tank room.

Hundreds of copies. All asleep. All waiting.

Elliot walked to the main console. He inserted the drive.

The data began to download.

"Elliot, you have ten minutes," Adam said.

"Make it five."

The extraction was chaos.

Vans carried the copies to the mountains, to safety.

Elliot stood at the entrance, watching the sunrise.

Frank walked up beside him. "You did it."

"We did it."

"How many?"

"Three hundred and twelve."

Frank nodded. "All alive."

That night, Elliot dreamed of the garden.

Echo was there, sitting on the bench beneath the tree.

"You're still fighting," Echo said.

"I'm always fighting."

"Will it ever end?"

"I don't know."

Echo put a hand on his shoulder. "Then keep fighting."

Elliot closed his eyes.

When he opened them, the garden was gone.