Free Rebellion by J. A. Souders

the airlock back down. “She’s sent Enforcers from time to time to check it out, but even though they managed to get through the airlock, they couldn’t get past the rocks. It was a terrifying time for the Caverns, so I’m told, but the Enforcers never came back. As far as I know, Mother has no idea what’s on the other side of those rocks.”
    â€œHow do you know that?”
    â€œBecause they wouldn’t be there if she did.” He says it bluntly and without a hint of emotion. “She wasn’t even born yet when her father stopped building that. And it was never talked about when she was alive, as far as I know. None of the plans for the hotel have anything other than that tunnel and a note about possible future expansion. I assure you, she doesn’t know.”
    â€œYou’ll have to forgive me if I don’t trust you.”
    He only shrugs in answer and continues through the Tube. When we get to the airlock on the other side, he does the same thing as he did with the one by the Caverns, but before I can slide under he says, “You have to be careful here. The cameras in this Sector are still working and I’m not there to monitor them.”
    My nerves ramp up so they’re at an all-time high, but I nod my understanding. I knew this wasn’t going to be easy. I’ll just have to trust Eli knows how to get around the cameras.
    When we enter Sector Three, Eli doesn’t even appear nervous. He barely glances at the green people-shaped globs I remember from the last time I was here. I, on the other hand, steer as far from them as I can without straying too far from Eli. One tried to eat Asher when he accidentally stepped in it, and another attacked us when we were briefly trapped with it.
    However, I do notice that they have moved from their original location. At least the ones on the main floor that were from where all the people from this Sector were massacred. They’re closer to the windows, and there’s a small track in the cement. As if it had melted away.
    I shudder at the thought of any of it touching me.
    Eli clears his throat and I jerk and look over at him. He’s already at the elevators, holding the door open for me. He looks pointedly at the green stuff. “It’s all over this building. We’ve permanently closed it and have built a temporary connection to the Agricultural Sector, because it appears that whatever it’s made of is eating at the structure of this building.”
    â€œAny idea yet what it is?”
    He doesn’t say anything for a few seconds, but then he sighs. “ My mistake. After … everything last time. Mother just left all her failed experiments here to kill each other until no one was left. When she was sure it was ‘safe,’” he makes air quotes with his fingers, “she sent someone to clean up all the bodies. I went with the crew, because I wanted to try and gather the nanites and see if they were still operable. But when we got here, we saw the oldest of the bodies had been liquefied.”
    I glance at the green stuff and feel my stomach twist. “Liquefied?”
    He barely glances at me. “I haven’t quite figured out how that part happened yet, but I believe it has something to do with the nanites trying to clean up the dead tissue like they’re programmed to.”
    I swallow and nod.
    â€œNaturally I was upset. All those nanites. Lost.”
    â€œNaturally,” I say, and want to roll my eyes. Of course he’d be more concerned about the nanites than actual human life.
    â€œI was eager to study what was left of the bodies to find out what had happened, and found out the nanos were still working. Still trying to perform their primary function: Keep the body running. And some were succeeding. Not all the parts had liquefied in some of the bodies and the nanites were trying their damnedest to get them working again. Then it hit me. I thought, if