Far Horizons: Tales of Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror. Issue #17 August 2015 | Page 15

“How do you know when you’ve found the,
uh, nexus?”Jessica said to Donny.

Embedded,
Part II

“We have electromagnetic scanners. They’ll
let us know when we hit the right spot. The problem
is, it could be anywhere around here. The field isn’t a
sphere. We have to poke around for it.”

By Jeffrey Durkin

As Jessica’s eyes grew accustomed to the
gloomy interior of the abandoned asylum, she saw
that the tiled floor was warped and cracked. The
plaster-covered walls were bloated and blistered from
years of water damage. Fragments of glass were scattered on the floor, glittering softly in the weak light.

Donny laughed. “Yeah, that’s about it. Sounds
better when you use the official term - Sweep, Secure,
and Clear.”

“Not really, ”Jessica muttered. She turned to
Stewart. “Let’s get some coverage here.”

A repulsive odour assaulted her nose, a mix
of animal faeces, mildew, and wet plaster. There was
something else, underlying the heavy, earthy odours,
something that Jessica thought smelled like burning
rubber and the tang of ozone from an electrical discharge. She also realised it was a lot colder inside than
she thought it would be. It was an oppressive cold,
one that soaked through her skin and settled in her
bones. An urge to flee back to the bright and warm
world outside sur