#1 Shades of Gray Noir, City Shrouded By Darkness- Sci-Fi Horror Suspense Serial

by Kristie Lynn Higgins

  West 1000 Avenue is as desolate as my life. I cross the street. Lamp posts line the path heading into the empty Zeus Park as Tainted Rain pours from the thundering sky, and I shiver in the cold rain as my hair soaks with the black filmy water. I slow my pace to hold off the inevitable attack and give me time to prepare and observe my surroundings. The Ultra-Epi causes anxiety with my inactivity.

  lub-DUB... lub-DUB...

  Filled with gloom, I ignore the bio-mecha warning and pause, watching the Transgenic Grass soak up the rain. I don't want to think about the danger that lies before me; I want to be free of strife. At least for a few minutes I can let my mind think of other things other than my own possible death, so I focus on the grass.

  Scientists modified the Kentucky Bluegrass with an extra-genome from the bath sponge; they then modified it further. What they created is a hybrid plant capable of absorbing large amounts of Tainted Rain. I feel the Un-Men move into position and I know only moments remain before they attack. The Transgenic Grass releases the H2O properties of the liquid to be absorbed back into the atmosphere through the water cycle. All absorbing Transgenic Plants are created with the water release function in the World’s attempt to correct the Dry Clouds problem. The Un-Men separate and circle me. Why do I know this information? Why do I know the grass then uses the petroleum base of the liquid to create energy? How do I know that it's how the plant survives? If scientists can do this... What could they have done to me? I look at my gun hand, thinking of my uncanny marksmanship. What did they do to me?

  I feel the Un-Men watching me, and I hurry past a metal bench; a green line of light hits my hand as a spot, and I watch it as the laser aim moves up my arm to my chest. Five more green laser aims pinpoint kill shots on my body. I remove my backpack, throw it back to the bench, and unset the safety on my Beretta. I dash for cover in a thicket of trees, splashing through puddles of Tainted Rain as gun fire erupts around me and several shots strike my back. The spongy Transgenic Grass cushions my fall as I roll with the impacts and after I roll, I arch my back for the pain, force myself to move on, and spring to my feet. I have to run! I have to run or I'll die!!

  Chapter Sixteen

  They Are Here

  9:59 A.M...

  Nexus Apartments' courtyard...

  Moments earlier...

  Kimberly's view...

  Hades! This is ridiculous! I watch that woman leave and see the look of hurt she gives me before walking through the gate. Why didn’t I kill her? And why did that woman look at me as if we're friends, and we just had a bad fight?

  I follow her, pause, and glance through the gate's metal bars as that woman crosses the street. I let her escape again, but why? I notice something at my feet. Oh my Zeus! What did she do? I see the Phoenix business card on the path. That little... Why did she drop this out here? I definitely don’t need someone finding my calling card. I pick it up and place it in my purse then I watch that woman enter the park. Should I follow her? I push the gate open. What about the Un-Men that woman mentioned? I step onto the sidewalk. Are they really out here?

  After crossing West 1000 Avenue, I trail that woman and head into the park; a few black droplets fall on the sleeve of my dark green pant suit then thousands fall from the menacing sky.

  “Great, just great!” I mutter.

  Rain... and me without an umbrella. I hide behind a large Transgenic Maple a couple hundred feet away from her.

  End Kimberly's view...

  The tree like the Lantern Pine created its own light with the help of an extra-genome from a firefly. The light emanated from the maple's trunk and branches. Its leaves grew upside down to gather the light for photosynthesis.

  Kimberly's view...

  Strands of my hair fall in my face as Tainted Rain darkens them, and I rake them behind my ear. Why did I follow her? I still need to kill her, but that isn't it. Do I believe that woman can detect the Un-Men beyond the visual plain? My suit jacket soaks through. Hades! I’ll catch a cold if I stay out here much longer.

  In the distance, I see that woman pause and the beams of green light hit her. Someone's aiming at her, but who? I search the park. Are the Un-Men really here?

  Gun fire erupts from all around the park, lighting up the bushes and trees with muzzle flashes as I duck into a thicket of trees. I pull my gun from my purse and search the park, hearing movement coming from my left and my right. I turn and lean my back against a maple as the area falls silent.

  Are the Un-Men really hunting that woman? Is there a bounty on her head or a more malevolent reason? I remember our conversation from before. That woman said the Council called her the Pandora Project. She also said that they're testing her. I hear more gunfire. What kind of mess did I get myself into by following that woman here?

  End Kimberly's view...

  In the thicket, Kat crawled through the small trees deeper into the park and then caught sight of a small tunnel underneath a stone bridge about twenty yards away. She ran for it and entered the tunnel then an Un-Man stepped out at the other end, activating her abilities. Over the past year, Kat learned many things about herself, about the Pandora Project and knew her abilities came in levels. The level she just entered was the Beta Phase, and she couldn’t miss any target when she was in this phase. Kat aimed with her extraordinary gift, fired once, and hit the Un-Man in its kill spot. She started down the tunnel to collect its AK-47 when two more Un-Men appeared at the same end as their brethren, and they opened fire. Kat scampered back and ducked around the outside of the tunnel as bullets sprayed past her and a few of them ricocheted off the stone wall. Her hot moist breath showed up as steam in the brisk October air as she heaved from the exertion. She wiped black water from her brow, waiting for the metal barrage to end then fired twice around the corner. Kat hit the two Un-Men and dropped them.

  Katharine's view...

  I have one bullet left and there's still three more Un-Men, so I'll have to run for it. I start through the tunnel, hear Kimberly scream, and glance back. Did she follow me out here? Again a voice deep within me reasons with my heart not to let anyone suffer, and that I need to protect those who need me. I stare at the stone ceiling as the burden of doing what's right weighs on me. I look to the one end of the tunnel that means my freedom and to the other that means confrontation. Wouldn't it be easier to run? Kimberly's an assassin, and she can take care of herself. I've ignored the pleas to save people before. Why do I need to endanger myself for someone who's probably at the park to kill me? I turn as if I can see the Nexus Apartments in the distance. Kimberly won't help me, so why should I help her? I head toward my freedom. Kimberly's on her own just like I am.

  End Katharine's view...

  Minutes earlier...

  A gust shook rain droplets from the maple, turning Kim’s green outfit to the color of oil. The Un-Men hadn't spotted her yet, but she knew she was vulnerable where she stood and had to get out of there. Nexus was about five minutes away if she ran for it. Kim looked down at her pumps; she had ruined her shoes being out in the rain. She dashed back towards the apartments and neared the next large tree when a muscular man stepped from the bushes.

  “Team Leader here,” the T-5 relayed over its I-Link in a Russian accent. “Civilian encountered.” It paused for a few seconds then repeated the orders it received from the Factory, “I will take the civilian as a hostage.” The Team Leader aimed its AK-47 at her. “Stay where you are and you will not be hurt.”

  “Right. I’ll do that.” Kim shot three times, hitting it in the chest.

  The Team Leader marched toward her like a runaway hover freight train as she fired four more times, emptied the gun, ejected the magazine, and slid in a new one. She fired twice more before it reached her, but her attack did nothing to stop it. It hit her across the face with the back of its hand, bruising her cheek and grabbed her arm. It squeezed her wrist till she dropped the gun and cried out in pain.


  The Team Leader dragged her to a clearing and yelled, “Pandora, surrender or we will kill the civilian.” It scanned the area and detected two of its brethren still functioned and that the other three had been disabled. “Come out now!” The Team Leader squeezed her wrist, and she cried out again.

  Kim struggled against its hold, trying to free herself from its mechanical grip as she said, “Do you really think she's going to come back for me?” She mockingly laughed. “You’re wrong!” Kim remembered how she almost killed her. “We’re not the best of friends.” She punched it in the jaw with her free fist. “Ow!” She shook her hand, realizing that was a stupid move. If she wanted to stay alive, she had to stay smart.

  “Be still,” the Team Leader ordered and shouted, “Pandora, you know we will kill her if you do not surrender.”

  “I know,” Kat replied as she walked down the path and stopped about ten feet away. Her eyes blazed like a demon's in the darkness of the late afternoon as she sensed the other two Un-Men change position and surround her.

  In amazed terror, Kim gaped at that woman's eyes that were burning with blue fire. She shook off her dismay, reverting to the cold calculating mind of a Closer. She had to get a hold of herself. Kim focused on a new realization; that woman actually came back. She thought she would be long gone by now. Surely that woman didn't come back for her. Kim denied the notion as her confusion turned to suspicion.

  “Drop your gun,” the Team Leader ordered as it pulled Kim in front of itself and wrapped her up in its arms.

  Katharine's view...

  I glance at my gun and know I don't have a chance with only one bullet. One of us will get hurt if I try to take out the Un-Men. I glare at Kimberly. Did she really come out to kill me in the park, hoping to find me alone? It was a really bad mistake on her part.

  “Let me go!” Kimberly struggles against the Team Leader again and yells at me, “Shoot it!”

  Kimberly has nothing to do with my problems, so I can't let her get hurt, but I don't want to be captured, not again. I shiver, not only for the cold but in fear of what happened about eight months earlier. The decision to surrender rips at my gut. On one side I fear torture at the hands of the Factory and on the other I can't let someone suffer because of me even if they're an assassin. I lay the gun on the ground as I feel my Ultra-Epi Light Emissions fade.

  “You!” I yell to get Kimberly's attention. “Once the Un-Man releases you, run and abandon your weapon, and they will leave you alone.” I kneel to the spongy grass and water soaks my pants as my weight forces the liquid to the surface of the green blades. I place my hands on top of my head as the other two Un-Men walk out of the shadows. I feel sick, knowing the pain that waits for me at the Factory and I yell, “Hurry! Go!”

  End Katharine's view...

  The Team Leader threw Kim to the side as it states, “Pandora, we finally have you again.”

  Kim stumbled to a tree and ran toward her apartment, glancing over her shoulder. The Un-Men ignored her, focusing on that woman, so she ducked into a few bushes after running some distance and watched them.

  The Team Leader relayed to the Factory, “Pandora has been secured. Send in a retrieval team.” It told its brethren, “ETA fifteen minutes.” It pointed to a T-3; it was a five foot eleven model with brown hair. “You, secure the area.”

  The T-3 nodded its understanding and walked off.

  The Team Leader picked up Kat's weapon, checked its magazine, and turned to her. “One bullet. You should have fled, but we were fortunate to find someone strolling the park.”

  It pushed the bullet from the magazine and the 9 mm round fell to the ground, disappearing into the grass. The Team Leader reinserted the magazine and tucked the gun in its waistband.

  Kat remained silent, stared at the ground, and searched for the weapon Kim dropped. She swore no matter what, she wouldn't go back to the Factory.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Zeus Park

  11:16 A.M...

  A round clock sitting on a steel post about a hundred yards down the path ticked away the seconds as a screech owl perched in the maple. The small bird turned its head a hundred and eighty degrees, studying the two Un-Men and the kneeling woman. Mud and oily water soaked Kat's shoes and the shins and knees of her pants. She stared at the ground and shivered, keeping her fingers locked and her hands on her head. There were thirteen minutes left before the retrieval team got there. She wiped the black filmy water from her face on the shoulder of her jacket. Kat had thirteen minutes to change her fate. A Type One model she had dubbed Pretty Boy months ago stood behind her, and its shoulder length bleached blond hair swayed in the breeze; that along with the lanky Un-Man’s corky smile gave it the appearance of a surfer even in the business suit. The Pretty Boy kept its AK-47 leveled on her.

  A grenade's throw away, Kim hid in some bushes. She couldn't go back to the apartment, not until she eliminated all the witnesses. Robots or not they saw her with a gun, and they had to be eliminated along with that woman. The only thing Kim had to do was find her weapon.

  The T-3 returned and reported to the Team Leader, “I have secured this side of the park. I will patrol the other half.”

  It started off and entered the area Kim took cover in and after desperately scanning the area, Kim saw a large branch on the ground, grabbed the limb, whacked the T-3 in the face with all her might, and smashed its polarized spectacles. Her attack cut a gash under its right eye, and its shiny metal cheekbone showed through the damaged artificial skin.

  The T-3 removed its broken sun glasses and tossed them to the ground then turned its head, unaffected by the blow. Its sun-blazing dot-light brightened and changed to a deep red as the T-3 said with a British accent, “Poppet, you want to play?”

  She dropped the limb and scurried off toward West 1000 Avenue, realizing the only thing she did was make the robot upset.

  “Do not leave, poppet! The fun is about to start.” The T-3 opened fire with its AK-47 and wildly shot in her direction.

  Back at Kat's position...

  The Team Leader and Pretty Boy received a message from the T-3.

  “T-3 has again encountered the civilian, and the female has attacked it,” the Team Leader stated. “The female is fleeing.” It paused. “Transmission garbled. Transmission ended with... kill poppet? I do not understand. Repeat communication.” After about ten seconds, the Team Leader said, “T-3 has failed to report, and it may have been damaged.” It turned to Pretty Boy. “We may not be able to contain Pandora with only two units, requesting orders from the Factory on how to proceed.”

  They turned their heads when they heard gunfire and with them distracted, Kat seized the opportunity to escape and dashed into the woods, hoping to reach Kim in time.

  The Team Leader motioned for Pretty Boy to recapture her. “Do not destroy Pandora. The Factory wants her functioning.”

  “Understood,” it stated and rushed into the woods.

  Leaves and twigs brushed by her face as Kat hurried into a clearing. She halted, spotting the rampaging T-3 as it shot up the area, and her Ult L-E produced charged particles and sparked from her eyes as she entered the fray again. The T-3 ran out of ammo, ejected its magazine, and started to place in a new one when Kat ran behind it and jumped on its back. She covered its eyes with her left forearm and grabbed its rifle with her other hand. Kat jerked the AK-47, aiming the weapon at the Pretty Boy as it rushed after her, and several shots hit the Pretty Boy’s chest as Kat wrestled with the T-3. The Pretty Boy charged till Kat managed to aim the rifle at its forehead; it fell like a tree cut down by a chainsaw. The T-3 grabbed her vest and hurled her from its back. She rolled with the throw and ran for cover behind a large bronze statue of a man wearing a toga and holding a lightning bolt.

  “You want to play too, poppet?” The T-3 cackled as it madly sprayed bullets in the air, and its dot-light burned as if on fire. “My pretty poppet!”


  Katharine's view...

  Is the T-3 malfunctioning? I scan the area as bullets graze the bronze Zeus with ringing pings. And where did Kimberly go? Did she go back for her own gun?

  When the T-3 pauses to put in another magazine, I rush through the trees and bushes and make my way back to where the Team Leader stood, knowing the malfunctioning T-3 will be close behind. I halt and stay out of sight.

  End Katharine's view...

  The Team Leader didn't see Kat and called out over its I-Link, “T-3, report in. What is your status?” It scanned the area, knowing that the Pretty Boy had been incapacitated. “T-3 report. Why have you disabled your tracking beacon? Switch it back on.” The Team Leader headed into the trees, searching for its brethren.

  In a different area from Kat...

  After the Team Leader left, Kim snuck out of hiding, ran for her PPK, and grabbed it. All she had to do now was get the Hades out of there! She would let the Un-Men kill that woman.

  The Team Leader emerged with the T-3, and the Team Leader shouted, “Halt, civilian. Drop your weapon and you will not be hurt.”

  “Hades! Not again,” Kim muttered, ducking behind the maple.

  Kat found Kim, but not before the Un-Men had. She needed a plan if she wanted to get both of them out of there alive. Kat watched from the bushes and remembered the wall around the Nexus Apartments. The black spheres on the walls had to bar bio-mechas from entering, and Kim's home also had the Sphinx Corporation Emblem on it, and the Factory and the Council were departments within the Sphinx Corporation. Kim may be an assassin, but she was also important to someone in power and that must be why she lived in an apartment protected by a barrier. Kat made her way around the bushes as her Ult L-E dissipated, praying Kim's safety was more important than her capture, and she stepped from her hiding place, taking a big chance.

  She ordered the Un-Men, “Abort your mission. You've made a tactical error.”

  The Team Leader studied her tired expression as it trained its AK-47 on her. “What do you mean?”